September 11, 2006
The Haunting of Morris Yaegashi
About a week ago there was a little hangout and Paul & Mary Ferris' digs. We ended up being there quite late; eventually Morris fell asleep. Andy had his digital camera, which let to a whole series of long-exposure shots and a whole bunch of trial and error. It was a blast to do. I'm not sure Morris even knows about these, now that I think about it.
Anyways, I find them hilarious. Thanks Andy for uploading them. If you want to see the whole series from that night, check 'em out here.
And by the way, what happened to my PBR hat?
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 07:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2006
There Will Be Feasting & Dancing...
mmm... mojito!
This past Saturday we celebrated the birthday of Paul Ferris (who's blog I wont link to for obvious reasons, oh nevermind). There was much grilling, much mojitoing, much bourboning (ok, just on my part), much Gunthering, and a particularly moving cover of Guns n' Roses "Patience" by Morris.
Andy has a great photoset up of the night. A couple of them were taken by April, this one of Ty is killer.
This Friday is my birthday. I'm turning 27. I'll be officially in my upper twenties. April says there's some kind of sheninigans going down somewhere. I expect you all to be there.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 11:12 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
The St. Elmo Chan Chan
It hits periodically; "hits" being my phrase for randomly played song on iTunes. Is that a phrase other folks use in describing the same? Regardless, "Chan Chan" by the Buena Vista Social Club is just so smooth.
St. Elmo, the neighborhood in which I live, is an occasional topic on this blog. Its a a place I've grown to deeply love, and one that's starting to feeling like home or family for better or worse.
I wish I had the ability to accurately describe the racial situation in St. Elmo. Its something akin to an uneasy peace, or the big looming elephant in the room nobody quite knows how to talk about.
I'm proud to say I feel like I played some part in the exorcising of the final remnants of the racist demons in the neighborhood association, but e-mails like the one sent out on the neighborhood list (included below in the Extended Entry) only serve to remind me of how far the neighborhood has come, and just how damn far it has to go.
I wish Jesus had left a clear-er gameplan for these things, something like "Josiah, if you're going to live in the south end of St. Elmo, here's how you love your neighbors and here's how you make amends for the evils of the past." Instead we're left in the hands of faith and the Holy Spirit.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 09:01 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 02, 2006
Environmental Concerns
A rather amusing "angle" was proposed recently as a position from which to fight the construction of a new gas station in the area. The general bais against the station stems largely from an aesthetic concern, namely that gas stations are ugly and this station like all other gas stations will be just as ugly.
The believed consequence of an ugly gas station (and one I share) is that it will reduce the overall value of a neighborhood and serve as a hinderance to further development and increased property values.
The problem is you can't argue the latter on the grounds of free market principles (for the most part), and the former is untenable because its a public relations nightmare of a strategy, especially in this town.
So what avenue of recourse is left to us? Oppose it on environmental grounds! This is an actual quote:
And then it all comes together. Note the "some dramatic" and the "and such". Its not about content: the actual things the gas station would effect are irrelevant, what matters is the "dramatic".
I love working for the neighborhood, but the political shenanigans at best are amusing.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 09:25 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
February 21, 2006
New St. Elmo Playground
If you live in St. Elmo, by all means come this Saturday at 3 to the Southside Rec Center for a design session for the new playground to be built on the Old Rec Center property. Its being built by the same folks that did the Pumpkin Patch up on Signal.
Mark design a really cool flyer for the event which you can see here.
Right now I'm waiting for the 1.2K+ flyers to get in from the printer. Because of the cost of the printing we're distributing them by foot to all the homes in St. Elmo (a little over a thousand).
Gotta say, the Chattanooga GIS map is so helpful in coordinating the whole thing. Makes me feel like I'm playing some strategy game, mapping out who's responsible for what, flyer amounts to be given out, etc.
Anyways, thanks to everyone who's agreed to help thus far. And if you think you could pass out flyers tonight or tomorrow, by all means let me know, even if its just one block!
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 11:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 10, 2006
They Were Shining There for You and Me!
Great article from theboxtank on Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church along with a link to some amazing pictures. Worth the read. I've seriously got to visit that church.
For those of you in St. Elmo and/or care, Learning Structures is by far the coolest playground company I've ever heard of (not that I've done more than oh, 30 minutes of research in my life on the subject). Their process is what really amazes me: planning charettes with both kids and parents and then the neighborhood actually helps build the thing they've helped design.
And for those of you "in the know", this is what the Ad-Hoc Park Committee is going to propose to the board to propose to the neighborhood to propose to the city to pursue. Will be some fund fundraising we'll need to do, but I'm thinking we're up to the task.
I was thinking that'd it'd be useful to have kids of my own to enjoy the playground, but then I realized I'd be out there on my own anyway.
I'm thinking the park could be called Ed "Thunder" Sunder Memorial Park.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 01:01 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
Christmas in St. Elmo
So its Christmas, in St. Elmo to be precise. Do enjoy that old favorite from Matt Turner.
Also, if you haven't already checked them out (and I doubt you haven't, as my site is getting 4K+ unique a day most of them looking for those songs), do download the Sufjan Stevens Christmas Albums.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 04:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 21, 2005
Hoppy's Last Resort
I can't say enough about Hoppy's Last Resort. It's a beautiful place, exactly what St. Elmo needed. I feel like a large part of my life is now complete.
They're also open for lunch, and their menu looks like fairly straightforward pub food. I'll know more after I have lunch there today.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 10:48 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Trouble
Hoppy, proprietor of the now defunct Stone Lion, is opening up his new bar, Hoppy's Last Resort, two doors down from Coptix at the former location of the Safari Pub, tonight.
Just in time for winter.
Oh the glory, oh the trouble.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 12:11 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
Have Historic District, Need Big Ugly Lasik Eye Surgery Sign
So Joel Fortune has decided the best thing to do with the old Zahnd's building property is to build a 45' high sign, dead smack dab in the middle of the Business district of St. Elmo.
You can imagine the community just LOVES this. If anyone was left in St. Elmo who didn't hate Joel Fortune before, there's no longer apathetic.
Anyways, all sorts of things are in the works in protests. Petitions, postcards to the mayor and City Council, etc. Checkout this article on the 'Noogan.
Sadly, I'm not sure there's much we can do. The billboard is going to net Mr. Fortune thousands of bucks a month for simply leasing the property. It's a classic example of quick and easy dollar economics. Depressing.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 04:38 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 02, 2005
National Night Out
Tonight is the National Night Out. I think that means we're all supposed to hang around outside and meet our neighbors 'n stuff.
I want to get a portable basketball hoop. It'd be cool to play ball underneath the streetlamp.
One way or another, I'll be outside. Walkin' 'round.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 01:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2005
The South Will Rise Again
M-to-the-T sent this trailer (quicktime download) to me for a zombie movie set in the South entitled "The South Will Rise Again".
Looks funny...I think. I'll certainly see it and I'm very interested in seeing what it contributes to the zombie canon, or if it sheds any light on the various discussions on zombies occuring.
MAT also finished my new theme song. That guy is a genius.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 10:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 10, 2005
Defensible Space
Been reading a book called "Creating Defensible Space" by Oscar Newman. Its a study of building and neighborhood types and their effects/relationships to crime (more or less).
You can download the whole book for free here.
It's interesting that St. Elmo's "improvement" has largely occured without government intervention (although CNE has redone a few homes), as opposed to revitalization of the neighborhoods discussed in the book's case studies.
St. Elmo has benefited from the more general city-wide "improvement" inertia, particularly the downtown and southsides, along with the neighborhood's close proximity to Lookout Mountain (though when was the last time some of the "money" folks on the mountain gave their time or cash to the St. Elmo "speedbump" on the way to their jobs downtown). Enough emphasis can't be placed on the few brave soul's who decided to venture in the neighborhood starting some 15-20 years ago jump-starting the revitalization process.
Quote from the book:
"I have found that, from the start, a planner must take into account where
all the opposition to his concepts is likely to come from and address
them first. He must understand who all the players are, what their con
cerns are, and how to involve them in the process. Mini-neighborhoods
only work if the community and the city staff really accept the idea."
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 07:03 PM | Comments (32) | TrackBack
July 08, 2005
"That's a hard name to live with"
The "Po-lice" have, for whatever reasons, gotten smarter about going after the dealerz on 55th street. The day before yesterday they picked up one guy who decided to run from the cops. On his bike. The cops got him.
The biggest issue is that cops would come around of after dusk, at which point in the day there really wasn't much dealing or hooking going on. Most of that occurs between 5:30-7:30 when people are travelling home from work and need a fix.
Yesterday the cops rolled up, 6 cars all told, a little after 6. They chased one guy named "Butthole" (seriously) on foot. Butthole was the live-in something or another with the woman in the crack house on 55th. She's also got the 6 kids there, some who are Butthole's, some of whom help their dad/step-dad deal.
So anways, cops roll up, Butthole takes off up 55th and into the woods, I think, presumably, to head up Lookout Mtn. perhaps to seek refuge with some of his customers. I dunno, I found it ironic. Regardless, Butthole was caught, arrested, and put in one of the cars.
For the next 20 minutes or so while my neighbor Gerald and I watched all this, the Cops sorta milled around, talked up what happened, and in general worked the testosterone and adrenaline out of their system. It was kind of strange, like a pack of dressed up wolves fidgeting after the kill or something.
So I'm asking Gerald who everyone is, and he tells me "they arrested Butthole." And I say inquiringly "Butthole?" He explains: "that's his streetname." I ask further "what's his name?" And he says "It's Butthole". I say "wow" and Gerald says "ya, why I never wanted a streetname. End up with something like 'Butthole'. That's a hard name to live with".
Then we watched Butthole get a body cavity search. I wont go into the details, though Gerald made a few comments 'bout Butthole hiding things in his butthole. "Like prison". I admit I laughed, though it was somewhat of a morbid laugh.
Later on Butthole's son "Shadow", all of 10 years old, showed up on his bike yelling "F--- the PO-lice!" which of course prompted an officer to get out of his car and walk over to Shadow, leaning down into his face. Shadow didn't really care for this and cussed at the cop some more. Gerald stated "That's Shadow. He's hard."
The cop then grabbed Shadow by the face, which freaked me out a little. Shadow then knocked the cop's hand away and took a few swings. The cop promptly spun him around, pinned him against his car, and put him in handcuff's declaring "alright! if that's how its gonna be. I'm taking you to juvie." He then tossed him in the back of his car.
His mom came over from the house on 55th and the cop and her talked a bit. I'm not really sure what happened after that. Mesh pulled up and he and I had to head off to see Jerry Seinfeld.
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 05:48 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 03, 2005
Notes on Chattanooga Population Data
these posts are pretty much a place for me to record my notes/research relating to urban development, St. Elmo/Chattanooga Housing, etc.
from the chrpa
Chattanooga has experienced a 10% decrease in population from 1980-2000.
Between 1991-2001 Chattanooga experienced some out-migration to counties surrounding Hamilton (in particular North Georgia). There's some concerns that if this increases it may economically impair Chattanooga/Hamilton County if businesses start locating/relocating/developing there.
St. Elmo experienced a 1% decrease in population between 1990 and 2000, and is estimated to experience another 1% population decrease by the end of 2005. (actually numbers are 2856 in 1990, 2676 in 2000, and 2594 in 2005).
My "theory" is that recent zoning changes (from R2/R3 to R1) will encourage this trend (as it stops multi-family housing options such as duplexes and apartments). Though I need to do some digging to back that up with actual statistical trends for neighborhoods in general. Though I'm fairly certain it is going to be the case in St. Elmo, as there isn't any actual room for the neighborhood to expand and there is only a few empty lots for new home building.
My guess is that St. Elmo's population will continue to decline but will be offset somewhat by current abandoned homes being bought and renovated and with some new home builds. At the point when there aren't any more of those homes the population will flatline unless zoning changes to allow for denser housing options (such as apartment complexes/condominiums).
Posted by Josiah Q. Roe at 08:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
