tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773945.post7473397334825477274..comments2023-11-02T01:52:54.107-07:00Comments on impeachment and other dreams: Must-see TVdguzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01811101661607351661noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773945.post-47741647619062717852011-11-19T15:46:12.255-08:002011-11-19T15:46:12.255-08:00As a whole, America seems to have no desire to pre...As a whole, America seems to have no desire to preserve man-made or natural beauty. Convenience and the Bottom Line are always the dominant considerations.<br /><br />I don't know if you've spent any time in Europe, but in a lot of places its totally different. In my own experience, France is the most beautiful and most unlike the United States.<br /><br />I saw no cheap strip malls, no endless plots of tract housing with fake shutters, no highways lined with endless billboards..<br /><br />When cities and towns are built slowly, and around castles and old infrastructure, people are less likely to rush for the sake of instant economic gratification.<br /><br />In most American towns, people could not care less if Fast Food Joint X went out of business and was replaced with Fast Food Joint Y. We have no loyalties to these chains, because they're not local establishments run by people who are supporters of our community. Instead the are part of an ambient background noise that just comes and goes with the tide. We give our money to these places when its convenient, because its convenient. Not even necessarily because we like their product.<br /><br />Really, how much American man-made infrastructure and architecture is worth preserving? Even the beautiful old city buildings are almost nullified by the development all around them. Its terrible.<br /><br />The United States is focused on artifice and superficiality. I've seen worse (well not in person, but perhaps the facade of opulence in places like the UAE), but our disease hasn't yet spread to the rest of the (older) developed world.<br /><br />I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and have decided to (eventually) move to Europe. Generally, there's more respect for history, art, and real culture.<br /><br />I've got about a hundred images I've saved from street view of France that show even some of the most mundane areas look considerably more inspiring than the best of the US.<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/nyz5r<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/g4kmf<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/d69bx<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/7g3jt<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/baua5<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/nur3p<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/6xt3q<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/psa68<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/zw44u<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/eeu8m<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/wn5sy<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/ur4ej<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/hnf7w<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/c4gfv<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/4xxd2<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/x55rb<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/3a54h<br /><br />http://g.co/maps/ytse7Robert Andrew Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06944865693943028945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773945.post-37202656040757039042011-11-18T08:27:11.627-08:002011-11-18T08:27:11.627-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Robert Andrew Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06944865693943028945noreply@blogger.com