31 July 2019

Nature Watching with Alibug: Birds, Birds & More Birds!

By: Alisa Johnson Brown, Nature Correspondent 

~ Special to The Chronicles ~ 


It's time for some more wonderful nature shots from the Alibug. Enjoy! 


Rudy H. Finch

When I came across 'Rudy H. Finch' yesterday afternoon, he told me he was interviewing for a new job and needed a resume picture. He was looking all flashy, for sure!! Got a 'wave' in his tail, had some highlights put in and had had his nails trimmed. Of course, I said certainly!! He initially made a striking pose......but then I suggested he prop that right leg up! 'Perfect', I said, 'now you're looking downright STUDLY!!’ (or maybe I should have said, STURDLY!!)πŸ˜„πŸ˜œ
>>>>DUE to STEVE....there is an EXPLANATORY NOTE HERE:
Since other people don't think quite like me......STURDLY is descriptive of a STUDLY BURD!!<<<<😜🀣




***

This little guy is perching on a twig of a Moon Vine that had crawled behind a gutter last year. I pulled most all of it down, but this little twig was wedged in! It has become a favorite place to sit for this little boy. He's right at the corner of part of the house and purposely in the path of hummers in the edge of the woods behind him, that will be trying to get around that corner to the feeders! The first feeder is about two feet to the left when looking at this picture! Talk about strategy!! πŸ˜„ He also has that first little bit of a beautiful red gorget coming in! I just love that gleaming little patch of red! πŸ’—



***

American Goldfinches are just so pretty to me...




A Family of Cardinals 


Mom, Northern Cardinal, with her girl, behind her...and her boy, behind the girl



Dad...on the other hand...is beginning to lose some feathers. That's what fatherhood will do!!  πŸ˜„







Multi-generational Newtonian & former WGFS radio host, Ms. Alisa loves the outdoors, birds, the arts, fine dining & great music. She's also got a thing for pirates... An absolutely wonderful woman, we're so glad to have her beautiful nature pics here at TPC. 

30 July 2019

[Perrin Lovett] - Of The Revolutionary Fishing Trip | A Tom Ironsides Story

*Ed. note: This is the third time the TPC readership has been treated to a piece showcasing everybody's favorite "company man" & man's man - Tom Ironsides. You may remember his gig flying into Cuba, or possibly the other piece when he was a substitute teacher. This Editor has had the distinct pleasure of reading several more pieces & passages of the Ironsides saga, and folks - it's really good. Stay tuned for future news. As always - Thx for reading - MB McCart

|||||||

Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, November 2016, 11:33 PM (local time)...

There’s a benefit to ignoring emails for a while and then slowly scanning through them before engaging any one in particular - a man can see patterns. That was about all Tom could see, his eyes nearly crossed from exhaustion. He sat slumped over his desk, staring at the screen for a few minutes, reading the same lines over and over: 

Again, Dr. Ironsides, we are all impressioned with everything you’ve written regarding Pericles’s hypothetical views on the latter-stage United States empire, particularly to diminished military capacity. It was my intention to cite you as an original source. However, I am having difficulty accessing to your paper, at your department site. If there is a better sources available, please do let me no. Oh, please see if you can open the papers here at this (UMB) webpages:

//umb.sk.poly/iside/content/dir/what-takes-greeK-Us/paper/2015.hmtk

Thank you, kindly, in advance. Please contact me at once if you have an idea or wish to collaborate.

Dr. Donatello Berkely, Ph.D.
Languages, Cultures, and Societies
University of Leeds
Yeah, no. Looks just like the other one from last week … from UCLA? Smells the same too… Tom thought as he considered spamming the missive. Just then, most unexpectedly at that time of the night, his phone rang.
Ahoj... dobrΓ½ večer…
‘Tom. Don’t click on that link!’
‘Who in the hell?? Are... Is that you, Freddie?’
‘Yeah, Tom. It’s Fred. Hello, uh, dobro... vector… What time is it over there?’
‘Too late for nanny-state bullshit spying, Kid. And, isn’t it about quitting time for you? If you’re at Langley…’
‘Yeah. I’m at HQ. Gonna be here a while. Spent all day digging at the Puzzle Palace. For emails like the one you’re still looking at.’
‘That you’re also looking at…’
‘Just keeping you safe, big guy.’
‘From?’
‘Can you go ahead and delete that one? I’ve already got a full capture, thanks.’
Tom trash-canned the post. ‘You been looking at my grade book too? I’ve got some really special students this semester. Even if they all fail next week’s exam, they’ll all still pass. Not that I’m expecting anything but straight A’s.’
‘I noted that you respond much faster to emails and texts from female students. That you spend a lot of time looking for parts to firearms that are banned in the EU. Saw you looking at hotels in Milan for Christmas. Price of diesel in Italy. But, no - we’re not really interested in what you…’
‘Then how about not looking at any of my goddamn business, then?! I know phishing junk when I see it. Okay?’
‘Sorry, man, but you’re on the list. Several now. That’s not an ordinary Nigerian Prince you’re dealing with there.’
‘My IIPA coverage expired in the Spring - not that that ever really mattered… Anyway, who are we dealing with? The IRGC?’
‘Yes, actually. They’ve been running this racket for a couple of years now. Just came to our attention last Spring, about the time you went out from under general protection. Hard to get a handle on. A lot’s been compromised.’
‘What? With tech secrets? I can see them targeting MIT or CalTech. Why the hell do they care about Pericles?’
‘Oh. They don’t. You’re right about the techies. Had about 3,000 successful cases of Infil so far. The subject matter isn’t it. Here’s what they… How they operate... You click that link and it pulls up a page that looks like your UMB faculty login - exactly like it. You, sleepy or whatever, figure you were timed out and log in again. And, they…’
‘Have my password, etc.’
‘Bingo! Usually gives them root access to not only your files but anything on the server. Very sophisticated shit. You’re a target, personally, because of … you know, obvious reasons.’
‘Well then, when you’re not spying on me - thanks - ever look at their servers? Maybe pin-point one for a good old JDAM sinking?’
‘You know what we’re doing, asset-wise, Tom. A strike? It’s virtually impossible to pin them down. Routed - on the fly - through a hundred proxies world-wide. The lock on the guy we think sent that last batch of bait ended in London. MI-6 would kind of object to dropping a Mark 84 in Kent.’
‘Dunno. If you hit Mayor Mohammad’s house they might approve…’
‘UK servers are right behind ours, hit-wise. You don’t know what’s been lost. Tehran may have the ability to build a knockoff F-35, or certainly, they know its weaknesses…’
‘Yeah. Sand and fog! Flying at night. Or, in the air! Only plane in history known to PMS. I’d think you’d try to Trojan them the blueprints for sabotage. Just give ‘em a whole plane...’
‘Tom, they may be in deep with some of our hardware controls.’
‘Deep like the Chi-Coms that make the crap? Hey! Polack joke time!’
‘Tom, no, it’s never funny to…’
‘What’s the difference between a Polack and an American?’
‘I mean I could get in trouble just for… The new HR people are always looking for a…’
‘The Polack’s still gonna have a country in twenty years! Ha!’
‘Wait. Was that really an American joke?’
‘Aha. It’s been fun, Kid. Really has. Close to midnite here, and as I don’t really give a flying f…’
‘Three more things, brother. From upstairs. Gimme a few for old time’s sake.’
‘Alright, shoot. I’m waiting on Tina and her little sister to come home anyway.’
‘Oh, I was meaning to ask about you two. Everything going okay? She sounds so nice, everything I’ve heard. One of these days, I’m going to Space-A over for a visit.’
‘Is that one of your three things?? ... No, things are great. And, you’re welcome any time. Come to think of it, you’d really like her sister. About your age. Seventeen maybe?’
‘Ha. Ha. Funny, funny, grandpa. Anyway. First thing is… uh. The new Trump people are starting to get prepped here. Nothing major yet, but it’s coming, I think. Someone’s already floated questions about your notes on Steinberg and Kahneman. You remember anything recent about Dr. Pedo?’
‘Recent? Yeah. Last I heard he was crashing on Ben Bernanke’s couch. Tell The Donald to go ask Money Man. Better yet, if y’all got a spare ‘84 handy…’
‘No. He was never at the Bernanke household. Even they don’t take those kinds of risks. Mistakes. But, he has gone missing. Or, traveling or something. You heard about that?’
‘Just now, from you. Maybe he’ll have a nice accident somewhere… No, I have nothing to say about that aside from what’s already on file.’
‘Kay. Had to check. Second thing is… Are you familiar with the nocte lupi?’
‘Not personally, no. I’ve heard a few of them while camping in the hills. Whole packs of them still roam the Tatras, per diem tu nocte.’
‘We wanna know about the ones riding Harleys, Tom.’
‘Everyone needs a hobby…’
‘Yeah. Like your’s is cigars. Traffic camera in Zvolen has you on a street corner, smoking Cubans and talking to three Wolves.’
‘Even the damned street cameras! Is nothing sacred?’
‘None of the four of you seemed to know a common language, but you all sure looked like you were trying to find one…’
‘We were all into the smokes! And, they had some wicked cool bikes. Deutsche, by the way. Why them? They’re nice. Good guys.’
‘Not all of them. Again, are you familiar?’
‘With what I read in the papers. Local chickens are a little panicked. Most people don’t care. They’re into charities, kids’ hospital rides, and The Church. They like Bolivars…’
‘They’re paramilitaries…’
‘Hey! Brother… shhhhh… so are you.
‘Russian shock troops on wheels. Putin’s advanced scouts to the Euro Zone … Okay, it was just that one time. Maybe watch out. We ID’d two of them. Odds are, they know who Tom Ironsides is … was.’
‘And, now he’s known as the nice guy who compliments ape-hangers while tobacco-izing the street… I’m gonna shoot those damned cameras out from now on! What’s the last thing?’
‘Serbia.’
‘Ah, shit. I could have guessed. What now?’
‘It may be nothing. Or, it may be that some shadows are drifting out of the dark past. Maybe wafting the Slovak way… And - this is ALL classified - it may be bound up with the IRGC and with Pedo-Berg.’
‘Highly unlikely. Not together. Whatever else they are, the Iranians are hard-liners against child-raping Satanists - at least of that bent.’
‘No. It’s not a direct link. But there is a nexus. X is looking for Y. Y looks for Z. Z sees Tom the Terror smoking with the Russian three-percenters. You need to be on alert. I’m supposed to forward you an official advisement to return to the US, but I know you won’t heed it. Not yet.’
‘Not yet?? You know I’m always on alert…’
Just then, Tom’s semi-conscious alertness informed him someone was walking up the stairs from the alley. The melodious voices of two women echoed through the apartment. 
Moj krasny dievcata!’ Tom yelled across the rooms. The two beauties ran into his office laughing and babbling. He spoke to Freddie: ‘Hey, man. They’re back! Gonna put you on speaker for a second. Povedat “Hi!” dievcata! - muz z C-I-A...
Som nahΓ½, chlapče!!’ Tina screamed down at the phone while her sister giggled loudly.
ImpregnovaΕ₯ ma! Ak nie krΓ­vat!’ Her sister yelled. The Euro trio laughed it up as Freddie sat stunned in Virginia.
‘Uh. Hello… Dolby Vermont… Ladies…’ He stuttered. ‘What did they say??’
Tom picked up again. ‘Said you sound real cute… Okay. Anything else Earth-shattering that I need to not care about? Got a party about to start here.’
‘No. Just watch out for…’
‘Hey! They’re pulling my pants off. Gotta go! My hate to the Company!’
Tom hung up and spent the next hour laughing about yoga, sushi, and that cool new Western shoe store at the mall. Senior Officer Freddie Denard lowered the receiver and glanced around at the assembled faces in his office. 
‘That’s it?!’ Asked a bitter-looking woman in a pantsuit. ‘He just blows it all off and parties with two sisters.’
‘They’re hot sisters!’ Added a man wearing tactical pants, half sitting on the corner of Freddie’s desk. ‘I’ve seen a photo of the girlfriend. Nine plus. Little sister can’t be far…’
‘Shut you, you disgusting breeder pervert!’ The angry butch shouted.
You shut up, obnoxious bitch… Freddie thought. I didn’t tell him about the ISIS sniper-Navy leads either. Not trying to break his heart or send him rogue...
‘The Bude says he runs a backstop on all his hardware. The Guard couldn’t crack in even if he opened the fake files.’ A man in a lab coat added. ‘Liaison says he probably has a separate shadow system too. Something shielded. But, I get the feeling he really doesn’t care anymore. He’s not a contractor or anything, now, is he?’
Freddie thought a second and answered: ‘No. Fully retired. Apparently having a load of fun… But, he is still something. Now. Always. Folks, that was the voice of the greatest agent in Company history…’
‘Maybe so,’ said the woman, ‘but he doesn’t seem to give a damn about the deadly serious things you just talked about. You could have just zapped the revolutionary spam and let him assume the provider did it. What was the purpose of the call?’
Freddie did what the woman found impossible - he smiled. ‘I just wanted to talk to him.’

* A Tom Ironsides Novel currently undergoes editing and rewriting. Stand by the credit cards.

CF Floyd Feature Writer of Affairs National

29 July 2019

A Moment from MB: "Clearing the Air"

Hello.

Well...I've thought about this post for a few days, and against better judgement - I've decided to go all in, you know, w/ the REAL edition, if you please.

I've come to the conclusion that a fairly certain & significant percentage of the home city's population is - "ignorant...pathetic..."

You don't want to be on that list, I assure you.

I'm tempted to just leave it a that, but...I won't. 



~~~

So, the cancer situation. Here's what I posted on the book of faces the other day:


I've had several of you reach out to me recently about the current state of things pertaining to the big news that we've all just recently received. 

Maybe the following will give you an idea of where I'm at: 

I've got a file on cancers & cancer deaths in Settler's Grove (The Grove) that I've been working on for several years. The number of cancers in there over the years, as well as recently, is absolutely mind blowing. 

Question - what is the prevailing direction of the winds here in this particular portion of Georgia Piedmont? 

This story is very much DEVELOPING... 

Marshall McCart
678.712.8652
The Piedmont Chronicles

P.S. If you live anywhere in Covington, and/or if you've ever worked at Bard, and have any issues whatsoever - reach out to us. We want to hear from you. 

P.P.S. The last paragraph in this so-called...release. Wow... 

P.P.P.S. The Covington News' article title that's above the fold in this weekend's edition! My word. Again, it's like they're not even trying anymore...


Also, I've spoken with multiple other persons, those who've worked at Bard, and other folks living in & around their location; and, with any luck, I'll be compiling some public records very soon.

***** 

So, as a personal aside, I sent out a press release the other day about my 4-point Plan for Covington. Please see below: 

Marshall B. McCart's 4-point Plan for Covington 



  1. Decriminalize marijuana up to an ounce.
  2. Do away with all zoning ordinances & regulations. Like, literally, all of them...
  3. Tell MEAG to go pound sand. We're out. Sue us if you want...
  4. Not unlike Ronald Reagan's Grace Commission of 1981, set up a volunteer committee comprised of multiple Covingtonians (including at least one CPA and a couple of business owners) to find at least a 10% cut to the size, scope & taxing level of the current level of government. 
I like to keep things simple. This is simple. And I believe it'll work wonders for our beloved home city. My name is Marshall B. McCart & I approve this message! 



###



Yeah, I know. It's a winner. Am I still running for council or mayor? Good question. 

||||||||

I think I'll just leave it at that for the moment. More to come soon.

Thanks for reading, 

- MB McCart






Bess Tuggle's Memoirs of Surviving Children: "Mama, Where's the Fire Extinguisher?"



“Empty Nest Syndrome.”  This term seems to elude my mind.  HOW can you not be ecstatic when the final fledgling leaves the nest?

One of my absolute BEST memories was the first time I got to go to the grocery store myself.  No children.   Thing 1 finally turned 12, which meant he was legally able to “baby sit” his little brothers.  It didn’t guarantee their safety, but it did safeguard my liability.  Was I worried?  Yes.  Did I expect to come home to a house that was burned to cinders?  Yes.  Did I know my kids were safe?  YES, pretty much – duct tape and super glue had been hidden well before I left.  As for fire, we’d practiced fire drills from time outta mind, but to leave them alone for 30 minutes (I –did- power-shop, throw basics in the buggy ‘n get out of there), it was still a heady feeling.   AND I got to leave the grocery store without approximately $200 worth of stuff I had no intention of buying in the first place.  No tag-teaming Mama on that trip!

We branched out from there. 

There were a couple times I delved into “daycare,” but it simply wasn’t worth it.  The first was a stay-at-home relative (to my children) that volunteered, at a fee, to watch them.  Within a month I got the call that they were “in the ditch throwing rocks at cars” going down the road, and I was responsible for a windshield.  I was paying for WHAT?!?  When I was with them I didn’t always know what they were doing, but I certainly knew what they were –not- doing.  Windshield paid for (cash from me, hard labor from the Thing responsible), and that particular babysitter canned.

Then came the time I took a part-time job in Conyers.  It really was a fun job.  I LOVED it!  If you’ve never worked for a court reporting firm, you ought to try it.  You get –paid- to be entertained!  Even with the things I saw and heard in a court room working for a law firm couldn’t compare to this.  I got to read –all- the transcripts that I had to produce and some of them were hilarious!  That’s where I learned the rule:   Think twice, speak once.  Not that it stuck, but I did get to see the results of not adhering to it. 

But then there came the fateful call that ended a career I loved.   It was a small office, and the boss could only hear my side of the conversation when one of my children called, but she laughed so hard I thought I was going to have to call 911 for her.

The first thing I heard was “Mama, where’s the fire extinguisher?”  My mind went into panic mode, but the first thing I said was “under the sink,” then asked “what’s on fire?”  That’s when the boss damn near fell off her chair.

The answer I received was “wait a minute.”  Now –I’m- saying “call 911.”

Turned out Thing 4, in his infinite wisdom, decided he wanted to make popcorn – on the stove.  That was COMPLETELY off limits when I wasn’t home, but he did it anyway, without oil or the pot lid.  The only things that got burned was one of my favorite pots (I still have it, after glass-beading the burnt popcorn off the bottom), the ceiling above the stove was a couple shades darker forevermore,  and the bench on the back porch where he set the pot to keep from burning the house down had a permanent black ring. 

I’m sure there are more tales coming, but that’s all I can handle for one sit-down.  Call it the rip-tide of memories.  They can carry me out, but swimming back to shore is a beast.

 I equate kids to puppies.  They’re awfully cute, but they can sure tear some shit up.  And then they grow up and tear up bigger shit.  At least they have to pay for it themselves now.   


28 July 2019

[Melissa Morgan Parker] - City Pharmacy Sunday Social w/ The High Divers

It's that time of the month again, friends. The last Sunday of July sees the return of the City Pharmacy Sunday Social. 

No photo description available.
City Pharmacy | 1105 Church St. Covington, GA 20014 | 470.441.5092

For this installment, Tedo & the CP crew are bringing in the The High Divers, a critically acclaimed and well known Indie Rock group based out of Charleston, SC. 


The High Divers have been covered by Paste, Performer Magazine, KDHX, practically every outlet in their hometown of Charleston and are consistently named one of the best bands in South Carolina. Now, with their new Sadler Vaden-produced EP, Ride with You — an emotion-clad and wholly triumphant project — this four-piece are poised to break out on a national scale. 
The High Divers





I had a chance to chat with High Diver Luke Mitchell: 

Y'all are on tour promoting your new EP, Ride With You and scheduled for The Bragg Jam in Macon.  How's the tour going? Are there any bands playing you want to check out?

The tour has been going really well! It’s been so cool to see people really connecting with these new songs, and it’s nice to be put touring with brand new songs and a new show. We were fortunate enough to play Bragg Jam a couple years back, and we can’t wait to play again this year. There’s so many great bands playing, and we’re lucky to count a lot of them as great friends. To be completely honest, I would love to see almost every set, because they’re all my favorite bands! 

Did recording in East Nashville at Battle Tapes Studio bring out any nostalgic influences from Nashville's rich, music scene/history?

Going to Nashville to record was pretty intimidating for us as a band. This was our first record where we paid some hefty recording costs, and had a Producer and engineer that both had their respective jobs. The history of music in Nashville and the folklore surrounding the city definitely had us on our toes and had us feeling like we were really entering into a professional arena with our music. The end product blew us away, and we’re really glad we made the trip. 

What's your approach to songwriting and developing an album?

For the past 2 records we’ve done, Mary Alice and I like to take a trip somewhere in the mountains and just sit and write for a week or longer. No distractions, limited access to internet, just writing and walking in the woods. Then, we bring songs into the band to see how they sound with bass and drums. Usually we can tell pretty quickly what needs to change once all the elements are there. 

We’ve always felt that a song needs to come across on just an acoustic guitar, or maybe it’s not the best song. There’s always exceptions, but that approach seems to really work. 

Last but not least, what's spinning on the road?
Mostly podcasts by David Ridgen, haha! We’ve really been loving the new Anderson .Paak album, Dylan LeBlanc’s new album, “Renegade”, and John Prine’s “Tree Of Forgiveness”. A lot of great music coming out these days! 

This is such a good band; I hope to see you today at 5PM at the place "Where Friends Meet."
Melissa Morgan Parker
TPC is very proud to have the talents of Melissa Morgan Parker as a Correspondent, Stringer & Contributing Writer. A multi-generational Newtonian, Mrs. Parker is a Mom, Wife, Music Lover, Artist Extraordinaire & Educator who very deeply cares about all & everyone that is the Glorious Georgia Piedmont.