Becky and I went to Music Row of Maryville this evening for the “Second Annual June Jam,” featuring the bluegrass bands Six Mile Express and Higher Ground and the bluegrass gospel band New Road. We didn’t know anything about the bands, but we wanted to get ourselves some East Tennessee culture, and I heard the event advertised on WDVX — the local, publicly-supported “American roots music” station (so described by Wikipedia), which we listen to in the car all the time — so we figured, what the heck?

It was a good time, and New Road in particular was very good. But the real news is, we won a free guitar! Well, not quite free; tickets for the concert were $10 apiece, and that also got you a place in the door-prize raffle. One of our ticket numbers got called when they started giving away the “big” prizes (after a bunch of hats, t-shirts, etc.), which allowed us to pick out this baby:

I think it’s a JG-610, which means it would be worth $110 new. (Though I think its resale value might be higher if it were an “autistic” guitar … heh.) Not bad for 20 bucks! And we got a case for it, too.

Now, one of us just needs to (re-)learn how to play guitar! :)

It seems the iPhone is pottymouth-friendly.

Also: Heh.

Becky: “I’m sad.”
Brendan: “Why are you sad?”
Becky: “I’m hungry.”
Brendan: “Okay. Being sad and being hungry are two different emotions.”
Becky: “Not when you’re pregnant, they’re not.”

Another attempted terror attack in the United Kingdom? Apparently so, but it doesn’t seem to have done much damage, heavens be praised:

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) - Two men rammed a flaming sport utility vehicle into the main terminal of Glasgow airport Saturday, crashing into the glass doors at the entrance and sparking a fire, witnesses said. Police said two suspects were arrested.

The airport - Scotland’s largest - was evacuated and all flights suspended, a day after British police thwarted a plot to bomb central London, discovering two cars abandoned with loads of gasoline, gas canisters and nails. …

In Glasgow, the green SUV barreled toward the building at full speed shortly after 3 p.m., hitting security barriers before crashing into the glass doors and exploding, witnesses said. Two men jumped out of the burning vehicle, one of them engulfed in flames, they said.

“The car came speeding past at about 30 mph. It was approaching the building quickly,” said Scott Leeson, who was nearby at the time. “Then the driver swerved the car around so he could ram straight in to the door. He must have been trying to smash straight through.” …

Passengers fled running and screaming from the busy terminal, Margaret Hughes told the British Broadcasting Corp. … Police said it was unclear if anyone was injured. ….

Leeson said bollards - security posts outside the entrance - stopped the driver from barreling into the bustling terminal at Glasgow’s airport.

“He’s trying to get through the main door frame but the bollards have stopped him from going through. If he’d got through, he’d have killed hundreds, obviously,” he said.

Leeson said only the nose of the vehicle made it inside the building. Richard Grey told the BBC that the vehicle was lodged into the center of the terminal’s main entrance.

“The jeep is completely on fire and it exploded not long after. It exploded at the entrance to the terminal,” witness Stephen Clarkson told the BBC. “It may have been an explosion of petrol in the tank because it was not a massive explosion.”

More here and here.

UPDATE:

British authorities raised that nation’s threat level to “critical” today following a vehicle attack on a passenger terminal at Glasgow airport in Scotland, British authorities said.

The last time the threat level was raised to critical in the United Kingdom was last August after a liquid bomb plot was foiled.

Subsequently the threat level had been reduced to severe where it remained until today.

Although the threat level “critical” is meant to indicate an attack is imminent, in practice the British appear to have reserved its use for after an attack or attempted attack has already occurred and a follow-up attack is imminent.

What a novel concept. I’d never imagine that the Tennessee General Assembly, in its infinite corruption wisdom, could come up with something like this.

A sweet new law requiring retail stores to actually check everyone’s ID to purchase beer. What a great way to accomplish almost nothing and inconvenience us a bit more. Way to go Nashville!

I get it. You want to make it harder for under-21s to get beer. But, do you really get there by making Granny and Gramps flash their drivers license and AARP cards? This is nothing more than a symbolic absurdity that makes the state look foolish.

Maybe I should actually invest in making that Kegerator I’ve always thought about. That way, I can get by for at least a week at a time without running out to the store for more brewdogs.