emerson

The price of fuel, in real terms

For a balanced overview of what’s going on the pumps, Andrew Leonard’s piece in Salon today gets the job done (subscription only). After hacking through the tangled woods of bureaucracy, politics and economics to bring a little light to the real reasons prices are so high, he arrives at the same destination the examination of most big issues lead to:

A simple answer requiring tough personal decisions that therefore keeps us all searching for easier alternatives and magic bullets...

We need to use less fuel.

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Tweet Suite repeats

By Dale Conour

emerson featured artist Laura Levine (see Q&A at right) is opening a new exhibit of her "Tweet Suite" at the Varga Gallery Woodstock beginning May 24 if you find yourself in upstate NY...

Songbirds of the Catskills, by Laura Levine

Link: Vargas Gallery exhibitions
 

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I Heart Bike to Work Day

By Kendra Smith

How much more motivated would I be to ride to work if,
instead of my green guilt and that bag of Lay’s I ate
this week calling me out of bed and onto two wheels,
there were people standing on the corner cheering,
offering me free bananas and bagels and entering me to
win prizes? This is why Bike to Work Day is heaven.

And today was so gloriously warm, no wind. I learned
something about myself, too: I am a cyclist. The ride
actually felt easy. I had been dreading it, putting
off my first ride of the season until I could no
longer fake it. "I have to go. It’s Bike to Work Day."

I may have stood out at the Energizer Station as the
only person whose bike had a kick stand (don’t ask),
but it just shows that you don’t need fancy equipment
to cycle anywhere. Although I did finally get those
pants with the puffy crotch. You need those pants if
you’re going 13 miles. Trust me.

My favorite moment: As I turned the corner onto the
Bay Trail by the Marriot Residence, 2 bikers passed
me, then 2 more, then 7 (all in a line, wow), then 2,
then 3. Usually I pass just one other cyclist and a
guy exercising his collies. For a second there, I
thought I was in Holland. It was awesome.

So, thank you to those sweet Peninsula Bicycle
Coalition volunteers from San Bruno, the guy in front
of Summit Bicycles in Burlingame, and all those other
bikers who waved at me as I made my way.

And now, my wish: Can’t every day be like Bike to Work Day?

Let’s stay in touch.

Headphones on, headphones off

By Dale Conour

I wore my headphones on my walk to work once. And didn’t like it. I couldn’t hear the birds. Couldn’t hear the leaves rustling. Couldn’t enjoy the relative quiet of the morning. Couldn’t have my tunes and be in tune.

The other day, just for kicks, I fired up the ’pod on the way home from the train. Not much in the way of birds, leaves and quiet at that time of day, especially along El Camino Real. What was there to lose?

Once again, I felt the distance, the removal from the environment. The lights progressed through their colors. The traffic flowed (a distant murmur). People made their way home, strolling with their heads down. Leaves shimmered silently in the late afternoon sun. I followed my route by rote.

Even though I had The National on, what I couldn’t get out of my head was:

A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway.

And I couldn’t decide if I was more disconnected or less.

Let’s stay in touch.