Tag Archives: literature

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

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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

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

“Project Hail Mary” – Science fiction at its very best!

I cannot express enough accolades about Andy Weir’s newest novel, Project Hail Mary. The book is simply outstanding. It’s one of those books that is hard to put down and you never want to end. I don’t want to give … Continue reading

Posted in aerospace, art, Astronomy, aviation, book reviews, books, Communications, culture, entertainment, environment, fun, futurism, geography, Geology, humanity, inclusiveness, literature, nature, Outer Space, place names, product design, reading, Science, Science fiction, Statistics, technology, transportation, Travel, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

One planner’s guide to non-fiction books about specific cities

Nearly every city has at least one unique story to tell about itself and some cities are filled with many interesting ones. The story(ies) may be due to conflict or upheaval, its unique culture or geography, a natural or human … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, bicycling, Biking, book reviews, books, cities, civics, civility, climate change, commerce, culture, demographics, economic development, ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, literature, nature, place names, placemaking, planning, reading, revitalization, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, third places, tourism, Trade, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Newspaper Boy” – a helpful remedy when losing hope

Spoiler Alert: While I try not to reveal too much about details contained within the book, there are undoubtedly some aspect of spoilers contained within this post. If you prefer to read the book first without knowing too much about … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, art, book reviews, books, cities, civics, Civil Rights, civility, Communications, culture, diversity, education, entertainment, health, history, human rights, humanity, immigration, inclusiveness, injustice, literature, politics, poverty, racism, Religion, social equity, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tasty Slice of “Tibetan Peach Pie”

* A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using these visual links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you want to read a book that will put a smile on your … Continue reading

Posted in book reviews, books, culture, fun, history, humanity, Language, literature, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Driving and striving to survive a broken ‘Merica

I will never, ever look at a recreational vehicle, van, motor home, or campground the same way again. Not since reading Jessica Bruder’s engrossing, informative, and heartbreaking new book entitled Nomadland. I have long imagined, envied, and eagerly anticipated my … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, ageism, art, book reviews, books, Cars, civics, civility, consumerism, culture, demographics, economics, Economy, family, geography, health, Health care, history, homelessness, Housing, human rights, humanity, Labor, literature, logistics, minimalism, politics, poverty, product design, reading, shopping, social equity, Statistics, transportation, Travel, unemployment, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Geography of Genius” – an atlas of exceptional creativity

Several years ago I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eric Weiner’s book entitled The Geography of Bliss. As an urban planning professional and geography geek, I was hooked just by the subject matter. So, when I saw that he had released a … Continue reading

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