MetroBlogs:

I need some advice from Nashvillians who are concerned with the future development of downtown.

I’m a part of a team of university students involved in a month-long business program at Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Management.

Currently, our team is involved in a project to consider viable alternatives for the 10-acre waterfront property between the new Gateway Bridge and the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge. You may know this piece of land as the “site of the former thermal plant.” And you probably know that it came close to being developed as a joint-use baseball stadium for the Sounds along with a retail, office and residential development before the financing package of the project fell through.

Our team is working on a project that asks (and we hope, answers), “Now what?”

So I wanted to ask the best experts — Nashvillians — what your ideas are for what should become of this city-owned prime location? What’s missing from the downtown experience? As a Nashvillian; what are your thoughts, ideas or concerns for the future of the site?

Post your thoughts to the comments of this blog, all will be credited with your screename (and email, if you prefer) as a part of our “community focus group.”

Your input is greatly appreciated and we look forward to posting more with our progress!

- Ann Parker & Team (Vanderbilt – Accelerator Summer Business Institute)

Technorati Tags: nashville, old thermal site, Owen Accelerator, Owen Graduate School of Management, Summer Business Institute, Vanderbilt

In 1982, three kids from Mississippi decided to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark. Seven years and countless adventures later, they finally finished it. In 2003, the adaptation was discovered by director Eli Roth and hit the film festival circuit where it has gained much notoriety, including a personal letter from Steven Spielberg raving about the film.

On Thursday, June 5th, at 7:00 pm, director Eric Zala will present the film in person at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville.

That’s right. The kid who made a shot-by-shot recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark will be in Nashville to screen the film for you.

“This remake has everything—the rolling boulder, the live snakes, the heart-thudding truck sequence, and everywhere flames, flames, flames. With a few inventive substitutions—a puppy dog stands in for a monkey, a boat for a plane—they didn’t skimp on production value by including a submarine, a truck on fire, a melting face, and even the same copy of a 1936 Life magazine used in the original.” Or so say the promotional materials.

This film, and the story behind it, are a feat to behold. Wired calls it the Ultimate ‘Indy’ Flick. Producer Scott Rudin purchased the rights and is making a movie about it. TheRaider.net built a website about it.

Watch the trailer and then see for yourself.

This will be the second annual Zombie Walk in Nashville, following the inaugural walk in April 2007. For the uninitiated, a zombie walk is an event in which many people dress up as zombies and stalk the streets for hours of undead fun.

In Nashville, the undead will begin assembling at Riverfront Park (map) on Saturday at 5:00 pm and begin the walk at 6:00. If you would like to join the living dead, conveniently, registration is not required—just show up. Nearly 500 people have joined the Nashville Zombies group on MySpace, but turnout for the walk is difficult to predict without advanced registration. Currently, 23 people have indicated on the Facebook event that they will attend.

Naturally, t-shirts to promote and commemorate the event are available to order online.

For information and updates, connect with organizers on the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nashvillezombiewalk.

From 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Dell will accept computer and computer-related equipment, including laptops, monitors, printers, keyboards and mice, of any brand. They will also accept gaming consoles and mobile entertainment devices. Electronic items that will NOT be accepted include: televisions, stereo equipment, cell phones, appliances, etc.

Drop-off is free, and all plastics and metals will be recycled, and other materials, including heavy metals, properly disposed. Be sure to remove all personal data from the equipment in advance.

The first 1,200 people to participate will get a free tree sapling ready for planting.

Dan Hensely, organizer of Nashville’s Cross Dressing the Bridge Ride, hopes the event will “bring attention to cycling in the city and the use of bicycles as viable forms of transportation, as well as bring attention to more opportunities for road and mountain biking. We will have a petition on hand to help gain more mountain bike trails in Davidson County.”

Participants should meet at noon on Saturday at the Public Square near the Woodland Street Bridge and Second Avenue (map). The course will follow Davidson Street in East Nashville to Shelby Park and along the paved path in Shelby Bottoms Greenway to the pedestrian bridge. Riders will take a break for snacks on the other side of the bridge before returning via the same route to downtown and then on to the Yazoo Brewery for the post-ride cool-down.

Sponsors of the ride, including Urban Velo Magazine, Walz Caps, and Swift Wick Majic Socks, will provide some give-aways for participants.

According to Hensely, the idea for the ride originated in discussions with his friends about the lack of a bicycle culture in Nashville. “There are a lot of people cycling, but not a lot of fun, free events. We were tired of waiting, so we just decided to do it ourselves.” Johnny Crowe, who coordinates the regular Sunday Ride, organized last Sunday’s Nashville Scavenger Hunt cycling event and Hensley took the lead for planning the bridge ride. “The idea of a costume party theme came to mind and it just went from there.”

Hensley encourages riders to dress in drag or a costume and to wear a helmet, but notes that fashionable attire is not required. The ride is free and open to the public and will proceed rain or shine. Hensley notes that organizers have planned a casual group ride and not a race, so cyclers of all abilities are welcome.

For more information, see the website.

UPDATE 4/10/08: Metro Parks and Recreation has not yet opened the Pedestrian Bridge to the public. Hensley still plans for the group ride, but is not planning to cross the bridge if it has not been opened to public traffic by Saturday.

Gigi’s CupCakes
1816 Broadway
(615) 342-0140
http://gigiscupcakesusa.com/

Up the street from Corner Pub, Broadway Brewhouse and Lime, a new shop just opened up that to bring Nashville a new way to celebrate life’s little occasions. Gigi’s Cupcakes is not only a surprising addition to the West End strip, but its also attracting a steady stream of Nashvillians, eager to see what’s cooking.

Technorati Tags: Cupcakes, Gigi’s Cupcakes, Nashville

Snow in Nashville photo courtesy of Chris Wage.

In addition to his responsibilities at WTVF, Ligons also writes the New Media Marketer blog where he discusses how the Internet is rapidly changing the advertising industry. In the blog, he encourages readers to share real world experiences, ideas, and opinions about Internet advertising and new media.

Participation is key to the success of the new business network. “The thing about networks is that the more people that participate, the more each member gets out of it,” says Ligons. “Because NSIDE Nashville is about making connections, the more people that participate in the NSIDE Nashville network, the more we will all benefit.”

Sound interesting? Join NSIDE Nashville.

And by the way, has anyone seen any of our authors? Seems like we all disappeared with the old site….

The question is, who do you believe?

By far, the most famous of these prognosticators is Punxsutawney Phil from Gobbler’s Knob, PA. His prediction this year is that we are in for six more weeks of winter. Then again, he is from Pennsylvania so let’s seek another opinion.

Unfortunately the local Nashville groundhog, Lil, died on January 17th. That leaves Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary, the typical source for Nashville’s groundhog prediction, without a mid-Tennesee indicator.

That leaves us with my favorite groundhog predictor of all time: General Beauregard Lee, Ph.D., the official groundhog of the Yellow River Game Ranch in Atlanta, GA. Beau wakes up every Groundhog Day to a plateful of Waffle House hash-browns (scattered, smothered and covered, of course!) and has been slightly more accurate than Phil. (Don’t ask me for supporting data, the journal article I found on the subject was bias and excluded multiple rodent indicators.)

Anyway, Beau says we’re getting an early spring and judging by the weather today, I believe him. If you need more proof that Beau is the man, 80% of the general groundhog population agrees with him this year, leaving Phil in the minority.

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

Technorati Tags: Bau Lee, Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary, Punxsutawney Phil, Yellow River Game Ranch