…my photos of today’s snow squall in downtown Knoxville:

Full gallery here.

…every time somebody comes to visit you, you take them to a country/bluegrass concert.

When Adrienne came to visit us in August, we went to the Bluegrass in the Smokies festival in Sevierville. Aside from meeting the WDVX chicken, the big revelation of that concert was the wonderful Bradley Walker, a singer with a voice so rich that it seems like only a matter of time before Nashville picks him up (if he wants to go "mainstream," that is). We bought his album Highway of Dreams, which you can get on iTunes here; my favorite tracks are Should Have Took That Train and Price of Admission.

Then, when Andrew and Bea came to visit us in October, we went to the Foothills Fall Festival in Maryville (which, if you didn’t know, is pronounced “MUHR-vul”). No new musical revelations there, as the acts were big-name commercial artists (Trent Tomlinson, Big & Rich, etc.), but the concert was memorable — and not just for Andrew’s and my shock and awe as we constantly hit "refresh" on our cell phones to get the latest football scores on the evening that #1 LSU and #2 Cal both lost to unranked opponents. :) The most memorable moments of the concert were the thunderous ovation that the crowd gave to a group of soldiers in Iraq during a live satellite-phone conversation with their commander (nobody does patriotism like the South), and the moment when Tomlinson introduced his cover of Ring of Fire with the utterly unprovoked statement, "If you don’t like Johnny Cash, you can kiss my ass!!"

Well, the country/bluegrass trend continued this past weekend with my parents’ visit. I took them to Sunday afternoon’s special weekend edition of the WDVX Blue Plate Special, the wonderful daily event in downtown Knoxville that I often attend on my lunch breaks. This particular show featured Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time, and man — they were good! Here’s a clip, though it doesn’t do them justice:

I knew in advance that they were at least decent, based on their current hit, ‘67 Chevy Malibu, which I’d heard several times on the radio. But I was definitely impressed by the consistent quality of their songs at the concert. Great performers, too! And if you’ve heard the song Murder on Music Row by George Strait and Alan Jackson, well, Cordle wrote it, and he and his band performed it Sunday. Great stuff. Anyway, I once again came away with a new album, Took Down And Put Up (again, iTunes link here). I haven’t had a chance to listen to it all the way through yet, but I think my favorite song from that album that they played at the concert was Hole In the Ground. Then again, I have a soft spot for mining songs, for whatever reason. (I blame the Barra MacNeils.)

In any event, tomorrow I’ll again take visitors to a bluegrass concert (well, half bluegrass, anyway), as I’m meeting up with Becky’s parents for the Blue Plate Special featuring a “twin bill” of the bluegrass band Balsam Range and the jazz band Silver Lining. I don’t know much about them, but I’m sure it’ll be worthwhile; the Blue Plate Specials are almost always good, and quite often great.

The biggest musical revelation of recent weeks for me, though, came not from a concert I attended, but from a song I heard on the radio — on WDVX, the same station that puts on these Blue Plate Specials (not to mention that chicken). The song is Wicked Twisted Road by the Texas alt-country band Reckless Kelly. It’s an absolutely haunting tune; when WDVX played it during my afternoon commute, I actually made a point of pulling out my cell phone at a stoplight and texting to their studio e-mail address, “GREAT song!” A few days later, I found it on iTunes, and I’ve had it stuck in my head ever since. You get it from iTunes here; it’s Track 1, the title track. I haven’t bought the whole album, but I may have to, if that song is any indication of its quality.

Notre Dame Law School Professor Jimmy Gurule has signed on as a member of Lawyers for Romney.

In other news, Dennis Kucinich has dropped out of the race. Also, recently-departed Duncan Hunter has endorsed Mike Huckabee, causing Michelle Malkin’s head to explode.

P.S. Another NDLS professor, Gerard Bradley, has endorsed McCain.

Fox News’s Carl Cameron reports that Fred Thompson’s dearly departed presidential campaign actually began as a trial balloon for a possible vice-presidential bid, then spiraled out of control as the intensity of the "Draft Fred" movement took Thompson and his people by surprise:

[Back in March 2007,] several insiders told me OFF THE RECORD that [the murmurs of a possible Thompson presidential bid were] largely a trial
ballon to guage his popularity and float his name as a possible vice
presidential nominee. I was sworn to silence.

Those insiders have now lifted the conditions on our conversations.
From March to August of 07 — through postponed announcement days, staff
changes, firings, resignations and general disarray — the Thompson camp
was stunned by the incredibly positive response and didn’t really know
how to manage it. The trial balloon soared mighty high and he found
himself being dragged into a race that he was not even sure how to run.

If true, that explains a lot. (Hat tip: Top of the Ticket.)

On the phone with Apple Care, and got a message that said that an update to Leopard is out, but it’s not showing up with Software Update.

Here’s a link, though 10.5.2 imminent?

If this works, I also recorded about a minute of the automated call with AppleCare, which seems to confirm the availability of the update:

Download apple_care_leopard_update_call.m4a

A pretty decent snow squall is moving through downtown Knoxville right now. (See also here.) I ran outside a few minutes ago and took some pictures, including several of snow falling in front of the Sunsphere. You don’t see that too often. :) I’ll post ‘em later. Anyway, a light dusting is accumulating on some grassy surfaces, but the roads look fine.

UPDATE: Here’s an article about the afternoon snow. And here are my photos.

The White House and Congress have reached a tentative deal on an economic stimulus package:

Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and
unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for
gaining rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a
paycheck, including low-income earners who make too little to pay
income taxes.

Families with children would receive an additional $300 per child,
subject to an overall cap of perhaps $1,200, according to a senior
House aide who outlined the deal on condition of anonymity in advance
of formal adoption of the whole package. Rebates would go to people
earning below a certain income cap, likely individuals earning $75,000
or less and couples with incomes of $150,000 or less.

People would have to have earned at least $3,000 in 2007 to receive the rebates, the officials said.

I don’t know whether this is economically or fiscally sound, but I could certainly use $900. The big ugly red number on my budget spreadsheet thanks you, President Bush and Congresswoman Pelosi. :)

UPDATE: It sounds like some of the information in the original article was incorrect, or I misunderstood it, or some combination of the two. Money quote (literally):

Under the deal, nearly everyone earning a paycheck would receive at
least $300 from the Internal Revenue Service. Most workers would
receive rebates of $600 each, or $1,200 per couple. Families with
children would receive an additional payment of $300 per child [up to a cap of $1,200, i.e., you can get credit for at most four children]. Workers
who earned at least $3,000 last year — but not enough to pay income
taxes — would be eligible for $300.

So, at least in theory, Becky and I should be in line for $1,500, not just $900. Sweet!

But, hmm… I wonder… are the earning floors for married couples calculated jointly or separately? Also, can we somehow make the IRS aware of Loyette’s existence, which they normally wouldn’t know about until April? :)

The article doesn’t specify when the checks are to go out, except to say that it will happen "quickly."

In any event, this isn’t a done deal yet:

Congressional aides cautioned that it was too early to say that a deal
had been finalized, and the finishing touches will be made over the
next day or so as party leaders try to get their rank and file to buy
in on a deal. …

With both sides conceding on issues important to their base, there is
potential to upset the delicate bipartisan truce prevailing on Capitol
Hill, which is why leaders of both parties want to quickly advance the
package before partisan rancor tears down any negotiations. …

There are indications already that the Senate — the world’s most
deliberative body — may slow things down when the stimulus package
passes the House.

"There are reports that a deal may be close on the House side. The
Senate will want to speak, as well," said Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.),
the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "We want to ensure that
Congress does its utmost for the American economy and for the American
people.”

P.S. The L.A. Times notes that party leaders "have set a deadline of Feb. 15 for passing the legislation."

Baylor 116, Texas A&M 110 in quintuple-overtime. (That’s five OTs.)

USC has had an awfully impressive track record on the recruiting trail in recent years, especially in the area of quarterbacks. John David Booty was the top QB recruit of the Class of 2003; Mark Sanchez was the top QB recruit of the Class of 2005; Mitch Mustain was the top QB recruit of the Class of 2006. All three went to USC (after a brief sojourn at Arkansas, in Mustain’s case).

Well, the embarrassment of riches continues: the Class of 2009’s top quarterback recruit, Matt Barkley, announced yesterday that he will go to USC. (Hat tip: Andrew Leyden.)

Sweet.

First Michigan, now Louisiana: Uncommitted is on fire! It’s the nonspecific, undefined sensation that’s sweeping the nation!

P.S. And this time, it was a Republican victory. Voters’ support for Uncommitted’s noncommittal message is a bipartisan phenomenon! If neither party nominates Uncommitted, I think the late great Unity08 should resurrect itself and take up the cause. Uncommitted-Lieberman ‘08!

So much for #1 Memphis and #3 Tennessee winning out until their meeting in the Jay Johnson Invitational next month. The Vols, newly dubbed by the AP as the nation’s third-best team, promptly lost to sub-.500 Kentucky last night, 72-66. Not even Bruce Pearl’s orange blazer could save UT from losing to the team that lost to Gardner-Webb (which, incidentally, is now 8-11 overall, 2-3 in the Atlantic Sun).

At this rate of poll attrition, Dickie V’s triumphant return could be at a #1 vs. #2 game between Duke and UNC (currently #4 and #5, soon to be #3 and #4). Though I’m not sure who Memphis is going to lose to between now and then, unless maybe… Gonzaga this Saturday? Hey, it could happen. Go Zags!!

Meanwhile, Andy Katz says Tuesday’s most significant result was not UK over UT, but Drake over Creighton, at Creighton, in overtime. Up the Bulldogs!

I asked this question of a few friends, in relation to something that I’m writing about fatherhood, and I’ve been getting some fun answers, so I thought it might be entertaining to ask the wider blog audience:

What female celebrity or celebrities do you consider to have "good morals," in the sense that you might say of your (real or hypothetical) daughter, "I hope she grows up to have good morals like _______"? (The implicit, unspoken end to that sentence, of course, being "…and not like Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan," etc. etc.) And why?

No questioning the premise of the question, please. :) I know all individuals are unique, and I cherish my daughter’s uniqueness; and further, I know that celebrity hero-worship can be toxic, especially for girls, and I’m not actually hoping Loyette grows up to be just like some celebrity or other. I’m simply trying, for analogical purposes really, to come up with a list of celebrities who people consider to be "moral," whatever that means to each of you.

P.S. Feel free to define the term "celebrity" however you like.

Bill Clinton announces his candidacy. Heh. (Hat tip: InstaPundit.)

Teehee.

A surprise freezing-rain storm caught East Tennessee off guard yesterday, causing hundreds of fender-benders and some serious accidents, two of them deadly. It was so bad in the early morning hours that police cars and firetrucks were themselves getting into accidents while trying to drive to the scene of other accidents. (Clearly, these Southerners don’t know how to handle winter weather. :) At one point, I heard a report on the radio that an ambulance had flipped over on its roof with a passenger inside — but not to worry, more ambulances were on their way!

Before long, TV and radio anchors were busily putting out the first responders’ urgent pleas to "stay off the roads if you can." As for those who had to drive, police asked them to please refrain from calling 9-1-1 about any accidents that didn’t involve injuries. If they got into a fender-bender that caused damage to property only, motorists were told to just take down each other’s insurance information and go on their way. Even so, the Knoxville Police and Knox County Sheriff’s office responded to a combined 362 car crashes yesterday, most of them between 6:00 and 9:00 AM or thereabouts. Here’s some video of the chaos:

Many schools and businesses announced delays and closures at the last minute; in some cases, school buses had already started their rounds when school was cancelled. This led to a classic case of "fighting the last war" this morning, as nearly every school district in the area had already announced a two-hour delay by the 6:00 PM news last night — delays which proved utterly unnecessary in most of the Knoxville area, as the roads this morning were perfectly safe.

Myself, I ventured out into yesterday’s icy mess with no concept of how bad it was, as it wasn’t very icy at all in my apartment complex. I didn’t even slip once while walking the dog! I noticed a wee bit of ice on the Camry, and I overheard somebody talking on his cell phone about "UT being closed," but I didn’t think much of it. I made it to the dentist’s office for my 8:30 AM appointment withuot incident — only to discover that the office was closed because of the weather. (If I’d called ahead, I would have known that from their voicemail. D’oh!)

I then got a call from a co-worker relating our boss’s directive that we should feel free to stay home until the roads improve. My dentist’s office is about halfway between home and work, so I sat indecisively in the parking lot for a while — but then I gathered from the radio that things were still quite bad downtown (where I work), so I decided to turn tail and head home. Long story short, the icy weather meant I got to spend a good chunk of the morning with my baby instead of at work. So I have no complaints. :)

UPDATE: Here’s a photo of some icy branches with the Sunsphere in the background: