May 16, 2005
Hey Bus Driver, Keep the Change

Does this bus stop at dystopia? This James Howard Kunstler interview in Salon says it does, if you live in America, where we'll all be running out of oil very soon. I'm inclined to sympathize with the goals of New Urbanism and currently of a state of mind to buy the whole argument, though I haven't researched it very well. Kunstler says major cities will "contract" and we'll all do well to live near farmland, which is an argument for keeping up the Kittyjoyce southern annex if I ever heard one. It's just as well, as he's also predicting the popping of the real estate bubble and the demise of the career of the "public relations executive." Which, loosely translated, that we and almost everyone we know will be broke and out of a job, so I guess we will be living at the annex with all our fellow unemployed friends, trying to learn how to live off the land (surely a plot for a sitcom if there ever was one).

I am trying to be philosophical about this. For one thing, it means I can be more leisurely about reading all those books (we can still read by candlelight in the dystopian future, I suppose) but I had better hurry if I want to watch all seven seasons of "Buffy" on DVD. And perhaps the family longevity (Grandma lived to be 94!) is not as much of an asset as I had thought. In which case you'll have to excuse me as I'm ditching the gym and heading to the nearest bar & grill for a cheeseburger, a milkshake, and a pack of cigarettes.

This guy comments on the same article and nicely ties it to, of all things, the Talking Heads. And here, the inevitable backlash.

Posted at May 16, 2005 08:53 PM