Share something with the group.

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Xeney : One Thread
Today is show and tell. You can tell us about your web site, pass on some random advice, tell us a story, tell us a joke, share a recipe, or link to a picture of your cat. Whatever you want.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Answers

I am old, crippled, interested in the world and the people in it. I like to have communication with people and that is why, to a pensioner of ten years, this Webtv has opened up a whole new world. I have the opportunity to agree or disagree and say something about it.

Me ? Pretty well what you see is what you get, and that ain't purty. I do manage to get around, visit family, do errands, walk in the park..........do, considering the alternative, I am a whole lot better off than many.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

My website is at http://www.bitchypoo.com/bitchypoo.html

I have 5 cats, a kid, and a husband, and post lots of pictures of the cats. I also enjoy yammering on about the latest thing my kitten has done/ is doing. I also spend a lot of time bitching about work, because I work with a bunch of men who like to do thoughtless things.

Don't get me started.

Y'all stop by, now, y'hear?

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

I'm in a sharing-ish mood, probably because it's 11:30 in the morning and I have yet to go to bed. So I'm going to share, read what I share as a bedtime story, and then go the hell to bed.

People who have no sense of balance and are totally uncoordinated shouldn't go rollerblading.

Ever.

When I was little, I used to rollerblade. I used to be good at rollerblading. So, tonight, when I was frusterated as all hell from the irritating chick down the hall playing very loud rap music, it seemed natural that I get the hell out of here. Jogging was out, as I messed up my knee the last time I did that. Ice skating was out because, well, even though it's February in Ohio, there's apparently no ice anywhere. (Except in my fridge, which has decided that it's going to freeze everything. That's another story.) Jenna had rollerblades.

She said to be careful and have fun, then let me go off.

Never ever again. Ever.

I walked into the courtyard where I could sit down, plopped myself onto a wall, and started to hook the blades together. (Blades? Is that what they're called?)

Okay, they're on.

So I stand up, take a few tentative steps.

"Hey, I'm pretty good at this! Kick ass!"

After a few rounds around the courtyard, I felt sufficiently brave to attempt the street. Okay. Glide onto the sidewalk, grab a lamppost to stop, cross the street. So far, so good.

And now, a play. A very short play for one person.

Setting - A deserted street in the middle of Nowheresville, Ohio. Streetlights are on either side of the street, illuminating the parked cars.

Players - A single, college aged female. Me.

A single figure skates into the light from the streetlamps. She looks around, then resumes her course down the slightly sloping street.

"Hey, I'm pretty good at this skating thing. Why the hell did I ever stop? I feel like an ass now."

She continues down the street, gathering speed without realising it.

"Hey, shit, I'm getting pretty fast. I ought to slow down."

She looks around the street, trying to figure out how to stop, then looks ahead again.

"Oh holy mother fuckin' shit."

The street ahead of her narrows and gets increasingly steeper. Cars are still lining either side of it, giving her even less room.

"Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shitshitshit. Oh fuck me. This fuckin'..."

THUD

She careens into a nearby parked car. The impact sends her sprawling backwards onto her ass, a good five blocks from home, in borrowed rollerblades, and in a significant amount of pain.

"This fuckin' sucks. I hate rollerblading."

Close curtain
And that, my friends, is why I shouldn't rollerblade.

Ever.

-Meghan

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Me! Me! I want to share too! 1. My journal is at http://home.golden.net/~cara/journal.htm

2. totally random tidbit: my whole life I have been a diet Coke person. The idea of drinking any kind of Pepsi product left me cold. Well, I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but for the past few days I have had this terrible craving for diet Pepsi. I feel disloyal. Sorry diet Coke. 3. I have an excellent cookie recipe, which I will now share with the group, ahem, presenting...,



My Favourite Cookies



3/4 cup margarine or butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 shredded coconut

1/4 wheat germ

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips or both



Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, oats, coconut, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and raisins. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Mix in the egg. Stir in dry ingredients.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Press lightly with a fork to flatten. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Will spread and be chewy. Makes about 24.

Tasty and good for you too (well, they have wheat germ in them don't they?!)

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

I'm a 37 year old gay male partnered with Ned. We met about a year ago and we live in San Diego. We have a dog who is half schnauzer half cocker spaniel named Schnocker. We have three cats named Jinx, Tobias and Samantha. I own a 1916 Craftsman house that is in the process of renovation (a lot of renovation). We live in Ned's house with a pool and a hot tub and a tropical looking backyard with lots of flowers.

I own a graphic design business called bang! I work like a dog when I need to and lounge around too much when I should be working. I do web sites and print design.

I was born and raised in New York. My bio-family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional and most of us do not get along. I have a gay brother that is married to a lesbian (they have three kids), a sister who is a staunch Catholic nun, a sister with an alcoholic son, another brother who is/was a drug addict and currently hugely homophobic and once tried to kill me. My mother hasn't talked to me in five years for reasons that are complex but which escape me (and that's fine). She is currently recovering from ovarian/cervical cancer. My father got out early and passed away in '93. I am a recovering drug addict/alcoholic with a couple of years of sobriety under my belt.

I am a long-term survivor of cancer (spinal, testicular and lymphoma) and have recently tested positive for cancer again last week -- although they haven't pinned down where it is yet -- stay tuned. It is good-old garden-variety cancer which is not HIV related. I have stayed HIV negative during my life. I have lost dozens of friends to the disease and will hopefully party with them again someday.

I try to and strive for a positive attitude and realize nothing is really to big to handle in life. It is just a matter of how you look at it.

I've journaled since I was a teen. My volumes are stored away in a box somewhere. I started online journaling about two years ago but kept it hidden and private until about last August when I started The Road Trip-scrawls from the driver. I love the voyeuristic aspect of journals and enjoy people's points of view on things. I am Beth's former brother-in-law and Bad Hair Days has inspired me to go live.

I'm a pretty happy person -- it has taken me a while...



-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Right off the bat let me say I am not some crazy stalker (although saying that makes me sound like one), but I read through all the forum topics hoping to find posts by Kim Rollins because I miss her journal. Kim, I swear I'm not crazy I just enjoyed your writing it's really a compliment.

That is not to say that I don't read the other writers as well but I pay close attention for Kim's posts.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Hmmm, what to share?

I'm 29 and I live with my soon-to-be-husband and our three big dogs in a house in rural New York. I don't live in the big city, but I can get there in an hour. We're both computer programmers and he works for that place where you can name your own price.

We just bought our house last year and we're finally settled in enough to start some big projects. First up will be hardwood floor in the dining room followed by a new deck and hot tub. I'm going to start gardening (hopefully this weekend) in hopes of making our yard look a little less bland.

I love golf, tennis, and being outside. I rollerblade and ride my bike. I walk my dogs and play with them every chance I get. I'm weird and I'm silly and I skip when I'm happy. Just yesterday I skipped and twirled because the sun was out.

My journal is called Alone in a Crowd and I write about my dogs, my Dave, my loopy life and my screwed up family. I've got the standard alcoholic father and crazy friend and I'm crazy in love with my man. And I post pictures of my dogs, a lot. I also write a wedding journal, The Longest Aisle.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

How to cure the Hiccoughs, guaranteed:

Close your eyes. press your first two fingers on each hand against each eyelid, not hard enough to knock a contact out or anything, but def. put some pressure on there.

breath slowly thru your nose at the same time.

Hiccoughs will be gone.

Show: My website, sperare[dot]com

Tell: Several years ago, I donated bone marrow to a total stranger.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Hmm, there's not much most folks don't know about me either through Retrogression or through my recent spate of too-much-journal-forum- posting.

I guess I'm just an exhibitionist that way.

I have a bobbing-head dog on the dashboard of my car. His name is Brocktoon.

This fall I plan to sublet my apartment and go on a road trip for four months. If I am lucky, I will never come back. I want to travel, meet people, exchange ideas, and write every day. If I can hitchike, stay on floors and work temp jobs here and there to get food money, that's a good enough life for me.

Except being a 6'4" 200+ lb guy, I tend to not get picked up while hitchiking.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Like Sarah, I scan for posts by Kim Rollins. We miss your journal Kim!

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Yikes! Carte blanche to tell you anything at all?

Would you like a seasonal recipe? Nettle Soup: it's traditional for this time of year, because it cleans your blood after the winter. My sister the doctor scoffs at this, but the soup's pretty good. First, go to the countryside and don't forget your rubber gloves. Pick a carrier bag full of young nettle tops. Do this before the plants get a foot tall or it'll be bitter. Back home again, boil a big pan of water and bung in the nettles for ONE MINUTE only! Then run them under the cold tap to stop them cooking. Saute an onion and some celery, add the nettles and a pint or two of stock (depends how thick you like your soup, obviously). Liquidise, and serve hot with a swirl of cream (pepper, nutmeg, whatever). mmmmmmmm

I would say it's best enjoyed while reading my diary stranger on a train but that would be patently untrue. It'd be nice if you came and had a look, though.

And finally, I can do a half-angel drop from a trapeze eight feet in the air. It looks pretty, but it's a bit scary.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

I'm a Prime Minister

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Let's sse. Well, I'm pretty much an open book in my journal, definitely a WYSIWYG type of gal.

Being a vegan, I've learned how to adapt a few recipes for my own style of eating, but what's best is when I look in the frig, see what's available, then whip up something tasty. I came up with one of my favorite recipes this way (no measurements, as I cook by taste only):

Orzo with tomato cream sauce

Prepare orzo according to directions on package. For extra flavor, replace some of the water with vegetable broth.

On very low heat, simmer soy yogurt and tomato sauce, with minced garlic, a few of your favorite chopped herbs and a pinch of salt (I use garlic salt) and a pinch of sugar. Simmer for approximately 20 - 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until piping hot and all flavors have combined. Sauce should not be too thick or thin, but of a consistency slightly thicker than your average spaghetti sauce

While sauce is simmering, slice some mushrooms, onions and garlic and sautee in margarine (canola margarine works best, as the flavor is very light) until onions are transparent.

Spoon sauce onto orzo (not too much, though) and top with sauteed veggies. Serve hot with garlic bread.

Can you tell I love garlic? Luckily the smell of garlic rarely stays on my breath.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

I also make a mean vegan lasagna. I've had people swear I used meat and cheese, when what they're tasting are a variety of mushrooms (frozen from Trader Joes) and tofu. Onmivores devour my lasagna.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
I am a self-centered egomaniac and love to talk about myself. I would have my own on-line journal but I'm too damn lazy and afraid of the competition.

I'm the oldest of two children and my mother was 40 when I was born. She's 76 now, suffering from dementia and unable to care for herself. Last year my brother and I had to admit her to a nursing home, which was a painful decision but ultimately a relief as she can no longer wander down the middle of a 4 lane highway naked.

I'm 36 years old but thanks to good genes I look about 28 (as long as I am not in direct sunlight). This is certainly not the result of healthy living as I am a pack-a-day smoker and have been since the age of 15. I am on a first name basis with most of the bartenders in my neighborhood, but know when I've had enough. Unless I'm drinking tequila - in which case I cannot be held responsible for my actions and should be restrained ala The Wolfman.

Most of my socializing revolves around music as many of my friends are musicians. The rest of the people I spend my time with are actors, directors, writers and (just to shake it up a little) New Media geeks. The New Media geeks always pay for dinner.

I used to have a cat. John. He died suddenly while I was in London last fall. It broke my heart. I want a dog, but unless I move to a place with lot's of land and room to play I couldn't possibly consider it. Since I live in New York City it is highly unlikely I will be getting a dog anytime soon.

I am terrified of clowns. I can't cook. I give great advice but have a hard time following any of it myself. I have a million great stories, but as you can tell from this post I am rather long-winded so I'll spare you.

My greatest interest is in people - how they think, why they do the things they do and how they move about in the world.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

I'd like to do a journal but I'm too lazy to update every day, and I'm afraid I'd get all hinky if I didn't get a lot of praise and get in with the cool kids, etc.

I always thought of myself as a writer but am slowly realizing that I am not, at least so far, the kind of writer I always thought I'd be. I'm not that good, for one thing.

I have a web page here. But soon it will all move to my cool domain name, pokeintheeye.com.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Just wanted to let you all know that I made the cookies Beth linked to today, and they are hands down the best cookies I have ever had.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Oh my god. I have a public. As in, "I can't disappoint my public."

Unfortunately for you, public, today is the most beautiful day Seattle has seen in weeks, and I am only briefly stopping in to eat, on my way from circumnavigating Green Lake to some other sunny destination. I can read and eat at the same time, but not write and eat, so the story of my day will have to wait till later. I will be back, though.

Until then, a riddle: the red-breasted American Robin is back in full force, on every lawn and in every park, and I see them pulling worms all the time. My question is: WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE WORMS HOLDING ONTO? I've seen robins yanking on worms half-out of the ground, the worm stretched to its limit like a bungie cord, the bird digging its tiny talons into the dirt for purchase, and I can't for the life of me figure out why the worm doesn't just slip right out of its hole. I've touched worms and they're slimy. The segmentation of the annelid probably provides some friction, but not enough to explain the ongoing robin/worm struggle.

My two theories are as follows. One, the worm can consciously expand part of his body to plug himself into the hole when one of his ends gets nabbed -- the way people can flex an arm and make it bigger, or distend their bellies. Two, they wrap themselves around shallow plant roots.

If anyone knows for sure, please pipe up.

.....................................................

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Collecting seashells by the seashore is like getting stabbed twice akimbo by the length of My Army Boot I abandoned in the recesses of Martin Luther

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000
Hmmm. I have about four web sites, so to speak:

1. The Elgonquin site, which I do a weekly journal on (though of late people were complaining about my subject matter, so I've been doing more nonfiction analysis-type stuff) and am currently posting a play I did over the summer there in serial form.

2. My home page site, which I originally did a web soap review on but I haven't updated in over a year or so by now. The homepage has a few personal items, vaguely silly photos, and a mess of links that frighten people (or so they've said in e-mail).

3. My new cheap weblog- I don't know how I missed this development of the weblog when I'm this net-obsessed, but I realized I could really use one so I had somewhere quick to display every random link I find and bookmark (other than posting them on IRC).

4. My old journal page, which I'm not linking to since I haven't been in the mood to update it until about now (but still haven't done so). If anyone actually finds it, I will be amazed.

Personal info: 21, UCD junior, English/design, intern at local newspaper, single, only child, screwed-up, bizarre parental relationship.

What I Did Today: Actually got my driver's permit. Back when I was sixteen I actually wanted to drive, did everything legally- and then went to driving school. Little did I know that the teacher had apparently only had students who already learned how to drive before taking from him. Did he know how to actually teach? I don't think so, seeing as he spent the six hours yelling at me and/or hitting the parking brake, while I cried about the whole time begging to go home. Further lessons with the insane parents went about the same, only in Dad's expensive cars. (Dad's quote today: "I let you drive a $57,000 car!") With my driving, this was not a good thing. Got fed up and quit driving altogether, despite the pleas of my parents (and later, ex-boyfriend).

Why now? Am considering applying for internship at Sacramento News and Review (hey, it'd be funky) and have no idea how I'd get there otherwise. (Plus the other problem of being in journalism without a vehicle) So I had my ex-boyfriend (who doesn't yell) haul me out today, and he said I did well. (Course, I refused to leave the parking lot ;)

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Um OK. Well, I'm the fellow who keeps pimping that journal with the somewhat odd name of "Tonight We Sleep In Separate Ditches". However, since I have the opportunity, I will instead pimp my other main site, The Pillow Book. (Not to be confused with the ever-lovely and interesting Sei, of course.) In the unlikely event that anyone really wants to see what I look like, there's a photo of me there (plus a photo of my dog, who's far cuter than me).

Brief rundown: born 15 November 1974. Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Film Studies, and Bachelor of Arts in History (double major). Dux of my primary school in 1986. Five years ago I worked on a production of an Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical that a friend of mine was producing and directing. Currently work on the film show, Celluloid Dreams, at community radio station 2SER, and will be co-presenting the show this coming Monday (just before the delayed telecast of the Oscars goes to air here). One of the other guys from Celluloid Dreams is setting up a film reviews website to which I've been asked to contribute, and I'm also on the editorial board for another website. Anyone who wants to know any more is perfectly welcome to check out my website (above) or my journal (which is linked from a number of places in this forum). Between them they probably contain more information about me than any person should rightly have to know

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2000

Show: Headspace, my journal.

Tell: "Invisible" fingerprints can be lifted off of nearly any surface by dusting the object with fine powder, then exposing it to SuperGlue vapors.

Random Advice: When making sourdough or Amish bread starter, make sure you leave the jar or bag slightly open, or it could explode.

Joke: Why is six afraid of seven? 'Cause seven eight nine!

Recipe: Saundra's Midwestern Chicken n' Noodles:

1 whole chicken
1 tablespoon chicken base, or 1 large can clarified chicken broth
2 teaspoons coarse ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt (less if using base)
A sprig or two of fresh parsley
1 large can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 pounds of egg noodles or 1 pound fresh noodles

In a four quart pot, bring 2 quarts of water, your dry ingredients (minus the noodles,) and your chicken to a boil. Boil uncovered for approx. 1 hr/or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pot and bone it. Set aside. Add base or broth and cream soup, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer broth uncovered for 1/2 hour, then bring to a boil again, add chicken and noodles back to a boil. Ten minutes later, serve alone or over mashed potatoes. Mmmmmm!

Picture of Cat: *sob* I have no cat.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

share something?

I've witnessed several thousand human births.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

Re: Kim Rollins...

My GOD, I love a woman who can name the parts of an earthworm. I remain smitten...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

I'm now hooked on that show "Making The Band." Not because I'm in love with boy bands (oh h-e-double hockey stick NO). I went to high school with one of the eight finalists. He was really good friends with my first crush (who I crushed on all throughout junior high and high school and he happened to be my first kiss) and I just can't believe someone I know has made it that far. It depresses me slightly because I've always dreamed of doing something spectacular with my life. Why don't they do open calls for girl groups?

On another note, I also went to high school with a girl that posed for Playboy. I saw her naked, eww. How the hell am I going to look at her when we have our class reunion? And she got a boob job paid for by her MOTHER so she would have a better chance at getting the gig. I'll never understand it.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

Okay, here's a joke that was told to me recently by a very beautiful and very talented lady.

A young man was smitten with a farmer's daughter, and planned to marry her. He decided to be old fashioned about it, and ask the farmer for his blessing before proposing. After dinner one day, while the daughter was out of the room, he spoke up. "I'm in love with your daughter and I'd like to ask for her hand in marriage."

"Sure!" said the farmer. "But I do have to tell you one thing you might not know. She's got acute angina."

"Yer tellin' me," said the lad. "And her tits are pretty nice too!"

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

i'm in london! nyah, nyah, nyah!

and you know what? the sun actually does shine in london, guinness is really really good, and i'm going to see a production of speed-the-plow on the west this afternoon.

that's what i'm sharing. i'd share to my own website, but that takes work. =)

sorry, beth. =)

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

I cleaned up the garden this weekend, and the volume of litter was 10 times what it looked like laying flat on the surface or sticking up in dead stalks. I piled the big tarp as high as I could get it, and hauled it down to the ravine, thinking that each load would be the last one I could manage. But I kept going until the Shoe Garden (shaped like a shoe) and the back border were clean, and I got my reward - seeing the new shoots and leaves in their first unfolding. It's fun to come across some of the new flowers I planted for the first time last year, and then forgot about.

Note to Beth and other gardeners - if you haven't grown Bee Balm (Monarda) yet, it's beautiful, easy to grow, smells wonderful, and is guaranteed to bring hummingbirds to visit! It's also called Oswego Tea, because the colonists used it as a tea substitute after chucking the China tea in Boston Harbor. I like to add one leaf to a pitcher of iced tea, for its subtle essense.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

Hi, my name is Jan and once when I was in 9th grade, I rammed an umbrella spoke 3/4 of the way through my right hand, and proceeded to leave a really yucky-looking trail of blood all the way to the principal's office. I went up to the secretary, who looked irritated to have been bothered, and stuck my punctured, blood-soaked hand in front of her. She got me some antiseptic and bandages right quick, let me tell you.

I didn't break any bones, but it sure did bruise the heck out of my hand for about a week and a half.

Obligatory Web Journal Pimp: My Life in 12-Point Font

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2000

He did:

http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/DaveVan/index.html

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2000

Some random tidbits about me:



-- Anonymous, March 26, 2000
Since it's 1 a.m. Seattle time and I am unlikely to get any sleep before I purge some of this bile from my system, I am going to have a cow about the Kingdome implosion.

Contrary to what has been intimated in some news reports, there was actually nothing seriously wrong with the Kingdome. It did need some seismic retrofitting, and the roof periodically needed pressure- cleaning and repainting because -- not to put to fine a point on it -- seagulls shat directly overhead and the crap grew mold and discolored. However, it was a fine, servicable venue for football, baseball, and various Home Shows, Boat Shows, and the like. (Having seen the Monsters of Rock tour there in the late eighties, however, I can testify that the acoustics for live music are nothing to write home about. Also, most seasons the Home Show had a better outfield than the Mariners. But I digress.)

The only real problem most pro-baseball zealots had with the Kingdome was that it was ugly, viewed from the outside. When Randy Johnson was traded, the joke was that he was going around town saying "Whenever I see a rusting hubcap lying on a pile of garbage, I'll miss Seattle." So when the seismic retrofitting issue came up a few years ago, some baseball fans got it into their heads that the Mariners, who actually made it to the playoffs that year for the first time in recent memory, deserved a better home, and instead of patching up the old one, it might be a swell idea to blow it down and build something else. A baseball-only park, with a retractable roof so that the city's famous rain wouldn't drown out as many games, but that baseball could still be played "Outdoors, on real grass, like it was meant to." This is kind of like saying that your Dodge needs a new set of tires, so you plan to crush it into a metal cube and buy a BMW instead. And a two-seater BMW, too, even though you have three kids.

There was a citywide ballot on a bond for a new stadium, and -- here's something interesting that you may have forgotten or never have known - - the ballot failed by a narrow margin, a few thousand votes. The city council decided to go ahead and BUILD THE NEW STADIUM ANYWAY, because "such a close vote does not constitute a real no." I have no doubt whatsoever that if the bond had been approved by even a single vote, the council would have taken that as a "real yes."

The Kingdome was an engineering marvel for its time. In fact, the demolition expert who placed the charges for this morning's feat of complete stupidity said that although the Kingdome was not the biggest job he ever did, it was the most complex and difficult, because the structure was so sound. There is no reason that the Kingdome couldn't have lasted for at least several decades more.

Alas, although the Kingdome is gone, the payments remain. Me and the rest of Seattle will continue to pay for the Kingdome for the next twenty-five years. Simultaneously, we are also paying for our new state-of-the-art stadium, in the form of getting gouged every time we go out to dinner or shop within the city limits. We are also forcing visitors to our fair city to pay their part for the new stadium -- named Safeco Field following a bail-out donation of $40 million from insurance giant Safeco -- in the form of a nigh-usurious hotel tax. No doubt the notion of paying exhorbitant hotel rates will attract more business here.

What of the football team, our non-illustrious Seahawks? Well, now they require a new stadium, too, since Safeco field was not designed to handle football games. Temporarily they are using Husky Stadium, located in a suburban area a couple of miles from my old house, an area which is really not meant to withstand dozens of thousands of people coming in every weekend. Luckily, the taxpayers built Husky Stadium as recently as 1987. Of course, we had to build it twice because the first time, the Z-shaped bleachers collapsed. Whoopsie! Well, I'm sure that the NINE home games the Huskies play per year will have that monstrosity paying for itself in no time. Uh-huh.

Safeco Field is having some problems, too. After only three successful retractions, the roof got stuck. (I have no idea if this has been fixed by this writing.) It also ran into cost overruns almost immediately, and in spite of the Mariners' promise that they would pay such overruns, they failed, and the city had to save the day.

And now, I lose it.

I am fucking sick of welfare for millionaires. Sports are entertainment. The city is not in the business of building movie theaters, and they should not be in the business of building stadiums. They should particularly not be in the business of building four enormous stadiums in thirteen years' time. (The Arena -- now the Key Arena -- our basketball venue... well, I'm not even going to get started on that.) Even if we accept the proposition that sports bring in out-of-city business -- although neither I nor anyone else can remember the last time we left town to watch a ball game, nor have any pro-stadium proponents offered any figures to back this assertion -- I do not think it is unreasonable to expect the millionaire owners and players to be happy with a single, functional, multi-use stadium.

Imploding the Kingdome represents everything that's wrong with America today. Yeah, a lotta people say that about a lotta things, but I have a point here. We have lost track of the notion that it's bad to be in debt. We have abandoned the idea that we are obligated, for the sake of the economy and the environment, to keep our possessions in good repair and to rid ourselves of them only when they have been truly worn out. We are no better than the toddler mewling on the tile floor of the toy store because he wants the NEW Batman action figure even though he already has three at home that he hardly plays with, because THIS Batman has a cloth cape and not a vinyl one and besides Brent got a new Batman and sure Daddy and Mommy are both on unemployment already but the credit card is already so far in the red that a few more bucks won't matter.

And people are CELEBRATING this repulsive waste. People are lining the streets and cheering while the city destroys a monument that is only halfway paid off. They are engrossed by the spectacle and the noise and not thinking for ONE FUCKING SECOND about the fact that they might as well be attending a bonfire of THEIR OWN MONEY down on the waterfront. That would be pretty to look at, too, I'll bet. All the colors! I am so fucking disgusted that I can't even look at the newspaper today, can't turn on the television, can't look at my little Yahoo News headlines.

Ordinarily I'm proud to live here. I hear about the peak levels of road rage in other cities and laugh; I've never seen it. I've been given the finger once in fourteen years of driving, and honked at only to warn me that I was doing something stupid like trying to turn the wrong way onto a one-way street. I read the forums at Hissyfit, where posters complain incessantly about the dearth of common courtesy today, and I shake my head. Seattle cashiers ask how you are while they're ringing up your stuff, and look up at you while you answer and smile.

But today, Seattle, I am so goddamn ashamed. I am ashamed of your ignorance and your greed and your debtor mentality and your turning the destruction of the Kingdome into one big special effect, bring the kids, it'll be like the opening day of _Star Wars_. (I wonder if half these dolts have realized that without the Kingdome around, there's no venue for the Monster Truck Pull anymore.) The implosion is just one more step in the billion-dollar boondoggle that the stadium race has turned into. In our efforts to prove that we are a truly cosmopolitan city, like New York, perhaps, we have only shown that we can be bigger dickheads than even the dickheadiest New Yorker. It's going to get worse before it gets better, if it ever does. I'll think of you assholes next time I'm paying way too much for a lousy cheeseburger. Motherfuckers.

.......................................................................

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

To follow up on Kim's post...

As I vauguely recall, part of the reason for building the new baseball stadium was the conviction that the Mariners would be unable to keep any of their star players without one of those new modern marvels. And yet, of the three superstars Seattle had at the time of the decision to build the stadium, two are gone (Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr.), and the other (Alex Rodriguez) may leave as a free agent after this season. Moreover, Griffey may have wanted to leave in no small part because a.) the team essentially said 'build the new stadium or else he'll leave' without actually asking Griffey first, which made him an unwilling pawn in the stadium game, and b.)the new stadium is apparently more of a "pitcher's park" than the Kingdome, meaning that Griffey's stats would suffer at Safeco. So building a new park may have actually driven one of the best player's in baseball away from Seattle, rather than luring talent to the Pacific Northwest.

(Note to everyone: I apologize for the excessive discussion of baseball minutia in the preceeding paragraph. It won't happen again.)

I work as a sports writer/copy editor, and it always boggles my mind that cities allow themselves to be held hostage to sports franchises who demand new stadiums with luxury boxes and threaten to move if they don't get them. Um ... where do they plan on going? Particularly with baseball, there aren't many cities left that want a team and have the facilities to lure one. And particularly with stadiums, the upside for the city, IMO, is relatively low. At least with arenas, there are plenty of opportunities to fill the seats even when the local sports team is out of town. I don't know that this is true with stadiums. Most of the winter, baseball stadiums just sit there forlornly, waiting for April. As do I.



-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

The stadium thing didn't even piss me off that much. I mean, it pissed me off, but in comparison to, oh, I-695, it didn't piss me off that much at all.

Let's just talk about I-695 for a moment, shall we? Hey voters! You know how you pay that license tab money so that the city can fix the roads and pay for the bus system and repair the ferries? Well, we have a great idea! We're going to take that tax away! And we're going to make it so that the council can't pass any NEW taxes to make up for it! Won't that be swell??

And of course, the voters passed it, thus effectively removing the city's transportation funding. Now there's a new initiative in the making. The NEW initiative would make it so that the high occupancy vehicle lanes have to be opened to ALL traffic, and ALL of the transportation money, or at least what's LEFT of it, has to go to -- wait for it -- BUILDING NEW ROADS!

Yeah! Because now that the buses and the ferries are screwed and the light rail is abandoned because of THE INITIATIVE YOU PASSED, public transportation SUCKS! Surprise! So obviously what we need are MORE FUCKING ROADS! And God forbid anybody zooming along to work in their brand new SUV should have to sit in bad traffic while the HOV lanes sit empty. My God, the horror. God forbid anyone should try carpooling, or, dare I say it, taking the bus. Of course, that's not really an option in Seattle, since the bus system SUCKS because there's no way to pay for it anymore.

Yeah, that's what we need, more roads. That'll fix the problem.

I love this city, too, Kim, even though I only just moved here last summer. But I want to take the city council and that asshole who keeps proposing vanity initiatives to make his dick feel big, and drill holes in their faces with my fingernails.

"Build more roads." Jesus Christ in a handcart.

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

If y'all would like to read an ENTIRE FRIGGIN' FORUM devoted to the I-695 initiative, here you go:

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a.tcl?topic=I%2d695%20Thirty%20Dolla r%20License%20Tab%20Initiative

(Forgive me. They bumped me out of the top 15 at one point; I'm still bitter.)

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

The Metro bus system isn't really all that bad, if you're travelling from a dense area to another dense area and doing so during the daytime. I was a regular customer of the Central Area-to-University, Capitol Hill-to-University, Downtown-to-University, and Downtown-to- Capitol Hill routes, and the buses were clean, prompt, and frequent, and enclosed stops were common. Service to the outlying areas isn't all that great, but that's the price you pay for living in the sticks. Even then, Park-and-Rides are a good option; my mom commuted from Burien to First Hill for years via the 130/132.

At least with I-695 we have goverment by electoral mandate (okay, okay, mob rule), unlike with the stadium ballot, where just as I was breathing a sigh of relief and saying "That was close; wow, I guess it is true that every vote counts," the city effectively said, "Oh, just kidding, we don't really give a damn what you want," and went AGAINST THE WISHES OF THEIR CONSTITUENCY.

About I-695: Wow, have I got a funny story about that. No, really, it's hilarious. You're gonna love this. Okay, when I first read about the initiative, I was like, rolling my eyes because it had no chance, right? I mean, people aren't that stupid, not in my town. So I sort of was only half-interested in the campaign coverage, and then -- this is the good part! -- in November, you know? I -- hee hee hee! Sorry. I didn't -- snort snort guffaw -- I didn't vote! No, really! I didn't! Swear to God, for one of the first times in my adult life! Isn't it great that this is all water under the bridge and we can laugh about this now? Har har har!

Now, I'm sure almost no one here cares about our local politics, so... hey, what are you doing with that... what is that, a horsewhip? Come on, quit kidding around... HEY! HEY! OW!

.......................................................................

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

Wow, there are a lot of Seattleites on here...

Let me chip in a "me too" on Kim's stadium rant. I LIKED the Kingdome. And it bugs me that our local politicians consider certain sports-related private businesses so important to our area that they give away so much of our taxpayer money to these mediocre sports teams.

That's just the last straw on this whole thing. I'd feel this way no matter what, but it's pouring salt on the wound to have to support teams that are so mediocre they can't draw sell-out crowds. I guess that's why I'm less annoyed about the Coliseum/Key Arena. For a while there, the Sonics were pretty good. So it felt just a little more justified. Plus, though I'm not clear on the facts, I seem to remember that the Key Arena gutting/rebuilding was done mostly if not completely with private money.

I suppose I should share something. Hm. Last weekend I went to IKEA to buy a second bookshelf and ended up rearranging my entire bedroom. I was lucky to get out of there without buying all new furniture.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2000

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