well, this would be 2008. and supposedly i've not posted in quite a while, once again. again, things have been a little busy, but not so much that i shouldn't have been here at the computer typing away and uploading pictures and all those things that make people want to read blogs. why would you want to read this one??
well, for a while we were actually putting recipes up here, that was fun. and then maybe there was some talk of city planning and maybe public transportation...
now things might be a little different, and maybe at the same time a little more accessible for posting and things like that. we actually have the internet now. no more internet cafes or making time to go use the interweb... it actually exists right here in this room from which i'm currently writing.
so what's been happening?
i've gone back to college, that's the biggest thing i suppose. i've definitely been cooking a lot, making quite a few new recipes from an amazing recipe book put out by two girls from brooklyn and queens called "veganomicon", perhaps one of the best recipe books i've ever read. not only is it full of excellent recipes it's full of useful tips on equipment and nutrition as well. plus it seems to be very community oriented, and by that i mean that the authors have tried and tested all the recipes with their friends, and they make it known. even a few of the recipes have come from some of their friends. and community is something important here making the book extra special in this respect. perhaps if i keep this a little more up to date you might find some pictures of their recipes.
recently there's been a lot more german being spoken and hear around this apartment, since that's kinda what i'm learning at college. but there are also some good books being read and some excellent music being listened to:
books
cradle to cradle
moon palace
winning at all costs
nicht lustig vol3
television/movies
family guy
samurai champloo
wild style
music
der Plan
MIA
cave singers
or, the whale

all of these have found their way into the environment here. being home a lot more since working less, i've had a little more time for the plants around here, too. it would have to happen then that the rosemary would get a lovely case of the rosemary beetle. that pesky little beetle perhaps somehow related to the colorado beetle has taken quite fondly to my rosemary plants and already killed one of the two. careful watching over the one has for now saved it so hopefully as it warms up i'll be able to put it back outside, maybe repot it and we'll see some new growth. there's a been a little new growth of late, having finally succumbed to the liquid plant food after watching how pathetic the rosemary and thyme were becoming having stayed inside all winter.
on slightly more important matters, nyc has started to talk a lot about congestion pricing. it's up to albany now after hearing from advocates, neighborhoods, citizens and others their thoughts on the congestion pricing plan for manhattan and some various parking permit zoning for brooklyn neighborhoods. the state has until 31march to vote on the plan. for more information check out transportation alternatives. let's hope albany realizes just how much of an impact this plan could have on a city such as manhattan, completely clogged with personal automobile traffic to an extreme excess. this would encourage people who normally drive to utilize public transportation more, thus decreasing air and noise pollution. this would in turn create a more encouraging atmosphere for cycling and pedestrians, along with the city's slightly increased efforts on the bicycling front regarding new bike lines and a proposed new greenway in manhattan along with better signage, more bike parking and some interesting talk of a bike-share program, not unlike what has just been implemented in paris and has already been in use in other european cities such as vienna. apparently the city wants to try it out on governor's island, possibly to simultaneously push tourism to the old military island in new york harbor. while i don't think the city is giving the project ample experimentation time being so isolated there on the island it's still a great push for the city to be even considering such a communal project as a bike-share. it will be most interesting to see how our US individualism reacts to such a thing. and here's hoping! having utilized the bike share in vienna i feel it's a great plan and if people have the right mind set to appreciate how useful it is i think it could be an amazing thing for such a clogged city as new york. the bike-share would be best utilized if the state brings into effect the congestion pricing, further creating an encouraging environment for cyclists.
by the way, if you haven't yet seen the new bike lanes on the short strip of canal st. at the manhattan entrance to the northside manhattan bridge bike path it's a breath of fresh air. besides the westside greenway it's probably the only other place in manhattan that actually feels like the city cares about it's cyclists.
cheers