BadBadIvy is working on a project that some of you might be interested in at Shak.

Do you have a website that you’d like to see featured? Would you like to do an email or in-person interview? (In person if you live within about 150 miles of Nashville, TN. Unless you want to pay my travel expenses. In that case, have laptop, will travel.) Do you have an issue you’d like to see brought to light? I’m all about it.

Simply leave a comment or email me at badbadivy {at} gmail.com and let me know what you’d like to see!

Interested? Go see what she’s doing.

Memphis held their zombie walk a couple of weeks ago. TheoGeo was there.

Nashville is zombieing it up this evening.

From MetBlogs:

In Nashville, the undead will begin assembling at Riverfront Park (map) on Saturday at 5:00 pm and begin the walk at 6:00. If you would like to join the living dead, conveniently, registration is not required—just show up

I miss all the fraking fun.

A zombie dog. How awesome. Looks sorta like HBIC Ivy’s dog Tiny.

- 2 tickets to Bonnaroo 2008
- OurStage Tent
- Free downloads of live Bonnaroo shows
- Free DJ Lessons
- $500 Travel Budget
- AND 2 tickets to Bonnaroo 2009!!!

Go here if you are so inclined.

Most folks I know have a handle on these here innertubes but will quickly tell you who they are if you ask politely.

But if they don’t, they don’t and that’s cool too.

I have some experience with being outted. I’ve been outted against my will a few years ago, when someone figured out who I was and posted my name and address and work information in the comments here and all over the place.  I outted myself in a news story that appeared on the front page of The Tennessean, which I thought was going to be pretty definative, but then a couple of months after that, someone got mad at me and made noises like wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for me if folks knew who I really was, and I emailed them back and pointed out the article and that was the end of that.

Aunt B. talks about the outing of bloggers.

How do you feel about it all? I think it’s a Golden Rule thing. If you wanted to be outed, cool.If not, it’s not up to someone else to do it.

That’s just me.

Beth at Design Drama weighs in on the Miley Cyrus thing that has been dominating tweendom recently.

I read a couple of blog posts on the topic and there was one comment on there that made me think about the big picture where art was concerned. This commenter (named “NM”) raised a point that the photo of MC in the sheet reminded her of David’s “Death of Marat” and how the photo, if the lipstick was removed, looked like a corpse. She was right, and I then realized why the photo had a familiar quality to me.

Did Leibovitz do this intentionally? Who is to say except the photographer herself, but it’s an interesting underlying commentary, whether it’s about how Hollywood eats it’s young* or the fact that these young girls today are dancing a dangerous jig on a precipice while in the hot lights of the media glare and everyone’s thinking “jump!”

Anyway, the whole conversation surrounding these MC photos started another thought process on whether there’s really anything new in art. The title of this post is me ripping a line from U2’s “The Fly” in which the lyric goes “… every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief…”

Today, it seems so many visual, musical and lyrical artistic statements are a reaction to something that has come before. When I listen to Tom Petty’s latest album, Highway Companion, I constantly hear guitar riffs that are snippets of some of his earlier work. At least he’s ripping off himself, though.

Good feedback. Personally, I think that the Cyrus thing was a planned PR thing although I really didn’t have as much trouble with it.

And if Annie wants to take my picture, I’m all for it.

Of course, I’m in my 40s and not 15.

Don’t miss the culinary event of the year!

On Wednesday, April 30th, Whole Foods Market Presents Nashville Scene’s Iron Fork, benefiting St. Luke’s Community House,
at LP Field’s West Club Level Riverside.

The fun lasts from 6:00-10:00 p.m. with samples of award-winning cuisine from Menu of Menus 2008, the Scene’s guide to Nashville dining, two complimentary drink tickets + cash bar, tons of giveaways, and DJ Mindub spinning live. Watch 5 of the best chefs in Nashville battle it out in a head-to-head chef’s competition better than anything you’ll ever see on TV! Hosted by Nashville Scene’s very own Carrington Fox and Jim Ridley. Or enjoy a refreshing glass of delicious Blue Moon ale in the Blue Moon Beer Garden hosted by 107.5’s Woody and Jim.

And it’s all for a great cause! Bring your non-perishable food items to the event and help stock St. Luke’s pantry! Just by attending Iron Fork, you and all of your family and friends will raise money for St. Luke’s Community House. Bring your family and friends and help raise money for St. Luke’s Community House, since food is the very foundation of St. Luke’s services.
Volunteers deliver around 100 hot meals to area seniors every week day through their mobile meals program.
St. Luke’s distributes emergency food boxes to hundreds of our neighbors each year. St. Luke’s began offering culinary classes as part of their job skills training program that serves men and women trying to find a better job.

All 5 competing chefs will be creating their culinary masterpieces with cookware provided by Le Creuset and ingredients from Whole Foods Market. The winning chef will receive the prestigious Golden Fork award and will keep their set of LeCreuset cookware, while the four remaining sets will be donated to St. Luke’s for use in their culinary program.

The 2008 Iron Fork competing chefs are:
Bobby Benjamin – Flyte World Dining & Wine
Clay Greenberg – Lime/Virago
Deb Paquette – Zola Restaurant
Will Uhlhorn – F. Scott’s
Sean Norton – Watermark

Sampling restaurants include Agave Tequila Lounge, Alleycat Lounge & Tex-Mex Grill, Drew’s Brews Coffee, F. Scott’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar, Flyte World Dining & Wine, Green Hills Grille, Hotel Indigo, Mad Platter, McFadden’s, Mere Bulles Restaurant, Nero’s Grill, PM, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Rumours, Rumours East, Ru San’s Sushi and Seafood Japanese Restaurant, Saffire Restaurant & Bar, Star Bagel Café, Watermark, Whole Foods Market, Wildhorse Saloon, Wildwood Oak Fired Kitchen, and Zola Restaurant..

You must be 21+.  Parking is free. For more info call the Iron Fork Hotline at 244.7989 x341

Grammy-award winning artist Vince Gill will take a lesson from another “artist” of sorts, Johnny Carrabba – who has “cooked up” a full menu for Vince to prepare for the love of his life, Amy Grant.

“The Art of Expression:  A Celebration of Music, Culinary and Visual Art,” will take place on Friday, May 9, from 6:30 - 11:00 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.  

An intimate crowd of spectators will watch Johnny Carrabba take center stage for a cooking demonstration with Vince Gill.  Guests will enjoy an assortment of food and beverages followed by an acoustic performance from Vince in the Ford Theater.  

Tickets are $200, and proceeds from the event will benefit The Campus for Human Development and Room at The Inn, serving Nashville’s homeless community since the 1960s.  

Only 200 tickets are available and are on-sale beginning Friday, April 25, at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Evening Highlights Include:
6:30 p.m. – Welcome reception, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails
7:30 p.m. – Cooking demonstration with Vince Gill and Johnny Carrabba
8:30 p.m. — Carrabba’s food and beverage tasting
9:30 p.m. – Vince Gill acoustic performance

For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, please click here.

It’s the TN Tax Free Weekend! Let’s all get out there and shop till you drop. Clothing, school and art supplies and computers are covered. Now if I’d only won the lottery on Wednesday… (sigh)

Details on what you can buy.

The Country Music Marathon is this weekend too. The bad news is that traffic might be an issue, the good news is that there will be lots of porta-potties available at Centennial Park.

Nothing? Well, not anymore! There are lots of events happening in our fair city this weekend! Let’s take a look at a few of them, shall we?

Tonight! Under the lights!

GAME 5 VIEWING PARTY AT THE SOMMET CENTER
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS—NASHVILLE PREDATORS VS. DETROIT RED WINGS

Doors open: 6:00 pm
Game starts: 6:30 pm

The Preds-Red Wings game will be shown Friday night on Nashville’s largest indoor screen — the Megatron — at the Sommet Center.

* Free admission! ($5 parking available in the south lot - just behind Sommet Center)
* Gnash and the Predators Dancers will be there.
* Concession stands will be open with specially-priced food.
* Contests and activities at intermissions.
* Inflatable games for the kids.

Also, some of Music City’s most famous Tweeters will be on hand, as well!

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 19th)

10AM till 8PM at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music

Record Store Day will be celebrated this Saturday all over the world (yep, it’s gone international) as passionate music fans and obsessed record store clerks meld minds and wield their considerable power for good, not evil (we’ll leave that to the corporate ogres). We’ve got a spectacular event planned for you and we hope that you’ll choose to visit our humble emporium at some point during the day and, if you ever buy music - physical formats like vinyl, CDs and DVDs - that you’ll choose to make a purchase on this day to show your support. If you don’t live near Grimey’s, I hope you’ll visit the closest indie record store wherever you are and do the same. Not every shop is weathering these tumultuous times well but we can all use the support to keep these community-based havens for real music alive.

There will be live music, food, and lots of opportunity for people-watching!

Earth Day - Centennial Park - 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Local Living for Global Change - It all starts with me!
Youth Activities

Environmental exhibits and workshops on clean air, water, food and farming, cooking demonstration with local chefs, organic gardening and much more.

Live music from RAUL MALO and special guests: JYPSI, Jen Foster, Sam & Ruby and Five Star Iris

More info on Earth Day activities here.

No matter what you do, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

So did any of you feel the earthquake this morning? I did. It was around 4:30 this morning and it shook the whole house. I got up and looked out the windows but didn’t see Godzilla so I went back to bed. Later I found out what it was. Very strange. The epicenter was in southern Illinois, around 130 miles East of St. Louis. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/18/illinois.earthquake/index.html

More: Tennessean article; Corey Webb; This Is LaVergne; Newscoma; Malia (didn’t feel it); Klinde

And what a night it was!  Check out Lesley Eats review of the ”simple carbs” event of ‘08.  I may Never. Ever. touch a cupcake again… Ever.

…cook eat FRET hosted a cupcake challenge at her home and I was lucky enough to score an invitation. Four area bakeries plus a mystery entrant…

All up we had 23 people and 136 cupcakes. 

Do the math… and then read Lesley’s thorough review.

Doug needs a break and writes a letter to the government.

I feel like for the past month I have given you more time on paperwork than I have given my family and clients. I have dotted Ts and crossed Is, typo’d and corrected, photocopied and triplicated, unearthed ancient hidden documents and proven and proven and proven. Taxes are done and filed. Eldest child’s grants and financial aid applications submitted.

Got your taxes done? How about those grants, financial aid, government documents that take forever to fill out to the point you need a vacation after you’ve answered every question in triplicate? Did you have to file an extension. Are you drinking heavier than usual? Are you craving a life in a cave without access to people?

It’s April 15, campers. I remember when I live in Nashville that the post offices were not the most pleasant place to be.

Be care out there.

More photos at GingerSnaps as the Blue Angels visited middle Tennessee yesterday.

Break out the tiaras, high heels, and red lipstick. This Saturday, April 12th, Cross (dressing) the Bridge Ride will commence at 12:00 noon.

The ride is to celebrate Nashville’s bicycle lane and greenway system, as well as bring attention to cycling in the city and the use of bicycles as viable forms of transportation, as well as bring attention to more opportunities for road and mountain biking.

That sounds just wonderful, but when those panty hose wedge up… well… NO.  I’ll be at the Youth Incorporated Ranch in LaVergne on a clean-up day with Girl Scouts, followed by sitting in my front lawn watching the Blue Angels scream overhead for the Smyrna Air Show.

A little refined culture for the warehouse capitol of the world!

I am so excited to announce that Wine & Spirits Unlimited will be hosting La Vergne’s very first wine tasting!

The event will take place on Tuesday, March 25th from 6pm-8pm at WillStans Grille (behind Burger King in the same building as Kum Sung Studios).

The cost of the event will be $12 and will cover ten different wines and three special appetizer recipes provided by WillStans Grille. Also, if you would like to stay for dinner, WillStans Grille is offering a discount on your meal.

Some of the wines that will be featured are:

Matua Sauvignon Blanc
Cycles Gladiator Merlot
Luccio Pinot Grigio
Jean Bousquet Malbec

…and 6 others. I don’t want to spoil the anticipation by revealing all of the wines, so you’ve gotta show up to find out!

Jeremy, aka “The Big Guy” at Wine & Spirits Unlimited says, “We welcome everyone to come to this wine education seminar and bring as many people as you like.”

Please try to RSVP by March 22nd so they can get an idea of how many people to expect. Prepayment is available at Wine & Spirits Unlimited. However, last minute guests are always welcome.

**The phone number for Wine & Spirits Unlimited is 287-1300 or you can e-mail them at: w-sunlimited@comcast.net**

I’m trying to imagine it…wine that doesn’t come out of a box!

Are you craving green Guinness today?  Well, Allison at Nashville is My Home has a comprehensive list of the goings on in our fair city…

So, are you wondering this dreary-eyed morning what you’re going to do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?  I mean, other than wish & hope & hope & wish that sexy Cindy in the office will pinch you just where you like it?

Well folks, I have created a nice little green list for ya.

Go check it out!

There are several big consignment sales in the Nashville area this weekend. Consignment sales are a super way of finding clothing and kid gear at fabulous prices. I usually do pretty well getting my kids outfitted for the upcoming seasons at bi-annual consignment sales (it’s fairly standard for them to be run in early Spring and late Summer/early Fall). This year I even scored a gorgeous Easter dress for my daughter for only $5!!! Actually, the best part is that she picked it out herself and said she would definitely wear it. This is a HUGE deal around our house since we have a seven-year-old going on 17 who recently has become rather picky about what she will and will not wear!

The following sales are going on this weekend:

Otter Creek Sale - 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood
March 7: 8am - 6pm, March 8: 8am - 2pm (1/2 price sale)

ABC Kids Consignment - Cool Springs YMCA, 121 Seaboard Lane, Franklin
March 7: 9am - 7:30pm, March 8: 8am - Noon (1/2 price sale)

BUMC kidSale - 309 Franklin Road, Brentwood
March 7: 10am - 5pm, March 8: 9am - Noon (1/2 price sale)

Oak Hill School Sale - Oak Hill School, school gym at the rear of the campus, 4815 Franklin Road, Brentwood
March 7: 8:30am - 5:30pm, March 8: 8am - 1pm (1/2 price sale)

HPC Kids Quest - Highland Park Church, 5710 Knob Rd, Nashville
March 7: 10am - 8pm, March 8: 8am - Noon (1/2 price sale)

Encores & More, North Hendersonville, TN - In Hendersonville Plaza next to Aldi’s Grocery Store, 500 W. Main Street, Hendersonville
March 8: 10am-6pm, March 10: 10am-7pm, March 11-12: 10am-6pm, March 13: (25% off day) 10am-6pm, March 14: (1/2 price day) 10am-6pm, March 15: (1/2 price day) 9am-1pm

Lambs to Lions - 535 Sneed Rd, Franklin, between Hwy 100 & Hillsboro Rd
March 8: 9am - 4pm, March 9: Noon - 2pm (1/2 price sale)

This website gives a very good list of sales going on in Tennessee.

Now get out there and find you some good deals!

Edited to add (from Gavin & Sharon’s comments):

Hendersonville First United Methodist Sale - 17 E. Main St., Hendersonville
March 7: 9am-7pm, March 8: 9am-2pm (1/2 price day)

Not really, but I do love me some Ron Popeil. 

I confess. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I have Airborne in my desk drawer.

I am armed. I am READY.

Working in a healthcare facility and being exposed to just about everything under the sun, I suppose I’ve been a little too eager to latch onto the hope that, indeed, an effervescent, herbal-powered, orange-flavored tablet could prevent me from catching a cold.

Go see what Deb fell for.

I’m thinking she is doing a bit better though than the guys that fell for the Bob. 

I never remember how Ivy’s short birthday song goes, so this post title is my best shot at it.

And who might I be wishing a Hap Birt to?  Why, it’s none other than the fabulous Sista Smiffsta!  Go give her some birthday McLuvin!  Even without her mascara, she’s just darlin’!

And while you’re at it, take a jaunt over to the Shakadoo site and read all the great birthday posts at the various Shaks.  I write for Shak & Jill and it’s sure helped me to stay on top of the national real estate picture… and gives me the opportunity to make fun of bad MLS photos.  The pictures people post to sell a house are just shockingly terrible sometimes.

Chris over at Nashville Daily Photo has the scoop on The Birdhouse Thing, a charity auction and event that benefits the W. O. Smith School. Check out her second post about the event to get a sneak peek at some of the birdhouses up for auction that were decorated by some very well-known individuals. Before you click over, try to guess who decorated their birdhouse with a pirate theme…

And check her site again in the next couple of weeks before the auction starts to get more sneak peeks at the celebrity birdhouses. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Jack White had made one that was all white with a red door just like his house?

Busy Mom reminds us of tonight’s very special lunar event:

The full moon will turn a rust color as the Earth will line up directly between the sun and the moon will be covered by the Earth’s shadow.

I also heard on NPR today that the moon will be flanked by Saturn and Regulus to form a perfect triangle. It should be quite the show.

Unfortunately, thanks to the clouds that have rolled in this afternoon, most of us here in Nashville will likely miss it. Though NashvilleWX says there may be a few breaks in the clouds during peak viewing times (between 9 & 10pm locally, with the peak being around 9:26pm, according to shadowandstubstance.com).

Joy from Joy of Cooking just brought this to my attention. And I for one am so very going! Check it out and then sign up quickly…

Join Slow Food Nashville, Margot Café and Bar and Marché Artisan Foods on Monday, March 3rd in hosting Peggy Markel for an evening of SlowTravel. The evening’s theme is the cuisine of Tuscany, Sicily and Morocco. Taste the local specialties as prepared by the staff of Marché while enjoying a slide presentation and short introduction by Peggy on the various itineraries of her culinary tours. Also, learn about the Slow Food movement and how to get involved here in Nashville. Become a member, sign up for a trip with Peggy, or just eat and enjoy in the spirit of conviviality.

What could be better?

(ok, besides that…)

btw - this photo views in Firefox but not so much in IE.  any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated…