Oh There Goes Gravity

I've had my XM Satellite Radio now for over a year, and I have used it so much that it has paid for itself. Beside being able to listen to every game of all of my favorite baseball teams, the variety of music or news programs I can listen to simply blows "free radio" out of the water. I rarely even listen to "free radio" any more, but when I do it is painful. Listening to local rock stations is like listening to a broken record (I thought I didn't care for Pink Floyd before, but now thanks to 105.9 "The Rock's" ultra-saturation of the same songs, they make me ill, as does the John Boy and Billy morning show, which last week--during one of my rare tune-ins--waded into the semantic nonsense involved in defending the difference between "domestic" and "international" calls in the White House wire-tap controversy. If I want to suffer through that tripe I can just tune into "America Right" on my XM). So, I'm basically locked into XM now, and I cannot imagine a world without it.

XM's only weakness is in its "TuneSelect" feature, which lets the listener store 20 artists (or songs); when one of them cues up on any XM station, the receiver prompts the listener to jump to that station. The TuneSelect feature is outstanding if there is a little-known blues song by some obscure Texas artist, for instance, that you want to hear again, but 20 artists seems a low number. What is worse is that XM only seems to play a limited number of songs of certain tuneselected artists. For example, I tuneselected Eminem for the duration of 2 or 3 months and heard only 3 or 4 different songs, but I had to listen to "When I'm Gone" about 20x more than any of the others. The same is not true for some of the other artists I tuneselected, but when it comes to Eminem, I feel like I'm listening to "free radio's" signature redundancy.

That's not a deal killer for me. XM still rules my airwaves.

Metroblogging Rumor

The always resourceful Jackson Miller writes today of a rumor that Metroblogging may just be coming to Nashville. Metroblogging, which calls itself "the largest and fastest growing network of city-specific blogs on the Web," coordinates the efforts of clusters of regional bloggers in the form of hyper-local blogs called "Metblogs." It also provides a worldwide connection for hyper-local bloggers. Sounds great, and there's plenty of room for the expansion of hyper-local blogging in Nashville.

Lowly Local Fox 17 News To Run Report On Nashville Gang Growth Ahead Of Big 3 News Stations

I could not believe my eyes last night when I saw a Fox 17 News commercial on a report on teenage gang growth in Nashville set to run on Monday during their 9:00 broadcast. For Pete's sake, it's about time some local mainstream news outlet started reporting on gangs in Nashville, even if it has to be the runt of the litter, Fox 17 News. Let's hope that the Fox affiliate brings some quality journalistic attention to this problem and that it will motivate NewsChannel 5 (CBS), Channel 4 News (NBC), and News 2 (ABC) to start their own proactive investigations. Let's hope it does not take some sensational, tragic event afterwards for the big boys to finally wake up and take notice, in spite of the laurels Emmy Awards they sit on.

North End's Buena Vista School Receives History Channel Grant

The new Tennessean reporter covering the North End neighborhoods, Chris Jones (who replaced Nancy Deville), had a story in yesterday's edition concerning a $10,000 grant awarded to fourth-graders at Buena Vista Enhanced Option Elementary School for studying the history of the school's community. Buena Vista School sits at the intersection of 9th Ave., N. and Garfield St.

Nosh Notes

I got word from News 2 this week:

• John "Chappy" Chapman is opening a seafood restaurant in Nashville after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Chappy's had been located on the Gulf Coast for 20 years before Katrina. I actually ate at Chappy's a few years ago when I was in Long Beach, MS for a conference. It was good seafood, but you could just about walk out into the parking lot and cast into the surf to catch fresh seafood. With not a beach in sight, we'll see how Chappy's fares in Nashville.
• Our personal-favorite Mexican food restaurant in Nashville, La Terraza, is in discussion with Sounds management (as part of their effort to increase minority business involvement) to have a food stand at the new ballpark should it meet with Council approval this week. Baseball is a good thing, but sucking down La Terraza's grilled alambres or camarones rancheros while watching baseball would come pretty nigh heaven.

Reason #652 Why You Cannot Beat Urban Living

My Jeep just passed 4 years of age and 20,000 miles.

BREAKING: Home Invasion In 12South Neighborhood

According to the 12South Neighborhood Association official e-mail list:

Last night at 12:30 AM there was a home invasion on the 1100 block of Montrose Avenue. The intruder may have been Hispanic and his face was wrapped like a mummy. He broke in and demanded money. The individual ran screaming from the home and is physically safe today. The police responded in what seemed like less than two minutes and surrounded the neighborhood. The police helicopter was searching the neighborhood within minutes. There were at least 6 police vehicles in response to the call.

BREAKING: North End Security Alert From The Police

I received an e-mail from the Central Precinct saying (with my own editing):

On Monday, January 30 at 7:45 PM 4 black males in a white 4WD vehicle pulled up to a man who was walking his dog near Madison St. and 5th Ave. N. in Germantown. The vehicle had tinted windows and a light around the license plate. 2 of the 4 got out. 1 of the 2 was 6'11” 5'11" tall, 150 lbs., with a light goatee. That individual demanded money while the other person, who was 5'7" tall and 120 lbs., watched.

The victim told them he didn’t have any money. They searched his pockets. The suspects appeared mad that he did not have any money, and they fired one gunshot into the air. All 4 suspects left in the suspect vehicle.

Neighbors should be on the look out for this vehicle. If anyone sees it, please call 862-8600. These subjects are armed and dangerous, so DO NOT approach them. Call the police. Try to obtain a tag number and clothing descriptions if they should happen to get out of the vehicle. Again, do not try to contact them as they are more than likely armed. If you see a gun on them, call 911.

Also, the Central Precinct reports that they have increased enforcement in the North End in the past several weeks due to the ongoing apparent feud between two "low level" rival street gangs. They write that this situation, including the graffiti, is of "utmost concern" to them. They ask neighbors to let them know of any suspicious activity, including any subjects in the "area involved" (that would include most of Salemtown, but especially the blocks from 5th Ave. on the east to 7th Ave. on the west and from Garfield St. on the south to Buchanan St. on the north), where a lot of bandanas or where "certain colors" seem to be the dominant trait of the entire group.

CORRECTION: The height of the first suspect is 5'11".

With $4.95 Million Riding On Their Wager, Did You Really Think The Lobbyists Were Going To Sit By Lose?

Lobbyists around the state house are denying any influence over a Republican "alternative" ethics bill--supported by Democrats in the House and Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen (who all but scoffed to a reporter on the recent Nissan relocation that making deals is more important than having ideals)--that would gut the original ethics bill's intention to limit the ability of lobbyists to pay off legislators in return for favorable votes. They can deny to their hearts content, but the Tennessean obtained a "list of concerns" of the lobbyists. It's on there. At least one legislator says that lobbyists approached him about the issue. Lobbyists with the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry sent off a newsletter to its 2,000 members urging business leaders to contact legislators on the matter. But even without the Tennessean's evidence, it doesn't take much to connect the dots between truckloads of lobbyists' money and their influence over a Republican-initiated and Blue-Dog-Democrat-supported bill designed to kill ethics reform and make the state safe for unfettered private profits.

But how does the Republican sponsor justify the killing? By the ridiculous charge that, since lobbyist groups would have to hire a person to monitor and to assure ethical behavior, they would be paying a "hidden tax." Cry me a river of tears. God forbid that they take some of the money to pay monitors from that $4.95 million per year that they dump into legislators' laps. Call it a tax if you like; I'd call it a small price to pay for ethical business leadership. I guess the lobbyists believe that ethical conduct just costs too much money; it doesn't make good business sense.

But given their overeager profit motives, might the shadier lobbyists be most concerned that hiring ethics monitors might cost them even more money when they have to bribe those officials to look the other way? That would amount to "double-secret-taxation."

Donelson's Lakeridge Association Meeting Canceled Due To Hate Flyers

The Lakeridge Run neighborhood association leadership canceled tonight's meeting after some residents found flyers in their mail boxes advertising the meeting and including the phrase:

Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, Africans, Jews, Gays not wanted in the Lakeridge Homeowners Association.

"Christian" Hypocrisy Gores Someone Else's Sacred Cow While Shielding Its Own Golden Calves

Some have a lot of nerve. There's been a lot of whining about how Jesus and a priest were portrayed in the television show, Book of Daniel (which NBC cancelled in response to complaints and low ratings), joined with plaintive cries to portray Christians in a "positive" light. You'd think that conservative Christians would be sympathetic and circumspect when other religious zealots complain about outside depictions of their sacred cows. But no more than a few days after they moaned about their mistreatment, some of the more vocal conservative Christians express nothing but support for caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed despite the sacrilege that is for some Muslims.

And yet the "faithful" complain about being portrayed as hypocrites. Sakes alive.

Give "Cliff's Urban Nashville" A Look

This cool new site is worth a look or two or three. I was privileged to be among his first visitors, because it looks like an outstanding resource. Cliff, a public policy analyst who teaches at Vanderbilt, provides us this service because, as he writes, "there is no one definitive map available of Nashville's neighborhoods that includes all of the urban communities." Besides the helpful maps, he also is planning on posting links and photos of urban Nashville. I have also added Cliff's link to Enclave's "Links for the Neighborhoods" box in the right-hand column for your future reference.

Barista Shows That A Licorice G String Can Actually Be Knitted With Chopsticks

Okay. I admit that this would definitely take my mind of the S-bowl, but then again, the S-bowl is merely my warm-up for baseball's Spring Training. Still ... there's a lot of Spring Training to enjoy before summer gets here ... I could be distracted for a while and still not miss too much. Just one more thing to love about baseball.

Private Property Owners Remove More Graffiti From Structures

This private property at the corner of Garfield and 6th was hit with gang-related graffiti about two weeks ago from two rival gangs. As of today the graffiti has been removed from it and another house near the inter-section. Usually, private property owners, especially those who do not live in the neighborhood, take much longer than developers or Metro to remove such graffiti, but the owner of this house has removed it quickly. Hence, just about all of the vandalism that occurred at Garfield and 6th has been repaired. I am sure that most Salemtown residents are no doubt grateful to all who play a part in responding to the recent rash of vandalism.

My Heart Just Won't Bleed

As a dog-owner who obeys dog-control and leash laws so that my mutt does not impose herself on others, thusly straining neighborhood goodwill, I cannot have any sympathy whatsoever for residents of East Nashville who are reportedly upset with Animal Control for capturing their dogs after owners seem to be letting them roam free in their neighborhoods. I say just pay your fine and control your dog next time.

When my oldest daughter was a pre-schooler, we were on a stroll down a Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood street. All of a sudden, two black labs came charging from a house and into the street, barking and snarling at us. I tried to keep myself between the two labs who were circling us and my sobbing oldest, which was not easy. The owner, who was standing at her open door after letting them out, called out to us that we shouldn't be afraid and that her dogs were "really friendly." I shot her a look, and if looks were knives she would have been cut in two. I held my tongue, because if I let it loose I would have hurled all manner of invective and curse at the dog owner, and frankly my girl had already been exposed to enough trauma that day; she didn't need to hear salty language from her father, as well. The owner called her dogs back. From that point on, I carried pepper spray on all our walks. Since that time I have up my mind that you other dog owners need to comprehend that I don't care how lovable and behaved your dogs are to you, your right to let your dogs be free ends at other people's right not to feel threatened by your perfect pooches because of your failure to be responsible.

The problem with problem dogs is not the dogs but the owners. If it takes Animal Control citing owners and hauling off their dogs to force them to be responsible, so be it. My heart won't break.

State's Rights

The hole in the President's SOTU speech--which was big enough to drive a streetcar named "Desire" through--was his omission of any long-term initiatives for Gulf Coast recovery. He did mention Katrina survivors as a segue to the rate of HIV among African Americans (?!), and at the Grand Old Opry today he mentioned the Gulf Coast while referencing private charity toward evacuees. Other than that, any bright ideas he might have for recovery were not divulged.

No new ideas to re-populate the largest and busiest American port. No plans for the state that supports 80% of the oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing substantive mentioned to reclaim the country's economic backbone for the sake of property owners driven out by Katrina.

In the absence of any presidential leadership on this matter, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco seems to be stepping up to fight for her state's rights to more than just 27% of oil royalties (the federal government currently enjoys the lion's share of those royalties). According to nola.com, Ms. Blanco is refusing to sign any off-shore lease sales for oil exploration in the Gulf until Louisiana is assured of half of the royalties on any oil found there in order to pay for hurricane protection and coastal restoration that is not forthcoming from the federal government. Given Bush's willingness to commit a measly 6 more billion dollars for aid, excepting residents who live in flood prone areas, nola.com reports that the fight over oil royalties looks to get locked down in court for awhile. In the meantime, another hurricane season approaches.

I Believe Someone Said Something About Fetch?

Nearly All Bush, All Lunchtime

The White House achieved nearly total local television market saturation by having the President's Grand Ole Opry speech televised on the WSMV (NBC affiliate), NewsChannel 5 and their cable 5+ station (ABC affiliate), the 2 Fox stations (local Channel 17 and cable's Fox News), MSNBC (cable), and CNN (cable). The only local station not televising the speech live was Channel 2, which interrupted programming momentarily to announce the President's speech, before returning to its regularly scheduled and popular soap opera, "All My Children."

While I'm not a fan of soap operas and whatever the story line on "All My Children," it had to be better than the "soap opry" in Donelson, where Mr. Bush gave his standard utopian call to conversion to a hand-picked audience, comparing himself once again to Reagan, Truman, Roosevelt, et al., and preaching that freedom inevitably leads to peace (a point which seems continuously strained by realities in Iraq and the West Bank). I was puzzled by NewsChannel 5 carrying the speech on both of its channels. Managers must have figured that Mr. Bush was going to get higher ratings than the regularly scheduled "Talk of the Town." No doubt.

Bush Tells Purcell, "Fill The Pot Holes."

When mentioning local dignitaries in his speech at the Grand Ole Opry today, President Bush offered Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell some unsolicited advice: "Fill the pot holes."

Was that an appeal for more government services from a conservative? Or was it just an outline for minimalist Metro leadership by one who tries to lead with bare minimum strategies?

Developer and Metro Quickly Respond To Neighbors' Calls To Remove Gang-Related Graffiti

Just a little less than two weeks after gang bangers vandalized private and public properties, a large portion of the graffiti has been removed from developing properties (here's a before photo) and public signs (another before photo). The response was due in large part to quick phone calls on the part of members of Salemtown Neighbors to various parties responsible for repairing vandalism. However, the developers deserve credit for not dragging their feet and Metro Public Works deserves a doff of the cap for responding to residents' phone calls without delay. From the looks of the traffic signs, they seem to have been completely replaced.