Forgotten Roanoke

Well, a little overdue but its here. The latest addition to Forgotten-Roanoke.com

It might not seem like much, but theres more to it than you might see at first. It's a peek in what will be coming to F-R in the future. Well, provided I can find any further information on whatever the thing might be. As far as Im concerned, everything has a home somewhere, the hard part is getting it there.

This section of the site will be updated frequently as I discover things which are seemingly orphans of history, with no explination as to how they came to be, or why then? Why there? Or even more important, who?

The usual standard journalistic questions will be used, and new questions will be introduced. This page will be the one to watch, as I seem to discover at least one or two things a week. Sometimes they will be accompanied by an image, sometimes the image will come later - after research. And sometimes the item will just vanish, only to reappear on some page in the future.

And if you have any information to share on these orphans, please do.

Technorati tags: roanoke
virginia
history

Nvu - The Complete Web Authoring System for Linux, Macintosh and Windows

Nvu - The Complete Web Authoring System for Linux, Macintosh and Windows

I just wanted to let you know that there is infact a new, completely different page being readied for Forgotten-Roanoke.com

It will be a page where I can toss up one-off updates and small things rather than wait the 2 weeks to try and piece together a larger update.

Which means, as things connect the dots - things will be moved from this new page (when it shows later on) to the page it should be on...

A repository if you will.

TTFN

North Mountain Candle Company

Wonderful couple I met at Dickens last week (before I was sick, fear not). They finally launched the website. And the scents.. oh the scents. Hunger comes to mind.

Technorati tags: candles, scent, local, vendor, candles

A word about tonight.

Sick.


thats a word....

and Im not happy about it

I read the mail today, oh joy

From my inbox (via newsday.com):

Christmas debate at Manhasset tree lighting
--------------------

BY CAROL EISENBERG
STAFF WRITER

When the Rev. Nick Zientarski invoked the name of Jesus Christ during his traditional blessing of the official Christmas tree lighting in Manhasset last week, he had no idea he had signed on as a soldier in the culture wars over Christmas.

Even as he spoke, the Roman Catholic priest said he could hear North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman angrily objecting behind him, "this is inappropriate." Then, Kaiman got up and told the crowd, "I just want to make it clear that this is in no way a religious ceremony."

A collective gasp came from the 200 adults and children gathered around the gazebo across from Town Hall. Nothing has been the same since in this well-heeled community that counts at least a dozen houses of worship in about 2 square miles.

"I have to tell you that Manhasset is in an uproar" over Kaiman's remarks, said Christine Roberts, who is Jewish and attended the ceremony with her two sons. "It really was the wrong thing to say at the wrong time. There is a lot of hostility going around. Angry letters to the editor of the local paper. Angry conversations. Insanity has absolutely overtaken this town."

John Kiggins, owner of Manhasset Sporting Goods, was so angry with the "disrespectful" way Kaiman treated the priest that he sent him a furious e-mail. "Manhasset is a predominantly Christian town and it's a conservative town," said Kiggins, a parishioner at St. Mary's, where Zientarski is a priest. "There's a certain number of us who believe that if we're celebrating Christmas, then call it Christmas and recognize that we're celebrating the birth of Christ. And the event was billed as a Christmas tree lighting. Had it not been billed that way, I probably wouldn't have gone."

A week later, despite public mea culpas from a white-faced Kaiman at a meeting Wednesday night and, again, in a letter to the editor in yesterday's Manhasset Press, angry constituents are still calling and sending letters. Some did not even witness the event, but heard about it through a widely disseminated e-mail from the priest.

Read more here

And you thought we had it bad with our Holiday Tree fiasco. Now remember, this is the Town Supervisor were talking about here, who had this to say: "The reaction also has stunned and humbled Kaiman. "I overreacted and handled the situation poorly," he acknowledged in an interview yesterday. Kaiman said he had arrived at the park expecting a more nonsectarian holiday event because it is sponsored by the Manhasset Park District, the town and the local Chamber of Commerce.

Now don't you think thats something the SUPERVISOR of a town should know? I could throw out some numbers off the top of my head about Manhasset's religious make-up and probably come close to the actual numbers. It's a fairly religious town, with Roman Catholics and Jews making up a good portion of the towns inhabitants. And when you invite a Roman Catholic preist to the CHRISTMAS tree lighting, and ask him to say a few words - well, what the hell do you expect?

Well, thats one supervisor who will be looking for another job soon. See Roanoke, be thankful Mayor Harris has the sense to not just blurt out anything like that. It could be a lot worse.

Odeo: Holiday Pod #2

Odeo: Holiday Pod #2

Well here ya go, its Holiday Pod time!

Although the one thing I did not get around to in the podcast was the Egg Nog Review segement I wanted to do. Oh well, theres always next week.

Accept my apologies for the poor sound quality, as I could not direct upload for whatever reason, so I had to record off the computer speakers - which worked, well enough..

Anyway, enjoy!

referential pic to post below.

Allright, what you see here is my old street in Queens, NY 2 days after snow. I think we got all of 5-6 inches or so. Just to illustrate my point about the pack ice - look at the strip of sidewalk that was not shoveled. After 2 days of constant foot traffic, it is packed solid - and each night it would freeze up hard. Its about 2 inches or so thick. Thats when you learn the meaning of "following in anothers footsteps." The only way your not going to fall. 

Rough times ahead

*Today: A chance of snow after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high around 38. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tonight: Periods of freezing rain, mainly before 4am. Low around 28. Calm wind becoming south between 7 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.*

From the NOAA forecasting center, things do not look good tonight. Then combine that with the 20 mph wind gusts tomorrow and your looking at some bone chilling temps. I am still going to try my hardest to get to Dickens, but considering I get out of work at 8, this week might be out of the question. Im 100% positive that next week I will be there though.

Let me speak to this forecast as someone with heavy duty experience in wintry matters.

You folks here have an advantage over NY in one way only. The sun - it gets warm enough to melt snow easily. Up in NY, the higher latitude keeps the sunlight cold and low during the winter. And having 2-3 inches of hardpack ice on the road after a few good snowfalls is not uncommon. It can last a week easily.

Black ice is less frequent, but that mainly because it doesnt take black ice to cause accidents, anything on the road surface is enough to cause them. Plus, with the heavy volume of traffic, on the roads - its rare that ice has time to form in a thin enough sheet. Usually you just get icebergs, with tire tread grooved pressed into them. Makes for fun driving when your car is being tugged like a slotcar around the road.

I did not have a digital camera while up in NY, well no, thats not true - I got a dirt cheap one at Target on clearance for $10 bucks, and it was worth every penny. Still have it too. I just have to hunt down the photos, somewhere. Of course, this was in the pre-picasa days of easy organization of photos.

Wow, nice rambling post today huh? I think I will cut my losses now. Maybe I'll find those photos.

7-Day Forecast for Latitude 37.27N and Longitude -79.95W

"Thursday Night: Periods of snow and sleet, mainly between 10pm and 1am, then periods of snow, freezing rain and sleet between 1am and 4am, then periods of snow and sleet after 4am. Low around 28. Calm wind becoming south between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Friday: Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high around 43. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 16 and 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 22. West wind between 5 and 9 mph."

Allright, Im beginning to think the fix is in for Dickens this year. I mean the Christmas Parade is this weekend, and its going to be how cold? Egg Nog Icicle cold. Not a good thing.

31 mph wind gusts during the day, with a high of 43. Remember those words from last winter? Everyone together now.. Wind Chill.

Well, this does not make me happy, but hopefully we will have suffered enough for the following weeks Pet Parade and General Festive Atmosphere.

Lets all hope this winter is not like last, and the jet stream does not decide to holiday on the ground here. Last years wind chill never really went away, It just kept pounding at Roanoke without mercy, relentless in its drive to sandblast and quick-freeze this town.

(by the by, Im knocking on wood, holding my 4-leaf clover, and writing to Santa that this winter be white enough to be pretty, but not icebound and wind-burned)

During the day, for those of you who don't know, the sun can be pretty strong here. Even on a 35 degree day, as long as its sunny with no wind, you can leave the jacket behind and just wear a light sweater. Of course, this comes from someone somewhat acclimated to sub-zero wind chill, and actual street-clearing snowplows.

It's called rock salt, invest heavily in it and you'll do fine when you retire.

Im still flustered by the whole "VDoT plow" thing. How do you plow 2 lanes of a 4 lane road which is heavily traveled?

Maybe if there was more constant traffic, the roads would not be so bad, but with the panic over a dusting (and yes, I understand the reaction after the Robin Reed Incident) the roads go bare.

Well, more to come as the sleet hits the fan.

Today:

Yep, thats today.. 63 years ago today.


Remember.

BST 25: Remember me?

Allright, one last time into the breach, Mr. LaForge.

Ok - you never heard that, right?

So picking up on where I left off, around the end of August, 2002. Hold on, were gonna fast forward a bit here.. well.. a whole year. Recovery, recovery, Thanksgiving, NYC, Christmas, Cooking School, cooking school, MRI, graduate, externship, Halloween, MRI.

MRI?

MRI.... no change.

Suggested course of action: removal.

Scheduled time: 1st week of December, 2003.

Well, there was what they call a trace amount - a gloopy chunk they didn't want to remove originally due to its location and the fact that it was apparently quite happy where it was, holding a few neurons hostage. It was not quite invasive, just kind of cuddly with the grey matter surrounding it. But it was pretty important grey matter, so they left it alone - wondering if it would just get the message when the rest of it was removed and leave.

Well it was apparently very comfy there. It did not grow, it did not shrink. It just kind of hung out, like teenagers at the mall. Generally useless, and bound for trouble eventually, but brooding and surly none the less.

Well, theres a cure for that, although not for teenagers unfortunately. Its called *cue dramatic music* the Gamma Knife *orchestra hit*!

Ok, so I go meet the guy who will be guiding the fingers of radiation towards that spot in my head which needs some juice. Dr. Ladislau Steiner.

Dr. Steiner is a old school doctor, and when I say that - I mean office with huge desk and tons of books and displays and all the sort of things you expect to find in the office of a highly-respected groundbreaking neurosurgeon. Oh, did I mention he is also in his 80's? And Romanian? All this adds up to the feeling of greatness you get when you hear of this man, and when you see him. He explained things in detail, putting all our concerns to rest. Which is nice to have done right after your told the story of a man who had a similar situation, they gamma knifed him, and it went away - only to have it spring up like mushrooms all over the place. Gamma got them too.

So I was handed off to his staff, who arranged for everything to go down like clockwork. Me, being the info-freak I am, of course did too much research into the Gamma Knife. Thats when I found out about the headframe.

Just remember those words: headframe.

Allright, so everything was set and a go. Then, that night, it snowed. 4-5 inches or so. This threw the entire staff at UVA into disarray, but they acclimated without a problem. I was accompanied by my mother on this trip, which was a short one. So the two of us sat in the OR waiting area, waiting for our slot to be called. The whole place was on a delay.. an hour or so.. So an hour of waiting, overheard conversations, brief glimpses of my former surgical crew. Nice to see them working together after the trauma I caused.

So we are taken back, and I am told to get into the gown. What is with these gowns? As I change, Im looking around the small space I am slotted into.. theres no bed, just one of those chairs. You know those chairs. The "No really, Im fine without perforations" chairs.

The one who is guiding me through this step of the procedure is a nice lady, whose name and rank I do not recall for reasons that will become obvious in a moment. She sits me in the chair, pops in a IV line, and then asks the million questions they all ask. She describes to me what is going to happen when I leave the room. They will insert small screws into my forehead and the back of my head, which will root in the skull. To this will be attached the headframe.

I tell her in no uncertain terms I would very much appreciate not remembering any of this. She tells me not to worry, because in a few moments she is going to hit me with what she called "a six pack". After she injected it into my IV line, she told me she was going to be asking me questions to gauge how effective it would be, it would only last 20 mins or so, and when I came to the frame would be on.

Next thing I remember was being in that chair, rolling away from the OR. She asked me if I remember any of the questions. I say "you asked them?" Laughter ensued.

Off to the MRI for alignment purposes (cuz I had not had enough of them), and now Im on a bed. Reclining comfortably, my head numbed to the frame on it. I actually never realized I even had the frame on until passing a mirrored window. Oh what a sight, what a tragic figure wears the mantle of aluminum.

Gamma time: into the room with the knife, which I assumed (based on my apparently flawed research) would be larger than an MRI machine. They slid me onto the table for the gamma knife, and cranked the headframe down to the machine. I slid into the machine, and from there out it was endless miniature adjustments to get the focal point of the beam exactly where they wanted it. Finally, after 45 minutes of getting a real close up view of this silent machine's inner world, it was over. I was out, and rolled out into another room.

They removed the headframe. But the screws were still with me. With a swift and silent determination, the nurse closed in on me, removing them with my eyes wide open and memory intact. No 6-pack this time. After some discussion, I was then remanded to the custody of the hospital, I believe it was the 12th floor. I had a private room to overnight in, access to the elevators, a hot meal waiting for me. Not a bad deal. My mother left, seeing as how all was well. I slept for a while, and realized I had purple eyebrows, well marks where they had put the screws. It amused me, and dinner came and went. I had a wonderful view, looking out over Charlottesville in the snow. I had my backpack with books, my walkman, my cellphone, and some candy and smokes. The foor nurse told me there was going to be a snack delivered, and apparently my definition of a snack was horribly wrong.

It was a whole sandwich, cookies, fruit, and a soda. I stashed it for later that night, as my afternoon nap had pushed the likelyhood of my sleeping at night out the window and 12 stories down.

A few times I wandered down to the lobby, to the smoking area. No more than twice to my recollection, as it was still cold and possibly raining. The next morning I was remanded back to the custody of my mother, and all was well.

First follow up MRI 1 month later, and all seemed clear.. and to this day, all clear. With artifacts. Which I assume means one day I might have to watch for an Indiana Jones type who wishes to have at these artifacts.

Another success, thanks to the staff of UVA.

And there ends the BST, for the time being. If the higher powers are with me, there ends the entire BST journey.

Possibly the best early Christmas gift one could ask for. A clear mind.

So clear theres nearly no thoughts. Just an occasional fog of memory, and partly cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

I think back to all those trips between NYC and CVS via Amtrak, and realize I have probably seen that stretch of the journey in all seasons. Been there for moments that no one else could have been there for.

In many ways the BST itself was a blessing. Sometimes one needs something life-altering to provide a new perspective. Or several. I know what could have been, I have seen it with my own eyes, and in my own mind. I understand I am fortunate.

I am still becoming, still changing from the BST. I have gained an appreciation I did not have before for life, I have gained a loving wife and a new home and a future without bounds. I made my own deal with the higher ups back before the initial surgery, let me pull through and I will try. And try I do. The only downside to the whole process is the memories are not what they used to be. There is a disconnect between the past memories and the feelings of those memories. I can tell you the way the sky looked on the day of the "Perfect Storm", how the rain beat down. But I cannot tell you how I felt at the time. All my past memories are filtered through my current emotions. So while I most likely looked upon the windows at Macy's as a child with wide eyes, I now can tell you how it affected me today. I cannot tell you what it meant to me at the time. The surgery changed the way my mind operates, to a certain extent. I was probably what you would call scattered before it, now I run a 24 track mind, and can clearly tell you the exact process of each plan I hatch.

Like the website, I know where I want it to be, and I know what I need to do to get it there. I know what resources I can use, and what ones I need to create.

There is a dream, and this is a dream. To bring about an understanding of place, community, and home. Big concepts, small world.


"For we are all born mortal, like stars and candlelight,
And all that really matters, is what we do before we fall asleep each night."
-tso

Just as a sidenote to the Dickens post:

The JA of Roanoke is selling Mill Moutain Star Ornaments, Dr. Pepper sign ornaments, and H&C Coffee sign ornaments - beautifully done. I dont remember the price for one, but all 3 is $40 with a portion of proceeds going back to the JA I think.

No, you can't buy them all, because I haven't bought mine yet. So you just wait.

Dickens of a Christmas (or: Traffic is a NY Nightmare!)

I've been to the market on busy days, quiet days, and in between days. Last year we were down at Dickens of a Christmas for the Pet Parade, and did not make it to any of the other days.

Once we brought the dogs back home, we headed back downtown to wander untethered to 2 small Santas. We wandered the Market, back and forth, over and over. Got to see some interesting stuff, and not just the vendors. The Carolers were amazing, the costumed performers were spot on.

We decided to put in more of an effort this year to get there more often.

We're smart, this year is even bigger. (photos will be coming when Blogger get the uploader fixed.)

We stopped to examine some candles, and in one shot, forgot entirely the fact that there is a Yankee Candle. All it took were the baked-goods candles. North Mountain Candle is down the market this year, after an initial probe the last day of Dickens last year. Great prices, amazing candles, and locally produced. The website will be launching soon, as I am sure they are having to replenish their stock after being nearly wiped out Friday night.

There is a woman there who makes dogs awfully happy. Homemade dog bones, with all natural ingredients. I think my wife has her card, so I'll post her info here later today.

The crowds though, near madness. There was literally no room to walk, which is when I became very thankful that most vendors had double sided their booths, so that you could browse from the back as well. They needed the space just for the products alone. Which reminds me, the baked goods. Oh. My. God. The sheer amount of baked goods was nearly enough to send me into shock.

I am looking forward to this weekends Parade, along with hitting all the vendors again. I will hopefully have more and better photos to share with you, although I will not be arriving till after 8.

Which is ok, because on this past Friday, as the wife and I were walking back to the car, there were tons of cars coming down Jefferson. I mean tons. And this was slightly after 8pm. It was the first time since we had moved down here that we really felt like we were back in NY. Crowded sidewalks, much hubbub and activity, traffic backed up on Jefferson from Campbell back past Elm.

Roanoke might have to expand the bounds of Dickens next year just to fit everyone in. I have my own fantasies about Dickens next year, but Im going to keep them private... for now.

Now, with 10% less brain than before!

I nearly forgot I still have to finish off the BST Chronicles. So look for the final chapter in that story (well final in a sense of story continutity - unless you really want to hear about my yearly MRI's) sometime in the next day or two.

A word about the snowfall. As much as my heart was set on having a mega-blast snowfall, I understand how badly it would cripple the city. As evidenced by the driving I saw on the roads today.

Sadly, it was no worse than usual.

Although, I do have to say I am proud - I barely heard sirens today, and did not hear Lifeflight 10 at all. I might have been in the freezer.

But on an interesting note, one of the little factoids I love about snow, it amplifies sound. The snow has stopped falling - some misty fog has settled in, but I can hear jets high above clear as day. Reminds me of NY, on the cold winter nights, I can tune my radio to one of the more powerful NY AM stations, and listen in nearly clearly. I assume that the same forces which guide errant radio waves this far south from Gotham are also responsible for my being able to hear the freight line that runs behind Tanglewood as clear as if it were in my backyard.

I would still rather hear the chug of a passenger train, but in the cold dark night - it's not hard to imagine it is.

And soon it may be: If we all ask Santa, maybe we can get a viable alternative to the flying lawnmowers that run from Roanoke Regional and get this ol' railtown humming again.

Another dream.. which leads to another dream..

(In Brooklyn) Hey, whose friggin kid is dis??

WHAT CHILD IS THIS
WHO IS SO BLESSED HE CHANGES ALL TOMORROWS?
REPLACING TEARS WITH REBORN YEARS
IN HEARTS ONCE DARK AND HOLLOW
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra - What Child is this - The Last Christmas


Back in my youth as a young turk growing up in the wilds of exurban New York City, I was exposed to all sorts of lavish holiday displays.

From the house of the Concrete Maven my uncle worked for, which still to this day beats any house I've seen hands down; to the simple grey 2 or 3 story thing (looked more like a prison than a home) that was alongside the Belt Parkway near Springfield Blvd. with his simple strands of the old oversized bulbs draped on the corners of the house, framing it against the dark sky above.

At least he made the effort, and every year - they would be there. Those simple lights.

My own neighborhoods growing up varied wildly in decorating scope, from the austere single electric candle in the window (symbolic of welcoming a stranger home) to the over-large displays of plastic Santa and team on the roof of the house. Bushes covered with more lights than it had branches. Houses which should have been able to pay LiLco's (electric company) operating expenses for a year.

Halloween I was always all about the stark horror, my pumpkins bordering on criminal. But Christmas, I was always the first one ready to put the tree up, the lights outside. I even used to decorate my room, with its single window. I would have had a tree, had I been allowed. Probably for the best I wasn't, as when I hit my teenage years there certainly would have been the rumored small, furry animals living in my room.

I could hardly walk into a church at Christmas without being overcome by the decorations. And I did not like the design of my church growing up - it was more like a barn with pretty windows. Thats the one issue I took with Vatican II (now being old enough to understand it), they should have kept the mandate that churches be built grand. But thats a personal thing.. I dont expect anyone else to get it.

Outside, the snow is falling right now. Things are quiet enough, as everyone waits to see exactly how bad it will get. I was blessed to have a White Christmas before leaving NY. And it was exactly how you wanted it to be. It started snowing around 8pm, and did not let up till the world was white and silent on Christmas morning. Yet you were still able to get the car out without having to dig, the roads were clear by noon from traffic alone, and the snow remained on the ground for days afterwards.

It had to, it went from snow-temperatures down to below zero with the windchill.

I could have done without that part.

But the holidays can be brutal, when you suddenly have no time to accomplish anything, but everything must be done. You do your best to accomplish everything, to perfection and wind up in a transient madness. And by midnight on December 25th, your left empty. Its all over, nothing to do but clean up and wait for the New Year.

In that single moment, the final tick of the clock 11:59:59pm, 12/25 - you lose it. You realize its fully over, and all you did to make it as perfect as you possibly could was just left in that final tick of the clock.

That warm feeling has left you, everything seems the same again. Even the lights on the tree seem cold now. Thats when you have to go back and pull a shred of that warmth out of the past and keep it with you. If it means your family has to suffer through a mild spell of christmas during the summer - then so be it. Ask mine, its been done before.

But that feeling, if you can catch it and carry it with you, will become your greatest asset as the year progresses. If you've ever felt the harsh cold of an empty NYC street in mid-February, or something similar - when desolation seems to be the order, and you feel your the last person on earth, thats when you call upon the fragment of Christmas.

Some people put faith in money, in status, in God.. I put mine in Christmas, and it carrys me through the year.

PS - no page today, busy times but page coming this week. I swear it.

7-Day Forecast for Latitude 37.27N and Longitude -79.95W (thats Roanoke to us english speakers)

Allright - heres your official forecast. I am on the cusp of a decision here, one which should not be taken lightly.

I am getting fed up with the sleazy, brain numbing reporting of WSLS. Nothing personal against Karen (a peach), John (not so much...), Mark (wonderful guy), or Jaime (hyperactive monkey) - but the overseers of SLS have got to get a grip. They are driving me away, with the fear-monger reporting, creation of controversy, and near-gossip quality of the newscast itself - Im turning them off. Literally.

Plus, maybe its just me, but I actually like to hear Roanoke news for at least the first 10 minutes of the newscast. SLS feels I only need to hear about 2 minutes of Roanoke news, before moving on to national stories. And getting back to actual local news much later in the newscast.

I dont care if its been a slow news day, thats when you can really do some digging into stories you previously reported on and revist them. LOCAL stories.

So this is my decision - Im officially switching my allegiance to WDBJ. Besides - Robin and his weather are much less panic-inducing than SLS, but I will continue to use NOAA as my main source.

Call it growing up, maturing, whatever you want - but Im tired of the hype.. I just want the news.

Now if only I had that option with the Times.

Technorati tags: roanoke, storm, weather, snow

New page coming tomorrow morning

Along with several inches of snow. So its a win win situation.

Anyone seen it?

I guess the Times misplaced the article on the AMWV opening the job of "general contractor" up to bids somewhere.

It was in the newspaper. I swear it was. Something about costs for building the silly thing growing, "but we planned for this" or something like that.

Mr. Stout saying it's a good thing. But I've looked and looked online, and can't seem to find it.

Im guessing they must have misplaced it. If you see it, please contact someone over at the Times so they can put the article online and get the word out to the digital people.

Oh, they must have lost the pic of the AMWV concept, because in the paper they ran an image of the Art Museum in Calgary that Stout recently sucker... um.. won to contract on.

So if you happen to see either one of these, please let someone know. They might be found somewhere in the viscinity of the Times community sense, integrity, and common sense. Both of which have been lost for a long while.

(Paused) Linus And Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio (Holiday) - Discover Music - Pandora

I gotta tell ya, since Ive found this - Im having nothing but fun letting it run hours on end working and reworking playlists to discover music and moods I barely even thought about. and it allows you to skip over songs you dont like.

Its free too!

Theres links to buy the albums from Amazon, search on iTunes for the song itself..

Probably the coolest thing Ive found in a while. But thats just me.

Technorati tags: pandora, music, streaming, new, interesting, fun

Festivities and Excelcior You Fathead!

Well, tree lighting at 6:20p tonight, the whole deal runs 5-10p. Im going to be getting there just after the "non-denominational festive shrubbery" achieves illumination. But I will be there. Just look for the guy who scares you the most, and thats probably me.

I'll have flyers! Excitement! Danger! Intrigue! and a good dose of holiday cheer...

Holiday Podcasting is HERE!!

HOORAY!

HUZZAH!!

OTHER GENERAL EXCLAIMATIONS!!

News from The Roanoke Times -Mall shields Santa from suggestive storefront

News from The Roanoke Times -Mall shields Santa from suggestive storefront

stupid.

too tired to write about it now, but I would call it pod-fodder if I ever saw it.

---------------------------------
Oh hey - something I just thought of, why now is it a problem. Who is the forward thinking genius who set the whole thing up, looked around, and somehow missed the Victorias Secret. And who is the toe-head who looked at the plans and said "Sure, no problem." This is a bad case of someone not thinking ahead, and someone thinking up their behind.

Who could possibly look at the site, the orientation of Santa to the site, the line which kids would walk in to see Santa, and think this was a great place to do it?

Maybe we should just start sticking the Santa displays and photo centers in empty stores, keep it out of the flow of traffic.

Im not objecting on morals, Im objecting on the stupidity of whoever set it up that way, and who ever said it was ok to set up that way. No forethought, no comprehension.. no nada.

You know, you need 2 brain cells to rub together to make a thought...

roanoke.com: Southwest Virginia starts here - on the Internet

roanoke.com: Southwest Virginia starts here - on the Internet: "Today's columns and blogs

Blog:
1939 Cadillac Airport Crash Truck
By Rhett Fleitz | More local bloggers
"
/run bitching.exe

Nothing against Rhett, but I have been told by several people that they have contacted the Times about the blog link not changing for a long time. Rhett's been the link for nearly 2 weeks now. Before that, the previous link was nearly 2 weeks. They are complaining about the fact that by keeping the link static, its very hard to tell if anything interesting is being posted without going through each and every link on the blog page itself.

This is what Im hearing - e-mails sent to the Times are going unanswered, and no changes are being made. Ive seen software that will change the link randomly. Maybe the Times should look into this, seeing as how there is apparently no one manning the wheel anymore.

Im getting the feeling that the Times is done with Bloggers, and will just let the whole section deteriorate until its gone. Like they did with the history section of the website. Nice to know we are a novelty. Speaks volumes of them.

/quit bitching.exe

What lies ahead:

23	Days
13	Hours
21	Minutes

Thats right, actually by the time you view this, it will be less than that. Im taking advantage of this day off to dig in and begin the transformation. From the generic autumnal decor to the minimalist Christmas I like to run. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Allright - so I decorate every part of the house. How could you not?

I'm more likely to celebrate this in grand style than I am my own birthday. Then again, who wants to celebrate the fact you lived long enough to pay more taxes and spend more than you save?

Yeah - Im overjoyed by birthdays.

Allright - lets start digging into my stack o' Christmas stuff.

Every day Im going to pull out an ancient memory of something from Christmas past. Like today. Im 30. That puts my birthyear as 1975 - the middle of the disco era, I came into my own musically when I hit about 7 or 8, and could figure out how to work the radio. I had records and plenty of them. With my little Fisher Price Record Player, I was my own DJ. One of the first albums I really became attached to, oddly enough, was "Perry Como sings Merry Christmas Music."

Ok - go ahead. Laugh if you must.

The album opened with Perry reading "Twas the night before Christmas..." and if I remember correctly, I rarely made it past that before falling asleep. There was something warm and magical in Mr. Como's voice. I would fall asleep to Perry talking about sugarplums dancing and wake up to the scratching of the needle on the label.

Very little modern holiday music has moved me the way Mr. Como did, and apparently according to Amazon - these recordings are over 50 years old now. So when it comes to the holidays, short of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, theres not much modern I like. Call me a curmudgeon, but its true. Damn kids... AND GET OFF MY LAWN!

As my boss pointed out yesterday, Im a big old softy when it comes to the holidays. Well, considering my taste in holiday music - its not exactly shocking as to why. Sentimental? You betcha.

Forgotten-Roanoke will be at the tree lighting Friday night, come cold or wind - I was at the County one last year - in the rain and wind, and was dissappointed at how "inner circle" it seemed. Most of the activity was inside a small tent which did not seem for the general public.

And now if you'll excuse me, I have a townful of buildings that needs a home.

WFIR AM 960 // News Talk Radio - Roanoke, Virginia

WFIR AM 960 // News Talk Radio - Roanoke, Virginia

It finally happened. WFIR has finally gone and launched a real website, after ages under construction.

The weather section alone is worth a look for use of Flash to build a great interface.

All in all, one spiffy website - now if only they had more local content on the air.

roanoke,
radio,
news,
talkradio

Everything's everything

Finally the weather has levelled off for a while. Now we can get back to the business of Christmas, December, and merry-making.

Remember Friday is the tree lighting downtown, and the first night of Dickens of a Christmas. Looking at 45 and 29 (high and low) that day, which is totally appropriate for such an event.

Light snow would be nice too, but I wont push things..

Theres a good chance I will be there, seeing as how its happening at 7pm and Im off. There will be a podcast that day as well. Maybe I'll audiopost from the lighting.

You would not think it, but Im a big softy for Christmas.

However, as the years pass and things come and go.. the scope of christmas is widening for me. Im beginning to think a bit larger.

As in, how in this wonderfully technological and jaded era, does one assure that their kids will believe in Santa, and the magic of Christmas?


Other than taking them to the Mall for photos with the man.

If theres one thing I can say about NYC at Christmas, its a town that knows how to capitalize on its history at just the right moments. NY takes a step back in time when Christmas rolls around. From the lo-tech skating rinks which are usually filled, to the displays in storefront windows. Im sure some store could put together a window display filled with technological wonders being churned out of Santa's Workshop. But (for the most part) they dont. Sure they have Santa recieving e-mail updates to his "Naughty or nice" list, but the computer is usually wood, or cardboard. And usually obviosuly so. Yet the window is still wonder in the eyes of a child.

I would like to see one of the small businesses down on the market re-start the tradition of having a Christmas window. Im sure once the work is done on the City State building, there will be a display at the holidays, but will it be the same?

Sometimes I wonder if its even possible my kids (when I have them) will understand what it means to haul out the dusty old records and decorate the tree. My mother has a 3-legged reindeer ornament. It used to have 4 legs, but back when it was still dangerous to have lights on the tree - one of the lights actually melted the leg off the poor thing.

Now how do you explain to your kids that one? All they have ever known is mini-bulbs and now LED bulbs. Even the good old bubble lights don't get all that hot anymore. Oh and the joys of worrying about keeping the tinsel off the bulbs.

Anyway - yes, we are getting a little nostalgia heavy, but thats ok. It's all seasonal. Come the summer I begin pining for the winters of my youth - when 36 inches of snow in a week was a rarity, but 24 was common. And we usually still had school.

Anyone want to go caroling?

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high,
Singing sweetly through the night,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their brave delight.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see?
What glad tiding did you hear? Refrain

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the new-born King. Refrain

See him in a manger laid
Whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love. Refrain

(amazing how even when you don't know the proper lyrics, the ones you think you know still seem right)

Conversate | Roanoke Marketplace

Conversate | Roanoke Marketplace

Here is your chance to talk back, talk smack, and let me know what you want out of the Marketplace.

Maybe, in a few days, I will stop talking about it too.
Technorati tags: roanoke, conversation, marketplace

ok allready

ENOUGH RAIN.

We get the point thank you...

Anyone up for some afternoon kyaking at Victory Stadium?

Ready2005.Com 홈

Allright - scroll down a bit. See the spinning record? Now wait for it..

Nope, I have no idea either.

Technorati tags: microsoft, wtf, humor, funny

Roanoke Marketplace: A users guide.

Allright, Im going to assume by now you have all seen the Roanoke Marketplace article in the Times today. If not, heres the link: Printer Friendly Version

Allright, in a nutshell Roanoke Marketplace is the digital corkboard for Roanoke, to which anyone can stick anything. I started it when I found ning.com, a site which had certain wep applications that users could clone for their own use. Hosted by Ning, the Roanoke Marketplace is simply a clone of the Marketplace formatted page they had available when I first went to the page. Allright, good? Lets get started.

Head on over to the Marketplace: Roanoke Marketplace and look to the right of the screen. Theres a sign up/sign in option - you need to sign up. Once you do you have access to the entire Marketplace, if you sign up for Beta Developer status, you can create your own marketplace, or clone any of the other pages you find at Ning.

Now you can begin posting to the Marketplace. Add events, talk on the forums, post reviews and news. Its all up to you - content is whatever you want it to be. Im adding things as we go along, but I don't know everything - so add whatever you want. There are 2 different job boards there too. One is gigs, short term assignments to fulfill a need, and the other is more traditional jobs. As time goes on, and people begin to populate the page, you might be able to post that you can do a job and let someone contact you with an offer. It all depends upon the public taking part in it.

A word about content: I want to keep this clean, so save the naughty stuff for some other board. Be honest, even though there is no legal recourse, I would like people to be straightforward in their postings. No harassment, I have full editorial power here, and will delete anything that seems untoward.

Otherwise, its all up to you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Anything you would like added (except personals, you want to meet someone, go outside!) But use it.. its a resource, and its free. So stop hemming and hawing, just go.

Aside from the forums, the section I really want to see used the most is the Community section.

Roanoke, for the common good, I give you the Marketplace.

Figured I'd post my schedule now and get it out of the way

Fri - podcast
Sun - update to Forgotten-Roanoke.com

various times through out the week - addendums to the Roanoke Marketplace (start posting people) as I can

I used to doubt...

But after seeing what I saw at the History Museum on Saturday, I am now convinced there is a Santa Claus. I thought maybe the world had gotten too jaded for Jolly Ol' St. Nick, but apparently not. There was still wonder in the eyes of the children, and the adults. This man held the crowd in the palm of his hand, with a gentle sweetness and soft story.

The museums display of Christmas figures from storefronts past was interesting, especially considering some of the figures were duplicates of the ones I remember seeing at the Macy's Santaland in Herald Square. Im guessing made by the same company, but it was interesting to see them after all these years.

My memories of going to see Santa always revolve around a train, a door, a rush, and a wait.

Those will come later this week.

I would kind of prefer it to actually BE December before I start pummeling you with Christmas past.

But I will say this much, there are things I have personally experienced in my life which give me good reason NOT to discount the existence of "The Man, The Myth, The Legend".

More on that later...

News from The Roanoke Times -Caged debt

News from The Roanoke Times -Caged debt: “The zoo was like a person who lives paycheck to paycheck while adding credit card debt.”

We have all been there. It's not easy, but this is not personal. This is all about how Roanoke presents itself. Yesterday I was at the History Museum downtown and up Mill Mountain a short time later. Downtown was packed, and my little group brought the tally of visitors to the museum up to 96 at that point.

Then we went up Mill Mountain. The Star was packed just as much as downtown was. And much like downtown, the people were going no further than 1 block away, which up at the star translates to the Discovery Center. I have long thought the Zoo needed an archway announcing it at the stone wall to the Wildflower garden, and another along the paved road near the picnic area.

Just some gentle visual reminders that there is a zoo up here.

My wife and I love the zoo, and have long said that if we ever hit the Mega Millions, a portion of it would be donated to the zoo to ensure operations.

But as I've said before - the Zoo lacks presence in the downtown market area. It really irks me. Maybe I'll put my own signs up one day that mark the path to the zoo like we have to the Star.

Warm day? Warmer than your normal winter day? Go to the zoo. It's worth it.

Technorati tags: mill mountain, zoo, financing, nonprofit

General Announcement

There will be no podcast this week as Forgotten Roanoke revamps the podcast format yet again. Im getting picky in my old age.

But I have to wonder, with the start we had to Thanksgiving (snow, cold... ) will this Christmas be the one that we will all look back on and remember?

The one with the perfect snow, the perfect temperature, and the perfect glorious sunrise on Christmas Morn?

The Farmer's Almanac has snow mere hours before Christmas, but none on Christmas itself. But then again, it did not predict any snow on the day before Thanskgiving either.

Allready this year has proven itself to be unusual. Think back to January, does anyone remember the winter wonderland we all woke up to on the 21st?

Snow hanging off the boughs? Covering everything but the roads?

You don't get much more magical.

And just the next day, when it started snowing again - only this time it stuck to the roads.

The Ice storm on the 29th?

And that was just January.

Then in February, the temp shot up to 60. I remember it being extremely cold in December, cold and stark.

But November last year was a lark. I got married outdoors last November, thats how nice it was. Allright, so it rained a little.

But last winter did not really show itself until January, this one is allready doing introductions in November.

I realize Q99 is playing exclusively Christmas songs (with the exception of the Hokies song, I have no idea what the name was -but god was it awful.) and every store you go in is doing the same. Yes, you will most likely be sick of it before the season is over. But I'd like to make a reccomendation: Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Specifically the "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" album.

You all know a few of the songs from it, but the album as a whole is a soundtrack. I hesitate to use the words Rock Opera, but its the closest thing to opera your going to get with electric guitars.

When they go on tour, they have 2 touring groups - east and west - due to both the popularity of the band, and the complications of attempting to hit multiple cities in a short time span with a full orchestra, full rock band, and full choir.

Yeah - you read that right.

If/when you get "Christmas Eve..." please do not get in your car for a trip to the supermarket and just throw it on. I ask that you sit and listen all the way through, read the libretto. Get yourself a cup of coffee, position yourself by a window, and listen to the entire album.

I guess if pressed, one could classify it as Street-level Christmas as Art. Whereas things like "It's a Wonderful Life." and "Miracle on 34th St." are full of lofty ideals and high hopes. "Christmas Eve..." has one hope, one ideal - being together on Christmas. And by the end of the album, you'll see that clearer than you ever expected.

Then again, its just my sense of overdramatic presenations that holds the dream of seeing them perform with the RSO outside the city market (yes, close down Campbell - the stage would take up the street and the parking lot) during Dickens of a Christmas.

Hey, it could happen.

I personally think Elmwood park too small to hold it. Other possible locations: The parking lot where the AMWV will eventually re-break ground. The backdrop of Roanoke, and the scruffy buildings along Salem would play perfectly. As would the parking lot for the Museum of Transportation.

To hear the strings and guitar carried on the wind halfway across town....

Well, I guess they could do it on Mill Moutain, but parking would be hell.

But regardless - pick up the album. Theres a warmth there, a feeling of home. Moments to celebrate, and ones to pause for reflection.

"Old City Bar"

And a child came inside
That no one in the bar
Had seen there before

And he asked did we know
That outside in the snow
That someone was lost
Standing outside our door

Then the bartender gazed
Through the smoke and the haze

Through the window and ice
To a corner streetlight

Where standing alone
By a broken pay phone
Was a girl the child said
Could no longer get home

And the snow it was falling
The neon was calling
The bartender turned
And said , not that I care
But how would you know this?
The child said I've noticed
If one could be home
They'd be all ready there
-----------------------------------

Are you home yet? Or still on your way?

Just a retorical question for you.. Happy Holidays, From Forgotten-Roanoke

Happy Thanksgiving

If you eat too much turkey & all the rest.. just remember: Forget TUMS, or even Alka-seltzer... Call on SUPERGROVER!

It's happening...

And its too late to stop it.

Thanksgiving is mere hours away now. Which means Christmas Eve is 31 days off right now. That came quick, huh?

As of yesterday, downtown has been swagged, glitzed, and wreathed for the holidays.

Snow is allready capping the mountains in the distance, the air has that bite one only finds near the holidays. Flakes have decended upon Roanoke, especially last night when they flew like mad.

The magic is beginning. Roanoke is stepping back in time, as it always does for the holidays. It becomes a place of wonder, a place of cheer. Walking around the market, with the PA system putting holiday music on the wind.

The History Museum at Center in the Square will be displaying the "Fantasyland" exhibit as they do every year. Maybe this year I will get to see it. The tree lighting at Wachovia Plaza, the Dog Parade (poor things, having to dress up... ), the whole Dickens of a Christmas thing itself.

Oh, what will I be doing this weekend?
A little of this and that.

And yes, the Pilgrims DID have popcorn, toast, and ice cream sundaes. The pretzel sticks we are still unsure about.

More to come.. as always.

Yeah - thats what you think it is.

It aint dandruff folks.. its snow. 

News from The Roanoke Times -Zoning issue packs council

Pay close attention to this one folks, this could define the future of Roanoke for decades to come.

Also, new additions to the event calender at Roanoke Marketplace

To quote Steve Martin....

What the hell IS that? Is it?
Oh yeah, it is..
Summers over, falls gone.. welcome to winter folks.

Please have your tires checked for tread and rotated, keep your tires properly inflated and have your coolant and oil checked.

Cuz Im tired of seeing stupid accidents everywhere.

Oh yeah, that reminds me.. 32 days left till Christmas Eve.

The Roanoke Times: Timescast

The Roanoke Times: Timescast

Well now this is different. It arrived anonymously in my inbox this morning. A link from a long-time lurker. Hosted by Patrick Beeson, of the Times - its a news wrap-up and look-ahead for the Roanoke Times. Apparently a new one will appear daily at 3:30p.

Although Ive seen no obvious links to this on the homepage, I like it. Let me remind the Times photography staff that those digital cameras usually also have a video setting, so we can do something other than use static images panned on the screen for effect.

This reminds me of my early days in radio - back at Nassau Community College in NY. Little rough around the edges, but shows promise. This could be a great way to scoop the networks (SLS/DBJ) with stories, and get people looking ahead to the stories of the following day.

Thats the problem with print media these days - people are now used to getting the news instantly, print is still at least 12 hours old. Worse in some cases when the Times has reported on a story 3 days after its been a story. But this Timescast could bridge that gap. I don't know how many they have done so far, but this shows alot of promise. Although Im sure someone has a laptop they can use instead of having Patrick standing there with a script.

Good use of technology though.. especially with the relevant links appearing to the right of the screen.

Although, on a personal note: Patrick, your collars crooked.

And please, leave the wry, witty remarks to the sports guy from SLS who can't keep his mouth shut.

Report, impart, inform, and educate. Thats what people want from the newspaper.

All in all.. Good job.

Technorati tags: roanoke, podcast, videocast, news, tech

News from The Roanoke Times -Landlords put on the spot with new code

Allright - I don't usually laugh at City Council Meeting stories - but this one is hysterical, if only for the exchange between Darlene and Rupert: "Councilman Rupert Cutler noted that such tactics only move the problem around.

But if you cause people to move enough, they may get fed up and leave the area altogether, Burcham said."

I wonder if Rupert responded "Oh, yeah.. duhhhh." to that statement.

I kinda thought that was the whole point of Operation Broken Windows, you remember - the city had a whole meeting on that last month. Get them to leave. They have had enough time to change, now its time to box them up and ship them to Abu Dhabi or someplace like that.

But tearing down the house... thats downright hysterical. Nice to see that Roanoke is willing to bulldoze the crap outta a place to get rid of the scum element. Thats dedication. And then they bill you for it, just to rub lemon juice in the wounds.

Brilliant..

Let slip the dogs of winter

Now look what you've done. You let the dogs out.. you.. you you you..


/reboot brain

Kev, you rock...

Well now

How about this lovely weather folks.

Sorry about the light posting, but you were warned that as things progress in the HQ process, at times - posting would be light.

Plus with todays lovely weather, Im highly unmotivated.

Oh I have things to say, rest assured - I just am lacking the want to say them right now.

If I can find the motivation today, I'll be back - if not. I'll be back anyway.

Roanoke businesses: panhandlers may keep customers away

Roanoke businesses: panhandlers may keep customers away

Why is it that DBJ is the only station or even media outlet to report on this story consitently? This is about the 3rd story Ive seen on this topic on DBJ. And no where else.

This is a Quality of Life issue, which I wrote about a while back. The only way your going to end this problem, is to either ban them from the Market area or get them jobs in the market area.

And if they refuse - they leave.

Tough Noogies.

Technorati tags: roanoke, downtown, business, homeless, panhandling

Google Base

Google Base

A few short days from the launch of GoogleBase, and allready there are TONS of items listed. THis is just a simple search I did for Home, but I have allready searched basset and had some interesting results, as I did dog.

Hey, its free, and as of right now - you cannot physically purchase anything through google itself. But Im guessing thats next weeks little bit of fun. If they drop Google Wallet/Payment next week, a traditionally upbeat week for the markets, you can best Google will be closing the week above $425, if not $450.

Just my non-Google stock owning $.02 cents worth.

Technorati tags: google, googlebase, shopping, ebay, marketing

Oh baby, its cold outside....

Cold, but somehow sleep inducing. Probably because Im still shaking off the haze of sleep itself, the cold conjuring up the memory of warm blankets.

Probably.

So you've got your podcast, give a listen. It has NOTHING to do with Roanoke, so your all safe this week.

Just this week.

Other than that, not much to report today - thankfully.

Ummm.. Victory Stadium is stupid! City Council eats snails!

Gripe! Gripe!

Happy now?

It was a choice to go with the hot pink button this time. And yes I am calling it hot pink.

I make good on a threat to expose you folks to some music from my past.

Try not to grin too much, or bang thy head (metal health will drive you mad).

but you can always turn your speakers up LOUD, as long as no one else is around.

Pocket-lint.co.uk MIT unveils $100 laptop to the world - PLUS IMAGES news story

Pocket-lint.co.uk MIT unveils $100 laptop to the world - PLUS IMAGES news story

Not only does google breach the $400 barrier, MIT unleashes the $100 laptop.. yes, its lime green.

Lime Green!

Like a Pinto!

goog - Google Search

goog - Google Search: "402.61 +4.46 (1.12%) 17 Nov at 10:25AM ET
Open: 401.80
High: 403.81
Low: 401.20
"

GOOGLE BREAKS $400!!! GOOGLE BREAKS $400!!!

Damn me for not buying in when I had the chance.... grrrrrrrrrr

mind if I go out on a limb here..

This is really really off topic for me. Something I don't often discuss with such abandon.

My religion.

Here ya go..

Im Roman Catholic.

I don't get to church as often as I'd like. I mumble my way through half the songs when I do go. I don't come from a touchy-feely, sing-song, tell the world church. As a matter of fact, sometimes I still get thrown at mass when something I remember clearly speaking is being sung.

I'm probably your basic, run-of-the-mill RC. I think the pope is generally ok, for what he does. I think sometimes he should just keep his mouth shut about certain things. I understand that faith and doctrine sometimes mean he has to open it - but seriously, don't.

I think any preist involved in a sex-scandal should be hung, drawn and quartered. I would absolutely NOT sit through a Latin mass, I don't care how beautiful you think it is. I have sinned, we all have. And I fully understand that my sins will come back to haunt me. Although being saddled with a snoring dog might just be payback.

I have read enough of the bible to know that theres a whole lot of mystery surrounding it, I've questioned what I've read and not recieved decent answers.

But as a whole Im very happy in what I've found.

Now I realize this may come as a shock to some of you, but apparently I'm the first Roman Catholic some of you have met. It happens.

I don't particularly care about the selling of alcohol at the Civic Center.
Quite frankly I think theres better things in this world to spend your time on.

One of those things being making this world a better place. And not in a religious way either. I'm not particularly interested in wether or not you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior. Although I have been asked myself many times. And no, not just here.

Let me tell you of a group in NYC. They call themselves the "Black Israelites." They stand on the same street corner every day, usually with megaphone in one hand, bible in the other. They quote and quote from the book as if it were going to startle you into realizing what an asshat you've been all your life, and maybe you should start following them. Well, its usually the megaphone that startles. But they, like many others, have found a way to interpret the Biblical passages as proof that God (G-d to all my Hebraic brethren out there) never intended man to love his fellow man. Well, let me rephrase that - the races to love the races. They are the biggest race-baiters I have ever met. With megaphone in hand (and permit in pocket, so its all legal) they harass those who walk by with tales of "The Good Lords intent for the White man to be separated from the Black Man."

Yeah, ok... I'll happily separate myself from anyone yelling into a megaphone.

But as far as anyone can tell, theyre fairly nice to those whom they believe they are supposed to be nice to.

And as far as I see it, thats pretty much what it's all about.

We have 10 rules, 10 whole rules which apparently very few people make it past the first 3.

Lets review - to clear up any interpretation problems now:

1. I am the Lord, your God...
Yes, yes you are.
2. You shall have no other gods besides Me...Do not make a sculpted image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above...
Well, to be honest - Im not much of a sculptor, besides - how can you sculpt the unknown, and unknowable?
3. You shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord...
Whoops... on a daily.. hourly.. basis.
4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
I keep tryin, but work does not agree.
5. Honor your father and your mother...
I guess Jesus was one of those easy teens. I wasn't.
6. You shall not murder...
So far, so good. Im not saying anything more than that.
7. You shall not commit adultery...
If I don't want my wife breaking #6 I won't.
8. You shall not steal...
Well, I don't.. anymore.. does a paperclip count? Again, see comment on #5, and deny you were ever young.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor...
Nope, no reason to. They seem to screw up pretty well on their own. Besides - every man (and woman) should stand accountable for what they do, wether to themselves or to the world.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house...
I dunnknow, dude's living pretty large.. As far as I see it, this one is about being happy with who/what/where you are. And remembering it could always be better, and it could always be worse. Be thankful.. oooh, concept.

So theres your 10 commandments. To me, they seem pretty straight-forward. With the exception of variations on wording in different translations, the song remains the same. And it all goes back to that golden rule.

Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

And because Im just that darn literate, in the Wiccan Rede the words have changed but the song remains the same. "An it harm none, do what ye will."

Its a little thing we used to call Personal Responsibility, which suffered grevious injury when the woman sued McDonald's and won for her own spilt coffee.

Now all Im saying to you folks out there who are non-Roman Catholic, Im here. Im not doing much, Im not eating babies or smearing blood on your doors. (2 things I've heard, the first as a joke; the 2nd as a confusion with the story of the Hebrews escape from Egypt and slavery)

My wife is not wearing a "Jewish Star/Jewish Cross", although she has heard both.

I know all about the history/herecy/lunacy/spoonacy(sounded good) of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. I too have heard tell of the vast resources of wealth and information to be found in the Vatican Archives. I once thought I heard a calling, but realized it was only to be less of a schmuck and more of a mensch. Not a problem, Im doing the best I can.

I don't believe the Pope is the devil incarnate, although the Burger King guy might be. I think your faith is something you live, not talk about endlessly. (again, black israelites - lose the megaphone.) As the Hulk (Hogan) once said, "Train hard, say your prayers, and take your vitamins."

Hey, it worked on me back then. I was in fighting shape.. if I was fighting a battleship.
Where Im from people of all faiths come together at one place, at one time to share in something special. Something almost magical. We call it Bingo.

I have been to Bingo games at Catholic Schools & Jewish Temples, and I can tell you - all the faiths of the world are represented, and when the balls start popping - the hardest thing to remember is the Golden Rule. But in the end, the monies collected go back into the parish, the temple and the community. At my RC school growing up, a portion of the money went towards ministries in 3rd world nations - to provide food and clothing, and a larger portion accomplished the same goals right in my very neighborhood. My parochial school took part in UNICEF fund drives, where a small milk box dedicated for donations was handed out to all students who then brought them home and left them in the family areas. Change was dropped in, but the end result was far greater than the money portrayed.

I have met with, and been instructed by Catholic preists from all around the world, and laughed with ones local to my home. A stand-out happens to be one Fr. Cappuccino - yes, you heard his name right. Long before Starbucks made the name a household word, we were all taught by Fr. Mocha Latte/Fr. Espresso/Fr. Coffee. He made the whole "Be like Jesus" thing seem fairly obvious, easy to do yet easier to screw up. But that was ok, because as long as you could keep trying to do the right thing, someone understood.

Might not be your parents, but eventually you would be understood.

To this day Fr. Cappuccino continues his work in the community (which thanks to Google, I can easily find - The Divine Search Engine?) making the community he is in easier for seniors and those with physical limitations to navigate.

In short, Rome is just a place, the Pope just a man, the Bible a book, the words within just that - words. It all comes down to wether or not you want to be the kind of person you can Google years from now and feel blessed to have even known them.

Yes, Jesus was here. It says so. Not in the book, but in the earth. Call him Jesus, call him Yahweh, God, G-d, or Phil for all it matters. The importat part is that you understand that all whoever is up there wants for us down here is peace and quiet, a life of love and joy, and grief and sorrow in proper proportions.

When we get up there, whatever happens happens. Theres no sense in trying to polish your resume to the diety holding the video camera.

Maybe the Catholics are wrong, maybe the Christians are - maybe the Black Israelites are right. Or the Jews. Does it matter if you've been a decent human being? Probably not, because believe it or not - I have it on good information that there is no Hell.

Yeah - you heard me, no Hell.

Hell is just an endless replaying of your life, over and over and over. Except you get to watch it. You watch the same mistakes endlessly, you see where you went wrong time and time and time again. Hell is regret. Hell is the knowledge that you never became as good as you should have been. Hell is knowing you could have been better.

Purgatory is the same thing, just in a shorter time slot and edited for content.

And heaven is knowing you were as good as you could have been, you did the best you could with what you were given.

Of course there are levels to it all.. I have to belive there is a special place in Heaven for those who are addicted and afflicted. And specialized regions of Hell, where perhaps Hitler sits in a steel showering chamber, with a small window that looks out on a canister of Zyklon B, living the life of one of his victims.

Im not saying Im a great Catholic.. by no means would I even DARE to think it. All Im really getting at is that our wants, our needs, and our reason for the faith are not all that different. It's all in how we interpret the words. But even still - the end result is the same.

I hope this will be the last time I write about this, as it is a topic which seems to set the world afire.

I could have gone on longer, but I don't see the point. With any luck - this will dissapate into the ether and long be forgotten.

Google Base

Google Base

And so the base goes live...

Thanksgiving 2005

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This will be a little unusual, but Im going to crossover this post with the Chef K blog.

We have 2 distinctly different stories here, both of which require hard examination. I'm going to be wearing 2 hats here, so you'll have to bear with me.

Im going to have to sit down with myself to hash this one out.. so "Enter mystery guest and please sign in...."

Chef K: Thanks for calling me in on this one, saves me alot of typing later.

RoanokeFound: Not a problem, besides - once I saw it, I knew you'd want in.

CK: Got that right...

RF: Allright - getting down to it, this article reports on a nationwide trend that is picking up steam here in Roanoke, the purchasing of holiday dinners.

CK: Now we are obviously not talking Swansons dinners here, were talking about turkeys in the 12-14 lb and up range, cooked for your convience, Hams cooked and glazed - sliced on the bone. Some turkeys Ive seen come the same way - they slice it after its cooked, and reassemble it so all you have to do is dish it out.

RF: Now the article says this is both convient and a god-send for those time-pressed families. Convienet, certainly. A god-send for time pressed families? Well thats where I take issue.

CK: Allright hold on a second here, let me tackle the convienence issue first. Yes, its great that you can go and get your turkey with all the trimmings ready to go. I will even admit to having a thanksgiving where we purchased everything pre-made. It's wonderful, but hollow.

RF: Hollow?

CK: Well, look at it this way. Most restaurants and similar places that do it, they have ovens that can easily fit upwards of 10 turkeys at a time. If they are smart they have slow-cooking ovens that can hold them warm too for when you pick them up. The average turkey costs them around 5 bucks, they allready have the spices and seasonings on hand - so theres no real charge for that. And a little secret for you, lest you think those turkeys are sitting in Cambro buckets soaking in brine for 24 hours before they are cooked. Sorry, no - they come packed in the brine.

RF: So what your saying is the turkey itself is probably costing them no more than 10 bucks start to finish to make?

CK: Yep.

RF: Wow.. and Im willing to bet the sides are similar.

CK: All in all, this is a bonanza for a restaurant that might not normally do much business on a monday or tuesday. They spend those two days making the sides, then leave the turkeys in the oven overnight into Wensday, and come Thursday - all they have to do is package it.

RF: Brilliant.

CK: And I might add alot of the stress about making the turkey is a myth anyway. The thing does not have to be in the oven for 8 hours, it does not need to be basted every 30 mins. Dressing only takes a half hour to make, and the gravy is even easier than that.

RF: I know my mother used to bang out cranberry sauce in less than an hour. Water, sugar, salt, cranberries. Thats all she needed to make the sauce.

CK: Thats pretty much all it should be too. Although I do love the gelatinous can-shaped hunk of cranberry sauce, it's not the same as the fresh stuff.

RF: But it is easier to put on a sandwich...

CK: So basically what Im saying is because people feel overwhelmed by Thanksgiving, the restaurants have struck gold.

RF: You mean because people are delusional and lazy...

CK: Wha?

RF: This nonsense about being hard-pressed for time. The notion of the on-the-go family. If you can't slow down to properly do Thanksgiving than maybe you should just eat a Big Mac instead.

CK: Well - it is true that families *feel* more crunched for time these days, regardless of wether or not thats the case. I know I work till 8 at night, and still manage to sit down to dinner every night. Wether I pre-make some of it, my wife makes it.. somehow dinner is being made, and we are sharing it as a family every night.

RF: But you never feel crunched for time right?

CK: Hell no.. Im a cool cat, no pressure kinda guy. It will get done, and done right, when it should be. Don't bring your panic to me because you have little league/soccer/football... I grew up playing in the street. We did not need teams and coaches, we knew how to entertain ourselves.

RF: Yep - I remember that, Two-hand touch football on the front lawn, tackle when it snowed. We would be out from daybreak and not back till sundown. I don't like this organized sports thing, takes kids away from being kids. Maybe instead of playing soccer with coaches and refs and timekeepers - they should just play till they decide to not play anymore. Or maybe they can just play pickup games of baseball, without having a strategy. The adults have brought a list of rules to a place where none should exist except those made on the spot.

CK: You got it. How can you get a ump to call an infield homerun because the trees hung the ball up long enough for you to round all the way home?

RF: You can't, and they would probably have the tree removed anyway.

CK: But aside from all that, what the real issue is - people are spending money for convience. Money which is pure proft for the restaurants...

RF: and would be better spent at home, where they could simply and easily do thanksgiving AND spend time with the family.

CK: The kitchen in any house is a collection point, everyone is in the kitchen at some point during a meal. Thats where grandma taught the kids how to make things, thats where the ancient family secrets were discussed.

RF: But take the kitchen out of the equation and your left with a brief visit to the dining room table, then off to the couch to belch and groan through football. Thereby limiting the family interaction.

CK: Tryptophan, the sleep-inducing compound found in turkey does not make for scintillating after-dinner conversation.

RF: No, but it does make for a nice nap.

CK: Lets talk for a moment about family histories.

RF: Umm.. k?

CK: In my family, there are two places you get to hear about the family history in detail. The kitchen and the table. The kitchen while cooking, and the table while playing cards.

RF: Right. Same in mine, at any gathering of the trible the family seems to come into the kitchen and all matters of discussion break out.

CK: But if you are buying the meals pre-made, where are you having those kitchen talks?

RF: Im going to guess your not, which might be why so many people feel its appropriate to tell you their life story at inappropriate times.

CK: Could be, but you have a habit of attracting the less sane anyway...

RF: Right. Hey, heres another point. Where are you going to learn all those cool tips?

CK: Exactly - my wife learned that a turkey must be fully thawed before thanksgiving a while ago. In her family, theres a tradition of teaching the poor birds how to swim on Thanksgiving.

RF: I have an aunt who has problems remembering to take the gizzards out before it goes in the oven.

CK: Nice.. well at least its halfway to gravy when it comes out.

RF: Never thought of it that way, too busy laughing.

CK: Heres a helpful tip for you to save time "basting" (which does nothing.. NOTHING for the meat of the bird): Take 1 stick of butter and cut in half, allow it to soften for a few minutes. Place each half between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Press or roll butter out till thin and large. Add some seasoning to the top of the butter sheets, and press a bay leaf into each one. Refrigerate wrapped in plastic, but still flat.

Then all you need to do is slide it up under the skin of the bird, you did remember to loosen all the skin you can? Slide the butter up under there, and stick it in the oven. The butter then becomes your baste, pre-seasoned and rich. And you don't have to open the oven door. Period.

RF: Oh, and get yourself one of those digital thermomters with the probe... the less you open the oven door the better. Mine has a remote so I can go wander and take the temp with me.

CK: Choose some appropriate background music, leave some snacks out.. and see how fast your kitchen fills up with people. The smells alone will entice them. And you never know - leave a pile of green beans sitting around and someone might just snap them for you. It's amazing how these things happen.

RF: Or feel free to continue this trend of sterile holidays, where you have not had anything to do with the meal except buy it and eat it. Lose out on the warmth of the family moments, moments that you would have had if you were in the kitchen. And keep promising yourself that maybe next year you'll have the time.

CK: You do have the time. Just do what the restaurants do, make stuff little by little. You could make the cranberry sauce this week and freeze it - it would be fine on Thanksgiving. Stuffing (dressing, whatever) can be made 3 days ahead, then just baked the day of.. but have it laid out in your pan allready. You can even freeze it like that if you wish, just sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top before baking so they absorb any extra moisture.

RF: Or just buy stove top - it only takes, what.. 5 minutes to cook and 10 to sit quietly? 3 minutes for me to eat the whole batch though. Always my downfall.. I love me some stuffin'.

CK: I guess what it boils down to is values. If your going to go the pre-packaged route - then at least be sure to spend time with your family, doing something... anything.. in the kitchen on the holiday. Make a pie.

RF: Don't go shopping... last minute food items fine.. but in NY, people were looking for things to do on holidays - so now stores are open on holidays. There are even stores open on Christmas day. Theres one retailer that takes out an ad every year in the papers, proclaiming their gratitude towards their employees, and announcing that "so they can spend time with their families, we will be closed on Christmas Day." A not-so subtle dig at the others who would open, and open early..


RF: Well thanks for coming Chef K.. hope your holiday is traditional this year.

CK: Well, I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving twice.. a small one on Thanksgiving day, then over the weekend - a larger one with the families. Im working Thanksgiving... working so others have a Thanksgiving..

RF: What a martyr. I will be celebrating a big Thanksgiving this year myself.. Provided everyone leaves my stuffing alone.

Well, thats all this time.. Like I said - I wanted Chef K's opinions on this one, along with my own. You probably wont see a crossover like this again anytime soon. Although if you want, you can always contact me if you have a question for Chef K.

Or Contact Chef K at his blog, Chef K of Roanoke

Anyhow.. put that in your smoker and smoke it.

Breaking news from The Roanoke Times -Motley Crue coming to Roanoke

Breaking news from The Roanoke Times -Motley Crue coming to Roanoke

Yeah - around 1987-1989 I was into Crue. I was also into Quiet Riot, Skid Row... et. al. I was Metal. Although looking at that list, one might think Hair Band Boy.

One would be wrong. I was allready hearing rumblings of Sepultura, Metallica (who I consider a hair band), MegaDeth (who I dont), and countless others you probably never heard of.

I did get a touch excited when I saw Poison (original line-up) was going to tour again. Always a fun show. Im longing for a real Anthrax reunion. Seeing Rush tour again would be extremely fulfilling.

Mind you, I was also listening to Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Biohazard, GnR, Danzig (not a word..).

But most important on that list.. beyond even the local boys of Biohazard and Dream Theatre, beyond the inter-coastal likes of Queensryche and Faith No More... there was the one.

The hardest rock in the world.

The most metal of all time.

The band with the record of 129.5 Db, the loudest concert ever played (and pegged).


















Manowar!!!!

Mideval Viking Warrior Metal!!!

And how could you not love a band whose songs include: "Violence and Bloodshed", "Defender" narrated by the late Orson Wells (!),

The only band to ever proclaim "Other Bands play, Manowar Kills!"

And all this back before Marilyn Manson got his training bra.

To Quote from them from my highschool yearbook:
"Stand and fight
Live by your heart
Always one more try
I'm not afraid to die
Stand and fight
say what you feel
Born with a heart of steel"
(heart of steel, 1988, kings of metal)

You can't argue with that.

But like all things metal - they came and went and are now back again. In the interim, while searching for more music to lift my moods - I had my brief grunge phase, my goth + industrial moment, but always it came back to the metal. And the sense of drama. Thats one thing you can say about Manowar, they were dramatic - the scale was huge. And only one band fit afterwards.












Fear Factory.

Call it NuMetal, call it Tech-metal. Sure the lyrics read like crap, but its not just the lyrics - its the whole deal. 1998's album Obsolete is a movie without the visuals. You just have to actually HAVE an imagination, and the want to let it run free.

Then there was Cop Shoot Cop - who ran along the with my metal era (1987-1993ish). But better than just metal, they were local.
And brilliant.
At its best (and worst, depending on the song - which was the point) CSC was 2 bassists and a tribal drummer. Think of the NY Subways, in the dead of winter. Cold - bitter cold, and yet still smelly. Or the subways in the summer, hot - ugly, smelly, and hot.

Your beginning to tap into what made CSC so innovative. Two thick cords, one tuned high - one low, and some bashing drums to drive it. No different in winter, spring, summer, or fall. The subways call.

"All the clocks are broken" - Ask Questions Later, 1993
"Take off the mask and tell me what you find
Behind the curtain everyone's deaf dumb and blind
Everyone becomes the one, the one they most despise
You're looking through one glass eye (2x)
Well, you can't see me now, but I'm watching over you

All the clocks are broken...
Every door is open....
Take me to the ocean....
And we'll ride on the hurricane...
until were washed away... "

Maybe I'll give you a taste of all 3 bands on this weeks podcast. I'm going to be kind and bump it up a day too. So this Thursday, a new podcast, featuring my youth on display. Joy.

Long story short.. like HELL will I pay $50 for nosebleed seats to see the Crue. And Im gonna guess $79 for the floor. Not when it used to be $30 to see them and about 4 other bands. Sorry, after the Dr. Feelgood disaster album, when they suddenly got all popular with the "Z Morning Zoo" crowd (dont ask, think teen radio circa 1990) I walked out on the Crue, never to look back. Besides - a quick troll through the band news of the website (only $40 bucks to get access to a better version of the website, which will allow you to pre-order tickets for any show in 2005) shows me they might not make it to Roanoke in one piece. Vince - injured. Tommy - injured. Nikki - old. The other guy (Mick? who cares.. )- old.

Looking more like Social Security Crue.

Can't we take the money we were going to pay to see them, and get like - 20 good bands here?

Oh enough...



Technorati tags: sad, metal, motley crue, old, has been, expensive

News from The Roanoke Times -Refurbished H&C sign to perk up city skyline

News from The Roanoke Times -Refurbished H&C sign to perk up city skyline

People, get yourselves downtown from 5:30-7pm tonight and witness the relighting of a legacy. the H&C Coffee sign will be fired up tonight, and blaze coffee goodness out across the sky.

Will I be there? No, Im working. Arent I lucky? But I wish I could be..

And no - do not panic, they are leaving the star off until the sign is lit. Which leaves me with a mental note: Be outside around 7pm, watch star light. Should be a sight to see.

New page up over at Forgotten-Roanoke.com if your interested. All pictures from the basement of the Ponce De Leon

Technorati tags: roanoke, downtown, H&C, coffee, landmark, vintage

Click here now, for your exclusive opportunity.

Go where few have gone! See where a former editor of the Times fell!

Excitement!!!

Darkness!!

Paint peeling!!!

Eerie feelings!!!!!!

yeah - go.. you likely.. we likey.

(special thanks to TAP for the access...)

roanoke.com - Commentary Stories -A vision for Roanoke's future true to its past

roanoke.com - Commentary Stories -A vision for Roanoke's future true to its past


utterly astoundingly speechless.

you just cant battle this kind of insanity.

a hotel atop mill mountain?

Food court/midscale dining at night that revolves?

MOVE THE STAR???

Someone needs help, of a professional nature.

Converse!!!