Author: Mark Alexander

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Blast From the Past

One of the guys I follow on Instagram (yes, it’s still a thing, but who knows how much longer it’s going to be around) collects photos of fast food joints—especially Jack in the Box—from back in the day. While his collection is not limited to Phoenix, he grew up here the same time I did, and has a lot of shots from that time period and so seeing them brings back a lot of memories.

Cave Creek & 7th Street. That particular JIB is now a Title Loan place.


Look at those prices!

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70s Aesthetic





My Dad knew Ms. Eichen. When he brought this book home in the early 70s I remember pouring over the pages in rapt attention. This was the future, damn it! My future! This was the aesthetic I entered my architectural career with.

It’s funny how styles change. What at first seems beautiful and fresh and new looks so antiquated only a few decades later. The photos above are from the 70s, but even the big trends of the 90s (glass block, neon, Zolotone paint) now look hopelessly dated. That’s why I have to laugh when I watch the current crop of home improvement shows where kitchens are all white (or grey, or, most recently blue) shaker cabinets with stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops and tiled backsplashes. Hardwood floors are a requirement throughout a house, and don’t even think about designing anything other than an open concept living area.

This too shall pass. By the time 2060 rolls around, all these “modern” accoutrements are going to look as dated as the photographs above. People will walk into these homes and say, “Granite!? That’s so twenty-teens! It’s gotta go!” In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the photos above are the look in 2060 since everything old is new again.

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Finally Back To Work

You may have noticed my relative silence this week. That’s due to the fact I finally returned to work Monday. After being unemployed for the past six months, I’m not used to being back on my feet eight hours a day and I come home completely exhausted.

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Telling It Like It Is

Twitler meltdown in 5…4…3…

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Tumblr Update

Tumblr was never big on my radar, other than for grabbing menz for posting on Voenix Rising. (And um…for other, more personal reasons.) It was difficult enough coming up new, at least mildly interesting content for this blog without having to also maintain a fully functioning Tumblr as well. Still, I liked the platform and occasionally posted (or reposted) material there that never appeared on VoenixRising, something that has become abundantly clear as I scroll through the “Media” folder of my recently downloaded Tumblr (and is something I hope to rectify going forward).

As I mentioned when the whole Tumblr debacle started, I already have more than enough unpublished material amassed to keep you porn-dog Voenix Rising readers happy for years, but Tumblr’s announcement that it was deleting all NSFW material from its site really pissed me off; not so much because it would make finding new material more difficult, but because it was a direct shot across the bow to freedom of expression.

But where was everyone moving to? A lot of people seem to be opting for Twitter, a venue that I was absolutely shocked to discover allowed porn at all—and one I fear will be the next target of online censorship (although as Ben pointed out, as long as the Orange Menace’s tiny fingers are clicking away, Twitter is unlikely to do anything to limit his audience, even if porn-dogs aren’t exactly his target audience). I already have a Twitter presence as you well know, and if a lot of my favorite Tumblrs end up posting there I may actually be able to stomach more than two minutes a day on the site, but let’s face it: the Twitter experience overall just isn’t the same as Tumblr.

Others are moving to Mastodon. I checked it out, and it looks interesting. I created an account there and we’ll see how it goes. I haven’t posted much of anything yet, but if you want to bookmark me, click here. (I’ll also be adding a link to the account on the “Social” widget at the right.)

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Surprising

With only a couple exceptions, these are not what I consider to be my best photos posted to Instagram over the past year. Only 5 of them were actually taken in 2018; three are many years old, and one isn’t even my own work. But what do I know?

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And You’re Still a Fucking Asshole

So the Orange Menace claims that Mueller’s sentencing recommendations for Paul Manafort prove his innocence and exonerate him of any wrongdoing.

No, Donnie Two Scoops. It proves just the opposite. But you’re too stupid to realize it.

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We Were All Young Once

I think it’s funny how so many younger people think older people don’t like—or aren’t interested in—sex. Granted, you reach a certain age and the hormones start winding down and you’re not walking around constantly moist or with a raging hard-on 24/7 like you used to when you were 20, but c’mon. Sex is still a primal urge for men and women and even if you don’t want to participate, that doesn’t mean you don’t like to watch.

And just remember, that kindly old grandmother you pass in the supermarket was once young and may have had a very colorful sex life…



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I Approve Of This Message

Ryan Murphy has revealed that he isn’t done telling the story of the residents of Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies…and I am overjoyed at the news.

After Apocalypse wrapped, I went back and rewatched Coven, simply because I’d forgotten so many of the details that ended up figuring prominently in the latest installment of the anthology. I enjoyed Coven when it was originally broadcast, but after Apocalypse, I think I love it, counting it the second-best season of the series (Apocalypse being the best.).

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Apologies

A few days ago, after forwarding the Remembering World AIDS Day graphic I posted to a friend, she wrote back and asked if I knew the men whom I’d named. “Of course,” I said. “That’s why I created that image.”

She’s a retired nurse, and had no idea that AIDS had touched my life so intimately. I told her I’d written at length about a lot of those men and went about locating the relevant blog posts to forward to her.

What this little exercise did was show me how often I’ve repeated myself on this blog over the years. I suppose it happens. Something captures my attention and I write, not realizing that I’d written about the same damn thing years earlier.

So as I get older and my memory will no doubt get even worse, if I end up repeating myself ad nauseum, I beg your indulgence. As my dad used to say, “Getting old is hell.” (I know I’ve quoted him on this many times in posts.)

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