Something a bit different today- It’s not the typical historical account or listing of facts about the City generally seen here, but rather a personal account of life in the City. We wholeheartedly encourage you to send your Commentary pieces…
Author: Editor
Our Sister Cities: Ushuaia
Many American cities have ‘sister cities’ all over the world, and we are no exception. In fact, our city is nominally partnered with municipalities from every continent except Antarctica. And we’re not very far from having a partner down there,…
Friday Facts: Only Eight So Far (Fingers Crossed)
:: For the fourth time in ten years, the number of homicides is equal to less than half of the days in the year at this point. Police Commissioner Nelson Apperbee will be holding a press conference to celebrate this…
Something that you should watch
Invisible City (Supermasterpiece.com) A 5-minute black and white noir-ish television program about a city in which everyone is invisible. Sadly, it only lasted two episodes. Of course (as we’re always looking on the bright side at The City Desk), this…
Oh, You Never Knew It! – Jan. 17
:: In 1918, an accident at the Jackson Independent Pharmaceutical Company caused a tank to burst, releasing 1.7 million gallons of the company’s patented Menth-O-Lux mentholated topical creme (a similar but different-enough-so-as-to-avoid-legal-action competitor to Vicks VapoRub) down Pikers Hill, in…
Save the Legacy Diner (Maybe)
Business is decidedly not booming Friday night at the Legacy. Even in mid-January, a forlorn plastic Christmas tree droops at one end of the establishment’s chipped, unvarnished wood bar, and a faded paper Santa Claus face stares through an unwashed…
Friday Facts: Streets and Bridges
:: Seventy-one percent of the surface streets in the city run within one degree of north-south or east-west. The most noteworthy exception is Algonquin Avenue, which changes direction by more than five degrees 16 times along its length. :: The…
Oh, You Never Knew It! – Jan. 10
:: Most people naturally assume that the city’s first public vending machines were the chicken leg contraptions installed along Soldier Boulevard by the Vendmate Company in 1925. Not so! Predating even those beloved tin hulks were the Vend-O salt dispensers…
When the Moving Pictures Came to Town
In the first part of the 20th century, before making the cross-country trek to Hollywood, the motion picture industry settled briefly in our fair city. During the early years of cinema, film companies were based on the east coast, centered…
Friday Facts: It’s a type of purple
:: Twice a year, under an assumed name, architect Frank Gehry sets up an office in a strip mall on Watson Glenn Road and consults with homeowners for $25 an hour. He uses the name “Arthur Gilgreen.” :: The men’s…