Is that "I" as in "International," or "l" as in "clam"?

A while back I mentioned this blog dedicated to the inappropriate use of the lowercase "L". Today I went to Ask.com and entered the search term "CIAM" - an acronym for Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (or, auf Englisch: the International Congress of Modern Architecture).

Ask.com has done a lot of advertising lately (some creepier than others - does anyone else think those Kato Kaelin impersonators look like the kid from Mask?) touting their algorithm that helps you precisify your search to find exactly what you're looking for. My question is this: What do "Clam Chowder" and "Clam Anatomy" have to do with the cold, dehumanizing steel and glass of Modernist architecture?

Infrastructure costs money

This comic says it better than I could.

I think the fundamental question raised by this issue is, "What is the role of government?" Implicit in that is the more specific "What should the government do with our tax money?"

I'm working on a paper right now about the rise of suburban sprawl, and the most fascinating part, to me, is the fact that in the 1920s-1940s, the federal government established the following housing policy:

The federal government will subsidize private developers. These developers can build vast tracts of single-family housing with little to no attention to creating good communities, then take their profit, and, when the septic tanks they installed (cuz they were cheaper) fail, we'll jump in with federal money to install a sewage system. In addition, public housing ("a breeding ground for communists," according to Joseph McCarthy) will be provided only grudgingly, and built poorly.

Apparently, the federal government is supposed to ensure massive profits for a few people with the power to buy -- I'm sorry, influence -- policymakers. Making sure that every citizen has a decent place to live is not the government's role, I guess. (Same goes for adequate healthcare and education, it would seem.)

A day in the City

Yesterday Ben & I drove up to Minneapolis to see the movie Sunshine. (Naturally, it's not playing in Rochester, because our local Cinemonopoly thinks it's better to have two theaters (12 screens in one, 14 in the other) showing the exact same films.) I enjoyed the movie, on the whole. However, like most of the reviewers, I found the last act disappointing, and definitely not up to the standard of the first part.

==== SPOILER WARNING (highlight to view) ====
Introducing a crazed zombiesque monster to stalk and kill the crew during the last 25 or so minutes completely shifted the feel of the film. It began as more cerebrally and psychologically focused, drawing tension from the characters themselves and how they coped with decisions and obstacles. As act three began, it kept that feeling: five crew members remained - four conscious, one doped up and suicidal. To save oxygen and ensure they make complete the mission, do they kill the 5th guy? The grand question is, Is the fate of humanity worth ending his life now (thereby sacrificing your own "humanity"), knowing that you lack oxygen for the return to Earth, and you'll all die anyway?

Suddenly, the captain of the previous mission (lost 7 years earlier) is on board, insane and intent on stopping the crew from rebooting the sun. He plans to kill them all to achieve his goal. Oh, and I should mention that apparently we can't look directly at him, but we can see that he is covered head-to-toe in burnt, blistery skin. At this point the movie mimicked a simple slasher flick. Instead of focusing on how this crew was going to work through obstacles to accomplish their goal, we suddenly had to wonder who was going to be next to get hacked to death with an electric scalpel.

Personally, I think the role of crazed saboteur would have been more believable had it been given to Trey (the suicidal character). We still gain the added dimension of danger that a willful antagonist creates, but we don't have to suspend disbelief to the degree that we accept unblinkingly that the captain of Icarus 1 hung out for 7 years without disturbing any of the dust that coated every surface of that ship.

What could have been a 9+ stumbled in the end to a 7ish.
==== END SPOILER ====

After the film we took a look through the Uptown Art Fair, under intermittent rain. We even got mini-donuts! Woot!

Then we headed for the Linden Hills Bibelot store to pick up some soap. (After getting lost in the Kenwood neighborhood. Yes, I know that Kenwood isn't between Uptown and Linden Hills. I don't want to talk about it.) They have this nice Orange-Ginger soap that smells like candy - or rather, they did have - we bought their entire stock. (We really like the soap!)

While we were there, Ben asked the clerk if she could recommend any good restaurants nearby, and she directed us to a place called Cafe Twenty-Eight. I strongly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great meal at prices only slightly above those of a dive like Applebee's. Not only is this a nice locally-owned place, but they support local producers and businesses (their ground beef is ground at the butcher shop half a block away). The only downside was the handful of screaming brats, but I can overlook that when they serve their burger on a bun that might be mistaken for a croissant.

==== RANT ALERT ====
As we were leaving, we both thought that Linden Hills would be a nice neighborhood to live in. It's funny when a place like Arbor Lakes (or Arbor Fakes, as some accurately name it) in Maple Grove claims to offer "a distinctive shopping experience" and "a home town atmosphere with uptown attitude." In reality, it offers none of them. It's a strip mall atmosphere, populated almost entirely by national chain retailers, and embedded in big box, auto-friendly parking lots with nearby shopping. Comparing it to the 43rd and Upton commercial district in Linden Hills makes its absurdity painfully obvious.
==== END RANT ====

Harry Potter and the Movie Review

Friday night Ben & I went to see the latest Harry Potter flick. Unlike the vast majority of the audience, I have not read any of the books, and have no desire to do so. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed all of the films. People have complained about the loss of content, and shallow character development. At least one user said that if you hadn't read the book, you wouldn't be able to follow the plot. Completely untrue. I had no trouble with the plot, and while the movie may have focused excessively on HP, isn't that the point of the story? Isn't he the central character throughout the series?

Anyone need a pencil sharpener?

Sharp-End Cat Pencil Sharpener

I'm on a mission

I was making enchiladas the other night and noticed a recipe on the back of the tortilla package for "Southwest Steak Tacos." Notice the first item listed.



I thought, wait a minute, the bag only contains ....


I thought the mismatch in packaging hot dogs and hot dog buns was bad.

Check the polls

Poll results:

Q: What are you reading these days?
A:
.... Fiction: 5/7 (71%)
.... Non-fiction: 3/7 (42%)
.... How-to manuals: 0/7 (0%)
.... Blogs & such: 5/7 (71%)
.... News: 2/7 (28%)
.... Non-news periodicals: 4/7 (57%)
.... Cereal box 1/7 (14%)
.... Minds: 3/7 (42%)
.... Other: 1/7 (14%)
.... None of the above: 2/7 (28%)

Total: 26/7 (371%)

New poll will be up shortly.

Speculative journalism

I think I need to turn off the TV now. We've entered the phase where the reporters and newscasters are rampantly speculating about the cause of the bridge collapse and stuff. They've gone past reporting of facts and moved smoothly into speculation about the causes. Was it terrorists? Was it weaknesses indicated in a 2006 report on the structure? Let's talk to a structural safety engineer and say, "I know you don't know anything about this particular case, but what might have happened?"

Morons.

Spare me the value judgments and give me the facts

There talking about this bridge collapse thing on the telly, and they keep saying things like, "This is a catastrophic event." Really? I don't need to hear your opinion about character of the event. You're (allegedly) a journalist. Do your job: report the facts of the event.

First!

Just after 6:00 this evening (about 35 minutes ago) the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed.