Visiting My Favorite Turtle In Oakland Lake Park While The Fosdick Lake Fountain Sputters

Today I was back at Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdick Lake with my favorite turtle, that big guy you see politely posing on his home log.

The Fosdick Fountain is still sputtering like a Yellowstone geyser gone berserk. I am starting to think maybe the Fosdick Fountain came back to life all on its own, and is now slowly disappearing, also on its own.

I never have found any explanation of how this fountain suddenly came to be sputtering out in the middle of one of Fort Worth's pristine, signature lakes.

I wonder what the legions of tourists who flock to Fosdick Lake think is burbling out in the lake. A gas leak? A natural spring feeding the pristine lake? An underwater volcano erupting? A submarine rising to the surface?

As you can see, via the crystal clear Fosdick Lake water, even though the Fosdick Lake fountain is not operating at its full aerating potential, the water of Fosdick Lake is being more blue than is the norm for the early part of September, with only a few patches of green algae growth coloring the blue.....

The Futile Search For The Missing Pavilion, Island & Panther At Fort Worth's Panther Island Pavilion

Yesterday I was perusing last week's Fort Worth Weekly when I came upon what sort of looked like an article, but was instead, I think, an advertisement for the latest addition to the Fort Worth playground currently known as Panther Island, with that latest addition being known as Panther Island Brewing.

Panther Island Brewing brews beer. You can go to their Panther Island Brewing website to find out what type beer they brew and how you can find yourself sampling some Panther Island Brewing beer.

Panther Island Brewing got me wondering how many things have now been added to the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle using the Panther Island name, in addition to Panther Island Pavilion.

Thinking about the absurdity of Panther Island Pavilion got me wondering about the Pavilion part of the name. As in, what is it on the banks of the Trinity River, in the area misrepresentatively called an island, which is a pavilion?

That had me Googling "pavilion" which soon had me reading the Wikipedia Pavilion article where I learned....

In architecture a pavilion (from French, "pavillon", from Latin "papilio") has two primary meanings. It can refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in its intended use. A pavilion built to take advantage of a view is referred to as a gazebo.

In its other primary meaning, in a symmetrical range of buildings in the classical styles, where there is a main central block – the corps de logis – the wings may end in pavilions that are emphasized in some fashion, in order to provide a full stop to the composition, like a period at the end of a sentence.

Okay, I admit I am no architectural genius, as witnessed, for example, by my failure to understand why the Kimbell Art Museum designed by Louis Kahn is a work of architectural genius achieving icon status recognized by those who know about the building in the art world, but, even though I clearly am no architectural genius, I really don't see how anything about that which is called Panther Island Pavilion is a pavilion, according to the two meanings of the word referenced above.

Yes, I am aware that there is a certain standard of word aesthetics as practiced in Fort Worth where those aesthetics are such that words really don't have to have meaning. This type aesthetic is key to a propaganda operation.

So, where words have no meaning, you can have a Trinity River Vision where there is no discernible vision, originally foisted upon the public announced in a HUGE headline in Fort Worth's propaganda purveyor, the Star-Telegram, as "Trinity Uptown Project to Make Fort Worth the Vancouver of the South."

Or, where words have no meaning, you can have a sporting goods store foisted on the public, with that same propaganda purveyor proclaiming the sporting goods store would be the #1 tourist attraction in Texas.

Or, where words have no meaning, you can stick up signs in your downtown, for years pointing tourists to Sundance Square where there is (was) no square, til recently.

And then there is Panther Island and Panther Island Pavilion.

Well, we all know there is no island. There may never be an island. And even if the large pseudo island making ditch is ever dug it still will not be what anyone with respect for the meaning of words would call an island.

And now we learn there is no actual pavilion at Panther Island Pavilion.

What about the Panther part? I know this comes from a story way back early in the last century where, supposedly, a Dallas reporter visited downtown Fort Worth and then went back to Dallas where he reported that downtown Fort Worth was so lifeless and sleepy that a panther was taking a nap on the City Hall's steps. Or was it the Tarrant County Courthouse steps?

Do we actually know for certain this panther sleeping story actually happened? Or was this just Fort Worth propaganda of that era, serving some odd purpose in furthering the villainification of Dallas?

Now, I can surely see where a reporter from lively Dallas might visit downtown Fort Worth and find it a bit laid back. Particularly if he visited on the day after Thanksgiving. Or a Sunday.

So, basically, unless we can somehow confirm this long ago sleeping panther story there is nothing with real meaning in the Panther Island Pavilion name.

But, with Panther Island Brewing at least part of the name is based on something real. At least I hope this brewery is really brewing beer.

I have already opined that the Panther Island nonsense needs to stop, so I won't repeat myself, yet again....

Mr. & Mrs. Galtex Are In Argentina Where They Learned Fort Worth Has America's Top Downtown

Mr. and Mrs. Galtex are two of the few people who live in downtown Fort Worth. The Galtex's are currently escaping the Texas HEAT in a little town in Argentina called Buenos Aires.

This afternoon Mr. Galtex emailed me an email, subject line "The #1 Downtown in America" with one of the lines of the text in the email saying, "No matter how far away we travel, we can't escape the powerful attractions of Sundance Square. Mrs. Galtex received the attached newsletter, and we thought we'd pass it along."

I have no idea who are what demented entity is claiming Fort Worth has America's top downtown.

Now, don't go thinking that I don't think that downtown Fort Worth is a perfectly fine downtown with many perfectly fine attributes.

But.

It is absurd to tout this type of ridiculous propaganda. It ill serves the locals who may have never seen the downtown of another of America's big cities.

Believing this type propaganda misleads locals into thinking that, well, I guess having a boarded up eyesore celebrating our town's Heritage at the north end of our downtown is not such a bad thing, why we've still got the best downtown in America.

Believing this type propaganda misleads locals into thinking it must not be a bad thing that downtown Fort Worth does not have a single grocery store or a department store, why we've still got the best downtown in America.

Believing this type propaganda misleads locals into thinking it must not be a bad thing that downtown Fort Worth does not have a public transit system directly connecting its downtown to its airport, why we've still got the best downtown in America.

I could go on and on. And usually do.

Nothing points out the absurdity of anyone claiming downtown Fort Worth has the best downtown in America than one undeniable fact, that being on the busiest shopping day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving, downtown Fort Worth is a ghost town, due to the lack of stores, a fact I have documented several times and as recently as the most recent day after Thanksgiving in a blogging titled Having Fun Looking For Black Friday Shoppers Today In Downtown Fort Worth.

I don't understand why there are people in Fort Worth who propagate this type of propaganda. Why not actually do some things that might actually make Fort Worth one of the best downtowns in America? Start with getting rid of the eyesores.

Including Panther Island Pavilion.

Actually follow through on getting rid of that giant flying saucer that is attached to Fort Worth's Convention Center.

Send a study group to look at some of America's actual best downtowns and discover things that  might work in downtown Fort Worth.

There was way too much local back patting over finally adding a square to downtown Fort Worth after years of confusing tourists with signs pointing to a non-existent Sundance Square. I think the fact that it took so long to actually add a square to Sundance Square is symptomatic of the problem that keeps Fort Worth from actually having one of the best downtowns in America.

A dynamic downtown in America would not have a slow motion boondoggle festering on the north end of its downtown, festering with no project completion timeline, a public works project never voted on by the public. A boondoggle which putters slowly along.

And no one. Well hardly anyone, says this boondoggle is ridiculous. A vibrant city, with one of America's best downtowns, would not suffer gladly a project undertaken in slow motion, now with three bridges over nothing under construction, causing traffic woes for four years as the little non-signature bridges are built.

And please, I beg you, please, no one make a comment telling me that ESPN chose downtown Fort Worth as their opening day of college football location, because Fort Worth has the best downtown in America.

I suspect the conversation inside ESPN likely went something like, where do you want to hold this thing?

We need a location where the locals will come out and act all excited. Nowhere with any level of sophistication. We need some place where not a lot happens.

Hey, remember that Dallas Super Bowl debacle where we set up in a parking lot we thought was Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth? You would not believe the number of locals who showed up when it quit freezing.

So, you think downtown Fort Worth is a good location, rather than one of America's better downtowns?

Yes. We'll have a huge crowd of drunken rowdies. Plus, that parking lot we used before that we thought was Sundance Square. Well, now they have actually built a square. It's not a very big thing, but it might be big enough for our purposes.

Little did ESPN know that they were returning to the Best Downtown in America.....

The Prophet J.D. Granger Failed To Predict An Extremely Low Turnout For PIP's Clearfork Music Festival

Last Thursday I blogged a blogging titled Today I Learned JD Granger Is A Panther Island Prophet With A Shack Fort Worth's Latest Music Venue after being appalled at a piece of propaganda puffery in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram publication called DFW.com which touted J.D. Granger as a prophet foreseeing turning the banks of the Trinity River into an extremely successful site for music festivals.

A couple hubris laden J.D. Granger quotes from that DFW.com article...

“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.”

“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 remember reading the two above blurbs and thinking, right, people are coming from all over North Texas to record-breaking events on the Trinity River.

The DFW.com puff piece mentioned this past weekend's Clearfork Music Festival at Panther Island Pavilion as being one of the upcoming events which would draw in the throngs from all over the Dallas Metroplex and the rest of North Texas.

Well, an observer from Dallas observed Saturday's Clearfork Music Festival and then wrote an article in the online Dallas Observer titled Clearfork Music Festival was Plagued By Poor Attendance Saturday in Fort Worth.

The first and last two paragraphs from the Dallas Observer article...

Inside of the half-empty Clearfork Music Festival in Fort Worth this past Saturday, it was impossible to not wonder what exactly constitutes a true festival. Any view of the festival grounds at Panther Island Pavilion from one of the slightly elevated spots of the land provided a view of a vibrant festival skeleton complete with tents for local artisans and activists, food trucks, beer trailers and three performance stages. Indeed, Saturday at Clearfork looked very much like a proper festival, even if it failed to feel like one for the most part.

In what should've been the crowning hour for the Clearfork Music Festival was rather underwhelming. Taking only a few steps backwards to break free of the loosely gathered crowd to walk up the incline of a small hill for an overall view of the setting, it was clear that a true crowd hadn't formed even for the headlining set.

So, sure, Clearfork was a festival -- and a well-run, fan-friendly one at that. But regardless of the high quality of performances that saved the day and a staff that was eager to please, there's nothing fun in feeling sorry for the artist beginning a set that few attendees seem to care enough about to arrive before the first two songs are complete. When it comes to music festivals here in North Texas, just because one is built, doesn't mean anyone will come.

Now, the above is what a fair and balanced bit of reporting reads like.

I wonder what the propaganda spin on the Clearfork Music Festival might be in the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's propaganda mouthpiece?

I suspect something like "The Clearfork crowds broke all previous records, proving once again what a successful music venue the Panther Island Pavilion has become, attracting music lovers from all over the world, while making other music festivals in other towns, far and wide, green with envy....."

It Takes One Gateway Park Wheel Roller Only An Hour To Change A Light Bulb

As you can see I was back at my favorite photo op location in Fort Worth's Gateway Park today, rolling my wheels twice over every inch of Gateway Park's mountain bike trails.

How many miles?

I don't know, for sure. Maybe 10, give or take a mile or two.

Prior to acquiring much needed endorphins by aerobically over stimulating I spent an hour, give or take a minute or two, doing an extremely difficult auto mechanic task.

Changing a burnt out left turn signaling light bulb.

One would think this would be easy, and maybe it is, but not for me. I am not auto mechanically inclined.

I have a backlog of blogging fodder currently backing me up. I really do not like a blogging fodder backup.

And then there is Miss Julie,  known as the Queen of Assumption, assuming it was  a good idea to ask me to share a dozen things I am grateful for every day for a week. I can think of dozens upon dozens of things I am grateful for, but I can't think of a reason why I would want to be sharing my gratefulness.

It was the Fort Worth Connie D who started the excessive gratefulness flood.

Just saw an incoming blog comment, commenting about the Prophet J.D. Granger and his festivals. This relates to one of my blogging fodder backups. That being J.D. Granger's Clearfork Music Festival which took place on his imaginary island on the last Saturday of August, which according to one Dallas observer was a big dud.

I will hit the publish button on this particular blogging and then check out J.D. Granger's latest dud....

The First Day Of September Hiking The Tandy Hills Gazing At The Iconic Skyline Of Downtown Fort Worth

Don Young waxed so poetically about the Tandy Hills in his Prairie Notes #93, which showed up this morning in my email inbox, because today is the first day of a new month called September, that I felt compelled to haul myself to the Tandy Hills today to haul myself up and down some hills.

Which means, in the picture you are looking west at the iconic, stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, from atop one of the Tandy Hills.

Yes, my use of iconic is ironic. A couple days ago I opined about the fact that it is nonsensical for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle to claim its three bridges over nothing are signature bridges which will become iconic images of Fort Worth. I further opined that I did not think the Boondoggle's propagandizers actually knew what the word "iconic" means. A couple clever wags then pointed out that the word should probably be "ironic" not "iconic".

Til I moved to Texas, well, Fort Worth, I don't recollect seeing the "iconic" word attached to so many things. Usually it is an article in Fort Worth's propaganda purveyor, the Star-Telegram that I will read something in Fort Worth is iconic, or will become iconic. Just recently we learned the Pier One Imports Chesapeake Energy building is iconic. Long ago I learned the Kimball Art Museum's building is iconic.

Those reading this in locations other than Fort Worth and Texas have you ever heard of the Kimball Art Museum? Or the Pier One Imports building? Do you know what these buildings look like?

For something to be iconic it is something recognized simply by its image. I've long opined the only thing in Fort Worth which is even remotely iconic is the Fort Worth Stockyards sign.  Mostly due to the town's name being on the sign.

The idea that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's three bridges over nothing are going to become iconic symbols of Fort Worth is totally ridiculous. The Golden Gate they will never be.

Yesterday I saw a photo on the KOMO news website of Seattle. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest I do not recollect anything being referred to as iconic, except, maybe, Mount Rainier and maybe the Seattle Space Needle and maybe the Seattle Monorail. I vaguely recollect the reason Mount Rainier is on Washington license plates is because it was claimed it was an iconic image of Washington that people in both Eastern and Western Washington would be happy to have on their plates.

Above is the aforementioned photo from KOMO that got me thinking about the absurdity of applying the iconic word to nondescript things in Fort Worth. I suspect the Star-Telegram's misuse of iconic may be a related syndrome to their patented Green With Envy verbiage, you know, where this that or the other perfectly ordinary thing in Fort Worth is causing spasms of Green With Envy syndrome across the planet.

Are Orcas, aka Killer Whales, an iconic Pacific Northwest image recognized around the world? I have no idea. I don't know if the Space Needle is recognized all over the world as being an iconic Seattle image. If the view panned further to the right we'd likely see another possible Washington iconic image, that being a Washington ferry boat. And further to the right, if the sky is clear of clouds, you'd be looking at Mount Rainier.

Now, imagine a time, 40 years from now, maybe 50, when the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle finally fills its signature pond with water, with the three bridges over nothing finally crossing an un-needed flood diversion channel, then, after the Boondoggle has completed its vital flood control and economic development project, do you think you might float in a similar location out on Pond Granger, looking at the beautiful skyline of downtown Fort Worth and count four iconic images recognized all over the world?

I suspect not.

Perhaps the reason why that will likely be the case is a subject worth pondering. Or not.....

Did The Prophet JD Granger Foresee The Irving Music Factory Making Panther Island Pavilion Look Like A Hillbilly Mudpit?

No, that is not an artist's rendering of what the Panther Island Pavilion part of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle will look like upon completion.

What you are looking at is an artist's rendering of what another Dallas Metroplex music venue will look like upon completion.

This past Thursday I blogged a blogging titled Today I Learned JD Granger Is A Panther Island Prophet With A Shack Fort Worth's Latest Music Venue after I was appalled at the appalling propagandizing hubris in an article in DFW.com touting J.D. Granger as a prophet for having the imaginary vision to turn a chunk of land that is not an island into the world's premiere music venue.

I may be slightly exaggerating.

Earlier in the month I recollect complaining about the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blocking online articles from non-subscribers. I suggested that a much better local news source, one that covered the entire Dallas Metroplex, was WFAA's website. WFAA covers  local  news in a fair and unbiased way, free of propaganda, unlike the Star-Telegram.

In other words from WFAA you would not read things like a new Fort Worth sporting goods store would be the #1 tourist attraction in Texas, drawing millions of tourists a year. From WFAA you would not read that an extremely lame collection of little stores was the first public market in Texas and that it was modeled after Seattle's Pike Place Market, and public markets in Europe. From WFAA you would not read that a public works project the public has not voted for would turn Fort Worth into the Vancouver of the South. From WFAA you would not read that J.D. Granger is a prophet.

No, for that type of idiotic propaganda you need to be a subscriber to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or read the Star-Telegram's  DFW.com publication.

Now, back to that artist's rendering at the top. That rendering is from WFAA's website, in an article titled Entertainment Destination Coming to Los Colinas. You likely will not be reading about this in the Star-Telegram. Telling its readers about this development in Irving would make the Panther Island Pavilion propaganda seem even sillier.

As in the development in Irving appears to be real, while J.D. Granger's Panther Island Pavilion seems to be lacking quite a few things, not the least of which is an actual island.

Saturday night ground was broken in Los Colinas for the Irving Music Factory. A complex with more than 25 restaurants and entertainment venues. With a movie theater, plus an indoor/outdoor concert hall.

How did this project come to be?

Well, seven years ago voters in Irving did something voters in Fort Worth are not allowed to do. Irving voters voted to fund a public works project. Complications arose after the BIG yes vote which kept construction from starting til August 30, 2014.

In the article about J.D. Granger being a prophet we learned he has prophesied that his Panther Island Pavilion music venue is nowhere near finished. And just like with most of J.D. Granger's projects, there is no project timeline letting us know when his Panther Island Pavilion project will be finished. Or an artist's rendering of what it will look like if it ever gets finished.

Meanwhile that voted for by the voters public works project in Irving is currently projected to be completed in spring of 2016. Two years before J.D. Granger's bridges over nothing are scheduled to be completed.

And it goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, eminent domain has not been abused in Irving to bring about the Irving Music Factory....

The Last Day Of August Biking In Arlington With The River Legacy Park Crowd

On this last day of August I decided I'd not been riding my bike enough, so I rolled my motorized transport device to Arlington, to River Legacy Park, to roll my non-motorized wheels on the River Legacy mountain bike trails.

Along with a lot of other wheel rollers and hikers.

In the picture my handlebars are in a quandary, trying to decide whether to go north on the relatively boring North Loop, or take the North Loop Bypass to the right. My handlebars opted for the bypass, the decision made when a group of four slowpokes arrived and took the North Loop option.

Soon after you roll past the River Legacy trail head you come to one of the more difficult ups and downs on the trails.

Today a family consisting of a mom and dad and three young kids had that first up and down congested. I waited about five minutes for the trail to clear. As I waited I was thinking to myself that these trails are not really kid friendly. That first up and down required the bikes to be walked up and down by the parental units, whilst the kids walked. This did not bode well for the rest of their bike ride, what with there being a lot of ups and downs.

About a half hour later I was zipping along, fast and suddenly the aforementioned family was coming at me, going the wrong way on the one-way trail. I slammed the brakes. I told the dad they were going the wrong direction. The dad asked how to get back to the parking lot. I did not know how to give exact directions from that location. And the dad was very impatient. I asked what trail they'd just been on, to which the dad replied "can't you just tell us how to get out of here?"

Well. I pointed north and said I think that trail will take you to a straight trail that will take you to the paved trail. He said thanks and zipped off, leaving the wife and kids behind. I elaborated on the directions, as best I could, to the wife. I assume they made it out and are not still rolling around, lost. I suppose I could have lead them out of there, but I found the dad sort of annoying and I knew it would be a very slow operation. That and I was having myself a mighty fine time.

This was not the first time I've come upon someone lost and confused on the River Legacy trails. Previous times I've been able to easily point the lost party in the right direction.

With the River Legacy Park mountain bike trails being so popular methinks maybe some new signage needs to be added to the already excellent signage. Maybe arrows at each junction pointing the way back to the trailhead.

Changing the subject to something else.

I'm feeling a bit Rip Van Winklish, what with August zipping by so fast, with September starting up tomorrow, also likely zipping by fast. And then it will be October with the dreaded, by me, Holiday Season, starting up and in another blink of the eye it will by Happy New Year, it's 2015.

By the way, I've already got all my Christmas shopping done.....

The Last Saturday Of August Rolling My Wheels In Fort Worth's Gateway Park Before Town Talk Treasure Hunting

I rolled my wheels in Gateway Park on Thursday because I had had myself such a mighty fine time doing so on Tuesday and the precipitation predictors were predicting precipitation on Friday, which I figured if the predicted precipitation did precipitate that it would render the Gateway Park trails into being a muddy mess.

Well, the precipitation did precipitate just as predicted Friday morning.

With today being my regularly scheduled Saturday Town Talk visit which I've not visited on Saturday for about a  month, rendering my regular schedule all asunder, I decided to attempt rolling my wheels at Gateway Park today, pre-Town Talk, figuring I could just roll on the paved trails if the unpaved trails were muddy.

I was pleased to discover, along with a lot of other wheel rollers, that yesterday's rain did not result in muddy mountain bike trails in Gateway Park.

For the first time since I've been enjoying these trails I did the entire loop twice. I have no idea how many miles that is. I suspect around 10.

When the Town Talk parking lot came into view it appeared to be overflowing, with people parking on the street, which I do not think is likely legal parking. I drove on to the parking lot, ready to bail, if I could not find a parking spot.

I did not bail.

I don't think I've ever seen the inside of Town Talk so crowded. But the checkout lines were not too bad, so I was able to make it out of there with a lot of chicken thighs, cauliflower, sharp cheese from a place called England, smoked sausages, sweet potato rolls, whole grain bagels, a case of pumpkin spice Siggis Icelandic yogurt and other stuff I'm not remembering right now.

Miss Mary K, do you remember Town Talk's parking lot being filled to overflowing during your years of Town Talking? Methinks Town Talk needs to move to a bigger location. Like the old Krogers that's been long abandoned a short distance from my abode. That would be very convenient. And it comes with a huge parking lot.

Today I Was Almost Swept Away In Arlington By A Flooding Village Creek

The predicted precipitation precipitated just as predicted, early this morning, precipitating on me the entire time I was in the pool.

Thunder was also predicted. I heard only one boom, a loud one, prior to exiting my abode.

By noon blue sky returned.

So, needing vittles from ALDI and Walmart, I decided to walk with the Indian Ghosts in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area where I was not too surprised to see Village Creek moving a lot of water.

And litter.

You can see the litter and hear the roar of Village Creek in the video below...