Before Silicon Valley, There Was Paper Valley

From 2013 06 Wisconsin

Long before Richardson's Telecom Corridor or even California's Silicon Valley, the Fox River Valley in northeastern Wisconsin was known as Paper Valley. The combination of Wisconsin's vast timber resources and water and power from the Fox River was ideal for making paper. The resulting paper mills created prosperous communities and wealthy paper barons with names like Kimberly and Clark. A hundred years ago, it was said that there were more millionaires per capita in Neenah, Wisconsin, than in any other city in America.

After the jump, the Fox River today.

Meek's Cutoff (2010)

IMDB

Meek's Cutoff (2010): Realistic portrayal of Western migration. Unvarnished. Unromantic. Moving. Pioneers were tough as nails. A-

Insurance Intersection

Richardson is in need of rebranding. Telecom Corridor is so 1990s. With all the recent hoopla over State Farm building three new office towers at the intersection of the Bush Tollway and Central Expressway, may I suggest "Insurance Intersection?"

Absurd, you say? Well, sure. But think about why. Last week, my whining about the missed opportunity for these 186 acres of prime real estate focused on the form of the development (see here and here). I claimed it was more 1980s traditional office building, with maybe some nearby apartment buildings to come, than it was 21st century mixed-use, transit-oriented development.

After the jump, what I did not focus on: State Farm itself.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)

IMDB

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011): Turkish crime drama. Long moody scenes of rural Turkey at night lit by car lights. Nothing happens. D+

Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

IMDB

Searching for Sugar Man (2012): "American Zero, South African Hero." Oscar-winning documentary of poet/singer almost too good to believe. A+