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AT HOME HE’S A TOURIST: 2008 EDITION, PART 2: TENNESSEE STUD
The second installment of our coverage of the Def Holiday covers our time in Maryville, TN, with a side trip to Nashville to meet up with old friends who still live there (as well as a pair who drove all the way from Atlanta GA to see me – which is epic).
TENNESSEE HIGHLIGHTS
1. Meals with friends (yay!)
2. Grimey’s (indie record stores!)
3. Wal-mart (Hannah Montana!)
4. Nintendo Wii + AC/DC = EPIC WIN (Highway to Hell!)
5. Christmas with Charlie Murphy and Rick James (Darkness!)
6. Christmas booty (Fuck the MPAA!)
7. Revisiting the homestead (cop cars!)
8. Fine art (Candid photography!)
9. Cheap gas ($1.45!)
10. Free-to-air TV: still horrible (Bristol Palin!)
THE HIGHLIGHTS (EXTENTED PLAY)
1. Meals with friends
Specifically: Mr & Mrs Cat Taylor,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
captainpixel (a.k.a. Suzie and Stephen), Rhonda/Terry, and Marsha, all of whom we caught up with in Nashville. It was good to see all of you, especially the ones for whom it’s been nine years since we met last. Hopefully it won’t be that long until the next dinner.
2. Grimey’s
A local indie record store started by acquaintances of the people listed above that’s grown from a tiny record shop in Berry Hill to a bigger-but-cozy place on 8th Ave South that also sports a basement for live shows. It has actual records (by which I mean vinyl) as well as new and used CDs. It’s pretty much everything an indie music store should be. Even Rolling Stone is impressed. And I got the new Polysics CD out of it. Highly recommended if yr in the area.
3. Wal-mart
With our luggage languishing in Chicago, we spent a lot of time in the Alcoa Wal-mart buying clothes and sundries to tide us over, not knowing just how many sets of clothes we were going to need. Consequently, I learned many things.
(1) Hannah Montana is the default Wal-mart mascot.
(2) Axe body sprays are brought to you by Nickelback. Or possibly vice versa. Because they want only the BEST.
(3) Body wash (or as we old people call it, soap) is hilarious when marketed at men. See: Pacific Force, Arctic Force, Alpine Xtreme, etc.
(4) Wal-mart is open 24 hours. Its fitting rooms close at 11pm SHARP.
(5) Every white male in Blount County aged 20-35 is heavyset and has a ball cap and goatee. Not that it’s a bad look. I’m just saying.
4. Nintendo Wii + AC/DC = EPIC WIN
My nephew has a Wii. We played us some Wii Bowling. I came in second, which is better than real life. Wii Bowling kicks ass all over yr county. He also got Wii Rock Band for Christmas and the AC/DC Live game. I played drums on “Highway To Hell”. I did pretty good. He loves AC/DC. He is 11 years old. How awesome is that? Okay, he also likes T.I., but when I was his age, I thought KC and the Sunshine Band kicked ass, so who am I to be critical?
5. Christmas with Charlie Murphy and Rick James
In which my sister played for me the Chappelle’s Show episode with Charlie Murphy talking about how all the times he had to kick Rick James’ ass. Which is the most heartwarming Christmas ever. This is worth mentioning in part because I’d never seen Chappelle’s Show until that day.
6. Christmas booty
Well, not much, really. The top prizes were (1) a DVD of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack (regifted by Cat, as it’s coded for Region 3, which he can’t watch) and (2) Season One of Battlestar Galactica, which I had to return because I don’t live in Region 1. (Did you see what just happened there, MPAA?)
7. Revisiting the homestead
One goal of driving to Nashville was to show KT’s mom my hometown. One of the problems of showing people around Nashville is that unless they’re into country music, there’s very little to show them apart from the Parthenon and a few museums. So I drove by the house where I grew up. It’s interesting how the neighborhood doesn’t seem to have changed much since ... well, the mid-60s when it was first developed. Our house is for sale again, and we entertained the idea of getting the real estate agent to show us around so KT’s mom could see the inside. The sheriff’s car in the backyard convinced us to keep moving.
8. Fine art
Whilst in Nashville, we visited the Frist Center For The Visual Arts (formerly the old main post office building downtown), which is new to me, and like I said. They had a neat George Eastman Photography exhibit and a collection of Rodin sculptures. Classy!
9. Cheap gas
Well, comparatively. After hearing horror stories from those of you in the US on the price of gas, I was dreading the fuel costs. Luckily, by the time we needed to fill up, it was $1.45/gal in Nashville (as of 12/29), which meant I could fill the tank of a 2007 Kia Optima for just under $20. When I was in Nashville in November 2007, it was closer to $2.95/gal. So the difference was notable. Naturally, the day after we gave the car back, it dropped to $1.32/gal in Maryville-Alcoa.
10. Free-to-air TV: still horrible
Especially when it comes to local news – unless yr main interest is weather forecasts and college football, in which case it’s extremely in-depth. For everything else, the rule of thumb is: if it can’t be explained in 60 seconds, it’s not worth knowing. That includes Israel and Hamas exchanging rocket fire for three straight days (at the time), which was bumped by the nearby TVA ash spill in Roane County (understandable) and the birth of Bristol Palin’s baby (WTF?).
The exception was WMAK, which is sort of like TV Land, so I got to see The Rockford Files, Quincy and Emergency!, which was swell. The hair care infomercials with Melissa Gilbert, not so much. Also notable: a commercial for a family-values based car repair shop.
And can I just say that Kathie Lee Gifford is still one of the most irritating people on TV?
And so much for Tennessee. All up, it was a good visit, albeit mainly to catch up with my friends and to remind myself why I got the hell out of the state in the first place.
Up next: Chicago!
You can’t go home again,
This is dF
TENNESSEE HIGHLIGHTS
1. Meals with friends (yay!)
2. Grimey’s (indie record stores!)
3. Wal-mart (Hannah Montana!)
4. Nintendo Wii + AC/DC = EPIC WIN (Highway to Hell!)
5. Christmas with Charlie Murphy and Rick James (Darkness!)
6. Christmas booty (Fuck the MPAA!)
7. Revisiting the homestead (cop cars!)
8. Fine art (Candid photography!)
9. Cheap gas ($1.45!)
10. Free-to-air TV: still horrible (Bristol Palin!)
THE HIGHLIGHTS (EXTENTED PLAY)
1. Meals with friends
Specifically: Mr & Mrs Cat Taylor,
captainpixel (a.k.a. Suzie and Stephen), Rhonda/Terry, and Marsha, all of whom we caught up with in Nashville. It was good to see all of you, especially the ones for whom it’s been nine years since we met last. Hopefully it won’t be that long until the next dinner. 2. Grimey’s
A local indie record store started by acquaintances of the people listed above that’s grown from a tiny record shop in Berry Hill to a bigger-but-cozy place on 8th Ave South that also sports a basement for live shows. It has actual records (by which I mean vinyl) as well as new and used CDs. It’s pretty much everything an indie music store should be. Even Rolling Stone is impressed. And I got the new Polysics CD out of it. Highly recommended if yr in the area.
3. Wal-mart
With our luggage languishing in Chicago, we spent a lot of time in the Alcoa Wal-mart buying clothes and sundries to tide us over, not knowing just how many sets of clothes we were going to need. Consequently, I learned many things.
(1) Hannah Montana is the default Wal-mart mascot.
(2) Axe body sprays are brought to you by Nickelback. Or possibly vice versa. Because they want only the BEST.
(3) Body wash (or as we old people call it, soap) is hilarious when marketed at men. See: Pacific Force, Arctic Force, Alpine Xtreme, etc.
(4) Wal-mart is open 24 hours. Its fitting rooms close at 11pm SHARP.
(5) Every white male in Blount County aged 20-35 is heavyset and has a ball cap and goatee. Not that it’s a bad look. I’m just saying.
4. Nintendo Wii + AC/DC = EPIC WIN
My nephew has a Wii. We played us some Wii Bowling. I came in second, which is better than real life. Wii Bowling kicks ass all over yr county. He also got Wii Rock Band for Christmas and the AC/DC Live game. I played drums on “Highway To Hell”. I did pretty good. He loves AC/DC. He is 11 years old. How awesome is that? Okay, he also likes T.I., but when I was his age, I thought KC and the Sunshine Band kicked ass, so who am I to be critical?
5. Christmas with Charlie Murphy and Rick James
In which my sister played for me the Chappelle’s Show episode with Charlie Murphy talking about how all the times he had to kick Rick James’ ass. Which is the most heartwarming Christmas ever. This is worth mentioning in part because I’d never seen Chappelle’s Show until that day.
6. Christmas booty
Well, not much, really. The top prizes were (1) a DVD of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-out Attack (regifted by Cat, as it’s coded for Region 3, which he can’t watch) and (2) Season One of Battlestar Galactica, which I had to return because I don’t live in Region 1. (Did you see what just happened there, MPAA?)
7. Revisiting the homestead
One goal of driving to Nashville was to show KT’s mom my hometown. One of the problems of showing people around Nashville is that unless they’re into country music, there’s very little to show them apart from the Parthenon and a few museums. So I drove by the house where I grew up. It’s interesting how the neighborhood doesn’t seem to have changed much since ... well, the mid-60s when it was first developed. Our house is for sale again, and we entertained the idea of getting the real estate agent to show us around so KT’s mom could see the inside. The sheriff’s car in the backyard convinced us to keep moving.
8. Fine art
Whilst in Nashville, we visited the Frist Center For The Visual Arts (formerly the old main post office building downtown), which is new to me, and like I said. They had a neat George Eastman Photography exhibit and a collection of Rodin sculptures. Classy!
9. Cheap gas
Well, comparatively. After hearing horror stories from those of you in the US on the price of gas, I was dreading the fuel costs. Luckily, by the time we needed to fill up, it was $1.45/gal in Nashville (as of 12/29), which meant I could fill the tank of a 2007 Kia Optima for just under $20. When I was in Nashville in November 2007, it was closer to $2.95/gal. So the difference was notable. Naturally, the day after we gave the car back, it dropped to $1.32/gal in Maryville-Alcoa.
10. Free-to-air TV: still horrible
Especially when it comes to local news – unless yr main interest is weather forecasts and college football, in which case it’s extremely in-depth. For everything else, the rule of thumb is: if it can’t be explained in 60 seconds, it’s not worth knowing. That includes Israel and Hamas exchanging rocket fire for three straight days (at the time), which was bumped by the nearby TVA ash spill in Roane County (understandable) and the birth of Bristol Palin’s baby (WTF?).
The exception was WMAK, which is sort of like TV Land, so I got to see The Rockford Files, Quincy and Emergency!, which was swell. The hair care infomercials with Melissa Gilbert, not so much. Also notable: a commercial for a family-values based car repair shop.
And can I just say that Kathie Lee Gifford is still one of the most irritating people on TV?
And so much for Tennessee. All up, it was a good visit, albeit mainly to catch up with my friends and to remind myself why I got the hell out of the state in the first place.
Up next: Chicago!
You can’t go home again,
This is dF