A Geography of the Unemployed

"more than 31 Million"

Exaggerations can exist in percentages. Nonetheless, this animated map presents some interesting an alarming results of the change in unemployment history since January 2007.

Interesting Areas of Higher Unemployment:
Southwest South Dakota - Pine Ridge & Rosebud Reservations
North-central South Dakota - Standing Rock Reservation
Michigan- Auto.

Interesting Areas of Lower Unemployment:
Travis County, Texas - Austin
Washington D.C. Metroplex
New Orleans - Rebuilding? Low Populations?
Most of New Hampshire?
Northern Alaska - Oil.

How Americans Spend Their Day...

Which Americans? While the NY Times presents a nifty little interactive table showing how Americans spend their day, they don't specify where polling took place. While likely a random poll, the vast socio-economic differences across the US make me skeptical... although the results seem fairly typical.

At 9 p.m., nearly two-fifths of people are in front of the television. But at almost any hour of the day, a larger share of unemployed people are watching television or movies.

Only one in six unemployed people looks for work on an average day. Those who do spend about three hours on activities like filling out applications or researching jobs.

For every hour Americans over age 15 spend in class for a degree, they spend about 35 minutes on homework.

Inauguration Day Crowds in Washington, D.C.

A friend sent this link to me several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting here. I've seen this image on various websites but the Earth Observatory site has the full resolution image.

"Despite the blustery weather, more than a million people gathered in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2009, to witness and celebrate the inauguration of the forty-fourth president of the United States. The commercial satellite GeoEye-1 captured this high-resolution view of the crowds that morning."

Click here for a link to the NASA Earth Observatory site with the full resolution image. Humans as ants... even with millions gathered... how small we really are.

Powers of Ten

My Netflix account is filled with stuff. So much so, that often when movies/documentaries show up, I usually don't remember putting them on my list. It's nice this way because I never really know what to expect when I put the DVD in the player.

Such is the case with a recent DVD arrival: "The Films of Charles & Ray Eames #1". When did I choose this, I thought... and what is it. So, I put in the DVD and began watching the first chapter, "Powers of Ten". I then realized (remembered) why I put this on my Netflix list. It's only 9 minutes long but really is interesting and makes one think about the relative size of space (not outer space but simply *space*) and the human existence in this space, both at the macro and micro level that we tend to take for granted. I vaguely remember watching it in a science class in high school.

I burned a copy of it, of course, but was able to find an original on YouTube to post here. Oddly, there are some parodies and other versions with new soundtracks and narrators, but the 1977 original is just perfect. More so, during my YouTube search, I realized the the outgoing part to "Men in Black" (where the alien are playing a game of marbles with our galaxy) is based on "Powers of Ten" where our galaxy is but one galaxy in a realm of an endless cosmos filled with matter and gas.

So simple in delivery but deeply provoking in metaphysical reflection. Pretty cool, I thought (no pun intended, although it works).

Enjoy.

The Toadies - In Fayetteville

So, The Toadies are technically from Ft. Worth but I've seen them so many times in Austin, I consider them part of the Austin music scene (what is left of it). Toadies shows in Austin always attract a huge crowd and, as a result, a level of intimacy with the band is difficult to obtain (such as getting up real close to the band without having to deal with idiots). Actually, ones ability to immerse themselves with a band during a performance, on a somewhat personal level, was lost all together with the destruction of Liberty Lunch - but that is an entirely different topic.

A nice thing about Fayetteville is that it is small. Clubs are small, crowds are small and the ability to get up close to the band is easily facilitated with little or no hassle. When "Austin" bands come into Fayetteville (which there are many) I try to make time to see them. It is like going back in time seeing these bands at the small clubs back in Austin, when they existed and when these bands were unknown enough to be able to play them. The Toadies in Fayetteville (George's Majestic to be specific) was one of those occasions and I offer some photos:

From the back of the club at the bar. Pretty small and intimate, huh?
Stage right. Up close with no effort - I didn't even spill my PBR.











Left: Sharon enjoying the front row; Right: Toad Lewis working the guitar
After the show. A blurry, PBR induced photograph of Sharon showing off the guitar pick that was handed to her by Todd Lewis - only achievable in a small venue.

Bikes, Blues, BBQ

Every year Fayetteville hosts the Bikes Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally. During the rally 350,000 bikers overtake the city of Fayetteville (pop. 65,000) and turn the city into one large rumble of bikes and people. Most students that I know here hate it and some even make plans to leave town. I'm just the opposite. I enjoy it. Sure, it is loud but it really is a great example of an American sub-culture in action. Another reason why I enjoy it, is because I used to (if owning a bike is a criteria) be a member. Although it is always a blast to do some serious people watching down on Dickson street, I am reminded of the Heritage softail that we had to sell in order for me to come to graduate school. Graduate school is full of sacrifices and selling the bike was one of them.
Riding around the Austin Hill Country was always a blast and the miles put on that bike will always be remembered. It would have been nice to keep to ride around the Ozark Mountains but such is life. I'm sure another bike purchase is not far away and maybe even when living in Fayetteville. Until then, Bikes, Blues and BBQ will have to be enjoyed from the sidewalk.

Square America

This is what I hope to be doing tomorrow after a full meal of vegetables and tofurkey.. ok, NO tufurkey. Then it's back to work - reading, writing, organizing, planning and learning.

The image of a very comfortable looking man crashed out on the couch, so tired (or perhaps drunk) that both the shoes and tie stayed on, is courtsey of an excellent website Square America with hunderds, if not thousands, of snapshots from the 1950's and 1960's. An occasional 1970's photo is sometimes included in the mix. All are organized to a particular theme or grouping... a nice "find" while clicking around on the old mac machine on a lovely (but becoming increasingly colder) Thankgiving Eve.