My latest favorite publication is a magazine called Good [www.good.is] I was introduced to it by my dad over the holiday and I have nothing but, er, good things to say about it. It's not preachy, it's not self-indulgent, and it's not boring- unlike Adbusters, which is good, but a little self-righteous at times and often suffers from a coherent theme other than the fact that apparently Americans and capitalism suck. Good's format, however, is well-thought out and the articles enticing. Highly recommended.
While reading through Good's 14th issue (January/February 2009) I came across an interesting article by a Mr. Bryan Walsh entitled, "2009 List: Cleaning House," which noted as #7-
"End of Ethanol
Corn ethanol always had more to do with politics than the environment, and the sudden crash in corn prices and bad press for biofuels could finally wipe out ethanol. Thankfully, another fuel is ready to take its place: algae. The upshot? It doesn't compete with food for fuel, and can be raised just about anywhere." (Walsh, 59)
-including the pool I swam in as a child with my best friend as we were adamant to go swimming. And a few weird green floaty fuzzy things in her pool were not going to deter us. And yes, it probably was as gross as it sounds. Ah the folly of youth!
So hurray new advances on the energy frontier! It's sorry to see corn go, but you win some, you lose some.
Also, algae as an energy form may sound familiar to my loyal readers, or at least those with photographic memories. Remember my blog about algae? If so, don't feel bad. I had to search my own blog to find the posting in which I had originally mentioned it. For the inquisitive it was on November 8th, 2008 "Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here"-
For more information on algae as a potential energy source and as cooking oil see Scientific American Earth 3.0's article, "Dark Horse: Oil from Algae" by David Biello http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biofuel-of-the-future
I am also a proud subscriber of Scientific American, but I have yet to receive my first issue. Oh well, still waiting on GQ too. . .
Saturday, January 3, 2009
A shout out to my peeps, or it's all in how you look at it
Having departed from the world of academia I know that if one is willing to dig deep enough one can find enough evidence to support any theory, no matter how crackpot it may be. I also know that if one does not do enough research on a subject one can walk away with too little information and come to an under-informed conclusion thinking it is grounded in fact.
The reason I bring this up is because one of my favorite planning magazines, Next American City [www.amerciancity.org] published an article in their 20th issue entitled, "Beijing's Olympic Problem: Too Much Seoul" written by a Mr. Josh Leon (pages 15-16), which included a misleading title. The article focused on the fact that in China's zeal to add all the bells and whistles to their hosting of the Olympic games they also undertook one of the biggest slum clearances since the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Unfortunately, or is it fortunately?, Mr. Leon only wrote two sentences on Seoul's slum clearing,
"A notorious slum clearance took place in Seoul, Korea, in advance of the 1988 summer games. To accommodate the flood of international visitors, 720,000 people were relocated, one of the largest urban dislocations up to that time." (Leon, 16)
The rest of the article centered on China and other places that are or have displaced its low-income residents for various reasons.
I take issue with Mr. Leon's title because some people who may read this article may not undertake additional research to see what else Seoul has done since displacing over 700,000 of its residents in a misguided urban housekeeping effort.
[disclaimer: I am adopted from South Korea, as is my brother, so this isn't based entirely on objective journalism. But I don't automatically identify myself as Korean-American or even Asian. Some days I'm surprised to see almond-shaped eyes staring back at me.]
I admit that the title Mr. Leon concoted is amusing with its pun on the word "soul", but it is also distressing, because in the 14th issue January/February 2009 of Good magazine [http://www.good.is/] there were two separate articles which mentioned environmental advances in Seoul. In "Mayoral Fixation" by Benjamin Jervey it was cited that Seoul's mayor, Oh Se-Hoon "wants to turn his city into the world's first truly environmentally megacity. He also tirelessly vouches for- and drinks only- local tap water, urging residents to do the same." (Jervey, 21)
The article "Here to There" by Laura Kiniry cited the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project, which "through an ambitious two-year plan completed in 2005, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project replaced the city's most heavily trafficked roadway- the remains of which were later recycled- with a five-mile-long, 1,000 acre park that attracts both wildlife and people." (Kiniry, 70)
So in the end things balance out. I'm not condoning slum clearances in any way, but I also don't think that a city should be permanently marked for its past mistakes. Here's to balanced journalism!
The reason I bring this up is because one of my favorite planning magazines, Next American City [www.amerciancity.org] published an article in their 20th issue entitled, "Beijing's Olympic Problem: Too Much Seoul" written by a Mr. Josh Leon (pages 15-16), which included a misleading title. The article focused on the fact that in China's zeal to add all the bells and whistles to their hosting of the Olympic games they also undertook one of the biggest slum clearances since the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Unfortunately, or is it fortunately?, Mr. Leon only wrote two sentences on Seoul's slum clearing,
"A notorious slum clearance took place in Seoul, Korea, in advance of the 1988 summer games. To accommodate the flood of international visitors, 720,000 people were relocated, one of the largest urban dislocations up to that time." (Leon, 16)
The rest of the article centered on China and other places that are or have displaced its low-income residents for various reasons.
I take issue with Mr. Leon's title because some people who may read this article may not undertake additional research to see what else Seoul has done since displacing over 700,000 of its residents in a misguided urban housekeeping effort.
[disclaimer: I am adopted from South Korea, as is my brother, so this isn't based entirely on objective journalism. But I don't automatically identify myself as Korean-American or even Asian. Some days I'm surprised to see almond-shaped eyes staring back at me.]
I admit that the title Mr. Leon concoted is amusing with its pun on the word "soul", but it is also distressing, because in the 14th issue January/February 2009 of Good magazine [http://www.good.is/] there were two separate articles which mentioned environmental advances in Seoul. In "Mayoral Fixation" by Benjamin Jervey it was cited that Seoul's mayor, Oh Se-Hoon "wants to turn his city into the world's first truly environmentally megacity. He also tirelessly vouches for- and drinks only- local tap water, urging residents to do the same." (Jervey, 21)
The article "Here to There" by Laura Kiniry cited the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project, which "through an ambitious two-year plan completed in 2005, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project replaced the city's most heavily trafficked roadway- the remains of which were later recycled- with a five-mile-long, 1,000 acre park that attracts both wildlife and people." (Kiniry, 70)
So in the end things balance out. I'm not condoning slum clearances in any way, but I also don't think that a city should be permanently marked for its past mistakes. Here's to balanced journalism!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Crash Course in Poli-Sci and Oil, or Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
I confess to having a very limited interest in global politics and have usually relied on Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart for most of my news updates. Granted, neither one of them are terribly academic in nature. But when it comes to bad news I'll take mine with a little snark instead of the regular news, which makes me want to hide under my bed and never face the real world again.
Like many people if you want to get me interested in a subject that usually doesn't impact my daily living, get someone famous to shine a spotlight on it and then my interest may be sparked. Therefore, in my random thoughts I was thinking of Forest Whitaker, the critically acclaimed actor of many roles from the Crying Game to the Last King of Scotland. And while thinking of the Last King of Scotland I had been thinking of despots and dictators and how on earth do some of these guys get away with their iron fist-like rulings with nary a trace of a velvet glove? I suppose nukes and big scary guys with Uzis help one stay on top.
In my limited way I know that part of the problem we have with our oil crisis is because several of the countries that are plentiful in oil and also are our suppliers are not exactly run by Mr. Rogers.
These countries, also, ironically, also can have incredibly poor/unempowered populations despite rulers who sit on pillows made of virgin unicorns or whatever is outrageous these days at Dictator Decor. But why do the people let this happen?! I pondered this without a great desire to research it.
Luckily, Friedman, the astute foreign news correspondent supplied me with an answer as I was finishing the World is Flat. Now I don't have to get a degree in poli-sci just to get an answer to one question. I hope you find this interesting, if not vaguely troubling, too.
Again: all words are from Friedman, from his 2005 edition of the World is Flat.
"the Curse of Oil"
"Nothing has contributed more to retarding the emergence of a democratic context in places like Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran that the curse of oil.
As long as monarchs and dictators who run these oil states can get rich by drilling their natural resources- as opposed to drilling the natural talents and energy of their people- they can stay in office forever.
They can use oil money to monopolize all the instruments of power- army, policy, and intelligence- and never have to introduce real transparency or power sharing.
All they have to do is capture and hold the oil tap. They never have to tax their people, so the relationship between ruler and ruled is highly distorted.
Without taxation, there is no representation. The rulers don't really have to pay attention to the people or explain how they are spending their money- because they have not raised that money through taxes.
That is why countries focused on tapping their oil wells always have weak or nonexistent institutions. Countries focused on tapping their people have to focus on developing real institutions, property rights, rule of law, independent courts, modern education, foreign trade, foreign investment, freedom of thought, and scientific enquiry to get the most out of their men and women." (460-461)
Like many people if you want to get me interested in a subject that usually doesn't impact my daily living, get someone famous to shine a spotlight on it and then my interest may be sparked. Therefore, in my random thoughts I was thinking of Forest Whitaker, the critically acclaimed actor of many roles from the Crying Game to the Last King of Scotland. And while thinking of the Last King of Scotland I had been thinking of despots and dictators and how on earth do some of these guys get away with their iron fist-like rulings with nary a trace of a velvet glove? I suppose nukes and big scary guys with Uzis help one stay on top.
In my limited way I know that part of the problem we have with our oil crisis is because several of the countries that are plentiful in oil and also are our suppliers are not exactly run by Mr. Rogers.
These countries, also, ironically, also can have incredibly poor/unempowered populations despite rulers who sit on pillows made of virgin unicorns or whatever is outrageous these days at Dictator Decor. But why do the people let this happen?! I pondered this without a great desire to research it.
Luckily, Friedman, the astute foreign news correspondent supplied me with an answer as I was finishing the World is Flat. Now I don't have to get a degree in poli-sci just to get an answer to one question. I hope you find this interesting, if not vaguely troubling, too.
Again: all words are from Friedman, from his 2005 edition of the World is Flat.
"the Curse of Oil"
"Nothing has contributed more to retarding the emergence of a democratic context in places like Venezuela, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran that the curse of oil.
As long as monarchs and dictators who run these oil states can get rich by drilling their natural resources- as opposed to drilling the natural talents and energy of their people- they can stay in office forever.
They can use oil money to monopolize all the instruments of power- army, policy, and intelligence- and never have to introduce real transparency or power sharing.
All they have to do is capture and hold the oil tap. They never have to tax their people, so the relationship between ruler and ruled is highly distorted.
Without taxation, there is no representation. The rulers don't really have to pay attention to the people or explain how they are spending their money- because they have not raised that money through taxes.
That is why countries focused on tapping their oil wells always have weak or nonexistent institutions. Countries focused on tapping their people have to focus on developing real institutions, property rights, rule of law, independent courts, modern education, foreign trade, foreign investment, freedom of thought, and scientific enquiry to get the most out of their men and women." (460-461)
No cuts, no takebacks!
It's no secret that the U.S. is losing footing as the world's super power and there are many other countries that have lived in our shadow that are eager to gain a bigger slice of the prosperity pie.
While this is hardly good news for us, it does have numerous implications. One of them is that this presumably everyone wants the same technology goodies and gadgets that we enjoy. Who wouldn't want an ipod? Or even a microwave! A car, indoor plumbing, etc., In turn, this means higher energy consumption, and potential energy shortages, crises and even war over energy.
This is another topic that I have previously commented on. But again I found an interesting tidbit on potential preventative conflict-resolution from the most unlikely of sources- Dell Computers.
The theory is proposed by Thomas Friedman, in his work the World is Flat, but it based on the Dell model of business. Friedman calls it "the Dell Theory."
"The Dell Theory stipulates: no two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain, like Dell's, will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chain. Because people embedded in major global supply chains don't want to fight old-time wars anymore {Friedman would know- he is a foreign news correspondent} They want to make just-in-time deliveries of goods and services- and enjoy the rising standards of living that come with that. . . (421) It is one thing to lose your McDonald's [in a developing nation]. It is quite another to fight a war that costs you your place in a twenty-first century supply chain that may not come back around for a long time." (425) (all quotes taken from the 2005 edition of the World is Flat by Thomas Friedman)
Just like when we were children with a very defined inherent sense of fairness and justice, we wouldn't allow somebody to cut in front of us in the lunch line or take back the toy they had just offered to us it seems equally unlikely that the rest of the world will be sympathetic to an upstart nation who thinks that the only way to get ahead is to throw a tantrum or discharge a nuke at its nearest offending neighbor.
This may not prove to be infallibly true, but just like children, nobody wants to play with the selfish brat.
While this is hardly good news for us, it does have numerous implications. One of them is that this presumably everyone wants the same technology goodies and gadgets that we enjoy. Who wouldn't want an ipod? Or even a microwave! A car, indoor plumbing, etc., In turn, this means higher energy consumption, and potential energy shortages, crises and even war over energy.
This is another topic that I have previously commented on. But again I found an interesting tidbit on potential preventative conflict-resolution from the most unlikely of sources- Dell Computers.
The theory is proposed by Thomas Friedman, in his work the World is Flat, but it based on the Dell model of business. Friedman calls it "the Dell Theory."
"The Dell Theory stipulates: no two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain, like Dell's, will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chain. Because people embedded in major global supply chains don't want to fight old-time wars anymore {Friedman would know- he is a foreign news correspondent} They want to make just-in-time deliveries of goods and services- and enjoy the rising standards of living that come with that. . . (421) It is one thing to lose your McDonald's [in a developing nation]. It is quite another to fight a war that costs you your place in a twenty-first century supply chain that may not come back around for a long time." (425) (all quotes taken from the 2005 edition of the World is Flat by Thomas Friedman)
Just like when we were children with a very defined inherent sense of fairness and justice, we wouldn't allow somebody to cut in front of us in the lunch line or take back the toy they had just offered to us it seems equally unlikely that the rest of the world will be sympathetic to an upstart nation who thinks that the only way to get ahead is to throw a tantrum or discharge a nuke at its nearest offending neighbor.
This may not prove to be infallibly true, but just like children, nobody wants to play with the selfish brat.
What a Skyline Can Tell Us About a City
I'm a sucker for after-season savings and I was leafing through the calendars for 2009, at, where else Barnes and Noble? and found a calendar that depicted famous city skylines- Los Angeles, Dubai, Stockholm etc.,
As I was admiring the glittering towers I thought of another passage from the World is Flat by Friedman that was truly, pardon the pun, illuminating.
Friedman was speaking with a hedge fund manager named Dinakar Singh. Mr. Singh used to live in India and had returned for a business trip.
"I was on the sixth floor of a hotel in New Delhi," Mr. Singh recalled, "and when I looked out the window I could see for miles. How come? Because you do not have assured power in Delhi for elevators, so there are not many tall buildings." No sensible investor would want to build a tall building in a city where the power could go out at any moment and you might have to walk up twenty flights of stairs. The result is more urban sprawl and an inefficient use of space." (the World is Flat, 2005 edition, 329)
Expounding upon this, Friedman mentioned a trip he took to Dalian, [northeastern] China, which had been so completely transformed by all of the new modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers that had sprung up since the last time he visited, which was only one year ago, that he barely recognized the place.
Friedman had also been to Cairo in the summer of 1974 when "the three most prominent buildings in the city were the Nile Hilton, the Cairo Tower, and the Egyptian TV building. Thirty years later, in 2004, they are still the most prominent buildings there; the Cairo skyline has barely changed. . . So in Delhi, you can see forever. In Cairo, the skyline seems forever the same. In China, if you miss visiting a city for a year, it's like you haven't been there in forever." (329-330)
Three disparate cities, all of which have a sizable stake in the world playing field, but each which takes an individual approach to urban planning based on their resources. Fascinating.
As I was admiring the glittering towers I thought of another passage from the World is Flat by Friedman that was truly, pardon the pun, illuminating.
Friedman was speaking with a hedge fund manager named Dinakar Singh. Mr. Singh used to live in India and had returned for a business trip.
"I was on the sixth floor of a hotel in New Delhi," Mr. Singh recalled, "and when I looked out the window I could see for miles. How come? Because you do not have assured power in Delhi for elevators, so there are not many tall buildings." No sensible investor would want to build a tall building in a city where the power could go out at any moment and you might have to walk up twenty flights of stairs. The result is more urban sprawl and an inefficient use of space." (the World is Flat, 2005 edition, 329)
Expounding upon this, Friedman mentioned a trip he took to Dalian, [northeastern] China, which had been so completely transformed by all of the new modern glass-and-steel skyscrapers that had sprung up since the last time he visited, which was only one year ago, that he barely recognized the place.
Friedman had also been to Cairo in the summer of 1974 when "the three most prominent buildings in the city were the Nile Hilton, the Cairo Tower, and the Egyptian TV building. Thirty years later, in 2004, they are still the most prominent buildings there; the Cairo skyline has barely changed. . . So in Delhi, you can see forever. In Cairo, the skyline seems forever the same. In China, if you miss visiting a city for a year, it's like you haven't been there in forever." (329-330)
Three disparate cities, all of which have a sizable stake in the world playing field, but each which takes an individual approach to urban planning based on their resources. Fascinating.
A sense of place, a sense of place, a loss of sensation in one's extremities: a review of Michael Perry's Truck: a Love Story
Usually I reserve my postings for subjects that are "strictly" urban planning in nature. But I have recently returned from the Midwest, where I spent the majority of my childhood and it has given me cause for reflection for what it means to live there.
The majority of the Midwest is not really known for monumental urban planning projects. With the exception of the major cities, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Madison, and Milwaukee, not a lot of earth-shattering and uprooting change goes on in the sleepy towns of the heartland. My grandparents' town of Marshfield, WI put in a new bridge/overpass a few years ago and it still confuses people, especially those of us who don't visit as often as we'd like.
This does not mean that I consider big cities superior to their smaller counterparts in any way. Not at all. I will say that there is more that appeals to me in a big city that a small town cannot offer. But when the hub-bub of big city living grinds me down it's nice to know that there's a quiet place that I can go where I won't be judged on my musical knowledge, or lack thereof,
worry about getting mugged, missing the last train home, etc.,
As we were driving from St. Paul, Minnesota to Marshfield, Wisconsin- very over the hills and through the woods- (the Jeep knows the way to carry the sleigh?) I thought of a rather touching memoir that I had read. It is called Truck: a Love Story by a Mr. Michael Perry, who also wrote Population: 485. My dad had given Truck to me for Christmas last year and at first I had to feign enthusiasm. If he thought that I was going to read a self-indulgent memoir about a redneck and his joyous adventures overhauling his beloved Chevy while telling jokes of dubious taste he had another thing coming.
However, my dad has rather good, though eccentric, taste and this work was nothing like what the cover implied. I love memoirs and this book did not break my faith in the genre.
Mr. Perry lives in the tiny town of New Auburn, Wisconsin, population 485, like Mr. Perry's work implies, not exactly a happenin' metropolis and is just as cold as Minneapolis, hence my title alluding to the loss of feeling in one's fingers and toes :-) But Mr. Perry gives his real-life characters a tangible sense of grace and dignity as they go about their modest lives. Based on the inside cover flap author pix Brad Pitt does not have to worry about anyone stealing his position of first place for best lookin'. But Mr. Perry what may lack in conventional good looks, he makes up for in talent, capturing small town living with a certain eloquence.
His story centers around a year in his life as he does indeed try to restore his beloved rust bucket of a truck despite limited mechanical knowledge. But it is much more than that. He tries to grow his own vegetables- no small feat in a state that is not sympathetic to amateur gardeners, overcome the visual discrimination he receives outside of small town living where everyone tends to be a little scruffy around the edges, and even falls in love.
We drove through many small towns like New Auburn, and I'm sure I've driven through New Auburn itself on numerous occasions without a thought as to what it is like living there. I grew up in towns of modest size, about 35-38,000 people and I plan to live in a suburb of L.A., hopefully Santa Monica, in the future. And while the prospect of living in a town that has a population smaller than my high school secretly horrifies me, Truck shows me that home is really where the heart is even if they don't have a Barnes and Noble within reasonable driving distance ;-) Size a home does not make. It is where you love and are loved.
On that note, if you need me I'll be rereading Truck and the simple joys and frustrations of small town living it revels in. Best to you dear reader in this new year.
The majority of the Midwest is not really known for monumental urban planning projects. With the exception of the major cities, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Madison, and Milwaukee, not a lot of earth-shattering and uprooting change goes on in the sleepy towns of the heartland. My grandparents' town of Marshfield, WI put in a new bridge/overpass a few years ago and it still confuses people, especially those of us who don't visit as often as we'd like.
This does not mean that I consider big cities superior to their smaller counterparts in any way. Not at all. I will say that there is more that appeals to me in a big city that a small town cannot offer. But when the hub-bub of big city living grinds me down it's nice to know that there's a quiet place that I can go where I won't be judged on my musical knowledge, or lack thereof,
worry about getting mugged, missing the last train home, etc.,
As we were driving from St. Paul, Minnesota to Marshfield, Wisconsin- very over the hills and through the woods- (the Jeep knows the way to carry the sleigh?) I thought of a rather touching memoir that I had read. It is called Truck: a Love Story by a Mr. Michael Perry, who also wrote Population: 485. My dad had given Truck to me for Christmas last year and at first I had to feign enthusiasm. If he thought that I was going to read a self-indulgent memoir about a redneck and his joyous adventures overhauling his beloved Chevy while telling jokes of dubious taste he had another thing coming.
However, my dad has rather good, though eccentric, taste and this work was nothing like what the cover implied. I love memoirs and this book did not break my faith in the genre.
Mr. Perry lives in the tiny town of New Auburn, Wisconsin, population 485, like Mr. Perry's work implies, not exactly a happenin' metropolis and is just as cold as Minneapolis, hence my title alluding to the loss of feeling in one's fingers and toes :-) But Mr. Perry gives his real-life characters a tangible sense of grace and dignity as they go about their modest lives. Based on the inside cover flap author pix Brad Pitt does not have to worry about anyone stealing his position of first place for best lookin'. But Mr. Perry what may lack in conventional good looks, he makes up for in talent, capturing small town living with a certain eloquence.
His story centers around a year in his life as he does indeed try to restore his beloved rust bucket of a truck despite limited mechanical knowledge. But it is much more than that. He tries to grow his own vegetables- no small feat in a state that is not sympathetic to amateur gardeners, overcome the visual discrimination he receives outside of small town living where everyone tends to be a little scruffy around the edges, and even falls in love.
We drove through many small towns like New Auburn, and I'm sure I've driven through New Auburn itself on numerous occasions without a thought as to what it is like living there. I grew up in towns of modest size, about 35-38,000 people and I plan to live in a suburb of L.A., hopefully Santa Monica, in the future. And while the prospect of living in a town that has a population smaller than my high school secretly horrifies me, Truck shows me that home is really where the heart is even if they don't have a Barnes and Noble within reasonable driving distance ;-) Size a home does not make. It is where you love and are loved.
On that note, if you need me I'll be rereading Truck and the simple joys and frustrations of small town living it revels in. Best to you dear reader in this new year.
Won't You Take Me to. . .Dinkytown?!
I hope that this first posting in the year 2009 finds you safe and well.
I myself have recently thawed out after visiting my parents in the great frozen state of Minnesota. And yes, it was as cold as it sounds.
Luckily, despite being a (second time around) California transplant, I spent the majority of my formative years in Wisconsin and therefore did not curl up in a little ball on the sidewalk, where I would undoubtedly have gotten stuck (think that flagpole licking scene in A Christmas Story) and whimpered like a little girl.
And it's a good thing too because had I not been made of hardier stock I would have missed my friend Petey's gracious tour of her stomping grounds of the Twin Cities.
Though my parents live in a rather nice suburb of St. Paul, I am unfamiliar with the layout of St. Paul and Minneapolis as they moved there after I had graduated from college. As far as I can ascertain, the two cities are several miles apart and are interconnected with many, many highways, which will also route you to the various suburbs that surround the major metropolises.
Petey is an architect and she knows that I am going for a master's urban planning so she tailored a comprehensive, but concise tour of her towns. For example, in some perverse trek to a structural engineering's Mecca, we drove over the I-35W bridge that had collapsed on August 1, 2007 and which has since been reconstructed. We were driving too fast and it was too late at night to admire the new details, but it was a sober reminder that civic improvements should never be neglected.
We also went to Dinkytown, which, according to Wikipedia, is an area within the Marcy Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis. Dinkytown can be found at 14th Avenue Southeast and 4th Street Southeast and is also part of the north side of UMinn's Twin Cities East Bank campus.
Full disclaimer: Dinkytown is not a slander against the hard-working Midwestern folk that live in that neighborhood, it is its official name and if you ever have a chance to go there, I strongly encourage it.
Not to sound like some pretentious new urbanist idiot but it is an "adorable" community- quiet streets lined with trees festooned with twinkle lights, cozy Mom and Pop shops and untouched, unscathed by Pottery Barn, Barnes and Noble, or Starbucks. More disclaimers are in order- if the IRS were to pull up my bank records they would see that the majority of my free money does go toward padding the coffers of Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. But even my favorite Saint Arbucks/Starshmucks and Noble Barn cannot compete with an old school used bookstore or coffee shop.
Tempting restaurants abound in Dinkytown and Petey and I caught up over perfectly chilled Strongbow ciders, the official drink of the Queen of Denmark (!), at the Kitty Club, or something like that, which is an awesome bar, not what you probably think the name implies.
Unfortunately, the Loring Pasta Bar (formerly Gray's Drug) was too crowded to eat at, which is a shame because Bob Dylan lived in that building. There is a mural dedicated to him around the corner from the visually spectacular Varsity Theater.
But I did indulge in my number one vice, used bookstores and purchased several works, including a work entitled, Cities & People by Mark Girouard, which will be reviewed in an upcoming blog. The fact that the publisher chose Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street: Rainy Day, for the cover, wins them extra points.
(it's the huge mid-19th century rainy day street scene that Ferris Bueller and friends stand in front of in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when they visit the Art Institute in Chicago. Yeah, yeah, once an art historian, always an art historian) ;-)>
[Unfortunately, my literary indulgence almost meant that I had to check a bag at United at the airport and pay their baggage fee lest I inadvertently tear my shoulder from its socket. Grrr.]
Starving, we then headed to downtown Minneapolis, which I had visited as a child. Upon my initial visit I had been enamored by the everpresent skywalks- enclosed glass and steel bridges that jut out from buildings like tree branches, allowing people to traverse from building to building without being exposed to the frigid weather. Still a genius idea as until global warming kicks into high gear Minneapolis is going to continue to be a frozen tundra in the dead of winter and the less exposure to the elements the better.
Petey knew of an excellent Irish pub, Kieran's (330 2nd Ave., Minneapolis) whose offerings did not fail to delight. I had a fork tender pot roast and she enjoyed a chicken pot pie with puff pastry crust. The music, was sadly, not anything resembling Irish folk or punk, instead we tuned out Fastball and other musical oddities.
Alas, I had a plane to board the next day and our fun had to end. I promised Petey that I would visit her when the weather is warmer and we could explore more. And as you know dear reader, a review of those adventures will be in order. In the meantime, if you have a chance to visit the Twin Cties, there is much in store for you too! Happy 2009!
I myself have recently thawed out after visiting my parents in the great frozen state of Minnesota. And yes, it was as cold as it sounds.
Luckily, despite being a (second time around) California transplant, I spent the majority of my formative years in Wisconsin and therefore did not curl up in a little ball on the sidewalk, where I would undoubtedly have gotten stuck (think that flagpole licking scene in A Christmas Story) and whimpered like a little girl.
And it's a good thing too because had I not been made of hardier stock I would have missed my friend Petey's gracious tour of her stomping grounds of the Twin Cities.
Though my parents live in a rather nice suburb of St. Paul, I am unfamiliar with the layout of St. Paul and Minneapolis as they moved there after I had graduated from college. As far as I can ascertain, the two cities are several miles apart and are interconnected with many, many highways, which will also route you to the various suburbs that surround the major metropolises.
Petey is an architect and she knows that I am going for a master's urban planning so she tailored a comprehensive, but concise tour of her towns. For example, in some perverse trek to a structural engineering's Mecca, we drove over the I-35W bridge that had collapsed on August 1, 2007 and which has since been reconstructed. We were driving too fast and it was too late at night to admire the new details, but it was a sober reminder that civic improvements should never be neglected.
We also went to Dinkytown, which, according to Wikipedia, is an area within the Marcy Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis. Dinkytown can be found at 14th Avenue Southeast and 4th Street Southeast and is also part of the north side of UMinn's Twin Cities East Bank campus.
Full disclaimer: Dinkytown is not a slander against the hard-working Midwestern folk that live in that neighborhood, it is its official name and if you ever have a chance to go there, I strongly encourage it.
Not to sound like some pretentious new urbanist idiot but it is an "adorable" community- quiet streets lined with trees festooned with twinkle lights, cozy Mom and Pop shops and untouched, unscathed by Pottery Barn, Barnes and Noble, or Starbucks. More disclaimers are in order- if the IRS were to pull up my bank records they would see that the majority of my free money does go toward padding the coffers of Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. But even my favorite Saint Arbucks/Starshmucks and Noble Barn cannot compete with an old school used bookstore or coffee shop.
Tempting restaurants abound in Dinkytown and Petey and I caught up over perfectly chilled Strongbow ciders, the official drink of the Queen of Denmark (!), at the Kitty Club, or something like that, which is an awesome bar, not what you probably think the name implies.
Unfortunately, the Loring Pasta Bar (formerly Gray's Drug) was too crowded to eat at, which is a shame because Bob Dylan lived in that building. There is a mural dedicated to him around the corner from the visually spectacular Varsity Theater.
But I did indulge in my number one vice, used bookstores and purchased several works, including a work entitled, Cities & People by Mark Girouard, which will be reviewed in an upcoming blog. The fact that the publisher chose Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street: Rainy Day, for the cover, wins them extra points.
(it's the huge mid-19th century rainy day street scene that Ferris Bueller and friends stand in front of in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when they visit the Art Institute in Chicago. Yeah, yeah, once an art historian, always an art historian) ;-)>
[Unfortunately, my literary indulgence almost meant that I had to check a bag at United at the airport and pay their baggage fee lest I inadvertently tear my shoulder from its socket. Grrr.]
Starving, we then headed to downtown Minneapolis, which I had visited as a child. Upon my initial visit I had been enamored by the everpresent skywalks- enclosed glass and steel bridges that jut out from buildings like tree branches, allowing people to traverse from building to building without being exposed to the frigid weather. Still a genius idea as until global warming kicks into high gear Minneapolis is going to continue to be a frozen tundra in the dead of winter and the less exposure to the elements the better.
Petey knew of an excellent Irish pub, Kieran's (330 2nd Ave., Minneapolis) whose offerings did not fail to delight. I had a fork tender pot roast and she enjoyed a chicken pot pie with puff pastry crust. The music, was sadly, not anything resembling Irish folk or punk, instead we tuned out Fastball and other musical oddities.
Alas, I had a plane to board the next day and our fun had to end. I promised Petey that I would visit her when the weather is warmer and we could explore more. And as you know dear reader, a review of those adventures will be in order. In the meantime, if you have a chance to visit the Twin Cties, there is much in store for you too! Happy 2009!
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