Funny ...I'm sitting here thinking too bad I can't bring my laptop with me to LA tomorrow so I can work on my articles during the car ride home (its battery is dead) . Then I realize that within my own lifetime people didn't have laptops on which to write articles while on assignment or on trips. Weird. Writing on paper. Hmmm. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Doing the interviews for these first two articles has been more fun than I ever expected. I especially enjoyed yesterday's interview with an 90 something year old lady who has spent her entire life in Old Mountain View. She lives in a house built in 1880 surrounded by the last acre of her father's orchard. Stepping on to her property was like stepping back in time.
She was unbelievably sweet, and had a lot of interesting stories to tell. I really hope I can do her justice in the article. It's amazing the changes she's seen in her life time. The area that now most people consider the heart of "old" Mountain View wasn't even built when she was a child in the late 1920s. It was great just chatting with her, even after my tape ran out. She wanted to know all about my family, and when I told her my mom is Mexican-American she exclaimed, "Oh that's why you have such beautiful eyes!' Aww shucks.
I had another interview today with a guy that's lived in Old MV for about two years. He was really cool, and it was so great to talk to someone with such a positive attitude about the Mountain View community. He's been here such a short time but it is already well connected to it, and he has a really good grip on what makes this city so special, it's diversity, it's unpretentious nature, and its unique sense of place. The fact that people like him are moving here makes me really optimistic about this city's future.
And finally I ended up calling a guy for an interview that sent me an e-mail yesterday complimenting my web page. He's Filipino-American, a dad of 15-month old baby. Very cool guy. Lives where the high school used to be, wife works in the new office building a block away, walks everywhere, except to Safeway. Loves it here. A City Planner's dream come true! The urban village does exist!
Anyhow, just overall, it's been really fun. I'm about half way through my second article, with four more to go. The next four should be a bit more challenging, but I'm looking forward to it. I also had a good meeting with the editor of the Voice, we talked about articles I can write in the fall about Mountain View history. She likes my story proposals, but I've proposed some pretty touchy, complex, and delicate pieces on par with my Washington Street series. It's gonna be a challenge to write them, especially during school. But I'm very excited about the prospect of telling these stories.
And finally, working at the Stanfurd Theatre is nice. So far I have avoided the cashier position most of the time and stayed at the door greeting people and taking tickets, or serving drinks. Let's hope I can keep that up. I can't count. It's sad. Most of the new hires since I worked there last summer are stanfurd co-eds who claim to not like football much and not really care about the rivalry. I just respond by saying, "I've heard more of that in the past two years...wonder why...maybe it's cause we have something you want..hmmm?" And their faces turn Cardinal Red. Hehe. Hopefully I can razz them enough to make them care by next year. God knows that school could use a resurgence of spirit.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
I got bored for a second and started reading away messages and came across Tejas':
"a cold and wet November dawn and there are no barking sparrows. just emptiness to dwell upon
I fell into a winter slide and ended up the kind of kid who goes down chutes too narrow..."
I have had enough. Something must be said about the abuse of November in song lyrics by emo-bands.
I'm tired of all these whiny white boy emo bans dissing my month, November. Nothing against emo-rock, which I usually enjoy. But please Jimmy Eat World. Please Postal Service. Please...The Shins. And yes, please...The Early November. The November bashing must end.
November is not dark and depressing and rainy. It's not empty.
November is fun! You eat turkey, lots of turkey! It's home to Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays that's still simple and oriented around family-friend togetherness. It's a nice lull in the holiday storms of Halloween and Christmas. I love November. And it's football season. (But you probably don't like Football...try college football, that won me over.) Oh! And elections are in November! Exciting! (and hopefully not depressing this year...vote people, vote...unless your voting for Bush.).
Also, in case you didn't know, November starts with the letter N. Many good things start with the letter N. And, of course, I was born in November.
So stop using it in all your sad depressing lyrics emo twerps. November shall no longer be your metaphor for all that is melodramatic in life.
End this. Now.
Or else I'll sic my grandma on you.
She was born on November 13th.
-------------------
Addendum:
The2Stepper: i think november gets such a bad wrap because its the worst month of the quarter...december has christmas...october has beautiful fall colors and halloween candy
Auto response from Nap98: around.
The2Stepper: novembers like the slump in between
The2Stepper: except for the 1/12 of the population that has their birthday there
The2Stepper: although i would actually imagine its more than 1/12 of the population...at least in the U.S. or other hallmark countries
The2Stepper: because valentines day is nine months prior
Nap98: haha
"a cold and wet November dawn and there are no barking sparrows. just emptiness to dwell upon
I fell into a winter slide and ended up the kind of kid who goes down chutes too narrow..."
I have had enough. Something must be said about the abuse of November in song lyrics by emo-bands.
I'm tired of all these whiny white boy emo bans dissing my month, November. Nothing against emo-rock, which I usually enjoy. But please Jimmy Eat World. Please Postal Service. Please...The Shins. And yes, please...The Early November. The November bashing must end.
November is not dark and depressing and rainy. It's not empty.
November is fun! You eat turkey, lots of turkey! It's home to Thanksgiving, one of the few holidays that's still simple and oriented around family-friend togetherness. It's a nice lull in the holiday storms of Halloween and Christmas. I love November. And it's football season. (But you probably don't like Football...try college football, that won me over.) Oh! And elections are in November! Exciting! (and hopefully not depressing this year...vote people, vote...unless your voting for Bush.).
Also, in case you didn't know, November starts with the letter N. Many good things start with the letter N. And, of course, I was born in November.
So stop using it in all your sad depressing lyrics emo twerps. November shall no longer be your metaphor for all that is melodramatic in life.
End this. Now.
Or else I'll sic my grandma on you.
She was born on November 13th.
-------------------
Addendum:
The2Stepper: i think november gets such a bad wrap because its the worst month of the quarter...december has christmas...october has beautiful fall colors and halloween candy
Auto response from Nap98: around.
The2Stepper: novembers like the slump in between
The2Stepper: except for the 1/12 of the population that has their birthday there
The2Stepper: although i would actually imagine its more than 1/12 of the population...at least in the U.S. or other hallmark countries
The2Stepper: because valentines day is nine months prior
Nap98: haha
Monday, July 12, 2004
All right. Time for DC photos. The city is damn photogenic, in a very different way from Boston. I've kept these photos really small so the blog doesn't take forever to load like it did with Beantown.
The WWII Memorial on our first night. A column exists for each state, I took this picture of New Mexico's for my grandpa. The Washington Monument is in the background.
The WWII Memorial's Rainbow Pool and Fountain at night.
An awesome Mariachi group from Los Angeles packed in the crowds at "Nuestra Musica" on the Mall. My grandpa had seen them before.
Georgetown is the oldest part of DC. Kind of like Boston's Backbay, a very old area filled with very trendy stores.
A nice shot of the Capitol.
Who's seen Farenheit 9-11? Everyone that reads this thing. You probably can't make it out this small, but they're throwing a peace sign.
Grandpa standing in front of a plaque at the WWII Memorial showing what he did during the war, amphibious landings.
The four of us at the entrance to the WWII Memorial.
Sabrina at the Jefferson Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial was really beautiful, especially on our last evening in DC.
The WWII Memorial on our first night. A column exists for each state, I took this picture of New Mexico's for my grandpa. The Washington Monument is in the background.
The WWII Memorial's Rainbow Pool and Fountain at night.
An awesome Mariachi group from Los Angeles packed in the crowds at "Nuestra Musica" on the Mall. My grandpa had seen them before.
Georgetown is the oldest part of DC. Kind of like Boston's Backbay, a very old area filled with very trendy stores.
A nice shot of the Capitol.
Who's seen Farenheit 9-11? Everyone that reads this thing. You probably can't make it out this small, but they're throwing a peace sign.
Grandpa standing in front of a plaque at the WWII Memorial showing what he did during the war, amphibious landings.
The four of us at the entrance to the WWII Memorial.
Sabrina at the Jefferson Memorial.
The Lincoln Memorial was really beautiful, especially on our last evening in DC.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
It took a trip to Washington DC to make me feel the slightest bit patriotic this Fourth of July. After seeing Fahrenheit 9-11 a couple nights before the trip, I wondered how I could muster up the spirit to be amongst a sea of flag-waving, "God Bless the USA" singing Americans...
...but DC did it. The museums, and especially the memorials, helped me look past the current administration, the war, and all the politics and get back in touch with the roots of this country and all the lofty hopes and ideals it is constantly struggling to attain. We've stumbled, yes. We sure are stumbling right now. But there is still a lot to be proud of.
Being at the WWII Memorial with my grandpa was especially moving People came up and thanked him, saying their father, or grandfather, or uncle, or whoever served in the war. You could tell that many of the people at the memorial were visiting to honor someone they had lost....not in the war, but after it. It memorial was built too late for so many WWII Veterans who have passed on of old age. I am so lucky to have shared that experience with my grandpa. I'll cherish the memories forever.
But what really did it for me, was the "Nuestra Musica" festival the Smithsonian had set up as part of their big annual American Folklife Festival on the National Mall. The performers and announcers made sure to remind the audience that this was a showcase of LATINO musicians, Americans, not exoctics from foreign lands. That Latino culture is also American culture, and has been here for centuries.
The multi-state. multi-ethnic conglomeration of Americans present on our nations mall loved every minute of it. They packed into the performance tents watched the awesome performers, sang together, and danced together. Watching them dance was amazing.
People who had never met each other, of every color and race got together on that dance floor and let it loose. Old people, young people, even a guy in a wheelchair danced. Each person brought their own unique twist to the dance floor (I've never seen people dance to Cumbia or Tejano music the way some of them did!) The less experienced tried to learn from each other and borrow each other's moves. And when someone didn't have a partner when they got on the dance floor, a few seconds later they did.
That dance floor gave me something to celebrate on the Fourth of July. It represented what I hope America is about. A very diverse group of folks coming together, learning from each other, but staying true to themselves, all while making something far from perfect, but still beautiful.
...but DC did it. The museums, and especially the memorials, helped me look past the current administration, the war, and all the politics and get back in touch with the roots of this country and all the lofty hopes and ideals it is constantly struggling to attain. We've stumbled, yes. We sure are stumbling right now. But there is still a lot to be proud of.
Being at the WWII Memorial with my grandpa was especially moving People came up and thanked him, saying their father, or grandfather, or uncle, or whoever served in the war. You could tell that many of the people at the memorial were visiting to honor someone they had lost....not in the war, but after it. It memorial was built too late for so many WWII Veterans who have passed on of old age. I am so lucky to have shared that experience with my grandpa. I'll cherish the memories forever.
But what really did it for me, was the "Nuestra Musica" festival the Smithsonian had set up as part of their big annual American Folklife Festival on the National Mall. The performers and announcers made sure to remind the audience that this was a showcase of LATINO musicians, Americans, not exoctics from foreign lands. That Latino culture is also American culture, and has been here for centuries.
The multi-state. multi-ethnic conglomeration of Americans present on our nations mall loved every minute of it. They packed into the performance tents watched the awesome performers, sang together, and danced together. Watching them dance was amazing.
People who had never met each other, of every color and race got together on that dance floor and let it loose. Old people, young people, even a guy in a wheelchair danced. Each person brought their own unique twist to the dance floor (I've never seen people dance to Cumbia or Tejano music the way some of them did!) The less experienced tried to learn from each other and borrow each other's moves. And when someone didn't have a partner when they got on the dance floor, a few seconds later they did.
That dance floor gave me something to celebrate on the Fourth of July. It represented what I hope America is about. A very diverse group of folks coming together, learning from each other, but staying true to themselves, all while making something far from perfect, but still beautiful.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Thursday, July 01, 2004
I just noticed how the ads on top of our blogs, try to pick up on their content with some "related searches." Kind of funny to see what comes up. Here's a look at what I see right now:
Candice:
Ads: Dance Tight Distributors and Tights at Discount Dance
Related searches: "Hot Pants" and "Pants"
Hmm...all right. That dress code post.
Erik:
A blank white space sponsored by Google.
Even the ads couldn't figure it out.
Kat:
Ads: "Dude Where's My Car - On sale Now" and "ipower Web Hosting"
Related searches: "Dude, Where's my Car" and "Funny stuff"
Dude.
Lauren:
Ads: "Days in Deals- Wash DC" and "No Jet Lag- Great Remedey"
Related searches: Paula Cole
Wonder where Paula Cole came from?
Tejas:
Ads: "iPower Webhosting" and "Create your Blog Today"
Related searches: blog and fear
He does reference his blog a lot. Fear eh? Haha.
Candice:
Ads: Dance Tight Distributors and Tights at Discount Dance
Related searches: "Hot Pants" and "Pants"
Hmm...all right. That dress code post.
Erik:
A blank white space sponsored by Google.
Even the ads couldn't figure it out.
Kat:
Ads: "Dude Where's My Car - On sale Now" and "ipower Web Hosting"
Related searches: "Dude, Where's my Car" and "Funny stuff"
Dude.
Lauren:
Ads: "Days in Deals- Wash DC" and "No Jet Lag- Great Remedey"
Related searches: Paula Cole
Wonder where Paula Cole came from?
Tejas:
Ads: "iPower Webhosting" and "Create your Blog Today"
Related searches: blog and fear
He does reference his blog a lot. Fear eh? Haha.
I need to get out of Mountain View...and go some place less politically charged...like DC. Haha. Yeah. I'll be there in a day though and I'm looking forward to it.
God I can't wait till this whole preservation ordeal is done with. It's like watching a very slow and painful death. Kill my dream already! Kill it!
Things aren't that bad. Something good can still come of this. But after over two years of debate, MV is gonna end up with an ordinance that allows for the demolition of historic landmarks without public review or city approval. The property rights group is angrier, louder, better funded, and has more connections. (one of them is an old friend and furd frat brother of the mayor). They skew the facts, resort to name calling (According to them, Chris and I are "arrogant zealots", btw) and have scared the city into buying an almost Libertarian philosophy. In taking the high road, not stooping to their level, my group may have preserved its honor and respectability but not the buildings we were trying to save. Oh well, lesson learnt.
But in the end, it comes down to the City Council. And the current council is not the same council that got this ball rolling in the first place. The only one who truly seems to care about preservation is off in Afghanistan. The rest of the bunch is surpringly conservative for a town like Mountain View. I guess we'll have to wait another 30 years for the city to get this right. Until then my group is going to have its work cut out for it, using education and advocacy to save landmarks without an effective ordinance.
God I can't wait till this whole preservation ordeal is done with. It's like watching a very slow and painful death. Kill my dream already! Kill it!
Things aren't that bad. Something good can still come of this. But after over two years of debate, MV is gonna end up with an ordinance that allows for the demolition of historic landmarks without public review or city approval. The property rights group is angrier, louder, better funded, and has more connections. (one of them is an old friend and furd frat brother of the mayor). They skew the facts, resort to name calling (According to them, Chris and I are "arrogant zealots", btw) and have scared the city into buying an almost Libertarian philosophy. In taking the high road, not stooping to their level, my group may have preserved its honor and respectability but not the buildings we were trying to save. Oh well, lesson learnt.
But in the end, it comes down to the City Council. And the current council is not the same council that got this ball rolling in the first place. The only one who truly seems to care about preservation is off in Afghanistan. The rest of the bunch is surpringly conservative for a town like Mountain View. I guess we'll have to wait another 30 years for the city to get this right. Until then my group is going to have its work cut out for it, using education and advocacy to save landmarks without an effective ordinance.