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Showing posts from April, 2009

Hobbies

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Since I stopped taping live music I have struggled to find a hobby . Something I enjoy the process and the payoff. I have some video games I like to lay play but nothing I'm passionate about. I love Splinter Cell and FIFA but at some point they are just games. I never, or at least not yet, developed any handicraft skills. I did beadwork when I was a teen but I'm not a carpenter of anything like that. I haven't fished since I was a teen either. I don't have many friends and with the ones I do have we don't "do" things. At some point after meeting Tara and her mom I started seeing the things Bonnie was doing with gardening and somewhere along the way I heard about native plant gardening . I've talked about it before but the basic idea is you plant things that live where you live and they should survive, even thrive, with little effort on your art.. It is the lazy man's gardening. If done properly it is also a habitat building form of gardenin...

And the winner is...

Jon was a college classmate of mine. The 2009 Pulizer Prize for a distinguished and appropriately documented biography or autobiography by an American author, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Awarded to “ American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House ,” by Jon Meacham ( Random House ), an unflinching portrait of a not always admirable democrat but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life. Finalists: Also nominated as finalists in this category were: “ Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt ,” by H.W. Brands ( Doubleday ), a richly textured and highly readable exploration of the inner Roosevelt , presented with analytical acuity and flashes of originality; and “ The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century ,” by Steve Coll ( The Penguin Press ), an epic tale extending far beyond Osama Bin Laden and the calamity of 9/11, rooted in meticulous research and written with ...

Number 8

Spin says Grimey's is the 8th best Indi Record Store in the country! Congrats to Mike, Doyle and the rest of the best. 8. GRIMEY'S 1604 8th Avenue S., Nashville, Tennessee Why It Rocks: Five years ago, Grimey's Records outgrew their space and moved into its current stylized, three-pedimented building, which it shares with Thirty Tigers music marketing and distribution upstairs and popular venue the Basement downstairs. Grimey's is definitely the meat of this sandwich, with an amazingly broad selection (for its size), very affordable prices, and history as a stalwart of indie cool in a town that's known for a very different kind of music scene. Fans Say: "Best store in Nashville (that doesn't deal exclusively in country music). They've got a real good selection of new/used vinyl, indie and import CDs, DVDs, and books. And they probably do some of the best in-stores anywhere. Pound for pound, it's one of the best in the country." -- Bob Mehr...

How Barack Obama resurrected The Dead

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How Barack Obama resurrected The Dead http://shuurl.com/A4429 ============================================================ Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/

New hybrid bus at Earth Day Festival

New MTA 60-foot hybrid bus on display at Nashville Earth Day Festival The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will join Nashvillians celebrating the environment at Nashville Earth Day Festival activities on Saturday, April 18, in Centennial Park . MTA will display one of its new 60-foot hybrid buses on-site to promote the use of public transit to help improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) also will have a booth with staff members available to talk about the Music City Star , car pools and van pools. The free, city-wide event runs from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and features different sections of the park representing different areas of the environment, such as air, water, recycling and sustainable living/land conservation. The local festival includes family-friendly games, activities, food and live performances. The 2009 theme is "Together growing a greener Nashville" and will feature the live music of Susan Ted...

A story about "Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream"

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Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin Years ago I started seeing Doris Kerns Goodwin on TV and whatnot. I was impressed, I thought, if my history teachers had been this cool I probably would have learned something. The Obama-mania started and she, being the author of his favorite book, was everywhere and I still liked her but figured I should check out the books to see if the hype is worth it. It is. She is a wonderful writer. History books just aren’t this entertaining and its sad b/c there is so much to be had. Kerns had unique access to Johnson and that serves her well with fleshing out the man behind the title. She makes him seem real. She points out some very strange idiosyncricies and yet again, shows me that you’ve got to be messed up in the head to want to do this job. Johnson intrigued me b/c I was so curious how a southern, white man could be so instrumental in getting the civil rights bill past. She answered that. She also answered how he s...