Omaha, NE

“KM Omaha 2007 155″ by Jack Skellington501 (from flickr)

“This tiger lost her leg in the wild. Although you can’t tell from this most common of cat poses, she has adjusted and gets around just fine.”

(words from photographer)

Have you been to the zoo lately? With it getting closer to fall weather, some of the animals will be moving inside, but don’t let that dissuade you. With the jungle, the desert, and so much more to see in the indoor areas of the zoo, you can still have a full day of fun and not get frostbite!

And as the weather gets colder, less people head downtown to visit the animals, so you’re less likely to hit a big crowd.

Omaha, Henry Doorley Zoo, photo of the day

It’s in Omaha’s Old Market district you’ll find some of the widest variety of Omaha people. With several yoga studios, you have the holistic crowd milling around with their mats. There’s Homer’s and Drastic Plastic drawing the younger indie crowd. And there’s more restaurants than I’ve ever seen in any four-block radius!

As the rest of Omaha expands out, heading increasingly west to take over areas such as Gretna and Freemont, the Old Market stands as a reminder of the small-town roots we all share. It’s cobblestone streets may be a nightmare to traverse in winter, but the charm this area holds makes it worth preserving in words and pictures.

Omaha, photo of the day, Old Market, yoga, Homers, Drastic Plastic

First of all, I’m not someone who knows every little thing the football players are doing while they’re on the field. That said, I’m sitting next to someone swearing at the tv because he can see the blitzing and screen passes before the announcers can, so I’m going to try this recap thing.

While we might have blown out Nevada last week, this week’s team isn’t looking as good. And we truly do look like two separate teams. Which one will show up against USC next week? Hopefully the one that blew out Nevada, because the team I’m watching right now, the one that’s struggling to beat Wake Forest when we’ve got more of their stadium filled with friendlies than they do (we’ve got 2/3 of the seats, according to some reports!) and we played so well last week? They are giving me a coronary.

Keller needs to reign in his nerves. That’s first and foremost. He throws amazing, when he can actually hit someone. Those touchdown throws to the stands? Those need to stop. I do like that he’s better at finding the open receiver if his first choice is tied up.

Our defense seems to be moving through molasses, too. All that speed we had in week one seems to be gone, and hopefully they can find it on their way back home for next week’s game.

We haven’t played good on the road since Callahan took over the team four years ago, and while most of us were hoping they’d curb that with the switch in quarterback, the Huskers have proved the only thing they do right on the road is bring their fans along for the horrible ride.

By mid-fourth quarter, we looked like we could maybe pull a win out of our butts. Then Keller handed the ball to Wake Forest like he was trying to make friends with them. He’s going to have to learn to shake those nerves and PLAY SOME FOOTBALL. Thank the gods for our defense, who can take every turnover Keller hands them and turn it into something not too terrible for us. Time and time again, our defense fixes all the fuck-ups Sam Keller creates. These boys deserve a parade.

In the end, we managed to pull off a win, but not thanks to our quarterback. It’s thanks to the luck of a few plays, coupled with the defense pulling off a few decent moments in clutch situations. Take a knee Husker fans … we won by 3.

picture source

Omaha, Huskers, Wake Forest, Sam Keller, Callahan

“fire escape”
photo by “bumbershoot” (flickr account)

“gorilla”
taken by “strtrkmonkeelvvr” (flickr name)

Sullivan’s Bar
(taken by Will w/ Zach’s camera)

This great midtown hangout has karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and always has great specials. Just small enough to feel intimate without the pretention of most smaller bars. A must-see if you’re in the midtown area.

Omaha, Sullivan’s Bar, photo of the day

park, omaha, nebraska
dances fantastic
may, 2006

Omaha, Omaha photo of the day

west dodge overpass
bret mcvey
august 2006

“Traveling east under the West Dodge Overpass in Omaha, Nebraska.”

omaha, omaha photo of the day, bret mcvey, dodge overpass

Here’s a great-ish video of the Plain White T’s performing their hit “hey there deliliah” earlier this year here in omaha. Enjoy!

Omaha, Plain White T’s, “hey there delilah”

“morning shines”
paul gornell
july 2007

“The morning sun rises behind the steeple of the Westside Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska. With it brings the hope of a new day and a finality to the old one.”

omaha, paul gornell, westside baptist church, photo of the day, omaha photo of the day

The Ranch Bowl … an Omaha staple. People of all ages remember seeing such bands as The Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311 play. Volleyball in the summer and bowling all winter long, as well as the pool hall Snookers were also staples of this amazing music venue. And then the 21st century hit, and the bands got shittier and the crowds got smaller. And the Ranch Bowl Closed it’s doors.

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“and so it goes …”
paul gornell
june 2007

Found this rather fitting piece of graffiti at the abandoned Burlington Train Station.

When the Burlington Train Station in Omaha, Nebraska was opened in 1898, this Italianate style building, designed by Thomas Rogers Kimball, was hailed by newspapers around the world for its grand architecture and accommodations. Today, it’s just an abandoned building in the industrial part of town.

The railroad was influential in the growth of Omaha and Nebraska, and the Omaha Burlington Station served the needs of both passengers and freight longer than any depot in Omaha history. Remodeled in 1954, the station saw a major parking plaza erected with lights and canopy, and a circular drive that enabled people to drop passengers at the station.

During the late 1960s train travel was greatly reduced and several areas of the station fell into disrepair. Finally, in 1971, passenger service was turned over to Amtrak and they operated the Burlington Station until February 1, 1974. That year the Burlington Train Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Recently, Burlington Station was bought by developers and is currently being renovated into private residences called “The Burlington”.

It’s not all sad. Here’s a website of the planned renovations: www.burlingtonstation.com

(all text from Paul Gornell)

omaha, omaha photo of the day, paul gornell, burlington station

I’m taking an idea from the about washington dc site, and starting up a “photo of the day” thing. Every day you’ll find snaps from all over omaha, and from all sorts of people. Sometimes they’ll by my photos, but the hope is that you’ll all man up and start sending me some of your pics to be used here so I don’t have to bore you with my sub-par photography. If you’ve got something for me, send a link to it (hopefully at flickr or some such photo hosting site) with the following info:

* your name as you’d like it to appear here.
* month and year the photo was taken
* any description you’d like with the photo
* any websites, blogs, etc you’d like me to link to you

And that’s it. This will start Monday, and I’ve already got some killer pics lined up!

Have I really been out of the gay scene for so long that I missed The Best Of Gay Omaha?!?! Tradgedy. Last weekend the best of the best in drag queens, kings, and so much more came out to salute each other and raise some money (although for what I’m not sure, because I wasn’t there). Check out a couple more pics after the jump, and if you’re part of this scene, shoot me a note next time there’s a drag show in town!

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State-wide test scores are coming in, and students are scoring better than ever with writing. As many as nine-tenths of students are now reaching state-set goals for writing progress. How did the Omaha-area schools fare?

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