Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Time to Feed the Blog
7:30. The kiddies are tucked in bed, hubby's eating warmed up risotto and sausage, so now it's time to feed the blog.
It was a dull day in the city. Nothing but rain and Wiggle videos. Nothing new to report there.
Just did a quick skim of the Times. The war stories continue to drag me down. Maybe it's the rain, but I'm starting to think it's time to get out. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.
Better to be disgusted than depressed. Check out the article on all the primping done by rich suburban girls in preparation for school -- Reading, Writing, and Body Waxing. 14 year old girls are getting pricy haircuts, waxing their eye brows, and going to tanning salons to look their best for the first day of school. They are dropping hundreds of dollars on this new ritual.
There is way too much money in the rich suburbs that circle the city. I've heard stories about 8 year old birthday parties at nail salons. No more hippie with a guitar at parties, it's time for a french manicure. In my old home town, the girls walk around with Tiffany bracelets and Kate Spade bags. Those without are ostracized to the corner of the cafeteria. I'm sure boys are required to make some equally repulsive expenditures.
We're starting to look around for houses in NJ. While I would like to live in a town with a good school system, I'm not sure I want my kids around that materialism. However, good schools are almost always in towns with these loathsome influences. My poor kids. God, as if being a teenager wasn't bad enough when I was growing up.
Better to be inspired than be depressed. Check out last week's article on the third water tunnel that is slowly being built under New York. (I wanted to link it for all you freeloaders, but it's gone, so you just have to borrow it from the neighbors.)
There are currently two water tunnels that provide H2O to 8 million people in NYC. Problem is that these tunnels are 100 years old and are leaking millions of gallons of water everyday creating sink holes all over upstate New York. The valves that can stop the flow of water are rotted or forgotten. The author starts his tale with Jimmie Ryan, a fourth generation sandhog burrowing into the granite. His great grandfather helped build the first one during the Progressive Era. The city has been building the third tunnel since the early 1970s, and it may take another twenty years to complete. Great piece. Nice writing. I'm a sucker for articles about large scale construction projects, especially ones with an historical angle.
As a consolation prize, I have another link in the New Yorker to an old Thurber essay.
UPDATE: Joanne Jacobs writes more about suburban chicks.
7:30. The kiddies are tucked in bed, hubby's eating warmed up risotto and sausage, so now it's time to feed the blog.
It was a dull day in the city. Nothing but rain and Wiggle videos. Nothing new to report there.
Just did a quick skim of the Times. The war stories continue to drag me down. Maybe it's the rain, but I'm starting to think it's time to get out. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow.
Better to be disgusted than depressed. Check out the article on all the primping done by rich suburban girls in preparation for school -- Reading, Writing, and Body Waxing. 14 year old girls are getting pricy haircuts, waxing their eye brows, and going to tanning salons to look their best for the first day of school. They are dropping hundreds of dollars on this new ritual.
There is way too much money in the rich suburbs that circle the city. I've heard stories about 8 year old birthday parties at nail salons. No more hippie with a guitar at parties, it's time for a french manicure. In my old home town, the girls walk around with Tiffany bracelets and Kate Spade bags. Those without are ostracized to the corner of the cafeteria. I'm sure boys are required to make some equally repulsive expenditures.
We're starting to look around for houses in NJ. While I would like to live in a town with a good school system, I'm not sure I want my kids around that materialism. However, good schools are almost always in towns with these loathsome influences. My poor kids. God, as if being a teenager wasn't bad enough when I was growing up.
Better to be inspired than be depressed. Check out last week's article on the third water tunnel that is slowly being built under New York. (I wanted to link it for all you freeloaders, but it's gone, so you just have to borrow it from the neighbors.)
There are currently two water tunnels that provide H2O to 8 million people in NYC. Problem is that these tunnels are 100 years old and are leaking millions of gallons of water everyday creating sink holes all over upstate New York. The valves that can stop the flow of water are rotted or forgotten. The author starts his tale with Jimmie Ryan, a fourth generation sandhog burrowing into the granite. His great grandfather helped build the first one during the Progressive Era. The city has been building the third tunnel since the early 1970s, and it may take another twenty years to complete. Great piece. Nice writing. I'm a sucker for articles about large scale construction projects, especially ones with an historical angle.
As a consolation prize, I have another link in the New Yorker to an old Thurber essay.
UPDATE: Joanne Jacobs writes more about suburban chicks.
