― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 20:53 (twenty years ago) link
― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 20:55 (twenty years ago) link
Slight x-post with Gygax here:
There seems to be some confusion here -- Davis has made a deserved and notable name for himself over the past fifteen years with a series of books, articles and presentations about the poor state of urban and suburban affairs when it comes to any number of issues in Southern California and Los Angeles in particular. This includes land management, which he has suitably and understandably attacked on many fronts given its current (mis)use. While I cannot claim complete familiarity with all his conclusions I would be very surprised if he did not offer up some general suggestions or at the least pointed out what the problem areas were that needed work. He is a researcher and academic, he is not a politician by trade, and he uses his academic standing to advance his conclusions and beliefs in much the same way that Edward Said, for instance, was able to do in turn with regard to Palestinian issues. I am not trying to say he's a perfect person -- there's a reason I made the Ibsen reference, though others would be able to speak on that point more than I could -- but I am confused as to your immediate and specific annoyance with him given his background and well known public statements.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:02 (twenty years ago) link
It's not truly annoyance, though it may come out sounding like that. What I said was more a reaction to the tone of the article---than to the individual, himself. (That was why I'd asked the question about useful suggestions.) As I'm not obviously a CA resident, I'd have no way to know about Davis' high standing and expertise, beforehand.
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:10 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:15 (twenty years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:25 (twenty years ago) link
― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:27 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:43 (twenty years ago) link
― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:45 (twenty years ago) link
Can't we all just get along?
― Nicolars (Nicole), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:46 (twenty years ago) link
― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:47 (twenty years ago) link
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:49 (twenty years ago) link
― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 21:54 (twenty years ago) link
― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 22:12 (twenty years ago) link
Davis quite rightly points out a the class differences in civic services that occurred during the 1993 Malibu fire when the fire trucks rolled to protect the multi-million dollar homes, but did nothing to protect the poorer areas. Obviously there's only so many resources to go around, and you can't protect everything but still...
Lastly developers STILL build houses with wood shake shingle roofs out here which is just fucking insane. My mom's place has always had a rock roof and we were very meticulous about keeping the brush around our house clear and planting ice plant on the hillside below. Not to get all smug about it, but when the 1993 firestorm came through Laguna, we were fine while half of the houses on our street burned to the foundations.
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 22:26 (twenty years ago) link
I'd say! Do the developers consider that to be more cost effective? If so, I can't see how....
My mom's place has always had a rock roof and we were very meticulous about keeping the brush around our house clear and planting ice plant on the hillside below. Not to get all smug about it, but when the 1993 firestorm came through Laguna, we were fine while half of the houses on our street burned to the foundations.
Yeah, those pics of yours spoke volumes. Afterward, did the neighbors rebuild with rock roofs?
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 23:33 (twenty years ago) link
at 12 pm i went home for lunch and the smoke had rolled in so thick that you could stare straight at the sun - our visibility was down to maybe 500m. everything looks like you're looking through brown-tinted sunglasses. you park your car and when you come back it's covered in fine white ash. the air is so bad it makes your head spin just walking around in it.
and i live a mile from the beach, about twenty miles west of the fires.
― vahid (vahid), Tuesday, 28 October 2003 23:53 (twenty years ago) link
It just makes me sad to think of the flames enveloping my city...sigh
― Vic, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 00:19 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:04 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:05 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:06 (twenty years ago) link
― Priscilla Beaulieu Magnatech (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:07 (twenty years ago) link
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:07 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:09 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:11 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:13 (twenty years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:13 (twenty years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:15 (twenty years ago) link
http://www.impawards.com/1989/posters/miracle_mile.jpg
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:16 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:21 (twenty years ago) link
http://abclocal.go.com/images/102803_Satellite_View_map.jpg
Crazy stuff.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:35 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:37 (twenty years ago) link
(x-post)
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:38 (twenty years ago) link
an argument in favor of high density living. it's okay to hear your neighbors before you get to know them or after you know them. or have fewer possessions and move around a lot. jess's ideal city - anonymity.
― youn, Wednesday, 29 October 2003 01:41 (twenty years ago) link
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0310/gallery.fires.space/4.nasa.seawifs.jpg
Yeesh.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 02:04 (twenty years ago) link
― Vic (Vic), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 02:06 (twenty years ago) link
I'll tell you who I'm glad I'm not -- the hunter in San Diego County who, apparently being lost, set a small fire to summon help. This is a perfectly understandable move in the case of distress and if you need to get attention, but a few VERY basic precautions on the hunter's part in terms of setting up such a fire -- and even then it would have to have been an incredibly calculated risk since the dry weather and miles upon miles of ready to burn fuel in all the parched plants and the winds are, as noted earlier, the ultimate conditions for a blaze to burn in -- and nothing might have happened. If he followed those precautions as best he could -- well, he rolled the dice and we've seen the result. The hunter in question has been arrested and will face felony charges, but besides all the lost homes the blaze he sparked up has claimed the bulk of deaths so far -- not something I would want on my conscience at all.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 02:22 (twenty years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 06:34 (twenty years ago) link
More on the guy who maybe started the big San Diego fire. Looks like the story is more complicated than it first appeared -- it's not positive if he actually started it yet, and it seems he was suffering from a major lack of food and water. Hrm.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 06:38 (twenty years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 09:44 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 16:11 (twenty years ago) link
"I asked him what he started it with, and he wouldn't comment," Weldon added. "He just remained quiet."
Perhaps, some part of his consciousness realised he started off something major (even in his delirium)?
Can't help feeling sorry for him on some level: if karma truly exists, his line has just gotten screwed for generations.
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 17:54 (twenty years ago) link
― nickn (nickn), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 19:10 (twenty years ago) link
At least with hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes, you know it would be quite difficult for bored 23-year-old shitheads to just "start" them.
― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:03 (twenty years ago) link
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:11 (twenty years ago) link
― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:32 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:34 (twenty years ago) link
Indeed it is striking to what extent the current fire map (Rancho Cucamonga, north Fontana, La Verne, Simi Valley, Vista, Ramona, Eucalyptus Hills, Scripps Ranch, and so on) recapitulates geographic patterns of heaviest voter support for the recall.
I really, really, really do not want to gloat over a catastrophe that has killed a number of people and left many, many more homeless...but sometimes karma in action can be an astonishing thing. Still, once the fire has died down, what are the odds that people will take this issue seriously?
― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:40 (twenty years ago) link
― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 29 October 2003 20:45 (twenty years ago) link