operation inconspicuous: put down the phone.

Cell phones are the new cigarettes. Don't have a newspaper or a book but want to blend in standing on the corner? Text a friend. If Steve McQueen were in a film today, he wouldn't try to look casual on the streets of San Francisco or New York by lighting up. He would flip open a cell phone and pretend to check his email. On the street, a phone in hand turns a loiterer into someone who's just waiting for a text to drop out of the ether and remind them why they exist. "He's looking at his phone, so he's probably not standing on that corner preparing to execute a heist." It's like when someone double parks their car but puts their emergency lights on. "Don't worry, nothing to see here." One of the greatest pleasures in life is sitting on a bench or at a cafe table peoplewatching. Why should it be awkward to have no official occupation other than drinking a coffee by oneself and observing others? In a society that spends so much time in cars and behind gates, we are constantly allowing the right to stand on the street with no particular business to be eroded.

E. Mattiuzzi