Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween all you out there in Wigshop land! (I tried to make a Halloween-themed Sunsphere photo, but Photoshop keeps making my computer crash.)

There's plenty of festivities going on in our fair city tonight, so don't be left in the dark after the kiddies have stopped coming to your door looking for tricks or treats.

And as I'm always uninformed, please let me know what I'm leaving off the list.

• AllKnox.com is hosting Scare in the Square at Market Square from 5 -10 p.m. Trick-or-treating, music and costume contests. This is a family-friendly event for those of you looking for wholesomeness on this, the most unwholesome of holidays.
• World Grotto is staying up all night with Nightmare on the Square. Art Vandalay is among some of the bands playing tonight. After the booze stops flowing for the night, the Grotto will serve coffee and breakfast.
• There's a block party in the Old City. Traffic will be blocked at Jackson and Central, and there will be live music. It's free and wristbands are available if you want to purchase booze.
• Freaker's Ball is being held at the Valarium. You'll need to get tickets if you want to get in.
• Nearly every bar has a live band tonight, and you can check out those listings at the Metro Pulse.

B. A. Pol-acus

In 2007, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Knoxville underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as bloggers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...


Things tend to get weird around here when we run out of ideas.

Democracy Inaction

Well this is it. The last installment of this series reviewing the proposed charter amendments to Knox County Government. (Though I may be back Monday for a little A la Carte action on some of the other issues on the ballot).

In this final installment we deal with changes to the Mayors office in Knox county. As we are all aware, the current Mayor is not exactly the worlds most popular guy. He's been hit with scandal after scandal and hasn't exactly been the picture perfect executive. These changes would make for some rather drastic increases in his and future mayor's influence over county government. Like with Question 3 (see the previous entry in the series) this amendment has multiple parts which I will address... now:

SAMPLE BALLOT

#1 We lose our right to vote for, but stand to gain a better run set of offices. Law Director, Trustee, County Clerk, and Register of Deeds all disappear as separate individually elected offices.

At first this is worrisome, I mean it's always better to have more people voting to hold individuals accountable. I believe that completely, I am a big fan of accountability in the system and having as many people in government constantly concerned that their positions are only temporary, because I think that's how it's supposed to work.

But we live also in a time of great transition in Knox County. It's not that I don't want to vote for my register of deeds, it's that #1 far to few know what these fee offices actually do (though that's not a good enough reason in and of itself) and #2 Knox county government needs to stream line.

We currently have, from my understanding, some of the longest and most complicated ballots in the country during our elections. There's always some new referendum on top of the 18 different offices that are up for election. With two governments the voters of Knox county need the chance to streamline a portion of their government if they feel so inclined.

These offices will become answerable to and appointed by the mayor, who will have hiring and firing ability. The mayor will be able to select those who operate many of the day to day positions, not unlike a the presidential cabinet, and will be able to fire them, subject to approval from the commission of a 2/3 majority. This provides a system of checks and balances and encourages wise choices from the mayor about who he would put in those positions.

#2 The position of County Auditor would be eliminated and a 6 year term for Inspector General would be created. This will provide a voice in the mayors office that can report truthfully about the internal workings of all departments without fear of reprisals or loss of job.

#3 In a similar way on the changes to County Commission there is a provision to add a conflict of interest clause, requiring the mayor and appointed staff to disclose when they stand to make personal gains from decisions they make in their positions as county officials.

Whew, I know that was alot, everybody take a deep breath.

It's a difficult situation we find ourselves in. There have been many upheavals in county government over the past two years and now we are continuing that trend by making some dramatic changes. There are portions of these changes that I am not crazy about, but overall the changes, I believe, are in the best interest of all Knox County residents and will enable us all to move froward with a stronger, more responsive, and better structured local government.

So for the final Charter Amendment the Pol says:

How travel made me fall in love with Knoxville

I’ve been fortunate to have seen a fair share of foreign countries in my day. One of the greatest things I’ve learned from traveling is how to live simply. Without a car, the best way to eat or drink sometimes is by foot. It may be a stretch, but I think it’s the closest I’ll ever feel to being a hunter, famished and exhausted after a day of walking around, scoping out different cafes and markets, trying to find something to eat that suited me and whoever I was with. It was tiresome, but the greatest. I’ve actually squandered all of my money in Europe somewhat recently and am confined to stay in Knoxville for quite some time until my next adventure.

When I look at my life, though, I realize how much Knoxville has become like those faraway places I can only revisit in my mind. I realize I’ve made my life here as simple as possible. I live, work, and socialize in close proximity to one another, getting to places by foot or bike. I live downtown, work downtown, and play downtown. I found myself having a “European” morning the other day. I woke up fairly early and walked 30 minutes to Old City Java. I saw downtown from a completely different perspective.

The other day, an old man and his wife saw me leave work and get on my bike. He mumbled something to me, like, "Enjoy that while you can." You can be sure I am, old man. I'm positive when I'm older and acquire more responsibility, I'll look back to right now and be incredibly jealous.

Of course “big city life” can get hum-drum and small, and so a little exploration drive every now and then has become necessary. This is one of my favorite things to do because it makes me realize something vital: The more I see of Knoxville and its surroundings, the more enamored I become with it.

Monday was my good friend's 24th birthday, and so we decided to have a picnic out at 7 Islands, which I had never been to. We got there by going down Chapman Highway to John Sevier, and then through some beautiful farmland. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get there from downtown. We parked our car, loaded our arms with blankets, wine, and food, and walked down the road that winds through beautiful countryside along the French Broad River, passing old barns and houses along the way. I can’t believe I only recently heard about this place, through the MetroPulse, actually. It is amazing.

I have a bad habit of never taking my camera anywhere, so you'll just have to go there to see it, I suppose. You can get there by taking I-40 East and getting off at the Midway Exit (I think). There should be "7 Island" signs that lead you all the way there.

Be careful, though, you may just fall in love with this place.

Democratsy En Axcion

We're halfway through the Charter changes and now into the real meat of the issue. If you have any opinions on this whole thing it's likely in regards to questions 3 & 4.

You've probably seen the signs around town that say something to the effect of, "save our right to vote" and then say vote no on 3 & 4. In my professional opinion, that is an oversimplification of the situation... also called politics.

Question three deals with reducing the size of county government from 19 to 11 members, keeping current Knox County employees from also holding concurrent positions on County Commission, a prohibition on nepotism, and a requirement to disclose conflicts of interest.

Yep, it's pretty in depth, but no worries- we will examine all of it here, and I'll keep it as short as possible.

First if any of you caught it, there was a debate on Newstalk 100 last night about the changes, it was rather educational.

Now to quickly run through the points of this change:

1. Reducing the size of the County Commission from 19 to 11. I see both sides of this. I am a strong believer in ample representation, but also believe that too many cooks spoil the broth- right now there are too many cooks. The long and the short of it is that we need to move to a more streamlined, smaller, and unified government and if we can begin by shrinking the County Commission, then so be it.

2. Keeping Knox County employees from double dipping. No holding a seat on Commission while also running the county's parks department, makes complete sense. The big argument against is because of the teacher thing, where this would prohibit teachers from serving, but we need those elected to be as independent as possible. You can't be independent if your financial well being depends on the government you are supposed to represent for others.

3. Prohibition against nepotism. Write in Spellings, Write out Nepotism, anyone remember that mantra? Well I do, this is a no brainer here. No more putting family into positions of power. Our government will be held accountable, and will look more like a family tree with lots of branches and less like a family fork.

4. A requirement to disclose conflicts of interest. Yes, yes, a hundred times yes. I want to know what my commissioner stands to gain from the use of my tax money. No more brother-in-law deals, no more selling that old useless piece of swampland to the county for the new middle school at 10 times market value, and no more using your position on county commission to help you (the commissioner) improve your business on the tax payers dime.

And that's it.

Question three is a bit omnibus, but that can't be helped I guess. You'll continue to hear more about this in the coming days from local media and such, so keep an eye out and try to make an informed decision.

For my part, I'm in favor of question three and I will recommend that you consider also supporting it.

Todays Verdict:

Bearden, sushi capital of Knoxville

(Ed. note: Ok, so this post isn't completely about sushi)

I love sushi. I mean I loooooooove sushi, so it's a good thing that Knoxville's got more sushi restaurants per capita than any other city in the South. Ok, I'm making that up, but I'm willing to bet it's not far off. Seriously, five sushi places in a 1.5 mile stretch of Kingston Pike in Bearden?

Tomo is my favorite place to go for fast, cheap sushi. There's nothing too fancy on the menu, but you won't break the bank if you choose to go with an appetizer and multiple rolls. The staff there is super nice, too. [read full review here]

I love Nama just like everyone else, but I don't like having to wait an hour plus just to sit down and wait another half hour to get my sushi fix. I was really jazzed about Nama Bearden because it's close to where I live, it has good parking and the space is so much bigger than Nama v1.0.

The problem is, in a dozen attempts to eat at Nama Bearden, I've failed at 11 of them because I didn't want to do a 45 minute wait when there was plenty of other sushi places to go around. (That 12th time, my friend had the foresight to make reservations. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with such foresight). [read full review here]

I usually ended up going to Tai because it was close and had a pretty good sushi and drinks menu. Not to mention it was never crowded. And then Tai closed, which I'm sure had something to do with the whole never crowded thing.

Well, there's already a new sign on the building: Sobu. It says something about a sushi lounge, so I'm guessing this is going to be a Michaels/Palace/Purada turnover -- different name, same concept. I can't find anything else about this place, except that it already has some problem with its alcohol gross receipts, according to the News Sentinel (I don't know what this means, anyone?). I'm glad to see it making a rebound as a sushi place, but if the first place couldn't make it once Nama moved in nearby, I'm doubting this place will. [read full review here]

And in other Bearden new business news:
1. Dunkin' Donuts is moving into an empty building on the same Kingston Pike block where you can find McDonalds, Dippin' Donuts and IHOP. If I were a betting woman, I would say this probably spells trouble for Dippin' Donuts. I like Dippin's doughnuts, but their coffee is pretty bad, and if there's one thing Dunkin can do, it's coffee.

This sign has been up for a few weeks with a trailer parked out back, yet no construction seems to be happening.


2. Knoxify has the lowdown on the new boardsports shop on Bearden Hill, The Board Room. This looks like a really cool place. I hope it succeeds.

The Pols KAT Bus Experience

I live downtown. I work out west. I wish it wasn't so.

I drive my little green Jetta from home to Cedar Bluff five days a week. That is until recently.

I decided to give the bus system a try for a few days recently to see if it would be something that would be beneficial to me (mostly financially). At $3.50 plus a gallon it was hard to see how I could lose. So i laid out a track and hopped on board the west town bus at 8:15. Strike one.


















You see I don't have to be at work until 9:15, but the last express bus leaves downtown even earlier and would put me out west at 7:50, waaay to early to sit around and wait to sit around most of the day. So with my bike on the front I get dropped off about a five minute bike ride from my office about ten minutes before I'm supposed to be there. hmmm

The cost was a little better. It cost me $2.50 for a round trip, which saves me a buck and I enjoy riding on the bus. I read the paper, do homework (yep I'm taking classes at pellissippi), watch the world go by, listen to the radio, etc. It's relaxing, except for the worry about getting to where I need to get on time.

The ride home is better I cath the 5:10 express in the park and ride lot on executive park dr. Though the bus never actually shows up on time, it is usually anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes late.

The ride home is a great way to unwind, very relaxing. The buses are always clean and there is lots of seating on the ride home, not so much on the way out as my bus drops at walmart.

Final analysis, going out west the options are not great. I take what I can get and so that means sometimes I'm still driving. We can go over and over the shortcomings of our bus system, and we will I'm sure, but I'm going to try and make the best of what we have. I'd love to know if any of you have similar experiences headed out west on the buses.

Here is the pick up for the express bus. They even provide bike lockers if you want to stash your bike at the drop off.

The same, but different

To cater to the masses (because that’s what we like to do here at TSINAW) I’d like to add a little gossip post on for today.
Many of you may have heard that Gregg White no longer owns LaCosta. Well the rumor is true. He also closed Emma’s, his newest restaurant out at Choto marina.
LaCosta isn’t closing, it will just no longer be a “Gregg White Experience.” What does this mean? Not much apparently. It seems Ken, the new owner, may not change too much. And when I say Ken, I mean I don’t have any idea what his last name is. I do know that for the past few days he’s been putting in long hours at LaCosta, meeting with distributors and even working back in the kitchen, to get a feel for the place and to make the right changes. Some news people came in the other day and I overheard them ask if they could come in and take pictures of him and the restaurant. Ken’s response: “Oh, no. I’m behind the scenes on this one.”
I like Ken.
As for the GWE, I heard he’s focusing on what’s working best for him: Nama. And to be specific, the Old-ma, not the New-ma.
So in light of the Pol’s post, go to LaCosta and talk about the amendments, and if I’m there, fill me in on what in the world he’s talking about.

Democrazy Inaction part the 2nd

Well today's ballot initiative promises to be slightly more interesting than the one from yesterday.

This second amendment sets up a Charter Review Committee to convene at least once every 8 years to take a look at the charter and consider any proposed or needed amendments. An interesting part of this change is how the set up of the committee will be.

27 members
1 from commission from each district and two non-commission members, each of those are nominated by the mayor and commission respectively.

This, in theory, forces our local government to bring in non-governmental types every so often to sit down and look at any needed changes to our governmental structure. I like this idea, it'd be great if the federal government did this sort of thing on occasion as well. A constitutional review committee would likely make all citizens more interested in the document from which our government derives its authority, but I digress.

Oh and on all of these issue you don't vote yes or no, you vote "for" or "against". So on amendment (or question as it is called) #2 the Pol says vote FOR.

Now for the supportive Clip art: (which is oddly relevant)

Democracy in Action

Well, with flashy labels like i have on here, no wonder you'll be glued to your screens reading my analysis of the Charter Amendments
(the label wasn't doing it for me, so i added my own--stan).

I'm going to try, over the next few days, to discuss these changes to our county's style of governance in simple, but adequate terms. It's fairly straight forward when you understand what the changes mean, but like with all things government, the legalese is hard to penetrate, especially when you're in the voting booth.

Also, understand that these changes are rather controversial. In some cases they have removed some offices from being elected and eliminated others all together. If you disagree with how I lay out the changes please, by all means, reply, but lets keep this civil if possible.

The first section I will address will be the changes to the County Commission, and the rules by which it operates. The other set of amendments make changes to the county mayors office which I will address in the coming days.
The Amendment of the Day

The first amendment is something that few will have a problem with, and likely fewer understand why it is on there. It is a change of language removing the words, “Not
more than sixty (60) days and not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the next general
election next following its appointment”

I know exciting right? Then words are added about how the future changes to the Charter are to be made. Anyways, this one is fairly inane as far as I can understand.

So the first one on the ballot is simple. I say vote yes. Not much to discuss, unlike the others. We'll start getting into those soon enough though.

So the Verdict for Amendment 1:

Einstein Simplified

Last night i had the opportunity to experience something that I had never, well... experienced before. Three words came from last night: funny, Einstein, Simplified. Every tuesday night at 8:30pm the improv comedy group, Einstein Simplified, gets together on stage at Patrick Sullivan's down in the Old City. Last night was my first time to see the show and I must say that I left with a sore abdomen from all of the laughing that was endured.

The group goes through several games that involve skits, made up vocabulary, no vocabulary (re: silent film), impersonations, etc. etc. My favorite was the lexicon game where each guy lines up and says a random letter. Then one of them has to pronounce the word they just spelled and give its definition, etymology, and use. The humor is smart but sometimes strays into the potty range, but then again, you know you want to laugh. I'm not complaining.

The show starts at 8:30 but you will want to get there a bit early to grab a seat. The house fills up pretty quickly. There is no cover charge at the door, but donations are accepted after the show. The upstairs bar is open as well so that you can quench your thirst and subsequently spew it out of your nose an instant later.

According to their website (www.einsteinsimplified.com) the group, or some variation thereof, has been performing since 1994. How did I miss this for so long??? Am I crazy? Yes. Should you go? Yes. I give it 8 of 10 wigs. Thanks for a good time.

DON'T VOTE!!!

Well, do, but not until you have had a chance to do your research.

Early Voting starts today, yes it is that close to this thing finally being over. You might have made up your mind as to the big one, but the more important in the local sense is the charter amendment vote that you will be making.

As I am The Pol, a former County Commission candidate, I feel that it is my duty to give an overview of the charter petition amendments. So over the next several days I'll go over the amendments. I will tell you how I see they will impact each of us and then hopefully you will be able to vote knowingly about each of them.

these are serious and important changes to the county's government and so I recommend reviewing each one and deciding how to vote instead of a simple all yes or all no. The new pension plan that the county adopted recently was a very close vote, but now we're all saddled with millions of dollars that we will be responsible for, so understand these have lasing and important effects on your personal situation.

Vote, but vote knowingly, there is nothing so dangerous to our own freedoms as an ignorant voter.

So get ready, it's gonna be a bumpy three weeks.

next stop, NYC

I heard there was an incredible art show currently in the main concourse at the UC (University Center) at UT. It will be up until November 6….
Actually, it’s my artwork. This is the biggest “show” I’ve ever done, a very nerve-racking and exciting experience. It’s old and new work. The UC is open, I’m pretty sure, all the time. You can email me at aemeadows@gmail.com and tell me what you think or if you have any questions. I’m always looking for good conversations about art and constructive criticism.

So here’s my artist statement for this particular show. Enjoy.

My drawings and paintings are figurative expressions of personal experiences influenced by people I’ve met or places that have had an impact on me. Stylistically, I am deeply influenced by children’s book illustrations. The figures I draw are flat and the settings are stage-like. Though people are present in most of my work, I don’t consider them portraits. The space, colors, composition, and choice of mark-making are equally as important as each figure. Most pieces contain in them a childlike sensibility juxtaposed by a somber or dark tone. They are an extension of the tension life presents by being funny and serious, simple and complex, light and heavy all at once. They embrace and even help cope with the paradoxes each day brings. Mostly, they reflect a desire for hope and relief in the midst of personal and universal struggle.

our splendid transit system?

Is it just me, or are KAT buses breaking down all over the place? I passed one on Hall of Fame Drive this morning, with another bus backing up to it to pick up the stranded passengers. It seems like every other day I see one of those huge tow trucks towing a teal bus around. It's been reported that KAT has been cutting back its budget, but have they been cutting back on maintenance? Has anyone else noticed this?

On a related note, I saw this morning that construction has begun on the new transit center on Church Street. It looks like it will be pretty cool, if a bit removed from the busy part of downtown.

subscribe to wigshop

It's hard to believe, but the Wigshop will be one year old on the 19th. In some ways, it seems like we just started this thing, in others, it's hard to remember life without it. TSINAWS has gone from a little project started by a bored guy at work (our Illustrious Founder) and has grown into the juggernaut of the Knoxville blogosphere we know it as today.


Want to give the ol' Wigshop a present for turning 1? We track hundreds of people who come through here every day, and have built up a core of readers who follow our shenanigans via RSS. For months now we've hovered just below 100 readers (right now we're at 92). So help us push it to triple digits! Hit the subscribe button in our sidebar. Don't know what RSS is? Google it. It's easy, and even if you never use it, you'll have given the Wigshop the gift that keeps on giving- a Statistical Ego Boost.

Get your brew on

Have you gotten your tickets for Brewers Jam yet? It's this Saturday from 1-7 p.m. at World's Fair Park, and tickets are $30 if you purchase them before 10 p.m. Friday. After that, they go up $5.

I promise you, $30 is nothing when you see the awesome lineup of brewers who will be around. My tip is to show up early before they run out of their best selections. And if you're a lightweight like me, there's plenty of food vendors to take the edge off. And music! Don't forget the music.

The sponsors of Brewers Jam also want to make sure you're safe, so they're partnering with Green Car Shuttle Service to run a FREE shuttle from the parking lot of Aubrey's restaurant at the Landmark Center at Papermill and Northshore to the festival and back. It will run every 30 minutes until every last person has been shuttled. If you'd prefer to do door-to-door service, Green Car is offering 50 percent off fare.

Oh, and Marty Velas digs Brewers Jam. And it's for a good cause.

Seriously, there's no excuse to miss it. The weather is supposed to be a gorgeous partly cloudy 82-degree day, and the Vols are out of town. I plan on running the Race For the Cure in the morning before grabbing a quick shower, TiVoing the game and heading down to WFP. See you there!

arthur street cafe and deli

It seems that Knoxville is just sprouting little unique eateries these days. For a city that voted Pizza Hut as best pizza in the News-Sentinel a few years ago, this is a good, good thing.

One of these funky places is the Authur Street Cafe and Deli, a new joint in my soon-to-be neighborhood of Mechanicsville. They offer sandwiches and salads at lunch, and a wide range of entrees at dinner (which I will be trying soon). I've only been for lunch, but the sandwiches have really hooked me. We're talking Tomato Head quality here, with fresh-baked bread and unusual, delicious combinations of fresh ingredients. Everything is homemade.

Mike, the proprietor, is always there to take your order and discuss historic renovation. He lives a few blocks away and is invested in the community. The interior is bohemian, looking exactly like what it is- an old general store lovingly transformed into a hip eatery. Old wood floors and big beams overhead, with a great front porch for enjoying the cool Fall weather. It's BYOB, so stop by Food City beforehand and stay awhile with your sixpack.

Judging by the size of the lunch crowd, Arthur Street Cafe is going to become the neighborhood center for Mechanicsville, and offer a new great new eating option for the downtown area. So be sure to stop by and check it out, if you're in the neighborhood, uhh, helping finish a house or something.


View Larger Map

The French Market downtown

On Saturday, Joanie and I had the pleasure of meeting for lunch at the newly opened French Market in the Farragut Building on Gay St. (530 S. Gay St.) CK wrote a post a while back about some coming-soon downtown eateries. While we have yet to see Gridiron Burgers or the Market Square ice cream type joint open, French Market opened last week just in time for fall.

This is a cute little shop and cafe. They sell fresh plants, flowers, and home and garden accessories and have a small cafe. The cafe is stocked with freshly made baguette sandwiches, little dessert treats and a small assortments of packaged cheeses for home use. Certainly the big draw of this place will be their made-to-order crepes. These delicious "french quesadilla" (I can be so fancy and culinary at times) come in both savory and sweet varieties. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I got the veggie crepe, which was stuffed with tomatoes and spinach and Gruyeres cheese. (It would have had avocados but they weren't ripe - Joanie got artichoke hearts to supplement the missing avocados). The crepe itself was whole wheat-ish batter(not one hundred percent certain as to what went into the batter); and the cafe's owner said that the other savory meat-filled crepes have a delicious French-type crepe batter. Anyway, the crepe was truly delicious. We ate our lunch on the little Gay Street patio, and we would have gone back in for soft serve ice cream, but their machine was broken. Once they get that thing fixed (maybe this week, said shopkeep), I am headed back for sure!

The French Market is really quaint and welcoming. Being close to Main Street, I think it should do really well at lunch time. I hope so, because it's nice to see small businesses do well.

My monthly Boot Camp reminder

Don't want to beat a dead horse (plus I am into animal rights anyway), but I wanted to remind everyone that this Thursday the 9th is Bring a Friend Day at Operation Boot Camp. Read about it here. I would love to meet some new friends or see some old friendly faces! I know that some of our campers are regular readers of this blog, so I am sure they would love to meet fellow Wigshop readers!

fame at last

i know i've moved away, now a foreigner to knoxville. but last weekend i was once again one of you. there's a lot of things i miss about knoxville and it was good to be back.

also, i'm still an administrator on this blog. so i can do pretty much whatever i want. in fact, ck's probably having a conniption right now because i'm not on the posting schedule for today. yes, the wigshop has a posting schedule.

on friday night, i went up into the wigshop with some fellow bloggers to see if they knew anything about gin. the skybox pours a generous martini and we had a good time. but the best part of the experience was the notoriety. they know us!...or, this blog anyway.


also, i only had one drink, so don't let that 6.50 fool you. you still have to pay full price for martinis inside of the sun.

A Feast for the Senses

Two things led me to getting a card to the public library downtown. One: I no longer have full access to Hodges Library, and Two: I am too cheap to get internet for my apartment. I’ve been a card owner for a few months now, and I admit, I’ve only checked out a couple of books, but who needs books anyway when there are so many other things to offer?
The public library downtown is like another dimension. It is also a single girl’s best friend. I mostly go there to use the computers. I guess you could say I’m a regular now. I see a lot of the same faces. From what I gather, a lot of them are homeless. I could be wrong, but there is evidence for my assumption.
I have learned to love the public library for its many eccentricities. There are things you can count on there, like a good friend.
1)Background music. When I use a computer, someone near me, usually right beside me, is listening to music at a very high volume. They don’t have an ipod, but a discman, and those headphones with the silver wire across the top and the big black cushy earphone covers. If I had to make a “best of the public library mix,” it would include Creed, Nickelback, Beyonce, and a lot of death metal. I get to rock out, at absolutely no cost.
2)The wait is never too long for a computer. Everyone’s sessions are timed. Equality for all. 65 minutes is all you get, or 30 on the express computers. You can even reserve a computer if you think that far in advance.
3)Free definitions. Whoever said librarians were quiet was off by a long shot. I had no idea you could call a librarian to get definitions of words. They have a dictionary at hand, ready and waiting. And when you call, you can be assured that not only you will be enlightened by the definition but also whoever else is in the building. Wikipedia, Shmikapedia.
4)Maybe now I subconsciously go for a small ego boost. I am not bragging on this one. This is just a fact. At some point in the game, I get hit on. I might be walking from the front door, perusing the cds, or typing away, but I can always count on it. It never fails that a man, usually with a beard and a dirty shirt, will always be kind enough to tell me how beautiful I am. I have yet to think of a proper response to this. For now, I immediately look down, or away. Anywhere but in eyes of my beholder.
5)FREE CD and DVD rentals. The objective here is to be open-minded. See the selection as a learning experience, not as sparse. I finally learned that I don’t really like Ella Fitzgerald and also what Kathy Bates looks like in the nude.

The public library is great, but you don’t have to take my word for it…