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Indosimland
this is my first city which is released to simtropolis. This might is a bit stiff but I'll make a better in the future. This town is located on one from the thousands of beautiful islands in Indonesia. -
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78 Years on, Memories still strong
It has now been about 78 years since the Hamilton City Nuclear Power Plant exploded, since then outside the massive walls the surround the ghost town, much has changed What once was corn, wheat fields is now home to 207,000 some sims, development grows the cities the surround a memory of the past. South Hamilton founded two years after the explosion, is now Honi Counties most populous city some 187,000 strong it dwarfs old Hamilton City. It is odd looking at, old Hamilton City once the largest town in all of Honi County, now is dwarfed by its successor. Even though it has been so long, the memories of that day still loom large. On the 75th anniversary of that tragic day the current mayor of new Hamilton City and South Hamilton dedicated a memorial to those who died that day, and the city that once was. Next updat, we'll tour around outside the rotting city, to South Hamilton and its sights and sounds.- Read More
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On 29 December, Simland, the national holiday was through Aubevoye. Here are some pictures of the national holiday has Aubevoye. | Le 29 décembre, sur Simland, la fête nationale passait par Aubevoye. Voici quelques images de la fête nationale a Aubevoye. ----------------------------------------- Here is a very roundabout square as you can see. This is one of the roundabouts of new districts, near the sea | Voici un rond-point très carré comme vous pouvez le voir. C'est un des ronds-points des nouveaux quartiers, près de la mer. Welcome to the extreme northern part of the CBD! At the border between the suburbs andthe CBD, these towers are primarily commercial. | Bienvenue dans la partie extrème nord du CBD ! A la frontière entre la banlieue et le CBD, ces tours sont principalement commerciales. Here is a small airport (as you can see, it takes luck to get on there) that serves as aservice to international companies that export to abroad. | Voici un petit aéroport (comme vous pouvez le voir, il faut de la chance pour s'y poser) qui sert de desserte aux entreprises internationales qui exportent a l'étranger. And finally, here is a newly installed base, it is actually a communal garden, but it is used as a park. | Et enfin, voici un parc installé récemment, c'est en fait un jardin communal, mais on s'en sert comme parc. -------------------------------------- Here, soon you will have pictures of the suburbs! | Voila, bientôt, vous aurez des images de la banlieue ! ----------------------- Ps: I have a little advertising for Simland (simland.eu), a micro-French nation but with a section for English speakers, I let you discover, however, is on Aubevoye Simland! (Papaya-> Grand Sud) | Ps : j'aimerai faire un peu de pub pour Simland (simland.eu), une micro-nation française mais qui comporte une partie pour les anglophones, je vous laisse découvrir, d'ailleurs, Aubevoye est sur Simland ! (Papaya --> Grand Sud)
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Welcome to Hinesville!
Welcome to your first day in town! This metro city of just under 600,000 sims is home to iconic landmarks like the sears tower and Kitmar feild, which is host to many fun and spetacular events. The urban enviorment this city brings is like no other, with world class architecture and round the clock venues you will have no problem finding something that suits your style. So plan a vaction to come visit the luxarious city of Hinesville, where your dreams are only waiting to come true!- Read More
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Vermillion City Cyclones
City Name: Vermillion City Population: 561,733 Home Field: Slatestone Park Stadium Team Colours: Golden and Maroon Rough-Real world location: Midwesten USA (Kansas City)- Read More
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Engler: New Downtown
Check the last update for the replies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So many time ago that I didn't do a new updtae of this CJ. I'm too busy, this is reflexed too in The Times of Troix. But finally I give myself a little time to do a new update, the future is incertain. The last update I've showed the Old Downtown of Engler. In this update I'll show the denominated New Downtown CBD Zone at more detail. It was the year 1939, the civil war of Valles Marineris finished 7 years ago. Engler is still in ruins, but for this city to reborn from the ashes were not hard, always had commerce and activity. Being the pass and an important port is an advantage. In this year, the proposal to build the first skycrapper appeared in the desk of the mayor Allan Otesanek. In that time the project was a madness, but the Engler Shipping Co really wanted to build it. In 1940 started the groundbreaking and the skycrapper started to raise to the sky. In 1943 finished. And there is: The Turmen Tower complex is the first skycrapper of Engler with 109 metters of height. Is the headquarters of the Engler Shipping Co and is a symbol of progress. After this, there appeared more projects and more ideas. Engler started with the skyscrapering in Valles Marineris. Then in less than 50 years the view of Engler from the cannal changed a lot. It is really unnecesary the lighthouses around the ports: the skycrapers are like lighthouses in the horizon. Then all the cities in Valles Marineris started to build skycrapers. In this pictures: the Builder Plaza and the headquarters of the Engler Television. The boom of the construction in Engler required new laws and legislations. One of this points is the ordered trace of streets, roads and avenues, the correct spacing between skycrappers and the presservation of green areas. Sometimes the architects doesn't have imagination, and build twins and triplets of skycrapers. Skycrapering is a good business. But this happens when the thirst of money wins over the creativity and art, because after all the skycrapers are an interesting expression of art. The night is too luminous... Or not too much... The Nadrem Tower, one of the most famous skycrapers in Engler. Its design try to combine the future in the present because now is the future, or at the least is what it says his architect. Wir sind die Nacht. This is The Abstrauct, one of the most exclusive nightclubs in Engler and it is over the Nadrem Tower. It have one of the most spectacular views of Engler. The views to the south of Engler are unique. To see the small residential buildings is beautifull, and to see the skyline from the south are amazing. The construction of skycrapers in Engler continues, now the eyes of the investors are in the south, but with small buildings and amicable designs for the enviroment. Well this is all for now. Stay tuned for the next update: skycrapers and buildings are not the jewels of Engler. See you later! - 13
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ShinBei - Update 3 - MTR Yanto Line
REPLIES mystic_destiny: The shopping arcade can be found in this link. JDRCRASH: The tetris building is here (made by acchi). 10000000000000: Thanks! However, I definitely still have plenty of areas for improvement. NMUSpidey, Benedict, spursrule14, 111222333444, k50dude, escilnavia, TowerDude, skyscraper241: Thank you all! Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I admit I have been MIA from Simtropolis for quite a while, but I am back with a new update. I will be presenting you a tour on one of ShinBei's main transit line, the MTR Yanto Line. So yes, this update will focus a lot more on public transportation in ShinBei I would not say ShinBei has a sophisticated transit network yet. However, it is definitely quite convenient to get around ShinBei through the MTR system. Most stations in the Yanto Line have connecting lines (TR and MTR lines). Y1 Tsubanki Tsubanki is one of the few stations in ShinBei that offers connecting lines to both MTR and TR network. A portion of commuters from the neighboring city of Seikina transfers here from the TR line to the MTR Yanto line to get to work in ShinBei. Because of this, Tsubanki Station quickly became eastern ShinBei's primary center of activities. It is not surprise to see shops and offices clustering around this station. Y2 Lisette Lisette is one of the two office districts in ShinBei (as of now). It is not far from Tsubanki Station, and it could be considered to be the secondary center of activities in eastern ShinBei. Relative to Tsubanki, Lisette has more office spaces. Y3 Hanamachi This station brings passengers to the ShinBei's TR Shopping Ward and the 5th Chome. Click on these links to see more pictures regarding these two places. As shown in the first map, Y2 Lisette and Y3 Hanamachi links up to MTR Musee station. This station is located along the 5th chome, and passengers usually go here to commute to Y2 Lisette to work or to Y1 Tsubanki in order to get to Seikina. Y4 TR ShinBei This is ShinBei's central station. All modes of transportation go through here. I haven't started developing cities and towns at other regions. However, I am envisioning TR ShinBei Station to be a primary destination for commuters living in outer regions and a transfer point for residents living in western and northern Taipei to get to eastern and southern Taipei. In some ways, it will function like the actual JR Shinjuku Station does in Tokyo, Japan. MTR Hozoki is located southwest of TR ShinBei station. Residents living in ShinBei's southern suburbs go here to commute to other parts of ShinBei. In the context of Saekei, developers would rush to create new developments once they know that a new transit stop would be implemented. However, realizing that residents need more open spaces the local government re-zoned this parcel of land for recreational purposes. Thus, the public soccer field was constructed. This facility's close proximity to MRT Hozoki made this field a popular spot for inter-school soccer matches. Y5 Houseki Houseki is ShinBei's CBD. This can be seen by the tall buildings near this station. I am planning to have a new entry focusing this area, but I cannot say when I will have it released. Although Houseki is located near TR ShinBei Station, this station was placed here as a means to provide office workers and nearby residents additional waypoints to access the MTR lines. This implementation was successful that it improved convenience for Houseki's office workers and slightly reduced the number of passengers inside TR ShinBei (in a sense, reduced congestion). Sekai is a newly developed waterfront shopping and office district. The river is not shown, but this area is becoming another attraction that gives nearby residents and tourist a good view of the river. Because MTR Sekai is only linked with Y5 Houseki, it is predicted that Houseki would soon be a mini-transfer point for the people who wants to go to Sekai. Y6 Efiyon Efiyon is the last station on the MTR Yanto Line that would be inside ShinBei's urban area. This district is mostly residential. A canal runs through the single-family homes. It was well decorated and maintained, residents would usually take a walk on these canals. In a sense, the canals became a open and public space. However, this slightly drove housing and land prices up. Y7 Sei-Bashidon Last but not least, Bashidon is a suburb right outside of Shinbei. This station's name has the prefix "sei" because it is located at Bashidon's western side. This neighborhood also has a TR station, which is located center of this area. I hope you have enjoyed this update! Please take time to rate and comment! - 7
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Jirbar intercontinental shipping center. pt,1
since its founding the country has tripled in population and doubled its exports,the old airport and docks just could not handle the volume of things. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=30u8iz5" target="_blank"><img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/30u8iz5.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=i2u6hc" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/i2u6hc.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2i8gp48" target="_blank"><img src="http://i39.tinypic.com/2i8gp48.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=126agw9" target="_blank"><img src="http://i41.tinypic.com/126agw9.png" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>- Read More
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Beginnings
Sydney - The Harbour City Sydney is Australia's largest and probably most glamourous city. It's also my city. Yesterday, on Australia day, as I was sitting on the back of the ferry to Manly, one of Sydney's famous beachside suburbs, I was inspired to recreate, and where possible, replicate the Harbour City. This will be the process I go through to do so! I've changed and I'm changing a few little things that I feel need to be done so from both a role-playing and practical point of view, like amalgamating some of Sydney's 40-odd local government areas into The Sydney Authority and increasing public transport options as much as I can. Kudos and credit to drunkapple for his incredibly daunting but exciting rendition of Greater Sydney which I will be using for this project. If anyone sees anything in my updates that I don't credit, please comment and I will make sure that credit is given where credit is due. -
Bayview is somewhat of a cityscape, a big portion of the tall towers and hi-rises being located in the inter-city of Sublon. Here are some screenshots from the beautiful city—take a look. Current Statistics Population: 166,996 Commercial Jobs: 92,424 Industrial Jobs: 11,057 This is the central residential skyline that makes up for a large percentage of Sublon's 166,000 people. Most of it is Medium-wealth residential, except for a few namely hi-rises, such as the twin brown townhouse complexes to the left. ──────────────────────────────────── This is the main commercial skyline of Bayview, with the Bank of China tower at the near center, and two Alexis Buildings on either side of it, originally from nycc06's Austin City as Alexander Buildings. Also, you may notice the elevated rail and the big grass field in the lower left corner: it is the most preferred form of transportation due to its compatibility with subways, another popular form of inter-city transit in Bayview. ──────────────────────────────────── Here is the city's commercial suburbs, where small-time businesses tend to crop up. To the right is some immediate medium-density residential for jobs with short commutes. ──────────────────────────────────── This place is where the average people of the population live and work. There's no tall buildings in this area, yet there's a university and a cemetery located fairly close to residential proximity. It seems that this area has its own employment infrastructure, with the balance of similarly sized commercial and residential buildings. ──────────────────────────────────── The two feature buildings in this screenshot are the Three World Financial Center (left), and the One World Financial Center (right). In between you'll find plenty of medium-density, medium/high-wealth commercial businesses. ──────────────────────────────────── This area is chief of recreational buildings, and includes a zoo, an opera house, and a movie studio, all built on the water's edge. There are other reward-type buildings scattered throughout Sublon, but this area gets its name "Recreational Hub" because of the such high concentration of special buildings. ──────────────────────────────────── This is where sublon gets all of its power: solar energy. 20,000 megawatts of clean, safe, and reliable energy outputted monthly, all in one city. ──────────────────────────────────── This is where a lot of the smaller office towers are located, the place named the sub-skyline of Sublon, with one non-landmark Smith Tower and two non-landmark Coit Towers, plus many other buildings. ──────────────────────────────────── This is an overview of most of the city's skyline, including the aforementioned Bank of China tower, Alexis Buildings, and the two World Financial Centers, not to mention some residential skyscrapers near the top of the photo. ──────────────────────────────────── That's all I have time for for now. C'ya! AlexTheRose
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a new city plan
hello every one in order of: there has to be build a new city. the first basic plans are ready. this will be the city center there are 2 day's to demonstrated against the plans. and the then will be the next update - 5
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air view of the city center
the walled city, is the historic city center of Ragusa, an ancient maritime republics, founded by the Roman , became rich and important thanks to it's seaport and it's protected position, now is the most important city on the seas of Mythodea,have a seaport,a small airport and a quite big industrial area. It's joined with the capital Cydonia with an highway and a railway. in this picture you can see the all city, at your right the industrial area, some fields on the hills behind the city,the fort on the top of the hightest hill,the lighthouse on the island in front of the old city and the big beach just at the left side of the walled city a picture of the walled seaport -
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Skopje now
Here i want tho show you Skopje as i knew it when i lived there...If you are still interested in more information about this loving city,then you should check this out it has been made by my friend...https://www.simtropolis.com/forum/journals/3251-troubles-with-history-skopje-2014/ This is taken in the center of the city,this is one of the most famous building in Skopje Risticeva Palace and add on the roof is for Skopsko the best macedonian beer ,it has been there as long as i remember ,permanently incorporating it self in my fear city The Supreme Court building,one of the best "modern" buildings The largest church in Skopje , and the seat of the macedonian orthodox church Buildings in the newest arrondissement(sry i don't know how its in english)of Aerodrom. Which means airport because before the earthquake it was located here. The arabian building,i don't know a lot about this building.... Christian and Muslim,architecture Street MAcedonia,main street that connects Square MAcedonia and the Old Railway station,here are some pictures....i will start from the Rail Station.... Happy new year to all! A really found modern building xD The Central Park in fall And some panoramic pictures...- Read More
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Diachrony and Synchrony of Skopje 2014
Skopje 2014 is a peculiar example of the exact opposite of today’s regular laments about the architecture becoming Americanized, postmodernized, globalized, etc., in which the glittering metropolitan centers of glass and steel are reaching its aesthetic climax in the meaningless "zero-buildings" (such as enormous shopping malls boxed in glass), etc. When the history is used in today’s contemporary architecture, it is used mainly to neutralize the shock-potential of history, its dangerous Chauvinism. The new postmodern historicism (a combination of retro styles and genres, of "everything goes", of pastiche) is meant to weaken the national borders, to claim "the end of history"; "historicity" today celebrates the nomadic dynamism, world without local myths, and cultivates cynical distance away from any history. Skopje 2014 is the strict opposite of this. The buildings and figurative sculptures of the project are quite serious when imitating the old styles in architecture (neo-romanticism, neo-classicism, neo-baroque), the imitation is not meant to play mockingly with the obsolete, or used ironically to portend an increasing cynical gap, but are used to send a "serious" note to the world that Macedonia is on the map of the bourgeois societies. The artistic tendencies of the project are based on the 19th century self-centered megalomania, and the return to pre-modern glorification of styles. According to Slavoj Žižek the difference between the modernism and the postmodernism in the architecture) is that in modernism, a building was supposed to obey one all-encompassing great Code, while in postmodernism there are multiplicity of codes.Although consisted of everything historical, from Alexander the Great to Winston Churchill, Skopje 2014 is not here to serve the multiplicity of codes, but one great Code: an old-fashioned pride and dignity of a bourgeois capital of a superstate. kopje 2014 project commemorates different historical artifacts precisely because that was the 19th century bourgeois premise of the eclecticism in architecture - a city as a world in miniature. As Walter Benjamin wrote in his book "The Arcades Project," a city wanted: "to seize the essence of history".(7) The Government seemingly treated the main square as if it is within the four walls of its apartment; the city center as a huge living room of the nation: with its baroque buildings and classicistic sculptures ("what does the Government think is the best for our living room?"), yet to serve but one purpose: to build a superstar nation, worthy or pride and prestige. "[To] disclose a church, a train station, an equestrian statue, or some other symbol of civilization"( - these were the ideals common in the 19th century, according to Walter Benjamin. His elaboration of the 19th century tendency "to ennoble technological necessities through spurious artistic ends."(9) to some extent explains Skopje 2014 project. It explains the wax museum (Benjamin wrote: "No immortalizing [is] so unsettling as that of the ephemera and the fashionable forms preserved for us in the wax museum"(10)); it explains the mandatory domes above the building, as well as decorative facades ("Ornament is to this house what the signature is to a painting"(11)); it explains the political celebrities glued to the buildings, the monuments of everybody from Justinian I to Abraham Lincoln ("The impression of the old-fashioned can arise only where, in a certain way, reference is made to the most topical." (12)); it explains the building of lions on the bridges (the lions convey an image of a rich country); it explains the returning to baroque and rococo ("Every stone bears the mark of despotic power, and all the ostentation makes the atmosphere, in the literal sense of the words, heavy and close..." (13)). The idea behind Skopje 2014 is to repeat the old motifs, "as they once were", without the cynical distance, which arguably makes the Project a scary and totalitarian display of power. Should Skopje 2014 be labeled as the 19th century pre-modern eclecticism or as postmodernism? If we are to understand the idea of a national city becoming historical (a museal approach to urban life) by means of attracting money, tourists, new residents, and to satisfy the desire of the local elites, than Skopje 2014 belongs to the widely understood 19th century eclecticism in architecture. But, with its intense admiration for the old-style ornaments (which serve no functionality) put on the buildings with pure utilitarian function (such as the electronic communications agency, or the constitutional court, or the foreign ministry), then the project could also be explained with the terms "decorated sheds" and "neo-Brutalism",(14) used by Venturi, Scott Brown and Izenour in their book "Learning from Las Vegas".(15) Skopje 2014 largely consists of ritzy and extravagant facades on buildings where the citizens will go to perform their most daily activities; the buildings are merely supposed to look better, but not to be better, therefore the term "decorated sheds" explains Skopje 2014 phenomenon of mandatory building of the "rhetorical front" on the "conventional behind".(16) Although because of its historicity, Skopje 2014 is close to a definition of pre-modern eclecticism, paradoxically, it is also a showcase of the "decorated sheds", due to the cacophony of useless and inadequate architectural symbolism. One predominant feature which fuses two seemingly paradoxical paradigms of the Skopje 2014 project (the 19th century eclecticism and the postmodern “decorated sheds”), is of the ideal of miniaturization of history, a concept which explains why besides the need to glorify the past via various monuments, the project also inclines towards "decorated sheds" - altogether an important stylistic phenomenon rooted all around the Eastern European architecture in the past two decades, most notably after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of modernism in architecture. One explanation about this Eastern European appeal to build both historical monuments and "decorated sheds" lies in the desire to send two opposed messages at the same time: by glorify the past they are on the map of the "serious" nations of the world, yet by building cacophonic, inadequate symbolisms, they are "at leisure"; they are playful and relaxed about their own past, just as "the rest of the world". To dwell deeper into congruity of these two different architectural codes we are using the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s complex reading of society’s need to simultaneously place itself on the two opposed paradigms: diachrony and synchrony (among others, via the concept of miniaturization) from his book "Infancy and History" (1978). Agamben developed a theory about the complex relations between infancy and history - a society needs to both dismantle and distort the past and expand the present, but at the same time to “reduce” the present and zoom-in on the past, as two opposite tendencies. Building on Levi-Strauss’s fundamental distinction between cold and hot societies, Agamben developed a critical reading of the society’s relation to its history to either enlarge the sphere or rituals and historical fixations (in Levi-Strauss terminology the so-called: cold societies) at the expense of play, or vice versa (the hot societies). (17) The cold society is operating on the level of diachrony, the human time is measured according to the number of monuments, archaeological objects, archived documents or worshiping of antiquity as ‘material content’ that guarantees one’s existence in history. In such a society, time needs to be preserved in its documentary character, because it values its place in the world according to its place in the chronology of the events.(18) The Agamben’s reading of Levi-Strauss’s theory, however, offers a rather paradoxical insight into the results of this modeling on the level of diachrony, the paradox being that the obsession with history (as a guarantor of one’s certainty as a nation) eventually results with such societies having frozen history,(19) not able to move along the lines of diachrony. The second type of society (the hot society) is operating on the level of synchrony, such that the play is increased on the account of suspension of the mania for historical hoarding. According to Agamben, this suspension of historical (the refusal to collect monuments and preserve ethnographic content, cessation of worshiping antiquity, etc), paradoxically does not result in historical time being erased, but on the contrary, the history is being saved and transformed into "human time". Agamben writes: "In play, man frees himself from sacred time and ‘forgets’ it in human time",(20) meaning that only play possesses the quality of transforming synchrony into diachrony. In proving this paradoxical thesis Agamben builds two toposes: that of a "playland" as an ultimate historyland, (21) and that of a toy as "the cipher of history".(22) The nature of a toy in Agamben’s writing is that it possesses a deeply rooted historicity in itself. He writes: "the essence of the toy… is then, an eminently historical thing: indeed, it is, so to speak, the Historical in its pure state."(23) Of course, there cannot exists a society in which all diachrony is transformed into synchrony and the play totally replacing the historical rituals, yet the differential margin between diachrony and synchrony is what identifies the human time, in other words, history itself. According to Agamben, that is the reason why only societies that can regularly get rid of the mania to build monuments to the national and historical myths, can really live on the level of diachrony, i.e. in the human history. How is one to translate Agamben’s concepts of diachrony and synchrony in reading Skopje 2014 architectural and political project? Craving to situate themselves along the lines of pride democratic nations of the world after the fall of communism, the Macedonian government introduced Skopje 2014 as a need to be perceived as a "normal" society, relaying on the idea that every culture is first and foremost a particular experience of time. By pushing an agenda to erect monuments to everything historical in order to have a guarantor of the nation’s existence in history, they erased precisely the diachronic intervals between past and present, as is a case with every society insisting on a diachrony (thus turning it into a cold society). As a consequence, that operation helped freeze the historic time, by suspending the playfulness as a quality of synchrony and of the existence of oneself in the historic time. And since the play was suspended, the melodramatic sentiment was installed. Since one may note that as kitschy and as laughable Alexander the Great on a horse in the 2011 Macedonia might be to a critic’s eye, we need to bear in mind that it serves a purpose for the political elites: people will always experience monuments like this one as authentic and deeply emotional. When building the nationalistic superstate symbols, there is no place for ironic distance. Benjamin wrote: Kitsch is always sincere. In Macedonia in recent years, images of Alexander the Great have been used to advertise everything from traveler’s books to various wines, and it is not an ironic playfulness on part of the marketers, but a targeting of the deeply held emotions of people. While a substantial part of the Macedonian civil society protested about the project, for an ordinary Macedonian, the project is perceived as something "authentic". Ask a young educated Macedonian cosmopolite, s/he will tell you it’s ironic, but ask a more representative sample and they’ll tell you Alexander the Great makes them feel good, makes them feel strong. gamben’s concept of the marginal difference between diachrony and synchrony further helps us understand the sizable split that Skopje 2014 produced in the Macedonian identity. An opinion poll conducted in March 2010 showed that 54 per cent of the citizens do not support Skopje 2014 project, and 46 per cent do. This means that the project "forced" Macedonians to choose between being Slavs or being descendants of Ancient Macedonians, by making them choose between those who support the diachronic paradigm, and those who refuse it. Even though the nationalistic images of Skopje 2014 drift away from the regular complaints about the "(architectural) imperialism under the signs of Disney and McDonald’s",(25) it is interesting that when the project was first introduced, most of the opponents to the project referred to it as a Disneyland, or a Legoland, or Las Vegas. What we see here is not only the stubbornness of "the Disney fatwa" (Koolhaas’s term) in architecture, and also how strong a denominator the Western mass culture is when explaining the urban developments around the globe, but also to what extent the extravagant combination of the 19th century eclecticism and the 20th century "decorated sheds" of the project puzzle its critics, and Disneyfication comes to label even projects which are highly nationalistic. But, even more complex, although when the Disney metaphor is used in today’s architecture, it is meant mostly as an insult or an offense to architecture, yet Agamben’s theory offers the material to understand that the Disney metaphor is paradoxically something historical in its essence, as a contradiction that resides within the structural tension between diachrony and synchrony. Namely, as was already mentioned, the project introduced considerable split in the Macedonian national identification with people self-identifying as either belonging to the societies obsessed with history (the government proposal), or to ones inclined towards the “play”, as explained in Agamben. This split, not by an accident, is situated along the generational lines. Since the historical Skopje 2014 is the exact opposite of the playfulness of today’s architecture (of Agamben’s synchronic society), and as such is not designed to appeal to younger generations, when the first monuments materialized, the "Disney metaphor" was actually not only used as an offence to the project, but was paradoxically at the same time, used as a shield on the part of the younger citizens who disliked the conservative facelift of the city. For example, when in June 2011, Alexander the Great monument arrived from Florence, it arrived apiece in several trucks. The comments in the online social networks were that Alexander arrived as a gigantic Kinder Surprise egg (Kinder Surprise egg is one of the most popular chocolate products in Central and Eastern Europe: it is an egg shell made of chocolate, and wrapped up in lively-colored paper; after one unwraps the egg and cracks the chocolate shell open, one finds in it parts to assemble the toy) - so after the parts of Alexander’s monument were put together, the commenters asked who ate the chocolate shell. The comments were directed towards the possible financial corruption behind the project, which costs enormous amounts of money, for a country where one third of the population is reported to be unemployed. This reaction proves Agamben’s concept of a toy as an architectural relict, as exceedingly historical thing ("the Historical in its pure state"), with half of the citizens intuitively preferring the toy-ish aspect of the monument as something worth dealing with (the synchrony of life), instead of being impressed by the grandeur historical figure, which not only intimidates but freezes historicity. However, apart from this structural identity division, on a concrete cultural level, Skopje 2014 furthermore produced a line of ethnic, gender and class divisions. Namely, the bronze mania serves only to build up the dominant Macedonian identity and the demographic exclusivity, while the ethnic minorities (Albanians, Turks, Vlachs, Serbs, Roma, etc.) are not being adequately represented. The biggest Roma settlement in Europe, the district Šuto Orizari situated near Skopje, remains a modernity noir in form of a slam, or a ghetto, unaffected by the grandiose Skopje 2014 project. Furthermore, Skopje 2014 translates history to an archaic family drama, as a way of scaling down the great nation to domestic size. The project is consisted of monuments to the Son (Alexander), to his Father (Philip II), and to his Mother (Olimpias), as in every patriarchal daddy-mommy-me triad, yet the travesty already resides within the desired model. While, Alexander is imagined to be the ideal Son from the nationalistic dreams (the greatest military and political leader of all times), his suspected bisexuality is a slap in the face of the nationalists, and one could jokingly conclude that: "Skopje has the largest statue of a gay man in the world erected by a homophobic political leadership".(26) Besides the ethnic and patriarchal antagonisms (the inferior status of women represented, the father-son axis, etc.) the monuments also reflect the class antagonisms in the society - for example, Alexander the Great monument is 22 meters high, while the sculpture called "Cleaner of Shoes" placed near the Alexander’s sculpture is only a meter high, so we could say that the form is not a "mere" form, but it involves dynamics and materiality of social life (and reading Žižek, one could say that this was precisely the articulation of the Governmental fantasy of "longing for inequality",(27) of clear hierarchy and class distinctions which to a certain degree falls in line with the rightist Macedonian Government known for holding strict hierarchical order, with the Prime Minister acting as a micro manager of the country). Since no public discussions or debates took place before the presentation of Skopje 2014 project, soon after the plan was presented by the Government, a grass-root protest movement called the Archibrigadiers was established, the first of a kind in independent Macedonia. The protesters actualizing the famous 1960s Henri Lefebvre motto of the "right to the city" and the movement rallied against the forceful and ethnocratic reordering of the public space, using new social media to communicate their views (some of their creative slogans include: "Skopje - best before: 2014", or "Skopje 1963 Earthquake - Skopje 2014 Mindquake"). The tensions reached its heights in March 2009, when a group of students from the Architectural Faculty in Skopje tried to protest peacefully against the project, and were beaten by religious and rightists counter-protestants, in the presence of the police and media. Maybe the biggest paradox is that, oddly enough, with Skopje fighting over its identity, it is the leftists who, in their struggle against the nationalistic-style rebuild, find themselves defending the status quo! -
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Melikan | Chocolatey Chocolate Awards!
Ok, so this update is a little... "different". It's the award ceremony where I give out the Busscastle Chocolates I ordered a few weeks ago. Hopefully tomorrow, I'll be able to continue with the actual updates; but for now, enjoy your chocolates. Chocolatey Chocolate Awards! Supreme Bunny Congress Tower, Melikan Supercity Present Day A lone Buni Knight woke up one day, to greet the beautiful sight of Boneila's triple suns rising above the Melikan skyline, which stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. After the sunrise was over, he left his quarters, which were located on an upper floor of the Great Furrarium, and entered a nearby dining hall, where there were already around a dozen other Buni Knights seated around a large round table, all eating breakfast, which mostly consisted of copious amounts of Anagon grass, which would keep them sustained until dinnertime, as Buni Knights don't have a lot of time to eat when on duty. After breakfast, one of the more important Buni went to a preservashelf nearby and deactivated one of its vacuum ice chambers, revealing a rather large package that was stored inside. She took it out, and then resealed the vacuum ice chamber, now waiting for a new occupant. Bringing it to the table, the 14 Buni Knights took to discussing who should bring the package to the Almighty Bunny, who was awaiting its arrival in the Central Tower of the Supreme Bunny Congress, located at the heart of Melikan. They soon came to a decision, and selected the Buni General Neb Suoivergasun, one of the more notable warriors in the small group, and who had won great distinction while serving on the campaign against the Rim Pirates, to represent them in this immensely important task. The Buni who was holding the package then put it into the paws of General-Knight Suoivergasun, who then bounded away at an incredible pace, headed for the underground hangars where the majority of the Buni spacecraft were kept. Most Buni flew in X-Wing or I-Wing fighters, but the General had saved up his galacs until he was wealthy enough to buy a sleek Delta Stealth Fighter; the most advanced fighter the Boneilan Military had to offer, and for this reason, it was also the most expensive one. Whether it was used in battle, on a vacation, or just for a flight around the city, this fighter was the General's favorite personal spacecraft. Soon, he had reached his fighter, where he carefully placed the precious package into a storage compartment of the vehicle. He then checked the craft's systems, and after ensuring that everything was in tip-top shape, he hopped into the pilot's seat, closed the main hatch, fastened his g-belts, and switched the engines on. The engine roared to life, and within seconds, he was out of the hangar and well on his way to the Supreme Bunny Congress. After a few minutes of cruising along at great speed, Suoivergasun began the approach towards the Tower. When it was built, some three hundred years before, it was the tallest tower in Melikan, but now it was dwarfed by quite a few other supertowers in the megalopolis, some of which exceeded two kilometers or in height. He circled the tower once, relaying word of his arrival, and then swooped his fighter into the gap in the central part of the tower, which was actually four towers connected by skywalks at numerous levels. After docking to one of the towers, he quickly opened the hatch and got out, grabbing the package before rushing into the building. He was soon met by two other Buni Knights, who escorted him up to the private office of the Almighty Bunny, Ruler of the Boneilan Empire. When they entered, the Almighty Bunny rose to greet them, and the General then handed the package to the Almighty Bunny. After carefully removing its thermobaric regulator packaging, revealing the package to be a brown box, he placed the box in front of a galanetcam, showing its rather interesting (for a Bouneye at least) label. Off-camera, the Almighty Bunny began to speak. Almighty Bunny: The winners of the aforepromised Busscastle Chocolates are: alerules (1 box) Fox (1 box) NMUSpidey (1 box) escilnavia (1 box) emperordaniel (1 box) Builder5000 (1 box) T-Tail Productions (1 box) Bugs Bunny (1 box) Lot Creator (1 box) redrummage (1 box) joe55 (2 boxes for being the 100th commenter) Schulmanator (1 box) Skyscraper241 (1 box) Mastof (1 box) StanislavSoltys (1 box) 111222333444 (1 box) joedavis (1 box) usfighter15 (1 box) Rewright (1 box) Lyhoko Leaci (1 box) 9988 (1 box) The Almighty Bunny paused for a moment, and then continued. Almighty Bunny: The remaining 13 boxes will be auctioned off for charity, the proceeds going to aid kittens affected by the ongoing Queensferry War. As chocolates are still a novelty here on Boneila, I am certain that they will fetch very high prices- Do I get a chocolate? Almighty Bunny: Wha...? What are you doing in here? Pinkie Pie: I was looking for kumquats and pickle barrels! Do you have any kumquat orchards here? How about pickle barrels? I love the sound of kumquats so much, I'd love to work in a kumquat orchard just so I could say "kumquat" all day long! Repeat after me! Kumqua- Almighty Bunny: *hastily* Computer, MUTE AUDIO! *six minutes later* Almighty Bunny: As I was saying, we were going to auction 13 boxes of chocolate, but unfortunately, we "lost" one box, so we now have only twelve to sell. Anyways, Kalisnith to you all, and good night! General Suoivergasun: Your Furregal Majesty, what was that strange pink creature? Almighty Bunny: You really wanna know? Computer, end transmission. - 15
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Stuyvesande Herald #3: The colony grows
NEW AMSTERDAM 1625 - Live is good in Stuyvesande and many more colonists have arrived from the Old World. Hundreds of farmers have spread into the nearby regions and several farming villages have sprouted to support the growing needs of New Amsterdam. East of New Amsterdam we'll find the village of Den Bosch. North of New Amsterdam we'll find the village of Amstelveen In both villages you can see they've been build quite similar in layout to a lot of villages in the Netherlands in long stretches along a main road. The surrounding fields are separated with rows of trees. New Amsterdam is growing fast and clearly will be the capital of the New World. 'The Church' in the Netherlands has sponsored the congregation in New Amsterdam and the small church has been replaced with a grand Cathedral. Much like its old world counterpart, Amsterdam, the town center is surrounded by Canals. - 3
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The First Satellite Photo from Palm Island!
Palm Island is the Aquamarina Atoll's most advanced, and beautiful island. The capital of the Atoll, Citrus City, takes up the entire island with the exception of the steep cliffs that lead up to the peak of Mt. Billow, an active Pacific volcano. - 2
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7/11/22 Attack on Manhattan!
--BREAKING NEWS-- major and new york people shocked by today terrorist attack on the new One World Trade Centre. the attack is once again similar to the 9/11 plane hijack. locals said, that on 1120 hrs, an united airlines airbus coming along from west side of manhattan directly hit the building of One WTC and cause serious damage to the building. this attack is even bigger than in 2001 because of the size of the plane crashed. until now, casualties couldn't be confirmed. sim city news report. -- the plane come in fast from the west island. closing in just in seconds. hit the One WTC hard. One WTC on fire, NYFD in a quick response to save civilians and clear surroundings, learning from the past. the 2013 new One WTC incredibly stronger, but due to mass of an airbus a330, this building cannot make it out. luckily that's just happening in my sim world, 7/11 (lol) enjoy, and thanks for watching my CJ! - 6
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Pit Stop
Welcome to the Highway 15 Pit Stop! Its been a long time since I've posted another city journal, my computer is still not functioning 100% and school has been VERY challenging. Over the last week, decided to make a forested highway pitstop, so I hope you like it. (I'll keep talking to a minimum) Hope you like this entry! - 17
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You Humble Son of a Joe
Yea, wild name, I know. It's a long yet not so long story if ya know what I mean. Here is the flagship city in all of its glory! Long live that Humble son of a Joe! Broad view of the city. City center. West side suburbs with the East West Commuter Rail. -
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Rumors Fly About New County Parkway
Lately, there's been alot of talking about a possible new parkway in Stanley County. This parkway, if the rumors are correct, would begin in Dubh off of Route 517, and wrap around Peak - Valley BLVD, the main road shared by Valley and Peak City, go through unclaimed land, and turn into a road into a neighboring county. This means it could possibly loop back into Route 517. The Stanley County Department of Road Travel (SCDRT) has said that it will have a press conference soon to address these rumors... **The area causing a massive amount of speculation about the possible highway project in Dubh, Stanley County**- Read More
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Picture Gallery of my completed city
After about a year of play time on and off I have finally completed my city. I achieved my goals of constructing the Chrysler, Empire State buildings and Football Stadium megastructures but I could not entirely fill the map due to my system bogging down under the intense strain the simulation was generating. Too bad the game only can use 1 cpu core. I never thought I would enjoy this game more than Sim City 4 but I really did have many hours of fun creating this huge metropolis. It's amazing to see the finished product after all the work that went into it. It took so long becuase I like to micromanage every detail about how the city is layed out. I only started to use the auto-zoning tools near the end so I think the city has a unique and realisitic look. Hope you enjoy the picture gallery and thanks for checking out my journal. See the pic gallery here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150463942552285.359232.539127284&type=3&l=bfb892cf28- Read More
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Total City Journals3,963
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Total Entries22,822
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By TogaMasterJohn · Posted:
Yay! It's back! Alas, like Tamijo, I can't remember what I voted for the first time around! Thank you for providing a brief summary of the highlights; that made it easier to sort of remember things! I had fun looking at all of the neat pictures again, too. -
@Tyberius06
@monicadm
@TheMurderousCricket
@ilikehotdogsalot
@911Diva Thank you all very much for your kind comments! -
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That's a lot of industry! Im curious, where are the commercial zones in the city? I couldn't spot them. -
By ilikehotdogsalot · Posted:
Lovely airport! Nice to see Pan Am made a comeback in your city! -
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By Tyberius06 · Posted:
Very cool images and nicely designed airport! Great work! -
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