Review: Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power

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From Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, by Steve Coll:

"I'm not a U.S. company, and I don't make decisions based on what's good for the U.S." -- Lee Raymond, CEO of ExxonMobil"

After the jump, my review.

The Olympics: A Look Back at Beijing

With the 2012 Olympics set to open in London, I couldn't help thinking back to the opening of the 2008 Games in Beijing. John was there, outside the stadium, and even made the briefest appearance on the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams." That's him, above, at the 1:29 mark of the video. Good times.

Three years later, Ellen and I were lucky enough to make our own visit to the site of those 2008 Games. Things were much quieter in Beijing in the spring of 2011 compared to the excitement in the summer of 2008, but the site is still impressive and worth a visit. After the jump, photos of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.

Review: The Year of Magical Thinking

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From The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion:

I did not yet have the concentration to work but I could straighten my house, I could get on top of things, I could deal with my unopened mail. That I was only now beginning the process of mourning did not occur to me. Until now I had been able only to grieve, not mourn. Grief was passive. Grief happened. Mourning, the act of dealing with grief, required attention."

After the jump, my review.

First Landscape Buffers, Then Signs

Earlier, I riffed on the folly of cities requiring landscape buffers between the sidewalk and business parking lots. Screening eyesores from passersby does nothing to solve the root problem: ugly parking lots. Why not create regulations that lead businesses to make those parking lots more inviting to passersby rather than just try to hide them? Challenge those designers who are designing bridges to rethink the parking lot instead.

Walk with me, after the jump.

DCI at Lake Highlands HS

Every summer Drum Corps International (DCI) makes Lake Highlands High School's Wildcat-Ram Stadium a stop for one of its marching band competitions on its nationwide tour. This year, the performing ensembles included (in order of finish):

• The Cadets - Allentown, PA
  
• Santa Clara Vanguard - Santa Clara, CA
  
• Bluecoats - Canton, OH
  
• Madison Scouts - Madison, WI
  
• Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA
  
• Blue Knights - Denver, CO
  
• Crossmen - San Antonio, TX
  
• The Academy - Tempe, AZ
  
• Glassmen - Toledo, OH
  
• Cascades - Seattle, WA
  
• Forte - Dallas, TX
  

As always, it was a great show for the large crowd that always turns out to appreciate the music, the marching, and the great effort shown by these hundreds and hundreds of young musicians.

More photos after the jump.