George W. Bush: Nice Guy to Have a Beer With, Not So Good as President; AKA Who's Responsible for Military Contractors in Iraq?

Here's the thing.  He seems like a nice guy.  Hell, I'd go have a beer with him.  Watch the game.  That kind of thing.  But good lord he shouldn't be President of the United States.

Via Digg.

TACA Craft Fair, Centennial Park Nashville

Went by Centennial Park yesterday for the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists 'Crafts Fair'. 

Of course I didn't really do any research regarding not just the crafts on display, but the actual opening hours and date of said fair.  Needless to say it doesn't open till today so was not able to peruse the doubtless wonderful items on sale and display. 

Well at least I took the above photo. 

Anyhew, if you're in Nashville over the next couple of days and need 'craft-type items' you know where to go.

Letter to America - Chapter 76 - Goodbye Belfast, Hello Nashville!

You Can't Go Home Again in Letter to America - Chapter 76 - Goodbye Belfast, Hello Nashville!

In which the Show says Goodbye to Belfast, Clements is used as a hiding place, AT&T gets some things right, Wayne disses the Hoopers and makes Jett cry,  and the Littlest Hobo makes new friends.

All this and more on your 'That Jack White Will Amount to Something Someday' Podcast.

(Photo above taken several years ago at the Cayenne Restaurant during Jett's first night in Belfast.  Seated at the table are Wild Rover's Phil Morrow and various members of Just for Laughs, Canada.  The woman being held is, as of the time of this posting, unidentified).

Harold Perry Searches for Civil War Artifacts, Nashville Tennessee

Harold Perry of Perry Tile Company searching for Civil War artifacts in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Remember, when in Nashville, for tile, it's Perry Tile; (they do both Tile and Marble, 11 years experience, (615) 582-8778, references available upon request).

(Disclaimer: I have not had the opportunity to make use of the services of the Perry Tile company yet, but I would recommend them, if not for their tiling expertise, then for Harold's colourful stories about his time with the metal detector.  If you see him, ask about either the '40-Ruby Ring' or 'The Secret of the Conquistador's Cave'.

More ConstantComedy.com Goodness; Jennifer Warren in 'Sandy'

While at the Edinburgh Fringe had a most entertaining time hanging out with American Canadian comedian Jennifer Warren.  She was at the Fringe as part of the Naked Comedy Showcase, (yes, that's right - stand-up comedy...in the nude).  I was originally skeptical of the idea but NCS organiser, (and nudist), Andy Ofiesh was so charming he convinced me to go to the show. 

Unfortunately I was unable to make it - but am glad that Jennifer has started to post on ConstantComedy.com.  Take a look and laugh.  I did.

Loveless Cafe, off Highway 100: Where to Go for both Ham and Jam

Had a craving for biscuits last night.  Found myself driving aimlessly on Highway 100.  Luckily I came across the Loveless Cafe.  Did some research on the web today and found out it's quite the famous place but I didn't know it last night.  Just wanted some biscuits. 

Boy were those biscuits tasty, and so was the fried okra and pulled pork.

Afterwards went next door to the Ham and Jam store.  Some places have Ham.  Some places have Jam.  But only Ham and Jam has both Ham and Jam.

The staff, like just everybody I've met so far in Nashville, was extremely friendly.  Joanie, Courtney and Callie, (pictured above), were more than happy to answer all my Ham and Jam related questions and, in fact, will be making a cameo appearance on an upcoming show.

Actually when I think about it, most of the items at Ham and Jam were actually Ham related.  For instance, notice the Bacon-themed Plasters and Wallet modelled by the lovely Callie below.

Even if you're not in the mood for Ham-themed novelties I heartily recommend the Loveless Cafe.

If only for the biscuits.

(P.S. If you do go to Ham and Jam please say hi to Joanie, Courtney and Callie for me.  They were so nice and put up with my antics far longer than most people do).

The New York Times on East Nashville - The New Greenwich Village?

I find the creation of "perceived reality", (perceality?), through modern electronic media fascinating.

Three weeks ago when I came to visit from Belfast I had never heard of East Nashville - now it seems everywhere.  The New York Times has just weighed in and called it the 'New Greenwich Village'. 

Actually, that's not true.

In local author Ann Patchett's article, musician Todd Snider describes East Nashville as being the closest he'll get to his fantasy of the famed New York neighbourhood.  But, by creating a 'stripped of context' pull-quote/strapline from Todd's comment, (if he even said it - how do we know?), one begins to create the 'reality' of such a thing. 

Other blogs, (consisting perhaps mainly of bot farms dedicated to making money through Google Ads),  will pick up on this post and disseminate the idea of 'East Nashvillage'. 

Rather than being a 'living machine' for the the quick spread of 'truth' as some Internet Utopians in the 90's, (myself among them), predicted, the Interweb allows for the real-time manufacture and dissemination of narrative fantasies presented and consumed in place of actual 'facts on the ground' reality.

If the people reading this have ever listened to the Show they know that Belfast has the world's largest ex-pat Moroccan community, (outside of Africa), in the world; with over 70 Mosques in South Belfast alone.  Because I commented on this fact in several shows, (not sure which ones, maybe this one, or this one, or even this one), I STILL get requests from mainstream media to talk about the impact of Islamic culture in Belfast.

Except, the thing is.  I made it up.  The show is a construct, a meditation on reality and fantasy and what drives a fantasist to live his life as art.  But, if people start to believe in the specific 'facts' you are presenting, and miss the larger message you're trying to get across, what are one's responsibilities, what does one do?

I ramble on in such a way because my natural inclination is take the techniques I developed in Belfast and apply them here in Tennessee. Rather than simply reporting on what I see around me here, why not implement Phase 2 of LTA and promote Nashville, East and West, North and South, Yankee and Southerner, 3 Meat and Veg and Provence Bread eating as the place to be?  As the New Greenwich Village of our time? 

Something for me to think about. 

OK, enough rambling, it's Sunday morning and I'm off to visit the local Iraqi diner for a classic 'Baghdad Breakfast'. 

Oh, didn't you know?  There's plenty of great Iraqi retaurants here; after all Nashville's got the largest Iraqi refugee population in the United States!

Update 23rd September 2007: I found out tonight from an unimpeachable source that Nashville actually has the largest Kurdish community in the United States!  So perhaps doing the show while in the U.S. there is no need for fantasy or exaggeration.

(Special thanks to everybody at yesterday's East Nashville 'Hoop-Jam' for letting me take their pictures.  That's Sunny at the top of the post, of Hooprama - why not give them a call and learn to hoop?  Better for you than sitting around blogging).

Would Be a Great Halloween House

U.S. Public High School Devoted to Homeland Security

Via BoingBoing comes this absurdity; A U.S. Publicly funded 'Magnet' High School devoted to Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness:

"In late August, Maryland's Joppatowne High School became the first school in the country dedicated to churning out would-be Jack Bauers. The 75 students in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness magnet program will study cybersecurity and geospatial intelligence, respond to mock terror attacks, and receive limited security clearances at the nearby Army chemical warfare lab.

The new school is funded and guided by a slew of federal, state, and local agencies, not to mention several defense firms. Officials say it will teach kids to understand the "new reality," though they hasten to add that the school isn't focused just on terrorism. School administrators, channeling Cheneyesque secrecy, refused to be interviewed for this story. But it's no secret that the program is seen as a model for the rest of the country, with the Pentagon and other agencies watching closely.

Students will choose one of three specialized tracks: information and communication technology, criminal justice and law enforcement, or "homeland security science." David Volrath, executive director of secondary education for Harford County Public Schools, says the school also hopes to offer "Arabic or some other nontraditional, Third World-type language."

Link to the article in Mother Jones:

Black Ops Jungle: The Academy of Military-Industrial-Complex Studies

Strange

OK, I've never posted Black and White photos on this blog before because I've never taken Black and White photos before. 

But after 2 1/2 weeks in Nashville this is in fact what has happened.  I have no explanation for this.