Well there's no shortage of things to blog about, that's for sure.
Bernie Kerik has been shot down out of the sky. The most surprising part about that whole hoopla is that he didn't decline the nomination sooner, since surely he was aware that he owns a closet full of skeletons.
People have gone so ballistic about Pale Male being stripped of his nest that the co-op board who made the decision to remove it from their building is backing into a corner. New Yorkers really can be just like a bunch of angry pitchfork wielding farmers when they put their minds to it.
It's definitely worth mentioning that while the Pale Male story has gotten non-stop coverage in New York over the past few days, the Delaware oil tanker spill has gotten next to none, and I would not have even been aware of it if not for the highly informative "envirospam" (as Geoffrey aptly called it) that I received in my previous thread on the Pale Male topic. It's sickening that spills like this even occur. Almost as sickening as the lack of coverage that they receive. I have to hand it to every single emergency rescue worker who is out there saving wildlife. What a heartbreaking state of affairs. Will the day ever arrive when we no longer allow these kinds of "accidents," and our environment and the wildlife who inhabit it actually become more than collatoral damage in our neverending exploitation of the earth's resources?
Among the tidbits I got wind of from the news this morning was one that made me start foaming at the mouth almost instantaneously: The city is hanging up on public-telephone advertising. Now that doesn't sounds so bad does it? I'll tell you what is fucked about it. If they stop advertising on phone booths, there is no money to pay for phone booths to exist. Meanwhile, there's advertising everywhere. I invite anyone to come and visit New York City and tell me that the most offensive and overzealous advertising is on public telephones! Every day, no matter where you go, you are barraged by advertising. On buses, on billboards, on the sides of buildings, absofuckinglutely everywhere. But while I don't hear anyone talking about taking down all the other advertising that is everywhere else on earth, no one is hesitating for even a moment to start removing public telephones because the advertising is an eyesore! Are you kidding me? I am a person who does not have a cellphone. And I'll tell you honestly that finding a payphone that works in this city is almost impossible. Why? Because no one thinks it important to maintain public telephones since "everyone has cellphones anyway." Newsflash: EVERYONE DOES NOT HAVE A CELLPHONE. And those who don't have one shouldn't be forced to get one because some dumb fucking yuppies don't want to see advertising in their neighborhood in the form of a poster on the side of a public telephone. You bet that same yuppie will be throwing a hissy fit when they're jogging in the park in their J. Crew jogging outfit (that's being advertised on the side of a telephone booth in their neighborhood) and they get mugged and can't find a single public telephone that functions from which to phone the police.
Having public telephones is not only an issue of convenience, but also an issue of safety. Do not discriminate against those who choose not to buy into cellphone mania!!! And all you whiney fucking yuppies who don't want to see the advertisements, here's an idea: why don't you start by not buying so much crap that you don't need. Then you can complain about all the advertisements trying to sell you all that useless shit in the first place. Assholios.
Posted by Maria at December 13, 2004 05:16 PM | TrackBackI agree with you. Not everyone wants a cell phone. And it really isn't too safe to cut off a land line at home. 911 calls can not always be traced from a cell phone.
Posted by: pam at December 13, 2004 05:51 PMOh that's rich..the people who spend more on the most useless crap in this world now have put their heads with $100 haircuts together for no advertising! These compulsive buying pricks...hey man I don't have a cellphone either and I'd be up shit's creek without a paddle if I had an emergency and no public telephone.
Posted by: Sandy at December 14, 2004 06:16 AMa) I've never given a fuck about advertising as long as someone's not bugging me on my phone. if I don't like it, I don't have to look at it. the idea of complaining about an eyesore when you live in a big city is rather absurd. the are eyesores all over Houston.
b) I rely on my cell phone b/c my fiancé and I opted not to get a landline in our apartment (mostly b/c we didn't want to be bothered by the previously mentioned phone soliciting).
c) does paying a lot for a haircut really have anything to do with this? I get my hair done about once every 2 months and yes, I spend upwards of $100 for the cut and the color, but so what? not all of us are whiney yuppies.
Wow, I’m flabbergasted that the City is willing to forego its %26 of potential revenue on new booth ads. But of course the corporate cynic in me wonders how much, if any, of this new anti-booth-ad-faction is spurred on and/or supported by the larger telecom companies who already have enough of their own booths and simply would like to minimize competition by smaller market sharers while improving their own share. (My own perfunctory survey this morning near my office along Broadway showed phone kiosks displaying 3 mobile communications ads and one ad for a reality tv show which viewers can vote on using …wait for it… mobile text messaging. Go figure.)
But really I’m worried about Superman. First they take away his privacy, and soon enough he may just have to strip right in the middle of Broadway!
Posted by: mikey at December 14, 2004 10:04 AMBut really I’m worried about Superman. First they take away his privacy, and soon enough he may just have to strip right in the middle of Broadway!
HA! I'm really glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that b/c it would have been all over my monitor and up in my sinuses. thanks for the laugh.
Posted by: girl at December 14, 2004 10:22 AMHere in NY a $100 trip to the hair salon is cheap and I'd be happy if I could find a place that would only charge me that! Last time it was $215. No, expensive haircuts have nothing to do with yuppiedom. But I think what Sandy was saying was that these people live in one of the wealthiest areas in the country and all they can think of to complain about is advertising on phone booths (because they obviously have nothing better to do) when they are the ones who buy into that advertising in the first place. I took it as a figure of speech, not a direct attack on those who spend a lot on haircuts. It's that annoying attitude of "not in my pristine neighborhood!" that really kills me. And like you said Girl, why live in New York if things like advertising on the sides of phone booths are going to cause you to have a hissy fit? Don't want to see advertisements? Move to the fucking country.
Posted by: Maria at December 14, 2004 07:15 PMDon't expect much relief in the country. About 20 years ago GTE built a new CO in an area zoned PDR (planned dev residential) though at the time most of the land was undeveloped. Since it was a commercial use their construction required a variance and they were given a conditional use permit for their non-conforming building. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Verizon came before me for a hearing on expanding that building to meet the needs of a growing community. The public came out enmasse to tell me what a lousy neighbor Verizon was and that I should bring the full weight of authority down on them to clean up their property. Since the building was originally constructed the surrounding area had become condos, apartments, and single family dwellings. This one lone 1.3 acre property had remained an upland forest with mixed species trees, low bushes, and ferns. It is quite natural looking with some snag wood and a thick layer of duff from needles and leaves accumulating over the years. That is in contrast with the spacious lawns and meticulous landscaping on the other properties. These people argued the unkept area adversely affected their property values and diminished their quality of life. They requested I deny the building permit and rescind the conditional use permit. Fine. I've heard these arguments used before by neighbors. What was surprising were the people themselves. Many who gave testimony have appeared before me previously telling me about the onerous effects of the developement codes, how heavy handed government is, and how it prevents businesses from growing. Now they wanted me to stop a business from growing by applying the code as stringently as possible. The irony of the moment was not lost on me. I had a very hard time not laughing.
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who ordered a 6 foot cedar fence be constructed on the three sides adjoining other properties and a black vinyl coated fence be installed on the street side set back 30 feet into the woods so it couldn't be seen well. And allowed the expansion. And renewed the CUP. The applicant agreed without rebuttal.
who doesn't think nature is ugly at all and wonders why someone would not want a wooded lot next to theirs so I left a glimpse of it from the street.
Posted by: 403 at December 15, 2004 09:56 AM