Today I Learned JD Granger Is A Panther Island Prophet With A Shack Fort Worth's Latest Music Venue

This morning Elsie Hotpepper emailed me an email which took hours to get to me. The subject line of that email simply said "I'm gagging".

The email had a link to an article in DFW.com titled Panther Island Pavilion roaring along on the Trinity.

It did not take much reading to come to verbiage that was gag worthy, as in the first sentence....

It’s tempting to call JD Granger a prophet.

Let's just go through this article, bit by bit, commenting as we go. It is tempting to call JD Granger a prophet? From what would such a temptation come? Well, the article tells us....

Last year, Granger, the executive director of the Trinity River Vision Authority, predicted what would happen at Panther Island Pavilion in 2014 with almost uncanny accuracy.

“Festivals are becoming a business unto themselves,” Granger told me in May 2013. “We are set up to do something really crazy with good services. We could do something that could really put Fort Worth on a competitive music footing.”

What an understatement that turned out to be.

Understatement? How about dumb statement? I vaguely recollect having fun making fun of these JD Granger quotes before, likely after a previous Preston Jones bit of propaganda buffoonery. So, JD's uncanny prediction was that festivals are becoming a business unto themselves, whatever that means. And that JD's boondoggle is set up to do something really crazy. With good services. Again, whatever that means. Really putting Fort Worth on a competitive music footing.

Yeah, that really sounds like one impressive uncanny prediction. A competitive music footing? Competitive with whom?

Panther Island Pavilion, perhaps more than any other venue of its size in the city, has become a hub of near-constant activity over the past 12 months, hosting multiple music-related events, including its popular Rockin’ the River concert series (full disclosure: DFW.com is a media sponsor), as well as the return of the Fort Worth Music Festival and Untapped.

Panther Island Pavilion, perhaps more than any other venue of its size in the city, has become a hub of near-constant activity? Perhaps more than any other venue of its size in the city? What other venues are there of whatever size, in Fort Worth, that Panther Island Pavilion perhaps is more busy than?

Full disclosure: DFW. com is a media sponsor? How about going for totally full disclosure and disclose that DFW.com is a Fort Worth Star-Telegram propaganda production designed to compete with Fort Worth Weekly?

“When looking at the demographics we were excited to see that people from all over North Texas are coming to events held at Panther Island Pavilion,” Granger says. “Week in and week out, our summer series had the highest attendance we’ve seen in the history of the venue. It’s a great feeling to know this record-breaking summer was a result of people traveling from all over the Metroplex.”

And how did Granger get this data that let him know that people were coming from all over North Texas to events at Panther Island Pavilion? Did JD and his minions wander around asking people where they were from? The highest attendance in the history of the venue? Uh, how long does that history go back? Three years? Or is it four? It feels great knowing that the record breaking crowds came about from people traveling from all over the Metroplex? I thought they were coming from all over North Texas?

And the outdoor venue, situated just outside downtown Fort Worth on the banks of the Trinity River, is nowhere near finished.

I would hope the outdoor venue is nowhere near finished. Its current state is extremely tacky. Although, I must say the outhouses are unusually elegant for a Fort Worth venue.

Along with this weekend’s Clearfork Music Festival, there are myriad events scheduled throughout September, from the Most Good Music Festival (Sept. 6), a Salvation Army benefit featuring performers such as Stoney LaRue and Jack Ingram, to the seventh annual Dia de Los Toadies (Sept. 12-13), which will feature Fort Worth rock legends the Toadies playing their acclaimed Rubberneck album in its entirety, and the Beer, Bourbon and Brisket Festival (Sept. 20), with Oktoberfest closing out the month of September (Sept. 25-27) at the Shack, Panther Island Pavilion’s newly opened indoor venue.

Okay, what I got out of the above paragraph of blah blah blah about all the famous performers set to perform at Panther Island Pavilion next month is the last part, that being the part about Oktoberfest closing out the month at the Shack, Panther Island Pavilion's newly opened venue.

I had not heard of the Shack. A little Googling brought me to the Shack, on the Panther Island Pavilion Facebook page. Below is a picture of the Shack? What is it? The abandoned building which used to house the Tandy Subway cars?

Also on the Panther Island Pavilion Facebook page I found the below entry about the article on DFW.com which we are currently discussing.

Yeah, they really should be blushing. Blushing from embarrassment. Now, back to the article...

It’s an eclectic flurry of events, designed to appeal to as broad a swath of the public as possible, bringing not only die-hard music fans out to Panther Island, but the city itself.

Does the above sentence make any sense to anyone? Designed not only to bring out die-hard music fans, but the city itself?

“The success of Panther Island Pavilion has exceeded our expectatins,” Granger says. “We have a packed schedule, including seven events over the next month, but most importantly, it’s bringing a new and diverse audience to Panther Island.”

I copied and pasted the above verbatim. The word out of JD Granger's mouth was "expectatins". The success has exceeded *expectatins? What were their expectatins? Limited success? Most importantly it's bringing a new and diverse audience to Panther Island? Why is this important? How does JD measure the diversity? And please the Panther Island nonsense really needs to stop. There is no island. And even if the un-needed flood diversion channel ever flows water under the three bridges over nothing, this really still will not be what anyone who respects the meaning of words could legitimately call an island.

And why does the Executive Director of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle spend time worrying about music venues and imaginary islands? Was he not hired, after an extensive search to find the most qualified man available, to over see the building of a much needed flood control project, along with some supposedly much needed economic development? I really don't think back when the Boondoggle first started Boondoggling that anyone thought that what was meant by economic development was "festivals becoming a business unto themselves."

And then there is the last sentence in this very bizarre propaganda piece...

In other words, one of the city’s marquee venues is roaring right along.

Marquee venues? One of Fort Worth's marquee venues? What are Fort Worth's other marquee venues? Billy Bob's Over Texas? The Concerts in the Gardens? The Coyote Drive-In Movie Theater? What? Where?

*As expected the Panther Island Pavilion roaring along on the Trinity article has changed JD Granger's colorful "expectatins" to "expectations".

Rolling My Wheels In Fort Worth's Gateway Park Anticipating A Sickening Email From Elsie Hotpepper

Rain is predicted to precipitate tomorrow. Precipitation predictions usually don't precipitate, but I had myself such a mighty fine time mountain biking in Fort Worth's Gateway Park on Tuesday that I decided to do so again today, in advance of the possible arrival of mud.

That is not my usual Gateway Park photo op location you see my shady handlebars looking at. This location is a short distance up stream from my favorite Gateway Park photo op location.

About a minute before I was scheduled to leave my abode to head west to Gateway Park I got a text message from Elsie  Hotpepper saying...

"I sent you an email that will either make you sick or provide you easy blog fodder. Or both."

Well, of course I was intrigued and so quickly checked my email to find nothing from Elsie Hotpepper. I texted Elsie back with the no email info and that I was heading out to go biking. Elsie said to text again when I got back if the email had still not arrived.

I arrived back to still find no Elsie Hotpepper email. So, I tried to text the message that there was still no email. But I got a "sending message failed" message. Twice.

So, I emailed Elsie Hotpepper that the email was still missing and that texting her no longer worked.

I sent that email and then suddenly the missing email showed up, time stamped hours earlier. The subject line of the Elsie Hotpepper email said "I'm gagging". Which amped up the being intrigued thing.

The email had a link to a webpage. I soon saw that which had Elsie Hotpepper gagging.

I will blog about that which has us gagging in my next blogging....

This Afternoon I Got The Good News That Spencer Jack Has Escaped Alcatraz

This afternoon, via email, I received fairly good evidence that Spencer Jack's Big San Francisco Adventure has come to an end.

The email was from Spencer Jack's dad, well, actually it was two emails, containing a total of seven pictures and one line of text with that text saying...

"Spencer Jack and I escaped from Alcatraz, Trolley ride to Chinatown and darted back to the airport via BART."

It was the darting back to the airport via BART part of the text which led me to deduce that Spencer Jack's Big San Francisco Adventure was over.

I am fairly certain that the purpose behind Spencer Jack's dad taking him to San Francisco was not to scare Spencer Jack straight by putting the fear of being behind bars in Spencer's fragile young mind.

Then again, the above picture of Spencer Jack caged up in Alcatraz is a bit disturbing. Spencer looks very worried.

I am guessing, due to Spencer Jack looking relieved, the above picture was taken after the escape from Alcatraz. According to a reliable source, Spencer Jack and his dad escaped Alcatraz to take a trolley to Chinatown, which is where Spencer Jack is in the picture below.

Where Spencer Jack is standing in Chinatown does not look like the Chinatown I remember. But, it has been at least 20 years since I've been in San Francisco's Chinatown, I no longer trust my aged memory. I remember Chinatown as extremely crowded, with sensory overload from all the visual stimulation. And it smelled good.

And then there's BART. Bay Area Rapid Transit.

BART seems an odd acronym for a town's transit system. But not as odd as Seattle's South Lake Union Trolley, which has Seattle people in transit mode saying something like let's ride the SLUT to the Burger King on Lake Union.

Where I am currently located in Texas I need not worry about taking a BART or a SLUT anywhere. The only public transit available to residents of Fort Worth is called the T. The T is made up of very bare bones type buses of the sort no one would consider a luxury ride. Riding Fort Worth's T, to me, is like riding a carnival ride in a very bad theme park. In other words, fasten your seatbelts, you are in for a bumpy ride. However, unfortunately, there are no seatbelts to fasten.

Is Fort Worth the only town in America with a  population over a half million with no public transit in bus or rail form which takes the public directly to its airport?

When a Fort Worth native flies into a modern American city, like San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Portland, Miami.

Or Dallas.

And sees the town is connected to the airport by public transit in the form of bus or light rail or both does it occur to the Fort Worthian that maybe their town needs to do some modernizing?

I just remembered the answer. In Fort Worth only poor people use public transit......

Walking With The Fosdick Ducks Around Green Fosdick Lake's Sputtering Fountain

Today I was back at Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park to walk around the increasingly green Fosdick Lake for the first time in a week, give or take a day.

My use of the "green" word to describe Fosdick Lake is not intended to indicate Fosdick Lake is becoming increasingly eco-friendly.

My use of the "green" word refers to the increasing amount of green algae that appears to be choking this little lake.

Back when the Fosdick Fountain mysteriously appeared I thought its aerating spewing of lake water might help mitigate the annual phenomenon of Fosdick Lake growing green stuff when the lake water was exposed to too much summer HEAT.

But, right when Fosdick Lake needs all the aerating it can get, Fosdick Fountain is in sputter mode, barely burbling, likely providing very little, if any, aerating.

Anyway, I had myself a mighty fine time today having a sauna steam bath whilst walking with the ducks around Fosdick Lake.

You can see the aforementioned ducks and the sputtering Fosdick Fountain in the video below...

This Afternoon Spencer Jack Took Me Down San Francisco's Lombard Street

My favorite nephew Jason always does what he says he is going to do. Yesterday Jason indicated that today Spencer Jack would be sending me a photo of San Francisco's Lombard Street, and true to Jason's word, that photo arrived about an hour ago, with accompanying text saying....

"Photo documentation of Spencer Jack photographing Lombard Street."

I suspect Spencer Jack and his dad were on some sort of tourist tour and not driving themselves around San Francisco. To get the full Lombard Street experience one must drive oneself up the steep hill that leads to the famous downhill part of the street, you reach the crest and then descend slowly, brakes applied pretty much the entire time.

Lombard Street is memorable to my memory for a couple reasons. One being the last time I attempted to drive down Lombard Street I was unable to, due to the fact my clutch would not allow me to ascend to the summit.

The main reason Lombard Street is memorable to my memory is due to the fact that it was on the last family vacation I was ever to take that we drove down Lombard Street.

The summer after my freshman year of high school we took our first family vacation to California and Disneyland. At that point in time there was an attraction in Disneyland called, I think, America the Beautiful in Circlevision. You stood while moving images surrounded you. You were advised to hold on to the handrails. At one point the Circlevision took us down Lombard Street. It was very dizzying.

We had so much fun on that family vacation to California that we went again the next year, staying longer and going to San Francisco on the way south, where we did the drive down Lombard Street.

I did not know, at the time, that that family vacation was to be my last family vacation. My baby blister was born soon thereafter, which ended going on fun family vacations, at least for me.

On that last family trip to Disneyland, in addition to San Francisco, we also drove across the border, to Tijuana, we did wine tours in the Napa Valley, drove Highway 1 south, past Hearst Castle, staying at Santa Barbara State Park, where I got the worst sunburn ever, leaving a weird white spot on my back which remains to this day, I think. I've not looked lately.

Just a sec, I must go see if my Santa Barbara white spot is still there...

It's still there, about the size of a small pea, currently red due to sun exposure today.

I hope Spencer Jack tours Chinatown before he leaves San Francisco. I've had myself a mighty fine time or two in Chinatown. One time all of us in my traveling group got ourselves Mao jackets and caps in Chinatown. This made us look like revolutionary communists. I recollect us all later wearing our Mao outfits to the Duffy's Disco in Mount Vernon. The gatekeeper hesitated in admitting us, and then I guess he decided we added an interesting visual element and let us enter.

You ain't seen disco dancing til you see a Gang of Four doing the Hustle in full Mao regalia....

Spencer Jack Has Me Wondering Why It Will Take Fort Worth Longer To Build 3 Puny Bridges Over Nothing Than It Took To Build The Golden Gate Bridge

This morning's email from Spencer Jack's dad confirming that he and Spencer Jack are currently in San Francisco had me motivated to blog about something I'd long intended to blog about regarding the Golden Gate Bridge.

This morning I found a Golden Gate Bridge image I intended to use for illustrative purposes and then, just as I was heading into Blogging World, fresh incoming email from Spencer Jack's dad included three pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, two of which I include here.

From this point on I will now verbalize what I was originally going to say.....

No.

That is not an artist's rendering of tourists crossing one of Fort Worth's supposedly under construction, non-signature, non-iconic bridges you are looking at.

What you are looking at is Spencer Jack on some sort of tourist contraption heading to Marin County via San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge is an actual signature bridge. An actual iconic structure recognized world-wide.

The Trinity River Panther Island Vision Boondoggle's three bridges over nothing are promoted by that corrupt agency as being "signature" bridges, which will become "iconic" images of Fort Worth.

Do Fort Worth's propaganda purveyors not actually know what is meant by the word "iconic"?

Fort Worth's three non-signature, never gonna be iconic bridges over nothing are being built over nothing because this is supposedly easier than building over something, such as the un-needed flood diversion channel that some day may flow under Fort Worth's three non-signature, non-iconic bridges over nothing.

The three bridges supposedly began being constructed this month. The three bridges being built over nothing are scheduled  to be completed in four years.

Four years.

I know you are sitting there wondering how long it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge, a bridge which was not built over nothing, but was instead built over the Golden Gate Strait at the entry to San Francisco Bay.

Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge on January 5, 1933 and was completed on April 19, 1937.

Four years later.

The Golden Gate Bridge is about 1.7 miles long, 90 feet wide, 740 feet tall, and 220 feet, on average, above the saltwater below.

Yes, unlike Fort Worth's non-signature, non-iconic three bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge was built over water, very deep water, water that moves due to this thing called tides.

So, how is it that Fort Worth's relatively puny, relatively simple bridges will take four years to build? How come I've not heard any of the locals asking why it will take so long?

I wonder if the reason it takes Fort Worth so long to build three little bridges has anything to do with how the building of these bridges is financed?

To build the Golden Gate the California Legislature authorized the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District as the official entity charged with the design, construction and financing of the project. But then the Wall Street crash of 1929 came along, followed by the Great Depression, which created a fund raising problem.

So, what did the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District do to get the funds to build the bridge?

Why they did something Fort Worth apparently does not know how to do.

A bond measure was placed before the voters in the counties that would benefit from the new bridge. The voters approved the bond measure in November 1930, with construction beginning less than three years later.

What a concept.

Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has boondoggled along for well over a decade, un-funded, un-voted on.

How bizarre.

Why would you not have the public vote on a public works project that benefits the public by building a much needed flood control upgrade from the levees which have kept downtown Fort Worth flood-free for over a half century?

Oh, I think I just answered my question.

Anyway, below is another picture of Spencer Jack at one of the world's signature iconic bridges....

The Last Tuesday Of August Mud Rutting In Gateway Park Before Treasure Hunting At Town Talk

Til today it had been over two weeks since I last rolled my bike's wheels in Fort Worth's Gateway Park, Monday, August 11, to be precise, fifteen days ago.

Til today it had been even longer since I'd gone treasure hunting at Town Talk, with the last Town Talk treasure hunting taking place on Saturday, August 2.

Today's bike ride went well. I had some concern that the heat would be too HOT.  But, the majority of the Gateway Park mountain bike trail is under a good cover of shade, with only one extended, out in the open, with no shade, section, that being by the soccer  fields, which today had been irrigated which quickly had my tires sporting a thick coat of mud.

As you can see via my favorite Gateway Park photo op location the Trinity River is still flowing green, managing to find water even though not much precipitation has precipitated lately.

The last of this summer's Trinity River Panther Island Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats happened a couple Thursdays ago.

I wonder if the river floating ceases because the Trinity River gets too green, and not from envy, when the temperature heats the water too HOT, turning the river into a thick bacteria laden stew?

Changing the subject from bacteria laden stew to Town Talk.

Today the big item that seemed to cause some excitement among some was flowers, as in bouquets of flowers. The female Town Talkers seemed to be liking the flowers. Two flower purveyors were handing out the bouquets. I overheard someone ask how much the flowers cost. I believe the answer was a dozen roses for two bucks. That seemed like a bargain to me. But, I resisted the flowery temptation.

I did get a giant tub of Chobani yogurt. Biggest yogurt container I've ever seen. I also got a big chunk of extra sharp cheese from England, plus a big bag of whole grain bagels, whole wheat tortillas, siracha sauce, soy sauce, sweet potato chips, smoked turkey legs, plums, tangerines, cucumbers and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

The last time I treasure hunted at Town Talk it was the busiest I've ever seen it. Busy to the point where it was not entertaining, more like being stuck in a bad traffic jam. Today was the opposite of that. However, I suspect I will likely return to Town Talk this coming Saturday, after another round of mountain biking at Gateway Park, creature of habit that I usually be.....

Photo Confirmation Has Arrived Confirming Spencer Jack Is Touring San Francisco

Yesterday in a blogging titled The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison I wrote the following....

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

___________________________________________

Well. In this morning's email inbox there were a couple emails from Spencer Jack's dad, with a couple pictures, one of which is above, with Spencer Jack standing in front of one of San Francisco's Cable Cars, with the text in the email saying....

Your speculation of your greatest nephew touring San Francisco was spot on.

When Spencer Jack's dad and his brother Joey were kids their favorite uncle used to have himself a mighty fine time taking those two to places all over Washington. But never anywhere as adventurous as San Francisco.

Til they got older.

I recollect Spencer Jack's dad and me riding Vancouver's SkyTrain from its southernmost station all the way to its northern end and then floating the Sea Bus across the harbor to North Vancouver. The only time I recollect taking Spencer Jack's dad and uncle out of Washington was when we went to Las Vegas the summer before I moved to Texas.

Today I suspect Spencer Jack will be winding his way down Lombard Street, with me eventually getting photo documentation. A photo of Spencer Jack in Chinatown would be a good thing. Along with riding BART under San Francisco Bay.

The Dog Days Of August Rolling With the Village Creek Indian Ghosts Wondering About Spencer Jack Going To Prison

These HOT final days of August have me looking forward to the fall following these dogs days.

Why is the latter part of August referred to as the Dog Days of August it just occurred to me to wonder?

Is this a Native American saying?

Speaking of Indians.

What with the heat and the humidity and what with needing to go to Walmart and ALDI I opted out of doing anything too strenuous during my regularly scheduled daily bout of endorphin inducing aerobic activity and instead had myself a leisurely roll through the shaded Village Creek Natural Historical Area, prior to ALDI and Walmart.

Eventually I left the shaded Historical Area and the Indian Ghosts and pedaled the less shady Bob Findlay Linear Park trail to the location you see in the picture, near a monument memorializing the murders, I mean, incident,  known as the Battle of Village Creek, a battle where a lot of the residents of Village Creek, natives, were killed.

Changing the subject from Indian Ghosts to prisons. I just got the oddest blog comment from someone calling himself Anonymous about sending me photos of my favorite nephew and great nephew and Lombard Street in San Francisco. But this sending of photos must be postponed til after Tuesday, because on that day my favorite nephew and great nephew are scheduled to appear in prison.

I have no idea what this means. What in the world did Spencer Jack do at his young age that has him going to prison?

Below is the comment to which I refer....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Recovering From Lombard Street Triggered Nightmare...":

Weird dream. Perhaps a 'great' and favorite nephew may send you a photo of their Lombard Street experience in a couple days. However both are scheduled appear in prison on Tuesday. 

As I attempt to decipher the above riddle I am wondering if it means that Spencer Jack and his dad are currently in San Francisco, and that tomorrow they are scheduled to tour Alcatraz? I suspect all will become clear eventually.....

The Next To Last Hot Sunday In Texas

As you can see via the pool view from my patio this next to last Sunday of August it is yet one more almost clear blue sky day in Texas, with just a few wispy white clouds to break up the blue monotony.

This is being the coldest summer I have experienced since I have been in Texas. Yet I am finding myself being vexed by the HEAT more than in Texas summers past.

Is it because I've added a lot of weight with its resultant insulating heat gain?

No, that is not the cause of my HEAT aversion. I've lost weight this summer, skinnying down to my skinniest since the summer of 2008.

Speaking of which, I realized yesterday that this past August 20, that on that day six years ago, as in August 20, 2008, I returned to Dallas, via Love Field, from a month in Washington. A month which seemed much much longer than a month.

Six years is the longest I have gone without a return to Washington. When I left Washington I said it'd be 20 years til I returned. So, I guess I have 14 years to go. Maybe I'll make it back for Spencer Jack's college graduation.