Next time you plan a trip, make sure that Just a Girl knows about it so that she can tell you where to eat. In her comment on my post about going to Memphis, JaG said that I must go to Interstate BBQ. My mom had separately heard the same thing, and last night, off we went.
I thought I had eaten good BBQ before I went to Interstate. I knew nothing. Husband and I split a sampler platter, which had beef and pork ribs, brisket, chopped pork, a hot link, BBQ spaghetti, slaw, and baked beans. For dessert, the family split this amazing concoction called Sock-It-to-Me cake, which is yellow cake with a cinnamon ribbon and drizzle of frosting, peach cobbler, and sweet potato pie. Needless to say, I was full. Later, I swear that I got a pork headache.
Today we plan to see the ducks at The Peasbody Hotel, then ride the cute trolley and go to Mud Island before heading to the airport. I was intrigued by the crazy Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, as those cultures are not usually lumped together in museums, but Husband thought that seeing samurai swords and menorahs sounded boring, so we'll skip that.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Unexpected Treasures
Using the bathroom in the Elvis Automobile Museum, I noticed an SD card for a digital camera on the floor in my stall. I'm not sure how one might lose and SD care in a bathroom, but there it was. Generally, I don't pick things up off the floor in public bathrooms, but this one seemed extra clean and a free SD card was too good to pass up. I snatched it up greedily, but gingerly, in my fingernails.
"Look what I found!" I exlaimed to Husband when I met up with him outside the bathroom. "A free SD card!"
"Oooooh!" Husband loves free stuff. But he frowned. "What if it has all of someone's vacation photos on it? We should give it to the lost and found." He looked sad at giving it up, but he was right.
"I know!" Sister's Husband chimed in. "Let's look at it and see what is on it. If it is blank, keep it. If not, we can turn it in. And maybe it will have pictures of naked people!!!"
We snorted. I placed the card in our camera. Lo and behold, it had many vacation pictures, plus graduation pictures. "I'll turn it in," I said. And just as I was about to turn the camera off and remove the card, three pictures of ladies cavorting with male strippers showed up. Hilarious.
"Look what I found!" I exlaimed to Husband when I met up with him outside the bathroom. "A free SD card!"
"Oooooh!" Husband loves free stuff. But he frowned. "What if it has all of someone's vacation photos on it? We should give it to the lost and found." He looked sad at giving it up, but he was right.
"I know!" Sister's Husband chimed in. "Let's look at it and see what is on it. If it is blank, keep it. If not, we can turn it in. And maybe it will have pictures of naked people!!!"
We snorted. I placed the card in our camera. Lo and behold, it had many vacation pictures, plus graduation pictures. "I'll turn it in," I said. And just as I was about to turn the camera off and remove the card, three pictures of ladies cavorting with male strippers showed up. Hilarious.
Graceland
Graceland was very cool and lots of fun. In random order:
The pool room, with walls and ceiling covered in fabric.
Elvis's furry bed, complete with mirrors and imbedded stereo.
The infamous Jungle Room! The green shag carpeting also covered the walls of the stairs leading from the room to the basement.
The den, complete with three TVs because Elvis heard that Lyndon Johnson watched all three news programs at the same time and thought it was a good idea. (The TVs were too hard to photograph, so I just captured the yellow and navy essence of the room and part of the freaky monky statue on the mirrored table.)
The living room and music room. I rather liked the stained glass.
"I don't understand why people think the rooms are cheesy," my mom declared.
"Ha ha ha ha ha," I laughed.
"No seriously, why do people find this tacky?"
"Maybe because it looks like your house?" Sister suggested.
The pool room, with walls and ceiling covered in fabric.
Elvis's furry bed, complete with mirrors and imbedded stereo.
The infamous Jungle Room! The green shag carpeting also covered the walls of the stairs leading from the room to the basement.
The den, complete with three TVs because Elvis heard that Lyndon Johnson watched all three news programs at the same time and thought it was a good idea. (The TVs were too hard to photograph, so I just captured the yellow and navy essence of the room and part of the freaky monky statue on the mirrored table.)
The living room and music room. I rather liked the stained glass."I don't understand why people think the rooms are cheesy," my mom declared.
"Ha ha ha ha ha," I laughed.
"No seriously, why do people find this tacky?"
"Maybe because it looks like your house?" Sister suggested.
High Up on a Ridge
While waiting to get a table at the infamous Rendezvous BBQ restaurant in downtown Memphis (1/2 a block from our hotel, but not 1/2 a mile from the Mississippi Bridge as far as I know), I felt something fluttering my nape. Swatting at it, I knocked what appeared to be a roach to the ground. Then someone stepped on it (not on purpose; they were just walking along) and its guts squished out. Yeah, that made me really hungry.
Actually, it's a nice metaphor for my feelings about Memphis thus far. It is a fun city, with so much to see and do, and yet there's a side to it that is disgusting. For example, Confederate Park and the statue of Jefferson Davis. Jefferson Davis is not a hero. He is a traitor. He led a group of traitors who defied the Constitution and seceded from the US. According to the Constitution, he should have been killed when caught. Instead, this betrayal is celebrated throughout the South as if it is not something people should be ashamed of. Southern heritage, in my mind, is as horrific as Nazi heritage. At least the Germans are smart enough to be mortified by their past actions.
Not that I think the North is better when it comes to racism. My hometown of Chicago has a vile racist past and remains the most segregated city in the US today. In New York City, my current home, I read infuriating accounts of police harassment of people of color. A memoir I just read, "Jesus Land," documents thoroughly the sick mentality of ignorant people in Indiana. So no, I am not saying the North is perfect. However, I also don't see statues and monuments to people who dedicated their lives to preserving institutions of hate and bias any where in the North. We don't deify these people, even if we aren't honest about ourselves, either.
Anyway, now that I am all worked up and frothing at the mouth, I am excited to be leaving for Graceland in a few minutes. Nothing is as soothing to the soul as Elvis's jumpsuit collection and ingesting a fried PB, banana, & honey sandwich on the premises. Then we are off to the Civil Rights Museum, which is in the historic Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr. was assassinated. It sounds like it will be a transformative experience, and just the honest look at racism and discrimination in the US that I want more of.
Actually, it's a nice metaphor for my feelings about Memphis thus far. It is a fun city, with so much to see and do, and yet there's a side to it that is disgusting. For example, Confederate Park and the statue of Jefferson Davis. Jefferson Davis is not a hero. He is a traitor. He led a group of traitors who defied the Constitution and seceded from the US. According to the Constitution, he should have been killed when caught. Instead, this betrayal is celebrated throughout the South as if it is not something people should be ashamed of. Southern heritage, in my mind, is as horrific as Nazi heritage. At least the Germans are smart enough to be mortified by their past actions.
Not that I think the North is better when it comes to racism. My hometown of Chicago has a vile racist past and remains the most segregated city in the US today. In New York City, my current home, I read infuriating accounts of police harassment of people of color. A memoir I just read, "Jesus Land," documents thoroughly the sick mentality of ignorant people in Indiana. So no, I am not saying the North is perfect. However, I also don't see statues and monuments to people who dedicated their lives to preserving institutions of hate and bias any where in the North. We don't deify these people, even if we aren't honest about ourselves, either.
Anyway, now that I am all worked up and frothing at the mouth, I am excited to be leaving for Graceland in a few minutes. Nothing is as soothing to the soul as Elvis's jumpsuit collection and ingesting a fried PB, banana, & honey sandwich on the premises. Then we are off to the Civil Rights Museum, which is in the historic Lorraine Motel where MLK Jr. was assassinated. It sounds like it will be a transformative experience, and just the honest look at racism and discrimination in the US that I want more of.
Friday, June 29, 2007
What Can Your Panties Do For You?
Seriously, that was the subject line of an email that I got from Hanes. Somehow my reaction (I cannot stop laughing) is probably not what they were aiming for.
Information Please
Long distance information give me Memphis, TN... Wait, I don't need long distance to contact The King this weekend. As part of my new "good life," Husband and I have started taking mini trips with my parents and sister and brother-in-law to important rock 'n' roll sites. Two summers ago, we met the family in Cleveland and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, something my mom wanted to do for years. Last summer, Husband and I met my mom in DC and went to the Smithsonian, technically not dedicated to rock 'n' roll, but the American History Museum is full of delightful artifacts from the 1950s and 1960s. This weekend, we meet my mom in America's Mecca: Graceland.
What these little trips really illustrate, however, is that Husband is a very wonderful Husband. Since I used to contribute (a smaller piece, but still a piece) of the household income, I didn't feel so guilty about paying for things that my family wanted to do. Now, I am nearly (but not totally) incomeless, so he is spending his own hard earned money on me and my family. Even more impressive, he is traveling to spend time with my family! While I love them dearly, I fully acknowledge that spending time with them is not always the easiest. Maybe that is why these are mini trips... Still, Husband is the King in my eyes.
I'm pretty excited for Graceland as well. We ordered the Platinum tour package, which means we also get to see the car museum and the Elvis jumpsuit collection. The jumpsuit collection! How could anyone resist?!?! (To prepare, I even shaved my arm pits. I wasn't sure how die hards would feel about a hairy pitted woman wandering around in a tank top among these precious relics, and I figured there was no need to risk inciting a riot.)
Also, the thought of BBQ is making me drool, even at 8:20 AM. Good, sweaty times ahead!
What these little trips really illustrate, however, is that Husband is a very wonderful Husband. Since I used to contribute (a smaller piece, but still a piece) of the household income, I didn't feel so guilty about paying for things that my family wanted to do. Now, I am nearly (but not totally) incomeless, so he is spending his own hard earned money on me and my family. Even more impressive, he is traveling to spend time with my family! While I love them dearly, I fully acknowledge that spending time with them is not always the easiest. Maybe that is why these are mini trips... Still, Husband is the King in my eyes.
I'm pretty excited for Graceland as well. We ordered the Platinum tour package, which means we also get to see the car museum and the Elvis jumpsuit collection. The jumpsuit collection! How could anyone resist?!?! (To prepare, I even shaved my arm pits. I wasn't sure how die hards would feel about a hairy pitted woman wandering around in a tank top among these precious relics, and I figured there was no need to risk inciting a riot.)
Also, the thought of BBQ is making me drool, even at 8:20 AM. Good, sweaty times ahead!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Blind Scalias of Justice
The biggest threat to liberty and democracy in the US is not George W. Bush. Sure, he's a dictatorial "my way or the highway" type, but he's essentially a stubborn idiot who only got his way because the rest of the country (including an extremely lame Congress) bought into his lies and refused to question what the hell was going on. I blame Americans for the damage we allowed Bush to create.
Dick Cheney, on the other hand, is one truly evil motherfucker. The man says that he is above the government because of his Constitutional dual role as president pro temp of the Senate and Vice President. Therefore, when he wants to keep his Lord Voldemort actions in his dark chamber, he claims executive privilege as part of the executive branch of government. Then when it is noted that as part of the executive branch of government, he is required to turn over papers to the National Archive, he says that he is not in fact part of the executive branch because he is part of the Senate. So nyah nyah on us. God only knows the full extent of the vile actions that Cheney has undertaken in the past seven years, but we will be paying for them for a long time.
While Cheney's poison will remain in our collective system for quite some time, at least Cheney is going to go away, though. The biggest threat to democracy and liberty in the US is Supreme Court "Justice" Antonin Scalia. That man is a terrifying dispenser of justice as he sees fit. Constitution? Forget the Constitution! The man is confused - when he swore an oath on the Bible to uphold the Constitution, he believed that the Bible was the Constitution, not the actual Constitution. Thus we have him repeatedly making decisions that edge us closer and closer to a theocracy. Government funded religion? Bring it on, Scalia says. Who cares about separation between church and state when we should really just have church. Free speech? Only when it is really expensive, not when it is free. Scalia's demented Bible says the rich are going to heaven and thus have more rights. Reproductive rights? Of course the man says you have the right to reproduce, it's not reproducing that offends God.
As Scalia chips away at anything that makes America worthwhile, we can only sit here and watch in horror. Unlike Bush and Cheney, he's there until he dies or decides to go away. People like Scalia never die or retire. They have missions. We are fucked.
Dick Cheney, on the other hand, is one truly evil motherfucker. The man says that he is above the government because of his Constitutional dual role as president pro temp of the Senate and Vice President. Therefore, when he wants to keep his Lord Voldemort actions in his dark chamber, he claims executive privilege as part of the executive branch of government. Then when it is noted that as part of the executive branch of government, he is required to turn over papers to the National Archive, he says that he is not in fact part of the executive branch because he is part of the Senate. So nyah nyah on us. God only knows the full extent of the vile actions that Cheney has undertaken in the past seven years, but we will be paying for them for a long time.
While Cheney's poison will remain in our collective system for quite some time, at least Cheney is going to go away, though. The biggest threat to democracy and liberty in the US is Supreme Court "Justice" Antonin Scalia. That man is a terrifying dispenser of justice as he sees fit. Constitution? Forget the Constitution! The man is confused - when he swore an oath on the Bible to uphold the Constitution, he believed that the Bible was the Constitution, not the actual Constitution. Thus we have him repeatedly making decisions that edge us closer and closer to a theocracy. Government funded religion? Bring it on, Scalia says. Who cares about separation between church and state when we should really just have church. Free speech? Only when it is really expensive, not when it is free. Scalia's demented Bible says the rich are going to heaven and thus have more rights. Reproductive rights? Of course the man says you have the right to reproduce, it's not reproducing that offends God.
As Scalia chips away at anything that makes America worthwhile, we can only sit here and watch in horror. Unlike Bush and Cheney, he's there until he dies or decides to go away. People like Scalia never die or retire. They have missions. We are fucked.
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