NYGeog

Geography, GIS, Geospatial, NYC, etc.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Arcade Fire movie, Coal ash disaster in Tenn. and 5 billion to NY State

Arcade Fire release Miroir Noir - a film about the Arcade Fire.


5 billion to help fix NY State Budget Gap.

Take it slow for the rest of 2008. NYGeog best of 2008 new music mix will be done soon. Looking forward to new releases by Andrew Bird and Animal Collective in about three weeks. Keep your projections defined and your scale bars intact. See you in 2009.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

MTA price increases - Fight the Fare Hike!

Tired of holiday cheer and tired of shopping, time to get angry and get active because the MTA has proposed huge budget hikes!!!

Can you imagine your 30-day ticket going from $81 to $105? And your single ride fair (on multiple ride ticket prices) going up from $2 to $2.50?

The Straphangers group is campaigning to FIGHT THE FARE HIKE!

The gov. is bailing out financial firms - who's bailing out public transit users??? If there's one thing New Yorkers can agree on, its that we don't want our public transit prices to go up, especially as folks lose their jobs and a slowing economy.

Stephen Millies, an Amtrak worker, tried to insult the MTA agency chief by threatening to throw his shoe at him.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Urban loneliness myth debunked by NY Mag

Alone Together. Manhattan is the capital of people living by themselves. But are New Yorkers lonelier? Far from it, say a new breed of loneliness researchers, who argue that urban alienation is largely a myth. - from New York Magazine

Great article that coincides with ideas on urban planning and other social theories and reinforces the inherent AWESOMENESS of living in the city. I mean, I'd love to go on hikes in the woods everyday, but instead, I get to walk to work!!! Also, cities have more people that are passionate about specific things, ie - dorks, meaning there are social groups that likely celebrate every dorky thing you are into.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Google Zeitgeist 2008, Wyoming Wind land rush & Mos Def as Chuck Berry in film

Just picked up some Animal Collective tickets for the show on January 21st at the Bowery Ballroom for $50 a piece. I got them on Craigslist. They were initially sold for $20. Not a terrible markup since I've seen them over $100 a piece for the Grand Ballroom shows. But still, it makes me wonder if online ticket sales are good for the artists or the venue, seems to be just good for people who have great internet access.


What have people been Googling this year? Click here to find out.

Read about A Land Rush in Wyoming Spurred by Wind Power.

Most Def as Chuck Berry in Cadillac Records.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Greenpoint's toxicity problem, overcoming GPS banned in Egypt, Parts and Labor, and Revolution OS

image and text below from NY Times

For decades, people in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, have lived with the possible health hazards from oil spills in their industrial waterfront. Up to 30 million gallons of petroleum — almost three times the amount dumped off the Alaskan coast by the Exxon Valdez in 1989 — made their way into Newtown Creek and surrounding neighborhoods from dozens of refineries over more than a century.

On Beadel Street, one homeowner said she refused access to investigators for fear of condemnation or a loss in property level.

Now residents have a new anxiety: Toxic gases may be rising into their homes from below, the legacy of dry-cleaning plants, foundries and other manufacturers that once operated in this hub, which has long been home to immigrants and, more recently, artists and young professionals.

Such vapor intrusion — chemicals from contaminated soil and groundwater that become airborne, entering buildings through pores and cracks — has become a growing public health concern around the country in recent years. Contaminants that spread from industrial activity, or that were mistakenly believed to have been contained or eliminated in environmental cleanups, have been discovered wafting into basements. Since 2005, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has been testing around the state to gauge the extent of the problem....Continue reading here.

GPS is banned in Egypt and how technology promotes freedom.

Brooklyn's very own Parts and Labor featured on NPR. Their latest album, Receivers, employs hundreds of sound samples from the band, friends and fans for an ultimate collaboratory effort.

Revolution OS - the ultimate collaboratory effort

Thursday, December 4, 2008

MTA, Subway fonts, and Andrew Bird's new album Noble Beast

Even the MTA needs a bailout. Read here. Interesting subway font article from NY Times City Room here.

Andrew Bird's new album Noble Beast will now be coming out a week early and has added a new instrumental disc to his deluxe package.