Monday, April 03, 2017

"Everything good must be ruined"

New, unimproved South Park

Letter to the editor in today's Chronicle:


Regarding “All-new South park beckons to everyone” (March 26): The first rule of the 21st century is that everything good must be ruined. My partner and I have owned a loft on South Park going on 24 years. I liked South Park the way it was: a nice little park, humble and of a different time. I especially liked the trees and grass. For me, that’s rule one for an urban park: Bring nature into the city. Now its just a giant slab of concrete. I particularly despise the single ambling path. I don’t want to amble. I want to get where I’m going. 

I also don’t like the kids park — it looks like a futuristic art sculpture rather than a fun place for kids to play. 

Also heartbreaking is the removal of the Academy Award-winning bench. Cate Blanchett won her 2014 best actress Academy Award for her gut-wrenching “Blue Jasmine” closing scene on the bench in the old South Park. Woody Allen never would have filmed in the new South Park. 

Second rule of the 21st century: You have to learn to live with the changes you hate. At least President Trump will go away in four years or less.

David Fink
San Francisco

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2016 by precinct

CITYLAB

This is a precinct map of last year's election. Trump didn't really do that well, since land mass also shows up red on the map. But it nicely shows where the blue areas are. Interesting to see that chunks of Southern Texas are nice and blue:

...Yes, it is very red, we don’t need to remind you. But zoom in a bit closer and you’ll find that there’s a lot more to love about this Decision Desk HQ production from scrappy amateur cartographer Ryne Rhola: It’s a precinct map, a gloriously granular glimpse into our divided nation’s voting proclivities, at the nearly neighborhood level...Unfortunately, you may have to wait patiently to dive fully into the details. At the time of this writing, the server for the map had crashed, likely from the outpouring of interest from map-happy urbanists. Maybe pony up a donation or two and get the guy some server space!

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The economy in perspective

Mother Jones

Kevin Drum on economists' influence on policy.

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