All You Sucka Emcees

So last night I ran into Jason Roberts who greeted me with a “congratulations on the award!” I looked at him quizzically, perhaps suspiciously. “What award? What are you talking about crazy bald bespectacled man?” Turns out it was this award:

Since the print screen function didn’t transfer in quality very well from the online PDF at the Observer, I’ll post the text here:

Patrick Kennedy’s cause is a daunting one: winning over truck-loving locals to the car-free lifestyle, and hoping those building this city proceed with an eye on livability. And yet, something about the 31-year old blogger and design consultant recalls a guy voted “Most Likely to Succeed” back in high school. Well-spoken, opinionated and lively, his blog posts sometimes take on the look of academic white papers. Like plenty of other successful bloggers before him, Kennedy’s audience has snowballed as a series of profiles and guest-columnist invitations have put his ideas about the future of Dallas in front of more influential and less sympathetic readers. Melding urban planning theory with minutiae of Dallas history, Kennedy’s ideas for promoting walkability and sustainability – at the expense of those who’d build more highways – start to make a lot of sense. Then again, he may just have us distracted with all the big words.

Followwwww the pendulum with your eyesssssss….repeat after meeeeeee…

/blushing

In all seriousness, what appears to be Wilonsky’s words are probably the nicest and most flattering thing written about me since high school yearbooks where I was not named most likely to succeed, most likely because I was skipping school too often. Boring stuff that public secondary education. I think I’ll go see Waiting for Superman sometime this weekend.

Frankly, I’m almost embarrassed to see my name by all of those other great, important, and talented people throughout the pages of the Observer’s Best Of issue. Their words remind this East Coast native why I’m here, why I take the time out to write (and wish I could do so more – the irony of timing, that this award comes when I have the least amount of time to dedicate to it), and why I’m not leaving Texas any time soon. I came here first as a challenge and an adventure. I stay because I found a sympathetic spirit, kindred with my own leftist libertarian bent. While everyone may not share similar views, if we are focused on improving our city, I am certain we can find common ground and move in a positive direction. I care about what is just, what is right, and also what is economically beneficial without truly harming others. When directed towards the city, these principles manifest in a more livable, more enjoyable, more sustainable, and more lovable place.

Everywhere I go and every new person I meet, they all seem to want the same thing. They, and I, want Dallas to be the greatest city in the state, the country, and in the world. If we can focus the machinations of power in the right direction, we will get there. Other cities (urban economies) in the region should be worried that we might actually get our shit together someday, which we slowly but surely seem to be doing.

Coming up in the next few days: a pictorial review of my trip to Vancouver and a critique of the recently revealed Dallas Bike Plan…as soon as I get some spare time. The economy! Slowly but surely manifesting itself into projects. We iz gettin’ bizzy.