Comment Archives: Stories: News: Helter Shelter
Re: “Beware the singing politician, the silenced piano, and rocket scientists on the warpath”
"The potholes will always be with us."
Book of Transportation, 1:16.
Re: “Beware the singing politician, the silenced piano, and rocket scientists on the warpath”
Writing of potholes, one of the very first thing President Clinton did when he took office was raise the federal gasoline tax by a nickel. This has resulted in billions of dollars - maybe trillions - added to the road coffers and still we have potholes.
Re: “When the cable guy asks you to pull your own cable, it's all downhill from there”
Fight back! Refuse to update/upgrade/replace - if it works, don't fix it!
Bill Gates showed the principle involved - run off with the consumer's money and let him/her figure out how to troubleshoot the premature release.
Great coluimn - AL
Re: “Of Georgia moonshine, the boogaloo and the goat of Christmas past”
Bravo,,Nothin like a short story told well,, Yall dun well Mr. Jowers, My daddy hauled bootleg whiskey back in prohibition days,,but that I recon is another story
Re: “Of Georgia moonshine, the boogaloo and the goat of Christmas past”
Walter, you're a born storyteller. I don't live in Nashville anymore, but I check in from time to time with the Scene to find out whats going on. Love your writing! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Re: “On mechanized overkill and the removal of leaves”
KEEP THEM, COMPOST THEM AND USE THEM! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK TOP SOIL COMES FROM! Get off of your FAT PHOOTBALL watching arse and just do it...MAKE IT FUN! Also don't forget...Please! ... SPAY and NEUTER your INBRED HUMANS!
Re: “With everyone sampling everyone, there's plenty of reason to fret”
The notion that we Americans are responsible to protect the "forests of the world" is a problem. The people and government of Brazil may want us to mind our own damned business. If we desire a certain wood and are willing to pay good money for it, they may be more inclined to keep a steady supply available. Money talks and "sustainable BS talk" walks....something like that.
Re: “With everyone sampling everyone, there's plenty of reason to fret”
Somehow, Taylor and Martin are managing to make pretty great guitars without resorting to using illegal wood that's destroying rainforests around the world and that is sometimes harvested using slave labor. Here's a clip from NPR:
Chris Martin, Chairman and CEO of the C.F. Martin Guitar Co. in Nazareth, Pa., says that when he first heard guitars built from Madagascar rosewood, he dreamed it might be the long-sought substitute for Brazilian rosewood, whose trade was banned in the 1990s due to over-harvest. Then the situation in Madagascar changed.
"There was a coup," Martin says. "What we heard was the international community has come to the conclusion that the coup created an illegitimate government. That's when we said, 'Okay, we can not buy any more of this wood.'"
And while some say the Lacey Act is burdensome, Martin supports it: "I think it's a wonderful thing. I think illegal logging is appalling. It should stop. And if this is what it takes unfortunately to stop unscrupulous operators, I'm all for it. It's tedious, but we're getting through it."
Taylor guitar CEO Bob Taylor has said similar things: "Here’s how Lacey has affected the way we do business at Taylor Guitars. It’s very simple. We now investigate the sources of our wood, and we ensure to the best of our ability that the wood was taken legally. We fill out the paper work required and we present our business, as an open book. The cost isn’t so much for us. It’s not an unbearable added burden, and we’re happy to do the extra administrative work.… If I could take any user of wood, whether it be a guitar player, or a purchaser of a dining room table, with me, on a trip to the forest of 2011 in many, many parts of the world, and let them see with their own eyes the state of the forests and the people living in them, I’d stake my last dollar on the fact that they’d come home and preach with a loud voice how deforestation has got to be stopped! You have to see it to believe it, and if you haven’t seen it, with your own eyes, you can’t argue against it. Period. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth."
This BBC report shows exactly what Madagascar illegal logging looks like: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210355.stm
as does this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH2OTfIcLVM
Pretty extraordinary that Gibson would keep importing from the same German importer (Nagel) even after the feds raided them the first time. Why didn't they just find a sustainable importer? Also, far from being "jackbooted" (do you really need to suggest they're Nazis?) these Fish and Wildlife Service agents are doing their jobs to protect forests around the world and Tennessee jobs - in sensible shoes.
Re: “With everyone sampling everyone, there's plenty of reason to fret”
You're ignoring the fact that the fretboards were taken because they were believed to be made from illegally imported Rosewood and Ebony from Madagascar. They're not just "completely harmless pieces of wood" when their harvesting damages fragile ecosystems. If your justification for contributing to the extinction of species is that your guitar sounds better, I commend your utter lack of character.
Re: “If kids today want to rock, they'd better learn to put their backs into it”
The true musicians: "...the Hammond B-3 organ, the monster machine that turned Steve Winwood loose on "Gimme Some Lovin'." A Hammond B-3 weighs about 420 pounds, and the rotating Leslie speaker unit weighs about 140 pounds. I know because I've been one of the four guys that it takes to haul a B-3 up a flight of stairs."
Check out a true musician who stays true to his Hammond B-3, no matter what! Real quality music!
http://music.napster.com/artist-music/tracks/13687438/?artist_id=13687438
Re: “If kids today want to rock, they'd better learn to put their backs into it”
The guitarist in my little brother's 80s power pop outfit played a 62 Strat plugged into a Fender Twin. Sometimes 2 of them hooked up in a sort of "stereo". No effects beyond an analog delay unit here and there, which sounded sort of like a Echoplex. He just played and the amp(s) screamed. Awesome. I got some live tapes, and between songs you can here that Twin up on the stage buzzing....
Re: “If kids today want to rock, they'd better learn to put their backs into it”
A guitarist friend of mine was on the road and was enticed by by a club sound man into playing his instrument through one of these modeling amplifiers--was told it could emulate any amp sound previously produced. My comment to him was that that is tantamount to telling a professional keyboardist that he should perform using a Casio keyboard with cheap sample presets since it will sound just like the real deal.
Re: “If kids today want to rock, they'd better learn to put their backs into it”
A very interesting observation. I've wondered for a long time why the "clean" music produced today still sounds so inferior to what I grew up with in the '70s. I understand now -- it's heft, my friend, heft. Gravity gave that music gravity.
Re: “Knock it off with the texting while driving, and get some gizmos that work”
should i be reading this in my andy rooney voice?
Re: “Compared to life at a small-town high school, crawling over dead cats isn't so bad”
WELL...................Mr. Jowers, all I can say is I was born and raised in THE VALLEY, I am still here and I AM very proud of it. I must say also, The Valley is a much nicer place with you in Tennessee so please stay there and do not corrupt our little town.
Re: “The cicadas aren't coming. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it”
i wasn't here in '85, but to those who were here in '98 know that this year's batch was NOTHING compared to that. i was so looking forward to the same.... really!
Re: “Compared to life at a small-town high school, crawling over dead cats isn't so bad”
W.L. you were nothng but a jerk in high school and I see nothing has changed. As well as i remember you were always in trouble, and one of those dumb rednecks always wanting to staart a fight. You should remember its always easier to blame someone else for your problems than to just deal with them your self. Perhaps you should name that teacher you brag about, perhaps you could claim that your were damaged and get a large amout of money and ruin her life in the process. By the way your girlfriend Brenda, did she get her education at L.B.C. as well, did her hard work enable you to get your start. Did a valley girl make you what you are today?
Re: “Compared to life at a small-town high school, crawling over dead cats isn't so bad”
Walter, WL....The only humor I find in your article is that it has been put on Facebook for many Valley people to see---and from the reaction of everyone...YOU have been deleted and fired from ever being a member of the outstanding, hard-working, good Ole people and alumni of the Horse Creek Valley and Langley, Bath, Clearwater High School. If you are trying to be another Pat Conroy...you have failed.
Re: “Compared to life at a small-town high school, crawling over dead cats isn't so bad”
Mr Jowers since you are supposed to be a humorist writer I can only assume you were going for humor in your article. Well sir even if you do belong to Mensa you apparently do not have the slightest idea what is considered appropriate humor and just being a complete jerk. I too went to the same high school and never heard of any incest EVER and what I do remember is all the HS boys being very protective of any of the girls. In other words no one should harm them in anyway. I remember we did not have to lock our doors and we did not have to worry about crime. Your methods of humor are degrading, completely outlandish, cruel and unjust. I left the area due to job transfers and promotions, have lived out of the country and been all over the US. I do still have family and friends there and I take personal offense to your comments on this article and another one you wrote and so does then entire Valley. I would highly recommend that you don't come back to the area as you have chosen because you definitely will not be made to feel welcome. You owe a apology to the entire area. There have many successful people that lived in the area and went to that school. All of them have kept good hearts which apparently you never had. I do not understand your form of humor at all. Aristotle applies his philosophical ideals to the concept of humor and good company. He establishes categories and kinds of humor or wit, and sets limits for the behavior that a gentleman and a wise man will accept. At one point, however, he makes the admission that it’s hard to define when ridicule is appropriate. Because people react to ridicule in different ways, according to their temperament. A buffoon would rather be a fool and hurt people’s feelings than “fail to raise a laugh”. You clearly made the decision to identify the area by name, which you did not have to do. So I can only assume that you did not care who you hurt or did you think none of who knew how to read?
Re: “The truth about vinyl siding”
Matthew Dobson is correct in that with a properly lapped system of water protection underneath it, vinyl siding is no worse than any other type of siding. But the J-channel used to retain the edges of the vinyl panels tends to direct large amounts of water around window and door frames, right where contractors tend to mess up the interface between the window/door frames, flashing and house wrap, so you'd better be damn sure the guy doing your siding and possibly windows knows and cares what he's doing. Either way, the stuff usually looks like crap on the day it's installed and often gets much worse after that. Occasionally , a house gets just enough sun to keep it from getting algae and fungus, but not so much that it fades and cracks, so it looks not much more tacky after 30 years than it did on day 1. But more often the "maintenance free" house looks like a dirty, shabby mess after a few years; some get so slime-infested that power washing just feeds the problem. All in all, some combination of brick and stucco (which need waterproofing layers and flashing just as much as vinyl does), properly installed, will look much better for longer. It will also protect the house from fire and damage from severe storms, unlike vinyl.