It seems that one of the casualties of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme was a couple who was attempting to achieve immortality through architecture. Yes, you read that right. The shocker here is not that Mr. Madoff stole their project's source of funding (that's so yesterday's news), it's that these two artists were - literally - trying to live forever by creating, and living in, houses with bizarre architectural features.
Their premise is that people die because they live too comfortably. So, the solution? Create houses and apartments that "leave people disoriented, challenged and feeling anything but comfortable." Their creations feature windows that are either too high or too low to see out of, floors comprised of a wavy, moon-like surface ("designed to throw occupants off balance") and rooms that are far apart. Seemingly guaranteed to make you trip and fall on that groggy 2AM bathroom run....
You have to see it to believe it:
I can't help but think of a very astute observation Pope Benedict said in his last encyclical, Spe Salvi:
"Perhaps many people reject the faith today simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive. What they desire is not eternal life at all, but this present life, for which faith in eternal life seems something of an impediment. [However,] to continue living for ever — endlessly — appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end — this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable."Eternal life in a carnival fun house like this might not be monotonous, but it would certainly be unbearable!
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