Sometimes you start to forget what's going on around you. Recently I've been engrossed in the book The Corner which deals with poverty, drug addiction and hunger in West Baltimore. It sort of made me forget that Lincoln has many of the same problems on a much smaller scale, but that we hide our poor and hungry very successfully.

Well, not today. From the Lincoln Journal Star, Food Distribution Draws Hundreds:

An estimated 200 people were lined up at the F Street Recreation Center early Tuesday morning before the doors opened for a Thanksgiving food distribution.

...

Beatty Brasch, executive director of Lincoln’s Center for People In Need, was among those helping coordinate the Tuesday event. Brasch said at least 100 people were in line an hour before the distribution began.

“What it really shows you is how hungry people are,” she said.

Those are all the relevant paragraphs from the short article. Hopefully by tomorrow the LJS will print something a bit longer on this.

brett at 02:58 PM on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

And by best, I mean saddest.

How many of us are familiar with the street corner preacher who hangs out by the Grand downtown? You might not know him by name, Brian Hammer, but you have certainly seen his 10-foot cross adorned with homophobic statements. The guy has been a fixture of downtown nightlife for years, carrying that massive crucifix over his should for blocks in order to perch outside of the movie theater and spew hate at people.

This guy is almost universally considered an annoyance, even among Christians. Anyway, the Journal Star ran a pretty interestgin article abou thim the other week, which prompted some letters to the editor, the best of which I have cited in its entirety below.

I think the article “Controversial cross bearer makes downtown his pulpit” (LJS, Oct. 15) was great! It is neat that Brian Hammer had so much courage to go out into the downtown streets of Lincoln and preach like he does.

It’s cool that the Lincoln Journal Star wrote something nice about Christians. The Journal Star should keep writing Christian articles about brave godly men.

I’m glad I’m a Christian because God blesses me for that. He has given me meaning in life, not just for this short time here on earth, but for eternity. We all need to know this fact.

So thank you for printing such a fantastic article about such a fantastic godly man!

Keep up the good work!

Ok, that's fine.Someone supports him, no big deal. But here's my favorite part about this letter, the signature at the bottom:

Maggie Moore, Lincoln

12 years old

Man. I guess he is getting at the kids with all his preaching outside the Grand. This letter is pretty sad, considering how hateful Hammer is. Too bad.

brett at 08:23 AM on October 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Neal Obermyer basically nailed the issue about a grant to prevent gay suicide in his cartoon today. Take a peek:

Pretty much got it dead on. Cheers to Neal for that one. Buy him a beer next time you see him (not for the cartoon, but just because he's a cool dude).

brett at 11:06 AM on October 12, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The City Council had a $1,500 suicide grant proposal come to the table this week. It was for suicide prevention among gay and lesbien teenagers, who proven to have an extremely high rate of suicide compared to heterosexuals. $1,500 ain't much, but was apparently enough to stir up a shitstorm in the council, and on the pages of the Journal Star.

The grant passed, but not after a couple councilmen made certain that the gay rights group be left out.

Councilwoman Robin Eschliman and County Commissioner Bob Workman disagreed, and even removing PFLAG as the grant recipient was not enough to garner their support..

Eschliman voted against the resolution Monday, saying it was controversial and “causes grief” to use tax dollars to fund gay and lesbian issues..

She said she’d rather give the money to something less controversial because people with “deeply held traditional family values” don’t want their tax dollars used for such causes, and she suggested the UNL Health Center could raise money to create the program.

Nice. Her "deeply held traditional family values" don't want tax dollars going to suicide prevention. What a bigot. We're talking about teenagers who have a high propensity for suicide, and her "deeply held traditional family values" don't want money going to them... because they are gay. Why is Lincoln still in the stone age? When will we finally embrace modernity?

During the debate, Workman got served with a little bit of the facts, and yet it didn't mitigate his bigotry even slightly:

“I believe this type of government funding can undermine traditional family values,” he said.

When told by a fellow board member the grant did not come from tax dollars but from money spent on keno, Workman angrily responded that there is no difference.

“These are government funds,” he said.

What a guy. Just keep telling yourself it undermines "traditional family values" or whatever the hell today's rhetoric says. It's just a smokescreen for your intolerance and bigotry.

brett at 11:09 AM on October 11, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was reading the Journal Star today, and came across another article about a school break in. These usually are pretty boring crime stories, but I read it because one of my former principals was quoted in the article.

Then I came across this:

Then late Monday or early Tuesday, someone broke in the same door, with the intent of doing as much damage as possible.

They vandalized two classrooms, breaking a fish aquarium and killing a guinea pig on loan from a student, Van Horn said.

They popped cans of food collected for a food drive and flung the contents around the room. They pulled books off shelves in the library and dumped a desktop computer. They wrecked a paper towel dispenser, busted a florescent light and poked holes in ceiling tiles.

I mean, you have to be fucking joking, right? That is just reprehensible. Full story here. I still can't believe they killed a guinea pig and opened canned food for the homeless. It's one thing to steal something but Jesus... that was someone's loved pet.

brett at 10:58 AM on October 11, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Journal Star is taking a proactive stance today! Oh boy! Believe it or not, but they've come out against the CDC's study, which reported that Lincoln is #4 in America in terms of adults who binge drink. Let's look at this fiery editorial! (OK, not that fiery...)

If Lincoln needed a call to action to cut down on binge drinking, a fourth-place national ranking for this risky behavior ought to be sufficient.

Call to action? More like call to the bar! Gotta love it when the LJS writes a story about binge drinking and half of their staff falls into the category of alcoholic.

As bad as Lincoln’s rate is, it would be a lot worse if not for a concerted effort being made at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to curb binge drinking through the NU Directions program.

Since the campus-community coalition began its work in 1998, binge drinking on campus has dropped from 63 percent in 1997 to 42 percent, which is below the national average.

This is horrible news! Let's push that number back up where it belongs, in the high 70s! Seriously. I mean, can you imagine a place where college kids don't know how to drink out of a beer bong, shotgun a Budweiser or slam a tequila shot and lick the salt off their wrist?

I can imagine it. It's a sad place where all the teddy bears are gone, the birds have stopped chirping and the fluffly, white clouds have been replaced with swirling, dark storms. It's hell.

I really want to have a shirt made that says something about being the number four binge drinkers in the country. Wear it like a badge of honor.

...

So I'm being a bit sarcastic. But really. The outrage over this is silly. Most of the binge drinkers in this town are just like me: gainfully employed, successful, talented, creative and ambitious; oh, and also bored out of their minds. Lincoln! You've already taken away everything else fun (or never brought it here in the first place), so let's at least keep the binge drinking so that we can keep our sanity in this town!

(Right)

Update: Something hilarious I noticed in this editorial. Let's check the contradiction, see if you can spot it. I'll show you two sentences from today's editorial:

If Lincoln needed a call to action to cut down on binge drinking, a fourth-place national ranking for this risky behavior ought to be sufficient.

Ok. So we're fourth place in the country, which basically means a ton of binge drinking is going on here. But then there's this statement:

One significant finding among college students is that they typically believe binge drinking is more common than it actually is, which induces some to go along with an imaginary cultural norm. A similar phenomenon might be at work in the general population.

Wait a minute. Sounds like the college students' beliefs about binge drinking are spot on, considering that we are #4, that is. Bravo, LJS.

brett at 07:32 AM on September 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

OK, well, not a number one, but pretty close to the top of the list. The Journal Star is running a fun little article about binge drinking today (they have to do it at least once a year) and guess what?

As elsewhere, high rates of binge drinking among college students goes hand-in-hand with higher rates among young- and middle-aged adults.

Lincoln’s rate is the fourth worst in the nation. Binge drinking – drinking to get drunk – is worse here than in Madison, Wis.; Las Vegas or Minneapolis.

Three cheers for that. Samantha and I were actually discussing this in LA. Does living in Lincoln make one prone to drinking more? We concluded that yes, there are more than a few drunks in this city. I guess that this really isn't something to be proud of, but you know, sometimes you have to take whatever recognition you can get.

I'll see everyone at the Watering Hole tonight.

Update: Just did a little blog checking, and came across this old post from August, which is semi-related in that it's another alarmist article about binge and underage drinking in the Journal Star.

brett at 09:38 AM on September 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

And the award for most asinine concept of the week goes to... Lisa Zentz of Waverly! I know it's only Monday, but there's no way anyone is going to top her letter to the Journal Star:

In the ’70s, when oil was a fraction of the cost it is today, the U.S. government insisted that Americans conserve and reduced the speed limit to 55 mph.

She goes on to advocate that the speed limit on the interstate should be once again reduced to 55 m.p.h.

Nice.

brett at 10:47 AM on August 28, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm tired of the antagonistic relationship that drivers have with those of us who are downtown bikers. That said, I hate the cars. I don't have much to write about it, but I'll provide some snippets from today's Journal Star letters to the editor and the subsequent comments:

You know, for all the complaints and whining I've seen in this newspaper, over the past few weeks, about bicycles (from drivers), and about drivers (from cyclists), even after searching the accident reports, I've yet to see even one accident involving a bicycle!

...

Bikes are a summertime nuisance. Once winter kicks in all the overaged Lance Armstong wanabees in their bike shorts will soon dwindle and disappear. Most of the ones I see out during the riding season are trying to impress us all with their expensive bikes and outfits (Have'nt seen any in business suits). Nice to know taxpayers are supposed to provide the means for a two wheeled version of "Project Runway".

...

I'm blown away the perceived threat drivers here see in bikers and the intolerance they have of them for not obeying laws. Calm down fellas. In any car vs. bike situation, car is going to win, bottom line. What are you so worried about? What are you so scared of if you have to slow down a bit because a biker is in front of you? What are you so worried about if a biker runs a red light--pedestrians do it constantly. Get over it. If you can't handle driving downtown, maybe you shouldn't.

...

Why do so many people rant on bikes? I don't even ride, but good grief already! I urge you to spend one day this week closely paying attention to the road rules and how many cars follow them (I mean truly follow them--not YOUR version of them). Turn signals? not so common. Stopping in or past the crosswalk? Very common. Rolling "stops?" Nearly always. Yielding and merging properly? Hard to find. Stopping at red lights rather than speeding up when it turns yellow? Get my point? Unless you obey all of the traffic rules yourself, you have NO RIGHT to whine about others breaking the rules.

Blah. I hate drivers. OK not really, but, yeah. Bikes are good, cars are bad, come on.

The last word goes to Sydney Brown:

I pay all the same taxes as you, Derald E. Gottsleben. I could argue, since I put more miles on my bike than my car, that I ought to pay less in car-related taxes, but I don’t. I just pay ’em because good, safe roads for everyone who is trying to go somewhere, with whatever vehicle they opt for, are in all our best interests.

In fact, because I and many others use our bikes, you have fewer autos in your way on the street, less pollution in your air and more tax money for fixing streets your heavy vehicle helps ruin faster.

Amen.

brett at 10:25 AM on August 24, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's a series of articles about the school my mom used to teach at, Clinton Elementary, in today's Journal Star. She got a mention in short article.

brett at 11:26 AM on August 07, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Cornhusker State is back in the Top 10 where it belongs... at least in terms of underage drinking and binge drinking. According to a new study, we rank in the top 20 percent of states for underage alcohol consumption. Some stats:

* 73 percent of high school students have taken at least one drink of alcohol in their life

* 43 percent have consumed alcohol in the previous 30 days

* 30 percent have had five or more drinks in a row within a couple of hours in the previous 30 days

— 2005 Nebraska Youth Behavior Risk Survey

I'll tip up a cup to that news! If underage drinking is this "bad," I would be very curious to see the percentage of teens who smoke pot vs. drink. I remember high school, and marijuana was a lot more accessible than alcohol, if one was looking for something to make a Friday night less boring. But now I'm digressing...

This Journal Star article is pretty interesting, in that it keeps with the standard line of discussion:

Not one community in Nebraska is not affected by the problems of underage drinking, said Fred Meyer, state Board of Education president.

“The societal cost is intolerable, and it’s huge,” he said.

Yet, if you actually read the article, you'll notice that there isn't one mention of these huge societal costs. There is no mention, even anecdotal, of the effects drinking on minors, let alone actual statistics or studies correlating underage drinking to anything negative for society as a whole.

I'm not arguing that there aren't societal costs (I wouldn't characterize them as huge), but the reporting should be investigative and shouldn't simply rehash the press release for a survey while sprinkling in quotes from the usual suspects. Thanks, Fred!

It's just shoddy reporting. The problem isn't even identified other than that underage drinking is against the law.

Seems like the LJS readership agrees with me. From the comments section:

Hey, I don't think it's a good idea for kids to drink, but they do. This grandstanding isn't going to stop it. Cutting them down isn't going to stop it.

...

Why is alcohol legal if it causes so many problems? It always baffles me that the drug called alcohol is legal along with Oxycontin and Valium but Extasy and Marijuana are illegal. They all cause damage to the body and cause impairment which leads to fatal accidents.

...

I went to 'beer' parties in high school, with my friends, usually at someone's house. I won the alternate regent's scholarship for my school. I was in the honor society. I graduated college with honors. I didn't become an alcoholic. I became a metallurgist, a mother, a wife, a homeowner. These people are latching on to a cause to make themselves look important, and it sickens me. Fred Meyer says that, “The societal cost is intolerable, and it’s huge,” Notice he doesn't elaborate!

Food for thought, I guess.

I'll leave you with this suggestion: perhaps we change the drinking age to 16 or even 15 and raise the driving age to 20. Would never work, though it's how most of the rest of the world does it.

brett at 10:33 AM on August 03, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know that paying attention to most of what's written on the Internet in the form of blog comments is an exercise in futility and frustration. Despite that, I have to share a few with you from the Journal Star's "Sound Off" blog. The question is Should the state employ a different method to execute condemned inmates? This question comes in the wake of a supreme court decision that leaves Nebraska as the only state with the electric chair as the sole means of execution.

Here's a smattering of knowledge from our citizenry:

-I hope their execution is cruel and unusual. They certainly didn't care what their victims went through. If it was up to me, I'd bring back public hangings. I'm sure that would make someone think twice before raping children, or going on a killing spree.

...

I think a better idea that would make people think twice and generate state revenue, would be to bring back stoning. I figure, take them down to 13th & O, and put them in the center. Then charge $50-$100 for stone and let people have at it.

...

I think if it were me, a bullet between the eyes would be preferable.

...

These people are not worth the air they breathe and are certainly not worth the resources we expend on them. Cut out the long and overcomplicated appeals process, put them to death on the date the judge assigns...and get it over with. Quit using my tax dollars to give these guys easy lives.

...

I would like to see them put in a space shuttle and ejected for unprotected re-entry.

...

Make the punishment as uncortable as possible and BRING BACK THE HANGINGS.

Great stuff here. I actually am not going to present an argument against any of this. Seems like common sense.

But, doesn't it sort of make you frightened that these people are actually walking around on the street, and that we probably encounter them on a daily basis? After reading these quotes, you have to wonder just where these kind of sadistic ideas come from, and what other thoughts these people have lurking in the back of their minds. Spooky.

brett at 09:50 AM on July 31, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was looking through the Six in the City website again today. As usual.

And though I already commented earlier that all of the bloggers are white, today I realized that so is everyone in the dating pool. That means that all 30 people involved in the Six in the City website are white.

Nice job, Journal Star! Way to not even try and feign diversity. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it is. There should be at least a half-dozen minorities included in this, and not simply because they are black or latino, but because that would accurately reflect the proportion of our population that is. Six in the City is simply not the face of Nebraska.

Whatever.

Update: upon further reflection, what a fucking joke.

brett at 12:43 PM on July 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few of the bloggers at Six in the City have updated, to my great delight. The first thing I noticed was the smattering of spelling errors.

I here the other SITC shoppers dropped a ton of there own money, as for the single Mom, it wasn’t in the budget, but I’ll be back!

I guess anyone could make that mistake, but this next one...

Everyone is asking, so here is the scope.

Uh, scoop, anyone?

Beyond these silly little errors, there wasn't much else of substance in today's posts. Apparently Jessica has two dates this week, which should make for some great prose. I mean really, how can someone who repeatedly uses "LOL" in their blog posts go wrong? Pure gold. Example:

I also have friends who want to strategically place themselves around the resteraunt and spy...LOL. Why not.

LOL guys this blog is so fun, can you believe I actually have one...??! I so cant, LOL. THis is grate. ANyway now i Have to go, TTYL

brett at 08:02 AM on July 27, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, as I mentioned, I'm addicted to Six in the City, and today I was reading through the various dating pool candidates that will be going on dates with the bloggers. Some great stuff in there, particularly their answers to the question "How do you let a date know you are interested in them?"

If we're sitting across from each other at a table, I'd lean in closer when listening to her, hold her hand, or smile and gaze into her eyes ... or just flat out tell her.

Gaze into her eyes. Nice. But if that approach isn't working, you could try this guy's technique:

I take their hand look into their eyes and say 'I hope you know CPR, because you just stopped my heart,' if they laugh I know I found someone special.

Special indeed. I can't wait to see what his date has to say about this.

If none of these lines are appealing to you, perhaps a display of physical prowess would work:

Back flips... followed by a trip to the hospital.

And if things couldn't get any weirder, I was looking at Jessica Watson's dating pool, made up of four men, one of whom is former Nebraska football player Troy Hassebroek. So much for the whole stereotype about football players being constantly surrounded by women.

Good stuff, this Six in the City

brett at 09:40 AM on July 26, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recognize that I'm not the greatest blogger online, however, I definitely have one-up on the bozos over at the Lincoln Journal Star's Six in the City website. The basic premise is that six singles were selected to take part in something of a dating experiment where they will write--online--about their dating experiences with members of a dating pool chosen by none other than Journal Star readers.

Honeslty, I think this is a brilliant idea, because as poor as their writing is, I can't tear myself away from it.

Here's a few snippets from the bios, starting with Chad Peters:

This Cherry Coke fan likes contemporary Christian bands such as Third Day, and some classic rock, such as Van Halen.

Fun Chad trivia: he eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch everyday, and is left-handed but kicks with his right foot.

Six in the City, Chad hopes, will make him better at initiating conversations and a better interpreter of female body language.

...

We asked Chad: Where do you see your romantic life in three years? He said: "I've been around the block enough to know that only God knows the answer to that question."

Nothing against the participants in this foray into community blogging, but it could have been so much better had the reader's of the LJS selected some writers that were, well, a little less pedestrian. For example, from the bio of Ryan Kawata:

Favorite Drink: Non Alcoholic: Mt. Dew or Coke; Alcoholic: Bud Light

I have a feeling this guy is going to be writing a lot of thought provoking, profound stuff.

I really like this part of Cory Dorenbach's bio. She lists her second hobby as reading, but when asked what her favorite book is responds:

Favorite Book: I do like to read. I read random things mysteries, horror, love stories, self improvement. I usually have a topic I get hooked on, like education, religion, nutrition, yoga…depends on what is happening in my life at the time. Then, I read to learn as much as I can.

Very random! Looks like she's going for a defensive play on this one, staying ambiguous. How mysterious! And speaking of favorite books, the only Six in the City member who actually gave a specific book title for an answer was Perry Pirsch who named his own book, The River Lethe as his favorite. From the Amazon.com review:

The River Lethe was one of the five rivers of Hades. Souls on the way to Elysium passed through it, washing away their memories, hence their sorrows, as a condition of their new life. How many of us really know ourselves well - who we are and why - the experiences, events, people, and relationships that make us feel the way we do about ourselves? Have you ever wanted to run away and start a new life? Now, add up all of those story elements, throw in a keen sense of humor, and you've got the makings of funny, interesting, and maybe even educational book!

Anyway. Take a look at the Six in the City site. What it lacks in terms of creative casting it makes up for in a very visceral appeal at our basic vouyeristic instinct to watch bland people from the same city publicly dive headfirst into the dating meatgrinder.

I also love the fact that they are all white.

I'll be writing more about this.

brett at 11:21 AM on July 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)

As usual, some more great letters in today's Journal Star:

On the Lincoln Journal Star front page on May 23 is a color chart of “20 cheap ways to improve your health.”

I want you to know that there is an omission in your chart … the power of prayer and of spiritual understanding. If it were understood that we are the sons and daughters of God, created in His image, and reflecting His goodness and perfection, there would be no need for the 20 material means you list for preventive steps to improving health economically.

Reliance on God for health and happiness is free to all. There is no better bargain anywhere!

Man. Does this mean I can start praying and stop working out, and my blood pressure will go down? This is awesome. I'll be sure and let my grandpa know that all he needs to do to correct his heart problems is to pray harder. I mean, who knew.

I'll also remind all my friends who smoke that they too can correct their various cancers simply by getting down on their knees. Sweet.

Also in the Journal Star today, more positive news for downtown Lincoln.

An old mattress factory in the Haymarket District will soon make way for a new option in downtown housing called Option 13.

Originally coined The Option and planned as a six-story high-rise with 40 upscale condos and penthouses, the project has been scaled back to 13 lofts in two, three-story buildings, with garages and three floors, with an optional fourth-floor penthouse.

I guess they are going to build these at 7th and R at a cost of a little over 3 million. It will be the first new construction of housing downtown in over 40 years.

This is good news.

brett at 08:10 AM on May 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Journal Star is running an article by former DN editor Melissa Lee today about the lifestyles of people who ride their bikes everywhere (like me!), and she interviewed a couple of the guys who work at Monkey Wrench downtown.

While friends trade tales of woe about rising gas prices, Woodman remains blissfully ignorant. He doesn’t know what it costs to fill up a tank, and frankly, he doesn’t care. That’s because Woodman, 30, is a hardcore biker. He bikes to work and back. He bikes to the grocery store. He bikes for fun and for sport.

Word.

And speaking of Monkey Wrench, I can't say enough positive things about their business. They've helped me out so many times, most recently when a pedal broke off of my bike downtown at lunch. They not only replaced the pedal, but installed new shifter cables while I ate. It took them 10 minutes and cost me 15 bucks.

Lincoln needs more businesses like theirs.

brett at 07:07 AM on May 09, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, a wonderfully underused word made its way into a letter to the editor about graffiti:

Fellow citizens — let’s all work together to eliminate graffiti by taking note of your neighborhood as you walk, drive and bike through it. Are there ways you can prevent theses marauders from striking the buildings around you? They are endangering the investments we make in our homes and neighborhoods!

Damn marauders!

brett at 08:16 AM on May 01, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)

So the city is trying to get that high-rise built downtown where the StarShip is at. StarShip has agreed to the city's plan, and so has Wasabi, but the Taste of Chine restaurant understandably doesn't want to move.

“This thing, to me, to my family, it’s been hell,” he said. “It’s almost like you’re being hunted.”

Hua hoped he could persuade the mayor to spare his business during a December meeting, but he walked away disappointed, even though he told her she’d have to put a gun to his head to get him to give up the business.

Man. I wish I could stand behind him, because I usually hate this sort of thing, but the bottom line is that the food at his Chinese restaurant was mediocre at best, and the place looks horrible and clearly needs an upgrade--the city had already declared his property blighted years ago.

The best part of this article, though, is that the author somehow manages to equate Lincoln's attempted acquisition of the property to the genocide perpetrated by Pol Pot in Cambodia in the late 1970s. We get this lead in:

There, an estimated one-quarter of Cambodia’s population was worked to death, starved or executed during Pol Pot’s attempt to form a Communist peasant farming society from 1975 to 1979. Hua said his father died of starvation in 1977.

Hua was just a boy during the genocide, but he has vivid memories of nearly starving, being forced to bury children, foraging for anything edible, catching fish with his bare hands, translating for refugees in a mental hospital, subsisting on two tablespoons of rice per day.

...and then a few grafs later:

“I feel I create this thing,” he said. “You don’t want to give up something you have. … This is the only thing we owned in all life.”

It reminds him of the soldiers who, if they spotted anything of value on a peasant, would ask if they could borrow it.

Damn. I know they've been calling Mayor Seng a lot of things, but this is starting to get ridiculous. Here's the story: I'm sorry Taste of China, but you need to get the hell out. Take the money, get a nicer building, reestablish yourself. You've already said you're hardly making money anyway, so use this as a chance to improve your building, menu and staff. It sucks, I know, but you have one of the best locations in town (the corner of 14th and Q) and yet remain empty nearly all day due to the low quality of your cuisine.

I want to hear what you're saying, but I'm having trouble.

Oh, and to the Journal Star writer, I know you're only quoting the guy about the Pol Pot thing, but that kind of loose association is ludicrous and probably shouldn't be included in your story, at least not with the slant you've given it: which is that Seng is the bad guy and this Chinese immigrant is just trying to hold on to his good old family business that he built from the ground up.

How about we recast the story with the simple thesis that this guy, with his failing restaurant, is standing in the way of progress, and is holding out as long as he can to get the most money he can. I don't know if it's true, but we could certainly write it that way, couldn't we?

And please, get it right: this isn't a parking garage they are building. It's a fucking high rise. Every Journal Star article always calls it a parking garage on first mention, when clearly it will be much more than that: a near skyscraper with stories of apartments, a hotel, restaurants, shops, and more. So get it right and stop making the developers look so evil. They're just trying to create a nicer downtown area for us all.

brett at 07:56 AM on May 01, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0)