Midsize SUVs are standard US car bloat. They eat public space, wear down infrastructure, and add danger. ​Compare that to the Urban Arrow, the SUV of the bike world. It has a minimal footprint, is fully urban capable, and keeps streets safe. ​Yet only one is called "big".

Or--this is going to sound crazy--you could read the cases you cite.

I once truly believed in my heart that if I offered my children a low-pressure variety of delicious whole foods they one day would eat them

Happy ides of March

Watch this awful video and remember it every time you choose to get behind the wheel. I wish there really was a war on cars.

Thoughts while practicing: this weekend I heard a great concert of sackbut music from early 17th century Italy, which is around the place and time when Allesandro Manzoni's great novel 'The Betrothed' is set. I'm also preparing for Verdi's Requiem, which was composed in memory of Manzoni. Cool.

If the strike that killed all those schoolchildren in Iran was on an AI-chosen target, would that make you personally reconsider your AI use?

Hard to get new Sprawl members nowadays! So busy w/ stories that I don't have time to make proper appeals. Also I feel like I've said the same thing 1000x and am sick of hearing myself say it. Even so—if you value independent journalism, pls support our work! sprawlcalgary.fundjournalism.org/donate/

Hard to believe that anyone is questioning the relevance of opera in this modern age given that an opera about Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs has been written within the last decade @juddgreenstein.bsky.social mosesjacobsopera.com

“Travelling five times a year, maxing out her TFSA, building an emergency fund, and having the freedom to see her friends when and how she wants: Those are just a few ways Deeksha Singh [of Calgary] said she can use the estimated $14,000 a year she saves by not owning a car.”

“Repeal and replace” was a campaign commitment. Making housing more affordable was the goal. It’s time for Mayor Farkas to stand by that commitment, or admit it was never the plan at all.

Canadians and more so Albertan’s have been sold the biggest lie on low taxes and frankly it’s getting tired and boring. It’s time to have a real grown up conversation about what kind of community we want to live in and how much tax that could or should cost.

NOBODY BIKES IN THE WINTER

Hey wouldn't it be neat if we treated every person like they were a whole human being with dignity and stuff? No?

My kids voted that they want to only eat pizza and candy, and never be disciplined for anything. I guess they get to unilaterally decide that's how it's going to be.

Behold, the consequences of our choices.

Relevant to Calgary drivers today. 😢 The question should be asked of everyone who drives regardless of age. Every time I get behind the wheel I remember that I'm operating a machine capable of mass destruction.

Controversial opinion: killing a human is bad, EVEN IF it's done with a truck.

I just don’t see how blocking new housing from being built could *not* make it more expensive. How is that plausible?

Not pictured: Haruki Murakami’s wife, or indeed whoever is cooking, cleaning, paying bills, running errands, doing the laundry, answering emails, etc like yea his routine is goals, but let’s not lie to ourselves about all the invisible work others are doing to enable him to have that routine

Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass boycotting the Kennedy Center

At the end of the day, the Black Lives Matter era was about whether people should be killed in the street, and lots of people decided yeah and put those little blue flags on their cars. It spread to everyone because it stopped for no one.

Why weren't they grateful?

Remembir everye daye ys a goode daye to reach out to a friende and tell them how much you love them. Maybe buy them a booke. Bringe up an olde inside joke. All the sillye thinges and the serious thinges about friendeshippe, thei are all infinitelye valuable. Tyme spent thus wil nevir be regrettid.

I'm currently working on a novel and at the end of an average day, I'm wiped out. The sheer amount of analysis, synthesis, making of connections, layering of prose, deepening of characterization, supplemental research... all the mental work is intense and exhilarating. Which is just to say, fuck AI.

'The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas' should be required annual reading.

The Vanity Fair photographer from the Susie Wiles story. Holy. Shit. www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/...

Vote the UCP out of office.

When you invite your neighbours over for a wintertide potluck…

Complete insanity. And they're only talking about payments, no mention of rising insurance costs, fuel, and all the other costs associated with automobile ownership. www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...

Ok, sure, let’s call it a shared responsibility, but let’s apportion that responsibility proportional to how much capacity for destruction each party in the equation has.

Slower speed limits, but also smaller cars, fewer cars. How do we move away from a culture where the default mode of transportation is a giant murder machine?

My microwave sings a little song when my Hot Pocket is done. Should it have the right to vote?

Trans rights are human rights. This isn't complicated.

Sometimes a quiet night conspires with half-remembered fragments of Telemann and Copland and just starts… singing.

Underrated how exhausting it is simply to watch this lesson reinforced every day, everywhere: do ill and prosper, or try to do good and struggle forever. Even if it's not *you*, that wears on you.

Are we sending out kids to school in red tomorrow?

Thei wante us talkinge alone on our phones to a demon thei created, and not goinge places and being wyth each othir yn art and joy and communitye. Thei want cinemas to shut downe, and broadwaye to go darke. Thei want wryteres to stop writinge. Thei want to sell us hell and have us pay for it.

Voter turnout in today's municipal election will be historically low because everyone will be spending the entire day trying to get through on the phone line to book our children's Covid vaccines...

Bach every Sunday.

Man, the last chord of Madama Butterfly is a real banger.

I always love playing this Britten, glad to have a go at it this week.

The bike rack in front of the TD Bank on 10 St NW had some interesting signage on it yesterday… not sure if it’s still up. 🤔 Clearly some have taken issue with zoning decisions by TW.

“Generally, the larger your dwelling and the further you drive day-to-day, the greater your carbon footprint. Suburban and exurban areas tend to have larger homes, are more car-dependent, and residents tend to work further away from where they live.”

It’s better than nothing, true! But when it comes to getting around the city, it’s not really the thought that counts.

Sometimes it's easier to spot problems when someone's standing next to you than trying to spot them in yourself. Here I used the power of technology to watch the mirrored video feed live as I was taping to iron out this very specific scale that I'm performing in a couple of weeks.