Let's hear it for Iraq!

Funeral for the victims of the recent American air strike in Syria.

An important news story was buried in today's headlines concerning the government of Iraq's condemnation of the recent U.S. air strike into Syria which killed 9 and injured 19. What stood out the most for me was this particular quote from their official statement: "The Iraqi government rejects U.S. aircraft bombarding posts inside Syria. The constitution does not allow Iraq to be used as a staging ground to attack neighboring countries." WOW! They actually follow their Constitution! Imagine that!

The U.S. government could learn a thing or two from them, don't ya think?

http://snipurl.com/4scpz

Georgia vs. LSU

It don't get no better than this folks, an SEC battle par excellence will occur this Saturday when the #9 Georgia Bulldogs face down the #11 LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. This will be a crucial test that the Dawgs must pass if they are to remain in contention for a shot at the SEC East title. Alabama is the only other upper echelon opponent they have faced this season, who proceeded to demolish them before a national television audience in their own house.

I really don't like talking about it.

LSU was also embarrassed in their sole loss to the Florida Gators and will be looking for redemption as they defend their national title with an eye to repeating the feat again in January. This should be a great game that I hope Georgia can win. Predicted score: GA over LSU 34 - 30.

In the Sky

The following clip from a 1968 performance on the BBC by the Mothers is one of my all time favorite songs, even though it has always sort of perplexed me as to what the actual words are that Roy Estrada is singing. My ears come up with "Who is this guy, who is this guy, who is this guy in the sky?" but I've never been totally sure.

Now through the magic of cyberspace I'd like to see what y'all think the words are to this immortal and magically charged performance by the best damn band nobody ever listened to.

I look forward to hearing your replies. Thanks in advance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swgWNM_4eNk

Sunday Drive

The weather has finally cooled off here in the Tennessee Valley so we decided to take a drive in the country this past Sunday. As always the character and culture of the rural South is consistently interesting to the curious traveler and the emerging Fall color only added to the splendor.

Cumberland Trail


Along old U.S. Hwy. 41


Tennessee - Alabama Fireworks Store



View atop Raccoon Mountain

Buckets of Shred

It is such a privilege to live in an era when there are so many entertainment choices available via the Internet. I was recently blown away with how many different live versions of one of my favorite Buckethead songs could be found on YouTube. So I carefully played them all and picked the following one as my favorite performance of "Frozen Brains Tell No Tales", which originally appeared on the album Bucketheadland 2.

The pulsing build-up chords finally lead into a burning solo that reminds me very much of Hendrix and early seventies Zappa. Its frenzied fuzzy tonality is pure joy to my ears.

This clip is from a show at the Aggie Theatre in Ft. Collins, CO.

Shred on dudes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6x7GL8CoEs

Journey to Texas

As promised I am posting some photos of my recent journey to Texas where I worked on a mobile emergency kitchen in the wake of Hurricane Ike. I've chosen the images that I like best from the six rolls of 35mm film that I shot.

The world is a strange and wondrous place and the South is even more so with all of its quirky and colorful eccentricities. Every journey here is an adventure and a revelation. It's an irresistible place to point your camera and click.

Downtown Shubuta, Mississippi


Real Estate Office
Shubuta, MS

New Orleans in the early morning.


Lafayette Cemetery, New Orleans


Toomey, Louisiana


Feeding line in Beaumont, Texas


Fed and happy storm victims


A worn out crew in Beaumont.


Brick wall down in Bridge City, TX


My dream come true---a genuine Texas smoker!

Ribs prepared with love and oak.


David & Nancy take a break in Galveston, TX


The Fred Hartman Bridge
Hwy. 146 over the Houston Ship Channel


Peanuts
Evergreen, Alabama


Conecuh County, Alabama


Autauga County, Alabama

Home At Last

I have finally arrived back home three weeks after departing for the Gulf Coast of Texas to staff a mobile emergency kitchen for survivors of Hurricane Ike. It was a rewarding, sometimes grueling and ultimately faith testing experience which I'm still sort of recovering from. I will have some pictures to share (I used an old 35mm film camera) in an upcoming post about the entire trip.

I'd like to thank several people for helping me along on my journey to and from this disaster zone: Tricia and Justin in Ocean Springs, MS; Audie and Kim in Houston, TX; my brother-in-law Steve who's probably on the road somewhere along Interstate 10 as I write; John and Joy in League City, TX; my fellow kitchen crew members-----just us seven doing the work of twenty and last but not least the enduring support of my wife and step-daughter here in beautiful Chattanooga, TN. Y'all deserve a big round of cosmically charged applause.

Yup, it's good to be home.

Hurricane Ike

I am setting out for Texas in the wake of Hurricane Ike to help staff a mobile kitchen for displaced victims of this terrible storm. I will be working with Christian Disaster Response, a non-profit disaster relief organization based in Winter Haven, Florida. I've been out with them before to work in tornado ravaged areas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida but have not yet been asked to respond to a hurricane. The scene I am about to confront will be on an order of magnitude many times greater than any I've experienced in the past.

Wish us luck and if you are so inclined please give generously to:

Christian Disaster Response
P.O. Box 3339
Winter Haven, FL 33885

Thanks in advance.

Land of the Free

Now come along quietly and there won't be any trouble.

In case you are still deluded into thinking that we still live in a free country I thought I'd share some headlines from today's news cycle to clue you in about what's really going down across the fruited plain:

From the Alligator Republic of Florida: http://snipurl.com/3pfeu

From the cradle of the Confederacy: http://snipurl.com/3pfek

From the home of the Boston Tea Party: http://snipurl.com/3pfe5

Window on the world

Some of you have requested more landscape photos taken from the window of a jetliner, so I have finally gotten around to selecting some of my unpublished favorites. I hope you like 'em and understand why I always request a window seat.

Provo, Utah


Mississippi River

Gooseberry Mesa, Utah

Jacksonville, Florida


Colorado River, Utah

Grand Canyon, Arizona


Delta of the Mississippi River in Louisiana


Cliffs above Orderville, Utah


Rockville, Utah

Taxes are voluntary

If you've got about five minutes to spare this snippet from an interview with U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid presents a crystal clear picture how to be a consummate straight faced liar. It'll also cause you to double over in laughter (at least it did for me) as well as clue you in to what our masters in DC really think of our intelligence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg

Take me out to the ballgame

Among the many wonderful amenities and pleasures of being a citizen of Chattanooga, Tennessee is the fact that I can walk to nearby AT & T Field and take in a minor league baseball game on a warm summer's night. Every Tuesday I can use my Bi-Lo grocery store discount card and get in for $2! Such a deal!

The Chattanooga Lookouts are a AA franchise of the Southern League and a farm team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. The stadium is situated on a bluff above the Tennessee River that affords expansive views of the surrounding mountains and ridges as well as the North Shore district of Chattanooga where we live.

The team has two, count 'em two, mascots: Lookout Looie and Slider, who regularly make the rounds in the stands and perform the Chicken Dance atop the home team dugout during the bottom of the fourth inning. What more could one ask for the price of general admission?

Lookout Looie

Last night the Lookouts pitcher Travis Wood lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the eighth inning but still prevailed with a 3-1 win over the Jacksonville Suns. A great time was had by all, including me.

Slider

The Dawgs Are #1

Georgia cheerleaders with Hairy Dawg in Sanford Stadium

The Georgia Bulldogs are the #1 ranked team in college football according to the AP. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a jinx. After all the SEC ain't no Saturday picnic in the park like the Big 10.....er.....11 or the ACC.

Personally I think Florida has as good a shot at the SEC East title as the Dawgs and can see Auburn emerging from the brawl that is the SEC West with a champions crown upon their head (with apologies to my dear friend Darrell who loyally bleeds Crimson for the Tide).

It should be an interesting campaign this year and I think everyone should keep an eye out for Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. I see them winning games that nobody expects them to win and generally upsetting the apple cart of teams tempted to take these two feisty programs a tad too lightly.

Can't wait for the season to start. See y'all in the stands!

http://snipurl.com/3gvg4 [www_nytimes_com]

A quick jaunt into the Smokies

We live in a beautiful part of the country and it has been a lot of fun exploring the many parks and preserves located within about a two-hour drive of our home. So far, some of our favorites include Cloudland Canyon State Park in nearby Georgia as well as Frozen Head State Park and Falls Creek Falls here in Tennessee.

Yesterday we took a short trek up the drainage of Abrams Creek which is located in a wild and remote corner of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Reputedly the most heavily visited national park in the U.S., it would have been hard to glean that impression from where we had chosen to hike.

After setting out from the Abrams Creek campground, under unbelievably tall hemlocks, we followed the densely forested Cooper Road to the Little Bottom Trail which led us up and over a very steep ridge and then down into the valley of Abrams Creek. During our entire time on the trail we saw no one else, not even old footprints. I took a lengthy dip in the cool refreshing waters until I couldn't stand all of the nips and bites I was getting from the multitudes of fish that inhabit this stream. My wife said it proved that at least the water was very clean.

Enveloped in the depths of the Smokies

The Smokies are a real treat for those who love their nature wild and omnipresent. I can't wait until we set out again to explore this magnificent mountain range in the Fall when the leaves will be turning beautiful colors and SEC football will be blaring from the radio in our campsite. I'm sure my wife can't wait for that either.

Tall hemlocks along the Cooper Road


Steep uphill grade


View of the Abrams Creek drainage

Little Bottom Trail


Abrams Creek


Back down the ridge


Vonore, Tennessee