Mall Redeemed

My cousin and her 3-year-old son came to visit the other day, and although Steven would have happily played baseball out in the rain, we went in search of an indoor activity that didn’t involve television (this is not easy).

I suggested we go to the soft play section at Marketplace Mall. Steven had a ball, mostly because there were a lot of other people who had the same brilliant idea, and the place was crawling with kids.

So thanks to all the children of C-U, who kept our little guy happy.

We’re No. 4!

Lost in the hoopla over Naperthrill being named the third “best” place to live in America by Money Magazine is this little tidbit:

Champaign ranks No. 4 in the “lowest commute time” category, because it takes most of us an average of 13 piddly minutes to get to work. (Guess they didn’t factor in the time it takes those UI workers who park in the shuttle lot have to wait for another bus if they miss it). We’re behind Bloomington, but they have the same time. Must be an alphabetical thing.

In case you’re wondering, there is no category for worst commute time. Wonder where wonderful Naperville would rank in that category.

Join us …

Calling all Muggles!!

If you don’t know what a muggle is, you have been living under a rock for the last, oh, six years (that’s being generous). If you do know what that means, where will you be on Friday, July 15 at midnight? At a release party for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, the sixth book in the wildly popular series, to be sure. (The book is already the top seller at Barnesandnoble.com.)

If you are 8 or 88, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts this weekend in C-U. Pages for All Ages is promising the biggest, best Harry Potter bash of the year. The store will have free crafts, magic, face painting and more as a prelude to the main event: the book goes on sale at midnight. The “Midnight Magic” festivities at the Champaign Barnes and Noble and Borders in Champaign begin at 9 p.m.

Downtown Danville is going all out, with a showing of “The Prisoner of Azkaban” in a local park followed by fortune telling, a costume contest, and more.

Don’t count on getting a freebie copy anytime soon out of the library. The Champaign Public Library’s nonrental copies are already reserved.

Farm Aid Heads To … Chicago

The much balley-hooed 20th anniversary of the first Farm Aid concert — held in Memorial Stadium on September 22, 1985 — is fast approaching. On that day, 80,000 patrons crowded the house that Red Grange built to hear the likes of Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty play. More than $7 million was raised to help America’s family farmers. Farm Aid concerts have become an annual tradition (with the exception of two years) and the organization has continued.

The News-Gazette, in a rare scoop of the Chicago Tribune, reported on Saturday that the concert will not make a return appearance to our soil — but will happen a few miles up I-57. (Here is Greg Kot’s Tribune story today; free registration reqd.) The event will be staged in “Chicago” (actually Tinley Park’s Tweeter Center), where it was held in 1997 and 1998. The Tribune reports “festival mainstays Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and Dave Matthews will perform” in addition to newcomer Wilco.

I’m sure a few quixotic folks around here actually thought there was a chance that the concert would return to an actual rural community — ours. But the organization hasn’t tasted farmed soil since the 1993 concert in Ames, Iowa. Charity watchdog web site CharityNavigator.org gives Farm Aid a poor grade in efficiency, among other things.

(In case you’re wondering, the concert will be on Sept. 18. The Illinois football team is playing in California that weekend, so there was no scheduling conflict.)

Another Reason To Avoid Willard

Reason #453,909,098 to not fly out of Willard Airport* this summer:

The Decatur Herald and Review reported this week that American Connection has slashed its prices on flights out of Decatur Airport (which, by the way, offers free parking.) The impetus for the cut is that the very future of the airport’s funding is in jeopardy.

“What was a round-trip cost of $486 to fly from Decatur to New York City is now $238. What was a round-trip cost of $330 to fly from Decatur to Washington, D.C., is now $218. And if you’re heading to Florida, what was a round-trip cost of $346 to Tampa is now $258.”

Have you ever looked to see how much it would cost to fly between Chicago and Willard? $269. Willard and Dallas (direct)? $238. I am dying to know why it costs less to fly 800 miles than it does to fly 130.

*(I apologize to Willard Airport for being the battered stepchild/punching bag/anger management tool of this blog. But the whoever runs the place deserves it. )

Deer in Headlights

In light of what happened today in London, if this is all we have to worry about, we should thank our lucky stars:

Animal Control Experts Want to Bag a Buck For His Safety and Safety of Drivers

A spotted deer is drawing all sorts of attention in the west end of Champaign. The deer has made a home for himself just off the intersection of Country Fair and Springfield Avenue. Animal control officers say the deer is domesticated and probably escaped from a farm nearby. But because the animal keeps heading into traffic, they want to catch it before anyone gets hurt. Animal control officers worry that while he`s friendly now, when he grows antlers he could become dangerous.

(Via WCIA Channel 3)

My brother-in-law had an unfortuitous run-in with a deer on an Indiana highway last week. He’s OK, thankfully, but his BMW is not.

Illinipundit 1, Champaign American 0

In case you’re keeping score, the pissing match between our blogosphere pal Illinipundit, and his arch-nemisis, Matt Varble, has reached new heights. Today, influential Illinois political blogger Rich Miller at the Capitol Fax blog announced that he was removing a link to Varble’s blog as a show of support of Illinipundit. The impetus for this announcement was Varble’s insidious attempts to “out” the anonymous Illinipundit.

After some considerable thought, a link to Varble’s blog will remain on lbotp. This should not be construed as an endorsement of his views; in fact, I am repulsed by his crusade against Illinipundit. Nor do I endorse Illinipundit’s politics as my own; other than the fact that I appreciate the local discourse. A few would-be sleuths have landed on this site in their quest to uncover Illinipundit’s true identity, and he and I shared a few laughs about it.

NetFlix on the Prairie

I bought a Netflix gift subscription for my bro and his family last year. The gift that keeps on giving was a big hit with him and his wife, who have two young kids and don’t get to the movies that often. They live in the state of Chicago, and swear by the company’s efficiency — they get a new movie within 2-3 days of sending back a movie. Amazing.

I haven’t tried a DVD subscription service, perhaps because now that we have TiVo there is always something to watch. But it’s summer and my TiVo isn’t as exciting (except when the new episodes of Rescue Me appear on my list), so I was thinking about getting a short-term Netflix subscription. Then I came across this post from a Champaign subscriber who says that the shortest turnaround time — “even if I watch them as soon as I get them and put them in the mail the next day” — is seven days. Blogger Dave even registered a complaint with the company.

That just doesn’t seem worth my $14.99.

Fireworks Fiasco

Three cheers for the men and women behind the scenes of the Champaign County Freedom Celebration, who managed to put on last night’s pyrotechnics extravaganza despite the rainy and windy conditions. After an hour-plus delay, the show did go on.

But I’m sure there are a lot of groggy folks today sitting in their cubicles or trucks or wherever they may work. That doesn’t count the many children whose parents eventually decided that getting a good night’s rest took precedence over staying up late to watch the fireworks.

When the 4th falls on a worknight, why not have the fireworks on the 3rd? That way, in case it rains, there is always the option of moving the fireworks to the 4th. I think it’s a wonderful tradition to have the fireworks on our actual day of Independence — but one that could use a little common sense.

The inclement weather benefits fireworks junkies. Rantoul will have its show tonight, and true devotees will make the trip to Lovington on Friday to watch the skies light up.

At least it didn’t rain on our parade.