The thought for the weekend, and I want you all to think hard about this in relation to Roanoke.
Open Letter (To A Landlord) lyrics
Artist - Living Colour
Album - Vivid
Lyrics - Open Letter (To A Landlord)
“Open letter (to a landlord)'
Now you can tear a building down
But you can't erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
But they have a value you can't see...
This is my neighborhood
This is where I come from
I call this place my home
You call this place a slum
You wanna run all the people out
This is what you're all about
Treat poor people just like trash
Turn around and make big cash
chorus:
Now you can tear a building down
but you can't erase a memory
These houses may look all run down
but they have a value you can't see
Last moth there was a fire
I saw seven children die
you sent flowers to their family
But your simpathy's a lie
Cause every building that you burn
is more blood money that you earn
We are force to relocate
from the pain that you create
Chorus
We live here for so many years
Now this house is full of fear
For a profit you will take control
Where will all the older people go?
There used to be when kids could play
Without the scourge of drug's decay
Now our kids are living dead
They crack and blow their lives away
Chorus
You've got to fight
You've got to fight
you've got to fight for your neighborhood...
You've got to fight
For your neighbor.Technorati tags: roanoke, city council, landlord, business, community, pride, home
10/29/05
roanoke.com - Business Stories -Fulton Motor's era draws to close
roanoke.com - Business Stories -Fulton Motor's era draws to close
You know what? This just sucks. We bought our car at Fulton when we moved down here.
My parents use Midpoint, have since they moved down here. Berglund bought them too.
Berglund is like every sleazy car dealership in NY... and now they are literally everywhere. Im irked, but I realize this is a business deal and theres nothing that can be done. But you'll be hearing more from me as the days wear on.. especially when I get to the era when Fulton first opened its doors at the corner of Franklin and 2nd. When I get into the honest business practices theory.
Bah - what a bad way to start the day.
Technorati tags: roanoke, car, dealership, berglund, fulton
You know what? This just sucks. We bought our car at Fulton when we moved down here.
My parents use Midpoint, have since they moved down here. Berglund bought them too.
Berglund is like every sleazy car dealership in NY... and now they are literally everywhere. Im irked, but I realize this is a business deal and theres nothing that can be done. But you'll be hearing more from me as the days wear on.. especially when I get to the era when Fulton first opened its doors at the corner of Franklin and 2nd. When I get into the honest business practices theory.
Bah - what a bad way to start the day.
Technorati tags: roanoke, car, dealership, berglund, fulton
10/28/05
Odeo: Forgotten Roanoke: The Pod
Odeo: Forgotten Roanoke: The Pod
Here ya go! The latest and greatest podcast ever!
Well, pretty good anyway. Allright not so bad..
kinda awful...
Horrible!
BOO!!!
Excelcior! You Fathead!
Here ya go! The latest and greatest podcast ever!
Well, pretty good anyway. Allright not so bad..
kinda awful...
Horrible!
BOO!!!
Excelcior! You Fathead!
Do I even need to say it?
It is friday.. which means podcast is on the way.. in about 10 minutes, you will hear my melodious voice again, like you know you want to...
Sign in
Sign in
Well, there it is - the sign in page you have all been waiting for. Does it go anywhere yet? Not particularly. But it will, soon enough. This is how it always begins.
Technorati tags: google, google base
Well, there it is - the sign in page you have all been waiting for. Does it go anywhere yet? Not particularly. But it will, soon enough. This is how it always begins.
Technorati tags: google, google base
10/27/05
Yep - that did it...
Recorded low last night was 31 at the Airport. Thats cold enough to kick-start the trees changing. All those hold-out trees are about to give up the ghost, even though the next few nights will not be as cold.
Keep your eyes on the mountains, the times - they are a changin...
4 days to Halloween, and 5 to the start of the Holiday Shopping season. I have actually refused to go into Tanglewood lately because I don't want to know how much Christmas stuff they have up. Im hearing that Valley View is allready off in a winter wonderland.
I guess we should all start looking forward to Dickens of a Christmas, the theme of which this year will be "holiday traditions through the ages."
Leaves alot of rooom for interpretation. Im thinking of putting together an "A Christmas Story" float. Can't you just see a 10 foot leg lamp winding its way downtown? Remember though, its a major award!
Last years Dickens of a Christmas was a hit, and Im sure this years will be no different.
But its too early for me to switch gears and go Christmas yet, I still have to get through Thanksgiving - and being a cook - boy do I have alot to get through.
Christmas will kick in about the 2nd week of November for me.. probably about the time when I actually go to a mall. I did go to Walmart and actually did browse the Christmas offerings, but thats ok - its Walmart. They always have stuff before the season... ice on the pond, snow on the ground, go to Walmart and buy your summer bathing suit.
Other than that, not much to report here. If you would like to submit a story for Haunted Roanoke, you can do so here. I've got a few, but not nearly as many as I would like. I know this town is spooked, from the corner of the Courthouses to the streets of Old Southwest, from Sam's Club to Tanglewood - and every place in between. We are not so removed from the past as we would like to think.
Heck - look at 581/220.
If you have any stories, suggestions, ideas or evidence. Let me know.
Keep your eyes on the mountains, the times - they are a changin...
4 days to Halloween, and 5 to the start of the Holiday Shopping season. I have actually refused to go into Tanglewood lately because I don't want to know how much Christmas stuff they have up. Im hearing that Valley View is allready off in a winter wonderland.
I guess we should all start looking forward to Dickens of a Christmas, the theme of which this year will be "holiday traditions through the ages."
Leaves alot of rooom for interpretation. Im thinking of putting together an "A Christmas Story" float. Can't you just see a 10 foot leg lamp winding its way downtown? Remember though, its a major award!
Last years Dickens of a Christmas was a hit, and Im sure this years will be no different.
But its too early for me to switch gears and go Christmas yet, I still have to get through Thanksgiving - and being a cook - boy do I have alot to get through.
Christmas will kick in about the 2nd week of November for me.. probably about the time when I actually go to a mall. I did go to Walmart and actually did browse the Christmas offerings, but thats ok - its Walmart. They always have stuff before the season... ice on the pond, snow on the ground, go to Walmart and buy your summer bathing suit.
Other than that, not much to report here. If you would like to submit a story for Haunted Roanoke, you can do so here. I've got a few, but not nearly as many as I would like. I know this town is spooked, from the corner of the Courthouses to the streets of Old Southwest, from Sam's Club to Tanglewood - and every place in between. We are not so removed from the past as we would like to think.
Heck - look at 581/220.
If you have any stories, suggestions, ideas or evidence. Let me know.
10/26/05
Halloweeen '05
This years punkin, nice- reasonably sized for a modest Global Domination HQ.
Not nearly as nice as the ones back at the old HQ, but then again - I don't have accidental injury insurance for this pumpkin.
The Killing Frost (oooh.. sounds literary doesn't it)
Take heart Roanoke, your not about to be lambasted with some inane flowery prose reflecting on death, taxes, and the high cost of waking up in the mornings. Nope - this is just a simple weather report.
From the NOAA NWS: "DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
From the NOAA NWS: "DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
DIMINISHING WINDS AND CLEAR SKIES WILL PROMOTE FROST FORMATION
TONIGHT AS TEMPERATURES SLIP INTO THE LOWER 30S.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
TEMPERATURES WILL DIP INTO THE UPPER 20S AND LOWER 30S BOTH
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MORNINGS. FROST FORMATION IS LIKELY. MANY
AREAS WILL SEE A KILLING FREEZE."
Frost? Reports from Moneta-by-the-Lake are they have allready had touches of frost, and we all know
snow has been spotted (and photograped) in the area.
According to the Farmers Almanac, we are right on schedule for the frost as well.
Frost on the pumpkin? Check.
Snow? According to the Almanac - not till December 28-31st - up to a foot.
Yep, I said that, up to a foot. Well, the book said it. But same thing really.
more later...
Editorials from The Roanoke Times -Briefly put...
"White House attorneys recently ordered the satirical newspaper The Onion to stop using the presidential seal on a Web page spoofing President Bush's weekly radio addresses.
Surely the president's lawyers have more important things to do than waste taxpayer dollars undermining the weekly chuckles of millions of Americans.
Then again, at least for a few minutes they weren't writing memos justifying torture and sorting through presidential cronies to nominate to the Supreme Court."
/pounds head some more
//feels bad for the wall
///wonders if the Times can back up that "millions" statistic.
////onions.... mmmmmmm
/////resumes slamming head into wall
Surely the president's lawyers have more important things to do than waste taxpayer dollars undermining the weekly chuckles of millions of Americans.
Then again, at least for a few minutes they weren't writing memos justifying torture and sorting through presidential cronies to nominate to the Supreme Court."
/pounds head some more
//feels bad for the wall
///wonders if the Times can back up that "millions" statistic.
////onions.... mmmmmmm
/////resumes slamming head into wall
News from The Roanoke Times -Convoluted stadium issue may contain another twist
/pounding head against wall
//muttering incoherently
STOP IT ALLREADY
//muttering incoherently
STOP IT ALLREADY
10/25/05
As overheard on WFIR... (and a ditty)
..."highs in the mid forties today, with some snow showers tonight, lows in the mid thirties..."
WHAT????
Now Im no stranger to snow, I can remember walking all the way around my house as a kid, outside on the snow - over the fence (buried by snow), and being level with the first floor windows.
Of course, that was in February. And in the northeast, you tend to expect such things whenever you have vacation from school, because heaven forbid it should happen during school and they have to close for a snow day.
Up in NY, minimum snow on ground for school to close: 6 inches. 6 inches, 2 inches of solid ice (it happened one year), or imminent threat of 6+ inches, with at least 4 on the ground.
Which meant yes, you could be at school in the middle of a snowstorm. As long as the roads are clear enough in the morning for you to get there - your probably there all day. How you get home afterwards is your issue.
I walked. (Uphill both ways) A round trip to school and back was nearly a mile and a half. But snow before halloween?
Not even a flurry passes my memory. Before thanksgiving, sure - I remember that.. 2-3 inches, just enough to toss a snowball (kids still do that right? without fear of criminal charges?).
Fall was always for cold driving rain, puddles the size of Texas that the high school kids would drive through splashing anyone in the wake. Cold nights, cool days, football, piles of leaves to tromp through, trips to the punkin patch to grab a gourd or two, caramel apples. All that nice stuff.
But not snow.
Sidenote to Ms. Elenaeous' Halloween posting.
As I wandered weak and weary, through Amazon.coms pages cheery;
to the gold box I did wander, last minute deals I did ponder;
sales and savings and deals galore, but something troubling - something more;
CD's appearing by the click, comprehension getting thick;
5 offers for music I'd heard before, innocent enough but something more;
being as its Halloween, gothy feel and gothy scene;
suprise as my past rears its ugly head, 5 albums by The Creatures;
cold feeling of dread, For you see The Creatures is helmed by a gothic queen;
Siouxie of the Banshees, a gothic dream;
my past awoken my ears did ring, redolent in memories of.. something more;
Did I not just write about my gothy history, is Amazon embarking on some kind of mystery;
reading far into the blogs, had I looked the other day - offers for dogs?;
or is it my mind playing tricks again, as we approach this Samhain;
Or could it be the ol' mans going mental again?
The reply on the wind told me the cure....
Something more... something more...
WHAT????
Now Im no stranger to snow, I can remember walking all the way around my house as a kid, outside on the snow - over the fence (buried by snow), and being level with the first floor windows.
Of course, that was in February. And in the northeast, you tend to expect such things whenever you have vacation from school, because heaven forbid it should happen during school and they have to close for a snow day.
Up in NY, minimum snow on ground for school to close: 6 inches. 6 inches, 2 inches of solid ice (it happened one year), or imminent threat of 6+ inches, with at least 4 on the ground.
Which meant yes, you could be at school in the middle of a snowstorm. As long as the roads are clear enough in the morning for you to get there - your probably there all day. How you get home afterwards is your issue.
I walked. (Uphill both ways) A round trip to school and back was nearly a mile and a half. But snow before halloween?
Not even a flurry passes my memory. Before thanksgiving, sure - I remember that.. 2-3 inches, just enough to toss a snowball (kids still do that right? without fear of criminal charges?).
Fall was always for cold driving rain, puddles the size of Texas that the high school kids would drive through splashing anyone in the wake. Cold nights, cool days, football, piles of leaves to tromp through, trips to the punkin patch to grab a gourd or two, caramel apples. All that nice stuff.
But not snow.
Sidenote to Ms. Elenaeous' Halloween posting.
As I wandered weak and weary, through Amazon.coms pages cheery;
to the gold box I did wander, last minute deals I did ponder;
sales and savings and deals galore, but something troubling - something more;
CD's appearing by the click, comprehension getting thick;
5 offers for music I'd heard before, innocent enough but something more;
being as its Halloween, gothy feel and gothy scene;
suprise as my past rears its ugly head, 5 albums by The Creatures;
cold feeling of dread, For you see The Creatures is helmed by a gothic queen;
Siouxie of the Banshees, a gothic dream;
my past awoken my ears did ring, redolent in memories of.. something more;
Did I not just write about my gothy history, is Amazon embarking on some kind of mystery;
reading far into the blogs, had I looked the other day - offers for dogs?;
or is it my mind playing tricks again, as we approach this Samhain;
Or could it be the ol' mans going mental again?
The reply on the wind told me the cure....
Something more... something more...
10/24/05
These days are getting me down...
and that aint bad.
I feel my inner goth rising. I mean what with halloween and all, the gloom is just causing it to claw at the walls. Must... repress.. need.. for... The Smiths....
Actually, being fall and all - my musical tendencies turn towards vintage stuff. I start my day highly motivated with alot of big band music - end it with some downtime jazz.
If your astute - you've caught the allusion to my musical tastes in the main page over at F'gotten-Roanoke.
I ran to Kroger the other night, and even though its mere feet away from the temporary HQ of F-R, I till popped in Benny Goodman's Swing Swing Swing.. then it was on...
I have strange dreams - dreams of bombing down say.. Williamson, circa 1951, in a '51 Chevy Styleline Deluxe.. AM radio squalking away with the sounds of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Les Brown and his Band Renown. Hanging the back end of the car on a turn, powergliding a sharp right and skidding into the parking spot for another night out in Roanoke.
Of course, that used to be NYC, but I think even back then, traffic was too horrible to try it.
I was goth, and Im not ashamed to admit it. But I was goth before it became a topic of constant conversation on Maury. And like any good goth, I never lost my sense of humor. But the style of the 40's always called to me, from the time I was young and spent hours listening to the music, then as I got older - actually knowing the different artists names, and some of the storys behind the songs. I never could swing dance, but a guy 6'3" (formerly - Im shrinking in my old age) and north of 225lbs. probably shouldn't as a saftey issue.
Well, not much of a posting today, but hell - its such a nice day outside I think I'll go mope around a graveyard.. if the hepcat in me will allow it.
I feel my inner goth rising. I mean what with halloween and all, the gloom is just causing it to claw at the walls. Must... repress.. need.. for... The Smiths....
Actually, being fall and all - my musical tendencies turn towards vintage stuff. I start my day highly motivated with alot of big band music - end it with some downtime jazz.
If your astute - you've caught the allusion to my musical tastes in the main page over at F'gotten-Roanoke.
I ran to Kroger the other night, and even though its mere feet away from the temporary HQ of F-R, I till popped in Benny Goodman's Swing Swing Swing.. then it was on...
I have strange dreams - dreams of bombing down say.. Williamson, circa 1951, in a '51 Chevy Styleline Deluxe.. AM radio squalking away with the sounds of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Les Brown and his Band Renown. Hanging the back end of the car on a turn, powergliding a sharp right and skidding into the parking spot for another night out in Roanoke.
Of course, that used to be NYC, but I think even back then, traffic was too horrible to try it.
I was goth, and Im not ashamed to admit it. But I was goth before it became a topic of constant conversation on Maury. And like any good goth, I never lost my sense of humor. But the style of the 40's always called to me, from the time I was young and spent hours listening to the music, then as I got older - actually knowing the different artists names, and some of the storys behind the songs. I never could swing dance, but a guy 6'3" (formerly - Im shrinking in my old age) and north of 225lbs. probably shouldn't as a saftey issue.
Well, not much of a posting today, but hell - its such a nice day outside I think I'll go mope around a graveyard.. if the hepcat in me will allow it.
10/23/05
Im calling it...
It's over, I've determined that Summer is kaput. No more. Done.
the foreseeable forcast (via noaa.gov) shows no signs of even approaching the low 60's.
The leaves have given up, and are changing as we speak. Tomorrow morning Mill Mountain will look totally different than it did today. We are going to be running a risk of actual frost on the pumpkins before Halloween, and after seeing the little caterpillars runnin for warmer climes today, Im gonna say maybe snow by Thanksgiving. Flakes at the very least.
I hope you all picked out warmer costumes for your trick or treating this year.
It has been a while since I remember Halloween being on a Monday, so it should be interesting to see how it plays out. Although anything has to be better than last years debacle with it falling on a Sunday. Oy Gevalt! What a fuss..
Ahhh.. no one went to hell, no one sold themselves to the devil for a lousy sack of "Fun size" Snickers, and worse than all that - in the name of all that is holy may this never come to pass, Hillary Clinton was not spotted in Roanoke running for something.
Although City Manager might fit her perfectly.
Anyway, hope you all remember the schedule. Blogs every day/hour, podcasts every Friday, website updates every 2 weeks. Next week will finalize Kirk Ave, and possibly introduce Haunted Roanoke (TM, so don't try me sucka!)
Anyway, Im thinking the cat'pillas had the right idea, make swift haste to the warm spots. Sounds like bed to me.
the foreseeable forcast (via noaa.gov) shows no signs of even approaching the low 60's.
The leaves have given up, and are changing as we speak. Tomorrow morning Mill Mountain will look totally different than it did today. We are going to be running a risk of actual frost on the pumpkins before Halloween, and after seeing the little caterpillars runnin for warmer climes today, Im gonna say maybe snow by Thanksgiving. Flakes at the very least.
I hope you all picked out warmer costumes for your trick or treating this year.
It has been a while since I remember Halloween being on a Monday, so it should be interesting to see how it plays out. Although anything has to be better than last years debacle with it falling on a Sunday. Oy Gevalt! What a fuss..
Ahhh.. no one went to hell, no one sold themselves to the devil for a lousy sack of "Fun size" Snickers, and worse than all that - in the name of all that is holy may this never come to pass, Hillary Clinton was not spotted in Roanoke running for something.
Although City Manager might fit her perfectly.
Anyway, hope you all remember the schedule. Blogs every day/hour, podcasts every Friday, website updates every 2 weeks. Next week will finalize Kirk Ave, and possibly introduce Haunted Roanoke (TM, so don't try me sucka!)
Anyway, Im thinking the cat'pillas had the right idea, make swift haste to the warm spots. Sounds like bed to me.
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