Les Jones

Knoxville Social Media Summit 2010

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

It’s today. Hope to see some of you there. Twitter hashtag is #knoxsummit.

Half off gift certificates at Coal Creek Armory

Saturday, February 20th, 2010 | East Tennessee | Permalink | 1 Comment |

$99.50 for $199 gift certificates. “Good for 1 year indoor shooting range membership. Does not apply to products or services.” HalfOffDepot.com has 35 left as of today.

All Knoxville HalfOffDepot gift certificates here.

Hat tip to Josh.

Tags: frugality

Winter at Mt. LeConte Lodge in the Smokies

Saturday, January 30th, 2010 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

Beautiful. More here.

And if you ever wondered how they stayed warm up there, here’s the answer.

Tags: smokies

Hank Williams III and the Damn Band

Thursday, January 28th, 2010 | A&E, East Tennessee | Permalink | 1 Comment |

I’ve been on a Hank III kick lately. When “Broke, Lovesick & Driftin’” came out Jay loaned me his copy. I loved it. With his yodelly twang and country string band III sounds more like his granddaddy than his daddy.

7 Months, 39 Days

and this makes me want to see him live:

Cocaine Blues - Spartanburg, SC 10/18/06

Smoke and Wine (acoustic with banjo - my fave)

LATER: That’s the best video of the bunch and it looks even better on the LiveDaily Sessions site. Follow that link for videos of “Country Heroes” and “Six Pack of Beer.”

My Drinkin’ Problem

This is just a hell of an old style, blue vein country tune.

She said she’s gonna quit me,
If I didn’t quit the booze.
So I just started drinkin’ more,
To see if she would really choose.
And I have to hand it to that girl:
She meant every breath.
An’ I’m glad she did, ’cause I was about,
To drink myself to death.

Because my drinkin’ problem left today.
She packed up all her things and walked away.
Well, it looks like off the bottle now is where I’m gonna stay,
Because my drinkin’ problem left today.

Something almost unlistenably different

Blue Devil

7 Months 39 Days live

My wife found his Wikipedia entry, which is pretty darned interesting. I liked this: “Upon first meeting Hank III, Minnie Pearl, a friend of the late Hank Williams Sr., reportedly said “Lord, honey, you’re a ghost,” as she was astonished by his striking resemblance to his grandfather.”

P.S. - Hank III’s fiddle player deserves the Nobel Prize in Fiddlin’.

P.P.S. - I don’t know who the banjo player on “Smoke and Wine” is, but he’s damned good. Is that a Mississippi Rebels ball cap or a Maryville, TN Rebels ball cap?

Tags: both kinds of music - country AND western

Raynella Leath Dossett Convicted of Murder

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 | East Tennessee, True Crime | Permalink | No Comments |

Whipped Cream Difficulties reminds me that yesterday Raynella Leath Dossett was convicted of murdering her second husband, David Leath. A weekend NY Times piece mentions some of the bizarrely suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths of both of Dossett’s husbands.

Every quirk in her behavior has been parsed by Knoxville residents for motive, even the fact that she had Mr. Leath’s body cremated the day after he died. His body contained unprescribed sedatives and painkillers, according to an autopsy conducted hours earlier. Mr. Leath’s friends say he was opposed to cremation and owned a plot in the cemetery where his parents are buried.

Mr. Pedigo said that prosecutors in Mr. Dossett’s office resisted his performing an autopsy, that he felt pressured to rule the death an accident and that he had a “policy” of erring on the side of the family in cases where a judgment call was required. He persuaded Ms. Dossett that the insurance company would need an autopsy, and she consented. Mr. Pedigo said he found traumatic injuries consistent with trampling and a hoof print in the middle of the bib of Mr. Dossett’s overalls.

But when the current medical examiner, Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan, reviewed the file as part of the Leath investigation, she found that those injuries were not life threatening. Instead, Dr. Mileusnic-Polchan said, Mr. Dossett’s morphine level was “so extraordinarily high it is unlikely that any human could function in an ambulatory manner or continue to live.” In 2006, Ms. Dossett Leath was indicted in his death, charged with administering an overdose of morphine.

Betty Bean has a good backgrounder on Dossett and her Barn of Doom.

Previously

• Raynella Dossett-Leath Indicted for a Second Husband’s Murder
• New Charges Against Raynella Dossett Leath
• Local Crime News: Raynella Dossett Leath Murder Indictment

Knoxville Zoo and the Nikon 18-105mm VR

Sunday, January 24th, 2010 | East Tennessee, Home Life | Permalink | 2 Comments |

Saturday was a dry and warm January day, so we took the opportunity to visit the zoo.

This was the first outing with the new Nikon 18-105mm VR lens. I definitely liked the extra range  compared to the 18-55mm kit lens that got stolen last fall. The zoom ring also feels a bit better mechanically. It pushes the lens straight out, compared to the 18-55mm which is a “double trombone” design that extends out up to a point and comes back in.

I can’t say much more without getting some shutter time with it. I suspect that just as with the 18-55mm this lens likes lots of sunlight, which was in fairly short supply yesterday afternoon.

P.S. When I downloaded the pictures to the computer they weren’t as sharp as I would have expected for a camera with VR (Vibration Reduction - Nikon’s name for their anti-shake technology). Then I checked the setting on the lens and realized the VR switch was set to off from the factory. So I’ll test VR on the next outing.

Tags: d40, nikon, nikon 18-105mm vr

The Pizza at Sam and Andy’s Deli

Thursday, January 14th, 2010 | East Tennessee, Food & Drink | Permalink | No Comments |

Sam and Andy’s is a Knoxville institution. They’re best known as a deli, originally on the UT campus, with branches in West Knoxville and North Broadway.

We ate at the West restaurant today after the girls’ ballet recital. Katie wanted cheese pizza. I had eaten Sam and Andy’s pizza ages ago on campus. I remember their menu proudly proclaimed that they were the first restaurant in Knoxville to serve pizza.

ZOMG that was good pizza. The whole pie - crust, sauce and cheese - probably didn’t have more than eight or 10 ingredients, but it was unbelievably good. Thin, non-drooping crust that was slightly charred around the edges, ever so slightly sweet tomato sauce and excellent mozzarella. We’re getting that again.

Harold Ford, Jr. flips his positions again for a Yankee audience

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 | East Tennessee, Politics | Permalink | No Comments |

Mister “I suddenly hateses the gay marriage and loveses the guns” wants to run for the U.S. Senate in New York. Now he’s all “I suddenly hateses the guns and loveses the gay marriage.”

During the 2006 elections Ford ran against Bob Corker for one of Tennessee’s Senate seats. In that election one candidate was against gay marriage and abortion, was in favor of prayer in schools and guns, and had the ten commandments printed on his business cards. And the other guy was Republican Bob Corker. Ford lost and Corker won.

“You gun owners are so violent I want to punch you in the f—ing face!”

Saturday, January 9th, 2010 | East Tennessee, Guns | Permalink | 1 Comment |

No, really:

You, however, have demonstrated considerable irresponsibility in your arguments and in your personal attacks on this blogger, who also happens to be my wife. Send me your home address and I’ll come to your house and punch your fucking face in. Unless you are a pussy who can’t fight without a gun in his hand.

same guy, in a second comment:

Ok, a boxing match, then. I’m not immature, I just like hitting conservative assholes.

same guy, in a third comment:

In several of my comments, I made derogatory remarks directed at the trolls. I said some nasty stuff. Some colorful language was used. I stand by that language. I also stand by my offer to face them one on one and punch these idiots in their faces. That’s how I roll.

And now … the remainder … of … the narrative

Linoge and Weer’d Beer’d think the guy making those comments is “Rob Russell who ran for the Representative seat of the First Congressional District of Tennessee.” If so I’ve rarely been so glad a politician lost a race.

Tam has more on the original blog post that started all of this.

D.C. is warmer than my corner of TN right now…

Monday, January 4th, 2010 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

according to the Weather Channel. That ain’t right.

I’ve been in D.C. in January. They burn taxpayer money and copies of the Constitution just to stay warm.

Tags: everyone talks about the weather

If you haven’t visited Chris Wage in a while…

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 | A&E, East Tennessee, Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

Go give him a looksee. He has a new domain and Web site to showcase his photography. I’ve always been a fan and his art keeps getting better and better. Nashville should be proud.

Trust me on this. Stan Guffey will win.

Thursday, December 10th, 2009 | East Tennessee, Science | Permalink | No Comments |

Metro Pulse - UT Professor Considers Legal Action Over Use Of Charles Darwin Bio:

Stan Guffey had been waiting months for Nov. 18 to arrive. On that day, Christian groups handed out free copies of a 150th-anniversary edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species on college campuses across the country. Guffey is a biology lecturer at the University of Tennessee who earned his doctorate studying genetic differences between northern and southern populations of brook trout. When he heard talk outside his office about people handing out books on the UT plaza, Guffey says, “I hot-footed it over to get myself a copy.”

“Would you like me to autograph this?” Guffey asked the distributors, telling them he is one of the authors, albeit unacknowledged. Since spring, e-mails had been trickling in alerting him to extensive similarities between the first three pages of the edition’s introduction and “A Brief History of Charles Darwin,” which Guffey wrote in 1997 for UT’s first Darwin Day event. He wrote the biography, handed out on campus each February and available through the Darwin Day website, “to make Darwin accessible to people who thought Darwin was a devil, to make him human.”

Note to plagiarists: Stan Guffey is not the guy to steal from. Heh.

Ed Wright passes away - hiked Mt LeConte over 1,300 times

Monday, November 30th, 2009 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

From Hiking in the Smokies:

Sadly, I’ve just learned that the Great Smoky Mountains has lost a dear friend.

Many of you may have heard about or actually met Ed Wright while hiking to Mt. LeConte. Mr. Wright is famous for being the person to have hiked to the summit of LeConte on 1,310 occasions. Many of those hikes are documented on his website. It appears that his final attempt at reaching the summit occurred on June 20th of this year. He had not been feeling well and made the decision to head back down when he was about two-thirds of the way up the mountain.

I knew Ed from the days when we were both members of the East Tennessee Macintosh Users Group. The first time I ever hiked Mt LeConte was on my 30th birthday with my friend Eddie McGaha. We met Ed coming down the mountain when we were on the way up. Over the years he became a fixture on LeConte, recording weather data, serving as a trailside ambassador, and eventually publishing a book about the mountain and his hikes. He’ll be missed.

Check for updates on his Web site at MtLeconte.com and enjoy the photos and stories there.

Tags: smokies

Natalie is home

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | East Tennessee, Home Life | Permalink | No Comments |

It seemed like Natalie was about ready to come home this morning, but the tests and test results took longer than expected. She’s finally home now.

Funny thing? Last night Natalie wanted to come home more than anything. Tonight when it was time to leave the hospital she didn’t want to leave any more. She liked it and was having fun. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital is a great hospital with a great staff. We’re fortunate to have it. Many thanks to everyone who works there.

Katie and Natalie visit the Sunsphere

Thursday, November 12th, 2009 | A&E, East Tennessee, Home Life, Quotes | Permalink | No Comments |

Katie was out of school for Veteran’s Day, so Melissa took her and Natalie out for a big day in downtown Knoxville. They went to the Veteran’s Day parade, ate at the re-opened S&W Grand nee Cafeteria, and went to the observation deck of the Sunsphere. Katie declared it the best day ever.

P.S. This Metro Pulse article about the Sunsphere is incredible - Did a 14-Year-Old Kid Help Design the Sunsphere? The kid’s design used a doughnut-shaped elevator wrapped around a central support and the elevator turned as it ascended for a 360 degree view. Wicked.

Bryce Thomas is an architect of 45 who lives and works in Seattle. He sounds modest and unassuming on the phone. Son of businessman/lawyer Perry Thomas, Bryce grew up near West Hills. In 1978, when he was 14, his parents took him on an “adventure” vacation trip to Seattle. He was awed, as most teenagers still are, at his first sight of the Space Needle, the theme structure for the 1962 World’s Fair. “The Space Needle in Seattle is very slender, very graceful,” he says. He’d heard his home town had a fair coming up, thought it needed a theme structure like the Space Needle. Talking with his parents around the dinner table, he proposed what he thought might be an appropriate design for it.

He drew a picture that impressed his father. It’s labeled “Basic Sun Globe.” He still has the drawing of it he made in July, 1978. The globe is made of “gold glass,” mounted on top of a very tall stalk, accessible by an elevator. A note, in a child’s hand, specifies, “Globe contain[s] Restaurant and Observation area. If possible use as a source of solar energy [for] operation.”

His father was impressed, and mailed the diagram to the World’s Fair authorities. They heard nothing for two years.

“I was shocked the day I went to get the newspaper,” one Sunday in 1980, Bryce says. “On the front page there was a picture of this Sunsphere proposal.”

The World’s Fair had hired design firm Community Tectonics in 1979, several months after receiving the boy’s drawings, and they’re credited with the Sunsphere’s design.

In June, 1980, Bryce received a letter from George Siler, the fair’s executive vice president, who did acknowledge the kid’s plan. “As you can imagine, we receive lots of suggestions from people about the Fair,” Siler wrote. “Many of them are impractical or not in keeping with our objectives. Yours was a notable exception. In fact, you submitted one of the best ideas we have received. Your Sun Globe is innovative, well conceived and very much in accordance with what we think our World’s Fair ought to contain.

Because Tim Hutchison needs a bigger pension

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 | Best Of, East Tennessee | Permalink | 1 Comment |

The former Knox County sheriff is gearing up to run for Knox County mayor.

I’m not a Tim Hutchison (R) fan. I work in Knoxville, but I don’t live there and therefore don’t vote there, don’t pay taxes there, and don’t send my kids to school there. I try to ignore Knoxville politics as much as possible. But even as a casual observer of Knoxville politics I find plenty to dislike about Hutchison.

• Hutchison used imminent domain to demolish a block of downtown Knoxville buildings for a new city jail. The jail was never built. A study determined Knoxville didn’t need a new jail. The buildings and the businesses in them were gone all the same.
• Under Hutchison the sheriff’s department “pension was changed from a defined-contribution pension plan, similar to a 401(k), to a defined-benefit plan, which has a specific payout. As has been noted, under the new plan, former sheriff Tim Hutchison’s pension goes from $20,000 to $80,000 a year.” The plan was estimated to cost $100 million over 20 years. Within a year the costs were revised upwards due to a deteriorating stock market. The only mitigating factor in Hutchison’s defense was that Knox County voters actually voted for that disaster in a referendum.
• As sheriff Hutchison refused to cooperate with “America’s Most Wanted” when they offered to feature the Johnia Berry murder to help find leads. At that point AMW had led to the arrest of 887 fugitives. Hutchison never caught the killer. His successor caught the guy after someone identified him from a police sketch and turned him in for the reward. Luckily the idiot had never bothered to leave Knoxville despite his face being on billboards, yard signs, and Food City grocery trucks all around town and a $70,000 reward being offered for his arrest.
• Hutchison had a grudge match with some member of the county council or whatever it’s called, in which they constantly filed lawsuits against one another at taxpayer expense.

My wife and I are trying to decide if our next house is going to be in Knoxville, Maryville, or Alcoa. One persuasive argument against buying a house in Knoxville is that the government is so lousy. Tim Hutchison is a prime example of how lousy it is.

Tags: penions, unions

Mexican lamb BBQ at Los Amigos in Maryville

Saturday, October 10th, 2009 | East Tennessee, Food & Drink | Permalink | No Comments |

Los Amigos in Maryville had a special on their board today, Mexican lamb BBQ. De-lish. It’s shredded lamb cooked with onions and served with fresh cilantro. The BBQ sauce is soup-thin, served in a bowl for dipping, and unbelievably tasty.

It was today’s special. I have no idea when they’ll serve it again, but try it if you get the chance.

Los Amigos has been in business 20 years now. Here’s hoping Hector continued success. I’d love to see him open more restaurants. If he took over Deadbeat Pete’s in Townsend that place would be a raging success.

Black Flag at Vic and Bill’s Deli, Knoxville 1985

Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | A&E, East Tennessee, Food & Drink | Permalink | No Comments |

Oh hells yeah. My first Vic and Bill’s Deli show was Teenage Love, the STDs, and Guadalcanal Diary. I was 16. Vic and Bill’s was all about the punk rock and the serving beer to underage kids.

Before I graduated high school I saw the Circle Jerks and the Dead Kennedys there, too. I think I saw Black Flag, but I honestly can’t remember for sure. This was the old Vic and Bill’s, next to Stefano’s Pizza on the UT Strip.

Via Swanky’s Facebook. He BTW won a Metro Pulse bartender award. Not that he’s ever mixed a delicious tropical drink for me. Hint hint.

Tags: can you believe that guy?, i love me some rum, youtube

Free flu shot Saturday in Knoxville

Friday, September 25th, 2009 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

Info here. They say many locations will run out of vaccine by noon, so go early.

Tags: i like free stuff

Rain barrel sale in Knoxville October 3rd

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | East Tennessee, Home Life | Permalink | 4 Comments |

Join the City of Knoxville October 3rd from 9AM-3PM at West Town Mall parking lot for a Rain Barrel and Compost event.

Cool. I’ve been wanting some rain barrels. The ones in the pics have brass spigots at the bottom. I’ve got a couple of places where I could put these below downspouts and attach a regular hose or soaker hose to the spigots to water dry areas.

Capacity is 80 gallons. Price is $40, which seems reasonable. Cash or check only.

Back from the the Copper Hill/Ducktown goofy trip

Friday, September 4th, 2009 | Best Of, East Tennessee | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Holy cows on Fort Loudon Lake

After a full day, a couple hundred miles on the odometer, 178 pictures, and spending the day variously in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia, we’re home.

Biggest surprise was Blue Ridge, Georgia, where we went at the end of the day because it was close to Copper Hill. Really cool town. It’s an old railroad stop and they still have train tours out of there. The old buildings in the town have been restored and some yuppified with high-end retail and restaurants. It looks like a good place to spend an afternoon.

Burra Burra Mine Collapse, from the Burra Burra Mine Museum overlook in Ducktown, TN

Strangest thing was that so many restaurants in that corner of the state are closed and/or dead as a doornail on a Friday night. Do Seventh Day Adventists not go out on Friday night or something? (My dad’s side of the family lives in northern Georgia and are all SDA.) By comparison, towns like Etowah and Madisonville that are well on the Tennessee side had hoppin’ restaurants.

Two best mementos of the trip: magnetic toys from the Burra Burra Mine Museum in Ducktown and half a smoked ham from Benton’s Smoky Mountain Hams in Madisonville. I hadn’t been to Benton’s in 15 or 20 years. Now the New York Times, LA Times, Gourmet, Men’s Health, and other media outlets are lauding them as the final word in smoked pig. We’re going to cook some up tomorrow for breakfast. They told us to cook it in a skillet with a little Coca-Cola.

Smoky pigmeat, Madisonville, TN

Dinner was at the Iron Horse Grill in Copper Hill. I had shrimp in coconut and curry sauce with fried sweet potatoes. Melissa had sauteed chicken with blue cheese rosa and penne pasta with salad greens. Great stuff, great staff, and we enjoyed the second story porch. East Tennessee and Western North Carolina have these awesome little mountain towns with amazing restaurants. We also like the German restaurants in Black Rock and Hendersonville, NC, Lulu’s Cafe in Sylva, NC, and Green River BBQ and The Red Onion in Saluda, NC.

More Goofy Trips

Tags: goofy trips

Advice for visiting Copperhill and Ducktown, TN?

Monday, August 31st, 2009 | East Tennessee | Permalink | 2 Comments |

For Labor Day weekend we’re visiting Ducktown and Copperhill, Tennessee and the Burra Burra Mine.

The area is best known for a dubious reason. In the first half of the twentieth century, sulfur dioxide emissions from copper smelting wrecked the environment, converting the lush East Tennessee landscape into something more akin to the surface of the moon. It has apparently recovered to some degree due to replanting efforts and the passage of time. As I recall cranberry was one of the early re-inhabitants.

I’m always interested in advice for interesting places to visit. Any suggestions for places to eat or particular things to see?

More Burgess Falls pictures

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

Linoge’s got ‘em.

Smokies documentary will show vintage park footage

Monday, August 24th, 2009 | East Tennessee | Permalink | No Comments |

Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog - Vintage Views of Great Smoky Mountains National Park:

Much of the collection of home movie clips were derived from Jack Huff, a Gatlinburg native who in 1926 built a lodge atop the 6,593-foot Mount LeConte, and Jim Thompson, a Knoxville photographer.

You’ll see rare images of the people who lived in the park and those that helped to make it into a national park, such as Wiley Oakley, the “Roaming Man of the Mountains”, the Walker sisters, the CCC, and men like wilderness advocates Harvey Broome and Carlos Campbell.

There will be two screening of the movie. The first will be in Gatlinburg on Sept. 12. at 7 p.m. at the Riverside Motor Lodge. Tickets are $10 and can be reserved by calling 865-436-0526 or 800-343-1475.

The second screening will be at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville on Sept. 18. at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Sounds great. I need to start lining up a babysitter.

Tags: smokies

Foreclosure filed against Northshore Town Center

Thursday, August 13th, 2009 | East Tennessee, Economics | Permalink | No Comments |

Josh Flory’s got the story* and a followup here.

I pass Northshore Town Center on the way home every night. (For locals, it’s at the corner of Knoxville and Pellissippi.) It was a New Urbanist project with walkable retail and a little playground and pond. Parking was on the street with alleyways in back for garages and garbage service.

The idea was interesting, but the timing was bad. They began building as the housing bubble came down. The three story retail center is empty. Only 10-20% of the lots were built out.

On the way home last night I drove through the project and picked up a few flyers. One advertised a 2700 sq. ft. with no yard and no porch for $399,000. It’s a nice home inside and brick on the outside, but that’s outrageous in 2009 for Knoxville. It’s worse considering the house is in an unfinished subdivision that’s mostly empty lots. If the appeal was to be close to neighbors and walking to distance to retail then the absence of neighbors and retail is a drag on the price.

* Pssstt … Josh, feel free to use that.

Tags: mortgage mess