Life and Time

Ever met someone, and felt like you've known them your whole life?  Think about this for a moment:

Time is an earthly, mortal concept.  We live our lives in a linear path, from birth to death in a long trudge forward.  No going back to live parts of it again (except as memories), mo skipping ahead to see what happens - just one day at a time, until it ends.

So, consider this:  When we finish our time here on Earth, I believe we're no longer held to that linear time constraint.  All of what has gone before, and is yet to come, is at our etherial fingertips.  Want to watch Mark Twain have breakfast?  How about look in on your great-grandchild's wedding?  The love of your life - what were they like as a child?  It's waiting for you.

Now, when you feel like you've known someone all your life, maybe you have - or maybe they will.  And thinking that someone who loves me has been there all along, is pretty nice.

From Back When Radio Was Fun

A Video History of the American Radio Personality! from Kurt Kelly on Vimeo.

Ain't It Good To Be Back Home Again

It's amazing how music can trigger a memory...

For too short a time, I was privileged and blessed to share my life with a woman who was beautiful, both inside and out.  When she moved to a small house in northern Madison County - a place we nicknamed "Green Acres" and "The Farm" - it was peaceful, a place that finally felt like home in a tumultuous time in both our lives.

Tonight, while listening to WLRH 89.3FM (our local public radio station), they were playing a concert and some interviews from the Avett Brothers.  They played their version of this song, an old favorite from John Denver.  As they played, it brought back great memories of us sitting on the porch swing, listening to a small fire burn in a pit just off the porch, watching the horses in the pasture in front of the house, and talking for hours until late in the night.

May you always have a porch swing to sit on, someone to share it with, and a place that feels like home.

Quit Dragging Your Feet, And Just Get Started

OK, I'll admit it; I am a superior procrastinator.  Deadlines help, even if they're self-imposed.  Don't believe me?  Well then, how about this - the grout in my bathroom has been waiting 14 months to be redone.

To that end, it's time.  Time to finally get off my worn-out, no-longer-comfortable, got-it-when-I-got-divorced office chair and make something happen that I've been dragging my feet about for about seven years.

Labor Day weekend, look for the launch of my podcast, Not Ready for FM.  What's it about?  Is there a theme?  What about guests?  Will there be swearing?  Tune in and find out.

There, I did it - deadline established.  And it should be at least decent - I've been doing show prep for almost a decade.

Morning Prayer

Thank you, Don Williams, for putting to music my prayer for today: youtu.be/nWR78buhHbI

— Brian Temple (@ReBachelor) August 1, 2012

Happier Times

A huge thank you to Mark Kelly at Lodge Cast Iron for finding this photo of Wanda and me at the outlet store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, sometime in early December 2011. We were doing a little Christmas shopping at one of our favorite places.

Don't Wait...

Pray for comfort.Pray for peace.Pray for her family.If they're right, she'll be gone very soon.#StupidCancer

— Brian Temple (@ReBachelor) July 21, 2012

Fun with ClayYourself.com

The folks over at Hotels.com have an application on their website that lets you create a claymation version of yourself.  Just go to ClayYourself.com to play along.

A White Christmas in Huntsville, Alabama

Thoughts On A Wedding

This past weekend, my mother, my daughter and I had the honor of attending my cousin's wedding. After a simple service at the church (we are Baptists, after all), the entirety of both families made the trek of about five blocks to the reception, held at the restored train depot in downtown Opelika, Alabama. What follows are some of the thoughts that went through my mind at the reception:

• I never knew this train depot was even here. For that matter, I've never been to the downtown Opelika area. Reminds me of the small North Carolina town where my brother and his wife live.
• This looks like just about every family reunion I remember from my childhood - people talking, laughing, eating too much...
• Dance floor? Live band? And they're good! Things are looking up!
• Morgan (my daughter) looks bored - just like I did when I was her age, being dragged to weddings. Well, this is her first really big wedding to go to. Let's let the old people talk and we'll go exploring.
• No groom's cake, but five different kinds of pie in its place. All home-made.
• The groom's dad - my cousin by marriage - seems to be having a little more fun than everyone else. I know there's no bar at this reception, but I also know I've never seen him quite this animated. Wait - is there a bar? More exploring...
• My great uncle looks as fit as ever - hard to believe he'll be 90 this year. Also hard to believe he has a doctorate degree, was a college professor, and has published several books. He's a smart man, indeed, to have figured out how to remain a simple, God-fearing man in this world.
• Morgan seems relieved to not be pinned down at one table all the time, having to sit still and be quiet.  Same goes for me.
• My uncle - my dad's brother - looks more and more like my Granddad every day. My aunt hasn't changed at all.
• Wow, I never realized how much of my family's on Facebook. And wants to be "friends" with me. *shudder*
• All of these people I've known all my life don't seem all that old to me anymore. I'm on a first-name basis with most of them now. When did I stop being a little kid in this family?
• My family's never been too big on titles for people, outside of grandparents, aunts and uncles. We never could keep track of what kind of cousin everyone is, let alone how many times they're removed, whatever that is. We generously use the generic term "cousin."
• Morgan is relieved that we just call everyone "cousin," but still seems a little interested in knowing how we're all related.
• If I hear one more prostate cancer story...
• Still no bar. Found two ladies frying what appears to be about a half-ton of catfish, though.
• The bride was in a sorority. They have weird traditions for when one of them gets married, usually acted out in a big circle on the dance floor. Lots of singing, clapping, and laughing.
• Wow - you can actually sweat all the way through a three piece suit.
• Discovered something called "wickles" - dill pickles soaked in brine with hot peppers.  How did I not know about this?
• Morgan is tolerating all these people she's never met wanting to hug her and ask her about school. Maybe she's not that freaked out anymore, or maybe it's that Dad's credit card is loaded up to purchase her some authentic Auburn gear tomorrow morning.
• Family reunion / Uncle Joe's 90th Birthday - this fall. Evidently, I'm the expert on setting up event invitations on Facebook...
• First wedding I remember going to in the past three years where I wasn't the least bit bitter. Feels good, actually.

The Boat That Still Rocks

I spent a fair amount of time this afternoon listening to Radio Caroline, the formerly-pirate radio station from England. For those of you who've seen the movie Pirate Radio (when it was released earlier in the UK, it was named The Boat That Rocked), you'll recognize their flagship, the MV Ross Revenge, in many of the scenes.  The Ross Revenge is currently being restored, mostly by volunteers, and isn't currently sailing.  Radio Caroline, and other pirate radio stations operating off the coast of the UK in the 1960s, was seen as a driving force in delivering modern music to the masses only served by the BBC.


Listening this afternoon, I heard radio like it used to be - as it should be - warts and all.  A very ecclectic mix of rock and roll spanning a good 50 years, live announcers, CDs and albums (yes, vinyl) being rattled about in the studio - I even heard someone cough off-mic in the middle of a break.  Plus, lots of great liners and jingles, some from those glory days of the '60s.  Not to mention, music I haven't heard in ages, and more current songs I might not have heard at all.


If you'd like to check them out, set a course for their website.


Here's one I heard this afternoon:

Wait, "Blues Brothers 2000" Is Twelve Years Old Now?

Maybe it's just the passage of time, or maybe I just like the music, but was "Blues Brothers 2000" that bad of a movie? Sure, it doesn't measure up to the original, but still not a complete waste of time, right?



Anyway, here's Erykah_Badu and Paul Shaffer, along with a bunch of other famous folks in one of my favorites from the film movie:

Life Beyond L.A.

Stumbled upon a great song by Ambrosia the other night - "Life Beyond L.A." I've been a fan of theirs for many years, but don't think I'd ever heard of this one.

Live Recording Session

notreadyforfm on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Huntsville Tornado over First Baptist

Creepy, isn't it? Taken by First Baptist Church member Ryan Crim a little after 5pm on Thursday, January 21st.

Link to the original and article on al.com.

The Gold Rush

Tonight on WAFF 48 News, anchor Mark Thornhill and photographer Daniel Hopkin produced a special report on gold-buying websites, "The Gold Rush." When Mark was getting started, he put out an email looking for volunteers with jewelery to sell, and we'd follow what happens for the story. Since I'm not using my wedding band anymore, I thought I'd step up and help. Here's the story on WAFF.com, the station's website.

Test Drive

Got a song stuck in my head this morning, so I thought I'd torture you with it.

Go ahead, press the big "Play" arrow. You know you want to...

Your Friendly Neighborhood SpiderFrog

This little guy was hanging out on the window by the front door when I got home last night. I usually see him on the front porch, most often under one of the plants there.


He let me get a little closer now. Still keeping an eye on me, though.


Making a run for it. He's waiting to see what my next move is, in the middle of the glass of the window.


One last shot before we go. I thought he'd be fatter, considering the sheer number of mosquitoes we have around here...

We Choose To Go To The Moon...

Thanks to NASA and Life Magazine for the photo

NASA, as well as the rest of America, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing today. Starting with President Kennedy's challenge in 1961, forward through the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions, and on to July 20th, 1969, with Apollo 11 and the lunar landing.

Historic Pictures Restored

Video courtesy NASA.gov

If you haven't been to the NASA.gov site lately, they've spent a lot of time restoring video from Apollo 11, including the one above. What was once grainy, blurry TV video is now available in High Definition.