Latest Blog Posts
Theater Policy Upheld…For Now
The Lincoln City Council voted to stick with the current theater policy for now. The move is laudable in that it makes the Council’s intentions clear (something they typically do a pretty poor job of), but it’s unfortunate in that it prevents some pretty decent economic development opportunities. The Council’s support for the policy is rooted in a misguided—but understandable—desire to “save” Downtown. How is building resentment toward Downtown a viable and sustainable redevelopment engine? That hasn’t been made clear. The Council’s pro-policy stance also helps the Council save face. If they drop the policy, The Grand will be exposed for what it is: the wrong theater in the wrong place built at the wrong time. Lincoln’s theatergoers know it; the Douglas Theater Company knows it; just about everybody knows it, save for a handful of people, such as Polly McMullen of the Downtown Lincoln Association.
I love Downtown, and I’m all in favor of supporting a few screens Downtown. But artificially propping up an inappropriate suburban-style theater with economic development-stifling policies does more harm than good.
Death of a sports legend
He may not have been the most well known player but he is known for being one of the great players who played for the love of the game. Kirby Puckett suffered a stroke on Sunday and passed away at the age of 45 on Monday.
Calling All Soccer Referees and Baseball Umpires
Those of you who’ve read this blog for a while know that I am a soccer referee and baseball umpire. The spring soccer and baseball seasons are about to start up, so if you’re interested in officiating either one, now is the time to speak up. Sports officiating is a great way to learn more about your favorite sports, promote youth and amateur athletics, stay in (or get into) shape, and, of course, to earn a little extra cash.
Lincoln desperately needs more sports officials in most every sport. This high school soccer season, for example, few sub-varsity games in Lincoln will feature a full three-referee crew, and even some varsity matches may have to do with only two referees. In youth soccer, many games are refereed by only one referee, which is a poor situation for everybody involved. The situation in baseball is only marginally better. Each year Lincoln adds more baseball teams, but umpire numbers are basically stagnant. There simply aren’t enough umpires to go around.
In other words, if you want to be a soccer referee or baseball umpire, you can pretty much work as much or as little as you like. You can only do two games per month? Great, we’ll take you. Seven days a week through the entire spring and summer? Great, we’ll take you.
Soccer has no inherent age restrictions; if you can do the job, you’re good to go. I think the local baseball umpire organizations have minimum age requirements, but I’m not certain what they are off the top of my head. If age is an issue, I’ll help you figure it out.
Whether you have zero experience or you’re a pro, if you want to get started as a soccer referee or baseball umpire in Lincoln, let me know in the comments, or e-mail me at mrwilson at [this domain] dot com (e-mail obfuscated to prevent spam). I’ll point you to the people you need to know in Lincoln’s various sports officiating organizations and we’ll get you all set up.
Spring is Arriving in Lincoln
Looks like it’s supposed to rain over the next couple days. I know it’s way too early to get my hopes up, but wouldn’t it be great if we could make it through spring and into summer with a nice, solid foundation of moisture in the soil and in area lakes and ponds?
And have you all noticed how we went from virtually zero morning bird noise to a springtime morning symphony in the span of just about three days?
Daisy May, Astronomer
Daisy discovered the moon today. It really wouldn’t have been a notable event, except that she seemed so fascinated by it. She was completely captivated, to the point that she nearly tipped over from staring upwards too long. It was inspiring to watch. I turned my head and looked at the moon, too. It was beautiful, that half moon high in the crisp, blue, springtime Nebraska sky. I looked back at Daisy, imagining how her little doggy brain must have been working overtime trying to figure out what the moon was. Maybe, just maybe, at that moment she was pondering, in puppy terms, the size of the world around her, that it was far, far bigger than the little area she gets to walk around every day. I imagined that maybe she was actually achieving some sort of canine-sized philosophical nirvana. I was so proud at that moment.
Then Daisy looked me square in the eyes, leaned over, and proceeded to lick her crotch. Dogs are stupid.
Freedom From Association Takes a Hit
I’m not crazy about the Supreme Court’s (unanimous) decision to require universities to host military recruiters if the universities accept federal money. The Court’s reasoning seems to indicate that freedom of association does not include freedom from association, a position I view with unease. Granted, the universities in question are suckling at the public teat (another issue altogether), and it seems reasonable for those funds to come with certain strings attached. But it is also a form of government blackmail. That our government engages in this sort of extortion all the time doesn’t make it right; indeed, it bothers me how complacent Americans are about this sort of thing.
If this case involved another government agency—HUD, perhaps—rather than the military, I don’t think I would be as wary of the Court’s decision. But something about the military, of all bodies, squeezing its way into private spaces where it is not welcome strikes me as foreign. A little Soviet, perhaps. Police state-ish. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting an equivalency. But it just doesn’t feel right.
Personally, I’d like to see our government be secure enough with itself that it doesn’t have to resort to this sort of bullying. I don’t see that happening any time soon.
48th and O-No!
I suppose the big news in Lincoln today is closing of 48th & O and the related re-routing of traffic. I’m sure glad I don’t regularly need to pass through that area. It doesn’t sound like much fun at all.
On the plus side, I hope the new and improved O Street means a new and improved area all around. The new shopping area on the southeast corner will get things started, and I suspect other developments will follow.
At least there are other ways to get around the 48th and O area. Imagine the troubles that’ll be caused by the closing of the O Street viaduct leading to and from West O. There aren’t many ways to get across the tracks to West Lincoln. I’m especially concerned for the “limited mobility” folks who can’t easily add a couple miles to their journey.
Crash? Come On…
I really am surprised that “Crash” won. It really wasn’t that great of a movie at all. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. There was like only one or two scenes that I thought were good (one of them was the Tony Danza scene). A lot of the rest I felt was overly engineered writing with a very minimal “oomph” effect for a movie that was focusing on racism. Gee who’d have known that some LAPD cops are racists? And Ludacris’ script (and acting performace) was ludicrous. “History of Violence” was better than “Crash” in my opinion, but wasnt nominated. Some of the academy’s decisions are just strange…
Starship Troopers
When the new parking garage/high-rise proposal was first announced, I didn’t think there would be much of an uproar about the Starship 9 going the way of the Dodo. The place is grungy and ill-maintained, and nobody goes there any more. Right?
Wrongo.
I’ve been impressed by the Starship Troopers, the defenders of Lincoln’s two buck “dollar theater”. I had no idea so many people were so passionate about the Starship. Unfortunately for them, there aren’t enough of them to halt the Starship’s demise. But based on what I’ve read and heard there ought to be enough of them to justify a replacement sooner rather than later.
Giving Up the Ghost
A few blogs on the Lincolnite blogroll have given up the ghost over the past month or so. It’s unfortunate to see them end, but I thank their authors for trying. I think this is a good time to put out the call for some new blogs to add to the blogroll. I know a lot of new Lincoln-related blogs have popped up lately. Which ones am I missing? Let me know about them in the comments.
Coming Clean
They say the first step in correcting a problem is admitting it. I have a biggie to admit: I watch Beauty and the Geek. It’s awfully hard to believe that I watch anything on The WB, but in my defense I only get 20 channels, so it’s not like I’m working with a huge selection.
I don’t know what it is about BATG, but I’ve found myself coming back to it every week. It’s not especially well produced, there isn’t much human drama, it doesn’t “challenge” me in any way, and I don’t really relate to the participants. And yet, there I was last night watching Ankur and Jennipher get the boot.
Oh well, I’ve made it this far through the season so I suppose I should declare a favorite. Of the final two pairs, I’m rooting for Cher and Josh. I’m not a big Josh fan—he reminds me of a guy I strongly disliked back in high school—but he and Cher are the best team remaining.
Boy, first I started watching Numb3rs despite the massive suckitude of its writing. Now I’m watching Beauty and the Geek. Where will the downward spiral take me next?
Come on, folks, help me feel better by owning up to some of your own dirty television watching secrets. Please?
Coming Soon: Planet Sub
I noticed today that Planet Sub will be moving into the location vacated by Kep’s Sporting Goods on P Street downtown. It’s an awfully big storefront for what appears to be a fairly simple deli, so it’ll be interesting to see how they fill up all of that space. Looks like they’re shooting for an April opening.
Testicular Fortitude
I had a great lunch over at PO Pears today. I went with the Rhythm and Bleus burger, while my dining companion, Husker Pilot, opted for a more traditional boring burger. But that wasn’t the story of the day. Nope, the real story was dessert: a heapin’ helpin’ of fried testicles. Mmmm! It was my first experience with Rocky Mountain oysters, and I’ve got to say I was impressed. They were a little chewier than I expected, but the flavor was fantastic. In fact, they were good enough that they may have created a new customer for the annual Testicle Festival at the Round the Bend Steakhouse this summer.
On a more general note, PO Pears is a great restaurant. What a wacky place. Every city needs a screwy restaurant like that.
Slimy Ernie
I’m a big Ernie Chambers supporter in general, but when he does things like threaten to block Lincoln-related legislation merely for spite, I really loathe the guy. The source of his ire is Sen. David Landis’ LB1105, which would prop up the Qwest Center with extra tax dollars. (If I understand the bill’s summary correctly, the tax dollars would come from expanding taxable events at the Center, not from the general tax pool.) I completely understand Senator Chambers’ anger. The Qwest is yet another large civic project built on false promises and unrealistic revenue projections. But why go after Lincoln in such a petty and childish (read: Chambers-like) way?
Here’s an even better question: why is Lincoln’s David Landis driving an Omaha-centric bill? Shouldn’t he be focusing on matters a little closer to home?
Sharks in Space
Lawyers in space? Now that’s the kind of thinking I like to see from our state’s leaders.
The Blogs
-
The blog that covers everything Lincoln
-
The home of the Wilsons
-
In which Mr. T mutters and muses
-
Local and national sports chatter
The Blogroll
The Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004