etricities.com

Check out these wonderful images from the Harry D. Powell Observatory. These are some wonderful Astronomical images shot by students.

Link

By Jeff Rainey
The Tri-Cities (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City - TN) area is fortunate enough to have its share of podcast shows to choose from. For those of you who do not yet know what a podcast is, wikipedia defines podcast as “… a collection of technologies for automatically distributing audio programs over the Internet using a publisher/subscriber model… Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated “shows,” and gives broadcast radio or television programs a new distribution method.” And, to clear up any confusion, you do not need an iPod to listen to a Podcast (though I highly reccomend it). Anyway, I currently know of three local Podcasts right now.

Bandwagon Radio is a show comprised of three guys discussing amusing and entertaining news stories of the week. The show is comical and recorded well. You can find out more about Bandwagon Radio (recorded weekly) at jumponthebandwagon.net

Another “blue-ribbon” show recorded here in the Tri-Cities is Lockjaw Radio (recorded weekly) In each “dose,” Jose Castillo and Thomas Eorgan discuss current corporate marketing campaigns, branding, idea generation and new media in a fun lighthearted fashion.

The GoTriCities Podcast (not sure about schedule) features David Cate and a guest band as they chat about the local music scene, the artists inspirations and projects they are currently working on. Sound bites (or bytes) from the musicians are also included in the recording.

Please inform me if you know of other podcasts in the Tri-Cities TN/VA area. This is an exciting new movement and I am glad to see our area’s contributions.

From No Silence Here
Local blogger Les Jones is helping the family of Johnia Berry try to solve the case. The UT student was murdered almost a year ago. Les put his talents to work and created a web site dedicated to the case. Kudos to Les. Spread the word.

The suspect is described as white, fair-haired, relatively short, and roughly 180 pounds. He might be from Knoxville, but he might be from elsewhere, including the Tri-cities area (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol) where Johnia graduated from East Tennessee State University (ETSU). A few days before her death Johnia was menaced by someone driving a two-door black SUV. That incident may or may not have been related.

From Wonder Dawg
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution music staff revealed its 100 Best Songs of the South…

Just try. Try to name a part of the country — or the world, for that matter — that’s done more for music in the last 150 years than these Southern United States.

You cain’t, child. There ain’t none.

We birthed the blues. We launched rock ‘n’ roll. We’ve been the seat of gospel, the bastion of bluegrass, the home to the world’s hottest hip-hop. We’ve dug deep down to our Nappy Roots, fostered Stephen Foster, screamed “Sweet Home Alabama” and gotten straight-up Ludacris, from Memphis to Mobile to Uncle Tupelo.
Read More…

Mr. Nelson has an update to the progress of the Art-O-Mobile on his site. Looks like it is going well so far. He has posted photos from all sides of the van. Most of the spaces are taken so if you want yours you better hurry. The proceeds from this project will go to the Louise and Dwight Nelson Art and Design scholarship at ETSU.

Link

From VOLuntarilyConservative
No, this isn’t breaking news or an earth-shattering investigation, but it is noteworthy. As reported by the Johnson City Press, the Golden Corral restaurant in JC hosted many veterans as part of its Military Appreciation Night yesterday. The vets that participated were treated to a free buffet at the restaurant my Dad affectionately calls “the hog trough.”

It’s great to see businesses giving back to those who have served and allow for those of us in the United States to enjoy our everyday lives.

There are many Christmas Volunteer opportunities with the Salvation Army serving Washington, Carter and Unicoi Counties. Many of these same programs are going on through the end of the year in Kingsport and Bristol through the Salvation Army units serving these other areas of the Tri-Cities. To act on any of these opportunities, persons should contact the unit serving their area.
 
I would encourage you to share this file via e-mail with interested parties.
 
Johnson City, TN
The Salvation Army
700 Spring St., Johnson City, TN 37604
Mail Address P.O. Box 1715, 37605
Phone (423) 926-2101, (423) 928-9426 - Fax (423) 926-2616

Kingsport, TN
The Salvation Army
505-517 Dale St., Kingsport, TN 37660
Mail Address P.O. Box 2280, 37662
Phone (423) 246-6671 - Fax (423) 246-9787

Bristol, TN
The Salvation Army
137 Edgemont Ave., Bristol, TN 37620
Mail Address P.O. Box 887, 37621
Phone (423) 764-6156 - Fax (423) 764-8082

At last count, the volunteer opportunities are many and spaces need to
be filled on the organizations master calendar.
 
Let’s spread the word!

Bob Plummer
Johnson City, Tenn.
H E: treborplum@charter.net
O E: plummerb@mail.etsu.edu

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
–Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
Link

From Art-O-Mobile
Although I’m not surprised many do not know about the Art-O-Mobile, I am surprised many students in the East Tennessee State University Art and Design Dept do not know. Last night during our monthly First Friday gallery opening for the ETSU painting students, many were oblivious. A few more signed up to paint the Art-O-Mobile and hopefully those and others who have already committed will be able to, as Larry the Cable Guy says, “Git….” well I guess that saying is a little overused.

My dear friend, Kim Schneider, painted the fiddle as well as the tree shown in this post. She rattled my cage about not getting it posted, so, Kim here they are! I hope you want to paint some more. It looks like fun. I just have no ability or gift to paint!
Read More…

Posts that is. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. etricities.com, not even two months old, has already seen a great response from those who have found us. Our stats are showing that we have a small but loyal readership already. etricities.com is still a growing concept. We are always open to new ideas that can help us better serve our community.

We have many new and exciting ideas that we are working on and we can’t wait to implement and share these with you.

From Don Fenley
Kingsport, Tenn, resident Mike Ziler is one of the sources for a story on the sport - or is it a spectacle - of Dock Dogs. Ziler, whose 3-year-old black Lab, Gunner, finished third at the national championships Dock Dogs competition with a leap of 24 feet, 8 inches, told Morning Call online that the prize money obviously is not a motivating factor for most contestants, since the top prize usually doesn’t even pay for gas.
”He loves it, and I love the camaraderie” with other competitors, said Ziler.
What Gunner loves is the Dock Dog competition which is gaining in popularity. Still one competitor put the event in perspective by saying
”At the end of the day, it’s just dogs jumping off a dock. The only ones who know how far they jump are the people. The dogs are just doing what they love to do.”