Just on Fridays, kitteh. Pat pat pat.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Photos from the Carolinas Road Trip
I'm back, y'all. Hopefully for just one more year or so, and then get myself moved to Charleston. The purpose of the trip was to see if Charlotte, NC was a fit for me, and if you read my prior post you know that it's not. Is Charleston heaven? Well, not especially, but the quality of life can't be beat. I felt very much at home in the south and I believe in my heart that I've found... my home.
Here is the route that I drove, I clocked just under 1400 miles:
http://mapq.st/gx7oWb
Part of the joy of the trip was taking pictures, and both Carolinas have great subject matter. South Carolina more so, in my opinion. Would you like to see the pictures? I can't lie, I'm extremely happy with the way they turned out. Lucky for me, I chose to be in Charleston during the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and I took many pictures of the "soldiers" that made the pilgrimmage.
Here is my general Carolinas set:
And the set of the Soldiers - which I highly recommend:
Stay tuned for another post on my observations from the trip. I made many mental notes, and you all know how that goes: great brilliant thoughts while you're driving that don't usually make it to paper. It's a lot like waking up in the middle of the night with the cure for cancer. What? That never happens to you? I must be special :)
Here is the route that I drove, I clocked just under 1400 miles:
http://mapq.st/gx7oWb
Part of the joy of the trip was taking pictures, and both Carolinas have great subject matter. South Carolina more so, in my opinion. Would you like to see the pictures? I can't lie, I'm extremely happy with the way they turned out. Lucky for me, I chose to be in Charleston during the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, and I took many pictures of the "soldiers" that made the pilgrimmage.
Here is my general Carolinas set:
And the set of the Soldiers - which I highly recommend:
Stay tuned for another post on my observations from the trip. I made many mental notes, and you all know how that goes: great brilliant thoughts while you're driving that don't usually make it to paper. It's a lot like waking up in the middle of the night with the cure for cancer. What? That never happens to you? I must be special :)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
So What Happens When You Have a Brand New City?
Everything is so nice that it's boring.
I checked out Charlotte, NC today. My deep dark secret is that I want to move to the southeast, so this is my way of taking off the rose colored glasses to be sure of what I want. This would be a big move for me if I decide to do it.
The first thing that struck me about Charlotte is that it looks like the entire city was built at the same time - within the last ten years. There had to be a time when every city block was under construction. Everything is new, I was hard pressed to find anything old, at all. Because of that, I surmise that this is a very nice, successful city with no personality. Everything is new, mostly chain, and highly functional. People from most walks of life and all races carry themselves in a much more honorable manner than I'm accustomed to. And people are very friendly, they look you in the eye. Technically it's everything I've looked for, but I can't put my finger on why I'm not completely sold on it.
It's upscale, too. I appreciate upscale. You can buy very nice things here because they sell them. Clothing and furnishings and other services are not "catalog" and the same old... boring styles made of crappy material. And all cultures and races are well dressed - families are intact and look cohesive - not dragged around. Kids aren't bitchy, you don't catch hell for making eye contact with strangers.
There is no litter. Charlotte is clean, even in the lower income areas. The roads are all intact.
There is no water and it's completely landlocked. I have to wonder if that's part of what strikes me as off. The lack of historical areas is also strange to me. Outside of downtown there are older buildings from the 60s and 70s and much of that is still functional, just not flashy and well planned like downtown and the city.
I don't know. Maybe I was expecting Chicago but south. And I know it's only been one day and I'm probably not giving it as much of a chance, or let it sink in yet. I'm sure I could make my home here, but I worry that I might feel understimulated. I'll be back here later on my trip and I might feel very differently once I get a chance to see more of the state.
What would I miss? Aside from my family and life in Milwaukee?
Bay View, Rockabilly, Honky Tonks, fun Americana shows. I might even miss some of the hipsterness of Riverwest, but I wouldn't miss the disposable scene of east Brady street and being aggressively hit up for change. I'd trade that for people who actively care about their lives, anyday, regardless of how vanilla.
I checked out Charlotte, NC today. My deep dark secret is that I want to move to the southeast, so this is my way of taking off the rose colored glasses to be sure of what I want. This would be a big move for me if I decide to do it.
The first thing that struck me about Charlotte is that it looks like the entire city was built at the same time - within the last ten years. There had to be a time when every city block was under construction. Everything is new, I was hard pressed to find anything old, at all. Because of that, I surmise that this is a very nice, successful city with no personality. Everything is new, mostly chain, and highly functional. People from most walks of life and all races carry themselves in a much more honorable manner than I'm accustomed to. And people are very friendly, they look you in the eye. Technically it's everything I've looked for, but I can't put my finger on why I'm not completely sold on it.
It's upscale, too. I appreciate upscale. You can buy very nice things here because they sell them. Clothing and furnishings and other services are not "catalog" and the same old... boring styles made of crappy material. And all cultures and races are well dressed - families are intact and look cohesive - not dragged around. Kids aren't bitchy, you don't catch hell for making eye contact with strangers.
There is no litter. Charlotte is clean, even in the lower income areas. The roads are all intact.
There is no water and it's completely landlocked. I have to wonder if that's part of what strikes me as off. The lack of historical areas is also strange to me. Outside of downtown there are older buildings from the 60s and 70s and much of that is still functional, just not flashy and well planned like downtown and the city.
I don't know. Maybe I was expecting Chicago but south. And I know it's only been one day and I'm probably not giving it as much of a chance, or let it sink in yet. I'm sure I could make my home here, but I worry that I might feel understimulated. I'll be back here later on my trip and I might feel very differently once I get a chance to see more of the state.
What would I miss? Aside from my family and life in Milwaukee?
Bay View, Rockabilly, Honky Tonks, fun Americana shows. I might even miss some of the hipsterness of Riverwest, but I wouldn't miss the disposable scene of east Brady street and being aggressively hit up for change. I'd trade that for people who actively care about their lives, anyday, regardless of how vanilla.
Friday, April 1, 2011
JoAnne Kloppenburg Re-Victimizes Sex Abuse Victims
Yes, she does.
And there is a special place in hell for people like her, right next to sex abusers.
Miss Kloppenburg, do you have any idea how much sexual abuse destroys a child's life?
Completely. Children don't have the capacity to understand and navigate the shame they feel, they don't sort that out until many years later. And guess what! Child sex abuse is a gift that keeps on giving - the victim is never free - and they are left holding the bag. There is no magic bullet to healing, they have to clean up the situation and many of them never can. There is no full recourse for sex abuse victims. They are some of the most vulnerable of all victims.
Because their perceptions are damaged, many victims go on to be re-victimized. That is how life can align itself for the abuse victim. No, that doesn't make sense to the non-sexually-abused, but victims understand it completely. On top of this, abusers can smell the formerly abused from miles away.
So to have Kloppenburg running this ad and deliberately NOT asking for the ad to be pulled only says one thing: she condones it. She condones reactivating all of the emotions, messed up perceptions, shame and feelings of filth in two victims and quite honestly - in many victims. I hope that the victims SUE THE SHIT out of her for emotional damage.
She should be fully ashamed of herself and go hide in a cave, forever, for compelling a sex abuse victim, who just wants to get on with his life, to publicly refute her ad and proclaim the truth about being victimized. Now that, is pure evil.
And there is a special place in hell for people like her, right next to sex abusers.
Miss Kloppenburg, do you have any idea how much sexual abuse destroys a child's life?
Completely. Children don't have the capacity to understand and navigate the shame they feel, they don't sort that out until many years later. And guess what! Child sex abuse is a gift that keeps on giving - the victim is never free - and they are left holding the bag. There is no magic bullet to healing, they have to clean up the situation and many of them never can. There is no full recourse for sex abuse victims. They are some of the most vulnerable of all victims.
Because their perceptions are damaged, many victims go on to be re-victimized. That is how life can align itself for the abuse victim. No, that doesn't make sense to the non-sexually-abused, but victims understand it completely. On top of this, abusers can smell the formerly abused from miles away.
So to have Kloppenburg running this ad and deliberately NOT asking for the ad to be pulled only says one thing: she condones it. She condones reactivating all of the emotions, messed up perceptions, shame and feelings of filth in two victims and quite honestly - in many victims. I hope that the victims SUE THE SHIT out of her for emotional damage.
She should be fully ashamed of herself and go hide in a cave, forever, for compelling a sex abuse victim, who just wants to get on with his life, to publicly refute her ad and proclaim the truth about being victimized. Now that, is pure evil.
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