Recently, on my WBIR blog, I asked folks to name what they believed to be the best Knoxville rock and roll bands ever. One of my picks was Sea 7 States, and a lot of other people agreed.
I was a big fan of this band in my first two years at UTK. In fact, I accidentally stumbled into some huge outdoor party in an alley they were playing in Fort Sanders on my very first night in Knoxville, when I literally knew NO ONE, and had such a good time that I knew I'd like it here.
I also had a massive crush on Philip Wolff, one of the guys in the band, but I am pretty sure he never knew I existed.
In any event, they were really good. I assumed they would get signed to a major label, but they ddn't and the band members all went on to grown up lives.
Recently, I found out that their songs have been remastered and are available on a CD from Auntie Grizelda Records, and I am getting a copy (Thanks Kevin). I'm really looking forward to it and will let you know how it sounds whe it arrives. Then you can order your own copy. Kevin Crothers at Auntie Grizelda can apparently also send you stuff from other Knox bands you might have enjoyed in years past, like The Homeboys, Awfully Anglo and Everything Tool.
Friday
Thursday
editorial (in)accuracy
As the online producer at WBIR, I am in charge of making sure the writing in our online news stories is accurate. I try my best, but sometimes I mess up...like yesterday.
One of our reporters did a story on a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer who accidentally shot himself in the leg (I am happy to report that he is apparently going to make a full recovery).
When I edited that story yesterday, I thought it was weird that the officer's supervisor was quoted as saying that the accident happened while the cop was "re-moistening" his gun. But I figured, "Hey, I don't know much about guns. This must be some gun thing - like you have to wet them down periodically." So I left that (non) word in.
So today I had, like, 100 people call me to ask what the heck "re-moistening" a gun is. It turns out it was supposed to say "re-holstering," but when the reporter spellchecked her story before giving it to me to edit, the spellchecker changed it. And since I thought this was a gun thing, I left "re-moistening" in the story.
I felt pretty silly
damning with faint praise
I was feeling a bit guilty that my breakfast this morning is consisting of a diet pepsi and a cinnamon roll out of the vending machine at WBIR, eaten at my desk, until I noticed this notice on the roll's packaging:
"2005 Automatic Merchandiser Readers' Choice PASTRY OF THE YEAR!!!"
Now I feel better.
"2005 Automatic Merchandiser Readers' Choice PASTRY OF THE YEAR!!!"
Now I feel better.
Wednesday
I used to say I would never get plastic surgery. I still can't really imagine ever doing it, but I have to say that a certain friend of mine who recently had a tres subtle lift and slight upgrade in size looks pretty damn good. After two babies and six years of breastfeeding, she felt that her breasts needed a little gravity-defying assistance and she fearlessly went under the knife.
She's really happy with how she looks, and I was impressed. Then she lifted her shirt and showed me her scars.
EEEEK!
I had already seen pix of Tara Reid's infamous and accidental boob job scar reveal. It was quite frightening, but I guess I figured that an aging movie starlet's red carpet scars would somehow be worse than a real person's boob job scars.
Wrong.
My friend's scars are just as definitive.
So I asked her whether it bothers her that while her breasts look quite nice fully clothed, they are now not nearly so nice looking unclothed and she said it didn't bother her at all - that she figures that as she gets older (she's in her early 40s) her breasts are less and less likely to be seen au naturel and more likely to be admired avec blouson.
This strikes me as an odd assumption, but whatever.
Anyway, anyone considering having this suregry really should first take an up-close look at some real person's real postsurgical scars. Then decide.
She's really happy with how she looks, and I was impressed. Then she lifted her shirt and showed me her scars.
EEEEK!
I had already seen pix of Tara Reid's infamous and accidental boob job scar reveal. It was quite frightening, but I guess I figured that an aging movie starlet's red carpet scars would somehow be worse than a real person's boob job scars.
Wrong.
My friend's scars are just as definitive.
So I asked her whether it bothers her that while her breasts look quite nice fully clothed, they are now not nearly so nice looking unclothed and she said it didn't bother her at all - that she figures that as she gets older (she's in her early 40s) her breasts are less and less likely to be seen au naturel and more likely to be admired avec blouson.
This strikes me as an odd assumption, but whatever.
Anyway, anyone considering having this suregry really should first take an up-close look at some real person's real postsurgical scars. Then decide.
Tuesday
spill
Via my pals at the always entertaining KnoxBlab.com forum, I found what is definitely my favorite website du jour...or maybe even du month.
Your own deep, dark secrets may seem a lot more mundane, all of a sudden.
Your own deep, dark secrets may seem a lot more mundane, all of a sudden.
John T. Baker
Tonight you can hear local musician John T. Baker, of The French Broads, live on the Funhouse show on 90.3. He'll be on between 8 and 10pm and will be talking about his show coming up this Saturday night at The Corner Lounge.
If listeners are lucky, John will play a few songs from his newest CD, a solo effort titled Rough Skeleton.
Sadly, I will be unable to attend the Saturday night show because, along with my daughter Jane, I'll be indulging my equestrian addiction at the USEF Pony Finals in Lexington on Saturday, but for those of you who can go, you should.
First of all, it's at The Corner Lounge, which is my new favorite Knoxville bar. It's a real neighborhood spot (my neighborhood), but even if you live in Farragut or something, it's worth the trip.
Second, the musicians who will be playing with John as his back-up band include Nug Jug's Chuck Watt, French Broad Jim Rivers, Drummonger (of Angel and the Lovemongers) Eric Nowinski, and Paul Noe on guitar.
Plus, as an added bonus, the opening act will include musicians from the Tim Lee Band and Senryu.
Monday
soring
The gaited horse industry (Tennessee Walking Horses in particular) has long had a terrible problem with "soring," the practice of doing various things to the horse that makes its legs and feet hurt so that it will lift its feet higher in the show ring and look flashier.
It's such a terrible problem that an entire industry of federal inspectors and watchdogs for those inspectors has grown around the issue.
Last weekend, the inspectors randomly hit one prominent horse show really hard, inspecting many more horses than usual. The result? The majority of trainers simply packed up their horses and went home without showing rather than face inspection.
This says a lot about how serious this problem still is, despite the Walking Horse industry's claims that it's primarily an issue that they have put behind them.
I grew up riding and showing gaited horses in Middle TN and I can tell you that while the natural gait of a TWH is indeed genetic and something the breed does without any training, the hugely exaggerated gaits you see in the show ring simply cannot be accomplished without very dramatic training methods and phsyical manipulation of the horses via weird shoes, ankle weights, etc. Even the methods that do not technically constitute the legal definition of "soring" are in my opinion, extreme, ugly and often painful for the animals.
The sad thing is that these horses' natural gaits are so wonderful and beautiful. I wish more people would show them in a natural state.
It's such a terrible problem that an entire industry of federal inspectors and watchdogs for those inspectors has grown around the issue.
Last weekend, the inspectors randomly hit one prominent horse show really hard, inspecting many more horses than usual. The result? The majority of trainers simply packed up their horses and went home without showing rather than face inspection.
This says a lot about how serious this problem still is, despite the Walking Horse industry's claims that it's primarily an issue that they have put behind them.
I grew up riding and showing gaited horses in Middle TN and I can tell you that while the natural gait of a TWH is indeed genetic and something the breed does without any training, the hugely exaggerated gaits you see in the show ring simply cannot be accomplished without very dramatic training methods and phsyical manipulation of the horses via weird shoes, ankle weights, etc. Even the methods that do not technically constitute the legal definition of "soring" are in my opinion, extreme, ugly and often painful for the animals.
The sad thing is that these horses' natural gaits are so wonderful and beautiful. I wish more people would show them in a natural state.
ouch
This weekend, I told someone who knows me well that I have a date coming up with someone who "isn't my usual type," and this person replied, "Oh, you mean he's not a complete asshole?"
spike gillespie
My friend (and former Knoxvillian) Spike Gillespie had the NYT Modern Love column slot yesterday with a hilarious essay about her attraction to younger men.
I had an essay in that NYT column slot earlier this summer, which you can read RIGHT
HERE.
I had an essay in that NYT column slot earlier this summer, which you can read RIGHT
HERE.
ward's memorial service
WARD ANDERSON, AGE 2, WITH HIS COUSINS ANNA AND HELEN ALLISON, IN BELL BUCKLE, JUNE - 2005
-----
I'm back in Knoxville now after spending the weekend in Bell Buckle for baby Ward's memorial service.
It was an entire weekend of people spending time together, remembering Ward, celebrating him and appreciating each other. There was a lot of sadness, but also a lot of joy for having had him with us for two years.
The service itself was Saturday morning at a beautiful little historic church in Bell Buckle, the United Methodist Church on Maple Street, which is located literally directly across the street from Ward's family's house. This is also where Ward (and all my little nieces and nephews) attend nursery school.
Ward was cremated and his ashes are in a lovely old wooden cookie jar that has always been at my grandmother's house (which is at the end of Maple Street, less than a block from the church). So at the front of the sanctuary was the cookie tin with Ward's ashes, surrounded a lot of beautiful flowers picked from gardens and wild around Bell Buckle. None of them looked "funereal" in the last, but they were all very pretty.
There were a lot of wonderful photos of Wardie blown up and sitting on an easel at the front of the church as well.
There were easily over 500 people there. It was standing room only, but didn't seem crowded. All the little cousins were plopped on various laps up front or sitting cross legged on the floor up front. It was a very child-friendly service. Ward's brothers, Gray and Jack, were not dressed up but instead wearing what made them feel most comfortable.
The service was very, very casual in tone and included some beautiful old hymns like "All Things Bright and Beautiful," as well as some flute-playing from my cousin Thomas, Ward's Uncle. He played some of the music he played at Ward's bedside in the hospital while Ward was in the coma. Thomas cried, and I can't recall the last time I saw him cry like that.
James and Julie each spoke to everyone -- but in keeping with the casual tone, they didn't stand at the lectern, but just stood up in front of everyone in the sanctuary and told of their appreciation for Ward and how grateful they feel to have been able to be his parents. Julie talked a little about how she felt that she had been blessed to be the mother of this special boy. Neighbors spoke about seeing Julie pulling Ward all over town in his little wagon and seeing him out fishing and catching bugs (which he LOVED more than anything) with his brothers.
Bishop Milsaps of the Anglican diocese in middle TN presided. He married James and Julie and also baptised all their children. He recalled that when Ward was christened, he (Ward) kept babbling "amen" after everything anyone said.
After the service, there was a huge potluck lunch at the church for everyone. I literally cannot ever recall seeing more food. Everyone ate and ate and the children took off their shoes and ran around outside. It was really lovely. I saw people from the Bell Buckle community and Webb and other parts of my life whom I had not seen in years and years.
We also had several family get togethers over the weekend, including one at the Abernathys' last night before I drove back. It was great to see my children out playing frisbee and lacrosse with Gray and Jack, Ward's brothers, who seem to be doing okay, in large part due to the very graceful example of their parents. Julie told me that one of the last things she promised Ward in the hospital was that she would make sure their home remained a happy one for Gray and Jack, and that's what she intends to do. She is already setting a great example for them of bearing her grief with dignity, and even some joy.
To all of you who have sent or will send money for the Ward Anderson playground, we so appreciate it. I think it will be a wonderful memorial to Wardie and a great comfort to his parents, brothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Thanks to those who came to the service and thanks for the good wishes sent by those who could not attend.
Love,
Katie, and the Anderson and Allison families
Sunday
condolences
An online condolence book for baby Ward has been set up so folks can leave messages for James, Julie and family. You can access it RIGHT HERE
bring them home
I have a good friend whose husband was recently shipped to Afghanistan (he's in the reserves), leaving my friend at home with 4 teenagers and a 5 year old.
At a party recently, someone said to her, "I am so sorry to hear about XXXX being sent to Afghanistan. What can we do for him?"
So my friend replied, "Well, just work to get the Republicans out of office."
At which point the other woman said "Now, now, we aren't going to talk politics!"
This irritates my friend a good deal. It happens a lot. People ask her how they can help her husband, or what they can do for him, and they want her to answer something like "Pray for him" or "Support the troops" or "Send him a care package." They do not like my friend to tell the truth, which is that the only meaningful thing they can do for him is work to get him home, and that the only meaningful power people have to work to get him home is to elect Democrats in place of Republicans.
At a party recently, someone said to her, "I am so sorry to hear about XXXX being sent to Afghanistan. What can we do for him?"
So my friend replied, "Well, just work to get the Republicans out of office."
At which point the other woman said "Now, now, we aren't going to talk politics!"
This irritates my friend a good deal. It happens a lot. People ask her how they can help her husband, or what they can do for him, and they want her to answer something like "Pray for him" or "Support the troops" or "Send him a care package." They do not like my friend to tell the truth, which is that the only meaningful thing they can do for him is work to get him home, and that the only meaningful power people have to work to get him home is to elect Democrats in place of Republicans.
I wasn't much inclined to go see "The Dukes of Hazzard," but now that it's been dubbed by at least one critic as the worst film of the century thus far, I'm actually a little bit curious.
Here's what the hilarious San Francisco Chronicle review actually says:
"The Dukes of Hazzard" is hardly some routine bad movie. Rather, it's one of the elite, right up there with "I Am Curious ... Yellow" (1967) and Bo Derek's "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1990), in stiff competition for the lamest thing ever put on celluloid. Of course, that makes it, by default, the worst film so far of the 21st century, but to say that does little to acknowledge the ambition behind this project. Make no mistake, director Jay Chandrasekhar was swinging for the fences with this one. He was shooting for the millennium.
But this is my favorite part of the review:
Between chases, the Dukes often call upon their cousin Daisy, the prettiest gal in town, to act sexy and use her feminine wiles on some bureaucrat. Singer Jessica Simpson, in her first film role, plays these seduction scenes with admirable self-assurance, but of a kind that's also faintly embarrassing. It's as if someone told her something about herself that wasn't quite true.
Here's what the hilarious San Francisco Chronicle review actually says:
"The Dukes of Hazzard" is hardly some routine bad movie. Rather, it's one of the elite, right up there with "I Am Curious ... Yellow" (1967) and Bo Derek's "Ghosts Can't Do It" (1990), in stiff competition for the lamest thing ever put on celluloid. Of course, that makes it, by default, the worst film so far of the 21st century, but to say that does little to acknowledge the ambition behind this project. Make no mistake, director Jay Chandrasekhar was swinging for the fences with this one. He was shooting for the millennium.
But this is my favorite part of the review:
Between chases, the Dukes often call upon their cousin Daisy, the prettiest gal in town, to act sexy and use her feminine wiles on some bureaucrat. Singer Jessica Simpson, in her first film role, plays these seduction scenes with admirable self-assurance, but of a kind that's also faintly embarrassing. It's as if someone told her something about herself that wasn't quite true.
Saturday
My cousin Julie, Ward's mama, is my hero. Tonight, the night before Wardie's memorial service, she took time to sit each of my children on her lap and talk to them individually about Ward and their relationships with him, and to answer any questions they had about his death.
I am learning a lot about grace from observing Julie in the past week. She's a really remarkable woman. I wish I were more like her.
I am learning a lot about grace from observing Julie in the past week. She's a really remarkable woman. I wish I were more like her.
Thursday
VF
Well, I am definitely entering this year's Vanity Fair Essay Contest, with its $15,000-plus-trip-to-Italy prize....
You should enter too.
I'll have to think about the topic though; I'm really not sure what's on the minds of America's youth these days. I'll have to query my own three youths.
You should enter too.
I'll have to think about the topic though; I'm really not sure what's on the minds of America's youth these days. I'll have to query my own three youths.
flowers for ward
People have been asking about sending/bringing flowers for Ward's memorial service on Saturday. This is from James, Ward's father:
"We really don't want any "funeral arrangement" type flowers. We'd rather have none at all than the ones on stands and in wreaths. If anyone asks and expresses a wish to bring flowers, would you please tell them that what we are asking for are picked flowers from backyards and wildflowers, put in a jar or glass or vase they
already have or whatever? Maybe we'll get lucky and some June bugs will come along."
"We really don't want any "funeral arrangement" type flowers. We'd rather have none at all than the ones on stands and in wreaths. If anyone asks and expresses a wish to bring flowers, would you please tell them that what we are asking for are picked flowers from backyards and wildflowers, put in a jar or glass or vase they
already have or whatever? Maybe we'll get lucky and some June bugs will come along."
eventing
We did a little mini-three-day-event at our barn last night and it was really fun. This is a photo of Jane doing the dressage phase
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