I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been a fan of professional wrestling since I was a little kid, so I wasn’t exactly rushing to see 
Well, it’s official…I’ll be returning to work on July 6th after a little over five weeks off for my knee surgery!
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 Happy Independence Day I Am The Flag I am the flag of the United States of America. I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice. I bow to no one! I have fought in every battle of every war I was there at San Juan Hill, I led my troops, America has been attacked by cowardly fanatics I have been burned, torn and trampled I have been soiled upon, burned, torn I have slipped the bonds of Earth When I am torn into strips and used as bandages MY NAME IS OLD GLORY,
Cena plays Danny Fisher in the movie, a New Orleans Police Officer who has his life turned upside down by a criminal whom he helped to arrest a year earlier. After escaping from prison, the criminal kidnaps Fisher’s girlfriend and forces him to complete 12 increasingly difficult tasks in order to insure her safe release. Each round typically involves some sort of puzzle or riddle that Fisher must first solve, and is almost always followed by lots of death-defying action, sometimes even requiring Fisher to choose between his own life or an innocent bystander that the criminal has dragged into his cruel game. While completely unbelievable, the movie is a fun, action-filled romp through the streets of New Orleans. The action sequences are superb, and Cena doesn’t do a terrible job of acting. In fact, I thought he did a much better job in this movie than he did in The Marine. I was a little disappointed in the storyline though, as it seemed to be an almost complete copy of the movie Die Hard: With A Vengeance. Not bad, but not great either. Overall, I’d give this movie 5 stars out of 10.  A new lawsuit attempts to stop Tennessee's new guns-in-bars law from going into effect July 14th One of the topics that seems to be dominating the nightly news here in Nashville recently is Tennessee’s new guns-in-bars law. The law has been surrounded by controversy since it was introduced, even within our own government. Governor Bredesen decided to veto the bill after it was passed, only to have the Senate promptly override his veto. The law is scheduled to go into effect July 14th, but now there is a new lawsuit aimed at preventing that from happening. The lawsuit appears to be the work of a small group of restaurant owners, who say that the suit is necessary to maintain the safety of their customers. The group has retained the services of Nashville area attorney David Randolph Smith. Smith is scheduled to appear before Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman on Tuesday, July 7th. While I respect the group for standing up for something they believe in, I can’t help but laugh at the utter stupidity of the lawsuit. In my opinion, this is yet another example of a frivolous lawsuit wasting valuable time in our courts. This group is simply preying on the uninformed public in an attempt to generate more business for their restaurants. Before you go blasting me for my opinion, let’s take a moment to review the law and hopefully you will understand why I feel the way I do:
Given all the facts, I just really don’t see that this law is as big of a deal as everyone is trying to make it out to be. Business owners can restrict gun owners from bringing their firearm inside by simply posting a notice at the entrance of the establishment. Even without a notice, a gun owner cannot consume alcohol while in possession of his firearm. And a gun owner cannot take his firearm into any bar that is restricted to 21 years of age or older. So in the grand scheme of things, all of this fuss about Tennessee’s new Guns-in-Bar’s law really is much ado about nothing.
 New law bans texting while driving Beware Tennesseans, there were several new laws that went into effect here July 1st. Among them is one that I feel is absolutely necessary, but totally worthless at the same time. That law, which was Senate Bill 0393, is a ban on texting while driving. But beware…the way the law is worded, it’s actually a ban on more than just texting. The law states “no driver shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway while using a hand held mobile telephone or personal digital assistant to transmit or read a written message while such vehicle is in motion”. With that wording, the law is much broader and encompasses more uses of your phone than simply texting as the local news stations are reporting. Composing or reading an email would be an offense, as would sending and receiving messages, called tweets, on the mega-popular Twitter network, updating your status on Facebook or Myspace, etc. All of the things that I just mentioned are dangerous to do while driving, which is why I support the law. I’m all for making our roadways a safer place. So why is it that I think the law is worthless? The answer is simple: “Prove it” Those two little words can totally derail the intent behind the law. A subsection of the law states that a driver is exempt if he/she “reads, selects or enters a telephone number or name in a hand held mobile telephone or a personal digital assistant for the purpose of making or receiving a telephone call”. So how is a law enforcement official in another vehicle going to know if a person is texting or using T9 to enter a name from the phone’s directory in order to make a call? One is a violation, while the other is an acceptable use of the phone. And even if the person was typing a text message or email, what is to stop them from simply exiting their messaging application and saying that they were dialing a number or looking up the person’s contact information? Unless they are going to start recording the precise time of the stop down to the second and then send a subpoena to the wireless carrier for the suspected offenders usage history, I hardly see how this law is going to be enforceable if the suspected offender has an even average IQ. Even if a person is cited for the offense, the penalty is only a meager $50 fine (plus a maximum of $10 in court costs). The offense is not even considered a moving violation, thus the offender does not accrue any points on their driving record. Another reason that I think this law is worthless is that law enforcement officials already have the power to cite someone for texting under Tennessee’s distracted driving law. When critics of the law pointed this out, even Tennessee’s Attorney General agreed, stating that officers can currently cite a driver “whenever unsafe operation is caused by cell phone use, text messaging, applying cosmetics or any other activity that prevents the driver from operating the vehicle in a safe manner.” With that said, if law enforcement officials want to make our streets safer, then I hope they pursue citing people under the distracted driving law versus the new texting law. I just think that there is no reasonable way to satisfy the burden of proof required to cite someone under the new law. So lawmakers, great job with your best intentions, but I hope you didn’t spend too much time deliberating this law. It would be a sad waste of your time and our tax dollars if you did.  Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves were beaten 1-0 by the Boston Red Sox today, making that the fourth straight game that the Braves have lost. It is also the ninth time that the Braves have been shut out this year, which leads the Majors. The Braves managed a meager four hits in the game, and were hitless with runners in scoring position. The only bright spot in the entire game was Garrett Anderson hitting his 500th career double in the ninth inning off of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. The lack of offense has become a recurring theme with the Braves in the past few years, but is especially evident this year. With today’s loss, the Braves are now six games under .500 and five games out of first in what is generally recognized as being the weakest division in the National League and one of the weakest in the Majors. With the Braves hard pressed to put a dent in the scoreboard every single game, who do you point the finger of blame at? Bobby Cox, for not pushing the players enough? Frank Wren, for not going out and signing some good hitters? The players, for consistently performing below expectations? Or Terry Pendelton, for doing nothing to improve those hitters that are struggling? In my opinion, the biggest problem with this team isn’t a lack of a clutch hitter…it’s a lack of heart. I think back to the teams of the early ’90’s, and I can’t help but remember how no matter what the score was, no matter how late in the game it was, you never lost hope because those teams had heart and found a way to come back. You can’t tell me that Mark Lemke was a better player than Kelly Johnson, but Mark always found a way to get that timely hit while Kelly currently has a .218 batting average with 39 strike-outs. There’s no way that Jeff Blauser was a better shortstop than Yunel Escobar, but you ever saw Jeff standing around on the field and sulking the way Yunel was after being charged with an error a few nights ago. Jeff Francouer is a better outfielder in my opinion than David Justice was, but his defense does little to cover up his 40 strike-outs and .246 batting average. Do I know how to fix the problems in Atlanta? No, absolutely not. But I’m not paid to know. I’m not making 6, 7, or even 8 figures like the players and coaches are. I do think that it is time that some action was taken though. Whether that means acquiring new players, firing Terry Pendelton or even Bobby Cox, benching players, or even sending players down to the Minors is a decision that Frank Wren and Braves management need to make, and soon. If we aren’t going to be competitive, can we at least be fun? Bench those that aren’t performing and give a bunch of minor leaguers a chance to play. Maybe they can at least put some excitement back into the game! As a Braves fan, I am tired of watching Kelly Johnson whiffing at pitch after pitch. I’m tired of watching Jeff Francouer swinging at the first pitch (and missing) almost every at bat. I’m tired of watching Jeff Francouer swinging at pitches more than a foot outside or that bounce in the dirt. I’m tired of seeing players not hustling on the base paths. Time and time again I’ve seen a Braves players trotting on the base paths while they watch the play instead of running at 100%, only to have to stop at first or second base when they could have advanced another base with a little hustle and effort. Again, I’m a fan, not a coach, so I’m not going to pretend that I know how to correct the Braves current situation. But what I do know is that some type of action needs to be taken, and it needs to be taken soon.
My knee is doing much better now. I still experience some pain in it, especially when walking, but it’s much better than it was before the surgery. My biggest concern in returning to work won’t be the walking as much as it will me being on my feet for almost nine straight hours. Since my surgery, I don’t think I’ve been on my feet longer than two hours at any time. Something tells me that I am going to be quite tired after my first few days back. I still have a couple of weeks of physical therapy left, and haven’t officially been released by the doctor yet. I have another appointment scheduled with him on July 10th, at which point I’m hoping he releases me and allows me to stop the physical therapy. I don’t mind going to it right now at all, but it’s going to be a pain to try to fit it in along with my schedule at work. I’m honestly looking forward to going back to work. There’s only so much that one can do online and so much tv that a person can watch before it all becomes dull and boring. I think I’ve watched virtually every movie in my local Red Box, watched episode after episode of NCIS during a marathon running on USA Network, watched more Atlanta Braves baseball games than I have the past few years combined, and chatted more online than I have in the past ten years! I’m ready for things to return to normal! So wish me luck as I head back to work!  Jodie Meeks Most of you know about my passion for Kentucky basketball, so it was bittersweet for me to see Kentucky shooting guard Jodie Meeks get drafted today by the Milwaukee Bucks. Jodie was drafted with the 11th pick of the 2nd round, making him the 41st pick overall in this year’s draft. Meeks had one year of eligibility left at Kentucky, opting to go pro after just his Junior year. As a Kentucky fan, I would have loved to have had Jodie back for his Senior season. In his Junior year, Meeks averaged almost 24 points per game for the Wildcats, leading the SEC and ranking 8th nationally in scoring. He managed to put together an impressive resume, leading the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, and setting the single game scoring record at Kentucky by dropping 54 in a game versus the Tennessee Volunteers. With the recruits that Kentucky has coming in for next year, and with Patrick Patterson opting to return for at least one more year, the sky would have been the limit for the Wildcats with Meeks on the team. But, in Jodie’s defense, one can hardly blame him for going pro. New Kentucky Coach John Calipari would have been Jodie’s third head coach in four years at Kentucky. While I think he would have thrived in the type of offensive game that Calipari’s team tend to feature, he would first have had to learn the system, and honestly could have done little to improve his pro stock after the year he had this year. Realistically, his scoring average would have dipped in his Senior season, since he would have been surrounded by other stars and wouldn’t have had to be the main scoring option. Given that scenario, I support Jodie’s decision to go pro, even though I wish personally that he had stayed at Kentucky. I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that Jodie slipped to a 2nd round selection in the draft. Despite his scoring prowess and his powerful physique, he is undersized at 6′4″ for the typical shooting guard in the NBA, and lacks the speed and ballhandling skills to be a point guard. He’s stuck in that no-mans land between the two positions. Now that the waiting game is over to find out which team would draft Jodie, a new waiting game begins to see if he can be the newest Kentucky Wildcat to make an NBA team. Good luck, Jodie!  Atlanta Braves I’ll be the first to admit that I was nervous about the Braves series with the Yankees this week, especially with a rookie pitcher starting the first game. But so far, so good. Tommy Hanson won his third straight start for the Braves Tuesday night, beating the New York Yankees 4-0. Hanson was effectively wild throughout the night, walking five batters and giving up four hits. But every time he would get into a jam, he would also find a way to get himself out of it. What impressed me the most with Hanson was how he was able to control his emotions like a veteran when he got into a tough situation, even though this was only his fourth major league start. No matter how many players the Yankees got on base or who was at bat, Hanson’s demeanor never changed. He would calmly get his sign from Brian McCann and go to work at getting the batter out. Unlike recent days, the Braves did their part on offense as well. Hanson’s battery mate, Brian McCann, had three hits in the game and two RBI’s. Yunel Escobar had two hits for the Braves, and did an excellent job running the bases despite recently being hampered with a hip flexor injury. In fact, it was a stolen base by Escobar that helped set up Atlanta’s first run in the third inning. Garrett Anderson continued to improve at the plate, lining a solid double off of Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang that scored two runs. McCann sealed the game in eighth inning, driving a pitch by Yankees reliever David Robertson over the right center field wall. The Braves still have a rough road ahead of them, with two more games with the Yankees followed by a visit from the Boston Red Sox and the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. This homestand may prove to be the make or break stretch for the Braves before the All Star Break. Let’s hope their hot streak continues! Go Braves!  CBAnderson.com viewed on an iPhone For those of you, like myself, that seem to spend more time surfing the web on your iPhone than you do on your home computer, I have optimized this site to make your viewing even easier. The site will automatically detect that you are accessing it via your iPhone and will format itself accordingly. You will be presented with a faster loading page than the normal site, and photos and text will be automatically scaled for the iPhone screen. I have tested the site using my iPhone 3G (v 3.0) and everything seem to be working properly. You can scroll down the page to see my various blogs. Clicking on “Categories” at the top of the screen will allow you to filter my blogs for specific categories. Clicking on “Menu” at the top will allow you to visit my other pages, such as the “About Me” and “My Photos” pages, as well as allowing you to email me from your phone. For those of you who prefer to view the site in it’s normal state versus the iPhone optimization, you may simply turn the Mobile Theme off using the control at the bottom of the page. These changes should make viewing much easier for those of you who choose to access the site via your iPhones. I know I find myself relying more and more on my iPhone for tasks that were once available strictly on my computer. I’m even able to blog directly to the site from my iPhone, as I did yesterday after our thunderstorm while my power was still out. I’ll be adding more to the site later today, so check back soon!
Late this afternoon, we had a severe thunderstorm pop up here in Nashville. The storm knocked out power to much of my part of town, as well as downing many trees and creating a nightmare on the roads for rush hour travelers trying to get home. With most traffic lights in the area not functioning due to the power outage, you would think that Nashville drivers would be more cautious than normal and take fewer chances, right? Well, apparently that isn’t the way things are done in Nashville. Since my power is still out, I decided to venture out for a while after the storm, since I knew my car would be a much cooler place to be than the oven my third floor apartment was rapidly becoming. One of the first things I noticed was the large number of tree limbs (and several trees) littering the streets and lawns. Apparently I wasn’t the only one that noticed this, as the driver in the car in front of me was rubbernecking so much that he literally ran into the ditch. I politely smiled as I drove past him, trying hard not to laugh out loud. As I crossed over the Interstate, I could see that traffic was backed up for miles. I decided to take the side streets on my little journey to avoid the traffic jam. Traffic moved pretty smoothly on the side streets, with the only delays coming at intersections without functioning traffic lights. Common sense (and the law) would tell you to treat these intersections as a four-way stop, with each car proceeding accordingly. Most of the people I encountered were doing just that…but there always has to be one, right? One bright young teenager decided that he wasn’t going to wait his turn, and darted wildly in front of another car that was proceeding through the intersection. I’ve got to admit, the fact that he was able to accelerate in front of the other car as quickly as he was without losing traction was pretty impressive. There was only one problem: the traffic in front of him was at a complete standstill, and he didn’t have room to stop once he made it through the intersection. He promptly plowed into the rear end of the car in front of him, knocking that car forward into the car ahead of it. I hope the kid has good auto insurance. He’s going to need it. Just a little further along on my trip I encountered a gentleman in a white SUV who assumed that it was perfectly acceptable to pull into the left turn lane so that he could pass all the cars in front of him that were backed up at the intersection. Once he made it all the way to the traffic light, he weaved his way straight across the intersection instead of turning left, successfully passing 20 or more cars. The only problem was that one of the last cars he passed was a Metro Police Officer. Needless to say, it only took a few seconds before I saw blue lights. Not the brightest maneuver in the world. As I made my way back on my return trip, I could see several different accidents on the Interstate below me. Ironically, most were minor fender benders, apparently where people were spending more time watching the other wrecks than where they were actually driving. I don’t know what it is about the weather that seems to suck every last bit of common sense out of people, especially Nashvillians, but the safest place to be during/after a storm in Nashville is definitely not in your car! These people make me wish that i drove a Hummer, or at least a Volve! LOL I decided that I had pushed my luck enough for one day, and made my way back home. Unfortunately the electricity seems to still be out, so I’m sitting in my car enjoying the air conditioning and blogging on my iPhone. I hope that the storm didn’t do any damage where you are. Have a great evening! |
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