ModestGeniusXL

Thursday Throwback

The Pic That (Kinda) Started It All

Technically, this isn't even close to the pic that got me started on the path to the brainchild that would eventually become XL-Images.  I'm not sure how far back I would have to go to find a pic that would actually qualify for that.  However, this was the one pic that I took a serious look at and discovered that there was something that that I needed to tap further into.  If only would have had that serious spark years go.  THIS should have been what I studied in college.

At any rate, this remains one of my favorite pictures.  It doesn't matter that it isn't the official state of XL-Images.  It served as an integral part in the formative stages and that's good enough...

 

Thursday Throwback

River Hills Movie Theater

It's rather sad that I was unable to find one single picture of this place anywhere online.  You would think that for as long as it was a staple of the Des Moines skyline that there would be a record of it somewhere on the web.  Had I been thinking I would have taken a picture or two of it before it was demolished.  I didn't though.  So you'll just have to settle for this photo of the Des Moines skyline while I describe for you the magnificence that was the River Hills.

Before the days of megaplexes (megaplexi?) in every city had that one theater that was the crown jewel of theaters in the city.  The largest one in the city.  Maybe I'm speaking in generalities because I've known Des Moines for so long, but that's how it was for us.  There were theaters all across the city like Fleur Four, The Varsity and the Sierra 3 just to mention a few.  But you knew for sure that any movie that was well expected to be a major blockbuster would play at only one place in the city and that was The River Hills.

The huge theater sat just at the edge of the north side of downtown.  It was right off the Des Moines river so if you were traveling eastbound on 235 you could catch the marquee of the latest movie to be gracing the screen.  As big as it was inside it wasn't suited to accommodate crowds in line for tickets.  Therefore, it was very common to see a line wrapped around the building to catch the latest "Star Wars", "Superman" or even "Indiana Jones" flick to hit our city.  But you would be more than happy to be one of the lucky folks waiting in line to catch the hottest film out.

The River Hills had stadium seating before it was even popular.  When you walked into the theater you were at the top with the rows and rows and rows of chairs descending downward leading to the screen.  It was a rather intimidating sight for a young kid.  It seemed like the there were chairs for days.  However, the good thing is they were the most comfortable in the city.  And more importantly, because of the way they were situated in that faux-stadium design you never had anyone blocking your view.

Going to a movie at the River Hills was an event.  It wasn't just a regular movie.  I would look forward to those move nights with the fam more than anything else.  Because it meant that we would be able to enjoy a movie in style with the surround sound (before we even knew what "surround sound" was), plush seating so comfortable it would almost put you to sleep and the satisfaction of knowing that we would be among the first first to see the latest release.

I must also add that it was actually two theaters in one.  There left side was the one that played the major hits.  The right side played the lesser knowns that still deserved major billing.  However, in all the years that it was here, I don't ever remember once going over to that right side.  It was like the lonely adopted stepbrother as the left side dominated in attendance night in and night out.

I don't know about anyone else but it was rather sad news for me when they announced they would be tearing down the theater to make way for what is now Wells Fargo arena.  It had been a landmark in the city for years and years.  It held tons of memories for me like seeing "Return of the Jedi" 5 times there.  It was very surreal when I went there to see "The Blair Witch Project" knowing that it would be the last movie I would ever see in that storied building.  They had a good run though.  Plus, no matter how long and how imposing the new Wells Fargo Center sits in its spot, that location will always be known to me as the home of The River Hills.

Thursday Throwback

Mrs. Ward

The latest trend on The Book seems to be a fettish with creating a "You know you're from (insert city name here) if..." where folks relay their favorite quick memories from the past.  It was cute at first but then it started getting annoying.  The timeline started getting c0ngested with those posts because group moderators didn't know how to properly edit the settings of their group.  Okay...I'm going a little off the deep end for those of you who aren't familiar with Facebook so let me cut right to the chase.  The latest phenomena led to a creation of a similar Norwalk group which of course brought up memories of Mrs. Ward.  Which reminded me I had to do a post about her.

We all have that one teacher from our past who is our favorite for different reasons.  Mrs. Ward held that distinction with me.  The band teacher Mr. Patten was a VERY close second but we'll save that for another post.  For now, it's about Mrs. Ward.  It really is quite an honor too because I don't have the best memory when it comes to my time in Norwalk.  However, most of my better memories stem from her class and the folks that I interacted with in it and because of it. 

The irony of it is that Mrs. Ward started her career at Norwalk at the same time that we were beginning our journey there.  We were just freshman and she was supposed to be filling in just for one year for a teacher.  I think the story is that something happened to that teacher and Mrs. Ward ended up getting the gig full time.  Don't quote me on that though because I could be missing something.  The important thing is that Mrs. Ward was able to enjoy the first year of NHS just as we were except she got it from the teacher's perspective.

Mrs. Ward choir room was like a haven of sorts for all of us.  The fact that we enjoyed singing was a definite plus.  However, the best part about being in her Chorus class was that she let everyone be themselves.  She was fully aware that we all brought our own personalities to the table and she did not try to stifle that.  Now could that have had something to do with the fact that it was her first year and maybe she was trying to get in good with us?  Afterall, Chorus was the only class besides Band that had a mixture of students ranging from freshman to seniors.  That may have had something to do with it.  If so, that was just fine with us.

Most of all I loved how Mrs. Ward allowed our creative juices to flow.  Sure we had to stay within the structure of a song when singing as a choir, but there other opportunities for us to shine differently.  Things like the Swing Choir, the Madrigal Dinners, the musicals.  She would let us come up with our own dance routines for certain songs or maybe even put in some additional lines to already scripted performances. It sometimes took some goading and maybe even a compromise or two but it was always well worth it.

We always knew where we stood with Mrs. Ward.  She had such an affable personality that she was able to take some polite ribbing from the students at times.  We always knew where to draw the line though.  There was never any disrespect.  We just enjoyed the fact that she would let us have our own fun that we would sometimes want to include her.  She was probably privy to more inside jokes than any other teacher I've ever known.  Heck, most of those inside jokes were probably initiated right there in her Choir room.

I would like to think that over our four years at Norwalk that Mrs. Ward was able to enjoy our presence just as much as we enjoyed hers.  There was a core group of us that stuck with Chorus from freshman year all the way through our senior year which allowed her to get accustomed to all of our little idiosyncrasies.  There was pretty much nothing we could say and/or do that would shock her.  And believe me, there were more than a couple of instances that my friends Skip and Wahl would try.  Mrs. Ward was always a good sport though which went a long way with many of us.

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the teaching aspect that Mrs. Ward brought to the table.  She was able to help me to better develop my singing voice which I naively thought was already good.  She knew full well that I couldn't read a lick of music and worked with me so that I could still understand melodies enough so I could at least do it by ear.  And don't even get me started about how she helped bring about the Barbershop quartet.

I can honestly say there were a number of teachers at Norwalk that I will always remember.  Many for better and a few for worse.  However, Mrs. Ward will always remain the most memorable.  I alway wished that when my kids got into school they would have a teacher as great as her.  Not sure it could ever happen though.  Mrs. Ward was definitely one of a kind.

 

Thursday Throwback

Gilligan's Island

The passing of Sherwood Schwartz had me thinking about all the great shows he left us.  Okay...so there were honestly only two of them that I hold dear.  But those two were a couple of juggernauts.  Those two alone were enough.  "Brady Bunch" is easily the most popular of his creations to make it the MOST memorable.  Which is exactly why I chose to reflect on "Gilligan's Island".  To give it a little more shine that it would have otherwise not gotten.

My first memory of the show was watching it at Popoo and Grandma's house back in the day.  Teandra and I would spend just about every summer down there when we were shorties.  We would spend the better part of the day playing outside then come inside in the afternoon to watch some good ol' Channel 41.  This was one of the many shows that would grace their afternoon line-up. 

The one thing that I always recall the clearest was my pessimism with the believability of the show.  Not so much the most obvious thing that people always state.  You know what that is, right?  It was wondering how the Professor could make all those gadgets out of the most primitive items (like a car...remember that one??) but couldn't fix the hole in the boat.  No...for me I always questioned the feasibility of many of the things they had on that island.  Things like the aforementioned car.

However, it was those type of things that always made the Gilligan's Island such an awesome place.  They were living in these very basic huts but they made them look SO much tha bomb.  I swear that those huts were decked out better than my college dorm room.  I may have even traded one of those joints for my room when I was a shortie.  They just had them looking so homey.

Don't even get me started on the sex appeal factor of the show.  You know I'm talking about Ginger and Mary Ann.  Yes...I was only a prepubescent kid at the time, but that was also the time I was taking notice of girls.  And there was plenty to notice about both Ginger and Mary Ann.  Mary Ann was always the one I was more partial to.  Her down-to-earth style had much more of an allure than Ginger's over-the-top sensuality.  It also didn't hurt that Mary Ann claimed to be from Kansas.

When it was all said and done, it was the overall atmosphere that Schwartz had created with that show that made it so amazing.  These characters made it seem like living on a deserted island would be the ultimate life.  They made you wish you could also get stranded so you too could live in a primitive paradise of your own.  Or at the very least, it made you wish that you could visit their paradise if only to chill with them for a little bit.  Gilligan's Island was a utopia all its own and I still can't get enough of it.

Unfortunately, you'd be hard-pressed to find "Gilligan's Island" in syndication anywhere these days.  It seems networks are more willing to show reruns of shows that have only been off the air a few years (or in some cases not even off the air yet) rather than a classic like this one.  It's too bad too because it's been off the air so long that there's an entire generation that has never even heard of it.  I would have thought that Scwhartz's passing would have seen a renewed interest in it.  Nothing yet though.  I'm hopeful some station will still make it happen.  We could all use a 3-hour tour in our life.

 

Thursday Throwback

Da Vinci's

Some friends and I happened to be talking about this place in Ames named Pizza Pit the other day.  It was a laughing stock years ago but seems to have reinvented themselves in recent years.  Apparently they have become better known for their wings than their pizza.  So much so that former students will travel from Des Moines to Ames (roughly a 45 minute trip) just for their wings.  Personally, I don't see it.  I recently tried their wings and was not impressed at all.  But talking about that place had me reminiscing about other spots Ames had that were quite tha bomb back in the day.

Fortunately, some of the staples that were in Ames from my college days are still around.  Even if they're  not  quite as good.  Lucallan's still sits in the old downtown portion of the city though has different    ownership so the food is not as tasty.  Great Plains and their world famous deep dish pizza is still in the same area also.  Then there is Hickory Park which is arguably one of the better barbecue places in Iowa in lieu of no Gates.  However, the place that many of my generation loved the most is no longer around.

DaVinci's was an Italian restaurant that sat just outside of campustown.  Close enough that anyone could walk to if need be but they also delivered.  It actually hung around for quite a while.  It wasn't until about five years ago or so that they closed it down to be replaced by some Chinese restaurant.  I can't understand how they weren't getting enough business to stay open because it always had the perfect location, perfect food and perfect prices.

To call it a "restaurant" may be a little misleading.  Whenever I hear that word I think of a formal place where you go and have dinner and doesn't have a tendency to deliver.  Although Da Vinci's did have a dining room where folks could sit down and eat if they wanted to I just don't recall ever using it.  In fact, it was always pretty empty whenever I would stop in on the rare instances to pick up an order rather have it delivered.  Ohh...maybe that's why they're no longer in business?

Different people will give you different versions of what Da Vinci's specialty was.  For most it was their Philly cheesesteak hoagie.  Til this day I still don't know what a real cheesesteak from Philly tastes like.  So I'm sure anyone who has will scoff at the idea that Da Vinci's versions were pure heaven.  Say what you want, but they really were.  Especially when you get extra meat.  Their meat was tender and succulent enough that when it combined with the cheese it would all practically melt in your mouth.  I think I may be salivating just thinking about one of those joints.

Somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to try something different from there.  Even though I absolutely LOVED those cheesesteaks.  So I switched it up and ordered a roast beef hoagie.  It was INCREDIBLE!  I don't know if it was the lettuce or the sauce or the fact that I was just always hungry or what, but it was just as good as their cheesesteaks.  I knew whenever I wanted a change of pace I could always go that route and be just as good.

But alas...the closing of Da Vinci's would mean the dream sammiches would be gone forever.  The worst part about it is I don't know of another location even remotely close.  I've never seen one anywhere else in Iowa.  It's too bad because the one thing that Ames always had were niche eateries that set Ames apart from everywhere else.  Now we have to rely on places like The Cafe to provide good food?  These kids these days have no idea what they're missing.

 

 

 

Thursday Throwback

Fat Albert

We have this channel here you can only get on digitall cable called Retro TV.  It's definitely no Centric but not that bad since you don't have to get the extra expanded package to get it.  On Saturday mornings they bless us with some throwback cartoons like this one, Thundarr the Barbarian, He-Man and the likes.  I could have probably made this article about their entire schedule, but it was Fat Albert in particular that had been on my mind.

It came on the other day and I tried to get G to watch it.  He just won't get into it.  It doesn't entertain him for some reason. It can't be the shoddy animation because if you ever watch some of the cartoons they have these days, it's not like they put a lot of effort into their work.  Maybe it was just because it was so dated that he couldn't really appreciate it?  I don't know what it is but it just couldn't connect with him.

Me on the other hand?  Well my generation grew up on some Fat Albert.  We knew Fat Albert before we even knew that it had come about from a bit in comedian Bill Cosby's act.  We knew Cosby as the only live action guy on the animated show as opposed to the cat who helped to further break down racial barriers by being a part of the "I Spy" drama/action series.  Cosby was the one who helped decipher the storyline of each episode just in case we weren't smart enough to get the message ourselves.

It was the message in each show that was really the best part of that cartoon.  Cosby was out for more than just getting some laughs.  He wasn't trying to get a cartoon out there that could lure us kids in so we would want to get merchandise associated with the show.  He was out to make sure that kids were able to get a little education while getting entertained at the same time. 

It wasn't like Bill was going for little easy messages either.  Sure, there were the shows where you are reminded about the right and wrong between things like stealing.  However, he would get deep with no problem also.  I caught an episode the other day where he was talking about child abuse.  Another before that was how kids deal with divorce.  Honestly, I don't remember the topics being that heavy when I was a shortie.  It's not like these are new shows though so maybe I just wasn't paying closer attention back then.

When you think about it, cartoons of that era were good at giving us kids not so subtle positive messages.  "Superfriends" was the same way.  "Scooby-Doo" too if you think about it.  As if that wasn't enough we also had "Schoolhouse Rock" coming on as interludes between our favorite cartoon shows that were just as good as doing that.  It's a lost art that you would be hard pressed to find in the cartoons of today. 

But don't get it twisted, you should know the real reason why I liked Fat Albert as a shortie.  There were a handful of cartoons around that had maybe a Black character or two.  Even the Superfriends had a Black superhero as part of the Justice League.  But there wasn't a single animated show that featured an all-Black cast.  I was diggin' that.  To this day, I can't think of another cartoon that was able to pull off that same thing on a major network.  So yeah...thanks to that and "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World" Bill Cosby can pretty much say whatever he wants and I'm good with it

 

Thursday Throwback

 

Thursday Throwback

 

Thursday Throwback

Albertsons

This may not be considered much of a throwback to some folks depending on what part of the country (or maybe even world if I'm feeling ambitious) that you're in.  However, that's not quite the case for all of us in Central Iowa.  This name is a blast from the past for us.  A name that was commonplace for a minute and has since fallen by the wayside.

I happen to remember Albertsons from even further back in the day when I used to work in the pension department at Principhell.  They were one of our biggest customers at the time.  No clue if that's still the case since I haven't been there for years.  It wasn't until working there that I even realized what Albertson's was.  Someone pointed out they were a rather large grocery chain that was popular down south.  That was all fine and good but that certainly wasn't the case in Iowa where Hy-Vee and Dahl's reigned supreme.  It was like Albertson's heard me thinking that because they set out to change that very soon after.

It was probably around the late 90s that the Albertsons stores started popping up around the Des Moines area.  And it wasn't like they were doing it gradually or even small for that matter.  These were huge grocery stores that were surfacing in heavy populated areas of the city.  They were making it known that they were moving it to take over the turf that Hy-Vee had laid claim to for so long.

For a while, Albertson's stayed pretty hot because they were the knew kids on the block.  Folks wanted to see if they really were as good as their reputation proclaimed to be.  Was there something that we were missing in the midwest that the south had known all along?  Well I don't know if their locations down south were different but their presence in Iowa was unimpressive to say the least.

The first time I walked into the Albertsons in West Des Moines, I noticed something very odd.  I looked impressively large and extravagant for a grocery store.  More grandiose than any other we had at the time.  However, the problem was the smell didn't quite match.  It had the nasty stench of a pet store.  As if kitty litter and stale dog doo permeated the air.  It was extremely nauseating.  I don't know if I happened to catch the store on a bad day or what, but I never forgot that.

That wasn't their only issue though.  The other thing that kept me from returning there was their prices.  It was a known fact that Hy-Vee was so popular because they were so economical.  Dahl's stuck around because they were higher priced, but they tended to carry items that Hy-Vee didn't (like my Gate's barbecue sauce).  But Albertson's was priced higher than both of those.  It's like they were trying to cater to the niche crowd of the rich folks but doing so with the misnomer that Des Moines had a plethora of those.  Us common people weren't having it

Before long, the Albertson's stores starting shutting down as quickly as they arrived.  I don't even think they were around a year if I remember correctly.  The Albertson's bigwigs very soon realized that their business model would not work in our community and they were ghost.  As a matter of fact, there is still a remnant of their presence in West Des Moines where one of their former buildings remains unoccupied.  A stark reminder that bigger isn't always better.  At least not as long as it means more expensive. 

Thursday Throwback

E-40 "Concert"

I'm going to cheat a little bit on this one too.  It's not much of a throwback per se since it just happened last weekend.  But I'm so far behind in my postings that it seems like it was ages ago.  Therefore, that qualifies the event at the 504 Club as a throwback.  Besides, folks have been asking me when I was going to post the pics from this event for a while now so the timing was perfect.  I couldn't do it without a corresponding post though.

I made a decision not that long ago that I would stop doing posts about First Fridays.  It was keeping consistent with my practice of not doing posts on shoots that I do.  It's just better if I not delve into my inner thoughts when I do those.  That would include First Fridays.  However, this function would not be included since I wasn't hired to shoot it even though I tried to get the gig.  This was purely a recreational shoot which means it was subject to my criticisms.

I had no intentions of going to this event.  I already knew I had a very long Saturday ahead of me so I just felt like chillin'.  But then I found myself getting a little antsy as I was over at Cousin Michelle's.  I wondered if E-40 was really going to be at this 504 Club like they were advertising on The Book.  Only one way to find out.  Made a quick text to Michelle to get the hook up with free entrance. I wasn't trying to pay $20 to get in.  Folks start tripping with what they charge for everything when the Relays roll around.  The kid wasn't falling for it.  So Michelle came thru with the hook-up and we were in there.

The other reason I was interested in going was to get a look at the layout for 504.  It would be the venue for First Fridays tomorrow so I could get an advance look to see what I was working with.  The location immediately looked familiar.  It was a former hood bar from back in the day.  It had a name or Excalibur or something like that.  Only I don't remember it being that big back then.  Or that plain.

I'm going to need someone to explain to me how a place is going to have a VIP section and it consists of patio furniture.  The chairs in the regular portion was better than VIP.  Not to mention that it was only "secluded" by some chincy looking yellow rope.  And if I'm not mistaken, there weren't even any drink specials going on there.  I personally don't see how anyone could feel very important with that kind of set-up.

So I guess the party was sponsored by some cat named Bangladesh?  And I guess he's from Des Moines?  So apparently he's a local celebrity of sorts because he produced that Lil Wayne song "A Milli"?  Don't feel bad if you don't know it.  I'm not a Lil Wayne fan either.  But for those of us who weren't familiar with the song, they played it non-stop for probably a good 20 minutes so Bangladesh could take the stage. 

My guess was that E-40 wouldn't show up until well after midnight.  If he was there at all. I wasn't believing anyone there when we got there at 10pm and they said he was already in the building.  No way he was showing up that early.  Sure enough, it was after 1am before he finally came out.  Keep in mind that our clubs close at 2am.  Some of them at 1:30 to give folks enough time to clear out.  Therefore, I was confident that dude wouldn't be on the stage long. 

I was right.

E-40 probably performed for a good 15 minutes.  If that.  What he basically did was hit a verse from each of his best known hits.  Don't get me wrong...he did rock it for those 15 minutes.  I had actually forgotten he had that many good songs.  Still, it would have been nice to hear the full version of those cuts.  It would have been even better if the sound system didn't sound like it was hooked up to a boombox for the sound quality.  I guess I can't complain too much since it was free.  I felt a little bad for those folks that paid $20 for that though.  And the place was PACKED so 504 got over big time with that one.

There are photos just as I promised.  No album out here though.  Not sure I'll be putting anymore photo albums on the blog.  Probably just family stuff going forward.  If that.  I'm just feelin' SmugMug too much not to take advantage of the high def quality that it offers to view the photos there.  So you can check out all the photos by clicking this link: E-40 "Concert".  If you're an E-40 fan, I actually got some very good pictures of him.  One of the benefits for being on the same stage with him the entire time.  The entire 15 minutes.