Addison Del Mastro
@ad-mastro.bsky.social
Writing with a focus on urbanism, culture, and popular history. I write The Deleted Scenes, a daily, mostly-urbanism newsletter on Substack. a.delmastro2@gmail.com.
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
Is Christmas commercialism really always getting worse? @ad-mastro.bsky.social from the archives on Christmas advertising throughout the decades: lnk.thebulwark.com/4olOI7i
Is Christmas Gift Inflation Real?
A century of Christmas commercialism, as observed in old magazine ads.
lnk.thebulwark.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Is Christmas commercialism really always getting worse? @ad-mastro.bsky.social from the archives on Christmas advertising throughout the decades: lnk.thebulwark.com/4olOI7i
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
One of the biggest barriers to implementing pro-housing policy is the folk wisdom that building new market rate/mixed-income housing increases rents even though study after study shows that the opposite is the case:
building more housing lowers rents
building more housing lowers rents
Interesting new working paper that studies chains of movers after the construction of a new apartment building in Honolulu.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
uhero.hawaii.edu
November 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
One of the biggest barriers to implementing pro-housing policy is the folk wisdom that building new market rate/mixed-income housing increases rents even though study after study shows that the opposite is the case:
building more housing lowers rents
building more housing lowers rents
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
YIMBYism actually works and we increasingly have the data to prove it.
Interesting new working paper that studies chains of movers after the construction of a new apartment building in Honolulu.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
Paper finds that the project resulted in the opening up other, lower cost, housing on the island, benefiting the housing market overall.
uhero.hawaii.edu
November 28, 2025 at 5:04 PM
YIMBYism actually works and we increasingly have the data to prove it.
As ever, the turkey is from Popeyes, because unless you can make a really perfectly cooked turkey—and I can’t—the turkey is the worst thing on the table. Calling it Turkey Day would be like calling Christmas Mince Pie Day. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/thanksgivi...
Thanksgiving And Gratitude
Making your own magic
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
As ever, the turkey is from Popeyes, because unless you can make a really perfectly cooked turkey—and I can’t—the turkey is the worst thing on the table. Calling it Turkey Day would be like calling Christmas Mince Pie Day. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/thanksgivi...
It matters whether the actual industrial capacity to build things exists in space alongside the engineering and design and prototyping folks. That proximity drives innovation. This, again, is the strongest argument for what we call protectionism. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/new-and-ol...
New and Old #242
Sprawl, family homes, Chinese manufacturing, and the Beatles
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:39 PM
It matters whether the actual industrial capacity to build things exists in space alongside the engineering and design and prototyping folks. That proximity drives innovation. This, again, is the strongest argument for what we call protectionism. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/new-and-ol...
On Black Friday, some thoughts about consumerism and anti-consumerism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/sacramenta...
Sacramental Kind Of Life
Can you be attached to material goods if you hate buying and consuming?
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
On Black Friday, some thoughts about consumerism and anti-consumerism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/sacramenta...
"Anyone who thinks a meal isn’t a sacrifice has never cooked for 12 people. (That’s a remark on holiday cooking by way of Eucharistic theology.)" thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/thanksgivi...
Thanksgiving And Gratitude
Making your own magic
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM
"Anyone who thinks a meal isn’t a sacrifice has never cooked for 12 people. (That’s a remark on holiday cooking by way of Eucharistic theology.)" thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/thanksgivi...
Some fun, relaxing pieces from my archives if you're sitting around looking for something to read...
Our visit to a tiny coffee shop in a residential neighborhood in Kyoto, Japan, and the "magic" of allowing small-scale entrepreneurialism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
Our visit to a tiny coffee shop in a residential neighborhood in Kyoto, Japan, and the "magic" of allowing small-scale entrepreneurialism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
Backyard Coffee And Jazz In Kyoto, Japan
A "magical" experience, and what we get when we let people pursue their passions
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Some fun, relaxing pieces from my archives if you're sitting around looking for something to read...
Our visit to a tiny coffee shop in a residential neighborhood in Kyoto, Japan, and the "magic" of allowing small-scale entrepreneurialism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
Our visit to a tiny coffee shop in a residential neighborhood in Kyoto, Japan, and the "magic" of allowing small-scale entrepreneurialism thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
The Pope is visiting Turkey for Thanksgiving—which I choose to believe is because he has a good sense of humor but is said to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.
In celebration, a recently discovered third century fresco of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was unveiled.
In celebration, a recently discovered third century fresco of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was unveiled.
Turkey unveils rare and ancient Christian fresco during the pope’s visit
Erdogan presents a replica of Jesus 'Good Shepherd' painting to Pope Leo, the first discovery of its kind outside of Italy
www.middleeasteye.net
November 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The Pope is visiting Turkey for Thanksgiving—which I choose to believe is because he has a good sense of humor but is said to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.
In celebration, a recently discovered third century fresco of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was unveiled.
In celebration, a recently discovered third century fresco of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was unveiled.
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
sometimes you just need to take a step back and marvel at the absurdity that is the left-NIMBY mindset
these are not normal, rational people. they have descended into a bespoke form of madness
these are not normal, rational people. they have descended into a bespoke form of madness
November 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
sometimes you just need to take a step back and marvel at the absurdity that is the left-NIMBY mindset
these are not normal, rational people. they have descended into a bespoke form of madness
these are not normal, rational people. they have descended into a bespoke form of madness
Wow
This is kind of blowing my mind. A building I assume survived the Jackson Street Regrade and had floors added underneath it when it moved to Jackson/Maynard. Still there today!
November 27, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Wow
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
Folks, our definition of community is broken.
November 27, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Folks, our definition of community is broken.
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
There’s a Japanese haiku that goes something like
For these few days
The Hills are bright
with cherry blossoms
Any longer
And we would not prize them so
For these few days
The Hills are bright
with cherry blossoms
Any longer
And we would not prize them so
November 26, 2025 at 11:49 PM
There’s a Japanese haiku that goes something like
For these few days
The Hills are bright
with cherry blossoms
Any longer
And we would not prize them so
For these few days
The Hills are bright
with cherry blossoms
Any longer
And we would not prize them so
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
"If these foods crossed my plate outside their appointed seasons, I would mourn the loss of that specialness more than I would enjoy eating them with greater frequency." @ad-mastro.bsky.social from the archives, on retaining a sense of specialness amid abundance: lnk.thebulwark.com/4pb0qDi
The Happiness of Minor Inconveniences
Plastic bags, seasonal recipes, and how little experiences of friction contribute to a larger sense of well-being.
lnk.thebulwark.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:33 PM
"If these foods crossed my plate outside their appointed seasons, I would mourn the loss of that specialness more than I would enjoy eating them with greater frequency." @ad-mastro.bsky.social from the archives, on retaining a sense of specialness amid abundance: lnk.thebulwark.com/4pb0qDi
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
Crab migration on Christmas Island, Australia christmasislandnationalpark.gov.au/discover/hig...
November 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Crab migration on Christmas Island, Australia christmasislandnationalpark.gov.au/discover/hig...
I've read about this a little, apparently it's a pretty common policy to charge foreigners a higher rate in national parks. But one thing that complicates it is the vehicle charge at the gate. My wife and her family (from China) and I went to Yellowstone earlier this fall...
National parks have SO MANY people from other countries (since they get real vacations!)
And they spend a lot of money on hotels, food, souvenirs, etc.
This is unbelievably dumb, it will destroy entire tourist towns
And they spend a lot of money on hotels, food, souvenirs, etc.
This is unbelievably dumb, it will destroy entire tourist towns
November 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I've read about this a little, apparently it's a pretty common policy to charge foreigners a higher rate in national parks. But one thing that complicates it is the vehicle charge at the gate. My wife and her family (from China) and I went to Yellowstone earlier this fall...
The idea that “historical” is a contingent, culturally determined and perhaps somewhat random designation—if you reran the last 100 years, the way history is told would be different every time—goes against the idea of history as the past. But in fact history is very different from the past.
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:23 AM
The idea that “historical” is a contingent, culturally determined and perhaps somewhat random designation—if you reran the last 100 years, the way history is told would be different every time—goes against the idea of history as the past. But in fact history is very different from the past.
Of course we can say now, “The first airplane was valuable, why didn’t they keep it?” But what “first airplanes” are we ignoring or scrapping now, leaving the future to scratch their heads at our shortsightedness? thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Of course we can say now, “The first airplane was valuable, why didn’t they keep it?” But what “first airplanes” are we ignoring or scrapping now, leaving the future to scratch their heads at our shortsightedness? thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
I missed the chance to title this one “Ooh, Baby, Do You Know What That’s Worth?” thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I missed the chance to title this one “Ooh, Baby, Do You Know What That’s Worth?” thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
It's impossible to know what will be regarded as historic/iconic in the future. For example, the awful downer "holiday" movie It's a Wonderful Life failed at the box office, and was only resurrected by a copyright lapse decades later thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:59 PM
It's impossible to know what will be regarded as historic/iconic in the future. For example, the awful downer "holiday" movie It's a Wonderful Life failed at the box office, and was only resurrected by a copyright lapse decades later thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
History should not make you smug; it should make you humble and uncertain. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
History should not make you smug; it should make you humble and uncertain. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
Some thoughts on what exactly "history" is thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
How Do We Know What's History?
The passage of time is key to looking back
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Some thoughts on what exactly "history" is thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/how-do-we-...
Reposted by Addison Del Mastro
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
"The only place I’ve ever had wine at 9am and heard the words 'Jesus Christ' is Sunday Mass. But those are two things that might happen at Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco." thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/brother-ca...
Brother, Can You Spare An Oyster?
A visit to Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 AM
"The only place I’ve ever had wine at 9am and heard the words 'Jesus Christ' is Sunday Mass. But those are two things that might happen at Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco." thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/brother-ca...
Small, neighborhood-oriented, family-owned businesses are often the kinds of places that just close up when retirement hits. Neighborhood demographics change, costs go up, margins are thin, and the kids don’t want to be tied to a store. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/brother-ca...
Brother, Can You Spare An Oyster?
A visit to Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Small, neighborhood-oriented, family-owned businesses are often the kinds of places that just close up when retirement hits. Neighborhood demographics change, costs go up, margins are thin, and the kids don’t want to be tied to a store. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/brother-ca...