Cocoposts

Global Psychosis

Friday cut and paste via Boing Boing where Cory has intro to Bruce Sterling in Seed Magazine:

Bruce Sterling's lead editorial in SEED Magazine's feature on the 21st century enumerates the disastrous contradictions and changes in the shifting global mindset, and scathingly demands that we fix them. This is inflaming, heady stuff.

Hands Over the City

  The 1963 Italian film, Le Mani Sulla Citta, by Francesco Rosi features  Rod Steiger as an ethically challenged land developer and city councilor. 

Deep Water Hubris

Who-knows-who would-be water entrepreneurs sneak under the wire of new state legislation on deep salty wells.  From the Santa Fe New Mexican:

On Monday, five companies with undisclosed ownership notified the state engineer that they intend to drill deep wells in the Santa Fe area and pump out up to 24 billion gallons a year. They are among various companies that in the past year have been preparing to exploit a rare, unappropriated water supply that underlies the Rio Grande Valley before the New Mexico Legislature considers a bill that could give the state engineer authority over deep wells.

Rabbit Hole Day

Used clothes may smell of dead people's perfume. Thrift store treasures are carefully examined as I remove each item from the shopping bag.  The dog and cat assist and we occasionally make faces together as the accumulated history is revealed in a sniff. 

Smart Growth Ethics

Councilor Cadigan told the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Albuquerque (where Mayor Marty dared not tread) about the SunCal phenomenon and local planning struggles, including the New Mexico State Transportation Commission's proposal to use stimulus money for an interchange project very much to SunCal's benefit. 

Vanishing Horses

LA Times notes that Equestrian Culture may be fading into the sunset - and not just in Southern California. 

"This is a dying phenomenon," said Barbara Blanco, a Loyola law professor and amateur horsewoman. "I am convinced we are the last generation that will keep horses in our yards."

Horses are "increasingly a very expensive luxury," she said.In the San Fernando Valley, Benson and others have formed an advocacy group, the Los Angeles Horse Council, to argue for zoning and other changes that could benefit horse owners.

The third-generation horse owner estimates that more than 50 stables in Lake View Terrace, Sylmar and Sun Valley have closed in the last decade.  That should be of concern even to those who wouldn't dream of climbing onto a horse's back, she said. 

According to Benson, the vanishing of horses is a sign that "we are separated from the land. . . . People are afraid of the dirt. They are afraid of the dark. They have no sense of their place in the natural world."

Art Corsie Dead at 57

From the Albuquerque Journal:

Ex-Rio Rancho Official Dies     

The man who headed Rio Rancho's development department for more than a decade died Friday.  Police have not determined a cause of death for Art Corsie, 57, who was found near his car.  His car was parked on the mesa west of Southern and 10th Street SE in Rio Rancho, a common area for walkers and joggers. Police do not believe his death was suspicious, Rio Rancho police spokesman John Francis said.

Rio Rancho's Sprawl Bonds

Rio Rancho residents in the "mature" part of that sprawling burg are catching on about the difficulty of paying for repair and maintenance when you're busy bonding to benefit builders.  Rosalie Rayburn obscures the point in the Albuquerque Journal West story about the proposed distribution of a $25 million tax-funded bond package. 

Hummer Housing

Denver Post reports on Commerce Department reports, which report "dismal" home construction reports. Reportedly, December "capped the worst  year for builders on record dating to 1959."

Rescuing Real Estate

From the Denver Post comes news of a commercial real estate bailout - spurring more wonder about the wisdom of encouraging SunCal's construction in Albuquerque through TIDD bonds.  Bonds to finance infrastructure, to support more building, with loaned money.