Word: cinder
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Eventually he decided to look for freedom in his own backyard. Literally. In 1978 he renovated the small Santa Monica house where he still lives with his second wife Berta, turning a conventional pink Dutch colonial into an explosion of cinder blocks, corrugated steel and chain link. It instantly became one of those places that some say is an icon and others an eyesore. But its picture appeared everywhere, and it put him on the map of cutting-edge architects. Not long after, he decided to follow his bliss and do only the kind of work he wanted...
...there any immaculate sorority houses with teddy bear wallpaper and plush pink carpets. And there are very few generic college dorms, with long communal hallways, box-like cinder block bedrooms and bathrooms shared by the entire floor...
...Students at other colleges, most of whom live in minuscule two-person boxers with cinder block walls and linoleum floors, tend to get jealous when they see pictures of elegant Harvard quarters. And with good reason. Harvard's dorms have some drawbacks, of course; students need to develop the stamina to climb stairs and a high tolerance for old architecture. But a housing system that involves working fireplaces, wooden floors, spacious rooms and beautiful landscaping isn't such a bad start to a Harvard career...
...dwell the SLIMES (subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems), unique assemblages of bacteria and fungi that occupy pores in the interlocking mineral grains of igneous rock and derive their energy from inorganic chemicals. The SLIMES are independent of the world above, so even if all of it were burned to a cinder, they would carry on and, given enough time, probably evolve new life-forms able to re-enter the world of air and sunlight...
...last week of spring semester, someone in my entryway had the good idea of buying a huge sheet of white newsprint and some magic markers so that we could create a lasting memorial to the odd experience of being freshmen together. We taped the paper up on the cinder-block wall just inside the doorway of Canaday A, and before long, nearly everyone had stopped by to leave some sort of mark...