Never-say-die

This will be the last post to this blog in its current format. In the future, my blogging energy will be devoted to the 'New' Carbondaley Dispatch (originally named "Carbondale Bytelife"), and syndicated on the new Shawnee Net portal, which will continue to add more quality news feeds and local features.

Since this is the last, it should go out with a bang, not a whimper. A long bomb for the big score (which I will run to the end-zone to catch myself)!

Two stories leading to events in December, and one about a big day in November.

* * *
The past few days have been busy ones for everyone . . . not the least of whom, Mr. Arkee Whitlock, who just may lead the Saluki's to a national championship, as the

Salukis advance to NCAA quarterfinals:

as "Arkee Whitlock rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 10 Southern Illinois University (9-3) to a 36-30 come-from-behind victory over No. 12 Tennessee-Martin."

Whitlock's four rushing TDs makes him SIU's all-time single-season leader in points scored.

Says Arkee's coach, Jerry Kill: "Arkee's the best player in the country. Not the best running back, the best player. He's unbelievable and I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's fun to watch him."

The Dawgs will play at University of Montana on Dec. 2.

Fred's dead, Dec. 9
But sometimes dead is dead, as in Fred's Dance Barn, which never recoverd from the shooting on its property a year ago.

Reported in The Southern Illinoisan, Fred's is closing, Dec. 9: Owner Barrett Rochman said "negative media attention following a highly publicized shooting near Fred's Dance Barn property in January was a major factor in a steep attendance decline that ultimately led to the decision to close."

Until then, every night the club is open, "there will be special events and giveaways."


Shop 'til you poop
Unlike most of you, I didn't eat a big turkey dinner on Thursday (for personal reasons, my T'giving was Saturday) . . . But I was driving some people to the Amtrak Station to catch the early train to Chicago, on Friday, and stopped by east-side McDonald's at the request of one of passengers. It was 6:30 a.m., and there was an extremely large crowd inside, and a dozen cars in the drive-thru line.

Caleb Hale wrote in The Southern: "If 300 people, likely still digesting turkey, are lined up outside a store at 5 a.m. on a cold November morning, blitz sale bills clutched firmly in hand, then it must be Black Friday." [my italics].

Caleb continues . . . "The dubiously named, strangely celebrated opening salvo to the Christmas shopping season began very early Friday morning across the nation. Throngs of customers stormed . . . malls across America with money as good as spent on tantalizing holiday deals."

The rest of Caleb's story contains the usual info about what items are popular, and some quotes from locals. . . . But it's the second phrase in Caleb's lead that captured my attention, as I sipped my first espresso of the morning.

The phrase about the shoppers "likely still digesting turkey" -- and his comment about the "dubious" accuracy of the "Black Friday" name for the biggest shopping day of the year, got me thinking . . .

Wouldn't "Brown Friday" be better? I think the men in brown at UPS might get behind this.

Okay, Bloggees, that's it. . . . Hopefully, the new blog will be a worthy successor to this one. Please bookmark and read shawneenet.net/dispatch to find out.

See ya in th' e-hood.

Penultimate post

I never did write my final (?) post for this blog on Saturday, because I was on the road with my arms full of art.

And now, I see that Peter the Great has resumed his blog, taking the new title suggested by Cindy and running, I mean ranting, with it. It's heady stuff, this blogging business, Bloggy. Like sex. Once you try it, you want do it again. (Similarly, Peter sez in a comment to one of my posts "Blogging is masturbation unless you have a goal." So what is his new goal, I wonder.) It's good he's got his hand in blogging again. But it looks like the neophyte Bytelife is going to get the tame stuff, and what he calls 'the nasty stuff' will go into to Gregorian Rants, so . . . we'll see how it all shakes out.

For instance . . . the recent story in The Southern by veteran reporter Linda Rush about the Park District: "The Carbondale Park District Board voted unanimously Monday night to dismiss its court petition to sell Hickory Lodge, a property that had been donated to the district years ago by the Martin family and had been the district's office until 2004, when park operations were moved to the LIFE Community Center.

It also heard and saw a presentation indicating public support for an outdoor swimming pool for the community."

Good news for a lot people. But PG digs deeper into the Pool thing, concluding it's a "complete waste of time and energy."

So now, I'm gonna hold off creating the final post to this blog, until the new Drupal version is good to go, and maybe Peter can be persuaded to pour his wine into the new skin.

Standing Up

Blogitor's Note: The account below was posted as Standing 'O' in the Bytelife blog, with a different photo. The one below left shows Mayors Robert Butler (Marion), Brad Cole (Carbondale), Vic Ritter (Herrin), Ron Williams (Murphysboro). The article is word for word, except for one word. . . . The first commenter to identify what it is, wins a slice of Quatro's pizza. (I sat next to the owner at today's address. He asked if I was still blogging. Is he still making pizza? Is the Mayor still making making speeches?)

****
Mayor Brad Cole delivered his 4th Annual State of the City Speech today, recounting the City's progress, and his ideas for the future. When he announced his intention to seek re-election most of the people in the room rose from their seats and applauded. The media table remain seated, as did about 20% of the room, including (I imagine) mayoral candidate Sheila Simon, sitting in back.

All the other Council members were present, too, except for Joel Fritzler and Lance Jack, the latter probably working at Harbaugh's which he helps run (arguably the best all-around independently owned breakfast-lunch restaurant in The 'Dale, although Mary Lou's restaurant has its own loyal fans-- especially among the bisquits and gravy crowd).

The crowd pictured here had dined on Great Boars of Fire barbecue with salad and sides, only minutes before the standing O which may have aided their digestion.

Unfortunately the anticipated "Bloggers Convention" failed to materialize. I found only Cindy (winner of the Name that Blog! contest) standing by the door. An avid music lover, and occasional amateur performer, whose MySpace blog recounts her life in retirement, and includes a photo. Shawn (the Beer Philos'pher) was there, too, but we didn't hook up. And Peter and the shadow man could not attend due to circumstances beyond their control.

The mayor spoke for about an hour . . . Besides his big announcement, the audience also applauded his intention to crack down on school truancy, and his statement that "it helps to have Faith on your side" (an allusion to his secretary, Faith Johnson). Also, the Mayor's promise to continue to waive the City's portion of the property tax had people putting their hands together counting their money, after the applause.

One of the things that hasn't been much noticed before, is how much the Mayor promotes art in our community. Each table had placed in the center three colorful artistic tiles, created by local school children. . . . In his speech, Cole told us that thousands of these will decorate the upstairs' hallway in City Hall

Since I've been helping out with the Mayor's web site, I won't say too much in favor of "Hizzoner" -- I'll let his accomplishments speak for themselves -- or rather the accomplishments of many people, including the City Council. But will the Mayor's 2007 Plan pass muster with Mister Peter Gregory? With candidate Ms. Sheila Simon? With Dr. Jessica Davis?

How about you, Bloggee? Will you give Mayor Cole's announcement a "standing O'" or a sitting 'no'?

What next?

With only one more day before this blog is retired, I've had some "second thoughts," but still believe it's time to make a change.

Paradoxically, things are heating up in the local blogosphere. The new team blog has great energy. Six people have signed-up, so far. It could use (perhaps) 5 more "team players" (no more than one post per day ;-)), because with so many bloggers, it could turn into the local version of the Huffington Post, (without the "Liberal Democrat" bias) or 9/11 Blogger.com (without the dedication to 9/11 Truth) with individual web logs within the main blog, which will be PHP (Open Source) software called Drupal -- state of the art technology for group blogging. "Community Plumbing" they call it.

The new blog will be like this blog on steroids! It had more comments in the first week than this blog got during its first year (I think). But it still needs a better name than Carbondale Bytelife (which sounds too 'techy') . . . and some photos.

People have said I should keep this blog going, so maybe the name "New Carbondaley Dispatch" would be better than "Bytelife". I'll run it past "the team."

Speaking of whom . . .

Bloggers convene
A small group of bloggers will be at the Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon next Tuesday (after this blog has gone silent) to wolf down some barbecue by Great Boars of Fire barbecue and hear Mayor Brad Cole's State of the City Speech (presumably it will posted to this web page by then). Presumably he's gonna tell us "What Next?"

The "New Carbondaley Dispatch" should be interesting reading the next day. ;-)

Will Cole be telling us about the state of the City next year? That reminds me, I just put Walter Wendler's domain to rest, redirecting it to a better place. Go ahead, click on walterwendler.com. Where are White & Borgnoni? ;-)

Two days & counting

In case you didn't catch the small print, Saturday will be the last post to this blog. That's the plan. After that, you'll find me at Carbondale Bytelife (and at the other Shawnee Net blogs). The name "Carbondale Bytelife" isn't carved in stone, but the concept is: a team blog devoted to the bringing out the best of Carbondale.

At least that's what I see as the purpose of the team blog. Others can add to that.

Yesterday, I met with my Open Source source, the ScientistSuperstar, in his office in the Dunn-Richmond Center business incubator. Long story short: Use Drupal instead of Blogger to create Bytelife, because it allows for categorizing posts. (Blogger Beta does it too, but not for team blogs.)

I had a much stranger encounter waiting for me in my email INBOX when I got home. Strange isn't the word. Hostile. That's it. I think the phrase "granola eating fuck face" was used, because someone hacked this guy's web site (he says. It was probably natural causes, whatever it was). The site looks the same, as far as I can tell. Needless to say, this guy won't be invited to the team blog. It's not that he has an axe to grind . . . he's swinging it! (Metaphorically of course).

On a more positive note, Peter Gregory has joined the team blog. Also, a guy named "bill" is no slouch either. Can you think of a better name than Carbondale Bytelife?

It's a team blog about quality in Carbondale. Where quality is not found, then it will zero-in on those sub-standard aspects. These may be personal, like poor job performance by a public servant, or geographical, like a dangerous traffic intersection. It's all about quality of life.

You read my mind, Bloggee: The Carbondale Qualifier.

Other suggestions? There is still one ticket remaining from the "Name that Blog" Contest. That means a free ticket to the Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, next Tuesday (Nov. 14) from 11:30 - 1 p.m., featuring Great Boars of Fire barbecue and Mayor Brad Cole's third annual "State of the City" speech.

More invitations are being sent to other bloggers to join the new team blog. You're invited, too, Bloggee. Contact me for more info.

Post Peter Post

Since Peter "The Great" Gregory retired his controversial blog, I've been at a loss, lacking a foil to react to. Although the new Carbondale Bytelife team blog shows promise, I haven't met any of the other contributors . . . yet. Personal contact is important to my blogging style -- to actually know, or have met, the persons whom I skewer, or needle, or prick.

Peter and I "go back" to when Rosetta Books was Rosetta News, before the first Southern Angel Business Plan Contest, for which he put up $20,000 in prize money. Yesterday, I got a hearty dose of the art maestro at a local restaurant (a gourmet spot with no web site) over lunch. He inquired about my blook, and I explained that continual posting to this blog -- plus upcoming elections -- has prevented me from hunkering down and wrapping it up. I also explained that I am not encouraged by the sales forecast (in a market as small as Carbondale) to warrant all the cost and effort it will take to get 'er done. We'll see. . . . Maybe I will simply discontinue this blog after Saturday, November 11 , and get back to work on my blook (to have it in print by the week after the city elections in May).

When the impulse strikes to post something to a blog, I can join with the voices of "Team Bytelife. "

Will Peter blog again? Well, he's leaving town for sure, but not 'til after the upcoming mayoral and City Council election, so we'll see. He's been sent an "official invitation" from Blogger to join the Carbondale Bytelife team. How about you, Bloggee? Will you join? Your anonymity is assured.

To me, blogging is like playing frisbee as onlookers admire the grace of the flying disc and agility of the players, tossing the platter right to the other, or throwing it where they aren't, but will be. Do you catch my meaning?

Peter compares blogging to "masturbation unless you have a goal." Well, I'm no stranger to typing with one hand, but I agree with Peter: the goal of this blog was originally to "jump start" the Shawnee Net site, but eventually this blog took on "a life of its own." Well, now it's time to put the Carbondaley Dispatch to rest.

sniff sniff.

. . . and devote my excess blogging energy to Carbondale Bytelife, On the Square Online, and the handful of other blogs that I contribute to (listed at right).

A Book for All Seasons

The latest edition of Waterman & Hill-Travelers Companion Nature Almanac is now on sale in town and throughout the region.

On the back is an advertisement for Jim Jung''s new book: Weird Egypt: A Case for Supernatural Geology, (Hopefully) Explaining the Origins of Ghosts, What They're Up To, and Why They're Here . . . available at Rosetta and other independent book stores.

This is the 10th or 11th year for the Almanac, and it keeps getting better. Instead of selecting highlights, I scanned the Table of Contents to preview.

My only complaint is that the font size is too small for my old eyes, and the content is not available on the Nature Almanac web site.

But a web page can't be a "stocking stuffer" gift, whereas this booklet can. Great for fisherman, gardeners and nature lovers.

Conservative or Jive?

A few days before Halloween, a link was added to the list at right to a blog that promotes the Bush agenda and bashes "Sleepy Liberals."

The author of this blog has a chunk in his craw about the local "liberal" peace groups, whom he accuses of treason, and his new web site has a short list of "LIBERAL jihadi groups" including the Unitarian-Universalist fellowship, the local Peace Coalition, and the Longbranch coffee shop (with a link to the menu!, described as a "Left wing Liberal Jihadi hang out, owned by a Muslim cult group," referring to the organization behind the Branch).

Well the Dayemi Tariqat is not a cult, but a religious organization which, among other things, provides service to the poor. Sure, the service can be poor at the 'Branch, but it's still the top coffeehouse in town. You don't have to be a global gourmet to know that.

But the Global Conservative' takes the line that "Liberals" (anyone who opposes the hateful war in Iraq) "hate America" and are labeled "Liberal Jihadis" . . I wonder what he thinks of the so-called "architects" of the war, who are now bailing out on the President and his team. Read excerpts from the interviews in Vanity Fair. All you "right wingers" should read it -- and get with the program.

Or, have a gander at this editorial calling for Rumsfeld's removal hot off the presses of the Military Times Media Group.

What this town needs is a good Neo-Conservative coffee shop.