I've never been to Florida (or the USA) but from the evidence I've seen (Will Smith's video for "Miami") it looks pretty good.
― Bastard Lakes (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:07 (three years ago) link
I've lived in Florida and I've lived in Georgia and Georgia is worse, believe me
― Josefa, Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:09 (three years ago) link
The board knows I'm no sentimentalist, so I'm curious: the fuck makes Georgia, Alabama, etc. better than Florida?
I should also note: South Florida is not Florida.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:10 (three years ago) link
North Florida is culturally similar to Georgia but still better. Gainesville as a college town is better than Athens. Plus North Florida has other charms that Georgia lacks.
― Josefa, Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:18 (three years ago) link
the fuck makes Georgia, Alabama, etc. better than Florida
Atlanta.
Last year I spent a week in ATL with my mom (flew in from China, we met there -- in January to be clear.) It was so nice, we had so much fun there, everyone was friendly, we went to some great restaurants, saw a stand up comic who killed us with her dry stoned wit. I want to live there. I know stoned comedy isn't for everyone tho.
I found some very affordable tickets from Tampa to London, but for me the best route was to go to Orlando first. The difference between Orlando and Tampa was striking to me. Maybe it was just the areas of the respective cities I saw but people in Orlando seemed positively hostile much of the time, Tampa was much more welcoming. (I was in downtown Tampa, and the area of Orlando was between the airport and downtown.)
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:45 (three years ago) link
Charleston is also not far from home to me, and what I usually tell people is that they really specialize in their own unique brand of racism in Charleston. Although my cousins went to college there and say the cops will often profile poor looking white people if they're in the wrong neighborhood too. Of course I'm sure the brutality is much much worse against minorities.
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:49 (three years ago) link
Josefa why do you think Gainesville is better than Athens?
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:54 (three years ago) link
between the airport and downtown = yeaaaaaaaah, hard pass. best parts of Orlando to check out are the areas surrounding exits 84 and 85, really.
downtown DOES have some nice areas - the trick is to hit the 'other' side of Orange Ave. once you start to hit the 'club' area, yer fucked.
I have had some lovely experiences at Orlando City Stadium though. having professional soccer in my backyard and also being able to see touring squads come play there has been a godsend (like the US Women's National Team, World Cup qualifiers, etc).
― "Salvation Army FUCK!" (Neanderthal), Sunday, 21 March 2021 23:59 (three years ago) link
I adore East Atlanta (the artier, more woke side near The Earl, at least)
I’ve only had 3 experiences in Florida, 1) first with a college friend’s parents in Naples for the holidays, the beach was beautiful and the ambience seemed unreal, it was almost a clichéd country club atmosphere. I watched Some Like it Hot with his family and was embarrassed because I thought that they knew I was gay and that that was the reason we were watching it, but they seemed to love it and they accepted me, 2) the second was going to parties and bars in Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale with gay friends some years later, 3) later had a more sedate time in Sarasota going to restaurants and walks on the beach with my sister, her husband, and her in-laws
They were all different but pretty good and not like any other experiences I’ve ever had. They were all in the wintertime though, not sure I would like it in the summer
― Dan S, Monday, 22 March 2021 00:11 (three years ago) link
Better local music scene ime, and a less pretentious one, although none of the bands I liked from Gainesville ever made it big. Admittedly my frame of reference may be way out of date. I just thought what was happening in Gainesville in my day was more creative, and what was happening in Athens was too constricted by the idea of being "Southern."
― Josefa, Monday, 22 March 2021 00:12 (three years ago) link
Gainesville has quite a few good concert spots/bars. I like The Atlantic.
― "Salvation Army FUCK!" (Neanderthal), Monday, 22 March 2021 00:14 (three years ago) link
Also Gainesville is not near any big city, so it has to be it's own oasis in the cultural void, whereas Athens can kind of fall back on the fact that it's near Atlanta.
― Josefa, Monday, 22 March 2021 00:17 (three years ago) link
sorry for the extra apostrophe
― Josefa, Monday, 22 March 2021 00:21 (three years ago) link
mostly remember Athens as a hub for Elephant 6 in the late 90s
― Dan S, Monday, 22 March 2021 00:23 (three years ago) link
what was happening in Athens was too constricted by the idea of being "Southern."
Seems spot on. I can't name any bands from Gainesville tbh. When I was coming up Chapel Hill was the main scene hub, maybe that's a bit played out in a similar way to Athens. But when we became more interested in raves and clubs, Greensboro had some of the best action. I was living in NC by then, and would go to ATL for events once in a while.
Never been to Athens or Gainesville actually, but I like the region around Athens because that landscape suits me -- it's not really that different from Chapel Hill, a little more hilly maybe?
in the late 90s
Mmmhmm, that's when I'm referring to as well. There was a crew from Atlanta called Earthtone Soundsystem that our little rave scene in Asheville was affiliated with.
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 00:30 (three years ago) link
Full disclosure we were also big fans of Dubtribe Soundsystem back then.
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 00:31 (three years ago) link
If the poll were done today I think my native state of Missouri would rise in the rankings. Probably third.
― succor MC (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 22 March 2021 00:34 (three years ago) link
Do It Then
― armoured van, Holden (sic), Monday, 22 March 2021 01:38 (three years ago) link
Oregon may have overly rosy public relations, but it is far from the worst state on any measure, including racism.
― Judge Roi Behan (Aimless), Monday, 22 March 2021 02:16 (three years ago) link
Ha thank you! I wanted to pull some meta zing out of that but I just didn't have it in me.
(For what it's worth, Earthtone Soundsystem was nowhere near as trendy/cultish as Dubtribe. All of them that I met were genuinely cool people, much like Cloudfactory in the SF Bay Area for example.)
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 10:57 (three years ago) link
Regarding Oregon, it's not just the historic white supremacy. As was briefly mentioned upthread the demographics continue to be quite monochrome compared to most of the South etc. According to the US Census, Oregon is 87% white, 2% Black; Mississippi is 59% white and 38% Black. (It is best to only capitalize "Black", not "white"; or to capitalize both? Genuine style question, no troll.)
So yes on average OR is light years more progressive than MS. But I would guess that even in Oregon on average there is more support for Republicans among whites than among Blacks in Mississippi. Maybe I'm wrong.
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 11:10 (three years ago) link
why is delaware so high up on this? the tax haven thing? it seems innocuous.
― treeship., Monday, 22 March 2021 11:12 (three years ago) link
in oregon (along w/ louisiana) you could be convicted of a crime if 10 people on a jury said guilty and 2 said not guilty until the u.s. supreme court outlawed it last year
― superdeep borehole (harbl), Monday, 22 March 2021 12:26 (three years ago) link
Oregon is 87% white, 2% Black
There's a reason why the Proud Boys et al. are always marching in Portland and not, like, here.
Kentucky is a tough one. They do have two asshole senators, but they have a democratic governor, and there is tons of cool shit in the state, from the bourbon trail to the Muhammed Ali Center to Mammoth Cave to lots of good music. Plus, the state is really pretty. Also, centrally located, and not too big.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 22 March 2021 12:52 (three years ago) link
tipsy to thread!
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:10 (three years ago) link
(It is best to only capitalize "Black", not "white"; or to capitalize both? Genuine style question, no troll.)
I'm curious what the thinking is on this as well. lowercase white vs uppercase Black might on some level support the implication that whiteness is "default"
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:19 (three years ago) link
unsurprisingly it seems like a no win situation the more you think about it
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:20 (three years ago) link
Here you go:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insider/capitalized-black.html
― pomenitul, Monday, 22 March 2021 13:22 (three years ago) link
I noticed just the other day that the New Yorker capitalizes "Black," which maybe they've done for years? No idea what they do with "white."
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 22 March 2021 13:23 (three years ago) link
about what I figured. not really a satisfying answer but that's the nature of style (and change in progress). xp
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:26 (three years ago) link
the New Yorker capitalizes "Black," which maybe they've done for years?
I believe "everyone" (meaning "the media") started capitalizing Black more or less in the last 12 months. I know that's when I started doing it in my own writing, for Stereogum (and in my upcoming book).
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:28 (three years ago) link
I miss Atlanta so much :(
― eisimpleir (crüt), Monday, 22 March 2021 13:38 (three years ago) link
xpost
Here's the revised AP style guide on "Black" etc (it's dated from July 2020 but I saw a Guardian article from June, referencing the AP decision to capitalize Black):
https://apnews.com/article/9105661462
― locked in a death spiral of vindictive gatekeeping (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 16:00 (three years ago) link
Atl is a legit great city. And if you don’t have to be in the car much its ranking goes way up imo. The urban canopy really is remarkable.
― Washington Generals D-League affiliate (will), Monday, 22 March 2021 20:40 (three years ago) link
For sure, the predominant car culture is main issue there. But within the city limits at least it looks like they're doing their best to move away from that.
(I was without a car for a few days there taking care of some business, and I have to say it's quite cool how there are little public shuttle buses that go all over the place and which seem to have sliding scale payment. Of course MUNI in SF is also sliding scale if you know how to avoid the driver's eyes as you slip in the back door. I would never!)
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 21:25 (three years ago) link
*main issue I have
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 21:27 (three years ago) link
*the
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Monday, 22 March 2021 21:28 (three years ago) link
Gonna go against the grain here and say I found Atlanta to be pretty depressing and grey
― Nhex, Tuesday, 23 March 2021 01:47 (three years ago) link
Apparently it's Alabama, but even that is better than DC:
https://today.yougov.com/topics/travel/articles-reports/2021/04/13/us-states-ranked-best-worst-according-americans
― Alba, Thursday, 15 April 2021 13:53 (three years ago) link
if you look at the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, Alabama is the only state with a mega light-green shade.
why am i not shocked.
― P-Zunit (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 April 2021 14:49 (three years ago) link
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0331/3061/products/Mutual-Feelings_60x36_Flag_Photo_1200x1200.jpg
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 15 April 2021 15:19 (three years ago) link
Jersey tied with Iowa and Arkansas.
Been trying to think up what trouble those three states could get into together, with no luck.
― pplains, Thursday, 15 April 2021 16:53 (three years ago) link
I reckon TX has this now
― Josefa, Wednesday, 1 September 2021 12:55 (two years ago) link
otm
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 1 September 2021 12:55 (two years ago) link
Certainly top contender for worst state that has the most awesome things in it ruined by the shittiness.
― i carry the torch for disco inauthenticity (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 September 2021 13:08 (two years ago) link
Nov, 2022 is when we're hopefully going to get rid of Abbott. If Texas doesn't do something about the bastard I'm going to have to move. Fuck this shit.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 1 September 2021 13:16 (two years ago) link
If you lose Abbott, you're only going to get somebody worse because he was primaried.
― pplains, Wednesday, 1 September 2021 18:57 (two years ago) link