20 + 33 points
Dérive by Marie the Alliaphage
December 19th, 2009 10:14 PM / Location: 38.995204,-77.01694
December 18, 2009: I make up my mind to do my first task for SF0 the next day. I've been going on dérives my whole life, though of course I didn't know to call them that until just now. I wish I had learned this sooner, as telling people I'm "just going out to wander around and look at shit" doesn't have the same ring to it.
The weather report says there will be a foot or more of snow, quite a lot for this area. I'm in an interesting position when it comes to analyzing this storm. I grew up in California, in a town that saw snow twice in my eighteen years there, but I've spent the past four years in Chicago, fighting off mountains of snow whose only goal is to sap as much human energy as possible. Now, scarcely more than a month into my time in Maryland, I'm facing something that is still a novelty to me, but doesn't faze me as much as the people making last-ditch grocery trips and swearing they won't leave their houses tomorrow. This little flurry would hardly raise an eyebrow in Chicago. It can't be that bad, right?
December 19, 2009: oh my goodness where did all of this snow come from
The following is an analysis of the effect of inclement weather on the psychogeographical characteristics of the area. Movement patterns slow and shift; swirling, faceless crowds are replaced by straggling clusters of no more than a few hardy souls; plans for the day are abruptly changed from the daily grind to spontaneous exploration and, perhaps, a search for normalcy; strangers become not-strangers through necessity and chance; everyone seems to wear a disoriented thousand-yard stare.
Also: sledding!
The weather report says there will be a foot or more of snow, quite a lot for this area. I'm in an interesting position when it comes to analyzing this storm. I grew up in California, in a town that saw snow twice in my eighteen years there, but I've spent the past four years in Chicago, fighting off mountains of snow whose only goal is to sap as much human energy as possible. Now, scarcely more than a month into my time in Maryland, I'm facing something that is still a novelty to me, but doesn't faze me as much as the people making last-ditch grocery trips and swearing they won't leave their houses tomorrow. This little flurry would hardly raise an eyebrow in Chicago. It can't be that bad, right?
December 19, 2009: oh my goodness where did all of this snow come from
The following is an analysis of the effect of inclement weather on the psychogeographical characteristics of the area. Movement patterns slow and shift; swirling, faceless crowds are replaced by straggling clusters of no more than a few hardy souls; plans for the day are abruptly changed from the daily grind to spontaneous exploration and, perhaps, a search for normalcy; strangers become not-strangers through necessity and chance; everyone seems to wear a disoriented thousand-yard stare.
Also: sledding!
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posted by Cookie on January 14th, 2010 7:31 AM
It never snows on our island on the southcoast, or so we thought. But it did last week. A lot. Compared to what you guys had it was nothing, but it was enough to stop the transport networks and force people to have a few more days of holiday. M had to go driving into it. She said it was like driving through Zombieland, with all the abandoned cars, and nothing else on the roads. Nature showed this country just how weak a centralised economy, which relies on lugging stuff and workers from one corner of the country to another, is when faced with a bit of changing climate. Local business boomed and people got more exercise, having to walk instead of drive.
Cookie likes your derive!
This is perhaps the most enjoyable derive I have yet read.