Latest news with #Anabasis
HKFP
6 days ago
- HKFP
‘Kilroy was here': Is writing on toilet walls still a thing?
a young man had been arrested and charged with writing a seditious message on a toilet wall was … pleasantly nostalgic. Writing on the walls of public toilet cubicles used to be a widespread hobby, and some walls in popular establishments were virtually covered in writings and drawings. Well-prepared graffiti artists had pencils or pens; the rest of us just scratched. Of course, many of the results lacked artistic quality, and most of them were obscene. Among the more printable was the almost universal assurance that 'Kilroy was here.' A variety of theories are offered about who Kilroy was and why he was commemorated in this way. I also recall coming across 'Clap your hands and jump with joy; I found this wall before Kilroy,' to which someone had added 'Kilroy built it.' Public toilets in the more academic parts of Oxford sported graffiti of a more learned kind. Many of them were in Latin, a few in ancient Greek. Some users spent their toilet time composing alphabets: A is for Anabasis, B is for Binomianism, C is for Critical Theory and so on. Inevitably, academics have swooped. Selection of findings here. Sample discovery: 'Females discussed body image more than males did. There was also a difference in focus: females listed their height and weight, whereas males listed their penis size.' A more civilised habit, in private homes, was to decorate your toilet walls with examples of entertaining newspaper errors. Many of these came from The Guardian, which was so notorious for the laxity of its proofreading that Private Eye called it The Grauniad. It must be said, however, that in the vast majority of English toilets, the graffiti, if there was graffiti, was fairly crude and disgusting. However, this was a result of the fact that the toilet cubicle was private. You could do what you liked in there and nobody would know. At my boarding school, there were actually crowds of smokers in some cubicles during break times. So I am a little concerned about the news that someone has been arrested and charged for defacing a toilet wall. The question is: How did they catch him? I assume … I hope … there is no question of CCTV in the cubicles at Hong Kong China City, where the deplorable deed is alleged to have taken place. I realise we are on camera a lot these days. Citysuper actually has cheerful notices saying: 'Smile! You're on CCTV'. Shoplifting is a serious matter, and I yield without complaint the right to televise the avocados. The toilet is another matter. No doubt, writing on the walls is only one of the many ways in which the privacy of the cubicle can be abused, but there should nevertheless be privacy. Other theories are also a bit worrying. Does Hong Kong China City expect its toilet attendants to inspect a cubicle after each visit to make sure the walls have not been defaced? Or do the national security cops keep an eye on suspected subversives by poking a periscope over the partition from the next cubicle? No doubt the ensuing trial will be a big attraction to the media, and all will be revealed in due course. Meanwhile, the story also has a serious side. The suspected scribbler could face seven years in jail if his work is considered seditious. As a police spokesman memorably put it: 'Doing with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention is a serious offence.' Also, it's a national security offence, so even if your only audience was a toilet wall, you don't get bail. Kilroy was here and has moved to Canada.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Project to build more than 50 units of housing for homeless people in Merced
A 58-unit project to help those at risk of or experiencing homelessness in Merced is underway. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday in Merced, to kick off the start of a project to build 58 units for individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. The Homekey-funded housing project will include 58 units at 125 E. 13th St.. The single-story units will have ground floor access making them ADA accessible. One bedroom, one bath units will be roughly 407 square-feet in size, with two bedroom, two bath units approximately 574 square-feet. The units will be built on 2.7 acres of land utilizing modular construction, landscaping with be featured throughout with an emphasis on cost efficiency and livability. The modular units will be manufactured by Phoenix-based Cavco total project will cost $11,150,000, with 100% of the project's funding coming form California's Project Homekey, said Adam Conour, CEO of Anabasis real estate company, which also is involved in the project. 'This (will) have a very community, clean feel to it,' said Dean Sparks, a real estate professional partnering with Anabasis. 'It's been designed from scratch versus taking an existing hospitality property and reconverting it to this.' Both Sparks and Conour who are Army veterans, emphasized the importance of providing housing for veterans who they say are disproportionately affected by homelessness. 'We're trying to house veterans, we're trying to be responsible and we're trying to be impactful to the mission that we have,' Conour said. The project will also include the construction of a community building on site that will serve to house social services as well as case management and property management teams as well as a community room. The ground breaking ceremony will include red, white and blue balloons, as well as tactical military-style shovels used for the groundbreaking. Construction on the project is expected to begin this summer, with the development being one of seven affordable housing projects supported by the city in collaboration with developers. 'The City is committed to creating housing opportunities. By partnering with mission-aligned developers and leveraging funding opportunities from state and federal sources, we are working to ensure that affordable housing becomes a reality for more people throughout our community,' the city said in a statement to the Merced Sun-Star. The state-led initiative was launched in 2020 in an effort to expand housing for individuals experiencing homelessness or for those at risk of homelessnesses. The program enables both local and regional public entities to acquire various types of properties including motels, hotels, or commercial buildings into interim or permanent housing. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, as of August, Homekey has funded 15,850 homes.
