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The Dunwoody Tornado

I remember the night of April 8, 1998 well. I was living in Dunwoody, Georgia at the time. My ex-girlfriend was (if I’m not mistaken) in New Orleans, at a “group meeting” for her job. Since New Orleans is an hour behind Atlanta, and since her boss had treated everyone to a fancy dinner that night, it wasn’t especially unusual that she called me a few minutes before midnight to tell me about her day.

I remember the weather being bizarre that night. It was raining like I’d never seen before, there was so much lightning that it almost seemed like daytime, and it was windy… so windy, in fact, that the rain was falling sideways! The whole thing was so unusual that when my ex called I went out on the covered porch by the bedroom to describe it for her. We then continued talking for a half hour or so as I sat on the porch, watching leaves and small branches fly every which way. I remember bringing up the weather several more times in our conversation.

Although the weather was bad, I didn’t think anything of it… until I turned on the TV the next morning to catch the headlines before leaving for work. Not more than two miles away from me, this happened:

(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)

It’s now known as the “1998 Dunwoody tornado”, and it was so bad that it got its own Wikipedia page several years after the fact. The tornado itself wasn’t especially powerful, but when it hit Dunwoody it hit its greatest strength (an F2 on the Fujita Scale) and expanded to 800 yards across. Yes, the tornado was as wide as eight football fields!

I drove through the area pictured above the next day, and I know people often use the phrase “it looked like a bomb went off”, but in this case, it really did look like a nuclear bomb had gone off. Tress were ripped out of the ground and thrown hundreds of feet. Many houses were simply gone, and some of them were absolutely, completely gone. As in, there was only a concrete foundation left, and the yards where those houses once stood were completely empty of any debris. Not a single 2×4 or sheet of siding was seen anywhere.

It was surreal. It was depressing. I couldn’t believe that it’d happened.

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God Bless Texas!

I’ll make no apologies for it: I love to eat, and I love to eat junk food. Now, I don’t eat Twinkies every day of my life, and although my dinners are typically heavy on the animal protein, I usually at least try to throw a couple of vegetables in the mix. But when it comes time to eat crap – like, I dunno… at a state fair or something – I can throw down like there’s no tomorrow.

The 2008 Texas State Fair is over now, but thanks to a foodie website I was able to pull up the fair’s menu. And my God… it almost makes me quiver just reading it! Here are some of the highlights:

Chicken Fried Bacon – Thick and peppery Farm Pac® bacon is seasoned, double-dipped in a special batter and breading and deep-fried. Served with a creamy side of ranch or honey mustard sauce.   Served at  N30 located on Nimitz at MLK. Winner of Best Taste in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Fried Banana Split – A mixture of banana and honey peanut butter is rolled in balls, battered and deep-fried and topped with assorted, delicious fixings, including powdered sugar, caramel and chocolate syrups, chopped peanuts, whipped cream and banana split flavored ice cream bites then fittingly crowned with the traditional cherry.  Served at the Auto Grill inside the Automobile Building. Winner of Most Creative in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Texas Fried Jelly Belly Beans – Jelly Belly Beans are rolled in funnel cake batter and fried to a crunch.  People can share the treat with friends and try to guess the flavors before biting down.  Enjoy at the Granny’s Funnel Cake stand C6 at the south side of the Coliseum and at Rico’s Burgers, stand C7, behind Gateway Pavilion. Finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards competition.

Continue reading “God Bless Texas!”

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Canadian Hottie!

This is Nazneen Contractor, a Canadian actress currently appearing on The Border, a CBC (Canadian) knockoff of Spooks or 24:

Sadly, this picture cannot convey her best asset: her sexy voice. If you ever get a chance to watch The Border, you should really check it out, if only to see Nazneen!

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Random TV News

Here’s a bunch of random stories from the world of TV land:

– Fox has cancelled King of the Hill. Well, not “cancelled” so much as “will not renew”. This isn’t exactly surprising, since the show’s creators have moved on to other things – Mike Judge is doing a new series for ABC and Greg Daniels went on to produce The Office for NBC.

– For some reason, Fox has renewed American Dad. The show is OK, but I find the premise wearing thin.

– Jon Hamm of Mad Men is in talks to play Liz Lemon’s boyfriend in several episodes of 30 Rock.

– It might be the end for Pushing Daisies. Word on the street is that ABC has told the show’s producers to treat episode 13 as the “series finale” just in case the show does not get the order for the “back nine” episodes. Actually, the episode is supposed to work “either way” – as a series finale or as a springboard for the final nine episodes – so the network is covered in either case. This is both good and bad news. “Bad” because it looks like Daisies won’t be around next year; “Good” because it appears that the show, at the very least, won’t be unceremoniously yanked off the air.

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January Jones: Goddess

OK, I promise that I’ll stop posting Mad Men stuff… but I just had to post these beautiful pictures of January Jones from an unknown photoshoot. I think Betty Draper, her character on Mad Men, is a modern day Grace Kelly… and is one of the most beautiful women in the world. Outside of the “Betty Draper” character, however, January Jones is usually less than impressive… especially in candid shots. I think she needs a new stylist. At any rate, I saw these online last night, and she looks really good in them, so I thought I’d share:

(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)

More pics after the jump!

Continue reading “January Jones: Goddess”

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Quote of the Day

“History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of ‘history’ it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time – and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened… There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda… You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning… And that, I think, was the handle – that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting – on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave… So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark – that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”

– Hunter S. Thompson
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

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Mad Men: “Meditations in an Emergency”

Well, my two favorite football teams – the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Pittsburgh Steelers – both lost this past weekend. Normally, I’d be a horrible mood about it… but Sunday was the season finale of Mad Men… so let’s get right to it:

Many viewers wondered what Sally’s “Mommy, you’re bleeding!” comment was about near the end of the previous episode. We didn’t have to wait long to find an answer: Betty’s pregnant, thanks to her liaison with Don in “The Inheritance”. Betty’s physician, Dr. Aldrich, is all excited about the pregnancy… until Betty tells him that she can’t possibly have a baby right now. The doctor looks at Betty and says that “if we’re having the conversation I think we’re having, there are alternatives”.

He then says that he can’t believe that Betty – a wealthy, married woman – would consider even “it”. He tells her that as soon as she tells her husband and friends that she’ll “get into the swing of things” and that she’ll be OK. Dr. Aldrich apparently works out of his home, and when he leaves the room for a moment to go find a portable heater (so that Betty can undress for the examination), Birdie picks up her coat and purse… and leaves.

Back at Sterling Cooper, the “usual suspects” – Harry, Paul, Ken and Peggy – wonder why management wants all of their numbers way before they’re due. Paul wonders if the urgency has anything to do with Don’s absence in California. Harry says that he’s figured it out: Pete told him that the aerospace industry is about to take off (heh) out there, and that Don must be landing a giant account. Paul wonders if Don’s breaking off to start his own agency. Harry counters that he might be working to open Sterling Cooper West. He then laments that President Kennedy is giving a speech that night; since ads don’t run during presidential speeches, that’s revenue that Sterling Cooper is missing out on.

Peggy then goes to visit Pete, who’s eating a sandwich in his office. She asks if he’s told anyone about Clearasil yet; he sarcastically says that “it slipped his mind”. He also says that he’s waiting on a call from North American Aviation about a possible new deal. He then asks Peggy what to say to Duck. Peggy tells him to just tell him the truth, and that people respect that.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Meditations in an Emergency””

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Lionsgate looking for a new runner?

In “TV speak”, a show runner is the person responsible for the day to day operations of a TV show (e.g. the person that “runs” the show). Although the show runner can, theoretically, be anyone, it is usually a writer, especially if that writer is a big part of the show’s existence. In the case of Mad Men, Matt Weiner is the head writer, a producer, and all around “grand poobah” of the series. And his contract with Lionsgate – the company that produces Mad Men – is up for renewal.

Weiner has asked for $10 million a year, a figure that Lionsgate claims is far too high for their basic cable budget. Since Lionsgate is contracted with AMC for two more seasons of the show, they’ll have to have someone be the show runner, even if that’s not Weiner. However, he is the heart and soul of a show that gets fantastic reviews, decent ratings, and also won the first “Best Drama” Emmy for a basic cable series.

As TV Squad notes, Lionsgate will have to pay Wiener the money. It’s that simple. Mad Men has a fanatic fan base (obviously), and any drop in quality would instantly be noticed by them. Without Wiener you have no show… so ante up the ducats, Lionsgate!

Read all about it here.