cainmark

08-11-28 15:42 Jim2Jrn

Free bus rides today, as I found out after I was abou to put my dollar in. jsut didn't feel like biking today.

Blind man named Del or Dale with a guide dog named Roxy
album he looked for was Survival of the Fittest by The Amboy Dukes. Jay of Sunburst recrds found it for him at a record show in Birmingham. He brouht it back and sold it to him at his home for $15.
He said last time he saw Jay he as working in a body shop. I said, "Bet he finds the work a lot easier than runnng his own bsiness. He laughed and said, "That's what he said."

This happened a couple of Thursdays ago.

I was driving my bicycle home from work, going past the projects near the Greyhound/Trailways bus station downtown when I saw young girl yelling at a large guy, saying this sentence very loudly:

"Just you wait until I get a Cadillac and drive out of here!"

It wasn't until I had gone a couple more blocks that the strangeness of that statement struck me. She doesn't need a cadillac, a Honda, a Yugo, a pickup would do the job just as well. She also doesn't have to drive to leave. She could walk, take the bus, bike.

For those not from this area, or who aren't familiar with it, we have pretty darn nice projects (not like the ones you see on TV in New York, Baltimore, or Chicago). It's the low income apartments that the landlords don't take care of where the real ghetto type stuff happens.

So it was obviously a status symbol kind of thing. How does it happen that driving a Cadillac seems to be the only option this girl wanted to take?

Word of mouth, advertising, the generation before, the current generation.

The only thing I can think of kind of similar I went through was, "I can't get a job until I have a car, can't get a car until I have a job" mentality I was trapped in by advertising and the older generation telling me that that was the way it was. The only thing that got me out of it was a $2000 repair bill for a cracked engine and transmission for a car that made me go, "Whoa. This is just silly." So I started walking-then taking the bus-then bicycling. And have loved it ever since.

Going home was neat last night. Instead of being caught in it suddenly or it following me, I was following a thunderstorm. I could see the rain ahead of me and slowed down sometimes so I wouldn't ride into it. That was cool!

Here's some information on Huntsville's public transportation.

http://www.hsvcity.com/PublicTran/public_trans.php

CT-Biography

Busy as heck week, this week, both personal and work.

Monday was a very good visit at the dentist. Over 13 years without a cavity and it doesn't look like I'll be getting any anytime soon. "Isn't he great?" the dentist asked his assistant about me. The sad thing is I really can't eat popcorn anymore because of how my gums meet my teeth. I still will, just not as much, because I freakin' love movie popcorn. Apparently the trick to keeping teeth healthy (besides genetics) is remembering that teeth have backsides to them as well.

Wednesday I took the day off to see my optometrist. I got the times mixed up and wasn't able to see him until about 5:30pm. I took the bus there because I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to bike home with the eye dilation stuff. So, since the busses stopped from Mad Square at 5:30, I was SOL as far as the bus. I started to walk down the usual Holmes avenue route home that I would have biked, then remembered that Wednesday was Marguerita Night and I'd wanted to go to it at least once this year, (albeit briefly).

I knew I only had an hour for dinner if I was going to get anything done (which I did that night). Biggest kick for me was buying some Girl Scout Thin Mints from the GSA affiliated people at the table. I never knew there were such turf wars between troops and the boy scouts. Colors, yo. Green. Got to put a face in reality to the cyberpeople who all seemed to be very nice and fun people. Even saw a fairly good acquaintance I'd actually been missing a little (she wasn't part of the LJ crowd, though. Happy circumstance). I had to go home after an hour and by the time I got home I was so ready for a hot shower to ease off some of the cold clumpy rain.

Boy howdy, am I glad I took that day off. Apparently work was heck-on-Earth that day and I blessedly missed all of it. Life's good sometimes (but not fair at all).

Live Journal

Tried to see if shorter contextual entries would make for better searching functions. Nope. Going back to the big ole entries with lists all inside.

GV-Recreation (Tranportation)Biking

*semi-rant on*

fritzling made the comment that cell phones were found to be in the lower end of causes of accidents. As someone who pays attention to automobile traffic all the time as I'm using my bike safely and legally on the road, I can point out a few of the most bothersome areas of automobile traffic. The number one problem I have isn't semi-trucks going by me at 70 mph, but people using their turn signals improperly. Usually, Not. At. All. Or, conversely, forever-so it looks like they're going to turn but don't. Number two problem I've had is: people not paying attention while driving. Usually because they're eating while driving (at least drunk drivers are *trying* to drive). But it can really be so many things. Driver awareness is abysmal. Apparently no one knows what a hand signal is anymore. I almost saw a traffic cop get run down by a drive honking their horn speeding through and intersection with a downed light. Sheesh. I can usually count a good three cars going through red traffic lights before I (or anyone else) can safely go through the green that *has the freakin' righ-of-way*!

*/semi-rant off*

Lots of stuff I wrote over the past few days, so look behind the cut

( Read more... )

CT-Biography-
Journal entries:

While at the Jazz Factory the other night, seamusmoon was telling me about this bus service they have (or are going to have?) on weekend nights downtown and down to the crossroads. What an excellent idea. Keeps drunk drivers off the road and if Saturday night was any indication, downtown is going to keep hopping. Told him and jillykillroy about the really cool new transfer point for the public buses down by the skateboard park. I made an offer to help Jillykillroy learn to not be so scared when bicycling safely and legally on the road.

GV-Recreation

Interesting take on football (that's soccer to most Americans)

J-Political Science

great Ted Rall cartoon here.


How they could steal the election this time

Some people say...


The Repubs tip their cards

Interview with the author of Bush on the couch

This cartoon does a good job summarizing what's wrong with America's press corps right now"


Go to Atrios and then down to "Sure sound furrin"
If you don't know what's wrong with this:

"President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney."

or this

or this

Then there must be something seriously wrong with your edumacation.

Some background on John Dimitri Negroponte, the recently installed U.S. ambassador to Iraq

Conspiracy theory no longer a theory. This is happening more often.

Man, this was transparent

Showdown between Jon Stewart and Ted Koppel!

Good thoughts on ethnicity in America. Who's ever called half-white?

M-Music

Mischeif Brew at The Flying Monkey Arts Center.

Man, this guy was amazing. If you like Tom Waits, The Pogues, or folk music you should check this guy out. You missed a great performance from a skilled musician. Too bad it was such a small showing, but I liked it because that night I was in a I don't want to be in a crowd mood. He was very good at showmanship as well. Toward the end, a young local musician named Sam sang her very funny tune, "Karma is Quick", so that Mischief Brew could share it on some of his later performances.

The following night, I was in a crowd mood after attending a friend's birthday party. So my devilgirl fritter1 and I went to see the free show of The Rocket Scientist at the Jazz Factory

with my devilgirl, we saw several LJers, jillykillroy, naught, seamusmoon, feuerkugel, wild_roses, the always ubiquitous weswilson, and I’m sure there were others there. What I was happy about was everyone seemed to be having such a great time. I loved seeing that.

NC-Comics

This article about comics sums up my feelings exactly.

"I'm a fan of a medium, not a genre. People confuse the two a lot. Not realizing that they are different is what is bad for comics, not the fact that one genre is more prevalent than another."

PN-Film

Beyond Re-Animator-Jeffrey Combs is always so fun to watch in the role of Herbert West. The male and female leads in this one were pretty bad actors, though. I mean, even for intentionally fun schlocky horror where you don't expect it to be top notch.

City of God-
And with this I've seen all 100 movies on the IMDB list. And it's a damn, damn, damn good movie. Watch it, watch it good.

Ginger Snaps 2-This was fun as heck for me. Best way to describe it is how the filmmaker’s describe it on the commentary track-Werewolf Interrupted. I never saw Ginger Snaps, but was told it was very funny, like Heathers funny. This wasn't funny, though. If you're a fan of horror, you'll like it. If you're not, you should probably give it a pass. I loved the little girl called Ghost. What a fun character.

Happiness
A great film about icky people. Gummo's another in the same vein.

Justice League: Star Crossed-
Not having cable, I miss getting the Cartoon network, especially Adult Swim and Justice League. I enjoyed this series ender. Sure there were some plot holes, but it's always fun to watch how these superheroes interact in difficult situations. I like seeing blood when an axe crosses someone chest. Makes it easier to suspend disbelief about the amazing powers going around.

Looney Toons Back in Action-
This was better than I thought it would be. It wasn't that funny, but I really appreciated the references to almost every sci-fi alien from the movies in the past sixty years.

Tripletts of Belleville-Watched this again. I love, love, love this movie. How could I not? Animation and bicycles! Plus a great , infectious theme song. There's a really wacked out silent-film style music video on the DVD's special features