Newscoma

Sci Fi Chuck Taylor low tops. They were on sale.

The rest went for a toothbrush and medical bills from two years ago.

Yeah, I have a tiny foot. Hush. They are size fours.

After covering about 4,000 things this weekend at the little soirée in our little town, I took about a kazillion pictures.

I like this one. I learned how to take pictures in b/w because that’s what the newspaper needed and enjoyed the romance of b/w. I think I do better taking photos this way instead of color. I also only had 24 to 36 tries at it in the days of film.

And yes, I took the world’s longest nap this afternoon. Sometimes the world catches up with you and you just need a good rest where I dreamed that I blinked my eyes only to find dozens of people standing over me. They told me I had been living under the wooden slats of the floor in a local restaurant for two weeks and they couldn’t catch me.

Who knew I had become a ghost as that is what they kept saying that was what I was. A ghost underneath their feet. How peculiar.

I need a schedule man.

Tennessee Majority Whip Mark Maddox and Weakley County Mayor Houston Patrick sat down with Mabel today in the first round of talks about her presidential campaign and how she can lead America during these trying times. Although it would be fair to say that although Mabel appreciated the stunning recognition she received, she was at the Tennessee Iris Festival to meet the people who could put her in office.

Wearing a stunning necklace in the style of Barbara Bush, Mabel shook hands paws rather, licked faces and reiterated her campaign promise not to talk about politics, but let the actions speak for themselves.

In the spirit of saving the environment, she did eat an abandoned tray of French fries, making the streets clean from litter and debris.

And, why yes, that is Homer in the role of Condoleeza Rice with Mayor Patrick and Mabel.

I’ve been nominated for best pop culture blog at the Bloggers Choice Awards. Last year I was nominated for Best Blog About Stuff. Next year I hope to have my own category that concentrates on Bigfoot, Zombies and Rural Media.

See the little box up at the top of the sidebar. Go ahead, click on it.

So if you could show me some love if you are so inclined I’d be most appreciative.

I also would not cry and wail if you added me to your feedburner.

I’d also like a penguin.

Okay, I’ll stop.

As those of you who read me know, I’m a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. During it’s run, someone gave me a book about the spiritual and philosophical parallels with religious doctrine.

It made some good points that got me thinking about how religious imagery from the Bible in our popular culture.

Well, say no more, say no more there’s something new coming to your local bookstore.

The Coen Brothers’ movies are now being dissected in a new book called “The Dude Abides: The Gospel According the Coen Brothers.”

Here’s what I’ve read it is about:

From their 1984 debut, “Blood Simple,” through their most recent work, “No
Country for Old Men,” which recently was honored with 4 Oscars, each of the
Coen Brothers’ films probes ethical and spiritual quandaries.
– “Blood Simple” is the story of a man with serious doubts, and what
happens when he attempts to discover what the “truth” is.
– In “Barton Fink,” the title character, a successful New York playwright
turned Hollywood screenwriter, mortgages his soul as he struggles with
terminal writers block among the residents of, what may be, hell-fire,
demons and all.
– “The Big Lebowski” chronicles the misadventures of the Dude — stoner,
pacifist, philosopher — as he attempts to right some wrongs and
vanquish the powers of nihilism and moral turpitude.
– “O Brother Where Art Thou” follows the odyssey (spiritual and
otherwise) of three convicts, a skeptic searching for his way home and
two seeking redemption from their sins.
– “No Country for Old Men” is an epic, prophetic journey that tackles one
of theology’s most daunting conundrums, theodicy — if God is good then
why doesn’t God intervene to stop unrelenting violence — and surmises
that we don’t really know what God is thinking.

I don’t know. I’m sure it will be a good read. However, I always find it interesting how our world seeks spiritual validation through pop culture. I’m no expert on this but it’s interesting to see that award-winning author Cathleen Falsani has done this but I like her blog especially her observations of Johnny Cash.

Falsani is a columnist for The Chicago Sun Times if you were wondering.

I’ll buy it. And I wonder what Falsani thinks about Battlestar Galactica ’cause whoa.

In an effort to save money, I’ve been carpooling. It’s not convenient nor is it fun but I’ve been doing it because right now it’s just a smart thing to do. In a small town and a county that has less people than let’s say Donelson in Nashville or Mid Town in Memphis but much more acreage, there is no public transportation.

You cut where you can.

I’ve heard from three different people asking me why my car has either been sitting in the driveway at Chez Coma or why sometimes I leave it at the office and ride with SQ. When I tell them I’m saving money on gas by riding with someone else or they ride with me, I get some weird looks.

You see, cars and trucks around here are tools and necessary. And for some folks it’s their identity. For me, I could care less as long as I get where I need to be. And I find it so peculiar that me not driving as much has people talking. It’s not that interesting actually.

The one thing about where I live that bugs me is the lack of sidewalks in my neighborhood. When I was a kid, our next door neighbor was plowed over by a car and died just up the road from where I live now. I do not walk on the highways here. It freaks me out. But I digress. (Reliving childhood moment, pardon me for a second.)

When I lived in Montreal and Amsterdam, I walked everywhere and I loved it. I took the trams, the underground, trains and buses. It was no problem and to be honest, I liked it. I was in the best shape of my life. Of course, when taking mass transit, you have to be scheduled or you will be sitting in the middle of nowhere at 3 a.m. I learned that lesson quick. It takes just one time to get it.

Needless to say, reading Brittney Gilbert’s adventures in mass transit makes me a bit nostalgic.

Back to carpooling, it’s something that I believe is saving me some dough-re-mi. And why this is on my mind this morning I have no idea but I do know that it does make a difference as the price of a gallon of gas is something that in my household at least, has to be put into the budget and that even driving 60 miles round trip just up the road goes off in my brain with a cash register ring that says 8 bucks.

I’d get a scooter but Homer and Squirrel Queen have nixed it.

“You will die,” Homer has said more than once. “And I’m not cleaning it up.”

“But it will save gas,” I argue.

“You have no coordination, Newscoma,” Squirrel Queen always says giving Homer a look where I know they’ve been talking about it. “Seriously, you can’t even walk without there being an incident.”

There is truth in this statement so instead of fussing I just do what everyone needs to do at least three times a year.

I pout. It only makes sense.

So, as my car sits at certain times, I’ve decided to make up elaborate reasons of why it’s parked instead of telling the truth that I’m carpooling because for some reason that is beyond my grasp, people just don’t like that answer.

I’ve decided to say Homeland Security is making me park it in a master plan to catch Guatemalan drug dealers.

That’ll get folks talking.