Adam Says: Karl Rove?

Am I the only one who lost every last bit of respect for the republican party when they read Karl Rove's pot shot at Richmond? You pretty much know that when someone starts a statement with "I mean no disrespect..." the statement is going to be the most disrespectful thing you have ever heard.

I mean I am not upset that he said that Richmond was a small City... because it is... we ain't New York or Chicago... but to compare us to suburban municipalities of big cities like San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas was just too much for me. I have been out to those places... and the Big Cities are are wonderful, but places like Messa are little more than strip malls and McMansion Subdivisions for the Hummer H3 set. I could go on and on about the rich History of Richmond and the fact that it actually has its own economy and does not feed off of some larger City like a leech, but everyone has done that already. So let me ask you this KARL (or shall we call you Darth?); do you think all of America should be mowed down and transformed into mile upon mile of asphalt parking lots, GAP stores, Starbucks and gated communities? Do you think the value of a community is measured in the number of TGI Fridays it house within a ten mile radius? Obviously you don't see any value in small cities.

Anyone who has made a move into Richmond in the last year can tell you that the growth of Suburban sprawl is disturbing at best... Shortpump, Chester, Brandermill, Midlothian, all of Staples Mill Road! No longer are these sleepy towns or rolling farm lands... now they are a collection of cookie cutter commerce littering the country side and leaving abandon strip malls in their wake. Look at Broad Street, Look at Cloverleaf Mall, Shoot look at all of Petersburg these are the victims of corporate consumerism... so Karl (Darth Vader) Rove you can have your Chula Vistas and Mesas, and ten years from now when Middle Aged Parents are telling their teens they shouldn't be caught in Messa after dark because its not safe to be in that kind of place (read URBAN and run down) at night, I will laugh... well maybe just giggle as I double check that my car is locked as I head over to YMCA for a late night jog.

Adam and Jeremy Say: Forget Richmond vs. Asheville; Bring On Richmond vs. Mexico!

So many of you have been blogging about this RTD article that talks about Richmond patterning itself after Asheville NC... which is interesting because Jeremy lives in Asheville and I live in Richmond, so we have a very unique perspective on it, but even more interesting is the route our conversation about the article takes... from Asheville vs Richmond to a more unique solution for Richmond that does not involve just copying some other city (how has that San Antonio River Walk thing worked out?)

Adam: Check out this article where the author talks about how Richmond should be like Asheville... I thought you may enjoy.

Jeremy: I'm guessing you don't like this article. Particularly the end where the write says: “Richmond could start by encouraging local entrepreneurship and abandoning its constant search for a Downtown Savior -- a single project that will turn things around"
A completely pro capitalist statement.

Adam: It's all good... I would like to see Richmond live up its rather obvious potential... I was just thinking the other day that I think it would a great idea if Richmond started offering bigger tax breaks and incentives for businesses to bring more jobs into the city... I also think it would be great to see Richmond plan a Spanish speaking neighborhood on the south side... right now many Spanish speakers live on the south side, but Richmond seems reticent to acknowledge that... I say screw that... over people with Hispanic backgrounds incentives to move to the South side and call it little Mexico... open up community centers were people can learn English and Spanish offer all services in bi-lingual form... open up a legal services office to help low income people with legal matters including immigration... Any large city you go to has sections of town where English is the second language and the culture is decidedly un-American I think Richmond should accept and embrace that.

Jeremy: I like that idea. I'm curious about the Hispanic culture in our area. It appears to be growing, but I have no clue where they live/hang out. I see them working construction or of course we have all the Mexican restaurants, but I couldn't tell you where to find these people in the off hours. But, I think if you had a large majority of them in a certain location like "the bottom" or that’s probably different from real "south Richmond". Then I would say it would be good for the city to support something like what you are talking about.

Adam: Yeah the bottom is a whole other thing, but yeah not only would it be beneficial for the city, but think of the great PR... or bad... but Richmond would be the city that has opened it's doors to the one group people still feel like it is okay to hate... while others a trying to kick them out we are asking them to come and be part of our great city...

Jeremy: Yeah, good call. What do you think it would take to get that done?

Adam: A Mayor and City Council that get it and are not afraid to think outside of the box... It is a pretty low overhead deal... maybe a few new signs and banners like they have in DC's Chinatown, maybe you rename a few streets with Spanish names and maybe you post all the public signs in both English and Spanish... but really the idea is just to entice people into the area... but like we have already said this is not a normal idea and I don't think normal politicians would be willing to make it happen.

Jeremy: Do you have a normal mayor and city council?

Adam: Wilder might be crazy enough as a mayor but the Council are all corrupt old school politicians who would never think this far outside the box.

Jeremy: hmm....it doesn’t really seem like a hard idea to grasp? Are Hispanics really that despised up there?

Adam: I would say that people around here don't outwardly treat Hispanics poorly, but they are more than willing to continue to stereotype them and push them into some sort of servant class economically.

Jeremy: So I think you should talk to the mayor and see what they think?

Adam: A proposal of sorts...

Adam Says: Archenemy

I have found my nemisis, my archenemy, the bane of my existence, the rival to rival all others...
Thats right the standard american toilet has been a thorn in my side for the better part of four days...including all three of my three day weekend days... As many of you may know my wife and I purchased a house in Richmond Virginia last fall, and we got a wicked good deal because the house needed some work... soon after we bought the house we found a small hole in the bathroom floor... cause for concern yes, but the rest of the floor was in good shape so I made a quick fix and moved on... this was my first mistake. Also soon after our purchase we noticed that the toilet had an audible leak... needless to say we let this go for several months... actually until Friday night when I decided to go to the Lowe's and pick up a new rubber flapper to try and stop the leaking noise.... well that did no good, so my wife and I decided to gut the whole tank and start over... so once more back to the Lowe's... this could go on for a while so let me shorten it up... after no fewer than seven trips to the Lowe's we finally came to the realization that we needed to replace the whole thing! Which then led me to make the stupidest decision of my entire life... I decided to also fix the floor in the process... urgh! Things were discovered... flanges where bought... plywood was cut... tile was cut and cut and cut... washers were tightened... obviously we were without a toilet and for the most part without water all weekend long... actually I was so stressed by the whole thing that it caused me to set up a new calming mood mix on the Itunes full of all the tuned down folk and acoustic music I could find... and once I completed the blasted project at roughly 530 this evening I put on my Pump Up mix to celebrate... oh yes nothing gets me going like Trick Daddy screaming "Lets Go!" To sum the whole thing up... buy a new home with all plastic plumbing. Am I the only one who has to deal with these home owner headaches?