Did you catch that the News and Review asked Mayor Fargo about Fool's Foundation? Pretty funny. The version on the web is a lot longer. I liked her answer to the Fool's question, but I doubt she would follow up on that and it just shows that it's who you know in the city that decides whether you will thrive or get shut down.
I have to say that I was very, very disappointed in Ask Joeys column this week. I'm dismayed that I have defended her column many times against people that say that it's a crappy waste of space. She says that the "cultural chorus that advocates abortion tends to deny the possibility of grief". What a crazy statement. For one, there aren't really any "abortion advocates" out there. Those would just be fringe misanthropes. There are abortion RIGHTS advocates, and we are trying to ensure that every woman has the CHOICE about what to do in the case of unwanted pregnancy. That's a legal issue, it has nothing to do with grief counseling. If abortion rights were not constantly being assailed left and right, then perhaps everyone would have the time and energy to worry about the emotional issues involved.
She follows with a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how the choice to have an abortion impacts the planet, which I countered by summarizing some scientific literature about the emotional after-effects of abortion, but I'm sure that would just be boring and seem like I'm a zealot. I'll just reiterate that I'm disappointed.
Totally, dude. As much As I try get behind Ask Joey, and defend her she says some weird shit like that, or goes off on some other weird thing. I just pick and choose and remember that even people I think are the best ever will disagree on key ideals and values. Sometimes.
ReplyDeleteCharles
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ReplyDelete"What I meant was that our economy is too based on development. Not that our budget is based on development. Most of what we get from development pays for development. It’s not like we’re taking money generated by new housing and spending it in older neighborhoods. But the economy is based on construction and on development, so here we are."
ReplyDeleteStraight out of the Growth Machine thesis. And I love the line about the "hiring slushy." It's not a freeze...
bill-
ReplyDeletei've always wondered when some economist or city manager would clue into the eternal growth machine and realize that it ain't sustainable. I've always thought any smart politian would realize that if they were to tame the growth machine and instead try to promise to sustain a certain level of capped growth would be widely popular mainly because they are promise a continued quality of life.
maybe i haven't had enough coffee to articulate this better. . . . .
amanda
JG is probably a recovering Catholic. Remember, every sperm is sacred!
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, JG once came to speak to a writing class I was taking. I recall her being very charismatic. She is one of those people who exude charm and positive energy. She probably should have been a politician.
I never read her agony column. She's a New Ager, and New Agers remind me too much of the double-breasted Pentecostals I grew up with. They were all very interested in real estate.
I just saw Muriel Strand shaking hands and kissing babies at the Tuesday Farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteThis is her year!
gbomb
amanda: Sustaining capped growth is a death sentence both ways: the developers will scream about interference with the free market and fund your opponents, the environmentalists will scream about continued encroachment and fund your opponents, and if external factors (like the economy beyond the city's borders, actually running out of space, etc.) interrupt the promised incremental growth, your opponents will leap on it as evidence of your inability to deliver promises. Sadly, measured growth doesn't sell very well...
ReplyDeleteThe growth machine is about making money now, not planning for the long term. "Progress" in developer terms doesn't have anything to do with where we're actually going, but it has everything to do with how fast we're getting there.
chicken pot pie!
ReplyDeletechicken pot pie!
chicken pot pie!
somebody better call mikermike and tell him about this
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sacbee.com/749/story/934988.html
Isn't Shallit supposed to be reporting on this? Calling the interior "embarrassing" isn't exactly objective. I mean, sure, we can agree that every corner reeks of filth, but I'm not embarrassed about it.
Bob Shallit is a columnist, which involves reporting, but he's given more latitude to call it as he sees it.
ReplyDeleteWent to see Juno at Tower with a friend of mine and was embarrased to take her to a place that smelled like a giant urinal cake. Look forward to the big re-vamp.
ReplyDeleteI know Shallit's a columnist, but this looked like straight reporting. So is the rule that if you're a columnist, even if you do a reportage-type piece, you still get to openly color if with your opinion? Is that the rule?
ReplyDeleteWell, looks like only the outside is getting a revamp, but maybe they will do their twice yearly (whether it needs it or not) replacement of the urinal cakes. J.K.! I don't think it stinks, but then again, I'm in the extreme minority of people on yelp who don't have a conniption when I walk into Pho Bac on Broadway. I just had to look up "conniption" in the dictionary and discovered that a conniption IS a fit, so that it's redundant to say conniption fit.
Also, if you can't take your friend to places that smell like pee, what kind of friend are they, really?
AskJoey embarrasses me a lot because she can't give a straight, practical suggestion to anyone. When she's not being a man hater she's pimping for that website thework.com or whatever it's called. If i truly did have a crisis and turned to her, i'd probably wind up in a worse spot than i had started because i'd be too confused about her advice to even implement it.
ReplyDelete"I mean, sure, we can agree that every corner reeks of filth, but I'm not embarrassed about it."
ReplyDeleteYou're trying not to be embarrassed by embracing the theater's gritty, near nonfunctional condition. Shallit is calling it as it is to those unwilling to put up such an effort..
What flavor is the hiring slushy?Is it kinda like a suicide where ya mix all the flavors in.
ReplyDeleteJ
Love Tower but the place is totally disgusting. Last time I went I came home with bug bites (fleas? or scabies!?!?) around my ankles and had to disinfect my clothing. The place is a dump. Whatever you do, stay far away from any of the edibles!
ReplyDeleteWhy can't you anonymous Tower busters at least pick a clever handle? Such as Towerhater4evs. Yes, it would be great if Tower was lovingly restored to period beauty, but as it is, it's not that bad. You guys are a little squeamish. It's squeamishness like that that leads to rocking arena seats and jumbo beverage holders. Or just watching shit on your flatscreen at home where you have surround sound and a snack dispenser in your lazyboy and where your electric airwick puffs out a breath of fake flower scented air every 10 minutes so you never have to smell a bad smell.
ReplyDeleteBTW, after a minute to think about it, I'm downgrading my disappointment in askjoey to mild.
Anonymous complainers: you got bug bites? Really? I find that very hard to believe. Tower isn't state-of-the-art, but it's not as bad as all that. Besides, what are you going there for - the movie or the atmosphere? I guess I'm in the minority, because I really don't care if the theater's a little scuzzy, as long as I'm watching a good movie and no one's talking thru the movie or dealing with their screaming child.
ReplyDeleteit's called character people!
ReplyDeletei concur with dani. i would also like to say that in general i am skeptical of folks who claim flea bites from large public places.
i used to work at a certain other historical theatre here in sac and i had a co-worker who made a big annoying production out these supposed flea bites she was getting while at work. mind you no one else was ever bitten. she owned cats and when it was suggested that the bites were coming from home she responded by alleging that she could feel them crawling on her when she was in the theatre. there were even certain areas that she refused to enter out of flea paranoia. i don't remember what became of her. quit? fired?
anyhoo, long story short i don't know where i'm going with this but anonymous posters are buggin.' the tower does need some tlc but i don't find it that offensive.
The Tower will always be in a state of disrepair, always. That's the magic don't ya see?!? The outside may get touched up a bit but the inside will be a marvelous ,messy mass of wire and mold.However the projection booth got all gussied upnrecently which is the most important thing in the building, besides the employees of course. A clean pretty booth will equal a clean pretty movie! And really, all you Tower toilet haters,I practically lived in those fuckers for 8 years and I'm doin' just dandy!
ReplyDeleteso i see you have not yet left for davis? i guess i will stop putting off eating lunch then.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about that Ask Joey column. When I read that part about the cultural chorus of abortion advocates? I thought Really Joey? Really? That's a really stupid thing to say... and then I read the street talk section and felt better.
ReplyDeleteI am Anonymous, well at least one of them anyway. I never "blogged" before and didn't know I needed a name to make a valid point.Grew up in Chicago. Spent most of my time going to movies (or films as we called them) in some total shitholes. I live in Land Park. I guess I am getting too old for filth. Tower is gross. You may call it magical, I say you don't get out much. You can have old & quaint but clean it once a year, too.
ReplyDeleteDidn't realize to have an opinion on this blog you have to either like everything you guys do or belong in the suburbs.
jojo,
ReplyDeletei think the primary problem with anonymous posters is that folks tend to say some pretty abrasive or insensitive things when they choose to withhold their name. in my limited amount of experience as a blogger i've noticed that folks say things that are way more reasoned, thoughtful, and sincere on my blog when they are willing to attach their names to their comments. i actually just had someone apologize for making a pretty nasty anonymous post on my blog and in the end we had a pretty good dialogue about art.
if you look at some recent hecka-posts you'll see what i mean. for example:
"Yep, that was the deal breaker with KJ when he said he wanted Sac to look like Phoenix. Phoenix is like one giant Natomas with chain retaurants, chain stores, cookie cutter houses, and fat gross Americans as far as the eye can see. It is UGLY. Fargo for mayor i guess."
"fat" and "gross," nice
or even this one:
"Last time I went I came home with bug bites (fleas? or scabies!?!?)"
scabies? really?
i can't speak to your comment because you posted anonymously, however, in general i don't think the issue is with a difference of opinion so much as an irritation with anonymous posters.
for more examples of cowardly/ignorant/annoying comments read the comments on the Bee's Del Paso stabber article. good stuff
oof! i drank too much coffee this morning!
No one got flea bites from the Tower. We have an inspector come out once a month, and we've had conversations where he tells me how surprised he is that we are so vermin-free. By all rights we should have some problems, but for some miraculous reason, we don't (maybe it's too dirty even for the pests? Or maybe the pests just hate LPB's as much as the employees.) No ants, no rodents, no roaches. Just the occasional cricket.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Reading is taking some small step s forward in fixing the place up. I shit a brick when the ADA bathroom was actually finished. They got us a new platter system, and the new projection booth is pretty nice. They're still saying we'll be getting new carpet, and I'm still doubting it, but looking at the stuff that's been done in the last year that I never thought would happen, I'm not completely writing it off any more. From what I understand, the Save The Tower coalition (aka Roxanne) is contributing to some of the hold-up because they want everything perfectly period-accurate. Which is a nice thought, but in some areas is just not easy, affordable or possible. If Reading would spring for a custodian service that wasn't just the lowest bidder I guarantee the place wouldn't be such a dump. As for the edibles, I'd bet that nothing's really wrong there either. I'd be more worried about food sitting in certain display cases at certain Cafe's than I would the popcorn.
I'm staying anonymous because Reading Entertainment has been known to fire people for criticizing the way they run the theatre, and I'd like to keep working there for awhile.
jojo-
ReplyDeleteI agree with what liv said. you have a valid point, it's just when you don't sign it, it looks like sour potshots.
maybe the new tower motto should be: "if it's too filthy, you're too old".
That is a fan-fucking-tastic motto! Though it would undercut the vast majority of the Towers customer base.But fr reals JOJO the place is old and utterly unkempt no doubt. I guess if one can embrace and accept that it becomes charming, if not it remains what it is, filthy. But as always I want to insist on the fact that Reading Entertainment would rather piss on the place than fix it, so it's tough for the staff to do anything to improve it. And the popcorn is made fresh every god-damn day, though it's lost some umph since a certain strapping Italian-Armenian left. BTW this post and the previous post were both made in Davis,I can't quit you Heckasac!
ReplyDeleteI love the motto. Sometimes I feel like I am too old for things. Maybe just too cranky! Really, I can handle old, quaint and somewhat disheveled. It's the speakers going out, the sound being uneven, the flecks in the film, the film moving over to one side of the screen. It tires me. I want to watch a great movie without distractions. If the place was kept up, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
ReplyDeleteDon't even get me started on the LPCA. That's for another day. Note to Tower employee. What does LPB stand for? Do I even want to know?
Yeah, the problem with the film quality and sound is unacceptable! I realized yesterday that anonymous Tower bro had provided another motto
ReplyDeleteTower Theater: surprisingly vermin-free
Towerlvr4ever said: We have an inspector come out once a month, and we've had conversations where he tells me how surprised he is that we are so vermin-free.
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty telling right there...