travellin´ songs: transcendental blues

here´s a classic steve earle song

if I had it my way
everything would change
out here on the highway
the rules are still the same
back roads never carry you
where you want ´em to
leave you standing there
with them ol´transcendental blues

marc's guide to international eating

well, it's the fourth of July and I'm in Guatemala feeling pretty awful so I figure I might as well celebrate by sharing my guide to eating in foreign countries. It's not for the Atkin's Diet lovers out there, and if you have any suggestions please feel free to add them.

Essentials
coca-cola
beer
rice
potatos
chicken kebob
falafel
orange juice / orange drink
mineral water
pastries

Pretty safe bets
bread
pineapple
chicken breast
grilled chicken

Give a wide berth
seafood of all types
ice
pork
salad
prosciutto
milk
goat cheese

milenio urbano (the urban millenium)

It might not be apparent from most planning discussions in the United States which tend to inevitably focus on sprawl, the suburbs, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of this type of metropolitan form. However, in most of the rest of the world the trend is the opposite. More and more of the world is becoming urban. An op-ed piece entitled Milenio Urbano in the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre pointed me in the direction of a new study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which is the State of the World's Population for 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth.

In 2007 for the first time in the history of the world more people will live in urban areas than in world areas. The most rapid urban growh is occuring in developing nations. For the planners and others who care about cities and the people who reside in them there is no shortage of work to be undertaken in the coming years.

maritime songs: calm

if the band Maritime wrote more songs about shipping, then they would probably be the official band of phg. as it is, they are still really good. this is from the song calm

shortened by the blasphemy
when the sun would warm the sea
and the Canary Islands are chasing me
we are powerful despite our injuries

the starting 5

if my favorite bands were a basketball team, this would be the starting lineup:

pg: the clash
g: the weakerthans
sf: steve earle
pf: the lawrence arms
c: johnny cash

coach: mike park

John Grisham addresses the field of planning

At the 2007 UVA graduation, mega-selling author John Grisham had some pointed words regarding the discipline of planning.

Dreaming is a worthy pastime. Planning is a waste.

Pretty harsh, John. You must not have liked it when we refused to widen the highway on the way to your country estate. Or when we installed parking meters downtown.

Here's the headline from the Charlottesville Daily Progress: Author John Grisham to UVa grads: 'Planning is a waste'

on hiatus

we here at PHG are going on hiatus for a few weeks. Upon return we'll be ready to go with (hopefully) more frequent and more pertinent posts. Take care!