Comments on: Flower Power!

Flower Power!

Ogre Lawless — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:07:08 -0800

Worried that the nearby field is going to become cookie-cutter houses? No need to do anything rash, instead do a little planting.

By: keswick

keswick — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:11:02 -0800

This is a really good idea.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:14:54 -0800

Would this technique trump an eminent domain land grab?

By: kalessin

kalessin — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:16:58 -0800

I think the challenge would be to plant the plant in such a way that it didn't look like it had been planted by anything other than wind and rain.

By: NationalKato

NationalKato — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:17:57 -0800

It's time to start spilling some seed.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:31:49 -0800

Do your part to keep housing prices high, and the bubble growing!

By: keswick

keswick — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:34:00 -0800

sorry b1tr0t, i forgot it's the godgiven right of developers to pave everything. carry on.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:37:05 -0800

Of course, this will work only if you live where people actually give a shit about environmental rules. I have a feeling, where I live, that field of flowers would get plowed up and planted with new McMansions just as soon as the county officials can fire up the Caterpillar. The irony, of course, would be that they would probably name the new development after the very flowers they bulldozed. "White Flower Farms" Something like that.

By: fugitivefromchaingang

fugitivefromchaingang — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:45:02 -0800

For years, Evans has looked out on the field from the window of his hillside home above the site. If Laguna Vista ever gets built, he said, it will be as bad for the apple-growing mecca of Sebastopol as it will be for his view. "It's going to be flat-out ugly,' he said. "Every third house will be the same. It's going to destroy property values. As a development it might be appropriate for some place like San Jose. Not for Sebastopol.' His view ? Wow, what a hero ! What a principled environmentalist !

By: ninjew

ninjew — Tue, 09 May 2006 12:45:45 -0800

Remember through towns With fear and fascination On what was here And what's replacing them now Interchange causes malls And crowded chain restaurants More housing developments go up Named after the things they replace So welcome to Minnow Brook And welcome to Shady Space And it all seems a little abrupt No I don't like this change of pace -Modest Mouse - Novocain Stain

By: rocket88

rocket88 — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:09:13 -0800

This has nothing to do with endangered flowers or wild spaces, and everything to do with Bob Evans' property values.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:16:15 -0800

This is a really dumb idea. If people get the notion that endangered species laws can be manipulated like this maybe they will stop supporting these laws.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:21:15 -0800

It's all innuendo and suspicion, though. What if they are legitimately natural there?

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:25:56 -0800

Ewige blumenkraft!

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:38:59 -0800

Amazing story. Thanks.

By: bardic

bardic — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:05:00 -0800

I like it. Better yet America--there are these places called "cities" which already have lots of affordable housing, culture, restaurants, and welcoming communities. You might have to see your kid play with another kid who isn't the same color, or speaks a different language, but he or she will be better for it. And you can sell your car. And know who your neighbors are and make friends with them. Lots of perks. And 20 years from now, your townhouse will actually be worth something, not plowed over to make way for "Shadier Brook" or what have you.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:06:52 -0800

And it's true we named our children after towns that we've never been to. And it's true that the clouds just hung around like black Cadillacs outside a funeral.

By: Vaska

Vaska — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:15:11 -0800

Good idea, but Bob Evan's reasons for doing it put a damper on supporting it openly. That said, it still stopped a tract development which are terrible places for kids to grow up in, have no community, and don't help the towns they're built near much either.

By: Kwantsar

Kwantsar — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:24:39 -0800

there are these places called "cities" which already have lots of affordable housing, Affordable housing in such lovely neighborhoods as West Oakland, Mott Haven, Lawndale, and Roxbury. culture, restaurants, and welcoming communities. Catcalls, graffiti, Halal, tacos, and ten million "Chinese" restaurants. And you can sell your car. And in turn you can enjoy the thrill of carrying your groceries up and down hills, through traffic, while enjoying the sweet, sweet smell of diesel exhaust and fermenting streetside trash. Hope you like paying a 200% markup on diapers from the corner delicatessen! And know who your neighbors are and make friends with them. Which is easy to do as long as you can get past not being able to communicate in the same language, you love 100 decibels of reggaeton at 3 AM on a tuesday, and you think people urinating on the street gives the place "character." I've lived in cities all of my life. Affordable, safe, convenient-- pick two. And keep piling in those cities, kiddies, so your very presence can enrich your landlord (or prior owner) who does nothing but collect economic rent because he paid someone who paid someone who paid someone who stole the land from someone else.

By: anthill

anthill — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:31:19 -0800

Sounds like a job for White Middle-Class Suburban Man!

By: pracowity

pracowity — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:43:58 -0800

It's time to start spilling some seed. Sounds like a threat from Onan the Barbarian. I hope the housing project is stopped. If Bush keeps stacking the deck in favor of big business, maybe someone needs to use a little sleight of hand to make the game a little fairer.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:54:17 -0800

I hope the housing project is stopped. If Bush keeps stacking the deck in favor of big business, maybe someone needs to use a little sleight of hand to make the game a little fairer. So, a big business is any business with more than two employees? A 125 unit housing development is tiny. The Irvine Company, by comparison, puts up 1,000+ houses at a time.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:59:06 -0800

pracowity, ouch. I find wildflowers growing in a field holding back developers to be delightfully subversive in this instance. Something charming in that metaphor.

By: acid freaking on the kitty

acid freaking on the kitty — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:59:14 -0800

graffiti, Halal, tacos, and ten million "Chinese" restaurants. what's wrong with these again? participation in them is not compulsory.... Affordable, safe, convenient-- pick two. i've lived in portland for 10+ years, got all three. and .... economic rent? what other kind is there?

By: keswick

keswick — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:06:58 -0800

i know when i think "affordable," i think "portland." i suppose in comparison to the upper east side it is...

By: knave

knave — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:09:32 -0800

sorry b1tr0t, i forgot it's the godgiven right of developers to pave everything. carry on. -- keswick Well this country was founded on the idea that people can own property and have the right to do with it as they please.

By: Kwantsar

Kwantsar — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:13:17 -0800

what's wrong with these again? participation in them is not compulsory... Nothing is "wrong" with them (except graffiti, which is often vandalism), but "culture" and "restaurants" aren't all that they're cracked up to be if you don't happen to enjoy the dominant culture(s) or cuisine(s). economic rent? what other kind is there? Start here.

By: acid freaking on the kitty

acid freaking on the kitty — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:35:48 -0800

heh. well, in comparison to most things around it of a similar size, portland is affordable, which is why we have a booming population of former seattle/bay area folks cashing out of the housing bubble and relocating here. sure, much more expensive than most rural areas, but my point is that there are many cities that aren't subject to kwantsar's false dilemma. "culture" and "restaurants" aren't all that they're cracked up to be if you don't happen to enjoy the dominant culture(s) or cuisine(s). everywhere i've been in this country, the dominant culture and cuisine is White American. the point was that the other cultures found in a city are a welcome counterpoint to this, and there's not usually just one subculture. don't like tacos? go eat some thai food. don't like thai? how about some italian? greek? ecuadorean? ethiopian? you can find good quality food from another culture you DO like. is it really anyone's experience that there's only one type of ethnic food to be had in the city? ok, even ditch the food angle, and you've still got the benefit of music, dance, and arts that's rooted in other countries' cultures. America the melting pot is miles and miles better than America the new McMansion subdivision.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:47:15 -0800

Well this country was founded on the idea that people can own property and have the right to do with it as they please. - knave Bullshit. There are plenty of laws about what you can and cannot do on your own property. What you can build, where, when, what it can look like, if you can set fires, what substances you can consume there, what items you can store there, if you can put a sign on your lawn, all freakin' kinds of things.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:48:32 -0800

Why don't they put the flowers in a museum, and charge the people 1.50 to see 'em?

By: knave

knave — Tue, 09 May 2006 16:06:18 -0800

raedyn, there are some of us who think those laws are ridiculous, and they did not exist when the constitution was written. Land/property ownership is the underpinning of all our rights in this country. If you can't own land, you have essentially no rights.

By: mischief

mischief — Tue, 09 May 2006 16:11:30 -0800

So, we're supposed to welcome every illegal immigrant with open arms so long as they don't try to buy a house. Sounds like banning abortion and then not supporting the bastards.

By: hrbrmstr

hrbrmstr — Tue, 09 May 2006 17:43:11 -0800

bardic, our fam moved from the city to a 200+ yr old farmhouse out where what was past the 'burbs since we really grew weary of listening to other people's horrid music blaring at all hours. That was the only reason, however. I don't give a hoot about property values or "The Joneses". While I enjoy nature (avid cycler/hiker/camper/backpacker) and initially saw some benefit to being out here, I'm a city boy @ heart and miss the quick access to diverse food, entertainment, culture, services, etc. I didn't miss the rude noise, tho...(note the tense) Funny how the main reason we moved did a full comeback on us. The surrounding farmland went to a developer and now I have a bunch of New Jersey imports (I'm in Pennsylvania) blaring music at all hours from their patios, pools, backyards and cars. I guess rude, stupid people manage to take up roost pretty much everywhere. I wish I thought of the endangered flower ploy a couple years ago. So, our last refuge will probably be to move to the center of a 40-acre wooded lot with one, unpaved access road in the harshest part of northern, coastal Maine. Or, just buy an island. I have to embezzle a gazillion dollars first, tho...that is, unless anyone knows of a city area where there's a good community without the awful noise.

By: mischief

mischief — Tue, 09 May 2006 18:11:10 -0800

The trick to this is to have the foresight to do this years in advance so the plants are well environmentalised. Imagine local covert efforts to seed a few thousand acres of forests or wetlands with otherwise indigenous endangered species, and the control one would wield without having to own the property.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 09 May 2006 19:42:01 -0800

Well this country was founded on the idea that people can own property and have the right to do with it as they please. Land/property ownership is the underpinning of all our rights in this country. If you can't own land, you have essentially no rights. I had never heard this before. What an exciting way of approaching these things! Thank you for clearing that up for me.

By: knave

knave — Tue, 09 May 2006 20:02:09 -0800

I can only assume that's sarcasm, but whatever.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:25:27 -0800

Yeah, I considered deployment of the [sarcasm] pseudotag, but figure it was pretty obvious without it. But I do invite you to say what leads to you actually say such things -- I'd genuinely be interested in where you're coming from with all that.

By: matkline

matkline — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:31:03 -0800

(insert witty pun related to Bob Evans' name)

By: nyxxxx

nyxxxx — Wed, 10 May 2006 01:40:34 -0800

Isn't Lawndale where Daria lived?

By: salvia

salvia — Wed, 10 May 2006 10:17:55 -0800

Well this country was founded on the idea that people can own property and have the right to do with it as they please. *buys the condo downstairs from knave's and starts cooking meth* *then kills her housemate* (Hey, my property, my rules!)