Hugh Hollowell

As you no doubt know, my shop closed some time ago when I moved out of town. However, a friend of mine has decided to give my friends at Burke’s a run for their money and open a used bookstore in the heart of Midtown, Memphis.

Her name is Karin, and the name of the shop will be The English Major Bookstore. She is an awesome person, kind to dogs and knows a little about books, although she will no doubt get better at it over time. I know I did.

Anyway, if you are looking for used books in Midtown, Memphis, I urge you to check out her website to get the latest update about when she is opening.

Hard Leadership Issues: Raising Support; A Letter to an Urban Missionary in the United States : Hard Leadership Issues: Raising Support; A Letter to an Urban Missionary in the United States

“To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.”

– Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler – New York Times

Offensive language: :

I think the broo-ha-ha over language is a smokescreen to avoid discussing more serious issues, but hell, what do I know. 

“

Local Homelessness Statistics

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More than 11 percent of Raleigh’s population or about 29,000 people live in poverty. (2)

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Family homelessness is growing by an estimated 11 percent each year. (2)

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Approximately 63 percent of more than 29,000 Raleigh residents living below the poverty line pay more than 50 percent of their incomes for housing. (1)

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In Wake County, there remains a gap of at least 25,000 units of affordable housing. (1)

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According to the 2006 Point In Time Count, each night approximately 2,000 persons are homeless in the Triangle area, with an average of 1,200 in Raleigh/Wake Co. (1)

*

The number of homeless persons in Wake County has increased nearly 50 percent since 1993. (2)

”

– Raleigh Rescue Mission : Resources

Still figuring this UI out…

Overall, I think it will come in handy. 

I signed up almost a year ago, when all the other cool kids did, and then promptly forgot all about it.  Recently several friends signed up and found me there, so I have looked into it more.  I think I will play. (If you do not know what Twitter is, that no doubt means you have plenty of time on your hands and are doing productive things, like earning a living. )

If you want in on this, my twitter account is http://twitter.com/hughlh

Also, I mentioned last time that Renee was in the hospital; she has survived the surgery, beeen released and has the good drugs. Thank you for all the emails, the hugs and the prayers. I have the coolest friends.

I am afraid I did.

I screwed up and managed to sabotage my site, causing everything to go to hell in a handcart. Luckily, I had backups of most of the data, so I only lost the last two weeks worth of stuff.

It is frustrating, no doubt, but in a way it is refreshing, as I have been meaning to give this site an overhaul anyway; now I have to.

For those of you who do not know, my friend-girl Renee is in the hospital, awaiting heart surgery. Which means I am in the hospital, a-waiting on her. Until they send her home, I will be here, sleeping in the world’s most uncomfortable cot.

I had a brilliant post all laid out, full of insight on the concept of fear, of mortality and of the comfort of faith in a time like this. However, I just don’t have it in me. Suffice it to say I am very tired, very scared, very nervous and, without a doubt, very loved.

A short post to let the world know that I am back online. It is a long story which I will cover in more detail later, but the short version is that I was on the road for the holidays and had car trouble, leaving me stuck for 4 days.

I just got back last night and have hundreds of emails in the inbox, so I will return all pending ones as soon as possible.

Happy New Year!