Zapatista Governance

Once this semester is done, I may well be completely at a loss. I have so much to do that I was having dreams about not being able to do everything last night.

A friend on Livejournal sent me an English translation of a Zapatista book on governance that she found. How neat! I wish I had time to read it right now. It would answer some of my questions about the practical/applied nature of Zapatismo. I saved a copy in Dropbox so I can read it on my tablet when time allows.

Thrift Store Finds!

I'm going to spend most of my time this evening working on my history paper I think, but I stopped in to the Salvation Army on the way home. (I'm an addict.)

I picked up the Apples to Apples Party Box and Party Box Expansion 1 for $2 each. I didn't own my own copy of Apples to Apples yet, and there was no way not to at that price! I also picked up a vintage, high-production quality version of something called The Mill Game for ninety-nine cents. I'd never heard of it by that name, and it was completely unfamiliar to me in appearance, but Google tells me it's a centuries-old game also known as Nine Man Morris. I have heard that name somewhere, in something or other I read. It was popular in medieval Europe, but long predates that era, and its kind of neat to have.

I also found another pair of bright blue Merona chinos. There must have been a production run that all got donated or something, because there were four or five pairs there, all with mild wear on the rear pockets yet new with tags. There were two pairs in my size, and I was debating whether to buy one or both when I realized that one was $4 and one was $6. Good excuse to just buy one.

And finally, I picked up a t-shirt from Copper Harbor, Michigan because it has nifty art with a bear on it, and because it makes me think of my trips to Copper Harbor and how much I like and miss the Keweenaw.

So it was a good haul.

Tomorrow, I'm bringing my backpack to Professor J to get her opinion on packing. She told me today, though, that if it ends up being a little bit oversize, she'd be willing to pay the extra for me. That's a relief. Still, I want to get a knowledgeable opinion on my packing.

Kenosha History, Native People

On the topic of historical research, here's a gem I found while researching Pike Creek. It's not related to my topic, but it's so characteristic of attitudes toward native people at the time that I had to make a note of it. The matter-of-fact way he writes this feels so meaningful to me.

This is an excerpt from the diary of Colonel Michael Frank, a territorial legislator in Wisconsin and proponent of public education. It was through his efforts that Southport (now Kenosha) had what's claimed to be the first free public school outside of New England.

"January 10, 1840: Went to Lyceum in the evening. Question was "Had our forefathers the right to expel the aborigines from any portion of the soil provided they would not leave peaceably?" It was decided in the affirmative."

I would like to be able to hear that discussion.

Gone and Forgotten Kenosha - Pike Creek and the Allen Tannery

The topic of my History of Urbanization term paper is the life and death of Pike Creek. Pike Creek was a watercourse that once ran through downtown Kenosha. It, and its commodious mouth, were the primary factor in the choice of the Western Emigration Company to choose the site to establish the village of Pike Creek in 1835, which became Southport, which became Kenosha. With a name like Pike Creek, I always thought of a somewhat unassuming body of water. A peaceful little brook.

Let me introduce you to Pike Creek in 1916.





For those who know Kenosha, or who feel like poking around southeastern Wisconsin in Google Earth, I'm pretty sure that is the sixth avenue bridge. In the background is the Allen Tannery complex, the largest tannery in the United States at the time.

But now, it's gone. Not just the tannery. The bridge, the creek, everything. The harbor just ends in front of Sixth Avenue, which now is a plain old road at the top of an embankment where you'd never guess a bridge used to be. The creek runs through an underground pipe that approximates its former route all the way up to Washington Park at 43rd Street, a distance of about three quarters of a mile.

This project has drawn me in further even than I expected. I knew, generally, the former course of Pike Creek and that it had been tunneled and buried. It's what sparked my interest in the project. Changing urban spaces are central to what I went back to school for in the first place. But I had no idea that the transformation of this landscape was of such enormous scope or such totality. Yet now, it seems that few people in Kenosha have any idea Pike Creek was ever there, let alone that it was a primary motivator for the city's placement that figured prominently enough to be the community's namesake.

I wish I had the time to research this as fully as it deserves. I think there might be a book in it. But historical research is *so* time intensive, and the sources on this are so hard to come by!

(no subject)

In other news, I went to Market Fresh Books in Evanston with danaeris this past weekend, where you pile books up on a scale and buy them by weight. There were several books for which a purchase was a requirement.

Relevant to my professional interests, I found "The Urban Sociology Reader" which is now on my shelf next to the urban anthropology reader I bought at a going-out-of-business Borders and still haven't read. Oh, for some time.

Relevant to my personal interests, I found a book by architect John Fitchen called "Building Construction Before Mechanization." The back notes that it "gives a valuable hands-on feel for what it's like to work with ropes and ladders, wedges and slings; with crews engaged in well digging, bridge building, and the transporting of obelisks hundreds of miles by water and over land." How cool is that!?

Along those lines, I almost bought a copy of Matthys Levy's "Why Buildings Fall Down," but I think it might have been a little bit beyond my technical abilities. It looked like it went pretty deep into the technical side of architecture.

(Actually, reading reviews on Amazon, it sounds like it's more accessible than I thought. I may need to pick up a copy of this at some point.)

And thirdly, I bought a book of urban ruins photography called "Dead Tech: A Guide to the Archaeology of Tomorrow," which looks interesting both for the images and for the introduction.

I think I need to be careful about what I buy at Market Fresh. The whole idea is so appealing; there are all these cool books, and surely buying them by weight is a great deal! But sometimes it's not. I think a number of things there are available via Amazon for less. On the other hand, I think there can be pretty good deals on hard to find stuff too. I'll have to go there with an evaluative eye.

Thank you, Love, for suggesting we go in! I'm really looking forward to reading these!