Uptown Normal Gotta shot for 1,000 Words? Send it to TwinCitizen@gmail.com.

Arts Reports are surfacing that Netflix has added a shipping facility in Bloomington, Illinois.  This is potentially good news for BloNo movie buffs who could see faster turnaround times through the off-line movie exchange service. Brian Navarro , one of those who spotted the new location, reports,”I just noticed yesterday that my envelope said Bloomington instead of Chicago for nearest Netflix facility.”  ...

Family The leaves are turning in Bloomington-Normal, and with the need for holiday greeting cards just around the corner, now is a great time to snap those family photos.  Autumn is one of the few seasons that the Midwest does right, so it’s a great time—and a great backdrop—for pictures. Miller Park Miller Park has gone from majestic to scary to safe and scenic once again.  The park has always ...

Downtown Bloomington

People Thank God it’s finally Follow Friday! Here are some Twitter accounts in the BloNo family that are aggregating valuable information in and around these twin cities: @BloNo You may already be familiar with the copper-headed hunk who runs the main @BloNo account—providing general, timely updates and alerts about Bloomington-Normal—but did you know there are several other accounts aimed at aggregating ...

Arts Stark Excavating dealt the former University Cinemas its final blow today, officially scraping the signage off of the building and destroying any not-already-destroyed padded seating left in the building. The theater makes way for what is sure to be overpriced, 4-story student apartment housing with a commercial complex at its base. University Cinemas opened in 1971 as the first multiplex movie theater ...

Neighborhoods Shindler’s List it ain’t, but local teen Alex Anderson has put together an interesting little timelapse movie of a trip down Main Street, from its beginning to its end, all in about 2 minutes (the other 1+ minute is his return home to Fox Creek).  Perhaps most astounding is that he darn near made the whole drive without hitting a red light (and running only one).  Also, we’d like ...

Tech It used to be that you could walk through any BloNo neighborhood and find 5 out of every 10 wi-fi connections unprotected to strangers. These days, open wi-fi is not so ubiquitous with your average neighbor. Fortunately, several local businesses have stepped up to provide free wireless internet for its patrons and a comfortable environment for cruising the web: The Uptown and Downtown Coffee Hound Despite ...

Food, People, Tech Krista Gaff knows: if your techie husband is having a birthday, there’s an app for that. You just need to make it out of sugar, eggs and flour. The Normal-based bakery diva, aka Sugar Mama Cakes , whipped together a brownie-based iPad replica for her husband’s birthday, complete with fondant-based app icons.  Sugar Mama also takes specialty orders for unique cakes ranging from Guitar ...

Arts Illinois State University student Jessica Funcannon whipped up some frenzy on the streets of Chicago recently when she took to Michigan Avenue in, er, drag as pop superstar Lady Gaga. Funcannon was in Chicago on a photo shoot with friends for Billboard’s Show Us Your Gaga look-alike contest, where she was a finalist.  It also just so happened to coincide with Lady Gaga’s real-life Chicago ...