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Miscellany
Dec. 9th, 2013 06:23 pmNot doing too well at this blogging thing, am I? Life continues to suck with the power of a galaxy-sized black hole, leaving little energy for engagement with the internets.
Department of, "someone did not give much thought to their layout":
The large supermarkets nearest our home all have significant Kosher sections. On my last visit to one of them, I realized that the cooler devoted to kosher meat was sandwiched between the cooler devoted to hams, and the cooler devoted to bacon and sausage.
Department of, "clueless white people":
Jim Hines snarks about conrunners who don't understand the need for diversity. Which made me think there really should be a shorthand label for a group that has too many white people in it (like "sausage fest" for groups that are too male). The one I came up with was "Wonderbread Party".
Department of, "awesome TV shows we've discovered recently":
Recently finished watching "Dancing on the Edge," a BBC miniseries starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as the leader of a jazz band in 1930's London. A very good period drama that on the one hand follows the rise of jazz from something black people listened to, to the cool new thing that all the important upper class white people were mad for... and on the other hand is a profound examination of racism and white privilege. Must-see.
Department of, "unlivable houses of the rich and upscale" (an ongoing series)*:
The most recent open house I visited was yet another bungalow torn down and replaced with a Mcmansion. The ground floor, as usual, was one huge "open concept" room (with not one, but two fireplaces), although the sales brochure described it as consisting of a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs, instead of the usual 3 bedrooms, we had 4 bedrooms, all of them smaller than the bedrooms in our modest downscale bungalow. The bathrooms (ensuite in the largest bedroom plus another) were also quite small. After looking in every door I finally figured out why everything was so cramped: they'd shrunk things down in order to make room for a massive, long and narrow, windowless walk in closet that ran the length of the second floor, and reminded me of a rather dark bowling alley. I guess the developer's vision of the potential buyer was a clothes horse with lots of kids. Asking price: 1.4 million.
*Background: our neighbourhood is not upscale, with rather narrow lots, many bungalows and duplexes, and most houses minimally altered from their original circa 1940's construction. The lot sizes and house types weren't originally all that different between our neighbourhood and the one to the east of us, which is much closer to the subway/freeway terminus. However, in recent years, the area to the east has undergone gentrification, with equivalent houses selling for three times as much. Most of the bungalows over there have been torn down and replaced with Mcmansions, and at any one time there's six or ten homes being gutted and redone to be much bigger (second floor additions, backyard additions, etc). When I have the time, I visit open houses over there just to see how the 1% like to live.
Department of, "someone did not give much thought to their layout":
The large supermarkets nearest our home all have significant Kosher sections. On my last visit to one of them, I realized that the cooler devoted to kosher meat was sandwiched between the cooler devoted to hams, and the cooler devoted to bacon and sausage.
Department of, "clueless white people":
Jim Hines snarks about conrunners who don't understand the need for diversity. Which made me think there really should be a shorthand label for a group that has too many white people in it (like "sausage fest" for groups that are too male). The one I came up with was "Wonderbread Party".
Department of, "awesome TV shows we've discovered recently":
Recently finished watching "Dancing on the Edge," a BBC miniseries starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as the leader of a jazz band in 1930's London. A very good period drama that on the one hand follows the rise of jazz from something black people listened to, to the cool new thing that all the important upper class white people were mad for... and on the other hand is a profound examination of racism and white privilege. Must-see.
Department of, "unlivable houses of the rich and upscale" (an ongoing series)*:
The most recent open house I visited was yet another bungalow torn down and replaced with a Mcmansion. The ground floor, as usual, was one huge "open concept" room (with not one, but two fireplaces), although the sales brochure described it as consisting of a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Upstairs, instead of the usual 3 bedrooms, we had 4 bedrooms, all of them smaller than the bedrooms in our modest downscale bungalow. The bathrooms (ensuite in the largest bedroom plus another) were also quite small. After looking in every door I finally figured out why everything was so cramped: they'd shrunk things down in order to make room for a massive, long and narrow, windowless walk in closet that ran the length of the second floor, and reminded me of a rather dark bowling alley. I guess the developer's vision of the potential buyer was a clothes horse with lots of kids. Asking price: 1.4 million.
*Background: our neighbourhood is not upscale, with rather narrow lots, many bungalows and duplexes, and most houses minimally altered from their original circa 1940's construction. The lot sizes and house types weren't originally all that different between our neighbourhood and the one to the east of us, which is much closer to the subway/freeway terminus. However, in recent years, the area to the east has undergone gentrification, with equivalent houses selling for three times as much. Most of the bungalows over there have been torn down and replaced with Mcmansions, and at any one time there's six or ten homes being gutted and redone to be much bigger (second floor additions, backyard additions, etc). When I have the time, I visit open houses over there just to see how the 1% like to live.
