September 2008 Archives
Seems as though the first week of the month is always filled with work on newsletters. This month (October) is no exception. I'm about halfway through a newsletter for Alzheimer's of Central Alabama, getting started on a newsletter for the AIA of Birmingham and trying to plan the newsletter for American Mining. I've also got to start thinking--probably not until next week--about the newsletter for the Sierra Club. And that doesn't even even begin to consider the blogs that I'm working on constantly for Your Town Alabama and the Southwest Alabama Tourism (with the University of Alabama). Those aren't really newsletters, but in a lot of ways they really are. Oh well, back to work!
The calendar is finally printed. It turned out very nicely, I think. They do make great gifts. You can order them online for only $10.00--including shipping. www.alzca.org.
Well, my intent is to add these photos as a slideshow so they'll be visible within the blog page, but, for some reason, Slideshow Pro's upgrade to their Lightroom plugin isn't really working in the way that it did before. For now, I'm just creating a completely separate page for the slideshow. These photos are some of the photos I took on a trip to Selma, Gees Bend and Camden (and all points between). There are some interesting photos...I'll wind up using many of these photos on the www.alababmafrontporches.com website.
http://www.joewatts.com/geesbend/
We also had fried okra. The pork chop was excellent. The corn cakes (corn meal and buttermilk) were tasty as was the chow chow purchased at Pepper Place Farmers Market here in Birmingham. The lima beans were cooked with okra. The turnip greens were a little bitter for my taste, though I enjoyed them. Not sure what went wrong. They photographed nicely, though.
Well, it looks like I have gotten a few blogs up and running. Of course, there's this blog: Getting to Know Joe (I've been putting things out on this blog since I think around Thanksgiving 2007). Then, there's the Your Town Alabama blog: mostly, that blog's about grant opportunities around Alabama, information for the planning community, news about tourism and byways and the like. I really enjoy doing that blog--it gets pretty decent readership, too. And the newest blog is all about rural southwest Alabama called Alabama's Front Porches (where I grew up). It is particularly targeted towards attracting tourists to the area, so I'll be highlighting festivals, fun, food and all those types of things along the way. There will, hopefully, be a mix between personal writings about the things to do while in my neck of the woods along with the more standard press release type information. There's not a lot of information on the blog right now, but I plan to update it regularly, so keep an eye on it!
Okay, now here's a good example of my work ethic. Here I am in 1981 working away at the dishes. I'm sure I cooked something delicious. (And I'm pretty sure that the apron does not say something about "kissing the cook.") On the right are two sisters, Cynthia and Madeline. They got to have all the fun. Anyone have any ideas about when this was taken or who the woman is in the photo?
Just wrapping up the design of new business cards for American Mining Insurance Company. They have been using the exact same business card for the last 10 years or so. A new look to go with the new parent company, W. R. Berkley.
And, on another work-related note, I finally handed off the Alzheimer's of Central Alabama art calendar for 2009 off to the printer yesterday after some very small revisions, just started gathering information for a newsletter for Alzheimer's and even got to do a photo shoot with a judge running for election here in Jefferson County (I actually did the shoot almost two weeks ago). I wrapped up yet another Sierra Club Alabama chapter newsletter this week--sent it to press Sunday morning and it should be in the mail tomorrow or Monday (fast turnaround).
And, on another work-related note, I finally handed off the Alzheimer's of Central Alabama art calendar for 2009 off to the printer yesterday after some very small revisions, just started gathering information for a newsletter for Alzheimer's and even got to do a photo shoot with a judge running for election here in Jefferson County (I actually did the shoot almost two weeks ago). I wrapped up yet another Sierra Club Alabama chapter newsletter this week--sent it to press Sunday morning and it should be in the mail tomorrow or Monday (fast turnaround).
Any idea who was having the birthday party? The photo on the left is Clark Watts (my dad) feeding a baby calf. Photo on the right is Inez Watts (my mom) along with lots of kids having a birthday party, it appears.
I wanted everyone to know that after two LONG and grueling days of extremely difficult to hear testimony complete with extraordinary lies and even the crocodile tears of false remorse from the defendant (at the coaching of an unscrupulous defense attorney) coupled with a very well done prosecution from District Attorney Greg Griggers of Marengo County, it took the jury all of 5 minutes to convict the man that murdered my mother of the charge the D.A. was after: a conviction of murder. Hearing the jury foreman read the verdict around 5:30 p.m. last night (Friday) was such a relief after sitting in the courtroom hearing things that a son, a daughter or even a complete stranger should never have to hear or experience. It was obvious all along that there really couldn't be any other conclusion, but you just never know.
Unbelievable that people could put families through such crap for what really was a foregone conclusion at the start, but thank God that the jury could see through the obvious lies and attempts to lessen the evil that exists in some people. We still don't know what the actual sentence will be in terms of years--that will come later, around Thanksgiving, when each of us has an opportunity to provide an impact statement. (I'm hoping, of course, for the maximum, and that could keep the guy in jail until he dies, I think.) But a murder conviction is the most that we could ask for, so a weight has been lifted off my shoulders somewhat and I'm hopeful that things can get back to some semblance of normalcy for me for the first time in 18 months.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts and positive energy and for just being there to listen. And for those of you who didn't know about my Mama, you missed an opportunity to know a very special person--but don't worry, I've got some plans to go into her history in some more detail in the future.
Unbelievable that people could put families through such crap for what really was a foregone conclusion at the start, but thank God that the jury could see through the obvious lies and attempts to lessen the evil that exists in some people. We still don't know what the actual sentence will be in terms of years--that will come later, around Thanksgiving, when each of us has an opportunity to provide an impact statement. (I'm hoping, of course, for the maximum, and that could keep the guy in jail until he dies, I think.) But a murder conviction is the most that we could ask for, so a weight has been lifted off my shoulders somewhat and I'm hopeful that things can get back to some semblance of normalcy for me for the first time in 18 months.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts and positive energy and for just being there to listen. And for those of you who didn't know about my Mama, you missed an opportunity to know a very special person--but don't worry, I've got some plans to go into her history in some more detail in the future.
I talk about Mama often here. One of the things I'm most proud of is the Mother's Day tribute I wrote.
Some of my most treasured things are the photos and video I have of Mama.
Positive thoughts, please.
Some of my most treasured things are the photos and video I have of Mama.
Positive thoughts, please.
Wow, this is shaping up to be a crazy week. I just wrapped up my monthly newsletter for the AIA Birmingham and I'm gathering information together to get going on the Sierra Club's Alabama Sierran. My friend Vance is planning to come over to discuss the Alzheimer's of Central Alabama 2009 calendar and their fall newsletter on Thursday. I just stopped by the printer to look over a proof for Alabama Communities of Excellence's (ACE) September workshop (yes, that's next week!). I'm in the middle of gathering together a group of folks to work with ALDOT's sign department on a signage policy for tourism in Alabama, particularly as it relates to scenic byways, but I think it will have broader implications. So much to do, so little time to do it.
On top of that, I've gotten interested in Twitter (you can find me at www.twitter.com/joewatts/). It seems to hold some real promise for good marketing. We'll see. I'm hoping to use it for the alabamafrontporches.com website.
On top of that, I've gotten interested in Twitter (you can find me at www.twitter.com/joewatts/). It seems to hold some real promise for good marketing. We'll see. I'm hoping to use it for the alabamafrontporches.com website.
http://blog.al.com/scenesource/2008/08/windhams_wit_insight_revealed.html
Interesting article on Kathryn Tucker Windham from the Birmingham News.
Encounters: Photographs By Kathryn Tucker Windham. Jennifer Hunt Gallery. Through Sept. 20.
For those that do not know, Kathryn Tucker Windham is from the Black Belt near where I grew up. She's famous for her storytelling abilities--I remember going to see her frequently in Selma, Alabama at their annual Storytelling Festival. I'm not sure if they even still have it. What fun we had, though. On that note, I've started a new blog: it will be all about the Black Belt, particularly from a tourism perspective, but I hope to toss in all sorts of information relating to the place where I grew up. It is tied to a multi-year project I'm involved with for the University of Alabama: Alabama's Front Porches. I've talked about the website associated with this project before (www.alabamafrontporches.com), but the blog is new. There really isn't anything there right now (other than a duplicate of this story about Kathryn Tucker Windham's photography, but keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more content. And if you have ideas, please send them my way! The intent is to have at least one entry each week. They may be about a really interesting place to visit, a wonderful place to eat, some fascinating story about Southern foodways or just about anything that tells the story of Alabama's Black Belt in a way that helps bring travelers into our area. www.alabamafrontporches.com/blog
She recently celebrated her 90th birthday and really is an Alabama icon. Her stories--ghost stories in particular, but--but many, many stories that simply celebrate Alabama's deep south--are wonderful. Mama read many of them to me, and I have a nice collection of books by Ms. Windham. You can find many of them at Amazon.com by clicking the link below!
Books by Kathyrn Tucker Windham
Interesting article on Kathryn Tucker Windham from the Birmingham News.
Encounters: Photographs By Kathryn Tucker Windham. Jennifer Hunt Gallery. Through Sept. 20.
For those that do not know, Kathryn Tucker Windham is from the Black Belt near where I grew up. She's famous for her storytelling abilities--I remember going to see her frequently in Selma, Alabama at their annual Storytelling Festival. I'm not sure if they even still have it. What fun we had, though. On that note, I've started a new blog: it will be all about the Black Belt, particularly from a tourism perspective, but I hope to toss in all sorts of information relating to the place where I grew up. It is tied to a multi-year project I'm involved with for the University of Alabama: Alabama's Front Porches. I've talked about the website associated with this project before (www.alabamafrontporches.com), but the blog is new. There really isn't anything there right now (other than a duplicate of this story about Kathryn Tucker Windham's photography, but keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more content. And if you have ideas, please send them my way! The intent is to have at least one entry each week. They may be about a really interesting place to visit, a wonderful place to eat, some fascinating story about Southern foodways or just about anything that tells the story of Alabama's Black Belt in a way that helps bring travelers into our area. www.alabamafrontporches.com/blog
She recently celebrated her 90th birthday and really is an Alabama icon. Her stories--ghost stories in particular, but--but many, many stories that simply celebrate Alabama's deep south--are wonderful. Mama read many of them to me, and I have a nice collection of books by Ms. Windham. You can find many of them at Amazon.com by clicking the link below!
Books by Kathyrn Tucker Windham
