Thank You, Goodnight.
The time has come to bring this to a close.
A few weeks ago I chatted with Andy Cline, local blogger who runs both Rhetorica and Carbon Trace. I had told him about the things God had been doing in my life and the fact that these things were eventually going to result in ending LOJ as it has developed over the last two years. What I didn’t realize when I was talking with Andy is that the time where I’d have to end this run would come a lot faster than my original time frame. As I was praying and working tonight on the web aspect of a new ministry God has begun I knew that we’d reached the point where I didn’t have enough time between God, family and work to dedicate to continuing to run this site with same level of commitment.
While I could keep running this site and making less postings it wouldn’t be doing what a Christian is called to do…put God first and the things that God wants you to be doing with your life. If I kept posting on a reduced basis I know I would be tempted to return to posting on a more regular basis and that would come at the expense of God, family or work and none of those three are less important than this blog. In a worldly sense, ending the blog is pretty foolish. I had interviews lined up with Lt. Gov. Kinder and State Rep. Sara Lampe in the next week. It’s just to the point where I had to choose between God and this site. The decision wasn’t hard.
I want to take a few minutes to thank those of you who have been so great to work with over the last two years. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some great folks. I wanted to also give some special thanks to:
Mayors Tom Carlson and Jim O’Neal: both men had plenty of reason to be skeptical of a local blogger but both were open to facing questions and allowing city staff to deal with me. I couldn’t have covered most of the events that I covered related to the city without their telling the city staff it was OK.
Members of City Council past and present: like the Mayors, you’ve been open to the questions and I’ve been blessed to get to know many of you outside the Council chambers like Councilmen Ibarra and Burlison. You’ve included me in press releases and in some cases even gave me a heads-up before the mainstream media. I appreciated the openness I’ve received and I know the current Council members will continue that openness with the citizens.
City PIO Louise Whall & Greene County PIO Jenny Fillmer Edwards. You’ve always responded to any inquiry with the information that I’ve requested just as you did for any “major” press outlet. Again, I couldn’t have provided much of my information without your assistance.
City Clerk Brenda Cirtin, City Attorney Dan Wichmer and City Manager Greg Burris: thanks for not refusing to answer any questions sent your way.
Jeff Jenkins, Jeff Houghton and the gang at The Skinny Improv & Swan Rep. Theatre.
Joe & Christine Daues, Kevin Lighty, Josh DeBerge, Dave Snider, Michelle Sherwood, Ron Davis, Jeremy Elwood, Brad Haller, Bill Cantrell, Kate Stacy, Wes Johnson, Matt Lemmon & the gang at Go, Tom Ladd and other current & former media folks who’ve treated me as an equal.
Andy Cline, Steve Koehler and other teachers and professors who asked me to speak to their classes about blogging.
So many members of the local blogging community who’ve provided encouragement, comments and tips over the years especially Larry Litle of Simple Thoughts of a Complex Mind for his work running the Springfield Bloggers Association and the Blogaronis. A nod to Chris Brewer for his friendship. I’m sure I’ll still read your blogs and make some comments now and then. At least I was able to have a full run without the Super Villain of the Ozarks taking me out!
The Horn Family of Circle B Chuckwagon, Cindy Merry & other Branson theatre owners, show owners, entertainers and promoters who allowed me to do reviews of their shows.
A thank you to everyone who’s allowed my kids to take part in different things as a result of this site. Tony Kelley & the Springfield Fire Department for their giving a tour of a firehouse to the kids…it’s still a highlight. Kevin, Josh and Dave…thank you again for allowing Dale to come in and learn what it takes to forecast the weather. You just may have altered the path of his life.
Dale…thanks for calling me every time there’s a thunderstorm to make sure I go to the basement because there might be a tornado.
Eli…thank you for showing me a different way to look at the world.
Julie…thank you for letting me marry your mommy.
Mom & Dad…thanks for the wise counsel when needed.
Amy…thanks for letting me have every other Monday night and every election night to go and do live coverage.
God really blessed this blog and did things with it that I never intended back in August 2007 when I thought checking out City Council was a good idea. I have no doubts that this new season He’s introducing will be just as exciting in an entirely different way in that it will have a more direct, practical angle to reaching out to people. In a few months we’ll be debuting the full ministry to the world via the internet. You can hear a part of it now as we’ve been working on the online radio show, The Prayer Channel. That may or may not be the final name of the show but we’ve been working out the bugs. That happens every Wednesday night at 10pm central time and there’s a link in the right side column.
God bless you all. Thanks again for the ways you’ve contributed to and blessed my life.
My Appearance On The Mystery Hour & Some Pictures From First Friday Art Walk
I snapped a few pics from First Friday Art Walk. It was the first time I really went through the galleries and it was very interesting to see the ways different people were treated by the various staff at different galleries.
I really enjoyed all the various musicians playing in the streets.
There was a capacity crowd at The Mystery Hour tonight and it was a little surprising considering the colleges aren’t in session at the moment. Note local celebrity Louise Whall, City Public Information Officer in the front row with the yellow handbag.
Here’s a few shots of the secret inner sanctum of funny…also known as the backstage area of The Skinny Improv. The “Green Room” actually has a green wall. I was impressed.
And finally…here’s the video of my long-awaited and long-sought guest slot on The Mystery Hour:
Vengeance will be mine, Houghton. Oh yes. It will be mine.
The Mystery Hour Tonight!
The long wait is over…the season 3 finale of The Mystery Hour is tonight at 10pm at the Skinny Improv! Guests include Meghan Stack, owner of Staxx Boutique; Frank Chimero, local artist who has work in publications like the New York Times and…..ME! After two years of waiting for that call and bribing Jeff with things he can eat now that he doesn’t have braces I’ve finally made the lineup for the show! I’m SO HAPPY!!!!!! I’m hoping to be able to give a plug for the rapidly growing community and our official bloggers’ group, SBA.
Also on tap is musicial guest Evan Pollock. Hope to see you there!
Speaking of CIDs
There’s been many discussions about CIDs in the City of Springfield and local blogger Mark Davis has a very solid take on the situation. Check out his posting at The Storm Front.
Free Krispy Kreme Doughnut Today
I know I’m in the minority in not liking Krispy Kreme doughnuts so I’ll pass this info along…because of National Doughnut Day KK is giving away one free doughnut per person.
Storyline CD Release Concert Review
I think one of the marks of a really good band is their ability to take the material from their records to a new level when playing live. Tonight Storyline showed they’re able to do exactly that. Their show at the Outland Ballroom dispelled any notion that the band was little more than an old band with a new lead singer.
If anyone knew the previous band that Geno Valloni, Bryant Babbitt and Zach Person played in they would have been as blown away as I was with Storyline. The sound of the band was bigger and more powerful than even the best nights of One Star Story. The sonic wave that came showed a band tighter than some bands I’ve seen that have been together for years. The thing that stood out most of all was the fun the musicians were having on stage was coming through in the performance.
One of the surprising moments in the show was seeing things that didn’t really seem to fit on their “Welcome Home” EP come across live as really working. For example, the opening to the chorus of “Almost Over” really became a driving factor in the song where it was a little distracting on the record. The songs from the EP really worked well with the live audience.
There was a minor hitch in the otherwise stellar show and that was the stage presence of lead singer Ashley Morgan. It’s not that she was “bad” or that her stage presence was distracting to the show…it’s that she didn’t seem to be as polished and confident as the other members of her band. I think a lot of that has to do with her transformation from solo artist to being in a band. In solo performances she only had to worry about her sound and her interaction with the audience and now she is the centerpoint of a five person outfit. Obviously there will need to be some transition time and it appears Morgan is working through that transition. However, with her pipes the band can afford to take the time for Morgan’s learning curve.
This is a band you should make a point to come out and see live. (Somewhere other than at the Outland Ballroom. I was less than impressed with the facility and will be very hard-pressed to attend another show there. I really didn’t think nude pictures of women in the bathroom were necessary even for a “dive club” atmosphere.) If you can’t make their Saturday gig in Denver opening for Relient K, the band will be playing a free, stripped-down show at the Park Central Branch of the library next Friday and the show is free.
(Some photos courtesy of Teresa at Daily Adventures.)
Springfield’s Wide Blog Diversity
If you haven’t checked out the official site of the Springfield Bloggers Association it’s well worth your time. The blogroll has a huge variety of local blogs in many different categories. Several new members were added to the blogroll yesterday so even if you’ve visited in the past there should be new places for you to discover.
If you’re a local Springfield blogger and want to join you can find information on the SBA’s website.
Storyline Performing CD Release Concert Tonight
One of Springfield’s best bands, Storyline, has their CD release party tonight at Outland Ballroom. (That’s downtown on South Street…take the stairs next to the Outland bar.) The doors open at 8, the show starts at 9 and tickets are $8 a pop. According to promoter Ozarks Live Productions there are three other bands on the bill as well.
Their new disc Welcome Home is on iTunes, Rhapsody and other download sites and I really encourage you to check it out and get the project.
I’ve never been to the Outland Ballroom so I’ll be including a review of the place in my review of tonight’s show.
Hey Wall Street Journal! Do We All Look Like Cletus, The Slack-Jawed Yokel Too?
Springfield makes an appearance in today’s Wall Street Journal as writer Anton Troianovsky tells about a skyscraper project gone awry and it’s impact on Springfield’s Police/Fire Pension Fund. The meat in the story is important reading for those who might not understand the risks of a pension fund and the way it’s tied into investment portfolios. There’s no guarantee of funds growing year after year…this is a prime example.
What’s interesting is the stereotypical way Troianovsky likes to take swipes at the Ozarks (or Ozark, as they write it…apparently Springfield moved south a few miles and shrunk quite a bit. But that’s a minor thing that anyone could mis…oh, it’s in the headline? Never mind.)
Matt Lemmon at Go Magazine messaged me about the skunk references. In opening paragraph the Journal mentions because of the problems “Skunk trapping may have to go, too.” Then toward the end of the piece: “A proposed budget would reduce how often park lawns are mowed and roads are maintained. It would eliminate the city’s summer concert series, its multifamily-housing inspections and a service to trap skunks and feral cats.”
It would appear that Mr. Troianovsky was more focused on propping up a tired stereotype. Although there were those 500 skunks that were on the downtown square causing the lack of development downtown. I guess we’ll just have to call Cletus and his long rifle to take care of the problem. After all, some folk’ll never eat a skunk but then again, some folk’ll…
I also loved this part: “In 2007, at a fire station community room known locally as an affordable venue for birthday parties, the Prudential managers handed out a brochure saying they would aim to put more vacant space on the market,” Can you almost picture the local yokels sitting around while little Sally plays with her Legos shaking their head and saying “Duh, OK big city guys. You’uns got lots o’ money!”
I’ve written many times about bias in the media and today’s WSJ article is dripping with it. When Torianovsky picked the skunks and the birthday party reference to include in his piece he chose to paint a picture of a backwards, hick community that doesn’t have people smart enough to avoid making a mistake with their investments. It’s giving people a false impression in the midst of a lot of factual information which to many would lend creedence to the description of the community. It would be the same as saying big business deals in New York happen in the kitchen of Italian restaurants by guys named Guido. The people who read that article without knowing the community will think Springfield has some serious skunk problem…and what would most think of a town that has that? Would you want to bring a business here?
Read the article in the WSJ because it does provide some good background on the pension issue. Get a good laugh at Mr. Troianovsky’s obsession with skunks.
City Council & City Utilities To Renew Talks On Bus Transfer Station; Public Meeting Postponed
If you think that citizens speaking out to their City Council can’t make a difference…check out this press release from the city:
Following concerns about the use of eminent domain expressed by the City Council during their meeting earlier this week, the City of Springfield and City Utilities (CU) are announcing they will renew discussions about city-owned property that may be available and suitable for use as a bus transfer station. As a result of the agreement to take a fresh look at city-owned properties, a previously discussed public meeting on Monday evening will be postponed.
“Our goal always has been to work with City and community leaders to identify property that will accommodate an improved transfer station for Springfield. That multi-year process has included a review of both city-owned and privately-owned locations,” said John Twitty, General Manager of City Utilities. “If city-owned properties may now be available for further consideration, we are definitely interested in exploring those options.”
Mayor Jim O’Neal said he appreciates CU’s willingness to re-open the site-selection process to avoid the use of eminent domain.
“If the City can be a part of this solution, we are open to re-visiting the alternatives,” O’Neal said.
The Mayor said he would add an agenda item to discuss this issue with the full Council at the end of the budget workshop scheduled for 5 p.m., Thursday, June 4.
The new bus transfer station feasibility study and environmental analysis are available on the
“Transit” page at www.cityutilities.net.
Now…this doesn’t mean those of us who are against eminent domain in this situation are done and should go silent. Talk to your Council members and ask them how the discussions are going with CU. Pay attention to the news when the issue is being discussed and stay informed on the situation. The City Council responded to the public this time and we have to make sure that they understand our feelings on the matter.
Also I want to give credit to CU for coming to the table to discuss it with the City Council after seeing the Council’s response and the response of Springfield residents. They didn’t have to stop their process to come to the table with City Council but they’re choosing to take the path of working with the public & Council rather than flipping the proverbial electric finger.
