tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10329278.post5630535262202686676..comments2024-03-21T11:50:22.851-03:00Comments on Pink Slip: Living Over the StoreMaureen Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18010555449338575037noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10329278.post-36564299151101399262008-11-04T02:36:00.000-04:002008-11-04T02:36:00.000-04:00To Rick (7:14 p.m.'s poster):The husband that you ...To Rick (7:14 p.m.'s poster):<BR/><BR/>The husband that you referenced is NOT a fictional one. He EXISTS. He is well known -- to many.<BR/><BR/>AND, his (Michael's) interview (along with his wife Kellie's), appears in The Boston Globe (and elsewhere), with photos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10329278.post-54803483265198511622007-11-30T19:14:00.000-04:002007-11-30T19:14:00.000-04:00Maureen, I am surprised that you, of all people, m...Maureen, I am surprised that you, of all people, missed the key phrase in this article. The husband isn't just any guy, and doesn't have just any business. The article says he is "a one-time Newt Gingrich aide who now owns a Hudson-based furniture company that produces office cubicles."<BR/><BR/>If that isn't proof conclusive that this article was made up as a parody, and some sleepy editor published it by mistake, then what would be?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10329278.post-33711478276347960362007-11-30T13:32:00.000-04:002007-11-30T13:32:00.000-04:00I'm an adult - haven't thrown beer (or thrown up) ...I'm an adult - haven't thrown beer (or thrown up) on somebody's shoes in eons. And, I love Boston! Wonderful neighborhoods, great little shops, restaurants, museums, etc. etc. <BR/><BR/>Methinks the people that are moving to Noveau Natick have very limited world views. If shopping is the big thing...ouch! <BR/><BR/>My question would be Why? Why do they so love shopping? Could it be they can't/don't appreciate history, art and diversity? (Oops, my elitist snob side is showing there...) <BR/><BR/>In fact, I'm thinking of coming to Boston to celebrate my 50th b'day in April. Having lived in New England (and worked in Boston) - I'd love to spend a couple of days in Beantown then rent a car and travel around New England. Malls will not be on my list to do. <BR/><BR/>I live just down the street from two malls, but the really big news is the Abq. Uptown development - where they're at least trying to do an interesting mixed-use development...the shopping center isn't covered and there are at a couple of locally-owned shops (in addition to Apple, Borders, the usual suspects). What I really like though is I can walk to a Middle-Eastern market (and cafe); a Mexican restaurant, a French bistro, an Asian market, a Thai place, Vietnamese cafe, clothing stores...all locally owned and non-homogenized.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10329278.post-32265613476220591442007-11-29T20:50:00.000-04:002007-11-29T20:50:00.000-04:00You know, I understood the idea of creating open a...You know, I understood the idea of creating open air shopping districts with apartments or condos integrated into them; I didn't really want to live in one, because it felt like a mall with no roof, but it wasn't awful. (Although when one opened in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, VA, where I once lived, I found it depressing that the Vietnamese restaurants and fabric shops run by little old Asian women and stores that sold weird club fashions were giving way to the Apple Store, Barnes and Noble, and - yes- the inevitable Cheesecake Factory. (Who decided that "Factory" sounds appetizing, anyway?)<BR/><BR/>During a trip to that Apple store, a friend and I wandered into an outdoor booth pushing the apartments. "Do you want to see the apartments?" an overly perky woman chirped at us. "We don't need to, we live in an actual city," my friend responded. <BR/><BR/>But I could see that at least if you lived there, you could walk out your door into the fresh air, have some useful amenities nearby (coffee, bakery, and a Metro stop to take you into DC for actual city life). <BR/><BR/>This sounds utterly horrifying, though. <BR/><BR/>One really disturbing aspect of this is that the "public" space is not public. Part of living in a world with other people is dealing with them, and it can be annoying, but it's part of life. From my window in DC I watched the churchgoers every Sunday at Vermont Baptist (often double parking us all in), people wandering over the clubs on 14th Street, customers for the crack house up the street which was also a storefront church... OK, it wasn't all pretty. They put a skatepark in on our corner and I'd see the kids coming and going. Once I even saw a raggedy peace march that apparently got lost heading up 11th Street. Whatever was good or bad about it, it was <I>life</I>. <BR/><BR/>But a mall? Where the improper people would just be ejected, the bland music never stops? Ugh. It sounds like a uniquely American take on hell to me.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14991227879272397253noreply@blogger.com