Some observations

I'd like to begin by saying hello to the United Kingdom and Germany. I've noticed that you looked at my posts. I also want to say hello to my fans in South Korea and the United States. I hope you like what I've written so far and maybe you can provide me with feedback or a full-time job writing about historic preservation and urban design. I just thought I might put in a shameless plug for myself. Anyway, the day is moving along in slow motion. Even the job search is moving at a snail's pace. It happens. That's the way things go, sometimes everything moves quickly and other times it's like watching paint dry. During the slow times I try to find ways to occupy myself constructively so I stay out of trouble and out of the malls. Living next to a shopping is pretty big temptation to spend all my free time there. I will confess that I do prefer to spend my time at the Barnes and Noble in the mall, not so bad. So far, the only highlight in my day has been watching a video log made by the person who inspired me to start blogging more frequently during a recent flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Los Angeles, California. It was a rather nice almost seven minute Vlog with the requisite snow capped mountains and images of Los Angeles. Speaking of Los Angeles today is the Mayoral primary elections. In the United States these type of elections seem to bring out very few interested parties. Somehow local elections don't rate nearly as high as presidential or state elections. They certainly have a lot less heat. Strange though, Los Angeles is a city that seems ready for major changes in its urban life but there seems to be competing visions for how to accomplish this. In its two hundred-forty-three year history (yes it is that old) no one or entity has been able to come up with some sort of cohesive plan that would make the city a place with a defined center and not something in search of a center. In the last twenty years or so, the make up of the place has changed dramatically. The needs of the city: transportation, affordable housing, schools, et cetera have increased. Yet despite many good and bad intentions, there just seems to be a glaring lack of any real clear thought as to which direction the city should take. The candidates in the running to be the next Mayor all seem have some vague idea as what they want to do but very little in the way of how to accomplish it. There is one candidate who has had experience with community revitalization in his own council district, so he looks promising. So we'll see what happens next. In the meantime, the world spins merrily on its axis and life goes on.