Burr Tillstrom—the puppeteer behind the Kukla, Fran & Ollie children’s show—is my family’s claim to fame. I missed his centenary last autumn. Franklin Burr Tillstrom was born 13 October 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, and had an older brother Richard (1911-2008). Their mother was Alice Burr and their father was Bert Frank Tillstrom, a doctor. They […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—May 3, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, Off Jersey City, New Jersey Wednesday–May 3rd When I first got up this morning I could not see land in any direction but we came in sight of Burgham Poart Light House at 7 AM and have been nearing the coast ever since. We passed the Barneygat Light House at 10.30 […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—May 2, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, At Sea off the Maryland Shore Tuesday–May 2nd I got up this morning and about the first object of note that met my eyes was three of Uncle Sams Monitors two single Turrit and one double. They were quite a curiosity to most of the soldiers. We find the hand on […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—March 13, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, Fayetteville, NC Monday–Mar. 13th We had a pretty cool night but it has been very warm through the day. Our regt. captured 30 rebs last night instead of two. We were relieved from the picket line about 2 PM and moved over onto another road about 2 miles west, and 3 […]
Diary of Orrin Brown—Jan 16, 1865
Diary of Orrin Brown, Savannah, Georgia Monday–Jan. 16th The weather is cold and cloudy this morning, the boys were all out in good season at work on their tents, we had orders last evening to prepair for general inspection tomorrow at 2 PM. We were all doing the best we know how this morning to […]
Broadband Planning And Big Data
The Internet most people use is an antique. I hadn’t thought of it that way until I was invited to participate in a bonus session on Broadband Planning & Big Data, during the #APA13 National Planning Conference in Chicago last month. The International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University focuses on developing […]
Downtown the Metro Place To Be
US Census Bureau reports: Populations Increasing in Many Downtowns A U.S. Census Bureau report released today shows that in many of the largest cities of the most-populous metro areas, downtown is becoming a place not only to work but also to live. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, metro areas with 5 million or more […]
Wind Energy Looking Up For 2011
Press Release U.S. wind energy industry finishes 2010 with half the installations of 2009, activity up in 2011, now cost-competitive with natural gas Industry weathers latest boom-bust cycle as utilities move to lock in more wind power at favorable long-term rates Washington, D.C. – America’s wind industry built 5,115 megawatts of wind power last year, […]
Shrinking Cities: Moving Beyond the Growth Obsession
Global Map Animation from 1kilo on Vimeo. Minnesota’s Chapter of the American Planning Association kicked off the Upper Midwest Planning Conference for 2010 this week in Mankato, MN. The keynotes feature Jim Charlier from Boulder, and Tom Stinson (Minnesota State Economist) and Tom Gillaspy (Minnesota State Demographer). My highlight for the first day (other than […]
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Major League Baseball-Chicago Cubs home opener vs. Colorado Rockies