dangit, i thought you were serious for a second... :cool:

It reads "Shawn Marion is gone. Time to be PHX2 or PHX4. An admin can change it for you."

LMAO ... maybe I'll change it to PHX13 in honor of Steve Nash. He should be here for a while still, right?

He doesn't play defense! Don't honor him!

So I just got my copy of "Mid Century Marvels: Commercial Architecture of Phoenix 1945-1975" and all I can say is WOW! This book is thick, packed with tons of information about Moderinism, Post Modernism, their histories and how it relates to Phoenix as well as tons of fascinating PHX history.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, everyone should definitely buy a copy. It would also make a nice gift for any friends you have who are architecture or history buffs.

Hopefully this book sells a lot of copies because according to an interview over at the Blooming Rock Blog the author plans to do 2 companion books down the road if possible. One on Mid century homes in PHX and another called "Mid Century Miracles" on houses of worship, gov't, educational buildings, etc.

http://www.phoenix.gov/news/012011midcenturymarvel.html

And only $20 bucks for 400 pages. That's a steal! I'll definately get one. Thanks, Hoover.

Not a big fan of Midcentury Modern design...it's actually my least favorite, but I wouldn't mind checking it out, sounds like a good deal. Pre-1945 is definitely my favorite.

I still haven't graduated from pop-up books so it's over my head.

Love history. I was hoping PHX would start to get more books about the development of Phx. It'll be a nice addition to my Boston collection. Hoover, I'm sure you're seeing the hundreds of books back there about Boston development.

The authors of a soon-to-be-published book on downtown Phoenix have approached me about using some of my photos for the book. It's going to have a very limited production run, so I'm letting them use my photos for basically free.

On another note, I have one car payment left on my convertible. It will be the first time in over 20 years that I have not had a car payment.

Third, and most importantly, I have been diagnosed with clinical depression. I have no health insurance and with even my small current income, I make too much to qualify for AHCCCS (single person can only make up to $700 per month to qualify), so I can't get a prescription for anything. This issue of depression is even embarassing for me to admit having. I've always been a fighter and a "tough guy" in terms of dealing with life, but a series of unfortunate events (to quote the horrid Jim Carrey movie) over the last two years has left me emotionally crippled, to the point that some days I don't even want to get out and do anything. After my dog died in November (Peanut), that was pretty much the last straw. Because of this, I've largely withdrawn from life and don't do much any more. I have had some suicidal thoughts but I've always been able to quash them. Here's to hoping I can manage that on my own for now. I'm waiting to get into a therapy program at ASU in their psychology department at no cost to me, but the waiting list is long.

I know I will probably take some heat for even coming out with this information here but it is what it is. If I cease posting for a while, at least some of you will know why.

--don

Frequent reader, but infrequent poster here. Hope you start feeling better, and get through this rough patch soon Don!

The good thing about depression, is that like anxiety, it's a made up disease.

I 'd recommend seeing a homeopath for a made up remedy. I may sound like I'm being sarcastic, but since seeing a homeopath my panic attacks tapered off from 5/7x's a week and a dependency on alopathic drugs, to being a distant memory. It only took about a year.

Homeopathy wont cure aids or cancer, but it will sure as hell cure pretend stuff. Btw, the medicine the doctor gave me just made me fine whilst i was taking it, then the first missed dose i was back on the mental train. Doctors dont cure problems, they just hide the symptoms, the homeopath actually made the problem disappear. Now i dont take shit. My normal everyday life like before i started with the panic attacks. The same guy got my dad's blood pressure down from 10+ years on pills to now getting below normal readings w/o medicine.

^ Well, to be honest with you, I can't afford much of everything. I went from earning $5,000 or $6,000 per month to less than $1,000 per month. I struggle to make basic ends meet, much less have anything left over for doctors or expensive meds or food.

We will see. You may be right. A lot will depend on what happens in the future.

--don

well if you can make the price work, it's worth it to try. I hated the thought of being dependent on drugs. Now, I don't take anything and I'm happy as can be (which wasn't the case before.) Also, lots of exercise helps too with depression (I have a serious family background of bad depression) as it helps your body focus its energy on other things.

good luck man, it's a bitch to deal with that kind of crap. Just remember that the pain is temporary if you address it properly.

Don, I know how you feel.. I've also been diagnosed as clinically depressed for the past few years, and at one point I was on meds for severe depression. The best bet would be medication with counseling involved as well, but without insurance there is no way anyone could afford it..

Have you tried surfing the net for support groups? There are support groups and chat rooms for everything and anything on the internet.. I found a few that I connected with, and it really really helped. And the people you talk to in these groups may also have some knowledge on where you can get help and meds easier without having any insurance..

Vicelord, not sure if you were being serious about depression being made-up.. it most definitely isn't.. its no fun not being interested in anything, not wanting to get out of bed, etc., etc., etc.,

yes I was being serious. been there, done that, it's a mental thing which is made up. going to see an alopathic doctor will only mask your symptoms, and will do nothing to cure the problem. In the end, everyone's situation is different and you should do what works for you, but it's still just a state of mind, and no doctor or therapist should be able to tell you how you feel.

Don:

Please don't give up hope. Check out Community Information and Referral, http://www.cirs.org/ for help and resources that are available, many without cost. They also have a 24-hour help hotline at 602-263-8856.

I appreciate that you reached out to the board. What you're going through is not uncommon nor anything to be ashamed of. Expressing yourself to us was the first step. However, don't let anyone diagnose you with their "opinion" of what you're feeling or decide what mental health conditons are real or unreal.

Please take care of yourself, Don.

Change of subject, but anyone else concerned about Phoenix hosting the 2011 MLB All Star Game, given that it'll be fucking hot and we can't seem to go a week without somebody, usually a state legislator, doing something batfuck crazy that draws national attention?

The heat will definitely be a factor, I hope the National Media doesn't bitch about it as much as they did about the poor weather in Detroit for the Super Bowl a few years back.

Its too bad places like the Hotel Palomar and Hotel Monroe aren't going to end up being open for the ASG, that would've been nice.

And there is a movement of reactionary nimrods who started this site: http://movethegame.org/

has anyone been to check out Film Bar yet? It seems like a great addition to the Roosevelt area. They're showing pretty off beat films, so it may not be for everyone, but it still looks really cool. I'm definitely planning on checking it out next time I come back to PHX on a visit.

I really hope this place does well, we need it to. A place like this succeeding will beget more interesting venues, eateries, etc to downtown.

They opened so quietly that I didn't even know it existed.

There is no way they are going to be able to resist showing the thermometer every 2 seconds.

Since this is coffee talk and I'm a car nut, I wanted to share a pic of my new ride.

This is my first new car I've ever bought. I had my BMW that was ready to start costing a LOT of money to own. Now I have a warranty, 35 mpg with regular unleaded, cheap maintenance, yadda yadda.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6...ena/mazda2.jpg

Mazda 2? It's already won a number of awards by various domestic and international publications, great little car.

Gosh I hate small cars like that. Do u even feel safe driving it??

Fear is for the mentally weak. I ride motorcycles, road cycle, and I've road raced just about every car you can think of... so what I'm saying is I'm not afraid of anything on a road.

I've driven my 2008 Honda hatchback all over Southern California and Arizona through some pretty shitty weather and traffic conditions, and have never once felt unsafe in it.

People with an irrational fear of certain cars shouldn't have licenses.

I wouldn't be worried about myself, the car, or the weather conditions... I'd be afraid of the crazy fucks all over the place. Especially on a bike.

I wouldn't go to that extreme. Is it irrational? Yes. If it makes you uncomfortable though, you probably shouldn't do it.

and PHX31, the bike thing has never bothered me. Situational awareness (if you have it... some don't) will save your butt quite a few times if you're truly good.

It's not that I fear small cars, it's I don't like them. After seeing accident them accidents and driver+passengers dead, I'll sticking with a mid-sized car.

Is it really the size of the car that matters or how well the car handles accidents? You can have some very well built small cars that perform better in accidents than mid-size or larger cars.

This is an asinine statement.

You can die driving a huge SUV when it rolls over and ejects you. You can survive an accident in a tiny cracker box like my Mazda 2, becuase the car absorbs the contact and becomes a ball of airbags.

In fact, the inertia of lets say a Town Car smashing into a wall is so great that you're more likely to sustain serious injury vs. driving a Jetta. More weight = greater damage.

It's not the size of your vehicle that dictates your suvival of a collision, it's how your car was built to handle that said accident. You're not a driver, and you live in Mesa, so I'll assume you have an overprotective mother who has taught you to believe this malarky, but I can assure you, bigger car does not necessarily equal safer car. Size of collision has a little more to do with it.

edit:
looks like the death leader is actually small trucks. with midsize trucks right up there as well. Both are larger than a subcompact car. You also have to take into account how many of each vehicle type is on the road... I'd be willing to bet that "small" cars are probably the most common types as they would include Civics, Sentras, Jettas, etc.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/ar...arge-cars.html

Yes I know, I've taken a drivers class before. I know the physics of an accident and how better built cars crumple up to make sure the inside compartment stays almost unchanges. And yes I am the driver and designated driver. No comment to your other statement. My sister who has been in more accidents then you could ever get into, drives a 94 4runner and the still holds together while other cars she's hit were totaled. Yes it depends how the car was built and everything else, speed, force, direction, etc.

Vicelord, were you making a beer run at the Circle K on Van Buren and 11th when you took that pic?!

Phoenix Coyotes
 

Hey guys,

Just curious if any of you are following the saga of the Phoenix Coyotes? What are your opinions? Do you think they will stay or go? Does anyone really care down there?

Cheers :cheers:

Yes I was at that circle k. My neighborhood store! Best place to fill a water jug. 5 gallons for $1

I'm a hockey fan...and I do like the Coyotes here, I've been to 12 games this season. It would be really unfortunate if they moved, not just economically for the Westgate area where they play but anytime a team leaves a city, it leaves a mark on the city itself.

Regrettably, though, the team moving is inevitable. The team made an amazing turnaround last year and is only 5 points out of 2nd place in the Western COnference this year and the enthusiasm for the team is just as low as it was during the bad seasons, not to mention the ultimate marker of success, the attendance, has been abysmal yet again. Sure, there are a few spikes in attendance but only because of the people who moved here from Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, etc. Add to that the Goldwater Institute suing Glendale and driving away potential buyers (even though they say they're still committed) and you have the perfect storm.

It really sucks because there are a lot of good, loyal fans here albeit a small number for a city this big, and there's still thousands of season ticket holders that have been coming to the games since the team moved here in 1996. I'd love it if the team could stay but unfortunately I have to be realistic.

Been there many times before, and not for the cheap water, but for the amazing walk-in beer den. :slob:

hah yeah I love the walk in beer den (except for it's full of crappy beers.) It's a nice place to go inside when you walk there in the summer.

Anyone noticed the new update to Google Maps on the satellite view? I think it happened a week or two ago. Its really nice, now once you zoom in a certain amount it switches to more of a "Birds Eye" view like Bing maps has had for a while. Its fairly up to date too, Civic Space and "Her Secret is Patience" look neat from the Birds Eye view:

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1209/civicspace.png

I have to write a paper examining the landscape of a certain street, district, even a strip mall. Problem is, I'm not really sure what to do. The obvious choices that jump out to me are Roosevelt, Garfield or Melrose maybe...but if anyone has any other suggestions for diverse areas or districts or maybe even an event, I'd like to hear them...there's really no restrictions, but I'd rather the area be diverse, be pretty dense in terms of what it offers or to contain something that's typically hard to find in the Phoenix metro area. Thanks either way.

7th Avenue/Melrose District is kind of funky.

Went to Lucky Strike weekend before last for the Brides of March. Had a ton of fun and the place was cool, not uptight at all. Cityscrape looked decent. :)

--don

In other good news, I made my last car payment yesterday. For the first time in my adult life, I have a paid off car. :)

--don

Heh...and here I am looking at getting into a new car payment after having my car paid off for the last 5 years. :P

With those requirements, I think the Roosevelt District has the most to offer. You've got the cool redevelopment stuff west of Central, of course Roosevelt Row and First Fridays. Lot's of independent funky restaurants, hangouts, etc. Proximity to downtown core, some of the oldest homes in the Valley. From funky to graceful, it has it all.

This was a paid advertisment from the Roosevelt Promotion Commission. :)

Heh. I just got a new car and now have a car payment for the first time in my car-driving life - approx 14 years. Can't argue with a 60 month term at 0.09% interest (yes, less than 1/10th of 1%, essentially zero) and a total of about $40 dollars of interest over the life of the loan. Love having good credit.

The last couple of years of the loan, when the value of the dollar is less, I'll have an even more smokin' deal on the car.

:cheers: :cool:

HX, what are you looking at buying?

PHX31, thats a good rate, I just grabbed a 9% on a new Mazda... did you buy a Honda?

Yeah, I got a new Fit Sport.

Looking to get another A4. I've had mine since 2003 and it's still in amazing shape but coming up on 150,000 miles and it's feeling old. I wanted to get a 2009+ A4 but then I made a mistake of driving a 2011 model with the new 8 speed Tiptronic transmission and holy shit I have to have it. :P

Why not man up and buy a new 3 series? Better build quality, better driving dynamics, and about the same price.