Suffice to say the a/c guy did not come today. But luckily, it is cooler than it had been, which is good because I need all the energy that I can muster- as projects and assignments are raining down on me!
I have a pretty good idea/execution for assignment 1 for my history class. Just have to cut up the photos, layer some pieces on pieces of foamcore, print out some descriptors (as apparently we are not getting in front of the class and presenting them) and mount 'em. Eh- with the cats always climbing on the counters perhaps this is best saved for my bedroom @ 2 AM as it will be cooler there and I have no prior engagements in my bedroom at that time ;-)
We also have a group assignment for history, which should be an interesting collaboration as the people I am working with I don't know very well/haven't hung out with socially. As always, the terms of the assignment are a little vague. We are supposed to rewrite a community plan's history as
"A community's history, like a community plan, is a mosaic of planning concerns. It should consider transportation, economic development, social planning land use, and urban design issues from a historical perspective."
Um, OK. . . I guess write what a town's history should have been??? Rewrite history?
"The product will be a short history of 4-6 pages,. . .The brochure (I know, he went from product to brochure???) should have one-inch margins, have appropriate sources, and be effectively illustrated.
We were thinking that Detroit would be a great example, for reasons that are pretty self-explanatory. Despite its current sorry state, it does have a rich history- Jazz Age, Motown, a proud history of making America's cars (uh yeah. . .), still pretty good sports teams, etc.,
And of course the ever-present readings for Sustainable (Cities). Granted, we don't have class for two weeks, but I'd rather get it over with so that I can put a major dent in my reading for my papers that will be due a lot sooner than I'd like. Six weeks sounds so safe and far away and then the wolf is breathing down your neck! Actually, one of the papers isn't due until November 30th (!? wow that sounds like forever from now!), but still yipes!
I have been trying to save myself a little time by thinking of writing papers on subjects that would work well for both my Sustainable Cities class and my History class. Another post will discuss what I have been mulling over as potential theses.
Though, I do have to do a presentation for class on the 14th on the article, "Twenty-five Years of Sprawl in the Seattle Region: Growth Management Responses and Implications for Conservation" by: Lin Robinson, Joshua Newell, and John M. Marzluff, published in Landscape and Urban Planning, Issue 71, pages 51-72.
Years spent quivering and wondering what on earth was I doing in junior-high debate club has primed me for any public speaking engagement, but one time I do bow off practicing my presentation and I admit it wasn't as smooth as it could have been.
Oh yeah, and I'd like to at least start, the End of Energy Obesity by Peter Tertzakian and Peter Hollihan. Tertzakian also wrote A Thousand Barrels a Second, as we have to do a 10 minute review presentation on a selected book related to urban sustainability. Hm, breaking our ties with non-renewable energy should fit the bill. Just gotta read the sucker! It was/is a new book at the Santa Monica library, but it looked so interesting that I bought myself a copy on amazon.com- plus double points with my new credit card!
I have yet to receive my "legal" book for Legal Environment of Urban Planning, so I can't put any notes in there yet in anticipation of our open-book test. They have six weeks dang it! But I can type up summaries of the cases he has presented thus far. . .
I am a little tired of alternately standing and sitting on the barstool in the kitchen, which puts just enough pressure on the back of my thighs that I wonder if I could get a blood clot. Only 1 1/2 hrs. til tomorrow, add 8-10 hours for sleep, and then I shall hightail it to campus for some of that free a/c!
Perhaps I shall retire up to my room to continue my studies, if I crank the fan up to high and set it to oscillate I might live :P
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