Humor

From Cyburbian Tom R: Did you know that a group of frogs is called an army or a colony? Me neither. Here is a link that give more names for groupings of critters than should be allowed. Anyway, what is a group of planners? An obfuscation? A stonewall? Others?

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian MacheteJames: "It has been decided that...."

"An informational meeting will be held..."

I just had a little epiphany here at work. The writing that I produce and spend all my time reading (planning and government related stuff) is full of the passive voice. This is something that our teachers and professors tried to beat out of us again and again as we went through our schooling, yet it is absolutely rampant in our line of work due to the automatic C.Y.A. benefit it provides.

Do any of you out there see the same rampant level of overuse of this type of writing as I do?

(No, this isn't a Rickroll.) 'It's a Wonderful City' was produced for the Beverly Hills, California Planning Department by Richard Gale. The short film is a parody of Frank Capra's classic 'It's a Wonderful Life,' which illustrates the importance of a City's planning department. George, the Jimmy Stewart character spirals into despair when faced with the City's bureaucracy, and wishes the Planning Department never existed. Guardian Angel Clarance helps him get his wish, and George learns an important lesson when his hometown is transformed into an urban nightmare.

From Cyburbian Dan: Caturday for planners is a day early!

From Cyburbian Brocktoon: Many of us are required to attend municipal council or commission meetings. What do you do to keep yourself occupied…besides of course paying close attention to each agenda item? In the past I have you figured out which of the 7 seven dwarves each of the council members resembles.Currently several of us have a standing bet on the time the meeting would end? Since being armed with a crackberry I find my self check Monday night football scores. How about you, what do you and your colleagues do to pass the time at council meetings?

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

Okay, so it's about architecture, and not planning. Still, the daily arch.Maaik (http://www.archmaaik.net) comic, written by a Belgian architect, is pretty funny, and often relevant to us planner-types. The comic is about the life of an architect and the things that cross his path. The goal of the strip is to promote architecture and make it more accessible to the broader public. Archibald, the architect, livens up the discussion on this subject while making the people more conscious of their material environment.

Finally, a reason for all you real estate and developer types to make a stop at Cyburbia after you've visited those other planning sites. Here's a list of various subdivision and town name generators, to provide some creative inspiration for your next project. (Click on "read more" to see links to all name generator sites.)

Generator Land: Subdivision Name Generator
kadavy.net: Suburban Development Name Generator

After reading these articles on The Onion (http://www.theonion.com), you'll ask yourself "is there a planner among their writers?" (Click on "read more" to see all 14 articles.)

City Councilman Unearths Magical Zoning Amulet
Area Ostrich Lashes Out Against Unnecessarily Restrictive Zoning Laws

Strange Maps (http://strangemaps.wordpress.com) is a frequently updated blog featuring maps with a taste for the hypothetical, the fictional and the unusual.

From Cyburbian rosierivets: I had my first yesterday; just wondering if this is some type of Planner's Right of Passage.

I was explaining the home occupations regulations pertaining to advertising.

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian DrumLineKid: I have been working on this theory after a (long) period of observation. There seems to be some consistency among those of us that call ourselves planners. The name elicits good feelings among fellow titled, even if it is self-titled. It also connotes(sp?) a fair amount of cynicism and skepticism. A planner is typically bright, willing to work to make it happen (whatever it is) and frequently overwhelmed. We are genuinely open despite our wariness. What else are we?

(Cyburbia Forums original post)

From Cyburbian hilldweller: We have a problem around here- keep in mind we are a larger city with a busy planning department- we refer to as "plan dumping". We will get building permit plans that have not received Board approval and sometimes don't even comply with zoning. The applicants (developers, or plan architects) obviously know this but for whatever reason (laziness, trouble getting approvals, etc.) they choose the "dump and pray" route. The contact on these submittals is invariably some permit runner, intern, or contractor ("I'm just supposed to build the thing") who pleads ignorance when we ring them up.

Where can you find the Municipal House of Pancakes, Texas Cheesecake Depository, Legitimate Businessman's Social Club, New Bedlam Home for the Emotionally Interesting, and Professor V. J. Cornucopia's Fantastic Foodmagorium and Great American Steakery? In Springfield (the state is a subject of much debate) (mapofspringfield.com), the home of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. The map of the fictional cartoon city attempts to show the relative location of landmarks seen in specific episodes of The Simpsons.

Archibald (maaik.com/archibald.php) is a daily online comic strip, published by a Belgian architect, about the life of an architect and the things that cross his path. Not quite planning-related, but it's much better than 95% of web comics out there, and you have to admit you enjoy laughing at architects, right?

Ever wonder where developers get the names for their subdivisons? Here's their secret: The Suburban Name Generator (suburbanname.com). Here's an example of one name it created.
Harbour BrookeNarrative: The word harbour spelled with a u is just that extra touch to counter what is really a bad location. While brooke spelled with an e at the end calms and provides a historical perspective.