Deer Sightings

As I do on a pretty regular basis, the last couple of nights I took my dog, Darby, for a walk. Since we don't get started until after I read to my daughter at 9:00, we usually depart from the homestead around 9:15.

The last couple of nights we've seen deer, which isn't a big surprise since I live on the south side of town where town quickly moves into rural landscape.

Last night we saw a trio of does in a large yard near the outskirts of our burg, and tonight we took a different route and happened upon what appeared to be a small buck and doe munching on the flowers in the front yard of some poor bastard. Both times we were able to get pretty close to them, maybe 50 yards or so.

Although I know there are folks out there who have turned to hating deer (see the aforementioned poor bastard's situation as an example), as the small buck and doe ambled off south, I was struck once again how gangly yet beautiful those animals are--the muscular profiles, the white tails at attention, the loping and graceful gait.

Music Friday: "Tremendous Dynamite"

Click HERE to enjoy the mighty fine beard of the lead singer of the Eels.

"Where Good Music Gets Saved"

Click HERE for a short Atlantic article that profiles Daytrotter, a website I stumbled upon sometime last year.

The downloads are free, and they mostly feature emerging artists while also publishing sessions from icons like one of this week's featured artists, The Del McCoury Band.

A Twelve Pack and a Plunger

Today the semester begins here at East Popcorn State, but I observed something late last week that epitomizes life here in Chucktown for some students living in rental homes.

I dropped by the local grocery store for supplies for Thursday night's dinner, and at that time of the week before classes begin, the college students are coming back in full force.

As I walked toward the dairy aisle at County Market, there was a young lady walking in the opposite direction. She had no cart, no basket, just the essentials: a twelve pack of Bud Light Lime in one hand and fresh plunger in the other hand.

That image has been tattooed in my brain lately as I reminisce about the interesting and sometime crude dwellings I lived in during my undergraduate and Master's years in Kirksville.

When I visualize her toting the twelve pack and clutching the plunger, it makes me smile.

I lived in some places in the 'ville that were decent to the standards of poor college student, but most of them did not offer bathrooms you wanted to show your mother. Plunge on, young lady, plunge on.

Music Friday: "Nights Like These" & "What Are You Willing to Lose?"

Double your pleasure, people.

Here are a couple of videos of Lucero, a band I'm really starting to like.

The lead singer sounds like he gargles with a concoction of whiskey and gravel, but I like the gruff, unpolished sound.

Click HERE for "Nights Like These" live.

And you can click HERE for a low-grade video of "What Are You Willing to Lose?"

"So what if all my heroes are the losing kind?

We ended up with nothin', but we put up a fight.

And most of it was choices we never asked to choose.

The rest of it was luck, and now we're out of that too."

The Hegemony of the Braves

Because I'm a "fan" of Jason Isbell on Facebook, I'm getting reminded pretty regularly how the Atlanta Braves are the baseball team of the South. Isbell frequently posts on FB in a tweeting-like fashion, and since he's a native Southerner, he closely follows the Braves.

Besides the expansion franchises of Tampa and Miami, which you can't really consider the Deep South and I don't consider very Southern, there's no competition to the Braves for the hearts of minds of Southern baseball fans. And Texas is its own entity in my mind, its own republic of Texas-flavored thinking.

But if Major League Baseball were to expand or a franchise would want to move, I would think Southern cities are good places to consider since the closest franchise, besides the Florida clubs, would maybe be the Cardinals or the Reds? Metro areas that call out to me are Charlotte and New Orleans.

Or maybe a franchise will move from where it is now to Charlotte or New Orleans? I know when I was in the Bay Area a couple of years ago, there were articles in the local paper talking about how the A's don't exactly have a good situation to work with (small market, cruddy ballpark, weak fan base), and that franchise has a history of moving around ~ Philadelphia, Kansas City, and currently in Oakland.

Whether MLB gets a franchise in one of those two cities or not, the success of the Braves is admirable and a testament to a very good GM and a fine manager.

But to get back to Isbell, what I find interesting is that two of his three favorite teams (he's a sports fan) won championships very recently: the Saints and the Crimson Tide.

Will this year's Braves squad make it a trifecta?

Music Friday: "Save Your Money for the Weekend"

Click HERE to watch a video of a song from Glossary's latest album, Feral Fire. It provides a sight I haven't seen in many, many years ~ people shotgunning beers.

Here are the lyrics that can be found on the band's website:

What’s there to go back to
If you had nothing to start out with.
All my daddy left me was a name
And a mouth full of bad teeth.
But Odelia, honey, I’ll be fine.
If you meet me out on Friday night,
I know Christian girls know what’s wrong.
But that doesn’t mean they always have to do what’s right.
Save your money for the weekend,
And we’ll dance through the fire.
You get one chance to make it through this life alive.
We ain’t got far to fall,
So lift your glass and we’ll bet it all.
Honey, there’s got to be some hell somewhere
waiting to be raised.
Your family wants to condemn me
For the sins they commit themselves.
But let them whisper dirty little secrets
Under those church house bells.
And Odelia honey let it be known
I’d never tell you a lie.
So if what I want to do is a sin,
God better cover his eyes.
So scrape together all of your pennies,
Put on your favorite dress,
And meet me down in the old part of town
For some excess.
And Odelia, honey, I can’t say
What’s waiting for us up above.
All I know is Southern girls are sweeter
‘Cause they’re full of Jesus’ love.

Sucker for a Cheap T-Shirt

As you can see from the photo above, Captain America approves of this shirt. Or should he?

Since I'm a sucker for cheap, cheesy t-shirts and I'm also a fan of Rural King, there was little doubt I would purchase this for $3 from the clearance rack.

Even though I got this shirt and a couple of others at bargain basement prices last week, there's some dark humor going on here. This shirt, with the flag blazoned across it, was made in Haiti, easily one of the poorest countries in the world.

It's a simple example of globalization, of course, but by "serving our customers," who also is being "served"? A simple anecdote of affluenza or capitalism as it should be?

Stay Positive: Going to a Show

It's not often that I get to go to shows much anymore, but when you have a gap in your schedule before school starts up again, it's good to take advantage of heading to St. Louis, having dinner with a couple of friends, and going to a show to take in some music from "emerging" bands, which seems to be the new moniker for alternative, non-corporate radio these days.

So last night a friend and I watch the double-bill of Dead Confederate and Deer Tick at Off Broadway.

I had listened to Dead Confederate a bit since I downloaded one their show in Athens, GA for free a while back (via Southern Shelter), and they remind me of Sonic Youth because of their atmospheric but hard-edged, guitar-oriented, fuzz-laden, wall of sound style. During their set I wish I would have brought earplugs because they were loud to the extent that you could feel the music moving through your body at times.

While I feel bad criticizing the band since I enjoy the lyrical mumblings of Eddie Vedder, Dead Confederate's lead singer couldn't be heard clearly, leading to unintelligible lyrics playing with their wall of sonic sound ethos.

Now Deer Tick I liked a lot already. I've been listening to their stuff for a while now (I recommend Born on Flag Day if you want to check them out), and their show was quite good. The lead singer--well oiled with beer and bags under his eyes from hard livin'--put on quite a show and cracked jokes. During the second song of the set, he displayed some Neil Diamond-like antics as the band played a soulful number from their latest release, The Black Dirt Sessions.

They played some of their more well known songs during the show, but Deer Tick also showcased some newer songs that I hadn't heard, and they were good.

And then there are the covers. I had already liked Deer Tick before I even came to the show, but after they covered "Waitress in the Sky" and "Can't Hardly Wait" by The Replacements, I liked them even more. I loves me some Replacements. And their version of ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses" was quite fun too.

So Wardo, brother, thanks for taking in the show with me. Check ya later.

Music Friday: "Calling My Children Home"

Click HERE to enjoy the smooth sounds of Emmylou Harris.

Here are a couple of stanzas of the lyrics:

I gave my all for my dear children.
Their problems still with love I share.
I'd brave life's storm, defy the tempest,
To bring them home from anywhere.

I lived my life, my love I gave them,
to guide them through this world of strife.
I hope and pray we'll live together
In that great glad here after life.

Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Spicy Canadian Scrambled Eggs

I'm growing four different kinds of hot peppers in my garden this summer: Anaheim, New Mexico Big Jim, Serrano Del Sol, and Cayenne. Since I had a Cayenne fully ripened this morning, I decided to make use of it with some leftover Canadian bacon from when we made pizza the other night.

Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten and a smidge of milk mixed in

2 slices of Canadian bacon

1 large cayenne pepper, chopped into thin medallions

4 shallots, chopped coarsely

1 small bell pepper, chopped coarsely

Shredded cheese of your liking

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pepper, shallots, and the bell pepper in a skillet with olive oil. Once they've softened, drop in the Canadian bacon for a minute to soak up the aromatics. Then put in the eggs, scramble them as you usually would, and put in the shredded cheese during the last minute of cooking.

If you need a rationalization for eating cayenne pepper (but why would you?), check out the following article about the health benefits of Cayenne pepper. Click HERE for that.

I'd like to see some peer-reviewed articles about the benefits of cayenne, however.

As a librarian said once to one of my classes as she did an orientation, "Any fool can have a website, and many do."

Happy Flippin' Anniversary

Mrs. Nasty and I had planned on going out for our eleventh wedding anniversary today, but plans went awry. Last night our son, Quinn, had all kinds of trouble breathing -- he was just really congested and working way too hard to breathe.

We have seen this before. Last time it happened, over a year ago, Mrs. Nasty took him to a clinic where the physician quickly told her to take the poor little guy to the ER since he was close to being in "respiratory distress." So this time she took him to the ER Friday night, they attended to him very quickly, and got him into a room to get treatment.

So today I spent most of the day traveling back and forth to the hospital with Hannah in tow, and thankfully we sprung him from Sarah Bush Lincoln late this afternoon. He's doing better.

The only good thing to come about this is that they now are pretty certain that he has allergy-induced asthma, meaning that "environmental factors" throughout the year will make it likely he'll need drug-laced steam treatment coupled with another prescription.

Our night out will have to wait til next weekend.

Music Friday: "The God Damn House"

This is a performance by a band I'm not all that familiar with. I downloaded their session with Daytrotter a couple of days ago, and their work is interesting. In some of their songs they seem to be melding folky music with chamber music in a small way.

My only hesitation about this band is that its songs tend to be ballady, slow-coustic affairs. I like those just fine, but I need some up-tempo songs.

But this video is worth watching because of what he does with the two cell phones. As the commenter on YouTube relates, "When they played this song Live in Milwaukee the other night, they asked us to take our cell phones out during the last chorus, and call someone we were standing next to and put our cell phones on speaker phone next to each other. We were all confused at first, but we were all taken by surprise [sic] when it made the most hypnotic sound ever, and went along with the song in such a great way. These guys are beyond amazing."

Click HERE to watch the performance by The Low Anthem.

Copperheads, Finally

As I related way back in late February of '09 (click HERE for that), I enjoyed a lecture by a historian who visited campus here. After the lecture I promptly ordered her book, Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North.

The book sat a good while on my office's bookshelf since I have this whole professor/administrative gig, and I read lots of stuff in writing center studies, rhetoric, and composition studies. I finally got around to Copperheads this summer, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Civil War and the political maneuvering that went on during that time. It's not a dense read at all like some writing by academics. Weber's prose is lively, engaging, and concise, and she offers varied and interesting sources in her work.

Weber's book recounts both the politics and the events of the war since, as her argument goes, the two are symbiotic. In fact, she convincingly relates that Lincoln's chance at reelection in November of 1864 was dismal and quite improbable because voters felt the war was going nowhere, mired in a stalemate, with the Union suffering horrible losses. For example, from May to the end of July in 1864, "the Union had taken a hundred thousand casualties" (146). Even though, as Lincoln philosophized at one time, he hoped that voters would go along with the adage of "it was not best to swap horses when crossing streams" (142), voters were not inclined to vote for Lincoln but whomever the Democrats would put up as candidates.

What Weber uncovers is that soldiers were a significant factor in supporting the Republican ticket since the Democrats, under the influence of the Copperheads or "Peace Democrats," wanted simply to invite the Confederacy back into the Union even though, if people were listening to Jeff Davis, it was obvious the Confederate States of America wanted no part of coming back into the Union. They wanted to be an independent country. If I would have been a Union soldier and heard that the Democrats wanted to let the Confederate states back in after years of fighting them, I would have supported the Republican Party too. And the Democratic party's platform in 1864 didn't help matters either since they virtually ignored the sacrifice of soldiers fighting in the war.

But the most important factors that led to Lincoln's landslide victory in 1864 were these military victories: 1) the capture of Mobile Bay, 2) Sherman's occupation of Atlanta, and 3) General Sheridan finally winning battles throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

It was a really good read. And now it's on to A Rhetoric of Pleasure: Prose Style & Today's Composition Classroom.

Basket Case

It's almost August. While my fantasy baseball team, The Schlitzophrenics, makes its penchant for mediocrity and downright crappiness more acute, my thoughts are getting more focused on college football season.

Heck, what hokum. Even if The Schlitzophrenics were doing great this season, I'd still be thinking about the hopeful glory of college football season, worrying about the how the Tide will do this year, contemplating how Jordan Jefferson might turn into the fine QB that he should be, fearing the wrath of that immobile giant named Ryan Mallett, wondering if the Gators will be better without Weeping Tebow.

A herd of sports writers seems to think the Tide will repeat this season, and I'm not confident about that prospect. Don't get me wrong. I think Alabama will field a strong team this season because of the strength of its offense, which has eight returning starters.

The defense concerns me. How that writerly herd can vote Alabama pre-season number one is odd to me since the Crimson Tide will have only two returning starters on defense. Maybe somewhere in the top ten, but pre-season number one?

When a team has to replace the top three cornerbacks along with its entire starting DLine and kicking specialists, I don't care how much depth a squad has, replacing the experience and skills of those players along with the leadership and football acumen of McClain, Tiffin, Arenas, Jackson, Cody, and Reamer is difficult.

Pontificating about the pre-season rankings makes me a little edgy, so the Million Dollar Band's rendition of "Basket Case" by Green Day seems justifiable for linkage. Click HERE to enjoy that.

Or maybe Nirvana's "Stay Away" is more appropriate for my take on the situation: "Monkey see - monkey do."