Night Owl Flying?

It's 12:04AM here in the Electric City which, technically, means it's already Monday.

Here's a sneak preview of today's playlist:

Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
-alternate versions: Richie Havens
(for the intentionally reckless, try Peter Tosh's reggae version)
Happy Together - The Turtles
We Belong - Pat Benatar
Never My Love - The Association

Now get off the keyboard, and try to log some zzzz's.

117 Die in Anderson

If you believe as I do that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, was crucified and literally resurrected from the dead you would've been thrilled to attend yesterday's baptism service at New Spring.

117 men, women, and children publically professed Jesus Christ as their Lord and were baptised to symbolize Christ's burial, death and resurrection, and the beginning of their new lives as Christians.

Jesus Christ commanded baptism, but baptism itself doesn't make anyone a Christian. Only faith in Christ alone can do that. Paul tells us "What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!" [2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT]

And in being made new, Christians are dead to sin: "Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" "Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace." [Romans 6:2,14]

Although some churches prohibit clapping as irreverent yesterday Pastor P. encouraged it, explaining that if we can celebrate at football games, "We sure can do it here today."

I'm pretty sure there was some celebrating and rejoicing yesterday in Heaven, too.

* * * * *

Enjoy this morning's playlist on your drive up Highway 81 to catch Part 3 of Da Vinci Decoded:

Holy Holy Holy
Blessed Be Your Name
He Reigns

Drive-In Weekend

I miss drive-ins ... so before we start reminiscing go ahead and cue up Today's Playlist for the background:

Misirlou - Dick Dale
I Only Have Eyes for You - The Flamingos
(recommended alternative version - Art Garfunkel)
Sealed with a Kiss - Brian Hyland
Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
I Feel Fine - The Beatles
I'm into Something Good - Herman's Hermits

Seems like my folks had a 1954ish Dodge 4-door sedan when I was a toddler, a submarine-sized car with huge windows and tennis court-sized bench seats sorta like this one, that seemed made for drive-in double feature fun.










The truly terrific drive-ins in Tampa accomodated up to 1000 cars and had two, sometimes three screens, built-in amusement parks and concession stands selling everything from candied apples and corn dogs to cotton candy, fries and cheeseburgers. What could be more fun than playing putt-putt golf, stuffing down cotton candy, and watching a movie ... all at the same time?

Admission was charged by the carload, so you paid the same $2 whether you went with a date or joined six close friends in an RV (did that in high school).

But drive-ins seemed to suddenly disappear overnight in the late 1970s. Some blamed the gas crisis (smaller cars were less comfortable), others complained drive-ins had become dens of makeout iniquity for hormone-crazed teens. The real reasons might be more troubling: parents with small children just can't stand as much extended physical proximity to their kids as they used to, and parents with teenagers would rather not be bothered with Sissy and Jimmy's frolicking upstairs behind closed doors.

It's a shame, too.

The last time I saw a movie at a drive-in was back in 1981. The theater was in Denver, I forget the name, but my friend Don and I were on our motorcycles and the double-feature included an unknown Australian actor named Mel Gibson as the lead in two action films ... Mad Max and Mad Max 2.

Sadly today, the nearest drive-in to Anderson is the Commerce Drive-In Theater 63.6 miles down I-85 in Commerce, Georgia. In South Carolina there's the Monetta Drive In Theater The Big-Mo, 91.2 miles away in Monetta, South Carolina.

Here's a sample program from The Tower Drive-In:

Here's what's left of my favorite drive-in:




The Commerce Drive In Theater (706) 335-2486
http://www.thebigmo.com/
http://driveintheater.com/index.htm

It's Friday & I'm Ashamed of Myself

When it comes to blogging I just wing it, but today was gonna be different. Friday's playlist was actually planned in advance ... just one song:

"I Can See Clearly Now"

I'm ashamed because you'll have to pick your own artist for this one, please; the song-stylings I found from the likes of K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Hothouse Flowers, Kazzooo and Doug Robinson, and Dena DeRose had me reaching for the ashes & sack cloth.

Yami Bolo's "Raindrops/I Can See Clearly Now" medley was particularly terrifying and upsetting.

Deviled Crabs

Here's the Gasparilla Cookbook's recipe for Deviled Crabs (the way them make 'em in Ybor City)

1 pound crab meat, 1 egg
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons onion
2 teaspoons mustard, 1 tablespoon Worchestshire sauce
1 tablespoon water, 1 cup mayonnaise
Dash Tabasco, Buttered bread crumbs

-Mix all ingredients. Put in small greased custard cups, crab shells or casserole. Top with buttered bread crumbs which have been made by adding crumbs to melted butter.
-Bake at 350 degrees until light brown.


And one more for the playlist:

Perez Prado
Mambo En Sax

Mas Entusiasmo!

Sometimes a movie comes out that with a storyline that promises to hit a nerve, and Andy Garcia's "The Lost City" just might be one of them.

Both 1979's "Cuba" with Sean Connery and 1990's "Havana" starring Robert Redford fell remarkably flat. Maybe the closest we've come so far to getting a "feel" for what the social schizophrenia of pre-Castro Havana was like came through brief glimpses and shadowy vignettes in "The Godfather II" and "Soy Cuba/Ya Kuba".

But "The Lost City" promises to take us back to the wide-open days when Havana was still called the pearl of the Antilles.

Enjoy today's playlist as we cruise south along Malecon Avenue toward Miramar:

Celeste Mendoza
Mi Rumba Echando Candela
Un Congo Me Dio La Letra

Orquesta Riverside
Yayabo

Orquesta Pancho El Bravo
Mis Compadres Puntean Son

Los Zafiros
Rumba Como Quiera
Un Nombre De Mujuer

Aren'tcha glad we brought sunglasses and a convertible?

Free on Wednesday Morning

This morning's playlist is an homage to Free, the little band from the 70's that barely got the recognition its contributions deserved. Nobody had a better voice than Paul Rogers ... just listen to "Be My Friend" or "Fire and Water" from the Free Live! disc and you'll agree Rogers makes Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones sound like Pee Wee Herman.

If I ever race a horse through the Scottish Highlands on a windy moon-lit night, making my way back to her castle, this is all I'd need on my Ipod.

Free Live! 1971 (re-issued 2002)

All Right Now
Be My Friend
Fire and Water
Ride on Pony

Somestimes A Smile Doesn't Hurt

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was
better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God
was tired of hearing all the bickering. Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT!
I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two
hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They e-mailed.
They e-mailed with attachments.
They downloaded.

They wrote reports.
They created charts and graphs.
They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than
hades.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly
flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured and of course, the
power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known
in the underworld. Jesus just sighed. Finally the electricity came
back on,and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching
frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost
everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from
the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait!" he screamed. "That's
not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have
any?"

God just shrugged and said,
"JESUS SAVES"

If Paris Hilton Ate Alpo ...

Life sure is hard, huh?

Anderson's Netflix Favorites

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story

Down-and-out horse trainer Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is given an equally broken-down (but once great) racehorse, Sonya, as severance pay. It will take the unwavering faith and determination of Ben's daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), to bring these two damaged souls together in a quest to win the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Just Friends

An ex-dork reconnects with the girl who broke his heart in this romantic comedy. After being turned down by his high school crush, a nice guy moves to Los Angeles, where he's transformed into a womanizing music executive. But when he's stranded in his New Jersey hometown, he runs into his former puppy love -- and is completely floored by her once again.

Robots

Ewan McGregor lends his voice to this heartwarming animated feature about Rodney Copperbottom, a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place. But when the evil Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) takes over Big Weld Industries, Rodney's dreams -- like his friends, including motormouthed Fender (Robin Williams) -- are in danger of becoming obsolete.

Road to Perdition

Hit man Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), known in his 1930s Chicago world as The Angel of Death, is on the run after his wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and son are murdered. With his surviving son (Tyler Hoechlin) in tow, Michael sets out to exact brutal vengeance. Complicating matters in this crime actioner are a reporter (Jude Law), Al Capone's enforcer (Stanley Tucci) and other shady characters.

Hidalgo

Viggo Mortensen stars as Frank T. Hopkins, reputed to be one of the best riders of the Wild West. His chance to prove his talent comes when an affluent sheik invites him to join one of the most outrageous and grueling races of all: a 3000-mile trek across the Arabian Desert. Previously open only to those who ride Arabian horses, the event allows Hopkins to join with his Mustang, Hidalgo. Can they win?

Dream Home

Only 53 feet long, this two bedroom "mobile home" would fit comfortably inside the pond at the new auditorium. Just think of all the gas I'd save not having to drive back and forth on 81.

Yeah baby.

Nice Neighbor

Owning a house is lots of work & upkeep, but the additional privacy is indispensable.

That's why I can be up at 5:35 AM with Take Me to the Sunrise already cranked up so loud there's plaster falling from the ceiling in huge chunks ... you need speakers standing at least 18" higher than you are tall ... and while the dog may be cowering next to the clothes dryer, the neighbors never hear a thing.

Yesterday's 6:00 PM Service Smoked the Dust from Between My Ears.

Lee and the band was so amazing (sitting just seven rows from the stage, I could still hear the congregation singing over the band during Holy Holy Holy) and The Big Guy covered so much material during the 11:15, I only felt a little guilty about going back for seconds.

If I could put that kind of energy in my gas tank I'd have no problem getting 60 miles to the gallon. Now, where's my water pistol?