It’s so surreal in Seattle. People totally do brunch here but not the way churchgoing Southerns do. It’s much more casual. People leisurely get up and go out whenever they feel like it from 10am till whenever. The regimented waves of services attendees from noon to one on a Memphis Sunday means you have to get up and get your brunch before 11am if you want to enjoy it. Otherwise it’s a circus of socialites and the devout.
Restricting bars with indoor smoking to a 21+ rule forced every Midtown brunch place in Memphis to ban smoking. They couldn’t afford to lose the Sunday family business.
My mother is a narcissist. I’m of the opinion people should be accountable for their own problems. Blaming others isn’t productive and often misguided. Even if it’s true. But in this case I feel the need to speak up. I’m not the only one and I know it. If I really want to play the blame game I’d go straight to the top. The entire Boomer generation is trapped in a bubble of post-war narcissism that’s been perpetuated for over 50 years. From ritual holiday celebrations to the narrow-minded legislative battles waged in a decrepit government, the trappings of Boomer culture hang over this nation like cobwebs. Continue reading Family Matters→
It’s not the same. Not at all. There’s a kitchen and there’s a couch but nothing else is even similar. The speakeasy-style setup hearkens back to a world where The Man cares what those kids are up to. Shotguns are good protection in almost any context, especially tower defense. Sandwiched amid dive bars underneath the I-5 overpass, I can’t think of a more appropriate reincarnation of the Black Lodge I once loved. The stage we all wanted in that little house exists in punk rock glory on Eastlake Ave. Continue reading Black Lodge Revisited→
My hair is defaulting to a vertical state. I’m not complaining. There was a time when walking around with my hair sticking up would cause waves of shame and humiliation. My detachment to my hair is so complete I’m caught off-guard when someone takes notice. “I like your hair.” Momentary confusion. “Oh yeah, thanks,” and I touch my hair to remember what it looks like that day. Continue reading Tacky→
Got an email notice from Zillow about an apartment I was looking at in North Fremont last December. It’s available soon. I know enough about the city now to know I would have done fine there. Not as well as I’m doing here but that’s why I made the extra effort. Continue reading Zillow→
A new source of pride in our economy is what you can do with an internet jukebox. The game is getting your best value. That means finding the right mix of music that represents how broad your taste is while remaining obscure enough to keep the plebeians from recognizing the chorus and singing along. Prices are on the rise, so only real music lovers play this game. Others use a defensive response to tune it out. Tuning out annoying sounds is a prime survival skill in the city. I’m doing it right now to write this – except I’m not because I paid for the jukebox and Freddie Mercury is encouraging me to go on with the show. Continue reading Slice of Life→
The Memphis Zoo is run by the Memphis Zoological Society. Established in the early 1900s, they are a private, for-profit association that started with humble concrete cages. In 1986, the Zoo came up with a plan to expand. Since then, the amount of party space the zoo provides has increased exponentially while adding a dozen or so major exhibits. One HUGE problem – they don’t have enough parking to accommodate this long-term master plan. I love the Memphis Zoo and have spent years there as a patron and volunteer. I saw this picture of the new zoo parking solution in Overton Park and it makes me sick.
The Greensward is the only truly open, grassy area available to the public in Overton Park. The old forest trails are more valuable than anything in that area. That doesn’t mean we should sacrifice the iconic grassy lea at the center of Overton Park. Everything else is golf course, art stuff and the Levitt Shell. The east side of the park has the pavilion but losing the greensward and Rainbow Lake limits options for enjoying the park in general. The amount of space left for team sports, recreation and relaxation is a fraction of what we had a couple years ago. Let them keep parking there now and that’s where they’ll build the parking garage in the future.
The Zoo gets paid for every car that passes through their gates. Currently, $5 per car. They should at least raise the price of parking to $20 a car and see how many people choose to walk less than a mile from the free street parking just outside the park grounds. What about the brand new garage in Overton Square? Make the the garage free and charge for the shuttle to the zoo. It would boost the Square economy and account for the overflow parking. Or see if Rhodes wants to go halfsies on a North Side Parking Project? I’m sure they need more parking too and Snowden school hardly uses that big patch of grass they call a field.
I’ve had a daily obligation to yoga for about 7 days now. From 2pm until 7pm I am in yoga class. Only about an hour of that is actually doing yoga. The rest is getting myself clean, dressed and transported to the studio in time for the 4:30 class and then there’s another hour on the bus after class to get back downtown. It’s a big daily time commitment for a hobby. Something only the privileged can really manage easily. So ironically, if I had a job by now, I’d never be able to enjoy this yoga intensive. That’s my silver lining to unemployment. Continue reading Wearing Down→
