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Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town

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Vivien Smith-Smythe-Smith
04/27/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
Wellington is communal, but mostly because the whole city is one gigantic clusterfuck. I hate it, and I love it.
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HereComesMyBaby
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
Tel Aviv feels communal all the goddamn time. There is a holiday every other day. Everyone gives you unsolicited advice on the streets. I run into people I know everywhere somehow, and find out that everyone knows each other. I see all the celebs from kids' shows I used to watch--awww. Cute puppies and babies abound.

Let's just say Israel is TOO communal at times.
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msAnthrope
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
communal, or more closeness with neighbors, never sounds appealing to me. it's just an excuse for other people to put their nose in your business, give you unsolicited advice, or otherwise overstep boundaries like it's all one big happy family. when the apocalypse hits i'd rather be far away from humanity, self-sufficient on my farm with my guy and my animals.
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mbot says Spock yeah!
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
Awww, Iowa City! Growing up 45 minutes away in a far less awesome town, Iowa City was THE place to go and taste a little bit of college cool. Even from Boston, which I love, I sometimes dream of spending lazy summer days, strolling along the Iowa River and then adding a side of chocolate pudding to my dinner at the Hamburg Inn. Iowa City, you make me smile.
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ae
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
I love, LOVE Iowa City more than I can even say. I spent three and half years there while I was in school, and I'll still argue that it's one of the greatest places in the whole country.

Whenever I go home (to a little town about a half hour outside the I.C.), I try to arrange it so I can get dinner at 126, wander around the Pentacrest, or shop at Velvet Coat. Oh, gushy Iowa City love!

I'm sorry to say I missed these three great moments of Iowa City unity. I moved to D.C. just two months before the tornado (although my subletted apartment was totaled) and have been an East Coaster through the caucuses, the 2008 election, and the gay marriage ruling.
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the dodo, the cuckoo, and the nene
04/24/09

@ManicPixiePoliticalGirl: My best friend has lived in IC since she went there for undergrad. Iowa City is my second favorite college town. I love the ped mall area. And the river. And the people in general. It's a great place.
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hannapdx
04/26/09

@ManicPixiePoliticalGirl: Iowa City was one of the greatest cities I have ever lived in. I think the college town appealed to me, especially as a college student. I'm a born and raised Iowan, transplanted on the west coast, but I will always have a soft spot for my Hawkeyes and the greatest little city on a river in the world! in my opinion.

I miss the Wig and Pen badly.
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stevienixxx
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
i live in one of the best places ever. even though we are not that small of a place, there is still a crazy sense of community. we are a college town in northern california- we have a farmers markets twice a week, everyone bikes around town, and we also have one of the largest city parks in the u.s. lots of trees, close to the mountains, floating on rafts down the sacramento river with a cold can of natty light during the summer...ahh. heaven. all those things make me feel part of my community because everyone who lives here loves it here as much as i do it seems like.
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Evie Havok
04/24/09

@stevienixxx: Davis? Santa Cruz?
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MockMyWorld
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
This post was a veritable emotional rollercoaster for me. To wit:

Drew Barrymore as symbol of the apocalypse: Huh?
Peak oil: Gah!
Community: Yay (?)
Iowa City = Midwest = my own roots: :spontaneous combustion from feelings of ambivalence:
Mountain Goats: Yay!
Second look at the Elle cover, where the end of the world coexists with shopping and antiaging advice: Pshaw.

Overall gut response: Can listening to Mountain Goats and not buying Elle count as my contribution toward saving the world? For tonight at least?
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happysquid
04/24/09

@MockMyWorld: Love your re-cap. That is exactly what goes on in my head too! Also I'm from the Midwest. Friended.
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mechanizedmeghan
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
My fiance (hate that word) is Israeli, and we went to Israel this past summer to visit family, etc. I was amazed at how different it is in this regard. People have no problem getting in your business; my future mother-in-law talks about how she never had to struggle with a stroller when they lived there because people just immediately would see she was struggling and help. At the same time if your kid is misbehaving or something, people call you (and the kid!) out on it. It was really crazy to realize how isolated Americans are from one another in a social sense. I kind of prefer the Israeli communal spirit, because really, we ARE all in it together.
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la.donna.pietra
04/24/09

@mechanizedmeghan: I've heard from a lot of people how aggressively communal Israelis are, for good or bad. I can see both the appeal and the dismay.
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baraqiel
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
When does Pittsburgh feel communal? Try every single Sunday that the Steelers play. But especially the playoffs, and the entire city goes insane whenever we win the Super Bowl.

(Yay Sixburgh!)
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la.donna.pietra
04/24/09

@baraqiel: Ditto Oakland, though it's been a while since the Raiders made either the playoffs or the Super Bowl. *sniff*
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westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago)
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
I was watching this Nova episode about the invention of refrigeration and air conditioning, and it was really interesting because they showed how AC kind of killed the communal spirit in the South. People used to have a tradition of "visiting" each other on their front porches, but now all you hear and see are the whirr of AC units and empty porches. Sigh.
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la.donna.pietra
04/24/09

@westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago): Having spent time in the Deep South in August, I can tell you that nostalgia for the time before AC is overrated.
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♥AntiSocialSocialite♥
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
The neighborhood I grew up in has block parties every year - parks, families - it was pretty awesome. Now I live in a gentrified, *trendy* neighborhood - and while everybody knows everybody else, I wouldn't call it communal...
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Treeless
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
Election Night '08 in Seattle had a drag queen on the roof of "Neighbours" nightclub leading a crowd of thousands in "America the Beautiful" and then someone blasted Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " while the crowd swilled/spilled champagne. You could hear it a mile away. It's on youtube. :)

That was pretty lovely & communal. 4th of July is friendly like that, too, only it pales in comparison to Election Night.
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la.donna.pietra
04/24/09

@Treeless: I was in Seattle for the 4th of July last year, and it was amazing. Fabulous fireworks, too!
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Ipomoea
04/25/09

@Treeless: Everytime I watch that video, I tear up. I'd been at the Saint after not being able to get into the Showbox where my friends were, then ended the night on a friend's couch watching Fox news and quietly gloating with champagne.

+ Watch video

+ Watch video

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saintbernadette
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
In the interest of neighborliness, I'm thinking of doing the May Day thing this year.
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Sleuthy Sleuthstein
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
Why does my May 2009 Elle cover look different than yours? Mine shows Drew underwater.
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katie.scarlett.o'hara
04/24/09

@Sleuthy Sleuthstein: The underwater one is for subscribers only, 'cause we're cool like that. :)
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Plum-Pie
04/24/09

@Sleuthy Sleuthstein: Subscriber cover vs. newstand cover.
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Evie Havok
04/24/09

In reply to Will The Apocalypse Bring Us Closer? Or, Why I Love My Town
I don't really think anyone would call Los Angeles communal. Perhaps the ethnic enclaves are a community that helps each other out. Those are the only places that I've seen a "community" in action. The rest of the time or the other places in LA not so much.
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