The 2011 Tyler Area Parade of Homes

May 10th, 2011

Hard as it is to believe, it’s nearly time for the Tyler Area Parade of Homes to start again. It seems like only a couple of weeks ago that I was writing about this same event, but believe it or not, our area is gearing up once again for the annual tour. It started in 1953 as a way for local builders to demonstrate their craft for local potential clients. At the time the tour contained only ten homes and a handful of builders. Since then it has grown to include more than fifty homes and now includes both contractors and subcontractors.

So who exactly attends this event every year? All of East Texas actually. It’s not just folks in construction or real-estate who enjoy touring the area homes. It’s anyone looking for any kind of design or decorating ideas. It’s also attended by folks like my dad who watch home improvement and design shows religiously. The fact that our housing market is so depressed may actually bring out more house tourists as well. While I certainly can’t afford to own a new luxury home perhaps I can live vicariously through those who can. Evidently this year’s route has route has yet to be announced, but word should be out by the time tickets go on sale May thirty first.

Each year a portion of the proceeds go to a local charity or two. This year’s charities are the Path Children’s Programs and Azleway Boy’s Ranch. The Parade of Homes runs from June 4th to the 12th. The Daily schedule looks like this: Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. For more information and history on the Tyler Area Builders Association, Parade of Homes, visit the following website: http://www.tylerareabuilders.com/whats-happening/parade-of-homes.html

Tags: Area Builders, Charities, Charity, Dad, Decorating Ideas, East Texas, Handful, Home Improvement, Housing Market, Local Builders, Luxury Home, Parade Of Homes, Path, Proceeds, Ranch Homes, Real Estate, Saturdays, Subcontractors, Tourists, Tyler Area, Tyler Texas
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Former Red Raider to take on Patriots

December 16th, 2010

Tyler's Matt Flynn hoists the 2007 BCS National Championship trophy

Green Bay Packers’ backup quarterback, and Tyler’s own, Matt Flynn, doesn’t normally get surrounded by the press in the locker room on media day, but this day’s different seeing as he’s preparing for what might be the toughest task of his football career so far: the New England Patriots.

Although word hasn’t officially been released to the public yet, Flynn will start against the Patriots Sunday night.

“I’m excited, and I’m going to go through the week like I’m definitely going to be playing and hopefully Aaron (Rodgers) can get back, but I’m just going to get in there like I’m going to be playing and prepare like it,” Flynn told the media.

Rodgers went down in last week’s 7-3 loss to the Detroit Lions. In his debut, Flynn completed 15-of-26 passes for 177 yards and one interception. The more experience, the better, and Flynn said getting the snaps he got last week helped a lot.

“I go from getting a handful of plays during the week to getting most all of them. So it’s been good getting the timing with the receivers and just small things like working snap counts with the offensive line. If I get a chance to get in there, the timing will be a lot better than last week.”

The 8-5 Packers will take on the 11-2 Patriots on the road.

“It’s definitely a big game,” Flynn said. “ It’s a night game, it’ll be on TV, but I’ve played in games before, I know not at this level, but I’ve been on the big stage before so that’s not going to really bother me. It’s just about getting on the plane Saturday, getting completely prepared and having my mind at ease that I prepared myself as much as I can.”

Flynn knows and is grateful for having the respect of his teammates.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I will speak for the receivers-we’ve got all the trust in the world in Matt,” Packers receiver Jordy Nelson told packers.com. “We said it last week when he came into the game against Detroit. He would take a couple throws back, but I thought he performed very well.

“I told him on the bus, ‘Right now, the receiving corps, we believe in you.’ We actually felt that from his rookie year when he came in and played well in the preseason and moved up and got second-string quarterback. We know what he can do. He won a national championship in college, and you have to be a good quarterback to do that.”

Before winning that national championship, Flynn quarterbacked the Robert E. Lee Red Raiders to a state championship during his junior year in 2001 where they fell short to Mesquite High School.

The following year, as a senior, he threw for 1,679 passing yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 305 yards and 12 touchdowns, and despite playing his last four games with a broken foot, he led his team to the state semifinals where the Red Raiders lost to Midland High School.

After high school, Flynn attended Louisiana State University.
For his first three years, he served as backup quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
As a fifth year senior, he finally got time under center as he led the Tigers to a BCS National Championship game where they beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 38-24. Flynn was named MVP of that game.

The Packers drafted Flynn in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft and signed a contract through the 2011 season.

Based on what Flynn tells the media, he seems ready to go, but’s he’s got a true test in front of him Sunday night.

Tags: 2007 Bcs National Championship, 3 Lions, Aaron Rodgers, Backup Quarterback, Bcs National Championship, Big Game, Championship Trophy, Coach Mike, Detroit Lions, Digital Picture Frame, Football Career, Frame Weight, Green Bay Packers, Handful, Head Coach, Interception, Locker Room, Matt Flynn, Mike Mccarthy, New England, New England Patriots, Night Game, Offensive Line, Receivers, Sd Mmc, Sure Thing, Teammates
Posted in Schools, Sporting Goods | No Comments »

Weight Loss Management in Tyler, Texas

July 20th, 2010

When it comes to weight loss management there are as many methods as there are fast food choices. Only a handful of methods, however, will give results that are healthy and long lasting. While it may seem easier to swallow a few pills every day than to count calories and jump around till you can barely breathe, you will ultimately be disappointed with the results. Finding a doable weight loss management program is the key to your success.

Usually, a good weight loss management program will start you out by having you assess your current situation and set a reasonable goal. It will also provide you with a diet plan or at the very least a list of foods that are good for weight loss. Programs such as Weight Watchers usually have several locations in an area, Tyler, Texas included. These programs add the element of accountability by requiring you to attend weekly meeting to record your progress and discuss with a group what your experiences have been.

There are also plenty of websites you can access from your Tyler, Texas home for weight loss management. Many are free for basic membership and provide forums where you can anonymously interact with other like-minded dieters if you are uncomfortable with face to face meetings. These websites will often provide a calorie tracker that allows you to see exactly how much you have consumed if you are honest inputting your data. You may also be able to track your activity levels and see how many calories you have burned.

Tags: Accountability, Calorie Tracker, Current Situation, Diet Plan, Dieters, Element, Experiences, Fast Food, Food Choices, Handful, How Many Calories, Management Program, Pills, Tyler Texas, Weight Loss Management, Weight Loss Programs, Weight Management, Weight Watchers
Posted in Fitness Centers, Health Food, Self-improvement, Weight Loss | No Comments »

The Tyler Marathon, Bringing a Little Excercise to East Texas

January 27th, 2010

The City of Tyler Texas welcomes you to the first annual Tyler Rose marathon, half marathon and 5k. With the idea that Tyler is kind of the picturesque garden destination in Texas with all of the azaleas, trails, and roses it was picked as a new marathon event. The marathon will wind through streets, sidewalks, wooded areas, and finish up in the azalea trail. This is really needed considering how bad the Azalea trail has become over the years. At one point back in the 80’s you would have athletes flying in from Africa to run the Azalea Trail but now all Tyler gets is a unique pack of teenagers wearing the same shirt from a ministry or two in town. Hey a lot of people running the Azalea Trail from the same organization is great but without those great groups like Teen Mania running the 10 and 5k we would only have a handful of people left running it.

So this marathon event represents a revitalization in the Tyler Texas running community and will hopefully create something like we used to have back in the 80’s with the Azalea trail. Tyler really needs another serious racing event
and I hope this one takes off and becomes popular. In order for the Tyler marathon to become popular we need to get the word out so be sure to send out tweets and facebook messages to your friends and let them know about www.tylermarathon.com. They can read more about the event in order to plan for it this October. It is still a long ways off to give you plenty of time to train for it.

Many of the details regarding the marathon are still in development stages but it is going to happen so start preparing now. Marathons are not something that can be done without training first. I attempted to run a marathon once at the White Rock Marathon in Dallas and got to about mile 18 when I had to stop because of a lack of preparation and I had just past the donut whole and fresh milk booth.

The website says the event is being produced by Mellew Productions. I have never heard of this company but I am glad they are heading this up. After reviewing their website I found out they specialize in creating fun and festive events in cities across the US.

The Tyler marathon course has not been publicized at this time as the production company awaits approval from the city of Tyler.

Mellew will plan the whole event so that food, prizes, T-shirts, surroundings, the running course, volunteers, and staff are all coordinated to make it as fun and exciting as a marathon can be while making a profit. Isn’t lack of profit why Tyler’s Azalea trail became a miserable failure over the years? Maybe this is our town’s needed turnaround for exciting running events once again. Mellew is based out of Richardson Texas and some of their services are listed below.

Services include:

New Run/Walk Events:

· Event creation and design with event day management.
· Designing effective sponsorship proposals
· Assistance in finding host site for the event
· Create businesslike structure to insure profitability
· Produce brochure, web site, and T-shirt design
· Direct all promotional activities
· Provide all assistance and advice to create a fun and exciting event.

Tags: Azalea Trail, Azaleas, City Of Tyler, City Of Tyler Texas, East Texas, Excercise, Fresh Milk, Half Marathon, Handful, Marathons, People Running, Picturesque Garden, Revitalization, Roses, Running Community, Sidewalks, Teen Mania, Tyler Marathon, Tyler Rose, White Rock Marathon, Wooded Areas
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Hollywood Theater: The Tyler Rose

November 11th, 2009

Tyler Rose Theater

Growing up on Tyler’s west side, I remember the excitement that the new 10 Screen Tyler Rose theater opened in the 90’s. It was the first major mega theater complex in the city, topping theaters with 4 to 6 screens. It felt like a grown up Dallas area Cinemaplex. There was an arcade upstairs, neon lights, and stadium style seating.

Ten years later, the Tyler Rose has lost its bloom. Maybe this is due in part to our own growing, unrealistic expectations, or the power of comparison with Theaters in South Tyler, which are far superior. Or maybe it’s just shoddy business practice.

Whatever the reason, the Tyler Rose rarely satisfies customers. If you are looking to go see a movie at this Tyler theater, you can expect the following:

Police Officers. Yep, at this movie theater, there’s alot of action, and not just onscreen! Half the people there are loiterers, not paying customers. It can be an unnerving atmosphere. When there aren’t actual fights going on, you can bet there will be lots of teenagers being punks. Put it this way: I would never allow my daughters or my wife to go to this theater by themselves.
Poor customer service. The theater workers are not happy to be there, and they are not afraid to prove it to you.
A sticky floor. Yes, there were probably kids sitting in that same seat an hour ago, and yes, they spilled their drink and their popcorn. But on the bright side, you can help yourself to a handful, free of charge!
A mediocre viewing experience. Don’t expect digital projection. Black splotches will abound.
Audio / Visual problems. The sound is often too loud or too quiet. And at worst, the film is not set properly. Once, I thought I was watching an overly-artsy film where the director intentionally kept all the boom microphones in each shot. I thought, “this is infuriating!” Come to find out, the problem was with the projector. The movie staff is supposed to set the film in the projector to cut it off at at a certain aspect ratio. The Tyler Rose staff simply had apparently forgotten to do this. But isn’t that kind of important?
Arctic temperatures. Last time my wife and I went to a November movie–the same night with the “boom mic” movie–we could see our breath. It’s a good thing it was a good movie.

On the bright side, a ticket to the Hollywood Rose is only $7.50, fifty cents cheaper than a ticket to Carmike 14. But if a couple of quarters is the issue, you could always go to the Times Square Cinema, which is much nicer and only costs $7.50.

Overall, the managers at the Tyler Rose have run a pretty loose ship, and it shows. That’s why most Tylerites, even those on the west side of the city, now prefer to watch movies at one of the theaters on South Broadway instead. You should, too.

Tags: Bloom, Boom Microphones, Business Practice, Dallas Area, Digital Projection, Film Projector, Handful, Hollywood Theater, Movie Theater, movies in tyler, Neon Lights, Police Officers, Poor Customer Service, Popcorn, Punks, Splotches, Sticky Floor, the hollywood rose theater, the tyler rose, Theaters, Tyler Rose, Unrealistic Expectations, West Side
Posted in Movie Theaters | No Comments »

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