June 21, 2003
Did you hear the one about the Polish Scholarship?
Went to my usual coffee (or tea?) haunt, and I ran into a little festival, just winding down.
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| That's polishscholarship.com, folks |
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| Dumb ideas |
No offense meant to the polish, but it's generally not a good idea to hold your fundraiser in the Clinton Square fountain (which was drained for the festivities) in one of the rainier cities in the country. The sitting/standing/walking area for the concert and foodstands was in a gigantic puddle, since the fountain bottom is the lowest point in the area. Even with its little drains, my feet were getting quite wet standing around.
Aside from that, the coffehouse was a bit busier than usual. Old men were teaching young high-schoolers about poetry in a move that sparked pedophilia scares among their parents. In reality, I remember hanging out with some of the same old men (one I remember especially well was this old dude Walter, a vietnam vet in Mt. Holly who was weening himself off heroine and onto methadone. A bunch of friends and myself used to hang out and listen to the dude. The coffeehouse (Down to Earth, it's hard to say if they're still in business or not...maybe I'll swing by there on my next trip to Jersey) was pretty hippy'ish and receptive to that sort of thing. More so than here, maybe. Ohwell, take the good with the bad.
| TrackBackI do indeed read these (well, i delete the obscene ones).
As for Down to Earth, I have not been to New Jersey in quite some time. I will be making a trip next week, though. I will be sure to stop in Mt. Holly and make a report. It seems that their web page is down, and all references to them on the interweb stop in 2001, so my guess is that they have closed down.
Were you a Mt. Laurel area resident? And how'd you stumble on the site if I may ask?
Posted by: Reid on October 6, 2003 01:53 AMHi,
My Parent's owned Down To Earth
Like you said we did closed the coffeehouse in 2001 due to family issues...
It was a great time. And it's sorely missed.
and Jason what are you doing posting here anyways?
I gave you my email address..
Posted by: Kelly on January 12, 2004 07:24 PM
Hey Kelly -
Sweet to hear from you, but bummer about the news. I drove by and it didn't look like anything was happening. That was quite a while ago. What brought you to my humble little site, btw?
Posted by: Reid on January 12, 2004 07:30 PMhi...i'm carolina of Chile...i want to talk whit you
Posted by: Carolina on March 30, 2004 04:49 PMPost a comment
Further back...
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Previous Trips...
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Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
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The Curve of Binding Energy
John McPhee follows famous physicist Ted Taylor in this piece that was -- and probably still -- ahead of its time.
Originally published in 1973, McPhee outlined the coming security and environmental issues surrounding the plutonium enrichment processes. For the most part, though, McPhee invites the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, although he does point out the ease with which any number of people could obtain the material (though not necessarily the manufacturing prowess) to make an atomic weapon.
The question still sits in my mind after reading -- are we being too paranoid, or not paranoid enough?
Rated 
by reid
on October 01, 2007
by reid
on October 01, 2007
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Zodiac
Zodiac touts itself as an 'eco-thriller,' and it is just that. Told from the first-person perspective of ST (or Sangamon Taylor), the book recounts a roughly six-month period of his life busting big corporations for violating environmental laws.
Not the tree-hugging political activist type, ST is equipped with chem labs, scuba divers, maps, and an organization (GEE International, the Group of Environmental Extremists) that masterfully brings the press into the fold to scare the public with the very real dangers posed by illegal dumping. It's sort of a Sierra Club member's wet dream -- a band of ecowarriors that actually get things done.
ST finds something odd happening in Boston Harbor during his tale: a new form of pollution that could poison everyone on the planet in a matter of weeks. His quest to uncover exactly who and what is causing the latest spike in toxins goes all the way up to the President of the United States, and could end up costing him his own life.
While a neat and fast-paced tale, the novel drags on a bit toward the end, begging disbelief from even the most forgiving sci-fi folk. While not as good as his latest offerings, it's still a great read for those that enjoy a good Stephenson novel (or even those who don't).
Rated 
by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005
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Cat's Cradle
A few years ago, I attempted to woo an online datee, and she immediately criticized me for my politics. I protested the war on Iraq, which was "a shame." She defended her position of complete noninvolvement by standing behind Vonnegut.
It may seem odd to open a review that way. My assumption is now not that she was an idiot, but that she had only read Cat's Cradle, and only with a rather odd viewpoint.
Cat's Cradle looks at a cold-war world where the personifications of religious, political, and scientific single-mindedness collide to destroy the world.
Vonnegut tells a masterful tale, but it makes me wonder what one person's indifference would do to prevent us from all dying? So for now I will continue to unblindly stop unjust wars, even while I'm only reading.
Rated by reid
on July 17, 2005
by reid
on July 17, 2005
God I hope you read this, but, Have you made to NJ to check if it's still there? That Down to Earth was a major eye-opener when I was 17...please tell me the people are still there.........
Posted by: Jason on October 5, 2003 04:47 AM