A little late this week! As always, all images unless otherwise noted taken by me and copyright, DeepFriedKudzu. Interested in using something in particular? Contact me. Thanks
(above: mint julep from SoBou in the Quarter)
Mint Julep 101 on Georgia Public Broadcasting, from Elizabeth on 37th in Savannah.
Also from Savannah: Reuters reports on the closing of Paula Deen’s ‘Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House’. ‘The Lady and Sons’ remains open. She plans to open a new restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee later this summer.
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John Besh will join Jon Taffer (Bar Rescue) and Tiffany Derry (Top Chef and Bar Rescue) on a new Spike show, ‘Hungry Investors‘ beginning May 11, which sounds as though it might be a bit like ‘Shark Tank’ for restaurateurs.
Also John Besh: the Besh Box has been discontinued, and there’s a lawsuit.
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Yes! I’m an Alabama fan, but you have to give it to LSU’s Lloimincia Hall for her third perfect 10 score against Bama. Way to go! Hello, Olympics? You haven’t seen anything like this yet:
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A bequest from Margaret Mitchell‘s (yes, GWTW) nephew helped ease the Archbishop of Atlanta into a $2.2MM home in Buckhead…that he’s moving out of now. In fairness, he hosted guests and held events there. But still. From GPB:
“Gregory sought guidance from three church advisory councils after public outcry over the home’s opulence and price tag. The archbishop says feedback from those meetings, as well as his own personal reflection and prayer, led him to the decision to sell the 6,400-square-foot home.
“Gregory says he will invest proceeds from that sale into north Georgia’s Catholic community.
“Pope Francis has challenged Catholic leaders to live simple, frugal lives. Last week, a German bishop resigned after news surfaced he spent $43 million on a new home and office complex.”
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There’s such a thing as a grit chip.
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From the NYT, Civil Rights Sins, Curated by One of the Sinners:
In the woods off Monroe Road, a truck is so rusted that it is melting into the earth. It was Vernon Dahmer’s truck, the one that he drove and that his family continued to use after his death, the circumstances of which can be inferred from the three penny-size holes in the back panel.
Five men were convicted in the 1966 firebombing and ambush that killed Mr. Dahmer, the local N.A.A.C.P. president. But his family is certain about one culprit that went unpunished: the State of Mississippi.
“They’re just as much to blame as the Klansmen,” said Ellie Dahmer, 88, who fled with three children to the barn that night as Mr. Dahmer, her husband, traded fire with the attackers.
So it was with some faith that the Dahmers agreed to hand over parts of the truck to the state, to be exhibited in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Not complete faith, the family clarifies. This is only a loan. And the family has control over its use.
“If we can’t tell it like it really is,” said Mr. Dahmer’s son Vernon Jr., “we best not tell it at all.”
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(above: Scottsboro Boys Museum)
The estate of Scottsboro Boy, Clarence Norris, is suing the State of Alabama for wrongful imprisonment. Documentation here.
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They sent a glass one — he doesn’t want to spend eternity in the current plastic version — and they even customized the label for this gentleman (glad they considered that the red ribbon stating ‘smooth and creamy’ isn’t really appropriate here) who wants his ashes in a Duke’s jar.
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(above: pie from Pie Lab)
If you’re in Birmingham on a Saturday, Pepper Place Market begins this coming weekend, and Pie Lab will be there every week!
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Letters of Note published a letter from Helen Keller to the NY Symphony Orchestra in 1924 after listening to Beethoven’s Ninth:
Of course, this was not “hearing” but I do know that the tones and harmonies conveyed to me moods of great beauty and majesty. I also sensed, or thought I did, the tender sounds of nature that sing into my hand—swaying reeds and winds and the murmur of streams. I have never been so enraptured before by a multitude of tone-vibrations.
As I listened, with darkness and melody, shadow and sound filling all the room, I could not help remembering that the great composer who poured forth such a flood of sweetness into the world was deaf like myself. I marvelled at the power of his quenchless spirit by which out of his pain he wrought such joy for others—and there I sat, feeling with my hand the magnificent symphony which broke like a sea upon the silent shores of his soul and mine.
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There’s a ‘Campaign for Real Barbecue‘ in North Carolina now that so many places aren’t cooking with wood (a shanda!). And what is this, from The Dispatch:
He noted that a lot of restaurants are grandfathered to cook by wood, and new businesses cannot receive a permit to do the pit cooking. Due to health department regulations, having fire pits in restaurants are not allowed anymore. Barbecue restaurants open prior to the new rules are grandfathered, such as Lexington Barbecue No. 1, which opened in 1962.
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(above: from Paradise Gardens)
Worth reading: Glorious Constructions: the Struggle to Preserve Salvation-Themed Art Environments (so nice that I’m thanked and cited as a source!). Included: Paradise Gardens, W.C. Rice’s Cross Garden, Margaret’s Grocery, Kenny Hill’s Sculpture Garden, and Salvation Mountain.
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The Tennessean reports that the National Museum of African American Music is expected to begin construction in Nashville in early 2015.
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Great obit:
There will be no viewing since his wife refuses to honor his request to have him standing in the corner of the room with a glass of Jack Daniels in his hand so he would appear natural to visitors.
Speaking of Jack Daniels, there’s this.
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And *how* did I miss this one from last year, from the Northeast Mississippi News:
Timothy Wayne “Tim” Hopkins, 54, went to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Dale Earnhardt to contribute his building and painting expertise to the constructing of many heavenly mansions on Saturday, March 23, 2013, in Memphis.
Friends, if you’re leaving this world without an obit written (partially) by you or for you that does not in some fashion the wonderfulness that was you, that’s a grand missed opportunity.
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The Huntsville Botanical Garden will present a ‘Tribute to Wade’ (Wade Wharton) on Sunday, April 27 from noon-5p.
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One of my (super-super talented) friends from college days, Dan Furman, wrote a musical called ‘Rip!’ about ‘a man who likes to believe anything is possible…until he goes off to war and ends up in a magical ‘Bowling Green’ and finds he cannot return to his wife and home. It is a radical variation on Washinton Irving’s classic tale of Rip Van Winkle. It is also about people in a town in the Catskills who didn’t believe the American Revolution was possible — until they found themselves carrying it out. It is about love, dreams, revolution, fish…and what is possible.’. The musical CD is available for download here.
He plays jazz piano all over NYC, so if you’re there…
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From WVTF Public Radio:
A new church in southwestern Virginia is looking to local culture to inspire its congregation. It celebrates the Appalachian spirit of community and practicality best demonstrated by potluck dinners and conversation, followed by music and dancing. The new church, called “Wild Goose,” opened earlier this year in a remote part of Floyd County.
…“We took the pews out and put the rocking chairs in, we took the pulpit furniture out and built a fireplace and it’s all fiddle and banjo music and singing old time songs and very eclectic worship.”
…”One of the things I wanted to get away from with Wild Goose is the performance and audience relationship that I had seen in so many traditional church worship services. So we we have discussions, read scripture and everybody participates. I learned early on that just because I had a seminary education, does not mean that I knew as much about scripture or theology as a lot of people sitting in the pews.”
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Arthur Smith, who was best known for writing ‘Dueling Banjos’ and ‘Guitar Boogie’ has passed away. He had to sue for compensation when ‘Dueling Banjos’, which he called ‘Feuding Banjos’ was used in the movie ‘Deliverance’ uncredited.
Although he didn’t disclose how much money he’d made from the movie lawsuit, Smith pointed to a picture of a 42-foot yacht on the wall of his office and noted Warner Bros. had bought the boat for him.
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Now you can own a home Coach Bryant once lived in, in Birmingham.
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We did a ‘Day Out with Thomas’ at the Heart of Dixie Railroad and the boys really enjoyed their ride: 
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Av had his birthday this week and we celebrated with a lunch at The Club:
And for some reason now that I see this picture I realize I am the kind of person who takes my husband to lunch, forgetting to put on makeup. Ah. Who cares? We’re terrifically happy together.
If you can imagine, this peanut butter and chocolate dessert was even better than it looks:
Then went the next night for Family Night and the boys had a blast, including having their faces painted!
Pretty Birmingham
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Highway 30 between New Albany and Oxford may become ‘William Faulkner Scenic Byway‘.
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What is Alabama doing with the Bryce Hospital grounds? Plans to build a $60MM performing arts center featuring ‘a 350-seat drama theater, a 450-seat dance theater, a 250-seat studio theater and associated support spaces, such as a scenery shop and rehearsal hall’ — the scope and preliminary budget have just been approved.
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Fisher’s at Orange Beach Marina is starting a series of special dinners beginning April 17 — bringing in John Besh, Donald Link, Tory McPhail, Sue Zemanick, Justin Devillier and John Currence during the run.
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(above: from Blue Ridge Parkway)
From NPR: Stereotypes of Appalachia Obscure a Diverse Picture:
When policymakers and news organizations need a snapshot of rural poverty in the United States, Appalachia — the area of land stretching from the mountains of southern New York through northern Alabama — is the default destination of choice. Poverty tours conducted by presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Richard Nixon, almost every member of the Kennedy clan, and religious leaders like Jesse Jackson have all painted the portrait of Appalachia the same way: poor, backward, and white.
…While there still is a way to go, a less whitewashed portrait of Appalachia seems to be gaining a foothold nationally, thanks in part to the efforts of scholars and grass-roots organizations. The term “Affrilachia” — a portmanteau of “African” and “Appalachian” coined by Kentucky poet laureate Frank X Walker — has brought together a loose collective of multiracial artists previously excluded from conversations about what it means to be an Appalachian. The word is now an entry in the Oxford American Dictionary, second edition. In 2005, Appalachian State University professor Fred Hay successfully petitioned the Library of Congress to change the definition of Appalachians from “Mountain Whites” to “Appalachians (People).”
That movement toward a more holistic regional picture may be a strong step toward tackling the larger societal ills. “In order to fix the issues of the region,” said Thompson, “we first have to recognize we have a diverse bunch of people living there.”
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The NY Public Library has now made available over 20k maps as high-res downloads. Free. Yes, yes, yes.
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The Listen Up! Mississippi Historic Preservation Conference ‘for building huggers of all stripes’ will be in Tupelo June 8-10, and it all starts with an Elvis Gospel brunch.
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(above: Hallelujah Hairstyles in downtown)
Doug Friedlander says this in The Rotarian (reprinted in the CSM) about the Delta, and in particular the Helena area:
Back when agriculture was king, we were the hub of a
prosperous region. Mark Twain even wrote about Helena in Life on the Mississippi; he said it
“occupies one of the prettiest
situations on the river. ”
Our community has incredible architecture, culture, and history, but it’s been in a 40-year recession and has lost about half its population. I liken it to Cinderella: It’s from a good family, it took a precipitous fall, but it’s ready to be dusted off and taken to the ball.
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Well, since I love that shot so much of Hallelujah Hairstyles (above) that we took last year, here’s a couple other favorites we’ve found:
Yo Majesty’s Beauty Salon Etc. in Port Gibson, Mississippi:
and Lord Make Me Over, Praise Jesus Salon in Decatur, Alabama: