Monday, April 16, 2007
The rest of the story
You know what drives me nuts? Short RSS feeds that say nothing to make me want to go read the full post. I've come across no fewer than 20 of those, just today. So I checked my settings and realized that a) I had my feed set to short instead of full; and b) I've been completely oblivious to that ever since my redesign in January, so I have probably been doing the very thing that drives me nuts.
Sorry, folks. I set it back to full. That way you at least don't have to click all the way through to the site to see if the whole post is as boring as the first 255 characters.
Sorry, folks. I set it back to full. That way you at least don't have to click all the way through to the site to see if the whole post is as boring as the first 255 characters.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Meditate on this
Today I read that the Camelot Hotel is probably going to be torn down. When I was a little kid, I loved the Camelot (which was then called the Camelot Inn). It was pretty famous already because in the 60s Elvis really did sleep there, as well as other celebrity types who favored over-the-top furnishings--such as the huge metal KNIGHT in the lobby. Or the repro medieval weapons that hung on the walls. It was the perfect venue for a science fiction convention, and OKon was hosted there during much of the 80s, when I was going to OKon. I'm pretty sure a lot of medieval-themed weddings took place there too, and I'm betting that there was a lot of crossover between guests at those weddings and OKon attendees.
But years of neglect have not been good for the Camelot, and while I'll be sorry if it goes, I can certainly see the justification. You can't tell from the linked photo, but a lot of the windows are boarded up and you can actually see the graffiti from the Interstate (at least, you could last time I noticed), which can't be good for Tulsa's image. So if they tear it down, I'll understand.
But here's where it gets kind of interesting to me, personally.
The Camelot is owned by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation and personal guru to the Beatles. Or at least, it's owned by Heaven on Earth Inns, which is run by the TM organization. They were apparently planning to build a "peace palace" on the grounds and turn the hotel into a campus of Maharishi University of Management, based in Fairfield, Iowa. Instead, they've let the property crumble. And this isn't the first time.
Back in 1999--shortly after Mr. Vintage Reader and I took the train from St. Louis and spent a delightful long July weekend at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, too entranced by our HUGE and gorgeous room, the charming little diner, and the lovely view of Grant Park and beyond that, Lake Michigan, to notice that we were apparently staying in a fleabag--the hotel was shut down for multiple safety violations. It was promptly bought by Heaven on Earth... which let it sit and rot for several years before selling it off.
You know, I've never been a big fan of TM, because it's like the Microsoft of personal development, but without the quality control. You have to pay a lot to learn TM, and then you're prohibited from teaching it to others--unless you go through an expensive certification process. There are no manuals, although unlike Microsoft products, you do get lifetime support. It claims that its applications are the best way to bring about everything from reducing crime to implementing world peace--but only if each individual who wants to use it pays. And pays. And pays. And yet, I think that if TM works for people, and they're willing to pay for it, then more power to them, and to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
But for Pete's sake, let's stop selling off the local landmarks to him.
But years of neglect have not been good for the Camelot, and while I'll be sorry if it goes, I can certainly see the justification. You can't tell from the linked photo, but a lot of the windows are boarded up and you can actually see the graffiti from the Interstate (at least, you could last time I noticed), which can't be good for Tulsa's image. So if they tear it down, I'll understand.
But here's where it gets kind of interesting to me, personally.
The Camelot is owned by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Transcendental Meditation and personal guru to the Beatles. Or at least, it's owned by Heaven on Earth Inns, which is run by the TM organization. They were apparently planning to build a "peace palace" on the grounds and turn the hotel into a campus of Maharishi University of Management, based in Fairfield, Iowa. Instead, they've let the property crumble. And this isn't the first time.
Back in 1999--shortly after Mr. Vintage Reader and I took the train from St. Louis and spent a delightful long July weekend at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, too entranced by our HUGE and gorgeous room, the charming little diner, and the lovely view of Grant Park and beyond that, Lake Michigan, to notice that we were apparently staying in a fleabag--the hotel was shut down for multiple safety violations. It was promptly bought by Heaven on Earth... which let it sit and rot for several years before selling it off.
You know, I've never been a big fan of TM, because it's like the Microsoft of personal development, but without the quality control. You have to pay a lot to learn TM, and then you're prohibited from teaching it to others--unless you go through an expensive certification process. There are no manuals, although unlike Microsoft products, you do get lifetime support. It claims that its applications are the best way to bring about everything from reducing crime to implementing world peace--but only if each individual who wants to use it pays. And pays. And pays. And yet, I think that if TM works for people, and they're willing to pay for it, then more power to them, and to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
But for Pete's sake, let's stop selling off the local landmarks to him.
Labels: landmarks
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