Daily Diigo Public Link 12/27/2007
Goodbye to the Mall | varnelis.net
– review of The Economist article on Victor Gruen, the birth of the mall, the death of urban centres, the rebirth of urban centres, and the rebirth of the mall (now lifestyle centre) as envisioned by Rick Caruso; this blog entry is choc-a-bloc full of excellent additional links, too.
BLDGBLOG: Planet Battery Annotated
BLDBLG reports on an article in Nature (magazine) that the “Earth beneath our feet might act as a gigantic circuit built by microbes to power their metabolic systems.” Reminds me of Thomas Gold’s theories.
“Schoolhouse Rock” – WSJ OpinionJournal Annotated
– profile/ overview of Michelle Rhee, the D.C. schools chancellor who’s rocking the traditional bureaucratic boat of public schooling:
“She says she keeps hearing from worried city council members that some teachers and administrators are frightened of her. They are feeling pressure and that’s a problem. Her answer? Get used to it. ‘I’m going to hold people accountable and I’m going to hold their feet to the fire. If they’re feeling pressure–good! I feel pressure every day because I have the education of 49,000 kids in my hands.'”
– I say go for it, and damn all the complaining from some sectors. Any time a bureaucracy serves primarily itself instead of its clients/ constituents, it needs a wake up kick in its nether regions, as well as a major dismantling. You can’t decentralize centrally (Marshall McLuhan, paraphrased).
No Comments yet
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.