Among people in the study who got at least two and a half hours of weekly exercise, car commuters gained an average of four pounds over four years - one pound more than people who got to work another way or worked from home.
It isn’t surprising that driving is linked with weight gain. What is interesting is that among those with similar exercise habits, those who commute by car still gain more weight and have to deal with the associated health effects.
The Super Bowl seems to be as much about the ads as the game, particularly for those without a team in the running. I did have a team in the game, although they ended up just a few yards shy of a pretty spectacular comeback. So I guess I’m left with disappointment and the ads. I’ll stick to the ads…
Overall I thought that the ads were decent - better than most years. There weren’t as many that tried to be funny but fell awkwardly flat (I’m looking at you, Samsung). Generally the funny ones were entertaining, or at least amusing. The lifestyle ones generally worked and the perennial feel good ones felt good.
But my favorite, by far, was the heartwarming, eloquent words of Paul Harvey overtop the simple, beautiful images of the life of a farmer - Dodge’s “God Made a Farmer”:
It might seem odd or bit incongruous that I would choose the ad of a car company given my continual advocacy for places that are walkable first. There are several points to be made about this. First, my view of the world doesn’t preclude cars but rather seeks a more fitting balance where the person is valued more than the machine. Second, I can appreciate an ad as a creative work - an act of design - on its own merits regardless of my feelings about the product advertised. And finally, nothing portrayed in the ad (maybe up to the point of the tagline) is contrary to what I believe. We need farmers and farmers need trucks. That isn’t to say that there aren’t valid critiques about the ad.
So what made this ad great? Perhaps it was great because it wasn’t so much an ad as a photographic and literary journey to the heartland. Perhaps it was the contrast between the powerful and elegant simplicity of the ad to the overly glitzy and noisy spectacle of the rest of the crowd.
There were probably many elements that contributed to success, but for me it is mostly that the ad is a statement of belief. Obviously Dodge is trying to sell trucks. But instead of focusing on speed, power, or other differentiating metrics Dodge has decided to stake out a much more philosophical position.
It is a markedly “brand” driven advertising - rather than selling the benefits of a product Dodge is trying to sell the values of the brand. Dodge’s message is one of belief:
“We believe in humanity. We believe in the value of hard work. And because we believe these things, our products cannot be anything but great.”
I have long believed that a considered statement that starts with the words “I believe” will inevitably be one of power and clarity. Using that voice in advertising brings great resonance and elegance to the message.
That said, ultimately it’s all about selling products. Am I going out to buy a Dodge truck? No. But do I feel differently today about Dodge as a company than I did yesterday? Absolutely.
David Pierce, writing for The Verge, profiles Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Miller:
Peter Read Miller’s been to so many Super Bowls that he can’t even remember exactly how many. “I think this is 38,” the long-time Sports Illustrated staff photographer told me. “I said 34 the other day, and then I re-counted for someone else who was asking, and I think this is 38.” 38 Super Bowl Sundays he’s spent crouched in the end zone or running down the sidelines, shooting everyone from Larry Czonka to Eli Manning with dozens of different cameras in countless different situations. He’s seen four decades of football through his viewfinder.
This is a fascinating look at what it takes to shoot the big sports events - particularly the Super Bowl: a lot of (expensive) gear, stamina, planning, game awareness, and some luck.
Bern, the capital of Switzerland, occupies the hilly peninsula of a horseshoe shaped bend in the River Aare. As its population grew, bridges across the river expanded the city’s reach to the surrounding areas. The historic center has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Bern has consistently ranked high for quality of life.
Unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of explore Bern, but the above picture has piqued my interest. The form of the historic center is striking with dense buildings along parallel streets. The center street is obviously the primary street with greater width and likely built at a higher elevation than the others. The amazing natural setting, the cohesive historic character of the architecture, the dense yet human scaled urban fabric combined with the delightful riverfront parks — these all combine to create a truly unique and amazing place. This is certainly a place worth exploring and one I intend to do eventually.
When I moved to Taiwan, I was shocked by people’s lack of concern for privacy. Many families live at the rear of or above their businesses. At night, when the store is closed for the day, they shut their glass doors but often “forget” to pull down their metal screens. Thus, walking along the street at night, you are likely to see “Bà Ba” (pinyin for 爸爸, or “father”) lounging shirtless, brown belly protruding, on his couch watching TV.
It’s an interesting observation, and one which I think is probably pretty accurate. But I also think that she experienced another cultural shift - the small town girl in the big (Asian) city. It is true that suburban and rural American culture is predicated on a desire for privacy. It is also true that western cultures tend to value individualism more than eastern cultures. Put both together and you get the kind of shocking disparity Jessica writes about.
I would also point out that the concept of living above/behind/beside your shop is not new. Nor is it exclusive to Asia. Many small shop owners have lived that life - throughout time and in all places. Most American towns, small and large, had the sort of “merchant class” that housed their families on the same land as their shop up into the 20th century. The fact that seeing this in Asia surprised Jessica speaks to how far we have strayed from the rich, diverse community building humans have practiced for thousands of years.
While sporting strong typography skills is an important tool for designers, it’s good knowledge for non-designers to have as well. Knowing and understanding good typography can improve common tasks like writing a paper, article, invitation, resume, cover letter, or even whipping up a digital presentation.
I can’t call myself a typography junkie yet, but I appreciate good design at all scales. I enjoyed this short introduction to typography and have found myself paying closer attention to the design details of type.
A friend from high school shared this picture on facebook this evening:
She added that this was why she hated cities and followed up with a comment about how a Walmart near her had replaced a lot of trees with a vast parking lot and lots of trash. While I appreciate the sentiment, the image and my friend’s comments have it all wrong.
To start, the image tries to bluntly tie a direct link between cities and the demise of nature. This disregards an important point - the most sustainable human habitation occurs in the compact, urban form of small to mid-size cities. There are efficiencies in traditional settlement patterns that were a byproduct of eras without access to cheap energy. This is the reason that compact, walkable places generally have lower per capita carbon footprints than less dense areas.
After poking around the facebook page and then the site that my friend shared the picture from, I think that it is likely they would advocate for a simpler, rural lifestyle. This is a worthy endeavor, but it is one that simply doesn’t scale and rural living isn’t for everybody. Even in eras with much smaller worldwide populations, people still found it necessary and desirable to live in community with one another. It is necessary both economically and socially. Traditionally cities were great centers of culture, education, vitality, and productivity - they were the economic engines of their times. In our current era of burgeoning populations, it isn’t feasible for billions of people to live a simple rural lifestyle.
This is where some environmentalists get it all wrong. Ironically, the image creator chose to use the dense downtown environment as the foil for the eradication of the pristine nature. These two are not opposed. It isn’t the dense downtown that is eradicating nature - it is sprawling suburbia. Cities are not the enemy but the answer. The best way to preserve natural habitat is to fight for a human scaled, walkable, compact human habitat.
My friend wasn’t all wrong. Her tirade against our standard way of development, while misdirected, was appropriate. The Walmart project doesn’t represent cities but rather a hybrid monster that is neither urban nor rural. The sprawling monster of suburbia devours land at unprecedented rates while forcing upon us a lifestyle that isn’t healthy for either us or our world. But this monster is not the city. It something altogether different. The city and nature can exist in harmony. In fact, some might say that both together is the very definition of heaven.
The work is not only a journey into the faces of innocent youth, but a social nod to the massive variety of people who live in the United States – specifically in New York City. Amazingly, Goldfield traveled to photograph kids from 169 countries – with his NYC Metro card. [22 percent of New York City residents are foreign-born as opposed to 13% in the rest of the country].
[…]
The pure resilience, diversity, and beauty of humanity is apparent in every single one of these images.
These pictures are an exceptional celebration of humanity - both technically and as a cultural work.
The nonprofit advocacy coalition Transportation for America (NRDC is a member) has found that, from 2000 through 2009, more than 47,700 pedestrians were killed in the United States. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of passengers crashing roughly every month. On top of that, more than 688,000 pedestrians were injured over the decade, a number equivalent to a pedestrian being struck by a car or truck every 7 minutes.
[…]
Whatever the right approach, it matters: a lot of places in America are a lot like Woodbridge. And, if we don’t start exercising more, including by walking, the prospects for our collective health are daunting. The single most alarming public health trend in the United States today is the dramatic rise in overweight and obesity, bringing serious risks of heart disease, diabetes and other consequences leading to life impairment and premature death.
It’s time we give people the choice to walk and to do so safely. We need to make our places walkable.
February 5, 2013 | 
