big changes at southdale

Southdale Center, Edina, Minnesota, as it appeared in 1960


Southdale Center, shown looking south down the main corridor, is expected to get its second new owner in two years. (Duane Braley/Star Tribune, 2005)

Th world's first modern enclosed shopping center is getting a new owner: the company that defined and refined the outlet mall. Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota (outside Minneapolis) is being sold to discount mall giant Mills Corporation.

The Mills Corp. has an agreement with the Blackstone Group, the New York investment firm that has owned Southdale since 2002, to take control of the Edina mall and the Southridge Mall in Greendale, Wis., for $400 million, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. Southdale is expected to account for about $225 million of that price.

Southdale was opened in 1956 as the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center in the United States. The 1.3 million-square-foot mall, now anchored by Marshall Field's, J.C. Penney and Marshalls, has thrived, though its place at the top of the Twin Cities shopping hierarchy changed with the 1992 opening of the Mall of America.

Southdale continues to be regarded as a strong performer. For example, the Marshall Field's there is the top performer in the Field's chain, with sales of $440 per square foot. At the same time, there's a consensus among retail observers that the nearly 40-year-old mall needs redevelopment to stay competitive.

Among other moves, Mills is expected to bring in new department store anchors to freshen the retail mix. Speculation in retail circles is that Neiman Marcus has expressed interest in Southdale. (more)

update: it WAS him

Ali G in London, 2002

I got this from Reuters after my friend Faye tipped me off. My suspicions were confirmed:

‘Ali G’ character causes near riot at rodeo
Crowd turns ‘downright nasty’ after ‘Borat’ garbles national anthem

Reuters
Updated: 1:28 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2005

LONDON - British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen escaped a near-riot at an American rodeo while filming his satirical “Da Ali G Show.”

According to a report in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times, a man who was introduced as Boraq Sagdiyev from Kazakhstan — in reality a Cohen character named Borat — appeared at the rodeo over the weekend after organizers agreed to have him sing the national anthem.

After telling the crowd he supported America’s war on terrorism, he said, “I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards ... And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.” He then sang a garbled version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Roanoke Times reported that the crowd turned “downright nasty.” One observer said “If he had been out there a minute longer, I think somebody would have shot him.”

Cohen and his film crew were escorted out of the Salem Civic Center and told to leave the premises.

“Had we not gotten them out of there, there would have been a riot,” rodeo producer Bobby Rowe told the paper. “They loaded up the van and they screeched out of there.”

It is not the first time Cohen has wooed controversy with his show, which airs on HBO. In one episode last year, Borat sang an anti-Semitic song called “Throw the Jew Down the Well” at a country music bar, prompting protests from the Anti-Defamation League.

Producers of the Ali G show, Talkback Thames, were unavailable for comment.

this is me, then | 2004

One of the few pictures of your friendly neighborhood blogger you'll see with a cap on my head. I didn't wear hats after I became a teenager because I couldn't find one to fit my enormous head. In 2003, thanks to the internet and a trend where guys started wearing giant MLB caps with the brims flat as boards (thanks, Shyne) I found some fitted baseball caps came in sizes big enough to fit me and bought several, along with other adjustable baseball caps that are made for bigger people. The one I'm wearing is a Virginia Tech fitted, in honor of my alma matter.

I'm in my bedroom in this picture taken just last year. Dig the groovy paneling! My arm is on my Sony flat-screen TV, now three years old. I love that TV. I also love the swag-and-jabot window treatments, which I picked out and my mom made when I was in high school. It was part of my 'motel motif:' the name I gave to the redecoration of my room back then. I should also mention the Burberry shirt I finally found in a tall size in New York. It's a great shirt and I'm glad places like Rochester Big & Tall exist where people taller and bigger than averege can dress as well as the rest of the world.

my neighborhood: lizzy

Karria's site, Lizzy 1/13/04

I love photoblogs, especially if the webmaster adds a creative touch to their posts.

Karria, the author of the blog lizzy, stopped my my blog this morning complimenting the pictures on the Friendly Center posts. I am humbled that a person with the great artistic talents she shows on her site would find my pictures appealing. Her site has photos, art, poetry and commentary and I think you should visit.

cease and desist: busted at friendly center

If you've visited here a lot, you probably know I like to take pictures of malls and department stores. Sometimes my hobby gets me in trouble, like last night. I was going to take some pictures of the Hecht's store at Friendly Center in Greensboro, North Carolina, because I find the '60s Modern style of the store to be both appealing and funky.

No sooner than when I took my second picture, the security guards stopped me and told me that I wasn't allowed to photograph. I figured that it might be prohibited (it happened to me before at SouthPark in 2002) but I didn't see a sign and tried not to get caught, but to no avail. Sometimes I believe I'm being singled out because I'm not Caucasian, but I'm not really sure enough of this to call it blantantly racism, though it certainly walks like it and talks like it...

Good thing the shots I got were pretty good. Check out the two posts directly below this one.

Hecht's, Friendly Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (orignial 1967 building) 1/12/04

The Hecht's store at Friendly Center was orginally opened as Thalhimers in 1967 and was the largest anchor in the open-air mall at 50,000 square feet on one level, with a second level reserved for storage and future expansion. It replaced a smaller Ellis-Stone store located elsewhere in the shopping center.

Thalhimers operated its Greensboro stores as Ellis-Stone from their purchase of the downtown Greensboro store of that name in 1950, through the opening of the Friendly Center store in 1957, until the erection of this building.

The dramatic concrete-panel arches with brick fills were considered elegant and modern at the time of the store's design and provided a distinctive exterior face to the store when compared to the spartan original design of Friendly Center, which mostly featured brick buildings with aluminum canopies. Thalhimers also featured a collonade around three sides of the building and four front showcases resembling bay windows on the otherwise blank exterior walls.

Expansion of Thahinmers occoured after the closing of the downtown store, three miles east, in 1975 and the additon of a smaller store at Four Seasons Mall, three miles southwest, that same year. The mall store soon totalled 97,000 square feet on two levels. (continued in next post)

Hecht's, Friendly Center, Greensboro, North Carolina (1997 expansion) 1/12/10/04

In 1990, Thalhimers was purchsed by the May Department Stores Company which operated the chain as a seperate division until 1992, when it was folded into May's Hecht's division. The Friendly Center store was retained, even as May closed several of its sister stores in the area, including the Four Seasons location.

After years of decline, Friendly Center began to attract upscale merchants in the mid '90s. The mall was revitalized and portions of it were rebuilt. As the anchor with a central location in the center, Hecht's became a major part of the new upswing and sales grew enough to justify a major expansion of the Friendly Center store, especially after the deal for a larger replacement store at Four Seasons fell through.

Opened in 1997, the new expansion added nearly 50,000 square feet on two levels to the old store and was augmented by a major interior renovation, the first in over a decade. The old exterior design was continued in the additon, with a second major entrance added, facing a new retail building and a rebuilt Belk store.

This store is still an integral part of Hecht's future, with sales that are well above company averege. It was joined by an additonal free-standing location four miles southwest along Interstate 40 at Wendover Avenue in 2002.

snoopadoopa, snoopafly, and snoopalicious

Snoop Dogg (http://lisag.com/photos_b.html)

Snoop Dogg and Pony International have just inked a deal to develop the Doggfather's Biscuitz footwear collection.

Snoop, who named the line after the slang term for shoes, will oversee and approve all designs and final products. The collection features The Snoopadoopa, an everyday sneaker; Snoopafly, an athletic-styled shoe; Snoopalicious, a dressier casual wear and Snoopaslide, a bandana-print slipper.

"Pony is committed to matching Snoop's high standards in everything we do under this incredible partnership and it is clear by his exclusive commitment to us that he has confidence in our ability to do so," Killick Datta, Chief Executive Officer of Pony International said in a statement.

All shoe boxes also come with a perforated Snoop Silhouette that can be taken out and used as personalized stencil; while the sock liner, out-sole and tissue paper boast bandana art.

5000 samples of the black Snoopadoopa were released in December 2004. The shoes will be made available in colors navy, red, Carolina blue, white, and brown.

Kanye, Pharrell, Mos Def Celebrate A Designer With Sole

Designer Nigo and Pharrell Williams at the opening of A Bathing Ape in New York on Monday (Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)

Hip-hop A-listers turn out for opening of A Bathing Ape store

from Rashaun Hall, MTV News

NEW YORK — It would seem a lot of people on hip-hop's A-list have a shoe fetish.

Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Mos Def, the Roots' ?uestlove, Common, Faith Evans, Clipse's Pusha T, Spike Lee and a host of other tastemakers and fashionistas braved the cold and rain Monday night to celebrate the opening of A Bathing Ape in New York's Soho neighborhood.

Launched by Japanese designer Nigo in 1993, A Bathing Ape is known for its one-of-a-kind footwear — brightly colored patent leather sneakers that resemble Nike Air Force Ones. The brand also sells a host of other products, including T-shirts, outerwear and home goods. Nigo teamed with Pharrell last year to launch the super producer's own fashion lines, Ice Cream sneakers and Billionaire Boys Club clothing (see "Want To Dress Like A N.E.R.D.? Pharrell Signs Fashion Deal").

"I'm just very thankful to be in business with a guy like this," said Pharrell, who hosted the event. "Without him, my BBC dreams and my Ice Cream dreams — none of those dreams would have ever happened. I told him my ideas and he made those things happen much in the same way he did with his own clothing line, and that's why I'm here to totally support it. It's his thing — it's A Bathing Ape."

Guests were treated to the sounds of ?uestlove on the turntables as they checked out shoes in a variety of colors and patterns — all featuring the signature BAPE sneaker star — against the store's stark white background.

Mos Def said he's been a fan of the line for years. "I like the attention to detail they pay to their product, and their enthusiasm. I also like their cleverness and wittiness. I appreciate them as a design brand — not just what they do with fashion, but with a lot of different products including home goods and underwear.

"It's in the same tradition of Dapper Dan," he added, referring to the clothier to old-school rappers like Slick Rick and Dana Dane. "It's just revising something that is dominant in the culture and putting your own spin on it. It's very much in the spirit of what hip-hop is as a culture, so it definitely strikes a chord with us."

For Common, who said he didn't currently own a pair BAPE sneakers, the line is all about that next level of fashion.

"It's just real progressive and, in a way, it's that cutting edge, hip stuff," he gushed. "It's also a movement. I haven't been over to see all the stuff they have in Japan, but from what I have been told, Nigo and A Bathing Ape has a lot of different things that are good items to have — stores and everything. Also, what Pharrell is doing with Ice Cream, I've got to support that because he's always coming with something fresh, whether it's music, style or whatever. I'm going to get some free ones and I'm going to support."

this is me, then | 1979

I remember this family picture well. It's one of my favorites. Your friendly neighborhood blogger is on the right beside Mom and we all were seriously rocking 1979 is this photo.

Mom and Dad's safari suits alone make this picture priceless, but the Afros and sweaters Allen and I are wearing go for the extra style points. The brothers Swain also had cowboy boots and some NFL jackets with matching beanies (Me: Steelers, Allen: Cowboys) that we took some more pictures in that day. But that's a whole 'nother post.

This picture was taken at my grandma's church. I got into an argument with the photographer before we took it. How? People were using 'turkey' as an compliment and an insult back in the day, and the photogropher tried to get me to look at the camera by calling me one: as in 'Look over here, you turkey!" I got pissed (because I was thinking of the latter) and called her a turkey and my mom had to break it up. Ah, the joys of childhood.

welcome to the rock

A boulder some 25 feet high blocks both lanes of the Topanga Caynon Road, Monday, Jan. 10, 2005, as electrical contractors fix broken power and communication lines in Malibu, Calif. No injures where reported, but the road remains closed. The storm system was blamed for at least nine deaths during the weekend in Southern California, including a man killed when his vehicle plunged into the surf off Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and a homeless man killed when the hillside where his tent was pitched gave way. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

aren't those my stripes?

Abercrombie & Fitch store in Boston, Mass.

Adidas-Salomon AG, the world's second- biggest athletic apparel maker, filed a lawsuit accusing clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch Co. of improperly using the three stripes that are associated with Adidas products.

The German shoemaker began selling sneakers with three stripes along the side more than 50 years ago, and expanded into clothing around 1967. The lawsuit, filed in Portland, Oregon, claims that Abercrombie is selling pants and jackets with three side stripes and is "passing off its goods as those of Adidas." (more)

want some tofu?

The Tofu Hut 1/11/04

I've mentioned The Tofu Hut as a great music site before (see post) but I neglected to mention that's it's an equally interesting culture site and, I might add, has links to dozens of other blogs and websites for even more music and culture. It's a must see.

Thanks to John for stopping by and leaving me a great comment on a recent post.

this is me, then | 2003

Your friendly neighborhood blogger with Mom and Dad at Chuck E. Cheese's in Roanoke for my cousin Jermaine's 3rd birthday party in 2003.

I didn't want to be there. I used to want to go to Chuck E. Cheese's back when I was younger and hardly ever did. Now that I'm old enough not to care, all of a sudden Dad wants us to go. Figures. Life is ass-backwards sometimes.

Good picture, though, despite the fact the place smelled like feet and old pizza.

them's some small apples

The new Apple iPod Shuffle

from http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4662

Steve Jobs’ major announcement at MacWorld yesterday was that the Mac and the iPod are getting smaller and cheaper with the release of the Mac Mini and the iPod Flash.

During a keynote address to the rapt audience of Apple fans, Jobs unveiled the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle, along with several enhancements to the forthcoming "Tiger" version of Mac OS X.

Both the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle are designed to attract mainstream users who may be familiar with Apple's other products, but are unwilling to spend the money on the full-featured versions, Jobs said.

The Mac Mini is a complete Macintosh system not much longer or wider than a compact disc, and shorter than an iPod Mini at only 4.9cm. It features Apple's G4 processor, a generation behind the G5 processor currently shipping in Power Macs and iMacs.

Apple will release two versions of the Mac Mini on January 22. The least expensive model will cost $499 with a 1.25GHz G4 processor, 256MB of 333MHz DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive and a Radeon 9200 graphics processor.

The other model costs $599 with a 1.42GHz processor and an 80GB hard drive.

The iPod Shuffle is Apple's vision of a low-cost music player that is extremely easy to use, Jobs said. The earlier versions of the iPod came with hard disk drives ranging from 4GB for the iPod Mini to a 60GB iPod Photo. The iPod Shuffle can store either 512MB or 1GB of data on flash memory.

Most users will put music on the iPod Shuffle, but it can also be used as a portable USB device, Jobs said. The bottom of the iPod Shuffle snaps off to reveal a USB attachment which can plug directly into a PC or a Macintosh, he said.

Coming off a fourth quarter in which the company sold 4.5 million iPods, Apple now holds 65 per cent of the market for digital music players, Jobs said. The remaining chunk of that market is held by a variety of flash-based players that will now compete with the iPod Shuffle.

The 512MB version of the iPod Shuffle will cost around $99 while the 1GB version will cost $149.

"We've just begun the era of digital music," Jobs said. Apple now takes in more revenue from iPod sales than it does from selling computers, according to the company's third-quarter earnings release.

Keynote attendees greeted the Mac Mini and iPod Shuffle with sustained applause and cheers, as they did just about every new feature or product shown during Jobs' two-hour presentation.

For more information see the Apple Web site.

he's addicted to shoes?

Rapper Fat Joe (the 'Lean Back' guy) is addicted to sneakers and employs scouts to hunt him down the rarest running shoes.

The heavyweight hip-hopper admits footwear has become a compulsion, and his collection has taken over his home.

He says, "I try to get the rarest things from overseas, or maybe the throwbacks, the old collectors' items. I actually got scouts around the country.

"But my house looks disastrous because of all the sneakers."

did ali g. 'punk' the salem rodeo?

Rapper Shaggy and comedian Ali G. (BBC)

Could the small town of Salem, Virginia be the victom of a stunt by comedian Sasha Cohen, better known to HBO viewers as Ali G.? It appears so.

The Roanoke Times reported Sunday that a weekend rodeo in the Salem Civic Center was disrupted by a man claiming to be Boraq Sagdiyev from Kazakhstan, part of the former Soviet Union. Sagdiyev was reportedly an immigrant touring America. A film crew was with him, doing some sort of documentary. And he wanted to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" to show his appreciation, the announcer told the crowd.

Speaking in broken English, the mysterious man first told the decidedly pro-American crowd - it was a rodeo, of all things, in Salem, of all places - that he supported the war on terrorism.

"I hope you kill every man, woman and child in Iraq, down to the lizards," he said, according to Brett Sharp of Star Country WSLC, who was also on stage that night as a media sponsor of the rodeo.

An uneasy murmur ran through the crowd.

"And may George W. Bush drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq," he continued, according to Robynn Jaymes, who co-hosts a morning radio show with Sharp and was also among the stunned observers.

Then the man took off his hat and sang what he said was his native national anthem. He then told the crowd to be seated, put his hat back on, and launched into a butchered version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that ended with the words "your home in the grave," Sharp said.

By then, a restless crowd had turned downright nasty.

Rodeo producer Bobby Rowe, who by then had figured out that he was the victim of some kind of hoax, had the man escorted out of the civic center. Rowe told him that he and his film friends had best leave right then.

After apologizing to the crowd for being duped, Rowe was left to wonder who pulled such a hoax, and why. Months ago, he was approached by someone from One America, a California-based film company that was reportedly doing a documentary on a Russian immigrant, Rowe said.

The outfit asked if Sagdiyev could sing the national anthem at the rodeo in Salem. After listening to a tape, Rowe said sure.

By Saturday afternoon, Jaymes had observed that Sagdiyev looked a lot like the title character of "Da Ali G Show," a Home Box Office production that often catches its guests and audiences unaware and then records their reaction to "shock value" material such as Friday night's performance.The show has a character named Borat from Kazakhstan, according to the HBO Web site.

The full article is available here

this is me, then | 1995

Your friendly neighborhood blogger in a rather stunning picture from 1995 with Mom and Allen in front of New Design United Pentecostal Church near Rocky Mount, not far from where I live.

Side note: My grandmother, Bishop E.W. Witcher, founded the church back in 1954 and was the first black woman to lead her own congregation and pentecostal association in Southwest Virginia.

Our cousin Velma took this shot and the late afternoon shadows worked perfectly for me. Unfortunately, Mom didn't fare as well and Allen has taken better pictures.

my neighborhood: adfreak.com

Adfreak.com 1/11/04

Want to learn more about how products are marketed to us, with commentary with a sense of humor. No I haven't started an ad blog, but AdWeek magazine has and it's great. I encourage you to check out AdFreak.

it only takes sixty dollars and a dream

Dan the Automator and Prince Paul, aka Handsome Boy Modeling School, created one of the coolest albums of 2004 with their release, White People.

The album follows where "So...How's Your Girl?,"their 1999 debut, left off. Bringing together all corners of the musical spectrum: hip-hop, rock, roots, alternative and even jazz, HBMS have put together a seamless cast of players that include: Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), RZA, Jack Johnson, Alex Kapronos (Franz Ferdinand), Mars Volta, Pharell and more.

The results are a lot like an intellegent mixatpe, fun to listen to, challenging to comprehend but really great overall.

4 no more?

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre looks down as he walks off the field following their NFC wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Jan. 9, 2005, in Green Bay, Wis. The Vikings won 31-17. (AP Photo/Darren Hauck)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Brett Favre doesn't want to go out like this - although he just might. Favre was in a reflective mood after throwing four interceptions in Green Bay's 31-17 loss to the hated Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

He said he didn't want his poor playoff performance to play a role in his decision whether to retire or return to Green Bay for a 15th NFL season.

``It would be easy to walk off the field after that game and say, 'I've had enough,''' Favre said. ``But I'm going to try to be as fair to myself and to this team as possible. I've had a lot of great games. This obviously was not one of them. But I can't base my decision on this game.'' (more)

Pharrell Drops Reebok, Says Gear Not Hot

A year after inking a deal with Reebok, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes is suing the sneaker titan for $4 million -claiming that they breached their contract.

Williams, who entered a deal with Reebok to manufacture his Billionaire Boys Club clothing line and Ice Cream footwear, filed a suit in a New York court just before Christmas. Pharrell is accusing the sneaker company of failing to produce products that satisfied BBC's "approval standards."

"In January 2004, only a few months after the execution of the agreement, certain Reebok personnel began to acknowledge to BBC that Reebok could not adequately produce the full range of licensed products. In a manner consistent with the design and quality standards and specifications required by BBC," the lawsuit alleges. "Reebok repeatedly assured BBC that the non-conforming and disapproved aspects of these samples would be corrected. Reebok, however, failed to correct these deficiencies."

andre 3000, esquire, and me

I have a large number of magazines that I read on a regular basis. One of my least favorite is the men's magazine Esquire. It's what I call a 'bathroom magazine.' Sometimes I keep magazines that only hold my interest momentarily in the bathroom to read while I ... you know. It works very well in this purpose as does BestLife, Men's Journal and Rolling Stone.

To me, Esquire represents everything that's wrong with men's magazines these days. The writing is so-so, the clothes tend to be rather overpriced and many of the features seem like a rip-off from other magazines. In short, save for regular contributors like Chuck Klosterman and John Mayer, I can't defend Esquire on the basis of reading pleasure.

I will, however, defend the magazine on one of its editorial decisions: the selection of André Benjamin, aka André 3000 of the rap group OutKast, as its best dressed man of 2004. I enjoy OutKast's music, but that's not why I agree with Esquire.

I think that André 3000 is a man worthy of the honor because he is the most creative dresser in celebrity culture today. Many people wrote to Esquire is subsequent issues complaining that André dressed like a clown and basically called the editors idiots for making the decision. But I think the dismay people felt had more to do with what their feelings about blacks, rap music and popular culture.

When you get past some of the obvious eccentricities of André's wardrobe, provoked by his creativity as an artist and a dandy, he's actually quite traditional. While most of the rap world has just recently discovered the natural waist and tailored clothes, André was on the forefront, bringing back clothes that, strangely enough, he said 'fit like dresses.' The quote, from this month's Vogue, sounds weird at first, as womenswear is usually off-limits to men, but what I thought he meant was clothes that celebrate the human body, which fit the form of man beautifully, rather than obscure it or sexually display it. That in itself is a very traditional idea, to say the least.

But still, modern men don't dress in this way, and modern black men aren't even considered dressed in anything beyond baggy sweats, six-button neon suits, or prison uniforms. He's boldly going where no rapper is expected to go, with his own idiosyncrasies, and it looks a little weird right now.

So did Elvis, in the mid '50s, with his pompadour, tight pants, and mascara-darkened eyes. Soon everyone wanted to dress like Elvis. So did David Bowie in the early '70s. In no time, however, both men and women were sporting androgynous clothes and haircuts and experimenting with dramatic make-up. So did the 'hair-metal' bands of the '80s, with girl's perms, even tighter jeans and, goofy untied high-tops and motorcycle boots. That look has never really left us, especially in rural areas.

The point is this: music has changed, fashion has changed and celebrities dress weird, and eventually we all take elements of it and dress in tribute to them. Go get your spats and high-waist pants, because it may be coming to a mall near you.

this is me, then | 1987

A rare photo of your friendly neighborhood blogger (center) as a sixth-grader in class at Sontag Elementary School, circa 1987. God, don't I look happy?!

The badly rendered model of the solar system (above, right) was mine, as was the fat gut and aviator frames that I thought were awesome back then. I hit a growth spurt right after that and became quite skinny, plus I got new rounder glasses, thank God.

Starting from the left, I'll do my best to tell you wich classmates of mine were in the picture with me: Tricia Hodges, Vivian Smith, Travis Thorp, Michael Moore, Justin Crews, Latrivia Moorman, Anitra Holland Tremayne McHeimer, and someone's arm.

you can't beat krispy kreme

An old-school Krispy Kreme Doughnuts sign in High Point, North Carolina (source: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~aleskiw/roadgeek/images/Gallery7/03.jpg)

In the world of fast food, few things are more satisfying than a hot-off-the-conveyor belt Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut. Whatever the season, but especially during the colder months, the soft, delectable treats simply melt in your mouth and personify snack perfection. You can get Krispy Kreme doughnuts almost anywhere now, and they’ve created enough varieties for you to try a new one every day for a month or two, but the original flavor from an authentic shop, for me, is the only way to go.

My local Krispy Kreme shop, located along Melrose Avenue in Roanoke across from Roanoke-Salem Plaza, epitomizes the ideal way to experience these delights. Built somewhere around 1962, it’s a bright spot in an otherwise derelict neighborhood, almost totally unchanged architecturally from its opening day. This store is one of a handful of Krispy Kreme production facilities: it supplies nearly every other place that sells Krispy Kreme products in Southwest and Central Virginia. The only changes occurred in the late ‘60s when the manufacturing portion of the building grew to accommodate regional production demands and in the late ‘90s, when interior changes like giant neon “Hot Doughnuts Now” made the dining area even more retro than it was originally.

With the instantaneous rise and fall in popularity of Krispy Kreme products over the past five years, most of the Winston-Salem, North Carolina–based company’s older stores have been relocated or extensively remodeled to the point that the green-roofed, red-tiled little shop with its huge old-school sign and tiny parking lot has become a unique piece of roadside architectural history. The neighborhood around the Roanoke shop has seen better days and will eventually claim this place, as I’ve heard rumors it plans to move to the Tanglewood Mall area if a new mall gets off the ground, but for me perfection lies in this place, on a red stool, with a cup of coffee and two or three (okay, five or six) hot, fresh glazed doughnuts.

men who care . . . for personal care

Sharps is one of the companies joining in on the new interest in men's skincare and grooming.

Male vanity has never been pretty. Then metrosexuals and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" came along, and suddenly your average man grasped not only the benefits of using eye cream and moisturizer, but also the dirty little secret of untold women (and, if "Queer Eye" is any indication, gay men): a compulsion for beauty products.

New men's lines are now in the works from several major cosmetics companies, proof that good grooming has become the mark of the well-made man. (more)

this is me, then | 2002

Your friendly neighborhood blogger and his mom at Forest Oaks Country Club in late December 2002. Mom and I, with the help of several of our relatives, renovated a nondsecript 1978 model double-wide trailer into a country club between 1999 and 2001.

I think I decorated the tree behind us that year. It has any number of glass-beaded fruit along with assorted burgundy and gold ornaments.

I got quoted | A clue: Bib overalls stick out at SouthPark

Last week Charlotte Observer writer Gail Smith-Arrants wrote a story about SouthPark mall becoming more and more upscale, and quoted a writer who suggested that attitudes there were changing for the worst. Naturally, if you've read much of what I have here, you KNOW I had to write in with my comments.

I emailed Ms. Smith-Arrants and told her that I've been shoopping at the mall for years, and save for a couple of incidents at Belk and the time I was almost kicked off mall property for taking pictures of the buildings, I've been relatively pleased with shopping there.

I think she wanted to play up my experiences as a racial thing, but I explained to her that when you're black, people say stuff and do things like that all the time. It's not really an issue beyond that day unless they do something physically to me, which they did not. If I jumped on everything people did to me that was racist, I'd never get anything else done.

Well, part of what I said made the paper today. The full article can viewed through the link on the title. Below is my mention in the finished article:

SouthPark has a devoted clientele. Some even drive from afar to get here, like Steven Swain who e-mailed from Rocky Mount in the mountains of southwest Virginia.

"It's a three-hour drive and I make it to the mall at least six times a year," he said. "I haven't had a whole lot of trouble getting respect from salespeople ... regardless of how I was dressed, and I'm African American."

He added "ninety-nine percent of the time SouthPark rocks."

this is me, then | 1983

Your friendly neighborhood blogger, looking oh-so-ironically stylish (all I need is a trucker hat and I could be in 2004) at left, with brother Allen on the right, showing off my latest creation with the Legoland Townhouse set, purchased at Sears-Town for $16.99. I think this picture is from 1983.

how many guys does it take to make a good burger?

If you're craving a thick juicy burger, fresh fries, a cool soft drink (or beer) and you're on the East Coast, specifically the mid-Atlantic states, do yourself a favor and eat at Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries. This D.C. based chain has delicious food at a great price.

the late, great Eastwood Mall

Russell Wells' Eastwood Mall tribute site 1/8/04

Just as I've started LiveMalls and Brian Florence and Peter Eaglefeather started deadmalls DOT com, more people than ever are paying tribute to malls on the internet. Russell Wells of Savannah, Georgia has devoted a large amount of webspace to the soon-to-be-demolished Eastwood Mall in Birmingham, Alabama, a place he visited and loved as a child.

The story of Eastwood is long and glorious: starting from the dreams of a drive-in theater magnate to its opening in 1960 as the Southeast's first enclosed shopping center to its glory years as a major shopping attraction in the Birmingham area to its eventual fall from grace due to increased competition and neighborhood changes.

Packed with insight, information, and offbeat humor from the webmaster, this is a must-see site.

this is me, then | 1977

The best I can tell, this picture is from 1977. Your friendly neighborhood blogger is the one in the back, behind my brother Allen. I'm not sure where we're headed in the Radio Flyer "Spirit of '76" wagon, but it wasn't far, as we were toddlers at the time. At that point in my life, I resembled a young Newt Gingrich : )

my weekend with the bluths

Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) responds to publicist Jessie in the 'Arrested Development' episode 'Public Relations' from January 25, 2004

I bought the 'Arrested Development' DVD after seeing a couple of episodes on FOX and generally liking its quirky tone and unpredictable story lines. After just a few episodes from season one, I became almost addicted to this show. I watched all 22 first-year episodes in one weekend.

Matt Patay at IMDb has the best summary of the basic plot of AD that I've read so far:

Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael (Michael Cera), is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father (Jeffery Tambor) is arrested for shifty accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panicing. Michael's snobbish mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), finds herself living alone in a penthouse without the financial means to maintain it, while Michael's two brothers, GOB (Will Arnett) and Buster (Tony Hale), and his sister Lindsay (Portia DeRossi) with her husband Tobias (David Cross) and her daughter Mae (Alia Shawkat) also find themselves having to recreate their lifestyles to fit their new financial status.

Arrested Development is, but doesn't feel like, a sitcom. Bare of a laugh track and filmed with a single, often jittery camera, the series looks more like an overblown drama or a gritty documentary — not a comedy that features such loopy situations as an inflammatory ''chicken dance'' or a teenage boy driving a car while jammed on Daddy's lap.

I've seen a couple of fan sites that are really well put together, much like the show itself. my facvorite is 'The O-P,' a mock-newspaper that has everything anyone could want or need to know about the show and its fine cast of characters.

new and improved

In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a lot of new and updated content to the sidebar of the index page. The primary reason for this is to add more value to the experience when you are here in Steve-land. I value every single one of you as guests and I want you to have fun, lean a little something, and enjoy visiting here whether it’s every once in a while or daily.

To that end, here’s the new and updated content:

(NEW) RSS/XML – This service is awesome. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you missed it, here’s a brief overview. Using an RSS reader, you can subscribe to steve’s blog, allowing you to view content from this site without actually coming here every day. It’s as easy as finding a RSS reader on the internet and requesting this site, or requesting the feed for your My Yahoo! page.

(NEW) Books I’m Reading and Books I Just Read – I’m a bookworm with a large library. I am usually reading two or more books at any given time. If you're interested in what I'm reading, I've posted a link to Books-A-Million with book information and purchasing information for each title.

(NEW) Magazines I’m Reading – I’m a bit compulsive with the magazines I read and subscribe to. In case you want to subscribe, too, or just find out more about them, there’s information to spare on those links to your left.

(NEW) Music I’m Listening To – Same thing with the music: just a little compulsive. Find out more about what I’m into and what it sounds like at the links to the left, which lead to Best Buy’s site.

(UPDATED) My Neighborhood Blogs – These are my blogging friends: sites that I can feel comfortable in saying you’ll enjoy if you like this site. These guys put a lot of effort and time into producing some of the more interesting content you’ll find on the internet.

(UPDATED) Links – These are other sites I love and I think you might like, too.

(NEW) Music Blogs – These blogs offer music that’s a little bit off the beaten path. I’m on dial-up with a slow connection, so I can’t take full advantage of the sites listed, but if you want to hear some cool stuff and can download easier, these are the places to look first.

(NEW) Other Blogs – These blogs are mainly centered in the fantasy arts, but I think they’re awesome and though I’m not a regular visitor to them; you may want to become one.

(NEW) NYT Top Headlines – Thanks to a partnership with The New York Times, I can offer you the latest news from the front page of the Times as it is posted. I don’t usually cover national news, and the New York Times is easily the best written paper in America, so I feel like I’m giving you something that makes you smarter and allows you to get more news in one site.

(NEW) Local Weather & Time – I've got a link to the Weather Underground posted along with the current local time and temperature for Rocky Mount, Virginia. This answers the questions 'What time is it there?' and 'How's the weather?'

I hope you like the changes. Thanks for being a part of my madness.

You Know You're From Virginia When...

Nothing like a little fun regional humor...

You Know You're From Virginia When...

Speed limits are just suggestions You have at least two friends who have no idea what their relatives do...because its "top secret" government work Most of your senior class wend to Mason, JMU, Tech, VCU or UVA When people ask where you're from, you tell them DC because its easier to explain You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting "northern," "central," or "southern" in front of it (See above.) It's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you. You know yellow light means at least 5 more cars can get through. (Yeah, man...at least. Probably also happens everywhere else.) A red light means 2 more can. You actually know what the black boxes at stoplights are for. Despite the fact that Virginia fought for the south in the Civil War, you are not, under any circumstances, a "southerner" You are amused by visiting relatives who are actually excited to see Washington, DC You took a field trip to Williamsburg as a kid You are amazed when you go out of town and the people at McDonalds speak English You or someone in your family has a Smart Tag An inch of snow and you miss 3 days of school All the potholes just add a little excitement to your driving experience Crown Victoria = undercover cop Subway is a fast food place. The transportation system is known as Metro, and only Metro. They just tore down the old farm house across the street and put 12 new McMansions in its place For the cost of your house, you could own a small town in Iowa If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have three new names. You have to dial the area code to call your neighbor "Vacation" means spending a day at King's Dominion or Busch Gardens. "Going to the River" means any stream with water. You have never been served tea without the waitress asking "sweet or unsweetened?" Your favorite past time is telling West Virginia jokes. Anyone who can't trace his or her ancestry back to at least four generations in Virginia is an outsider. "Going to the beach" means anywhere from Ocean City to Virginia Beach to Myrtle Beach. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Virginia.

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Slate's Ad Report Card: 'Amazon Theater' at the Cineplex

from NPR Day to Day, January 5, 2005

Slate contributor Seth Stevenson comments on the effectiveness of the new theatrical ad campaign from online bookseller Amazon -- a series of short films called Amazon Theater that are seen before the start of the feature, boasting big-name stars and heavy product placement.

Watch the 'Advertainment' Short Films at Amazon.com
Read Stevenson's Review at Slate.com

my neighborhood: LiveMalls

livemalls.blogspot.com 1/6/04

Okay, I finally did it. After going for many years wanting to build my own mall, then my own mall website. I decided to take the plunge and create one of the latter, called LiveMalls. With so many people predicting the death of the enclosed mall in this generation, as well as the traditional department store, I figured there'd be no better time to try to chronicle and share what I knew about the culture-changing retail establishments that played a major role in creating the guy whose words you're reading.

I'm a mall guy. Without question, some of the best times of my life have occoured in, near, or around malls or because of the mall experience. Think what you will about the previous statement, because it is the truth.

I am in love with malls and department stores, though like any relationship, I'm not always pleased with my partner. This is where my training as an architect comes in. I've always wanted to build a better mall, a better department store: to refine what I've seen into something that is timeless, beautiful, beneficial, and, dammit, perfect. This is my goal. Of course that may never happen, but I'm doing everything I can to make it happen.

Whether you stop reading after this paragraph or you pore over my various blogs and websites to read my assembled knowledge on all things retail, you've helped me move twards my goal of educating the world about what I see as the important retail revolution we've all played a part in. For that, I thank you.

this is me, then | 1978

Your friendly neighborhood blogger at 3 years old, circa 1978, at the back of our trailer in Snow Creek, standing in front of the addition we built for the new clothes dryer.

lord & taylor slims down

Lord & Taylor, Water Tower Place, Chicago, Illinois. May Department Stores Co. is nearing completion of a plan to shut down 32 underperforming Lord & Taylor department stores (though this one will remain open), saving the company $50 million annually, the retailer said Tuesday. (photo by Justin Hall, 2003)

ST. LOUIS -- May Department Stores Co. is nearing completion of a plan to shut down 32 underperforming Lord & Taylor department stores, saving the company $50 million annually, the retailer said Tuesday.

The six stores scheduled to close at the end of January are in Houston, Atlanta, Virginia Beach, Va., Denver, Albany, N.Y., and Springfield, Mass. That will bring to 25 the number of Lord & Taylor stores closed since the company announced in July 2003 it intended to shut down underperforming stores in 15 states, leaving 3,700 employees without jobs. (more)

all macy's, all the time

Aug. 4, 1959 -- opening day at Lenox Square, Atlanta, Georgia: Barbara Clark checks her pocketbook and prepares to enjoy the shopping center. The Rich's department store in the background is still open and will be renamed Macy's on March 6th as part of a major name change for Federated Department Stores' regional divisions (Photo courtesy Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Federated Department Stores will officially convert its regional department stores (Bon-Macy’s, Burdines-Macy’s, Goldsmith’s-Macy, Rich’s-Macy’s and Lazarus-Macy’s) to the Macy’s nameplate effective March 6. The change will be marked in full-page ads in national and local newspapers and in broadcast advertising that will begin that day.

Special events related to the name change are planned for mid-March, including fireworks displays and the staging of mini-Macy’s parades in Atlanta, Seattle and other select cities.

In addition, a new customer-loyalty program is being introduced at all Macy’s divisions. In one of the largest credit-mailing programs ever, more than 14 million credit-card customers will receive new Macy’s credit cards and details about the “Star Rewards” loyalty program.

a peek at 2005 spring fashion

A period look from Alexander McQueen. (Firstview)

Fashion designers are generally sensitive people with a good sense of humor. But when it comes to making new collections, they are a lot like Dr. Frankenstein. They create a monster, and then they have a few regrets.

A year ago they were all taken with ladylike clothes. You would have thought a fur tippet was the most exciting thing since fulminate of mercury. Now they're sorry they ever met the lady. (more)

my neighborhood: josh rubin | cool hunting

Josh Rubin: Cool Hunting 1/4/04

The name says it all. If it's cool and new in the worlds of art, design, technology, mobility, sneakers, or t-shirts, Josh has heard of it and is telling you about it first. I don't know how he finds the time, but I'm glad he does. Check him out.

say what?

Parade magazine, January 2, 2005

Auburn Beats Virginia Tech in Sugar Bowl

Auburn's Derrick Graves (29) is tackled by Virginia Tech's Josh Morgan (17) after Graves intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter during the Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Monday, Jan. 3, 2005. Auburn defeated Virginia Tech, 16-13. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

No. 3 Auburn Beats No. 9 Virginia Tech 16-13 in Sugar Bowl to Finish Season With 13-0 Record

NEW ORLEANS Jan 3, 2005 — Auburn made an improbable bid to share the national title by hanging on in the Sugar Bowl. Now, all the No. 3 Tigers can do is wait to see if it somehow works out. Jason Campbell threw a touchdown pass, John Vaughn kicked three short field goals and Auburn completed a perfect season with a 16-13 victory over ninth-ranked Virginia Tech on Monday night.

But was it enough to claim a share of the national title?

The Tigers (13-0) had a couple of second-half turnovers that prevented them from blowing the game open. And they gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass with two minutes left, hurting their chances of swaying the voters to split No. 1 again.

Virginia Tech (10-3) could have made things easier on the Bowl Championship Series by upsetting Auburn, but the Hokies made a couple of major blunders, dropping a pass in the end zone and missing a chip-shot field goal.

When Bryan Randall threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Josh Morgan with 6:58 left in the game, ruining the shutout, one could almost sense that No. 1 Southern Cal, No. 2 Oklahoma and especially the BCS were breathing a little easier.

Randall dealt another blow to the Tigers when he threw the long touchdown pass to Morgan, perhaps costing a few more votes.

Auburn recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock, deciding to preserve the victory rather than try to win more impressively.

The Auburn band even launched into a Bon Jovi song that summed things up for the Southeastern Conference champions: "Living on a Prayer."

rhythm and blogs

John Valles / DMN
Music lovers have set up Web sites with facts, history and, yes, mp3s.

The audioblog has become a staple of the mp3 age, with new sites popping up every week to serve a wide variety of musical tastes. Unlike Napster, the original file-sharing service, which the recording industry successfully sued for copyright violation, audioblogs are part diary, part criticism and part jukebox. They're run by individual music aficionados eager to spread the word on music new and old.

Most sites include mp3 files, for listening and downloading.Audioblog postings are eclectic, a reflection of the a la carte culture that brought us Pay Per View and video on demand. Last week on Soul Sides, you could hear Bill Cosby's old band, Badfoot Brown and the Bunions, performing "Martin's Funeral" and "The Mouth of Fish." (more)

10 Great Audioblog Sites (in alphabetical order)

Cocaine Blunts & Hip Hop Tapes: Hip-hop rarities with some serious 12-inch action

copy, right?: All concerts, all the time

Fluxblog: Tres eclectic

Locust St.: A discriminating site for old music (particularly jazz), currently taking a tour through the music of 1947

Moistworks: Your place for Milla Jovovich cuts and other cool things

music (for robots): A tag-team operation with specialists in most pop disciplines

said the gramophone: Highly literary pop analysis

Soul Sides: Lots of ‘60s and ‘70s jazz and soul vinyl, with the occasional dab of vintage hip-hop

Stereogum: Kitschy pop sensibility, great taste

The Tofu Hut: A little bit of everything, from B.B. King’s “Sweet Sixteen” to David Boyle’s “The Rapping of the Christ”

2004 as a matrix

New York magazine, January 3, 2005

I love New York magazine. Every week they do an 'approval matrix' of current events. usually it's very New York and wouldn't be that interesting outside of the Tri-State region, but the year-end one was both very funny and had mass appeal, at least to people in Steve-land. So here goes.

welcome little logan

My friend Faye Doughty's niece, Elizabeth Givens, and her husband Jeff are the proud parents of their first child. Logan Givens was born on December 29. He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz. Mother and child are doing great. and Jeff is estatic. Congratulations to them and welcome to the world, little Logan!

johnny did good

My friend (and ex-coworker) Johnny Kincer wrote to me today and told me he passed his licensing exam and is now a Professional Engineer in the state of Virginia. I'm very proud of him. He had a lot of experience, and in the time I worked with him, he proved to be one hell of a civil engineer. I knew he could do it.

Ex-Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Dies

Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, D-N.Y., is seen in this 1971 file photo. Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and an outspoken advocate for women and minorities during seven terms in the House, died Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005, a friend said. She was 80. (AP Photo)

MIAMI (AP) - Shirley Chisholm, an advocate for minority rights who became the first black woman elected to Congress and later the first black person to seek a major party's nomination for the U.S. presidency, has died. (more)

where my ladies at?

Salt-N-Pepa (circa 2000) Courtesy http://www.inmusic2000.de/saltnpepa.jpg

Roxanne Shante, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Sister Souljah, Salt-N-Pepa, Neneh Cherry, Oaktown's 357. Back in the '80s and early '90s, females rapping was almost as prominent as males. These days, hip-hop has slowly but surely become almost totally a man's world, save for the occasional flash of skin and verse from Eve, Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown.

It's a far cry from 1999, when Lauryn Hill became the first woman -- not to mention the first female MC -- to take home five Grammys, including one for album of the year for her solo debut, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

This year, only Remy Martin's been nominated for a Grammy as part of a rap group, Boricua rapper Fat Joe's Terror Squad, the posse behind last summer's hit "Lean Back." One lone female surfing a sea of testosterone.

What happened? There are several opinions. Read here to find out.

nordstrom moves in, and saks leaves a hole

Nordstrom, SouthPark mall, Charlotte, North Carolina (photo by outisthorough)

Luxury department stores dominated the Charlotte area's retail news in 2004 -- two for coming to town, and one for deciding not to come. (more)

my neighborhood: todd and sonya

Todd and Sonya at work on my birthday.

Thought you'd like to see who some of my friends are, especially since you just saw their contributed photos. I used to work with both of them. The one on the left is Todd, who you'll rmember from the water-skiing post. The one on the right is Sonya, who I just mentioned. Both of them were really nice to me over the years at work and we remain good friends.

christmas at sonya's house

The Grinch That Stole Sonya's House:)

I got several pictures from my friend Sonya Fox this afternoon. She and I used to work together and she's always checking in on me. I didn't get to check out her Christmas decorations in person at her and her husband Frank's home in Buena Vista but through the magic of the internet, I can do a 'virtual visit.' Above is a picture of her inflatable Grinch. That's one of my favorite parts of her decorations and it's fairly unique as well.

polar bear day at the lake

Smith Mountain Lake Waterski Club Polar Bear Day, New Years Day 2005. My friend Todd Rowland is the guy on the right in the yellow


Todd having more fun.

My friend Todd Rowland is an avid water skiier and he participates in a annual event called Polar Bear Day that challenges the members of the ski club he's in to waterski in winter temperatures. He sent me some pictures of the event and reports:

"Did not get the authentic weather I am always wishing for. It was a great day in the end, I rode my Wakeboard on the first round."

"I was the first one off of the dock and wearing only my board shorts and my vest (floatation device) dressed like it was a normal summer's day. The other folks were all clad with wetsuits or drysuits. We finshed the day with some barefooting."

Looks like fun, but with my somwhat sheepish nature, it's as close as I'm going to get to skiing.

something just for you

Courtesy PSFK.com

One of the hottest trends identified for 2005 thus far is customization of consumer goods. After years of seeking individualism by picking a different brand or style of the same basic things, consumers are embracing greater choice in details and features for a truly individual experience. PSFK coins this need to set oneself apart as IDividualism – a desire to stand out from the ‘latest trend following’ masses.

Customization is one reflection of IDividualism. As a US Giorgio Armani representative says, “Customization is a direct reaction to the saturation of the market.” Two of the more popular choices in customized goods are the NikeID and Timberland Bootstudio customization services, but they're just a small part of the customization trend.

30-second pop art

My blog through the eyes of typoGenerator

typoGenerator is a random generator for 'typoPosters'. A typoPoster is a poster, created from images and letters/text that doesn´t have any sense, just to look good.

This is what my blog looks like, but you don't need one to make your art, just some text. Check it out.

Many thanks to The Hot Librarian for the post idea.

Hugh Coxs Trixie Elvis Evacuating Tatooine

I thought I'd start the New Year with a little nonsense. This was very fun.

Steve's Porn Star Name is: Hugh Coxs

Get your own Porn Star Name

Steve's Stripper Name is: Trixie

Get your own Stripper Name

Steve's Penis Name is: Elvis

Get your own Penis Name

Steve's Star Wars Masturbation Method Is: Evacuating Tatooine

Get your own Star Wars Masturbation Method

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