More Ernest Nunley News ::

This from an anonymous poster earlier this afternoon:

Howdy y'all, it's 4 o'clock Friday afternoon and Ernest left our shop in Austin a little while ago heading out west towards Dripping Springs. Thank you Lord for having our paths cross. He has enriched all of us as I'm sure he does wherever he goes. My heart is happy and I can't remember the last time I had a smile this wide on my face. May his journey be filled with blessings and please give him and his horses safety on their travels.

A New Update On Ernest Nunley ::

Just received from his daughter:

im happy to say one fat cowboy is in austin TX and doing well he's working on his cart making modification to it for pasage through ruff terrain think all of you for your support and kind words it means a lot to me to see the number of pepole tuched by what my dad is doing

The Owens Crossroads Volunteer Fire Dept. ::

is currently involved in an on-line competition with seven other volunteer fire departments around the country and the prize will be a much needed pumper truck. You can go to www.e-one.com and vote for the OCR department once per e-mail address.

I visited earlier today and voted once for each of my 2 e-mail addresses and I urge you to do the same. Pumper trucks like this are extremely expensive and Owens Crossroads just doesn't have the money available to make this purchase.

Senator Shelby's BFF! ::

Oh, the hypocrisy!

Buying Coffee ::

Actually that's not what I was going to post here, but I was in downtown Huntsville around noon buying some Sumatran Decaf coffee at the Kaffeeklatch (I highly recommend it) and I passed by the courthouse on my way back to work and what did I see on the sidewalk but a guy with a hot dog cart in front of the courthouse. I didn't have the opportunity to stop, but I love the idea of being able to walk out and get a hot dog from a vendor! I would rather buy from someone like this than go to most of the restaurants around the square!

Computer Woes! ::

My modem died over the weekend plus somewhere along the way some seriously bad malware decided to take over my desktop computer so I've been gone for the past few days. I finally got the laptop back up, but I'm still working on getting the malware off the desktop. Hopefully I'll have everything sorted out shortly and I'll be back soon.

Update To The Motocycle Patrol Post ::

If the Huntsville Times had a decent web site, something other than al.com, I would post a link to the story, but today's dead tree edition had a story about 14 motorcycle patrols with state troopers on the local highways. I took the afternoon off in order to do some work around the house and, on the way home, I noticed that the police presence was heightened and tickets were being written. Glad I don't speed!

Motorcycle Cops On The Highway ::

I was making my way down Hobbs Island Road on my way home this afternoon and I ran across a motorcycle policeman writing a ticket to a Porsche driver. I assume that this was a state trooper and this was the first time I had seen one on a bike. I remember back several years when Huntsville had mounted motorcycle police and I was very happy when they went away so I'm hoping that this sighting was a relatively isolated event. I'm not terribly worried about getting stopped for speeding, but I've noticed more and more unmarked cars lately. Fortunately most of them are relatively conspicuous.

Another Ernest Nunley Update ::

I got this a little earlier from an anonymous poster:

I saw Earnest 7/28/2010 in Navasota Texas about 4:00 p.m.
I was with my Dad could not stop to talk
I am a cancer survior of 15 years ; but have lost several family and friends to this
I know the childrens situations he is talking about I worked in public schools over 30 years

If you happen to run across Ernest in his trip to California please toss him as much help as you can. The story of his quest is at this link.

An Ernest Nunley Update ::

I got this from an anonymous poster this morning:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Earnest Nunley-One Fat Cowboy! ::":

Nunley is heading west on Texas 105(Conroe) to Texas 290, where he will head to Lubbock and then New Mexico. For more information or to make a donation to support his mission, visit www.onefatcowboy.com.

Here's a photo of Ernest when he passed through Huntsville, Alabama a couple of years ago:

Love Fest 2 ::

Happens this coming Sunday afternoon at Lowe Mill on the back dock. Here's a short blurb about the happening:

Sunday – 18th – 5-9 PM - Love Fest – Back Dock - Admission back pack or $5 donation (free admission for children 13 and under) -

This event will benefit the “Got Your Backpack” Back to School Supply Drive. Our objective is to assist families that have limited resources, with children K-8th grades, to have a successful start to a new school year. This collaborative event will feature live musical performances by Abstract Jazz Band, Canita Rogers (Neo Soul Artist) Pla Station (R&B) Band as well as youth poets and other activities. The artists are donating their time and talents to help others while providing an evening of stress free family entertainment. This family-friendly event is hosted by United Stylists, Soujourn Church, Lowe Mill, and Art n’ Soul Society of Expression along with other local/community artists.

Here's a photo from last year's event:



I don't know what the schedule for the musicians appearances are and I have little experience with most of them, but I can highly recommend Abstract. Although known a primarily a jazz band, they can get down with some great blues also.

I hope to see you there for this very worthy event which supports school children throughout the city! Last year was the 1st year for this event and the turnout was very good and we're hoping for more this year!

Let me also say that in addition to accepting a backpack as a price of admission, school supplies are also welcomed. Given the cuts and prorations of this year any help for the school children is appreciated!

A Videographer's Experience On The Gulf Coast ::

Given what we've heard from other media types trying to cover the oil spill clean-up I guess this is not at all unusual:

The Byrne/Bradley Debate ::

I just finished listening to what was more of a pandering to the republican base rather than a real debate, but what was even more disappointing was the performance of the "journalists" asking the questions. I wish I had recorded this, but I'm sure there will be a transcript up on the web soon. There were many patently untrue replies from both candidates which went unchallenged. The one that stands out the most for me concerns the federal response to the oil spill in the gulf. BP gets all of the press, but the response has truly been international and Exxon and Shell are both very involved in trying to solve the problem. In additon, no international involvement has been turned down and several countries have responded with offers of help and that help has been accepted.

The republicans are truly desperate!

Happy 4th Of July! ::

Taken this morning in downtown New Hope,Alabama, such as it is!

Ron Sparks ::

Seems to have been eerily silent in the past few weeks. I would have thought that now would have been a perfect time to be touting his agenda while the republicans are fighting each other in their run-off battle!

The Cigar Box Guitar Extravanga! ::

It only happens once a year and it's on for tomorrow night at the Flying Monkey Arts Center at Lowe Mill in Huntsville. I don't know if it will be outside or inside this year, but some of the musicians will be selling some wares starting at around 12pm. At 4pm the movie, Songs Inside The Box, will be shown and the music should start at around 6pm. The musician confirmations I have seen are One-String Willie, Johnny Lowebow, Joker, Little Johnny Kantreed, and Microwave Dave. The cost for the evening is $10 and, believe me, it's well worth it!

I hope to see you there!

Friday Evening Catblogging ::

Arbus lounging on the driveway looking like she's about to pounce:

An Ernest Nunley Update ::

From R. Rice in New Braunfels, Texas:

OFC IS IN NEW BRAUNFELS, TX TODAY
06/19/2010. I MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH HIM BEFORE HE RODE INTO TOWN. I HOPE TO LOCATE HIM BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE ALLOWING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP IN IN SOME SMALL WAY WITH CASH.
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!

My original post is here, and here is a link to Ernest's web site explaining his quest which was sidetracked by a heart attack months ago.

Here is a photograph of Ernest and his horse, Snowey, that I shot on Nov. 2, 2008:

The Huntsville Times: A Waste Of Newsprint! ::

I've long been amazed at just how much goes on in and around Huntsville that the local newspaper, The Huntsville Times, turns a blind eye to and never gets reported. Just a couple of days ago some poor schmuck committed suicide in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart down in the Hampton Cove area, but I've yet to see anything reported in the local fish wrapper. Almost 13 years ago my wife was in an auto accident and spent a considerable amount of time in Huntsville Hospital and we, the family and I, became well acquainted with the nurses over a 2 month period and from them we learned of at least 2 rapes in the Huntsville Hospital parking lot in a one week period that were never reported anywhere.

There have been a couple of stories that I had some personal knowledge of and passed on tips to a couple of reporters and at least one editor with no follow-up from them and my only conclusion from this is that the Huntsville Times is nothing more or less than a shill for the local government and chamber of commerce.

It's a sad situation and I fear that there is no remedy given the blind eye turned to events which could reflect negatively on the local officials, government in general, and business interests.

Holding BP Accountable! ::

Here's the standard that BP holds it's customers to--don't you think the company should be held to the same standard?