True 40

Finished:

38) McCarthy's The Crossing
39) Zot!
40) n+1, #7

Consumption '08

As the year comes to a close, let's look back at my personal consumption. This blog has served as an accurate archive of the books I've read (most of which I've purchased...though I've bought others that are still sitting on my shelf) but what about other "culture" and "experience"? I'll do my best to recount the movies, music (live and recorded), plays that have entertained and taught me, as well as the trips I've taken for both work and pleasure.

Let's start with air travel since it is one of the popular luxuries to which we've grown accustomed.

1 trip to Honolulu (work), 5400 miles
2 trips to Berkeley (work), 2800 miles
3 trips to Tucson (work), 5000 miles
1 trip to Denver (personal), 2000 miles
1 trip to Albuquerque (personal), 2600 miles
2 trips to Texas (personal), 3500 miles

For a grand total of about 21,500 miles, just a few thousand miles short of the circumference of the Earth (24,900 miles at the Equator). At an average of about 0.21 kg of carbon dioxide per mile that makes my output 4515 kgs (9933 pounds). Through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, I could offset this using seven wind and solar green tags, which would cost me $189.

Though I hardly ever drive, we did take two trips by car this summer. One from Seattle to Denver and the other down to the Oregon Coast. Call the first round trip about 3000 miles and the second 400 miles for a total of 3400 miles, half of which were moving me, so 1700 miles. To get to an even number, let's say I drove another 300 miles throughout the year (around Seattle, Denver, and on work-related trips) for a total of 2000 miles. According the BEF calculator, this is only about 800 lbs of carbon (we have a Prius) so one more green tag would take care of that.

So the grand total to offset my transportation costs is $216. Not too bad. Maybe that will be my birthday gift to myself in a few weeks. And, of course, while the whole idea of offsetting -- one of capitalism's solutions to excessive consumption -- can be seen as a license to galavant around the globe freely, it is at least a step in the right direction. A real step would be if my office would pay to offset my work-related travel miles (which are about 60% of my total) and I would take care of my own personal carbon emissions. It could be a great marketing tool but I don't think that's enough to convince 'em. How about a law?

Socialist!

While this seems like quite a bit of traveling, I can take some solace in the fact that it is less than in the last two years, where I managed to go to Hawaii a few more times, Chicago, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Florida, as well as Texas multiple times. I guess it's no coincidence that we have drastically reduced our credit card debt in '08.

But, I digress. I've been a very good consumer. Up next, culture in general (music, movies, theater).

Gift

Last week I mentioned in passing that I wanted a shirt that said "Grow," like Christopher Lydon. Risa drew this and had it made for me at B-BAM.

39 and 40

Two by Jean Baudrillard:

America
Simulacra and Simulation

But, looking back to a previous post where I counted Pelham and the remainder of McCarthy's Border Trilogy as done, this actually brings me to 37 finished. My strategy for the next ten days is basically a bender:

Real 38 and 39: Finish McCarthy
Real 40: Finish n+1 #7
41: Finish Zot!, a collection comics by Scott McCloud
42: If available from the library, finish Pelham
43: I read about half of Watchmen early this year; I can knock that out for number 43.

So, that leaves me with 7 fewer books than my goal but it cleans up all these loose ends...maybe I'll get snowed in and can devote all my time to finishing these.

Alinsky (Book #38)

In preparation for my research paper on technology as a basis for participatory and "healthy" urban design, I picked up one of the classics on community participation and organizing: Reveille for Radicals, by the late, great Saul Alinsky.

Those of you that first heard the term "community organizer" in reference to President-Elect Obama, as I did, should be happy to know that Alinsky was one of the most successful organizers as well as a model for Mr. Obama. Whether Obama has what it takes to push a real progressive agenda has been questioned but, if this book is any indication, I would say I think it's more likely than I did last week.

Alinsky defines the radical as someone who truly loves and cares for the great masses of people and is so identified with them that he shares their injustices and sufferings (at this point, I was thinking that I'm definitely too judgemental to be a radical). Alinsky continues to say that the radical is "completely concerned with fundamental causes rather than current manifestations" (I believe I fit into this category, so maybe I'm half radical?).

As the book progresses he asserts that the real problem with democracy is the focus on the form and structure rather than the content, i.e. the people. He continues with tactics to organize people, form a social program, involve natural leaders from established groups, and so on. Many case studies are related that show the true details of bottom-up, or grass-roots, social action.

Two of the most poignant points he makes are that true change come from an active and informed base and that all problems are interrelated. The former leads the reader into methods of involving and educating and the public by doing things with them, rather than for them, and encouraging personal "discovery" as education; the latter idea is especially useful when trying to organize groups that were formed to address smaller issues, such as labor, religion, public health, etc.

I've never thought of myself as radical and this volume has not convinced me otherwise. I think I lack the faith in the common man and the patience to ever fit within the parameters Alinsky has set. But, at the same time, I can identify with what he is saying and know that he is describing the apotheosis of a radical, rather than one you might find living on your block. After reading this book I can look back at the excitement surrounding Obama, and the grassroots movements that helped him win the presidency, in a new light. Maybe there really is something special about these community organizers from the windy city...

And in closing, I suspect that Norman Mailer read Alinsky and that's one why he hated to be referred to as a liberal (Alisnky says "Liberals dream dreams; radicals build the world of men's dreams.")

Equal Rights March

A Book, A Real Book!

In the past 48 hours I managed to make my way through a real book, The Image of the City. It is a seminal work in the field of urban planning and was written in 1960 by Kevin Lynch. The whole premise is to understand how people "read" the city, visually. He and his team studied Boston, Jersey City, and Los Angeles with the help of residents who participated in interviews and drew mental maps (a map drawn of your city from memory). From all this information, he breaks cities down into constituent elements that designers can focus on to create more "imageable" (or "visually legible") cities. It's a classic and even though it was written almost 50 years ago, it would serve the design community, especially the developers, well to read it in earnest.

So, since someone at the library has Pelham on hold, I'm going to return it tomorrow, unfinished, and call Lynch's book number 36. Issue 7 of n+1 comes out next week so that will likely be 37. And if I can get to the final book in McCarthy's trilogy, Cities of the Plain, that will be 38. Maybe I'll get to 40 by years end...especially if I can find another copy of Pelham.

I've already committed myself to a fresh start on new years day. On the recommendation of Jabiz, I've decided that I'll start 2009 with a new author: Gore Vidal. His Narrative of Empires is a collection of seven historical novels which span from the dawn of our nation to 1950, and then with a final chapter at the start of the 21st century. Think I can make to fifty books in '09? I doubt it too.