Peoria Illinoisan

The Red Baron Pizza Squadron flying their Stearmans in front of a crowd of 12 people:

I love set-up day.

Friday’s Journal Star has a special air-show supplement which includes a sidebar titled “Air Show Facts” which includes phone numbers, parking information, show times, beneficiaries and things to bring and not to bring.

Things to bring: Sunglasses, earplugs, hat, camera, comfortable walking shoes.

Things not to bring: Pets, coolers, outside food or beverages and weapons.

Weapons!? Geesh. Talk about a waste of ink.

I think that’s stretching it a little, but I was pleasantly surprised to find Kirk Wessler linking to the little video I made. That was awful nice of him. Glad he didn’t mind that I borrowed a few pictures… (the three dramatic frat house photos came from a combo of Kirk’s blog and Journal Star photos. The closing scene came from Marie King Carroll’s blog Requiem for a neighborhood)

If you’d like to meet a not-really-a-celebrity in person, visit the PeoriaPlayhouse tent at this weekend’s Prairie Air Show. You might even call it a mini-blogger bash as I believe Eyebrows will be there also. Take a break and check out the plans for the Children’s Museum while the kids play. Planned activities include parachute games, making UV bracelets, coloring pictures to send to soldiers serving overseas, building with boxes, and an “archaeological dig” in the sand.

Make sure your children pick up their “passport” before you explore the air show grounds otherwise you’ll be backtracking in an effort to get them stamped at the various exhibits and booths. Bring back the fully stamped passport and they’ll get a bag full of goodies to take home. (PI’s top secret tip of the day: even if they don’t get all of the passport spaces stamped, they can still get the goodie bag. Just ask nicely.)

A piece of advice for the novice air show attendee- wear comfortable walking shoes, put on some sunscreen and drink lots of water.

Sometime last week I heard Greg & Dan talking about efforts to convince Arlo Guthrie to let a youth choir join him onstage. I don’t recall the exact details, but I believe they were serious and there really were some people trying to do this.

All I could think was that they were getting him mixed up with Art Garfunkel or James Taylor. Arlo’s a cute guy and all- he’ll sing City of New Orleans and a 30 minute version of Alice’s Restaurant, but he’s a far cry from the innocent family friendly folk singer.

Now I’m sure he’s mellowed a bit since his youth, but if you’re going, expect to smell a little wacky tabacky after the sun sets and count on him singing one of his most popular songs, Coming Into Los Angeles, which was a real crowd pleaser at Woodstock:

Coming into Los Angeles
Bringing in a couple of keys
Don’t touch my bags if you please
Mister Customs Man

I’d love to go but our babysitter situation didn’t work out as planned. To those of you that are going, I’m jealous.

That would be the one of a school bus in the parking lot of a Peoria beer distributor. Don’t see that everyday, now do you?

Coincidentally it said Illini Bluffs on the side.

A short film chronicling the land-clearing phase of Bradley University’s expansion into the Arbor District.

I don’t want to think about what it might be like to be hit by a cement block travelling at 55 miles per hour.

I don’t want to think about what it might be like to watch the passenger in your car get hit by a cement block traveling at 55 miles per hour.

I don’t want to think about the splattering glass, blood and disfigurement which probably resulted from being hit by a cement block traveling at 55 miles per hour.

I don’t want to think about the driver that will be replaying this episode in his head, frame by frame, for the rest of his life.

I don’t want to think about the skid marks on I-74 just past the Broadway overpass which I saw that may or may not have resulted from this incident.

I don’t want to think about the anger I feel against whoever did this.

I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened to my wife had the kid who tossed a log off the overpass at I-474 and Closen Road that bounced off my front bumper on the passenger side had better timing.

I don’t want to think about another child growing up without a mother.

I don’t want to think about things getting worse when I thought they couldn’t.

That’s why I won’t be writing about the overpass incident.

Marcus, I suggest you get those parking tickets paid up before you come back for the annual Red-White scrimmage otherwise you may get a “boot” and a hefty fine for having 5 or more parking tickets.

I didn’t find any city council members on the list, but D “Doc” McClellon, Quality Seamless Gutters and Hertz Rental are all due to get a boot.

500 names are on the list and can be viewed [here], courtesy of WHOI. Hat Tip to Bill Dennis.

If you’re wondering, I checked. I’m not on the list.

From Friday’s Peoria Journal Star Letter’s to the Editors:

For several years my family has traveled to Peoria to visit relatives and to witness the Glen Oak Park fireworks on July 3.

t’s always a rousing good show with excellent music.

However, this year’s experience was spoiled by the vocal selections. Several had overtly religious themes, inserting divisive religious doctrine into what should be an inclusive, secular celebration of American freedom. In particular, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” is overtly Christian. Playing it as a traditional instrumental might be understandable, but singing the words crossed the line of church-state separation.

Inviting the audience to sing along was downright offensive, certainly to me, as it undoubtedly was to many among the 20 percent of the population that is not Christian. Apparently in the sponsors’ eyes, the only good American is a Christian American.

As a government (Peoria Park District) sponsored concert in a public space, the activity should be subject to the same church-state separation principles as any other. Let’s hope that Peoria’s leaders come to understand that they lead everyone, not just the religious majority.

David Boles

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

After I read this letter I wrote up a post strongly disagreeing with the premise that this song contains “divisive religious doctrines”. The song, Battle Hymn of the Republic, was written during the Civil War and lives on as an historic document of a specific time in our history. I referenced Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd inaugural address which was written around the same time and is rife with references to God and the Star Spangled Banner’s 4th verse which says “And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’” to highlight the role of God in our country’s history and traditions.

Then I read the complete lyrics.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

Then I slept on it. Then recalled singing this song not long ago in Church and I began to wonder if this ‘crazy guy’ had a point. Were my religious beliefs clouding my judgment so much that I couldn’t see that this could quite possibly be offensive to some? Funny those who preach religious tolerance can sometimes be among the most intolerant.

In the end, I still think the guy is overreacting a bit, but I will grant him that maybe this song wasn’t the best selection for a sing-a-long.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s death.

Recorded Apr 12, 1963

[text]

Trent Tomlinson - Friday, July 13
Saliva - Saturday, July 14
Christian Comedian Lynwood Williams - Sunday, July 15
Karaoke Contest - Wednesday, July 18
Finger Eleven - Thursday, July 19
Tone Loc - Friday, July 20
Firehouse - Saturday, July 21

I was going to write a snarky post about how sucky the entertainment is at the HOIFair, but really, it isn’t that bad. Country singer Trent Tomlinson is sure to be a big draw with his smash hit “drunker than me”, WWE (world wrestling entertainment) makes use of many of Saliva’s songs and they even played live at WrestleMania X8.

There’s nothing better than watching a Christian Comedian, on a Sunday no less, before being prodded by the carnies to try to win a mirror with a girl in a bikini on it.

Karaoke? Who doesn’t like Karaoke?

Canadian Rockers Finger Eleven is also popular with the WWE crowd, as their song “One Thing” has been used multiple times. Remember Tone Loc? He’s the 80’s rapper who had the hits Funky Cold Medina and Wild Thing. Finally we have hairband Firehouse who were booed at the 1991 American Music Awards when they were chosen over Nirvana and Alice In Chains as the “Best New Hard Rock/Metal Band”

Sounds like another winning lineup, but don’t go expecting to find me there- I’ll be home watching the show Ice Road Truckers that Scott O’Brien wrote about.

I’m so ecstatic about my favorite new web site, The Concert Vault, that I can hardly think straight. I was becoming bored with my usual selections and started searching around for some different. This is what I found:

Full Concerts. Soundboard Recordings. Streaming Online. Free.

There’s only one place you can hear Bill Graham introduce the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East, Steve Miller ask for more PA volume at Winterland, or Robert Plant kill time with the Fillmore audience while Jimmy Page re-tunes in the background. It’s the same place you can listen to the greatest live music of all time in full concert format.

It’s not Heaven, though it may feel like Heaven to rock music purists. It’s the Concert Vault, the world’s greatest collection of vintage concert recordings.

Where does it come from? In 2003, Wolfgang’s Vault acquired master recordings from the archives of Bill Graham Presents. These live concerts were recorded at legendary venues like the Fillmore East and Winterland between 1965 and the late 1980s.

In early 2006, we augmented the Graham archives by acquiring the archives of the King Biscuit Flower Hour, the nationally famous syndicated rock radio broadcasts of live concerts from the 1970s and ’80s. We also added the Silver Eagle Cross Country archive of country music concerts in 2006, and we haven’t stopped there. Keep an ear out for additions to the Concert Vault in the near future.

You have to register, but it only requires an email address which they claim will only be used to notify you of new concerts as they are digitized. Online streaming is free, but you may also purchase many of the concerts on CD if you wish, which I assume is how the website survives.

I count 540 concerts currently available, the bulk of which is from the 70’s, but a few dip back as far as 1965 and they stretch all the way to 2002. The Fillmore concerts are legendary and many are well known and highly bootlegged but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the King Biscuit Flower Hour recordings are oftentimes the entire concert, not the chopped up 45 minute greatest hits version that we used listen to on the radio.

Recordings can searched and sorted in various ways, including listener rankings. To give you a feel for what’s available, here are current the top 10 listener rated concerts:

The Allman Brothers - 6/27/71 - Fillmore East
Pink Floyd - 5/9/77 - Oakland Coliseum Arena
The Band - 8/16/76 - Carter Barron Ampetheater
Mike Bloomfield - 11/10/74 - The Record Plant
Derek and the Dominos - 10/23/70 - Fillmore East
Genesis - 1/24/75 - Shrine Auditorium
Lynyrd Skynyrd - 11/6/75 - Cardiff Castle
Bruce Springsteen - 3/2/73 - Berkeley Community Theatre
Stevie Ray Vaughan - 4/15/84 - Austin Opera House
Jimi Hendrix Experience - 10/11/68 - Winterland

…and another 10 that I’m looking forward to hearing…

Elvis Costello & the Attractions - 6/7/78 - Winterland
Dire Straits - 1/1/81 - Central Park
The Kinks - 2/18/77 - Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Van Morrison - 11/1/78 - The Bottom Line
Randy Newman - 11/10/74 - The Record Plant
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - 3/7/80 - Hammersmith Odeon
The Police - 3/4/79 - Zellerbach Hall
The Pretenders - 5/30/80 - The Palladium
The Rolling Thunder Revue (Dylan and friends) - 3 from 1975
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - 3/6/70 - Fillmore East

Listen now, thank me later.

[The Concert Vault]

In a post on Pointlessly Hypertechnical about rude airline stewardesses, (and lets face it, who doesn’t have an “airline hell” story) this comment appeared:

Anonymous said…

The percentage of women that cannot medically breastfeed is miniscule. I find that most women just can’t be bothered and you seem like the type. If a child is adopted the mom can choose to induce lactation. Anyone can choose to breastfeed if they try hard enough. There are so many resources out there available to moms that there really is no excuse not to unless your breasts are broken or have fallen off.

Most women are too caught up in themselves to stick with breastfeeding. It’s hard work at times but it’s the best thing you can give your child.

As for the 4 ounces, anticipate the needs of your child. If it’s medically necessary for YOUR child to have 4 ounces of water then it’s in your best interest to travel with a measuring cup.

Our children were not breastfed for reasons that are between my wife and I, so to tell me or anyone else who didn’t breastfeed their children that they “can’t be bothered,” have “no excuse not to,” and are “too caught up in themselves” is offensive and narrow minded.

Even though the comment was not directed at me, I don’t care for the preachy attitude on a personal subject. I don’t like to be told how to raise my children, nor do I appreciate the implication that because we bottle fed, we are nothing more than selfish, lazy, good for nothing parents who apparently abused our kids by denying them breast milk.

If “anonymous” actually does have children, one can only hope that the apple does fall far from the tree for their sake. It can’t be easy being raised by a nazi.

My first ever music video- watching the AmerenCilco bill skyrocket to the music of John Sebastian and the Lovin’ Spoonful on a humid 90 degree day.

Peoria Skyline with Caterpillar Tractors being loaded onto a barge, 1930’s.

Photo courtesy of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society