here's a funny thing, probably something that you don't care about:

tonight marked a momentous event, as my employer, the quad city river bandits, introduced a new team name to the public. the name: the swing of the quad cities. (the word swing presents a local tie-in, as one of the innovators of jazz, bix beiderbecke, was born in davenport and paid tribute to the region in one of his most well-respected compositions, "davenport blues." he's our biggest local hero, i'd say, as the biggest event of the summer is the bixfest, which includes a jazz festival and a 7-mile run, the national championship in the "seven-mile run" category.)

i like the nickname, although i liked the previous one. (i'd prefer to not have the pretentious "of the quad cities" thing, of course, being that it's just faux-uniqueness.)

anyway, we had this unveiling party tonight at the imax theatre in davenport, and it was well-received and well-attended and everyone i talked to liked the name.

however, the poll taken online by our local nbc affiliate indicates that 92 freakin' percent of people disliked the change.

pretty ridiculous. but these things always take time. even the lansing lugnuts were unpopular when they came out. (they're not anymore.)

in other news, just as i had given up on vh-1, with their ridiculous (read: not as interesting as behind the music) shows like "the fabulous life of j-lo" and "driven: kid rock," they come with a gem of a new program: true spin. it's a pretty fascinating "what's that song really about?" show, with the one i saw featuring 'born in the usa' and 'losing my religion,' among others. also, i love the 80's: strikes back began tonight. woof.