Bubble: Y.O.C. and M.E.
From now, backwards through the 20th century, three cities have taken the "number two" position in Illinois, population-wise, after Chicago - (Itself once called the Second City - to NYC). All have worked to have a decent arts scene, over the years. I spent much of my life living in one of these cities, which I call, "Ye Olde City," (YOC). It's the one I lived in before I came here, Stella Iowa, (which proudly sports its MacDonald's which stopped serving salads, and its Subway which stopped accepting those regular coupons in newspapers or the mail. And everything closes at 3:pm)...
I have written that YOC, Illinois, has a very good Farmers Market. It also has (had) nice little summer concerts in the bandshell located in a large park. A sliver of this large park also contains a bike/walking path, a large glass terrarium, and a transplanted industrial art sculpture, which once stood in the new downtown mall which no one wanted, so that was removed, too. Lots of waffling, uncertainty there. Lots of imitation instead. Usually behind the curve on everything...
I knew the beloved parks director of YOC, although he is now pushing up daisies. He helped with my little health/urban-land non-profit I once had. I also knew a big local arts woman who contracted CFS from the stress of living in an apartment living above a downtown theatre, while it burnt to the ground. We shared a rather "obstinate" CFS/FMS health-advocacy group in town. Full of once-sensitive, artist-type people...
They never bulldozed the facade to this theatre, after the fire, but somehow kept it up as an historic site, while building offices for woke business offices behind it. There was a nice little movie theatre on the same street, across the river, but that closed and they bulldozed it to make way for a seniors highrise. That was near to the "modern" library, which had a nice park area in the back, where people could amble, eat lunch, feed the ducks, and be homeless while eating the ducks. But that was closed, as it became a EPA superfund site, and a newer library has been built nearby and near to an Indian Mounds park.
I don't think they have gotten around to bulldozing the toxic, once-"modern" library yet. Not sure if they have bulldozed my old house yet - which was completely unnecessary. But, some idiots in neighbourhood associations think the Detroit strategy of bulldozing everything is the best way to control crime. It's a way of both getting your hands dirty and washing the blood from your hands.
The new library is no great architecture to write home about. Sort of a miniturisation of what some people think standard fare Chicago skyscrapers are supposed to represent. But it looks crooked, to me. Other than the ugly government monstrosities downtown, the other outstanding oddity is the big red elephant which acts as an arena for concerts and sporting events. Unlike the Madison civic centre, (and library), which are smartly tucked away on State Street, this guy stands out as a bleeding big rusty-red shoebox - (not unlike that industrial statue which was removed from the mall because people hated it so much).
This red jewel is never called a civic centre, but I guess that's what it is. It's mainly an arena. (Madison has its larger Alliant arena off away from downtown, in addition to having the downtown civic center). The YOC civic-arena has been relatively successful over the years, (partly taking up some slack from the burnt-down theatre). And it has generally had pretty good management. It has hosted all sorts of bands, including Cheap Trick, the city's own, who were largely stolen and claimed by parasitic octopus, Chicago - as was the name of the YOC Blackhawks - as was the admirable museum of clocks which once existed on the better edge of town, housed in a geat motel, since bulldozed for no apparent reason.
The YOC civic-arena can freeze its floor for hockey games. But the nice place was the the skating building built near the river, after a skater here won a bunch of gold medals. I think that building is closed and possibly bulldozed. It's like this place is second headquarters to some kind of culture-hating WEF. That existed near a kind of park, and was near the farmers market. The civic-arena is nearby a park, a half-repurposed, arts old warehouse building, and a former mayor's law business building.
YOC's true jewel has always been the main old theatre, right downtown. It was refurbished in and out, several years ago. Very pretty and majestic inside. It, too, has been pretty successful, (also taking up some slack from the burnt-down theatre). (Not surprisingly, another theatre sits closed nearby). This old theatre has housed Frank Sinatra's first performance with the Dorsey brothers, or something like that. All sorts of important events happened there. It continues to sponsor symphony performances, Handel's Messiah, theatrical performances, concerts, conferences, and so on. One of the nicest theatres in the country. Always impressive. It became too expensive for me, though.
There are two community colleges, strictly speaking, in town. They have their theatres, orchestras and campuses. I knew an LJ friend who did amazing art work, so I introduced her to an arts director - or some such - at one of the colleges, so they despite her being so young, (14), they invited her to their artists programme, possibly via grant. Because of her age, some in my family, of course, seized on the opportunity to act like I was some kind of pedophile. [Anything they can get their grubby, jealous fingers on, to diss or minimise me, they will seize it - and keep seeding the ancient dount biased against me there, since the day I was born. The only other artist amongst them gave up art for cigarettes, and complained about me simply for talking about my dreams. So, me being a kind of artist - I received no help from that general direction, really].
So, I was happy and proud about that. As I visited my dying father, I happened to have copies of some of her works with me, so I showed them to him, just to keep his mind going. He was interested but surely a tad confused by the pics, which were dark and rad. [He really perked up when I visitted him but, as soon as I left, my sister acted, once again, like I had DONE SOMETHING WRONG NOW. That's because nothing you do is ever enough for people with NPD].
At that same college, while chatting with the president, or some such, I mentioned my observation that, although this college was comprised of several sub-colleges, it did not call itself an actual university. Not too long after that, they changed the name of this historical institution from "College" to "University". How 'bout that?! See also Jane Addams.
Oh - a similar thing happened when I told an architect friend of mine of an idea I had for a foot bridge placed underneath on of the main downtown bridges, since the actually bridge overshot the river banks way too much for pedestrians. So, after that, someone built a very string foot bridge underneath that bridge!
Nothing I directly propose ever gets done, since people like to dismiss such as noise, or as attempts to control them. You see how anti-progresssive the whole country has now become! However, if someone can find grant money or profit in it, they will follow up with something same if not similar, and I don't get credit or a cut. But, this has to be the way change goes, sometimes. And I realise that when I talk to almost anyone by now. I have no interest of controlling anyone with whom I interact. Found that is a non-starter, pointless, gets folded into the same old BS game going on. Only ends up supporting the status quo. So, I haven't been that way since I was maybe about 14 years old, lol...
This attitude is quite in contrast to the people upstairs, isn;t it? It's like night vs day. I think, maybe, this might have been YOC's problem, over the years: defaulting to the control mentality. People who suspect (misattribute) attempts to control them are often those who largely try to control others. So, YOC's arts scene has probably suffered a lot because of this fault. Which, granted, may save money, rather than invest it. (I might write on this again soon, but in regards to Iowa, next time).
The beloved arts director told me of when he was younger, and had to face off a gaggle of Italian gardeners, who wanted to basically bulldoze the land for some selfish reason. So, this confrontation prompted him to go to some special school, which eventually landed him in the position of being in charge of all the parks - and his policy was wonderfully progressive for this city, which does sometimes get it right.
[Interestingly, though, when my NPD sister forced me out, she found out what I believed was best for the landscape and went ahead and did the opposite, using her paid Italian Mafia goon to, basically bulldoze the land. Old habits die hard, I guess. No hope for any of these people. Acting like they know everything, telling everybody else what to do, what is best, whatever - whatever accrues to more ill-begotten power for them. Prehistoric blockheads].
I would visit the libraries of both colleges, to write, to research online, and also just to be amongst like-minded spirits, hopefully. Until the demonic actors in the cafa saga caught up with me. These narcissists allow zero degrees of freedom for their victims. A lot like my pre-existing ball-and-chain, CFS. Energy vampires, the lot.
The other, bigger, more modern and more public college had a nice little theatre building, with continuing theatrical activities. When I was in high school, an arts bubble erupted from the arts scene emanating from that theatre and college, but also very much from my high school, itself. I was really at the centre of it all, in high school. I also had my own art, comedy, newspaper/writing, satire and social scene going on - but I became a star in HS theatricals, through 2 seasons of three plays each, most of them musicals. So, in addition to lead acting roles, I did a lot of singing and dancing, making a few embarassing mistakes here and there. But the community, the fun, the work, the learning, the stardom, it was all just great!
But, it wasn't just me! Many of my friends in theatrics, some of whom were - or became - pals IRL, had major parts in all this activity. It was the combined, lucky combination of all of their talents which made it fabulous. Most of the big players went on to get prominent jobs on Broadway, in Hollywood, etc. I didn't. I didn't try for anything like that. I was on my own course, continued to this day, of seeking to discover the Truth, largely by studying people, or understanding physics, economics, etc. And, we'll see if any of that shakes out.
I lived in culturally-rich Madison for ten years, doing4+ years of college work in THREE majors, and finding my own party/arts social scene there, but if you ask most of my siblings, they will say, something like: "Spent a brief time living in Madison, spent a year in college, otherwise accomplished nothing else in life, lol. As you know, I may not have gained credit through any conventional system, but I have accomplished a lot, even if only through this belaboured journal of eccentric ideas, my dear readers. And that, dear friends, has been an art in and unto itself.
I also have had people and animals in my life who have known and loved me very much. And I also have my dreams. So, those medieval gardener types, who act like human spike proteins? They can all go screw themselves.
Voila! It is done!
I also do poetry, resumes and business cards.
I have written that YOC, Illinois, has a very good Farmers Market. It also has (had) nice little summer concerts in the bandshell located in a large park. A sliver of this large park also contains a bike/walking path, a large glass terrarium, and a transplanted industrial art sculpture, which once stood in the new downtown mall which no one wanted, so that was removed, too. Lots of waffling, uncertainty there. Lots of imitation instead. Usually behind the curve on everything...
I knew the beloved parks director of YOC, although he is now pushing up daisies. He helped with my little health/urban-land non-profit I once had. I also knew a big local arts woman who contracted CFS from the stress of living in an apartment living above a downtown theatre, while it burnt to the ground. We shared a rather "obstinate" CFS/FMS health-advocacy group in town. Full of once-sensitive, artist-type people...
They never bulldozed the facade to this theatre, after the fire, but somehow kept it up as an historic site, while building offices for woke business offices behind it. There was a nice little movie theatre on the same street, across the river, but that closed and they bulldozed it to make way for a seniors highrise. That was near to the "modern" library, which had a nice park area in the back, where people could amble, eat lunch, feed the ducks, and be homeless while eating the ducks. But that was closed, as it became a EPA superfund site, and a newer library has been built nearby and near to an Indian Mounds park.
I don't think they have gotten around to bulldozing the toxic, once-"modern" library yet. Not sure if they have bulldozed my old house yet - which was completely unnecessary. But, some idiots in neighbourhood associations think the Detroit strategy of bulldozing everything is the best way to control crime. It's a way of both getting your hands dirty and washing the blood from your hands.
The new library is no great architecture to write home about. Sort of a miniturisation of what some people think standard fare Chicago skyscrapers are supposed to represent. But it looks crooked, to me. Other than the ugly government monstrosities downtown, the other outstanding oddity is the big red elephant which acts as an arena for concerts and sporting events. Unlike the Madison civic centre, (and library), which are smartly tucked away on State Street, this guy stands out as a bleeding big rusty-red shoebox - (not unlike that industrial statue which was removed from the mall because people hated it so much).
This red jewel is never called a civic centre, but I guess that's what it is. It's mainly an arena. (Madison has its larger Alliant arena off away from downtown, in addition to having the downtown civic center). The YOC civic-arena has been relatively successful over the years, (partly taking up some slack from the burnt-down theatre). And it has generally had pretty good management. It has hosted all sorts of bands, including Cheap Trick, the city's own, who were largely stolen and claimed by parasitic octopus, Chicago - as was the name of the YOC Blackhawks - as was the admirable museum of clocks which once existed on the better edge of town, housed in a geat motel, since bulldozed for no apparent reason.
The YOC civic-arena can freeze its floor for hockey games. But the nice place was the the skating building built near the river, after a skater here won a bunch of gold medals. I think that building is closed and possibly bulldozed. It's like this place is second headquarters to some kind of culture-hating WEF. That existed near a kind of park, and was near the farmers market. The civic-arena is nearby a park, a half-repurposed, arts old warehouse building, and a former mayor's law business building.
YOC's true jewel has always been the main old theatre, right downtown. It was refurbished in and out, several years ago. Very pretty and majestic inside. It, too, has been pretty successful, (also taking up some slack from the burnt-down theatre). (Not surprisingly, another theatre sits closed nearby). This old theatre has housed Frank Sinatra's first performance with the Dorsey brothers, or something like that. All sorts of important events happened there. It continues to sponsor symphony performances, Handel's Messiah, theatrical performances, concerts, conferences, and so on. One of the nicest theatres in the country. Always impressive. It became too expensive for me, though.
There are two community colleges, strictly speaking, in town. They have their theatres, orchestras and campuses. I knew an LJ friend who did amazing art work, so I introduced her to an arts director - or some such - at one of the colleges, so they despite her being so young, (14), they invited her to their artists programme, possibly via grant. Because of her age, some in my family, of course, seized on the opportunity to act like I was some kind of pedophile. [Anything they can get their grubby, jealous fingers on, to diss or minimise me, they will seize it - and keep seeding the ancient dount biased against me there, since the day I was born. The only other artist amongst them gave up art for cigarettes, and complained about me simply for talking about my dreams. So, me being a kind of artist - I received no help from that general direction, really].
So, I was happy and proud about that. As I visited my dying father, I happened to have copies of some of her works with me, so I showed them to him, just to keep his mind going. He was interested but surely a tad confused by the pics, which were dark and rad. [He really perked up when I visitted him but, as soon as I left, my sister acted, once again, like I had DONE SOMETHING WRONG NOW. That's because nothing you do is ever enough for people with NPD].
At that same college, while chatting with the president, or some such, I mentioned my observation that, although this college was comprised of several sub-colleges, it did not call itself an actual university. Not too long after that, they changed the name of this historical institution from "College" to "University". How 'bout that?! See also Jane Addams.
Oh - a similar thing happened when I told an architect friend of mine of an idea I had for a foot bridge placed underneath on of the main downtown bridges, since the actually bridge overshot the river banks way too much for pedestrians. So, after that, someone built a very string foot bridge underneath that bridge!
Nothing I directly propose ever gets done, since people like to dismiss such as noise, or as attempts to control them. You see how anti-progresssive the whole country has now become! However, if someone can find grant money or profit in it, they will follow up with something same if not similar, and I don't get credit or a cut. But, this has to be the way change goes, sometimes. And I realise that when I talk to almost anyone by now. I have no interest of controlling anyone with whom I interact. Found that is a non-starter, pointless, gets folded into the same old BS game going on. Only ends up supporting the status quo. So, I haven't been that way since I was maybe about 14 years old, lol...
This attitude is quite in contrast to the people upstairs, isn;t it? It's like night vs day. I think, maybe, this might have been YOC's problem, over the years: defaulting to the control mentality. People who suspect (misattribute) attempts to control them are often those who largely try to control others. So, YOC's arts scene has probably suffered a lot because of this fault. Which, granted, may save money, rather than invest it. (I might write on this again soon, but in regards to Iowa, next time).
The beloved arts director told me of when he was younger, and had to face off a gaggle of Italian gardeners, who wanted to basically bulldoze the land for some selfish reason. So, this confrontation prompted him to go to some special school, which eventually landed him in the position of being in charge of all the parks - and his policy was wonderfully progressive for this city, which does sometimes get it right.
[Interestingly, though, when my NPD sister forced me out, she found out what I believed was best for the landscape and went ahead and did the opposite, using her paid Italian Mafia goon to, basically bulldoze the land. Old habits die hard, I guess. No hope for any of these people. Acting like they know everything, telling everybody else what to do, what is best, whatever - whatever accrues to more ill-begotten power for them. Prehistoric blockheads].
I would visit the libraries of both colleges, to write, to research online, and also just to be amongst like-minded spirits, hopefully. Until the demonic actors in the cafa saga caught up with me. These narcissists allow zero degrees of freedom for their victims. A lot like my pre-existing ball-and-chain, CFS. Energy vampires, the lot.
The other, bigger, more modern and more public college had a nice little theatre building, with continuing theatrical activities. When I was in high school, an arts bubble erupted from the arts scene emanating from that theatre and college, but also very much from my high school, itself. I was really at the centre of it all, in high school. I also had my own art, comedy, newspaper/writing, satire and social scene going on - but I became a star in HS theatricals, through 2 seasons of three plays each, most of them musicals. So, in addition to lead acting roles, I did a lot of singing and dancing, making a few embarassing mistakes here and there. But the community, the fun, the work, the learning, the stardom, it was all just great!
But, it wasn't just me! Many of my friends in theatrics, some of whom were - or became - pals IRL, had major parts in all this activity. It was the combined, lucky combination of all of their talents which made it fabulous. Most of the big players went on to get prominent jobs on Broadway, in Hollywood, etc. I didn't. I didn't try for anything like that. I was on my own course, continued to this day, of seeking to discover the Truth, largely by studying people, or understanding physics, economics, etc. And, we'll see if any of that shakes out.
I lived in culturally-rich Madison for ten years, doing4+ years of college work in THREE majors, and finding my own party/arts social scene there, but if you ask most of my siblings, they will say, something like: "Spent a brief time living in Madison, spent a year in college, otherwise accomplished nothing else in life, lol. As you know, I may not have gained credit through any conventional system, but I have accomplished a lot, even if only through this belaboured journal of eccentric ideas, my dear readers. And that, dear friends, has been an art in and unto itself.
I also have had people and animals in my life who have known and loved me very much. And I also have my dreams. So, those medieval gardener types, who act like human spike proteins? They can all go screw themselves.
Voila! It is done!
I also do poetry, resumes and business cards.