Annie Lambla

in some Wade Davis explorations.  The main point of his TED talk is to argue against unilinear evolution, a now-long-buried anthropological theory that cultures "progress" from "primitive" to sophisticated as they become more like "us" - a thesis that could be a little disappointing in the wrong hands.  But, like Dave Suggs in his baccalaureate address at Kenyon graduation in 2007, Davis' TED talk is really about weaving stories into a rich tapestry of human traditions.  

So, why not indulge in dreaming of my dream job: National Geographic "Explorer in Residence."  Residence where?  the whole world, a world of beliefs and communities, and "ancient rhythms of landscape [...] played out in ritual," and of, as Wade Davis so passionately says, "raw human genius."  

What came to my mind when he said that phrase?  (Prepare yourself for a mental leap typical of myself...)

The street markets of Palermo and Turkey, held up by countless ropes and tarps lashed tightly to drainpipes and window grates and doorknobs on winding streets and dilapidated walls of bustling, dusty towns.  

(Cristina took this one)p.s. 

Let's move a little further east, and lament the fact that not everyone appreciates the basic genius of tradition and community ritual.  

Umida Akhmedova is an Uzbek photographer on trial in her country for taking photographs that "portray a negative image of the country."  The photos are raw, and intimate, and colorful - check out some of them in this BBC slideshow.  The charges carry a punishment somewhere in the ballpark of 6 months in prison or nearly 3 yeas of forced labor.  Officials say the photos "distort reality" and "portray the Uzbek people as backward.  She has been charged with defamation and insulting Uzbek traditions" (BBC).  It shocks me that so many people would rather look at smiling faces and see ignorance and degeneration instead of exuberance and that raw human genius (thanks, Wade) that keeps peoples worldwide alive and exciting.  

More of her photos here, but without captions or credits or anything.  

Last week boasted good news in the public transit world: Obama and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have proposed a major policy shift, effective immediately, calling for all Federal Transportation Administration projects to be based not on a calculation of cost and journey time, as they were in the past, but on their contribution to the livability of an area.  

Livability is one of those invented words I've been throwing around a lot lately.  The Obama administration has been using them to guide all sorts of projects, from housing to environmental work, and now transportation.  There are officially 6 "Livability Principles" that guide coordination between departments and, in my opinion, a nice healthy change from a focus on nothing but efficiency and speed and grandeur to things like healthy communities, affordable housing, and transit options.  

Hooray for livability!  

One of my favorite issues I've learned about since coming to Chicago is the fear of Asian carp invading Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes.  I first heard about it from Steven, who had a near-mis-adventure on an early leg of his Mississippi River raft trip involving the electric barriers on the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal.  

Yes, dear readers, parts of the canal are electrified.  Which means if a person falls off the raft, they get shocked, and if a fish enters the electrified section, it gets killed.  This is the goal - to stop Asian carp from getting through from the Illinois River to Lake Michigan.  

The interesting issue only starts there.  The electric barriers, being man-made and evidently very technically complicated (you can see what an engineer I am), malfunction from time to time.  In December, they were shut down for days in order to properly fix the electric barriers.  Oh, no! you might exclaim.  What if the Asian carp sneak through while the engineers are busy working away at the scary traps?  Never fear!  The Illinois Department of Natural Resources decided that the best way to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes was to dump tons and tons of poisonous chemicals in the waterways.  

click the map to see it biggerNever mind the effects of these chemicals on the surrounding ecosystem.  Among the tens of thousands of fish found killed from the poison, only ONE was an Asian carp.  

So much for the incredible risk of invasion.  

I find this whole situation to be so ridiculous it would be laughable, if not for the tons of poisonous chemicals and dead wildlife in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS).  

To make you groan one more time, Michigan has just filed a case that would require Illinois to close the locks from Lake Michigan into the CAWS.  Sure, this would not let the Asian carp through, but it also wouldn't let floodwaters through or - and this is where I really don't understand Michigan's motivations - freight vessels.  Put plainly, this would prevent trade from Lake Michigan into the Mississippi River valley. 

Illinois is, of course, reacting.  And hopefully, through responses from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Chicago, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Michigan's case won't pass.  

Really, what it comes down to, for me, is the absurdities that we are driven to because years ago we decided to cut a whole and reverse the flow of the Chicago "River."  THe whole situation is an excellent example of how far we've come in compensating for messing with Mother Nature - concerns for runoff, salt costs, jobs, invasive fish, and sewage and water purification are now what guide our policies about the nature of Nature.  What water wants to do is no longer okay - instead we will just keep trying to force the waters to stay in our palms, and it will just keep dripping through our fingers.  

Oh, and I forgot one of the best parts - Asian carp can jump 10 feet out of the air.  So, why don't we just turn the Canal into a big circus?  

A lovely Christmas at home, and now back in the cold, Windy city, remembering a year ago in New Zealand...

On my mind?  Figuring these guys out: 

I don't really have anything particular to post about, but a few cool things have been on my radar lately, so I thought I'd share: 

The Pamir Mountains!  Someday, Central Asia, I will wander your mountains and deserts and mysterious towns.  Better sooner than later, but better late than never, I suppose. 

NYTimes slideshow: The Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan

Also, there is a FANTASTIC exhibit at the Graham Foundation here in Chicago called Actions: What You Can Do With The City.  It's basically a collection of all the awesome things I want to do in cities - art, anthro, design, community, food - and it's all done with fun in mind, I can tell.  There's a playfulness in all of the projects that I recognized as the primary thing missing from my work at MPC right now.  

And then, finally, I'll point you toward something delicious: I made baklava the other day, and I can't get over how pretty it is: