Follow Up -- Presidential Predictions

Here's a follow up to the Presidential Predictions posts on this blog back in February 2007.

Back then, the predicted winners for the Democrats were John Edwards for the presidential nomination with Barack Obama for vice president.

For the Republicans John McCain was the clear choice for the presidential nod. But for vice president it was nearly a five-way tie. Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were in a tie (two votes each) for the VP nomination barely ahead of Bill Frist, Rudy Giuliani and Chuck Hegel (one vote each). Nineteen-months ago, Sarah Palin wasn't even a gleam in Karl Rove's eye.

You can look at the original posts here:
Predicting the Candidates for 2008
Tallies

Good Food at Emeril's in Gulfport, Mississippi

Last month, the Grand Biloxi Casino, Hotel & Spa, part of the Harrah's group, offered us some free nights at their very flashy hotel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. So, a couple weeks ago we decided to spend a night there.

We drove over early in the day and stopped for lunch, just west of Biloxi, at Emeril's Gulf Coast Fish House, in Gulfport.

As we expected when dining at an Emeril Lagasse restaurant, the food, service, ambience and location was the very best, plus the view of the Gulf of Mexico from our table was splendid. And the prices were quite reasonable. The restaurant is in Gulfport's only gaming establishment -- the classy Island View Casino Resort. It was a wonderful experience and we must go back for another meal there. Soon.

Click [BAM], for the links to all of Emeril's restaurants -- ten so far, in four states.

After lunch we proceeded to our hotel, the Grand Biloxi. We got a great room with a view of the Gulf and the huge construction site of Harrah's upcoming tribute to Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville Casino & Resort, due to open in 2010.

Ashley Brown In Concert

Everyone in the Pensacola area was thrilled two years ago when 22 year old Ashley Brown from Pensacola suburb, Gulf Breeze, debuted on Broadway as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. A year later she was still on Broadway, but now creating the title role in Mary Poppins, for Disney. Last night she came home to sing, backed by the Pensacola Symphony. It was a smash hit. She was wonderful.

Our Memphis Trip, Day 4, Wednesday

The weather this morning had improved. Still misty and rainy, but the wind had died down and it seemed warmer. We still had the rental car so after breakfast at the hotel we set out to see a bit of Memphis.

We headed for Graceland. The ads all say "Elvis Presley's Graceland." It is down the way from "Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel." We saw Graceland. That's what we tell people. Actually we saw it as we drove past. The rain had returned and we were in no mood to stand around in it waiting for a tram to take us from the parking lot to the mansion.

We drove south to Mississippi and the casinos in Tunica. We expected a strip of casinos, just like the Las Vegas Strip. But the eleven casino hotels are far apart, miles and miles apart. And we never did see the Mississippi River.

The designers of Tunica seem to have learned nothing from the newly created town of Laughlin, Nevada, where a cluster of casinos creates a community of attractions along the Colorado River, all within walking distance from each other, or a quick trolley ride, or a delightful boat ride -- free except for a tip to the driver. Laughlin is charming; Tunica is Spaceport Mars.

After a dull and very ordinary lunch at the Goldstrike Casino we headed back to Memphis to drop off the car and return to the hotel. On the wet trip back from the car rental place we did get to see the neon lights of Beale Street glistening in the late afternoon rain. Very pretty.

It was too wet out to go see the ducks at The Peabody.

Dinner was delivery sandwiches and shrimp bisque from Westy's in our cozy room. And early to bed with a 6:50 am train to catch.

Our Memphis Trip, Day 3, Tuesday

A storm had come in overnight and it was dark and rainy when we got up. Should we drive to Arkansas and back today or tomorrow? We watched the Weather Channel and we decided that the worst of the storm was passing north of the line between Memphis and Little Rock. And tomorrow's weather might be worse. So after breakfast at the hotel we called Enterprise Rental Car and they sent somebody to come and get us at the hotel. They do that.

The drive to Little Rock -- cold, wet and windy -- was about 140 miles via Interstate-40 all the way. We were fine in the station wagon we got and we were at the Clinton Presidential Library before lunch. This was my first time ever in the state of Arkansas and for Jack the first time there in 40 or 50 years. What we could see of the city looked very pleasant and I hope we will get back there again someday. When the weather is nicer.

The Clinton Library is very well done and informative (as are all the presidential libraries it seems). The grounds looked lovely, too. But it was no day for a stroll. We had a very good hot lunch in the Library's restaurant Forty Two (he was the 42nd president of the U.S.) and spent about three hours seeing the exhibits.

The weather on the way back was still stormy and we were happy to get back to the hotel before night settled in.

As for getting a taste of Memphis, several local people told us we should eat at the Rendezvous for Memphis-style BBQ. The directions are daunting, but if you follow them you will find it -- "go down the alley next to the parking garage..." We did and we loved the place, its atmosphere and the food.

Noel Coward's Firefly

JamaicaTripper.com Presents

YouTube amazes me again. Here's 100 seconds of film showing Noel Coward's Jamaican hideaway in the hills above Port Maria. The music is totally wrong -- it's "travelog jazz" and not one of his songs. But it has great views of Firefly and the setting.

Last April we visited Firefly and here's a link to the post about that visit.

A side trip from Memphis

Our plans for the Memphis trip are underway. We have the hotel reservations and the train tickets. We are ready for a ride on The City of New Orleans, ready for the tour of Graceland and ready to eat BBQ.

While doing some research on the trip it occurred to us that Memphis is pretty close to Little Rock, Arkansas, about a 2 1/2 hour drive each way. And since Memphis is somewhat out of the way for us, we may never get back there. So if we don't see Little Rock on this trip we may never see Little Rock.

What's to see in Little Rock? The William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library.

The Clinton Library is the twelfth Presidential Library and it is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

The twelve presidential libraries represent all presidents from Hoover through Clinton. The Nixon Presidential Library, at the time it opened in 1990, was not administered by the National Archives. It was recognized by them in July, 2007.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park includes the Clinton presidential library and the offices of the Clinton Foundation and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, established by Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States.

Click here for Little Rock Tourist and Visitor Information. And here, too.

Maine Trip, May 2007 -- Day 1

Fright Night is Every Night in Bangor, Maine

About two weeks ago, on a Thursday in mid-May, I went to Maine to see my parents and sister and her family. I took American Airlines (and their American Eagle brand of little jets for smaller cities) from Pensacola, Florida, to Bangor, Maine. Jack stayed home to watch the cats and tend the garden.

Usually when I go to Maine I fly to Boston and then drive up to Augusta where my parents live. From Boston to Augusta is a little more than a three hour drive -- longer if you stop at L.L. Bean in Freeport. Going to Boston instead of Bangor means less time in the air but it was certainly worth the extra flight and the extra flying time to arrive in Bangor, just an hour's drive away from Augusta. With no big-city traffic congestion.

I left Pensacola at 9:25 A.M. (Central Time) and arrived in Bangor at 10:20 P.M. (Eastern Time -- it's one hour earlier than Central Time). The distance was 2,371 miles: 604 miles from Pensacola to Dallas; 1,389 from Dallas to New York's LaGuardia; 378 from New York to Bangor. All the flights were full and there were many disappointed people on stand-by. I spent the night at the Sheraton Hotel that's attached to Bangor International Airport.

The hotel was fine and I was tired from a long day of flights and waiting for flights. I was delighted to discover the AM and FM radio reception was good. I love to listen to the radio at night. And the one station I wanted to listen to in Bangor came in clear as a bell -- Stephen King's WKIT, 100.3 FM, the Rock of Bangor. It is one of the only live radio stations left in Maine and it has actual local DJs, 24/7. And yes, it's that Stephen King. Oh, and yes, Stephen King fans -- Bangor is Derry.

You can check out the station's website here and listen to it here. (If you have trouble listening to it from my link, try launching the live feed from the station's website.)

March 2007 Road Trip Report, Part 3

Our recent trip took us to Venice, Florida. For many years it was winter quarters for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus -- "The Greatest Show on Earth."

At the downtown train station where the show would return each year after its tour there is a tribute to one of its heroes. Gunther Gebel-Williams. The plaque next to the statue tells what made him a superstar in the world of the circus.

News from Our Alabama Neighbors(do you wonder why we support gun control?)

"Man shot in fight over James Brown's height"
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
By Connie Baggett, Staff Reporter
Mobile (Alabama) Press Register

Gunfire landed a 70-year-old Atmore man in jail and a 62-year-old man in the hospital Monday after the two got into a heated argument over the height of recently deceased soul musician James Brown, police said.

Atmore police said David James Brooks Jr. walked into the police station and told officers he had been shot. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital for treatment.

Minutes later, Dan Gulley Jr. arrived at the station, saying he had fired the gunshot, officers said Tuesday.

Investigators learned that the two men had been at a friend's house on Stallworth Street when they argued about just how tall James Brown was.

Brown, known as "The Godfather of Soul" and the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business," died Dec. 25 in Atlanta of a heart attack at the age of 73. His career spanned 50 years, including hits during the civil rights movement and into the 1980s.

So just how tall was Brown, who was known to wear lifts? He was 5 feet 6 inches tall, according to several Internet sources. One of those sources -- CelebHeights.com -- bills itself as a "fairly reliable guide" but does not state its source. Other Internet references to Brown's height also do not list sources.

Witnesses told police that after Gulley and Brooks' argument escalated, Gulley began shooting at Brooks, hitting him twice in the abdomen. Brooks, already wounded, went to his vehicle, got a gun and returned fire at Gulley, missing him, according to a police news release.

Gulley was arrested by Atmore Police officers and charged with assault. He remained in Escambia County Jail on Tuesday. Brooks remained in the hospital on Tuesday, officers said. Information regarding his condition was not available.

Atmore officers said the shooting happened shortly after noon Monday and that alcohol is not believed to be a factor. Police recovered two small-caliber handguns, investigators said.

Gossip Links

"I never repeat gossip, so you better listen real good when I tell you the first time."
Minnie Pearl
American Comedian
1912 - 1995

Here is a list of some important gossip (what I mean is -- celebrity news) links. If your favorite is not listed here please let me know and, if it is tasteful and newsy, I will add it. (Ok, one or the other will be enough. It doesn't have to be both.)

15 Minutes Magazine
Access Hollywood
Celebitchy
Celebrity Babylon
Cindy Adams
Befuddle (UK)
Ted Casablanca
Daily Blabber
Defamer
Drudge Report
E! Online
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Weekly
Fame Tracker
Fashion Weekly Daily
Karen Feld
Fishbowl DC
Fishbowl NY
Gawker
Gossip Central
The Gossip Times
Inside Edition
The Insider
Jossip
Live Daily
Media Bistro
Michael Musto
NY Daily News Daily Dish
New York Post Page Six
New York Social Diary
Notable Names Database
People Magazine
Perez Hilton
Premiere Magazine
Salon.com
Sky News (UK)
Liz Smith
The Smoking Gun
TMZ
Tube Gossip (UK)
ValleyWag.com