Riverview Nature Island is located at the end of Corning Avenue, just north of Grubb Community Stadium near North High School. Use the gravel parking lot on the north side of Corning Avenue.

Sponsors for the summer concert series include MetaBank, AmVets, Trophy’s Lounge, Chuck’s Restaurant, Affinity Credit Union, Sambetti’s Bar & Grille, First Class Credit Union, and the Highland Park Country Club. Here’s the schedule of performances:

June 5 - Gimmikk
June 12 - Brother Trucker
June 19 - 35 South
June 26 - The Blue Band
July 3 - SPAM

But just like everything in life, Facebook’s not perfect. Some of it, in fact, is downright stupid. Or maybe it’s the people who’ve taken good features and made them stupid, I don’t know. Regardless of how they got that way, these are the features of Facebook I can do without:

Mind-numbingly Inane “fan” pages. I’m happy to become a fan of a favorite singer, or product brand, or whatever to show my loyalty. These declarations tell my friends a little about who I am. But here lately I’m seeing things like: “THE SUN – Become a Fan!” or “LAUGHING – Become a Fan!” Are you kidding me? This is like saying, “FINGERNAILS – Become a Fan!” or “INDOOR PLUMBING – Become a Fan!” We’ve obviously run out of meaningful things to “fan.”

Ads that lie. I do not believe for one minute that 7 friends have a crush on me, or that 3 friends think I’m dumb, or even that 60 percent of Hollywood uses ONE wrinkle-busting secret to look younger. 

Irrelevant gift applications. I admit it, I love something called “Flair.” Flair looks like those little pinback buttons we used to have all over our jackets in the 70’s and 80’s. But why are people sending me trees for my farm, plants for my “green patch,” fishes for my “cove,” etc.? I don’t have these things, so I don’t need the flora and fauna that inhabit them. It’s just more crap I have to “click to ignore” each time I sign on.

Auto-Suggest Friends feature. I don’t mind at all if one of my friends wants to recommend someone to me for possible FB friendship. But FB itself needs to stop suggesting new friends. Here’s why this is useless: “Suggestions: Dave Smith. You and Dave both live in Des Moines, Iowa!” Wow, really? I surely know him, then, don’t I? Look:  Des Moines, Iowa has a quarter-million people in it, and that’s not counting all the suburbs. I have friends from grade school who’ve lived here their whole lives and I have NEVER run into them, ANYWHERE, in 35 years. What makes FB think I’m going to know someone just because they live here? I can’t imagine how useful this feature must be for people who live in New York City.

Quizzes that insult me. I wanted to know which M*A*S*H* character I was most like, and it told me I was “most like” Frank Burns. FRANK BURNS? I can guarantee you, nobody who knows me thinks I’m anything like Frank Burns! Even the quiz didn’t try to sugar-coat it by talking about Frank’s respect for rules and authority or his unwavering commitment to the military. No, the quiz gleefully raved about how much everyone hated him and what a ferret-face he was. So thanks a lot, Quiz, you’ve made me feel SO good about myself! I’m not even going to try to find out which “Taxi” character I’m like, because you’re obviously just going to tell me LOUIE.

“”The State Capitol is one of the most recognizable symbols of our city. The state buildings and grounds surrounding the Golden Dome make up the hub of state government for Iowa . What can be done to make the Capitol Complex more open and welcoming to citizens and visitors? What should be added to – or taken away from – the Capitol Complex to make it an even better representation of the city of Des Moines and the state as a whole?”

Walton notes that, whether you’ve visited the Capitol once or a hundred times, it’s your public building and your input is important. To have your say, take a few minutes to tell planners what you think using this survey:

https://www.surveymk.com/iowamasterplan

image courtesy www.desmoinesmetro.com

Well, what did you THINK people were gonna do in the dark??

Will history show that Earth Hour only served to increase the global population of Earth’s resource-users?

Discuss…

The full history and lots of old photos can be found at the “Camp Dodge Story” section of the Iowa National Guard website.

Facilities originally included barracks, training grounds, administrative buildings, an interurban railroad, and recreational areas, and during the War construction began on a large swimming pool.

The pool was also to be used for training, but the War ended before it was completed. It was opened to the public in 1922 and operated by the Guard for more than 80 years, and as the nation’s largest filtered swimming pool it became a destination for generations of Iowa families during the summer months.

Indeed, it was always a “big day” when Dad would load us into his Triumph TR-3 convertible for the drive to Camp Dodge. We’d drive north along Merle Hay Road (named for the first Iowa soldier killed in WWI) through Johnston, where the road became a barely-paved two-lane with a little ice cream stand off to the right – that area’s four-lane commercial now, as Johnston is a burgeoning suburban community.

We’d know we were getting close when we’d pass the Hyperion Country Club, with its lush green golf course and bright blue gem of a private pool. Next we’d pass the de-commissioned tank perched on a hilltop adjacent to the training camp, always crowded with kids climbing all over it. The pool itself would appear just as we’d round the next curve - a giant shimmering aqua rectangle at the foot of the hill, its shallow end crowded with families and its deep-end diving boards and sun-bathing platform filled with young adults.

Over the years, other Iowa National Guard facilities on the campus have been expanded and strengthened, and it remains an active training base. The pool, however, was closed in 2004 due to budget constraints. It appeared on the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance’s 2004 list of “most endangered historic sites,” and in fact was on the National Register of Historic Places. Riding past it since its closure was always a sad experience, as the empty concrete basin gradually became littered with natural debris.

On our ride the other night, we were surprised to see that the basin had actually been completely filled in with dirt. This probably occurred last summer, and because we didn’t ride much we just didn’t notice it until now.

So, childhood and historic landmark gone, a little shy of 100 years old. To quote the legendary Alan Jackson (again), “…a piece of my childhood - will never be forgotten.”

Visit the independent film series website for more info on other films playing in the series.

Anyway, in the comments on my original post from December, Daniel Shipton noted that Mac has been doing the show exclusively online by taking advantage of the new audio/video recording set-up at Impromptu Studio. You can watch the program Monday-Friday from 2-4 p.m. at Mac’s World Online. If you’re a Twitter user, you can follow @MacsWorldLive. And, every show’s a Podcast, too, so you can download and listen whenever it’s convenient.

And by the way, if you’re not familiar with Impromptu Studio, take a look at their website linked above. They’re located just south of downtown Des Moines at 300 SW Fifth St., Suite 220 and they provide co-working space - room to work in a social office environment when you need to be mobile or don’t have an office space.  Cool concept, fun folks involved!

Menu selections include appetizers, casual box dinners, or elegant steak or seafood feasts, with first-class service and the ability to create a custom or themed cruise to fit most any taste.

The boat itself has been fully restored, having been built in 1967 by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Company - at the time the last commercial riverboat yard in Iowa. The restored interior features 150-year-old gilded pressed tin ceiling, solid oak rope columns, period varnished wainscoting topped with solid oak trim and drink railing.

For a unique dinner experience, visit www.port-of-desmoines.com to book your dinner boat cruise and welcome back Des Moines’ dinner boat, the JA White!

This is great news for those attending the “What Now” Lunch and Learn Series for recently displaced workers and entrepreneurial hopefuls, hosted by Impromptu Studio and created by LavaRow and 48Web . (This Friday’s session features Teri Woods TeBockhorst, formerly of East Village Books – truly a jaw-dropping entrepreneurial story there!)

Lest you think this is some sort of fluke, Des Moines has been ranking well in these kinds of things for a long time. Just in the past year, we’ve enjoyed the following bits of notoriety:

• Our current cost of living is 8.4 percent below the national average.
• “Top 25 Best Places to Find a Job” – CareerBuilder.com
• Second-best city (in the nation!) for affordable housing – CNNMoney.com
• Top 25 best-performing cities for job creation – Milken Institute
• Most affordable city (in the nation!) to hold a trade show – TradeShow Week (don’t snicker: conventions and trade shows are HUGE business – the more we can draw here the better!)
• Best Places for Business & Careers – Forbes Magazine
• Best Places to Raise a Family – Best Life Magazine and The Today Show
• Best Places to Live, Top 10 Best Cities (economy, jobs, cost of living, amenities) – Kiplinger Personal Finance

So you see, despite my whinings, there are positive underpinnings at least locally. (That “What Now” series is one of them – follow @ImpromptuStudio on Twitter to keep up with the details.)

If you are one of those struggling with employment issues, my heart goes out to you. My wish for you is that you will be able to see the open door of opportunity – no small feat in these challenging times, to be sure, but I can promise you: I’m with you in spirit, and so are many, many others.

Make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? To borrow a phrase: yes, you can - especially in Des Moines.

On the plus side, there have been some high points at work lately including our recent Annual Dinner in which we honored some of the East Side’s best and brightest business, civic and volunteer leaders, and a huge challenge as far as finding creative ways to engage members and raise revenue to support the organization. And, my recent period of delving deeper into Facebook has resulted in some wonderful friendships from long ago being re-energized.

When I look within, I can always find something to feel positive about. For some reason, this year I’ve been less able beat back the negatives. All I can say is, I’m trying.