Comments on: Packed House Applauds Bicycle Diarist Byrne and Friends

By: Jym

Jym — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:02:00 +0000

=v= The “outlaw persona” is for the most part imposed by those who fear change and think there’s something wrong with nonconformists. Even in my safety dork days, when I put reflectors on every surface (including the requisite rear-view mirror on my eyeglasses) I’ve been treated like an outlaw simply for being on the road rather than the sidewalk.

Certainly there are some, particularly certain young males, who enjoy an outlaw persona, but that’s independent of transportation mode. There are entire cinematic and musical genres devoted to outlaw motorists, yet nobody considers this a threat to motordom. Let’s just get as many people on biking as possible and the personas will sort themselves out.

BTW, this event was the 15th anniversary of the arrests of traffic-calming cyclists in Central Park. They weren’t trying to be outlaws, they just wanted to be able to ride their bikes in the park, safely — a right we now all enjoy. Kudos.

By: Charles Komanoff

Charles Komanoff — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:40:36 +0000

Kaja and Gecko: I omitted mention of Mitchell Joachim’s presentation, partly to save space but also because it deserves its own treatment … somewhere. With its “jet pack city,” “FAB TREE HAB,” etc., I half-thought it was a goof … an hilarious piece of performance art.

I’ve been digging into the book (Bicycle Diaries). So far it’s gripping / brilliant / beautiful.

By: gecko

gecko — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:08:18 +0000

#6 gecko, Correction: Insurance, FINANCE, oil, and auto industry special interest groups have taken a huge toll on innovation in this country most obvious at MIT which is a major institution of considerable influence in setting the technological track in this country and where Mitch comes from.

By: gecko

gecko — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:25:29 +0000

#5 Kaja, Good appraisal of Mitch Joachim’s work and it is an important indication of a pending sea change in how tired the whole car concept now comes off.

Insurance, oil, and auto industry special interest groups have taken a huge toll on innovation in this country most obvious at MIT which is a major institution of considerable influence in setting the technological track in this country and where Mitch comes from.

Hopefully the tipping point will soon arrive when the so-called transportation establishment, experts, designers, etc. realize the error of their ways.

It has been and continues to be a long uphill battle with people like Sadik-Khan leading the charge.

(Sorry I missed the event.)

By: Kaja

Kaja — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:41:28 +0000

Went to dis, had a great time, loved three of the four speakers.

I am convinced that Mike Joachim guy, who admitted his work was financed by the car companies, was financed specifically because it was all so outlandish and infeasible that it’ll make automobiles by comparison look good. (Also, he didn’t talk at all about bicycles.)

And I don’t think JSK meant to dis him when her first words following him were “Hi, I’m Janette, and I’m going to talk about /bicycles/.” But the crowd went wild anyway.

By: Alex K

Alex K — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:26:11 +0000

Congrats to David Byrne and TA for this wonderful event. Music and bicycling are great talents to have (but not mixed)! Right on, David!

By: Eric McClure

Eric McClure — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:37:12 +0000

I’ve been a huge fan of David Byrne’s music since I was a teen-ager (that was a long time ago), and his advocacy for livable streets makes me love him all the more.

David, don’t ever Stop Making Sense!

By: Clutch J

Clutch J — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:20:42 +0000

Kudos to TA and others for their masterful collaboration with Byrne. Maybe Paul or Noah can get on the horn to bike advocates in LA? You’d think that savvy bike advocates in Hollywood could have images of a different celebrity on bikes sent around the world every week.

By: Geck

Geck — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:21:18 +0000

“I believe that the exhilaration, freedom, and convenience I experience as I ride around will be discovered by more and more people,” he writes in Bicycle Diaries. “The secret will be out, and the streets of New York will be even more the place for social interaction and interplay than they are already famous for. As others have mentioned, the economic collapse of 2008 might be a godsend. A window has opened, and people might be willing to rethink the balance of quality of life.”

from New York Mag article: http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/59247/
Sounds about right to me.