2/20/2008
 The neighborhood has been in upheaval lately over the expansion of a homeless mission near our southern border. This could mean the death of us all (or at least our property values)... or it might only mean that a few more men and women receive a bed and a chance to start over. It could go either way.
In this week's UTW, Michael Bates weighs in on this issue – as he does – and neighborhood planning in general.
Read the column online at urbantulsa.com.
(Notice that in the photo cut line, the homeless are referred to as "substance-addled vagrants". I sincerely believe that this is meant to be tongue in cheek ... otherwise my bleeding heart wouldn't be able to take it.)
There is also an opinion piece stating that downtown is being run into the ground. The tone seems a little... cranky. Road maintenance is annoying at best, but it's also temporary and really hardly a reason to be hatin'. Most of the downtown development is still in planning mode – so maybe you guys can wait to start singing the failure song at least until construction starts. Yes, the Brady District has been the butt of planning errors. Yes, the prison location isn't ideal (what were they thinking?!). Unless you have arson up your sleeve, you're just going to have to deal with it... preferably in a constructive manner.
This is the line that bothers me the most:
"People are afraid to come to Downtown Tulsa in the daytime let alone at night. It is axiomatic that anyone who is fearful of venturing into Downtown Tulsa in the daytime is going to be even more fearful of driving or walking around downtown in the dark."
Who are these people who are afraid to go Downtown during the daylight!? Have they been Downtown? Have they been to Tulsa!? Decidedly.Not.Scary. It's "axiomatic" that Tulsans need to toughen up and live a little.
But then I live in North Tulsa... if I want to impress people I only have to tell them that I take out the trash after 9 pm. I'm pretty hardcore after all.
Speaking of being hardcore in Tulsa: I love Indie Tulsa so hard! Red Fork Hippie makes me want to unpack my Holga and take a day trip... after it warms up.Labels: life, Tulsa
posted at 11:33 AM
1 comments
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Senator Obama's latest string of wins can be attributed to the efforts of a small town in Japan.
“He put up a good fight on Super Tuesday and then won seven consecutive contests, so I think our support did him no harm and, in fact, carried him in the right direction,” Mr. Fujiwara said. “That happens sometimes. You enter a restaurant and there’s no one inside, but the moment you sit down and order something, customers start coming in one after the other.”
Thanks guys.
Ron Paul supporters are still working to uncover the conspiracy that will explain the link between Obama the candidate, and Obama the rural fishing village. My guess is that it has something to do with the federal reserve and how it sucks.
Labels: barack obama, politics
posted at 11:05 AM
0 comments
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2/10/2008
Yesterday I found our neighbor's dog, Tucker, wandering around the ally without his collar. This is not an unusual sight as Tucker is a chronic escapee... poor guy just doesn't like being cooped up. But, what with the pack of wild dogs terrorizing the neighborhood, it's a tough life out there for a collarless dog, and so we're holding Tucker captive in our back yard until our neighbor's return home at the end of the weekend.
Just look at him... isn't he gorgeous? He's a chow/labrador mix and moves like a lion. These pictures really don't do him much justice.
I don't care how big the puppy dog eyes... when a dog's sole claim to fame is smashing through pane glass windows to freedom, I'm just not going to let him stay inside.
Fiona may be small, but she is not easily intimidated.
Fiona doesn't get much canine social interaction.... because she's a dominant terror with a Napoleon complex. I don't blame her... it's a hard life for us kids with stubbly legs.
It doesn't take long before Tucker bows to her obvious superiority... or maybe she just annoys him into submission. Fiona for the win!Labels: life
posted at 5:25 PM
2 comments
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It was a creed written into the founding documents
that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists
as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores
and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can.
It was the call of workers who organized;
women who reached for the ballot;
a President who chose the moon as our new frontier;
and a King who took us to the mountain-top
and pointed the way to the Promised Land.
Yes we can to justice and equality. (yes we can)
Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
Yes we can heal this nation.
Yes we can repair this world.
Yes we can.
Si Se Puede.
We know the battle ahead will be long,
but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way,
nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices
calling for change.
We want change!
We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics
who will only grow louder and more dissonant.
We've been asked to pause for a reality check.
We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
But in the unlikely story that is America,
there has never been anything false about hope.
We want change!
I want Change.
The hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon
are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
we will remember that there is something happening in America;
that we are not as divided as our politics suggests;
that we are one people;
we are one nation;
and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America's story
with three words that will ring from coast to coast;
from sea to shining sea
Yes. We. Can.
Yes We Can (Obama for America): will.i.am., et al. (2008)
Labels: barack obama, politics
posted at 3:13 PM
0 comments
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