Hello, everybody. We're into the holidays and there's lots of ground to cover as always, so on to it.
First up...the latest on the writers' strike, and it appears it ain't going to be a very Merry Christmas after all as the latest talks which resumed after Thanksgiving fell through again. But on the upside of things, Jay Leno has been plundering through his "Tonight Show" vaults and airing assorted old episodes from the days when Edd Hall was the announcer, Branford Marsalis was bandleader, and Kevin Eubanks had something on his head: HAIR! Oh, those were the days.
Conan O'Brien meanwhile is also enjoying plenty of free time during the strike; he even sported what he calls a "strike beard". And I don't know how the other late night hosts have been holding up; but I'm sure they've been out and about in the stores and malls on their holiday shopping with the money they've made.
But because of the strike, we've been deprived of jokes about what's in the news as of late, including the CIA admitting in 2005 they destroyed videotapes of interrogations made in 2002 of two al-Qadea suspects. 2005? I'm thinking they've taped over those interrogations with episodes of "Desperate Housewives."
Here at home, a series of wolf attacks outside Fairbanks have been making news. I tell you, those are the kind of predators we'd rather keep an eye out for instead for the ones we usually see on "Dateline."
Now you know of the transatlantic TV show "How Clean Is Your House?", in which two English grannies scour through the nastiest, filthiest homes known to mankind and afterwards, briefs the residents on what they saw (and smelled) and orders them to clean house? Well, for one complex of buildings in Fairbanks, a good name for it should be "How Clean (and Old) Is Your Apartment?", and here's why:
For weeks, there has been talk about whether or not the Fairview Manor apartments on Airport Way -- which have been around since the '50s -- should be demolished to make way for a more modern apartment building in its place. On November 7, the Daily News-Miner ran an editorial saying they should...and days later, I wrote a "Letter to the Editor" in agreeance:
To the editor:
In response to your Nov. 7 editorial about Fairview Manor, I agree that it should be demolished, imploded, whatever to keep Fairbanks fresh.
Here's why: Sure, they've been around since the 1950s but as Fairbanks would grow and prosper in the decades since, the buildings would become a total eyesore both inside and out. From the torn carpets to little or no air conditioning/heat in some apartments to even the 1997 fire, I have no idea why they've managed to last so long in the face of modern and more energy-efficient apartment buildings springing up all over town.
I hope the Fairbanks City Council does the right thing and sees that that decrepit complex known as Fairview Manor should be done away with forever. And if they finally start the demolition, it would get more news here than that ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood.
Fairview Manor has remained the same for over 50 years, going back to when they were Army housing on the old Weeks Field. But now, the time should come to be given its last rites, because when I first lived in Fairbanks for a time in 1983, again from 1985-89, and since moving back for good in 1992, they've always stood there! Now that Fairbanks has a new city mayor (Terry Strle), it's time for them to step up their game face and do something about those old buildings...before the "How Clean Is Your House?" grannies make the long trip to England and shows the City Council what "spring cleaning" is really all about!
And before I go...a sign that we're nearing the end of 2007 is that soon, I'll be working on my special series of blogs recapping the year, from the top news, sports, entertainment, and celebrity stories to my Top 20 list on the things that were abuzz to new this year...the "Fill In The Blank" quiz. Yes, it's the AllenBlog's 2007 Year In Review, and you'll be seeing that here after Christmas. With that said, so long and stay strong!
First up...the latest on the writers' strike, and it appears it ain't going to be a very Merry Christmas after all as the latest talks which resumed after Thanksgiving fell through again. But on the upside of things, Jay Leno has been plundering through his "Tonight Show" vaults and airing assorted old episodes from the days when Edd Hall was the announcer, Branford Marsalis was bandleader, and Kevin Eubanks had something on his head: HAIR! Oh, those were the days.
Conan O'Brien meanwhile is also enjoying plenty of free time during the strike; he even sported what he calls a "strike beard". And I don't know how the other late night hosts have been holding up; but I'm sure they've been out and about in the stores and malls on their holiday shopping with the money they've made.
But because of the strike, we've been deprived of jokes about what's in the news as of late, including the CIA admitting in 2005 they destroyed videotapes of interrogations made in 2002 of two al-Qadea suspects. 2005? I'm thinking they've taped over those interrogations with episodes of "Desperate Housewives."
Here at home, a series of wolf attacks outside Fairbanks have been making news. I tell you, those are the kind of predators we'd rather keep an eye out for instead for the ones we usually see on "Dateline."
Now you know of the transatlantic TV show "How Clean Is Your House?", in which two English grannies scour through the nastiest, filthiest homes known to mankind and afterwards, briefs the residents on what they saw (and smelled) and orders them to clean house? Well, for one complex of buildings in Fairbanks, a good name for it should be "How Clean (and Old) Is Your Apartment?", and here's why:
For weeks, there has been talk about whether or not the Fairview Manor apartments on Airport Way -- which have been around since the '50s -- should be demolished to make way for a more modern apartment building in its place. On November 7, the Daily News-Miner ran an editorial saying they should...and days later, I wrote a "Letter to the Editor" in agreeance:
To the editor:
In response to your Nov. 7 editorial about Fairview Manor, I agree that it should be demolished, imploded, whatever to keep Fairbanks fresh.
Here's why: Sure, they've been around since the 1950s but as Fairbanks would grow and prosper in the decades since, the buildings would become a total eyesore both inside and out. From the torn carpets to little or no air conditioning/heat in some apartments to even the 1997 fire, I have no idea why they've managed to last so long in the face of modern and more energy-efficient apartment buildings springing up all over town.
I hope the Fairbanks City Council does the right thing and sees that that decrepit complex known as Fairview Manor should be done away with forever. And if they finally start the demolition, it would get more news here than that ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood.
Fairview Manor has remained the same for over 50 years, going back to when they were Army housing on the old Weeks Field. But now, the time should come to be given its last rites, because when I first lived in Fairbanks for a time in 1983, again from 1985-89, and since moving back for good in 1992, they've always stood there! Now that Fairbanks has a new city mayor (Terry Strle), it's time for them to step up their game face and do something about those old buildings...before the "How Clean Is Your House?" grannies make the long trip to England and shows the City Council what "spring cleaning" is really all about!
And before I go...a sign that we're nearing the end of 2007 is that soon, I'll be working on my special series of blogs recapping the year, from the top news, sports, entertainment, and celebrity stories to my Top 20 list on the things that were abuzz to new this year...the "Fill In The Blank" quiz. Yes, it's the AllenBlog's 2007 Year In Review, and you'll be seeing that here after Christmas. With that said, so long and stay strong!
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