The Deleted Scenes - New and Old #100
The Staying Power of New Jersey’s Family-Owned Department Stores, New Jersey Monthly, Barbara Leap, December 3, 2021 This is a really nice piece on a handful of local New Jersey department stores that have survived the great department store winnowing. Of the three mentioned, I’ve only heard of one, because it’s five minutes from where I grew up (and I wrote about it, too)! Check it out. Blue Ridge Blight on Afton Mountain, Sometimes Interesting Sometimes Interesting is one of those blogs I could practically have written. The fellow behind it does these really neat deep dives on commercial history (he had a great piece on the history of Howard Johnson’s, for example.) From this piece:
This property, off the Blue Ridge Parkway and I-64 between Staunton/Waynesboro and Charlottesville in Virginia, is notorious. (It pops up all the time on Virginia Facebook groups and always spurs heavy commenting.) Read the piece for an overview of what was there and what it looked like then and now. It’s interesting how quickly our modern civilization can produce ruins. Like so many longtime owners of decaying commercial properties, its owner refuses to sell. It seems inexplicable, doesn’t it? That allowing it to to completely fall apart is okay, but selling it is heartbreaking? Also check out this post by Ben Schumin, another very interesting built-environment writer/photographer, on the Afton Mountain properties.
This could also be about book clubs, or HOA meetings, or any other objectively unimportant thing that breeds self-righteous, petty tyrants. It’s an entertaining read, and a very human one. You can laugh at the excesses but you can also see yourself possibly committing them. Food snobs look down on the air fryer. Here’s why they’re wrong, San Francisco Chronicle, Soleil Ho, June 23, 2022
This is a good point; those single-use gadgets are frequently pretty useless—at least, I cook daily and I find that to generally be true—but it isn’t because they’re single-use gadgets. It’s more because they’re poorly designed: tricky to use, difficult to clean or assemble/disassemble, mediocre at performing their tasks, etc. (Take a look at this video series from Epicurious hosted by a kitchen gadget designer for a really detailed look into this.) I generally find a very good cutting board, knife set, and set of pots and pans to be sufficient for cooking. But there are gadgets—small food processor, pizza cutter, sous vide machine, box grater, flexible ice cube tray—that I also love using. Just because something is trendy or popular, that doesn’t mean it’s not truly useful! That is a kind of elitism. Also this:
The idea that our understanding of the tool limits its usefulness is a really important, widely applicable point. Related Reading: Thank you for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekly subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive: over 500 posts and growing. And you’ll help ensure more material like this! You're currently a free subscriber to The Deleted Scenes. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
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Buffet Chronicles: Disappearing Sushi
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Thoughts on inheriting, passing on, and being the last
Under the Street
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
What Do You Think You're Looking At? #100
A Bit of Super History
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
A story of retail evolution
Not-Pennsylvania Amish Country
Monday, March 6, 2023
What you can still find one hour from the nation's capital
Food, and Food for Thought
Saturday, March 4, 2023
What determines a great restaurant?
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