SUNDAY READINGS

Some time ago a nutritionist who was a cricket player influenced me. At 85 years old he could compete with all of us youngsters. He gifted me a book that I still have “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.” Today what crossed my mind in scanning for urban design articles and after reading the LA Times a thought came to mind. I was aghast at my time devoted to feeding my mind. It was pitifully insufficient and shallow beyond belief! Imagine the horrifying thought that “YOU ARE WHAT YOU READ!” and/or “YOU ARE WHAT YOU SEE!”

These were sobering thoughts considering how shallow I have been serving all these three essentials in my daily life. So today my three captured resources come as follows.

AGRICULTURE “YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.”

When can I obtain this book and find the time to read the thoughts outlined in THE NEW AGRARIANISM: Land, Culture, and the Community of Life, Edited by Eric T. Freyfogle, Island Press: 292 pp., $40.

The need to do this are the few written words about Arvin vs. Dinuba.

“In 1954, Walter Goldschmidt studied two comparable towns in the Central Valley, Arvin and Dinuba. One was surrounded by small farms, the other by large farms. The aggregate income enjoyed by the towns was about the same, as were their populations. But Dinuba, the town of small farms, had a middle class, a public life and plenty of commerce. In Arvin, the income went mostly to large landowners, who exported it; most of the other residents lived on welfare. Some might argue that Arvin was an image of what America has become. American farming is supported mostly through subsidies. We pay for the rich and the poor alike. We pay for the depopulation of the countryside and the deterioration of the soil and high petroleum use; we pay for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer and we pay for our own diet to get worse.”

This made me think that it was time for the Metropolitan Plan Update to consider the opportunity for a couple or more new distinctive zones for agriculture. The first is to allow for corporate monoculture practices. The second is to allow for “organic farming” and the third to allow for an urban-agrarian mix of “hobby farming!”

ARTS AND PHOTOGRAPHY “YOU ARE WHAT YOU SEE”

This article made we appreciate the need of a more substantive position for our local photographers in our community. We have a few most professional photographers. I am sure they could be challenged to record our neighborhoods in a similar fashion as has been accomplished in Los Angeles. One wonders if the Kern County Library has thought of being the repository for such important collections? Are our local non-profit Art Associations desirous of stimulating this important sector of our arts community?

URBAN DESIGN AND CITY BUILDING “YOU ARE WHAT YOU READ.”

Another article that caught my attention was “Torrent of Scorn Engulfs City Sign.” It was a story of a city “Gateway” project. As is suggested by the title some citizens of Santa Cruz are most unhappy about the sign.

Our past Mayor Price initiated a similar project and as usual the City of Bakersfield took it upon themselves to design such a sign. A design was approved quietly. These duplicative bulky objects can be seen on two selected sites. They are the beginnings of the sign construction process. These signs one hopes are much better than the old sign found on Hwy 99 announcing Bakersfield -- “Fun, Stay, & Play ”

One waits with much anticipation to hear the reactions of our community at large, when these signs are finished and given night lighting.

BY Graham Kaye-Eddie – Master Urban Designer.

Makabusi Inc. – Bakersfield – California

Email – makabusi@pacbell.net

Torrent of Scorn Engulfs City Sign

Gateway to downtown Santa Cruz is widely panned. A hearing is ordered.

Getting Digitized for Their Arts' Sake

UCI's Beall Center, which opens today, is part of a trend at O.C. institutions to create high-tech artists.

Developing a Clear Sense of Neighborhood

The Photo Friends of the L.A. Public Library turn photographers loose on the city.

Uphill Battle

THE NEW AGRARIANISM: Land, Culture, and the Community of Life, Edited by Eric T. Freyfogle, Island Press: 292 pp., $40.

Outdoor fitness --- Extreme new frontiers

Over the hill and loving it Hybrid scooter inventor, 31, enjoys the slippery slopes of off-road adventure

Dirt 'Diggler'

It's a cross between a scooter and a mountain bike, and inventor Rob Fruechtenicht calls it the 'Diggler." It's like a bike, only easier to ride, more stable, and designed for dirt downhills. Will it survive as an outdoor fitness must-have? Time will tell.

Television, Like the Country, Loses Its Footing

Television goes a long way toward creating our national sense of stability and shaping what we think. But it doesn't do so well in uncertain times.