Todays Thought

But at my back I always hear

Time's winged chariot hurrying near;

And yonder all before us lie

Deserts of vast eternity.

-Andrew Marvell, poet (31 Mar 1621-1678)

Todays Thought

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be. ...

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed -

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

 -Langston Hughes, poet and novelist (1 Feb 1902-1967)

Todays Thought

Jobs are like going to church: it's nice once or twice a year to sing along and eat something and all that, but unless you really believe there's something holy going on, it gets to be a drag going in every single week. 

-Thomas Michael Disch, science fiction author and poet (2 Feb 1940-2008)

Todays Thought

A wise man fights to win, but he is twice a fool who has no plan for possible defeat. 

-Louis L’Amour, novelist (22 Mar 1908-1988)

Homework

 The neighborhood has really gone down hill this year. I was assaulted Wednesday morning on my run by the couple Im calling Bonnie and Clyde. They ran up to me aggressively and then flew overhead and hit me on the head not once, not twice, but three times as I ran flailing and screaming. Today they struck again, once on the first leg of my run as they did their routine of rushing me and then dive bombing onto my head and again on my return lap. But this time they hit hard and I knew it wasnt just feathers or feet - I really felt it this time. I was able to escape as they continued on to defend the nest they built next to the canal path and by now the light was much better as sunrise was minutes away. I turned into my neighborhood and I could see more people starting the day before the unseasonable March heat and waved as I passed. One unusual aggressive wave from a car that i returned in kind but then thought maybe she wasnt waving at me? I dunno but whatever, I was almost home. I walked in and got my glass of water and headed to the computer to log my time for the day and then the bedroom to tell Mark of the hateful geese and I was thinking of either starting to wear a helmet or change my route - at least until the hatchlings were in college. He wanted to see the welt when he said, youve got blood running down your neck. Oh, well that kinda explains the weird wave I got from the car just a few minutes ago. Maybe she was saying something and I couldnt hear over my headphones. Anyway, so now Im taking antibiotics for at least a week cus they drew first blood. 

It was a literal and figurative sign from above that its time to change my morning route. I will now be running east on the canal and not west.

Homework

 Time is relative - and time is an illusion. Also, I forgot more than I remember, so there's that too.

Anyhooo - so I was trying to remember when it was I moved to Phoenix. I kinda sorta remembered it was in September but for some reason I thought it was 1996. Also, I remember a couple of other touchstones that helped me confirm I was so so so wrong. I remember we wheeled in a big tube tv at work so we could watch the final verdict of the OJ trial AND I remember at some point Shawndra came for a visit and we went to see the new movie Fargo at the theatre. So, basically, OJ trial was done in October 3rd of 1995 and Fargo was released in March of 1996. So I guess I actually moved to Phoenix in 1995. There it is, internet for the win again.

Luxury hotel to become attainable luxury apartments

per Trillium Management president Kenneth Losch.A swanky, landmark hotel in north Phoenix that's been shuttered for several years will get new life as "attainable luxury" apartments near the planned Metrocenter mall redevelopment.

Why it matters: That area of north Phoenix is in the midst of a massive transformation and the redevelopment of the Sheraton Phoenix Crescent will add to the area's renewal.

The big picture: Foundation 8, a partnership between Trillium Management and Gia Hospitality, plans to convert the hotel into an apartment complex called The Crescent, per Trillium president Kenneth Losch.

State of play: The $120 million project will blend "high‑quality residential living with resort‑style amenities at rental rates accessible to working professionals."

• Losch told Axios that the complex will also accept renters with past credit problems that have since been resolved.

Zoom in: The complex is slated to have 258 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in the former hotel and another 350-plus units in three smaller buildings that won't block views from the former Sheraton.

• The developers plan to keep the hotel building structurally intact but will repaint it with new colors, Losch said.
• He said the first phase, which will only include the hotel conversion, is expected to be completed in 12-18 months.

Zoom out: Losch said he and his partners look for projects that have "tailwind," meaning "the demand is moving to a new level in the area" due to improving market conditions.

The big picture: Foundation 8, a partnership between Trillium Management and Gia Hospitality, plans to convert the hotel into an apartment complex called The Crescent, per Trillium president Kenneth Losch.

• Metrocenter has been demolished and will be replaced with the Metropolitan, a huge residential and retail center served by a recent light rail hub.
• The massive Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. complex is nearby and accessible via Interstate 17, Losch noted.
• Both are expected to drive housing demand.

The intrigue: The apartment plans aren't set in stone, and the developers left open the possibility that the building could once again become a full-service hotel if there's demand from someone like TSCM or its suppliers.

• Yes, but: That would only happen under the right circumstances that would have to occur quickly, Losch said.

Catch up quick: The hotel has been closed since January 2023 due to an electrical fire.

• The property was tied up in legal disputes for years and a court-appointed receiver unsuccessfully attempted to sell the building at auction.

Flashback: The Sheraton Phoenix Crescent was built by Charles Keating's American Continental Corporation and opened in 1986.

• American Continental declared bankruptcy in 1989 after the infamous collapse of Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, and the federal government seized the Sheraton Phoenix Crescent later that year.

Perfume Genius

 

Todays Word

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

gasconader

PRONUNCIATION:

(gas-kuh-NAY-duhr) 

MEANING:

noun: A braggart.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Gascon, a native of the Gascony region in France, from the stereotype of Gascons as boasters. Earliest documented use: c. 1709.

NOTES:

A gascon was a braggart to begin with, which spun off the verb gasconade (to boast) and then we formed the noun again: gasconader (one who brags). Now we just need to wait for the verb gasconaderade to arrive. See also, roister.

And speaking of boasting: Disney’s Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) may or may not be a Gascon, but he’s a gascon or gasconader.

USAGE:

“[José Nicolás de Azara] was considered somewhat of a Spanish gasconader and a bully. He more frequently boasted of his wounds and battles than of his negotiations or conferences.”
Lewis Goldsmith; Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud; LC Page & Co; 1900.

Todays Thought

We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying. 

-Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)

Todays Thought

Anyone who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour, before he allows himself to be tempted by the more showy qualities, to be direct, simple, brief, vigorous, and lucid. 

-H.W. Fowler, lexicographer (10 Mar 1858-1933)

Homework

 "Give me a call when u aren't busy. Just want to hear your voice."

That was the text I saw pop up from my mom on Saturday. It wasn't an unusual text - if I had gotten busy and hadn't called in a while Id get something along that theme. I called and we chatted about a whole lot of nothing but in the mundane she slipped in "Im going in for a CAT scan tomorrow" Still not unusual since mom once fell in the bathtub she was using as a makeshift platform to paint the bathroom walls. She had tweaked her neck and as the years marched on she found it necessary to get 3x's yearly epidural shots to help quiet the pain. This was different though and of course I had to tease out the details otherwise they wouldn't be forthcoming. 

"Well, Ive been having tummy trouble" 

"Like, are you seeing blood?"

"Ya, I've been seeing more blood lately"

"Did they give you any idea how long you have to wait to hear any results?"

"No, but they did set up another appointment for a couple of weeks out"

"OK, well let me know how it goes cus you me and Kimbra all have the same screwed up gut so whatever you experience is something we both are gonna have happen."

So ya, we'll see how this turns out. I gotta be honest and say Im worried. She just had a birthday a few weeks ago and turned 84. I mean, its not what I would call 'at deaths door' but its not 'spring chicken' either. Health is a precious commodity along with time and we guard both jealously.

Todays Thought

Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprang up. 

-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice (8 Mar 1841-1935)

Homework

My jog path is about 3 1/2 miles from my door and back again. After work it was cool and breezy with the sun about to set - perfect. I headed out as I usually do with the first mile trying to suppress thoughts of turning around and plopping down on the couch. After leaving the sidewalks of my block I moved on to the bike path that follows the canal here in Phoenix. It was a little uncomfortable with the wind blowing head on into my face - I swear it was at least strong enough to add resistance I wasn't expecting. Be that as it may I kept on at my regular pace which was somewhere slightly faster than old man in Pixar's 'Up'. I often see wild life out here even with this being smack dab in the middle of Phoenix. This is not a new development - my house was built in 1969. But I have seen coyotes beebopping down the road looking for their missing ACME package and Owls and other fowl and the random house pet. Today we had a goose chilling by the canal - not cool enough cus as soon as I started to get close he (or she) started to make a path from the canals edge to the bike path and intercept me. I didn't pay too much attention since I was enjoying my 80s mix and I lost sight of it was it was behind me. That's when I felt wing on the top of my head as it decided to make a short flight above me and just as quick landing in front of me. 

Homework

 2nd grade was in Pueblo Colorado, just maybe a year from Clare Michigan and getting thru kindergarten there. Im struggling to remember the name of the teacher but I will tell you we had already moved once from our landing in Pueblo so the schools changed from 1st grade at Thatcher close to the Mineral Palace park and to Bradford Elementary which was what Im guessing with hindsight was a newer building. 2nd grade was in an out-building for overflow to handle the influx of population. And what I remember about 2nd grade was a poem that as I remember was James Whitcomb Riley going on about witches in colored garb and a magical little control panel table with a built in chair to sit and flip the metal switches and twist the knobs with dozens of scale readouts to tell you within fine precision just how much you were adding to absolutely no results. 

Todays Thought

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. 

-Dr. Seuss, author and illustrator (2 Mar 1904-1991)