Week 41 (2021)
walkability & car-based cities, infrastructure at human scale, tangible delight, miscarriage & infant loss awareness
(Open in your browser — emails cut off at the end!)
to read: essays, articles
The Hidden Inequality Of Car-Based Design — Tiffany Owens, Strong Towns — “…the pervasiveness of driving in American cities obscures the extent to which car-centricity makes participation very difficult, if not impossible, for millions of citizens.”
Walkability And The Culture Wars — Daniel Herriges, Strong Towns — “More Americans than not grew up in single-use residential communities, where trips to work, school, shopping or dining out were almost always made by car. Despite that, a whopping 39% of respondents to this survey across the board said they would rather live in a walkable neighborhood, even if their home and yard were smaller.”
Care At Scale — Debbie Chachra, Comment — “Collective infrastructural systems that are resilient, sustainable, and globally equitable provide the means for us to care for each other at scale. They are a commitment to our shared humanity.”
Buttered Transcendence — Nathan Beacom, Ekstasis — “In these moments, the philosopher Josef Pieper said, we are invited to give a “yes” to the world. We are given a vision of the world as something fundamentally good and worthy of affirming. This, perhaps, is why a bowl of ravioli could make a grown man shed a tear.”
Loam — Tianna Haas, Curator — Proud to see this internet pal get to have this thoughtful poem published, which she had sat on for two years.
October is Infant Loss Awareness month:
Leah Libresco Sargeant Speaks On Loss And Kindness — Simcha Fischer — “We were looking for a doctor who was a kind person, which wasn’t how we felt about the two doctors we had seen before. It felt like they didn’t see our babies as babies. They barely saw us as people.”
Miscarriage In The Shadow Of Abortion — Ashleen Menchaca-Bagnulo, The Public Discourse — “In an era of female empowerment, how is it that, to so many, I am just another hysterical woman disconnected from reality and blind to science because I mourn my miscarriage?”
to read: books
The Botany Of Desire, Michael Pollan — audio — A mix of science, history, and anthropology. Make me think of the above essay, Buttered Transcendence, if expanded into a book & written from a strictly secular perspective.
A World Lost, Wendell Berry — audio — Been slowly listening through Berry’s novels this year, in order of publication. (His non-fiction essays are more philosophical than I expected, so I prefer reading the physical copies we own.)
to watch
McMillions — Skeptical at first of Jakob’s suggestion, I am now enthralled.
to listen: music
Local Valley — José González
to listen: audio
Screen Fast #2 — A Drink With A Friend — Tsh Oxenreider & Seth Haines are joined by Erin Loechner, who I admire very much for her beautiful writing, including her most recent piece (which I shared recently, and which they discuss). Erin also helped create an educational resource, Other Goose.
Loved their thoughts on the childhoods & worlds we want our children to experience. What are we willing to trade or give up for a more beautiful life?
(Part One of this conversation is also worthwhile. So grateful for their wisdom. Don’t forget to check out the show notes!)
to cook
Pumpkin-Squash Soup — I roasted the squash and pumpkin first, then added to the soup ingredients. Added a small amount of additional items: garlic, celery salt, nutmeg.
Red Velvet Cake — I didn’t have red coloring… and my pastel pink gel coloring obviously didn’t do the trick… but it still made for a tasty birthday cake.
Lentil Soup — Never underestimate the magic of throwing together random produce in a pot… with some chicken broth, salt, garlic, and herbs. I had a package of lentils, a few red potatoes, an onion, and kale.
Pumpkin Bread — Choose any recipe you like, but add 1 - 2 tablespoons of molasses. Makes it taste slightly of gingerbread!
to celebrate
Jakob turned 30. Love that guy.
to remember, reflect
A Year Ago...
Soaking up the last of the year’s warmth in Long Island — often in Port Jefferson, or the backyard.
This Week...
Enjoying my mom jeans. The farmer’s market, where we already recognize people we’ve met elsewhere. Parks & playgrounds, a gift to parents. The toddler befriended in the apartment complex. The toddler “grilling” for his elementary-age squad. Lots of messes cleaned up, repeatedly, every day. Local spots & a cool library. Our fourth church visit as a family — grateful to have met each pastor & plenty of people along the way. Friends on facetime & the corresponding serotonin.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,
who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him.”
James 1:5