(no subject)

[inwards]

I spent a couple hours at the library reading the first section or so of A Pattern Language. A couple key points that struck me were the degree to which suburbs are obsolete. I knew that, but what I notice now is that suburbs stretch urban centers to the point where suburbs are basically dormitories for people that work in the city. The much preferable alternative would be having a self-sufficient small town with its own culture and industry. The bigger a city and its industry become, the more magnetic it becomes, to the detriment of the ecology and sustainability of the city. Not only that, but cities start to feel dungeonlike when suburbs envelop them. Now we have the pleasure of "weekend getaways" to the Catskills or sumbitches -- it's fucking too bad that some of us feel like we have to escape the place we live, mostly because suburbs suffocate the landscape

Now I'm back. I smell like a mix of smoky coffee beans, sawdust, and a musty odor of my own, and I'm listening to the Swedish folk music and it's goddamn incredible.

Hornlåt Från Malung Efter Nöstmo Halvar (Horn Signal From Malungh After Nöstmo Halvar) (best url ever)