Happy Towel Day!

A belated Happy Towel Day to everyone! From Wikipedia (which, I remind all students, is NOT a source!): Towel Day is celebrated every May 25 as a tribute by fans of the late author Douglas Adams. On this day, fans carry a towel with them to demonstrate their love for the books and the author. [...]

Posted by Deb in Cosmetically Enhanced Vertebrates, Holiday! Celebrate!, Humor, Science fiction on May 26th, 2009 | Comments Off

livable streets

GOOD Magazine has a nice visual demonstration of a livable street, basically a city street designed to welcome pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and cars equally. Simple changes like curb extensions, textured crosswalks, bollards, and plantings turn car-choked urbanity into an inviting place to walk around.

Posted by Chris in Architecture, Carfree, Environment on May 22nd, 2009 | Comments Off

a suburb without cars is like a day without coughing

Brent pointed out this article in the New York Times about a carfree German suburb: Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown [...]

Posted by Chris in Carfree, News, World on May 12th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

gettin’ hitched all over the place

So Maine now, huh? Sayeth the BBC: Gay marriage is to be permitted in the US state of Maine after a bill was passed by both houses of the state’s legislature and signed by the governor. Maine will be the fifth US state to allow gay marriage, after Connecticut, Masschusetes, Iowa and Vermont. A number [...]

Posted by Chris in Law on May 6th, 2009 | Comments Off