Lest We Forget

"Sunday Thoughts"

"They fell, but o'er their glorious grave
Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save."

--Francis Marion Crawford

"Our Bodies" In Mobile, Alabama

Next month we celebrate Father's Day, but today I got my "Father's Day" present early.

For the last several months here in Mobile, Alabama at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center; visitors have been fascinated by the "Our Body, The Universe" exhibit.

The traveling exhibit features Human specimens that have undergone the "plastination" process of preservation.

My daughter and I have talked about going to see the exhibit since it arrived in Alabama and it ends next weekend. She thought it would be a great early-Father's Day present to take me today to "oooh" and "ahhhh" over the exhibit.

Although some people may feel queasy at the sight of looking at cadavers and Human body parts carefully infused with a "wax" process and displayed in cross section, dissection and full view cutaways--I'd have to say the exhibit was fantastic and the exhibitors treat the "subjects" with a reverent dignity.



As I viewed the specimens there was no doubt I was looking at what was once a fully living breathing human being from China; but there was also a scientific detachment that allowed me to learn and explore the human body from the inside out and appreciate the universe that resides in each of us.

The Our Body exhibits are currently in Mobile, Alabama, San Antonio, Texas and Oklahoma City and will be in Wichita, Kansas soon.

Certain parts of the exhibit may be too intense for small children and people with religious sensitivities may find some of the specimens in the Human Reproductive System area offensive as they explain the stages of pregnancy.

I'd also recommend the IMAX film we watched at The Exploreum as well. "Wired To Win". is a great documentary explaining the processes of our Brain set upon the backdrop of riding with the Australian Biking Team on the Tour De France.

Thanks Erica, for a great day.

Final Destination 4: My Son Will Be A Movie Star...Sorta

It seems that Hollywood decided that Mobile, Alabama might make a good place for a movie and decided to have a casting call for movie extras for the upcoming Final Destination 4 movie. My wife and oldest son decided that they'd like to get up at 5AM last Saturday morning and head down to the Mobile Civic Center to stand on line for a chance at being a face in the crowd.

I'm happy to report that today, my oldest son, Aaron, was "called back" and will be an extra portraying a photographer(among other "photographers") in the opening sequence of the movie to be released in 2009.

Filming starts Tuesday.

(By The Way, the "casting call" link is a news story from Mobile's FOX10 news and at the video link of the story; watch carefully the first 4 seconds and you'll get a glimpse of my wife and son. My wife is in what appears to be a white shirt on the video and sunglasses.)

"Sunday Thoughts"

"Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."

--Mark Twain

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Historic Photos Of Mobile: A Review

I was born and reared in Mississippi; but for the last 6 years I have called Mobile, Alabama, home. Actually, I think of Mobile as "Home"; more so than where I grew up. I'm comfortable here, I belong here.

And I still have a fascination with the city...kinda like a tourist. I've talked to life-long natives of Mobile who have lost that sense of wonder at the historical sites of interest in the city, the events, the history that makes up Mobile. Luckily, I haven't reached that cynicism that comes with living somewhere for so long that you stop noticing the things in your city.

So, I was thrilled when I was contacted by Turner Publishing from Nashville asking me to review a book about my city, Mobile, Alabama. Turner publishes a series of books focusing on historical photos of different cities across the USA. These books are suitable for coffee tables, local business office waiting rooms, and for those houses where books are strategically placed for interior design purposes.

BUT... "Historic Photos Of Mobile" is worth picking up and reading. Residents of the Gulf Coast can look into their past and experience some rich history through the photographs and commentary inside the book. And you don't have to reside on the Gulf Coast to enjoy the photographs; the book arouses your curiosity about the city of history and makes you want to explore the city of today.




The book's content begins in 1870 and carries the reader or researcher through to 1979. One critique of the book is that it ends too soon and abruptly with 1979, with no explanation as to why. However, the book shines with its small stories tucked away in the captions of the photos. I learned of John Fowler, an inventor at the turn of the 20th century who built his own airplanes in Mobile, and may have superseded the Wright Brothers in flight. I saw what may be my boss's father on a Mardi Gras float in 1949, and I read about how a tunnel I travel through everyday was built.

"Historic Photos Of Mobile" was written and compiled by Carol Ellis and Scotty E. Kirkland, both Archivists at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. I had the chance to meet the authors at Bienville Books in Mobile last Friday for their book signing.



Many purchasers of the book, including myself, had a story to relate to the authors about a particular photograph in the book and the authors spoke at length asking as many questions as answering.



I did ask the authors about the ending of the book and was informed that the publishers stick to a particular style in the series and most of the books end similarly. I suppose as a city enters the 70s, it's considered less and less historically significant. I guess those modern photos will be significant in another 50 years or so.



If you are a history buff, a resident of the Gulf Coast, or someone that enjoys those bygone days of yesteryear; take a visit back in time with "Historic Photos Of Mobile"

A Day At The "Hank"

It's Summer(almost) and for some that means baseball, hotdogs, and time with family.


I've lived in Mobile, Alabama for about 6 years now and almost every day I pass by Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile Bay Bears minor league baseball team. I often wondered what going to a game would be like; but I'm not a huge baseball fan, so other things to do always came up.

A few weeks ago, thanks to Harbor Communications, my wife received some complimentary tickets to a Bay Bears game and we decided to go catch a game.

The Bears used to be affiliated with the San Diego Padres; but in recent years are the Minor League team for the Arizona Diamond Backs. On this particular outing they were playing a series against the Mississippi Braves.

We arrived at the stadium and had VIP parking, but I honestly couldn't see a difference in our placement to the proximity of the stadium with any other parking; although I think the advantage was in exiting the park after a crowded game.

"The Hank" is family friendly and there is lots to do on the grounds of the stadium, even before you step inside. Playgrounds, including those air-filled Moon Bounce thingies that kids love, and even a mini-waterslide were available to entertain the kids not interested in baseball. I'll add here, that during the winter, the Stadium grounds is home to a snow machine for all those Gulf Coast kids that don't get to play in the snow normally.

We had the privilege of eating some free hot dogs at the Stadium Club, but the concession stands throughout the underside halls of the stadium were plentiful with pizza, burgers, nachos, lemonade and beer. All the necessary elements of enjoying the game. Of course, stadium food brings with it; stadium prices. I suppose this the necessary evil of enjoying the game.

Boredom was not an option at the game. Besides the action within the innings of play, there was numerous promotions, contests, and even a mini-Mardi Gras-style parade between innings. I chocked these contests and giveaways as "filler" for the radio broadcast commercial breaks.


I had read a review of the Stadium at Ball Park Reviews and the review had stated the seating and viewing limitations of the stadium, but I didn't witness anyone complaining. We had seats along the first base line just past the first baseman and on into the outfield. First baseman, Brandon James Burgess, quickly became our "favorite" player after he committed an error and then recovered for a fine game.

Foul ball catches excited the crowd and a few home runs got everybody to
their feet.

Our only problem during the game was a spectator several rows from us who had consumed an ample supply of beer before and during the game. I think I could have "booked" several bets with some fans around us on when the obnoxious spectator would have been punched, passed out, or asked to leave the grounds.

The Bears beat the Braves, 7-3, while we were there; and later went on to win the series.

My fanaticism for baseball is usually reserved for never missing an airing of "Field Of Dreams" and always crying at the end of the movie; but I could get used to attending a few games of The Mobile Bay Bears each season.

If you live close to the Gulf Coast, make a weekend of it and come see the Bay Bears play...you might even get close enough to catch a baseball, and get an autograph from someone that may play in the "Majors" in the future.

"Sunday Thoughts"

"Now the thing about having a baby - and I can't be the first person to have noticed this--is that thereafter you have it."

--Jean Kerr

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

30 Something

No, This isn't another entry about how I hate getting older and wished that I was 30-Something. It's about a new nightclub in Mobile, Alabama.

I performed at 30-Something last Thursday night, May 1st.

You can read all about my latest gig by taking the detour to Comedy This Exit. Take the exit that says "Dauphin Island Parkway".

Forty-Six

If you know me, you know I hate birthdays.

Given the option of having a birthday and NOT having one; I'll gladly take the former. But I wish that the accompanying birthday didn't bring the older age with it.

I joke about being "perpetually 19" to my wife. I'm "young at heart"; I'm still just a "big kid" and I can still "hang" with the "young crowd" at the clubs. I listen to "today's music"; I keep my hair a little long, and I'm Internet savvy--I know what's "viral" out on the web.

But, I'm in my 40s. I'm getting old.

I'm already a Grandfather. My back goes out every now and then. Sometimes I wake up sore for no apparent reason. Every once in a while, I go to sleep before 10PM. And dammit, sometimes I "check out" a girl walking down the street and realize that I just committed a felony in my imagination.

Today I turn 46. I enter the back side of the 40s. I'm headed to 50.

This should cause me some pain. I mean, that on most birthdays I lament about the things I haven't done yet. Or worry about if I will ever do all the things I want to do.

Yesterday I was telling a co-worker about an episode in my life and I made the comment that I suppose I have collected quite a few stories over my lifetime; and that maybe I was getting to a point where I would be just telling the old stories and not creating any new ones.

That's the probably the STUPIDEST thing I have ever said. Sure, I hate birthdays and I don't like getting older; but it's not like I'm already 92 years old.

I'm embarking on a comedy career at about the same age as Rodney Dangerfield started. He was making movies in his 60s with young attractive females and getting paid for it.

I was born when MY DAD was FIFTY!

Dad said it wouldn't have happened except that he got a long-distance phone call in the middle of the night and the phone was on Mom's side of the bed.

If Dad could tell that story in his "Fifties", then I'm sure I have more stories to create while still in my "Forties".

So, yeah...I'm gonna fight growing older tooth and nail; and I'm still gonna hate birthdays; but I'm not dead yet. The birthdays keep coming and I guess I'm still gonna be "perpetually 19" for a while.

Besides, sometimes a cute girl in a club does look over at me and give me a flirtatious smile...and yeah, sometimes she is of legal age.

And when that happens, I've got another story to tell.

What About Those Canadians?

Back on March 3rd, I was scheduled to meet with some computer programmers from Canada who were taking a road trip, via RV, across the southeast part of the United States.

These guys are bit more than just programmers. One is the company President of Fresh Books, Inc. The other two--executives with the company. A fourth guy accompanied them, but he was an Irishman and their chief videographer.

Their plan was to travel from one convention in Miami, Florida to another convention in Austin, Texas and stop along the way in eight other cities; meeting their clients and other "interesting" people. I was to be one of the interesting people. Along the way, they would blog about their adventures and shoot some video of who they met.

I held off blogging about the meeting because after we all met, talked, drank, and they shot some video--I was expecting them to cover the night on their blog first.

I suppose 4 guys in an RV after several days and a schedule to meet lost some of their enthusiasm for up-to-the-minute updates. Plus, I suspect that the "interview" they shot was less than stellar.

But, here's a quick recap just so you know I wasn't fibbing about the meeting.

The guys arrived at Felix's late. It was a bad weather night. Thunderstorms were forecasted and the weather guys were right.



Upon arrival I met Mike McDerment, the CEO but he was seriously distracted. The Gang had stopped for gas at some point and Mike had lost his wallet, credit cards, the whole she-bang. Throughout the evening he excused himself from the table and conversation to make numerous phone calls backtracking the miles and stops inquiring about a possibly found wallet. Also, I assume he made a few calls to the home office for options.

Before dinner, I advised the guys to try our local seafood and personal favorite, grilled grouper. There was some talk about my suggestion of the grouper with meuniere sauce.

The sauce with some creole origins sounds French, and it's one of those words I can't pronounce without it sounding like "manure" sauce. (Face it, you kinda pronounced it that way when you read the word, too) I told the guys it tasted a helluva lot better than the way I pronounced it. And they finally believed me.

Surprisingly, the big hit at dinner was a simple side vegetable that none of the Canadians had ever experienced. Turnip Greens.

Now, I know I grew up in the south and greens are a staple, but I don't like them and especially would not order them with seafood; but two of the fellas ordered them and ended up passing the bowl around to each other so all could try the leafy "goodness".

Eamonn O'Connor, the Irish guy, especially liked the greens and related a story about a similar dish he prepares for holiday dinners--although his slaw-like dish has a red tint; but a similar taste.

I connected with Eamonn early on in the evening, as he was a videographer with cool equipment. Part of my work experience was video production.

Dinner conversation was split among the guys with myself and one of their Mobile, Alabama clients, Michael Thornton of Art and Logic.

Saul Colt and I talked about Comedy and Stand-Up. Saul had a short career as a stand up comic in Toronto and rubbed shoulders with some big names during the stand up "hey day" of the 90s.

Sunir Shah talked "software" with Mike Thornton, although there was some discussion among us all, about Sunir's trepidation about being in the South with a bunch of electronic equipment crossing state borders in an RV and looking curiously non-Southern.

Mike McDerment and I talked about my then-impending trip to Prague and the phenomenon of blogging, as well as all the guys asked questions about Mobile, Alabama and the local culture, including avoiding or "riding out" hurricanes like Katrina.

Now, I'm proud of being a Southerner, but usually when I meet someone from "up North", I try to remember my voice lessons from Theatre school and I tend to tone down the Southern accent. My mistake with these guys was mentioning that I was trying hard not to use any Southern colloquialisms while speaking with them.

That must have been their cue to begin to badger me for expressions they could use. Their favorite of the evening was inspired by the thunderstorm outside. We were dining at Felix's Fishcamp and The Causeway over the Bay of Mobile. The parking lot had a few inches of water in it. They had heard "it's raining cats and dogs" but had never heard the expression; "It comin' a frog-floatin' gulley washer" I imagine Sunir might still be using the expression in Toronto.


After dinner, we found an empty banquet room just off from the lounge and the night's entertainment, and they interviewed Mike Thornton on how he utilizes the software created by FreshBooks.

My interview with Saul quickly degraded into swapping jokes, perfecting the "frog floating gulley washer" expression and generally goofing around. I'm sure no usable footage made it past the video camera.

I took this picture of the guys.


That's Eamonn O'Connor, Mike Thornton, Sunir Shah, and Saul Colt.

We wrapped up the evening and I gave the guys some travel tips for their next destination; which was New Orleans, and thanked them for dinner and the visit and then they were off into the night.

I know they survived and made it to their convention in Texas and then back home to Canada. I haven't heard from them since, but I like to imagine them sitting in front of their FreshBooks office building, sipping a fine Canadian beer, eating turnip greens, and saying things like "Ya'll it's cold out here, eh?







COMING TO MOBILE, ALABAMA? CHECK OUT FELIX'S MENU

"Sunday Thoughts"

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."


--Chili Davis

Coming Up Next

I don't want to be accused of following in the footsteps of the Alticor Media Blog and falling behind in updating my blog, so I'll let you in on what's coming up next week.

I have several entries I'm working on.

I attended my first Mobile Bay Bears game last week, and took a few photos. You might have surmised that something like that influenced my "Sunday Thoughts" last week. So, expect a summary of my trip to the "Hank".

I was contacted last week by Nashville publisher, Turner Publishing to write a review of a pictorial history of Mobile, Alabama. I received my copy a few days ago and plan to share my thoughts on the book.

Friday night, I performed here in Mobile at "30 Something" with a group of fine comedians and a small audience. That story will be coming over at "Comedy This Exit".

I have a birthday coming up this week, and you can pretty much expect that I'll be in one of my contemplative and reflective moods on that day. I really hate birthdays.

I posted a few comments over at Chuck Lia's "Speaking Of Amway" blog regarding should "Quixtar" bloggers start to blog less and concentrate on actually building a Quixtar business. Nice discussion.

Special thanks to those that attended the mock press conference last week; that entry is still open for more questions.