So for what it’s worth, March is ending like a lamb. The lights are on and the wind is a warm wind. There’s no snow on the ground and the snow that shows up is snow flurries. Wind in March is normal. The trees are blooming and it’s supposed to be 81 in two days. […]
I like to think that I’m the only one in the room or at least the local blogosphere writing the way I write and caring the way I do about what makes a city great. I wrestle all the time with how to name the industry I work in, how to portray how I live […]
Today I ran across an article that captured the essence of why I’m out here writing this page, and developing an even bigger platform. Essentially, to tell the story of the citified Southerner. Like these guys and also these guys, I’m trying to tell a different, but valid story. Of the Southerners we all know. […]
Arial View of Playground. Image via The Transom. What do we make of what I think is the real challenge presented by gentrification? That is, if people see the areas they are moving into or have lived in as war zones or playgrounds or both? For context, I define a war zone as an area […]
Areas that sprawl, but have several centers of culture, vibrant human-scaled places, and housing that’s cheap, but on the periphery of town create what I like to call a Road-Runner Urbanism. Essentially, to recreate what some people get in a few city blocks, those of us in sprawling cities must jump in our cars and […]
Weathervane. Boston Public Library via Flickr So this might not be our last blast of cold weather. And this still might not be the worst winter ever. Oh well, just like the Wizard of Oz, we really can’t trust the weathervane behind the curtain. Ok, bad analogy, but still, our weather has no rhyme or […]
A lot of this money is foreign. Is money period foreign to North Carolinians? Photo by Flickr user Ep5os De I ask today’s question about this New York Times article. As usual with Times articles, they take a major national issue, in this case poverty and use one place to illustrate it, this time, Chattanooga, TN. […]
Watching my NC State Wolfpack at a mid-day Quarterfinal Game in 2013. Sometimes, this is a workday. There’s this thing that grips Greensboro every March and it’s called Tournament Town. Banners are posted along light posts downtown and down the side of the coliseum, whether we are actually hosting an ACC Tournament. In recent years, […]
Amtrak’s Piedmont Arrives from Raleigh, one example of how people are on the move. Hello everybody! Had a really good time at both SynerG on Tap at Natty Greenes and Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann’s office hours at Scuppernong Books last night, as well as playing bar trivia and coming in second place, which at Grey’s Tavern […]
Malls are dying. Yes, there are stores that drive traffic, but I can’t tell anyone the last time I’ve been to an enclosed mall or even to mall stores at an open-air center. Well, I lie, I went to Barnes and Noble the other week. I have a gift card to spend there, but I […]
Via Tumblr, commentary on the reduced federal transit subsidy and increased highway spending. Happy New Year to all of you! I was looking forward to sharing a bit of news this morning, but it leaked. However, I will take this opportunity to thank my family, my friends and those of you who’ve stuck by this […]
Happy Thursday! Yesterday I ate the traditional collard greens and black eyed peas at my grandmother’s with my mom, some uncles, and my cousins. My grandmother’s house sits on a few acres of land out in the country, not far from Greensboro. It’s no longer an active farm and it was never a big time […]
Good morning folks! I want to thank everyone again for the support, the shares and the opportunities of 2013. I wish you the best and look forward to us sharing more in 2014 . Look out for my 2014 wishes for good places this weekend and a very special surprise in this space tomorrow morning. […]
Good billboard with a good message. Photo by Flickr user Steve Rhodes One of the things those who rail against the enroachment of consumerism in our daily lives especially hate are billboards. I’ll admit, there’s something charming about seeing a barn sign, an old-school painted Coca-Cola sign or those hand-painted peach signs on the way […]
