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Hails everyone, I know this place has been eerily silent for a while. That’s because most of my attention right now is on the property of Black Hat Magick (one of my geek friends, Elaine Mercer, is the main character of that story.) In the news, we’re moving (again) from state to state, so that’s caused a little bit of a hiccup in a production schedule in finishing out the last few booklets in the main plot campaign. Never fear! Everyone will soon get to see what happened to Patrick and company who went out to the dormitories during the evacuation of Phoenix. Meanwhile, BHM and the strange things happening on ASU in the geeky sort of way are being fleshed out in the end of Tango & Cache. And I have plans to complete and publish The Holocaust Star for everyone in ebook format. I will probably be handing out free-coupons to the ebook for everyone to get it in their hands shortly thereafter. Of course, afterwards, I’ll keep the price way down so that it doesn’t break anyone’s bank to read it. |
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Of course, this means something altogether different for Vex Harrow. As a result, this week’s spotlight Something Funny Happened at Matsuri features the festival and a lot of Nipponense-related elements. The shining example of this particular booklet is that it includes four pages of manga drawn by one of the Vexations artists and a beautiful cover. I’ve decided to make this one the spotlight for this month because Matsuri will be upon us soon this year, and it’s about time to pay some homage not just to the Nipponese heritage and culture, but also the way that Americans see them through the lens of literature, animé, and manga. I am also reminded of the World War II Japanese Internment camps, one of which was situated near Phoenix, Arizona. A terrible and stupid act by the United States that Star Trek celebrity George Takei is working on bringing more attention to so that hopefully it will never happen again. |
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This is awesome!
Who wants to visit with me? I’m going to be there Thursday and Friday after work—I might even idle my cab on Mill Ave tomorrow just to look at what they’ve done. After all, driving cab means that I can do what I want between fares. Link, via Abc15. |
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A report that appeared this morning in MyFoxPhoenix.com relates the news that part of Mill was shut down by a “suspicious package” that local bomb squad detonated. The report is extremely short,
Fortunately, it also means that there was no danger—however, it might be nice to know what they blew up. After all, once the bomb squad blew up someone’s luggage and shut down the light rail (smoldering underwear everywhere.) At least we now know that Mil Ave is open again and ASU is safe. |
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Thursday afternoon saw a crisis hit Mill Ave when fire broke out on the roof of Urban Outfitters and My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. The Tempe Fire Department shut down Mill around the intersection with 5th as the fire was fought. According to an article in AZCentral, the fire is still under investigation,
No injuries are reported, but it looks like the restaurant will be closed indefinitely as repairs and investigation are underway. Since the fire currently appears to have started at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and spread to Urban Outfitters, chances are the retail clothing store will be reopening soon enough. I’ll try to keep everyone updated on this. The last time Mill Ave saw a considerable fire was when the Andre building caught fire in August, 1999. According to news reports, traffic was restored to Mill Avenue last night. |
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Now I know that feeding these meters also feeds the Salvation Army and that’s not an organization the public should be supporting. According to an article in AZ Central, “The 11 bright-red meters were installed three years ago as the basis of the Change for Change program, the brainchild of Tempe Leadership Class XXIII.” They’re highly recognizable and you’ll probably know what I’m talking about the moment that you heard about them. Initially, I’ve been somewhat ambivalent about them. I enjoy that someone in Tempe actually wants to think of doing something good for the homeless population and comfort the Mill rats. However, further reading of the article reveals that the proceeds from the meters go to Tempe Community Action Agency, Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development and HomeBase Youth Services—and the Salvation Army. Right now, the Salvation Army promotes evil, bigoted views involving members of the LGBT community—a notable number of whom are represented within the homeless population in Tempe—and this organization also lauds themselves for spending some of their money on their bigoted behavior. A Facebook page popped up last year to make obvious that this behavior isn’t welcome in a free country like the United States and that they’re prejudiced against a segment of the very population they claim to seek to aid speaks volumes about the care we can expect them to give to the subject. The homeless population is better off if you give your money to HomeBase, Tumbleweed, or many others who do not have a reputation of anti-civil rights policies. Your money is better spent actually promoting the welfare of homeless individuals and our community in general than it is supporting an organization that cannot bring itself to treat all its charges with fairness regardless of their sexual orientation. Worse, the Salvation Army’s high level leaders have gone as far as to request that they be exempt from antidiscrimination laws from when receiving money from the Federal government; and when faced with being forced not to discriminate, they threatened to stop work for the homeless in New York City. Now, I’ve spent my share of time slumming it with the Mill rats for most of my life. I love these people. They are my people and I enjoy my time with them. We can do better than to fund a bigoted organization when there are many others who don’t have a civil rights and discrimination issue that they’re fighting to keep (using the money we give them to aid the homeless to do it.) Until the Change for Change program stops giving money to the Salvation Army or the Salvation Army cleans up its act I will not be putting money into those meters. Neither should you. [Image credit Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic, via AZCentral.com] |
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Tomorrow, the Stop Online Privacy Act heads to a vote in the House Judiciary Committee. This much-omened act places a multitude of cherished traditions of free discourse in the United States on the chopping block of corporate copyright with the law hovering overhead like the axe of Damocles. Of course, numerous people who should know what censorship can do to the world have begun to rise up against this terrible legislation. Amid them are journalists, writers, and even the makers of the World of Warcaft. In honor of this—and to spread awareness of it—writer Kyt Dotson has put up the short story Dragon Tamers censored. To uncensor it, you must send an e-mail to representatives about why they shouldn’t pass laws like this. As a taxi cab driver, I listen to people speak every day. I have a strange glimpse into their lives and what makes them tick. Many on my beat have jobs that use the Internet on a regular basis and some of them spend most of the ride tapping away at their mobile phones on social media sites. Instead of providing good and proper tools to fight what is seen as copyright infringement and piracy, the Stop Online Piracy Act will give tools of censorship to giant corporate copyright holders. The United States does not need this tyranny of copyright; the law already provides a powerful resource for copyright holders both inside and outside of the US Internet. Say no to censorship. Link, via the EFF; and Dragon Tamers (censored) by Kyt Dotson. |
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Every now and again, I look around YouTube to see how the community of the Internet feels about our red bricks. This one seems to be made by a well-voiced narrator and some lovely editing using background sounds and static images. Take a gander. Link, via YouTube. Head over to YouTube and leave some comments too, let the producer know that Mill Ave has fans. |
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Now, according to an article in The State Press, Michael Monti has added yet another accolade to his political belt: he’s been endorsed by now Tempe City Mayor Hugh Hallman as a candidate in the mayoral race for the city.
Humbling to say the least—I didn’t even know that Monti was seeking the mayorship. I guess that shows how much attention I pay to most of Tempe politics; at least that which doesn’t directly affect Mill Avenue. Looking at his opponents, I’d say he’s got quite a run in front of him. Two thorough politicians in the form of Tempe city councilwoman Linda Spears—serving from 1994 to 1998—and son of past Tempe City mayor and former U.S. congressman Harry Mitchell, Tempe councilman Mark Mitchell. In a sort of way, it might be interesting to have an entrepreneur rather than a politician in the mayor’s seat for a while; but looking at the sort of path the city has made for Mill Avenue, I’m not sure anyone is going to be ideal for that seat. Truthfully, I’m going to be rooting for Monti because in a lot of ways he’s one of ours. For good or ill, he’s been part of the Ave for a very long time and although this still divorces him from the day-to-day problems that have been heaped down by the city’s decisions; it also means that he knows some of their effects. It means also that he may have a better boots-on-the-ground strategy for fixing it. If he wins, I’ll probably be one of the first to park my cab at La Casa Vieja to go in and congratulate him. |
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Tomorrow, Oct 15, Occupy Phoenix will be preparing their occupation of Cesar Chavez Plaza, 201 W. Washington St. I am offering a ride to several of my friends who will be joining you for the occupation event. These protests have been changing lives for weeks now and it’s obvious that a mark is being made. I won’t be able to occupy with you—except perhaps for a few hours at a time—but I’ll be with you in spirit. Stand strong. From another one of the 99%. |
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