Photo of Seoul by Keeran Murphy.
The Mini-States Of Cairo
I don’t get all the jokes in Karim Shafei’s exegesis of Cairo, but the ones I get (via Global Voices Online) are pretty good: “In spite of the fact that the historical language of Cairo is Arabic, the language has evolved differently in each of Cairo’s mini-states to the point that it has become difficult for the residents of one mini-state to understand the residents of another. As a result Cairenes have resorted to a new form of communication using car horns, whistling, hissing, winking, staring and double-flashing.”
What “history” do I have to learn exactly?
Just felt like that wanted a post of its own. Anyway, nice photo, wr3n.
Cathy Wurzer: Swede Hollow was destroyed by fire. Looking at the pictures, again, pretty spectacular, deliberately set fires in 1956.
Annette Atkins: The St. Paul Fire Department went in and poured gasoline. They just saturated the place in gasoline and sent it up. They believed — and there was a fair amount of evidence — that it was the safest, best thing to do for the rest of the city.
MPR today has a short but striking slideshow on St. Paul’s Swede Hollow, once an immigrant community (Swedish, Irish, Italian, Mexican) and now a park.
10 Great Things about Sidewalks in the Wintertime
Bill Lindeke: “When snow falls, driving sucks. Ice and snow might double or triple your daily commute. Thus winter, for most people, is a slow torture, stuck in traffic, wait for a car to warm up. Winter is like being trapped on a remote island, eternally scraping ice off your windshield like an Eskimo Sisyphus.
“Well, winter doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re walking and taking the bus as your main mode of transportation, winter can be delightful.” Read on…
Middle-Class Areas Shrink as Income Gap Grows, New Report Finds
Sabrina Tavernise: “The portion of American families living in middle-income neighborhoods has declined significantly since 1970, according to a new study, as rising income inequality left a growing share of families in neighborhoods that are mostly low-income or mostly affluent.”
Sam Jacob at Pruitt Igoe: “The forest has an archeological atmosphere – as though one were discovering an ancient civilisation amongst the undergrowth. Roads are still there but gradually encroached upon by the forest. A lamppost stands amongst the trees. Depressions in the ground are not natural topology but formed by the sites of imploded buildings.”
(via Twin City Sidewalks)
A new walking code of conduct: 10 proposed rules for New York City sidewalks
Robert Selsam: “All the attention to and fuss over bike lanes has obscured a bigger issue affecting the public rights of way, namely the use of our sidewalks.
“Manhattan sidewalks have become so congested with tourists and locals (officials estimate a 13% increase since 2007, according to reports) that it has become increasingly difficult to rely on walking to get where you’re going. Tourists, who often lack experience walking, do not realize that for us natives, this is a critical mode of transportation. We depend on it not just to stroll leisurely around, but to actually get from place to place. Also, some of us admittedly do not abide by simple rules of courtesy.
“To remedy these problems, the following Pedestrian Code of Conduct is proposed….”
(via Twin City Sidewalks)
