Manchester Paper in the Works... can you help?

[Braddogg]

Photographer:

We just need a camera, at some point. I don't know...maybe I'll buy one? Anyone have one? Maybe I'll post on Porc Trading post that we need one? I don't have liberty dollars, but I'd be willing to pay cash money...?

I'm jumping a little late on this bandwagon and I'm still catching up on the posts, but I wanted to offer my photography services.

Awesome, Avens!  Thanks for volunteering; if you PM me your e-mail address, I'll make sure you get kept in the loop once we're ready to start gathering content

[Rocketman]

*grins*

The Manchester Free Press, originally, was a newspaper founded by an old Manchester resident (May Gruber, I used to hear stories about her as a kid 'cause I grew up around all the little old ladies in the French neighbourhood here) as an outlet for news for the Democrats of the area, kind of an anti-Union MisLeader at the time...  The Hippo came later but followed the same vein. 

Finding that a bit ironic now...

-Avens

Avens, you are so old-school!   

[Braddogg]

I really appreciated Avens' history lesson.

[Avens O'Brien]

I really appreciated Avens' history lesson.

The old Pandora Mill is a big deal to me - it was abandoned like 25 years ago, I believe, and for years of my childhood we'd drive into downtown and see the big "Pandora" sign when crossing the Granite Street bridge.  They finally took the sign down, and they're in concept stages of refurbishment efforts (it's the only Mill that hasn't been redone) right now the building remains an "eyesore" to those trying to fix up our city, and a draw for the urban exploration crowd.  I have a friend of the urban explorer variety who says Pandora's notoriously difficult to get into, and pretty dangerous once you do - the roof and the floors are littered with holes and lots of dead small animals, there are random small trees growing out of the brick.

When I was a kid we used to have various legends, from "there's a whole homeless community living there" to "the ghosts of dead mill workers haunt it" to "the mob uses it to store stuff they sell on the black market".

Personally, if they're gonna fix it up, I don't want another stupid hotel here.  We're lucky Brady-Sullivan hasn't tried to make it into condos.  My fantasy (which is so not happening) would be a bunch of independent local stores of every variety to balance out our super-corporate Mall.  If anyone's ever been to Exchange St. and that general area in Portland, ME, like, the same vein of quirky little shops, housed like a Mall in a Mill Building.  With touches of history littered around it.

So cool.  So not happening. 

/end personal soapbox the make Manchester quirkier

And yeah, Rocketman, I am so old-school.

-Avens

[Braddogg]

Well, if you ever buy the building, let us know -- I think the Manchester Free Press would be interested in buying office space there

I had never heard of "urban exploration."  I did a few google searches -- and wow, that kind of stuff is fascinating!

I used to work at a summer camp in Maine, and we spent a few weekends hanging out in Old Port.  Down by the docks is a really neat area to walk around, lots of little shops to rummage through.  The best sushi I've had was at one of the restaurants in Old Port.

[Dave Ridley]

-Avens (the ever elusive lurker)

good to have you here avens!

[Avens O'Brien]

Avens:

You are too great, I am smitten, where do you come from and how come you know about the coolest of cool stuff! I jsut finished popping my eyes back in my head after reading up on urbex...I think I love to call it that...that was really interesting reading, I can't believe how dangerous it sounds!! I know we are already in touch as far as the photography goes and I cannot thank you enough for offering to help, that is so nice of you. We will talk...

Where'd I come from?  Didn't you get the memo?  I'm the reason you're all moving to New Hampshire... I'm the second-generation home grown Libertarian.   I'm a glimpse into the future.

Be scared. 

As for cool stuff... um, I walk on the wild side.  I'm a baaaaad influence.  Heh.

-Avens

[Lloyd Danforth]

She got lucky when she picked her mother

[Avens O'Brien]

Well, if you ever buy the building, let us know -- I think the Manchester Free Press would be interested in buying office space there

I had never heard of "urban exploration."  I did a few google searches -- and wow, that kind of stuff is fascinating!

I used to work at a summer camp in Maine, and we spent a few weekends hanging out in Old Port.  Down by the docks is a really neat area to walk around, lots of little shops to rummage through.  The best sushi I've had was at one of the restaurants in Old Port.

My group of crazy friends are a bit morbid... Some friends of mine are really into exploring old abandoned mental hospitals (New England has many - Danvers was the favourite but it's gone now).  The stuff inside is downright eerie.  Danvers and other institutions also had/ve underground tunnels - primarily the reason I won't explore them - they make it easy to enter but I'm a bit claustrophobic, and they tend to flood - many a friend has gone exploring and found themselves knee or waist deep in mud and other ick.  And the devices they find there, things to "cure" people of "insanity"... the old shock treatment machines, everything.  Eeeek.

I love these sites on things like this: http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=20017

-Avens

(ps, way for me to tangent this discussion, eh?)

[Avens O'Brien]

She got lucky when she picked her mother

Matter of perspective there. 

(kidding!  I love my mama!  even though she's crazy!)

-Avens

[supperman15]

Jewish anarchists and their news paper http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8999267144305867270&q=jewish+anarchist&total=21&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Braddogg]

My group of crazy friends are a bit morbid... Some friends of mine are really into exploring old abandoned mental hospitals (New England has many - Danvers was the favourite but it's gone now).  The stuff inside is downright eerie.  Danvers and other institutions also had/ve underground tunnels - primarily the reason I won't explore them - they make it easy to enter but I'm a bit claustrophobic, and they tend to flood - many a friend has gone exploring and found themselves knee or waist deep in mud and other ick.  And the devices they find there, things to "cure" people of "insanity"... the old shock treatment machines, everything.  Eeeek.

I love these sites on things like this: http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=20017

-Avens

Oh man.  I remember hearing stories of Danvers.  And, come to think of it, my little sister (a horror movie/book buff) made me watch Session 9 with her.  It wasn't particularly good, but it was a weird movie.  I don't believe in the spirit stuff, but if there were spirits anywhere, they'd be hanging around old mental institutions.

Man, this urban ex stuff sounds like a hobby I could get into.

[mackler]

Can I place my subscription order yet?

[Braddogg]

Can I place my subscription order yet?

Not quite, but we are very busy behind the scenes right now.  There's a lot we're doing, like formally setting up the business, getting start-up money, getting quotes from printers, setting up a website, working on a layout, starting to gather writers . . . .  I've made a mock-up of a layout for the MFP (direct download to the PDF here.  It's obviously not my A+ work (some text runs together, there's not enough space around some of the pictures, etc.), and we've already made a few aesthetic changes.  If you have any opinions on it, send me a PM, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[FTL_Ian]

Pretty slick... are you guys really going to have enough content to fill 16 pages every other week?