To be fair, B.S. is also a type of fertilizer. Concept of a plan...

Ha! I've always been interested in flying helicopters, just apparently not as interested as in everything else... as for 'copter parenting, totally agree. The true victories are when kids just choose (yes, perhaps through choice-curation) something tech-free.

Raising kids feels increasingly like a constant effort to shield them from technology designed to keep their brains from making new connections. To see them read a book, hear them practice piano, or have them ask to play in the park feels like a minor victory vs. the machines and tech-pushers.

You're not making me regret cancelling the subscription.

Weaving this episode—which also features a protest led by Lucy Parsons, at which "Solidarity Forever" was sung for the first time—into Chapter 2, which will open with the plow photo.

A 1915 New York Times notice of the death of Dr. Charles R. Henderson, which gives a brief bio and then says, "He was warned by his physicians last year that his work as Chairman of the Municipal Commission on Unemployment would be too great a strain on his health, but he disregarded the warning. His associates believe the additional work hastened his death."

[He also apparently died of the stress involved in dealing with the unemployment crisis over the winter of 1915.]

Modern methods of charity

The head of Chicago's unemployment commission, a U Chicago sociologist and expert on social policy, backed the plan. He'd described similar programs in France as "in reality a kind of return to the mediaeval custom of keeping tracts of land in common for the cultivation of poor families."

And why on earth care about this? Because when, in 1915, business and labor agreed that a $500k charity fund to help Chicago's unemployed was a non-starter, and the mayor said we can't afford a jobs program, Plan C was this back-to-the-land campaign, with farms for the jobless, created w/ this plow.

Okay, you all can relax, I think we have a winner... the ol' David Bradley XX-Rays No. 2 Frame Hitch Gang Plow, as advertised in the Spring 1912 Sears, Roebuck catalog.

Curses, AdBlockPlus once again ruins my ability to see what’s actually going on in the world…

Happy Earth Day.

It's 89 degrees in Minneapolis – 30 degrees warmer than normal – the country is in its worst drought since the 1950s and there's no snow left in the Rockies.

I hate climate change.

Matt Damon playing a 14th century French knight that looks like a third baseman for the Phillies. Mullet. Beard. Smells like horse shit, pine tar, and cigarette smoke.

Matt Damon while playing Odysseus who also looks like a third baseman for the Phillies. Long, skinny beard. Smells like horseshit, pine tar, and perhaps Mediterranean herbs.

Matt Damon playing a 19th century cowboy that looks like a third baseman for the Phillies. Mustache. Shaggy hair. Smells like horse shit, pine tar, and definitely chewing tobacco.

Every time Matt Damon takes on a period role he ends up looking like a third baseman for the Phillies.

they figured it looks better than the ol' needle?

Waiting until next spring to teach this in Land Use Law, it feels like an eternity... wonder whether OK will preempt OKC by then.

What a mess for UK. Ugh.

A black and white photo of a man sitting on a plow that's being pulled by a team of four horses. A hand-written caption reads Plowing at hte N. Branch of Drainage Canal at Foster [Avenue]. The photo is from the Chicago Daily News, taken in the spring of 1915.

Since images are back, lmk if you can identify this old plow or disc harrow, from 1915. I also posted to antiquetractorsforum.com but hey bluesky is a place of much expertise, right?

The South has historically been the epicenter of racial inequality in the US. But the geography of racial inequality has shifted in the decades since the Civil Rights movement. Today, Black-white income disparities are lower in the South than the rest of the country. @robertmanduca.bsky.social

The Fordham Urban Law Journal just published my Essay "Bankruptcy as Presidential Resistance". It urges state legislatures to authorize their cities and states to seek bankruptcy protection in the event that Trump takes their grant funds. ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcont...

My kids use Philly schools, and I use Lyft, and if “rideshare” exists as a thing after my kids graduate, I’ll still gladly pay a tax on each ride.

tfw reviewing copyedits to figure out a nonsensical "ibid." sparks realization that 1915 march led by lucy parsons, where 'solidarity forever' first sung, which prompted city farms-for-jobless program that stressed u. chicago sociologist charles henderson to death... has to be part of the story. ✍️😲📖

Yes, it's pretty good here. Plus, if you stroll around in just the right places you can almost feel the Original Public Meaning lingering in the air...

Cover of the business of racism: labor and environment in Brazil's racial Capitalism by Ian Carrillo

The Introduction of my book is currently free to read.

assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/f7ca9afb-82c...

Pink dogwood blooms.

Wisteria against a blue sky.

Purple irises with raindrops.

Before I disappear into today’s writing session, I’m happy to report that magnolias and cherry blossoms have been replaced by dogwoods, wisteria and irises as spring continues to barrel along.

Spring in Philadelphia.

(Not sure what that $ is doing there…)

Sounds fun! I think of Ebenezer $
Howard, Garden Cities of Tomorrow. And maybe something by Kropotkin.

The Inquirer Why did the PPA do this to me? An evergreen question. But regarding the guest pass system, the PPA says this change will improve convenience and efficiency for residents and guests. The virtual system means people no longer need to manage physical passes or go pick them up in person. Passes can be purchased and monitored from anywhere you have access to the PPA's online portal.

This bit on what PPA *says* (convenience! efficiency!), from @natefile.bsky.social recent explainer in @inquirer.com seems worth an update based on what PPA actually *does*.

So I actually went to the PPA office and paid in person, and my guest *still* got a parking ticket. 🤦‍♂️ 😠

Some way for people to @discoverphl.bsky.social … and keep discovering it well after they leave, thru the long process of contesting PPA’s tickets/ineptitude.

Watching Time Bandits (the movie), reading Barkskins.

This is short sighted. The real future is the one-stop Botox/pet trust/tooth whitening salon catering to both humans and their animal friends.