What's Swell In (Your Town's Name Here): Proposal For City Info Threads

I'd like to see a new series of subject threads on different cities and towns and what's cool to see and do there if you're visiting. Most of us seem to travel a fair bit and when we do it's common among our kind to seek out life beyond the endless beige boulevards of TGI Starbucks Garden Subways. Subject threads focussed on one particular town would help travelers by combining all the info into one easy to locate spot. The subjects would be added to as people remembered or discovered new things. This would make it a better source of info than a "I'm going to be in Tikiburg Aug 8-11" type post which may be missed by someone crammed full of good advice.

This idea is a little like the Locating Tiki forum but it would be less academic and focussed on all points of interest whether Tiki or not (Tiki places should be included to make the thread a one stop souce...And though the very excellent "Tiki Road Trip" covers the Tiki topic beautifully don't shy away from posting your opinions of a location). Anything you think is cool in the subject town should go in the thread...Restaurants, bars (Don't forget good Happy Hours!), motels, sculpture, gardens, guide books, shops, neon, and on and on.

Here's how I've been imagining this:

The subject lines would all be unified with something like: "What's Swell In Tikiburg" or "Cool City: Tikiburg" or something similar (suggest away below). This would make it easy to spot and easy to find in a search (just put in "Tikiburg" and check the "Subject" box).

The posts would have a "what where and why" element to them:

"Tikiburg's Falling Gardens of Rum are the best example of alcohol fountain architecture you'll ever see outside of Canada. They're located in the Tikiburg Municipal Dump and Meadows Park, near the Dairy-Go-Round."

If it's a shop or restaurant include address, phone, and hours if you can (most of this can be found via google or online directories...Which yes, people could do for themselves but the ideal of this idea is for the subjects to be good solid resources).

If you already once-upon-a-time posted something about the town it'd be more useful to re-post your info than just linking to it. (This doesn't seem like it'd go against Hanford's Campaign Against Redundant Posting as one of the purposes of this idea is to lessen redundant posts about various towns.)

If you live in the subject town and you want visitors to look you up post your contact info in the thread.

What would be nice to avoid are highly clever but information free posts such as "Tikiburg smells!" Or the "Me too!" type posts such as "Oh yeah, I love Tikiburg's Saturday Market!!!!!" As fun as all that may be it clutters up a thread, making it difficult to find solid information. If you're enthusiastic about a particular place or item already posted give some further info about it, a fond memory (for the armchair travelers who are never going there), or just put in a solid two cents of your own (some readers may give more weight to your opinion than to one already posted).

It'd also be really great to avoid the one liner inside joke one upmanship rounds many threads disolve into. Of course two and a half pages of:

"Not without your liver!"

"Hey- who said anything about dinner let alone liver!!!!"

"Dinner before lunch????"

"Egg McLiverMuffin???"

and so on makes for a riveting read and jolly good time for all, it doesn't help the lone traveler figuring out how to kill a long layover in Tikiburg.

So there's the idea.

Woofmutt,

You mean like this -

Best thing in LA: television
Best to watch world go by: front of TV
Best food in LA: TV Dinner
Best source of radiation in LA: TV
Danger, in LA watch out for: non-television
Greatest theft item in LA: television
Best place for sex in LA: television
Best place to buy Ginsu knife in LA: TV
Best thing to do next to sleep in LA: TV

Hey, this just might work?

Well, not exactly like that Mr. Bong, though your enthusiasm is appreciated (and as one who is as opinionated as myself you'd be just the sorta fellow to supply interesting facts to a particular town's thread).

In case you overlooked it, I'd like to see listings like the example I gave above, which I include here for your convenience:

"Tikiburg's Falling Gardens of Rum are the best example of alcohol fountain architecture you'll ever see outside of Canada. They're located in the Tikiburg Municipal Dump and Meadows Park, near the Dairy-Go-Round."

Something with more input than just a list, though a list of good and cool stuff is better than nothing at all.

I liked your TV idea, Mr. Bong. When I'm traveling I like to watch local TV news for kicks. (As I am basically evil I'm always hoping to see something weird and awful...An investagtive piece on parking meters, or a weatherman who sweats and laughs nervously.) So any listings of odd local TV would be an excellent contribution.

The little town i live in (pop 685) has really nothing exciting. Unless you count the B&B's murder mystery weekend and the old "hangin' tree". I guess my house is the most interesting. Well it will be when i get my backyard finnished.