<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>The City Desk &#187; Shek Baker</title>
	<atom:link href="http://thecitydesk.net/category/contributors/shek-baker/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://thecitydesk.net</link>
	<description>Fictional urbanism.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:30:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>For your ears: Smart City, new Wasted Words</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/12/04/for-your-ears-smart-city-new-wasted-words/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/12/04/for-your-ears-smart-city-new-wasted-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:17:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Leonard Pierce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Smart City]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wasted Words]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=459</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two audio items for you this week- :: Editor RJ White has a piece from The City Desk on this week&#8217;s &#8220;Christmas in the City&#8221; edition of public radio&#8217;s Smart City. It&#8217;s an amalgamation of some briefer holiday pieces over the years and he reads it slowly and with a pronounced Midwestern accent. Also on the program are various city officials discussing how they handle the planning of holiday celebrations in their real cities. [Smart City - 12.03.08] :: The City Desk contributor Leonard Pierce joins the Wasted Words panel discussion podcast this week as a special guest. Editor RJ White&#8217;s Midwestern accent is less pronounced and contributor Shek Baker&#8217;s voice is gravel-esque on the program. [Wasted Words - Episode 19] Please give them a listen, won&#8217;t you?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/12/04/for-your-ears-smart-city-new-wasted-words/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>For Your Ears: Wasted Words</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/11/12/for-your-ears-wasted-words/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/11/12/for-your-ears-wasted-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:51:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stephen Levinson]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=431</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A new episode of the Wasted Words podcast is now available. It is hosted by your editor, RJ White, and the panel includes The City Desk contributors Shek Baker and Stephen Levinson. Thank you.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/11/12/for-your-ears-wasted-words/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The City&#8217;s Runaway Neighborhood Threatens Again</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/07/14/the-citys-runaway-neighborhood-threatens-again/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/07/14/the-citys-runaway-neighborhood-threatens-again/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:40:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[annexation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ordinances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[President Heights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=268</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[President George W. Bush&#8217;s scheduled departure from office next year has many of our citizens preparing for a street fight of sorts. On February 1st, the upscale President Heights neighborhood is scheduled to add a second Bush St. to its ever-growing borders, and seven city organizations, including the Falmouth Hill Preservation Association, the Norbeck St. Residents&#8217; Group, and Community Board 6 are urging the city to halt the proceedings. To succeed they will have to convince the city council to repeal a 139-year-old amendment to the city&#8217;s charter that ranks as one of the most short-sighted and destructive bits of legislation in city history. If the council refuses, as seems likely, a 12-block section of Norbeck St. in historic Falmouth Hill would be re-christened after our 43rd president. Several landmarks on that stretch &#8211; including one of the city&#8217;s oldest churches and the Teal Estate, the original mayoral mansion &#8211; could be torn down or renamed at the whim of the President Heights Community Association, notorious for its draconian covenants that regulate the height, appearance, name and function of buildings within its ever-expanding borders. The reason our city is almost powerless to stop this possible desecration of its own landmarks [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/07/14/the-citys-runaway-neighborhood-threatens-again/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Hooper Slaw, Sal&#8217;s Famous, Bloop</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/16/friday-facts-hooper-slaw-sals-famous-bloop/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/16/friday-facts-hooper-slaw-sals-famous-bloop/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 11:30:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[the city desk]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Number of consecutive weeks the Griswold Arthouse has featured Jaws as its &#8220;Friday Midnight Movie&#8221;: 1,664:: Number of &#8220;Jaws Burger&#8221; fried fish sandwiches sold at the adjacent President Heights Cafe&#8217; during in that time: 41,679:: Percentage sold between the hours of 2 am and 5 am Saturday morning: 83:: Number of stars awarded the President Heights Cafe&#8217; by irascible Alternative Weekly food critic Gram Sanders: one-half:: To the Jaws Burger fried fish sandwich specifically: zero :: The annual Founder’s Day Film Festival (FFF) will be held from August 8 – 11 this summer, with the official celebration of Founder’s Day to occur on Monday, August 11. This will also, as usual, be a paid holiday for all city employees. The theme for this year’s festival is the highly appropriate ‘Summer in the City,’ and the Monday afternoon Founder’s Day matinee will be Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. The comprehensive FFF schedule will be released on Friday, June 6. :: Today, the City Council is scheduled to repeal a 1946 ordinance which banned from city limits any and all stand-alone arcade devices and games. The measure was intended to curb the use of pinball machines in casual gambling, but [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/16/friday-facts-hooper-slaw-sals-famous-bloop/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Discount Pork Credit Rebate A.M.</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/09/friday-facts-discount-pork-credit-rebate-am/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/09/friday-facts-discount-pork-credit-rebate-am/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 May 2008 12:02:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jonathan Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[laws]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[museums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/?p=248</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Mayor Wilders&#8217; recent initiative to &#8220;clean up&#8221; the city&#8217;s catalog of archaic, outdated, obtuse or redundant ordinances begins in earnest next Wednesday when he plans to unveil his self-authored C.O.M.B. (Consolidate Our Municipal Bylaws) Initiative. Among the ordinances targeted by the measure are a 1988 ban on prostitution services for pets, last year&#8217;s activist &#8220;pro-smoking&#8221; initiative, and a late 17th-century punishment which calls for &#8220;stabbing centrely amidst the fleshie organs&#8221; for anyone caught &#8220;dealyng with goods of a gypsie nature.&#8221; :: In addition to police officers, emergency response and medical personnel, it is technically illegal in the city to pose as a practitioner of the following professions: Plumber, baker, cobbler, milliner, grocer, asphalt-mixer. :: Number of local coyote attacks sparking the &#8220;Coyotes: This Summer&#8217;s Sharks?&#8221; three-day investigative series on Channel 8&#8242;s newscast next week: 0 :: The Woodbridge District of the city boasts more hair salons, Thai restaurants and British import shops than any other district in the city (124, 70 and 17 respectively). :: Tourism in the city is down 15% over the same period last year. The Valley Regional Tourism Bureau attributes the decline to budget cuts, leading to a lack of presence for the city in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2008/05/09/friday-facts-discount-pork-credit-rebate-am/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Damnit, Jim</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/10/12/friday-facts-damnit-jim/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/10/12/friday-facts-damnit-jim/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:40:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[conventions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tourism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/10/12/friday-facts-damnit-jim/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: City sci-fi fans, your annual heartbreak is once again at hand. Organizers&#8217; attempts to book a local Star Trek convention have been rebuffed by the City Council for the twenty-third consecutive year. Vociferous Councilwoman Marge Heath led the charge once again, stating unequivocally that &#8220;you freaks will have to go elsewhere for your geek fix.&#8221; :: Number of city venues that have been fruitlessly considered for Star Trek conventions over the years: 11 :: Number of those venues that have been demolished, destroyed by natural disaster or closed down during the 23-year streak: 5 :: Venues most popular with organizers over the years: Pierpoint Docks Convention Center &#8211; 5 attempts (including this year), Nabisco Arena (previously Chevy Chase Bank Sportsplex, Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter Garden and Norman J. Kowalski Arena) &#8211; 4 attempts, Airport Courtyard Marriott &#8211; 2 attempts. :: Convention organizers are blaming &#8220;The Photon Torpedo Pranksters&#8221; (seventh item) for hampering their efforts and engendering anger within city government. :: Other, similarly-themed conventions and exhibits which have been allowed permits recently: CosGenSciAniCon, &#8220;Star Wars: The Magic Of Myth&#8221; (exhibit at Watson University Science Museum), Asimov!2004 :: There Are Three Lights! Comix and Games, in Fulton Village, is apparently named [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/10/12/friday-facts-damnit-jim/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/27/friday-facts-sunday-sunday-sunday/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/27/friday-facts-sunday-sunday-sunday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:48:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kowalski Piers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rivers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[streets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weather]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/27/friday-facts-sunday-sunday-sunday/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: The &#8220;Guess Your Weight&#8221; game at the Kowalski Piers Carnival (through August 6) was finally shut down Monday after repeated complaints; a statute barring such midway attractions was famously introduced in 1938 following an incident involving fat lady &#8220;Alice from Dallas&#8221; and has been fiercely enforced since. :: Champion of the 11-and-under tournament at the Goh Kun Tae Kwon Do Academy on Algonquin Avenue: Jeannie Prince, only the second female champion since 1989 :: Attendance at last year&#8217;s &#8220;Roarin&#8217; on the River&#8221; powerboat race, where there was a huge smashup on the last day which sent two boats flying inland, landing on the 200 block of Main Avenue: 10,219 :: Number of ads for this year&#8217;s race which used news footage from the incident (in which, thankfully, no one was badly injured): 3 :: Expected attendance for this year&#8217;s race: 25,000+ :: Pastor John Frank of Union Christ Church on Seventeenth Street and Halpine Terrace has requested that no more boxes of old clothes &#8220;and other junk&#8221; be placed in the parking lot near the facility&#8217;s back door. &#8220;Our dumpster seems to invite such behavior, but I encourage people to throw these things away themselves,&#8221; he said. :: Number [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/27/friday-facts-sunday-sunday-sunday/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: &#8220;The Flaming Rings,&#8221; Golf</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/20/friday-facts-the-flaming-rings-golf/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/20/friday-facts-the-flaming-rings-golf/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:30:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/20/friday-facts-the-flaming-rings-golf/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Number of injuries resulting from the &#8220;Magic of Sturly Davis&#8221; mishap at the Gloria Theatre Tuesday: 7 (6 serious burns, one broken ankle) :: City champion in the Men’s 70-and-Over spring softball league: Needleman’s Kosher Meats, with a record of 3-0 (including one victory by forfeit). :: Twenty-one deaths of city residents in the summer of 1988 were attributed to the heat and to the lack of adequate ventilation in several apartment buildings. :: Number of municipal golf courses: 4 :: Number of privately-held golf courses, including country clubs: 14 :: Number of PGA Professionals holding membership at one of the country clubs: 21 :: Average cost for a single round of golf at a municipal course (2 players): $17 :: Average cost for a single round of golf at a privately-held course (2 players): $74 :: Average cost for an annual membership at a country club: $3,932 :: Average score at Verdant Greens: +9 over par :: Korean sensation Minna Kim&#8217;s score at Verdant Greens: -12 ::Pro Golfer Dale &#8220;Chum&#8221; Green&#8217;s last score at Verdant Greens: -9 :: Winner of the Parks &#38; Recreation Department&#8217;s Junior Art Fair (July 7): Shelby Fairhaven-Steen, age 9, for her stone and [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/20/friday-facts-the-flaming-rings-golf/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Unlucky No. 13, Powerless</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/13/friday-facts-unlucky-no-13-powerless/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/13/friday-facts-unlucky-no-13-powerless/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:30:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[crime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Andrews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Downtown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keets Harbor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Sturgiss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Falls]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[power outage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roxboro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skyscrapers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[utilities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/13/friday-facts-unlucky-no-13-powerless/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: Northside residents can expect an extra unlucky Friday the 13th today, as electrical power will be cut off for up to two hours in order to repair a transformer on the corner of Garrick Ave. and Riggins Rd. The device was damaged June 26 by would-be bank robber Kevin Sturgiss when he hijacked a city bus and drove it against traffic during rush hour in an effort to evade the National Guard roadblock set up on Clark St. :: Number of buildings Downtown which skip the 13th in their floor numbering: 2 (The Ansfield Meats Tower, The Walker Consolidated Bldg.) :: Duration of Tuesday&#8217;s partial power outage, affecting the Central Corridor/Downtown, Keets Harbor, North Falls and Roxboro areas: 5 hours, 33 minutes :: Number of times the entire city has suffered a complete electrical power ‘blackout’: 3 (1967, 1987, 2003) :: Number of times the blackout originated inside the city: 1 (1987) :: Number of raccoons electrocuted in a centrally-located transformer leading to 1987&#8242;s city-wide blackout: at least 1, possibly 2 :: Amount of electricity needed to kill approximately 2 raccoons: definitely less than 22,000 volts - David Andrews, Shek Baker, RJ White]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/13/friday-facts-unlucky-no-13-powerless/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Friday Facts: Delays, Tags, Dial Tones</title>
		<link>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/06/friday-facts-delays-tags-dial-tones/</link>
		<comments>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/06/friday-facts-delays-tags-dial-tones/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:06:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>The City Desk</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Craig Gaines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[festivals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fourth of July]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[friday facts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Holidays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Sturgiss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northside]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RJ White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Shek Baker]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/06/friday-facts-delays-tags-dial-tones/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[:: This year&#8217;s Fourth of July fireworks display has been moved to Saturday, at 9pm, at Founder&#8217;s Pier. :: Number of times throughout the years that the City&#8217;s fireworks display has been postponed due to the weather: 7 :: Estimated boost in attendance this will bring to the Lithuanian Pride Festival, which had already been scheduled to take place Saturday night at Founder&#8217;s Pier: 215% :: Estimated damage to private and public property caused by the well-known tagger &#8220;Joey Ballgame&#8221;: $125,000 :: Rumored leading candidates for Ballgame&#8217;s true identity: Shamed former Deputy Police Chief Andrew Hotel, tenth-grade French teacher Jane Kapitzky, tenth-grader Lowell Thomas (Kapitzky&#8217;s rumored secret lover). :: Joey Ballgame&#8217;s primary neighborhood of activity: The working-class neighborhood surrounding the underground mansion at Sutter&#8217;s Hill. Street lore has it that Ballgame&#8217;s ultimate goal is to tag the home&#8217;s sealed bottom four floors. :: Northsiders who&#8217;ve suffered spotty telephone service these last four days can thank local newsmaker Kevin Sturgiss (Wonsley High Class of &#8217;86). An unexploded grenade hurled by Sturgiss during his June 26 bank robbery misadventure lodged under the door of a telephone switch box on Garrick Ave. until it was discovered by several Hilworth Junior High students after [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://thecitydesk.net/2007/07/06/friday-facts-delays-tags-dial-tones/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

