Dear longtime or recently new readers of the Communique:
Welcome! That’s the most important point I want to start with. Although my blog is very old (4 year anniversary just passed a few weeks ago), and you may notice alot of names in the comments, I want to make sure you understand this is one very open place, where you can comment and pick apart my sometimes not fully thought out ideas. You could insult too, but that’s fairly pointless if it isn’t backed by a real arguement. Still, I’m glad you stopped in and hope you’ll subscribe via RSS or at least bookmark me.
With that out of the way, I’d like to announce a new series I will be working on for my podcast. Throughout the remainder of 2006, I will be embarqing on a series of podcasts focusing on global mayors.
Why mayors? Because I’ve observed how all over the world, national governments rarely accurately represent their citizens. While I’ve also come to realize that the world’s cities are often led by very unique and wacky officials, who sometimes embody wonderfully creative and progressive ideals, or in other cases, do the exact opposite.
Therefore I will be focusing in on the personalities, who they are, and what policies they are implementing, all over the world. I will of course do my own research and presentations, but I also intend to find representatives from those cities to appear as guests on my program.
These programs should begin next week, as I already have a long list of some of the more well known cities and their famous mayors. But if you have a mayor that has either done very interesting or very terrible things for your city, and you’re willing to appear or recommend someone as a guest, please get in touch, either via comments or by emailing me: bicyclemark at gmail…
My purpose, by doing these programs, is for me personally, to learn about what is going on in different corners of the planet within urban centers, and more generally, I hope those following these interviews might learn something new as well, and perhaps we will notice some patterns regarding mayors and their policies.
So stay tuned.
While riding through fairly sunny Amsterdam en route from work, I once again had a fit of cursing and could barely focus on pedaling, as I listened to Santorum debate Casey, as both men are running for senate in Pennsylvania. You’d think that a love fest where two men profess how much they agree with each other and how they both believe the same things, that should be a lovely and touching occasion. Not so. The more they played the “who can play war better” game, the more I pitied anyone who lives and hopes to vote in the state of PA. And of course, the rest of the nation, that has to tolerate one of these ignorant assholes, once they get elected. But it makes it EVEN MORE annoying for me when they go on and on about how Iran is the true problem of the planet. 