The wolf is at the door

Starting next academic year, the Arkansas State University Indians will morph into wolves.

Forced by political correctness to abandon their Native American identity, ASU officials appointed a committee to come up with a new mascot name.

They had it down to two choices yesterday morning - Red Wolves or some kind of train. The red wolf connection is easy to get since that variety of wolves once roamed this part of the country. The train thing is a bit more abstract. This is a rail center where cotton, rice and other stuff passes through by rail. The railroad lines cut across the south side of the ASU campus and have long been a source of frustration for people in a hurry to get somewhere  on or off campus. Yeah, I know it's hard to imagine drivers around here being in any kind of a hurry, but I guess they think they are. Also, there is apparently a tradition of locomotive engineers waving to students - more likely leering at coeds - as they rumble past.

The majority of the committee thought it would be a lot easier to cheer for wolves than for a train and after some  discussion, they voted unanimously to forward to the university president their recommendation for a wolf mascot. Not a red wolf, mind you, just a wolf.

So it could be a rabid wolf or a gay wolf or a mangy wolf or a werewolf or maybe even Wolf Blitzer. Who knows?

Winter? Hah!

No sign of that horrible blast of freezing rain and snow people around here were worrying about last night.

The weather radar shows some fairly heavy rain headed this way, but the temperature is 34 and the Weather Channel folks think today's weather will just be a rain event.

They are, however, predicting snow tonight with accumulations of less than an inch.

That should be enough to completely paralyze the county and cancel school and athletic events tomorrow night.

Dog rescue

Authorities busted a puppy mill in southern Missouri and the owner agreed to surrender the animals to the local humane organization, Northeast Arkansas Friends of Animals, in a deal to avoid federal prosecution.

About a dozen of them showed up last night at the local Petco store where they were bathed and fed and sent out to foster homes until they can be placed in permanent homes.

Here are a few shots.

 

The sky is falling

Depending upon who you listen to, we're going to get buried in ice and snow tonight and tomorrow, or maybe it'll just be some sleet and cold rain.
The locals are freaking out, buying bread and milk and making plans to hunker down tomorrow.
I'll bet both of the county's snowplows are gassed and ready for action.
It will be interesting to see how my neighbors cope after living through 62 Indiana winters.

We have it all figured out

Fretting over the primaries and who will be the Republican and Democrat nominees?
Relax. Maria and I figured it out over lunch today.
Here's how we see it:
Sen. John McCain will be the GOP presidential nominee because (1) he's liberal enough to attract crossover Democrat votes and (2) not so far left as to force the conservative wing of the Republican party to stay home on election day. Mike Huckabee will be the GOP vice-presidential nominee because he is conservative enough for the old guard Republicans.
The Democrats will nominate Hillary because they just can't think a new thought or abandon their moonbat constituency and because her people are more adroit at backroom politics than are Obama's. But because they need crossover votes to win and because Hillary has no appeal for Republicans, they'll pick a moderate for their vice-presidential nominee. My money is still on Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh.
So there's your lineup - McCain-Huckabee versus Clinton-Bayh.
The winners?
Start getting used to the sound of "President John McCain."

Nice view

My son Steve, who moved to Las Vegas with his family about the same time we were moving to Arkansas, has a regular gig at the Bellagio on the Strip.

Here's a photo - presumably shot with his iPhone - of the view from his gig.

The perfect gift

Driving home from Indiana yesterday afternoon, I rolled in to Boomland about 5 p.m.

I topped off the Subaru's gas tank for the last 100-mile run to our house and went inside to look for an insulated coffee mug - you can never have enough Boomland coffee go-cups.

And I noticed they were blowing out their stock of Big Mouth Billy Bass - one of the tackiest novelty items ever created - for a mere $4.99 per copy. Well, only a fool would pass up a terrific deal like that, so I bought one as a surprise gift for Maria.

"I would have paid $4.99 not to have that thing in the house," was how she demonstrated how wildly excited and grateful she was for this fabulous gift.

So, I guess we won't hang it in the living room.

Damn! It sure is windy.

A cold front is rolling in and there's a fierce wind blowing across the Mid-South.

As of 5:30 p.m., an estimated 21,000 customers are without power in Arkansas.

Electric power dropped out here at our house in the woods three times this afternoon, but only briefly. A couple of big limbs have hit the ground in the front yard, but nothing has hit the house.

At least one semitrailer truck has been blown off of the road and there is widespread minor structural damage.

Other than that, it's been a delightful day.

Cheers

Sitting here in the doctor's waiting room and listening to the audio of The Price is Right.
I notice that the audience is cheering insanely for EVERYTHING - a Ford pickup truck, a reclining chair, a barbecue grill. They're either on some hallucinogenic drug or they're responding to an "Applause" sign.
Nobody could go that nuts over the appearance of an appliance or a piece of furniture.
What a bizarre cultural artifact for future historians to find.

You cain't have it. I won't it, I won't it, Iwont it!

That, of course, is how The Who's "Magic Bus" is sung in Arkansas.
In this case, White Castles are among the things you cain't have in Arkansas.
So now that I'm back in Indiana for a few days, I CAN have it.
In this case, it's at the Ind. 32 interchange on I-65 at Lebanon.
Five cheeseburgers and a Diet Coke, just for the record.

Dinner in C'ville

At Subway where I was in line with our favorite waiter from Creekside. He sends greetings to Maria.

Progress

149 miles to go.

New Boomland hat

Why not? They're only $2.99.

Rolling

Next stop: Boomland

Yesterday's effort

An interview with an ASU basketball legend.

 An interior shot at a lingerie shop that is challenging the county's "adult business" ordinance. A photo of a frozen fountain. I almost blew this one off because my Indiana winter sensibilities told me this was no big deal. Where I come from, we freeze rivers and lakes. Well, in the Mid-South, it is a big deal. This photo is on page one in color this morning.  A studio portrait of a local musician.A pole vaulter in an indoor invitational track and field meet.

Other than that, I just sat around and stared into space all day.

So much for an early start...

We're under a freezing rain advisory here this morning, so I'm postponing my departure for Indiana until things warm up a bit.

"Freezing rain" is probably my least favorite two-word phrase and a motorcyclist's worst weather nightmare. And I don't like it from a car-driver's perspective either.

Back home again in Indiana, tomorrow

Weather permitting, I'm driving back to Indiana tomorrow for a couple of days of what I hope will be the absolutely, positively final touches to our Thorntown house before we hurl it into a very uncertain real estate marketplace.

All things considered, I'd rather spend the weekend here with Maria and the dogs, especially since Maria has been gone on the leadership academy retreat since Wednesday morning and will return this afternoon. Her return may be delayed by an ice storm creeping northeast out of Texas. (It's startling to realize that we live in a state that borders Texas, but then there are plenty of startling things about living in Arkansas.)

I'm working the 9 a.m.-5 p.m. shift today and have next Monday and Tuesday off, so I'm looking forward to a normal evening and a long weekend.

What? More basketball?

Yes, I was back at the Arkansas State University Convocation Center tonight shooting men's basketball. This time it was ASU against Florida International University.

This was the first time I've seen the ASU cheering section whip out the hypnotic distraction wheels, designed to befuddle the visiting team at the foul line.

ASU won by about 10 points.

This is Barbara Koggu, who is very proud of her ASU basketball star son. Sometimes the best pictures are in the stands.

The online music business is getting more competitive - good for us!

I just noticed I have more than 9,100 tunes in my iTunes folder and, consequently, that many in my iPod.

My online music-buying habits have shifted recently. Apple no longer has a monopoly on my music shopping now that Amazon.com is in the MP3 business. Amazon.com's offerings are free of copy protection, encoded at a higher bitrate and often 89 cents/song. And their inventory is growing like crazy. Sony announced earlier this month that its entire catalog will be available at Amazon.com. Sony is the fourth major record label to cut a deal with Amazon.com, joining EMI, Universal and Warner.

Music that costs less, is readily reproducible and sounds better. And the competition is making Apple push its partners to get rid of Digital Rights Management (DRM). What's not to like?

Basketball. Again.

I was back at the ASU Convocation Center last night for the Lady Indians versus Florida International University. The lower photo dominated this morning's sports page.

I left at halftime because I had to get my photos edited and do other office stuff. The game went into overtime and ASU went on to win 72-64.

But the evening was memorable for me because I fucked up.

I decided not to follow the crowd of photographers and stationed myself on the sidelines on the opposite side of the ASU goal from them, next to the A-Team dancers.

I noticed some of the A-Team girls looked at me with some concern and a few minutes later an arena official came over and asked me to join the rest of the photogs on the other side of the goal.

When I went into the Media Room at halftime to pick up an FIU roster so I could identify the girls in my photos, I checked the rules for photographers. It clearly stipulates that we are not to be in the areas occupied by the A-Team or the cheerleaders. Oops. I'd read the rules before, but obviously that one didn't lodge in my consciousness. How embarrasking, as Popeye would say.

As I may have mentioned before, this is the last school year that the ASU teams will be able to call themselves Indians. A search is on for a more politically correct name and mascot.

I'm not exactly working today, just on call, so the dogs get to play out in the yard and I get an extra cup of coffee.