BURKARD'S BLOG
I searched on the Internet months ago, and found no one keeping a blog about events in Columbus, Georgia. (Well, other than a 15-year-old high school student, and who knows how much he pays attention to the news?) So being the hip web-savvy guy that I am, I decided to start a blog of my own - chronicling happenings in the town I've called home for six years, as well as my experiences in it.
But be warned.... I used to have a humor service called LaughLine.Com, so my views may be a bit amusing. And the views
are my own; no one has paid me to present theirs. Pressured, yes - but paid, no.
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1 AUG 03: SIGNS OF SIN?
It was a shock - SHOCK! - to see the big sign at Tenth Street and First Avenue the other night. The RiverCenter has applied for a license to sell alcohol! Columbus MUST be scared by all that Sunday liquor selling in Phenix City....
I didn't realize the RiverCenter had no alcohol license. So how in the world did they fill that place for a Willie Nelson concert?
Sure enough, the RiverCenter's Executive Director tells today's Ledger-Enquirer country music fans appealed for beer to be sold at concerts. How much it will cost to ship in Pabst Blue-Ribbon is anybody's guess.
Apparently the RiverCenter staff has decided it needs to sell alcohol at performances. We think this will call for an increased budget - if only to get wine stains off the chairs and carpeting.
(Has Columbus State University been consulted about this alcohol license? C.S.U. chased off at least one downtown restaurant over this - so the Columbus Symphony might need to find a back-up concert hall.)
If the RiverCenter starts selling alcohol, isn't that going to hurt the business at bars and restaurants on Broadway? Some might take it personally - and the "Olive Branch" will turn into the "War Club."
(Not to mention concert patrons having too much to drink, then getting wrong ideas about those fountains in the middle of Broadway.... ahem....)
It apparently takes awhile to get a license to sell alcohol in Columbus. An application sign has been posted outside Golden Park since April - which may be yet another reason why fans aren't going to South Georgia Waves games. There's no beer.
As for other vices: did you see the "News 3 Wants to Know" report the other night on Spectrum's cigarette billboards? The reporter asked the Georgia Attorney General's office if they were legal - but she apparently never bothered to ask Spectrum about them! Was the staff too busy selling lottery tickets to talk?
Spectrum's side of the cigarette billboard issue was never presented -- but then again, the convenience stores pay good money to present their views on other things. Things like candy bar sales, discount sodas, two-for-one chips....
The question about Spectrum's "Tobacco Junction" billboards is whether it's legal to show the names of cigarette brands. Tobacco companies can't be on billboards under a recent settlement, but apparently stores which never signed it are exceptions. So why doesn't Spectrum brag about other addictions it sells - like Krispy Kreme doughnuts?
BLOG UPDATE: A walk down Broadway Thursday afternoon took me past another message on the sidewalk. In front of a house were these words written in chalk: "Hello! Welcome to the house of UNRECOGNIZED TALENT!" OK, which TV reality show is taping in Columbus?
Apparently the "unrecognized talent" involves music, because a few musical notes were included with the chalk message. This is a unique way to market your talent - but I really don't think Sean Combs flies over Broadway on his trips to Columbus anymore.
There are many ways in Columbus for "unrecognized talent" to get noticed. This person should get some protest songs ready, for the S.O.A. Watch weekend in November.