I’ve always been partial to seasonal displays—to any arrangement of objects, shapes, or colors that defies its backdrop and commands attention simply for being different. I think, in recent years, it’s become a more common sighting in grocery stores for all variety of holidays, not just because food manufacturers capitalize on special occasions to market
There can be no question that, at this point in the effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve reached a stage where national unity—if any such thing ever existed—is under strain. Through much of March and at least the first week of April, the overwhelming majority of the country agreed that a lockdown was critical
Given the patchwork of regulatory subcultures that our country’s federalist system inevitable creates, it should come as no surprise that this vast, diverse country is eliciting widely variable responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of the key metrics—confirmed cases, deaths, recoveries—and in the fuzzier, day-to-day manifestation of this most acute of public health
Here in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia for those not in the know) it’s interesting to see the effect of the increasing escalation of the “shelter in place” mandate, in terms of how people seek relief from all that time cooped up. In the last two weeks, even the handful of businesses that could continue operating under
So, from my previous article on social distancing and DC’s only coffee shop with interior seating (that I’m aware of), I’ve concluded that the readership here actually likes articles that are timely and of-the-moment. No surprise. Given the rewards I reap in terms of conversation and clicks (all intellectual, none financial!) I’ll probably keep doing
I rarely feature material as timely as this; in fact, I deliberately avoid content with a short shelf life, mainly because, if one posts as infrequently as I do, one has little to gain from an article whose relevance will fade within 72 hours, as advancements on the subject quickly supersede it. But in mid-March
For those who don’t go to malls regularly—which, in 2020, it’s safe to assume is most of us—we’ve probably stopped thinking all that much about the act of shopping altogether. By and large, it’s no longer a peripatetic activity. But there was a certain mystique toward the idea of walking confidently down a street—or, more
Okay, since I toiled relentlessly in putting together those two Forest Fair Mall articles, I’m entitled to slack off for a post. And this time it’s not even a decent photograph; on a bright winter day it’s hard not to eliminate the hard shadows. Sorry about that. But the point still comes across, as will
I’m not very good at selling my blog as a product, partly because I don’t try, and partly because I just can’t for the life of me talk things up. And so I begin with this post with a disclaimer on how tiny and inconsequential of a subject it is. At the very least, I
For most of the 21st century, and certainly in the last ten years (since the Great Depression) the majority of American downtowns have enjoyed a reinvestment no longer measured merely in spruced-up old façades. The cranes, dozers and other construction equipment are all the evidence one needs. People are returning to central business districts, in
I’ve always been partial to seasonal displays—to any arrangement of objects, shapes, or colors that defies its backdrop and commands attention simply for being different. I think, in recent years, it’s become a
There can be no question that, at this point in the effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve reached a stage where national unity—if any such thing ever existed—is under strain. Through much
Given the patchwork of regulatory subcultures that our country’s federalist system inevitable creates, it should come as no surprise that this vast, diverse country is eliciting widely variable responses to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Here in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia for those not in the know) it’s interesting to see the effect of the increasing escalation of the “shelter in place” mandate, in terms of how people seek
So, from my previous article on social distancing and DC’s only coffee shop with interior seating (that I’m aware of), I’ve concluded that the readership here actually likes articles that are timely and
I rarely feature material as timely as this; in fact, I deliberately avoid content with a short shelf life, mainly because, if one posts as infrequently as I do, one has little to
For those who don’t go to malls regularly—which, in 2020, it’s safe to assume is most of us—we’ve probably stopped thinking all that much about the act of shopping altogether. By and large,
Okay, since I toiled relentlessly in putting together those two Forest Fair Mall articles, I’m entitled to slack off for a post. And this time it’s not even a decent photograph; on a
I’m not very good at selling my blog as a product, partly because I don’t try, and partly because I just can’t for the life of me talk things up. And so I
For most of the 21st century, and certainly in the last ten years (since the Great Depression) the majority of American downtowns have enjoyed a reinvestment no longer measured merely in spruced-up old