Dirkmonster

Central Parking is the latest Predator near Bridgestone Arena

The Predators came back from the Olympic break with an exciting 4-3 win over Edmonton Tuesday night.  On the Forecheck has all the victorious details.

A number of changes greeted Predators fans - all but one were pleasant.

Central Parking

Central Parking, the nationwide corporate behemoth with a tight grip on downtown Nashville parking, boosted prices as much as 50% to take advantage of a shortage of spaces produced by construction of the new convention center south of the arena.  In the Hilton underground garage, parking is now $15 (shout out to @joelhepler for picking that up).

I could have predicted these Robber Barons would pull something like this.  But the city should have as well.  Metro government could have prevented or curtailed such "predatory" business practices as part of the convention center plan.

We should be interested to learn how much the city paid central parking for its lot south of the arena and how much revenues jump over the 36 months as construction constricts downtown parking.

I heard a lot of people talking about it at the game - please comment below on other lots or better solutions before I go broke before the end of the season.

Bang Bang - "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood"

Our hopes for a speedy recovery go out to the two people shot last night in an apparent drug related disagreement on Fred Rogers Place in Nashville.

The irony is too much to resist however - a double shooting on Fred Rogers Place?  Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, as we recall, is characterized "by its quiet simplicity and gentleness" (Wikipedia).

On the other hand, it also brings back the memories of a young Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live and his parody Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood.  And still more irony! Notice the puppet show in the clip.

Predators Skate of the Union 2009

There's nothing like sweaty hockey fans in July to getting excited about the upcoming season. The Nashville Predators held their annual Skate of the Union event for fans tonight at the Sommet Center in downtown Nashville.

I got my picture taken with Predators star forward Steve Sullivan.  In front of us is the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy he won as  "the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey".

Click here to see my photos and highlights from the event.

Adios, English Only!

Nashville Council Member Eric Crafton should have to go to every school in Metro and write on the board: "Mis ideas son malas para Nashville" 500 times.  Dear readers, that's the closest translation I could come up with for: "My ideas are bad for Nashville".

Nashville voters soundly defeated Crafton's proposed Charter Amendment that would force all city business to be done in English.  Everyone from the Governor to the Chamber of Commerce was against this mean and divisive measure.  You didn't have to have much more than common sense to agree this was a terrible idea.

But, then, you just have to look at who brought this to a vote to discover someone for a talent for pushing bad ideas. Nashville Councilman Eric Crafton has made a career in public disservice out of them.

Back in the late 90's, Crafton led the charge against the idea of building a football stadium for the Tennessee Titans on the banks of the Cumberland river.  The special ballot measure he was against passed convincingly.  Crafton again had the wrong idea - you won't find too many people now who wish the Titans had gone somewhere else.  I remember back then I wondered how Eric Crafton would have written Eric Clapton's song Change the World:

If I cold change Metro,
There would be no football in the universe.
You'd think narrow mindedness was something good,
Baby if I could change Metro...

May I suggest that the group formed to defeat Crafton's latest crap stay organized?  Nashville needs to finally send this guy packing, preferably to somewhere where government business can only be done in a language he does not speak.

The new Sudekum Planetarium at Adventure Science Center

Get ready to blast off into space and explore the stars.  The brand new Sudekum Planetarium and Space Chase at Nashville's Adventure Science Center opens this week and it takes the city into the stratosphere of attractions.

Full disclosure: My wife is on the Board at the Adventure Science Center.  And that's why I got the chance to experience the dedication of the new Sudekum Planetarium and Space Chase exhibit last night. Lucky me!

This re-invention of the planetarium has no equal in North America.  And it's where? Here?

It took twelve months to build the new planetarium and exhibit wing, the same amount of time required to manufacture and install the "star" piece of technology in the Sudekum Planetarium - a GOTO Chiron Hybrid projection system.

The Sudekum is the first planetarium in the United States to have this unique GOTO system, which sports a serial number of 4.  The first three systems reside in Japan.  The Chiron optical star projector is a 28-inch sphere that uses fiber optic bundles and a complex optical path of lenses, iris and digital shutters to project 6.5 million stars on the dome for a beautiful and realistic re-creation of the night sky.

It's all that and a bag of chips, folks.  In a round theater, the reclinable high backed seats tilt toward the domed screen.  In the middle of the room is the GOTO which which seems to be a stunning example of technology and art.  The show, Stars, is a 26 minute trip through the universe, our galaxy and an animated lesson in the history of astro-physics.  The film is narrated by Mark Hamill (yes, Skywalker) and the original score was recorded by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

The Space Chase exhibit area features opportunities to strap into a harness and experience gravity on the moon surface as well as how it feels to take a space walk.  There's a round table that tilts and spins in order to tour the globe via satellite photographs.  Large scale exhibits create a better understanding of our place in the milky way.  This is $22 million worth of fun and learning.

This attraction will be a destination in and of itself drawing people to Nashville.  The buzz has started and you watch it get stronger.  NBC Nightly News is airing a piece on it tonight.  I expect the planetarium show to be the toughest ticket in town this summer.