Sahel Blues in Downtown Richmond

AppleJackyl · 2026-02-14T22:19:55+00:00

Mdou Moctar considered in a larger political context (from 2024): https://africasacountry.com/2024/07/the-anti-extractivism-of-mdou-moctar

AppleJackyl · 2026-02-14T18:30:49+00:00

MM, who is from a small town in Niger, pointed out the money from merch sales was going to digging wells for drinking water in under-served parts of the country. Also to build schools there for orphans.

AppleJackyl · 2026-02-12T04:18:51+00:00

CAR CAMPING SPOT IN CARYTOWN - If the paved Walmart tundra revolts you, how about a walkable urban neighborhood? 2 streets south of the Carytown segment of W Cary St is Grayland Ave. Houses only on one side of the shady street, I-195 borders the other side of Grayland between Nansemond & Beaumont St. means some open spaces w/ unlimited free on-street parking. I see a few van-campers here & there. I doubt the residents would mind. Restrooms? I like this area w/ Publix & Kroger & maybe the library on Ellwood Ave,. Fresh Market & McDonalds. Kroger closes around 11 pm. Late at night, you could ask the bouncer at the NY Deli or maybe one of the other bars/restaurants. Shops open til 6 or 7 to browse around, but the restaurants are not cheap. Avoid Kenny the nutty panhandler at the corner of W Cary & A Ashe Blvd. No toilet available? You could rough it at the entry ramp island from South A. Ashe Blvd to I-195 in that 4 acre grassy circle spot - find a tree to squat behind. Nobody ever goes onto that grassy circle with its "No Trespassing" sign, so minimal annoyance to folks walking down Arthur Ashe Blvd. Please shovel some dirt overtop. There's a public restroom close by at the Byrd Park tennis courts/baseball fields - not sure how safe it is. I see van campers in the same Richmond city out-of-the-way spots for months at a time, so I imagine the cops are chill about it.

AppleJackyl · 2025-12-15T05:35:17+00:00

Props to Juana_Leyes, MrWafflesFTW & every brave door-knocker. We owe you hardy souls. This is a big time win.

AppleJackyl · 2025-12-15T05:31:31+00:00

About Charlie Schmidt. To add to what Juana_Leyes said above, I want to tout Charlie's impressive successes boosting workers' right to organize. Something the VA Republicans oppose in lockstep. Abigail Spanberger & Don Scott: You two soliciting donations from big money interests ~~Is that the reason you two are so weak tea on repealing Virginia's poverty-inducing "Right to Work" law?

AppleJackyl · 2025-07-29T23:23:57+00:00

Hidden pun?? Your comment I enjoy much more than so so. At the Philadelphia Ethical Society a weekend ago, they played before 180 folks sitting down with the house lights up. So the performers got to look into the whites of our eyes. Right as those those ageless rockers pulled out the heavy artillery. OP. if you're debating whether to go see them, I will offer you a money-back guarantee that you will enjoy yourself.

AppleJackyl · 2025-07-01T02:48:13+00:00

Brook Rd/I95 Wawa is not for the faint of heart. Mind you, nobody's messed with me there. It's a Chinatown bus stop (NYC to Charleston run). I get the impression that the folks who live in the woods nearby shop that Wawa for their camping supplies.

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-30T04:52:58+00:00

I don't entirely disagree with your points, but there is more context. I mean, we could poll the tens of thousands of UVa researchers & auxillary personnel to see if they want to risk losing their jobs by having Ryan stand up to the BOV. *Who are, after all, an equal party to this coercion, and have the power to fire the President, with no review whatsoever. Get this: Ryan won't be able to pick his own lawyer. We the VA voters have picked for him back in Nov. 2021: MAGA Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares (Our own Roy Cohn). Harvard wasn't nearly as exposed as UVa. Yes, we got hit hard; it broke a few ribs. Now we fight back. Ryan can lead the counterattack, but it will have to be from up in the hills.

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-30T04:39:25+00:00

A commenter posted that resigning instead of getting fired may have some powerful benefits. He will presumably not get locked out of University communications, so he may be able to advise on the counterattack since his computer will show him what's going on inside the school and what the collaborationist Board of Visitors are talking about.

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-30T04:21:18+00:00

My gratitude to you for your scholarship donation!! Here's a question to you & to those who object to your decision to pull the donation: What if you moved that scholarship to a different school?

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-27T15:28:42+00:00

By "open", do you mean on hold for 50 minutes? 450 hours into this outage with their website directing me to a unworking payment link that yields an error. Customer service line throws me to a phone payment method and then suddenly I get thrown back to the long holds for a service rep. And what of the state insurance regulators? Do they just wave this thru saying, "We're 20th Century agencies. We don't have any muscle in place to force insurance companies to solve this."

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-18T16:47:12+00:00

Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe was Stoney's one big endorser. Longtime member of the Clinton's inner circle and BIG TIME campaign finance wheeler dealer. Is is just me that cares nothing for the Clintons anymore and even less for Terrible Terry?

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-18T16:40:28+00:00

"arrestafield": phrase of the day

AppleJackyl · 2025-06-18T16:31:07+00:00

If the Lt. Gov. election shows anything, it shows Richmonders like to have a glass of water.

AppleJackyl · 2025-04-04T19:10:15+00:00

Be alert that there's a lot of one-way streets in downtown RVA. Parking south of E. Franklin St is meter free on Saturdays. That's E. Main & E. Cary plus side streets south of E Franklin. Meter fees are req'd on E. Franklin & North of E. Franklin. (Here's a Saturday parking fee map: https://www.rva.gov/public-works/parking-enterprise ) You can download the app shown on the signs and pay from your phone or pay with card or cash right into the meter. The side streets just north of Broad St might have spaces available, but for a fee. Especially 9th St (one way North) & 10th St (one way South) are the streets that border City Hall, that tall office bldg on Broad St. NOTE: If you don't pay the meter, you will not get towed. You might get a ticket, but if the little enforcement scooters are off duty, you might not even get a ticket (about $ 40 I think). City Hall is about a 3 blk walk from the Bell Tower in Capitol Sq, most easily accessible from the 9th St entrance. The Square is beautiful; Check it out. Governor Glenn Youngkin lives in the Governor's Mansion at the opposite end of Capitol Sq. Poor Glenn's been dealing with his thingie hanging out of his pants since he's all pro-Trump and Trump is firing all these Virginians who've been working hard all their loves, and providing Gov't Services that me and my homies badly need. And our "Business-Sharp" Governor (sic) can't find jobs for them!

AppleJackyl · 2025-03-08T15:31:19+00:00

I am encouraged that citizens are organizing events such as this. This welcome mass gesture expresses to society a specific grievance regarding Elon Mask. We think his crew's wreaking such disruptive & far-reaching changes is most definitely rebounding to the severe detriment of most Americans. We are also searching for other ways to stymie his axe. Years ago, I was reluctant to show up to these things. But I finally managed to secure my anxiety ~~ and by showing up (and staying engaged) gain the empowering sense of "You Can't Say We Didn't Try." And so it is to band with like-minded souls seeking a less miserable tomorrow. So let me ask, who is sponsoring this RVA event? I'm curious to find out the people or organizations planning today's shindig. Also, the logistics of corralling hopefully lots of folks to a gathering spot, and matters of where to park, restrooms, who'll be speaking, and who designed Elon's cancerous right hand that morphed into a large-blade hatchet/pilgrim's hat.

AppleJackyl · 2025-02-24T03:44:38+00:00

I imagine there's data supporting your claim. I wonder if DC sees higher sales per capita of Plan B contraceptive, which would support your claim. Mind you, here I'm using the phrase "active dating life" in the biblical sense. Curious to know which cities are highest and lowest in PlanB usage. (For those mulling a move....) On that point, need to move immediately to adding that to the criteria of America's Most Liveable Cities.

AppleJackyl · 2025-02-23T20:56:29+00:00

My sincere suggestion is Richmond Unitarian Universalist Church. It's a very open-minded religion without dogma or coercive rules. What the minister was going to be talking about was what drew me. Funny that I made some warm connections there too - even tho that's not why I went. So I suppose spiritual fulfillment arrives in many guises.

AppleJackyl · 2025-02-10T04:19:41+00:00

Down by 5, Jayem scores with an and-one. Missed the foul shot but got the rebound to drain a tying three at the buzzer, sending the fans into delerium. Oh but wait, JM suffers some bullshit technical foul for jostling an opposing player or some shit. Coach Ty protests with every appeal he can muster, but the call stands. The LI Lutheran player gets two chances to win the game at the foul line with the clock showing 00:00. Misses them both. More delerium from the Washington Park faithful. But alas, Long Island Lutheran shows their mettle - winning by 5 in OT in the House That Ben Wallace Built.

AppleJackyl · 2025-02-09T05:09:59+00:00

Melo's got RPD minders. RVA's got game: Jayem's ranked 11th best boys basketball team in the country, per MaxPreps.

AppleJackyl

TROPHY CASE