A Slice of Frank's Life

I Bid You a Very Heartfelt Good Night

2009-09-11T07:00:00.004-05:00

"I bid you a very heartfelt good night." *(See September 19th note below--and the October 6 note with a link to my new blog.)

Millions heard those words from Johnny Carson as he ended the final show of his 30 year career (it's hard to believe that was in 1992). Those words seemed like good ones to use for the title of my last "A Slice of Frank's Life" post. Of course my post is going out to about ten people instead of millions.

To say that the blog has "fallen victim" to my photography would be inaccurate. The time I spend on the photography is my choice and when things have dropped out of my life, such as tennis, travel, reading, television, and now the blogging, it is me choosing to reallocate my time in a different direction. These reallocations may be difficult ones to make, but they are the result of me weighing what I enjoy, what I want to accomplish, where I think there are needs, and what gives me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

I've really enjoyed writing this blog for the last three and a half years, especially over the last couple of years when it focused on photos and a wide variety of subjects. Admittedly, it should have continued to focus a little more on the diet aspect which started it all, but maybe now I'll have some extra time to do something about losing the weight instead of writing about what needs to be done.

The enjoyment of writing the blog has centered around having enough time to write. That often means two or three hours an evening by the time I look up information, write and rewrite, find photos to post, look for appropriate links to supporting information, etc. The end result may not look like it has taken several hours, but I've said over and over that writing isn't a skill that comes naturally to me. It takes a lot of time and work to distill my thoughts into what you read here.

It's become evident that the time needed to write this blog vanished starting on September 1st, the first day of this year's Millsaps photo project. As mentioned yesterday, there are currently photos from four sporting events and two other events that need to be edited. There's a football game this Saturday followed by a Junior Varsity game on Monday. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if the blog posts were reduced to a photo and a paragraph--except that the point and pleasure of the blog is lost if I'm not writing about bigger events and thoughts. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if I cut way back on the Millsaps photography--except that my vision of the Millsaps project is lost if I cut way back on the photos.

There are a handful of you who have been reading the blog from the start. I'm extremely grateful for your readership and also for those of you who have joined in since that beginning. The blog has been a positive thing for me, but it wouldn't have lasted long without readers. I certainly hope that the blog has been a positive thing for you, not necessarily every day because I've written my fair share of lousy posts, but from time to time I hope there has been a photo that you've enjoyed and a post that was somewhat entertaining or informative. It wasn't the best writing ever, just the best I had to offer.

And now that I've spent the last 15 minutes or so trying to come up with an ending, I guess nothing could be more appropriate than to end the blog the way I end most of my emails--thanks again and take care,

Frank.

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* (Note added October 6th--Okay, I changed my mind. Not doing the blog was putting a big hole in my life so I started a new blog that is both similar and different to "A Slice of Frank's Life". I think you'll like it and hopefully you will check it out at: fle-pics (and fle-thoughts) (that internet address is: http://fle-pics.blogspot.com/ )

* (Note added September 19th--Okay, some of you might have checked back thinking that I'd change my mind and start blogging again. You are partially right. I'm still doing the weight loss blog that has gone under 6 or 7 different names, writing more about trying to lose weight just like you would find in the posts from 2006 on this blog. ALSO, there's a "Blogging Below the Line" section where I throw in stuff that catches my interest and isn't about dieting. It wasn't suppose to be a lot of extra writing, just a thought or two every now and then, but you know how I get carried away all the time.

That blog has really become "A Slice of Frank's Life--Lite" without the photos. I'm not sure if anyone would find that interesting and since there's no sitemeter option on that blog, I don't know if more than a couple of people are reading. Maybe it's better if I don't know the number of hits. If you do want to check it out, here's the link to my other blog.)

A Variety of Things

2009-09-10T07:00:00.003-05:00

The same photo with two different croppings. I was shooting into the sun and couldn't see the LCD display when I took this shot. I'm sure the camera could have been angled in a way to get rid of the slight glare out of the first version, but that would have involved getting my face up close to the bee. I wasn't THAT determined to get a great shot.

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I really enjoyed writing yesterday's post about the movie "Inglourious Basterds". Spending time reading the different reviews, checking out various websites, coming up with some writing that wasn't great but somewhat near the best of my ability. I especially liked the ending about the crap in a can, hoping that some would tied it in with the film terminology of a finished film being described as "in the can".

The opportunities to write posts like that will might be a little scarce in the weeks to come. They take most of the evening and rare will be the evening when I can ignore working on photos. I have 2 volleyball games and 2 soccer games that are basically untouched. This Saturday there will be another football game and next Monday will be the first Junior Varsity football game. Not to mention the photos from the birthday party last Saturday and the music photos from New Stage the previous Saturday. It doesn't leave much time for writing one big post, so for a while we'll have more posts with multiple blurbs. While they aren't as satisfying to write, you might actually find them more interesting. Let us start:

-----From the "Art for Art's Sake" blog, I enjoyed this post on Top 100 Songs--All Time Favourites. How does one even begin to make such a list? I'm not sure if I could come up with my top 100 singers/groups of all time. He has "Perfect Day" as his only Lou Reed pick--I like that choice. He represented Janis Ian with "Jesse", "Stars", and "At Seventeen". Love them all but can any artist claim 3 top songs out of 50 years of music and how does one ignore the social impact of "Society's Child"? David Bowie got 2 songs, the relatively obscure "Life on Mars?" and "Ashes to Ashes". Again, songs I like but if going with slightly obscure Bowie, my pick would be "Putting Out Fire With Gasoline" which was featured in "Inglourious Basterds" and many years ago in the movie "Cat People". That song would definitely be near the top of my list of favorite 100 David Bowie songs of all time--that's a list I might be able to compile even though Bowie sure has a lot of good albums and great songs.

-----Here's another link, this one being a photo gallery from the Backyard Brawl on the Metromix website. There were taken by a local singer who has been featured on this blog and he has even suggested that I make a little money by covering some events for Metromix. It's a different type of photo shoot and I find it interesting to watch Scott when he is covering one of these events. He roams around asking people to pose for shots, takes a few photos of the event, and then he is out of there. No time wasted getting names, no time spent trying to get a lot of photos of the band or game--just a very efficient routine to get some photos and get out of there.

Nothing wrong with that approach and apparently it's exactly what the Metromix website wants, even down to all of the tilted horizons that I hate so much. It's just not something I would want to do. I'm not sure if my mindset is cut out for the business of taking photos.

-----This story about Texas DNA Exonerees Find Prosperity After Prison recently caught my eye. It's a story about states that compensate people who have been falsely imprisoned. Texas is leading the way with compensation of $80,000 for each year spent in prison, a sum that has amounted to close to $2,000,000 for several former prisoners. There's also a lifetime annuity that pays $40-50,000 a year for most of prisoners released.

Would I spend 25 years in prison for a $2,000,000 payout and a nice lifetime pension? No way! From that angle, it seems like a fair payment for an error made by the state. And yet, there's something about these programs that makes me think they are opening a real can of worms. With the size of the potential payout, I could see law firms specializing in getting cases reopened. The prisoners would get their freedom, the lawyers get the payout money. Maybe that's not a bad thing, maybe some folks who got sent to prison because of bad lawyers or unkind court systems will now get a fair day in court. But maybe it will also clog up court systems that can hardly handle the influx of new cases. My gut feeling tells me that this program is going to spin off into things that were never intended when the laws were passed. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the years to come.

Inglourious Basterds = Incredibly Boring

2009-09-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

"Inglourious Basterds", the latest movie by Quentin Tarantino, is loved by the critics. This Rotten Tomatoes Movie Review website shows that 88% of the reviews are positive, close enough to say that 9 out of 10 critics give it a thumbs up. Here's a sample of what the top critics think:

-----"Will Basterds polarize audiences? That's a given. But for anyone professing true movie love, there's no resisting it." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

-----"Quentin Tarantino's extremely witty revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds may be the most fun you'll have at the movies this summer." Lou Lumenick, New York Post

-----"When a man makes a movie this good, you can forgive him the occasional indulgence." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily Post

-----"These Basterds blend into a much richer story, a hugely entertaining one with stars you don't immediately see shining." Peter Howell, Toronto Star

-----"The outcome is gory and glorious." Claudia Puig, USA Today

-----"Inglourious Basterds is a social marker as startling as Easy Rider was in its day." J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

-----"Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s the real thing, a director of quixotic delights." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

-----"By turns surprising, nutty, windy, audacious and a bit caught up in its own cleverness, the picture is a completely distinctive piece of American pop art with a strong Euro flavor that's new for the director." Todd McCarthy, Variety

Okay, a lot of very smart people who make a living judging films say that "Inglourious Basterds" is a great movie. When Mother and I saw the film last Thursday, the two of us making up 40% of the audience, we both thought the movie was dreadful. I can't speak for the remaining 60% in attendance, but that trio never made a sound of laughter or anything else that would indicate a connection with the film. (By the way, my 85-year old mother is no longer driving and she requested that I take her to this show specifically because it was a Quentin Tarantino film. The last movie she requested to see was "The Wrestler" with Mickey Rourke, a movie we both loved as did 98% of the critics.)

This huge difference of opinion between myself and the critics is something that fascinates me. Regardless of what anyone else may think, I know that I'm a pretty smart guy. I know my mother is a film lover and it's extremely rare that she watches a movie and finds nothing redeeming about the time spent. How is it that we could watch a film and be so disappointed while others are enamored by the film's brilliance? Exploring that question has at least provided me the entertainment and thought process that I found missing from the film. Here's my guess about this wide difference of opinion.

First, I do think the fear of criticising Tarantino is a factor. Hey look, if my profession was that of movie critic I would have jumped on that Tarantino train as well. There is an Emperor's New Clothes factor about him and discounting his brilliance might be seen as a confession that one isn't smart enough to recognize his brilliance. I feel sure this is a factor, but not the only factor.

Maybe what the critics love is the craft of making the film. The opening scene is supposedly a brilliant job of film making in a confined space, in this case a small farm house. This is something a critic might love and it is totally lost on me. This opening scene has some wonderful acting, primarily between a German soldier and the farmer. I can see where a critic would love the word play back and forth, but ultimately this scene goes about 15-20 minutes to establish a plot element that could have easily been accomplished in less than 5 minutes. The excessive 15 minutes or so are well done but have absolutely nothing to do with any other part of the movie.

I guess that's where the critics differ so much with what I saw on the screen. It's like Tarantino came up with 7 or 8 scenes that almost feel like a bunch of one act plays. There's the scene at the farm house. The scene of the Inglourous Basterds training and later in the woods with captives. There's the scene in the tavern. The scene outside the movie theatre. The scene inside the movie theatre. Etc, etc. There's really no flow at all and there's no feel of connection between the various pieces.

Tarantino's movie "Pulp Fiction" jumped from scene to scene but they all had some pace to them and then all wove together into a complete fabric. The 2005 movie "Crash" was the same way, with seemingly unrelated stories coming together into a powerful conclusion. Go way back to Robert Altman's "Nashville" in 1975 and I love the way pieces of the puzzle worked their way to a focal point. "Inglourious Basterds" really only has two story lines and those two never really mesh. It's a story line that's just a mish-mash mess from start to finish.

Alright. One last thing about why I didn't like the movie and then I would love to hear comments and opinions from others who have seen the movie--and I'm not looking for people to confirm my opinion. I realize my viewpoint is very much in the minority amongst those who have written about this film. The last point about the movie that really bugged me is that Tarantino was just so lazy in drawing up anything that's credible.

I will accept a lot of things in a movie that obviously wouldn't happen in reality. For example, I'll accept that the National Guard wasn't called out when the Joker and Batman were destroying half of Gotham City. I'll accept that people can travel in time like in the Terminator movies or the Back to the Future series, etc. Maybe I'll even accept that Brad Pitt with a gosh awful Tennessee accent plus 8 Jewish soldiers could operate undetected in Nazi occupied France. That being said, the big scene at the movie theatre was ridiculous. I don't want to give away the story, but I think it's okay to say that there's a scene where many high ranking Germans are gathered at a theatre and that's the target for the Inglourious Basterds. Naturally security is tight so this will call for a Mission Impossible type plan--oh wait. No need to write anything clever if you just assume the Germans would post security on par with the concession stand workers at your local theatre, maybe even less security than the typical movie theatre.

It's like Tarantino wasn't even trying by the end of the movie. Actually, what it really felt like was Tarantino taunting the critics, putting together a totally ridiculous ending and daring anyone to have the nerve to call his bluff. The more I think about it, I have trouble seeing this film receiving many positive reviews if it was the work of anyone besides Tarantino. It's like Tarantino is Hollywood's version of Piero Manzoni, the artist who could put crap in a can and still have the critics call him brilliant.

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(PS--It's easier to write a PS than to rework the post--let's keep in mind that all these posts are quickly written and therefore are often ideas that are in progress, not fully developed. I've only written about how my views differ from the majority of the critics. My views also differ with some in the viewing public who have loved it. I don't know if those who love it are in the majority or minority.

I wanted to know if David and Suzy had seen the movie since I greatly trust their movie opinions. They had not, but said both sons (ages about 17 and 20) had seen it, like it, and thought their parents wouldn't like it. I heard on the sports show "Mike and Mike in the Morning" where one Mike said he like the movie and thought the other Mike would dislike it.

There's no right or wrong here. People like something or they don't. People have different views regarding music, books, politics, religion, etc, and I don't see other people as being wrong if their tastes and opinions differ from mind. Mostly I am interested in why their views differ. Maybe they can open my eyes to something I just don't see, either about the subject itself or about how different people view the same thing in multiple ways.

I'd really like to know what people think about this film. It seemed long and dull to me (maybe like this post), silly without being humorous, and while the scenes might have been well crafted, they all fit together so poorly that it seemed like Tarantino didn't care about the overall movie, just his building blocks. Some of you might read this and wonder how long I've been brain dead because you thought just the opposite. I especially hope those people will leave a comment. We all learn far more about a subject when we are willing to listen to differing opinions.)

The Photos Made Me Do It

2009-09-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

Some photos from the birthday party of my grandniece Emerson who just turned 1. Emerson is the one with the bow on top in most of her photos. Emerson's older sister is Charley, dressed as Snow White but insisting that she is Sleeping Beauty (or do I have that backwards). And the last two photos include one of Mother and another of my niece Erica helping Emerson eat cake--it really wasn't as messy as anticipated.

Yesterday's post said today's post was going to be a movie review. That will have to wait and it's the photos to blame. It's 10:35 pm and I've just finished editing the football photos. They are now being uploaded to Smugmug and that will take a while with my slow DSL Lite internet connection. I only went out one time today and that was to help Mother with a small task. Otherwise, it has been a day of sitting at the computer. Mostly it was editing photos, but then come the little things like finding and emailing some photos for the Millsaps student newspaper. Helping make a contact between a parent who took football photos Saturday and has posted them on the internet, and a parent who knows how to the get the info about the photos to the other parents. There's always little stuff that adds up to a substantial time commitment.

My Smugmug uploading still has 230 of 345 photos to go. That 345 photos that I ended up with from Saturday comes from almost 1,200 photos taken. It was a night game which means a shutter speed that's too slow for action photos and a lens that doesn't reach enough to cover much of the field. I knew before the game that the majority of my photos wouldn't be good enough to keep. The problem I'll have in the future is when taking 1,200 photos at a day game and then having about 900 good photos. There's no way I can keep that many per game, but it's so hard for me to delete a decent photo. That photo is important to someone and I need to get it to that person--this is the attitude that gets me in trouble.

Speaking of trouble--this is a segue to a new topic--today is the day President Obama speaks to the school children. I've been very disappointed in the majority of the news coverage concerning this controversy. The uproar hasn't been about the fact that the President is addressing the school children, it has been about the study guide or talking points that were sent to the school teachers about things to discuss with the children after the President's speech.

That's the key issue and the focal point of the debate, and yet this AP Story about the controversy doesn't mention the study guide until the last few paragraphs and even then it doesn't report on the original text of the handout. It's sloppy journalism. Maybe intentional, maybe not--either way there's no excuse for it.

On the other hand, credit should be give to those who did present the story in a correct manner. Here's a story from the Washington Times that presents the facts and it allows the reader to decide if they think there's something to all this hubbub or if it is much ado about nothing. That's what we should get from the media in this country, a fair presentation of both sides of each issue and then the public can make up their own mind. I'm afraid that those days of journalism are in the past, assuming that they ever really existed at all.

It's 11:15 and still have 30 photos waiting to download. The loader also says there have been 18 errors. I don't want to go through all of the photos trying to figure out which didn't download. Like I said, it's the little tasks that pop up that eat up so much time. The good news it that the fall sports will be over in another 10-12 weeks--is it too early to be starting that sort of countdown?

Some Rest Before Labor Day

2009-09-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

I took off work Friday afternoon to photograph two Millsaps volleyball games. Saturday started off with a couple of hours at a birthday party for my grandniece Emerson, her first birthday. That was followed by another volleyball game and then the Millsaps at MS College football game. Sunday afternoon the camera was back out taking photos of the home opener for the Millsaps Women's Soccer team. Six events, something in the neighborhood of 3,500 to 4,000 photos.

My Labor Day will mostly be spent editing photos. First up will be the football photos because football is king--and also because football involves well over 100 student athletes which is more than all the other fall sports combined. This photo was the first Millsaps touchdown of the game, a 3rd quarter play that narrowed a 24-3 halftime deficit to 24-10. Millsaps eventually rallied to tie the game with a 47-yard field goal on the last play of regulation. Unfortunately, they fell in the second overtime when MS College scored a touchdown after Millsaps had only scored a field goal.

After all of this volunteer work, I'm taking a break Sunday evening and watching "The Rocky Horror Show" for the umpteenth time. I'll worry about editing photos and the writing more for the blog tomorrow. I can tell you that the Tuesday post will be a review of the movie "Inglorious Basterds". I'll give my opinion and then be interested to get comments for those of you who have seen the film.

Enjoy your Labor Day--oh yeah, Monday is also the birthday of my brother Fred and of "Gang of 8" member, Dick Molpus--Happy Birthday to the two of them!

The Story Behind the Chamber Statement--July, 1964

2009-09-04T07:00:00.003-05:00

There must be a great temptation by historical researchers to tamper with history. Think about it. Let's say you are researching Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy or Richard Nixon. If you are interested enough to devote hundreds or thousands of hours studying a person, then you probably have a preconceived viewpoint about that person. Every person has their good moments and their bad. Every person has brilliant ideas and does wonderful deeds, but they also make errors and sometimes fail to act or act in the wrong manner. Don't you think every researchers comes across items that they would like to change just a big, or maybe forget altogether?

I had that feeling of wanting to change history when reading what's written below regarding the origin of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement of July 3, 1964. I wanted to rewrite it to say that a core of Jackson businessmen came together and were move by their sense of social responsibility, by their desire to see equal rights for everyone, and they employed the opening created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to push for that equality. That would be a flight of fiction.

The executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce was a cross section of businessmen, not a group brought together in a desire to promote social changes. Their concern and the concern of the organization they represented was the health of the business community in Jackson. The statement really was mostly about what was best for the Jackson business community, and especially for the business who couldn't afford to anger their white customers and also couldn't afford to be hit with costly law suits.

Disappointed? I was. Then I realized it all made sense. Social change always seems to start with profits and losses. Countries often uses financial pressure on other countries to force behavior that is more acceptable. People angry with a television show or broadcaster put pressure on the advertisers of the show. The Civil Rights movement is full of putting pressure on communities by boycotting stores. Change often starts in the pocketbook area before it moves to the hearts of humans.

One other thing to add and this pertains to my father. When I read about all of the other things he did in the 1960's, there's no doubt in my mind that he wanted to push for social changes. Maybe that was in the back of his mind as he chaired this meeting. However, I also know something else from reading my father's letters and various other things from the early 1960's. In 1964 he had already spent two or three years, and especially two or three summers working in the background trying to keep Jackson from becoming a battleground.

There were groups on both sides ready for an all out war. I mentioned the rioting at Ole Miss earlier this week, an example of the violent potential from that side of the situation. There were also some radical black groups trying to push for riots in Jackson. A lot of the problems came from radical whites and blacks coming into Jackson from other areas, and there was a network of whites and blacks from the local community who were working hard to keep the lid on all of this potential violence. In July, 1964, I'm sure that keeping peace in Jackson was my father's top priority.

With all that said, below is the section pertaining to the Chamber statement as found in the Civil Rights Oral History given by my dad in 1965:

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(INT.): So then you were president-elect as of December, 1963.

(EZELLE): That’s right.

(INT.): You were, then, among the leadership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce at the time they issued a statement urging compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, were you not?

(EZELLE): That’s correct.

(INT.): Could you tell us something about the origin of that statement?

(EZELLE): Yes. Actually, I presided at both the executive and the board meeting at which the statement was adopted because Mr. Clarence Lott, who was then president, was out of town. When the civil rights law was passed, the business people in the city, particularly small businesses such as drug stores who had luncheon counters, restaurants, and motels, hotels, and so forth were particularly concerned about it. They felt that if they served someone from the Negro race, if they were tested, they would probably lose their trade with the white community, and if they did not, they faced a disastrous law suit, which most of them could not afford. And there was a great deal of concern.

These people began to take their problem to not only the Chamber of Commerce but to the mayor and to the bank presidents with whom they were doing business, and so the morning of the day the statement was issued, the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce met with the mayor and two of the bank presidents here in Jackson—one from the Deposit Guaranty Bank and one from the First National Bank—to discuss this problem, since all three had been getting requests from people on it.

The mayor stated that he was going to have to enforce the law, that he had always stood on the stand that he enforced the law, that he had always stood on the stand that he enforced the law and that this was now the law and it would be enforced. With this understanding it was felt that it would be certainly helpful if some business organization would make a statement concerning this law, showing that it was the law of the land and should be obeyed until tested or taken up with a test case.

Therefore we issued the statement. The executive committee voted on it and then there was a board meeting in which the entire board was given an opportunity of reviewing and voting on this. At this time there was a quorum; however, there were some who were out of town and this was reviewed again a week later at the regular board meeting when those who happened to be absent were present. Again the board confirmed this stand.

(INT.): What is the size of this board?

(EZELLE): Twenty-seven members.

(INT.): Are they elected by nomination from the membership of the Chamber?

(EZELLE): Yes, they were elected on a three-year term. The board is a rotating board. One third comes on and one third goes off each year.

(INT.): How does one become a member of the Chamber of Commerce?

(EZELLE): By paying their dues.

(INT.): What, approximately, is the membership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce?

(EZELLE): It’s over fifteen hundred members. I’m not exactly sure.

(INT.): Is it possible to characterize the membership? Do they come from largely small or large or medium sized industries or…?

(EZELLE): They come from all businesses, including doctors, dentists, and clergy. We have members from those professions.

(INT.): So, then, it would strike you as, possibly, a fair characterization to say that it represents the business community of Jackson.

(EZELLE): Very largely, yes. As far as the white community is concerned.

(INT.): Oh, yes. Do you have some impression of how the membership at large accepted the board’s issuance of the statement?

(EZELLE): Actually, there was more relief than anything else; this is particularly true among members who were under fire and many of them expressed a great deal of gratitude for it. There was some reaction. We lost a total of five members. But the mail and the telephone calls that came in were better than two to one in favorable reaction.

(INT.): Were any other courses of action besides the issuance of a statement of this kind considered in addition to or in place of this issuance of this statement to help these people?

(EZELLE): No, actually, it’s about the only thing you could do to take the pressure off them and let people know they were just obeying the law and that we had always stood for obeying the law and they should not be condemned for that. Otherwise, they felt that there was a good possibility of some condemnation coming to them individually.

(INT.): Do you have some impression of the extent to which there has been action under the Civil Rights Act—that is to say, lunch rooms integrated and so on?

(EZELLE): Well, most of them in the city are, except a few of them which have turned into private clubs. The only major exception that I know would be Primos and they are under a court suit at this time.

(INT.): Are you also a member of the Mississippi Economic Council?

(EZELLE): Yes, we have membership here in this firm.

(INT.): Did you participate in any way or are you familiar with the origin of their statement, which, as I recall, was issued somewhat after the Chamber’s statement?

(EZELLE): I’m familiar with it. I was in on the development of it. I knew about it. I was informed about it and the Jackson Chamber was informed so that, if it was issued, they hoped that we would back them up on it. And so, after it was issued, we were among the first organizations to back them up with another statement that we endorsed their statement.

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OKAY! I know some of you found this interesting and some are probably bored out of their mind with the subject. Next week we'll go back to the typical blog posts. There are some other bits of family history that I'd like to post to the blog, in particular a wonderful history written by my Belgium grandmother. Maybe I can do those on a series of Friday's instead of five straight days. We'll see.

Have a great weekend and if you are going to be at Millsaps volleyball, football or soccer this weekend, then look for me. It's going to be a very busy weekend.

Chamber of Commerce Element Our Worst Enemy

2009-09-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

(NOTE: The following was originally posted October 25, 2007, on the Civil Rights Blog. Tomorrow I'll have more from the Oral History interview given by my father, the part that goes into the thinking behind the Chamber of Commerce statement. You know, in some ways the KKK newsletter is fairly accurate. You'll see tomorrow.)

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I was less familiar with this KKK newsletter even though I must have read it in the past when I was sorting through the box of items that Mother gave me. I'm sure the other newsletter was more firmly in my mind because of the experience of finding them in our neighborhood. What follows in italics is the newsletter, and then you'll see some notes I have added at the end:

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ELEMENT OUR WORST ENEMY

The Holy Bible says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go to heaven.” Of course, the real meaning here is that the rich live only for their money and in most cases turn back on God, Race and Country. The best example of this can be found here in the South.

In recent weeks our local newspapers have been carrying ads written and paid for by local businessmen and their Chamber of Commerce. They plead with the White people to obey the Civil Rights Laws, and to keep the peace and help quietly integrate all communities. They cannot stand the thought of losing a single dollar from any Negro boycott. In fact, they are so frightened by the thought of any Negro CORE picket line, they want to surrender in advance. They are in a big rush to hire Negro clerks, cashiers, even white collar workers, place Negroes in supervisory positions over White workers, just to appease the demands of Martin Luther King and his communist rabble.

The rich businessmen know that they can afford to live in wealthy areas of a city where the Negro cannot move, they have their rich private country clubs and golf links and swimming pools and private schools. THEY ARE SELFISH AND VICIOUS IN DEMANDING THAT THE WHITE WORKING CLASS MIX WITH BLACK UN-CIVILIZED ANIMALS JUST SO THAT THEY MAY MAKE MONEY OFF THEIR NEGRO CUSTOMERS!

It is time that we single out the main leaders of these “surrender all White Rights at any cost just so I can make money” business leaders and boycott them to the hilt. Let’s cut off their White trade and put them in the bread lines with negroes where they would like to place OUR people. SPEAK UP, WHITE MAN, TELL THESE SELL-OUT TRAITORS TO EITHER STAND AND FIGHT WITH THE WHITE RACE, OR PACK UP THEIR CARPETBAGS AND MOVE IN WITH THE NEGROES BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE ALL THEIR WHITE TRADE. SINCE THEIR PRINCIPLES ARE BANKRUPT, LET THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS ALSO BE BANKRUPT.

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The above is an exact copy of a recent article in the conservative publication “Thunderbolt”. We wish to point out the following: There are some different tactics being used on our local scene.

Robert L. Ezell, Jr., president of our Chamber of Commerce and Mississippi Bedding (Mattress) Co., has had a lot of people sound asleep, but not with the use of his mattresses. This motley master was a Millsaps Major in the mid 30’s, followed in a couple of years by Robert Mayo and Nat S. Rogers, and all of them follow the socialist lines. Also, there has been a “finger” in the pie in more recent years.

The Chamber, with “Big Robert” at the head, has remained primarily in the background for almost one year, or ever since they came out with their outright compliance in absolute defiance of the principles and people they are supposed to represent. The Miss. Manufactures Association and the Miss. Economic Council have been used as the somewhat open supporters of the communist-backed movement to bring about complete abolition of our Christian beliefs and way of life.

If you can recall or assemble the recent comments and announcements from our liberal press, you will readily see how many phases of activity the Miss. Economic Council has delved into (business, social, civic, churches, schools, even roads, etc.), nothing short of dictating policies to all of these organizations.

We invite and humbly request that you take notice and ask questions about “Big Robert” and this situation. There will be more, and THEN, think about these comments and announcements, and you will readily realize the seriousness of the sell-out that has taken and is taking place, and what can and will be done about it.

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Various notes from Frank:

--I assume the line about a “finger” in the pie is a reference to Ellis Finger who was the President at Millsaps College from 1952-1964.

--I’ve seen several copies of this newsletter, but none have any information regarding the date of the newsletter, where it was distributed, etc. The first half of the newsletter quotes a story from the “Thunderbolt” that must have been written in 1964 since it refers to ads placed in local newspapers. This would have been soon after the passage of the Civil Rights Law in 1964. The second half of the newsletter refers to Robert Ezelle as the president of the Chamber of Commerce and says the Chamber has been in the background for almost one year so the newsletter had to have come out in 1965.

--At first the above newsletter didn’t make much sense to me since it said "Big Robert" and the Chamber had been fairly quiet. Instead they focus on the work of the Miss. Manufacturers Association and the Miss. Economic Council. I didn’t see the connection to my father until I reread an Oral History interview that he did in the summer of 1965. Here’s part of that interview:

INTERVIEWER: Are you also a member of the Mississippi Economic Council?
EZELLE: Yes, we have membership here in this firm.
INTERVIEWER: Did you participate in any way or are you familiar with the origin of their statement, which, as I recall, was issued somewhat after the Chamber’s statement?
EZELLE: I’m familiar with it. I was in on the development of it. I knew about it. I was informed about it and the Jackson Chamber was informed so that, if it was issued, they hoped that we would back them up on it. And so, after it was issued, we were among the first organizations to back them up with another statement that we endorsed their statement.

Jackson Chamber of Commerce Statement Regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964

2009-09-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

(NOTE: This post originally appeared October 26, 2007 on my Civil Rights blog. I left it exactly as it appeared that day so the mention of the KKK newsletter is referring to a post made October 25, 2007. I'll reprint that KKK newsletter post tomorrow--it's a real eyeopener.)

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Photo: The above is a photo of my father in the December 8, 1964 Clarion-Ledger, announcing the start of his term as President of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. By the way, the announcement mentions that he is the first second-generation president of the Chamber, following his father who was president in 1937. You might be able to read the headline in the center that says, "Minister Says Klan Rules Area". That's an article quoting the Rev. Clay Lee whom most of you know. He was a 34 year old minister in Phildelphia, MS at the time.

Post: It may seem backwards to have posted the KKK newsletter first, followed by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement. I think you'll understand my reason when you read the statement. In today's context, the statement put out by the Chamber is a racist statement and I think it helps put it into the context of 1964 by having shown how this statement was view by some in 1964 as "just to appease the demands of Martin Luther King and his communist rabble". Here's the statement which is dated one day after the signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964:

Policy Statement as Approved by the Board of Directors
Jackson Chamber of Commerce
Friday, July 3, 1964

In view of the passage by the Congress and the signing by the President of the Civil Rights Act, the Board of Directors of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce makes the following statement:

1) The Board of Directors of the Chamber, acting as the policy making body for this organization of business and professional people, officially opposed the Civil Rights Bill, and encouraged opposition to it during the period that it was under consideration in the Congress.

2) Now that the bill has been passed, the Chamber Board recommends that businesses affected comply with the law, pending tests of its constitutionality in court. The citizens of Jackson have earned a reputation as a law abiding community, and the business and professional leadership of the city, and our elected city officials, have always encouraged all of our people of both races to abide by the law of the land. We may not be in sympathy with all of the laws of the land, but we must maintain our standing as a community which abides by the law.

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Wow! What a stunning cry for equality for all--the Chamber was against the Civil Rights Act, the Chamber doesn't like the Civil Rights Act and we think it may be unconstitutional, but our hands are tied because we are law abiding citizens. It's interesting that this was a statement that was widely condemmed in 1964 as the talk of a liberal, communist group, and in 2007 this statement would be condemned as being racist and hateful. A lot has changed in 43 years.

Earlier this week, I thought that my version of family history must have been wrong. I thought my dad was the president of the Chamber of Commerce in 1964, and as such, he had guided this call for compliance through the Chamber. Then I discovered he was just the president-elect in 1964, so maybe I was giving him more credit than he was due. The answer to this mystery comes once again from the oral history interview done by my dad in 1965:

INTERVIEWER: So then you were president-elect as of December, 1963.
EZELLE: That's right.
INTERVIEWER: You were, then, among the leadership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce at the time they issued a statement urging compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, were you not?
EZELLE: That's correct.
INTERVIEWER: Could you tell us something about the origin of that statement?
EZELLE: Yes. Actually, I presided at both the executive and the board meeting at which the statement was adopted because Mr. Clarence Lott, who was then president, was out of town....

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There's a good bit more after the above, discussing the sqeeze that was being put on Jackson businesses from both sides, meetings with the mayor and a couple of the bank presidents, etc. This oral history interview is 25 pages long (double spaced) and I'll get it on the blog at some point in the future.

Let me just finish up the post and this week with a personal observation. There are places in this world today where seemingly small things are very dangerous things to do. In some places, a woman going out in public without being completely covered is risking being stoned to death. In some American neighborhoods, a youth wearing the wrong colors can be a very dangerous thing to do. In countries around the world, speaking out against the government results in time spent in jail. Small things at the wrong time and in the wrong place can be dangerous. That's what it was like in Mississippi in the 1960's. Blacks and whites meeting together, someone trying to register people to vote, an intergrated group sitting at a lunch counter, advocating that people should follow the law--normal day-to-day things that we've all done for years were acts of bravery 40+ years ago. It was a totally different world back then, a fact that has to be kept in mind when reading any of the information from that era.

Mayor Asks Compliance (Jackson, MS--July, 1964)

2009-09-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

(Frank's note: As mentioned yesterday, looking at the past can be perplexing. How is it that women didn't always have the vote in this country? Why was there ever a need to establish child labor laws in America? How could there be such a separation between races 100 years after a war to end slavery? I have no answers to those questions.

What I know is that Mississippi and other areas of this country were ready to explode in the early 1960's. In 1962 there were 2 deaths, 175 injuries, and 212 arrest in a campus riot the day before James Meridith became the first black student at Ole Miss. Medgar Evers was killed in Jackson in 1963. James Cheney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were killed in Philadelphia, MS in June, 1964. I guess Mississippi had already started exploding and then came the passage of the The Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964.

At this critical time in Mississippi history, with the governor of the state calling for non-compliance, 16 Jackson businessmen went on record July 3rd supporting compliance with the law. Their statement didn't support the law, it even questioned if the law was constitutional, but it recognized that this was now a law and urged businesses and people to obey the law.

Far from being a weak statement, you will read below and later this week about the outrage that followed the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement. It was as far as they could possibly go in 1964 and it set the stage for Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson to publicly support the same position of compliance. Considering how things got so out of hand at Ole Miss in 1962, the possibility certainly was there for a far more violent summer in Jackson if this group of businessmen hadn't step in so quickly with such a bold statement--at least bold in the context of the time and situation.

For the record, I recognize that the motivation behind the vote of these 16 men must have varied. For some, it might have simply been a business decision. It's hard to make money if there are riots, boycotts, and lawsuits for refusing service. For others, it was a vehicle for advancing social issue. For most, it was probably a combination of factors. Whatever the reason, they all had the option of finding an excuse to miss the meeting and yet these 16 men were willing to show up and vote on something that was going to be very unpopular and controversial. That took courage and it's a shame that this part of Jackson history is almost totally forgotten.

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Mayor Asks Compliance
by William L. Chaze, Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
(no date given--my guess is Friday, July 10, 1964)

Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson Thursday acknowledged that the new civil rights law makes the city "sick all over" but urged compliance. "We'll go along with it, though we don't like it," Thompson said. "In two months, things will be worked out so that we can live with the law."

Thompson urged compliance at a meeting with his department heads at city hall. The meeting was attended by leaders of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, about 50 city employees and a number of police officers.

In making his statement, Thompson drew a sharp contrast with Gov. Paul B. Johnson who urged noncompliance with the law.

"I'm fond of Gov. Johnson," Thompson said, "but I don't know how or why he made his remarks. The governor is an astute man, but his thinking on the theory of noncompliance is making it difficult for us."

ENDORSES IT

"People have been getting excited about the chamber statement urging us to obey the law," Thompson said. "I want you all to know that I had nothing to do with the statement, but, I endorse it 100 per cent."

The mayor warned against the consequences of noncompliance. He said the city was "full of Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department men with unlimited money, police and legal power, poised to act."

"We are going to obey the law and protect you against harassment and intimidation," Thompson promised. "If we disobey the law," he said, "we'll have violence, bloodshed and insurrection."

Thompson urged "each citizen to take stock of the situation and decide who has the decision to make. Are we going to continue living in a progressive city? If you feel you don't have to obey one law--the civil rights code--you'll soon feel that you don't have to obey any law."

Thompson said peaceful compliance with the civil rights code in Mississippi has already had far-ranging effects. He said Jackson representatives were recently in New York City to sell $10 million in bonds "and financiers were eager to buy because we are at peace down here."

"You can't call this going along capitulation," Thompson said, "because it is just common sense. What kind of city would we have here if we shut everything down just because a few colored folks showed up?" Thompson asked. "Do you know what would happen if I got up here and told you that you didn't have to obey the law? The federal government would move troops in here--what kind of situation would you have then...what type of existence?" he asked.

"We are going to abide by the law and you can count on your leaders fighting," Thompson said. "We'll operate within the law and you'll be protected from violence, bloodshed, dirtiness, intimidation, harassment and discomfort. This is the only way we can go."

Thompson received a round of applause after his statement.

By United Press International

Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson, who has led this city down the paths of defiance to integration, Thursday urged businessmen to comply with the civil rights law. The mayor said "we can't turn down all the stores just to keep from serving a few Negroes."

The mayor's statement followed a resolution passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives Wednesday condemning the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce for taking the same position.

When lawmakers returned to the capitol Thursday, on each desk was a copy of minutes of the chamber meeting which said Thompson privately supported the position. "Mayor Thompson was present as the policy statement was developed and stated on a confidential basis that he was in favor of such a statement and thought it would help in the Jackson situation," the minutes read.

Sources said the copies of the minutes were distributed by a disgruntled member of the board who was absent from the meeting.

MAYOR ATTACKED

Sen. Hayden Campbell of Jackson, infuriated by Thompson's speech, tried to get the resolution called up for a vote immediately in the state Senate, but opponents forced it into the Rules Committee.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Campbell said "Allen Thompson is weak! He has always been weak and his true colors are just now coming out." Campbell said "he has been politically lucky over a period of years, but these are trying times...demanding that men stand up and be counted and those who are weak are going to be swept from the mainstream of our affairs...."

Sen. Noel Monaghan fought the immediate consideration of the resolution. He said, "We pass too many resolutions. We are here to pass laws."

Sen. Ellis Bodron of Vicksburg argued against censuring the Chamber Committee. He said "the freedom to be different is one of our most fundamental freedoms."

Sen. G. V. Montgomery of Meridian moved to send the resolution to committee. He said there were "strong segregationists" among the Chamber members he did not want to censure.

Thompson is the past had developed a formula of hard-nosed resistance to integration, and had police quickly arrest demonstrators. Since the passage of the civil rights law, however, the city has taken no action to stop enforcement of the new federal law.

"The mayor pointed out that as political leader and head of the police force of the city, he felt that he should not make any statement of any kind," the chamber minutes read. "Because any position he might take in the present situation would bring on controversy from pressure groups, either Negro or white."

The minutes, signed by Chamber Secretary Mendell M. Davis, said "the motion passed on a voice vote with no dissenting votes expressed" to urge compliance.

The minutes said those present at the meeting included James B. Campbell, W. H. 'Brock' Day, Robert Ezelle, Purser Hewitt, Fred Johnson, Garner Lester, Thurman Lewis, W. M. Mann, Richard McRae, Hal D. Miller, Leon Thomas, George M. Wilkinson, Sherwood Wise, Nat Rogers, Bob Hearin and Bill Underwood.

Statement of Belief and Intention--May 1, 1968

2009-08-31T07:00:00.004-05:00

Today's post is one of the longest and most important posts in the 3+ years of the blog. The bulk of the text is from an item I found in the MS Sovereignty Commission Files. It's a paid advertisement signed by 268 members of the Jackson community. While by today's standards it may read as a somewhat tame call for equality to all, it was quite a courageous action in 1968. There are three parts to the post: (1) my introduction; (2) the text of the document and the list of names--if you are from Jackson you will recognize many on the list; (3) a followup with some links and closing thoughts. While I hope you'll read all three parts, don't skip part 2 or the list of names--it's a group of people who should be remembered for their contributions during this era of Jackson, Mississippi and American history.

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Introduction: From our perspective in the year 2009, there are many things about our country's past that seem perplexing. One of those perplexing things would be the race relations in Mississippi prior to and during the 1960's. The amount of change since that time has been stunning to the point where courageous actions of that era might look insignificant by today's perspective. Don't be fooled.

From personal experience, I know my father was the subject of KKK newsletters, had a cross burned on the front yard, was warned by the FBI that his name was on a KKK hit list, received numerous bomb threats, had his mail intercepted, and the list goes on. The actions that generated this hate and danger would all be considered inconsequential in today's environment. It has to be viewed within the context of its time.

In 1968 the act of signing your name to a statement that calls for fair and equal treatment of all members of society was a courageous thing to do in the Deep South. I proud to say that my father and two uncles are on the following list. Virginia's father is on the list. The parents of many of my friends are on the list. Current Jacksonians like Clay Lee, T.W. Lewis, and Dean Miller are on the list, men whom I admire and certainly view as friends just as my father valued their friendship decades ago. I gave each name a seperate line instead of listing them all run together in paragraphs--they need to be listed one per line to recognize the contribution each made. I wish there was a way to give each name a full post. It's a list of people who should be remembered.

Tuesday I will post a news story where the MS House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce for a statement they issued in 1964. Wednesday I will post the statement that caused such outrage--quite frankly it would be seen as a racist statement by today's standards but at the time it brought condemnation to those who stood behind it.

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Statement of Belief and Intention (a paid advertisement from the May 1, 1968 edition of the Jackson Daily News in Jackson, MS)

These days constitute the swiftest time of change in our memory. Events hurriedly pile themselves upon events. In our business, or professions and everywhere fast-breaking changes require quick answers and quick actions.

We are threatened with a widening chasm between our people in this State and in our City. Yet, here in this State and in this City there is a vast reservoir of good will, compassion and kindness that is genuinely a very part of our being. This vital reservoir of true neighborly feeling, true friendship must be brought to the fore now and without delay.

We cannot sit back and become prisoners of events. We must cope with them firmly and decisively and manage our own destiny. Accordingly, in the set conviction that the great majority of our people, white and black, desire harmony, good order, a decent honorable family life and a chance to better themselves economically, we, the undersigned Jackson business and professional men and women declare we believe in the following principles, and we pledge ourselves to do everything within our power to see that they are carried out:

1) We believe in the essential worth and dignity of every human being and all that such implies.

2) Fair and impartial treatment must be accorded to all citizens in the enforcement and administration of the law.

3) Every citizen of this City regardless of race, creed or color is entitled to equal access to employment as he is qualified by training and experience to perform, and to earn the continuation of such employment by his own hard efforts.

4) In order that all of our citizens may be qualified for equal employment opportunities, educational opportunities must be available to them on an equal basis.

5) Adequate and properly staffed recreational facilities should be made available for all of the citizens of the City of Jackson. Specifically, with the coming of the summer season, all City swimming pools should be opened. All parks should be open, and should be staffed by competent personnel, and properly equipped to the end that all our people may obtain the maximum benefits from them.

6) Communications between the races should be encouraged on every level of our City. This should include all of us whether we be public officials, civic, business, religious, or professional leaders.

7) There is no place in the life of our City for hate, discord or violence. No man, whatever his cause, or whatever his convictions, is above the law. All of our citizens should work untiringly and unceasingly to bring out to the fullest the best in us in the way of kindness, compassion, friendliness and understanding that we may all progress through cooperation. We owe this to ourselves, our families, the oncoming generations, and the development of all of our talents.

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Adams, Jr. (hard to read--I believe this is correct)
John Quincy Adams
Leigh B. Allen III
Max T. Allen, Jr.
John M. Allin
Fred Allison, Jr.
Joel Alvis
Bob Anding
John L. Ash
McCarrell Ayers
John F. Babbitt, Jr.
John J. Babbs
Travis W. Bain
Battle M. Barksdale
Clay L. Bartlett (my guess at a last name that is mostly unreadable)
Ross F. Bass
Blair E. Batson
Margaret B. Batson
E. B. Beard
Warren N. Bell
John A. Bellan, Jr.
Joe H. Bennett
Richard T. Bennett
Robert E. Bergmark
Perrin L. Berry
R. A. Berry, Jr.
Thomas J. Biggs
Carl Black
Frances B. Boeckman
H. E. Boone
George W. Boyd
G. F. Bracken, Jr.
W. Meredith Bradford
T. J. Brooks, Jr.
George L. Broussard
Rex I. Brown
Edmund L. Brunini
Joseph B. Brunini
Fred J. Bush
Leland Byler
William L. Cabaniss
Shirley Callen
Claude G. Callender
J. S. Camara
William O. Carter, Jr.
P. Stanley Castleman
J. R. Cavett, Jr.
George T. Chambers
James G. Chastain
Reynolds Cheney
James K. Child, Jr.
Joseph A. Christo
Richard D. Clayton
Marvin A. Cohen
Frances Coker
Wilfred O. Cole
Foster E. Collins
Sarah I. Collins
O. W. Conner III
John H. Cook
George E. Cooper
James W. Crook
W. L. Crouch
R. W. Crowell
Emanuel Crystal
H. T. Currie
C. Ralph Daniel
Joe H. Daniel
Charles R. Davis
Mary James Dean
Joe T. Dehmer, Jr.
Paul Derian
George E. Donovan
Richard W. Dortch
Richard M. Edmondson
Lara C. Ethridge
Fred J. Ezelle
Robert L. Ezelle, Jr.
A. P. Fatheree
Ed Fernandez
Ben T. Fitzhugh
William J. Fitzhugh
Al Flannes
Noel G. Foley
John E. Fontaine
Dennis M. Ford
James E. Fowler
Lawrence J. Franck
William F. Galtney
John H. Geary
Sydney Geiger
A. Richard Gemperle
Lucy Gerhart
John D. Gibbons
A. Spencer Gilbert III
James D. Gilbert
Harold Gotthelf, Jr.
Harry J. Goulet
Gordon Grantham
Benjamin B. Graves
Albert H. Green
John M. Grower
John L. Guest
Arthur C. Guyton
Robert P. Guyton
Warren C. Hamby
L. C. Hanes
Paul D. Hardin
James D. Hardy
Elmer J. Harris
William C. Harris
Newt P. Harrison
Stanley M. Hart
Paul Hawkins, Jr.
Charles Head
Robert P. Henderson
Jim G. Hendrick
J. H. Hendrix, Jr.
Eugene Hesdorffer
Ralph Hester
George P. Hewes III
Herman Hines
Duncan M. Hobart
Warren Hood (hard to read--I believe this is correct)
Charles Horwitz
J. Manning Hudson
Joe Jack Hurst
John R. Hutcherson
W. F. Hutchison
James W. Irby
Stuart C. Irby, Jr.
Marshall O. James
John S. Jenkins
J. Harvey Johnston, Jr.
C. E. Jones
Tim Jones
R. E. Jordan
Robert T. Killelea
John T. Kitchings
Maury S. Knowlton
Sam D. Knowlton II
Frank M. Laney, Jr.
J. W. Latham
Clay F. Lee
S. H. Leech
J. Willard Leggett III
Russell W. Levanway
David Levy
T. W. Lewis III
Thomas G. Lilly
J. Walton Lipscomb III
James J. Livesay
John P. Maloney
Jack K. Mann
W. Merle Mann
Alfred C. Marble, Jr.
Thomas J. Marland
Raymond Martin, Jr.
Raymond McClinton
S. H. McDonnieal, Jr.
James P. McKeown
Thad McLaurin
David M. McMullan
James M. McMullan
W. P. McMullan
W. P. McMullan, Jr.
Colin A. P. McNease
Albert L. Meena
Adrian G. Mercier
Joseph Mercier
Calvin Michel
E. E. Michelin
Dean M. Miller
James W. Mitchell
George Mitchell
Frank T. Moore, Jr.
R. Edgar Moore
R. H. Moore
R. B. Morgan, Jr.
W. H. Mounger
Warren Mullen
Edward Neal
Sam J. Nicholas, Jr.
John W. Nicholson, Jr.
James R. Nickles
William (Bill) Nelson
Perry E. Nussbaum
Mary O'Bryant
Andrew W. Orkin
D. H. Orkin
James M. Packer
Robert H. Padgett
James Y. Palmer
John N. Palmer
A. L. Parman
Edward J. Pendergrass
Leonard Pepper
Ford Petty
George B. Pickett
Edgar A. Poe, Jr.
Benjamin P. Polk, Jr.
Barry H. Powell
Richard R. Priddy
George D. Purvis
Julius Ratliff, Jr.
Maurice Reed, Jr.
Thomas J. Reed
Lee H. Reiff
C. R. Ridgway
W. B. Ridgway
Arnold Ritchie
R. W. Ritchie
E. B. Robinson, Jr.
C. S. Roby
Nat S. Rogers
D. S. Rosen
C. B. Rutledge
Charles B. Ryan
H. E. Saunders, Jr.
M. J. Scanlon
W. A. Schmid
Wallis Schutt
Wilbourn C. Shands
L. H. Shornick
Walter H. Simmons
R. Stewart Smith
Thomas H. Smith
J. O. Snowden, Jr.
Leland R. Speed
H. K. Stauss
John Hampton Stennis
Hubert D. Stephens III
Francis B. Stevens
Phineas Stevens
Thomas E. Stevens
R. C. Stockett
E. M. Swart
Robert W. Tabscott
Charles C. Taylor, Jr.
William M. Taylor
J. A. Thayer
Melvin M. Thomas, Jr.
Thomas E. Tiller
Robert C. Travis
Thomas C. Turner
Robert E. Tyson
George E. Uricheck
David J. Van Landingham
C. E. Wallace
H. V. Watkins
Walker L. Watters
James Watts
Robert H. Weaver
Harry E. Weir
Paul L. Wells
John A. Welsch, Jr.
Edwin B. Werkheiser
James O. Wheeler
Julian Wiener
William B. Wiener
Edwin R. Wilson
L. Dudley Wilson
R. B. Wilson
Richard B. Wilson, Jr.
Sherwood W. Wise
Noel Womack, Jr.
Jack L. Woodward
J. Will Young

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Links and other things:

The posts this week will all be about Civil Rights. Some will be new items like today and tomorrow, and some will be posts that were written for my Civil Rights blog in 2007. I wish there was a way to get back to writing that blog, but it was so much effort and there were rarely more than 5 readers a day.

Part of the reason for wanting to continue that blog would be to shine a spotlight on some of the people who are listed above. It muddies up the story of Civil Rights when you included the contribution of white Mississippians, so their efforts have been slowly filtered out of most histories of the Civil Rights era. I have tried to get the Clarion-Ledger interested in telling these stories, but they are only interested in writing about the villians. The stories of the heroes need to be told before time takes away all who can give a first-hand account.

But I digress. Let me give you some links for anyone who is interested in digging deeper into the items that are available thanks to the internet:

Link to the Sovereignty Commission document used in today's post

Mississippi Civil Rights--One Man, One Story: This is the blog that went for a few months in 2007 primarily on the subject of my dad and his involvement in the Civil Rights era.

Sovereignty Commission Online Home Page: Personally, I believe these files were greatly sanitized before they ever were unlocked to the public. Not by the folks at the MS Department of Archives and History, but by the ones who ran the Sovereignty Commission and then had sole access to the files for many years after the operation ceased.

Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archives: You could spend months on this site and feel like you've just scratched the surface, especially if you branch off into the page with links to "Other Civil Rights Resources".

If that's not enough, any search engine result on "Civil Rights" or "Civil Rights digital history" will give you plenty to look through. It's unlikely that you'll find much on the people listed above, hence the need for someone in Jackson to research and write about the subject, but you will find plenty.

Thanks to any and all who made it through all of today's post. I think you'll find the entire week an interesting look back at history and the posts will get shorter after today.

August 30, 2009--221 Pounds

2009-08-30T08:48:00.003-05:00

Food Saturday: bagel(330)--pizza(720)--popcorn(250)--Wendy's Jr CB Deluxe(350)--4 light beers(400)--bagel(330) = 2,390 calories

That last bagel came at 3 in the morning. Since that came before the Sunday morning weigh-in, I put it on the Saturday list.

The difference created by keeping the food journal and therefore being accountable is amazing. Saturday during the day was mostly spent at the computer. Without accountability there probably would have been 3 bags of popcorn. Saturday night I was at a singer/artist show here in town, hence the 4 light beers. Knowing that I would probably have a few beers, I only got the burger when stopping at Wendy's. It was enough and it kept the calorie total in a reasonable range for the day.

The real place where the food journal came into play was at the singer/artist show. There was a charge at the door and a "suggested donation" for alcohol so they technically weren't selling the alcohol, but there was also a free food table. Chips and dips, cheese and crackers, big chocolate chip cookies--adding 1,000 calories here would have been very easy. Heck, I probably would have grabbed a cookie with each beer so adding 2,000 calories was very doable. Because of the accountability, I skipped the food.

That's what it will take. Not for 1 day, or 1 week, or just 1 month. That's what it will take for the remainder of my lifetime. I showed in 2006 that losing the weight is simply the start of the process. The process ends when you die, not when you hit a magic number on the bathroom scales. Not that there will never be cookies in the future or a day with 4,000 calories. Those days will come. At this time they need to be a very seldom occurrence since I'm well over my target weight. When I've reached my goal and am maintaining a weight there will be more flexibility possible with the diet. It's just that the diet can never really end if I want to keep my weight under control.

August 29, 2009--221 Pounds

2009-08-29T07:42:00.003-05:00

---Weight Saturday morning: 221 pounds
---Food Journal Friday: bagel(330)--mini-Heath bar(50, a gift)--yogurt(100)--soup(380)--pineapple(320)--yogurt(100)--ice cream cone(500)--popcorn(250) = 2,030 calories
---Notes: Walked for over an hour after work, going from my house over to the Belhaven neighborhood and walking the loop made up of Euclid, Peachtree, Arlington, and N. State Street. This was part of my walk for ice cream deal, allowing myself to use a Sal and Mookie gift card for ice cream if it comes after about an hour of walking--and then trying to let that ice cream serve as supper.

Diet Thoughts:

---First, this is nice to bring the diet project back to the big blog. It gives weight to the issue of weight. I'll try not to go overboard on the diet writing during the week but Saturday and Sunday are usually unused blog days so I might put those to use for weight loss subjects. I'll post the weight and food journal for sure, and maybe add in thoughts like what we have today.

---The drop to 221 is nice. We all know these people who lose 7-10 pounds in a week. If you watch the biggest loser television show you'll see people losing 15-20 pounds or more in a week. That's not normal, or at least it's not normal for me. Outside of the days when I was playing a lot of sports and could lose 4-5 pounds of fluid in a day (which was quickly replaced in a day or two), I've never seen these dramatic weight losses. Maybe it's a body type thing--when I was a kid others in my peer group would shoot up 4-5 inches in a school year. I'm not sure about Isabelle, but with Will and Fred and I we simply grew inch by inch, a slow steady climb until we all hit near the 5'10" mark.

---While the one day weight loss might be water loss from walking, plus the lack of anything with substantial bulk for supper last night, a change of pace is often what's needed to get my body off a certain setpoint. While this may be lacking in any scientific backing, I see the success of these change of pace in two ways: (a) First, my body seems to dig it at a certain point like a stubborn child. You know what it's like trying to get a child to bulge at these times, you have to find a way to approach the situation from a different angle so the child can have an out to go along with your wishes without looking like they gave in. (2) Second, sometimes I feel like dieting is the same as being in a long rally in tennis. I'm plugging away from the baseline trying to stick with the plan and it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. In theory, I'm wearing down my opponent and eventually my grinding will produce results. In tennis, and maybe in dieting, sometimes breaking up these long rallies with a drastic change of pace like a drop shot can really catch your opponent off guard. I'm hoping the walking and ice cream caught my internal opponent off guard yesterday and now I need to press my advantage by not playing a sloppy point with my food choices today.

---Have you ever gotten a huge spike in your water bill and that's when you discover that you have some tiny leak in a pipe? Not a big leak, just a little bit of excessive water being tacked onto your bill every hour of every day for a month or two. It can add up to be a lot.

Going back to the food journal has made me realize just how many tiny leaks there had been in my diet efforts. Stopping to get a piece of candy or two from the lady at the switchboard, not once a day but multiple times. Deciding that it wouldn't be too bad to have one little or not so little slice of the banana bread that someone brought to the office. Deciding to get a small combo at Wendy's with the extra 350 calories because its really about the same price as paying of any two of the three items in the combo. Eating lots and lots of nuts at the bar on Wednesday because one really shouldn't drink on an empty stomach.

I could list other things. There really were a lot of leaks, things I've become more acutely aware of since restarting the food journal. Individually, none of them were terrible and there were days without any of these sneaky little extra calories. There just weren't a lot of these leak free days, certainly not a lot in a row. Not a solid week of being good, not a solid month with only a handful of treats. These "treats" never seemed like much, but they were enough to derail a serious weight loss effort. A little lack of accountability over a long period of time can result in a lot of lack of success.

---Knock on wood, I've been fantastically lucky about my health. This is despite the fact that I've really done little to earn this good fortune. You all know my food choice are far from the best. My right hip has held up for 15 years since the doctor said it had virtually no lining left, this despite my lack of heeding his advice to lose weight, stretch, cut back on the sports--actually the hip has gotten far worse now that I finally have cut out all the sports. I've had no broken bones, only 13 stitches, the one stay in a hospital for my tonsils, and I can't remember a time when I was so sick that it meant missing three days of work in a row. As for taking pills, that's has just started with the cholesterol pills in the last couple of years. Knock on wood again, I have been blessed with very good health despite little effort on my part.

Now I need to make an effort. The food journal has to become a daily part of my life regardless of my weight, regardless of my situation such as it being a regular day or a day of vacation or a day full of special events. I believe my weight is the key to my long term health. Failure to get it back under control has been ruining my quality of life in recent years and serious health issues and lower longevity are soon to come. Maybe the weight itself isn't the total problem, but the weight is the result of things that are creating the problem--eating poorly, eating too much, not getting enough exercise--and obviously the weight is wearing me down more quickly. Adding 20% extra drag to anything is going to wear that object out sooner. It could be a vehicle carrying extra weight, a company with excessive payroll, or a person carrying 50 pounds of excess fat with them 24 hours a day. When I'm thinking about my life at the age of 57 and looking at what might be ahead in the future, it seems like this is my greatest truth:

"The greatest threat to my health and happiness that I can control going forward is my weight. Nothing I'm doing in my life right now will pay greater dividends than losing weight and working on my fitness level."

There it is, staring me in the face. Life would be so much easier and I would be happier right now if my weight was in the 170-175 range. The prospects of a longer, easier, and more productive life would be far greater with my weight in the 170-175 range than they will be if I stay in the 220-225 range. This is my challenge and it needs to be my number one priority instead of an afterthought in my life.

I Need to Get Recharged

2009-08-27T20:12:00.007-05:00

Have you ever gotten in your car and out of the blue the battery has gone dead? It was fine the day before. You didn't leave the lights on overnight. The weather isn't exceedingly cold. The battery just suddenly lost its power. That's how I've felt the last few days.

Physically I'm fine. The fact that I'm sticking to my diet and eating less isn't a factor. My mind has simply slipped into neutral and it has been a struggle to come up with anything interesting for the blog this week. Even when something interesting pops up in my mind, there's no great desire to try and develop the topic into a post. Hopefully all I need is a lot of rest this weekend--the first Millsaps sporting event is September 1 so this might be my last chance to get a lot of rest for the next few months.

I do have one quick topic thanks to some blog readers. In recent weeks I've received photos of bugs or small animals from three friends/blog readers. That's great and hopefully more of you have taken the time to experiment with taking photos of the interesting things in this world that often are too tiny to garner much attention. With this being close to the end of August, here's an array of backyard photos taken during the month. These photos are all new to the blog but some of the characters should be familiar to you (I've also included a photo of the Hotel Heidelberg to go along with a comment made by Alan regarding the "Remember When" post):

Diet Section:
---Weight Friday morning--223 pounds
---Food Thursday: bagel(330)--yogurt(100)--soup(280)--popcorn(250)--pineapple(320)--popcorn(250)--rice(600) = 2,130 calories.

Part of my problem for the last couple of years is that my body has gotten very well acclimated to doing with less. When I started my dieting in 2006, my guess is that my daily intake was close to 3,000 calories per day. My body must have been working overtime to try and keep the weight down, gradually losing the battle to my overeating. With the body so use to dealing with 3,000 calories a day, dropping down to 2,000 all of a sudden resulted in some rapid weight loss.

Over the last two years my body has often had to do with about 2,000 calories in a day. Like a person who has to deal with taking a lower paying job, my body has adjusted to a lower average number of calories per day. What we haven't had over the last two years is a persistent string of 2,000 calorie days for months on end. I'm afraid that this is what will be needed to get the weight loss moving and continuing down to the level I need to achieve.

My belief is that my half-hearted efforts over the last 24 months has reversed the weight loss pattern. Normally the first 10 pounds are the easiest. From all indications of late, the first 10 pounds this time will be the hardest. It's like trying to push a stalled car--if you can just get it moving for the first 10 feet then there is a momentum established that helps keep you going. I've got to break from from this point right above 220 pounds. My body loves this spot. The trick is going to be to get to the 210's and then I think the body will dig in a 215 but maybe with less zeal. Break through that 215 point and the body will be a little bewildered on where to dig in again.

The key it to keep with these 2,000 calorie days, throw in more walking, and break this setpoint. I will do this and my belief is that great progress will be made by the end of September.

Keep Your Godiva and Give me Cote d'Or

2009-08-27T07:00:00.001-05:00

-----The folks in Belgium think they make the best chocolate in the world. If you travel to Belgium you'll see plenty of stores that specialize in gourmet chocolate. I doubt that you'll find Cote d'Or chocolate in any of those stores. It's a chocolate found in grocery stores, used mostly for making hot chocolate and in everyday cooking. Despite it's humble standing in the ranks of Belgium chocolate, you couldn't buy any chocolate in the world that thrills me more than Cote d'Or.

This is the chocolate of my childhood and the finest ingredients in the world couldn't combine to top the memories and joy that come from Cote d'Or. The taste brings back memories of childhood summers spent in Belgium. Memories of my grandmother, my Bonne Maman (pictured above in a photo from 1978), reaching into a kitchen cabinet and breaking off a piece of chocolate for me and my siblings. It is a unique taste associated with a unique and wonderful time.

It just goes to show that dollar value and the true worth of an object are often wildly different. Things I value highly are often things of little monetary value. A gift given by a friend. A purchase that signifies a shared moment. A memory of time spent together, or an unexpected and greatly appreciated comment. Those who equate value with a price tag are missing the things of greatest value in this world. What matters the most is the life we live, not the things we acquire. You can keep your Godiva Chocolates and leave me the Cote d'Or--I'll get world class pleasure with every bite.

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Last night was the Wednesday night get together of the guys. The bar we normally go to was packed so we ended up at the home of one of the guys. That was nice and it took away the temptation of the dreaded bowl of nuts. Yesterday was a day full of temptations and I consider it a huge success that the calorie count barely topped 2,000.

Diet Section:
---Weight Thursday Morning: 223 pounds
---Food Wednesday: bagel(330)--yogurt(100)--soup(400)--pineapples(320)--3 light beers(300)--2 Whopper Jr. Burgers (700) = 2,150 calories.
---No walking and no stretching. Got home and got to bed by 9. Trying to get 8 hours of sleep is something I should try more often.

Remember When in Jackson

2009-08-26T07:01:00.000-05:00

I met my friend Gordon for lunch a couple of weeks ago. We were meeting at the Backyard Burger located right across the street from the University of MS Medical Center. They had this print of "Remember When" by Mark Millet, a look back at downtown Jackson back in the 1950's. I've seen some of Mark's prints before, but had never seen this one. I like it and I remember when downtown Jackson was the place to be for shopping and entertainment.

There are two prints above--click on the first print and you get a large detailed image bigger than the screen. Click on the second image and you'll get a screen size version of the print. To see more of Mark Millet's prints, click on this link to Mark Millet's prints.

It Was 1,281 Days Ago

2009-08-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

Go back 1,281 days and you'll find the day of my first blog post. The blog was all about needing to lose weight as I tipped the scales at 225 pounds back on February 23, 2006. Here we are 42 months later and my weight is just about the same as when I started. Three and a half years without gaining weight isn't really a success when one is maintaining a level of obesity.

There were the early successes. I went back and found these dates and numbers:

---February 23, 2006--225 pounds (this was as high as 230 prior to starting the blog)
---March 25, 2006--215 pounds
---April 24, 2006--205 pounds
---June 11, 2006--195 pounds
---July 17, 2006--189 pounds
---August 15, 2006--186.5 pounds (this was my lowest weigh-in)

After that the weight loss stopped. I stayed in the 190-195 range for a while. Writing about trying to lose weight became boring so the blog switched over to other topics. Before too long the weight range was 195-200, then 200-210, then a long period at 215, and I was at 225 pounds again on November 26, 2007 when another weight loss blog was started.

We are closing in on 2 years since the start of that second blog. The lowest I've been in those two years was one day at 214.5 pounds. More days have been spent in the 220's than the 210's. How is it that I was able to lose almost 40 pounds in 6 months and now I've been able to lose virtually nothing for 2 years? You know the answer and it is a single word: ACCOUNTABILITY. You know what it was that held me accountable and enabled me to lose so much weight and it's two simple words: FOOD JOURNAL.

I have to get back to the food journal so that's now going to be a daily part of this blog. I'm not going back to the beginning when the blog was only about losing weight, but there's a real need to bring the weight loss aspects back to the main blog. So let's go back to the beginning. Help me out by expecting a food journal each day and getting on my case if I screw up. That worked in the past and I need it to work again--it's the only thing that has proven successful and I need that success back in my life more than ever.

Diet Section:
---Today's weight: 223 pounds
---Yesterday's Food Journal: bagel(330)--yogurt(100)--soup(360)--apple(125)--ice cream(160)--rice(625)--apple(125) = 1,825 calories
---Walked 3+ miles
---Stretched 20 minutes

Birds, a Lizard, a Little News, and Basketball

2009-08-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

-----It has been 18 months since the company I work for moved from the downtown Jackson location to our new place in Madison, MS. Anytime a company moves there are pieces of furniture and various accessories that get thrown or given away. The three prints of birds seen in the first photo are accessories from the old building that no one in our office wanted. Look closely and you'll see that they are a set that needs to be hung horizontally, not vertically.

Instead of seeing then thrown in the trash, I decided to take them to N.U.T.S. thrift store where they could be sold to help the "Good Samaritan" charity. Over a year later, they are still unsold, with the price dropping from $80 for the set to $40. I bet our company paid at least $800 when the interior decorator was sprucing up the building. It makes you wonder about the judgement of the decorator, picking art work that absolutely no one wants. It's starting to look like the trash was the best place for them after all.

-----The incredible shrinking newspaper set a new record low this past Monday, weighing in at 2.4 ounces. On a windy day I bet the Monday and Tuesday papers get blown through suburbia like tumbleweeds. How long will it be before the Clarion-Ledger fails to top the 2 ounce mark?

-----Saw this lizard on the "Spanish Dagger" plant in the backyard Monday evening. He or she looks pretty worn out--made me feel a little guilty about disturbing the poor creature.

-----I've been leaving the sports photos for the end. I'll try not to get bogged down on sports post this year, but you know how that goes. Before getting to the basketball photos, I'll mention a phone call from Monday afternoon that was a little amusing/annoying.

The call was from a Millsaps parent who also takes photos at football games. He was asking some advice about taking photos at night games, questions about using a flash and thoughts about various lens options. He really wanted to get some good photos at the first game of the season, a night game at MS College, because of a comment made at a recent M-Club meeting. The football coach had made special mention of this parent during the meeting, mentioning his photos and saying that they are posted on the internet. Someone chimed up that they had seen the photos and they are very good, so this photographer wanted to start off the year with more good photos.

Now this guy does post his photos on a photo account so maybe I'm wrong, but I think this guy was getting credit for my photos. Not by the coach who knows me and knows that my photos are the ones on the Millsaps site, but by the parent who spoke up at the meeting. It's bad enough that I'm not considered a member of the M-Club, or recognized as an alum who donates to the school, but now I'm not even getting credit for my photos. If one doesn't learn to find these things amusing then it will drive you crazy.

-----You're still here. This feels like a really crappy post so maybe you've been sticking around thinking that it has to get better at some point. I appreciate that vote of confidence even though it is terribly misguided. This is definitely my worst post in a long time, and that's saying a lot. Let me sum up the basketball photos and then we can put this mess of a post behind us:

--The photos are from a 2006 NCAA Tournament basketball game.
--The team in white, a Millsaps rival, was playing in Clinton and I went out to take photos.
--I offered the photos to this rival school, with the understanding that they would make copies of all the photos for all the players.
--To my irritation, that apparently didn't happened. For three years this has been a sore spot with me.
--Now over 3 years later, I've made contact with player #34 (pictured above) and I'm sending him all of the photos. I even went back and reedited the bunch with newer software so the photos are now much better than the final product in 2006. Hopefully he will follow through on his promise to get copies to his former teammates.

--Why do I take on this extra work when there is so little free time? The answer to that comes from the father of player #54. He was a freshman in these photos. The 2008-09 season was his senior year and the father wrote to me requesting a copy of a very average photo that's on the Millsaps website. The dad said it was the best action photo he had seen of his son. So many of the athletes in this conference still go through their careers without any decent photos of the experience. I can't help all of them, but I can help here and there. That's what I was doing in 2006 when taking these photos and hopefully they will finally get to the players on that team.

-----Whew! That post was a stinkier. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come for the next 8-9 months.

The Reality of the Calendar Has Hit Me

2009-08-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

Like a kid in grade school, the reality that summer is almost over hit me hard this weekend. I never really got much of a summer break and now there's a Millsaps Cross Country event looming in less than 10 days. Physically and mentally, it seems like making it through the next three months will be a near impossibility.

The Millsaps football team had an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday. I went and watched, only taking the camera out for a few photos of Coach DuBose addressing the team at the end of the scrimmage. Going to an event and not taking photos. I almost don't know what to do with my hands because I'm so use to taking photos at everything. It's something that gives me purpose and drains me at the same time.

The title of this post was originally going to be something like, "If You Just Woke Up from a One Year Coma, What Would You Do?". It's a little wordy. The idea is to think about what you would do if everything in your life had been on hold for a year. That's long enough where you might feel free to drop activities that you now do out of habit or a sense of obligation. It's also long enough that you would have been replaced at work and everywhere that you were doing essential things.

So you are out of your coma and out of a job. What kind of a job do you look for now? The same thing you were doing or is this a chance to try that job you've always dreamed about? Your volunteer work--do you go back to the same activities or are you secretly glad that you are "free" to try other things? Do you decide to start travelling instead of just talking about it? Do you decide to focus more on you instead of other people, or maybe vice-versa? What would you do if you got to start from scratch?

The reason I throw the one year coma into the scenario is because it breaks the momentum of day-to-day and week-to-week living. A lot of us do things because they are the things we do. I'm in the habit of giving blood and that's part of the reason I give blood. I'm in the habit of writing a blog and that's part of the reason I find a way to write something five days a week. I've done the Millsaps photos, so I continue to do the Millsaps photos. Sometimes I don't know if I'm living the life I want to live, or simply continuing to follow the same pattern over and over. As is often the case with complex situations, it's probably some of both.

It seems like I'm doing the things that I want to do. On the other hand, how did my life become one that now excludes things that I dearly loved to do? Participating in sports has been a part of my life every since I was the absolute worst athlete in the neighborhood and on most of my sports teams. Over the years I've loved playing soccer, tennis, golf, racquetball, ping-pong, softball, volleyball, jogging for health and running in road races, basketball, and other things that don't come to mind. How can I now do nothing and feel like my life is the best it can be? In the past I travelled, did things with friends, got out to the movies, and enjoyed reading books. Now those things have all been replaced by the solitary activities of taking photos and sitting for countless hours at a computer doing editing. How can I cut out so many things and feel like my life is the best it can be?

Can you tell that I'm a little bummed out? There's nothing in my week-to-week living that I really want to cut out. If anything, my temptation is often to do more than I can handle. A few days ago I received an email about a benefit concert for a local singer named Ben Payton (recently diagnosed with stomach cancer and he has no health insurance). The email listed 24 performers as just some of the ones who would be performing. I desperately wanted to go and get photos of these Jackson area musicians, many being the older blues players in the area, but I am just swamped with other work. Likewise, I would love to do more writing like getting back to the Civil Rights blog, but it's hard enough keeping this blog going.

It looks like I've come up with my first "poor pitiful me" post of the 2009-10 school year. Usually I wait until a few weeks into the school year. It's just that I'm getting a little concerned about my life. I cut out my tennis well over a year ago because there just wasn't enough time. I cut out television at the start of 2009 because it made my photo editing less efficient. I don't travel because there's always a sporting event on the calendar. My vacation time is primarily used for the photo projects. It's hard to see how this trend can continue but I really don't see where it can change to a more relaxing life. It seems like the ability to relax is something I'm rapidly losing. At some point I'm going to have to pay the piper, but maybe I can get through the next 3 months before he comes calling for his pay.

The "Air" Apparents and Other Photos

2009-08-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was editing some Belhaven Nights photos Thursday evening while listening to the Edinburg Roadrunners baseball game--former Millsaps baseball player Hunter Owen is playing for Edinburg. Suddenly I remembered the blog. I'm pretty good at thinking up topics, far more topics than can be squeezed into the blog, but sometimes finding the time to write a post every night is a problem. Even this simple post tonight entailed downloading photos from the Lumix, running them through noise reduction software, editing the photos, creating a smaller file version to use on the blog, and now writing the post. There's no doubt that I'm going to have to streamline my entries once we hit September and I'm swamped with Millsaps photos.

Before I continue, let me wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my brother Will. He hits 61 today, the same number of home runs Roger Maris hit in 1961. Don't you wonder how many home runs some of those guys in the past would have hit if they had juiced during their careers? Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays--those guys would have all passed up Babe Ruth's record if they had used an illegal boost like the hitters of recent years. But I digress.

Today we have 7 photos. I think you'll be able to match up the photos with the following descriptions:

1) I know the term is actually "heir apparent". In this case "air" is more appropriate as Millsaps searches for their new quarterback after 3-time SCAC Offensive Player of the Year Juan Joseph finished his career in 2008. There are 11 guys wearing the red jerseys in practice--not very good odds at getting much playing time in a college career.

2 and 3) I've gone on campus a couple of times to watch practice. It's not really so I can get a early glimpse of the team--I just like watching teams practice, something that probably has a lot to do with all the practices I ran as a coach over a couple of decades.

4) This computer in the Millsaps trophy case is one of the best purchases of my lifetime. The best way to have a good idea implemented is to pay for the project. Suggesting the purchase of a display computer would have generated some interest but no action. It was a lot easier to spend $500 out of my pocket than to keep bringing up the suggestion. The PC runs a slideshow 24 hours a day and it has either been going non-stop for 2 or 3 years.

5 and 6) More bug photos--you may think there are too many bug photos, but is that really possible? The answer is no.

7) Last but not least, I was over at Mother's house this week replacing batteries in her camera and then resetting the date and time--that part is a little tricky. I take thousands of photos of strangers and often fail to get photos of my friends and family. One of my goals is to improve on that.

Hope you enjoy the photos and have a great weekend--my goal this weekend is to get some sleep--I need a lot.

Photos from Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights

2009-08-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's post, I need a break and something more positive about Jackson. The Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights street festival is a good place to turn. My photo assignment really had two parts. First, it was to get good photos of the activities for the kids. That's what I have pictured today. The remaining photos, mostly shots of the musical acts, still need editing and that might not get done until this weekend. As the photos get edited, I'm temporarily posting them all to this Smugmug photo album.

Regarding the photos below, I'd like to give a huge THANK YOU to Ruth, the young lady in the photo with the three adults. She went around with me during this first part of the festival and got the names and ages of the kids in the photos, along with the name of the parents, etc. It was a tremendous help and she did a great job. Here are some of my favorite photos from the first part of the festival:

The Soon to Be Charles Tisdale Library?

2009-08-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

"It just seems to send the wrong message. When you try to honor a black man who is deserving of honor, whites tend to fight against it," Ward 2 Councilman Kenneth Stokes said.

That's from an August 12, 2009 article in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper. Kenneth Stokes was talking about the failure to pass a measure that would have named the current Northside Library after Charles Tisdale, the former publisher of the Jackson Advocate. Mr. Tisdale died in 2007 and this measure had been in committee for 14 months before it was suddenly brought before the city council last week. Never mind that just about every procedure and public notice that has to be done on such a measure was yet to be done, as is always the case with Stokes, if you vote against his measure then it is because you are racist.

Charles Tisdale would have been proud of the comment made by Councilman Stokes. The two of them teamed together for a weekly radio show that could best be described as the black answer to what one would get if local white supremacist Richard Barrett teamed with the more nationally known David Dukes to put on a show. Separate ends of the spectrum, but both shows would have the cornerstones of hate and bigotry. And all four men would probably be 100% certain that they were speaking God's truth.

I didn't know Mr. Tisdale. He was a hero to some, a legend in the eyes of many, a man who will be remember in history long after I'm forgotten. My guess is that Mr. Tisdale wouldn't care what I think about him. My guess is that Mr. Tisdale would have assumed me a racist if we had ever met. Judging by his radio show, that seemed to be his prevailing thought about the vast majority of whites. I guess he would have taken this post as proof of my racism.

Hearing the radio program multiple times made Mr. Tisdale's views very clear. As divisive as his words were over the air, that's not what I remember most about the man. It was 1998 and the office of his newspaper the Jackson Advocate was fire bombed early in the morning of January 26. That was a Monday morning. I looked it up but I already knew the day because I remember what happened the next day. It was the Tuesday meeting of the Jackson City Council and Charles Tisdale and members of his staff raised quite a ruckus claiming that black councilman Louis Armstrong was responsible for the burning of the Jackson Advocate.

Give Mr. Tisdale credit for getting that accusation right. While Armstrong was never indicted in the case, the man who set the fire was convicted and sentenced to 10 years. He was a man with close connections to Armstrong and he says Armstrong paid him $500 for the job. I believe there were cell phone records that showed he called Armstrong from the vicinity of the Jackson Advocate at about 2 in the morning, the time the fire started. So give Mr. Tisdale credit. He got that one right--until he realized that a black political rival burning down a black newspaper in Mississippi didn't play nearly as well as saying that whites in Mississippi were trying to silence the black press. That's the tune he quickly switched to and carried to his grave.

It's not a story that was bought by many in Jackson, but it worked well on the national and international stage. You'll find that to be true if you click on this link for a Yahoo search on Charles Tisdale fire bombing. There are plenty of stories there and none will mention the immediate accusations pointed by Tisdale at Louis Armstrong. Tisdale dismisses the idea that his bitter rival Louis Armstrong was behind the burning. He spent the last 9 years of his life telling the world that it was a plot by a group of wealthy white businessmen who want to retake Jackson for the whites and force the blacks out of town. The whites were still up to their old tricks and bigotry and they were the ones trying to silence the voice of black Mississippi.

I guess the most complete story I read, and I read quite a few stories, was this story from the Front Line website. Here are some cut and pastes to give you a sampling of what they wrote:

-----The Jackson Advocate is the oldest African American newspaper in Mississippi and the largest weekly in the state. Its total circulation is 20,000, but only 7400 of that number are in the Jackson area; many subscribers reside in major US and European cities. (My note: The thing about the Jackson Advocate that bothers me is that the vast majority of their readers are too far away to get an opposing viewpoint. The picture Tisdale painted of Jackson and of Mississippi is one that was shipped across America and around the world.)

----On June 12, 1963, Evers was shot to death in the driveway of his home. The accused killer, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith, stood trial twice in the 1960s, but in both cases the all-white juries could not reach a verdict. Finally, with the pressure of Tisdale and the Advocate, a third trial was held in 1994. Beckwith was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. (My note: Oddly enough, it is widely held that the Clarion-Ledger and reporter Jerry Mitchell were instrumental is bringing about that third trial.)

-----Tisdale ran stories charging that CCI improperly received large amounts of money from the city and suggesting that local business leaders had targeted downtown Jackson for gentrification, planning to make it impossible for poor African Americans to remain there. Tisdale says “As soon as they get rid of us, whites will return because it has become too expensive and too inconvenient to drive from the suburbs”.

-----Tisdale says of his relationship with Armstrong, “We’d been warring for twenty-seven years and for twenty-seven years every time one of us made the other one angry we’d rent a hotel room and have a fistfight. We’d had a fistfight just before the bombing and he beat the **** out of me. So there was no reason for him to do it”. (My note: I've never heard this story. Tisdale would have been 70 or 71 in 1998 and I think Armstrong would have been about 50. It a hard story for me to believe and it doesn't explain why Tisdale was certain Armstrong was behind the bombing the day after the event.)

Well, I could be here all night with the cut and paste. Let me just end with one thing that I say with 100% sincerity. I don't know the influences that were in Charles Tisdale's life. The story above says he was from a family with 17 children, the family lost their farm during the depression, and obviously times were very difficult. Despite that, Charles Tisdale found a way to get to college and by all accounts he was a very smart man and certainly a successful man. Few who started out in such difficult times would have found such success and that part of the Charles Tisdale life is to be greatly admired. Obviously he was a gifted man and maybe if I had lived his life I would have been filled with the same anger and hate. It is a shame that in my eyes and in the eyes of many, those gifts and that intellect were used to divide people instead of bring them together.

And now, knowing that eventually this post will be found on the internet search engines, I welcome any opposing opinions in the comment section. Comments with vulgarity will be deleted. Comments that totally disagree with my point of view are welcome. And for the record, I feel certain that the library will eventually be named for Mr. Tisdale. Crying racism still makes people nervous and willing to vote for anything just so they can avoid the label. Plus, with 5 of the 7 on the council being black, it's hard to imagine 2 or 3 of the black members taking the chance of going into the Charles Tisdale "Brown Society" by voting against this measure. It's a shame the honor won't be going to a Jacksonian or Mississippian who wanted to bring people together.

Part 2: All of the above was written Tuesday night. Now that I've had an evening to think about it, I realized that the primary Jackson Advocate audience needs to be addressed. As noted above, the bulk of the Jackson Advocate sales are to people outside of the Jackson area. They apparently have a healthy group of subscribers in Europe, people who have a vision of Jackson as painted by the Advocate. People who might find and read this post thanks to internet search engines.

This idea of rich white men trying to gentrify Jackson is laughable to anyone living in this area. It probably does sell well to those in big urban areas who might have this vision of the Jackson downtown area as some version of the inner city in a large metropolitan area. For the last 20 years whites and blacks have been fleeing Jackson for the better schools and lower crime stats of the surrounding smaller cities. Businesses have been leaving Jackson for these surrounding cities. This idea that people are tired of driving from the suburbs into Jackson and therefore they want to reclaim the city is insane. I work for a company that was in downtown Jackson since its founding in the mid-1940's. In 2008 the company sold their downtown building to the county government and moved to a new spot in the suburbs--the trend has long been of people wanting to leave the downtown area, not people wanting to return.

This group that was CCI and now goes by another name is one that is trying to save the eroding tax base in Jackson. The downtown area isn't a thriving community of lower class people who are going to be pushed out by rich whites wanting to move back to the city. It is a business district that is losing businesses. It is a tax base that is shrinking much to the detriment of the lower class neighborhoods throughout the city who depend on help from city services far more than those who can afford to flee the city. Blocking the growth and redevelopment of downtown Jackson isn't fighting for the disenfranchised of the city, it's helping to bankrupt a city where the disenfranchised are depending on help from the city.

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here with a comparison that is somewhat close but not exactly parallel. With the Jackson Advocate writing primarily for an out of area audience, they have the liberty to take liberties, much like the writers of the "Wild West" stories that were so popular in the 1800's. I'm sure the people "back East" and in Europe thought the cowboy stories of that era were an accurate depiction of life in the American West. What they were reading was mostly fiction compared to real life in the West, but the writers knew that sales came from giving the people what they want even if that meant distorting the truth. Know your audience and give the people what they want--it's a formula that has worked well throughout history and it continues to work today even with the tremendous flow of information created by the internet.

My Life as a Celebrity

2009-08-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Despite the fatigue of Saturday night, I got up early Sunday morning for a trip to the Laundromat. You remember the story from 2008 about this Laundromat. How the gunman came in at 9 in the morning and robbed the 4 patrons, made them all go back to the restroom and then he robbed a 5th patron who showed up to wash clothes. Fortunately, the folks in the restroom had a cell phone and they called 911. Thirty minutes later when the police arrived....well, I've already written about this story.

My story this time has two parts. The first is getting to the Laundromat at 6:30 only to find it still locked. Usually the security patrol opens it a little early. As has happened in the past, when it's not open at 6:30, then they have forgotten and waiting an hour means you will waste an hour. That's what I did. For a brief moment I understood these stories about people calling 911 when McDonalds is out of chicken nuggets or something. Life has been hectic lately and here someone dropped the ball and made things even worse. I did want to vent to someone and there was no one to complain to except for calling 911. I refrained from the impulse.

The desperation of having no clean clothes motivated me to wait for an hour before giving up. It motivated me to go back at 9 and they were still closed. One more try at 11:30 brought success, and while I still have a giant pile of clothes to iron, at least there were clean clothes available for Monday. That gets us to part two, the part about being a celebrity.

Maybe not an A-list celebrity, because after all, this story takes place with me washing clothes in a Laundromat. Maybe it's really just a mixture of "it's a small world" and "it's an odd world". Whatever. So I'm getting my clothes out of a dryer and there's a lady putting clothes in the dryer next to me. She looks at me and says, "Frank?".

Now the next few moments are a little uncertain because I went into a "deer in the headlights" mode. As you know, I'm probably in the 1-percentile range or lower when it comes to remembering faces. I didn't remember this face so I'm thinking "Is this a Millsaps person--maybe, I don't know"--"Is this a Murrah person--no, too young"--"Is this a Fondren or Belhaven person--maybe, I don't know". The answer to the mystery was one that I had thought impossible--she recognized me from my photos on the blogs. Yes, I was as stunned as you are--someone who doesn't know me is actually reading the blog! Oh yeah, and I guess it's also amazing that we were at the Landromat at the same time.

So you know, it was that Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame thing except on a much, much smaller scale. I'm such a novice about this celebrity thing that it didn't occur to me that this lovely blog reader probably knows more about me than most of my co-workers and neighbors. That's a little odd but I guess that's the price of being famous. Or near famous. Or not famous at all but simply being fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. My Sunday at the Landromat certainly ended better than it started thanks to this chance meeting.

Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights--2 Photos

2009-08-17T07:00:00.001-05:00

Two photos with three versions of each: the original, an 8x10 cropping, and a 4x6 cropping. I have mentioned before that despite the improvement in my photography, there's a lot left to learn. Some of what needs to be learned are things that I don't even think about until I see examples in the real world.

The post last Friday had a copy of my photos after I had cropped the originals, and then a copy of how they were used by the newspaper. It's always a quandary trying to figure out just how much to crop. I didn't crop at all when the Millsaps photo project began, figuring that when you give people the originals they then have the ability to crop it as they see fit. Soon it became clear that most people are never going to edit the photos. Plus, the photos started going on the Millsaps website so I starting cropping and doing more editing before giving out the photos. While I try to leave enough extra so a person can take a 4x6 version and make it into an 8x10 photo without chopping off a head or hand, I'm sure there are times when my version is not exactly what the recipient would have in mind.

Last Saturday I found myself trying to get photographs that would fit on the cover of the Weekend section next year. Part of me said to zoom in less than usual so there would be more possibilities in cropping each photo. The problem with that is you end up cropping so much that the final edited file won't be as large or as sharp. It left me perplex on what was the right thing to do, what balance to strike between flexibility and quality. It was one of those times when I wish there was someone around who could teach me these things or at least offer a few pointers.

These two photos today are ones that I think would work well for a newspaper story next year. There are plenty of others to choose from and this year all of these kid photos have names thanks to a Belhaven Association volunteer named Ruth. She was really, really great. I took photos and she got the names of the kids, their parents, etc. Not only did this method allow us to get more photos, but it was much more comfortable for me. It makes the operation look legitimate, a person taking photos and a partner with a notepad taking names. It not just an old man with a camera taking photos of kids and then wanting to get their names--that could be a little creepy to parents.

I would still prefer to just take photos with no name gathering, it would result in more photos and probably better photos overall, but they wouldn't be what the association needs for publicity, etc. And when one is working for pay, the needs of the payer come way ahead of the wants of the photographer.

(Regarding this taking names thing, I have so many photos of people that are great photos but there's no way to get the photos to the individuals because I don't have a name. Photos taken at Millsaps events, Saints Training Camp, concerts, etc--often these are photos that are extras to what I'm trying to shoot and there's just no time to get name and addresses. It's a shame because I'd really like for the folks to have their photo.)

Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights--Don't Miss it this Saturday

2009-08-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

The problem with trying to get ahead on the blog, like by writing Friday's post on Tuesday night, is that things change. I had a perfectly fine post written for today, and then I opened the newspaper Thursday morning and saw that one of my photos was on the cover of the "Weekend" section. Talk about a pleasant surprise. (I see that my two wall photos are slightly different--there were several taken of these kids painting the wall.)

It was also a very pleasant and appreciated thing for the folks in charge of "Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights". Getting the cover photo and the main story in this section of the newspaper should really help with the attendance this Saturday. It's a little odd now that 12 months ago I sort of tried to talk the Belhaven folks out of hiring me and then I was afraid they might have felt like they didn't get their money's worth from my photos.

On the talking them out of hiring me, I simply pointed out that a lot of people had good cameras and I understood completely if my fee of $250 was more than their budget allowed--that's just a number I pulled out of thin air to offset the 15-20 hours involved in taking the photos, editing, getting CDs burned and distributed, etc. They seemed okay with the money part and eventually I heard that they did indeed like the photos.

In an email sent out by the head of the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation today, she gave a lot of credit to the photos for making this the cover story. I think she gave a little too much credit. This is really something where it's not a cover story unless it's an event worthy of being on the cover. It's not a cover story unless someone does the hard work of gathering up all the information and pitching it to the newspaper. And it's not a cover story unless there's a good photo for the cover. Without all three of these things combined, you really have nothing. By the way, here's the story from Thursday's paper and the music listing is a little different from what is in the original news release: Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights

So, that's the update and what follows below is the original post

-----------Here's My Original Post Written For Friday----------------

I'm writing this Tuesday evening, way too early to have any trust in what the current weather forecast says for Saturday. I could update the post with the forecast as of Thursday evening but does anyone really trust the 2-day forecast these days? Let's just say that rain or shine, hot or simply warm, the place to be this Saturday evening between 5:30 and 9:30 is at the "Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights" street festival. They have booths with crafts, good food, entertainment for the kids, beer for the adults, and 5 stages hosting a total of 15 acts with music for everyone--and admission is only $3 for adults and $1 for children--come on people, this really is the place to be and I'll even take your photo if you show up and flag me down.

Since I'll be taking photos for pay, I'm don't have the freedom to park myself in any one space for very long. That might not be too bad because it will force me to leave the main stage which has a lineup of "The Hardline Monks", "Passenger Jones" (pictured above or to the side--the ones with the cello), and "The Weeks" (also pictured). The last two are definitely worth far more than the price of admission.

I'll add an opinion here that's probably not worth much. The odds of any good local band making it big is a sizable long shot. The odds for any local band made up mostly of working professionals (like Passenger Jones), is an even bigger long shot. The Weeks are a bunch of guys who are looking at music as their working profession and I think they have a decent shot at making it. The sound great, are very entertaining in concert, and the lead singer has that little something extra or different about him--I always enjoy seeing this band play in concert. While this is an "in studio" video instead of concert footage, see what you think about The Weeks playing "Buttons" on Youtube.

Here's a link with all the information you'll need on the festival: Press Release for Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights

And here's a link to: My Photos from the 2008 BLBN Festival

Sometimes Mistakes Make Great Photos

2009-08-13T07:00:00.004-05:00

(NEWS FLASH FOR THOSE WHO SEE THE JACKSON PAPER: If I may brag just a little, the cover photo of the "Weekend" section in today's Clarion-Ledger is one that I took at the "Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights" festival last year. The big photo that goes along with the story is also mine. I have a post on the festival already written for tomorrow and I'll add both photos there. In the meantime, here's the online version of the newspaper article.)
----------------------------------------------------------

I love this baseball photo even if it is the result of a mistake. At night there's no way to use a setting that is fast enough to capture the action while having enough depth of field to have both the foreground and background in focus. My intent was to have the runner in focus, but maybe his slide put him under the point for the auto-focus. The result of my error was a much better photo (as you will see if you click on the photo to see the larger image).

The photo of the attractive young lady at Sneaky Fest has a connection to this baseball photo. Her camera drew my attention, and my suspicion that it is a Holga was correct. Holga cameras are made entirely of plastic and they fall into the "toy camera" category even though they were originally used in Hong Kong/China as a cheap camera that working class families could use for portraits and events. They have somewhat of a cult following in the West because they are so cheap that they often introduce odd anomalies into the image.

I have mixed feelings about this entire Holga and toy camera category. In most cases it seems like the photographer is counting on a flaw to add interest to the photo. Maybe in some cases there is a flaw introduced that makes a great photo--somewhat like my flaw in focusing made for a much better photo. I just don't like the idea of going into the photo taking processing with the idea of hoping for a flaw to make the photo better. (For the record, some people use these toy camera as a tool to get a certain type of look. The results can be very impressive, as seen in the galleries at this site.)

-----A friend recently made the suggestion that I do some posts of what I consider to be my best or maybe favorite photos. This came after I was telling him about seeing some really impressive photos taken by a co-worker. To be honest, the quality of the co-worker's photography surprised me, but sometimes it doesn't tell you much about a photographer when you only see their best work. I saw 15 of his best photos. This was out of 15,000 photos he had on his computer. As I've proven in my career, if you take enough photos, the law of averages makes it a certainty that at least a few will be very good.

There's no way I could pick my top-15 photos. For a few minutes I tried to come up with a top-15 from the bird photos. That proved too hard because too many photos looked the same and there were more than 15 types of birds. How do you compare a finch to a woodpecker? And could any collection really be limited to just a single hummingbird?

I thought about this trying to pick my top photos the other day when I saw this "Wonder" post on "The Year in Pictures" blog. The man writing this blog (which is one of my favorite blogs) is a gallery owner and an expert in the field of photography. He wanted to put together a show at his gallery that consisted of just a few very high quality photos. The show has just 10 photos and all can be seen in the post.

There's no doubt at all that this gallery owner knows infinitely more than me when it comes to what is considered to be a great photo. Therefore, one can only conclude that I don't understand what makes a great photo because some of these top-10 didn't do much of anything for me. The things that constitute great photography are things that often escape me.

Quote of the Day: There is only one thing about which I am certain, and that is that there is very little about which one can be certain. --- Somerset Maugham ---

The Start of Fall is Approaching

2009-08-12T07:00:00.003-05:00

My walk to Newell Field last Sunday took me by Brent's Drugs in the Woodland Hills Shopping Center. They always have noticed of coming events posted near the door and it was my first look at the poster for the 2009 Backyard Brawl. That's the annual football matchup between Millsaps College and Mississippi College. Game time is 7:00 p.m., Saturday, September 5th. I'm not sure if I'm ready.

I've been so busy since the last Millsaps photos from 2008-09 were edited, posted, burned to DVDs and distributed. I've photographed a lot of bands, taken a lot of photos from Fondren, done projects at work, in Dallas, at a wedding, at two reunions, and it all feels like my life has never slowed down over the summer. If my slow season was so hectic, what is life going to be like when the busy season comes?

When I gave my speech for the Livesay award at Millsaps last March I ignored all but one thing written down on my prepared speech. What I read word for word from my speech was what Dean Miller said when speaking at my father's funeral. Dean said he once asked my father how he could possibly find time for all he did with his business, his family, the church, and so many social project. My father's answer was simply that they were all things that needed to be done.

That's the way I feel about the things in my life. Some are things that need to be done for others, some are things that need to be done for me. Often those two needs swirl together into something that is more of an obsession. In the meantime, there are other things in my life that truly do need to be done and it's almost a certainty that I'll continue to ignore them. I really, really, really need for our Wednesday night group to hit a huge Powerball jackpot so I can quit work and have time for all of my volunteer jobs.

-----Last Friday I stopped at MS Blood Services for a blood letting session, one of six that I do every year. Maybe all these blood lettings are the secret to my good health. Hopefully I'm getting something out of it because giving blood is way down near the bottom of my "what do I want to do today" list. It's something done partially out of habit and partially out of duty--I'm O-negative and it's important for hospitals to have O-negative blood on hand since it can be given in emergency rooms without having to wait on a blood test. During my conversation with the nurse last Friday she mentioned that this was my 101st donation.

That was news to me and it just goes to show how small things add up over the course of time. That's 101 pounds donated and halfway between 12 and 13 gallons. It's ten times the amount of blood that's found in a typical adult. It makes me a little queasy thinking about all that blood. Fortunately, when it comes to bleeding, the donations are just about the only time my body has had to deal with any lossage (knock on wood). Outside of the infamous tonsil episode and maybe a tooth extraction or two, I've only needed 13 stitches in my lifetime. Considering the relatively frail nature of skin, my many years of playing sports, and just 57 years of day-to-day living, it's really remarkable that there haven't been more punctures or any broken bones (knock on wood again). Let's hope this healthy trend continues. I also hope that someday soon a scientist will find the way to make artificial blood. I'm tired of getting stuck.

-----This is somewhat of a PS added after hearing various things on the news in recent days. Have you ever heard the stories about high school football coaches who motivate their team before the big game by having something like a funeral wreath sent to their own team, but signed with a taunting message as if it came from the opposing team? It's a move that can be used in a lot of ways, doing something in secret that can then be attributed to the opposition as a way of putting the other party in a negative light.

It sure seems possible that the recent back and forth debate on health care has some of these misdirections being done. It might be a wise move to take some of the more outrageous and seemingly isolated reports of extreme behavior with a grain of salt. Politics and dirty tricks go hand in hand and if a high school football coach knows how to fake an event to his advantage, I wouldn't be surprised to see politicians and activist do the same thing.

Quote of the Day: Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. --- Helen Keller ---

The Loss of a Landmark in Jackson?

2009-08-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

Harvey T. Newell established the Jackson Paper Company in 1921, one year after my grandfather moved to Jackson to take over ownership of what became the Mississippi Bedding Company. I tried to find a link to the history of Newell's life and was unsuccessful. There's a Pi Kappa Alpha national award named after him (he died in a plane crash while on official duty as the Pike National President) and a memorial library at the Pike national headquarters. The Millsaps athletic department at one time gave a Harvey T. Newell award (I think it was to the most outstanding athlete), and as you can see in this photo, there's a local football field that bears his name.

In a side note, there's some interesting history about this field as the Rev. Billy Graham held an integrated revival in the stadium in 1952. I think you'll find the photos and story at this Belhaven College site very interesting. It's a story I had never heard, or one that I had forgotten over the years.

But this post isn't about Harvey T. Newell or the stadium. It's about the concrete block pictured above that has been an Jackson icon for my entire life. This stadium is located next to the concrete school building that was Bailey Junior High for decades and is now Bailey Alternative School. For at least two generations this concrete sign has served as a perfect spot for waiting on the bus, or a carpool, or just for hanging around and talking. How many thousands of Jacksonians have a memory of sitting on the H. T. Newell sign at some point in their life? That should probably read "how many tens of thousands".

Now the sign is gone. Last week I was driving up the long hill that passes the stadium. It was obvious from a distance that renovations were being done. The extent of those renovations unfolded as I progressed up the hill and it surprised me when I saw that the H. T. Newell sign was no longer in its rightful place. I even looped back around to confirm what I didn't see.

There's a 90-99% certainty in my heart that this historic block of concrete was simply moved for safe keeping. I don't know what it would cost to save such a thing. I do know the intangible loss caused by destroying such a landmark would be far greater. Surely the folks in charge of the renovation realized that this was not some outdated marker of the mid-20th century, one that needed to be updated to make the stadium seem more modern. I'm almost positive that this Jackson icon must have been saved and in due time it will be returned to duty.

But there's that 1-10% of me that fears a wrecking ball was brought in and decades of memories and history were reduced to a load for the dump in just a few whacks. I still think that no one in their right mind would do this, but I'm thinking from the viewpoint of a lifelong Jacksonian. A person who remembers going up that long hill hundreds of times for classes in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. A person who remembers many a game at H. T. Newell stadium, first during my school years as a fan, later as I coached soccer games for both Murrah and St. Joseph High School teams, and more recently as I cheered for my nephew Robert during his football and soccer days at Murrah High School. That sign represents a lot of memories to me. Maybe in the eyes of a younger person or a newcomer to Jackson, that sign represented an eyesore. Maybe it's very possible or even probable that the sign has been destroyed.

Time will tell on this or maybe my friend who writes the MS Preservation blog will have some inside knowledge since this is right up their alley of expertise. Admittedly, my life won't change one iota if the sign was destroyed, but it will bring a moment of sadness to me if I discover that this piece of Jackson history is gone. That would be a shame because plenty of Jacksonians would have contributed to come up with whatever money was necessary to save the sign. It could have been save, it should have been saved, and hopefully it was saved.

Quote of the Day: "There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve". --- Mike Leavitt ---

PS--I wrote this post Saturday evening. Sunday I decided to walk over to Newell Field and look around. I went inside the fence and look around the south end of the stadium where all the work is taking place. The "H. T. Newell" concrete sign was no where to be found. More and more, my gut feeling is that it was destroyed and I hope that feeling is 100% wrong. Here are a couple of photos of the construction and the area where the sign once stood:

An Email that Really Surprised Me

2009-08-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

-----I received an email last week that made me scratch my head and wonder "What were they thinking". It was the weekly email from the Greater Belhaven Market, a local market held most Saturday mornings in the parking lot of a Belhaven neighborhood grocery store. Here's a cut and paste of the part that surprised me:

"Next Week: Big Juv, Virgil Brawley will be at the Market with his new CD – ‘Bottle Tree’. You will want to stop by, pick up a copy and hear Virg performing live featuring songs from this latest release. Eudora’s Jitney, a tune we love and laugh about can be heard and seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cyv7d1lStU "

Nothing surprising about that until you click on the link to hear the tune "Eudora's Jitney", a song "we love and laugh about". It's a song about the days when the internationally famous writer Eudora Welty lived in Belhaven and you could often see her shopping at the local Jitney Jungle #14 grocery store. Well actually, the song isn't much about Eudora. It's mostly about how horrible the grocery store has become since the days when Eudora shopped there. Maybe you can guess "the rest of the story"--the grocery store that is totally blasted in the song is the one that hosts the Greater Belhaven Market in their parking lot. They probably don't feel the love or see the humor in Big Juv's song.

-----My website with the Murrah Reunion photos has been getting a lot of hits over the last few days and that has generated a lot of emails in my inbox. It's nice to get so much feedback from former classmates who say they really love your work. It also tells me that I shouldn't be so hesitant about interrupting people at a gathering and asking them to pose for a photo--in the long run they are going to appreciate the photo far more than the memory of an uninterrupted conversation. (Through Sunday afternoon this album had 20,000 hits, the equivalent of 200 folks looking at 100 photos each.)

-----I had another nice compliment about my photography last Friday. Every 4 years the MS Secretary of State's office puts out a "blue book" that lists all public officials in the state. It's a book that is distributed by the thousands. The book also contains photos of Mississippi things and events. The next edition will include a photo I took at the 2009 MS Marathon (pictured above). There's no money involved and I suspect the photo credits will all be clustered together instead of labeling a specific photo, but it's a nice honor and it adds another small bit of credibility to my photography.

Quote of the Day: "Perseverance pays. Diamonds are merely chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs."

A Non-Shutter Bug

2009-08-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

I was taking photos of my first Hibiscus flower of the summer when I noticed this orange and black bug on another plant. I'll get the flower photos posted next week, a series from bud to bloom, but today we will go with the bug. Unlike the dragonfly who didn't move when a camera was 2-3 inches away, this bug wasn't as cooperative, hiding under the leaf and then going deeper into the plant and out of sight.

I like taking closeup photos of nature. You look at these minute, seeming insignificant things, and the detail, the design, the functionality of it all is amazing. The complexity of what's found in a typical backyard is stunning and the complexity of nature in general is really impossible to grasp (just look at the beauty of that tiny flower in the bottom left of the first two photos).

For the record, to take really good closeups of bugs and stuff it helps to spend thousands of dollars on special lenses and flashes. You don't have to start out spending thousands, it's just that buying lenses gets additive and there's always one more something that a person "really needs" to buy. I've thought about buying just one good macro lenses and maybe that will be the next thing that is "really needed" in my collection. Like those potato chips, it might be impossible to stop with one. (BTW, if you want to see the detail that's possible with the right equipment, check out the photos here.)

-----I went to the new Harry Potter movie after work Thursday. My attendance was more out of habit of seeing all the films in the series, not because of any great excitement about a new Harry Potter movie. I thought it was great and at the same time it's easy to see why others might be disappointed. There wasn't as much of the magic, magical creatures, or action scenes as in previous movies. It was more about the characters and the main characters are finally old enough to make such a movie work. It definitely makes me want to reread the last book now that I'm once again familiar with the events leading up to the finale.

-----You remember that plan I had about trading concert photos with bands for CDs and t-shirts? The plan is perfect except for one thing--it still involves dealing with musicians and in the majority of those cases a person is going to get screwed. A month ago I sent photos to a band in Oxford. I even added in photos from an earlier concert they had played in Jackson. They were excited about getting the photos and multiple t-shirts were coming my way. Maybe the package was hijacked in Winona. No package after a month and no reply to my email sent a week ago to find out if they got my CD and mailed the shirts. Musicians--they make it hard for a person to remain generous.

-----We are now nearing 2 months since the big television signal conversion. No television at the house has been wonderful and it's unlikely that the new fall season will lure me back. I never could have broken the addiction on my own so I'm glad the government mandated the change.

-----It's 29 days till the start of Millsaps football. In 2008, anything less than a championship would have been a huge disappointment and at least a mild surprise. This year Millsaps will be without star quarterback Juan Joseph and a host of other great seniors from last year. Some people even consider Millsaps as the number three team behind Trinity and DePauw. While it's great to have the team to beat, it seems like a lot more fun when the team is starting out as more of an unknown.

-----Hope everyone has a great weekend. I have a ton of things that need to be done as I get things in order prior to the chaos that starts in September.

A New Toy/Tool That Will Make My Life Better

2009-08-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

At the end of the 2008-09 Millsaps Men's Basketball season, 4 of the families went in together and gave me a thank you gift. Included in that gift was a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy. In the spirit of the gift, I didn't want to plow the money back into buying blank CDs or memory cards for the Millsaps project. It seemed like the gift was given with the idea that I use it for something special for myself.

As it turns out, I did use it for something special for myself while at the same time buying an item that will greatly help with the Millsaps project. The cost of "Adobe Photoshop Elements 7" software is right at $100 so I recently used that gift certificate to buy myself a copy.

Not too long ago I wrote about how many people have a great camera and they don't use the full potential of the camera. I've been the same thing for several years except I've been settling for far less than what's available in the field of software. For years I've used a free software program from Kodak. It's what I first learned and it has served my purpose. It has also cost me hundreds of hours of free time.

I didn't realize the part about the free time until recently. The Kodak software does a good enough job for what I need, mostly cropping and a little change to the exposure here and there, but it's a little slow in opening a file and saving a file. Not real slow, but multiply an extra 10-20 seconds times thousands of photos and you get a lot of hours.

With the Adobe software, it's a case of taking one step back to go forward ten. There's a learning curve. For example, I edited a small batch and then discovered the edited files were being saved at a much smaller size than the originals. I had backups of the originals so there was no harm done other than spending time to do some research, fix the setting, and then editing the photos again. Once I get past this learning curve, it is obvious already that the editing will be quicker. It also is obvious that there's much more that I'll be able to do to improve my photos.

While the above photo with the neon feature might not be something I'll use a lot, there are plenty of great features that will really help. There is a filter option that I used to greatly improve my photos from the Murrah Reunion. Almost all of my photos from the event were too much on the yellow/red side of the color chart and I was able to apply a blue filter and cool down the colors. It made the photos twice as good (here's a link to the Reunion photos).

Getting this software is one of those cases of better late than never. It's also one of those cases of getting stuck in a pattern and not stepping back to look and see if there's a better way to do things. All of us need to look at the things in our life from time to time to see if there might be something better than the status quo. It would have saved me A LOT of time if I had thought about this a few years ago.

How Much Is a Billion Dollars?

2009-08-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of photos of a flower growing unattended by the side of the road on Crane. This was taken on my Monday evening walk through Fondren.

When I post a nature photo I naturally think of blog reader Alan who was in New Orleans and had plans to move to the Northwest. Nature photos were/are his favorites. Alan, are you out there? Post something in the comments or send me an email just to let me know that the move went okay.

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-----First order of business is to Pimp My Blog: Today we have photos of Jacksonian Owen Beverly on the Photos from Fondren blog.

-----Turn on the news and it won't be long before you hear some story about billions of dollars or even trillions of dollars. It's hard to get a grip on those numbers so I've had to come up with the following formulas to make them more meaningful for me:

---1 billion dollars = $10 from 100,000,000 taxpayers (that's 100 million taxpayers)
---100 billion dollars = $1,000 from 100,000,000 taxpayers
---1 trillion dollars = $10,000 from 100,000,000 taxpayers
---11 trillion dollars (the national debt) = $110,000 from 100,000,000 taxpayers

Think about those numbers and remember that when there's a request for something as "small" as 2 billion dollars, that's like taking a 20-dollar bill from almost every taxpayer in America.

-----The rest of the story: Do you remember the post a couple of days ago about my friend Robert Cooper being told by Murrah football coach Jack Carlisle that he wasn't going to have soccer style kickers at Murrah. That was in 1969 and would you believe that Coach Carlisle is still coaching. He's at Louisiana College as an assistant coach in charge of ........ the kickers! (
Louisiana College coaches page)

-----I now have 78 friends on Facebook and about 40 more on MySpace. That almost makes me a loner by internet standards. In real life I have somehow painted myself into a corner where I spend too much time as a loner. I regret that, and at the same time I rarely have regrets about doing the things that keep me sitting in front of a computer for so much of my free time. It's a dilemma.

-----Anyone seen the new Harry Potter movie? I enjoyed reading the series and I've enjoyed all of the movies, but for some reason I haven't been excited about seeing this latest film. I think it's because the book series has ended and we now know the complete story. That can't be the complete explanation because when the "Lord of the Rings" movies were coming out I eagerly looked forward to all of those even though I knew exactly what was going to happen in every one. Those movies rank as three of my favorites of all time.

-----Here's a fun fact to close out the post. My Murrah High School classmate Buster Corley is the Buster in the Dave and Buster's Restaurant Chain. That's pretty neat--I didn't know that until this past Sunday.

Bits and Pieces

2009-08-04T07:00:00.001-05:00

What do these two ladies have in common? See answer at the end of this post.

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-----Here's what I discovered Monday morning: If you leave 4 diet sodas in the office freezer Friday afternoon, then you'll have a huge mess to clean up Monday morning.

-----Pardon my ego on this one: I was working on the concert photos from Sneaky Fest last weekend and the thought hit me, "Damn, these are really pretty good." Deep down, I tend to have doubts about my photography skills, realizing that there's a lot of learning and improving that needs to be done. If I really, actually get good at this, I'll probably be the last to know. BTW, the Sneaky Fest photos are being posted on the Photos From Fondren blog so check those out--that blog desperately needs some hits.

-----A couple of months ago the director of the MS Blues Marathon said he was going to talk to the folks at Blue Cross/Blue Shield about putting a link to my marathon photos on the official marathon website. No one ever called me from BC/BS so I forgot about it. Recently I went to the MS Blues Marathon Website and they do have a link to my photos listed as "To view photos taken by local photographers, click here". While it would be nice if it read "taken by Frank Ezelle", it's still pretty cool that they have the link on the front page. A lot of folks will see those photos when it gets closer to registration time for January, 2010.

-----I'm not trying to be controversial here, but what was the lesson learned from the teachable moment of Professor Gates being arrested? The professor and police officer agreed to disagree. The black police officer caught heat for being an "Uncle Tom" when he said the arrest was justifiable. The woman reporting the arrest was vilified for things she did not say. A Boston police officer was suspended for writing an email that sounded like a throwback to the Old South. It seems like all these things were laid out on the table, and then just as quickly they were swept under the rug.

-----I've agreed to take photos again this year at the "Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights" street festival. With an admission fee of just $3, this August 15th event is one of the best bargains going. In addition to photographing the crowds, the activities, and the vendors, there will be 15 musical acts on 5 stages to photograph. I'm going to be a busy man. Here's the press release with the musical acts listed--"Passenger Jones" and "The Weeks" are playing back-to-back on the main stage. That's going to be a hot show on a hot summer night.

-----What do the two ladies have in common? Did you guess that they both use the same tattoo artist? That would be 100% wrong. The common element is that I gave both ladies my email address and told them I'd send them the photo file, but then I never received an email from them (in the case of Aunt Fay, she was with 4 much younger women and I gave one of them the email address). The woman with the child actually requested that I take her photo, she looked at the display on the camera, and then she requested a copy.

It's always a bit of a mystery to me when I offer to give away a photo and never hear from the person. Did they change their mind, or lose my email address, or decide the photo wasn't so great, or did they remember the advice to "beware of strangers bearing gifts"? I don't know and I don't lose any sleep thinking about it. All I can do is offer the photos and it's up to them to make some sort of effort if they want a copy.

Thoughts from the High School Reunion

2009-08-03T07:00:00.002-05:00

Four photos from the class reunion: (1) The group photo is just a small segment of the 150 or so who showed up. John White is in the center of the back row with the blue shirt. I was lined up in the photo at first, then decided my contribution would be better with my camera and taking photos instead of being a dot in a sea of face. (2) The photo with 3 guys is Joe Stevens, Mike Emidy, and Dudley Marble. (3) The trio with a guy in the middle is Zach Taylor with his wife Jan on the left of the photo and in the red is Holly Sloan Dignan. (4) The trio with the lady in the middle is Robert Cooper on the left along with Nancy and John Studdard.

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Late Saturday night I ran into Robert Cooper at the 40th Class Reunion for the Murrah High School Class of 1969. Robert and I were friends during high school and I really wish we had been better friends. He was a great guy then and that doesn't seem to have changed after 40 years.

I only see Robert at these reunions. It was at the 30th reunion that we made a connection regarding Deuce McAllister. Robert is a doctor in Oxford and he sees some of the Ole Miss athletes when they are injured, so he had some contacts with Deuce in the past. Ten years ago Robert and I went back and forth with stories illustrating why we respect and admire Deuce as such a good person.

While we talked about Deuce for a minute this past Saturday, most of our conversation was about playing soccer when at Murrah. This was in 1967-69, a time when just buying a soccer ball was difficult. The sporting good stores didn't have soccer balls, there was no online ordering, and it was hard to find a sports magazine that might have a soccer ad in the back pages. We talked about the 4 team league that the Murrah students created on their own--he was on the "Bod Boys" and I played for the "Laurel Livers". We also talked about how a group of these Murrah students billed themselves as a semi-pro team and got a game with the LSU club team. This game was played in Tiger stadium prior to a LSU-MS State football game and several thousand football fans were on hand for the end of the soccer match.

Robert told one last story that I had never heard. He wanted to try out as a kicker on the football team his senior year. In preparation, he took his football and would go up to one of the fields at Millsaps. He would kick the ball and then sprint after it, repeating the process many times. It must have been a lot of hard work. So the day comes for the football tryout and he is out on the field getting ready to kick. He puts the ball on the tee, takes a few steps back, then a few steps to the side as is the norm now, and head coach Jack Carlisle said, "Son, we don't kick like that on this team." I doubt Robert thought it was funny that day as all his work went down the drain, but we had a good laugh about it Saturday.

I'm sorry if you found that punchline disappointing. To me it was one of the funniest things I had heard in a long time because it was amplified by the pleasure of reconnecting with a friend. It was a good example of why I'm glad I went to the reunion. This past Friday and Saturday was a reminder of how I was very fortunate to grow up along side a bunch of really good kids. I was very fortunate to have a great childhood even though at times it wasn't always recognized as great. High school was one of those times when a person could get so wrapped up in what the cool kids were doing, or what the rich kids had, or the glory the athletes were enjoying, and while looking at all that, it was easy to miss all the great things that were in your own life. For me, the great things were my friends.

It was really good to see Joe Stevens and Zach Taylor as well. They really were a big part of my life up until the age of 20 and with both of them, I've hardly seen them since college. It did me good to spend some time with both of them and relive a few moments from the past. There were others I enjoyed talking to, some who were good friends in the past and some who were almost strangers. After 40 years, people have a different value system than those used during the immaturity of youth. The walls around the various cliches have mostly fallen down. I also now have much more security about myself and no longer have doubts about my worthiness of being part of any particular group.

One last story to illustrate just how much things change by the time one reaches their 40th reunion. One of the classmates I was hoping to see was John White. He and I weren't great friends, but I liked him and he was a real free thinker, a person who definitely fit the hippie label when that label was first being applied--long hair, mutton chop sideburns--the anti-athlete, anti-homeroom president type if there every was one. Towards the end of the party I was talking with Zach Taylor and he mentioned John, saying that he had heard John was in attendance. Zach went searching for John and never found him.

Maybe it was a case of John hiding in plain sight. When I was looking through my photos I saw a picture of the star quarterback from 1969. He was a person who hadn't changed much and was easy to pick out of the crowd. Then I looked at the name tag, having to zoom in to verify what I was seeing. Sure enough, the "star quarterback" whom I had seen several times in passing that evening was actually former hippie John White. That's a switcheroo that surprised me and made me laugh once again--I definitely got my money's worth this past weekend in laugher alone.

Forty Years Later--I Don't Remember Much of High School

2009-07-31T07:00:00.003-05:00

(What's below was written Thursday evening. This morning I was walking with Boty and we were talking about high school reunions in general as well as the specific ones we had attended.

The thought hit me that most people go with the wrong frame of mind, worried about how their success in life might measure up to that of their former classmates. I'm actually quite happy with my life even though it would not fill up a lot of room on a "Who's Who" entry. Why should I worry about what anyone from the past thinks about my life?

So, my frame of mind this weekend is that I'm going to take the attitude of making the reunion a great success for everyone I see. Be interested in their life, ask them about their kids, their successes, and be an attentive listener. Doesn't that make you feel good when you talk with someone who cares what you have to say? The world is full of talkers which really increases the value of a good listener. The funny thing is, the person who usually gains the most in a conversation is the one who listens the most--that's a lesson I sometimes forget but it's not one that I'll forget this weekend.)

This weekend the Murrah High School class of 1969 will come together for the 40th Anniversary of their graduation. You don't have to be told that this is exactly the type of event that I hate.

It's going to be crowded and I don't like crowds. It's going to be a group of people that I should know but can't remember, and they will be telling stories that have likewise been lost in storage somewhere in my brain. The odds are pretty good that my inclination will be to leave after 30 minutes of Friday's party and then to skip Saturday altogether. I'm determined to fight these urges and really make an effort to get through the two day affair.

In addition to my discomfort in large crowds, there's also the additional uncomfortable dynamics of a high school reunion. From what I observed at previous reunions, it's somewhat of a time machine atmosphere where people are thrown back to their high school status. The popular kids of 1969 will be the center of attention in 2009. The average kids of 1969 will be on the fringes, just as they were 40 years ago. I was definitely one of the average kids.

To be fair, this return to the past didn't seem so bad at our 35th reunion. At that point we were all over 50 years old and that reality was enough to make just about everyone turn loose of the distant past. This time we will all be creeping up on 60, still a couple of years away, but close enough. I have a feeling that the exploits of high school are going to take a backseat to more current events. At least I'm telling myself that as motivation to stay longer than 30 minutes.

The deal about taking my big camera and shooting lots of photos will be a game time decision. It's a crutch that might help me get through the night. On the other hand, it's a distraction that might take away from really taking advantage of this opportunity to catch up with some folks. Odds are pretty good that the final decision will be to take the camera and then I have to option of taking a lot of photos of just lugging the thing around.

It should be an interesting two days.

Look in the Air--Mothra is Heading for Tokyo!!!

2009-07-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Pretty scary photo for today's blog. I hope none of you have flashbacks to nightmares caused by B-movie monsters like Mothra, Godzilla, the Blob (that movie gave me nightmares), plus the more human size creatures like the Wolfman, the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, Vampires, and Jerry Lewis*.

Okay, so this photo isn't of a moth. The horror movies of my youth weren't too concerned about such minor details. They were hardly even concerned about strings showing when they filmed puppets, so any big, scary insect would do in a pinch. By the way, there is far, far more about Mothra than any sane person could possibly want to know at this Wikipedia entry on Mothra.

This gigantic abomination of nature flying through the skies of Madison, MS, was actually a fairly small bug resting on one of our office windows. I had to shoot from a lower angle to get rid of the cars in the parking lot and the trees surrounding our building, and then the photo was rotated 90 degrees to the right to make it look like the bug was travelling across the horizon. It's not too realistic, but at least you can't see any strings.

(*Note to all French film critics: The Jerry Lewis comment is simply a joke. Please refrain from leaving comments about stupid Americans too uncouth to recognize the comedic genius of Jerry Lewis.)

Mississippi River Bridge at Vicksburg

2009-07-29T07:00:00.003-05:00

These photos of the Mississippi River Bridges at Vicksburg come from my July 18th trip to the Strong Family Reunion. My original plan was to get to Vicksburg right at or just before sunrise. That plan fell through when I calculated the departure time necessary to beat the sun.

While taking these photos, first from a bluff just north of the bridges and then from a visitor's center situated in the gap between the bridges, I started wondering what I could do to improve on what thousands of photographers must have captured in the past. I came to the conclusion that there wasn't much I could do to make my photos special. Let's say my photos would make the top-10 percentile--that still means there are hundreds or thousands of photos of the bridges that are just as good or better.

Maybe that's why I like taking photos at sporting events and concerts. You get to capture things that are fluid, moments that will never be repeated or times in a person's life that will soon seem like a distant past. The bridges at Vicksburg, they are the same now as a decade ago and probably a decade into the future, but the athletes at Millsaps, the performers at Sneaky Fest, my grandnieces--these will all be very different a decade from now. There's certainly a time and place to capture the stagnant things of life because those things do change over time, but my interest lies primarily in capturing moments as life passes by.

There's one other photo of the newer Mississippi River Bridge that I've included to illustrate a point. People will occasionally comment that it must be great to watch so many sporting events and concerts and I tell them that you don't really get to see a lot when taking photos. This is especially true with sporting events where all you see of a play is the narrow field of vision in the viewfinder. The last photo here was taken while driving 60 mph across the bridge and it scared the heck out of me to have such a small view of the world for those 2 seconds. The person looking through a viewfinder is often the person with the worst view of the action.

A Dragonfly, My Hibiscus Tree, and Taking Better Photos

2009-07-28T07:00:00.002-05:00

I've been checking my small Hibiscus tree every day in hopes of finding the first flower bud of the season. That's what led to the recent grasshopper photos and today's dragonfly photos. It's amazing what you can find by taking a close look at nature (and to appreciate today's photos, you really need to click on them to bring up the larger version).

Today's photos tie in with two conversations I've had in recent weeks. The gist of these conversations is that people saw me with my big camera (Canon 50D) and my biggest lens (Sigma 50-500 zoom) and they said they hoped to eventually upgrade to something similar. They just weren't satisfied with shots taken by their current camera. The cameras in question were a Canon G10 and a Canon Rebel, both very good camera that are in a price range significantly higher than my Lumix DMC-TZ5--the same Lumix that took 4 of the 5 photos posted here (the head on shot, the worst of the bunch, was taken with the Canon 50D and Sigma lens).

My guess is that in 4 out of 5 cases, maybe even 9 out of 10 cases, when a person is dissatisfied with the photos produced by their camera, the problem isn't the limitations of the camera. Most people never go past learning how to turn on the camera and setting the dial to automatic. With today's cameras, that will get you a lot of good shots, but it's like having a nice sports car and never getting above third gear.

If you want to take better photos, here are the three basic steps to success: (1) take the time to learn about all the features and possibilities of your current camera and then experiment by actually using those features; (2) get on the internet and learn some basic skills about taking better photos--there really is more to taking good photos than just learning to point-and-shoot; (3) when your skills improve and you actually do reach the limitations of your camera, then start looking for better equipment if you want to take your photography to a higher level.

A Bevy of Beautiful Babes (and one guy)

2009-07-27T07:01:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrote something about how hard it would be to just post one photo per day. Here's a good example. These photos from from a family gathering last Thursday to celebrate Mother's 85th birthday. Sure, I could have done one photo of Mother and that be that, but what about the babies? So I thought, maybe four photos, one of Mother and the best photo of each baby, but picking the best baby photo was like choosing between cake, ice cream and pie.

As you can see, I ended up posting 12 photos. It was going to be just the ladies to go along with the "bevy of beautiful babe" theme, but I had to allow Brandon in the last photo because that's the only photo I had of my niece Erica. And I have to apologize to Virginia who didn't get in a photo--she was busy hosting the party and didn't have much time for holding a baby.

Most of you know or can figure out who is who in the photos. For those who don't, here's a quick listing:

---You should be able to pick out my mother.
---Linda, wearing blue jeans, is holding Charlie. Linda is my brother Will's wife and Charlie and Emerson are their granddaughters.
---Emerson is the baby walking, sitting by the floor vent, and later in her PJ's.
---Lorin is the baby wearing the bib that says "Lorin"--what a coincidence. She is being held by her mom Leslie, the wife of my nephew Travis, and later Lorin is being held by my sister Isabelle.
---And the last photo is the trio of Brandon, Charlie, and my niece Erica.

A Story from the Past and A Story from The Present

2009-07-27T07:00:00.001-05:00

(Note: There was a great temptation to delete this post even thought it took 4-5 hours to write. I probably could have taken 4-5 days and not gotten it in sync with the gnawing feeling that has been building up inside me for a while. If you have the strength to read through it all, then try and get the gist of what I'm aiming for without getting snagged on any poorly phrased sentence or thought. As for the rest of the week, you'll probably get photos and captions without any long posts. This post has drained me for a while.)

There was a time when racquetball was my favorite sport. I started playing back when the sport first took off, a time when it was hard to schedule a time slot on one of the 4 courts at the YMCA. That eased up a lot when a new health club opened in Jackson geared primarily for racquetball. Most of the serious players drifted away from the YMCA and signed on at this new facility.

It got to the point where the staff at the YMCA didn't even bother to take reservations for the courts, leaving it as first come, first serve. That was fine with me because I played with one group at 5 in the morning and with my work day ended at 4, it was easy for me to get to the Y early and grab a court in the afternoon. I never had trouble getting a court until the Y made a change that really ticked me off.

They started an after school program. The program was probably a mixture of providing a service to the community, and generating more revenue by having the kids in during a normally slow time of the day. I'd be ready to play around 4:30 and there would be kids on all the courts, not really playing racquetball--just unorganized chaos. I was very tempted to complain to the YMCA director, but the program wasn't every day or throughout the year, and the kids usually left by 5, so I put up with the annoyance.

What bothered me is that here I was, a paying member, accustomed to coming in at slightly different hours in order to take advantage of the less crowded times, and the YMCA had basically double booked the facility to make some extra money. Just the principle of the thing irritated the heck out of me. It caused me to briefly consider looking at other health facilities, but fortunately it never got much worse than a minor inconvenience.

That's a story from my past. Now suppose that instead of the YMCA, I was a paying member of a swim club and the great thing was that I could go during the day when it was nice and calm. Maybe I felt like it was a safer time to take my kids to the pool, a time of day when things weren't so crowded and hectic. Then suddenly, a bus or multiple vans pull up and 65 young kids descend on the pool. As a paying member of the club, would I be greatly annoyed that the club had double booked the pool to make extra money, a decision that destroyed the calm, peaceful atmosphere that I valued? And with 65 extra kids in the pool, would it be unreasonable for me to be concerned about the safety of my children enough that I get them out of the pool?

If the 65 young kids were white, then people might accept that I had a reason to be angry with the club for renting the facility to a day care center. I might seem like a careful and conscientious parent by taking my kids out of the pool with so much extra activity taking place. Of course, if the 65 young kids were black, then the only explanation for my actions would be that I'm a racist.

Obviously I'm referring to the recent incident at the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley, PA. That's a swim club you would have never heard of if 65 white kids had recently showed up from a day care center. That's a swim club that would not be facing a lawsuit to "punish the club for the harm that they've done to the children" if the children from the day care center had been white. That's a club where the director says they knew the kids at the day care center were mostly minorities, there was just a miscommunication on the number of kids that would be coming from that center and that they couldn't handle so many children.

None of us know what's in the heart of another person. Maybe every member of that swim club is a KKK level racist who gets sick at the idea of swimming in the same water as a non-white. If that is the case, then don't you think they would have check on the racial makeup of the day care children before agreeing to let the kids come to the pool? Doesn't the explanation given by the club president sound more logical than the idea of the club assuming that all the kids would be white and then being shocked when black kids and Hispanics showed up? It's something to think about.

Here's another way to look at it. Suppose 65 white kids showed up at a private pool that was basically an all black club. Would those paying members want to know what all the white kids were doing at the pool, maybe even saying "what are all these white kids doing here"? Would those paying members be upset that the atmosphere at their somewhat tranquil club had suddenly become more chaotic? Is it possible that those paying members might worry about the ability of the life guards to properly monitor the children with the introduction of 65 extra youth? If any of that is possible then isn't it possible that the parents in Huntingdon Valley were just acting like most people would act in a similar situation?

I know this post is going way too long. Hopefully, my point has been made that I've been in a similar situation as the swim club parents, had the same reaction, and my irritation had nothing to do with the race of the children. Also, my guess is that most of you would agree that there would be no outcry on a national level if the children had all be white and the club had refunded the money while siting safety concerns. And maybe the majority of you would also agree that black families would be upset if a bunch of kids, white or black, showed up unannounced to swim in their private pool. Maybe some of you would admit that you would be mad if you had been at the pool when the day care kids arrived.

The problem is that in situations like the swim club episode, it seems like we've reached a point where every white is just a step away from getting labeled a racist. You doubt that? Move to another current event where even the President of the United States seemed to suggest that racism was an issue when Harvard professor Henry Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct by a white police officer. Others were more direct in their charges of racism against police officer James Crowley:

From Al Sharpton: "This arrest is indicative of at best police abuse of power or at worst the highest example of racial profiling I have seen," Sharpton said. "I have heard of driving while black and even shopping while black but now even going to your own home while black is a new low in police community affairs."

Well, I could cut and paste more, but you've seen all the outrage. That outrage has died down some and President Obama has had to backpedal from his initial statement now that James Crowley's background details have been brought out. The fact that he teaches a class along with a black officer on avoiding racial profiling. The support he has gotten from the black officers on the force. The story about Crowley giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to former Boston Celtic star Reggie Lewis, a black man, when the player collapsed and died of a heart attack. Crowley is a hard man to label as a racist, but some are still trying. Some will never be convinced that he isn't a racist.

From what has been reported, I suspect everyone reading these words would have been arrested for disorderly conduct if they had been yelling at a police officer like Gates was yelling at Crowley. It is almost 100% certain that a Jackson police officer, black or white, would have arrested me if I had berated them is such a manner. And while President Obama said the police "acted stupidly", I'm fairly certain that my friends would assign that "acted stupidly" label to me, not the police.

I've rambled on a long way today. Maybe everyone has dropped out by now as I'm actually getting to my point. As mentioned above, if you are white in America then you are just one incident away from being labeled a racist and it doesn't have to be an actual racist incident. My gut feeling is that more and more whites are going to feel like the wise course of action is to avoid a situation where you can be labeled a racist. Maybe it's the employer so has qualms about hiring a black applicant, not because of being a racist, but fears of being labeled a racist if the employee has to be terminated. Maybe it's the home owner with second thoughts about hiring a minority contractor for home repairs because if there's a dispute the contractor can claim racism. How sadly ironic would it be if the fear of being unfairly labeled a racist is starting to push good people into decisions that are in fact racist.

Since it's Sunday and I have time, plus this is a topic that I need to get out of my system and then be done with it, let me push on a tiny bit more. Some of you have read the blog I once wrote about my father and his role in Mississippi Civil Rights in the 1960's and 1970's. In the early 60's there were bomb threats, a cross burned on our yard, KKK newsletters put out about my dad, late night threatening phone calls, and even his name being included on a KKK hit list. He put a lot on the line during that time period and he did a lot of good, including helping start the first Headstart program in Jackson. Even so, in wanting to seize control of the Headstart program, the Mississippi head of the NAACP had this to say about my father: "...and Mr. Ezell and Mr. Huhn all of a sudden became concerned with our little colored children and all they really want is the money they can get out of the program.....". (The full text on this can be found in the early November posts on this blog.)

That was written in 1967 when my dad was taking a personal risk by even being involved in Headstart and numerous other projects. As for the money, my dad had a tendency to pledge more money than he had, not take on project so he could skim money off the top. I bring this up about 1967 because while my dad was clearly an exception to the rule and there's no excuse for what Charles Evers said, it was understandable in that era for blacks to be suspicious/fearful of the motivation of whites.

That was 42 years ago. There was plenty of white guilt to go around, either direct guilt of racist behavior, guilt by associations, guilt of silence, or whatever guilt you want to find. There's no denying that this was the case two generations ago, even one generation ago, and certainly there's some that exists today. However, we've reached a point where most whites in this country don't care about a person's race. They just don't care and they are tired of the blanket label of racism. For example, they are tired of things like this column by Stanley Fish (who happens to be white) which suggest that those most vocal against Obama are really against the idea of a black living in a big house, especially the White House.

Well, this has been the hardest post I've ever written for the blog. I've spent hours writing this, trying to get the words right and feeling like the words would still be wrong if I spent days. It just seems like we are reaching a tipping point in this country. A point where questionable cries of racism are wearing thin, much like continuous cries of wolf, and people who once cared are going to stop caring. Professor Gates has said recently that this episode provides us with a teachable moment and I believe that's true. I just think he and I don't see eye to eye on what lesson or lessons need to be learned.

Final Photos from the Strong Family Reunion

2009-07-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

A few thoughts before the last of the reunion photos:

-----When I mentioned the "1 Pic a Day" blog recently, there was a key element left out. Back in 1989, this guy decided to take at least one photo a day for the entire year. He accomplished that goal, didn't see a reason to quit, and now the streak of at least a photo per day has just topped 7,500.

While I've been known to take 7,500 photos in a single month, the idea of taking a photo every day for 20 years is something that doesn't appeal to me. Some days just aren't photo worthy and sometimes even I feel the need to take a break.

-----On the flip side of the above, it would be impossible for me to do a blog and only post one photo per day. How could I just do one photo a day from the reunion, or the recent wedding, or my trip to Dallas, or a concert? Sometimes I do get carried away, but it's not like it cost anything extra to post a lot of photo. It gives all of you the option to just look at one photo or many--I always recommend the look at many option.

-----In a related subject, if I were capable of just posting one photo and a two sentence description, then continuing the "Photos from Fondren" blog wouldn't be too difficult. For some people, a photo and a blurb is all the blogging they want to do (for example, this Jackson Daily Photo blog that I recently found). Maybe that's what readers want, something that only takes 30 seconds of their day. I can't help but notice that this "Jackson Daily Photo" blog has 31 followers and seems to get 5-15 comments on every post. My "Photos from Fondren" blog is down to about 15 total hits per week. It's something for a blogger to think about.

-----Okay, that's too much writing to go with so many photos. These photos are mostly regarding the reunion setting, the Jimmie Davis State Park near Chatham, LA. It's really a very nice and well run park. It's about 30 miles south of Monroe, and that makes it about 160 miles from Jackson. I included some copies of informational pages for anyone who might be interested in checking it out for a weekend getaway.

HAPPY 85TH BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

2009-07-23T07:01:00.000-05:00

I may have done a poor job lately of remembering birthdays and getting timely salutations posted to the blog, but this is one I wanted to get right. Today is Mother's 85th birthday. In a little bit of making up for forgetting his birthday on Monday, I'm using a photo from Travis' 30th birthday party which was a year and 3 days ago.

Mother nixed the idea of having a big family party when she turned 80. It's something that was done for my Jackson aunts and uncles in the past and Mother made it clear on several occasions that she didn't want to be that old person on display--at least not in a big party with all the cousins, etc. Therefore, we are just having a party with our immediate family this evening, a casual get together at Fred and Virginia's house. I'm sure a good time will be had by all.

The Older Generations at the Reunion

2009-07-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

The title of the post might say the "older generations", but as you can see from the photos, they are young at heart. This group is a family in every sense of the word.

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This week our Wednesday night "Gang of 8" had 8 people show up for the first time in 2009. Unfortunately, it took a guest to get us up to that magic number. My brother Fred was the driving force in getting the group together a few years ago, but he has only come one time in 2009, a surprise visit about 3 months ago. He and I spent hundreds of hours together every year for over 5 decades. His busy schedule and my busy schedule had reduced the times we saw each other down to mostly the Wednesday night gatherings. Now that's gone and it's both an odd and disappointing feeling.

Finetune Playlist: Songs from ManUtd17

2009-07-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

Songs from ManUtd17: Songs taken from the playlists of finetune user ManUtd17: Music by Aqualung, Athlete, Ben Folds, Ben Kweller, Colbie Caillat, Colin Hay, Counting Crows, Crowded House, Damien Rice, Dandy Warhols, Dave Matthews Band, David Crowder Band, David Grey, Death Cab for Cutie, Del Amitri, Elliott Smith, Five For Fighting, Foo Fighters, Gomez, Graham Colton, Guster, Jackson Browne, James Morrison, Jayhawks, Jeff Buckley, Jim Croce, John Hiatt, John Mayer, John Waite, Jose Gonzalez, Josh Ritter, Keane, Loudon Wainwright III, Mat Kearney, Mindy Smith, Oasis, Paul McCartney & Wings, Phil Keaggy, Plain White T's, Ray LaMontagne, Razorlight, Richard Ashcroft, Simple Minds, Sister Hazel, Snow Patrol, Squeeze, Stephen Fretwell, Stereophonics, Switchfoot, The Shins, Travis and Violent Femmes.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Older Kids and Young Adults at the Reunion

2009-07-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

A comment left yesterday by Erin gave me a very strange realization. She pointed out that a year ago I wrote about planning to stay two nights at the 2009 reunion. When I read that, it struck me that the summer of 2008 seems like it occurred several years ago. Part of that feeling might be because so much has happened over the last 12 months and that's mostly a good thing. On the other hand, I'm starting to feel like my life is so busy that there's no time to properly record memories. Every day is about the same, taking photos and editing photos, and now all of my past is just running together. Even when the memories stick, there seems to be a growing disconnect with the chronological order of when things occurred.

At this time last year, the Millsaps photo project was over. The 2007-08 season had drained me physically, mentally, and emotionally. The same had also happened in 2006-07, but I recovered in the summer months of 2007. There was no recovery in 2008. Without a doubt, there was absolutely no way for me to do another year at Millsaps. I did continue to take photos last summer: Jubilee Jam--the trip to Pickwick Lake, Dallas and the Strong Family Reunion--Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights--the Saints training camp, etc. They were all events that I wanted to cover even though I definitely needed a break. I eventually boxed up my good camera and all the lenses for about 6 weeks to force myself to stop taking photos. This all seems like something that happened so long ago.

It is all a little worrisome on the surface, but I don't believe it's as bad as it sounds. My memory of past events has always been poor. It gets back to the lack of visual memory. When people say "I remember where I was when it was announced that President Kennedy died", I get the impression that they can visualize that moment. It's very hard for me to close my eyes and visualize anything, even a clear image of my own face, so recalling old events is more about remembering thoughts and impressions. It's a little difficult. Right now I'm not sure if my memory is getting worse, or if I'm just more aware of the problem because of writing about it on the blog.

As for the picture taking, while the volume hasn't really decreased, my control of the situation has greatly improved. In 2007-08 I felt the pressure of needing to post photos within 2 or 3 days of an event because the players, parents, and the editor of the school newspaper were all eager to see the photos. In 2008-09 I didn't worry about what others wanted and sometimes it was 2 or 3 weeks before the photos made it to the website. Sure, it was still a form of compulsive behavior that borders on the edge of a disorder, maybe crosses over a little into some form of disorder, but at least I was the one controlling my out-of-control behavior. That's an improvement and maybe this year I can cut back a little on the total number of photos. It's possible, just not very likely. But hey, at least I'm hook on something productive and that's better than spending all my money on crack or the casinos in Vicksburg. So I've got that going for me.

Finetune Playlist: Songs from Smallville, Part 2

2009-07-22T00:01:00.003-05:00

Songs from Smallville, Part 2: Music from Lifehouse, Lonestar, Louise Goffin, Maroon 5, Mindy Smith, Moby, Nelly Furtado, Oasis, Patty Griffin, Perry Farrell, Pete Yorn, Peter Gabriel, Phantom Planet, Pink, Rachael Yamagata, Rascal Flatts, Relient K, Remy Zero, Rise Against, Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers, Rubyhorse, Ryan Adams, Sam Roberts, Shelby Lynne, Sherri Youngward, Simple Plan, Smash Mouth, Snow Patrol, Social Distortion, Sparklehorse, Staind, Starsailor, Stereophonics, Switchfoot, The All-American Rejects, The Crandberries, The Cult, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Hives, The Juliana Theory, The Penguins, The Thorns, Third Eye Blind, Toby Keith, Toby Lightman, Travis Tritt, Tricky, Turin Brakes, U2, Unwritten Law, Vertical Horizon, and Weezer.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Little Kids at the Strong Family Reunion

2009-07-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

Lots of photos today and probably for the rest of the week. That's partially because I have so many good photos from the reunion, and partially because of lack of spare time this week. I would like to take an afternoon or two off this week, but Dee Dee is out at work for the rest of July and since we are a two person computer department, it would have to be a real emergency for me to take off.

Here are the photos and I'll have just a little bit more on another subject after the photos:

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-----Continuing a trend of late, I missed Travis' birthday which was on Monday. I saw it on my calendar during the day Monday, was going to at least write Travis and email, and then work got in the way. Fortunately, Leslie did a post on the birthday and I just saw that as a reminder. Happy Birthday Travis and I hope to see you this Thursday at Mother's 85th birthday supper.

-----From time to time I've mentioned a blog written by a Swiss musician. He's the one who had his blog designated by Blogger.com as a "Blog of Note" and his hits jumped to a peak of several thousand a day. He loved it for a couple of weeks, trying to respond to the dozens of comments left by strangers, and then he suddenly switched the blog to "invitation only" and shut out almost all of the new readers. I was one of the hundred or less with an invitation to continue reading.

Now this writer has gone back and edited the blog to take out some of the personal stuff that he didn't want to share with the world (and yet for some reason he was willing to share with a smaller group of strangers). This edited version is now open to everyone and it is the "1 Pic a Day" blog listed on the left. It's interesting that the writer will continue a parallel blog, one that is "uncensored" for the group of invited readers. I'll probably be just as happy reading the version that is open to the world.

If you have the time, you might want to check out his blog. The photos are beautiful and it can be interesting to read the perspective of someone from another continent in regards to both world events and daily living.

Finetune Playlist: Songs from DougKaplan

2009-07-21T00:01:00.003-05:00

Songs from DougKaplan: I found these songs on a playlist compiled by finetune user DougKaplan. Here's a list of the artists: Aerosmith, Barenaked Ladies, Belle and Sebastian, Ben Folds, Billy Joel, Blur, Brian Johnson, Buckcherry, Citizen Cope, Dashboard Confessional, David Gray, David Mead, Duncan Sheik, Eels, Elliott Smith, Elvis Costello, Evan and Jaron, Fountains of Wayne, Gary Jules, Gavin DeGraw, Hotel Lights, Indigo Girls, Jason Mraz, John Hiatt, Joseph Arthur, Josh Rouse, Joshua Radin, Kate Nash, Landon Pigg, Mae, Maroon 5, Matt Nathanson, Mike Doughty, My Chemical Romance, Newton Faulkner, No Doubt, Oasis, Owsley, Panic at the Disco, Paolo Nutini, Pete Yorn, Radiohead, Raul Midon, Semisonic, Simon & Garfunkel, Sister Hazel, Smash Mouth, The Beach Boys, The Decemberists, The Polyphonic Spree, They Might Be Giants, and Train.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Strong Family Reunion Photo

2009-07-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

My day spent at the Strong Family Reunion was great. It was a small crowd compared to recent years, a total of about 50 people with a few having to leave early and a few coming a little late. When this reunion first started in 1976, there weren't 50 people in the family. The 6 Strong siblings along with their spouses and children probably added up to about 35 potential participants. The last 30+ years has added a complete layer of grandchildren and now there are more and more being added to the great-grandchildren generation. I wouldn't be surprised if the potential number of participants now is close to 100.

This great-grandchild is Will, the two year old son of Erin and Jim Bob. There are plenty of photos of Will on "The Arnold Family" blog which is included in my "My Blog List". Erin was about this age when I first started attending the reunion with Rusty, maybe a little younger. The shirt Will is wearing belonged to his Uncle Luke, Erin's brother who just got engaged but couldn't make the reunion this year (much to the disappointment of all).

Of all the photos I took Saturday, this photo most captures the Strong Family Reunion. The shirt representing the multiple generation history of the reunion, the fun the kids have doing simple things like fishing off a pier--it's just a fantastic family tradition and it's a shame that so few families have something like this.

I'll have more photos each day this week. Right now my eyes are killing me and I really need to get a good night's rest.

Finetune Playlist: Someone Else's Odd Mix

2009-07-20T00:01:00.003-05:00

Someone Else's Odd Mix: An odd sort of list I borrowed from another finetune user. Artists included are: Amy Winehouse, B.B. King, Barenaked Ladies, Bif Naked, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, Bruce Cockburn, Bruce Springsteen, Cake, Colin James, Collective Soul, Crowded House, David Bowie, Del Amitri, Dropkick Murphys, Elmore James, Eric Clapton, Everclear, Fujiya & Miyagi, Jack Johnson, Joshua Radin, Keane, Loudon Wainwright III, Lucinda Williams, Men Without Hats, Pete Yorn, R.L. Burnside, Rush, Sarah McLachlan, Split Enz, The Presidens of the United States of America, Tyler Hilton, Van Morrison, and World Party.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Warming Up for the Millsaps School Year

2009-07-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

Three big events are on the schedule for the next three weekends. It's likely that I'll take huge numbers of photos at each event, not because it is expected of me, but because it's something I want to do. Here's the schedule and you'll probably be seeing plenty of photos from these events over the next three weeks:

The Strong Family Reunion: This is Rusty's family reunion. Rusty's mother had 5 brothers and in 1976 those 6 families had a family reunion, an annual event that is now in it's 34th year. I started going as Rusty's guest in the early 1980's and now the reunion is a must-do event every summer. The entire group has been great to me over the years and my niche has been to provide photos from the weekend. No big surprise there. The photos today are all from the 2008 reunion.

These photos were taken with my middle camera, the Panasonic that is very good and yet seldom used. The camera is a compromise option that seems to come in second in every category. It is more convenient than carrying around a backpack full of lenses, but not as convenient as the camera that slips in my pocket. It is more versatile than the small camera because the viewfinder is great in bright sunlight and the zoom is from 35-420, but the big camera with all the lenses offers the best quality and versatility. Last year I used this middle camera because it was easier and the photos would still be very good. This year I'm taking the big camera and lugging around the backpack of lenses because the photos will be better. Over the last year it has become increasingly difficult for me to settle for okay when better photos are possible. I'm not sure if that makes me more professional in my approach or more obsessed. Probably the later.

Sneaky Beans Music Festival: This event is schedule for July 25th right up the street from my duplex. I know that Owen Beverly and his band Tent Revival will be there, and Taylor Hildebrand is playing, either as a solo act or with Passenger Jones. It doesn't really matter who is playing. My enjoyment of taking concert photos is on par with taking sports photos. Going to clubs to take photos is an unpractical thing for a variety of reasons, so these festivals are my best chance to get music photographs.

Murrah High School 40-Year Class Reunion: This is scheduled for the weekend that bridges July and August. I have mixed feelings about events like this--usually a mixture of dread and reluctance. What's there to dread? Well, I don't like crowds; I can't remember faces of people I met 40 minutes ago, much less 40 years; the pecking order at these things always revert back to the order from high school days and I was pretty much a no-name, nobody at Murrah; I don't have any small talk about the wife and kids since there aren't any--it's one of those situations where an hour can feel like an eternity. Taking photos will put me in some sort of comfort zone.

The easiest thing to do would be to skip the reunion. No anxiety, no photos to work on for the next week--it's a pretty good plan. The problem with that plan is that I need to face these anxieties, not run away from them. I'm actually pretty good in social settings, just very uncomfortable. It's something that needs to be faced head on and taking photos will make that an easier task.

Here are two quotes of the day to go along with the above:

--Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. --- Ralph Waldo Emerson ---

--If better is possible, good is not enough.

Finetune Playlist: Damn Good Music, Vol. 8

2009-07-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Damn Good Music, Vol. 8: Van Gogh fans might recognize the playlist icon as "The Red Vineyard", one of two paintings that Van Gogh sold in his lifetime. The playlist contains music by: Band of Horses, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bright Eyes, City and Colour, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Coldplay, Counting Crows, David Bowie, Death Cap for Cutie, Desiree Weekes, Dido, Frausdots, Inara George, Incubus, Jeff Buckley, Josh Ritter, Kaiser Chiefs, Keane, Kings of Leon, Landon Pigg, Live, Maria Taylor, Michael Andrews, Moby, Muse, Neko Case, Newton Faulkner, Nine Inch Nails, Patrick Park, Placebo, Plain White T's, Ray LaMontagne, Razorlight, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Richard Shindell, Robert Earl Keen, Ronan Keating, Shawn Mullins, Shout Out Loud, Snow Patrol, The Killers, The Shins, and The Wallflowers.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Le huit (and thoughts about blogging)

2009-07-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

This marvellous modern design couch, inspired by the number 8 rather than the symbol for infinity as suggested in the article, is a real treat. The shape is exquisite, but so is the red and white colour combination. A beautiful creation by French designer Emmanuel Laffon de Mazieres.

Link to article with more info.

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If the above doesn't seem like my typical style, it's because I did a copy and paste from the blog "Art for Art's Sake" (it's listed in "My Blog List" on the left of this page). The photo and what you see above the dotted line is his entire post for July 9, 2009. Most of his posts are of this length or only slightly longer, but often there are two or three of these posts per day. (BTW, this sofa reminded me of a video suggested by the "Preservation in Mississippi" writer, one discussing how some architects worry more about the look of a building instead of the functionality. As a functional sofa, "le huit" looks more like "le zero" to me.)

I did the above cut and paste job to demonstrate a different blogging style. Lately I've been thinking about the blog and trying to figure out if there are changes that would make this site better for you and for me. Of the blogs I read and enjoy, only the "Preservation in Mississippi" and "The Year in Pictures" blogs come close to matching the frequency and length of my posts. In the case of those two blogs, they are both written by knowledgeable people about their field of expertise. My blog tends to be random and disjointed or else a monotonous drone, and I don't seem to have a field of expertise.

Keeping the photos is a certainty. While there are some who actually seem to like my writing, the photos are the strength of the blog. I try to make the photos on their own a good enough reason for people to check out "A Slice of Frank's Life". That way, you won't feel cheated if you get three sentences into the writing and start thinking "BORING". And if you do like the post--well that's a nice bonus.

Along the same line of thinking, I've occasionally added features to make the blog more interesting. We've had the "song of the day", the "youtube video of the day", the "finetune playlist of the day", and the "quote of the day". It doesn't seem like the music features have been much of a top-40 hit, but the quote of the day has potential IF I'll remember to add it each day. Maybe it would help me remember if the quote followed the photo instead of coming at the end of the post--I'll start that tomorrow.

As for what I write each day, my thinking at the moment is to alternate more evenly between three styles: (1) the longer posts like the entry about "Wheels of Gold" on May 12. Not many are quite that long, but for a blog anything that requires 2 minutes or more of reading seems long; (2) posts with multiple short topics like the "Frank's Bleets" post from July 6; (3) and like yesterday, I should be comfortable with a photo and a caption without feeling like there has to be more done each and every day.

Right now when there's more time to spend on blogging, longer posts like today's might continue to be the norm. It's a release for some creative side of me that's been mostly dormant for the first 55 years of my life. At the same time, there need to be more of the "clear the table" type of posts that give a short take on multiple subjects. More topics increases the possibility of giving readers something of interest. And once Millsaps is back in session, it would be good for me if I didn't feel guilty about just having a photo, a caption, and maybe a link like the "Le huit" post shown above. That might be all I have time to write and you would probably like that much more than the string of posts about me being tired, swamped, and burned out. That drivel gets old in a hurry.

If you have suggestions about the blog, even if it's something simple like "don't change a thing because you are absolutely brilliant", please feel free to comment on the blog, in person, or via email. Trust me, I know that Frank's life isn't the most interesting subject in the world so any ideas on how to give the telling a little more "pop" would be greatly appreciated (hmm, maybe I should try a lot of embellishment and a little bit of lying). In the meantime, here's a quote that applies to the blog and just about every element of daily living:

Quote of the Day: Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence. --- Vince Lombardi ---

Finetune Playlist: Citizen Cope Radio

2009-07-16T00:01:00.003-05:00

Citizen Cope Radio: Music by Amos Lee, Anthony Hamilton, BaseHead, Ben Harper, Caribou, Citizen Cope, Death Cab for Cutie, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Gomez, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, John Legend, John Mayer, John Popper, Keane, Norah Jones, Ray LaMontagne, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, and Tracy Chapman.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Grasshopper

2009-07-15T07:01:00.000-05:00

My hibiscus tree is really doing well lately now that I'm giving it a ton of water. It's sprouting a bunch of new leaves and every day I carefully check in hopes of finding the first flower bud of the season. So far, no dice. My intense scrutiny of every branch and leaf in search of a bud was the only thing that allowed me to see this grasshopper. At about an inch long, he didn't stand out at all. Fortunately for me, he also didn't move when I took photos from about 3 inches away.

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My plan for this evening was to now write a post about the 40th high school reunion for my class of 1969. The problem with that plan is that I'm working on my new PC and a lot of time this evening was spent trying to figure out how to resize my photos to a smaller size for uploading to blogger. Windows XP had a "Power Toy" add-on that make this process a snap. Vista doesn't have any of the Power Toys. Bummer. The solution this evening was to finally fire up the old computer, use a jump drive to transfer photos over for resizing and then back to the new PC for posting. That's not a long term solution.

So, after taking over an hour trying to do something that normally took less than a minute, I'll have to skip the reunion post this evening. Hope you enjoy the grasshoppers--be sure to click on the photos to see the larger version, especially since I went through so much to get them out there.

Finetune Playlist: Walkman Running Tapes, Vol. 8

2009-07-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Walkman Running Tapes, Vol. 8: There was a time when portable music via cassette tapes was high tech. I made 28 running tapes for my Walkman and while cassettes may be obsolete, the music still holds up: Better Than Ezra, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Eurythmics, Fine Young Cannibals, John Gorka, Jonathan Richman, Lou Reed, Matchbox Twenty, Midnight Oil, Peter Paul and Mary, R.E.M., Randy Newman, Robbie Robertson, Robert Earl Keen, Semisonic, Seven Mary Three, Steve Earle, Steve Forbert, The Cars, The Commitments, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Kinks, The Refreshments, The Wallflowers, The Who, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, and Warren Zevon.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

A 2,000 Calorie Per Day Lifestyle--Part 2 of 2

2009-07-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I show up at work Monday with this great new attitude and determination, and in walks a co-worker with these fantastic cookies made by her husband. That man can really, really cook. It's a safe bet that each one of these ample treats contains at least 250 calories, and like Lays potato chips, no one can eat just one.

There's no question that in the past I would have had at least 4 cookies, maybe more. That's 1,000+ calories of snacking in addition to my normal eating for the day. This time I ate none and never really felt the temptation. I have 2,000 calories to spend each day and that doesn't give me room for such luxuries even if they are free and absolutely delicious.

---------------------------------------------------------

When I was a young adult playing multiple sports, my weight stayed in the 163-167 pound range for 15 years. It didn't matter if I ate way too much or if I dieted in an effort to get into the 150's, my weight just would not budge from that 4 pound range. Keep in mind that I was running 20-30 miles a week, playing soccer, golf, tennis, basketball, racquetball, plus there was the advantage of having the metabolism of a young adult. As the activities decreased, the weight increased all the way to 230 pounds in January of 2006.

Those years from 1971 and 1991 were the "good old days" when youth and activity trumped overeating and poor habits. Now the only way I'll get back to a healthy weight is by cutting back on calories to the level recommended by nutritionists, a level that is both easy and difficult to maintain.

It's an easy level to maintain because there are hundreds of healthy food choices that fall in the 100-500 calorie range so there's variety for those who want it (you all know that variety in food choices isn't really my thing). It's also an easy level to maintain because there's absolutely no reason to every go hungry on 2,000 calories a day. Sure, if you pig out at a breakfast buffet and consume 1,500 calories before 9 a.m. then you'll have trouble keeping hunger pains away on the remaining 500 calories--the key here is to avoid the major gorging sessions. And that's where it gets difficult.

What nutritionists consider a normal level of caloric intake is considered to be an eating disorder by most of society. People worry if you don't overeat. They think you are suffering if you don't load up a full plate and then go back for seconds. Restaurants can't make money if people are buying 400-600 calorie meals so eating out and finding a low-cal option is often difficult. Eating out with others who are eating a full meal when you are eating a small salad with crackers is a little awkward. Having a hostess fix a great meal and then only eating tiny portions is a problem. Almost all of us have been trained to see too much as being just right, and when someone decides to eat significantly less then others start to be concerned. People always want you to eat more, either because they think it will make you feel better or because it will make them feel less guilt at the amount they are eating.

It's likewise with the weight thing. Normal in the eyes of many is about 20 pounds over what is considered healthy by people in the health professions. Get about 20 pounds away from your goal and people will start telling you that you look fine, you don't need to lose any more weight. When I get to 175 pounds, I'll get plenty of comments about how that's too low. It's not too low. Getting old doesn't mean a person needs an extra 20-30 pounds of fat. If anything, getting old means a person needs less weight. It would ease the strain on the joints and compensate for the loss of strength. Personally, I'm not strong enough to carry around this extra 45-50 pounds of fat that currently drags me down 24 hours a day.

Well anyway, this is my plan. Maybe there will be an adjustment to 2,200 calories if my activity level picks up. Maybe I'll find 180 pounds to be the better weight, or maybe 170. Those adjustments can be made in time. For now, I'm pretty much determined to ditch (almost) all of the candy, chips, cookies, and junk that have been a significant part of my daily diet for so very long. I'm not crazy enough to go all out and eat extremely healthy, but at least this is a move towards the middle. Will this be like all the other plans that rarely last more than a week? Maybe, but I don't think so. Those were all diet plans--this isn't a diet, it's a change in my lifestyle and that's a big difference.

Finetune Playlist: Songs for Suzy and David, Vol. 4

2009-07-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

Songs for Suzy and David, Vol. 4: In 2005 I gave my friends Suzy and David 15 CDs with of some of my favorite songs. It's a lot easier having them here on finetune instead of fooling with the CDs. This playlist includes music by: Barenaked Ladies, Better Than Ezra, Blondie, Bree Sharp, Cowboy Junkies, Cream, Crosby Stills & Nash, Fastball, Fine Young Cannibals, Harry Chapin, Jackson Browne, James, James Taylor, Jann Arden, Joe Cocker, John Denver, Leonard Cohen, Linda Ronstadt, Marc Cohn, Mark Eitzel, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Matthew Ryan, Maura O'Connell, Michelle Shocked, October Project, Patty Griffin, Richie Havens, Robbie Robertson, Rolling Stones, Seven Mary Three, Shawn Colvin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Cars, The Connells, and Van Morrison.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

A 2,000 Calorie Per Day Lifestyle--Part 1 of 2

2009-07-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

Last week I saw a story with the title "Monkeys live longer on low-cal diet; would humans?". Since I'm not a scientist, I don't need to do a long scientific study to conclude that yes, humans would live longer on a low-calorie diet. That's why I'm going to try and cut my calorie intake to 2,000 calories a day, not as a diet but as a lifestyle.

Does that sound drastic or like it isn't near enough to sustain a healthy life? See what the Mayo Clinic advocates at this link to calculate the calories needed to maintain your current weight. According to their calculator, a moderately active, 5'10", 57-year-old male weighing 175 pounds only needs 2,200 calories a day to maintain that weight. Knowing that some days will include special events that pile up the calories, shooting for a limit of 2,000 calories a day seems like exactly what is needed.

Now, I'm using 175 pounds because that's the weight I want to get to and maintain. Is that too low for a man my height? According to the chart pictured here, I should really be about 165 pounds, but that's a chart from one of those old scales you use to see at business locations in the 1940's through maybe the 1970's. That can't be accurate for the 21st century--or is it? Check it out at this Mayo Clinic Body Mass Index Calculator.

This Mayo Clinic BMI calculator isn't very practical because you have to keep recalculating to find what weight is your ideal weight, but I wanted to have the backing of the Mayo Clinic for my post so I used their calculator. I'm 5'10" tall and weigh 220 pounds. That gives me a BMI of 31.6, and any number over 30 puts a person in the obese category. At 210 pounds, my BMI is 30.1 and still in the obese category. A drop to 200 pounds has me on the higher end of the overweight category. The middle of the overweight range for me is 190, the lower end is 180, and it takes 173 to finally slip into the normal weight range for my height.

There are a lot of people who have a problem with the whole BMI system. It only looks at height and weight without making adjustment for gender, age, body type, muscle mass, etc. For example, an NFL running back who is 5'10" and 220 pounds of solid muscle is not obese regardless of what their BMI might indicate. However, at 57 and inactive, I'm on the lower end of the muscles scale and I don't have excessively thick bones. The chart is probably fairly accurate for someone like me, and that means that I have 45 pounds to lose. Once I do that, it will only take about 2,000 calories a day to maintain that weight. That's the reality of my situation.

That's my plan for the future and tomorrow I'll look more closely at what it takes to follow such a plan.

Quote of the Day: If you've made up your mind you can do something, you're absolutely right.

Finetune Playlist: Stolen from Julie_Gong, Part 2

2009-07-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Stolen from Julie_Gong, Part 2: Julie Gong's Indie Hipster playlist has 175 fans and counting. I cut her original playlist into two smaller playlists composed of the songs I liked the best. This second part includes songs by: Nada Surf, Of Montreal, Papas Fritas, Patrick Park, Pete Yorn, Peter Bjorn and John, Phoenix, Ra Ra Riot, Rachael Yamagata, Radiohead, Razorlight, Rilo Kiley, Rogue Wave, Royksopp, Santogold, Shout Out Louds, SIA, Snow Patrol, Softlightes, Someone Still Loves You Boris (Yeltsin), Sondre Lerche, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, The 88, The Arcade Fire, The Cinematic Orchestra, The Faint, The Feeling, The Hourly Radio, The Hush Sound, The Kooks, The Last Goodnight, The Libertines, The Little Ones, The London Suede, The Postal Service, The Shins, Tokyo Police Club, Travis, Under the Influence of Giants, We Are Scientists, Weezer, Wilco, Wreckless Eric, and Yo La Tengo.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Last But Not Least, the Collins Family

2009-07-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

This finishes out my week of Dallas posts. In theory, I should have started with photos of David, Suzy, Cameron and Andrew, since they were my hosts for the weekend. In reality, the posts were done as the editing of a subject matter was completed. The parade photos were from Saturday morning--the photos of Tom and Chris were from lunch--the Howard Storm photos came from supper--and all the photos needed to be edited before I could get to the family shots.

Many of you knew David long ago and I think you'll agree that he has changed little over the years. If he can stay in such great shape at the age of 51, then you would think that my goal of being in somewhat decent shape at 57 is not unreasonable. My blood test this week has me more motivated to reach my goal. As for the rest of the Collins family, the son with the longer black hair is Cameron and he'll be a junior in high school next year. The son with the shorter hair is Andrew and he'll be a sophomore at Colorado State in the fall (Andrew is the one who played on stage with Weezer).

Andrew is only in two photo, the photo of 6 young men and the one where he and Cameron are each holding a red cup. He worked Saturday and missed most of the festivities (as for the dogs, Max has mostly black hair and Abby has brown and white hair). Enjoy the photos and next week I guess we'll be back with a hodgepodge of topics.

Finetune Playlist: Damn Good Music, Vol. 7

2009-07-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Damn Good Music, Vol. 7: Music by Alkaline Trio, American Music Club, Blue Mountain, Brand New, Bright Eyes, Bruce Cockburn, Buffalo Tom, Built to Spill, Chris Isaak, Cold War Kids, Counting Crows, Cracker, Dashboard Confessional, David Gray, David Poe, Ed Harcourt, Fall Out Boy, Feeling, Gin Blossoms, Golden Smog, James Mathus & His Knockdown Society, Jayhawks, Joan Osborne, John Hiatt, John Mellencamp, Mark Knopfler, Placebo, Radar Bros., Richard Buckner, Robbie Williams, Ryan Adams, Snow Protrol, Son Volt, The Get Up Kids, The Twilight Singers, The Wallflowers, Tom Waits, Tonic, Two Gallants, Vendetta Red, and Wilco.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

In Memory of Howard Storm

2009-07-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

The combination of my poor memory for names and faces, along with the infrequency of my trips to Dallas, means that I have trouble remembering the majority of David and Suzy's friends when I'm at gatherings in Dallas. One person who would be hard to forget is their neighbor, Howard Storm. Sadly, Howard passed away about a month ago and he was greatly missed this year.

The yellow ribbons were tied around all of the trees on Avalon Street in remembrance of Howard. The red Mustang was driven in the parade by Howard's grandson. I sure he would have been greatly touched by that gesture. That's Howard's wife Louise in the photo with David. When I thought about Howard and how much he was missed by his family, friends and neighbors, I could not help but think of a recent quote of the day that applies so much to this man and is worth repeating today:

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Finetune Playlist: Mostly From the 21st Century

2009-07-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Mostly From the 21st Century: Music from 3 Doors Down, Aimee Mann, Badly Drawn Boy, Belle and Sebastian, Ben Kweller, Ben Lee, Bill Ricchini, Brandi Carlile, Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Coldplay, Damien Rice, Dashboard Confessional, David Gray, Death Cab for Cutie, Doves, Elliott Smith, Fastball, Glen Hansard, Heather Nova, Ingrid Michaelson, Iron and Wine, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Jimmy Eat World, Josh Ritter, Josh Rouse, Keane, Landon Pigg, Mat Kearney, Matt Costa, Michael Penn, Modest Mouse, My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, Nicole Atkins, Plain White T's, R. Kelly, Radiohead, Remy Zero, Rufus Wainwright, Snow Patrol, Sparklehorse, Sufjan Stevens, Taking Back Sunday, Teddy Thompson, The All-American Rejects, The Avett Brothers, The Get Up Kids, The Killers, The Long Winters, The Strokes, The Weepies, and The White Stripes.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Tom Gets Promoted to Captain

2009-07-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

The routine on my 4th of July trips to Dallas is always about the same and it's a routine that is perfect for me to both visit and relax. I get there a day early and we hang around the house and watch a DVD that evening. The activity on the 4th starts with the Lakewood Parade, then back home to rest a little before going to Chris and Tom's home for lunch and a party. Next is a return home for more rest, followed by an outside cover dish supper for the families on the block. Then back home to rest some more before going to watch the fireworks at Lakewood Country Club. With the mercury pushing past 100 degrees this year, David, Suzy and I wisely skipped the fireworks for another DVD and the air conditioning.

The photos here are from the party at Chris and Tom's house. Tom is in the Navy Reserves and they held a ceremony to recognize and honor his recent promotion to Captain. That's Tom's wife Chris who is helping put the new Captain stripes on Tom's uniform, and naturally the family photo is of Tom, Chris, and their four children. It was quite a nice ceremony and a nice touch to add to the 4th of July.

In the last photo, the one where Tom has changed into a red shirt, the man in the center is a WWII veteran. There aren't a lot of those guys around. I had taken this man's photo earlier and mentioned that my father and mother met in Belgium during WWII. He said he was stationed in Belgium in 1945. He was about 20 at the time. When he mentioned a town and said that's where he was captured, I didn't press for more details and he didn't offer any. I did let him know that my mother and the people of Belgium have always been thankful for the help of the American soldiers.

Yesterday I wrote about how I had taken photos that were significant over the weekend. These photos fall into that category. It was an important occasion and while others had cameras and took photos, no one really documented the ceremony or the rest of the party to any great degree. I guess a part of why I take photos, maybe the biggest reason why I take photos, is that significant photos make me significant. Don't we all want to do contribute something to this world? Working with the youth at church, coaching, taking photos--the common thread is trying to do what I can to make life better for those around me. And in turn, that makes my life better--it's a win-win situation as long as I can keep things from becoming too obsessive. That problem of becoming too obsessive and burning out is something that will quickly turn the win-win into a lose-lose situation for everyone.

Finetune Playlist: Son Volt Radio

2009-07-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Son Volt Radio: Music from Alejandro Escovedo, Beachwood Sparks, Blue Rodeo, Gillian Welch, Graham Parker with The Waco Brothers, Grandaddy, Hadacol, Jayhawks, Joe Henry, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Mike Ireland, Neko Case, Neko Case & Jon Rauhouse, Old 97's, Richard Buckner, Rico Bell & The Snakehandlers, Robbie Fulks, Robert Earl Keen, Scud Mountain Boys, Shawn Mullins, Son Volt, The Soggy Bottom Boys, The Waco Brothers, The Wallflowers, Uncle Tupelo, Vic Chesnutt, Wagon, Whiskeytown, and Wilco.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Cars for the Young and Old from the Lakewood Parade

2009-07-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had a great trip to Dallas and was able to hold the photo count below 1,000. It was barely under 1,000 and I didn't take any photos on Friday or Sunday so those photos all came in a fairly short time period Saturday morning and afternoon. At the time it seemed logical. Now that I'm bleary eyed from editing, maybe I'll admit that it was a little excessive.

The good news is that there are a good many significant photos from the weekend. Significant photos are ones that will be special to someone, photos that will bring some joy for years down the road. The photos today don't fall into the significant category. I just like the contrast of vehicles in the Lakewood 4th of July Parade and thought it would be interesting to show some from both ends of the spectrum.

Lakewood is the neighborhood that David and Suzy live in and this parade goes back 45 years. Very small at first, and it slowly grew into a fairly big event. It's really a lot of fun, especially for the little kids. You can read a lot about the history and past parades at the Lakewood Parade Website.

I hope you enjoy the photos because that's all I've got tonight. It's 10 p.m. and maybe I have another hour of photo editing in me. My life continues to be like an old house with more things that need fixing that a person can possibly fix. As I look around, there seems to be no one to blame except myself. The rest of July will be brutal as my work load at the office is going to greatly increase for a few weeks, then I'll take photos at the Strong Family Reunion and maybe at the Murrah High School 40 year reunion. I'm insane.

Finetune Playlist: Walkman Running Tapes, Vol. 7

2009-07-07T00:01:00.000-05:00

Walkman Running Tapes, Vol. 7: There was a time when portable music via cassette tapes was high tech. I made 28 running tapes for my Walkman and while cassettes may be obsolete, the music still holds up: Better Than Ezra, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Fine Young Cannibals, Live, Lou Reed, Matchbox Twenty, Midnight Oil, Mott the Hoople, R.E.M., Robert Earl Keen, Semisonic, Seven Mary Three, Steve Earle, Steve Forbert, Stray Cats, The Cars, The Commitments, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Kinks, The Police, The Refreshments, The Who, Tom Petty, and Warren Zevon.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

A Snake in a Tree

2009-07-06T07:01:00.000-05:00

Since I walk under trees quite often and rarely travel by air, I believe the thought of one snake in a tree is much worse than a highly concocted scenario of many snakes on a plane.

When one of my co-workers got out of her truck in the company parking lot last Thursday, she notice a bunch of agitated birds around this small tree. Past experience told her that there was probably a snake in the tree and she was right. This isn't an every day thing to see so a bunch of folks went outside to look, and being the unofficial company photographer, they tracked me down to take some photos.

Someone identified this as a Chicken snake. All I know is that it was a big snake and I was checking the ground to make sure he didn't have a buddy somewhere in the underbrush. My best guess would be a length of 5 feet for this guy and that might be a little short. I had always scoffed at tales of snakes falling out of trees. Now I'm a believer that it must happen from time to time--at least I'm a believer that big snakes might be hiding in the treetops ready to fall/jump.

These photos were taken with my little camera. The photos would have been better with my big camera and the big lens, but who wants to carry a backpack full of camera equipment all over the place. Buying the small camera that I can carry with me at all times has really been a good purchase. Otherwise, this would have been a great shot that got away.

Frank's Bleets--July 6, 2009

2009-07-06T07:00:00.001-05:00

Since I don’t do tweets on Twitter, here are my bleets on Blogger:

-----My perfect pet would be a dog with the independence of a cat, or a cat with the listening skills of a dog.

-----How do older people distinguish between natural pains of aging and warning signs of serious illnesses? It's time I learn that trick.

-----Short term motivation is easy and without much value. The trick is to stay motivated long enough to make some real changes.

-----Lose weight or lose quality and years of life. How come that’s not motivation enough for most of us to stick with a diet and exercise?

-----Richard Murdock’s 150 year sentence was light compare to the weight of his crime. Something like 1,500 years would have better fit the damage done.

-----We’re #1—Mississippi is still the fattest state in the nation and I’m doing my part to keeps us #1 in the nation.

-----What happen to the Swine Flu? One month a health crisis, the next it’s old news. Is every story now overhyped for better ratings?

-----Diet success = heeding hunger signals sent from below the neck. Diet failure = heeding hunger signals sent from above the neck.

-----At the age of 57, I'm wary of the police for the first time in my life. It's the white police officers who concern me the most.

(NOTE: This was written last week and schedule to post Sunday evening. Unless my plans were altered at the last minute, I should be on my way back from Dallas when the posts, having spent a much needed 3 days visiting David, Suzy, Andrew and Cameron. I'm sure that plenty of bleets came to mind on my 800 mile round trip and those will eventually get to the blog.)

Finetune Playlist: An Odd Mix That Works For Me

2009-07-06T00:01:00.000-05:00

An Odd Mix That Works For Me: Music from B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Bob Seager & Silver Bullet Band, Bush, Chad Kroeger, Cowboy Junkies, David Bowie, Death Cab for Cutie, Dido, Dire Straits, Five For Fighting, Green Day, Gwen Stefani, Iron and Wine, Joe Cocker, Joe Jackson, Johnny Cash, Josh Ritter, Keb' Mo', Matthew Ryan, Mazzy Star, Pearl Jam, Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Robert Cray, Rod Stewart, Rusted Root, Santana featuring Everlast, Smashing Pumpkins, Snow Patrol, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sting, The Boomtown Rats, The Cars, The Church, The Clash, The Frames, The Jam, The Soggy Bottom Boys, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Turin Brakes, U2, and Willie Nelson.

Finetune makes this a hassle. If you are asked to register:
1) Log in using "frankblog" as both the username and password.
2) Close that window, click on the above playlist link again, and now the "Play" button should get you music.

(Click this link for more details about the Finetune Playlists)

Devin Britton Wimbledon Update--July 3, 2009

2009-07-03T07:01:00.000-05:00

As mentioned yesterday, Devin Britton's name is now being mentioned on plenty of websites that didn't consider his matches newsworthy until he got deeper into the Wimbledon draw. My early posts were actually being found with Google searches, but these other sites all rank far higher in importance than my little old blog. Therefore, this post will never be seen by anyone except regular blog readers--and I'm not sure if any of you are really interested to the point of needing links to schedules, etc.

However, to play at the string for one more day, here are links you can use for the schedule, the results, interesting stories, etc. I'm visiting friends out of town tomorrow so this will be the last Devin Britton Wimbledon update. Let's hope that I'm ending my reporting a day too early for the singles and two days too early for the doubles.

Wimbledon draw for July 3, 2009: It's Devin Britton vs Jordon Cox at noon (6 a.m. Central time) on Court 4. This is the opening match so look for it to start right on time. Also, as the number of remaining participants dwindle, the number of courts in use go down. Only 8 courts are being used Friday and 4 of these courts kick off the action at noon. I suspect there will be a nice crowd to watch this match.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to add that Britton and Cox come back to Court 4 for the fourth match of the day. They play in the doubles quarterfinals against the French team of Julien Obry and Adrien Puget.

Layout of the Wimbledon Courts: Maybe this is a little too much detail, but I wanted to get a feel for Court 4. It's right outside Center Court and Roger Federer and Tommy Haas are playing on Centre Court at 1:00. It might make for a lot of distractions, somewhat like playing on the road in the SEC.

Doubles Partnership Turns to Rivalry: Here's a good story about Britton and Cox being partners and now facing each other in the semi-finals. It also has a little about the other two players left in the draw, describing Bernard Tomic, the current Australian Open Juniors Champion, as the favorite to win this tournament. We'll see. Tomic is a big kid at 6'4" who describes grass as his favorite surface, so Britton would have to serve better than he did in the quarters if he faces Tomic in the finals.

Devin Britton's Wimbledon Blog: You have this link posted several times previously, but here it is one more time.

That was more writing than I intended. Maybe one or two people will find it helpful. Hope everyone has a great 4th of July with Britton taking the boy's singles title and Andy Roddick taken the men's title on Sunday. If Roddick does win, he definitely will have earned it the hard way in playing Britian's favorite son Andy Murray and most likely Roger Federer in the finals.

As for the champion on the Women's side, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Williams wins it all. That's my "lock it up" pick of the week.

Photos from a Wedding Reception--Part 4 of 4

2009-07-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last but not least, here are photos of friends at the wedding reception. It would be nice if I labeled these photos, and it would be nice if I knew the names of everyone in these photos. Since I don't know all the names, and since it's getting late on Monday evening as I try to complete the bulk of the blog posts early this week, just enjoy the photos and make up names for the people if that will help you enjoy the experience.

Remember that all of the wedding photos are at this link. Also, I hope everyone has a great time with friends and family over this 4th of July weekend. I'll be in Dallas for a much needed break and visit with my friends David and Suzy (and their sons Andrew and Cameron). This three day weekend might be the only vacation I get this year so I'm really looking forward to what little relief it might offer. I really, really need to hit that Powerball Jackpot.

Finetune Playlist: Songs for Suzy and David, Vol. 3

2009-07-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Songs for Suzy and David, Vol. 3: In 2005 I gave my friends Suzy and David 15 CDs with of some of my favorite songs. It's a lot easier having them here on finetune instead of fooling with the CDs. This playlist includes music by: 'Til Tuesday, Barenaked Ladies, Blue Mountain, Blues Traveler, Carly Simon, Cracker, Dido, Fastball, Fine Young Cannibals, Fleetwood Mac, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jackson Browne, James, James Taylor, Jann Arden, Joan Armatrading, John Popper, John Sebastian, Keb' Mo', Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners, Live, Marc Cohn, Mark Eitzel, Matthew Ryan, Michelle Shocked, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Patty Griffin, Paul Weller, R.E.M., Richard Buckner, Robert Cray, Robert Earl Keen, Rolling Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Earle, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Cars, The Doors, The Robert Cray Band, The Strokes, The Waterboys, Van Morrison, and Weezer.

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Devin Britton Wimbledon Update--July 2, 2009

2009-07-02T07:01:00.007-05:00

Well, here's the deal. As Devin Britton continues to advance at Wimbledon, more news outlets are starting to run the story. My little blog has fallen so far down the list of Google searches that it's rather pointless to do any research or much writing since no one will find this post. It's a shame really, that those who care from the beginning are pushed out by the bigger guns who only care if a person shows enough success, but such is life.

Match Update: Devin Britton vs. Alexander Domijan (Wimbledon boy's quarters)
(7:25) Match is on serve at 4-4 with Britton just escaping from a 15-40 score in his last service game. This court has a speed gun and both players are serving in the 119 mph range on their fastest serves. Domijan is 6'7" so I imagine his game is built around a big serve.
(7:30) Britton serving at 4-5 and goes down 0-30. Has to save 2 set points before getting the set to 5-5. At this point, Devin is under 50% on his first serve and Domijan has failed to convert on 7 break points. Devin is yet to see a break point.
(7:35) Going to a tiebreaker. Either the speed gun failed once in the last game or Devin won a point with a 52 mph serve. Must have been great placement.
(7:40) Domijan hit 124 on the speed gun to win the last point of the tiebreaker. Devin was at 45% on first serves and only on 9 of 26 approaches to the net.
(8:10) Britton converts his only break point so far to go up 5-3, then holds serve to win the set 6-3. Going to a 3rd set where there is no tiebreaker. This might take a while.
(8:42) Britton wins the match 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. Here's the stat of the match: Britton converted 2 of 3 break point opportunities. Domijan converted 0 of 12. Looking at it from a positive point of view, Britton won 14 of 15 points when the all important break of serve was on the line. That's playing big on the big points!

-----Next up will be another All-American match as doubles partner Jordon Cox also moved on with a 3 set victory. A great showing by the USA juniors at Wimbledon with a USA player in the finals is now guaranteed.

Assuming that few will read this, I'm not going to bother with research on opponents or about who is left in the draw. For anyone interested who might happen to read this, here are some links that you might find helpful:

Link to July 2nd schedule: Play on Court 18 starts at 11 a.m. in Wimbledon, 5 a.m. in Jackson. Devin plays singles in the second match of the day and doubles in the 5th and last match of the day on Court 18. My guess is a starting time of around 6:30 and 12:00 Jackson time.

Devin Britton's blog through the USTA website: Either the USTA webmaster adds about 6-8 hours to the process or else Devin is up at 4 a.m. posting for the day before. I recommend reading the blogs--it's very insightful. On one day he is writing about playing with old strings to save the $30 restringing fees. Next thing you know he is signing a professional contract. Things are obviously going to change in a big way for Devin.

A long, interesting, and complimentary article about Devin: This was written June 29th by Peter Bodos--another read that I highly recomment.

That's about it. I hope that has helped someone on the rare chance that anyone beside my regular blog readers has found this post.

Photos from a Wedding Reception--Part 3 of 4

2009-07-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

We have family photos today with friends mixed in here and there. You should know most of the family members by now, but this will help you pick out everyone: my sister Isabelle has the red hair and that's her husband Bill--nephew Robert and his wife Liz are in the photo with Isabelle and Bill--nephew Travis and his wife Leslie (proud parents of Lorrin) are in the second photo--my brother Fred with the red tie made two photos in a row--the quartet in front of the palm are Allen (brother of the bride), Laura (aunt of the bride), and Lucy and Charles, Laura's children--the good looking trio are my cousin Karen and her husband Hugh along with my sister-in-law Virginia, also an aunt of the bride--next is Laura and her husband Bo (or is that Beau)--and then it's all repeats and friends with the exception of the last photo and that's Karen, sister of the bride, posing with the kids.

Regarding the photo of the 6 sitting in the chairs, the guy way down on the end is Karen's boyfriend. He's is conveniently place on the end so he can be cropped out of the photo if things don't work out, but I hope that doesn't become necessary. I believe his name is Greg and he seems like a real nice guy, an opinion I also heard from others. Plus, he complimented some photos I took last Christmas so he's got to be a great guy--at the very least it means he is a guy with very good judgement. Here are today's photos: