Cowtown vs. Corporate City? Weird Wins....
A letter that appeared in the website NextCity recently touched on the topic of livability in Dallas and Fort Worth. It gave me some sense of amusement because, while feeding the rivalry and pitting one against the other, the real envy was revealed to be aimed at Austin, where weird is king.
Lost in the Aisles
Sitting at breakfast over a bowl of banana oatmeal and a glass of lemon tea, I ponder the nature of convenience and processed food. How long did it take me to boil my oats and add the milk and banana? How long to boil my tea leaves and squeeze a fresh lime into the glass? Surely not much longer than the minute it takes me to clean the mess up afterwards. Why do I care? Partly because it takes about 32 times more energy to make a pound of breakfast cereal than a pound of flour from the same wheat....
We Are Home
The topic was immigration. Limbaugh's comment was along the lines of: in the late 19th and early 20th century, immigrants came to America to be Americans and take on the American culture. Today immigrants are different. We can't speak for everyone, now or then, but generally, it's just not true. Back then they had German churches and Irish churches. Some churches with multiple ethnic populations had two floors—and then they argued about who got the level closer to God. Some churches still offer mass in several European languages. School was also taught in multiple languages.
We All Depend on the Kindness of Strangers
Occasionally I try to point out to people how many daily interactions involve trust. When we're served food in the restaurant, we trust that neither the chef nor the waiter has spat on it. We trust that car drivers won't speed up to hit us as we cross the street (or, depending on where we live, we expect them to do precisely that!). We trust the bus driver not to drive like a maniac....
05/03: Guerrilla Gardening in South-Central Los Angeles
05/01: Latest Los Angeles Street Opening to Feature City's Art & Architecture
04/26: Even in LA....
04/18: Driving's Popularity Collapsing....
04/14: Walls and Wattage
03/15: SCN Editor Wins eByline Grant to Study Freight Transport in Los Angeles
03/12: Going Bananas
03/03: The Kindest Cut
02/23: Vintage Style Ride in Chicago on April 21st
02/05: Big Box Development Costs Cities Money
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