I came across this article online touting the vision for Neo-traditional/"new urbanism" planning in a number of towns along the Gulf coast that were devastated by Katrina.

I may not have mentioned it but I have a Master's degree in Urban Planning & Policy and this "Neo-Trad" development idea was the predominant model for transportation and housing design when I was in school, and it continues to have a strong following among planners, architects, developers, and local governments today.

I nearly laughed out loud when I read the following quote from the dean of Tulane's School of Architecture:

"This is a very conservative, very waspy ideology," said Reed Kroloff, dean of the Tulane University School of Architecture and head of a New Orleans rebuilding committee. "There's no doubt that a fair amount of New Urbanist principles have found their way into the embrace of the American right. ... They call themselves neo-traditionalists. Neo-traditionalists and neo-conservatives make a very happy marriage."

My experience with Neo-trad proponents is that many of the professors I had were practically socialists in terms of their personal politics and vision for community. When the key elements of such a plan include:

• persons of mixed income living next door to one another (i.e. - certain percentage of housing units reserved for section 8 housing right there in the neighborhood as opposed to the "old school" method of shuffling/segregating the poor into warehouses (housing projects) or slums)
• preservation of land/open space to promote cleaner air and water
• layout of commercial services (shopping, etc.) within walking distance of housing, further fostering a sense of "community"
• overall layout conducive to pedestrian and public transit traffic; significantly less dependence by residence upon cars (obviously a huge benfit for those who can't afford cars.)

Yeah, those sound like inherently "neo-con" ideas to me (insert sarcastic smirk here.)

Granted, the money and time just may not be available to these Gulf cities to start from scratch with a neo-trad layout. And that is really a shame, because it could truly be a boon to persons across the socio-economic spectrum who deserve not only improvement upon the existing devastation but the promise of a more inclusive, vibrant, welcoming hometown to call their own.

Although well-intended, the money and time needed to execute such development just may not exist in many of the towns affected. This is an enormous tragedy unto itself - just read the many articles and blogs that tell how bad things STILL are and how in some towns things are getting worse these many months post-Katrina.

But to call someone offering VISION - upbeat and perhaps a bit idealistic/unrealistic, but a VISION, nonetheless -  "waspy" and "neo-conservative" - to me that is utterly preposterous. Its a classic example of a party pooper; someone draining the spirit and energy from a region that so desperately needs it.

To me, the ultimate "neo-con" or just plain old "con" idea of planning consists of gated communites for the rich and gated housing projects for the poor - and never the two shall meet. The rich can get in their SUV's and haul off to some luxury mall or organic grocery store. The poor shop at...well the neo-con's don't care where they spend their food stamps. As long as it ain't in THEIR neighborhood.

I wish I could offer grants from philanthropic pockets to communities who realize that in the past, there were blighted areas, slums, and a dispartiy among the populace and now, amidst the devastation of a natural disaster, something POSITIVE can be done to improve the lives of all residents and business owners. That through careful, creative and equitable planning and development, the South can "rise again" so to speak.

Idealistic, unrealistic, not what everyone wants? Yes, likely. Neo-con? Hardly.

I cannot be the first person to notice this:

Santino Rice (Project Runway contestant, season 2):

Overarching qualities: Narcissistic, outrageous, prone to fashion faux-pas, drives Michael Kors crazy.

Osama Bin Laden (International terrorist): Ditto (minus the Kors thing...)

I have been feeling quite well the past few weeks. My back has been solid and thuus I'm back to areobics, weight training, and yoga 4x's a week in various combos.

I'm doing well enough that...I am really thinking I can rev up my training routine to get me ready for a triathlon by mid-summer.

Belive it or not my least-favorite element is biking. I have an indoor trainer can use but its been quite nice around here lately with dry roads. Today would be a perfect day to go for a spin on the schwinn but I volunteered to help out on a project at my daughter's school this afternoon so I'll have to wait for another sunny, dry, non-windy day for a road workout.

In the meanwhile I've already ordered a new bathing suit to begin pool workouts and I'll plan to start running again TOMORROW.

Oh, and my stomach has been doing pretty nicely, as well - so much so that I'm down to only one pill daily for the GI-related issues.

I think I was inspired in part by this funny logo I saw recently on shirts and stickers online:

Yeah, I'd love to be sportin' that on my car bumper as I drop my kid off at school every day! hehehe.

As I have noted, my daughter is participating as a cast member in my Church's Spring Musical. There are about 60 people particpating, mostly middle-aged women, an assortment of kids, a smattering of middle aged-to-elderly men, and our two young (ie - Thirty-somethings, as far as I can guess) priests.

Since I have previous experince designing and sewing costumes, I signed up to be in costume crew. I thought it'd also be a nice way to meet some similarly-creative friends.

I was escorting my daughter to practice last Sunday when I saw a table full of fabrics, pattern books and sizing sheets. I approached one of the three gray-haired ladies who were sorting the bolts of polyester double-knits and inquired about the costume crew duties. I hadn't known they were "meeting" at that time and wondered if my application to volunteer was misplaced or rejected. The ladies were thrilled to hear that I was on-board and that I have some sewing skills. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that I'm both the only non-menopausal costumer as well as one of the top two as far as "skill level" - thus ensuring that I'll have ALOT of work ahead of me. Nonetheless, the "Church Ladies" were quite friendly and welcoming. One of the ladies was chatting with me for awhile and revealed herself to be quite a vivacious, salty gal, so I'm sure working with her will be entertaining.

As one of the ladies prepared to leave, she asked if I would finish up the measurement sheets for the cast members. In particular, she grabbed all of the men's sizing charts and noted that none of them filled in the "inseam measurement" space. She handed me the sheets, a measuring tape, and a pencil and asked, "Can you get the guys' inseams at the next break?"

Great. My first volunteer duty is to manually explore the crotches and inner-thighs of not only the elderly gents in the chorus but also of *gulp*  two Catholic Priests!

Well, isn't that SPECIAL....

It sounded like the plot of a fetish fantasy, or perhaps a campy John Waters pic, depending on your point of view!

Vivacious Church Lady must have noticed my face go ashen because she spoke up and stated, "We can just ask the men what pants size they wear. Men's pants always include the inseam as the second size."

I breathed a sigh of relief at that suggestion and thus obtained the necessary measurements without the previously-implied "intimacy".

How did my family celebrate Marting Luther King, Jr. day yesterday???

Bowling, of course!!!!

Since hubby and kiddo were off we hit the lanes and, unlike past ventures to our local alley, this time I bowled, as well. (Previous trips were when I was pregnant and thus hurtling an 11 lb. ball at breakneck speeds was a no-no for me.)

Can I just say, that for a first time out there I KICKED ASS?!?!

My high score was a respectable 121. And that was with a house ball and rented shoes. I think it helped a great deal that the particular alley we attend plays the most excellent 80's pop/new wave music selelction over their top notch sound system. I must note that I had lousy throws during Cover Girls and Bryan Adams tunes but slammed some strikes home while WHAM!, Depeche (com-)Mode, and, bizzarrely enough, Kenny Loggins hits pulsed in the background. I'm thinking that the Loggins strike was either a fluke or my ensuing disgust revved up my adrenalin level to help get that ball flyin' down the lane at 20 m.p.h. Highway To The Danger Zone, indeed.

Our "senior citizen" of the family, Buster, age 15, (73 in human years) has been patiently dealing with the antics of kitten Percy, now 10 months old, since he joined our family in April.

They are ridiculously cute, snuggling in their over-crowded cat bed each afternoon and sometimes taking the time to groom each other about the ears and such, which, from what I understand of cat behavior, indicates true familial affection not offered to any ole' feline.

Here's a pic of them "then" (April 2005):

...and now (January 2006)

...apparently, I'm not a nerd (see score, below)

> 

Thanks to Tammy for leading me to this quiz/affirmation. I'd love to see my husband's score. He's an Electrical Engineer by education; an electronics hobbyist by choice. Yes, I got him a much-appreciated Radio Shack gift card for Christmas! I suspect he'd be off the charts.

Friday night, my family and I settled into our subterannean quarters (read: basement family room) and enjoyed Star Wars: Episode IV (Yeah, the first one) on DVD. I spied it that afternoon at the library while skulking about the shelves seeking a family-friendly-but-not-too-"kiddie" vid for us to watch over the weekend. Although hubby and I enjoyed reliving our favorite Lucasfilm moments, my 6-year old seems underwhelmed.

After the screening, we meandered up to the kitchen, put kiddo to bed, and hubby and I cleaned up a bit and continued chatting about our sci-fi adventure of the evening. All of a sudden, a mechanical noise blasted out from the stairs below the kitchen.

"What was that?!" questioned hubby, seemingly alarmed.

"Oh, its the litter box."

At this point I need to inform you, gentle readers, that we have not one but TWO of the latest in Feline Waste Management Technology gracing our home. After our automated "Littermaid" gave out, I purchsed two Stylette Littersweep machines to keep the Kitty Krap under Kontrol. (Click the link to fully partake of the hilarity of this item.)

I continued the conversation, segueing in with the Star Wars chatter.

"So, you see, its like we have our own little robots!

"Yeah, R2D2," noted hubby.

I corrected him. "Uh, more like R2 Pee Poo!"

Today I tried a new recipe for my breakfast. Well, not so much a recipe as a technique to produce a dish I usually only eat in brunchy-type restaurants. I learned the following valueable information the hard way:

The correct tool for this job is a large slotted spoon, NOT a spatula.

And with that, I exit stage left, uttering the following:

Ghostly, shivering
Sloshed upon some buttered toast
I am a poached egg

Last week in my parish's bulletin, there was a notice for a vigil to commemorate the Roe Vs. Wade decision. I thought about how much attention the abortion issue gets from so-called "Pro LIfe" people, and yet rarely, if ever, do the numbers of fervent activists address the issue of Capital Punishment. Then I got angry, thinking about people like "W" calling himself Pro-life and "born-again Christian" when during his reign as Texas Governor he thew the switch on over 150 people, inclung the infamous case of fellow "born again," Karla Faye Tucker.

Coincidentally, that evening, I returned home to find that my husband had borrowed a copy of the excellent documentary, Deadline from our local library. The film is so succinct and eloquent in the points it aims to make that I need not waste my jumble of words (nor the bandwidth) to reiterate them here.

To me, one of the most moving parts of the film were statements read by family members of homicide victims who, despite their sorrow and loss, oppose the death penalty. I thought about my own desire to learn to implement this outlook in small ways in my own life.

I'm no pushover. If, even after walking away from a bully, that bully keeps pushing me, I push back. And yet, I have also learned over the past few years that when someone hurts you, really HURTS you, gossip, over-analyzing or even revenge provide no healing, no "closure." Walking away, putting that person/situation and the corresponding negative energy as far away as possible - THAT is what sustains me when I'm am heading toward anger, resentment, jealousy, etc.

Not long ago, a stressful situation would lead me down a road mixed with positive energy (my intact self-esteem) and negative. In one situation I purveyed gossip, cursing, declarations of severe dislike - all of this about some bad driver who cut me off in the school parking lot! Now, if its humanly possible to decline the Ultimate Revenge for the murder of a family member, then maybe there's hope for us road ragers out there. I've been pretty good about "forgiving" or at least "ignoring" some utterly crapulent driving I've seen in the past few months. Sadly for us law-abiding defensive drivers out there, I seem to have to remind myself to "let it go" and not allow the expletives to come streaming out of my mouth, audibly polluting the confines of my '98 Taurus. In '05 I was amazed at my declining rate of car-cussing; maybe one of my '06 goals could be to sustain and perhaps improve upon my track record.