Archive for July, 2008
July 17th, 2008
Everybody’s talking about Heath Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker in “The Dark Knight” Batman movie opening at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
His menacing clown face sure is creepy. One thing I’ve noticed is that if you ask most any teenage girl one thing they’re scared of, they’ll say “clowns.” Maybe it’s cool to say that, or they can’t think of anything else to say. But there is a word to describe an irrational fear of clowns: coulrophobia.
In the Rockford area this Halloween time, there’ll be creepy clowns like the ones that spooked thrill-seekers at the Trail of Screams the past few years.
But Trail of Screams in Rockford is no more. Ann Naber, owner, said she couldn’t negotiate a deal with the YMCA’s Camp Winnebago this year. But Trail of Screams will open in early October for the scare season again at Camp McCormick in Stillman Valley, and the group will offer a new site in a barn at 6512 Manchester Road, South Beloit. The latter is being called Screamatorium.
Naber said she’s scared of clowns, too. Maybe one scared her as a kid, she said. Johnny Depp had nightmares of clowns as a child. And who wasn’t terrified of serial killer John Wayne Gacy dressed as a clown.
What creeps you out about clowns? What are some of your favorite clown Web sites. Check this video out that compares the three Jokers in Batman movies, of course, in their clown makeup
July 16th, 2008
Obama’s no buffoon, so it’s hard for late-night TV hosts to poke fun at him, according to this New York Times story.
But this Jib Jab Election 2008 ‘movie’ skewers ‘em all. 
July 15th, 2008
The vote is now closed, as of 5 p.m. Friday, July 18.
And the winner is ….
Kimberly Nelson, WQRF-39 anchor and WTVO-17 reporter, and State Senator Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, are the winners of the just-for-fun “Dancing with the TV Divas” vote at the Ask Geo blog at http://blogs.e-rockford.com/askgeo/.
They captured 49 percent (23,528) of the 48,337 votes cast since the poll opened Tuesday. Voting stopped at 5 p.m. Friday.
Alice Barr, WIFR-23 reporter, and Rockford Ald. Doug Mark, R-3, finished second of the three couples, with 35 percent, or 16,918 votes. Laura Gibbs, WREX-13 reporter, and State Rep. Dave Winters, finished third, with 16 percent, or 7,891 votes.
The number of votes cast was a record or near-record for any rrstar.com poll.
While this vote was just for the heck of it, the real winners will be chosen by audience applause Saturday at the dance competition at the Bone Soiree fundraiser at the Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 N. Main St., Rockford. Tickets at $90 are available in advance and at the door. For more information, call 815-965-3433 or go to burpee.org.
Check out below a rehearsal video of the three teams.
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For more information about the Burpee fundraiser and other dancing in the Rockford area, read this column.
July 14th, 2008
I’m years and years away from thinking about retiring. But I should have been thinking about it more years and years ago.
That’s because I haven’t saved nearly enough nor made enough sound investment decisions.
But today I read this advice in a story that tells me in more concrete terms than I’ve seen before just how far behind I am.
It says I should sock away 20 percent or more of my earnings to catch up because I haven’t been saving 15 percent of my income the past 40 years.
It’s a depressing figure, but I can wrap my arms around it.
Any of you want to share other depressing/encouraging retirement calculations?
July 11th, 2008
What is she thinking?
The wife of the alleged puffer fish toxin man from McHenry County is standing by her man, the Chicago Sun Times reports today.
He secretly took out a $5 million insurance policy on her life. He’s accused of once soliciting a hit man to kill her. And now the feds are investigating whether Edward Bachner was slowly poisoning his wife using a rare puffer fish toxin.
But Rebecca Bachner is standing by her man.
July 11th, 2008
The Chicago Tribune today reports that friends and family of missing Bolingbrook woman Stacy Peterson rejoiced after state lawmakers Thursday sent to the governor’s desk legislation that could affect the possible prosecution of the chief suspect in her disappearance, her husband, Drew.
Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi (D- Joliet) sponsored a measure that would allow a judge to decide at a pretrial hearing whether hearsay testimony could be admitted into court.
The prosecution would have to prove to the judge that the witness who made the statements could not testify because the defendant murdered the witness.
July 10th, 2008
OMG! Chicago Mayor Richard Daley wants to put cameras on street sweepers to snare people who defy signs ordering them not to park curbside on street-sweeping days. A little overboard, I say.
In Rockford, we know what real crime is, and police hope the new eyes in the sky in troubled areas here will reduce it.
July 9th, 2008
Rockford is investigating opening a 311 call center to give residents a centralized number where they can report problems and get information. The city launched the project Monday and met with other agencies, including the Rockford Park District and Winnebago County, that will partner with the city.
Would you like to have a centralized place where you could call to report problems?
Is it hard for you now to find out whom you should call in the city to report problems?
What kind of problems do you typically have that you might report via 311?
Blog here now to answer these questions. I’m trying to pull a story together for my column in GO July 17.
July 8th, 2008
Sue wants to buy a mahjong game cheaper than on the Internet. She thought maybe local flea markets might sell them, and wants to know where there are good local flea markets, and the hours if you know ‘em. Can you help?
By the way, mahjong is a game for four players that originated in China. It involves still, strategy, calculation and chance.
And Steve wants to know the best places in Rockford for patio dining? We who write the My Last Bite dining column suggest these eateries for outsiders: Olympic, Brio, Octane, Irish Rose, Kuma’s and Garrett’s. Do you recommend others?
And
July 3rd, 2008
I’m considering buying an iPhone the next time I need a new cell phone. No, I won’t be waiting in line to buy the new one.
A colleague tells me she uses hers to send in updates to news stories from the field, but that sometimes getting a signal in Rockford is spotty. And she says she surfs the Internet on there. And that she seldom uses a laptop anymore because she just uses her iPhone.
What experiences have you had with your iPhone, especially in Rockford? And about how much does it cost you for a typical month of service?
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