And by the way, has anyone seen any of our authors? Seems like we all disappeared with the old site….

So what’s the deal with Lonnie’s on West End? Driving back into town yesterday from my holiday vacation, I was cruising down West End Avenue when I spotted the familiar Lonnie’s logo newly posted above the former nail salon space next to Cumberland Transit. The windows were blocked out, so I couldn’t see what was going on inside, but if Lonnie’s is about to open a satellite karaoke bar that I can walk to, I’m all for it. Anyone know what’s going on with this?

More good news: Lime has finally opened on Broadway next door to Broadway Brewhouse. All the Rage reports that the much-anticipated hotspot had a soft opening last weekend. Since I just got back in town yesterday, I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but hopefully I’ll give it a go over the weekend.

Finally, if you don’t have plans for Monday night (or don’t really care to watch the big game on TV), by all means check out Eli Young Band at Third and Lindsley. EYB is one of my favorite bands and a great group of musicians. The show starts at 6:00pm.

Oh well – back to $400+ roundtrips on Delta, AA, and Continental. With no satellite TV. It was fun while it lasted.

Anyone with experience care to weigh in on whether we should be excited?

They apparently have finally shelled out the $7.99 to buy their own domain and get it off of Bart Durham’s law office site, but it is still just as bizarre as ever.

Rumor is that you can also see it on Comcast On-Demand, but I’m really frightened by the prospect of seeing Bart’s Munschesque visage on my big screen in high def. I would expect some sort of Medusa reaction, so I think I’ll stick with online viewing.

I’m not certain why something called Nashville Soap Opera was filmed in San Antonio and Malibu, but I smell a boondoggle. Maybe the Durhams should specialize in tax shelter laws instead of personal injury, but that’s just me talking.

Anyway, I heartily recommend knocking back a bottle of Benedryl (strictly for allergy treatment, of course) and curling up with your laptop to view a few episodes of this serial. It’s enjoyable in a freak show sorta way.

Thanks to the efforts of a certain feline member of our household that has managed to pry off several keys from my ancient Dell laptop, leaving me forced to write like e.e. cummings, I am in desperate need of a new laptop. Unfortunately, having just returned from vacation, I don’t have a grand and a half to spend.

But let’s pretend I did. Where would you send me and what should I buy? This is not intended to spark a Mac vs. PC debate. I’m already bi that way, so I am open to any and all suggestions.

To end the giving to panhandlers is the correct first step. Delivering help and a way out of the lifestyle to those who want it must then happen next.

If we want to truly end the pandhandling problem downtown, we have to understand the root causes and work to address them as well. Stopping the flow of cash to those begging for it must be the first step, but it can’t be the only step. Telling people to simply not give cash to panhandlers is nothing more than a stopgap solution. That said, we must also all be in agreement that something must be done. As the editorial says:

Panhandling downtown has reached an unacceptable level and must be curtailed. . . No one – tourists or locals – wants to frequent any area of commerce if it is associated with uncomfortable confrontation. People do not take their families out to eat, shop and see attractions in places they know in advance will be unpleasant.

Perhaps we can put in place a true coalition – business leaders, homeless rights advocates, downtown dwellers – and actually make some progress on this issue.

The good news is that the airport is poised to really step up its game. If you’ve flown out of BNA in the last month or so, you’ve probably already seen the huge, new flight status boards hanging on the wall directly opposite the two main entrances to the ticketing lobby. These are accompanied by new flat screen flight status monitors now being installed around the airport. Even cooler than the new technology, however, is the food that’s starting to appear on the concourses. Last night I saw the new O’Charley’s in Concourse C, along with the partially opened food court that includes Baja Burrito Express, Famous Famiglia, Burger King and Quizno’s Subs. Tasty! There was also a new Sunglasses Hut that just opened for business. These restaurants represent just the first phase of many more improvements that will be unveiled over the next two years at BNA.

And oh yeah, the Admiral’s Club. American shut down the Nashville club in 2002, right after air traffic took a nose dive post-9/11. The Nashville location was one of several around the country that shut down at that time, and is the first of those to reopen. Everyone on hand from American was very excited about the club coming back online, and it’s clear that AA has plans to ramp up service at BNA. Since they shut down their mini-hub here in 1996, AA hasn’t exactly had a large presence at the airport. Hopefully that is starting to change.

All in all, after last night I really got the feeling that Nashville’s is an airport on the rise. I’ve always enjoyed BNA’s ease of use (and short security lines) but now I might actually try to get to the airport a little earlier to enjoy some fish tacos from Baja Express!

So I went in to get Marta-ed. Yeah, I know it’s not called MARTA anymore; it’s technically emissions testing. But I still refer to all the Macys/Parisian/Hechts/Belks around town as Castner Knott and Cain Sloan, so sue me.

I thought I did everything correctly. I went in the middle of the week in the middle of the month in the middle of the afternoon when I figured nobody was desperate to get their registration before Mickey Metro popped them for expired tags. I entered the roundabout driveway at the Emissions Testing station on Craighead and hung at the back of the pack so that I could still count cars and switch lanes to the shortest one like I was waiting for a drive-through teller. Wnen somebdy pulled in behind me, I made my shift at the last possible second to the lane that seemed to be moving the fastest.

I continued to advance toward the testing bay, obdiently turning off my my cell phone, a/c and radio. I was second in line with about twenty cars behind me (suckers!) spread across all three lanes.

Then the POS Buick right in front of me overheated and shot a geyser that would make both Old Faithful and Ron Jeremy proud. Needless to say, nobody was in the mood to let the guy second in line merge over into a new lane just because the car in front of him was utterly incapacitated. An hour later when the wrecker arrived to tow off the beater in front of me, the testing employee was quick and courteous. It wasn’t her fault, but I might have seemed a little cranky myself.

So what are your hints to get through the bureacracy of emisions testing and vehicle registration? Maybe I’ll remember for next year.

“Gloom, depair and agony on me.”