Daily Archive for September 15th, 2006

Jam Tomorrow

Published on September 15, 2006 in literature and Los Angeles. 0 Comments

Well, it’s been a very busy week here, and today was one of the most exhausting. So I’m ending the day fading quite a bit. I’ll leave you with a shot of Zadie Smith in full flow, chatting to the LA Times Books editor in front of a paying audience at UCLA this evening. (Part of the UCLA Live series, which is regulalrly interesting.) Zadie Smith at UCLAI went along to hear what she had to say, accompanying a friend who had a spare ticket. Ran into my good friend Marc Kamionkowski there, who is apparently a fan of her work. I found the chat to be… nice. Nothing profound, but she’s got a good sense of humour which is vey familiar to me, since it comes from a similar place to mine, I imagine: We have similar backgrounds. I dozed a bit, which was not a reflection on her…. I just doze sometimes during a busy work week.

In terms of the length, I am not sure that it really needed to be as long as 90 minutes, but then that’s probably just me. Frankly, it was better than it could easily have been. Sometimes you go along to hear someone talk about their work, etc, and they end up making great pronoucenments on all sorts of things and you just wish they would shut up and you can go back to appreciating what they do. Not in this case. She is actually quite interesting to listen to, and did not attempt to be an authority on anything other than what she does. There was a lack of depth there that probably comes from the fact that she is young. Were I not so tired, I’d be more charitable and say that she had a “refreshing lightness”… or something like that. Really, I’d like to do it again in 20 or 30 years when she’s had time to really absorb more of life…. to compare and contrast. She has a good ear and eye for observation, so a lot of good stuff will stick over the years, and she’ll be a really special treat to hear from in time.

Was amused to see (the prodigously talented) Tracy Ullman standing just off to my left, while we picked up tickets at the box office. Amused for at least a couple of reasons, and none of them because she stared at me for a moment as though I was familiar. One was because before arriving, I told the friend I was escorting that I might go into stealth mode to avoid the no doubt lots of English people who will turn up, since (1) it is the West LA, and the English Abroad are everywhere on the West side and (2) it is Zadie Smith. Did not expect Tracy Ulman though. Was expecting more anonymous expat English. The other reason? I am not at liberty to explain at this point. Sorry. Maybe later.

The title of the post? (1) Always wanted to use it. (2) I hope that it will be clear tomorrow, or the day after.

Well, I am tired down to the bone and brain, and so will do things involving the following: Gimlet. Sofa. Movie. Pillow.

-cvj

USC has the best GPA

Published on September 15, 2006 in academia and Los Angeles. 4 Comments

Well, although we can hold our own on the academic standards side of things, in this case I mean Gay Point Average. I saw in the New York Times today*, in an article by Stephanie Rosenbloom, that USC and UPenn both scored the highest possible score (20 out of 20) for their “campuses policies, programs and practices affecting lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trangender people”. This was in the Advocate College Guide for LGBT students. This is just great!

Please read the article, which is very interesting indeed, discussing several campuses throughout the USA. I’ll simply end with the closing paragraph, which sums up the response to the “why” question that might be forming in some minds. It quotes Kevin Jennings, the executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network:

“When people feel included they can focus on learning,” Mr. Jennings of the education network said. “When they feel isolated and marginalized they can’t. And what LGBT students want is what everyone else wants when they go to college: They want to feel like they belong.”

-cvj

(*Thanks Caolionn!)

Bikes and the City

Published on September 15, 2006 in cycling, environment, Los Angeles and travel. 23 Comments

You’ve probably gathered from my writings by now that I think that bike riding is a good thing. Particularly as an alternative to driving, where appropriate. One such place where biking is in principle a perfect alternative is Los Angeles. Mostly flat, wide streets, perfect weather most of the year around. At this point in a conversation about this, people either burst out laughing, or look at me as though I am insane. I sigh. I try to point out that there exists a core (although small… but growing I notice) of people who get on with the business of cycling around this city instead of listening to the (mostly exaggerated and/or coming from total ignorance) stories about how dangerous it is supposed to be (supposedly not just from motorists, but apparently there are very bad men out there trying to do bad things to you). What I say mostly falls on deaf ears. I point out how many alternative routes there are in a city this well connected, so that you do not have to use the main roads if worried about willful or inattentive motorists. I point out how nicely bikes work in conjunction with the (yes, it exists) public transport in the city, since every bus is equipped with bike racks. These do not help either. I point out how much fun I’m having by not having to fight with other motorists every morning, pay an extortionate amount of money for parking, how much gas I save by essentially only driving on the weekends, etc, etc…. I recognise, yes, that it is not a choice that everyone in the city can make, but so very many could, even if it is just a matter of using your bike to nip to the shops for that pint of milk, instead of driving the car… Then I give up, shut up (mostly), and ride my bike. (Descriptions of one of my routes into work here and here.)

Bike Photo by Herman Wouters for The New York TimesAnyway, I keep dreaming that one day that slow trickle of increasing numbers of cyclists I see out there will turn into a torrent, and somehow bikes (and public transport) will not be seen as a situation you must accept as a last resort due to reduced circumstances, but be seen as simply a really good choice to make. Maybe one day it will even become a mainstream hip thing to do (as opposed to the underground hipness it has now…I like to imagine), and increased bike use will be driven by people wanting to jump on that bandwagon. I don’t care how we get there, as long as we do.

To help with the dream, I look fondly at the greater bike use in other countries and cities when I visit them. Here’s a lovely article, by John Tagliabue, that came out today* in the New York Times about the Netherlands. It starts out:

With more than two bicycles per person and a landscape as flat as a pancake, the Netherlands is a cyclists’ Eden.

[...]

with greater affluence, more free time and even greater environmental concerns, the Dutch are turning to bicycles in ever greater numbers. Sales are booming, and there is a proliferation of designs for all sorts of purposes.

And further, there’s a description of a recently opened bicycle dealership that is one Continue reading ‘Bikes and the City’

Physics Blog Carnival

Published on September 15, 2006 in science. 0 Comments

Don’t miss out on the new physics blog carnival, Philosophia Naturalis, hosted at Science and Reason. Lots of good stuff to read there.

-cvj