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NOWHERE_WARNINGS

                                    October 30, 2001
From "The Geography of
Nowhere" (1993) by James
Howard Kunstler, concerning
J.B. Jackson's approach to                      NOWHERE_MAN
architecture:

   "Thus, a Jacksonian student of landscape can
   observe a Red Barn hamburger joint, he can
   remark on its architectural resemblance to
   certain farm structures of the past, measure
   its dimensions, figure out the material that
   went into building it, record the square
   footage of its parking lot, count the number
   of cars that come and go, the length of time
   that each customer lingers inside, the
   average sum spent on a meal, the temperature
   of the iceberg lettuce in its bin in the
   salad bar -- all down to the last
   infinitesimal detail -- and never arrive at
   the conclusion that the Red Barn is an
   ignoble piece of shit that degrades the
   community."
                         p 123-124

So, to Kunstler's credit he's
willing to cut to the chase,
to get down to the heart of
the matter, without getting
bogged down in the details.

But it's also possible
that he's revealing a
contempt for facts.

Throughout the work, some of his points
are supported by facts, others are             Not at all
supported just by bluster.                     an unusual
                                               syndrome.
Even though I do tend to agree
with most (if not quite all) of
Kunstler's points, this
proof-by-assertion syndrome is
one of the things that raises a
warning flag.  Step carefully
here, if you want to keep
yourself honest.  What parts of
the structure are solid, what
may cave-in under examination?


Here's a few other warning flags:

   "The mall, predictably, almost
   ruined Saratoga's downtown
   business district.  The town's
   movie theater closed.  The
   single "department" store                    [ref]
   downtown became a steakhouse.
   The Newberry's five-and-dime                 In one of Kunstler's on-line
   became a punk-rock bar."  p 145              examples of architectural
                                                eyesores, he includes a
And what exactly is wrong                       store-front that looks like
with punk-rock bars?                            it would meet anyone's
                                                approval, including his.
Never trust a hippie.                           And in fact, he *does*
                                                approve of it... he stands
                                                in judgement of the fact
                                                that it's a tattoo parlor.

                                                   "The activity taking place
                                                   here, however, is a symptom
                                                   of the growing barbarism in
  "Tomorrowland speaks volumes about               American life. Tattooing
  our present national predicament.                has traditionally been a
  Here, in all its silliness, stands               marginal activity among
  yesterday's version of the future:               civilized people, the
  a denatured life of endless leisure,             calling card of cannibals,
  where the only purpose of existence              sailors, and whores. The
  is the eventual permanent escape                 appropriate place for it is
  from planet Earth to colonize other              on the margins, in the back
  worlds.  It is, of course, another               alleys, the skid rows. The
  version of evangelical                           mainstreaming of tattoos
  Protestantism's dull preoccupation               (on main street) is a
  with the hereafter, as well as its               harbinger of social
  cultivated hatred for the things of              dysfunction."
  this world (such as the dignity of
  work) -- otherwise, why be so                       Kunstler is trying to
  anxious to leave the planet?"  p 226                volunteer as Ministry
                                                      of Culture, but he's
So Columbus was a dope, eh?                           not the kind of man
                                                      you'd want to see in
Never trust a mundane.                                the job.  He may be
                                                      proof of why the job
                                                      probably shouldn't
                                                      exist.

And in the sequel "Home from Nowhere"
he makes some sort of remark about
Americans descending into
self-destructive obsessions like           NORMAL_PERVERSION
kinky sex.

   Kinky sex is
   self-destructive
   only if you
   don't do it right.

Never trust a puritan.


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