Tag Archives: books

Scaling peaks of stone despite achy bones: A memoir and and an aspiration

I wish I had discovered my passion for peak hiking earlier in life. Not realizing it until my early 60s has left me with less time to explore summits than I would have preferred. Despite the delay, the rewards often … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, culture, deserts, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, family, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Love, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, psychology, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, visual pollution, walking, water, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two migration tales of strength, hardship, and tenacity

Far too often, certain pundits, politicos, and just plain bigots depict refugees and immigrants as criminals and/or parasites. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the vast majority of those people who are seeking a new life in another … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, charities, civility, culture, diversity, education, entertainment, family, film, government, history, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, Latin America, literature, movies, opinion, peace, politics, poverty, racism, Travel, Uncategorized, Welcome, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Living amid an “Ecology of Fear”

I recently read Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster by the late Mike Davis. It is an intriguing book that switches from whimsical to dark and foreboding at the turn of a page. In fact, the … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Africa, Animals, archaeology, art, Asia, book reviews, books, branding, business, Canada, Cars, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, climate, climate change, commerce, Communications, culture, demographics, density, diversity, economic development, economics, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, futurism, geography, Geology, government, Guns, Handguns, health, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, India, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, Latin America, literature, marketing, money, movies, music, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, pollution, poverty, psychology, racism, reading, Religion, revitalization, schools, Science, Science fiction, Sexism, Small business, social equity, Social media, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, theaters, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, unemployment, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, weather, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Celebrity bridges of the United States in pop culture

The following images and information identify 12 of the most well-known and recognizable “celebrity” bridges in the United States . These impressive structures have starred in a variety of pop culture media, including movies, documentaries, television and radio shows, books, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, advertising, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, books, branding, bridges, business, Cars, cartoons, cities, civics, commerce, Communications, culture, economic development, engineering, entertainment, film, fitness, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, movies, music, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, product design, psychology, recreation, scenic byways, Science fiction, skylines, songs, spatial design, Statistics, technology, Television, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, video, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three superb and fresh reads about Los Angeles

“These three books will certainly introduce readers to the width and breadth of mighty Los Angeles. If that entity, however you define it, resists a simple explanation, then so be it. For that may be one of the LA’s most endearing and enduring qualities.” Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, business, Cars, cities, culture, diversity, downtown, economics, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, government, Highway displacement, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, injustice, land use, literature, mountains, movies, Music, natural history, nature, new urbanism, placemaking, planning, pollution, racism, rail, recreation, Renewable Energy, revitalization, skylines, social equity, songs, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, sustainability, technology, Television, third places, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, trucking, urban design, urban planning, walking, weather, Wildlife, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding “Los Angeles” amid the aura of “LA”

Downtown Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background – Source: unsplash.com Every city is unique unto itself. Just like human beings, cities have their own character, appearance, identity, flaws, attributes, and aesthetics. As a result, no single … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, books, branding, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, engineering, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, film, fun, geography, highways, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, land use, literature, Love, mountains, movies, Music, nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, rail, Railroads, recreation, skylines, skyscrapers, songs, spatial design, sprawl, technology, Television, theaters, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Favorites of 2022 in entertainment

Here’s my list of the best for 2022. Enjoy! Most iconic moment in entertainment in 2022 Jenna Ortega’s dance scene in Wednesday – Thank goodness she helped put Will Smith’s unacceptable attack on Chris Rock in the rearview mirror and … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, Communications, culture, entertainment, film, fun, history, movies, music, music reviews, pictures, Radio, songs, spying, Television, theaters, video, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

15 years after the tornado – Planning lessons from Greensburg, Kansas

May 4, 2007, will always remain a pivotal day in the history of Greensburg, Kansas. On that day, much of the city of Greensburg was obliterated by a EF5 category tornado. Thankfully, most residents survived the tragedy due early and … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative energy, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, book reviews, books, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, energy, environment, geography, government, health, Health care, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, recycling, Renewable Energy, revitalization, Small business, solar, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, Uncategorized, urban planning, volunteerism, walking, water, water conservation, weather, writing, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The “unity of drought” must supersede myths and self interest

*A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using the above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. _______ The book Water is for Fighting Over: and Other Myths About Water in the … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, economic development, ecosystems, education, engineering, environment, futurism, geography, Geology, government, health, history, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, literature, Maps, Native Americans, natural history, nature, opinion, planning, politics, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, topography, urban planning, water, water conservation, weather, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Working list – Favorite spy sagas based on true events

To this blog author, spy stories are among the most thrilling and intriguing literature that can be read. This is especially the case for those stories that are based on actual historic events. The working list below identifies my favorite … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, cartoons, Communications, entertainment, government, historic preservation, history, literature, movies, politics, spying, technology, Television, theaters, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment