normals v. weirdos

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i caught myself saying to someone last night that pretty much everyone in my year at school is really normal, really really straight, a couple of left-leaners and definitely some interesting people but none of the stereotypical "grad school" radicals or pretentious arty kids. and i'm not sure how i feel about this! i mean i roffle at pretentious arty kids all the time, but sometimes i take it for granted how few of them there are in the real world! we need these people -- they make shit happen. normals = middle managers.

what is refreshing is the lack of flakes/broke-ass-druggies/bipolars/genius egos; i've always whined that i didn't know enough non-crazy people, and now i know a bunch of 'em.

― the starbucks in the forbidden city (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 November 2006 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

a couple of left-leaners

ok, more than a couple. everyone's generally liberal, but only a couple that are really far to the left.

― the starbucks in the forbidden city (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 November 2006 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

Is urban planning a big field for lefties? Historically, the big names haven't been known as champions of the little guy/working-class/impoverished.

― milo z (mlp), Sunday, 5 November 2006 18:57 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, seems like that field by definition would be full of practical minded types, no?

― timmy tannin (pompous), Sunday, 5 November 2006 19:02 (nineteen years ago)

Everyone I've ever known who went into urban-planning was both left-leaning and practical-minded.

I know what you mean about the normals and weirdos though. Living in Jersey City you deal with a lot more "normals" - usually Wall St. types. There are a lot of downsides, such as people clamoring for ugly luxury condo buildings, big box retail and "upscale chain restaurants." OTOH it's sort of enriching, albeit in a sometimes dismal way, to not live somewhere where everyone listens to CAN and works freelance.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Sunday, 5 November 2006 19:09 (nineteen years ago)

Is urban planning a big field for lefties?

that's a very complicated question. to answer it you kinda have to navigate what's meant by "urban planning" AND what your definition of "lefty" is (and there are a million definitions these days). it's a strange time to be in the field.

the short answer is that yes, there have been major movements of lefty planners (more on the social/environmental end of things), and most of my classmates now are into sustainability and small-scale community development stuff.

― the starbucks in the forbidden city (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 November 2006 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

Plus once in a while you do meet a Wall St. type who listens to CAN and goes to the Film Forum, or whatever.

― A-ron Hubbard (Hurting), Sunday, 5 November 2006 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

There is no normal. Only those who want to use it as a power play. We're all niche markets.

― Treblekicker (treblekicker), Sunday, 5 November 2006 22:29 (nineteen years ago)

i'm all about trying to be as normal as possible w/ career-related stuff, so i'm glad the folks in my program generally lean towards informatics/metadata or old-school reference/cataloging. it's actually a little refreshing to see presentations in *big theory* class ignore rhizomatic multiples and talk about library catalog usability. i guess in the long haul it'll make life a little less interesting, but i'm happy to tow the line and see if i can end up with the stability of a middle-of-the-road job so i can ~~change the world~~dink around with contact mics in my spare time.

― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Monday, 6 November 2006 01:56 (nineteen years ago)

i think about this everyday. i'm at "grad school" in a town of 30k in western Montana. the town is normal as all get out: ag-kids, frat boys, and general middle/western state boringness. I mean, we've got hippies, but they may as well be normal out here.

My heart warms a little bit when I see the dour emo kids sulking outside the mall. Sure, they're annoying and their taste sucks, but at least they're trying.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 6 November 2006 02:00 (nineteen years ago)

my school is full of preppy 20 year old republicans who are going to be managers and investment bankers and lawyers when they grow up. it's a little creepy, honestly. i like the small crowd of ecologically and socially conscious hippies, but they make me feel pretty immoral and shallow sometimes because i shave my legs and don't turn off my shower while soaping up.

― Maria (Maria), Monday, 6 November 2006 02:17 (nineteen years ago)

only a couple that are really far to the left.

Does this mean only a couple of Communists or anarchists? You're probably doing all right if there are a couple.

It might not come as a surprise that composition at SUNY Buffalo is weirdo-only. I'm actually kind of glad that I have a roommate in physical education to keep me (somewhat) grounded (and in shape).

― Sundar (sundar), Monday, 6 November 2006 04:23 (nineteen years ago)

(Your programme sounds cool though.)

― Sundar (sundar), Monday, 6 November 2006 04:24 (nineteen years ago)

i love the weirdos. bring 'em on!

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Monday, 6 November 2006 04:33 (nineteen years ago)

The socs cause a lot more trouble for the greasers than vice versa.

― Abbott (Abbott), Monday, 6 November 2006 05:26 (nineteen years ago)

fauxhemian, where are you going to library school??? I am in my first semester at unc, I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet.

The people here are less weird than I thought they would be, though, on the whole, still pretty weird. There's very few artist/hipster types, but the more I get to know people the more I realize they are just as neurotic as I am. Though there are a bunch of school-marmy kind of girls just out of undergrad, very bland and, thus, I guess, sort of "normal". I assume they all want to be school/children's librarians.

― askance johnson (sdownes), Monday, 6 November 2006 05:32 (nineteen years ago)

Is urban planning a big field for lefties? Historically, the big names haven't been known as champions of the little guy/working-class/impoverished.

Correct. As best embodied by Robert Moses.

― Aimless (Aimless), Monday, 6 November 2006 05:34 (nineteen years ago)

robert moses is the old guard, the "rational" model of planning. by and large guys like him don't exist anymore, even though there obviously are big redevelopment megaprojects with infamous developers/starchitects attached to them. planning is a very political animal these days (which is to say that it's more overtly political and pluralistic and less ivory-tower academic) -- interest groups who KNOW they've been fucked over in the past are very vocal about their concerns now, and often delay projects for a long time while issues about environmental impacts, affordable housing, traffic, etc., are worked out. robert moses got away with a lot more. he's widely considered the black mark on the profession (along with the urban renewal idiocy of the same era), especially by those in the academy and in the field. the advocacy planning of the '60s and '70s was a devastating blow to much of that shadowy-figure-behind-the-curtain stuff.

Does this mean only a couple of Communists or anarchists? You're probably doing all right if there are a couple.

well, my professors quote marxist theory quite a bit! (and i get a kick out of it, admittedly.)

It might not come as a surprise that composition at SUNY Buffalo is weirdo-only. I'm actually kind of glad that I have a roommate in physical education to keep me (somewhat) grounded (and in shape).

i went to SUNY Binghamton for my undergrad. not weirdo-only, but a good amount of weirdos.

― the starbucks in the forbidden city (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 6 November 2006 06:53 (nineteen years ago)

a.j., i'm in my first quarter at ucla. not even sure how to ask the good-bad question in the first place (my questions are more like how do i shot basic studying and social skills). there are like a handful of typical librarian-types i've noticed so far but i think a small majority of the folks here lean towards i.t.-related stuff or law/medical informatics. they're mostly left-of-center i guess in a humanistic sort of way. the profs are pretty eclectic, maybe a bit more 'radical' than the student body though. already deleuze references and science-is-constructed stuff! wish there was more marxist theory; seems like it's a turn-off for *big theory class* professor though ;_;

― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Monday, 6 November 2006 07:57 (nineteen years ago)

there's this one prof i'm taking two classes with, and i adore him, but you can almost make a drinking game out of his perpetual reverence for henri lefebvre.

― the starbucks in the forbidden city (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 6 November 2006 08:46 (nineteen years ago)

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