Friends recently visited from Pittsburgh – a city I know well and am quite fond of. We spent time wandering around San Francisco doing the usual tourist things together including some museum stops that featured work by Pittsburgh native son Andy Warhol and a special exhibition of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch which was actually more … Continue reading MREs Are For Pussies
I’m regularly accused of being a doomer whenever I point out the obvious – that many aspects of how we’ve organized our affairs over the last several decades aren’t meant to last. So they won’t. The end of Jiffy Lube and Lean Cuisine won’t be The End. Civilization will carry on without them, I assure … Continue reading Postcards From the Zombie Apocalypse
There was a time not all that long ago when ordinary people built simple small scale mixed use buildings on Main Street in every little town in North America. This was completely normal. Of course the family that owns the corner grocery store lives upstairs. Dah. But we almost never see such structures built new … Continue reading The Stealth Triplex
I’m fond of describing Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns as my de facto secular parish priest – my consigliere. But I find myself drifting away from the flock and feel an obligation to articulate why. Perhaps in describing my concerns I can either be persuaded to fold back in, or at least give Chuck something to chew on … Continue reading An Open Letter To Chuck Marohn
I recently wrote about the need to embrace reality when it comes to land use regulation, culture, politics, and economics. My interpretation can seem a bit… dark. It’s not my intention to discourage people looking to make a positive difference in their communities. I’ve just seen how things tend to play out and the process … Continue reading Deep Ellum
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Marin County Civic Center has always been one of my favorite buildings. It isn’t simply the elegant structure that appeals to me, but rather the uncompromised expression of an entire era and its prevailing ethos. More than any other building this government complex embraces the optimistic spirit, technology, and economic dynamics of … Continue reading Yesterday’s Visions of Tomorrow
Granola Shotgun 