City Lights of Commerce, GA

Recently I went back to Commerce, Georgia where I lived when I finished high school a long, long time ago.  Unlike most of North Georgia not much has changed in Commerce.  One thing I did notice was that the city had moved the monument to Bill Anderson.  At least I remember it being on the other side of the railroad tracks but then I have been away for a long time.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Bill Anderson was working at WJJC in Commerce when he wrote the song City Lights.  Ray Price recorded it in 1958 and the song spent 13 weeks as the number one record on the new Billboard County Chart.  I highly recommend you listen to Mr. Anderson's account of writing his first hit.  You can check it here:
http://uga.edu/livinghistory/video/bill-anderson-city-lights/

Whisperin' Bill went on to record over 40 albums and has had seven number one hits of his own starting with Mama Sang a Song (1962).  Yet with all of his success he continues to remember Commerce.  He has returned several times to perform at benefits and raise money for the Bill Anderson Scholarship Fund at Commerce High School.  In fact, as of today tickets are still available for his upcoming benefit on November 16th.  Tickets are available from WJJC at http://www.wjjc.net/billanderson.html

As a graduate of Commerce High School I just have to say thank you Mr. Anderson.  We love you.

Remembering Federico Garcia Lorca

Today is the anniversary of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca.  I have linked his name to a great site called Poemhunter.com where you can ready some of his work.  Do yourself a favor and read some of his poems.

Five things I am loving this week:

1. The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club. (DVD)

It's a great and inspiring documentary of Florence "Pancho" Barnes one of greatest American pilots ever. It's available for instant streaming on Netflix or you can purchase the DVD. I think this is a must see for everyone but especially for women. Pancho was a strong, independent woman who lived life on her own terms.
If you want to read more about her check out the book The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes

2. Black Berry Smoke

Love their sound. They definitely have their roots in southern rock but they are so much more. Check out "Good One."

3. SeaSnax Roasted Seaweed Snack

Their slogan is "strangely addictive" and it is. I love this stuff. If you live in Athens, GA then you can pick some up at the Daily Co-op. SeaSnax has several flavors but I highly recommend the wasabi flavor.

4. Ocean Spray Cran-Grape Sugar Free

They have single drink mix packets. What a great find! I love, love the Cran-Grape but I need and want the convenience of the single drink packets. Now, I have a quick drink that will help me kick the soda habit. And it tastes great too.

5. And finally number five. The first show on ABC that I have watched in years.

GCB or Good Christian Bitches or Good Christian Belles depending on where you live.

This is a hilarious show starring Kristin Chenoweth. The show may be set in Dallas, Texas but it reminds me of a lot of people that I grew up in Georgia. Check out the show before the "moral majority" and fake "Christians" succeed in getting it off the air.

Sarah's Key

Today's recommendation is a film that brought me to tears tonight. Sarah's Key is a beautiful French film about an American journalist whose research into the deportation of thousands of Jewish residents of Paris in 1942 leads to a very personal story. It's a bittersweet film and one that I would highly recommend. Kristin Scott Thomas is brilliant as journalist and the ever wonderful Aidan Quinn makes an appearance at the end.

Response from North Face

Here is the response I received from North Face:
"Thank you for contacting The North Face! I am sorry, but our manufacturing takes place all over the world, with many of our products being assembled in multiple countries. Some parts of our manufacturing do take place in the USA, such as some of our screen printing and embroidery, etc... However, we do not have any products at this time that are 100% "Made in the USA"."

So they are off my list of potential suppliers for my winter needs. I hate vague answers like this.

Looking for winter coat

Just curious if any major outdoor clothing manufacturer makes anything in the US anymore. In the past I have purchased Patagonia and North Face mostly but was annoyed to find everything imported. From where I don't know but I always assume "Imported" means China. But that is not necessarily true. While I prefer to buy American products I am not opposed to purchasing from other countries as there are items that are not produced here anymore. In fact I would be that there are some items are only produced in China.

So I have sent an e-mail to North Face and Patagonia asking if any of their items are made outside of China. I plan to check with the other manufacturers too before I head to Masada to make my winter purchases.

Shopping online and Ebates

Rediscovering the convenience of shopping on line. Also rediscovering Ebates. I had been a member years ago and actually received a couple of checks from them. Last week I went back on and found that I still had money in the account from something I did years ago. So I'm checking them out again. It just makes sense to get a small precentage back for purchases that I would be doing already online.

If you do decided to join up I'd appreciate a referral:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=bARr5wQ2DQA%3D