Peoria Illinoisan

Modern Times.  Bob Dylan’s first album since the critically acclaimed Love and Theft, which I previously did not realize was released on the dubious date of Sept. 11, 2001. 

The reviews are in:

USA Today: “It takes about 30 seconds to figure out you’re in the presence of greatness.”

Blender: “Nobody can stop him, and the world is better for it”

Rolling Stone: 5 Stars “third straight masterwork”

Billboard: “rife with homespun reflections on philosophy, religion and the never-ending quest for love”

Blender: “Startling. Radiates the observant calm of old masters who have seen enough life to be ready for anything — Yeats, Matisse, Sonny Rollins.”

Uncut: 5 Stars “Dylan looks into the heart of the modern age and tells us what he sees in a vision still commanding and bold.”

 

The beautiful Scarlett Johansson stars in the video of “When The Deal Goes Down”, directed by Bennett Miller of “Capote” fame.

View the video [HERE].  Amongst much symbolism, you’ll see Minnesota plates and the book Bound for Glory.

In response to my comment that I’m not a professional writer, editor, lawyer or babbler, CJ quiped “I noticed that most of your posts are on the shortish side”.

So as not to break with tradition, I will also keep this relatively short.

• TJ stands for Thomas Jefferson School.
• JT stands for James Taylor and the bartender looks just like him from behind.
• Campustown Blockbuster will close in the very near future, leaving Sav-A-Lot, The Dollar Tree and CVS.
• Rumour says Firestation 11 will close completely, although I find that hard to believe.
• Emtronics has a blogspot blog. I won’t give it away without his permission, but it’s not hard to find.
• It was nice to finally meet Eyebrows and Mapgirl in person.

Now go and read the other three recaps for an interesting look at how 4 people can describe the same event in very different ways.

Revision/Addition:

What I meant by the last statement is what I find to be the beauty of blogs and bloggers in a larger sense: People from all walks of life, backgrounds and writing styles who see the world in their own unique way- allthewhile having something to say which contributes to the whole.

WMBD reports starting on Thursday there will be a two week period that we can vote among four finalists to “name the museum“.

I say, why wait until Thursday!

Let the voting begin! 

Here’s a few to start off: 

Cat Square

O’Brien’s Science Center

Big shiney reflective thingy with a pond and really big movie screen that closes at 5

Lakeviewtwo

I have a co-worker who lives in a part of town that I won’t even visit and drives a car whose roadworthyness is questionable at best (think Planes, Trains & Automobiles). This co-worker doesn’t own a DVD player because it is too expensive and has been begging me for a used child car seat. He also receives government assistance for his wife’s medical bills when she got her stomach stapled. They cut coupons and drive all over the city to find the best deals. They are not going to a friend’s out of town wedding because it will cost about $200 for food, gas and a room.

Ok, they don’t have alot of dough, right?

My co-worker also owns two George Forman Grills, because they are so cool. After stomach staple surgery (paid for by taxpayers such as you and me), his wife celebrated by spending $75 on a Lobster and Steak dinner at Alexanders, even though she could only eat a tablespoon worth of food before puking it back up all over herself. (He also got a steak.) They went to Disney with some of their family and a friend. Who paid for the whole thing including airfare, via charge card? You guessed it. Their house has been refinanced more times than I’ve moved in my lifetime, all in an effort to wipe out their credit cards which mysteriously keep getting built up again and the car that is lucky to start in the morning will take 30 years to pay off.

So what do I learn today? After begging me for a car seat that they can’t afford, they just spent over $1,000 on a 300 Gallon Fish Tank!

Ironically, I just bought a new fish tank for my girls over weekend. It hold 10 gallons.

I’ve read Bud Grieve’s letter to the editor several times over regarding Phil Luciano’s smackdown of Museum Square, and I keep getting the feeling that something is not right. I’m not completely against Museum Square, in concept, but why can’t the plans be analyzed and criticized? What also concerns me is that he and the other mayors past and present have been monopolized for this single project. It is a major undertaking that will, for better or worse, transform our downtown, but it is not the only game in town.

I much prefer what Jim Maloof sees as his role in fundraising for Peoria. He sees what I see- there is more going on around town than just Museum Square. There’s a ton of money trying to be raised for many different local projects (add Bradley to that list); how everyone will be able to get their share is a question that needs to be addressed. Jim Maloof took the high road, sidestepped the politics, and split his donation and enthusiam between both the downtown museum and the Zoo expansion.

I hope others will do the same and maybe more.

Sam’s Club worker to an uninterested husband and wife: “Sam’s has the most amazing frozen foods section.  I mean you can find things here that you can’t find anywhere.”

August 29th is the fifth Tuesday of the month, aka Blogger Bash Time.

“mapgirl” of Midwest Confidential fame and I are meeting up to celebrate at Castle’s Patio Inn on Loucks at ‘happy hour’ around 6:00.

It’s a “mini” blogger bash, because unfortunately Peoria’s BlogFather Bill(y) Dennis cannot attend due to his work schedule.

I’ve only attended one “Bash”, and even though it was somewhat lightly attended, a good time was had by all.

I’ve never been to the Patio Inn, but I’m told that it’s a major Cardinal hangout and there’s a game that night. I’ll wear my Cubbie blue proudly, and hope they let me play the jukebox.

From BU’s official site: [here]

HOI News: [here]

Bradley Campus PDF from the Journal Star: [here]

Please enlighten me as to why this building is going to the dirt.  I don’t want to slander, but if I recall, Chase Ingersoll was somehow involved in this mess.  Is Les referring to Chase in his letter to the editor?  Why do we Peorians continually allow our historic buildings to go to the wrecking ball?  If anyone can give some background information as to what is really going on here, it would be most interesting and appreciated.

Saturday, Aug 19 letter to the editor from noted Peoria historian and Central Illinois Landmark Foundation (CILF) President Les Kenyon:

The Armory building lost its roof to rain damage. When the city of Peoria took the owner to court regarding the roof leaks, suddenly the ownership was switched to another owner, thereby making the court action impossible. This was done repeatedly to avoid legal action by the city.

The Central Illinois Landmarks Foundation asked the most recent owner if he would give the building to the foundation, thus giving the owner a tax credit.

The foundation talked to the city of Peoria, which was very cooperative, and the city said it had a person who would possibly buy the building. We communicated this to the owner, but he did not give us the letter stating that it was being given to the foundation.

Thus, the most recent owner changed his mind and now the building is lost to the residents of Peoria as a historic site.

The building has an impressive history, hosting Bradley basketball games and Chamber of Commerce events, with speakers including Eleanor Roosevelt and many others.

Leslie H. Kenyon

Peoria

Saturday’s Journal Star featured an article detailing the plans for Bradley’s new athletic facilities and expansion into the Arbor District. I’m not arguing against the buildings, and those who lived on Maplewood got a good price for their homes, especially the ones who held out for a half mil. Can’t argue with that.

Still, I have a few questions:

Why does the 600 space parking deck need to be butted right up against Main Street? Why can it not be set back towards the middle of the block, or even a few hundred feet?

Will a stoplight be needed at Maplewood and Main Street to accomodate a 600 space parking deck, which apparently empties only onto Main Street?

What will be done, if anything, for homeowners on Cooper to alleviate the eyesore factor of having a parking deck in their backyard?

This one sentence really gets my goat: “(Bradley) realizes communication in the past could have been better, and it will be in the future,” Van Auken said. Bullshit. They never cared what the neighborhood had to say, and now that they got what they wanted, they say they’ll communicate better? Communicate with who? The City Council to approve their plans?

 

Revision/Update:

Got a chance last night to look at the map again in the paper (it’s not available online that I can find).  The parking garage appears to run the length of the block from Main Street up to the center alley.  I understand why they don’t want it dumping out onto Maplewood, to keep the traffic out of the neighborhood, but having that thing dump onto Main still concerns me.  Will they need police to traffic that after a big game?  Will it be a paid garage or only for students and passholders?

I roughly estimate they spent about 5mil to buy up Maplewood, and all they have proposed is a parking deck.  That’s one darn expensive parking deck!  Granted, the new athletic facilities need parking.

The houses bought between the center alley of Maplewood up to Bradley Ave seem to have no development (publicly) planned, so why did they have to purchase those houses?  Is it to make the revised institutional boundry go in a straight line?  Certainly they’re not going to develop on that thin, long strip, so how long before they buy up the houses on Cooper at that end to make a nice big plot of land?

Some answers, some more questions. 

…on an extended weekend excursion.

I learned all about Cheese Curds, which are supposed to sqeak when you bite into them, unless they’re of the deepfried variety sold at Dairy Queen.

I learned all about Pasties, and they have nothing to do with strip clubs.

I learned what a Fish Fry on a Friday night at a Supper Club is all about.

I learned that it is not wise to say you are a Bears fan while watching a Packers game in Wisconsin (even if it’s a pre-season game).

I learned that I am a FIB. Fucking Illinois Bastard. After taking ten minutes trying to explain that I’m not from Chicago, I was forgiven and told that they appreciate my tourism dollars.

I learned that my brother has conquered one of the 12 recovery steps of Tree-Hugging-olism: cutting down those that block your view of the water.

I learned that it is too cold up there. 40 degrees at night, in AUGUST!? Are you crazy!

Does anyone ever check out WikiPedia’s entry for Peoria?

Why does it look like the Peoria Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is in charge?   I understand why Museum Square doesn’t want to focus on Peoria’s sin-city days of prostitution, alcohol and corruption, but I was surprised to see the Wikipedia entry is a glowing report on our fine city, minus anything even remotely controversial, aka PACVB. 

I suggest we pull our creative blogging knowledge of the city and it’s history to create a comprehensive Peoria Wiki, not an advertisement.

After a short break, NameThisPeoriaLandmark is back with post #79.

I know some people are new to my blog, so if you’re not familiar with my other site, it’s a “photo-blog”, if there is such a thing, of Peoria in all it’s unique glory.  Check it out; you might learn something- I know I always do.

FYI- I’ll be updating roughly twice a week.  I used to do everyother day or so, but it got to be too much of a chore editing photos and updating that often.

Because everyone’s perspective of Peoria is different (case in point, check out #77), if you have a photo you’d like to share, please email it to me.

I knew that, but I didn’t reeeally know that. If you haven’t seen the new home video yet, sit back and watch with awe.

Warning: It’s like watching a train wreck.

{Click Here}