Did anyone catch the premier of the the new ABC show, "Nashville" last week?
It's a night-time soap, with a rather predictable storyline, but hey, it's being filmed right here in Music City with shots of the skyline and icons that make our city great. We're all excited about it here. Had I been more on my game I would have tried to be an extra. Maybe it's not too late.
I thought they just filmed a few outdoor shots around Nashville and the rest on a Hollywood set but I was wrong. Apparently there is a sound studio just north of the city where production has been taking place. An almost exact replica of the famous Bluebird Cafe, the songrwiters' Mecca where many a star has gotten his/her start and where stars and starlets are known to just show up from time to time, has been built, as well as sets replicating some of the rooms in the mansion where the show's fading country star (played by Connie Britton) lives.
The actual house is in Nashville's tony Belle Meade neighborhood and is reported to be about 20,000 square feet. Some inside scenes have actually been shot right inside the house and the owner says all the production folks have just been swell to work with.
We already have the tour buses that travel around Nashville pointing out the stars' homes and other landmarks. Dolly Parton is a resident of our suburban community and her home is featured prominently on the tours.
Not long after we moved in our first house here, just a few doors down from our current one, we noticed one of the buses nearby and asked around regarding what famous person might be lurking among our neighbors. We learned that "Little Jimmy Dickens," of Grand Ole Opry fame, lives in a nearby subdivision not far from ours and his modest ranch-style home is included in one of the tours.
Should the "Nashville" TV show catch on, I'm sure other landmarks will be added to the tours. City coffers have already been increased due to production of the show and local movers and shakers are hoping that will continue.
So tune in and get a glimpse of our fair city. And if you want to visit in person, just let me know. I'm sure I can cut you a better deal than the tour buses.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
At the intersection . . .
Well it's been a while.
Fall is definitely our busy season and October is that month where two of our favorite pastimes intersect -- college football and post-season Major League baseball.
Unfortunately things are a bit dismal this year for our teams. Auburn is 1-3. The Atlanta Braves lost their "play-in" wild card game tonight and the Texas Rangers are on the verge of doing the same as I write this (I'll update if anything changes).
For some reason the MLB powers that be decided the top two non-divisional winners would have a one-game playoff for the wild card spot. That sounded like a good idea until these two teams blew it and lost to the Cardinals and Orioles, respectively.
A rare infield fly ruling figured heavily in the Braves game and I'm none too happy about that. But that's baseball and that's post-season play.
In the AL, I'll be pulling for blogger friend Steve's Detroit Tigers, although I have a bit of a soft spot for the Orioles after a 15-year absence from post-season play. In the NL, well, just not too excited about any of them.
**********************************
I watched the presidential debate this week and found it surprisingly interesting. It was definitely Mitt Romney's night as he took command of things from the very start. This was the universal consensus among almost all the pundits.
I thought it was a good debate overall. There was a good discussion of the issues and the candidates and their families had civil exchanges with each other. I understand it's all for TV but I like that anyway.
Veteran PBS anchor Jim Lehrer moderated the debate and I thought he did a good job. He got a lot of criticism but I don't get it. I thought he handled both candidates well, especially when they went over their alloted times. He was respectful and gracious to both and I don't quite understand what else he was supposed to do?
*********************************
Wife and I went to Dallas to see Older Son and DIL last week. We were gone almost a week. Wife was able to incorporate a HR seminar with our visit there and I was long overdue a few days off. Enjoyed every minute with Older Son and DIL.
We drove, as we were taking them a piece of furniture and other odds and ends. We made overnight stops in Little Rock both ways.
We rented a mini-van, the vehicle from which we graduated years ago as our little birdies began to leave the nest. These vans have progressed a great deal from the time we owned one, with "stow and go" seats that are a lot easier to handle than the ones that weighed a ton if they weighed a pound. I remember sweating buckets when I would remove them when needing to haul big items.
Fall is definitely our busy season and October is that month where two of our favorite pastimes intersect -- college football and post-season Major League baseball.
Unfortunately things are a bit dismal this year for our teams. Auburn is 1-3. The Atlanta Braves lost their "play-in" wild card game tonight and the Texas Rangers are on the verge of doing the same as I write this (I'll update if anything changes).
For some reason the MLB powers that be decided the top two non-divisional winners would have a one-game playoff for the wild card spot. That sounded like a good idea until these two teams blew it and lost to the Cardinals and Orioles, respectively.
A rare infield fly ruling figured heavily in the Braves game and I'm none too happy about that. But that's baseball and that's post-season play.
In the AL, I'll be pulling for blogger friend Steve's Detroit Tigers, although I have a bit of a soft spot for the Orioles after a 15-year absence from post-season play. In the NL, well, just not too excited about any of them.
**********************************
I watched the presidential debate this week and found it surprisingly interesting. It was definitely Mitt Romney's night as he took command of things from the very start. This was the universal consensus among almost all the pundits.
I thought it was a good debate overall. There was a good discussion of the issues and the candidates and their families had civil exchanges with each other. I understand it's all for TV but I like that anyway.
Veteran PBS anchor Jim Lehrer moderated the debate and I thought he did a good job. He got a lot of criticism but I don't get it. I thought he handled both candidates well, especially when they went over their alloted times. He was respectful and gracious to both and I don't quite understand what else he was supposed to do?
*********************************
Wife and I went to Dallas to see Older Son and DIL last week. We were gone almost a week. Wife was able to incorporate a HR seminar with our visit there and I was long overdue a few days off. Enjoyed every minute with Older Son and DIL.
We drove, as we were taking them a piece of furniture and other odds and ends. We made overnight stops in Little Rock both ways.
We rented a mini-van, the vehicle from which we graduated years ago as our little birdies began to leave the nest. These vans have progressed a great deal from the time we owned one, with "stow and go" seats that are a lot easier to handle than the ones that weighed a ton if they weighed a pound. I remember sweating buckets when I would remove them when needing to haul big items.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Fact checking and hummingbirds
I don't write much about politics here anymore. And I don't talk about politics much anymore either.
I sometimes write about politics in my weekly column, but it's objective and I offer no opinion.
Accordingly, I watched very little of either convention. In fact, I watched none of the Democratic convention and only a few minutes of the GOP gathering.
Here's a mystery to me: after the speeches at both conventions, "fact checking" news reports told us how what a speaker said was an outright lie or spun in such a way that is was a half-truth.
Wonder if any of them ever thought of doing that fact checking before opening their mouths?
***********************************
Wife gave me a hummingbird feeder as an anniversary gift.
It is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I hung it on the back deck, right in front of a big picture window that frames our kitchen table.
I had a customer within a half-hour of hanging it and it wasn't long until he told his friends. We have daily visitors now.
They're a curious bunch, those hummingbirds. One will come fluttering up to the feeder and here will come another, and then another, but they don't imbibe at the same time, even though there are three different little holes where they could consume the sweet nectar together.
No, when one is there enjoying the treat, another comes and chases him (or her) away. I want to tell them that there is plenty to go around and plenty of room at the table, so to speak, but they'll have none of it. It's one at a time and appears to be everyone for himself.
I love watching them. I often sit and work at the kitchen table in the early morning and they start coming soon after the sun rises. Needless to say, sometimes I have trouble getting my work done.
I sometimes write about politics in my weekly column, but it's objective and I offer no opinion.
Accordingly, I watched very little of either convention. In fact, I watched none of the Democratic convention and only a few minutes of the GOP gathering.
Here's a mystery to me: after the speeches at both conventions, "fact checking" news reports told us how what a speaker said was an outright lie or spun in such a way that is was a half-truth.
Wonder if any of them ever thought of doing that fact checking before opening their mouths?
***********************************
Wife gave me a hummingbird feeder as an anniversary gift.
It is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I hung it on the back deck, right in front of a big picture window that frames our kitchen table.
I had a customer within a half-hour of hanging it and it wasn't long until he told his friends. We have daily visitors now.
They're a curious bunch, those hummingbirds. One will come fluttering up to the feeder and here will come another, and then another, but they don't imbibe at the same time, even though there are three different little holes where they could consume the sweet nectar together.
No, when one is there enjoying the treat, another comes and chases him (or her) away. I want to tell them that there is plenty to go around and plenty of room at the table, so to speak, but they'll have none of it. It's one at a time and appears to be everyone for himself.
I love watching them. I often sit and work at the kitchen table in the early morning and they start coming soon after the sun rises. Needless to say, sometimes I have trouble getting my work done.
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