Over the next 20 to 25 years we are going to find substitutes for oil -- there are substitutes for fossil fuels. There are no substitutes for water. It's an irreplaceable resource. And I think the eyes of the country and the eyes of the world are going to turn to those Great Lakes communities that sit on 20 percent of the world's freshwater.
I suppose if you're the guy who lives next door to the building coming down, you feel better when you see this printed on the hungry backhoe.
I know that you don't visit my blog to learn about what all the cool kids are doing, but just in case you've missed it, everyone's listening to Sufjan Stevens CD, Come on Feel the Illinoise. Those lyrics sent me on a search about the alligator of Decatur.Our step mom we did everything to hate her
She took us down to the edge of Decatur
We saw the lion and the kangaroo take her
Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator.
And in my best behavior
I am really jsut like him
Look beneath the floorbaords
For the secrets I have hid.
I fell in love againAccording to Stevens' label's website, he grew up in Michigan, and he's intending on doing an album for every state. Illinoise is his second; the first was Greetings from Michigan.
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
Sufjan Stevens sure is ambitious . . . simple melodies, punched up with erudite lyrics and frequent appearances by a full orchestra, a horn section and an honest-to-goodness choir—everything here smacks of an epic reach. And the weird thing is, it totally works.
While Stevens’s let’s-put-on-a-musical approach could easily come off as precious, he’s got just the appropriate mix of sincere emotion, songwriting chops and arranging skills to pull off everything from a two-part, three-movement ode to the 1893 World’s Fair to a quiet, moving acoustic meditation on serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
It could’ve been a massive train wreck; instead, Illinois is alternately funny, sad, thoughtful and heartbreaking—and one of the best albums of 2005.
Because exotic dance adult entertainment is a nationwide lightning rod for conflict, a comprehensive knowledge base is necessary.
This bibliographic summary of literature addresses some misperceptions and notes new United States Supreme Court cases that can lead planners, policy makers, and government attorneys into legal difficulties over restrictions they try to impose on this industry. Costs to enact, enforce, and defend the restrictions may divert scarce resources. The multi-disciplinary literature encompasses books, articles, court testimony, and court rulings on exotic dance written by researchers in anthropology, architecture, biology, criminology, economics, journalism, law, photography, planning, police work, psychology, real estate, and sociology, as
well as accounts presented by former exotic dancers.Topics include First Amendment-related characteristics of exotic dance, its expressive components, performers, patrons, adversaries, and supporters; the validity of studies used to justify zoning, alcohol beverage control, and other restrictive ordinances; and legal justifications and limitations on regulating exotic dance.
While attending Chicago's Green City Market on Saturday, I met Debra Shore. She was collecting petitions to be on the Water Reclamation Commissioner ballot in 2006.
It's hard for me not to marvel that it was just over a hundred years ago that the Wright Brothers launched us into flight. It's worth about a thousand words on progress to see this 1903 photo of them taking off at Kitty Hawk on a cold, windy morning in December.
The photo at right is how I usually come across the sculpture.
And, then I go around it and down the escalator. And, as I descend, the bird appears to take flight. The entire piece soars.a building in which the architecture itself would express the drama and specialness and excitement of travel... a place of movement and transition...The shapes were deliberately chosen in order to emphasize an upward-soaring quality of line. We wanted an uplift.On a smaller scale, I think Helmick created just that for his corner of Midway Airport.
The Alliance for the Great Lakes has just released a K- 8 curriculum kit called "Great Lakes in My World." The curriculum was developed according to the Alliance's philosophy. They hope the curriculum will, among other things, instill a sense of place. Here's what they said about that (boldface is mine):At the root of a flourishing relationship between a child and the Great Lakes ecosystem is the ability to acknowledge and build upon connections with places. "If you don't know where you are, you don't know who you are," says author Wendell Berry. We encourage students to explore their personal connection to the landscape. Ecosystems evoke feelings. Acknowledging that a place holds meaning, and inquiring about its special characteristics, gives new definition and importance to the word "home."
Through these activities, students ask questions that explore the science, history, beauty and mystery of the Great Lakes watershed. This moves students toward developing a greater sense of place - a connections to the lake through new awareness, reflection and experience. As students build relationships with the ecosystem, they gain a new understanding that can inspire a lifetime of learning and care.
Sigh.
