Comments on: Saturday morning market.

By: brian stouder

brian stouder — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:31:11 +0000

Well, assuming there is no sex-scandal or naked pictures of one (or more) of the Palins, her resignation might be her attempt at genuine Randy-ism. Remember all that froth about witholding one’s talents from society, when that society needs to change its erring ways?

By: Dexter

Dexter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:48:31 +0000

This link is just one of many Detroit videos by this woman, most of them are cycling videos. The bicycle-lady in this video is also mentioned in the nyt story, and FWIW, when I parked my car down here (where this video was shot), I parked it just over the Fisher Freeway near Rosa Parks Blvd. (12th Street) right by the pedestrian freeway walk-over bridge. As you can see…man, there ain’t NO traffic any more down there….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPQZIVuekTo

By: Jeff (the mild-mannered one)

Jeff (the mild-mannered one) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:33:13 +0000

Truly, it's felt like one of the bestest ever (says the house expert, aka the Lad) -- here are some photos of same if you can stomach the relentless midwestern charm of it all. The only thing we missed was sparklers in the lawn, not out of misplaced sense of safety, but because i forgot to buy some. We had poppers, which were deemed acceptable. No fireworks images, because i gave up on taking pictures of those years ago. It just never quite captures what you're yearning to hold onto a bit of.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:29:34 +0000

Sunday evening 7:20 pm CDT. As my daughter says stick a fork in me, I’m done. What a great holiday weekend, one of the best! I love Friday holiday weekends over Monday holiday weekends. The weather was fantastic (except for those 3 hours standing in the rain listening to Mellencamp and Dylan in South Bend, we skipped out on Willie Nelson, not really fans even though the rain had stopped by then, 3 1/2 hours on your feet in the rain is enough). In Chicago the weather this weekend has been amazing, cool and slightly breezy despite the humidity this morning. Hard to believe it is July. Much as I hate for it to end, I can go back to work tomorrow with the thought that this has been one of the best holiday weekends I can remember.

By: Dexter

Dexter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:07:41 +0000

I have ridden city streets many times as I have blogged about here at nnc.
Even a few years ago, Detroit was the easiest, most car-free city of them all to ride a bike in. I used to street-park for free near the old Tiger Stadium and pedal up Michigan Avenue to Woodward and then over to Comerica Park for ball games. Folks back home thought I must be nuts to leave my car in Corktown and then cycle back there after the game, but there wasn’t anybody ever around to knock me over the head! Ya can’t have a crime without a criminal!
I have two areas I want to cycle: Grosse Ile and Belle Isle. One of these days, maybe…

By: Jolene

Jolene — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:57:31 +0000

Couldn’t believe the article re bicycling didn’t have a single word to say about the weather! Talk about an oversight.

By: beb

beb — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:24:05 +0000

While last night (the 4th) wasn’t as scary as some New Years celebrations, it was loud and smoky. Even my wife, returning from her afternoon shift at work noted how smokey the area was from all the fireworks.

By: moe99

moe99 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:14:54 +0000

Good piece on healthcare that works in other countries (France and Holland). I have to say that during my one year stay in Belgium (’78-’79), I was required to have health insurance, selected a healthcare provider from a number of choices, and was able to be seen quickly when there was a medical emergency and well treated.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/07/05/healthy_examples_plenty_of_countries_get_healthcare_right/?page=full

Ps, I think John Cole at Balloon Juice gets Palin just right:

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=23634

By: nancy

nancy — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:57:52 +0000

I saw that today. Interesting, but it’ll never happen, as cycling is still seen here as some sort of commie pinko activity better enjoyed in Portland. That doesn’t stop me from enjoying my daily bike rounds, and there may be hope for a few dedicated bike lanes on avenues such as Woodward, et al. The new Dequindre Cut trail is lovely, I’m told.

Ultimately, the problem is sprawl. (And weather.) Dedicated cyclists don’t think anything of a 20-mile commute, but it’s hard to imagine dilettantes who live farther from the center city than, say, Grosse Pointe going for it. But who knows? Odder things have happened.

By: Jeff (the mild-mannered one)

Jeff (the mild-mannered one) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:57:40 +0000

Don’t know enough to comment on this, but someone here will — http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/opinion/05barlow.html