Monday, October 31, 2005

Halloween

Here are the very scary pictures from Eileen and Maria's killer Halloween party on Saturday. They did an amazing job decorating the place, especially the gory scene in the bathroom, and were gracious hosts until they got too drunk and started swinging their battle axes around.

A few exciting events coming up this week - the Dresden Dolls at Avalon tonight, and I'm getting geared up for my first Knight Fellowship trip to Miami this Wednesday night. I'll be there Wednesday through Sunday - the trip was almost postponed due to hurricane damage, but the University reopened today and they claim they're ready for us. I don't really know what to expect, but I'll have my camera and laptop and try to update from sunny Florida!

Friday, October 28, 2005

Groundwater

Last night I spoke at a public meeting at the Boston Public Library
regarding the groundwater problems facing parts of Boston. Basically,
buildings throughout much of the city (the South End is the most
publicized example) are built on wooden piles sunk into the ground.
These piles are submerged into the water table and rot when exposed to air, so falling groundwater levels in Boston are causing major problems as the piles dry out. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is developing a groundwater overlay district where new projects in the areas of highest concern would be required to infiltrate rainfall back into the ground where it should be, instead of directing
the runoff offsite into the City drainage system.

My civil engineering firm has donated time to assist the BRA with the development of this program, and tonight I spoke for a few minutes on the BRA's behalf about the engineer's point of view - how we have developed specifics within the guidelines, challenges to calculating infiltration of water into the ground, and what these measures may mean for the average project.

There were about 150 people there, several City councilors, state reps, reps of reps, various board and task force members, etc. All voiced their opinions, and then there were plenty of comments from the audience which varied from constructive criticism and suggestions to outright anger at the City for not being responsive enough. Obviously a sensitive topic when many residents' properties are at stake. Very interesting meeting.

In other news, I continue to work on my dislike of public speaking; this was the most daunting challenge yet but I ended up really enjoying it. It helped that I found out I would be doing the presenting at 2 pm, so I didn't have much time to dwell on it, and it was actually fun to speak extemporaneously with only bare
notes. I surprised myself. I really believe it's all about experience, and I think I'm over the hump. My next goal is to work on being more expressive and persuasive...

From Fr. Jenkins

October 25, 2005

Dear Members of the Notre Dame Community:

I want to thank you for your continued interest in supporting the
regions of the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. As we
approach nearly 60 days since Katrina struck land, it is apparent that
the work of rebuilding the region will persist for many years. These
efforts affect small children and seniors, families and neighborhoods,
churches and businesses. For this reason, it is encouraging to know
that many of you continue to provide assistance in a variety of ways.
The following is an update for you on two recent developments
regarding the University's efforts to provide support.

The first development is a trip I took last Wednesday, October 19, to
Louisiana with a delegation of Notre Dame faculty and staff. We
arranged a meeting with Archbishop Alfred Hughes of the Archdiocese of
New Orleans to explore how the University could lend its resources --
specifically, its knowledge base to assist the archdiocese in
addressing short and long-term needs. We wanted to explore how
expertise from disciplines such as the sciences, engineering,
architecture, and business could be applied to recovery efforts.

Along with me were six others: Rev. William M. Lies, C.S.C., director
of the Center for Social Concerns; Mr. William Purcell, associate
director for Catholic social tradition and practice in the Center for
Social Concerns; Dr. Frances L. Shavers, executive assistant to the
president; Professors Philip Bess from the School of Architecture and
Ahsan Kareem of the College of Engineering; and Dean Carolyn Woo of
the Mendoza College of Business. I want to thank each of these
individuals for their generosity.

Our visit was remarkable in many ways. I will share two of my
observations with you, admittedly only pointing to a small portion of
the residents' and volunteers' daily lives.

We flew into New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Airport in the early morning
and immediately toured three neighborhoods: Lakeview, St. Bernard
Parish, and the Ninth Ward before our afternoon meeting with
Archbishop Hughes in Baton Rouge.

My first observation was of the breadth of destruction and loss.
People have not only lost houses, but also homes of 20 to 40 years;
not only have they lost neighborhood stores and gas stations, but they
also can no longer find their neighbors; not only have they lost jobs,
but many now must also rely on the kindness of strangers; not only
have they lost schools and churches, but also a sense of belonging.

From street to street, community to community, there was both
extensive physical damage as well as an eerie stillness - a lack of
life. Except for automobiles that motored down the nearby highway,
many of the neighborhood streets were quiet and empty. There were no
children playing in the parks; there were no dogs barking or birds
flying; restaurants and stores were boarded up; abandoned city buses
sat in the middle of grass-covered medians.

In order to address the widespread need, Archbishop Hughes described
the early efforts of the diocese immediately following the hurricane
as being focused on the people. Struggling to tend to virtual
parishes, many New Orleans priests are now assigned to cities outside
New Orleans. They have delivered pastoral care to evacuees and rescue
workers in airports, rescue sites, and morgues. In September alone,
more than 7 million pounds of food were distributed, as compared to an
annual food distribution of 8 million pounds.

My second (and perhaps, most lasting) observation was that the people
with whom we met were inspirational. They were tremendously strong,
resilient, and optimistic. Faith united people of different religious
traditions, socio-economic classes, and ethnic backgrounds. Martin,
an employee of the diocese and a lifetime resident of New Orleans,
walked us through his parents' home of more than 20 years. There, the
sense of loss was palpable and the power of nature was clear.
Everything was destroyed - insulation had collapsed from the ceiling,
furniture was upended, and the smell of mold filled the air. For this
family, there would be no return; however, Martin managed to smile and
say, "We'll be fine." A similar determination was evident in nearly
everyone we met. There was still love for the city and hope for its
future.

At day's end, we agreed to keep open the lines of communication
between the diocese and the University as the city evaluates how best
to move forward with plans to rebuild. Many factors remain unclear or
unknown. How will the city house volunteers when residents are seeking
shelter as well? How many people will return to the city after days,
months, or years of living in other areas? How can the church address
the needs of its members through spiritual and social ministries? How
can the churches collaborate with the private and public sectors to
address issues of education and economic growth? In what ways can
volunteers most respectfully assist communities, allowing residents to
self-determine their futures? What changes can be made to new or
existing structures to minimize the likelihood of damage in the case
of future hurricanes? These and other questions will be the focus of
many conversations.

The second development to share with you is a partnership between
Notre Dame and Xavier University of New Orleans, a Catholic and
historically black institution. With the approval of Xavier President
Dr. Norman Francis and the Xavier Board of Trustees, Notre Dame will
serve as the planning and host site for the Summer 2006 Xavier
University Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS), which is led
by Sister Jaime T. Phelps, O.P., director and professor of systematic
theology. This collaboration is supported by Notre Dame's Office of
the President, Office of the Provost, Graduate School, College of Arts
and Letters, and Department of Theology. In particular, I acknowledge
Professors Don Pope-Davis and John Cavadini, Vice Presidents Jean Ann
Linney and Jeff Kantor, and Dean Mark Roche of the College of Arts and
Letters for their roles in facilitating the discussions between our
campuses.

Founded in 1980, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS)
offers programs in pastoral ministries, religious education and
pastoral theology, taught from the perspective of the Christian faith
expressed in the Black religious community. The IBCS offers a
Master=92s of Theology Program (the only such program in Black Catholic
theology in the United States) in addition to several certificate and
enrichment programs. (For more information, see
<www.xula.edu/IBCS.) We are pleased to
welcome the faculty, staff and students of Xavier IBCS to Notre Dame
while Dr. Francis and other members of the leadership team work to
re-open the university's doors.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the efforts of individuals,
particularly those within the Notre Dame community, who assisted in
these two initiatives as well as various other relief projects.
Although I will not list your names here, please know that I am
grateful to each of you who helped plan the trip to New Orleans and
were part of the traveling delegation. I also greatly appreciate
those of you who reached out to your colleagues at Xavier to see how
we could assist. Additionally, I know that many others' faculty,
staff, students, and alumni are making your own contributions. I
thank you for embodying the spirit of Our Lady's University.

Most important, I thank the people of the Gulf Coast for their
inspiration. I thank Archbishop Hughes and Dr. Francis for their
leadership; I thank the many other people of the region who continue
with their tireless work and unwavering faith. Margaret Mead once
observed, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." This has
never been more evident in this country than it is now.

May God's blessing be with you all.

In Notre Dame,
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Scattered thoughts

For some reason I began receiving a newsletter for a network of "age restricted" communities across the US. This month's installment educated me about online dating for people age 62 plus, health care record keeping, and exciting changes in diabetes treatment. Not a bad little paper.

Does anyone else think Weezer's new album is horrible? I mean, not just horribly overrated, but downright horrible. Yeah, I get Rivers, Pinkerton is my favorite album, I loved it when I saw them and they played almost the whole thing in front of huge pyrotechnics and blazing lights. Hilarious. But I think "Beverly Hills" is mediocre and the rest of the new album is cheesy and doesn't work.

Wal-mart has aggresive plans to develop 250-300 new stores within the next year because towns and cities are refining zoning codes to keep them out. They want to build before towns, a.k.a. the representatives of THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE, figure out how to outlaw them. Slippery bastards. At the same time, they are announcing environmental reforms to increase energy efficiency. Ok, energy efficiency is good, I can't argue with that. But it's a cute PR ploy to make themselves sound so concerned while their business model is absolutely devasting to the environment and to our communities. What's the saying, it's like "dressing up a pig"? Something like that.

In better community development news, Newburyport was inspiring. This house is 6 months old, and as Heather said, the only way you could pick it out on a street of 200 year old houses was the fact that it's cleaner. The planner actually asked the developer to apply for a variance to put the house right on the street and not set it back 20' as the City code requires. The developer and residents were nervous, thought something fishy must be going on. Nope, just a planner who knows what he's doing. And, of course, the new house and others on the street will be more valuable because the new house fits in and improves the streetscape.



A wider view of the street, with the new house on the right:



This courthouse in Newburyport is America's oldest continuously operating courthouse. I like how it fits in with the pond and park in an interesting way. The planner said until 9/11 they didn't have any security, and even now it doesn't even really need to be enforced.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Newburyport & Amesbury

Saturday's tour of Newburyport and Amesbury was a great time, as our group of approximately 20 New Urbanists enjoyed walking tours of the two communities led by their planning directors, an overview of a proposed Newburyport transit village at the offices of Rick Taintor, and lunch at the Flatbread Company in Amesbury.

Many thanks go to Nick Cracknell, Newburyport planning director, Rick Taintor of Taintor & Associates, and Nipun Jain, Amesbury town planner, for giving up part of their weekend to be tour guides. They did a tremendous job showing us the progress made in their communities, great infill and mixed-use development, and infrastructure improvements that have led to new redevelopment.

I especially enjoyed getting the stories behind the stories straight from the town planners. Nick and Nipun are fighting the good fight for walkable, mixed-use, compact development and exciting infill projects that fit in with the beautiful urbanism already there. I was very impressed.

Check here for my pictures - unfortunately I haven't had time to add captions yet...

Monday, October 24, 2005

Time...

So many things I have wanted to write about lately, but I just haven't found the time to do it. Quite frustrating.

One of the highlights of the weekend was a very successful tour of Newburyport and Amesbury put on by CNU New England, we had the planning directors of each town show us around and give the inside scoop on recent development and improvements and the behind the scenes political process. I'll write more and post pictures, as soon as I can find some time!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

The green pond


Here are a few pictures from a jobsite I visited on Friday. That pond is seriously taken over by algae, and the poor ducks left trails of clear water behind them as they swam around. A few times, there would be five ducks swimming behind each other in the wake of the first duck. Time for a new pond!


Monday, October 17, 2005

Unfortunate parking spot

Wow, it was windy on Sunday! While walking through the North End I came across this car that had been nailed by a huge tree limb moments before I got there. Hard to see in these pictures, but the whole top of the car was crushed.


Heartbreak, and moving on

As the college football world held its breath Saturday, I alternated between pure ecstasy, when ND stopped the ballerina at the goal line, and complete heartbreak, when USC was given seven seconds on the clock and Reggie Bush pushed the ballerina into the end zone. I wanted to throw up.

Thankfully I was among friends and sympathetic waitstaff at Game On, no thanks to the BC fans in the bar who as always take great pleasure in rooting against ND and annoying us at every opportunity. No big surprise there. But I digress.

Game On is a fantastic place to watch a game, they have more than 50 tvs of all sizes and a multimedia dj who played music during the commercials and switched the tvs to other games, then turned the ND game picture and sound back on when the commercials were over. Never seen that before.

The Irish played their hearts out Saturday, and they made me proud. We win out and we'll be 9-2 - BCS bound. GO IRISH!!

Friday, October 14, 2005

GO IRISH!!

Some are saying it's the biggest game since 1993. I'm not sure if that's true today, although it certainly will be true tomorrow night if we win! Check out the rally live on the net, word is that Weis' special guest will be Bruce Springsteen. Madness. As if Joe Montana isn't enough.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Rhett Miller


Man, Rhett Miller sure loves basking in the glow of his adoring fans. I saw Rhett play solo at the Paradise for the second time in two years last night, and it was more of the same. More catchy, clever roots-rock/country/pop songwriting, more over the top acoustic guitar showmanship, more charismatic between song commentary, and more of that damn pretty face and not quite self-deprecating ego. But you gotta love it. He played his heart out for 90 minutes and two encores, playing Old 97s hits, songs from his solo album, and previews of songs from his new solo album to come out in February.

The Old 97s are one of my favorite bands, and Satellite Rides is without doubt in my top 5 albums list. If I were to make such a list, I mean. Rhett proves he's the real deal live, and I can't wait for the next time he's in town with the band!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Radical Cartography

Check out Radical Cartography for some of the most fascinating maps I've ever seen. For example, there's a map of US area codes that changes over time, an interactively defined map of Nice, France (that doesn't make sense - check it out), and maps showing what it would look like if Manhattan were located adjacent to LA, Boston, and Philadelphia to compare scale. There is some work from Boston - here is a map with the T system overlaid on a map showing squares:



The best stuff is interactive and not postable - check it out.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Neptune Oyster

After several hours in Starbucks Sunday editing a powerpoint and boning up on New Urbanism for my first Fellowship trip in November, Heather and I grabbed dinner at Neptune Oyster on Salem Street in the North End. The place is tiny (20+ seats and extended bar seating) and bustling with activity, with cool decor that's somehow 1920s, modern, and oceanic at the same time.

We split oysters, all were excellent and it was unique and fun to be faced with a menu featuring oysters from over 10 different locations. I had flounder with capers and grapes, it was mouthwatering, Heather had the lobster roll which reached dessert-worthy heights of butteryness and was overstuffed with huge chunks of tender lobster. We hit Neptunes on a Sunday night, I think it would be the perfect spot to grab oysters and a drink before a big Saturday night out, but be prepared to wait.

Here's a picture I took of Hanover Street on the way to dinner, testing my new camera's night vision. I love the narrow streets, and in this picture the bend in the street allows the church to termintate the view, producing a sense of enclosure.

Necessary? I think not.

While sitting at Starbucks doing some work yesterday I realized that I have not written about any of my pet peeves yet, which means I have been severely underutilizing this platform I have created for myself. What made me think of it at Starbucks is napkins. It drives me crazy at fast-food type "restaurants" when I see someone buy a cheeseburger and a soda and take TEN napkins from the dispenser. If you're taking a pile of napkins that big I better see ketchup flying at your table, if you leave with food to go there'd better be an impending soda catastrophe in the car, because otherwise the wastefulness is so unnecessary. I don't think I have ever needed more then two napkins, and you all know I'm a mess.

Can you tell it's Monday?

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Fitting in

Some of the most interesting buildings in Boston are the result of architects constrained by strangely shaped lots, especially downtown (as opposed to the planned Back Bay "grid"). Here are a few examples I pass every day on my way from the office to the gym. Devonshire & Franklin:


I love this building. About one office wide at the State Street subway exit, the strangely triangular building widens to be three or four times as wide at the far end.


Wednesday, October 05, 2005

New Urbanism & Mississippi to make history

In what promises to be a huge step towards New Urbanism's tipping point, Andres Duany and the CNU are leading a multi-disciplinary design charrette in Mississippi next week. Here's an excerpt from the charrette website:

"Working with Gov. Haley Barbour, a national team of 100 architects, planners, development experts, and other professionals organized by the Chicago-based Congress for the New Urbanism, will gather in Biloxi, Mississippi Oct. 11 for a post-Katrina planning effort unprecedented in its scope and intensity."

Stay tuned...

The Time Traveler's Wife (***½/****)

Males, don't be afraid of the "testament to the power of love across time" book review excerpt on the cover of Audrey Niffenger's The Time Traveler's Wife. This book is a love story at heart, but it's much more than that. It's funny, quirky, sometimes shocking, sometimes gritty, and never overly sentimental. Well, maybe once or twice, but I let Niffenger off the hook.

Time Traveler's Wife is a fascinating study of Henry, who travels to random times and places in his past (and occasionally future) against his will, and his relationship with Clare, his eventual wife, who has to deal with the physical and emotional consequences. Niffenger plays with time travel scenarios in fresh and unique ways, as Henry visits Clare (and himself, sometimes) in her childhood and we have to figure out what Clare and Henry know about each other based on their respective present. That probably doesn't make sense unless you've read the book, but it's such a cool concept presented in a completely original way.

TTW is set in Chicago where I lived for 2 years, and Henry is a punk music lover in his twenties for much of the book, just like me, so I enjoyed the music references. This is a great book, one of those books I'm sad to finish because I'll never be able to experience it again for the first time. Unless I start time traveling.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

The Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday, Eileen!!

Monday, October 03, 2005

Rangeley, again

Another great weekend at Rangeley Lake in Maine with Heather and her friend Kittson (unfortunately David had to stay in NY) at Kittson's parents' house. Lazy Saturday on the lake:


A scenic overlook of Rangeley Lake:




"Downtown" Rangeley, which features a great small bookstore, ice cream shop, restaurant/pubs with lake views, a sporting goods store, and a few other shops.


Good thing I wore my green sweater, because we were presented with this once in a lifetime photo opportunity:

Another scenic overlook on our way to Portland to drop off Kittson.