Tag: Heimatkunde
-
Positive signs from the neighborhood (redated)
Jan 13, 2026: For 20 years a vacant apartment building was the worst thing in the neighborhood, constantly squatted and constantly visited by cops who weren’t allowed to do anything. This situation was NOT understandable. The property was owned by an LLC who could afford to fix things if they wanted to. In 2017 the…
-
Unsurprising but satisfying
Given activities in recent years, the chance of criminal arson for Saturday’s fire was somewhere between 100.00000% and 100.00000%. Now the bet is verified. Via Spokesman, Aaron Forrest Farinacci has been arrested for causing the Old Trails fire that destroyed 700 structures. He lived in the Catholic Criminalities homeless apts, which is (only coincidentally) the…
-
Drive-thru Day
Today is Drive-Thru Day, so I’ll reprint one of my favorite Lost Places. = = = = = START 2014 REPRINT: In the era of satellite pix and Flickr and Instagram, odd places are thoroughly documented online in precision digital form. Mysterious places that disappeared before the current era have to be pulled back to…
-
Answered two questions
On this morning’s walk I took the south loop, passing the Champion Hoarder House. There are other half-baked or temporary hoarders. This one has been packed for as long as I’ve been looking, at least 20 years. He seems to have good taste in cars. For a long time a ’65 Lincoln was parked in…
-
Solution is available
This story in Courthouse News grabbed my compassion. Hartman is a teensy town in the northeast corner of Colorado, not near much of anything. The population was 56 at the last census. Per Googlemap, it’s way off Highway 36, west of Syracuse, in a dry area with very few towns. It has a leftover grid…
-
Second try
At this point in the season, all the lilacs and roses have done their job. They start in May and finish in mid-June. Suddenly the rose next to the front door decided to send up a few new blooms. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watering the yard consistently this year? In any case I’ll take…
-
Fun with fonts
I’ve been following Daniel, one of the few remaining REAL pressmen. He’s been working with large display fonts to create art with a proof press. Now he’s designed a digital font in the same spirit. I bought it and tried it out in my 1930s Lynwood neighborhood model. The font is suitable for store signs,…
-
Snake oil to snake oil
History Today has a short article on the history of snake oil. Caught my attention by starting in Oklahoma. In 1901 a former circus performer named Susan Masall set herself up as a one-stop snake shop in the snaky part of the state, making snake venom for the peddlers and also for more legit purposes.…
-
0% action, 100% buzzwords
The demonic “city” has done its trillionth meaningless “task force” on the most basic functions of government, and it still hasn’t done any actual WORK. This “task force” was assembled after a previous “task force” wrote an intentionally failed “referendum” designed to guarantee that nothing would improve. Three years later, the “stakeholders” are congratulating each…
-
Manors vs non-manors
Random thought spawned by calling the western part of this state Bezos Manor. Bezos unquestionably owns Seattle and thus the state in a personal way. He is lord of the manor, residing in the manor. In old German terms he is Jeff von und zu Seattlesburg. Before he claimed the manor in 2010, it was…
-
Back to the 50s
NOT this week’s theme of Missed Points! Some new neighbors (not next door) have been taking advantage of pleasant weather in a pure 1950s way. The whole family is outside playing around, making happy noises, and barbecuing. Kids are walking and biking. Tonight they’re SINGING ALONG WITH THE RADIO IN HARMONY!!!!!! By god, I haven’t…
-
Impressive system
This monster has been SLOWLY rotating and SLOWLY sliding eastward for several days without weakening or breaking up. Thursday night it gave us an unusually strong storm with plenty of lightning and isolated big gusts. Fortunately the gusts didn’t hit my neighborhood this time. The central cyclone is clear. Right now the monster spans all…
-
Opening a view
This is an ordinary urban view of an ordinary unkempt backyard. The view is important to me because it wasn’t available for several years. From 1991 until 2008 I used the back door often. In 2009 a renovation made it harder to open, and I gradually stopped using it. This year my old washing machine…
-
Bailey’s Corners vs Potterville
Picture of the Enid square around 1954 judging by the newest cars. The mix of car brands (at least in this small sample!) fits my theory of Okie oddballs. Oklahoma was settled by nonconformists, so nonconformists remained common. Nine cars visible. Two Chrysler products, one Ford, three GM, one Hudson, two Studebakers. If you selected…
-
Temples great and small
Reading another part of the McAlester guide to American architecture. The chapter on Greek Revival styles includes an unexpected math formula. The first term is the veranda or porch. All of the Euro colonizing powers added porches in different forms when they encountered hot non-Euro climates in India, Africa and the Americas. Most of these…
Polistra's Mill 