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.

Gregorian Rant

I really like the above title for Peter Gregory's soon-to-be-silent blog suggested in the comments to Name That Blog! by a former music teacher (an allusion to Gregorian chant).

With all the good titles (4) suggested by readers, maybe Peter will reconsider and continue publishing his blog, instead of retiring it today. I think the heat may have gotten to him, because he removed someone from his list of top five SIUC administrators who should be fired and removed his reasoning for saying "John Koropchak should likely go." The next day, he announced he'd blogged his last for his current blog: "Carbondale, Illinois - Business and SIU Commentary," as someone pointed out in the comments to his announcement, with all the interesting things about to happen, he should considering keeping it open....but there's a hint in a comment to Peter's blog that he may be relocating to Oregon, and evidence that he intends to continue publishing his Art Blog, which he can write from anywhere. . . . .

So we'll see. Perhaps, he will consider contributing to a Local Group Blog -- with other local bloggers and bloggees, expressing ONLY local news or opinion. Maybe some frequent commenters would join it to. It could be called Carbondale Bytelife.

How 'bout it blogger-trippers? If you're already blogging, Carbondale Bytelife can contain a link to your "pet" blog, and you can post to the group blog when you have something to say of community interest. If you are new to blogging, but would like to join the team, then send a note, or leave a comment.

Name that blog!

Peter the Great's great local blog needs a new name. The current title: "Carbondale, Illinois - Business and SIU Commentary" could possibly be the worst title ever -- especially considering the redundant sub-title: "Comments on business development and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale by a local" Except for the "by a local" part, it's the same.

Peter's blog is challenging, informative and inspirational by turns . . . frequently amusing and very rarely flat-out wrong.

Can you think of a good name for Peter's blog? So far, I have only come up with "Great Delyte's Ghost" or "The Great Gildersblog." The first works better with the subtitle: "Comments on business development and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale by a local"

The best title will earn some lucky bloggee a ticket worth $15 (face value. Higher if scalped before the event) to the annual Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Civic Center, Nov. 14, featuring lunch by Heartland Catering and the "State of the City" speech by Mayor Brad Cole, when he announces his intention to run for re-election . . . or not.

So Name that blog! in a comment below.

CONTEST NOTES & RULES: Peter has not cleared this post, and may not want to rename his blog, or choose a winner. If so, the offer still stands: A ticket for a title.

The new title should work with the current subtitle.

If only one title is submitted, it will win by default.

Deadline Nov. 10.

Carbondale From Afar

An email message recently announced a new Carbondale-oriented blog, Carbondale From Afar, which promises to see our fair town through the rearview mirror. With a couple of posts so far, a good start, but the author claims the right to stop blogging at any time without notice (around here, that's called "doing 'a Muir'").

Well, while we're reminiscing about the olden days of Carbondale, anyone remember cartoonist PS Mueller? He's been up in Madison, Wisconsin for years, even breaking into the pages of the New Yorker. Read a recent interview of Pete here.

First-ever Local Showing

Today I emailed formal invitations to see this movie, and (of course) a glitch caused duplicate -- and triplicate -- copies to go out. If you were on the receiving end, sorry about the onslaught. If you didn't get an invitation, here it is: Come to the First-Ever Showing of 9/11 Press for Truth in Carbondale, Illinois, on Friday, Nov. 3, 8pm, at the Interfaith Center.

Of the people contacted, several have RSVP'd. Some will try to make it; some have other things to do; others have other ideas. ;-)

Recently SIUC-beat reporter Caleb Hale had other ideas for Bill O'Reilly in his Scribbles on the Ivy Wall column in the Southern Illinoisan about teaching 9/11 government conspiracy theories in the classroom -- going against O'Reilly who thinks universities should banish teachers like Kevin Barrett, the Wisconsin university instructor whose syllabus includes alternatives to the offical 19 hijackers version of 9/11 attacks.

Caleb wrote:

[P]rofessors like Kevin Barrett, the University of Wisconsin instructor currently under fire for his belief the U.S. government orchestrated the 9-11 terrorist attacks, can give college students one of the best higher learning experiences money can buy?

You won't hear that from a lot of people, mostly because on the surface it seems like a horrible thing to say. That is, until you understand it through the mode of higher education.

Although not espousing alternatives to the official 9/11 story, Caleb Hale still "gets it" -- the virtue of unfettered academic inquiry and debate. O'Reilly doesn't get it. You should hear Big Bill attacking Prof. James Fetzer (.wav 2mg) in the interview alluded to by Caleb. It starts out civilly enough. But someone is a 'nut job' alright, and it ain't Fetzer.

As far as I know, NO ONE has ever said that President Bush (peace be upon him) orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. That strains credulity, to say the least. But why did he take 400-plus days to empower a commission to investigate what really did happen, then set it up to ensure a whitewash?

That's the point of 9/11 Press for Truth -- not about the many anomalies of -- but on events leading up to -- and after -- the attack, that were suppressed by the Commission. It features questions from the four New Jersey widows of the attacks, substantiated by Paul Thompson's 9/11 Timeline.

I saw the producers on CSPAN this year on the 5th anniversary of 9/11 (part of my all day 9/11 coverage viewing). After viewing the movie on Google video, I purchased a copy and signed up with Brave New Theaters for promotional aid. BNT has offer film offerings, including current most popular Iraq for Sale.

If you can't attend the free screening of 9/11 Press for Truth at the Interfaith Center next Friday, but want to see the documentary. It can be downloaded and watched for free from Google Video at this link.

Now on with the show.

Rumor had it

Peter the Great's breezy post about the Chancellor stepping down stirred quite a flap behind the scenes in the local media yesterday, even flapping to this blog and back to his. But when the rumor was squelched Peter was undaunted. Is the School of Journalism getting this? The DE did:

From an article by Andrea Zimmermann, Plagiarism report to be released next week:

"Meanwhile, a report surfaced on a local blog Tuesday afternoon claiming a 'good source' said Wendler had resigned. The blog, which is maintained by local entrepreneur Peter Gregory, follows Carbondale and university news, and often contains comments and opinions of Gregory's that are largely against Wendler and his plans.

The post created a small stir. and both Wendler and Poshard denounced the claim as a rumor. Wendler would not speculate about the rumor's source.

"I have not resigned my position from the university," Wendler said Wednesday. "And that is it. There is nothing else to say."

Gregory could not be reached for comment about the blog posting."

Naturally, he comments in his blog about his notice in the DE, with a small correction and some advice.

He doesn't say who his source was. Should he have confirmed it before publishing? As a member of Bloggers Responsible for Change, that's what I would have done, but I'm a word writer, not a software engineer.

Meanwhile, a wag of the finger (guess which one) to SIUC News Service Director Sue Davis (the index) for failing to reply to my query. Sometimes I agree with Peter more than at other times.

Job Opening?

Word on the blog vine is Chancellor Walter Wendler has resigned. Probably the report to President Poshard by the committee investigating plagiarism in Southern@150 contained bad news for Walter since Poshard hasn't commented -- more than a week after the report was submitted.

Peter the Great broke the news yesterday.

But wait! Not so fast. Nothing has been announced yet, and Walter came to work this morning, according to the young lady who answered the phone at the Chancellor's office. His secretary was away from her desk. SIUC News Service chief, Sue Davis, was also unavailable. She may be working on a press release for the official announcement.

* * *
UPDATE 6pm: A reliable source tells me that Sue Davis insists that the Chancellor has not resigned, and a comment to this posts explains the resignation process going through the Board of Trustees.

After Pat's Birthday

Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin was discharged in 2005.

Two days ago, he issued a powerful public statement (in memory of his dead brother) that includes a rhetorical list of incredible "Somehows" like "Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country." Tillman concludes

In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat’s birthday.

Pat Tillman's birthday is Nov. 6 . . . The election is the following day.

You know what to do, Bloggee.

Peter the Wack

Peter the Great thinks Congress is 'whacked'. That's so wack, I was taken abhack. Nevertheless, the great one has made me eat my (and his own) words about nothing more to say -- which itself generated 13 comments. He's back.

But he may be moving back West, according to the bean vine and a hint in Peter's blog.

I hope he sticks around. The day he moves away will be a wack day in Humidtown.

Blogger meister

Someone should check to see if 'Mr. Right', Jim Muir, is still alive, since his blog still hasn't heard that the Greens have heard. This isn't the first time, Jim has taken a powder, only to come back with a lame 'whip me with a noodle' apology. I think he may be ducking the futile task of defending President G.W. Bush's woeful job performance.

Two new local blogs have come to my attention. One conservative and one liberal. Longbranch stalwart and armchair philosopher Chuck Jines sent me a link to his new blog Conservative View, which has possibilities, but only one post so far.

At the gallery the other day, I met another blogger, a recent transplant from Philadelphia, whose wife specializes in Mass Communications. Mikal in Philly may want to change the name of his blog to "mikal in carbondale." He says he likes the relaxed pace of life in southernmost Illinois.

None of the local political candidates have blogs. Despite her internet savvy, candidate Jessica Davis doesn't have blog. Neither does candidate Sheila Simon. (Nor does unannounced candidate, Mayor Brad Cole, although I occasionally add items to The Cole Train, a blog a started on my own, as a repository for Cole-related news, much as I've done with Wendler's Golden Shovelings blog. Not much to it, but 'better than nothing'.)

Cole will reveal if he is going to seek re-election in his upcoming "State of the City" address on Tuesday, November 14 at the annual Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Here's a link to the official invitation.

Will Brad run? Does he deserve another term? Councilwoman Simon thinks not. She states her reasons for running "up front" in this interview with WJPF's Rick Gregg on the day she announced her candidacy.

Sheila used to have a blog, using it mostly as a listening post for comments on controversial issues. But because she is running for office, she stopped doing it. Go figure.

Candidate Davis ought to have time for a blog, and she appears to have decent computer skills, since she created her own website.

Candidates who doubt the value of a campaign blog should take a look at Saline County States Attorney, David Nelson's blog.

So here's the deal: on November 15 -- the day after the Mayor's State of the City Speech -- this blog will 'give the nod' to the candidates with the best campaign blogs.

I agree with the following statement (since I just wrote it): "If a candidate for Mayor can't write a blog, or have a volunteer(s) write it, or pay someone to do it, then that candidate does not deserve to be mayor."

Burger meister

Can you imagine Peter the Great with Nothing more to say?: He asks, "Anyone got anything juicy they to get out in the open?" . . . How about the best hamburger in town? That's pretty juicy. Excluding Hardee's "Thickburger" and the other food chains, I don't know. Since Murphy's morphed into the Italian Village clone Spinoni's, there is no good burger spot, except maybe Midlands Inn.

We should have a burger taste-off sometime, somewhere.

A beer taste test would be fun also. Maybe the Beer Philosopher, Peter the Great and I can launch a blog-driven Beer and Burger Bash, with burgers by all the local burger joints.... Oh, that's right, there aren't any good places to get a burger.

Although Peter dismisses fast food chains, anyone who remembers Zipp's (where Sambucca Joe's is now) will testify to the superior quality of their 1/3 lb. burger for 1.29. And the Honey Vanilla Shake, and those seasoned french fries . . . mmmmm. Zipp me.

It looks like Sambucca Joe's is under new management. Someone should suggest they specialize in making a great burger and shake.