Unofficial Titusville, FL Tourism Video
Fri, 21 May 2010 - Titusville, FL
Unofficial Titusville, FL Tourism Video » YouTube
A resident of Titusville caused a local stir when he uploaded a short video to Youtube, featuring some of the dismal, limited, and drab choices that the town offers for dining, shopping, and entertainment. Twenty-one year-old Ryan Williams entertained many of us here on the Spacecoast with his acerbic take on our hometown, but some folk were not amused.
I first learned of the video from some of its detractors, while dining out last week. I had intended to check it out for myself, but it slipped my mind. As viral videos are wont to do, it again thrust itself into my attention stream. During a phone conversation, another of my friends asked if I had seen it yet. He told me it was hilarious. I was sitting next to my computer, so I surfed to Youtube and watched. I got a laugh or two out of it.
The video captured much of what saddens me about my hometown. The empty malls, the empty storefronts, the empty parking lots, the empty sidewalks... All these are a symptom of a town in decay, slipping deeper into an ultimate stagnation. Titusville is a living fossil: It cannot compete in the modern world it has found itself in. The parasitic big-box stores and fast-food joints are leaching away the life-blood of the town. A once-thriving community has lost all hope of a brighter future.
When KSC completes its layoffs at the end of the Space Shuttle program, the situation for Titusville will only deteriorate. This will likely be the final death-blow to the small businesses that survived the onslaught of the mega-stores and later managed to keep their doors open through the great recession.
The Space Age is behind us. Titusville is an anachronism. Our future is the mega-store and the fast-food restaurant, serving a defeated and despairing populace. Our children won’t have jobs which help America reach for the stars, instead they will be reaching over a counter to hand someone a value meal.
I understand why this video has angered so many locals. They say it misrepresents the town and that scenes like this can be found anywhere in America. But Titusville isn’t just any town: It is our hometown and it is dying a slow and painful death. The older generation looks at our town through the lens of nostalgia and forgives much. The young people see the harsh reality of their future if they remain here.
I laughed while watching the video. It’s funny because it’s true. We have to laugh, or else we’d have to cry.
» Geocode: lat/lon = 28.609624,-80.807477
» Geomap: Titusville, FL - Google Maps
» Link: / video / Unofficial Titusville, FL Tourism Video
Mitt Romney ad - Jihad
Sun, 14 Oct 2007
Mitt inveighs against a retrograde step in civilization. Radical Islam and Jihadism are the focus of this campaign ad.
What are we to do about the rising caliphate in the Middle East,
but to send an expedition against them,
and compel them by force to conform to the opinions of other people?
*
I want no part of his civilizade.
*Refer to the last paragraph in Chapter 4 of On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill, for context.
» Link: / video / Mitt Romney ad - Jihad
Video of UF Student Tased at Kerry Forum
Sat, 22 Sep 2007
Seems simple enough, at first. When a UF student acts the jackass, cops taser him. But no interaction between law enforcement and the public is ever that simple.
Meyer achieved his 15 minutes of fame.
His words have become part of the pop-culture:
Don’t Tase Me, Bro!
Jolts the Web.
I wonder which four words I would choose to imprint upon the public consciousness, were I afforded the chance.
» Link: / video / Video of UF Student Tased at Kerry Forum
Scribble time with a Florida artist.
Wed, 12 Sep 2007
Scribble Time 2 - HOBOTOPIA » YouTube
Watch as Adam Koford, of St. Cloud, transforms the random scribbles of a child into fantastically creative cartoons.
Adam is a gifted cartoonist who demonstrates a sublime sense of humor. Be sure to visit his blog, HOBOTOPIA, and marvel at his grin-inspiring talent. Internet nerds will best appreciate the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats panels, but almost anyone will find a chuckle on his site.
» Link: / video / Scribble time with a Florida artist.
Gainesville - 34th Street Murals
Mon, 02 Apr 2007 - 34th Street Wall, Gainesville FL
Never Fall - 34th Street Wall, Gainesville FL » YouTube
Those who know Gainesville have seen this landmark wall, where concrete was the canvas for a constantly shifting portrait of the city’s consciousness.
Related: 34th Street Murals - The Concrete Blog
» Geocode: lat/lon = 29.64675,-82.372211
» Geomap: 34th Street Wall, Gainesville FL - Google Maps
» Link: / video / Gainesville - 34th Street Murals