Nashville, TN

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Originally uploaded by bigorangemichael

To give Emily a break (and maybe let her join in the fun of figuring out where the picture comes from), I’ve decided to post my very own Where in Nashville? photo contest.

So, if you can tell me the details on the picture above you’ll win…well, the pride of knowing you’re correct. We have no huge, awe-inspiring prizes here…but isn’t knowledge really it’s own reward?

Well, it’s been almost a week, and I vaguely recall promising pictures. So here goes…

…and proof that there were carnies…(was there ever any doubt?)

…and…

..funnel cake.

Told you.

I’d also mention what the answer to yesterday’s trivia question was, but I don’t think anyone cares.

Congratulations Sid! You get first place. Tell the city how it feels to be a winner..

Onward. Whoever can beat Sid on this next question gets… um, Second Place. (sweet, huh?)

What Memphis-born celebrity produced a radio show in Nashville while in highschool?

Hint: one of his recent characters told a young boxer, “There is magic in fighting battles beyond endurance”.

and…GO

Name two presidents that lived in Nashville.

Hint: you can find them at 7/11

Prize: 1st Place

Good news–it sprinkled on my car on the way to work this morning and there’s rain in the forecast for today.

Bad news–It’s been so long since it rained, most of Nashville has forgotten how to drive in the rain…and it’s not like we, as a city, were too great at it to start with….

If you want to see my pictures of the fun you missed at the Nashville Bloggers Meet-Up Picnic, you can surf on over and see them here.

Enjoy!

Well it’s the last week of August and nobody is happier about that than me. August is my least favorite month of the year. If you want to know why - go here.

I’m also pretty happy about the fact that the 10 day forecast shows no triple digits in my near future. Today the high is supposed to be 97. By Labor Day, it’s actually supposed to be in the mid-80’s. Brrr!

It’s almost like fall is coming early.

Here’s a few words and incomplete sentences (in no particular order) that come to mind when I think back on my trip to the Wilson County Fair on Saturday night:

Carnies

Funnel cake (that was a given)

Rain

Mullets

Demolition Derby

Racist remark made over loudspeaker at demolition derby

Crowd roars in celebration of racist remark

My jaw dropping in shock at racist remark

“I was expecting the demolition derby to be more like Monster Truck Rally”, to which I was told, “then it would have been called Monster Truck Rally”

getting told.

Smallest woman ever rip-off

Seeing ‘smallest woman ever’ in the funnel cake line. (I want my dollar back)

Biggest console ever

Talking biggest-console-ever: “Aaagghh…I’m scary Console Man…” (you had to be there)

Good company

Lots of laughing

digestive pain from funnel cake

motion sickness

Side trip to Lebanon square to visit the Yeddie Head. Yup, still there.

I can hardly wait for the state fair in a couple of weeks! If it’s half as good as the Wilson Count fair AND half as hot, I’m already as good as there.

Anybody else want to share highlights from YOUR trip to the fair? Please proceed in the comments section…

I haven’t had a chance to download my pictures from the Blogger Picnic yesterday, but I will soon and post some of them here.

Others will be used as blackmail material….oh wait….unless you can get in trouble for being over the age of 20 and stinkin’ at kick-ball, I guess not much incriminating.

Anyway, to tide all of you over until I get off my lazy rear and get those uploaded, here’s a funny item that was forwarded to me….

A Diary Review: Moving South, 2007

May 30, 2007 :

Just moved to Nashville, Tennessee from Chicago, Illinois.
Now, this is a city that knows how to live!
Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings.
What a place!
I watched the sunset from a park while lying on a blanket.
It was beautiful.
I’ve finally found my home.
I love it here.

June 14, 2007 :

Really heating up.
Got to 100 degrees today. Not a problem.
Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car.
What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this.
I’m turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30, 2007:

Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today.
Lots of cactus and rocks. The yard is a breeze to maintain!
No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but
I love living in Nashville.

July 10, 2007 :

The temperature hasn’t been below 100 degrees all week.
How do people get used to this kind of heat?
At least it’s kind of windy, but getting used to the heat and
humidity is taking longer than I expected.

July 15, 2007:

Fell asleep by the pool.
(Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body.)
Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do.
I learned my lesson, though.
Got to respect the ol’ sun in a climate like this.

July 20, 2007:

Morgan (our cat) sneaked into the car when I left this morning.
By the time I got to the hot car for lunch, Morgan had died and
swollen up to the size of a shopping bag and stank up the $2,000
leather upholstery.
I told the kids that she ran away.
The car now smells like Kibbles and shits.
I learned my lesson, though. No more pets in this heat.

July 25, 2007:

The wind sucks.
It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!
And it’s hot as hell!

The home air-conditioner is on the fritz,
and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he
needed to order the parts.

July 30, 2007:

Been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now.
The monthly house payment is $1,500 and we can’t even go inside.
Why did I ever come here?

August 4, 2007:

It’s 105 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today for a
cost of $900.

The temperature gets down to 78 degrees,
but this freaking humidity makes the house feel like it’s about 95
degrees.
I hate this stupid city.

August 8, 2007:

If another wise ass person cracks, “Hot enough for
you today? I’m going to strangle him. Damn heat.
By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes
are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!

August 9, 2007:

Tried to run some errands after work.
Wore shorts and sat on the black leather seats in the ol’ car.
I thought my ass was on fire.
I lost two layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and
ass.
Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried ass, and baked cat.

August 10, 2007:

The weather report might as well be a damn recording.
Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny.
It’s been too hot to do anything for two damn months,
and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week.
Doesn’t it ever rain in this damn desert?
Water rationing will be next, so I might as well watch $1,700 worth of
cactus just dry up and blow into the damn pool.

Not even cactus can live in this damn heat.

August 14, 2007:

Welcome to HELL!!!
The temperature got to 105 degrees today.
Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car.
The installer came to fix it and said, “Hot enough for you today?”
My wife had to spend the $1,500 house payment to bail me out of jail.
Freaking South.
What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here?

Last night I got to live like a true Nashvillian and enjoy the perks of living in THE Music City.

I went to a free street concert hosted by Capitol Records on Music Row. They had literally blocked off the stretch of Demonbreun from Tin Roof to the roundabout, set up a stage, and set Dirks Bentley loose on us. It was awesome.

I think people who don’t live in Nashville think that people who live in Nashville do this all the time. That this is just what happens on any and every given week night. Yah - the stars just come out and set up their lights and sounds system and just start jamming. Well, I’m here to tell you…they sorta do.

And that is reason #57 why I heart my hometown.

Just a reminder…blogger picnic is Sunday.

Let’s get together and celebrate our blogging community!

This is an All-Skate. Families, kids, doggies, kitties and small farm animals are all invited.

Please bring a covered dish…or two. A grill will be provided for those who would like to fire it up. Sorry, no alki allowed at the park, but there is a great playground! (I’m sure a game of challenge-kickball will break out, as well.)

We will be under the covered pavilion…it has picnic tables, but you may want to bring a lawn chair along.

Sevier Park is located at the corner of Granny White Pike (12th Avenue South) and Kirkwood Avenue. Feel free to e-mail me at GingerSnapsTN-at-gmail-dot-com if you are unclear as to where that is.

We hope you can make it!!!!

I was totally going to post an update yesterday after the “big” announcement. But apparently it was so big…that nobody covered it.

What? I don’t get it. I can’t find a follow-up story anywhere. I have google at my fingertips, and yet - NOTHING.

I know someone out there knows what Bredesen announced yesterday. So clue me in.

What can I say, I like it here under my rock, but sometimes I like to venture out for the scenery.

Yesterday, I wondered if we might not be albe to avoid rain for Sunday’s big blogger picnic.

And as I drove into work today, I heard the weather forecast say the best chance of rain this week comes on….wait for it…Sunday.

You can send all your hate mail to me…

Anyone got any guesses on this big mysterious announcement that Bredesen is supposedly making today?

Vote:

a) free Bredesen bobbleheads to the first 50 new business owners in the first quarter of ‘08

b) Building a sequel to our newly endeared “Ghost Ballet”. He’s going to have locals vote on the new name. It’s going to be a close race between “Eye Sore”, “It’s not a freaking rollercoster, ok?!”, and “Begging For Grafitti to Improve my Look”

c) Buying another pro or minor league team that won’t win anything ever and we’ll eventually stop buying tickets for. And when someone else threatens to take them off our hands we will fight to save them. Even if it’s a synchronized swimming team, we will swear that we are a synchronized swimming town.

I vote for A. Bobbleheads are cute.

We’ve not had any significant rain for a long period of time and I know that our state desparately needs it.

I keep praying for rain and checking the forecast, hoping we might get some good, soaking rain that would at least put a tiny dent in the drought.

Well, except for Sunday.

See, Sunday, in case you forgot is the big Music City Bloggers picnic. And I’m looking forward to attending it. And yet I know if I allow myself to look forward to it too much, that means it will rain that day. Which we need, but if it’s going to have a good, soaking rain, can’t it at least wait until Monday?

I am planning to make Jell-O cake and honestly I don’t want to have to eat the entire Jell-O cake myself.

Selfish?

Yes, I am…why do you ask?