Weaver Street comes to Hillsborough

Coming May 17th
Coming at the end of May
Coming June 10th
Coming June 17th
Coming June 19th! - 10AM

After many delays and much anticipation (and alot of changes to the printed banner) the Weaver Street market is finally open here in Hillsborough. Having been chairman of the Historic District commission at the time this project was proposed I must admit I was all for approval of almost ANY building that would include a downtown grocery store. Access to a food store within walking distance of downtown makes Hillsborough a truly livable, walkable community. The first day of shopping was a complete success with the lawn jammed with diners and the store crowded with shoppers.

Flickr

The images above are photos I shot and can be found on my Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/holdenrichards/. Flickr has become my latest web 2.0 addiction. Its like facebook for photographers. People see your photographs, comment on the ones they like (often what they like about it) at the same time you get a world's worth of different views from behind the viewfinder. One of my photographs (the one of the parking lot light) was picked for a Flickr group "All But One" where every photo in the stream had one thing askew from the rest. The Admin for the group lives and photographs in Russia and he found my picture posted in another group and claimed it for his as well. Watching Flickr is as interesting as participating yourself so check it out if you haven't and get clicking that shutter if you have.

Whats on the Shuffle?

The iPod shuffle being smaller is an exercise in choice. I use my shuffle all the time when I exercise and work around the house so the collection on it tends to be really cohesive or extremely diverse here's whats on it at the moment.

REM - Accelerate
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Radiohead - Pablo Honey
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
The Daysleepers - Drowned in the Sea of Sound
U2 - Unforgettable Fire
Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight
The Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Coldplay - Viva la Vida single

What does this collection say - who knows. Most of the uptempo stuff is a reaction to loads of folk-core, slow, quiet, acoustic records that have been filling up the record store and my cabinet. The Dodos, Owen, Bon Iver, Iron and Wine, Kings of Convenience, Junetile and endless amounts of beautiful acoustic quietude thats beginning to all blend and be the same record. I love all the aforementioned acoustic stuff but its summertime, even on my iPod.

Fictional Fun

My daughter Cara and I sat around one cold winter day last year and dreamed up a character that was a cranky, cantankerous, crusty old uncle. The scenario was that he had to watch a very, very bored 8 year old nephew and we dreamt up things he would say to the poor kid to keep him busy and away from his uncle.

Hey Look Kid Here's...

An umbrella, you're a Japanese lady
A book, your're smart
Scissors, you're a barber, go talk to your mother
Soap, you're clean
an apron, you're a cook tonight
A cardboard box
A stick and a blanket, you're an Indian
your thumb, you're a hitchiker
The grass, you're in Hawaii
A basket, you're the Easter Bunny
A quarter, you're the tooth fairy
Go climb the chimney, you're Santa
A candle, you're a jack-o-lantern
An ice cube, you're an Eskimo
A knife, you're a samurai, go talk to your Uncle Tony about that bet we made last night
A pillow, you're a pregnant lady
A bucket of soap, you're Cinderella
You can walk, you're a model
A dot, you're from India
A tub of water, you're a deep sea diver
A paper airplane, you're an astronaut
I'll poke your eye out, you're a pirate
At your clothes, you're a hobo
A hose, you're a firefighter
A cross, go fight the vampires
A leaf, you're greek
A leaf, you're adam
A washcloth, you're your mother
A flashlight, turn out the lights you're a train.
A bottle of wine, you're your Uncle Tony
Some dirt and your finger, you're a painter
Some twigs, you're a beaver
My ring, you're a king
Your mothers shoes, you're an elf
A triangle, you're in the symphony
A cowbell, you're a rock star
A nail, you're a carpenter
Use your eyeballs, laser tag, talk to your mother
Your mothers earrings, its a basketball hoop
Don't talk, you're a mime
A match, you're Satan
Some cheese, you're French
At your smile, you're from West Va
Some duct tape
Take off your clothes, you're Lady Godiva
A mask, you're spiderman
A doughnut, you're a cop
A tree, you're a hippie
An egg, you're a hen
An apple, you're William Tell
A carrot and two pieces of coal, you're a snowman
Some tinfoil, you're an antenna
You're a vampire, go bite your sister
A hat, you're a magician
A screwdriver, you're a burglar
A virus, go play with your little friends
Stand by the side of the road, you're a stop sign
Some flour, you're old
A chair, you're your grandpa
The classifieds, find a job
A suitcase, you're a tourist
A needle, you're a seemstress
Some breadcrumbs, you're Hansel and Gretel
A glove, you're Michael Jackson
A rock, it's your pet
A barbie, you've got a date
A lottery ticket, you're a loser

It's a New (to me) Car...

No its not whats behind curtain number three Monty... Its what I bought today to carrry me enjoyably through a few middle years of my life. A nice snappy Swedish designed, American made Saab 9.3 convertible. I have always wanted a convertible since I was sixteen so the wait is over for me at last. I was able to get a considerably good trade and great service from Chapel Hill Auto on Franklin Street (ask for Luis he's a good guy trying to make a living like the rest of us.)OK so its not a "new" car but its a "new to me" car and thats good enough. I really enjoyed driving it today and can't wait to see it perform on the highway. The Toyota is a great car but with grown kids its time for a car I can enjoy a bit eh?

Hillarys Race Card

A quote from this article:

"They were particularly unnerved by Clinton's comments earlier this week that appeared to be racially insensitive or racially calculated when she said, "Sen. Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again."

Let me just say to Hillary that I'm glad to be a white slacker for Obama...

Yes He Did

An exciting day for Obama supporters in NC! I enjoyed working at Obama headquarters in Orange County quite a bit. Mostly because the people there were not only committed they were nice people. Daniel and Adam (2 of the field directors for Orange County) were patient and communicated well with all the volunteers. We knew what to do and it all became routine and easy (except for canvassing). So here's to them and all the others who pitched in locally. Daniel has been with the Obama campaign since South Carolina running field offices in various counties all over the country. So he particularly savored this win and our amazing countywide support level (77% of Orange County went for Obama). When the announcement came from CNN the whole office cheered and ran outside to wave signs at passers-by and cheer some more. It was gratifying to see everyone happy and anticipatory of a possible win in Indiana at the NC victory gathering at Top of the Hill. I hope everyone involved in this primary win gets to do it again in an Obama for President campaign this fall.




Indiana Update: This from the Huffington Post

"Conversely, the significance of Clinton's victory in Indiana was undermined by indications that a statistically significant number of Republicans, perhaps as many as 7 percent of all the votes cast, were following the suggestion of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh to cast ballots for her in the Democratic primary."