Music and an aging man

(It may take a while to get to it, but there is a point in here somewhere).

I've been thinking some lately about how my tastes in music have changed as I have aged and/or matured.

When I was young, I enjoyed what might now be called classic country: Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash. I even have some Porter Wagoner and Glen Campbell vinyl at home, too. And Statler Brothers. You should have seen my mother smile the day I dropped by after interviewing Freddie Hart at the Mason County Fair and gave her an album he had autographed for her after I told him how much she liked his voice. We were on his bus. He just reached up, pulled an album from a rack, tore off part of the wrapper and signed it, "Sadie, Angel."

Later I enjoyed baroque and classical. I defy anyone to sit through the best parts of Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert's 1985 release of Back's Brandenburg Concertos and say they have not heard good music. One of my kids even likes Mozart now thanks to my playing a few of his pieces.

My daughter has a hard time understanding how anyone who likes baroque the way I do can also like bluegrass. I tell her to listen sometimes to Handel's "The Harmonious Blacksmith" performed on harpsichord and imagine it on a five-string banjo. She has a violin, and she hates me calling it a "fiddle." Or she did have a violin before I took it in exchange for buying her an acoustic guitar this last summer.

After saying all that,let me say I cannot stand modern music. Oh, I'll listen to some Randy Travis or George Strait if it comes on radio, especially if it's Strait singing "Amarillo by Morning." But Garth Brooks and Rascal Flatts and others do nothing for me.

But Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline. ... I must be getting old. If old rockers and pop singers are turning to the old standards to keep their careers alive, maybe we'll get young singer someday who will discover the Roy Clark songbook and cover some of the great songs people like me grew up with.

But people like me don't buy that many CDs, do we? And that's where it is. It's the same reason newspapers have to keep up with the tabloids and the glossy magazines in giving us the blow-by-blow action of how Beyonce resents Jennifer Hudson's success.

And fools like me still read 3,000-word stories on how sulfur compounds emitted by coal-burning power plants might be slowing the rate of global warming. But that's another blog entry.

Celebrities

One thing I really don't like about the business I'm in is the obsession with celebrities. Yeah, I feed it sometimes by commenting on the latest trials and tribulations of Britney Spears. And I might reference sometime by saying something like this:

According to an acquaintance, Rush Limbaugh recently said something I didn't like. He says Rush doesn't have kids and has said he doesn't want to hear people talking about their kids anymore. Rush says he has talent on loan from God. In this case, he also has intelligence on loan from Kevin Federline, wisdom on loan from Britney Spears and charm on loan from Rosie O'Donnell.

I couldn't say that without having followed some celebrity news. But do I really need to know what toy store Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie took their kids to a couple of weeks ago?

Maybe celebrity news is a guilty pleasure of sorts. Part of it is getting old. I hear about this music star or that movie star and I say to myself, "I never heard of that person." All I know is that John Hartford is dead, and I have no more reason to buy any new CDs.

I wish we could go cold turkey on celebrity news. I really do.

Meanwhile, I'm heading over to this site where someone makes catty comments about what celebrities wear in public. And to this one devoted to celebrity plastic surgery gone bad. See you there.

Gerald Ford

With the news of Gerald Ford's death, I was thinking of how he was one of the few presidents in my lifetime who were not despised by a number of Americans. I remember how many people in my hometown couldn't stand LBJ. A lot of people hated Nixon. A large number hated Reagan. Jimmy Carter, they didn't despise, but they had no respect for him. We know about how some people see Bill Clinton as the False Prophet and Bush 43 as the anti-Christ. But few people I knew during Ford's presidency had anything bad to say about him as a person or as a president.

The Nixon pardon outraged a lot of people I knew, but that didn't stick to Ford personally the way some acts by other presidents did. I was glad to hear about the pardon. I was ready to move on. Nixon was disgraced, and there wasn't much to accomplish by having a trial or whatever would have happened.

Lions don't make good pets

An Ohio legislator says his state needs laws protecting people from dangerous wild and exotic animals kept as pets.

That idea has gained traction following recent events in that state. In May, Rachel Supplee was mauled when her neighbor’s pet bear escaped from its cage and crashed through a door in her house. She suffered a bruised lung, broken ribs and several bites and cuts. Earlier this month, a suburban Cincinnati man died when his boat constrictor wrapped itself around his neck and strangled him.

Someone tell me again why people need to lions, tigers, bears, large snakes and other dangerous animals as pets? Some people can't be trusted with Rottweilers and pit bulls. I wouldn't want them having cougars or Afridan elephants in their back yards. Why are people allowed to have such critters?

New WV House Speaker

I don't know if this means anything or how much. I just thought it was interesting.

When Delegate Richard Thompson, D-Wayne, was elected House Speaker earlier this month, a news release came out quoting 11 delegates who were pleased with Thompson's election. Among them were Don Perdue, D-Wayne, and Jim Morgan and Dale Stephens, both D-Cabell.

In the days of the Cold War, Kremlinologists would scour this news release looking for clues about who is in good standing with the new leadership and who is not. In this case, they would look for what Democrats were mentioned in the news release and which were not, figuring they could learn a lot from that.

I, however, have merely a passing interest in this for now. We can guess all we want about why some Cabell Democrats were not in the news release and what that may mean for them in the coming two years, but we'll let insiders hash that one out for now.

Casino gambling at fraternal clubs

It’s inevitable that gambling expansion will be a major item when the West Virginia Legislature meets next month. Given the results of the election last month, it may be inevitable that the state’s four racetrack casinos will get the table games they have long wanted.

But there’s a new twist in that effort. According to an article carried by The Associated Press, fraternal clubs in West Virginia want a piece of the action, too. They want to be able to offer the same games the casinos will have.

Why not? Why should the guys at the Elks, VFW, American Legion and the Eagles, among others have to drive to Cross Lanes to play poker legally? Why can’t they run their own roulette tables? Fraternal groups and others have run bingo games for years. What’s a little roulette among friends and club members?

Other than the fact it would cut into the take of the racetrack casinos, and that just cannot be allowed from either the tracks’ point of view or from the state tax collectors’.

The genie is out of the bottle, and it’s not going back in. If table games are inevitable, then everyone will want a piece of the action. The Huntington area has had several chances for this sort of thing, but it has turned it down each time. And it still probably isn’t a good idea. But if Kanawha County gets poker, blackjack, roulette and other games of skill and chance, other places in this part of West Virginia will want the same.

And really, who can blame them?

See you later

I need to burn some vacation time, so I'll be out of the office until after Christmas.

Unless the boss says I'm absolutely needed, in which case I'll get called back in. But that's happened only once in the past 20 years, so it's not likely.

I'll still be moderating comments from home and deleting spam. It's really picked up in the past few months. About half of it is porn and other material I don't want to read. The rest consists of links to Web sites I wouldn't want to see, either.

And I might get worked up enough about something to post anyway.

In any case, have a good week, y'all.

P.S. My daughter and I were watching a TV Land show about stupid celebrity quotes. There was one about Britney Spears saying the nice thing about being a celebrity is you get to go overseas to countries like Canada. Britney might get me blogging again this week if she does something outrageous. (No; never).

One other thing before I go: I don't like the idea of Iran having nukes. It scares me. But if you look at it from their perspective, several nations in their part of the world have nukes, and they can make the argument that they need them, too, for self-defense. I'm talking India, Pakistan, Russia and Israel. Yeah, like that warmongering nation of India is going to attack the great Satan (or little Satan) Iran anytime soon.

Another $10 for a WV license plate?

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The state Department of Transportation, saying it desperately needs money for rods, wants the legislature to increase the license plate fee by $10 to $40.

"The Division of Motor Vehicles, which collects the taxes that go to the DOT, estimates the increase could bring in about $13 million annually for the state's highway fund.

" 'We're trying to see if there's any support for going from $30 to $40,' said Steve Dale, assistant to the commissioner for motor vehicles."

Here are some thoughts:

1. No, no, no. The state already sucks money out of us through the personal property tax on cars. Read the public's lips. No new taxes.

2. Really, what would $13 million accomplish? How much new asphalt? How many miles of new guardrail? How many miles of cable median barriers on high-volume divided highways?

3. Some money that should go to the state road fund instead goes to fund regional highway authorities to lobby the Legislature on behalf of their projects. Spend the money on roads first. Why should tax money pay for lobbyists?

Anyone else have any other thoughts?

53rd ATV fatal of 2005

It occured this week in Roane County. Apparently, a 65-year-old man rode his ATV to burn some debris on his property. The ATV may have flipped on him and pinned him in the fire.

I don't have anything against ATVs. I have something against people who ride them irresponsibly on paved roads. I have seen a pack of maybe a half dozen riders going 40 mph or more on secondary roads. No helmets. No concern that their machines really aren't made for braking on paved roads in case of an emergency.

Not that this has anything to do with the most recent ATV death, but if ATV riders want to be on paved roads, they should abide by the same laws as motorcyclists. Not that it can be enforced, and not that they should even be on the pavement for any distance, but if they insist on being allowed on paved roads. . .

Workplace smoking in WV

According to the AP, Randolph County has become the 14th county in West Virginia to ban smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

When I started working at The Herald-Dispatch on Aug. 21, 19778, the newsroom often had a gray haze from all the cigarette smoke. Ventilation wasn't so great, and more than half the people here smoked. And cussed. I heard more variations of the F-word in my first month here than I did in my entire four years of college.

But the tide turned against smokers in the 1980s and for about 20 years now the newsroom has been smoke free. And, coincidentally, F-word free. Not that I'm saying there's a connection, but both changes make it a better place to work.

Lucky for me, for most of the 1980s I was in the Ironton bureau, alone most of the time. I didn't have to smell anyone else's smoke. It makes me wonder what took us nonsmokers so long.

Early voting stats

How popular is early voting here in West Virginia? According to the secretary of state's office, about 13 percent of all votes cast in last month's election were done in early voting.

Cabell County was at about that level, with nearly 14 percent early voting. Raw numbers: 25,023 ballots counted, 3,417 early voters. Cabell Count ranked 31st in the state in percentage of early votes. Roane County had the most at 28 percent. Hancock County had the lowest, at a little over 5 percent.

Other local counties: Wayne, 8 percent; Putnam, 18 percent; Mason, 18.5 percent; Lincoln, 14 percent.

Big Daddy goes on the earmark wagon

I read the story in this morning's paper about how Robert C. Byrd of all people says he's willing to give up his projects for 2007 if that allows Congress to find a way out of the fiscal chaos (his words) the outgoing Republican Congress has created.

A little while ago, AP moved a story listing several "earmarks" that could be in danger here in West Virginia: $89 million for a federal prison in McDowell County; $50 million for the FBI fingerprint center in Clarksburg; $2.3 million for the Morgantown airport. The big one here is $11 million for health and science projects at Marshall University.

According to the AP, speculation is that the Democrats will go back to earmarking in 2008, after some reforms meant to make the system more transparent and accountable are in place.

Pardon my memory lapse, but wasn't Byrd one of two senators who invoked a secrecy rule this past summer when people started objecting to a pork-heavy spending bill?

And didn't Byrd campaign on the fact he is the "Big Daddy" ("Yeah, man") who brings money home to West Virginia.

I still wonder what's really going on here. Real reform"? Some kind of game? Something that sounds good now but something the politicians know we will all forget after Christmas?

Someone please tell me because I really have no idea.

A few minor observations

If you want the really hot information about the "We Are Marshall" movie, then click the link "Marshall Movie News" on the right. If you want some observations from a guy who just took a walk down 4th Avenue, then here are three:

Everything has been taken down except for the "road closed signs on the west side of 4th Avenue at 10th Street. As there were no other "road closed" signs in the area, drivers ignored them.

The green carpet and big tv screens are all gone, but the portable toilets remain at the corner of 4th and 9th. But those tend to remain longest after the main event is over.

And some copper wiring was still sticking out of the ground. I was amazed no one had taken it yet.

Other than all that, things are back to normal in downtown Huntington after the big event.

Good-bye to pantyhose?

Yes, women are buying less pantyhose than they did a decade ago, according to an article by The Associated Press. Hanesbrands, the nation's leading seller of women's sheer hosiery, says it continues to work on product innovations and is trying to take advantage of current fashion trends, but says there is little that can be done aobut a decade-long decline until fashion trends change.

I don't have much experience in this, of course. But I do know that as ties fade from the workplace, I feel a bit vindicated. I usually wears ties under duress. I hate those things. And women apparently feel the same about pantyhose. Women over age 40 are the biggest buyers of pantyhose. That seems to be the same around town for ties, especially among people who do not consider themselves executives or management.

It's been a while since I wore at tie to work. I'll wear one when necessary. If George Bush and John Kerry prefer the open-collar blue Oxford shirt, who am I to argue?

Gong Show

Saturday night the Game Show Network ran at least two episodes of "The Gong Show" from the 1970s. I was a fan back then, so I had to watch them.

My 14-year-old daughter thinks I wasted a lot of time in the 1970s by watching that stuff. I can't say that I can argue with her. The stuff I thought was so funny then is so dated now, although I still wonder why Jaye P. Morgan ever got a job in entertainment.

But it was nice to see something from those years again. Sometimes I'll try to catch an episode of "Gunsmoke" or "Bonanza" on TVLand just to see how much television has grown. I tell the kids that the violence on those shows was unrealistic, just as I tell them there are some things on "CSI" or "Battlestar Galactica" that are unfit for their eyes today.

Looking ahead, I wonder what will happen when Speilberg or Tarrantino or Eastwood or another big-name Hollywood type makes a compelling movie that cannot be ignored and then decides to name it with one of the seven dirty words. How will newspapers and TV handle that one? The Internet will be no problem, but we here at The Herald-Dispatch will have a few discussions.

And I will think back to the Unknown Comic and how "edgy" his jokes were back on "The Gong Show."

Cincinnati Bengals need more tax dollars...

Been off a few days, wife's been sick (still is), helping kids with homework, etc. etc. etc.

Had a great day Sunday rooting for the Bengals and against Denver and Dallas. Too bad Pittsburgh had played the Thursday night before. Rooted against them, too, but it didn't do any good.

Anyway, I've been leery in the past few years of people in government trying their hand in dealing with the business community. Politicians say they want to run government like a business, but you can't do that. I mean, if Huntington runs short of money, it can't liquidate assets by selling off 5th Avenue. (West Virginia might want to lease out the Turnpike sometime, the way Indiana is doing, but that's another topic for another blog item).

Anyway, on this morning's AP wire was a good reason for government to shy away from doing business with business:

"CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals are invoking a provision in their lease that forces Hamilton County to reimburse the team for Paul Brown Stadium’s artificial turf.

"The lease says the county, which owns the stadium, must pay for the turf if it also has been installed at seven of the other publicly funded stadiums in the National Football League.

"The Bengals added the FieldTurf before the 2004 season. The same surface is now used at publicly funded stadiums in East Rutherford, N.J.; Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, St. Louis, Buffalo and Minneapolis.

"The clause in the lease will cost Hamilton County taxpayers about $900,000.
" 'This is another example of how unfair this (lease) is to the taxpayers of Hamilton County,' Commissioner Phil Heimlich said. 'There’s no limit to the number of gadgets they can buy and charge to the taxpayer.'

"Commissioners are expected to approve paying the Bengals in three annual payments.
The team failed in several attempts to grow suitable natural grass at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000."

In their quest to keep the Bengals from moving, it looks like the Hamilton County Commissioners gave Mike Brown the keys to the Hamilton County treasury.

Three cheers for modern schools

I spend a lot of time griping about modern education, but for now, let me take a moment to praise the opportunities at today's public schools. My daughter attends Huntington High. She has many more choices and options than I had 35 years ago at the small country school I attended. I tell people the only honors class we had was vocational agriculture. She will have a much beer preparation for higher education than I had, at least as it comes to schooling.

She may have the Internet, but she does not have the bookmobile. The van from the Gallia County Public Library got my brain through many summers. But she can get to downtown Huntingto whenever she needs to go to the library, so it's a wash.

I still envy here, though, for the opportunities she has for education.

Huntington's residency requirement

Something I've wondered about this weekend:

You don't have to be a Cabell County resident to be employed by the Cabell County school system. I've met Cabell County teachers who live in Ohio, and I've met some teachers in Ohio who live in Cabell County,

I'm pretty sure some Marshall professors live in Ohio.

As far as I know, I could live in Ironton and commute to work to my state job in West Virginia if I so desire.

So why should someone who works for the city of Huntington have to live in the city?

A few thoughts I think

1. Sorry it's been so long since the last post. No reason, no excuse except that I was a little busy at the end of last week.

2. I think winter started today. It's not supposed to get much above freezing. I'm really looking forward to April. Spring is my favorite season.

3. We're going to get table games in West Virginia. It's inevitable. After the results of the last election, and with the governor more or less endorsing the idea, we're going to have four gambling casinos in West Virginia. I hope our local delegation stands up for what's right and doesn't roll over and give the governor and the four racetracks everything they want. If Charleston gets a casino, why not Huntington, Bluefield and Clarksburg? And make sure the state maximizes its revenue and fully funds the PROMISE scholarship program. And could we make the tradeoff by further restrictions on the video poker parlors that are all over the place?

4. I really want a digital SLR camera. My film cameras don't do anything for me anymore. I've picked out the one I want. After I pay off some bills, replace the flooring in my home, add a fireplace, do some exterior work and possibly rebuild my driveway, I'll buy one. Sometimes I hate being a grownup.

5. Six years ago today, I was in Japan. Some little things over there surprised me: It was hard to find ketchup, the soft drinks didn't have as much carbonation as they do here and English was everywhere.

6. Did I say winter just got here, and I'm already looking forward to spring? Back when I didn't have to go anywhere, I liked snow. But now that I have to share slick roads with people who have no clue about how to drive in snow, I'm ready for a warmer climate.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Why bother with the charade of local option elections for casino games? If the Legislature approves, just go ahead and approve them and not drag communities through the divisiveness of elections.