James Howard Kunstler — While ths site has a lot of interesting features I am most impressed by the “Eyesore of the Month” feature. More bloggers need to do this. It’s great.
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Gosh, I’m glad you liked that site, John.
This is crap. The guy has terrible taste. He simply hates on new ideas, the one thing he liked is the ugliest thing on the site….
I think MacDonald’s had a cartoon charctor in the 80’s that matched the library.
#3. Yes, I remember those cute plastic toys they used to give away, in the shapes of various botulus.
Kunstler is also a good writer and one of the people on the forefront of “Peak Oil” research.
He is a bit more of a doomer than I am, but his arguments that we are headed toward the end of American civilization are tough to refute. At the very least they are worth studying as a warning of how bad it can get if we do not act soon.
To #5: Yes, Kunstler is excellent. He also gave a talk at ted.com.
Kunstler doesn’t understand why people didn’t (and don’t) take the train, in reference to Amtrak. Clue: make the trains much faster (see Japan), more frequent (as they were when I was a kid) and cheaper to buy tickets for than planes, and maybe people will take trains again.
Every city in the world is an eyesore to the native Indians. Sall relative.
To #7: People don’t take trains because owning a car has spoiled them. The end of cheap oil will put an end to a lot of things in this country. For decades governments in the USA spent taxpayer money on roads, roads and more roads instead of spending that money on mass transit. Big mistake!
http://quicksilverscreen.com/watch?video=36003
Excellent video to watch, includes comments by Kunstler.
The key reason trains don’t work as well here as they do in Germany/Japan is that, quite simply, this country is a lot bigger. Sure, bullet trains going from coast to coast would be nice, but up comes funding. It costs less to continue to repair an existing road system that individuals use their own vehicles than the massive infrastructure cost of a full passenger rail system that may not get used anyways. And that’s because even the fastest train can’t go more than a third as fast as a plane.
On the subject of “architecture”…I can’t name names, but I dated a guy who used to be a Ziff editor, went on to write a NYT bestseller who’s cousin is a famous actor, who’s uncle O.D’d at The Factory and who’s father was president of the AIA.
Now you have the background…on to the story:
Upon visiting their brownstone in Philly, their poor cat only had one toy. I inquired the reason and was told by AIA prez padre…
“It’s aesthetically more pleasing. He only needs one toy and too many would ruin the lines of the architecture…”
I. Am. Not. Kidding.
Huzzahs to this blogger. He’s doing society a service.