Thanks to Mark Evanier, I've seen some photographs of my husband he'd probably wish hadn't been posted on line from the 1982 Comicon, an event which looks far different than it does today. My first Comicon was 10 years later and it already looked different than what I saw in the photographs this morning.
Mark also uploaded this piece from YouTube, which shows Len trying to guess three words at Mark's Quick-Draw panel at Comicon last month. It's pretty interesting. Len had a great time doing it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
The Joy of Reading
When I was a child, I was the kid who you'd find in a corner in any room reading whatever happened to be available. There were certain homes of friends of my parents I particularly liked to visit because of the vast quantities of reading material (full sets of encyclopedias, old National Geographics, "Zoo Doctor") which I didn't have at home. Raiding my grandparents attic, where I found my aunts' and uncles' copies of Nancy Drews, Hardy Boys, Robinson Crusoe, Heidi, and other unabridged classics was the best, because those went home with me. I love books. Books are my friends (who are taking over my home and storage bays.)
Being flat on my back for almost a week gave me an opportunity to do something which would otherwise take a couple of months: rereading the entire Harry Potter series back to back to back. I'm within about 200 pages of finishing the task and I've enjoyed the hell out of it.
I had read the first four books at least twice before, but did not have time to do that with five or six, and, of course, seven just came out. There is so much that Rowling set up in the earlier books that I had forgotten by the time I got to seven. And I read seven in a hurry so as not to let anyone spoil the ending. It isn't about the ending. Ultimately, it is about the journey.
This is very much like watching "The Sixth Sense." Most people I know, including those who are professional writers and who can spot what's going to happen, were taken by surprise by that punch-line. Having seen the film, I couldn't wait to see the DVD to catch the clues I missed the first time out. That's how the Harry Potter books are. By book four, she was already paying off things she set up in book one, but other things don't pay off until book seven.
I missed some of the movement of the Deathly Hallows the first time through. Now I'm getting it. I realized that I had forgotten key scenes in book seven a mere three weeks after reading it the first time. It is amazing how you remember the broad strokes but only selective details.
I've also been watching the films as I finish each book, so now I can see why Michael's been less satisfied by them than I have been. I still think that three through five are really good films, but they are less faithful adaptations than I recalled. One and two remain pretty faithful to the narrative but lack any great spark as films. Chris Columbus is one of the world's worst directors, IMHO, and it is only due to the great skill of British actors that they are able to carry off the film without any important contribution by the director. Films three and five have terrific directors who are able to enhance the material. Four was o.k., but not in his element (I really liked some of his other films a lot more.)
My husband is what he calls an "organic" writer--he doesn't do a lot of planning and the story unravels before him. He doesn't like to plot and relies on his great skill with dialog and emotion to pull off some of his stories. (In all honesty, his stated failure to plot out things over long stretches of time and story isn't entirely true based on some of his talk about long runs he had on certain comic books where he set up things months or years into the future, but he doesn't do charts or story cards or anything like that.) Rowling appears to have done a whole lot more plotting and planning. She seems to work in the way I was told Dickens did--every character's movement through a book was charted out and events were carefully set up. It leads to a very rich reading experience.
There's been much talk about whether or not these books will stand the test of time. I strongly suspect they will because every one who loved these books will remember them and pass them on to their children, grand-children, nieces and nephews. I've done that with books which were childhood favorites of mine, like "The Boxcar Children," "Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates, " or "Swiss Family Robinson," and books I read later such as "The Little Prince," "Lord of the Rings," and "Way Station."
The Potter books have an added bit of sticking power, having been put on film so close to their publication, so even post-literates are familiar with their content. I did not read "Peter Pan" until after I saw the Mary Martin stage production, nor the "Wizard of Oz" until after seeing Judy Garland go down the black and white road the first time it was broadcast on television. There's many a good book I read after seeing what turned out to be really bad Disney-izations of the original material. With a book, you can see your own adaptation in your mind's eye.
Like "The Lord of the Rings," the Harry Potter books are made for critical reading. I wonder if I could convince my son to get his college degree if I told him that he could do his thesis on Harry Potter? I'd probably do better suggesting "Classic Literature as the Basis for Conflict in RPGs."
Being flat on my back for almost a week gave me an opportunity to do something which would otherwise take a couple of months: rereading the entire Harry Potter series back to back to back. I'm within about 200 pages of finishing the task and I've enjoyed the hell out of it.
I had read the first four books at least twice before, but did not have time to do that with five or six, and, of course, seven just came out. There is so much that Rowling set up in the earlier books that I had forgotten by the time I got to seven. And I read seven in a hurry so as not to let anyone spoil the ending. It isn't about the ending. Ultimately, it is about the journey.
This is very much like watching "The Sixth Sense." Most people I know, including those who are professional writers and who can spot what's going to happen, were taken by surprise by that punch-line. Having seen the film, I couldn't wait to see the DVD to catch the clues I missed the first time out. That's how the Harry Potter books are. By book four, she was already paying off things she set up in book one, but other things don't pay off until book seven.
I missed some of the movement of the Deathly Hallows the first time through. Now I'm getting it. I realized that I had forgotten key scenes in book seven a mere three weeks after reading it the first time. It is amazing how you remember the broad strokes but only selective details.
I've also been watching the films as I finish each book, so now I can see why Michael's been less satisfied by them than I have been. I still think that three through five are really good films, but they are less faithful adaptations than I recalled. One and two remain pretty faithful to the narrative but lack any great spark as films. Chris Columbus is one of the world's worst directors, IMHO, and it is only due to the great skill of British actors that they are able to carry off the film without any important contribution by the director. Films three and five have terrific directors who are able to enhance the material. Four was o.k., but not in his element (I really liked some of his other films a lot more.)
My husband is what he calls an "organic" writer--he doesn't do a lot of planning and the story unravels before him. He doesn't like to plot and relies on his great skill with dialog and emotion to pull off some of his stories. (In all honesty, his stated failure to plot out things over long stretches of time and story isn't entirely true based on some of his talk about long runs he had on certain comic books where he set up things months or years into the future, but he doesn't do charts or story cards or anything like that.) Rowling appears to have done a whole lot more plotting and planning. She seems to work in the way I was told Dickens did--every character's movement through a book was charted out and events were carefully set up. It leads to a very rich reading experience.
There's been much talk about whether or not these books will stand the test of time. I strongly suspect they will because every one who loved these books will remember them and pass them on to their children, grand-children, nieces and nephews. I've done that with books which were childhood favorites of mine, like "The Boxcar Children," "Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates, " or "Swiss Family Robinson," and books I read later such as "The Little Prince," "Lord of the Rings," and "Way Station."
The Potter books have an added bit of sticking power, having been put on film so close to their publication, so even post-literates are familiar with their content. I did not read "Peter Pan" until after I saw the Mary Martin stage production, nor the "Wizard of Oz" until after seeing Judy Garland go down the black and white road the first time it was broadcast on television. There's many a good book I read after seeing what turned out to be really bad Disney-izations of the original material. With a book, you can see your own adaptation in your mind's eye.
Like "The Lord of the Rings," the Harry Potter books are made for critical reading. I wonder if I could convince my son to get his college degree if I told him that he could do his thesis on Harry Potter? I'd probably do better suggesting "Classic Literature as the Basis for Conflict in RPGs."
Monday, August 13, 2007
Movies, Movies
I managed, though somewhat uncomfortably, to sit through two films in the theatres this weekend.
The first was Hairspray, on Saturday. It is absolutely terrific. Well cast, great songs, swell choreography. For those who don't recognize him, John Waters, the writer and director of the original film (on which the stage production and this film are both based) has a cameo in the opening number. He's the flasher on the streets of Baltimore, in the song "Good Morning, Baltimore." Christopher Walken, who attended Hofstra University a few years before I did, is just great as Wilbur. The breakouts are the kids who play Seaweed and Tracy. And whodathunk that Cyclops could sing and dance! James Marsden certainly had that early 60s look.
On Sunday, we saw Stardust, based on the graphic novel by my friend Neil Gaiman. He didn't write the script (although we did see a trailer for the film Beowulf, for which Neil did write the script), but his voice is there in the dialog. It started a little slow for me, but when Robert De Niro came on the screen, it really picked up. This was the second day in a row I got to see Michelle Pfeiffer play a villain, and she's good in both films. I must say I really found the "Greek chorus" of dead princes pretty macabre and hysterical. Very Neil.
Speaking of whom, there's really good coverage of his "Spotlight" appearance at Comicon at Comic Book Resources. I especially liked this bit:
When asked which authors had made him realize that he wanted to be a writer, he replied that the first one was C.S. Lewis. "I loved the way he put things in parentheses." He then rattled off a list including Len Wein ("Len and Bernie's 'Swamp Thing' was the first time I read a comic and said 'now this is art'), Archie Goodwin, Will Eisner, Gene Wolf, Jonathan Carroll, Ursula K. LeGuin, Roger Zelazny ("Roger's a wonderful writer - you can watch him having fun writing"), and others.
I've heard Neil credit Len in the past, but I must say this is particularly nice.
The first was Hairspray, on Saturday. It is absolutely terrific. Well cast, great songs, swell choreography. For those who don't recognize him, John Waters, the writer and director of the original film (on which the stage production and this film are both based) has a cameo in the opening number. He's the flasher on the streets of Baltimore, in the song "Good Morning, Baltimore." Christopher Walken, who attended Hofstra University a few years before I did, is just great as Wilbur. The breakouts are the kids who play Seaweed and Tracy. And whodathunk that Cyclops could sing and dance! James Marsden certainly had that early 60s look.
On Sunday, we saw Stardust, based on the graphic novel by my friend Neil Gaiman. He didn't write the script (although we did see a trailer for the film Beowulf, for which Neil did write the script), but his voice is there in the dialog. It started a little slow for me, but when Robert De Niro came on the screen, it really picked up. This was the second day in a row I got to see Michelle Pfeiffer play a villain, and she's good in both films. I must say I really found the "Greek chorus" of dead princes pretty macabre and hysterical. Very Neil.
Speaking of whom, there's really good coverage of his "Spotlight" appearance at Comicon at Comic Book Resources. I especially liked this bit:
When asked which authors had made him realize that he wanted to be a writer, he replied that the first one was C.S. Lewis. "I loved the way he put things in parentheses." He then rattled off a list including Len Wein ("Len and Bernie's 'Swamp Thing' was the first time I read a comic and said 'now this is art'), Archie Goodwin, Will Eisner, Gene Wolf, Jonathan Carroll, Ursula K. LeGuin, Roger Zelazny ("Roger's a wonderful writer - you can watch him having fun writing"), and others.
I've heard Neil credit Len in the past, but I must say this is particularly nice.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Normalization
In the interest of recovery, I went back to work today. It was all I could do to get showered and get my hair washed and I felt exhausted. Nevertheless, I managed to pull into the parking lot on time and climb the stairs to the office. I dropped my cane twice within the first 10 minutes, but my co-workers have been great. "Don't you dare try to pick that up," said Sharon. She wisely decided I was better laying it on a counter than propping it in a corner and she was right.
I've got my yoga teacher friend coming by to see what we can do about keeping my body from seizing up the wrong way later this evening. I'd much rather do yoga than go to the chiropractor. Chiropractors scare me.
I am still seething about the new assault on my civil rights and re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the book upon which the latest film is based) has done nothing but reinforce my ire at politicians who go to far and those who stand by and let them get away with it. The book and film are statements against the kind of fascism which is rising in the U.S. and Britain in the wake of the so-called Christian conservative movement. (This would be one reason for the fundies to try and ban J.K. Rowling's books.)
So, the best way to c
ombat this kind of evil is to work against it. To that end, an old friend of my husband's named Elliot Maggin has announced his intention to run for Congress from the 24th Congressional District in California. I read his statement of intent here, and I urge you to read it and contribute to his efforts.
As you can see from the Wikipedia map, the CA 24th is a gerrymandered district which skirts the major cities like Santa Barbara and reaches deeply into the very Republican areas of Ventura County. The representative for the past 20 some years is a Rubber-Stamp, Ultra-Conservative Republican. Bush got 56% of the vote in 2004.
Stardust opens today. The film is based on the work of my friend writer Neil Gaiman and wonderful artist Charles Vess. The reviews I've seen have been mostly positive and the trailers were beautiful--there's also an amazing cast. I confess that I haven't read Stardust. The book's been on my to-read pile since it came out, but Neil's American Gods is a novel I thought was terrific and I heartily recommend. Neil may suddenly be hot in the greater world, but he's been hot in comic books since he started writing Sandman for DC comics away back in the late 80s. I met and photographed Neil the first time in 1990. The photograph appears on a couple of dust jackets. He looks remarkably like John Lennon in it.
Around the time that Len and I got married, Charles Vess did an illustration of SwampThing, Abby, and their daughter for the DC Christmas card. I desperately wanted to buy the original, but it is in the collection of Bob Chapman, who owns Graphitti Designs. That's my way of saying I love Charles Vess' artwork.
I've got my yoga teacher friend coming by to see what we can do about keeping my body from seizing up the wrong way later this evening. I'd much rather do yoga than go to the chiropractor. Chiropractors scare me.
I am still seething about the new assault on my civil rights and re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the book upon which the latest film is based) has done nothing but reinforce my ire at politicians who go to far and those who stand by and let them get away with it. The book and film are statements against the kind of fascism which is rising in the U.S. and Britain in the wake of the so-called Christian conservative movement. (This would be one reason for the fundies to try and ban J.K. Rowling's books.)
So, the best way to c
ombat this kind of evil is to work against it. To that end, an old friend of my husband's named Elliot Maggin has announced his intention to run for Congress from the 24th Congressional District in California. I read his statement of intent here, and I urge you to read it and contribute to his efforts.As you can see from the Wikipedia map, the CA 24th is a gerrymandered district which skirts the major cities like Santa Barbara and reaches deeply into the very Republican areas of Ventura County. The representative for the past 20 some years is a Rubber-Stamp, Ultra-Conservative Republican. Bush got 56% of the vote in 2004.
Stardust opens today. The film is based on the work of my friend writer Neil Gaiman and wonderful artist Charles Vess. The reviews I've seen have been mostly positive and the trailers were beautiful--there's also an amazing cast. I confess that I haven't read Stardust. The book's been on my to-read pile since it came out, but Neil's American Gods is a novel I thought was terrific and I heartily recommend. Neil may suddenly be hot in the greater world, but he's been hot in comic books since he started writing Sandman for DC comics away back in the late 80s. I met and photographed Neil the first time in 1990. The photograph appears on a couple of dust jackets. He looks remarkably like John Lennon in it.
Around the time that Len and I got married, Charles Vess did an illustration of SwampThing, Abby, and their daughter for the DC Christmas card. I desperately wanted to buy the original, but it is in the collection of Bob Chapman, who owns Graphitti Designs. That's my way of saying I love Charles Vess' artwork.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Slow Recovery and Slow Burn
It still hurts to sit up for too long, but the good news is that nothing broke when I hit the ground last Friday night. The bruise is worse, the ice sill helps, and eventually I will be able to go back to work. I'm having a hard time twisting my torso, so driving the car is problematic. Getting into and out of the bed still hurts, but it is getting easier.
Of course, while I've been wound up in my own problems, Democrats in the US Congress showed nothing but cowardice in submitting to the evil Pretender's demands and helping the MINORITY Republicans pass another assault on our civil rights. Think about it and weep.
Of course, while I've been wound up in my own problems, Democrats in the US Congress showed nothing but cowardice in submitting to the evil Pretender's demands and helping the MINORITY Republicans pass another assault on our civil rights. Think about it and weep.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
What Happens When You No Longer See the Horse Underneath You
This will be fast because I'm still not sitting up for very long.
I became unseated from the Arabian Prince during my lesson on Friday and I've got a bruise the size of Nebraska on my left hip. I did get an x-ray this evening, and I didn't seee anything indicating a break, but I'm not a doctor so we'll see what he says tomorrow. Meanwhile, when I move the wrong way, it feels like a big scab ripping off me--and I have no broken skin anywhere.
So here's hoping the news is good tomorrow and I'll be back on the horse shortly. I'll definitely be talking to my yoga teacher about some yoga therapy.
I became unseated from the Arabian Prince during my lesson on Friday and I've got a bruise the size of Nebraska on my left hip. I did get an x-ray this evening, and I didn't seee anything indicating a break, but I'm not a doctor so we'll see what he says tomorrow. Meanwhile, when I move the wrong way, it feels like a big scab ripping off me--and I have no broken skin anywhere.
So here's hoping the news is good tomorrow and I'll be back on the horse shortly. I'll definitely be talking to my yoga teacher about some yoga therapy.
Friday, August 3, 2007
From the Shores of Gitche Gumee
My old friend Bob Mackreth retired not so long ago from 30 years with the National Park Service. For the last stretch of years, after postings to Kings-Sequoia, the Emerald Necklace, Cape Cod and Fire Island, he's lived in Northern Wisconsin where he's been a ranger-historian. His website, linked here and on the list at the right, has some nice writing and photographs.
I found the article debunking the story that the NPS at the Grand Canyon was forced to toe the creationists' line particularly interesting. Since Bob was an old-style liberal when last I saw him, I'd take his word on the matter.
There's also a lovely piece about a day taking trains which immediately brought to mind John Denver's tribute to them "All Aboard," recorded shortly before his untimely death in 1977.
I rather hope that Bob takes the time to write about going to Washington to protest the Vietnam War and what happened when they tried to surround the Pentagon. In my mind's eye, he's 19 and I'm 18, instead of that plus a lot of years of experience.
Enjoy.
I found the article debunking the story that the NPS at the Grand Canyon was forced to toe the creationists' line particularly interesting. Since Bob was an old-style liberal when last I saw him, I'd take his word on the matter.
There's also a lovely piece about a day taking trains which immediately brought to mind John Denver's tribute to them "All Aboard," recorded shortly before his untimely death in 1977.
I rather hope that Bob takes the time to write about going to Washington to protest the Vietnam War and what happened when they tried to surround the Pentagon. In my mind's eye, he's 19 and I'm 18, instead of that plus a lot of years of experience.
Enjoy.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Visual Communication
I've just added a link at the right to "Visual Communication" also known as my "Photo Class at Pierce Blog." I set this up for the class I taught this spring. Since I'm not teaching right now, I don't post to it very often. But it does have a large number of photography-related links which may be of interest to anyone who takes pictures. Enjoy.
Prisoner of Trebekistan
I tend to read more fiction than non-fiction for pleasure, probably because I have so much non-fiction to read to keep up with the fields of law I need to know. Much of the non-fiction I read is biographical, and thus I come to Prisoner of Trebekistan, written by Bob Harris.
Bob Harris is a memorable five-time Jeopardy! champion. As I've probably written before, Jeopardy! is a daily ritual for our house and last year I even managed to make it on to their potential contestants list (although I could not go on when they called because a friend was doing effects editing on Spider-Man 3. Rats!)
Bob was a very funny contestant who also did commentaries on KNX, the radio station I listen to most of the time in L.A. because it gives frequent, necessary traffic information. About five years ago, a friend of Len's wanted to introduce us to his neighbor Bob because Frank thought we'd really like him. Frank never got around to making the introduction, so Len and I now feel we've wasted five years of potential friendship because we got to meet Bob in July when he was a co-panelist with Len on What's My Line Live on Stage. It was like meeting an old friend rather than a new friend and now Len and I have both finished reading this delightful autobiography with hi
nts on how to prepare for Jeopardy! I think Bob's way is a little too obsessive-compulsive for me, but some of the hints are quite useful.
I highly recommend this book which is in turns funny, insightful, touching, and heart-breaking. And I must recommend Bob's website/blog which I now check on a daily basis and which you can find right here. For a sample of the book, here is an animated promotional video, with Bob reading about answering the Final Jeopardy! question which would put him in the finals of the Tournament of Champions. On his website, there is actual video of him reading a passage about J.J. Newberry's, which is priceless for those of us who remember the store.
I've attached the photograph I took of Bob (on the left) with Len after What's My Line last month. I have no idea where it will actually show up in the blog when I go from entering it to posting it. This program leaves something to be desired in that way.
Bob Harris is a memorable five-time Jeopardy! champion. As I've probably written before, Jeopardy! is a daily ritual for our house and last year I even managed to make it on to their potential contestants list (although I could not go on when they called because a friend was doing effects editing on Spider-Man 3. Rats!)
Bob was a very funny contestant who also did commentaries on KNX, the radio station I listen to most of the time in L.A. because it gives frequent, necessary traffic information. About five years ago, a friend of Len's wanted to introduce us to his neighbor Bob because Frank thought we'd really like him. Frank never got around to making the introduction, so Len and I now feel we've wasted five years of potential friendship because we got to meet Bob in July when he was a co-panelist with Len on What's My Line Live on Stage. It was like meeting an old friend rather than a new friend and now Len and I have both finished reading this delightful autobiography with hi
nts on how to prepare for Jeopardy! I think Bob's way is a little too obsessive-compulsive for me, but some of the hints are quite useful.I highly recommend this book which is in turns funny, insightful, touching, and heart-breaking. And I must recommend Bob's website/blog which I now check on a daily basis and which you can find right here. For a sample of the book, here is an animated promotional video, with Bob reading about answering the Final Jeopardy! question which would put him in the finals of the Tournament of Champions. On his website, there is actual video of him reading a passage about J.J. Newberry's, which is priceless for those of us who remember the store.
I've attached the photograph I took of Bob (on the left) with Len after What's My Line last month. I have no idea where it will actually show up in the blog when I go from entering it to posting it. This program leaves something to be desired in that way.
Bridge Fall Down, No Partial Credit
The title is from something my ex-husband used to say, I think. It's the response students would get from some math professor he had in college.
As it happens, my college boyfriend (who preceded the ex in my life) was obsessed with bridges. One date we were on, we crossed many of the 97 bridges in and around New York City. It was a fun adventure, and I had no trouble going over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, with its 4066 foot suspension span between the towers (I've got a little trouble with the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and its 4000 foot span, but that has to do with the possibility--nay, probability, just ask my ex-husband--of earthquakes), not that day or any other.
So now I can be freaked out by an 458 foot steel-arch construction and the knowledge that it was proclaimed "deficient" several years ago--along with a large number of other bridges around the country--yet the cost of building a new bridge made it somewhat less of a priority for Minnesota than it should have been. From KPIX's website:
The bridge had been inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and no immediate structural problems were noted, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday.
"There were some minor things that needed attention," he said. "They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond."
A federal database, however, showed the 40-year-old bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient" in 2005 and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported citing the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory.
"We've seen it, and we are very familiar with it," Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said of the 2005 assessment. She noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation that the I-35W bridge received, and she declined to say what the agency was going to do to address the deficiencies found in 2005.
I can't help but wonder where the rest of these "deficient" bridges are located.
I've been over this bridge and I have many friends who live in the greater Minneapolis area (including the old college boyfriend and a lot of science fiction and fantasy writers.) My niece used to go to the University of Minnesota. I am very glad more people weren't on the bridge and that so many walked away from this possibly avoidable disaster.
As it happens, my college boyfriend (who preceded the ex in my life) was obsessed with bridges. One date we were on, we crossed many of the 97 bridges in and around New York City. It was a fun adventure, and I had no trouble going over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, with its 4066 foot suspension span between the towers (I've got a little trouble with the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and its 4000 foot span, but that has to do with the possibility--nay, probability, just ask my ex-husband--of earthquakes), not that day or any other.
So now I can be freaked out by an 458 foot steel-arch construction and the knowledge that it was proclaimed "deficient" several years ago--along with a large number of other bridges around the country--yet the cost of building a new bridge made it somewhat less of a priority for Minnesota than it should have been. From KPIX's website:
The bridge had been inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and no immediate structural problems were noted, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday.
"There were some minor things that needed attention," he said. "They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond."
A federal database, however, showed the 40-year-old bridge had been rated as "structurally deficient" in 2005 and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported citing the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory.
"We've seen it, and we are very familiar with it," Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said of the 2005 assessment. She noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation that the I-35W bridge received, and she declined to say what the agency was going to do to address the deficiencies found in 2005.
I can't help but wonder where the rest of these "deficient" bridges are located.
I've been over this bridge and I have many friends who live in the greater Minneapolis area (including the old college boyfriend and a lot of science fiction and fantasy writers.) My niece used to go to the University of Minnesota. I am very glad more people weren't on the bridge and that so many walked away from this possibly avoidable disaster.
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