i turned my back for a second

and work took the opportunity to expand exponentially.

it's going to be a rough week, ladies and gentlemen.

2 days/3 nights in chicago

and i didn't manage to have chicago-style pizza or a chicago-style hot dog. therefore the trip was something of a failure.

i did, however, manage to save the world and meet mr t, not to mention see two of my favorite people, spend more than i have ever spent on a pair of boots, and have some serious city-envy.
these perhaps out weigh the lack of pizza and hot dogs.

perhaps.

butterflies taking flight

stars above us
cars below us

i miss my girls
and i miss real cities
with bodegas
and leaves on the wet ground (white stripes?)
and apartments
and spaces of manageable size.

this makes me wonder how long i can stay in LA. and stay sane.

off to chicago

to visit this one:

apparently they have seasons there, and its a bit cold at the moment.

i'm nervous.

no on 90

there's a few weeks yet before the elections, but i just had to get this out there. if you live in california, please vote no on Prop 90. its being touted as a way to reform eminent domain, which is actually something we need - but it goes much further than that.

basically, it gives private landowners the right to sue the government if any zoning change or new regulation (except those related to a narrow definition of health or safety) lowers their property value. this would stop urban planning in its tracks.

remember when inglewood changed their zoning to outlaw big box stores and prevent walmart from coming in? well, if prop 90 had been in place the people who owned the land that walmart was going to build on could have sued the city for millions of dollars. most likely the zoning change would not have happened, and walmart would have moved on in against community protests.

or have you ever, when travelling through south central, noticed that every grocery store is a liquor store, and every restaurant is fast food? well, there are currently zoning regulations in the works to prohibit new fast food restaurants, and require "grocery stores" to actually carry fresh produce. this won't happen if prop 90 is passed.

and don't even get me started on the environmental impact - the government could be sued for protecting natural habitats simply because the land has a higher value if developed.

it seems like this nice, innocent proposition aimed at protecting people from eminent domain, but its more like a trojan horse. please help get the word out.

we beat the number one team in the league tonight

everyone likes playing the silly girls in pink. until we win.

and then they get pissy.

fuck'em. seriously.

pan di stelle

years ago (in a land far far away) i fell in love with these little chocolate-hazelnut-starry night cookies, mostly because of their crunchy goodness, but also - i can't lie - because of their unbearable cuteness.

i found them the other day at the gourmet store just down the street. i'd given up on them upon my return to the states and basically forgotten they existed. one bite took me back like proust and his madeleines. i'm going to have to make these last.

party (m)

my friday mornings

marty's car was broken into last night

just outside my house.

the only thing they took was a biography of kurt godel.

nerds.

i had such a crush

on him in college. in an untouchable, from-afar kind of way.

now i just want to move to seattle and be friends with him and his all-encompassing love.

10th street

you know how in cheesy 1970's and 80's television chase scenes the car/motorbike/snowmobile always happens upon a truck that looks like it's going to block its escape route, but in reality has a ramp the the chasee uses to launch in the air and fly to the other side of the rising drawbridge?

i actually saw one of those trucks this morning. my head immediately started pedaling as fast as i could, determined look on my sweaty brow. onlookers tried to stop me, but i was having none of it. i flew up and off the ramp, over a stack of flaming tires, past the moon ET style, landing safely and gently about 100 yards down the road.

my body, unfortunately, pedaled gingerly around the beeping truck and then almost toppled over trying to pop a wheelie a few blocks later.

time and space

in transportation we study the urban form through the lense of transit. i'm used to thinking of space and distance in terms of inches, feet, miles and kilometers. but in transportation we measure it in time. although cities have grown larger in size over the years, they occupy the same space in time: a 45 minute radius around in the center of the city. as our transportation increases in speed - from foot to horse to streetcar to automobile to high speed rail - our cities increase in spatial distance.

there's also a universal travel-time constant: 90 minutes. from an ancient chinese villager on foot to the modern angeleno in her car, we all spend about about an hour and a half each day getting where we need to go...which suggests that there is some limit within ourselves that contains not only our travel time, but also shapes the physical space in which we live.

fascinating, no?

i'm learning how to make maps

i'm enjoying the design part, but i've got to work on my actual geography. notice how the pacific ocean is located in the middle of newport beach?

the world champion beer stein carrier

confidence is a powerful aphrodisiac

or should i say potent?

brian

i almost ran over diane sawyer today

she scurried out in front of my car like a cat. on wilshire boulevard no less.

in most cities you have to worry about stray pets. in la, it's celebrities.

@$%#& 8am meetings

this is why i'm not a #%@%#& joiner. never have been. now all of a sudden i'm not only a joiner, i'm a %^$##$$ leader. which means i not only have to attend, i have to prepare.

@$#%$^$.

why is it

that i always spell the word 'monthes' with an 'e' in it, and then have to go back and take the 'e' out? i've been doing this for years. i never ever get it right on the first try. its as if i've actually trained myself to spell months 'm-o-n-t-h-e-s-backspace-backspace-s'.

bizarre.

robyn