A Few Comments About Comments

It's a new year. Time for resolutions and all that. I thought it might be a good time to offer a few comments about commenting on this blog. Popular or not, I resolve to continue to keep a light hand on moderating comments. That's because I welcome comments. I appreciate comments. I wish more readers would comment.

Still, there are some types of comments that I don't want to see, specifically those that violate the stated commenting rules: "Comments are welcome, but please identify yourself. Keep it courteous, keep it clean, keep it on topic." Hypothetically, calling someone laughable or boring or inane is both discourteous and off-topic. Such arguments are not welcome.

After the jump, a few more behaviors that are not welcome.

Rose Bowl Game (2012)

From 2012 01 Rose Bowl

"The Granddaddy of Them All," the New Year's Day Rose Bowl Game, first played in 1902, is grander than ever. Growing up, watching on television, I couldn't resist the warm, sunny weather beckoning football fans watching from frigid Wisconsin. The game put an itch in me to be there in person like no other football game ever did. Finally, fulfilling that "bucket list" desire, we attended our first Rose Bowl game. It's everything I envisioned and more. Except for the outcome: Oregon 45, Wisconsin 38. But even that can't spoil the experience.

All of our Rose Bowl Game photos can be found here.
Photos from New Year's Day in Pasadena can be found here.
Photos from the Rose Parade can be found here.

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Trivia about the Rose Bowl I didn't know until this year: The record attendance for a Rose Bowl Game is 106,869, set in 1973. This year's full-house attendance was only 91,245. What's up with that? In 2000, the Rose Bowl was renovated. Bleacher seats were replaced with seats with backs (except in the end zones). That reduced seating capacity by about 15,000.

Rose Parade (2012)

From 2012 01 Rose Parade

Twenty one marching bands. Eighteen horse units. Forty three large floats, all completely decorated with flowers and other natural materials. That can describe only one parade -- the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. Fulfilling a "bucket list" desire, we attended our first Rose Parade this year. Attending in person restores the entertainment value of parades that television coverage has increasingly sapped. No commercial interruptions, no obligatory pauses while minor celebrities lip-sync to the cameras, no announcers reading lame, scripted jokes. Only the full-on experience of floats, marching bands, horse units and an enthusiastic crowd. All in the glorious sunshine of southern California.

After the jump, a look at the pre-parade festivities and more photos.

Berkner 63, Lake Highlands 47

From 2012 01 Berkner Basketball

The Berkner Rams improved to 4-0 in District 9-5A basketball Friday night with a 63-47 win over crosstown rival Lake Highlands. It's a great time to be a Ram!

All photos from the game can be found here.

New Year's Day in Pasadena (2012)

Caltech

From 2012 01 Pasadena

More photos after the jump.

OTBR: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge

Latitude: 44.8450° N
Longitude: 123.0476° W


A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

My Year in the Arts

My Year in the Arts. Not necessarily just 2011 works. Not necessarily the best, because I didn't see and read everything, but the plays, books and movies that I chose to see or read in 2011. All in all, I'm happy with my choices. It was a very good year.

After the jump, theater, books, television and movies.

Repeat Tweets: Sports and Politics and Stuff

Repeat tweets from October-December, 2011:

• 2011 10 04 - The Island of Lost Maps, by Miles Harvey: Map thief's tale padded to book length with historical anecdotes, most lifted from other books. C-
  
• 2011 10 05 - Tea Party's choice in GOP primaries is down to this: Romneycare vs In-state tuition for illegals. Hold your nose and pick. #letdown
  
• 2011 10 06 - Headline: "Perry Campaign Says Economic Specifics Can Wait." Really? Campaign tanking, all focus on n-word, & his best argument can wait???
  
• 2011 10 06 - Headline: "Bachmann: Perry used jobs fund to reward backers." Really? Earth to Bachmann: Perry already sinking. Time to swing aim to Romney.
  
• 2011 10 06 - Go Caltech! #1 in the world according to Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
  
• 2011 10 06 - Kasra Persian Restaurant got a score of 82 from RIchardson Health Dept this week. Low end of "Good" but I know they can do better.
  
• 2011 10 06 - BBQ beats Shawarma. This week's matchup of Dine Smart Dine Local restaurant health scores: Sonny Bryan 91, Afrah 89.
  
• 2011 10 06 - 2010: A-Rod strikes out. 2011: A-Rod strikes out. Last out for the Yankees two years in a row. Rangers face Tigers in ALCS!
  
• 2011 10 07 - Did Harry Reid pull the nuclear option in the Senate Thursday night? Well, yes, if by nuclear option you mean... http://t.co/UGMHgFBo
  
• 2011 10 07 - Weekend NFL tip: Count on the Cowboys' Tony Romo to have a mistake-free Sunday this week. http://t.co/hoKAN817
  
• 2011 10 07 - Brewers beat Diamondbacks in extra innings! Dare I hope for a Brewers/Rangers World Series? http://t.co/9FxrNVzj
  
• 2011 10 07 - Final. Sunset 6, Lake Highlands 37. #txhsfb http://t.co/aUniWMd9
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Spring Creek Trail Extension is Open

From 2011 12 Spring Creek Trail

On November 9, 2011, Richardson officially opened the 1.3 mile extension to the Spring Creek Trail. The extension begins at the trailhead at the southeast corner of Renner Rd and US 75 and extends north under Renner Road, then turns west under US 75, then north again to the President George Bush Turnpike, then west to Alma Rd. Slowly, but surely, Richardson is punching those holes in those suffocating freeways that divide up our city. The trails open up a surprising amount of nature in our urban setting to residents smart enough to park their cars and hike or bike to take advantage of it.

More photos can be viewed here.

Tear Down Central Expressway - cont.

All around the world, highways are being torn down and waterfronts reclaimed; decades of thinking about cars and cities reversed; new public spaces created.

Source: New York Times.

Michael Kimmerman, of The New York Times, reviews the cities around the world that are rethinking highways. Madrid is nearly finished burying a highway and restoring a river to create a six mile long park called Madrid Río. Seoul uncovered five miles of a paved-over river to create the Cheonggyecheon recreation area. San Francisco decided to take down the Embarcadero Freeway and not rebuild it after it was heavily damaged in the 1989 earthquake.

After the jump, the outlook close to home.