(the) Jebbica

Okay, so I thought the Oscars were today.  Sue me!  I will just have to rework that post to publish next week.  But, you might not ever get any winners from me, since I am supposed to go to Florida next weekend (yippee!)  So, since I am very small town, and anything good happening around here is pretty rare, how about a lazy Sunday post with a few commendations?

Ben Honeycutt:  Famous in my area, and he didn’t even have to be a wife-killing cop or a body-dumping crematorium owner to achieve celebrity status!  Ben is a singer-songwriter from Ft. Oglethorpe/Chattanooga area who auditioned this year for American Idol.  He got cut during Hollywood week for forgetting the words to “Carry On, My Wayward Son”.  He is playing a show at the Colonnade on 2A in Ft. O/Ringgold on March 14.  It’s pay-what-you-want.  Check out my interview with Ben here.

Lafayette Underground: Someone from Lafayette can spell besides me?  Cool!  LU is funny, outraging, mysterious, and overall a very good read!  Go for the articles, stay for the comments!

Paws Pet Supplies:  I ::heart:: Paws.  I can go and get my doggies’ corn-free dog food, and I don’t have to drive 45 minutes to get it.  They can answer any question about animals.  Their products are competitively priced.  They give free samples.  I hope they never go out of business!

‘You Know You’re From Lafayette, GA’ Facebook Group:  Started by my little sister’s friend, I think it started as kind of a joke and became an overnight hit.  The group currently has over 2300 members, not bad for a town of 6000!  It’s become a wonderful place to both poke fun of where you’re from and wax nostalgic about the “good old days”.  It’s more connecting than any real-life group I’ve ever been in here, more informative than the local papers.

Mama Mia’s Pizzeria:  They don’t use iceberg lettuce in their salads.  That’s enough to sell me right there.  Combine that with the fact that their portions are HUGE, they offer a little different fare than other places around here, and they’re cheap.  There are a few things I look for in a restaurant:  Great service.  Decent prices.  Fresh ingredients.  Mama Mia’s goes above and beyond expectations.

Got a local business you like or would like me to plug? Leave a comment!

So, I got a new car stereo for my birthday.  I’ve really enjoyed it, because previously all I ever did was cuss out the radio for playing the same crappy three songs over and over and over, and every time I tried to put a CD in, all I got was ERR.  The new one has been awesome because I can just plug my mp3 player directly into it, and I can just put that bad boy on Shuffle All and go.  But after awhile, even Shuffle All has a tendency to play a lot of the same songs over and over again. Thankfully for me, I don’t generally put crappy songs on my mp3 player, so it’s okay.  And if I get sick of what’s playing, I can always add new stuff to the library.  It’s quite possibly one of the best birthday presents I have ever gotten, because everyone knows that if there isn’t something nice playing while I’m trying to drive, I get anxious and nervous and am probably a danger on the road. 

Yesterday, my mp3 player was deader than a doornail, so I started getting that grumpy feeling.  All my CDs pretty much died in the flood, so I figured all was hopeless.  Until I discovered my Attorneys’ Stereocracy disc hiding under the seat.  The disc that has a crack in it because I played it so much when The Boyfriend was in the hospital that it gave out.  No CD player would play it, especially Mr. ERR.  So, I figured it would overall be a bust to try it, and wouldn’t it be great to tear up the CD player aspect of the stereo the first time I tried it.  But the radio was playing Lady Gaga for the millionth time that day, and I just couldn’t handle it (and you can forget about me turning it off and singing a capella).  So, I bit the bullet and inserted Stereocracy.  Imagine my surprise when it started playing!  It skipped a little, but I made it home without feeling like I was going to go homicidal before I got there.

I have written about The Attorneys a few times, who are now più uno and call themselves the Flying Machines.  I have held them for a couple of years now as my favorite unsigned band, and I could never figure out, despite MTV and USA’s Psych promos, they had never taken off.  But now they’ve been signed by EMI Records, the company who produces the likes of the B-52s, Pink Floyd, and Badly Drawn Boy, to name a few.  Their debut CD is out now, and I will let you know more about that once I give it a few (hundred?) listens.  Check out the video above for “On a Whim”, and remember:  when the radio starts playing Flying Machines with Lady Gaga-like verocity, just remember who told you about them first.  And then try not to throw anything at me.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have been a subscriber to Blender Magazine for quite some time now. Blender had a certain quality I really enjoyed in a music magazine: informative but not too elitist, snarky without being mean; it was an all-around happy day whenever Blender arrived in my mailbox. I always bended my ear to the “Songs to Download” list, laughed at the “Word!” segments, gobbled up reviews and interviews, and always read it cover-to-cover. So, imagine my sadness when I learned that the Recession got to Blender, too!

However, if that weren’t enough, this month, instead of getting a copy of one of my favorite music magazines, I receive a copy of a magazine with an ad as the front cover that looks like it belongs in the Photoshop Awards (seriously: does the girl boxer on the right even have her head attached? It looks very unnatural.). Turn the page, and there is a topless woman; I have received a copy of Maxim Magazine. Now, if I had been a guy, I might have been delighted to receive this change of pace. But alas, I am a woman. And flipping through the pages of your magazine, I can hereby attest that there is nothing that remotely appeals to me about this magazine. I checked to see if any of my model friends had made it into your “Hometown Hotties” section, read the blurb about Anthony Bourdain (agreed that he’s awesome), and that was about it. The articles didn’t appeal to me, the ads certainly didn’t appeal to me (male enhancement? C’mon!), and the food and fashion sections literally turned my stomach. Now, I don’t want you to think that I am a prude or some uber girly-girl; I have friends who write for AskMen.com and read that on a regular basis because I like to get inside the male psyche and learn all I can about men, their view on women, and relationship advice from another point of view. However, from the looks of this very unappealing magazine that was sent to me, if I were going to subscribe to a male magazine; I’d order Playboy. The articles are more interesting.

I apologize if this offends anyone, but I do not wish to receive any more copies of Maxim Magazine. If there is another magazine at your company you could send in its stead, I would greatly appreciate it. If you have to send me a refund, please do. If you have old copies of Blender from earlier than 2005, I’d take those instead, too. Just please don’t send any more Maxims to my door! I hope you understand.

Most sincerely,

Jessica P. Wallin