Gil Gerard's superior officer and Ricky Shroder's step mother.
David from Void Where Prohibited gets the right answer on the first clue! Which is cool, but too bad because this clue would have been very interesting to track down. In fact, I'll leave it up and see if anyone can track through the labyrinth.
Today's star had a guest appearance on Mr. X's starred in an episode of Mandy Patinkin's costar's replacement's first series. Mr. X currently stars as the replacement for the actor who played Mandy Patinkin's partner in a buddy cop movie with a twist.So who is Mr. X?
She has starred in two TV series adapted from Sci Fi movies.
This model turned actress was born on Hawai'i, one more reason to love the Aloha State. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.
WVLT teased a story last night, about how the Knoxville Zoo was worried that the Smart Fix change to I-40 will decrease the number of people who go to the zoo.
So, exactly how many times have you been driving down the interstate on your way somewhere and you said, "Oh my, a zoo. Let's stop and go see the animals!"
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is OK for a state to require voters show a photo ID in order to vote, throwing local blogger The Crone Speaks into a tizzy.
Not everyone has a certified birth certificate lying about, the cost to obtain that document is around $10, plus time and money to get to the point of even ordering one’s certified birth certificate. Then there is the time (including travel) and cost of updating/obtaining a Social Security card, then the time and cost of getting to a Motor Vehicle agency that provides photo ID’s. So, no, obtaining a photo ID is NOT free. It may be free at the point of obtaining the ID at the motor vehicle office, but to get to that point can be costly for quite a few people.You know, the last time I checked, you needed a photo ID to cash a check, fly on a plane, rent a car, or to get a library card. Obviously, the benefits of having a photo ID extend far past voting, so why assign all the costs of obtaining one to voting?
And isn't ensuring that only those eligible to vote do vote worth a little bother? Voting is one of the few activities I can think of where the state has a vested interest in confirming identification.
The AP story has this bit of inadvertent humor towards the end. When discussing programs to ease the burden of acquiring a photo ID for the poor, Bob Brandon, president of Fair Elections Legal Network, a nonpartisan network of election lawyers said, "Who's going to show up and sign an affidavit saying 'I'm poor'?"
Umm, the same folks who show up and sign one to get WIC, Welfare, etc?
Too bad he wasn't serious.
Over at Knox Views, R. Neal links (Here's the url in case Mr. Neal is still trying to hide his ravings from careful critique: http://www.knoxviews.com/node/7772) to a post showing atmospheric data that indicates that the tropical troposphere isn't heating up the way the best AGW models predict. Following that post back to its source leads you to Steve McIntyre's blog Climate Audit, and the post Tropical Troposphere.
Now before I get too deep into this thing, let's make something very clear. The issue at hand is NOT whether we are in the midst of an increase in global temperature due to man; the issue in this post is simply, "Is the troposphere reacting as the models predict?" You have to remember that all of the fuss about global warming comes from the predictions of computer models, models whose accuracy has been spotty at best.
The simplest way to put it is this: The models, based on thermodynamics predict that tropospheric temperatures will rise sooner and faster than surface temperatures. The models go on to say that the earliest indicators and the greatest movement will occur in the tropics.
So far, they aren't.
This doesn't mean that AGW isn't happening, although it does raise several important questions. What it does mean is that the predictive models we are using to forecast the extent and the severity of climate change incorrectly model the actual physical processes occurring.
In short, they're wrong.
Yet it is these very models that Al Gore preaches on every time he gets out of his Gulfstream.
Instead of reading the article, picking up the background knowledge required to understand it, and reading through the extensive discussion in the comments, Mr. Neal, would rather dismiss the problems generated by real world data out of hand, primarily because it doesn't fit within his orthodoxy.
Put simply, in deference to Mr. Neal, he'd rather stick his fingers in his ears and say "La la la la la," rather than hear the facts.
Here are the facts.
Thermodynamics is the study of how heat (thermo) moves (dynamics). Obviously, an understanding of thermodynamics is essential to understanding the greenhouse effect, and how CO2 emissions affects it. I learned basic thermodynamics while learning how to run a nuclear reactor. While the system is different, the laws governing the transfer of heat are the same.
OK, say you want to make a pot of tea. The first thing you have to do is boil water. You want to raise the temperature of the water from room temperature, around 70F to the boiling point of water, at 212F. In order to do that, you turn on the stove. Now, if the burner only heats up to 70F, will your water boil?
Obviously not. In order to transfer heat from one body to another, the body losing heat must be at a higher temperature than the body gaining the heat.
This is crucial to understanding how heat is transferred. It always must go down to a lower temperature body. In order to raise water to 212F, the stove burner is going to have to get hotter than 212F. It will also have to heat up the pan holding the water to greater than 212F.
The second thing to understand is that the rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the difference in temperature between the two bodies. The greater the temperature difference, the faster the heat will transfer.
The final thing to understand is exactly how heat is transferred. There are three methods;
Now let's take a look at the greenhouse effect. Now, let's look at our thermodynamic system. The Sun radiates heat to the Earth in a steady, constant stream. (For the purposes of this discussion, will ignore the various solar cycles.) This heat passes through the atmosphere unhindered, and reaches the surface and warms it. Heat is sent back up through the troposphere but things have changed. Where before the outer layer of the Earth's atmosphere was transparent to heat radiation, this is no longer the case. By giving up energy to the surface, the photons carrying the energy are now blocked by stratospheric CO2 and CO. These gases act almost like a one way blanket around our atmosphere. They allow energy in, but not back out again.
Remember what we talked about before? The rate of heat transfer is dependent on a difference in temperature. Since the temperature of the troposphere has gone up while the surface temperature has remained constant, the difference between the two has dropped, resulting in slower removal of heat from the surface. But the Sun is still pumping out the same amount of energy, so what happens to surface temperature? Well, if you're putting more energy in than you're taking out, the only thing that can happen is that surface temperature will go up. And as surface temperature goes up, the differential between the surface and the troposphere goes up, and the rate of heat transfer goes up until we reach a new equilibrium.
That's the greenhouse effect folks, and it makes life possible here on earth.
Now then, let's look at AGW, man made global warming. According to the theory, humans have dumped massive quantities of CO2 into our atmosphere, which has caused a pronounced increase in the ability of our atmosphere to trap heat. This mean that the troposphere is now trapping more heat, causing a rise in surface temperatures until we reach a new, higher equilibrium.
And now you see why tropospheric temperatures are so critical to AGW modeling. If the troposphere is not heating up, and by the data in this post it isn't, then the proposed mechanism for AGW is in big trouble. Not only that, but the models forecasting gloom and despair are also completely off.
What Steve McIntyre's data shows is that tropical tropospheric temperatures are not increasing significantly. In fact, they're down compared to reference temperatures.
Does this mean AGW is not happening? No, but it raises questions both about the mechanics of our climate, and about the predictive value of the models. Asking those questions is the first step to learning the truth about our effect on this planet.
Congratulations to Cathy from Domestic Psychology who correctly guessed Barry Corbin.
Recently appearing in the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men, Barry Corbin has had a long career playing nice men with a gruff exterior, and not so nice men with a gruff exterior. The third clue, concerning mechanical bulls comes from two of his earlier projects, Stir Crazy, and Urban Cowboy. The final clue, of course, comes from WarGames.
Mr. McKittrick, after very careful consideration, sir, I've come to the conclusion that your new defense system sucks.
Hollywood thinks Roman Polanski should be forgiven for his crimes but wants to keep punishing Mel Gibson for his.
How odd.
Mr. Duncan,(Sen. Alexander, Sen. Corker)
I play poker. I also vote.
In 2006, under cover of darkness, Sen. Bill Frist attached the UIGEA to a port security bill.
Why?
Because he didn't have the votes to get it passed in open session of the Senate.
It was an unpopular bill, unsupported by the majority of Americans, but Sen. Frist decided that he knew better than his constituents, so he used strong arm tactics and back room politics to get it passed. Those tactics will be remembered and will come back to haunt him when he runs for governor.
Do you also believe that you know what's good for me better than I do? Are you going to try and protect me from myself?
That's not your job. It is the job of government to protect its members from the actions of others. It is not the job of the government to protect its members from their own actions. That's the difference between being a citizen and a subject. You are not my caretaker; you are my representative.
Although you voted in favor of H.R.4411, I ask that you support HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act, that clearly exempts the great game of poker from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). Poker is a game of skill; while there is a component of luck involved, there's luck in every competitive endeavor. The key factor is whether skill wins out over luck over the long haul.
Take NASCAR for instance. Drivers are competing for a cash prize, and their ability to win depends primarily on their skill at maneuvering their car around the track. But how many times have we seen one of the top drivers get caught up in somebody else's accident, and lose all chance of winning? How many times have we seen a driver lose a lap because he was trapped in the pits when a caution came out? Luck determined his outcome for that race, but over time, a top driver's skill will overcome any bad luck he may have, and he'll win a championship. Just ask Jeff Gordon or Richard Petty.
It is exactly the same with the game of poker. Luck determines the cards you are dealt; over time, every player will get the same good hands and bad hands. To win consistently, you must have skill. You not only have to be able to evaluate the worth of your hand, you must be able to evaluate the worth of your opponent's hand. This is a skill that takes years of practice to refine, and it's why the same names keep showing up at the top of the money winners list year after year.
Poker, like racing, is a skill game; it's not gambling.
I also ask that you support H.R. 5767, recently introduced legislation that places a moratorium on the enactment of the badly flawed UIGEA regulations.
As regulations to implement UIGEA come close to their effective date, our nation's financial institutions are warning the Congress that these regulations are unworkable. Louise Roseman of the Federal Reserve testified that it will be very difficult to enforce the law "without a more bright line on what is included as unlawful Internet gambling". Even if this "bright line" were defined, however, she stated that payment systems are not designed to perform this type of function. Representatives from the American Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and Wells Fargo fully concurred with this assessment. Dozens of other banks have submitted similar comments to the Federal Reserve and to the Treasury Department. The principal comment of the American Bankers Association is a concise summary: "We maintain that the UIGEA is a fundamentally flawed response to those challenges."
I encourage you to cosponsor H.R. 5767. Banks should be responsible for managing their deposits and their loan portfolios, not for policing the behaviors of Americans in their own homes.
I also encourage you to support HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act that regulates online poker via stringent licensing regulations for poker site operators.
These safeguards will work - the June 8, 2007 House Financial Services Committee hearing on Internet gaming proved conclusively that Internet poker can be effectively regulated. Note that neither HR 2610 nor HR 2046 forces any state to permit online poker, as states can opt out if they wish.
What's most important to me is your support for my rights. Please respond to this letter and let me know if you will support my freedoms. I will be watching your actions on this issue closely. I hope that I, along with my nearly one million fellow Poker Players Alliance members, can count on your support.
Thank you for your consideration.
He's worked with the man with no name and with Eugene Jerome.
He was in his first movie in 1980 and is still working today.
He's played prison wardens, sheriffs, and generals. His gruff style and bluff exterior are used to good effect in any part he takes on, whether he's trying to stop a war or win a rodeo.
Congrats to Barry, from Inn of the Last Home, who correctly guessed Terry Kiser.
Character actor Terry Kiser is the first clue for this week's puzzle. Remember, you can Google and IMDB all you want for the daily puzzles, but try the weekly puzzle is all up to you.
In the original he played a corpse. In the sequel, he played a re-animated copse. In both, he out performed the two young leads.
He was a cast member of sketch comedy show that lasted only two seasons, despite being headlined by Princess Winnifred the Woebegone.
Malcolm McDowell played the same character as our Secret Actor, although Malcolm played him in a movie, and our man played him on two episodes of a superhero TV show.
Hollywood Montrose is the only cast member returning for this sequel, which features today's Secret actor.
This week's challenge is set up differently. Each day, I'll give clues that will lead you to an actor or actress. The clues will appear throughout the day, until somebody gets the right answer. You can use Google or IMDB if you'd like, but they won't help much.
On Friday, we'll tie it all together. The actors will all be in the cast of the Hidden Movie. Obviously, Google and IMDB will make it easy to discover, so please refrain from them for the final puzzle.
Have fun!
Pat Roach, who appeared in all three movie of the trilogy, appeared twice in ROTLA. He was the giant sherpa who was lit on fire and then shot, and he was the German mechanic who got too lose to the propeller.
And Indy's hat never fell off in the first movie,although it became a sight gag in the two sequels.
Dan O'Herlihy, who played Grigg in The Last Starfighter, played the Old Man.
Peter Weller, who starred as Buckaroo Banzai, played Murphy, who as Robocop, ate a gel like paste compared to baby food.
Tony Scott, Ridley's brother, directed Tom Cruise in Top Gun
David Bowie starred as Jared, the Goblin King.
Val Kilmers other movies include Top Secret, The Saint, Thunderheart, Red Planet, and of course, Batman Forever.
Incidentally, Willow also featured another link to Happy Days. Gavin O'Herlihy, Richie's disappearing brother Chuck, played Airk, the redheaded warrior.
In Blade Runner, Darryl Hannah plays Priss, a pleasure android, who uses her skills for a new, less pleasant purpose.
The theme of this puzzle was 80's fantasy and science fiction movies.
And the final tally is:
Lissa 3
Cathy 2
Barry 2
Doug 1
I'm already planning next week's quiz. And on that one, google all you want. Heh.
New clues for the unknown movies. Remember to add these to the original clues. Answers tomorrow.
UPDATE: We're down to the final two, and I honestly thought the first one was the easiest one. The second one is a harder one, but I didn't think it was that hard. Here are the final two clues
Answers and explanations after 5PM.
Yeah, I know, I said Friday, but realistically, how many of you will be on your computers over the weekend? So, here we go.
This week's edition will be a little bit different. Instead of just giving you quotes, I'll give you quotes, some fact about the movie, a scene description, trivia about an actor or the production, something that will identify the movie.
The challenge is in two parts. First, identify the movie. Some will be easy; others, not so much. After you've identified the movies, figure out the common theme. It'll be pretty obvious. As always, no Googles, no IMDB, although the structure of this quiz makes IMDB less useful.
Ready?
Here we go!
UPDATE 1: The first answers are in. Cathy, Barry, and Doug each scored one correct answer.
UPDATE 2: Barry springs into the lead by answering number seven, one of the tougher questions of the bunch.
Have fun! Clues Tuesday Evening. Answers on Wednesday.
And the winner is Cathy, with 3 correct answers. Her prize is free usage of my laundry room in beautiful Kodak, TN, and I promise I won't make her watch COPS!
This week, I'll post the quiz on Friday.
Barry did this earlier and it seemed like fun, so I'm doing it this week. No googles, no IMDB. Name the movies these quotes come from.
UPDATE! I'm doing good! Fellow movie geek Cathy got three but is completely stumped for the rest. I'm sure we'll get more answers Monday from folks at work, but if not, I'll add some clues Monday afternoon. Final answers on Tuesday.
UPDATE 2: Clues added.
UPDATE 3: Doug goes one for three, which is good in baseball...
Answer in the comments and win a prize!
Rarely do you find a movie so courteous as to write a review into the title, but Ben Stein's crockumentary Expelled does just that. Attacking the education establishment and modern science based on their refusal to accept Intelligent Design is like attacking the Metropolitan Opera Company for refusing to sing "I Think I Love You."
Intelligent Design is not science. Period. I say this as a committed Christian who firmly believes that God created the earth, the heavens and all the things in them.
I've dealt with Intelligent Design many times over the course of this blog,so there's no point in recovering that ground in depth. Follow the links if you're interested. The short version is that ID rests on a couple of logical flaws:
By basing his attack on science and education on their rejection of non-science, Stein has hamstrung himself before he ever started.
Brian is shocked at the depths of depravity exhibited by the News Sentinel and Michael Silence.
To the contrary, the News-Sentinel continues to lower its standards, led by none other than the News-Sentinel's standard bearer of working with on the Internet, Michael Silence.Three obscenities in one sentence! Just when you think the News-Sentinel can't go any lower, they continue to stoop lower and lower.
Wow. It must have been a really bad post. Here is the post, in its entirety:
TV, Tweeter and Tweets and being a smart assThe only thing better than sitting on the couch and making smart ass comments while watching the debates is sitting on the couch making smart ass comments while watching the debates and watching everyone else make smart ass comments.
Apparently, Brian finds the word ass obscene, which is interesting since the word obscenity specifically refers to things which appeal solely to the prurient interests. In other words, it makes you feel funny down there.
At the worst, Michael can be accused of copying a vulgarity. A vulgarity in common usage in our schools, (Oh, the children!) on playgrounds and in gymnasiums all over the country. A vulgarity which appears in the Bible some 90 times.(Gasp!)
How asinine!
and by the looks of things,I don't want to.
Whether the story is true or a hoax (And I pray it's a hoax) is irrelevant. It's a disgrace that this young woman has chosen to trivialize abortion in such an exploitative manner.
Her parents must be so proud...
This is just incredible. There's no excuse.
She immediately asked if I wanted a check for the amount ($4.2k) and I said no, that I wanted cash. She then yelled to the manager across the bank about the transaction. He asked; how much? She said "$4200". Keep in mind that this was not done in private but across the room at the bank, therefore letting everyone in the room know that I wanted a (fairly) large sum of cash.It was at this time that the faux hawk sporting manager said 'nope'.
snip...
I then asked the teller very plainly... "Are you saying that I can't have MY money?"She said "yes".
That would immediately precipitate my final transaction with that bank.
I once deposited a large sum of money into a bank account that had been closed. I had just come back from a 2 month deployment, and my wife had let the account get overdrawn. I deposited enough money in the account to clear the negative balance, then wrote several checks on the rest, buying food and whatnot. When the checks began bouncing, I called the bank to find out what had happened and was informed that the account had been closed 3 weeks earlier!
In disbelief, I asked why they had allowed me to make a deposit to an account that didn't exist. Their explanation was that their computer doesn't check the status of an account, it just verifies that the number follows their unique pattern and then processes the transaction. In order to get my money back, I had to contact the main offices, send them a certified letter, including the deposit receipt,and ID and then wait 4 weeks to get a cashier's check for my money.
Needless to say, when I got the cashier's check, they had deducted bounce fees for the checks that I had written.
f I could have figured out a way to run Direct Deposit to my mattress at home, I'd have done it in a heartbeat.
Did you ever think you'd hear Hillary Clinton parroting Republican talking points?
There she was, questioning Obama's electability because of his association with Bill Ayres. And I thought only Sean Hannity was talking about that.
To be honest, as much as I loath the thought of voting for John McCain, after listening to Heckle and Jeckle discuss Iran and Iraq, I just might have to swallow my disgust and pull the lever for the man.
Both Hillary and Barack stated that regardless of what their generals might say, they will pull troops out of Iraq immediately upon taking office. Remember when they criticized Bush for not listening to his generals? Now Obama is criticizing Bush for listening to his generals, and says he will not make the same mistake. Barack says it's because "the buck stops here." (Oopsie! The last time I checked, "buck" is a derogatory term used for young black men. Will he have to apologize to himself? Or will he claim that he didn't know he said it because he wasn't there when it was said? Hey, it worked with Rev. Wright, right?)
Hillary says we can't know what will happen when we pull out. "We can't predict the future." Hmmm. She didn't seem to believe that when questioning why the Bush Administration didn';t see 9/11 coming. Maybe she thinks Republicans are better at evaluating trends and predicting future events than Democrats.
What is all boils down to is that both Barack and Hillary said that they will end the US presence in Iraq, regardless of the consequences, which makes Hillary's response to the next question very odd. She suggests that we gather all the other Middle Eastern nations together and tell them that if they won't develop nuclear weapons to respond to the threat of Iran, we'll place them under our "umbrella of protection." Not only is she going to tie us militarily to the Middle East forever, just how convincing will that promise be after we cut and run leaving Iraq at the tender mercies of Iranian jihadis, Sunni terror cells, and Shia militias?
That "umbrella" seems to have a few too many holes to be much good.
Remarkably, Hillary had the better of the two answers to this question. I don't have the transcript yet, but if I'm not mistaken, Barack spoke for 2 minutes and said absolutely nothing substantive other than "We need to make our position very clear to Iran."
How can you do that when you can't even make it clear to your own country? Here's a challenge for anyone who watched the debate: If Israel is attacked, will Obama respond militarily? If you can't answer that question, and I certainly can't after listening to his answer, what good will a direct meeting between Obama and Ahmadinejad do. Except maybe confuse Ahmadinejad as much as the rest of us.
Gracie Allen diplomacy...it's a provocative concept.
You know, it takes a lot of work to make a McCain presidency tolerable, but these two are making it look easy.
On gun control, there was nothing really shocking. Hillary want to renew the Assault Weapons Ban and says she prefers to allow the states to make their own rules. She says she supports New York laws because "They have worked."
Tell that the people getting mugged at gunpoint every day.
Obama said that the 2nd Amendment recognizes an individual right but that the state or local government can constrain it. He went on to say "I have never favored an all out ban on handguns!" I'm betting that Uncle is researching that one as I type these words.
It was very clear that both candidates were more concerned with reaching the superdelagates rather than the Pennsylvania voters and it was equally clear that Hillary was more successful in doing so. Hillary's use of conservative criticisms was well played, although I'm sure it left a bitter taste in the mouths of her supporters. She was very careful not to agree with the charges, but she made it very clear that Obama had baggage that the Republicans would exploit while minimizing her own baggage at the same time.
UPDATE: Here's the transcript for those interested.
Also, take a look at Andrew Sullivan's take on the debate. A few choice quotes:
- That opening silence was priceless. But he seems exhausted. Since she has had her humanity surgically removed, she seems less so.
- Because she's shameless, she's doing better.
- I have to say I am actually shocked at the appallingly poor quality of the questions: the worst of the campaign so far. Pure MSM process bullshit. Again: it's now halfway through and there has not been a single question on the economy, foreign policy, healthcare, terrorism, Iraq or any other actual policy issue in this campaign. How much longer can ABC News avoid the actual policy issues in this election?
- Clinton will disappoint her neoconservative supporters by such a strong, unequivocal commitment to withdrawal from Iraq. She is, of course, lying. But she does it so well.
- It's a huge night for the Republicans. If McCain went up against either of these two in the form they have shown tonight, he'd win.
Given both candidates' poor performance on the policy questions, I'm surprised to see Democrats complaining that there weren't more of them. Think about it for a minute: immediately after promising not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $200,000 per year, Obama says he's going to allow the Bush tax cuts to sunset and raise the capital gains tax, both of which will certainly affect people under that threshold. And Hillary's "We've got to abandon Iraq so we can enforce peace between every other Middle Eastern nation" was just as lame.
The State Legislature is once again looking at banning the removal of mountain tops And Eric Boyd was found guilty of being an accessory to carjacking.
Now, let's make it a trifecta and win the lottery!
Tennessee Politics Blog has an article that suggest that Mr. Frist is interested in running our lives for governor of Tennessee.
As you may remember, I had a slight disagreement with Mr. Frist awhile back over the underhanded way he passed some anti-gambling legislation,attaching it to a Port Security Bill in the middle of the night.
And Cathy posted on some other late night legislative activities of Mr. Frist, activities that paid him very well.
I'd rather vote for Eliot Spitzer than Frist. Say what you want about Spitzer's taste in women, but at least the people he screwed during his late night shenanigans got paid.
We didn't even get kissed.
Rev Wright can say G-D America, and that's ok.
Bill Hobbs tells Obama to remember who his boss is, and that's scandalous.
Perspective. I think you lack it.
Illegal campaign contributions to a Clinton campaign.
A few posts that caught my eye today:
R. Neal on the guns in bars bill:Yes, that’s just what we need. More yahoos with more guns in more places.Yes, because everyone with a permit to lawfully carry a firearm is a yahoo. Been writing Obama’s stuff?
Anyway, most of our neighbor states have such a provision and no increase in violence at restaurants has been reported.
Note carefully that after the smackdown that Uncle includes a factual statement based in reality rather than hyperbole. It's called "making an argument," a technique folks like Mr. Neal generally underutilize.
WORM: What Obama Really Meant.Found at a Talkleft discussion of Barack Cougar Mellencamp Obama's Pennsylvania gaffe.
Incidentally, for those who thought my "breakdancing John McCain" post yesterday went a bit too far, read what Mr. Obama had to say about small town voters again.
Michael usually links them but every now and then, he joins in with a zinger like this one:
How about a presidential ticket of Pat Summitt and Dolly Parton?Don't laugh. One of these days we'll be electing people who succeed in America rather than those who live off it.
Once again, a good time was had by all as several of Knoxville's most brilliant bloggers gathered at the Wild Wings Cafe on Campbell Station Rd for some good food and lively conversation.
Besides me and LissaKay, BlogFest stalwarts Doug and Cathy McCaughan were there with their son Tommy, along with brother bloggers Joe and Victor Agreda. Star 102.1 gave Frank Murphy a rare Saturday off, so he was able to attend and brought along his son, Frank Jr. Rounding out the group was Jon Katsiros, along with his friend and campaign manager. Yes, Jon is a political candidate, although, in his words, he isn't running against Stacy Campfield for the District 18 seat, he's beating him. It was a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces, which shows how quickly the Knoxville blogging community is changing and growing.
The conversation was quick and interesting, ranging from whether or not WBIR should have run with the story of Mike Ragsdale's divorce (No), to why Cathy refuses to run for the school board (her career as an internet sex goddess), to an incomprehensible to mere mortals discussion of web applications between Doug and Victor(Insert technobabble here).
The Wild Wing Cafe, despite it's deep West Knoxville location, proved to be an excellent location for the BlogFest. The restaurant itself is smoke free and family friendly, but they do allow smoking outside on the patio. It's tricky finding a venue that serves adult beverages, permits children on the premises, and has a way to accommodate those who wish to smoke, and has good food at a reasonable price but the Wild Wings Cafe fit the bill. Apparently, it fit the bill for a lot of other folks as well because the place was packed when we got there.
We're still looking for the ultimate site to hold a BlogFest so if you have any suggestions, let 'em fly.
WBIR and other outlets have run with the story that Claudia Ragsdale, County Mayor Mike Ragsdale's wife, has filed for divorce, prompting a conversation at yesterday's BlogFest on where the line should be drawn in reporting on public persons' private lives.
It seems pretty clear to me. If the story affects public policy or expenditures then it is news and should be reported. Otherwise, it's just gossip.
It doesn't matter whether other outlets report it.
It doesn't matter whether the "people" want to know.
It doesn't matter if it boosts ratings.
If it's not in the public interest, then reporting it is just repeating gossip.
Yes it's the Miss USA Pageant again.
And who better to host than Donny and Marie Osmond...
Recently, Barack Obama went bowling for voters in Altoona, PA, where he posted a 37 over 7 frames.
Not to be outdone, John McCain courted voters in Harlem NY by break dancing and holding a fried chicken and watermelon picnic.
The BlogFest will be held at the Wild Wings Cafe in West Knoxville. They are family friendly, and have a smoking area on the patio outside for those who wish to puff away. We will start on Saturday at 6:00PM and end when they kick us out or the last blogger gets arrested.
Incidentally, there is a mailing list for BlogFests. You can sign up here.
Sorry for the late update, but it's been one of those weeks.
Due to unforseen circumstances, ie there's some kind of basketball tournament going on or something, and the fact that several notable bloggers will be taking care of personal hygiene issues, I'm postponing the BlogFest to a quieter weekend.
So, the revised schedule is next Saturday, April 12, at Wild Wing Cafe in Farragut. They seem to meet all our requirements. The restaurant/bar is smoke free. There's a smokers area on the patio outside. And they serve adult beverages.
What more could a blogger ask for?
Besides a twig and berries waxing, I mean.
Due to the overwhelming lack of response to my last audio endeavor, I have replaced the clip with a bit with much more entertainment value. Allow me to present for your auditory enjoyment a little 3 minute piece I like to call "Listening to Paint Dry"