soundboard de cheevo

Coretta Scott King and her daughter, Bernice, at the funeral of the Rev. Martin Luther King Junior. April 9, 1968, in Atlanta. (AP/Moneta J. Sleet Jr.) As much bravery as it took for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to stand up for what was right in the civil rights movement, I think it took even more strength to love that person, to grieve his tragic death and to raise their children by herself while continuing to spread the word about her husband's vision. Mrs. King continued to fight for people who were marginalized and took on the weighty issues of gay rights and AIDS along with race. It will always amaze me that a woman who put her life on the line, along with the lives of her children, did it will such grace and steadfast determination. I am proud to know that a woman from tiny, rural Marion, Ala. had, and will always have, the power to make the world look and listen.

Coretta Scott King speaks with President Kennedy by phone on April 15, 1963, regarding racial tensions in Birmingham, Ala. where her husband was in jail. (AP)

While cringing until the all major stations start broadcasting the State of the Union address, I found this video gem. This guy's parody is so good, it's scary because this is so close to reality. He didn't have to stretch far. This takes a few minutes to watch, but is worth it. The two old dudes in the back are Cheney and Hastert.

While sick, sounding like Barry White - My sister helped me to fight - Homemade chicken soup - I think I'll recupe - And now I can breathe through the night Thanks Cheebers!

`````````````` The way we were -- The Joshua Tree (1987) Something about the winter time reminds me of U2. I am not saying that we have winters in the south anything like they do in Ireland, but I am usually kind of blue in January and February and U2 songs seem to tap into that mood. That is, when U2 was making interesting music. I have never been a big fan of greatest hits albums, but in the case of U2 this especially holds true as I listened to the Greatest Hits 1990-2000 this past week for the first time. My relationship with U2 started to wane with the release of "Pop" in 1997 and has gone south ever since. There seems to be so much that sounds the same with their albums since then. They returned to their "signature" sound with 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and the title was there to tell us that they hadn't lost their minds with experimentation, but that doesn't equal evolution. It seems instead that they were just trying ...

This is one of the things I love the most about these tabbies. Every morning Miles and Freddie dedicate time from their busy schedules for at least one hour of sun worship.

Next door nephew, Ben, is seven months old as of last week and he is more fun to play with every day. He really likes his toys and wants to put everything in his mouth. It seems like his sleeve and fist are so two months ago.

Chris Penn was found dead yesterday. He was never the kind of actor that stood out as the pretty boys of the 1980s did (Cruise, Lowe, Estevez) and he wasn't the bad ass wildcard that his brother, Sean, Kiefer Sutherland and Nicholas Cage were back in the day. Like Danny Aiello, Chris Penn was the everyday guy and totally believable as Kevin Bacon's dorky country sidekick in "Footloose", Sean Penn's gullible brother in "At Close Range", Nice Guy Eddie in "Reservior Dogs" and my favorite roll as Jerry in the Robert Altman film "Short Cuts." Chris wasn't beautiful by Hollywood standards. He was like a guy you would see at the grocery store who wouldn't make eye contact with you as he was buying diapers for his baby. I always liked Chris Penn because he was less of a Hollywood hotass than his brother and made his statement by being a total believable and vulnerable presence on screen. We lost a fine actor this week -- one under t...

Saturday night after work I drove down to Montevallo to play with Clare and our friends The McGranns and Jess Walker and her son Walker Yancey, It was one of those strange nights in winter in the south when it wasn't really cold or warm and there was mist in the air constantly. Paul and Carrie McGrann live on a few acres of land in Montevallo and being in the country is a nice change and kind of amazing considering how such a rural area is so close to the biggest city in the state. This horse belongs to their neighbor, but has adopted the McGranns since they give him so much attention. When I first met the McGranns in 1993, they had just become parents to Dylan who was born in January of that year. I was good friends with thier upstairs neighbor and we used to hang at Brad's apartment listening to Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. while sneaking downstairs regularly to check on Dylan sleeping in his crib. Now he is 13 and has no memory of any of those good times and looks at us like...

I have known Kim since we sixteen. I am one day older than she and at Camp McDowell we were known at the "Guitar Chicks". We played botched renditions of selections from the Camp McDowell songbook, Indigo Girls, R.E.M., Crosby Stills Nash and Young and my favorite was The Pretenders "Back on the Chain Gang." We had a lot of fun and partied all over the state of Alabama at various youth church events (being the die-hard young Whiskeypalians we were) and kept the fun going in college. My band played for a couple of Sewanee parties she helped organize. I hadn't seen her in years when we wound up at the same wedding last year in Huntsville. I got to meet her husband, Jeff, and catch up a little. E-mails and phone numbers were exchanged and we now we are back in touch - a wonderful thing. When I meet Anna for the very first time this year, I have promised to bring the Camp McDowell songbook so we get this little girl started off on the musical good foot. Congratulati...

Back in the 1980's, Alabama Power used to run this sad little PSA with a decrepit old woman bundling up in gloves, a toboggan, a few coats and a scarf in her bedroom getting ready for bed. It was so cold her in house that you could see her breath. The commercial was for a program called Project Share where Alabama Power customers could give a dollar in addition to their bill to help the poor. Okay, I know its probably mean to make fun of that commercial, but Alabama Power played it forever and I mean forever. They revived it a few years ago and Karen and were both slack jawed that they were pulling that 20-year-old relic out of the closet It's not like they have a small budget being the only source for electricity in the state unless you want to go the Ben Franklin route. I hate the heat being turned on in my house because it's gas heat and it seems to have two settings -- high and off. This being the case and Karen being cold natured, I help her create an Alabama Power la...

After not blogging on a regular basis, I got a little backed up. Thanks to Angela Waddy (or just Waddy to me and my sister) for calling me out on it. While in Brevard I had no real computer access and I've been scattered since I have been back -- until now. The Brevard trip was wonderful. Although it's a long drive, it is always worth it because it feels a million miles away from reality and sometimes that can be very good.

The full moon in the deep forest and at the beach are its most amazing settings I say. The moon never looks this intense in the city.

Sunset on Cedar Mountain. January, 2006.

IMG_3434_2 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . I look nothing like her, but I'm hers and I love her like no one in the world.

Mom and Dad in Cedar Mountain, N.C. IMG_3432 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

IMG_3458 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . Five out of seven whitetail deer flee the scene in Sherwood Forest. Cedar Mountain, N.C.

IMG_3386 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . While most of us were hiking, Judy Aull and Tana Branch fixed us a wonderful lunch at Judy's cabin. This spread was Southern Living worthy (note the Moon Pies).

I love a store where Gnarly teeth, snakes, firemen's hat and school buses can be found in the same place.

IMG_3483 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

IMG_3406 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

IMG_3462 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

IMG_3464 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

IMG_3488 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . It was pouring rain so hard on this afternoon that I was afraid to take the camera out.

IMG_3480 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . This was the only dry place outside of the house.

IMG_3478 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

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IMG_3403 Originally uploaded by echeevo72 .

Some friends have the small kids, some have the tall kids and these two have skyrocketed since I first started taking care of them last summer. I work with their mother at the News (she is a former student of my Dad's and I went to high school with two of her sisters). I have really enjoyed knowing Hannah and Ian. Their humor and perspective on the world is total delight for me and I always have appreciated the way that kids can keep it simple. They don't have to worry about bills, breakups or career crises at this point in their lives. Their job is to be kids. Not pictured is their little brother, David, who is four. He was at preschool on this day. They aren't mad or sad in this picture, they are mearly trying out their "cool" faces that Ian is into while in front of the camera.

In her dork out mode and her mad mode, she reminds me a mini version of Clare. Hannah loves animals and I told her she needs to goes to Auburn's vet school when she's 18. She definitely has the smarts and the energy and still a whole bunch of silliness. I hope she never loses any of those qualities because they are her best.

Ian Goymer, 9, looking serious with a dead tree at Ruffner Mountain. Ian explained to me that he likes to not smile for certain photos so he can "look cool."

Hannah Goymer, 7, working her best pout and quasi thumb suck as she accuses me and her big brother of leaving her behind on the rock trail at Ruffer Mountain.

This owl is missing a wing, but she is still sassy. She hisses at folks as they come to see her. Ruffner Mountain is a nature refuge and park with trails. It is like a much smaller version of Oak Mountain Park and is located in downtown Birmingham. I like to think of it as very wild rustic version of Central Park.

I love how Andi is three times the size of Hannah, but they took to each other like best friends. Hannah really has a good touch with Pups. She led her around Crestwood Park like Andi was a miniature show horse (there's a fine line there) and Andi let Hannah love all over her no matter how or how much.

The Moon Pie Culture Club -- from left to right, Judy Aull, Tana Branch, Rae Newton, Carla Candler, Jeanne Blackwell, Fran Cronenberg and Libby Brown (my mama). Back before there was a Ya Ya Sisterhood or Steel Magnolias, there was the Moon Pie Culture Club, a group of women from Auburn, Ala. who all knew each other from Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Sometime in the 1980s this group starting getting together on a regular basis for trips around the South. Although Mom let me in on some select details of the trip, I know what really happened on those ventures stayed within the ranks of the MPCC. A few funny stories were revealed to me the day we all met for a hike and lunch at Judy and John Aull's cabin (right down the road from my folk's place in Brevard N.C.) While I was shocked to know that select members on the MPCC had been to sex stores in Atlanta, the funniest story by far involved a wedding in Oxford, Mississippi, my mother, scotch and a wedding cake with artificial ban...

They aren't albino, they are white and they live in Brevard, N.C. I was there last week for a few days visiting my parents who were there for three weeks staying in their little condo in the woods. A nice coincidence was that many of Mom's friends from our former hometown of Auburn were there and it was a nice reunion. I have pictures I will post later in the weekend from the trip.

Some year end retrospectives are boring, tired and predictable, but not this one. A number of these songs were released in 2005; some of them I just stumble upon thanks to friends, like Chris T., and internet and satellite radio (necessary friends in this day and age). These songs aren't in any order from most favorite to least. In the immortal words of Clare Louise Vance, "They all good!" 1. Hollaback Girl -- Gwen Stefani I love the infectious bass and drums in this song. It reminds me of the drum jam the Auburn High School band used to do when I was in marching band. I love Gwen. I think Mattel needs to make an action figure of her so she can kick Barbie's anorexic ass. She is six and a half feet of pure bad MF. 2. 1,2 Step -- Ciara and Missy Elliot This song has major roller skating jam potential and like "Hollaback", great drums and bass with a nice early 80's similarity to "Planet Rock" and "Let the Music Play" with the electr...

Coolbone Brass Band plays for New Year's Eve in Jackson Square, New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005. Despite the destruction stillevident fourmonths after Hurricane Katrina, the city decided to welcome the New Year with fireworks, concerts, and in a twist on the Times Square ball drop, the lowering of a giant gumbo pot to mark the start of 2006. (AP Photo/Chery Gerber) It was nice to see signs of hope and humor on the wire tonight at work as my news compadres and I put out the first issue of The Birmingham News for 2006. Reading the recap of 2005's top stories, it is impossible to avoid the reality of what a hard year it was on a national level and a personal level, but I will always believe that hope springs eternal and that is why I love to find images like these. If New Orleans can find a reason to celebrate with a sense of humor, it seems like we can all prevail through trials big and small. God bless and happy 2006 to all my friends in Bloggerville.