I first noticed one of the residents of Evansville on Twitter asking why Evansville stunk.  Figured it had something to do with his specific location.  Unfortunately as soon as I walked outside I smelled what seemed like a pile of rotting wet rags.

Since then there have been 2 others mention the stench that seems to be moving all over the city.  Of course there hasn't been an official response or comment in the media, Hoyt of Channel 14 WFIE made an observation.

Likely farming. We did a story out of Gibson Co. about using turkey litter which has strong smell when it gets wet and warmer.

So, if you are outside today and wondering what's crawling up your nose, it's probably fertilizer.  The warmer temperatures bring out more than greenery and wild life, it also brings out the squiggly stink lines.

*Update

According to Jeff Lyons we are experiencing a weather condition called Inversion.  This conditions normally causes conditions for smog, but in our case can intensify the stench of the city dump and fertilizers being used on nearby farms.

Also, added this to the weather category.

Spent my lunch break walking around Garvin Park yesterday.  I'll head over there on a regular basis to eat my lunch in peace in my truck, but yesterday I wanted to get some video of the ducks and geese walking on ice.  I also shot some footage of kids that instructed me that they were the only ones that fed the hungry animals, so it was their job to take care of them.

Without question, I know the cold animals appreciated the fresh bread.

I hope that I can film more events and locations in Evansville, as time allows. If you have any recommendations or things you would like to see, please let me know.

Why do you think downtown, in regards to Evansville, is such a bad word?  Anyone you talk to has an opinion and generally it creates a heated discussion on what can, should, and shouldn't be done.  This type of argument generally doesn't happen in comparative sized cities, so what gives?

Is it possible that downtown Evansville has been created without the consent of those that matters, the residents of Evansville?  Consider that some projects downtown have faced tough opposition, no matter the out come for as long as I can remember.  Casino Aztar was the first big change that happened downtown in my life time, at least that had any significance.  In 1995 it was met with lots of promises, a fixed budget, and controversy through it's first year.  Most notably it failed to hire the promised 90% of employees from Vanderburgh County.

Events have become a topic amongst those arguing over downtown as well, specifically over pricing.  Thunder On The Ohio is an annual even that continues to plummet in popularity and face scrutiny by residents.  The 2009 Freedom Festival was no exception and faced opposition from loyal visitors every year, claiming the event was turning into a money grab.  At $20 per person to get in it's easy to see why.

Compare the Evansville Freedom Festival to similar events in our Tri-State area like the Owensboro BBQ Fest, Blue Grass in The Park in Henderson, it just doesn't add up...at least for paying residents.  Why can't we make our events work for the community, instead of be a money making endeavor?  If we're going to run it as a cash cow why not just privatize the entire area, much like Louisville has with Fourth Street Live?

Personally I'm sick and tired of watching all the tax payer dollars to go research firms that yield no results.  How about we stop starting projects where we aren't able to financially support them to completion.  Lastly, can we just slow down and not rush through agendas before the end of our term, I'm looking at you Mayor.  I'm fed up with a very select few not listening to their constituents and making sweeping changes that will force tax payer money to another failing downtown change.

Instead, lets start listening to other cities that have had wild success with creating a downtown where people want to go.  That is unless revitalizing doesn't mean what I think it does and instead our city leaders are more focused on putting money in their own pockets and padding those of their friends.

The snow that dropped on us last night was not nearly wet enough to create a snow ball or a snow man for that matter.  But it does look pretty and hasn't created terrible conditions, as far as I can tell.

I did enjoy the fact that I only had to brush the snow off my windows this morning, instead of scraping and chipping at 1" of ice like last January.  That's right, remember the January 09 snow storm?  This wasn't a storm, this was a light dusting of sprinkly goodness.

Hard to believe that the storm moving through last night was supposed to surpass the nastiness we had in December of 04, at least here in Evansville.  Perhaps we should be thanking our lucky stars we aren't further north.  Now it's time to just hunker down and prepare for the bitter cold. brrrr

Thanksgiving means family, friends, food and the circus! A family tradition our whole family looks forward to is going to the circus on Thanksgiving Day. What better way to relax after eating a yummy feast?

The 76th annual Hadi Shrine Circus is coming to Evansville once again from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday. There are two shows on Thursday, three on Friday and Saturday and an afternoon show on Sunday. We have always attended the evening show until we had a daughter. Now we try to make it to the afternoon show on Thanksgiving Day because it is less crowded and easier for her to stay awake for the three hour show. Ticket prices range from $17-$22 for reserved seats and $12 for general admission. We usually get general admission which seems like a pretty good value considering you would pay almost as much for a ticket to the movies these days!

The acts are usually similar from year to year with trapeze artists, performing animals and of course the clowns! I have been every year of my life and even though not much is new each year to the show, I can remember being a little girl anticipating my favorite parts. In this way, I am grateful the circus is similar each year. I know what to expect and I know its going to be fun! The elephants and tigers have a similar act each year but the kids love it when they come out! The Kenya Wizards are a newer act that is always a crowd favorite. They dance to African music and tumble all over the place. Even though they are grown men, they seem to have so much energy and are able to stack themselves on top of one another like incredibly complex cheerleaders! There are also jugglers, tight rope walkers, motorcycle tricks and all types of animals from dogs to bears to monkeys performing in each of the three rings. The circus always begins with a parade and ends with a "bang" with typical circus music performed by a live band from beginning to end.

Last year our daughter really loved all of the music, lights and of course the animals. Experiencing traditions through the eyes of my daughter is what makes my holidays so magical and I know taking a two year old to the circus will be very exciting!

Its my favorite time of year! I love the fall for so many reasons but the most important, as always, are the traditions that are repeated during this amazing time of year. For our family it has always been the start of the craziest months of the year. My career has been in the retail industry for the past nine years. Now that I am lucky enough to just work part-time this will be the first year that my job will take a backseat to the fun holiday events.

Our fall really kicked off with our trip to Boo at the Zoo. It was amazing and spending a whole weekend with my family was a dream come true. It was the beginning of so many family traditions for this time of year. But the month of November always seems to go by so quickly which brings us to Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is becoming one of my favorite holidays mainly because of how little stress goes into it. We always spend the first half of our day at the grandparent's house and then we head to the Circus.

The Hadi Shrine Circus is a tradition for my side of our family. We always go on Thanksgiving day. I can't wait to see how our two year old daughter reacts this year to the amazing show.

I also have a deep love for Christmas and my Christmas season usually starts before Thanksgiving. Perhaps this is because I was raised in Santa Claus, IN. I'm sure working in retail, where our holiday season starts mid-October doesn't help the matter. Its so hard to go to work and listen to Christmas music and come home to Halloween decorations. So this year I'm sure will be unlike the ones past in that I will be begging my husband to start decorating in November.

Sometimes the anticipation is just as much fun as the actual event. This is certainly the case for me this Autumn. So as we are right in the middle of this very fun and very busy season I hope to that it doesn't pass too fast. I hope to focus on what matters most, making memories and spending time with my family.

It's a biased opinion, but I think our current public servants are dropping the ball big time.  Not all of them, all the time, but enough to make an embarrassment of our fine city.  There has been a lawsuit filed against the city of Evansville for excessive pollution of the Ohio River.  I say excessive because the state permits a small amount of pollution, it's alleged that we've over stepped those boundaries.

What this means for the city of Evansville are extremely steep fines.  According to the Courier and Press these fines can reach up to $37,500, per day!  Weinzapfel replied in a statement that this was bullying by the federal government to exert control.  Sounds familiar.

My opinion is that there have been way too many pet projects over the past 10 years, spending money that should have been put toward sewer and drainage upgrades.  The huge downpour in Evansville on Sept 5th, 2009 is cited as one example of how our sewers lack the volume to handle a lot of rain, thus dumping sewage into the Ohio.  I know the residents of the South Side of Evansville know a little something about down pours and no where for the water to go.

I really don't know if the money being spent on the stadium comes from the same purse as what's used for our Sewers, but it should.  There should be some way to dip into allotted budgets to take care of emergencies, like our sewer problems, to keep Evansville homes and businesses from flooding.

I was shocked today to see the announcement of a production for Lord of The Flies, in the Chicago Tribune.  Furthermore, I was even more shocked to find out that the Evansville Civic Theater was going to be putting on a production of Lord of The Flies.

Visions of blood, gore, and regret is all I can imagine when thinking about the 1954 Novel.  However, it's not the book I envision, but the ultimately disturbing movie from 1990.  Keep in mind I was at a very impressionable age when the movie first came out and honestly it left a lasting impression on me.

The new production will be put on in Mesker Park over areas of the Disc Golf course.  I am truly anxious to see how it plays out, no pun intended.  Also, I shall come in costume, complete with war paint and spear.

Links:

Evansville Civic Theater Website

Mention In The Chicago Tribune

Beautiful weather, custom rides, and happy faces as far as the eye can see.  No doubt about it, this would be the best way to describe the 2009 Frog Follies in Evansville, IN.  My only regrets are that I didn't have longer to spend time with the attendees and those that traveled so far to enjoy the company of other hot rodders.

I showed up to the Frog Follies, which is located every year out at the Evansville 4H Grounds, around 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon.  At this time there were still hundreds of people filing in, 2 by 2 in some places, a sight in itself to behold.  And once on the grounds excitement was in the air, mixed with testosterone, and lots of grease.  Basically all the best smells mixed into one, which would make one heck of a dangling air freshner.

Another reason why I love attending the Frog Follies every year is because of how affordable it is.  Unlike the Evansville downtown festivals, all the drinks and food you could possibly want are priced just right.  Furthermore, just to get through the door you aren't charged an arm and a leg, $5 per person will do.  Hiking around the 4,000-5,000 cars on display will create quite a thirst, thankfully RC is on tap around every corner.  For $1.25 you'll get a humongous drink and another $1 will buy you a hotdog.  Recession budgets rejoice!

Originally I had intended to bring my HD camcorder to take snap shots and conduct some interviews.  Unfortunately I was plagued with electronic gremlins that prohibited me from taking any of my own pictures or video.  Oh well, there is always Frog Follies 2010!  Below are a few photos I culled from Flickr and the official Frog Follies website will eventually update to include a gallery of the 09 Frog Follies.

by abracapocus_pocuscadabr a

by Adam Kirk Photography

by decard

Here is some free advice for local car lots looking to capitalize on the popularity of Evansville Craigslist.  Yes it's free to list and there are not printed rules to follow, however there is netiquette that should be followed if you don't want to piss potential buyers off.  Let's get started.

1. Always advertise the price, don't  make me call you.  Town and Country Ford is the latest offender of this and frankly I'll never shop there again, that's how much it pisses me off.

2. Provide plenty of pictures, at least 4, don't tease me with the perfect exterior picture when the interior is rotted.

3. Remove the damn listing if you've sold it off your lot.  Internet shoppers don't like to hear about great sales after the fact.

4. Don't Spam!  Filling up Craigslist with listings from your car lot is the equivalent of filling my email inbox with Viagra ads and then coming to the grocery store with me and pushing my cart over when it's full.  Don't do it, you are ruining the free service for everyone else and it makes you look like a dick.

5. Don't list crap.  Only list things on Craigslist that are of value or a special deal.  This means if you have a special edition car or truck you want to sell, list it, or if you have a bargain basement price, list it.  Everything else you can keep to yourself and try to sell off of your lot.