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It’s Independence Day weekend. In honor of this event, here’s a reprint of an article from one of my favorite anarchists.
Continue reading A New Declaration of Independence

Last night we had a presentation at our library about the Ohio River Greenway project. This has been an ongoing project for a number of years, and I believe it’s one of the most exciting and important redevelopment projects in our region.

The mission of the Ohio River Greenway is to provide a common linkage between the communities of Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and New Albany, Indiana along the banks of the Ohio River and to promote a passive recreational environment for river access, while allowing each community to construct riverfront amenities to enhance the overall project.

Continue reading Ohio River Greenway

I’m sure most people have heard by now of the wanderings of Mark Sanford, (Republican, despite what Fox News wants you to think) governor of South Carolina. He disappeared completely for four days over the past weekend. First, nobody knew where he was or how to get in touch with him. Then, he was supposed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail on a weekend which included Nude Hiking Day, prompting some interesting speculation. Finally, he was supposed to be in Argentina.

Continue reading Sanford and Indiana

L.L. Zamenhof (1859-1917) had two great ideas in his life. The first, Esperanto, is fairly well-known. The second, mostly unknown, is my topic today.

Continue reading Homaranismo

How goofy and horrible is life. Just
look into the faces of the lovers
as they near their drastic destinations,
the horses lathered and fagged. Just
look at them handling the vase
priced beyond the rational beneath
the sign stating the store’s breakage
policy, and what is the rational but
a thing we must always break? I am not
the only one composed of fractious murmurs.
From the point of view of the clouds,
it is all inevitable and dispersed—
they vanish over the lands to reconstitute
over the seas, themselves again
but no longer themselves, what they wanted
they no longer want, daylight fidgets
across the frothy waves. Most days
you can’t even rub a piece of charcoal
across paper laid on some rough wood
without a lion appearing, a fish’s umbrella
skeleton. Once we believed it told us
something of ourselves. Once we even believed
in the diagnostic power of ants. Upon
the eyelids of the touched and suffering,
they’d exchange their secretive packets
like notes folded smaller than chemicals.
They told us nearly nothing, which
may have been enough now that we know
so much more. From the point of view
of the ant, the entire planet is a dream
quivering beneath an eyelid, and who’s to say
the planet isn’t. From the point of view
of the sufferer, it seems everything will
be taken from us except the sensation
of being crawled over. I believe everything
will be taken from us. Then given back
when it’s no longer what we want. We
are clouds, and terrible things happen
in clouds. The wolf’s mouth is full
of strawberries, the morning’s a phantom
hum of glories, morning glories.

I don’t often pay any attention to current music, but I discovered Lily Allen a few weeks ago, and I love her. She’s got a charming voice, and a wicked sense of humor. In some ways, she reminds me of April March (another of my favorites). If you haven’t listend to her album It’s Not Me, It’s You then you really should.

Here’s her new video from the album. Just a warning, it’s kind of explicit, and probably not safe for work or school. There’s an unofficial fan video out, also, but this is the one she released. I kind of like the fan video better. (OK, I can’t get the official one to work, so here’s the fan video.)

When I Heard at the Close of the Day

When I heard at the close of day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow’d,

And else when I carous’d, or when my plans were accomplish’d, still I was not happy,

But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh’d, singing, inhaling the ripe breath of autumn,

When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,

When I wander’d alone over the beach, and undressing bathed, laughing with the cool waters, and saw the sun rise,

And when I thought how my dear friend my lover was on his way coming, O then I was happy,

O then each breath tasted sweeter, and all that day my food nourish’d me more, and the beautiful day pass’d well,

And the next came with equal joy, and with the next at evening came my friend,

And that night while all was still I heard the waters roll slowly continually up the shores,

I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands as directed to me whispering to congratulate me,

For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night,

In the stillness in the autumn moonbeams his face was inclined toward me,

And his arm lay lightly around my breast—and that night I was happy.

Here is a picture of one of our local streets. This is one I walk every day. As you can see, there is no sidewalk or bike lane. It’s great for cars, but not too good for anything else.

Country Club Drive approaching Graybrook Lane

Some things you can’t really tell from this picture:

• there’s not really any crosswalks on this road
• there’s a (relatively) new senior center across the road, but no way for any of the residents to get out of it except by car.

I’ll be talking about the bus stops on near this corner in a subsequent post.

This is an issue I’ve become very interested in. The streets in this town are not safe for pedestrians or cyclists of any age. Many streets have incomplete or nonexistent sidewalks, a lot of sidewalks are in disrepair, and there are few (if any) bike lanes. With the increases in gasoline prices we’ve seen recently, that alone is a good reason to start making complete streets in New Albany. I’ll have some photos up soon showing some of the worst offenders. In the meantime, please check out the website Complete the Streets. There’s a lot of good information there.