My pet peeve about life in San Antonio: KLRN (Austin: buy, auction)

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

That being said, look on the brighter side... you no longer live in South Bend. I grew up there and can speak from 1st hand experience... South Bend stinks ;-)

Well, I am happy not to have Lake Effect snow to deal with, and though we often complained about it while there, I really did enjoy my time there. Lots of interesting people and plenty of things to do, and not too far from Chicago (although lack of good train service was annoying). One of the things I really did like was the local PBS and local NPR affiliates. NPR in particular (I don't recall the call letters) had all sorts of concerts and other events for members which were really fun. Jazz in an historic home, garden parties, etc. And they were free with membership or a minimal charge. The local in SA does have some events, but they're basically fundraisers. I still support NPR, but am getting fed up with KLRN.

I also miss X-country skiing. In winter we used to leave our skis on the car and if the conditions were good, take off at 4pm to go to St Patrick's Park or the lake just south (can not remember it's name now) to do some X-country skiing. Another thing I miss is the farmer's market. I have yet to find the equivalent in SA. Oh, and the Mishawaka Brewery. And an excellent beer/wine shop in Mishawaka whose name escapes me now. And my friends there (although they almost all have now spread out across the globe).

Still, I'm happy without snow!

[BenjaminNicholas]

Good topic. I agree totally.

I am currently a major supporter of KLRN and am considering dropping it this year, thanks to their programming going into the toilet. I've called and emailed them repeatedly to carry things that normal PBS affiliates seem to show, but they're pretty dense.

I always get the 'that's not quite right for the San Antonio market' schpiel. That's total BS. They refuse to carry concerts, vocalists, opera and most musical/theatre showings. I had to beg, borrow and steal just to help convince KLRN that showing the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company last month wasn't a fruitless cause.

In any event, my money and my viewing will go elsewhere. I still support PBS and their avenue to educating children through Sesame Street (and the like), but if KLRN can't get their act together, then it'll be their loss.



BN

[Chaka]

Well, it's good to know I'm not alone. I just wish we could do something about it to improve it. I feel like they really don't get the local market, or rather, assume the local market is only 80-somethings who like Are You Being Served....

[Dube665]

Barbecue U with Steven Raichlen rocks! I also like "Mexico: One Plate at a Time" with Rick Bayless.
I also liked watching "French in Action" (from the 80s). The girl on the show was a hottie.

[tekka-maki]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Well, I am happy not to have Lake Effect snow to deal with, and though we often complained about it while there, I really did enjoy my time there. Lots of interesting people and plenty of things to do, and not too far from Chicago (although lack of good train service was annoying).

You have the South Shore but you are right. Chicago is simply too far for a commuter that keeps reasonable times. Not a lot of demand to make anything better I'm afraid. I lived in Palatine, IL for a few years which was 23 or so miles NW of down town Chicago and even that seemed like a trip by Metra or car sometimes. I can't imagine driving from South Bend to Chicago frequently, especially with the constant 90/94 road construction and the depressing view (Gary/E. Chicago, etc.).

Originally Posted by Chaka

The local in SA does have some events, but they're basically fundraisers. I still support NPR, but am getting fed up with KLRN.

I feel you on that... but I'm sure outside of the NPR umbrella, S.A. has a lot going on (much more than South Bend in fact) in terms of the offerings you are referring too.

Originally Posted by Chaka

I also miss X-country skiing. In winter we used to leave our skis on the car and if the conditions were good, take off at 4pm to go to St Patrick's Park or the lake just south (can not remember it's name now) to do some X-country skiing. Another thing I miss is the farmer's market. I have yet to find the equivalent in SA. Oh, and the Mishawaka Brewery. And an excellent beer/wine shop in Mishawaka whose name escapes me now. And my friends there (although they almost all have now spread out across the globe).

Still, I'm happy without snow!

Yeah, the snow is lacking here (but speaking purely for myself, a good trade off!). I never fancied X-country, just sledding and snowboarding on the few hills that we had. I do remember some good times going to the Warren Dunes in MI though!

If you want though, you'll find microbreweries scattered between S.A., Austin, and Houston. You have vineyards and quaint German Shopping in Fredericksburg; water sports galore in New Braunfels; cruises out of Galveston; and last but not least a thriving tourist mecca in S.A. (e.g. a major venue for conventions and concerts, Zoos, roadside attractions, a wide range of bars/clubs that definitely rival anything in the 'Bend, Museums, Hispanic Art, Riverwalk, Alamo, Seaworld, resorts/hotels/shopping/golf, caves, Six Flags, NBA, a possibly soon to become PGA stop, etc.).

Sure Mishawaka isn't as bad as South Bend! South Bend is a dog and has been that way for many years in terms of crime/growth/infrastructure [to an extent]/public school system/demographics. I think if you took Notre Dame out of the equation though, things would get really ugly.

That being said, I wholeheartedly agree on KLRN's paltry offerings. I used to enjoy PBS a great deal up north... not so much here.

my .02.


BTW, I don't think the offerings on KLRN really speak for the British sitcom type. That analogy might be a little far fetched.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

You have the South Shore but you are right. Chicago is simply too far for a commuter that keeps reasonable times. Not a lot of demand to make anything better I'm afraid. I lived in Palatine, IL for a few years which was 23 or so miles NW of down town Chicago and even that seemed like a trip by Metra or car sometimes. I can't imagine driving from South Bend to Chicago frequently, especially with the constant 90/94 road construction and the depressing view (Gary/E. Chicago, etc.).

I had moved there from New Haven, CT, which is nearly the same distance from NYC as SB is from Chicago. In New Haven it was so easy to hop on the train at almost any time of the day or night. I was hoping for the same when I moved to South Bend but was disappointed. And yeah, there's a really horrible depressing view at one point.

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

I feel you on that... but I'm sure outside of the NPR umbrella, S.A. has a lot going on (much more than South Bend in fact) in terms of the offerings you are referring too.

yes and no. I moved here 'officially' in 9/01 but not permanently til 2004, and we live in the 'arts' district. There is a lot happening in town, but the two things I really miss are the NPR garden jazz events on Fri evenings in summer (usually at an old mansion) and the Concert Series at St Patrick's park. I spent many a wonderful Sat evening at the park listening to music. We don't have quite the same offerings here in SA.

One thing that's really neat is the Cinema on the slab - they play films outdoors at La Tuna (tho the location will probably move in the summer). Often the films are older and sometimes they have live music accompany them.

Originally Posted by tekka-maki

Yeah, the snow is lacking here (but speaking purely for myself, a good trade off!). I never fancied X-country, just sledding and snowboarding on the few hills that we had. I do remember some good times going to the Warren Dunes in MI though!

Ah, Warren Dunes. I loved that place! I really don't miss snow on a daily basis, and I don't miss x-country skiing enough to move back.

[tekka-maki]

I would imagine New Haven to a much more bustling economy than South Bend. Like Gary, South Bend thrived more during the 70s and 80s. But it was mostly factory (e.g. Bendix/Allied Signal and before that Studebaker, etc.) blue collar work. Since that time, both have languished; Gary obviously more to the extreme as it was a huge steel town.

Yeah though, Warren Dunes makes for a great day with friends (by friends, I mean Heinekens).

When you said mansion, it made me think of the old Tippecanoe place. I'm not sure if it was a restaurant when I was young but it sure is now. Nice place. I hear there is a lot of renovation going on downtown and on the near West side now of South Bend too. Frankly, it's just a matter of getting people to move into the historical homes and not fearing for their safety because of the neighborhood. Gentrification is slow there. Here in San Anton, I think gentrification is practically non existent, though new home built inside 1604 do make a difference (insofar as undeveloped areas). For example I'm in a new subdivision near 410 and Marbach (outside 410). I know in the 90s; most people didn't want to be near Lackland. But now with Westover, that's all changed. It might not be Stone Oak or even Alamo Ranch (as its envisioned anyway) but I (and apparently all my neighbors) find it attractively priced and in a convenient location to major arteries.

Regarding cinema, I know they just had some underground film festival here recently (read about it in the S.A. Current). However Austin Film Festival is right around the corner. Since you seem to enjoy the amalgamation of music and theater Cirque Du Soleil is right around the corner. Though I feel spoiled having seen 'O' at the Bellagio 1st. Now every other performance has my expectations set way to high.

Anyway I digress... Indeed, It's a shame about PBS. Luckily I have some of the things I really like from PBS on DVD or in HD (e.g. Chicago, City of the Century; Andre Rieu concerts; Austin City Limits stuff; The War by Ken Burns). I would definitely not pledge any $$ to what is aired for the most part here.

[ptvguy]

Thanks for the discussion about KLRN. Lots of good issues rasied, but some misconceptions as well. Let me try to sort through some of them and bring some better understanding of the station's situation to the discussion. First of all KLRN is a full-service PBS station. We purchase all the PBS National Program Service programming -- including Nature -- and air it first on Sunday nights at 7 PM -- except during membership drives when the schedule changes for a few weeks. Same for NOVA and other "signature" programs. When it's time to raise operational funds, we need to run shows that will perform well as fundraisers. We always repeat our high profile shows overnight so that viewers with recorders can count on catching a repeat of a missed episode. And, as noted, we have multiple Digital channels where we air some repeats and a lot of "DTV only" programs. Moderator cut: Please DM member for further info

[doss1]

What, no one likes the John Denver specials?

[smitty12]

The Diocese down there pumped a couple of Million Dollars into securing the broadcast license and setup costs. I think they still donate a significant sum for operating costs. Without that support there would not even be a public station down there. I'm not saying they should have editorial control, but you have to understand where your funding is coming from.... In order to change, someone would have to find a way to replace that funding.

Also keep in mind that the operational (non programming development) cost for KQED and KMBH is probably pretty similar, but there is a significantly larger and richer population around KQED. Even if you had similar donations on a per-capita basis there would be much less money to support KMBH.