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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
From rock-and-roll to 'Barcarole' in live seconds
I’m in love! No question
about it. And the new object
of my affection is satellite
radio. I gulped when I found
out the hardware would cost
me a bit over S2OO (that’s
for home AND car), but the
idea of having access to 184
radio channels for $12.95
per month was just too hard
to resist.
In this age of TV and
DVD, I am a CD and radio
person. Sitting and staring
is not for me. The confine
ment of having to watch a
flickering screen just does
n’t suit my temperament or
my daily routine. On the
other hand, I love music - at
Saying goodbye after a year's worth of columns
During the past year while
I have been writing this col
umn, I’ve found that there
are weeks when I have sev
eral different topics to write
on and then there are some
weeks when I have to get
pretty creative to hit 500
words before the Tuesday
morning deadline.
Then, one day, an idea
popped into my head. I
decided to create a docu
ment on my desktop entitled
“Column Ideas” that I
would use to write down col
umn ideas (hence the com
plex name of the document)
as they came to me. This
way, I would not be com
pletely up a creek and pad
dle-less on those weeks
when nothing spectacular
happened.
HAA hosts Night of Swing
Get out your dancing shoes. The
Houston Arts Alliance is presenting “ A
Night of Swing at the Canteen,” once
again.
The annual nostalgic event, to be
held in the Century of Flight Building,
at the Museum of Aviation at Robins
Air Force Base, will be held on Aug. 6,
and will feature the Georgia Big Band.
Festivities will begin at 7 p.m. and
continue to 10 p.m. with party-goers
bringing their own dinners, decorating
their tables and wearing top fashions
from the era of World War II and the
MOVIES
From page 8A
• Suitable for: Teens and
older moviegoers.
• What you should know:
Jennifer Connelly, the Oscar
winning actress from “A
Beautiful Mind,” plays a
recently separated mother
who moves into a creepy
apartment building with her
5-year-old daughter. Like
“The Ring,” this is an
American remake of a
Japanese film, but it’s not as
scary or original.
• Language: One use of a
sexual expletive and a half
dozen other expletives.
• Sexual situations/nudity:
GEORGE
From page 8A
Caribbean,” this park fix
ture is a relic of a time when
rides emphasized telling sto
ries.
Online Info: www.dolly
wood.com
2. Monster Plantation,
Six Flags Over Georgia,
Atlanta, Georgia
Driving Distance: 100
miles, 2 hours
Another great dark ride
hidden among the mam
moth coasters at this
Georgia theme park,
“Monster Plantation” com
bines a flume ride with ani
matronic characters akin to
Disney’s “Haunted
Mansion.” Riders take an
odd, yet creative trip
through a flooded antebel
lum mansion filled with
some unwanted, monstrous
guests.
Mike’s Memory: I rode
“Monster Plantation” for
the first time this summer,
and to be honest, it’s one of
Kristina Simms
Guest Columnist
home, in the car, while
cleaning the apartment,
surfing the web, exercising,
Nick Campbell
In the nick of time
nickscampbell@hotmail.com
I’m sure that this isn’t any
type of highly guarded jour
nalism secret, but I had
never thought of it. It
seemed to be one of the
greater ideas that I have
Korean War. There will be prizes for
the best decorated table and for cos
tumes.
Professional dancer Paula East will
be returning to do the foxtrot and
tango with audience participation.
The cost for reserving a table for
eight is $l5O. For individuals the cost
is S2O per seat. There is a military dis
count.
For more information and/or tickets
call the Houston Arts Alliance at (478)
329-0299
None, although punks make
some mildly suggestive
remarks.
• Violence/scary situations:
The scariest scenes involve
drowning or near-drowning,
with at least one dead body
shown. A reference is made
to an alcoholic mother who
abandoned a child and a
physically abusive father.
Children are in peril, some
times in life-or-death situa
tions. Ceiling leaks grow in
menacing fashion. Brown
water overflows from taps,
toilets and washing
machines.
• Drug and alcohol use:
Connelly’s character takes
the most creative and mem
orable rides at the park, hid
den within Six Flags’ larger
focus on thrills. This ride is
not for small children or
anyone stupid enough to
have experimented with
psychedelic drugs before
hopping board. Some parts
are clearly out of a bad
Hunter Thompson moment.
Online Info:
www.sixflags.com
1. Peter Pan’s Flight, The
Magic Kingdom, Walt
Disney World, Orlando,
Florida
Driving Distance: 300
miles, 5 hours
A simple pleasure that
brings riders back to the
magic of a Disney classic,
passengers are transported
on flying boats above the
nighttime streets of London
to Never Never Land, meet
ing Peter Pan on the way
and battling Captain Hook.
Mike’s Memory: J.M.
Barrie, this is not. But pas
ENTERTAINMENT
or just relaxing. And I love a
variety of music too.
Sirius Satellite Radio has
it all: pop, rock, country,
hip-hop, electronic, dance,
jazz, standards, classical,
Latin, tropical, news, sports,
traffic, weather, and talk.
There are sub-categories
under all categories. For
example, there are thirteen
pop channels, starting with
music from the 1950 s and
working up to the top 40
hits. There are no commer
cials and very little DJ chat
ter. You get just music,
music, music. There’s also
a 24/7 Elvis Channel direct
from Graceland.
ever come up with, ranking
right up there with the deci
sion to cancel all of my 8
a.m. classes.
As it turned out, it really
wasn’t that much of a help.
There were a few occasions
that I utilized it, but most of
the things I wrote down are
still sitting there, unused.
The reason for this is that
when I get an idea, I don’t
have the foresight to write
down everything about the
column.
Instead, I just jot down a
few things, thinking that I’ll
surely remember something
so important. What ends up
happening is me searching
my brain frantically late on
Monday nights trying to fig
ure out exactly what I was
referring to when I put
prescription drugs for
migraine headaches.
“War of the Worlds”
• Rated: PG-13.
• Suitable for: Teens and
older moviegoers.
• What you should know:
Don’t let the presence of
young Dakota Fanning fool
you. This is no “E.T." It’s a
harrowing depiction of an
alien attack, with echoes of
the 9/11 terrorist strikes. Tom
Cruise is a divorced, distant
dad to a 10-year-old daugh
ter and sullen teen boy. He’s
got the kids when his preg
nant ex-wife and her hus-
sengers can still discover
something new every time
they ride this Fantasyland
fixture, part of Disney World
since the 19705. Like the
story that spawned it,
“Peter Pan’s Flight” cap
tures the magic of child
hood. Simply not to be
missed. •
Online Info: www.dis
ney.com
(Mileage and time esti
mates based on rough dis
tances compiled on
www.mapquest.com)
Mike's Movie Quote Quiz:
“But if the Pirates of the
Caribbean breaks down, the
pirates don’t eat the
tourists.”
Answer:
Jeff Goldblum.
Jurassic Park. 1993.
If you want news, you can
choose from 13 different
channels. There are 25 talk
channels, including conser
vative and liberal view
points, Classic Radio Shows,
Radio Disney, Martha
Stewart and - coming soon!
- Howard Stern. (Arggh!) I
haven’t explored any of the
talk shows, or the numerous
sports stations, because I am
too entranced with the
music channels.
Right now my favorite
channels are Sirius Gold
(1950’5) and Sirius Pops
(light classical/ concert
favorites). I can go from get
ting my thrill on Blueberry
Hill to the hypnotic rhythm
“Chem retire enroll frying
pan” as a “Column Idea”
entry.
As much of a hassle as it
was sometimes, I’m very sad
to say that I just recently
sent that document to the
Recycle Bin for good. As
many ideas as it had in
there, none of them were
entitled “Farewell,” which is
what this column is.
For the time being, I’m
done writing columns. I’m
not sure what lies ahead
(besides 15 hours of classes
at UGA). I may be writing
somewhere else within the
next few months, or I may
never have my name in a
newspaper again. I’m going
to take the next few weeks
to decide.
I really never intended for
(To submit your event for the
Night Life listings, fax the details to
988-1181, e-mail to
hhj@evansnewspapers.com or
mail to Houston Home Journal,
P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069.)
Thursday, July 28
• karaoke, Our Place, 2132 U.S.
41 North, Perry, 218-2299
• DJ Oronde, Yesterdaze Bar &
Grill (formerly The Ville Case),
2607-A Moody Road, Warner
Robins, 918-0660
• VIP Concert Series presents
Eric Cire, Shenanigan’s Case, 1291
S. Houston Lake Road, Warner
band leave town for the
weekend. That’s when the
aliens emerge and begin
incinerating everything and
everyone in sight. It’s two
hours long, disturbing and
scary. Fanning is frequently
in hysterics.
• Language: About a dozen
and a half objectionable
words are used.
• Sexual situations/nudity:
None.
• Violence/scary situations:
Both are nonstop, once light
ning storms and darkening
skies give way to towering,
three-legged war machines
prowling the land. Aliens kill
Wrwm
lOl lem
“ Macon's Premier Party Spot"
Lire Entertainment Every W ed.-Sat.
Appearing July 27th - 30th
JASON JONES
u'
/ I
BUDWEISER HBTBODY SWIMSUIT CONTEST^
MENS HARDBODY CONTEST
of Ravel’s Bolero with the
push of a button, so the
other 182 channels will just
have to wait.
How to get it
For information on how
and where to buy Satellite
Radio equipment go
towww.sirius.com
Local dealers, according to
the website are Radio Shack
and Advance Auto Parts.
Cost: s2oo+ for equip
ment for home and car.
$12.95 per month subscrip
tion.
You can also pay quarterly
or semii-annually.
Caveat: Be advised that
this column to last as long as
it has. It started after Ms.
Charlotte gave me some
advice on an essay before I
went to State Literary last
year. I asked her if I could do
a few entertainment
columns, and it spawned a
year’s worth of columns,
nearly all of which had the
theme “Nick can’t do laun
dry” or “Don’t live in a
dorm.”
I can’t thank Charlotte
and Rex enough for the vast
liberties they allowed me to
take in terms of topics. I’m
sure there were weeks that
they would have loved to
kick me in the shin after I
sent in a column 10 minutes
before deadline that categor
ically condemned several
great works of literature. I
Robins, 988-8252
Friday, July 29
• karaoke (Dwight's Delight),
Hangar One Lounge, 120 First St.,
Warner Robins, 922-1657
• Jana Gentry’s Platinum Pony,
Yesterdaze Bar & Grill (formerly
The Ville Case), 2607-A Moody
Road, Warner Robins, 918-0660
• Ken Trimmins and the Quiet
Storm, Shenanigan’s Case, 1291 S.
Houston Lake Road, Warner
Robins, 988-8252
Saturday, July 30
people on the spot, streets
heave, bridges and buildings
collapse, electricity vanishes,
most cars no longer work,
panicked people flee and
corpses float down a body of
water. A mob mentality leads
to violence and, to prevent
further bloodshed, one man
kills another (off camera).
Most frightening: Aliens that
track, capture, imprison and
kill people.
• Drug and alcohol use: A
couple of characters share a
nip of peach schnapps.
Distributed by Scripps
Howard News Service,
www.shns.com.
i
SWIMSUITS
Every Wednesday
4570 PIO NONO AVE. - MACON, GA
478-788-3000 • 478-785-3155
www.wMskeyriver.tu
NIGHTLIFE
fwm
W v -cv'»
“Mukin' Macon l off'
m
THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2005 ♦
the SSO rebate depends on
paying for six months serv
ice in advance.
Caveat: The home anten
na is a mouse-size device on
a very long wire. You will
likely have to run it out a
window to get best recep
tion. It needs to face
upwards (toward the sky)
without intervening objects
above it. I have mine wired
to the top of a lawn orna
ment!
Caveat: You may occa
sionally lose reception for
brief periods. If you lose
reception a lot, your anten
na probably is not placed
right.
guess it’s a good thing I was
in Athens. '
I always thought that if I
ever did quit writing, I’d •
want the title of my last col
umn to be something catchy.
I’d thought maybe '
“Goodbye, Farewell, Amen,”
which was the title of the ’
final episode of “MASH.” Or
maybe, “Goodbye, Yellow '
Brick Road.”
But as the book closes on 1
“In the Nick of Time,” I’m
less concerned with going
out in style and more con- 1
cerned with saying
“Thanks” to everyone
whose read what I’ve writ- -
ten and to those that have
helped me during the past j
year. It’s been great, and I’m
sorry it’s over. Thanks for
everything.
• The Drifters, Hangar One
Lounge, 120 First St., Warner
Robins, 922-1657
• Jana Gentry's Platinum Pony,
Yesterdaze Bar & Grill (formerly
The Ville Case), 2607-A Moody
Road, Warner Robins, 918-0660
• Tim Chandler, Shenanigan's
Case, 1291 S. Houston Lake Road,
Warner Robins, 988-8252
Monday, Aug. 1
• DJ Oronde, Yesterdaze Bar & J
Grill (formerly The Ville Case),
2607-A Moody Road, Warner
Robins, 918-0660
QUIZ
From page 8A
and members of the House
of Representatives who
comprise Houston County’s
delegation.
Georgia Geniuses
Last week’s challenge was
tp give the latitude and lon
gitude of Robins Air Force
Base. The answer:
Latitude 32.61;Longitude
-83.60. Getting it right were
Tim Hoskins, Bill Harrison,
Terry Everett, Nelda Tawse,
Mike Stanley, Beckie
Burnham, Laurie Jones,
Jim Worrall, Agnes Farr,
Jolene Pierson and Betsy
Bazemore.
Coming Julg 27th thru 31st
leo Dufour
asms
tMnedy tentrd Shoartime, and OS
ESlXovfr Includes Free Admission lS2m
Bp.. Whiskey Rim Night Club^SM
COMEDY SMORGASBORD
nam-2pm Lunch Buffet
(Monday-Friday)
P Includes Coffee or Tea
9A