16 February 2003
“I myself am an enthusiastic buyer of things, but it’s not an opportunity I feel I lack.” Margaret Talbot

12 February 2003
It didn’t take much time after the purchase, but the Chicago Defender has already markedly improved in quality. Today’s issue includes juicy stories about local Black politicians, from Harvey to the Third Ward, and even covers wonkish things like Barack Obama’s Medicaid statement and African politics. These are story niches that few others cover, and a solid start on wider improvements.

11 February 2003
It’s not just you: there are more chain stores downtown.

10 February 2003
Now this is cool: Livable Places, a combination think tank and CDC in LA founded to promote good, sustainable urbanism through adventurously designed (a la SCI-ARC) affordable housing. Best of luck.

9 February 2003
Praise be to Le Corbusier! “He made it safe to make a statement through eyewear.”

8 February 2003
“You have this ultraconservative black judge who is married in Virginia, and of course it was the case Loving v. Virginia that struck down antimiscegenation laws. But not only does he live in Virginia; his wife’s name is Virginia. And another thing is he is the Supreme Court’s most vocal proponent of originalism. He could never have been married under the Constitution as it was originally written. And then during his confirmation hearings, one of his strongest advocates is Strom Thurmond. I mean, this was beyond anything any novelist could have come up with.” Randall Kennedy on Clarence Thomas in tomorrow’s NYT Magazine

5 February 2003
“the still unnamed restaurant will be ‘clean, contemporary, with a touch of the familiar,’ not that we’d want anything dirty, old, or strange-looking on our plates.” Sun-Times

28 January 2003
“We have a great opportunity during this time of war to lead the world toward suicide and murder.” So [should have] said W [QuickTime] today.

27 January 2003
Must we kill the city to save it? Downzoning is not the answer to what ails Halsted Street.

25 January 2003
Ever notice the headlights up top some of the hugest SUVs? Turns out they’re required by federal law for big trucks. Now, at the very least, could the feds begin requiring these things to make that “beep beep” sound when backing up? I’m sure that would impact the sexiness quotient.

20 January 2003
SUV can mean many things to many people.

19 January 2003
“The tagline [of a recent Hummer ad] reads: ‘Threaten Men in a Whole New Way.’ It’s not just men who ought to feel threatened by the Hummer, says John Kaehny, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for pedestrians and cyclists. ‘Driving a Hummer on city streets is like flying a giant flag that says, “I hate New York,” ‘ he said.” – also from the Times, from the Metro (not the Auto) section. What does the “ought to” insinuate? That the owners of these despicable monsters have some sort of right, nay, prerogative, to threaten the lives of others? As far as I’m concerned, threatening deadly force against someone was still against the law, and if it wasn’t, it sure ought to be. Curiously, though, the article mentions that the H2 has a GVW of 8,000 pounds (four tons – an elephant, basically) fully loaded, but 6,400 pounds unloaded. Does that mean that the vehicle can only carry 1,600 pounds? Most midsize sedans can carry 1,000+ pounds — which is not much actual cargo given the national epidemic of morbid obesity.