“Bicycling is, in much of the car-centric U.S., either a privilege or a punishment. That’s why more women aren’t bicycling. It isn’t because we’re fearful and vain; it’s because we’re busy and broke and our transportation system isn’t set up for us to do anything but drive.”

“Busy and broke” and a “transportation system [that] isn’t set up for us to do anything but drive” are reasons that apply to a lot of people, not just women.

This piece was also published at Streetsblog San Francisco

Home is where your books are from Aneesa Marian on Vimeo.

This is a lengthy, A1 story in the weekend paper, but it does little to illuminate the topic. Here’s how I would summarize the story: “Students lack the self-discipline to do their homework because of easy access to technology and the diverting experiences it enables. Technology is good, but this behavior is bad. Teachers don’t know what to do about it, and parents do little about it, too.” Boring, right?

Come on, NYT. We’ve already done the hand-wringing. You say that plugged-in students lack focus, but guess what? So does the story itself. Instead of rolling modern life into one big mess of tangled wires, let’s get specific: Start looking at specific problems (in this example, say: parenting and technology, or technology aptitude and the college application process, or technology use in the classroom) and specific solutions (e.g., media literacy 2.0, how parents and educators are setting boundaries that work, profiles of teachers who are making low-tech learning effective for high-tech students, etc.).

Or, for starters, let’s start making important distinctions between differences in technology use. Facebook and Final Cut Pro are very different technology distractions. Texting in class, texting during homework, and texting during dinner are all separate behaviors worth treating differently, both in a story and in real life. Treat them that way. Once you break experience down, you can begin to ask the real questions about what’s good, what’s bad, what’s neutral — and what should we do about it?

OK, I know this is just sort of a rant, not a real post, but come on. I care about this stuff. Can’t we get some good coverage out there? This where you, my occasional readers, make recommendations on better articles, books, and other media to feed my brain.

The top of the legs became a pleated high-waisted skirt, and the bottom — including the hem — was repurposed as a bodice. For the bottom, I had to make up the pleat pattern as I went along, which was hard since I don’t own a single thing with pleats, especially a more structured dress! But some pins, an iron, and a well-lit mirror helped me work it out. On top, I tweaked existing and new seams to make darts for a slightly more fitted shape and (with some supplies and encouragement from Erl) used some elastic in the back to snug up the fit.

Of course, I know a few things I wish I’d done differently, such as use a shorter zipper or add some shaping seams in the back (which I still might try), but on the whole I’m really happy with how it came out! With a cardigan and/or belt, it comes together nicely.