where can we go without wheels?

Recently I came across an article, by Robert Sullivan, in the Sept. '06 Dwell magazine, that captures one of the underlying reasons for my growing unease in most American cities.

"This is where you feel like, if you're not in your car, you're making a mistake"

We have all felt it. It starts out with a small, nagging that you might have done something wrong. You ask yourself, "Should I really be here?" I realize now what I couldn't put my finger on before. The reason I feel out of place in so many places is that there just isn't any infrastructure for a pedestrian. Since when did a pedestrian need infrastructure to get around. I am on foot, for goodness sakes. But that is exactly what it is. Every thing is set up for the car. Even going from one strip mall to another on foot feels like ducking under the rope at a ski resort and heading for an adventure in the back-country.
When did this happen? At what point did it become easier to drive 100 yards than to walk? The exception is no longer where the sidewalk ends, but the existence of a side walk at all.
I know I am not alone in my dismay at this situation. One of my favorite authors, Orson Scott Card, has mentioned this a couple of times on his blog. Whether it is poor planning, or no planning, I don't know. Either way it needs to be corrected. The question is, how? How do I (unarguably, one of the little people) help push development to be more pedestrian friendly?
This moves a bit away from the purpose of my other writings here, so I will just list a few links and be done with it. Before I leave this topic, however, I would like to say that I think the first step for all of us is simple. We have to be aware of the problem. Take notice as you move about your city. Ask your friends if they have felt the same. Let me know what you think.

In the doldrums

So I haven't been really captured by any book recently. I guess some men experience ED during times of stress (we just moved and changed jobs); I, on the other hand, get stuck with a case of RD, Reading Disruption. Too bad Pfizer doesn't have some version of Literary Viagra that would have me fully engrossed in a book regardless of its merit. My problem certainly doesn't stem from lack of trying. I got my new library card on the second day in our new city. We have only been here two weeks and I already have late fees. I got magazines, books (fiction and non), music CD's, and audiobooks. All this and nothing but a sense of blah.

The only periods of reading excitement around here is during my 4 year old son's bed time. He discovered Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot vs. The Stupid Stinkbugs from Saturn by Dav Pikley. It is number six in a series that has various antagonists (Jurassic Jackrabbits, Uranium Unicorns, Mecha-Monkeys) emerging from the different planets (Jupiter, Uranus, Mars). If nothing else, he has learned alliteration. During the battle with the Stinkbugs my son quivers with excitement and usually ends up making the sound effects for the punching and kicking. It reminds me of my memory of the first time I saw Karate Kid when I was twelve. I couldn't help but reenact the final scene over and over again. How can I not read a book like that to my son.

The family mooch

While in college I discover, much to my dismay, I was known as the family mooch. Other than a propensity for hitting up siblings for a donout anytime we passed the bakery I was confused by this designation. I certainly didn't think of myself as a mooch and I couldn't think of any specific examples (ignoring my previously mentioned fondness for donuts) of excessive freeloading to justify the label.


All that is about to change. I just ran across a posting on Lifehacker.com about bookMooch. Not only is the concept of giving new life to books I have already enjoyed a great one, but the artwork on the site by Andrice Arp reminds be of how I like to play with my kids (throwing them around, watching them run away, throwing them around some more). Check it out.

Back from a not so brief hiatus

So..[awkward pause]..I am back. We are in the process of a move and my wife and I have been going through all our collected memories and keepsakes trying to cull out all the junk. We came to the conclusion that it is pretty much all junk but we still couldn't throw most of it out. Instead, we spent way too much time reading letters and diary entries from our high school years to each other and laughing about how melodramatic we were as teenagers. I would quote from some of the letters, but despite being over-the-top funny they were written with sincerity and I would feel like a betrayer of trust to put it out there for ridicule. I don't mind putting myself out there for mocking fun, but generally I will refrain from putting other out for the same treatment (unless it is really, really funny or the letter was from one of my wife's old boyfriends). Back to the point you didn't know I was trying to make; many of these letters open with some variation of the line. "Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote." Or something like that. The very monotony of these apologies grated on me. I wanted to write back and say, "Who expects prompt correspondence from highschoolers, stop apologizing and tell me what's going on!" Of course, these letters were all written more than a decade ago and any response from me at this point would just be confusing.
Basically, this whole anecdote has been a round about way of saying that I won't apologize for being gone. Instead, I will just get back to the reason for being here...writing about books.

Thud! was the first book by Terry Pratchett I read and I really liked it. Humorous and surprisingly timely social commentary for a book populated by dwarfs, trolls, vampires, and the like. I now seem to be working my way backwards through his books. I read Going Postal and it was a pleasure. A compelling story of a confidence man put in charge invigorating the defunct postal service. A few laugh out load moments, but many quiet smiles. I know the writing is good when I find myself reading paragraphs out load to my wife. There is a particularly good dig at the word "synergistically" that should be read by all management consultants. The main character is complaining about the antagonist's use of language...

"It was garbage, but it had been cooked by an expert. Oh, yes. You had to admire the way perfectly innocent words were muged, ravished, stripped of all true meaning and decency, and then sent to walk the gutter for Reacher Gilt, although "synergistically" had probably been a whore from the start."

Both books I would recommend without reservation.

Head for the hills...

When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance and Planetary Survival is a guilty pleasure in End-of-Civilization day dreaming. All sorts of good advice for when the excrimate hits the fan. Every thing from hunting animals to making soap is covered. As a suppliment to the shelter section I recommend Rustic Retreats : A Build-It-Yourself Guide by David Stiles. The illustrations are just enough to fuel the immagination.