tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74942432024-03-07T03:27:48.564-05:00steve's blogNever underestimate the depth of a curious mind.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.comBlogger2352125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-3675100280012622962015-10-11T09:26:00.000-05:002015-10-11T09:28:02.273-05:00more than meets the eye<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">People often deride what they perceive as simple things designed by architects, many times with a harrumph and stating "anyone could do that!"</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">But could they?</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">To properly design things, you have to know why design matters. It's not aesthetics. Neither is it "structure." Nor is it "function." It's a synthesis of elements including program, site, light, materials and often, feeling. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Consider the work of Mies van de Rohe. Mies' work, to the untrained eye, looks "simple." Upon closer examination, the simplicity gives way to a complex amalgam of formal rules that guide the placement and material choice of every single element of the building. Through extensive planning, a system develops and creates a work of architecture. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Architecture is not something that comes solely by chance, by birth, or out of a book. It comes with talent, education and experience. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">Architects don't learn how to design buildings in school. They learn how to see programming, details, materials and their relation to each other, both in context and in the broader environment. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">It's powerful stuff. Distilling it down to something people can use (and pay you to create) is a lifelong challenge. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">So, the next time you see something designed by a design professional, consider the things unseen, not just what you see. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;"></span>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-64487395260302804002010-10-03T22:10:00.002-05:002010-10-03T22:24:20.969-05:00Belk gets new logo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkHxw81FHNq1zN-IaWEQyVZjGq0pLH5bkQXXXbue8tXZeisqgFyp3ftFRluKmEp-UQUWXdVC4iTo-bs5fnGNpKmgKJl_P4_rGbVwXKAYZmxKBL3OQ1zKxy5zlN0DL7x6Ew_RfRA/s1600/8934149-large.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkHxw81FHNq1zN-IaWEQyVZjGq0pLH5bkQXXXbue8tXZeisqgFyp3ftFRluKmEp-UQUWXdVC4iTo-bs5fnGNpKmgKJl_P4_rGbVwXKAYZmxKBL3OQ1zKxy5zlN0DL7x6Ew_RfRA/s320/8934149-large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524026307110757218" border="0" /></a>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Charlotte-based Belk is looking to update its 122-year-old image.<br /><br />The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that the iconic Southern department store chain will spend about $70 million to change its logo to a more modern look and rebrand itself. Belk last changed its script logo 43 years ago.<br /><br />The new logo will be all lowercase letters. The first wave of about 60 stores to get the new signs will be in larger cities of Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte and Raleigh. The rest of the company's 300 stores get the signs over the next year.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-12731082621287056442010-02-08T20:30:00.001-05:002010-02-08T20:40:29.538-05:00closet - room merge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4faBneuxmJuobFj9rRARWFjCCVPSwaalanydMzGuveOiQWN7DHwDNHO_jZSLONu69M6MjUs1tPoLAzNvHGh1GHzs6u1WTwlu-keRpqNqpNbShaKQojQmtwKcFYD9gscKvZgE9A/s1600-h/ZitsCLOSETcartoonBIG.jpg.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4faBneuxmJuobFj9rRARWFjCCVPSwaalanydMzGuveOiQWN7DHwDNHO_jZSLONu69M6MjUs1tPoLAzNvHGh1GHzs6u1WTwlu-keRpqNqpNbShaKQojQmtwKcFYD9gscKvZgE9A/s400/ZitsCLOSETcartoonBIG.jpg.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436051829522084402" border="0" /></a>A woman after my own heart.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-14926467018597024072009-12-31T12:00:00.004-05:002009-12-31T12:00:03.602-05:00My 2009 in Photos<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3213748811/" title="Inauguration 2009 by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3391/3213748811_2a27272c4e.jpg" alt="Inauguration 2009" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />January - Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3321278658/" title="IKEA Charlotte by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/3321278658_aac2915094.jpg" alt="IKEA Charlotte" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />February - IKEA comes to Charlotte.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3475940471/" title="Katz's Delicatessen by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3353/3475940471_43a4a37873.jpg" alt="Katz's Delicatessen" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />March - Only in New York<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3476830238/" title="L'Enfant Plaza Station - Washington Metro by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3614/3476830238_fd94aba077.jpg" alt="L'Enfant Plaza Station - Washington Metro" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />April - Brutalism can be cool...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3649071413/" title="Balthazar by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3649071413_2bf628c3d4.jpg" alt="Balthazar" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />May - ...so can paying too much for dinner.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3640610166/" title="Oriole Park at Camden Yards by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3640610166_183a40c575.jpg" alt="Oriole Park at Camden Yards" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />June - An American pastime...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3710518952/" title="Independence Day 2009 by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3710518952_d84f90196c.jpg" alt="Independence Day 2009" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />July - ...and a family tradition.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3787499572/" title="Bill's Truck Stop by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3787499572_927a1d09f2.jpg" alt="Bill's Truck Stop" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />August - Beauty's where you find it...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3897735850/" title="Silver Diner by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3494/3897735850_21f1862409.jpg" alt="Silver Diner" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />September - ...often finding it by accident.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/3978697838/" title="U2 360° Tour Charlottesville 017 by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3521/3978697838_6352bfaf5e.jpg" alt="U2 360° Tour Charlottesville 017" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />October - Icons of rock...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/4142087965/" title="SouthPark by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/4142087965_3fbf093301.jpg" alt="SouthPark" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />November - ...icon of retail.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/4164877187/" title="Biltmore House by Joe Architect, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2800/4164877187_fc56f52757.jpg" alt="Biltmore House" width="500" height="375" /></a><br />December - With a dramatic finish.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Happy New Year, Y'all!</span></div>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-22003821769094892902009-12-28T23:33:00.004-05:002009-12-28T23:40:43.793-05:00Acres of memories<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztLbVP_N2X_wBkRWqtC7SKdZn8_ywU5EmFQ0JzbU3qK86HjHJhEs244HC20VLb3I3YrQjrk7Sm_qZe8dY1Ge_w8rCAfhIZjnfODtEaNghTRNGagGqIaTHo8UPYgpmFd0l435m1g/s1600-h/news_100707_tobacco2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztLbVP_N2X_wBkRWqtC7SKdZn8_ywU5EmFQ0JzbU3qK86HjHJhEs244HC20VLb3I3YrQjrk7Sm_qZe8dY1Ge_w8rCAfhIZjnfODtEaNghTRNGagGqIaTHo8UPYgpmFd0l435m1g/s200/news_100707_tobacco2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420512864471963618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Sam Witcher can look back on eight decades of growing tobacco in Franklin County.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">By Ruth L. Tisdale | ruth.tisdale@roanoke.com | 981-3149<br />Sunday, October 07, 2007</span><br /><br />SNOW CREEK, Va. -- Rip. Snap.<br /><br />The sounds of tobacco leaves being ripped from a stalk have defined 88-year-old Sam Witcher.<br /><br />He heard it growing up in the Snow Creek area of southeast Franklin County in the 1930s while his mother washed clothes for others.<br /><br />He made the sounds when as a 15-year-old boy he pulled the leaves from the plants as a sharecropper to put food on the table for his family.<br /><br />The sounds grew louder as he bought more and more farmland in Franklin County and Henry County until he owned nearly 1,000 acres.<br /><br />But although others have sold farms to developers to pay for a better life, Witcher has kept all of the land for himself and his family.<br /><br />"I didn't want to sell the land," said Witcher, standing outside his home on a 90-degree August afternoon. "I figured my children or their children would make use of it one day."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Humble beginnings</span><br /><br />Higher education was not an option for Witcher growing up in the 1930s.<br /><br />With state-sanctioned racial segregation at an all-time high in rural Virginia, Witcher said his only option was the tobacco fields.<br /><br />"The buses weren't coming around back then to pick up blacks," Witcher said. "You had to walk five or 10 miles just to get on the bus. We couldn't go to school like the whites."<br /><br />But segregation wasn't the only motivation for Witcher to pull tobacco.<br /><br />Torn apart from his brothers and sisters after his mother lost her job, Witcher was forced to be the man of the house at age 14 and dropped out of school in the seventh grade.<br /><br />"We stayed with relatives for a while," Witcher said. "Times were hard back then. We just did what everyone else did. We pulled tobacco."<br /><br />Pulling tobacco as a black sharecropper didn't bring in as much income as it did for Witcher's white counterparts, however.<br /><br />Witcher said he made just 10 cents a day pulling tobacco, making it nearly impossible to buy land of his own.<br /><br />"They made the quota higher for us than they did the whites," he said. "You had to plant other things just to survive."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Buying land</span><br /><br />But Witcher's fortunes began to change in the 1960s. He was able to buy his own land when more and more farmers gave it up for more lucrative jobs in manufacturing plants in Danville and Martinsville.<br /><br />"There was a time when everyone grew a little bit of tobacco on their land to keep ahead," he said. "But when the manufacturing jobs started coming in, they started moving off their farms and they were selling the land at cheap prices, so I bought it."<br /><br />Witcher's other endeavors also increased his land holdings.<br /><br />In addition to growing tobacco, Witcher had a dairy farm, and raised beef cattle. He also grew hay.<br /><br />Witcher said his late wife, Elsie Warren Witcher, who was a minister at two churches in the area, kept track of all of the expenses of the household as well as the expenses of the business.<br /><br />"She knew where everything was," he said. "She kept everything going."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Family affair</span><br /><br />As his farms grew, Witcher began using his 11 children to help pull tobacco.<br /><br />"We just had 10 acres at first," he said. "That was good back then. But we would get the girls out there to pull the tobacco, and when the boys got old enough, they would pull it."<br /><br />Darlene Swain, one of Witcher's daughters, said she remembers pulling tobacco in the morning before going to school and again after coming home.<br /><br />"There were six girls before there were any boys," Swain said. "Daddy used to always joke that he wouldn't have any boys to help him. We girls were happy when he finally got his boys."<br /><br />Out of Witcher's four sons, three have continued on in the family tradition, with all three owning more than 400 acres of land each in Franklin County. None of his seven daughters has gone into farming.<br /><br />Elvis Witcher, one of Sam Witcher's youngest sons, has taken over much of the land that his father used to farm in addition to the nearly 400 acres he owns.<br /><br />With work boots covered with red Virginia soil and sweat pouring from his brow from bending low to rip tobacco leaves from their stalk, Elvis Witcher said his father's land still produces more than 450,000 pounds of flue-cured tobacco a year.<br /><br />Witcher said the amount of work to be done to his father's land is so much that they have to hire 20 men to help with the planting and the harvest, which ends in early November.<br /><br />"We have had only one year where we didn't have a crop, and that was in 2003, when there was a flood," Witcher said.<br /><br />Witcher said the family hasn't had to take out any loans for machinery and didn't take a buyout from the government. In 2004 the federal government offered such buyouts as part of the end of the federal tobacco-quota program, which regulated where tobacco could be grown and the prices for which it could be sold.<br /><br />"We've been lucky," Witcher said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A dying breed</span><br /><br />The Witcher family success is a rarity among black farmers nationwide, said John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association.<br /><br />"Black tobacco farmers are becoming extinct at an alarming rate," Boyd said. "They just don't have the capital to compete in today's industry. They are losing land and are being wiped out."<br /><br />At the beginning of the 1900s, black farmers owned more than 15 million acres of land; today they own fewer than 3 million, Boyd said.<br /><br />The number of black farmers also has decreased by 50 percent in the past 25 years, and there is only one other black family in Franklin County that raises tobacco, Boyd said.<br /><br />Blacks own just 1 percent of all farms, with the number of black-owned farms dropping from 54,367 in 1982 to 29,090 in 2002, according to documents obtained by the Environmental Working Group, a watchdog organization that documents discrimination against black farmers.<br /><br />Boyd said that while 60 percent of the 11,000 tobacco members in his organization took the 2004 tobacco buyout, the rest did not know about it, and many have since sold their farms.<br /><br />"Many of these people do not have telephones; some don't even have inside toilets," Boyd said. "It's hard to expect them to go on the Internet and find out this type of information."<br /><br />Blake Brown, a tobacco economist, said that even those who took money from the 2004 federal buyout have had problems financially.<br /><br />"It is a free market now with buying tobacco," Brown said. "Many of these small farms don't have the land or the capital to keep up with these bigger manufacturers. All of the African-American farms fall into this category."<br /><br />Boyd said the disappearance of black farms has a lot to do with discrimination against black farmers.<br /><br />Boyd's claims are supported by a February 1997 U.S. Department of Agriculture report that found when minority farmers applied for loans, they were mistreated and that some complaints filed about the mistreatment went missing.<br /><br />"Many times black farmers get loans late if they get them at all," Boyd said. "To a farmer, not being able to start planting on time puts you behind other farmers. Black farmers won't report it, because many of the people they report it to are the ones doing the discriminating."<br /><br />Boyd said for a family such as Witcher's to have long-lasting success in the farming business is an accomplishment.<br /><br />"With everything that's going on, it shows a tremendous amount of dedication and strength to survive and last this long," he said.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The next generation</span><br /><br />But Sam Witcher doesn't feel that way.<br /><br />On his porch in September, Witcher stood and looked over his 200-acre homeplace.<br /><br />He saw the idle tobacco barns that he used to cure tobacco and make it ready for the market.<br /><br />He observed the fields that once touted rows upon rows of tobacco but are now just used to produce hay.<br /><br />He remembered the day when his wife, Elsie, suddenly died of a heart attack in 2000 and the years that followed when gradually he tilled fewer and fewer of the tobacco fields on his homeplace.<br /><br />With a tearful eye, Witcher said he doesn't feel like the same farmer he once was.<br /><br />"I don't know why you all want to do a story on me," Witcher said. "Everything around me is dead."<br /><br />But a smile and then a laugh arose from his lips when discussion came to his children and the way they care for him.<br /><br />"They come by and see about me all the time," Witcher said. "I didn't want so many girls at first, but I'm glad I have them now."<br /><br />Witcher said he had thought about selling his land, which has become prime real estate with the burst of growth at Smith Mountain Lake, but decided to keep it, and the sounds of tobacco harvests past and future, for his family.<br /><br />"Daddy always said that he was going to keep the land so his family would always have a place to live," Swain said. "No matter how far we go, we would always have some place to call home."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.roanoke.com/photography/slideshows/galleries/100707_tobacco/gallery.html" class="soundslide_popup">Spend some time on Sam Witcher Sr.'s tobacco farm.</a>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-57674895952802460232009-12-25T00:00:00.001-05:002009-12-25T18:49:23.128-05:00merry christmas from steve's blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZaOBlb98G5Hp5kLff7dCLXs7xxiVKoS7sAnhmixTelan25xDmWZUfkm1VqD7_xCz-17QfU6_-5ym84iUutgCm2xU5eHZR5J29WgWs-_QdysB_WHgYNfKcGPPk2TpwcQ6Q4iA9NQ/s1600-h/Christmas+Tree+2009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZaOBlb98G5Hp5kLff7dCLXs7xxiVKoS7sAnhmixTelan25xDmWZUfkm1VqD7_xCz-17QfU6_-5ym84iUutgCm2xU5eHZR5J29WgWs-_QdysB_WHgYNfKcGPPk2TpwcQ6Q4iA9NQ/s400/Christmas+Tree+2009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5419324927555793650" /></a>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-12827210399812483822009-12-24T16:09:00.003-05:002009-12-28T23:58:38.721-05:00Sam Wilson Witcher, Sr. (1918-2009)<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/4211156777/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2731/4211156777_3e51469bcb_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br /><span style="margin-top: 0px;font-size:0.9em;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/4211156777/">Sam Wilson Witcher, Sr. (1918-2009)</a><br />Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/joearchitect/">Joe Architect</a></span></div>My grandfather, Sam Witcher Sr., passed away December 24, 2009. He was 91. He was a remarkable man. He was a lifelong farmer (tobacco, dairy, beef cattle, hay), and in later years invested in real estate. He was a deacon at New Design United Pentecostal Church in Rocky Mount., as well as the treasurer and a member of the Trustee Board.<br /><br />He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Bishop E.W. Witcher, and a daughter, Barbara Jean Witcher. He leaves to cherish his memories six daughters; Georgia Powell (Hilton), Darlene Swain (Joe), Flora Cobbs (Andrew), Helen Dodson (late husband Clyde), Lucy Swain (Claude), and Elsie Garnetta Witcher (special friend Michael), four sons; Sam Jr. (Zanny), Mearl (Carolyn), Elvis (Pamela), and Jeremiah (special friend Vanessa), 28 grandchildren and a host of great-grandchildren, cousins, and other relatives and friends.<br /><br />He was a devoted father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, son, nephew and friend to everyone who knew him.<br /><br />We don’t know the cause of death and the funeral will be held December 30, 2009 at 11:00 AM at New Design.. <br /><br />Please pray for our family, as we are saddened by this loss.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-91689799336715240702009-12-13T18:28:00.000-05:002009-12-13T18:31:12.559-05:00Holidays on Display<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWXD6ICDI8s4G_v8jMym0u_Vv4NkN7_CgbCg7rAMoPTPVD4XgfecYy_sfZaIQPvQy1PP1mhAMVyOVHkzvx0tdyNhA03Ip9XsG1o4REXWsXykXVPm8-eZj474mvf-kmAD0AsiHHQ/s1600-h/holidaysondisplay.jpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWXD6ICDI8s4G_v8jMym0u_Vv4NkN7_CgbCg7rAMoPTPVD4XgfecYy_sfZaIQPvQy1PP1mhAMVyOVHkzvx0tdyNhA03Ip9XsG1o4REXWsXykXVPm8-eZj474mvf-kmAD0AsiHHQ/s400/holidaysondisplay.jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414865277188036258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The main aisle of Marshall Field & Co., Chicago, circa 1955. (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution)</span><br /><br /><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/holidaysondisplay">Holidays on Display</a> examines the art, industry, and history of holiday display across the United States. Focusing on parading culture and department store retail display, primarily between the 1920s and 1960s, when holiday displays were considered commercial endeavors equally rewarding for the American public, the exhibition showcases numerous photographs, postcards and rendering illustration of parade floats and window displays—including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and Marshall Field & Company Christmas windows—as well as objects relating to the early creation of these displays.<br /><br /><em>“Holidays on Display” will be on view at the National Museum of American History through November 2010</em><br /><br /><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/holidaysondisplay">Link to Smithsonian Institution</a><br /><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/small_exhibition.cfm?key=1267&exkey=797">Online Exhibition</a><br /><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/pressrelease.cfm?key=29&newskey=1094">Press Realease</a><br /><a href="http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/asked-and-answered-holidays-on-display/">Asked and Answered | Holidays on Display</a>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-89748076582338417922009-11-23T19:30:00.003-05:002009-11-23T19:42:03.036-05:00Nordstrom Rack to open first N.C. store in Durham<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/brands/0014/4207/brand.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/brands/0014/4207/brand.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. announced plans to open its first Nordstrom Rack in North Carolina. The new 33,000-square-foot store will be located at Renaissance Center in Durham. The store is expected to open in fall 2010.<br /><br />The center is located across the street from <a href="http://livemalls.blogspot.com/2008/09/nordstrom-streets-at-southpoint-durham.html">Nordstrom’s full-line store</a> at The Streets at Southpoint, which opened seven years ago.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-71028033819980829152009-11-18T23:45:00.002-05:002009-11-18T23:55:11.522-05:00JCPenney to stop publishing 'big book' catalogs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.askdrding.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/JCPenney.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.askdrding.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/JCPenney.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>PLANO, Texas (AP) — J.C. Penney will stop publishing its twice-yearly "big book" catalogs, now that customers increasingly shop online.<p>Instead, J.C. Penney Co. says it will publish specialty catalogs and focus its efforts online, on the Web site <a href="http://jcp.com/">jcp.com</a> and on social networks. In part, the company says it is responding to consumer habits to view catalogs more as "look books."</p><p>The Plano, Texas, company will continue to publish its Christmas catalog and others, such as the "Little Red Book" for women's apparel and "Matters of Style" for men.</p><p>Eliminating the hefty twice-a-year catalogs will cut the company's paper use by 25 percent to 30 percent in 2010.</p>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-24481542068519339662009-11-08T15:46:00.002-05:002009-11-08T15:51:15.695-05:00on the closing of Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Bookseller<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QtB2Hup-zesxRzAcTRRalQQVTKd08TSszs51YPC8HmMnhUtFgIgTqkscqCSZqSTIrqbGoRh6aervplObjit71-bKV810Jr2odIofxtgV_wb23IIqYTiHSGGnniiOwV-5msbCew/s1600-h/Waldenbooks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QtB2Hup-zesxRzAcTRRalQQVTKd08TSszs51YPC8HmMnhUtFgIgTqkscqCSZqSTIrqbGoRh6aervplObjit71-bKV810Jr2odIofxtgV_wb23IIqYTiHSGGnniiOwV-5msbCew/s200/Waldenbooks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401838081211761762" border="0" /></a>One of the joys of my childhood was going to Tanglewood Mall on a Saturday afternoon and checking out what was new at Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Bookseller. It’s hard to remember in a post-superstore and internet world how good these stores were, but they actually were decent stores with good selections in their heyday. They were at least as good as a typical Barnes & Noble and Borders, just smaller and lacking the chairs and coffee.<br /><br />IMO what killed them was the shifting of corporate focus by their parent companies. After Barnes & Noble and Borders took of in the ’90s, both B. Dalton and Waldenbooks became de-facto outlets for their corporate families and started filling the fronts of their stores with worthless bargain book sections: poorly conceived clearance aisles filled with low quality books that should never have been published in the first place. The over-abundance of loss leaders shrunk the traditional book selections to a shadow of their former selves and ruined the two chains’ reputations as sources for quality books.<p></p> <p>Even though Barnes & Noble corporate eventually saw the light and integrated the Barnes & Noble search and order capabilities into their B.Dalton mall stores, Borders corporate steadfastly refused to bring Waldenbooks in line with Borders search and order capabilities until Waldenbooks got so small they couldn’t support their own system.<br /><br />It doesn’t take a retail genius to figure out that the companies were de-emphasizing the mall stores in favor of a larger, more profitable format and that the reduced selection of a modern Waldenbooks and B.Dalton would eventually make they easy to dispose of if the mall business never recovered (and it hasn’t so far).<br /><br />It’s sad to think of how many small and medium sized cities will now have no new general-interest bookstore thanks to B. Dalton and Waldenbooks’ closures. Danville, Va. and Bluefield, W.Va. immediately come to mind: somewhat isolated cities that don’t have enough college-educated customers to be considered for a book superstore but yet have enough population to support one. Cities like these will be solely at the mercy of Walmart and the like, which only stock books they figure will sell to a mainstream audience and little else.<br /><br />This is an embarrassing and depressing situation. Why should people in typically sized American cites have to travel 60 miles or more just to buy a non-New York Times bestseller book in person? I just hope that a company like Books-A-Million will step up and bring some essential choice and selection back to these towns.</p>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-36167865728574460162009-09-17T19:41:00.001-05:002009-09-17T19:47:23.189-05:00Timothy Egan: Working Class Zero<span style="font-size:78%;">By Timothy Egan, The New York Times</span><br /><br />The working class and its self-proclaimed advocates are shouting at phantoms. (<a href="http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/working-class-zero/">more</a>)Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-66810021620153866812009-08-22T01:44:00.004-05:002009-08-22T01:52:58.192-05:00top 15 modernist gas stations<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ugdDKE0T3UWylRl2wl-Jc0-P1NCbu4tPLnJrN4zWWQq4HKspUbQ0mby9mgsIFW_Rv8RphLO1HAH2AknFNsuTyNoi4M316uO_bd-Wzp-r9UWboJ5T1mAzaGQvp6vR5AOGa_Ssw/s1600-h/modernist-gas-station.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2ugdDKE0T3UWylRl2wl-Jc0-P1NCbu4tPLnJrN4zWWQq4HKspUbQ0mby9mgsIFW_Rv8RphLO1HAH2AknFNsuTyNoi4M316uO_bd-Wzp-r9UWboJ5T1mAzaGQvp6vR5AOGa_Ssw/s400/modernist-gas-station.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372677297631884354" border="0" /></a>Some of America’s best Mid Century Modern architecture is in the form of gas stations, with their simple space requirements and focus on innovative roofs.<br /><br />Check out this link to pictures of the <a href="http://www.oobject.com/category/top-15-modernist-gas-stations">top 15 modernist gas stations</a>. You can even vote on your favorite one.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Shared via <a href="http://addthis.com/">AddThis</a></span>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-27916958359730807422009-08-13T23:01:00.004-05:002009-08-23T19:58:40.319-05:00Playing to the Middle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuS0tzW7iKkAZfGT8r6C0mfDbrDEeiuEFGW-Dm62AwIP9pJZ4AvX2EMmf21zS2bTkE9tW6trU5wx1bwdUGabvD8QFHfNKrxcGw_2WJVdO1pGMC4sPGocvgi1rd6LZqEdOq6oK7w/s1600-h/13critic.span.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxuS0tzW7iKkAZfGT8r6C0mfDbrDEeiuEFGW-Dm62AwIP9pJZ4AvX2EMmf21zS2bTkE9tW6trU5wx1bwdUGabvD8QFHfNKrxcGw_2WJVdO1pGMC4sPGocvgi1rd6LZqEdOq6oK7w/s400/13critic.span.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369668991875013922" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">By CINTRA WILSON</span> <div id="pubdate" class="timestamp"><span style="font-size:78%;">Published: August 13, 2009<br /><br /></span></div> <div id="summary" class="story"><span style="font-style: italic;">J.C. Penney has broken free of its suburban parking area to invade Herald Square, and the most frequent question on New York’s collective lips seems to be: Why? (</span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/fashion/13CRITIC.html">read more</a><span style="font-style: italic;">)</span><br /><br />The new JCPenney at the Manhattan Mall in New York (former home to Gimbels, Stern's and A&S) is open and flourishing in an otherwise dismal retail market. What better way to celebrate its arrival and success by sending the <i>New York Times</i> fashion reporter Cintra Wilson into the store for a review. Ms. Wilson gives the store enough backhanded compliments and outright insults that's almost a parody of a serious article, even for the Fashion & Style section.<br /><br />Consider this excerpt:<u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><i>J. C. Penney has always trafficked in knockoffs that aren’t quite up to <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on">Canal Street</st1:address></st1:street></st1:address></st1:street>’s illegal standards. It was never “get the look for less” so much as “get something vaguely shaped like the designer thing you want, but cut much more conservatively, made in all-petroleum materials, and with a too-similar wannabe logo that announces your inferiority to evil classmates as surely as if you were cursed to be followed around by a tuba section.”</i><u2:p></u2:p><o:p></o:p></p> <span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Just like all good clichés, this hackneyed statement is partly based in truth, but not so much that no one would be able say it definitively. Penney’s is no runway show, but its offerings are no worse than those of Target, Kohl's or even most of the private label merchandise at Macy's. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Considering the questionable (and largely overpriced even at a discount) merchandise that passes for fashion in the dozens of off-price store that cover </span><st1:city style="font-family: georgia;" st="on"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Manhattan</st1:place></st1:city></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family:georgia;">, JCPenney seems like a measure of clarity. At least what you want is likely in your size.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">You also have to consider that every other large scale retailer that has been in this mall since the fall of Gimbels has tanked. Stern's, for all of its history as the "Show Biz Store," looked more like a bad infomercial when they were there. Steve & Barry's was even worse, stretching its bland wares into an oversized space that was doomed to fail. Don't get me started on the perpetually lackluster specialty stores in this mall. JCPenney is a strong enough name that it could be a serious contender with the right amount of traffic.<br /><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: Apparently neither the public or Ms. Wilson's bosses liked the article very much.<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/opinion/23pubed.html">The Insult Was Extra Large</a><br /> <a href="http://jezebel.com/5343745/nytimes-issues-apology-for-cintra-wilson-article">NYTimes Issues Apology For Cintra Wilson Article</a><h1><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://jezebel.com/5343745/nytimes-issues-apology-for-cintra-wilson-article"></a></span></h1><br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" ><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></span><br /></div>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-18377633620139776502009-07-19T22:36:00.004-05:002009-09-09T21:49:02.461-05:00This is why people don’t go to the mall anymore.I was at the mall last week with my mom. She was buying a new pair of jeans and I was attempting to buy concert tickets.<br /><br />Her search for pair of basic jeans was successful only after going to several stores and enduring dozens of pairs of slim-fit, low-rise stretch models clearly not marketed towards the majority of American women. Until she dug for an hour in JCPenney and settled for a less than stellar pair that was the only one that fit that wasn’t severely flared, distressed or heavily decorated, she almost left empty handed.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go online, they say. But what is the mall there for if everything I need is online?</span><br /><br />Who are the buyers for these stores aiming for? The “thin, Middle American, mid-thirties mom with kids” demographic is almost overserved at the mall, and by and large she’s not at the mall in the first place because she doesn’t have time to shop. Yet all the stores are filled with merchandise for her and, largely, her alone.<br /><br />Teenagers are also heavily marketed to, but they’re usually price conscious in this economic age and looking for deals. No deals are to be found when the stores still think it’s 2005 and try to push aspirational merchandise. Bling is dead, y’all. $2.50 gas and random layoffs killed it. Kids are trying to pay for their cars, cell phones and apartments, not Air Jordans and Louis Vuitton handbags.<br /><br />The fat, the old and, notably, men and kids get short shrift with the mall too. Need that in a 2x, folks? <span style="font-style: italic;">Go to the back of the store and dig through embarrassing garbage to find something that still probably doesn’t fit.</span> Are you tall? <span style="font-style: italic;">Go elsewhere unless you only like blue polos. </span>Need a suit for church? <span style="font-style: italic;">You MIGHT find it, but it’s either too cheap to last or too expensive (and form fitting) to bother purchasing. </span>Need shoes? <span style="font-style: italic;">They’re too wide, too short, too cheap or too “boogie,” and that’s just at Sears! </span> How about some cool toys or the latest electronic gadget? <span style="font-style: italic;">Sorry, we don’t carry those! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go online, they say. But what is the mall there for if everything I need is online?</span><br /><br />As for me, I left empty handed. I needed concert tickets for U2’s performance in Charlottesville, and since I can’t get affordable high speed internet service, I attempted to ditch the online purchase of same and buy them at my local Ticketmaster outlet, which the website suggested as an alternative. My somewhat friendly Ticketmaster rep informed me that contrary to what the website says, the purchase in person of tickets for a show TWO HOURS AWAY in the SAME STATE was impossible, because Ticketmaster was a “regional operation” and the Roanoke and Charlottesville weren’t in the same region. She suggested I go online.<br /><br />That accomplished a lot. I could have bought them online in the first place.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go online, they say. But what is the mall there for if everything I need is online?</span><br /><br />Long story short, I got my tickets and I’m headed to Charlottesville to see U2 in October. It took a half hour of frustration online on Ticketmaster’s website to get them, during which I endured several up-sell attempts including event insurance, promising to cover my tickets if something happens (with no mention AT ALL about what constitutes a claim, much less how to file it, and a handy “print your own tickets” utility that somehow costs $2.50 more than having them mail the damn things to you.<br /><br />This is what I was hoping to avoid by going to the mall.<br /><br />Carry on.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-81861099127032543412009-06-21T16:25:00.001-05:002009-06-21T16:30:25.751-05:00A Prefab House That Dazzles Still<span style="font-size:78%;">By ALICE RAWSTHORN<br />Published: June 15, 2009<br /><br /></span>The Eames House in southwestern California, which turns 60 this month, remains a model of economy and creativity. (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/fashion/15iht-design15.html">more</a>)Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-61793419813391365872009-05-20T20:46:00.001-05:002009-05-20T21:08:19.729-05:00Malls of America: R.I.P.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZUPns684J2QxkK7Ls_YsV92uCQEOdu2Yh61evTkW8TlBoYXvoB_9k9_HcLEBcGo8H3bD-J3sS6PDNk4Rdqc7pf4_T-hMs3o-Ch20I6YAxCgS4sf1h0krHF_yAgpAPVNdzuoOGA/s1600-h/MOAtitle.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 181px; height: 89px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZUPns684J2QxkK7Ls_YsV92uCQEOdu2Yh61evTkW8TlBoYXvoB_9k9_HcLEBcGo8H3bD-J3sS6PDNk4Rdqc7pf4_T-hMs3o-Ch20I6YAxCgS4sf1h0krHF_yAgpAPVNdzuoOGA/s200/MOAtitle.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338090933159899122" border="0" /></a>As of today, the much appreciated Malls of America blog has been removed from Blogger. Keith Milford's work over the past several years chronicling the history of retail was legendary and remarkably thorough. The commentary was always informative and fun, and the photo quality was consistently good.<br /><br />Malls of America was around for a couple of years before new posts came to an abrupt, unexplained end about a year and a half ago, but it served as the inspiration for at least a half-dozen blogs and websites. I was a supporter to the end, and I kept going back to the site for a while hoping to see new posts. Alas, it was not to be.<br /><br />If you've never seen the site, check out <a href="http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:FIGfQ_sZFYsJ:www.mallsofamerica.blogspot.com/+Malls+of+America&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">the archived version</a> before it's too late.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-25313137269277314392009-04-27T20:56:00.001-05:002009-04-27T20:56:24.143-05:00Why Johnny Doesn’t Read Anymore | Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com<a href=http://vmsd.com/content/why-johnny-doesn-t-read-anymore?page=0,1>Why Johnny Doesn’t Read Anymore | Visual Merchandising and Store Design | VMSD.com</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-7667785899948248662009-03-18T22:55:00.003-05:002009-03-18T23:12:43.031-05:00Robert Henry (Chilly) Childress: 1941-2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWQkAM8yyS35mT950kMbQ_roVyVMRGPs8MQvqjTU2IRYQ_BD0wYMRv3BcwAsxgwljKN_vXpc9eQF-W_0m9olUGO0gsU0ncTqaa-BjeySXlN438VDe6DnPnF2ZfoWCHIJOL1rQaQ/s1600-h/Robert+%28Chilly%29+Childress.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWQkAM8yyS35mT950kMbQ_roVyVMRGPs8MQvqjTU2IRYQ_BD0wYMRv3BcwAsxgwljKN_vXpc9eQF-W_0m9olUGO0gsU0ncTqaa-BjeySXlN438VDe6DnPnF2ZfoWCHIJOL1rQaQ/s200/Robert+%28Chilly%29+Childress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314746097092328866" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-style: italic;">I can't say enough good things about my friend. Chilly was a very special person and I'm going to miss him dearly. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When we worked together at LMW, he was always willing to listen and offer advice and he told some of the funniest and most memorable stories I've ever heard. Even after I left the company and his hours got cut, he would look me up wherever I was and even had a bus driver stop a Valley Metro bus just so he could say hi to me when I was walking down the street! No one would have done that but Chilly; he was that kind of person.</span><br /><br />Robert Henry (Chilly) Childress, of Roanoke, Va., the oldest of 12 children was born on October 10, 1941, to the late Isaac H. Childress and Julia M. Millner Childress in Roanoke, Va. After a brief illness he departed this life on Friday, March 13, 2009, at Salem VA Medical Center in Salem, Va. Robert was educated in the Roanoke School District and upon graduation from Lucy Addison High, left to serve for seven years in the United States Army. While stationed in Valley Forge, Pa., he met and married Shirley Coleman on July 31, 1965 and resided in Norristown, Pa. From this union were two children, Denise Michelle and Robert. Chilly worked for many years and was said to have been one of the best bartenders in the North. He had many skills and the last was with LMW Engineering Architecture Surveying Corporation, who stated "he was very diligent in his employment and a philosopher." Robert will be remembered by his son, Robert H. Childress Jr. (Valarie); siblings, Calvin E. Childress, Martha A. Childress, Harry T. (aka Joe) Childress, Roszella Cunningham, Lynwood Perry Childress, Wayne M. Childress (Yolanda), of Roanoke, the Reverend Helen M.C. Jones (John), Theresa L. White, of Norristown, Pa., Julia M. Childress, of Tampa, Fla., Teresa C. McClendon (Rev. Michael) and Timothy E. Childress, of Palm Beach, Fla.; three grandchildren, Troy Childress, Tyler Childress and Tamra Childress, of Norristown, Pa.; two aunts, Martha G. Williams (Bill), of Washington, D.C., and Della Millner, of Roanoke, Va.; a host of relatives, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends; and family friends, Melvin Saunders, James Bryant, Steve Stewart, Nilda Sierra, and Patricia Cooper. He was preceded in death by his parents, Isaac H. (March 1980) and Julia M. Childress (November 1997); daughter, Denise Michelle Childress (August 13, 1999); and brother, Isaac N. Childress (July 1965). Memorial services will be held 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, 2009, at Trinity Community Baptist Church, 1814 Carroll Ave., Roanoke. Arrangements by Lotz Funeral Home, Roanoke, Va.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-19006914950544816782009-01-10T14:33:00.001-05:002009-01-13T01:04:54.014-05:00Reviving the memory of his beloved Carolina Circle Mall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVB6PoZ8CkrwIY4OF81pzm6ywCdqqTCU-N8waIz3qgt9cHubczad7UC5SsgByBZroHgBxMVum0e6uLEwLDAL5fZASPjTJm6wjoEjCShIk1XVMvHEgNpW3J0COjH1IdNsayOujdQ/s1600-h/carolinacircle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheVB6PoZ8CkrwIY4OF81pzm6ywCdqqTCU-N8waIz3qgt9cHubczad7UC5SsgByBZroHgBxMVum0e6uLEwLDAL5fZASPjTJm6wjoEjCShIk1XVMvHEgNpW3J0COjH1IdNsayOujdQ/s400/carolinacircle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289748665307028002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Frequent LiveMalls contributor <a href="http://ccmallcity.blogspot.com/">Billy Coore</a> collects memorabilia from the former Carolina Circle Mall. (<a href="http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/01/09/article/reviving_the_memory_of_his_beloved_carolina_circle_mall"><span style="font-style: italic;">Greensboro News & Record</span></a> photo by Neslon Kepley)</span><br /><p>The love affair began at a young age, with the cheery music and constant spin of the merry-go-round.</p> <p>The emotion only grew stronger over time, with trips to the food court, strolls through store aisles and afternoons at the movies.</p> <p>Even when others fell out of love with Carolina Circle Mall, taking their business and money elsewhere, Billy Coore's devotion remained...</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Read more of <a href="http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/01/09/article/reviving_the_memory_of_his_beloved_carolina_circle_mall">Lanita Wither's story on Billy Coore</a> at the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >News & Record</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> website.</span><br /></p>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-2834915942216608342008-11-22T15:40:00.002-05:002008-11-22T15:47:26.911-05:00WSJ - Bagging Holiday Shoppers (featuring someone you know)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebq5_fY4TF1QNZDB2NlSDiW2Tde_A9F2QW00FSj1do9XKXNBfDjj9YF3Km05kOyrcwZRci5wtJoA8AWI7KqRCAZBx6ZXsPOE88vwc2ua4tFUnBtLGhDRG24e5tbA6BxmxW_5mAw/s1600-h/PT-AK292_shopba_G_20081121182554.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebq5_fY4TF1QNZDB2NlSDiW2Tde_A9F2QW00FSj1do9XKXNBfDjj9YF3Km05kOyrcwZRci5wtJoA8AWI7KqRCAZBx6ZXsPOE88vwc2ua4tFUnBtLGhDRG24e5tbA6BxmxW_5mAw/s400/PT-AK292_shopba_G_20081121182554.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271585962938494914" border="0" /></a>An excerpt from <a class="snap_shots" href="http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1500741428" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);" target="_blank" title="http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1500741428">WSJ.com - Bagging Holiday Shoppers<img id="snap_com_shot_link_icon" class="snap_preview_icon" style="border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt ! important; padding: 1px 0pt 0pt; max-height: 2000px; max-width: 2000px; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-family: "trebuchet ms",arial,helvetica,sans-serif; float: none; position: static; left: auto; top: auto; line-height: normal; background-image: url(http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.57/theme/silver/palette.gif); background-color: transparent; visibility: visible; width: 14px; height: 12px; background-position: -1128px 0pt; background-repeat: no-repeat; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top; display: inline;" src="http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.57/t.gif" /></a>:<blockquote><p><em>In a few weeks, Steven Swain will make his annual pilgrimage to New York from Rocky Mount, Va., to visit the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and see the holiday window displays at Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York.</em><br /></p></blockquote><p>You may have heard of this fellow....</p>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-83208573360451129022008-09-30T23:17:00.002-05:002008-09-30T23:25:32.381-05:00burn rubber<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmhljcEQIBKSG-XaPoQFhnWR1Mq5d-AeyCX1M-uScwVytA_SJLtxejh4Vk4FDFI2_tQgM12OA7HT4rr7BRT5ztmt7aoPR2-mgzaHx_Y2E07T_BIPrWx0BSFHwjxLvJYO6DG6qAA/s1600-h/sneaker-article.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmhljcEQIBKSG-XaPoQFhnWR1Mq5d-AeyCX1M-uScwVytA_SJLtxejh4Vk4FDFI2_tQgM12OA7HT4rr7BRT5ztmt7aoPR2-mgzaHx_Y2E07T_BIPrWx0BSFHwjxLvJYO6DG6qAA/s400/sneaker-article.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252036204035592706" border="0" /></a>Admittedly, it's been a while, but I had to share this sneaker article.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-8704202498433340872008-08-04T17:41:00.002-05:002008-08-04T17:51:49.049-05:00Boscov's seeks bankruptcy protection<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7242/464/1600/11-26-05_1716.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7242/464/1600/11-26-05_1716.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>READING, Pa. (AP) - The troubled department store chain Boscov's is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.<br /><br />The Reading, Pa.-based chain also will close 10 stores. It otherwise will continue to operate without interruption during the reorganization.<br /><br />The retailer, America's largest family-owned independent department store, says filing for Chapter 11 protection gives it the tools and time to strengthen its balance sheet.<br /><br />Boscov's has stores in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. It is closing five stores in Pennsylvania, three stores in Maryland, one in New Jersey and one in Virginia.<br /><br />The company recently acknowledged that some suppliers have stopped shipping merchandise to the company. Boscov's blamed credit issues.Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-67109573169115537712008-06-30T20:17:00.001-05:002008-06-30T20:20:38.331-05:00the travel channelThis is where I've been recently:<br /><b><br />Washington</b><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605766887245/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605766887245/</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157604380331095/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157604380331095/</a><br /><br /><b>Baltimore</b><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605633067790/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605633067790/</a><br /><br /><b>New York</b><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605443618797/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/joearchitect/sets/72157605443618797/</a>Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7494243.post-38548259379064927002008-06-23T21:19:00.001-05:002008-06-23T21:23:55.882-05:00Appreciation: Carlin, from straight comic to icon<span style="font-size:78%;">By JOHN ROGERS<br /></span><br />LOS ANGELES (AP) — When he shucked the coat and tie for black T-shirts and jeans, grew his hair long and began to riff about those "Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV," George Carlin became more than just the countercultural comedian.<br /><br />Carlin, who died Sunday of heart failure at 71, took comedy itself in a whole new direction.<br /><br />No longer were nightclubs the territory of guys in suits telling harmless mother-in-law jokes.<br /><br />"He was more than just a comic. His routines became part of the American lexicon," fellow comedian Paul Rodriguez told The Associated Press on Monday. "They came to say a lot about America and its times."<br /><br />Indeed, when Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing championship for refusing induction into the U.S. military, Carlin noted that Ali, who made his living beating people up, had refused service because he opposed the Vietnam War.<br /><br />"He said, 'No, that's where I draw the line. I'll beat 'em up. But I don't want to kill 'em.' And the government said, 'Well, if you won't kill people, we won't let you beat 'em up.'"<br /><br />Arguably his most famous routine, though, was simply called "Seven Words."<br /><br />More than just an outpouring of obscenities, it was — as almost all Carlin routines were — a clever play on the sound and meaning of almost every word Carlin used.<br /><br />One word in the routine, for example (not one of the offending seven) was what he called "a two-way word," explaining: "You can prick your finger. But don't ... "<br /><br />"Some people think the routines were all about saying dirty words, but it wasn't about that at all," says Jamie Masada, who as owner of the Laugh Factory comedy clubs knew Carlin for more than 20 years.<br /><br />"He had a different motivation," Masada continued, "and the motivation was free speech. George believed when he was on stage that was like being in his church and he could say anything he wanted there."<br /><br />It's only appropriate, then, that Carlin's name is attached to a key U.S. Supreme Court free-speech ruling, albeit one limiting the right.<br /><br />The 1978 decision, the result of a radio station playing "Seven Words," upheld the government's authority to issue sanctions for broadcasting offensive language during hours when children might be listening.<br /><br />"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," Carlin told the AP earlier this year.<br /><br />Other than that, he said at the time, he had very little interest in public affairs. He claimed to have not voted in a presidential election in decades.<br /><br />"I was always out of step," he said. "I left school in ninth grade, I got kicked out of the Air Force, I got kicked out of the choir and the altar boys and summer camp and three schools and I was a pot smoker when I was 13 in the early '50s. I was always a lawbreaker and a kind of outlaw rebel."<br /><br />One thing he was good at, though, was doing funny voices and making funny faces like his boyhood idol, Danny Kaye.<br /><br />"When I was 10, 11, I was watching MGM movies with Danny Kaye," he said. "I kind of looked at that and thought, `Gee, I can do that.'"<br /><br />After a brief pairing with comedian Jack Burns, with whom he would remain friends the rest of his life, Carlin went out on his own in 1962, inspired, Burns said Monday, by a Lenny Bruce show the two saw in Chicago in 1961.<br /><br />By the end of the 1960s, Carlin had grown his hair long, added a beard that he joked covered his acne and began to embrace the countercultural ethos of the time.<br /><br />"I finally did the right thing, which was to get in touch with my own real voice, and that made me happy for the first time," he once said.<br /><br />From there, he would go on to record 23 comedy albums, win four Grammys, do 14 TV specials for HBO, write three best-selling books and appear in several movies. Just last week it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.<br /><br />"None of that would have happened if I had remained imprisoned in a suit," Carlin said.<br /><br />As his humor became more observational, nothing was off-limits, from politics to sports to religion, with war and other atrocities frequent targets.<br /><br />"The very existence of flame-throwers," he once joked, "proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, `You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"<br /><br />At the same time, his humor could be gentle when the moment called for it.<br /><br />He appeared as Mr. Conductor on the children's show "Shining Time Station" in the 1990s and was the voice of Fillmore, the hippie van, in the popular 2006 children's movie "Cars."<br /><br />From a nightclub stage, however, his humor could always be expected to be scatological. And although his penchant for funny voices and faces might soften it some, it could still be in your face as he ridiculed God, joked about televising suicides and did things like simply ending a routine with a recitation of every synonym for penis.<br /><br />"He made us look at things, look at ourselves. You won't find too many comics with the kind of chops to do that," said fellow comedian Tommy Chong. "You're only allowed to do that when you've paid your dues."<br /><br />And indeed Carlin had. Early in their careers, Burns recalled, the two were so broke they shared a one-room apartment with a pullout bed.<br /><br />"Two guys lying next to each other for three months. You can bet we made jokes about that," he laughed.<br /><br />Carlin went on to develop a serious cocaine addiction, and as recently as 2004 he entered rehab to break what he called a dependency on vicodan and wine.<br /><br />Despite those struggles, Carlin, who suffered the first of several heart attacks when he was only 41, said the coronary artery disease that finally killed him was the result not of drugs but of genetics.<br /><br />"My father gave me this disease," he told the AP in 2007. "But he also gave me my gift of gab, my sense of humor. So what the ... . It was a good trade-off."Livemallshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01567198484359363455noreply@blogger.com2