I am anxious about the title of this blog given that I don't know what it will really be about. I've been thinking up cute subtitles, too, such as 'reinventing the heel' which makes no sense whatsoever, and 'in dis place,' which makes even less.
Once I'd thought about entitling my blog "Spang: Saving the World One Crossword at a Time," but then I took part in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and had second thoughts. Plus who would ever Google 'spang'?
Monday, August 11, 2008
Introduction
I have many things on my mind.
For several years now, cars have been at the top of the list. I don't like them. For many reasons. The chances are that if you've found your way to my blog that you don't like them either so I probably don't need to explain to you why I don't like them. However, I am sure that the reasons will unfold as we go.
I moved to Miami at the end of June. Two months ago. I used to live in New York. Before that I lived in San Francisco, and before that I lived in New York again. New York is both a good place and a bad place for someone who hates cars. On one hand, it is a great place for getting around without a car. There is scarcely a corner of the city that is not accessible by foot, train, or bike. On the other hand, the sheer volume of humanity means that there is going to be competition for street space no matter what. I happened to live for the last six years in one of the most traffic-choked corridors in the entire city: Ninth Avenue, just north of the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel.
"Ah, Miami, what a wise move," I hear you say. I did it for love and the love part has been working out. But, as you may suspect, this is not an especially welcoming place to a person who likes to explore on foot. And my constitution prefers welcoming places. That will also, I am sure, unfold as we go along.
So I imagine this blog as an exploration of what happens when you take a person like me, with my particular predilections and my particular foibles, and plunk him down in a place like this, with its particular infrastructure and its particular mores. I make no guarantee that I will always write about transportation, though that is one of the things I spend much time thinking about. I also, however, think about love and friendship, simplicity and minimalism, economics and justice, the environment, language, and music. And we'll see what else...
For several years now, cars have been at the top of the list. I don't like them. For many reasons. The chances are that if you've found your way to my blog that you don't like them either so I probably don't need to explain to you why I don't like them. However, I am sure that the reasons will unfold as we go.
I moved to Miami at the end of June. Two months ago. I used to live in New York. Before that I lived in San Francisco, and before that I lived in New York again. New York is both a good place and a bad place for someone who hates cars. On one hand, it is a great place for getting around without a car. There is scarcely a corner of the city that is not accessible by foot, train, or bike. On the other hand, the sheer volume of humanity means that there is going to be competition for street space no matter what. I happened to live for the last six years in one of the most traffic-choked corridors in the entire city: Ninth Avenue, just north of the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel.
"Ah, Miami, what a wise move," I hear you say. I did it for love and the love part has been working out. But, as you may suspect, this is not an especially welcoming place to a person who likes to explore on foot. And my constitution prefers welcoming places. That will also, I am sure, unfold as we go along.
So I imagine this blog as an exploration of what happens when you take a person like me, with my particular predilections and my particular foibles, and plunk him down in a place like this, with its particular infrastructure and its particular mores. I make no guarantee that I will always write about transportation, though that is one of the things I spend much time thinking about. I also, however, think about love and friendship, simplicity and minimalism, economics and justice, the environment, language, and music. And we'll see what else...
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