Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Gotta Go

Gotto go check on the house in South Mississippi. It's 90 miles north of Gulfport. Talked to my aunt Monday at 3, they were right in the middle of it. Now, can't get anybody. All phones out, including cell. Will have to call Friday, if I can reach anybody, and see if power is back on, then maybe go. Gotta find out.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Gas $3 a gallon. Enjoy your profits &%^$#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Not Again


Gulfport Beach
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast the day between my birthday and my father's birthday in 1969, August 17, I think the last day of Woodstock.

My hometown of Ellisville, MS is 90 miles north of Gulfport. My father and I stayed up late that night, watching the weather. About 2:30 a.m. the next day, the winds died down and the rain quit. The eye had was overhead. Eerie feeling.

We went to Gulfport and Long Beach three days after Camille hit. Barges on the beach, this shrimp boat over the highway (it stayed there and was turned into a gift shop). The beach and the businesses across the highway (including a shopping mall, motels, etc.) were destroyed; completely flattened.

Now Hurricane Katrina ("the second coming of Camille") threatens to do the same. Except now, there is a lot more commercial build-up along the Coast, including casinos, which are closing ahead of the storm. Damn, it must be bad when casinos close. They're taking out the money and the slot machines. Jim Cantore on the Weather Channel Sunday morning said Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi (the one built like a pirate ship) will probably be destroyed.

The devastation of Camille was sad to see. Things change. Unfortunately, I wish change didn't come in this form.

An Old Rodeo Picture


2
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
From the Crossett Rodeo. Forget the year. Frank Newsome, Jim Shoulders and John Brogan.

T. Graham Brown


1
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Andrew got T. Graham Brown's autograph after a concert in Fountain Hill way back when. That's his mother standing behind him.

Waterwell Road Fire


3
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
I took this shot several years ago during a bad fire on Waterwell Road near Crossett. Flames were too close this house, but the house was saved.

Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Before the Bristol race started Saturday, Quintin Tarantino rode in a car with Wally Dallenbach on Wally's World. Tarantino thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Near the end of the ride, Dallenbach asked the director if he could be in one of his movies, to which Tarantino replied: "The next movie I make, you can drive me to the set." Priceless.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

PC

"Politically correct" is being taken to the extreme. Florida's football Seminoles can keep their mascot, according to the NCAA. But ASU's Indians have to drop their mascot.

Before you know it, PETA will come to Ashley County and say "Lions" and "Eagles" can no longer be used as sports mascots.

We're "politically correcting" ourselves to death.

Pat's Flip-Flop

Pat's Flip-Flop
You'd have to flip-flop after saying the U. S. should "take out" the leader of another country. Pat Robertson said this guy should be "taken out."

"Taken out" behind the woodshed for an ass-whuppin?

Seems like his "taken out" was "misinterpreted," according to him: "I said our special forces could take him out. Take him out could be a number of things including kidnaping," Robertson said on his "The 700 Club" television program. It also "could be" a number of other things, including assassination.

Monday, August 22, 2005

School Days

Andrew's got a full load in his first year in high school. He didn't get life sports. Instead, he got horticulture the first semester and music appreciation the second semester. That, after three years of band, which he dropped to take life sports (bowling, tennis, archery). Life's just full of small ironies, sometimes.

He's got English (not under who he thought it would be), algebra, history, blah, blah, blah. Hopin' for good things this year.

He started off the new year by wearing desert camos, Army boots and dog tags the first day. Not combative, hopefully. I'm sure he just loves being easy to pick out of the crowd–NOT. He just wore the camos because he thinks they're cool. Wanted to wear the long-sleeve shirt with it, but finally realized it might be a little too warm for that. Probably wait until temp drops to under 89.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Nascar Store

There's a Nascar store south of Jackson on I-20. It's been there for 3-4 years, and I finally stopped Thursday. Nice!

I got a Tony shirt--7-2-05 victory at Daytona. Got Andrew a bumper sticker for his truck (which he can drive by himself in October)--I'm not tailgating; I'm drafting. (Great choice for his truck!)

They have victory plaques with photos in victory lane of the drivers who win. The plaques have a piece of the tire!! Other plaques have the pictures, tire piece, part of the spark plug wire, etc. $400!!! People actually buy that Sith.

Nascar sure knows how to offer fans what they want. Or is it--Nascar sure knows how to give fans a chance to be bled dry?

Casino

I won $125 on slots.

Headed Out to Sea


P8181372
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Andrew (left) on a jet ski Thursday morning; he rode 30 minutes. We both rode an hour Wednesday afternoon. Great fun, except for ball-busting waves and a nice sunburn, with an outline of a life jacket on my back.

In the Pool


dolphins
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Wouldn't it be great to swim with these guys?

Dolphin Play


P8181396
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Didn't get to swim with dolphins; had to have an appointment. Andrew enjoyes this every time we go to Gulfport. At the Oceanarium. He did this for about an hour and a half.

Mississippi Gulf Coast


P8181358
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
It took a long time, but the Mississippi Gulf Coast looks beautiful again. Hurricane Camille in 1969 really screwed it up for many years.

Gulfport



Originally uploaded by sanscript.
The view from the room at the Grand Casino Hotel.

Monday, August 15, 2005

Another Race, Another Win

Damn, that Stewart kid came through again, this time at road racing at Watkins Glen. The top three were Stewart, Boris Said and Robby Gordon, some of the top road racers in Nascar. Jeff Gordon, another good road racer (yes, I'll give him credit for that), had to go to the back late in the race, but managed to place 14th.

Must not be very many good fences to climb at the Glen. Tony just got the checkered flag handed to him. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

He's won five out of the last seven races. He increased his point standings from 77 to over 100. Is he hot or not?

It's strange. I listened to the race on XM on the way back from Monticello. The race was called "Sirius Satellite at the Glen."

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Little Milton Passes Away


LITTLE MILTON JPEG B&W 2
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
A few weeks, Andrew heard a song on Bluesville on XM by Little Milton, "Find Somebody to Love." Since that, he became a Little Milton fan.

I heard Wednesday, August 10, that Little Milton had passed away the Thursday before.

We've heard several of his songs, including one with this title: "Hey Mister, Your Wife is Cheating On Us." Love the title, and the song.

Here's the AP article:

“Little” Milton Campbell, who sang the blues and performed with some of the country's top performers, died Thursday of complications of a stroke.

Campbell, 70, died about 8:50 a.m. at Delta Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn. A statement from the family said the musician died from a cerebral hemorrhage as a result of a stroke Campbell suffered on July 27.

Funeral services were pending. Campbell is survived by his wife, Patricia, and three children.

Greg Preston, a close friend and producer of Campbell's Grammy-nominated album 2000's “Welcome to Little Milton,” visited the singer in the hospital over the weekend.

Preston said he played some of the bluesman's music in an attempt to bring him out of his comatose state.

”I hope he heard me,” Preston said.

The Inverness native had been scheduled to perform Aug. 11 at Clarksdale's Ground Zero Blues Club for the blues documentary “Native Sons,” but that performance was canceled.

Campbell's last appearance in Jackson was at The Allman Brothers Band concert in May.

Preston described the bond between Campbell and The Allman Brothers Band, especially Wayne Haynes as “beautiful.”

”They (Campbell and Haynes) had this love for each other. When they played together it was beautiful because they knew...what the other was gonna do,” Preston said. “There was a kindred spirit there.”

Campbell is best remembered for his booming voices, one that Preston said resonated with audiences nationwide.

”Every time I was in the studio with him his voice was bigger than the whole building,” he said. His detail to every note played on his Gibson Hollowbody 355 guitar made him a truly unique artist, he said.

”Most guitar players they think the more notes the better. Milton, B.B. and Albert King — their style was you make every note count. Because one note can touch an amazing amount of people.

”It's not how many you play or how fast you play. It's how you play that one note. That was his style.”

Campbell's hit record “We're Gonna Make It” and his 1978 vintage black jacket were on display in Clarksdale last year as part of a “Sweet Home Chicago” exhibit at the Delta Blues Museum.

In an interview with The Associated Press last year, Campbell said the exhibit would raise the awareness of blues music and performers.

”The people are the stars, not me,” Campbell said after attending the exhibit's opening last July. “I am just one that is fortunate to have a little talent. When you do it right, they remember you and that is important to me.

”To realize that they are trying to immortalize in a sense your contribution to your profession, certainly none of us are going to live forever, basically in a sense it sort of makes you immortal to know that once you are gone, people are going to walk by and some will say 'you were great.' Some will say 'maybe you weren't so great,”' he said.

Campbell's music was described as having a gritty feel, with pleading vocals and frequently lyrics of dashed love.

Campbell was born on a Delta farm near Inverness on Sept. 7, 1934. He was named after his father, Big Milton, who was a locally known blues musician.

In 1953, Campbell was introduced to Sam Phillips of Sun Records by artist/talent scout Ike Turner. Some of his first recordings were on the Sun label backed by the Ike Turner Band.

In a 2003 tribute to the late Phillips, Campbell said Phillips cared little about critics who were unhappy with “what they called at that time, black music.”

”He would always say, 'Well, I don't worry about what nobody else say. I'm going to do what I want to do,”' Campbell said.

Campbell went on to record “I'm a Lonely Man” and “That Will Never Do” for Bobbin Records. He switched to Checker Records in 1960 and in 1965, he had a hit entitled “We're Gonna Make It.”

Campbell joined Stax Records in 1971 and recorded “Annie Mae's Cafe” and “Little Bluebird,” two of his most memorable songs.

Campbell was presented with the W.C. Handy 1988 Blues Entertainer of the Year. He was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame that year.

The Delta native also enjoyed a career with Malaco Records in Jackson, which began in 1984. At the label he wrote “The Blues Is Alright” and recorded the album “Welcome To Little Milton,” which was nominated in 2000 for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

At his death, Campbell was signed with the label Telarc International based in Cleveland, Ohio. His last album “Think of Me” was released in May 2005.

In a statement, Pat Campbell and the label expressed thanks for the “outpouring of support from well-wishers throughout the blues community.”

Telarc spokeswoman Amanda Sweet said condolences can be directed to the Campbell family through the record label and monetary donations can be made through a fund established at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Little River Canyon


Little River Canyon
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Little River Canyon in Fort Payne, AL. I used to vacation there with my parents in the 60s. Beatuiful place.

Another Duane Pic


Duane Allman
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Delaney Bramlett, Dickie Betts and Duane Allman on stage.

Lung Checkup

Two and a half years ago, Andrew's lung intake capacity was about 60 percent. A month ago, in a checkup at Children's, it was 90 percent. I took him Thursday for another checkup with his pulminologist and it was 105 percent, 5 percent higher than average for someone his age.

The right middle lobe is still collapsed, but the doctor said he could live with that very healthy forever. Scar tissue has closed the opening. A procedure to repair it is an option, but the doctor said scar tissue from the procedure itself could close it again. His advice was to watch it. Maybe it'll open back up, maybe it won't if it doesn't, that's okay.

He took him off the asthma inhaler he's used for two years, to use it only if he has an asthma attack or other breathing problems. He's staying on the steroid inhaler, however, at least until the spring. If he does not have pneumonia or other respiratory problems this winter, he'll come off the steroids. That would be the ultimate–to know he can make it through a winter with no big problems.

Great, relieving report.

He also finished Harry Potter on the way back from Little Rock. It was a good day.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Mississippi Bound



Originally uploaded by sanscript.
We're getting away for a few days before school starts.

We'll leave Tuesday aftenoon after I deliver papers to the Delta and spent the night in my hometown, Ellisville, MS. Wednesday morning, we'll head 90 miles south to Gulfport and stay the night in the Grand Hotel Casino (the beachside portion), the building in the left center. The casino is in the long building.

Then it's back to Hamburg Thursday night, for a bright and early start at school on Friday. Damn starting back to school on Friday. Would have made for a nice, long weekend away.

Oops

I deleted the last post, which was supposed to have been a Google Earth shot of Talladega's Nascar track. Oops. It was the Grand Prix track. I saw Talladega race track and screen captured it. Wrong!

Thanks to local tech support for telling me how to save Google Earth pix.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Almost That Time


pic
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
That time is getting near--sideline time. Sweating the first few games, then it starts to cool down to "real" football weather.

This is Ray Charles Tucker blocking an attempted field goal during his junior year, about three seasons ago.


Originally uploaded by sanscript.
The deer, raccoons and/or possums ate all but three figs from this tree. I had the three. Would have made good preserves.


Originally uploaded by sanscript.
The view across the road from where we live.


Originally uploaded by sanscript.
A "Where We Ride" pic.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Google Earth

Is anybody playing with Google Earth? If so, do you know how to save images as tiffs or jpgs, if it can be done at all?

I've also found way to "Flickr-ize" Google Earth. I'll post it later when I know more about it.

WTF?

There's a story on Drudge that Marilyn Monroe said she was "disappointed" following a sexual encounter with Joan Crawford. Damn, who wouldn't be?

Stewart Wins Again



Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Tony Stewart won the Brickyard 400 Sunday, a win he had wanted for a long time, since his hometown is only about 40 miles away. It was a blistering performance.

Good race all around. It saw Jr. take himself and teammate Martin Truex Jr. out of the race. Jr. dropped two positions in the standings, and blow his chances for the Chase. Gordon finished eighth and gained one position in the Race for the Chase. Johnson also wrecked out. He dropped from first in the Chase to second.

Tony's win was the fourth in the past six races, and now he's atop the standings. He and his crew all climbed the fence this week, and he was so tired from climbing the fence he did the post-race interview laying flat on his back atop a concrete wall.

Now it's on to Watkins Glen, where Stewart won last year.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

TRAFFIC ALERT!

Andrew got his DL today around 1:30 p.m. We got back to the office, and he asked to use the truck (to deliver band calendars around town). He got back about 20 minutes later in one piece (the truck, I mean). I was SO proud.

Wilmot Cloud


Wilmot Cloud
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
I may have posted this one before, don't remember. Going south toward Wilmot 2 years ago. Adjusted some in Photoshop.

Trail Cam


Trail Cam
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Not the best trail cam photo ever, but the first one I got last year. Hope to have better ones this year.

Fireworks


fireworks
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
A fireworks shot a few years ago in Crossett. All I did was hit auto adjust in Photoshop.

Jordan Creek


Jordan Creek
Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Jordan Creek was up the week after New Year's Day when we rode.

Monday, August 01, 2005

FN Senile Hypocrite

"The abuse of power and the cloak of secrecy from the White House continues. ... It's a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N." — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

This REEKS of a senilic irony that Teddy could never begin to comprehend in his advanced stage. Devious maneuver? Hell, he invented it, or at least raised it to an unreachable height nobody could ever scale.

Also credibility and U.N. in the same sentence. Oxymoron?


Originally uploaded by sanscript.
Either a color or colorized version of the Allman Brothers Band's Fillmore East album.

A Printable Jeff Gordon Joke

Did you hear that someone vandalized Jeff Gordon's house so bad that he had to move to a hotel?

It's true. They painted "Victory Lane" on his driveway and he can't get in.
ZIP Code Maps