I have been watching my local government access channel on TV today. They have been showing talks given by Andres Duany and Susan Susanka back in June for World Environment Day here in San Francisco.  I found the talks fascinating and very optimistic.

I hope we will be hearing soon about what these New Urbanist architects have to say about the problems and the opportunities in rebuilding New Orleans to make it a greener and more livable place than it was---while retaining its distinct character. We need to be hearing from people with good ideas before decisions on rebuilding are made.

SF Gate (the San Francisco Chronicle website) posted an article in yesterday which provides several viewpoints on how to rebuild New Orleans, including a New Urbanist's point of view:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/04/REBUILD.TMP

If you would like to see the Susanka/Duany speeches, Susan Susanka has a link to them from her website http://www.notsobighouse.com. Or you can go directly to the video page:

http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=36

Saturday evening there was a lengthy discussion in one of the diaries in which conspiracy theories about 9/11 were brought into the discussion. Some people think that such theories represent more of the truth than the "official" government story because who can believe this (*&^%$$# Bush administration? They lie all the time anyhow. So maybe some of the things that this government has been telling us about 9/11 and other things is complete garbage...and conspiracy theories can fill in the gaps.

The new issue of the New Yorker includes an article by Louis Menand about how people decide who to vote for. It's not very encouraging.

Even though I live in San Francisco, I didn't remember hearing this man's story before I seeing him in the movie. What bothers me, though, is the revelation in the article that the man doesn't vote!!!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/27/BAG0T7CUHP1.DTL

My mom is a Republican and a convert to Catholicism. She says that she's not voting for Bush (she doesn't like the economy and Iraq is really bothering her too) but she hasn't come around to wanting to vote for Kerry. (She would have voted for Dean). I sent her an e-mail about how some conservative bishops were talking about denying Communion to Kerry because of his positions on gay marriage and abortion. Hurray for Mom, because she wrote this:

What is all boils down to is what happens in just 15 states. Every other state is either already a forgone conclusion.

http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/02/con04080.html

I just saw Ebert and Roeper on TV. They say "The Passion of the Christ" is a really excellent film, doesn't seem at all anti-Semitic to them, is really well acted and that people should really make an effort to see it.

Mel is such a religious nut that I hate to support him. But...if it's really a good film, maybe it's worth seeing despite Mel's...uh...problems.

Another premature sports death. Speculation is drugs, of course.

Yeah, Pantani used EPO. Is that how he won the Tour de France? Maybe. But watching Pantani climb a mountain was something to see. It's too bad he felt that he needed to use drugs.  I'm very sorry he's gone.