History!

I understand that if you do not post in a year, it's a bad sign. For continuity. For readership. For writing. People, I apologize. But I'm back!

Hail John Fluevog!

Just when I thought I was over the shoe thing...

May showers bring...

Spring progresses with visits to friends, plans for more visits and trips and the hope of seeing my closest family members here soon. All in all very satisfying and exciting. I am a lucky sister and aunt.

peonies

sorry I cannot talk about my beautiful flowers while I am worried about influenza.

Luckenbach, Texas dance hall

After a week working very hard running the box office of Old Settlers Music Festival I took a day to head over to tour the the LBJ ranch, some hill country wineries and Luckenbach. Great fun. Luckenbach mainly consists of a quaint tourist trap 'general store' complete with a U.S. Post Office and a cool ice house bar in the back -- everything you need, really. Out behind that is an open-air stage and a hat maker's studio. The small community consists of a few residences and a public campground beside a river bank. Completing the tiny hamlet is a real life dance hall. The Luckenbach Dance Hall is one of the most quaint of a dwindling but very viable breed of Texas dance halls that have been around for over a century and a half. I haven't been lucky enough to see this one in action but that's got to change.

on bird poop

For the past week I have been unable to leave my beloved Kia out of the garage. Ten minutes and it's covered with recycled hackberries. Yuck!! The culprits turn out to be an errant flock of Cedar Waxwings. I had no idea what they were but my friend Corianna was able to identify them immediately, probably because she has lived most of her life in Washington, the state. My Audubon bird guide shows them rarely straying south, and only as far as Virginia or West Virginia! The guide further states, "Waxwings spend most of the year in flocks whose movements may be quite erratic. Hundreds will suddenly appear in an area to exploit a crop of berries, only to vanish when that crop is exhausted...These social birds have the amusing habit of passing berries or even apple blossoms from one bird to the next down a long row sitting on a branch, until one bird eats the food." So cute! JMB wishes they would move on now. He has been overworked keeping the paint on the cars from getting marred.

tah tah

Heading across the country in a couple of days. With dog. In Jeep.

Folk Alliance '09

It was a great week in Memphis, the best one in a long time. Totally unexpected, really. Everyone thought attendance would be way off (it wasn't) and that therefore it might be a dead conference (no way). I worked very hard, hardly got off the 18th floor except to shop for more beer or to steal a breakfast a couple of days. My family came to rescue me on Saturday night for a home-cooked dinner which was just what I needed to complete the long marathon that Saturday night going well into Sunday morning became. Much appreciated, thanks John and Deseree! I finally lay down to rest at 6:30 am before heading home, caravaning back to Nashville with JMB. Some highlights: Ronda received the Spirit of Folk award jointly with Dalis Allen and Val Denning! Finally getting Memphis resident Cousin Jenny up to the hotel and watching John Sebastian with her. Getting to hang with the hotties a bit, and enjoy seeing Jeanne Jolly with them. I was so pleased to see Scottie for a special engagement on the drums. Scottie has bowed out of the Stonehoney extended southern tour due to his commitment to be with his toddler daughter in L.A. I admire him for it. Chatting with Victoria Williams about how great Laurie McClain is. Seeing John Fullbright from Okemah, OK (yep, you're right, former home of Woody Guthrie). Do yourself a favor and read his blog entries on his myspace page. He was a first time attendee and his impressions mirror what most think of it the first time they come. Of course, few are the 'buzz' as he was but I don't think that changes a first impression. Much. Seeing artists who contributed Help Me Ronda photos for her 'wall' enjoy seeing themselves and others giving a shout out to Ronda. Meeting Lucy Wainwright Roche, a former teacher, and hearing her at the beginning of a new music career. Seeing Sean McManus from the Dust Poets attending the conference for the purpose of accompanying and promote other Canadian artists. Meeting Tannis Slimmon and hearing her amazing vocals. Eating a huge breakfast at the Blue Plate with my friend Joan! That is an annual treat not to be missed. And enjoying the Second Annual Wild Women Indian Feast with Ronda B, Joan K, Mary Granata and new friend Holly at India Palace, a new rec--food great but I found the atmosphere is a bit reserved for our buoyant group! Photo courtesy of Joan Kornblith.

the old man and the sea

" I have enjoyed seeing this three-year old video footage of an old high school chum battling a BIG fish while in an inflatable kayak on the open ocean. Says fisherman Jeff Morrow, "I was in about 2,000 foot depth of ocean...I looked into his eyes and he into mine. We were both scared." Jeff recently became a justice for the U.S. District Court of Appeals, 5th and 11th Circuits in Jacksonville, Florida. I remember him as a larger than life (really!) dude with a toothy grin in the halls of Orange Park High School. Photo courtesy of www.jeffersonmorrow.com

Plowhaus Show

Plowhaus Artists Cooperative A Glass House: A One Wall One Artist show. March 7 – 31, 2009 Reception during Nashville Art Crawl: March 7Th from 6-10pm From inside the glass The whole world is magnified... The Plowhaus Artists Cooperative of Nashville proudly presents A Glass House: A One Wall One Artist show. In this group exhibit, The Plowhaus invites you to peer inside the works of Mar Augelli, Mel Davenport, Ayjey Illustration, and Dirk Mooth Regardless of the physical or spiritual depth of their works, each artist expresses how they see what is happening within their own "house" and the world around them. 4 artists 4 houses 4 individual representatives of One House……The Plowhaus The Plowhaus Artist's Cooperative www. plowhaus. org Tennessee Art League Building 808 Broadway, 2nd Floor Nashville, Tenn. Gallery Hours: Tues. - Sat. 10am to 4pm for more info contact: info@plowhaus.org ayjeyillustration@gmail.com Unfortunately I will miss this show but I hope some of you will attend.

sunday nights

back home from Memphis no pics sorry but more to report tomorrow, thank you

second thoughts

About twenty-four hours ago I made a stab at a serious post, debating whether you have to be known in L.A. to get a Grammy, or not. Then I deleted it for the obvious reasons. You will probably enjoy this more.

the new phone book is here, the new phone book is here!

Bonnaroo has announced its lineup for '09. Read it and get your wallets ready, vroom vroom. Tickets will go on sale this Saturday and a smart festival is totin' the note for you... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band*Phish (2 Shows)*Beastie Boys*Nine Inch Nails*DavidByrne*Wilco*Al Green*Snoop Dogg*Elvis Costello(Solo)*Erykah Badu*Paul Oakenfold*BenHarper and Relentless7*The Mars Volta*TV on the Radio*Yeah Yeah Yeahs*Gov't Mule*Andrew Bird*Band of Horses*Merle Haggard*MGMT*moe.*The Decemberists*Girl Talk*Bon Iver*Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate*Rodrigo y Gabriela*Galactic*The Del McCoury Band*ofMontreal*AllenToussaint*Coheed and Cambria*Booker T & the DBTs*David Grisman Quintet*Lucinda Williams*AnimalCollective*Gomez*Neko Case*Down*Jenny Lewis*Santogold*Robert Earl Keen*Citizen Cope*Femi Kuti and the Positive Force*The Ting Tings*Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3*Grace Potter and the Nocturnals*Kaki King*Grizzly Bear*King Sunny Adé*Okkervil River*St. Vincent*Zac Brown Band*Raphael Saadiq*Ted Leo and the Pharmacists*Crystal Castles*Tift Merritt*Brett Dennen*Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue*Toubab Krewe*People Under the Stairs*Alejandro Escovedo*Vieux Farka Touré*Elvis Perkins In Dearland*Cherryholmes*Yeasayer*Todd Snider*Chairlift*Portugal. The Man.*The SteelDrivers*Midnite*The Knux*The Low Anthem*Delta Spirit*A.A. Bondy*The Lovell Sisters*Alberta Cross*. This is an elevated lineup, plenty to get you shakin yo' money maker and I personally am thrilled that MGMT will return. You shall find mony at the Snoop Dogg stage or checking out Rodrigo y Gabriela and Alberta Cross. Thank god for myspace where all things seem possible. This brings up some decisions for mony who will be attending without her compadres Jean, Anne, and John (although we have reports that the Connecticut youth have been hatching their collective plan to make a return sans parental unit). The Savannah contingent has been undecided about what to do about going V.I.P. but they are sure to be there as well. My issues predictably are not musical, but logistical: Pros for V.I.P.--I will miss the nice bathrooms and showers and the ultra-quiet tent camping. And of course the amazing proximity to the main stage and ease of movement into the festival. Cons for V.I.P.--I didn't need to pay the festival to feed me, plus the four hundred dollars I will save could get a darned nice tent and sun shade and plenty of pizza and lemonades and disposable hand wipes. What it boils down to is if I can get hooked up for coveted access to the R.V. camping. All I need is 16 square feet in the backyard of an R.V. Easier said than done. Even with earplugs, camping here is preferable to being with the unwashed masses in the back 40 acres (400 acres is more like it). I had better begin negotiations with E.T. Maven of Hospitality. Thanks to Auntie Katie for photos from Bonnaroo 2008.

Craigslist

I don't know. I just get a big kick out of scanning the 'free' items on craigslist. This from today: Wrestling Ring and 75 metal chairs, Free. wrestling ring for free. Includes 75 metal folding chairs, some sound equipment. Ring is in very good condition with new marine plywood and pad. Email for directions.

please explain

Why would anyone re-watch a bunch of SuperBowl television commercials? I get watching five seasons of The Wire to catch up, or spending hours on YouTube searching out rare Butthole Surfer footage. But, come on! They're commercials! Commercials mostly selling stuff none of us can afford or jobs none of us can have...

Dream on

Imagine blogging away, just like we do and getting a call from Random House wanting to offer you a publishing deal. If this happened to me I would so call my mom. I wonder if Christian Lander called his mom? I mean, I think what he did is very clever, very creative and all that. It's going to make him shitloads. He has kind of redefined a trite stereotype. And in the process has upset a lot of people. Which is very cool. It's cool he has given a bunch of his friends jobs, or at least a heads up if they contributed. But a book deal?? He's got a book tour--wtf? What do you think he talks about? Is he funny in person? Will we see him on late night television?

the beautiful snow has a huge price

From the BBC, courtesy of the Grist: Where There's Coke, There's Ire Colombian vice prez chides cocaine users for rainforest destruction Posted at 10:16 AM on 18 Nov 2008 Cocaine users get no love from Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon, who speechified to police officers in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday: "Colombia has lost more than [5 million acres] of rainforest in the last 15 years to plant coca. If you snort a gram of cocaine you are destroying [43 square feet] of pristine rainforest. That rainforest is not just Colombian. It belongs to all of us who live on this planet, so we should all be worried about it." source: BBC News It is time that drug users begin to think of what the cost is for their luxury. Untaxed, illegal economies in underdeveloped countries spring up because of drug consumption in developed countries. The toll to the citizens and the ecology of those drug-producing countries is great but drug users remain ignorant of the effect their consumption has in other parts of the world far away. So the next time you snort or toke, if it's not homegrown you might consider that the price you paid is only a fraction of the cost.

it's official...kinda

Mom and Karl did it! After getting my hopes up that I would soon have a vintage travel trailer I learned at the end of 2008 that the owner had reconsidered selling. As it turns out my Jeep wouldn't have been able to pull the trailer anyway so too many factors played out against having a camper trailer. Then Mom stepped in. She reasoned they are in trailer country in Oklahoma and sure enough she was right. Just one quick drive out in the countryside and she and Karl found this 1977 beauty. Within days it was at their house and Karl was making a to-do list. It will be at least a year before I am able to get it, in reality probably more like two years. At least I know where I will lay my head when I visit Duncan, Oklahoma!

Mona, Jr.

This from the Grundy County, Tennessee Historical Society, taken from a message board on ancestry.com. For what it's worth: 1700-1800 Naming Patterns As early as the American Revolution and extending until the 1850s most families of English descent (and of the Scots who settled in North and South Carolina) followed this naming pattern: First son: Father's father Second son: Mother's father Third son: Father Fourth son: Father's eldest brother First daughter: Mother's mother Second daughter: Father's mother Third daughter: Mother Fourth daughter: Mother's eldest sister First daughter of second wife was named after the first wife. I have noticed evidence that my Tennessee ancestors used these naming conventions by records that show up soon after they entered the (then un-formed) state of Tennessee, around 1809. So, given that knowledge about it the conventions it can make geneological research a little easier. That is until about the time of the Civil War when all hell broke loose and education as well as the family farm was gone with the wind. One section of my family dropped an entire consonant off the end of their surname. During what I would describe the Dark Ages of post-bellum years they seem to have dropped names altogether and taken up with embarrassing nicknames which were as much a physical description or a resume as anything. I get 'Cap' and while no one has to explain 'Nose' to me, I have to say that it seems a bit less than dignified. I know of other families where children were named, not known as, but named Sister. In my extended family, telling generations of folks in the same household or at family gatherings who have the same name apart is at the very least confusing and sometimes leads to very unfortunate naming conventions that seem to stick for life. An example is when a man is known as "Little (insert name here)" well into his middle years, or when someone has to go by "Jr." their entire life. In this day when divorce is more likely to claim a first wife than death during childbirth, it would be a hard pill to swallow to have to call your beloved first daughter by the ex-wife's name! In my immediate family my parents seem to have had either dual narcissistic fits or a genuine frenzy of cross-homage when I was named for my mother and my brother was named for my father. My younger sisters didn't fare much better, having first and middle names borrowed from grandmothers or aunts. It's worse in my husband's family. I can count on the fingers of two hands the number of recycled names within his immediate family of six children, and their children. His family found it necessary to call up former family surnames to use as middle names to distinguish one person from another. I am not complaining too loudly though. These practices have faded away in so many contemporary families due to declining family size and an unsettling tendency to name our progeny for movie stars, or from books that track names statistically. I don't know about the wisdom of choosing a name because 5% of the children in your child's class will also have it. All this being said, honest to god I have no idea how my grandmother visualized 'Mona' from her Tennessee mountain home just after World War II. Best I know my blessed mother just accepted it with grace and got on with it. I have spent the better part of 50 years trying to interpret it.

A good band name--The Flaming Squirrels

I spend a few minutes each day gazing at my Droll Yankee Yankee Flyer birdfeeder, having wicked thoughts about the squirrels systematically emptying the other feeders out. But this just is not right: This just in from Oklahoma City's KOCO.com Firefighters: Flaming Squirrel To Blame In Jones Wildfire Students Moved From Elementary To High School POSTED: 11:16 am CST January 21, 2009 UPDATED: 1:41 pm CST January 21, 2009 JONES, Okla. -- A squirrel caught fire, sparking a blaze Wednesday morning that resulted in the evacuation of an elementary school in Jones, fire officials said. Investigators said the squirrel touched two power lines at the same time and fell to the ground near Britton and Hiawassee roads. That fire burned 5 acres in the Jones area, forcing the evacuation of the elementary school. Those students were taken to Jones High School. School officials said the students would be kept at the high school for the rest of the day. Parents will be able to pick them up at the normal time, although some parents have already come to the school to pick up kids. Several trailers burned in the fire. However, there were no known reports of injuries. Stay tuned to KOCO.com for any further details. I know.