circulatory system

I'm sick
from the
blood,
belittle
starry-eyed massacres.
flash a gunshot—
burst balloons
downtown.
taste the sole of my
shoe
this old city
is my circulatory system.
I'm the historiographer
I'm the chemical
dissolver.

gusto! she said

winter is
fattening
up for
the long
chill.
gusto!
she said,
or blew
self-referential.
november colors
descend
like rust on
a creaking
Chevy
and I just
get older.

Funds to Help Homeless in Troy Restored

After being initially rejected by Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian, funding to assist the homeless in Troy, NY has been redirected away from the city and to non-profit organizations directly involved in the cause. $845,000 in federal stimulus money will be funneled around City Hall and to Unity House and Joseph's House and Shelter who will distribute the funds to homeless people looking for shelter and to those who are struggling to stay above water.

The funds were rejected by Tutunjian because the apparent administrative role that the federal funds required of the city. Tutunjian alleges that the administrative cost would have been $42,000 and that the city simply could not afford. Now, to cover administrative costs, $25,000 of the $845,000 will be used by the state to provide administration.

Seems like a reasonable explanation by Tutunjian, right? Well, one would think so until you get to the end of the Times Union article and see what Tutunjian says about the new plan.

"[T]he people in need of assistance will get it, while the cost of such an effort won't be directly financed by the hardworking taxpayers of Troy."

Note his use of the word 'hardworking'. By uttering this he casts doubt on the homeless, insinuating that they are in fact, not hardworking and never were. Homelessness is not a direct result of people being lazy. Also, his statement reveals that he doesn't think anyone should have to help their fellow city resident, regardless of the glaring fact that homelessness is on the rise due to the economic climate. We're all in this together, Mayor Tutunjian.

It is time for the mayor to wake up! His social darwinism is outdated and ignorant. Unfortunately, those who are homeless and are negatively affected by the inane rejection of federal funds (for a social problem that ultimately affects everyone in the city) likely will not vote, considering the history of low-income voters participation in elections.

Thankfully, non-profits will get the chance to help out, with no thanks to Tutunjian. It would be great to see some tangible results.

New Urban Spaces film shorts

I saw a write up about a new series from Babelgum called 'New Urbanism', a series of film shorts exploring the news ways urban spaces are being utilized. As has been heavily reported, for the first time in recorded history, more than 50% of Earth's population lives in urban areas. This growing population in cities will inevitably transform the way cities allocate and use space.

Here's the video clip to give to give you some ideas about what people are doing to reclaim unused or abandoned space.



Check out Babelgum for the short films themselves, should be interesting and good place to look to see what is happening as the populations of cities swell.

Local economic development v. chain stores

I was reading this article about how Bloomington, IN wants to ban chain stores downtown to preserve community character. While I agree with this ordinance whole-heartedly, one part of the article stuck out to me.

"No organized opposition has emerged yet, but real estate professionals are expressing their concerns to Eric Stolberg, a downtown developer whom the mayor appointed to a study committee on the issue.

"I'm hearing from a lot of people that are scratching their heads and saying, 'Why do we even need this?'" Stolberg said."


This quote brings into focus the role of the city planner in local, economic development. A city planner needs to communicate to the public that chain stores not only destroy small-town character and whitewash its culture, but they also take money out of the local economy. Instead of having 100% of profits being put back into the local economy as is often the case with local, independently-owned stores, national chain stores' profits are redirected back through the headquarters, wherever that may be.

A question I am unsure how to answer though is this: why do people desire national chain stores? What do they offer that can't be had elsewhere?

Papergirl

So I contributed to the Albany Papergirl Project, a guerilla street art project that aims to be inclusive with artists and hands out scrolls of artwork via bicycle to random passerbys. It's an interesting project and my friend Sina is really great at energizing people and was wonderful in putting it all together. Papergirl even got a write up in the Times Union, the Albany paper of record.

Before Papergirl hit the streets though, it was exhibited at FLUX, an art and multimedia event held at the restored St. Joseph's church off Clinton Ave in Albany.

Here's a photo of the exhibit. Mine is the one in the middle that says 'GOLD'



Overall it was a great experience. Sina has really got her stuff together and this project showed it. The show at FLUX was also wonderful. As dreadful and cold as Albany can get, the infusion of cool art definitely helps warm me up

unsavory

unwrapping you
like
hard
sweet
candy
is
the most
unsavory
taste
of
the
morning.