Photo by JL3 from Wikipedia

I suspect some of you may have gone to all three of the destinations covered so far in the series: The Orange Show in Houston, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee and atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.

Now, your road to all 12 spots gets harder, in fact, we are going across the pond to an amazing French location, the walled city of, St Paul de Vence, situated high above the Riviera but an easy drive from Nice or Cannes.

You’ll be glad you visited for in addition to its scenic beauty the town’s cobblestone streets offers shops, galleries, fine dining and sweeping vistas. It has a history of hosting many of Europe’s premier artists, who often wintered there due to the milder climate in the south of France. In fact, one of the greats, Marc Chagall is buried in a cemetery at the far end of the settlement.

The recently expanded Galerie Meaght, a short distance away presents some of the works created here as well as other masterpieces and is a don’t miss” spot.

The medieval walled settlement dates back at least 1,000 years and today is home to just over 3,00 people.

Here’s a good overview with plenty of photos to entice you to pack up and go up to see this marvel for yourself.

***

“Harry”, said his pub pal Herb, “Are you aware of Sex-Addicts Anonymous? “

“No, what’s that?”

Ed chipped in, “it’s for people who can’t control their desire for sex”, Harry.

“How the heck can I be a sex addict if I’m not having any sex?”, Harry asked.

“Harry, Harry, Harry, you are totally missing the point” said Frank as Ed and Herb nodded.

“I’m not sure I follow”, the befuddled Harry responded”.

“OK,“ Herb said, “Take it away Frank!”

“Harry who do you think goes to meetings of Sex Addicts Anonymous? ‘

“A lot of women with sexual issues”, interjected Ed.

“There are several chapters in town”, Frank added.

Herb followed, “All have virtual and physical meetings”,

“So, there you go Harry”, Frank summarized.

“Check out the meetings virtually, go to a physical meeting and cozy up to a gal who says she can’t control her craving or one, like you, at the opposite end of the sex spectrum”.

“This is your mission, Harry, should you choose to accept it”, Herb solemnly intoned., in his best MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE voice.

“Yes, yes, yes”, Harry nearly shouted. “This could be the answer to my Prayers”

Ed ventured, “Harry, are you saying you pray to the Lord Almighty Above to help you get laid”?

“I figure it can’t hurt and besides I go to different churches to pray, I like to hedge my bets,” Harry explained.

“You’ve got the Lord on your side then, Harry”, said Herb. “Ed, Frank and I all have family stuff next time so let’s gather in two weeks, OK”.

“This gives you an extra week to put this new plan into practice, Harry,” Ed mentioned.

“Lemme at ‘em”, Harry stated emphatically, “Sex Addicts Here I COME!”

The foursome gathered in a fortnight, joined by Herb’s wife, Ethel, adding a female perspective to their discussions.

Harry had an odd look on his face when Ed asked him how it went with Sex Addicts Anonymous.

“You guys were right”, said Harry. “I checked out three chapters virtually, spotted a woman about my age describing her sex obsession and how ashamed she was when she gave in to her lust. “

“Sounds like your Dream Girl, Harry” Herb laughed. Adding that he had briefed Ethel on this new development and that she was very sympathetic to Harry’s plight.

“I contacted her via a link and told her I had the same problem and would like to meet her. We could compare notes on how to deal with our shared issue”

“Moving right along, Harry”, Ed commented.

“Ginny and I met at a meeting in person and hit it off”, Harry reported. “She’s attractive, not drop dead gorgeous but certainly above minimum on my fuck-o-meter”, he stated.

“We decided I could come over and we could talk about it”!

“Harry sounds like you are on the road to a root”, cheered Ethel.

“She got us both a glass of wine and started talking. She worked in a large office building downtown and then she went into a long monologue, telling me of experiences in public bathrooms, deserted hallways, elevator stairwells, giving blowjobs in restaurants, having it off in taxicabs, once she ruefully said, she’d had sex with 13 total strangers in a week.” Harry reported, “she was one of those people who don’t stop talking, maybe she learned circular breathing, all I could do was nod, try to react appropriately, and I reached out and held her hand”

“Oh my” Ed enquired, “how long did this go on?”

“At least ten minus, but finally she took a sip of wine and. I told her I could identify with her and sympathize and while I have had a few public episodes as she recounted, it was more difficult for a guy to have such experiences than it was for a very desirable woman as she is and how she would have to face more challenges and how I was happy to help her fight these urges, that we could work together.”

“And then? “Frank asked.

“It was like I hadn’t said anything”, Harry related. “She was off into telling me how she went to a college frat house one night and serviced two dozen young men often two, once even thee at once and then she recalled balling six bellmen at a fancy Las Vegas hotel and . . “

Harry said, “my eyes were starting to glaze, and I couldn’t figure out a plan, so I asked where the bathroom was and, on my way back grabbed the wine bottle and topped her off and refilled my now empty one.”

“Geez, Harry, was it a turn on to hear about her adventures”, Ethel asked.

“Ethel, how would you feel if some guy you had met less than an hour ago stated telling you about all the women he’d had sex with adding details, would that turn you on? “

She laughed, nudged Herb and said, “why honey that’s what you said when we first met” The whole table roared with laughter.

“And I can see that might not be the best foreplay”, Ethel added.

Then Ginny said, Didyou know most women’s clitorises are about the size of a black-eyed pea?”.

Before Harrye could answer she continued.

And min is the size of a red grape, not those little lime green ones.

Most clitorises have 10,000 nerve endings – mine has 47,000”, Ginny excitedly added.

“And then” queried Frank.

I said, “Oh my, that’s amazing can I see it?. I was pre-med before I went into computers”

“Looks like you’re on the way to glory”, Ethel said.

“A clit the size of a grape, wow.”

“You’ve got your opening“ Herb predicted

“She stood up, raised her skirt to her waist, sat back down on the couch, spread her legs wide, held her vagina open with both hands and said, “See”.

“Her clitty was as advertised so I asked her if I could touch it,” Harry reported

Ginny nodded so I licked my index finger and gently rubbed. I swear in seconds she went stiff, gasped and climaxed, shrieking loudly.

“I figured my time was ripe as I started taking off my pants”, Harry recounted.

She got up, pushed her skirt back down and said,

“Please leave now”, she said, standing in front of me and pulling on both my shoulders. “I am expecting my landlord and a couple of his friends soon, it’s how I pay my rent. I take care of their needs and they film it to sell to Porn Hub and X Videos.

I took the hint and stepped into the hall as she closed the door with a bang and I hear additional locks engage.

“I haven’t tried SAA again, “Harry mournfully remarked.

“Harry, maybe you should see a sex therapist”, Ethel suggested. “A good one might have some ideas to improve your approach”.

“OK, I’m ready for anything that would help me get some pussy”, Harry stated as he drained his beer. “See you next week and Ethel, thanks for your advice”.

JL3 LP cover photo

I was thinking about weird albums and ran a search and MOJO’s list of the 50 Weirdest albums o all time popped right up with the Top 5 being releases by Captain Beefhart, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Funkadelic and the Butthole Surfers. Have fun with the list as many entries have links to the music!

If this were a listing of weird singles I’d nominate the Hemmer Ridge Mountain Boys’ cover of Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Redneck Mother” – in Pig Latin

JL 3 photo.

I have an album that does not sound weird but was made by a bizarre cast that few would believe ever collaborated on a recording project.

I submit Lightnin Hopkins FREE FORM PATTERNS, IA-#6 (International Artists)

Here we have a blues music Hall of Famer produced by Kenny Rogers’s brother, Lelan (“The Silver Fox”) Rogers in the same studio where he produced psychedelic pioneers The 13^th Floor Elevators.

Not that weird you might think until you learn that the Elevators rhythm section backed Hopkins along with Billy Bizor and Marcel Rubinstein who contributed two songs and backed Hopkins. “Wild Child Harmonica” adds some harp blasts.

With the exception of the tracks with his pals it’s pretty much business as usual for Hopkins with the Elevator rhythm section keeping time and staying in the background as sidemen should. I should amend that to say Hopkins’ long, rambling introduction to set up “Mr. Charlie” is a rare gem. Lightnin was famous for his extemporaneous compositions and I assume that’s the case here as I checked a dozen of his releases es and did not see the song on FREE FORM PATTERNS.

JL3 photo of back of LP cover

Recorded February 1, 1968

The psychedelic cover design was created by (roll of the drums) Guy Clark. Yes, the famed artist-songwriter.

Guy & Townes FLYIN’ SHOES sessions JL3 Photo

The LP begins with a long spoken introduction for “Mr. Charlie” with Hopkins guitar kicking in once the situation of the burning mill is established.

This is certainly one of Hopkins oddest albums in a career that so far includes I don’t have a count of his releases, but he released at least 100 LPs, waxing between 800-1,000 songs. Here’s the Wikipedia entry for more information about this extraordinary bluesman who inspired several movies and half a dozen books.

My dad managed him for about ten years in the mid-‘50s to mid-‘60s.

JL3 photo of Townes Van Zandt and Lightning and my mother Margaret “Mimi” Lomax and Antoinette Hopkins. Townes’ 3 main idols were Hopkins, Hank Williams and Bob Dylan.

Free From Patterns is available via Discogs or E-Bay, hope you can get a copy!

JL3 photo in backyard of 6428 Vanderbilt in Houston

Feast your eyes on his ranking of EVERY DIVISION I football program, yes all 138 of them, then scroll down to see conference rankings.

https://piratings.wordpress.com/

And, to complete your preseason rankings speculation here’s some more rankings from various sources as well as the consensus pre-season All-America team.

Here’s a good place to start to examine the various ratings by many sources.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=college+football+preseason+rankings+2026&atb=v455-1&ia=web

Here’s your link fro the preseason All-America picks:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=preseason+2026-27+all+american+team&atb=v455-1&ia=web

And here’s a few examples:

ESPN

Athlon:

College Football 2026 All-America Team

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) runs for a touchdown during the 2025 Cotton Bowl and quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.© Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

First-Team Offense

QB Arch Manning, Texas
RB Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
RB Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss
All-Purpose Malachi Toney, Miami
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
WR Cam Coleman, Texas
WR Duce Robinson, Florida State
TE Trey’Dez Green, LSU
C Iapani Laloulu, Oregon
OL Carter Smith, Indiana
OL Trevor Goosby, Texas
OL Kade Pieper, Iowa
OL Cayden Green, Missouri

Related: Ranking All 138 College Football Teams for 2026

First-Team Defense

Nov 22, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive lineman Colin Simmons (1) reacts after a fumble was recovered for a touchdown during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images© Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

DL Colin Simmons, Texas
DL John Henry Daley, Michigan
DL Tyrique Tucker, Indiana
DL A’Mauri Washington, Oregon
LB Xavier Atkins, Auburn
LB Whit Weeks, LSU
LB Rasheem Biles, Texas
LB Rolijah Hardy, Indiana
CB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame
CB Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia
S KJ Bolden, Georgia
S Bray Hubbard, Alabama

First-Team Specialists

K Tate Sandell, Oklahoma
P Evan Crenshaw, Troy
KR Da’Realyst Clark, Kent State
PR Ryan Niblett, Texas

Story by

Sporting News 2026 college football Preseason All-America team

Bill Bender

Thu, Aug 6, 2026·

12 min read

Sporting News 2026 college football Preseason All-America team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Texas leads the Sporting News 2026 preseason All-America team with six players across our first- and second- teams.

That includes five first-team selections led by edge rusher Colin Simmons and receiver Cam Coleman. Arch Manning – the much-hyped quarterback entering his second season – is on our second team.

That’s because Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is a first-team selection. The Rebels had four first-team selections on our list.

The Longhorns and Rebels were part of a heavy presence of SEC players. A total of 23 players from the SEC are scattered throughout our teams – the most of any conference. The Big Ten ranked second with 14 players.

Notre Dame and Oregon totaled four players on our team, and Georgia, Iowa Ohio State and Texas Tech had three players each. Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore and Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy were 2025 first-team Sporting News All-America selections last season.

Sporting News is one of five outlets used to determine consensus All-American status at the end of the season. A look at our 2026 Preseason All-America team.

SN 140 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS BY DECADE:2020s|2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 1960s

First team offense

QB: Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Chambliss (6-0, 205) was granted a sixth-year waiver to return to Ole Miss, and we expect the quarterback to take advantage of the opportunity. He passed for 3,937 yards, 22 TDs and three interceptions and added 527 rushing yards and 8 TDs last season. Chambliss heated up during the CFP semifinal run – where he averaged 307 passing yards per game. He’s the top QB in our rankings for 2026 – and that gives him the edge on this list to start.

RB: Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss

Lacy (5-11, 205) partners in the backfield with Chambliss, which gives the Rebels a prolific rushing attack worth watching. Lacy rushed for 1,567 yards and 24 TDs while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He had 38 rushes of 10 yards or more; according to PFF.com. Lacy blends that between-the-tackles style with the ability to break off a TD run at any time – and that should continue in 2026.

RB: Ahmad Hardy, Missouri

Hardy (5-10, 210) rushed for 1,649 yards last season – the most yardage of any returning running back in the Power 4. Hardy runs through contact (4.6 yards per carry). He had seven games with at least 100 rushing yards, including a 300-yard, three-TD effort against Mississippi State. Hardy was shot on the upper leg on May 10, and his status for Week 1 remains uncertain.

WR: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

Smith (6-3, 223) is the most imposing offensive force in the FBS – yet it’s his consistency as a pass-catching option for the Buckeyes that stands out. He had 163 catches on 211 targets in two seasons. He’s totaled 2,528 yards on back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with 27 TD receptions – and that comes with increased attention from defenses. In five career CFP games, Smith has 26 catches for 538 yards – an average of 20.7 yards per catch – with six TDs.

WR: Malachi Toney, Miami

Toney (5-11, 188) led all FBS receivers with 109 receptions as part of Miami’s run to the CFP championship game last season. He had three games with 10-plus receptions and 100 or more receiving yards as a freshman, and he adds value in the punt return game. Xavier Restrepo (2024) was Miami’s last consensus All-American receiver. Will Toney be next?

WR: Cam Coleman, Texas

Coleman (6-3, 204) transferred from Auburn to Texas, where he should put up numbers with Manning in the Longhorns’ revamped offense. Coleman excels at the contested catch – he had 13 last season according to PFF.com – and he has nine TD receptions on passes of 20 yards or more the last two seasons. Manning and Coleman should be able to exploit that vertical connection this season in the SEC.

TE: Terrance Carter Jr., Texas Tech

Carter (6-2, 245) finished with 55 receptions for 624 yards and five TDs, and that included a nine-catch, 72-yard performance in the CFP quarterfinals against Oregon. He is a reliable target who compiled a 74.4 catch percentage, and he also is an effective run blocker. Will he establish an immediate connection with Will Hammond?

T: Carter Smith, Indiana

Smith (6-5, 313) – a second-team SN All-America pick last season – started all 16 games for the Hoosiers last season and returns as a leader on the offensive line. He allowed just two sacks – both in the CFP championship game – and was a consistent performer through last year’s Big Ten schedule. Smith also is a force as a run blocker for the Hoosiers – who averaged 212.9 rushing yards per game.

G: Shadre Hurst, Houston

Hurst (6-2 295) – a Tulane transfer second-team SN All-America selection in 2025 – gives Houston a dominant interior run blocker. The fifth-year senior allowed just one sack, and he made one start at left tackle. The Cougars are a trendy playoff pick in the Big 12 – and the addition of Hurst solidifies an offensive line with three transfers who are projected starters.

C: Kade Pieper, Iowa

Pieper (6-3, 298) would have been one of our picks at guard – but he’s making the move to center where he replaces Rimington Trophy winner Logan Jones for the Hawkeyes. Pieper is an outstanding run blocker, and he allowed just one sack. He had just one penalty in 2025. That versatility on the interior line is a difference-maker.

G: Evan Tengesdahl, Cincinnati

Tengesdahl (6-3, 323) had a 89.7 grade in run blocking, according to PFF, last season. He did not allow a sack and can swing from left guard to right guard if needed. He is part of a Cincinnati offensive line that should be one of the best in the Big 12.

T: Trevor Goosby, Texas

Goosby (6-7, 325) is a fourth-year offensive lineman who started 13 games last season. He allowed three sacks and three quarterback hits – and a strong finish in Texas’ last three games showed how dominant he might be in that spot this year for an improved offensive line around Manning. He has the potential to be a top-10 pick.

AP: Cam Cook, West Virginia

Cook (5-9, 203) – a Jacksonville State transfer – rushed for 1,659 yards and 16 TDs last season and ranked second in the FBS with 149.6 total yards per game. Cook had nine games with 100-plus rushing yards. He gives second-year coach Rich Rodriguez an all-around playmaker in the backfield in an improved West Virginia offense.

CollColin Simmons

First-team defense

DL: Will Echoles, Ole Miss

Echoles (6-3, 315) is an anchor in the middle for the Rebels’ defense, and he developed as a pass-rushing threat for Ole Miss through last year’s CFP run. Echoles had 11 total tackles and six quarterback hurries in Ole Miss’ three playoff games. That blend of disruptive stops on the interior should continue with defensive coordinator Bryan Brown in 2026.

DL: A’Mauri Washington, Oregon

Washington (6-3, 330) was a pleasant surprise returner for his senior season with the Ducks, and he is a popular pick for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He had eight hurries in a three-game stretch against Washington, USC and James Madison, and the run-stuffing presence with 33 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. He should lead what could be Oregon’s best defense under Dan Lanning.

EDGE: Colin Simmons, Texas

Simmons (6-3, 245) had 59 pressures last season, according to PFF.com., and that included 17 quarterback hurries in Texas’ last three games. He’s totaled 21 sacks the last two seasons. Simmons had a 21.5% win percentage; which was a touch behind Texas Tech’s David Bailey at 21.6%. Simmons will be in the mix with the FBS sacks leaders this season.

EDGE: Anthony Smith, Minnesota

Smith (6-6, 285) is an imposing force for the Gophers. The fifth-year senior led the Big Ten with 12.5 sacks last season. He closed last season with two sacks and two pass breakups in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico. There are other explosive pass rushers in this class – including South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart and Louisville’s Clev Lubin. Smith has the advantage for now.

LB: Rasheem Biles, Texas

Biles (6-1, 220) transferred from Pitt, where he totaled 101 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and two interceptions in 2025. A former defensive back in high school, Biles is a rangy linebacker who had 31.5 tackles for loss and 11 pass breakups the last two years. He should be a game-changer with defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

LB: Xavier Atkins, Auburn

Atkins (6-0, 210) led the SEC with 17 tackles for loss last season – part of a season in which he had nine sacks and 60 solo tackles for the Tigers. Atkins had three games last season with double-digit tackles and at least one sack. Auburn retained defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, so Atkins should continue to flourish in that scheme.

LB: Rolijah Hardy, Indiana

Hardy (5-11, 227) – a Navy transfer – emerged as a disruptive force as linebacker for Indiana’s national championship team last season. Hardy totaled 102 tackles, eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss. He also had five pass breakups in coverage. He is one of the key returning pieces for the Hoosiers in 2026 along with Isaiah Jones and Tyrique Tucker.

CB: Leonard Moore, Notre Dame

Moore (6-2, 197) – a Thorpe Award and Nagurski Trophy finalist last season – is the top defensive player in college football heading into the season. He had five interceptions and seven pass breakups in 2025, but he’s more than just an elite cover cornerback. Moore totaled 79 tackles and three forced fumbles in two seasons. Moore was a SN Preseason All-America selection last season, too.

CB: Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia

Robinson (6-0, 180) surged toward the end of last season, and the redshirt sophomore appears ready for the full-fledged breakout in 2026. He had four interceptions last season – including a leaping pick against Georgia Tech in the regular-season finale. He did not allow a TD in coverage in the Bulldogs’ last nine games. Robinson is showcasing the talent that made him the top cornerback recruit in high school.

S: KJ Bolden, Georgia

Bolden (6-0, 195) is one of the team leaders for Kirby Smart for a defense that will look to win a third consecutive SEC championship. Bolden had 76 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups last season. He had 10 tackles in the 39-34 loss to Ole Miss in the CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl. He missed just four tackles last season.

S: Tae Johnson, Notre Dame

Johnson (6-2, 200), a sophomore, started in 10 games last season and had four interceptions and three pass breakups. He missed just two tackles, according to PFF.com, and that range and athleticism is yet another reason why the Irish will have one of the best secondaries in the FBS this season.

DB: Ty Benefield, LSU

Benefield (6-3, 208) – a Boise State transfer – compiled 105 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups last season before coming to LSU. He’ll be an exciting addition under first-year Lane Kiffin. Benefield had six or more tackles in all but one game last season and should be a good fit with defensive coordinator Blake Baker.

First-team specialists

K: Lucas Carneiro, Ole Miss

Carneiro (5-11, 196) – a Western Kentucky transfer – starred in the College Football Playoff for the Rebels last season, where he hit 9 of 10 field goals – including 4 of 5 from 50 yards or more. Carneiro hit 88.6% of his field-goal attempts – and was 14 of 17 (82.4%) from 40 yards or more.

P: Evan Crenshaw, Troy

Crenshaw (6-4, 184) is a returning Ray Guy Award finalist who averaged 45.3 yards per punt for the Trojans. The fifth-year senior also is a returning Sporting News first-team All-America selection. Crenshaw had 33 punts inside the 20-yard line. Opposing punt returners averaged 6.1 yards per return.

KR: Da’Realyst Clark, Kent State

Clark (5-10, 160) – a senior whose career started at Division III Defiance before a stint at Butler – has emerged as a big-play threat for the Golden Flashes. He scored TDs on two kickoff returns last season – including a 103-yard return in the opener against Merrimack and a 91-yard score on the opening kickoff against UMass.

PR: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Niblett (5-10, 189) adds yet another advantage for the Longhorns in the return game. He averaged 22.7 yards per punt return with a pair of touchdowns in 2025 – and those game-changing scores were against Oklahoma and Mississippi State. He had five games with at least 50 punt return yards and also added 20.2 yards per kickoff return.

Natalie Harp Photo found on wealthspy

It just keeps getting crazier, each day a new revelation of insanity. Just this week our President threatened to “bomb the S**T out of Oman, one of our Middle East allies. Oman has also been a mediator enabling the United States to negotiate with Iran. You remember those days of “diplomacy without diplomats” when we’d send a different delegation of ineffective fools like Kushner, Witkoff, Vance and Rubio while the Iranians waited for the U.S. to realize our leverage was gone along with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the bulk of our advanced weaponry.

Then we learn from a long NY Times article By Shawn McCreesh and Maggie Haberman that Trump’s constant companion is Natalie Harp, a 35 year-old “Sylph-like blonde” who believes “he saved my life” and that “I love him with all my heart”. She says she had bone cancer and that the Right to Try legislation signed by Trump in 2018 made it possible for her to get experimental treatment. One wonders what role the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who developed and administered this treatment played in saving her life.

However, she has not clarified the type of bone cancer, identified the exact treatment she received, the oncologist or facility where this treatment was given. A deep investigation by the Washington Post and my own efforts have failed to answer these questions.

Oh yes, and she was in the catering cart with the Don during the Turkish Trump transfer.

Per insiders, she can tell him the truth and what other people are saying while no one else dares to move beyond the lickspittle stage with him for fear of consequences.

Do you think she dials up the Lego Boys for him each morning?

She is nicknamed “the human printer” as she carries a portable printer to quickly give the President a hard copy of things she thinks he should see. She’s also involved in his social media posts.

Let us ponder just for a moment that a 35-year-old woman with zero experience in much of anything is deciding what the President of the United States reads.

And Wednesday a social media post showed a map of the Middle East with parts of Iran Oman and the Strait of Hormuz marked as “NEW U.S. TERRITORY”.

Wait, there’s more.

Today we’ve learned that Pete Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer

Photo: Doug Mills NY Times

is helping him “reshape the Pentagon”. After all she’s had 18 years as a Fox News talking head so she’s well prepared to help.

Follow me here, the President installed a 10-year National Guard Captain as head of the Defense Department, above career Generals, Admirals, Colonels and Majors.

And now he’s got his wife helping him demolish the Defense Department, thus leaving us all more likely to face foreign attacks.

Do you think Natalie told the President this was a good idea?

Speaking of wives, our worthless First Lady who had not been seen for 32 days, popped back up yesterday for a Rose Garden ceremony.

All this while our leader is pissing off our allies all over the world and making nice the two of the world’s most ruthless dictators, Vladamir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

Do you think it’s dawned on him yet that they are both making public fools of him?

Do you think Natalie Harp will tell him?

Is she advising him?

Historians tell us Rome fell due to “invasion from without and corruption from within”.

Our corruption, greed and stupidity may well bring us down without any invasion.

To quite Merle Haggard,

“If we make it through Decem er

Everything’s gonna be alridht I know”

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=youtube+merle+haggard+if+we+make+it+gthrough+December&atb=v455-1&ia=videos&iax=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLsUm_5jHhJ4

JOHN NOVA LOMAXAUGUST 3, 2000

John Nova and I both felt David was underrated, here he makes a case for David a quarter century ago. David continued all the way to his untimely death in 2020.

Early in his career, the late Townes Van Zandt was tagged as a “songwriter’s songwriter.” As best as can be reckoned, this glib and overused morsel of critic-speak translates as “too damn good to have a hit record.” Still, Van Zandt was quite an artist. If anyone knew tunesmithery, it was Van Zandt. So when the native Texan named David Olney one of his favorite composers — right next to Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan and Mozart — he placed a larger burden on Olney than any critic could ever dream up. Yet Olney has been holding up more than well.

Even though Olney has a reasonably strong following stateside and overseas, and even though his tunes have been covered by Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, he remains one of the best-kept secrets in all of American music. His enigmatic sound might be to blame. In trying to draw comparisons to Olney’s music, as critics are disastrously wont to do, there exists the compulsion to range far afield. Little good can come to a songwriter who is mentioned in the same breath as Mozart, even if it is by a friend. But the lofty associations don’t stop there: Critics have compared Olney to William Faulkner, and National Public Radio drew a parallel between the songwriter and Vincent Van Gogh.

“The Faulkner and Van Gogh stuff makes me real uncomfortable,” says Olney. “Those were just critics being lazy….[But when] Townes said that, I made light of it at first, but when someone you admire says something like that about you, it feels really good.”

Perhaps one reason Olney remains unnoticed by record buyers is that he has long shunned the doomed romantic poet persona that many younger fans think geniuses should wallow in; not that Olney really has a past that compares to the drug binges and busts of Steve Earle folklore or the benders and blown gigs of Van Zandt’s legend. Olney too did his turn, but his self-described “goat dance” was many years ago, and much milder. He’s also one of those guys who believes songwriters don’t necessarily have to live all their songs. “Imagination is just as important,” he says. “You’re supposed to make stuff up. If you try to live it all, you may get some pretty good songs at first, but pretty soon the body starts to break down and the mind starts to go. If you fall asleep and you dream about flying spiders, and then you write about ’em, you don’t have to experience those flying spiders in real life.”

Another reason his fame has yet to match his art is that, simply put, fame isn’t an aspiration. He doesn’t jockey, won’t hustle and doesn’t play the game. In fact, he’s almost adverse to himself. On stage he is known to introduce songs by saying things like, “This song is long. I don’t play it well, and it’s not particularly interesting.” Says Olney: “I’ve always said there are, like, five interesting people on the planet, and none of them are in the music business. One of ’em is probably the plumber down the street, but they definitely aren’t famous.”

The Rhode Island-born Olney came south to go to college in the early ’70s, living first in North Carolina, then for the last 25 years in Nashville. While Olney has been branded a folkie, it’s only for lack of a better label. On record, Olney’s noirish, three-minute dramas and gruff voice are set against an ever-changing backdrop of traditional American styles. There’s ample evidence of a man who has spent many a night by the turntable or CD player, digging through the vaults of American music history, be it the obvious and Southern (Van Zandt, Robert Johnson) or the obscure and exotic (the klezmer echoes on “Jerusalem Tomorrow”). An occasional boozy Dixieland number is sneaked in, yet most of Olney’s material seems directly related to the music of Appalachia, whether bluegrass or old-time, and modern variants of country. Olney’s songs also have a certain Yankee bluntness, but he ingeniously avoids coming across as a hectoring jerk by assuming the personae of those he excoriates.

As demonstrated on numbers like “Millionaire” and “My Family Owns This Town,” Olney is a master of the literary axiom “Show, don’t tell.” He revels in his ruthless, sociopathic creations as convincingly as a Royal Shakespearean actor in Richard III. Like, say, Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, Olney’s characters are all-American psychos, pillar-of-the-community types possessed of a surplus of national virtues such as thrift and ambition. As Olney explains: “With ‘Millionaire,’ I was getting at the fact that everyone in America hates millionaires, but then everybody goes out and buys a lottery ticket.”

The evildoers in Olney’s songs largely go unpunished. Theirs are horrid, nasty lives without the just consequences that the mainstream film industry insists on giving us. Though Olney says he approaches these songs like movies, replete with love-to-hate villains, he trashes the golden Hollywood rule that says “send the folks home happy.” Reality bites.

For far too many mediocre songwriters, Music City has been a happy hunting ground of hokey hits, a veritable paradise of vapidity. Substance is sacrificed on the altar of The Cute Hook. All of humankind’s baser impulses and loftier ambitions are reduced to a gooey, molasses-sweet concoction that Nashville peddles as love. While Olney loathes the hit-factory treacle, he does credit Nashville with bringing craft to his art. “If I had gone to L.A. or New York,” he once said, “I think I would have wrote songs that were eight minutes long and really obscure and dull….Living in Nashville, [getting] that part of the craftsmanship in Nashville, made me stay at least partly inside the lines.”

While his forms may stay inside the lines, the content of his songs decidedly does not. Who but Olney would write about the Titanic from the iceberg’s point of view? What Nashville hack would attempt to base an album on The Rubaiyat? Who else in the buckle of the Bible Belt would dare cast himself as Judas Iscariot? Only Olney and Olney alone, it seems.

Here’s the Wikipedia link to learn more, see his complete discography, songs recorded by others and more! Here’s a fins shot my former wife Jean Person Lomax took in 1980

David died of a heart attack while performing the 30-A Songwriter festival in the Florida panhandle.

Dr. Anthony Fauci. UnSplash by Anastasia Vidiukova

President Donald J. Trump and his lackeys were thrashing around, staying up nights, trying to create something, anything to distract people from a war gone bad, a failing economy, rising prices and the falling poll numbers, now closing in on a 32% approval rating, lowest in 74 years.

The Ghost of Jerry Epstein keeps resurfacing with more revelations and there is the reflecting pool/ballroom/Kennedy Center controversy so who can we blame for the ungodly mess immersing us all?

Can’t blame the President as he’s “the smartest man in the world”.

“But wait, here’s what we’ll do” said a trusted aide to the Donald.

“We’ll blame an 85-year-old American hero who saved millions of lives over the course of over forty years, illegally publish his private papers and threaten him with a prison sentence”.

And, led by screw loos Senator Rand Paul, that’s what the Trump Administration did.

After all it takes a gang to bully an 85-year-old.

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This action is a “Perfect Storm” showing the mental qualities of this administration:

Cruelty, insanity, stupidity, trampling of rights, viciousness, unjust punishment and acting King-like.

Oh yes, this is an administration fighting to take $1,776 Billion of taxpayer money to pay the people who rioted on January 6, injuring 140 law enforcement officers and causing several deaths as they chanted “Kill Mike Pence”, the Vice-President.

Let us not forget Trump, his administration and followers profess to be Christians.

Do you think Jesus would consider them as such?

Do you?

https://www.espn.com/college-football/schedule/_/3388

CFN 2026 Preseason Top 10 College Football Rankings

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) runs with the ball against the Indiana Hoosiers during the second half of the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium.

© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Below are our rankings for all of the top ten teams. You can find previews for all 138 teams here.

CFN’s 2026 Preseason Rankings
Great Teams in the Mix: 11 to 25
The Best of the Rest: 26 to 50
The Middle Class: 51 to 100
The Long Road Ahead: 101-138

10. Miami Hurricanes

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 13-3
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 10
2025 CFN Final Rank: 3
Week 1: at Stanford
Swing Game: Florida State, Oct. 17

Be careful assuming Miami will walk right into another national title game appearance. It’s really, really good and talented, but it’s also reloading after losing a slew of dominant parts.
Miami 2026 Team Preview

9. Texas A&M Aggies

Predicted Record: 9-3
2025 Final Record: 11-2
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 12
2025 CFN Final Rank: 9
Week 1: Missouri State
Swing Game: at Missouri, Oct. 10

Somehow, no one seems to believe that last year was real. This season’s team brings another great defense, QB Marcel Reed, and has the fuel of disrespect to take the focus to a whole other level.
Texas A&M 2026 Team Preview

8. LSU Tigers

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 7-6
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 8
2025 CFN Final Rank: 32
Week 1: Clemson
Swing Game: at Auburn, Oct. 24

All in. Lane Kiffin is the real deal, he’s got all the talent and resources needed, and now LSU will go from okay to amazing in a snap. There’s no grace period. Win everything immediately.
LSU 2026 Team Preview

7. Oklahoma Sooners

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 10-3
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 13
2025 CFN Final Rank: 13
Week 1: UTEP
Swing Game: South Carolina, Oct. 31

Better than the version that got to the College Football Playoff last season, the Sooners combine Heisman-caliber QB John Mateer with another dominant defense. It’ll be a special run.
Oklahoma 2026 Team Preview

Oct 25, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian waits to lead his team onto the field prior to the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

© Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

6. Texas Longhorns

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 10-3
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 2
2025 CFN Final Rank: 8
Week 1: Texas State
Swing Game: at Tennessee, Sept. 26

Pressure? Just go from elite to College Football Playoff National Championship amazing. With a better ground game, another great defense, and Arch Manning, the Longhorns will at least get to the tournament.
Texas 2026 Team Preview

5. Georgia Bulldogs

Predicted Record: 11-1
2025 Final Record: 12-2
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 6
2025 CFN Final Rank: 6
Week 1: Tennessee State
Swing Game: Auburn, Oct. 17

Remember how everyone talked about how young last year’s defense was? It’s all grown up, it’s better – if there’s a pass rush – and as long as there’s more explosion on offense, nothing less than a national title run will do.
Georgia 2026 Team Preview

4. Indiana Hoosiers

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 16-0
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 18
2025 CFN Final Rank: 1
Week 1: North Texas
Swing Game: at Michigan, Oct. 24

Can Indiana reload fast enough to keep it all going? Curt Cignetti has his guys in place with another dominant defense and ultra-efficient attack to lead the Hoosiers back to the CFP.
Indiana 2026 Team Preview

3. Oregon Ducks

Predicted Record: 10-2
2025 Final Record: 13-2
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 7
2025 CFN Final Rank: 2
Week 1: Boise State
Swing Game: at Illinois, Oct. 24

Except for the confidence that comes with a national title trophy in the case, Dan Lanning’s team has everything to win it all. There will be a ten-ton chip on the team’s shoulder from jump.
Oregon 2026 Team Preview

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Predicted Record: 11-1
2025 Final Record: 10-2
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 5
2025 CFN Final Rank: 10
Week 1: Wisconsin (in Green Bay)
Swing Game: at North Carolina, Oct. 3

After being left out of the College Football Playoff, the Irish have the team to not just get in, but to win it all. The backfield lost its star running backs, but QB CJ Carr is special, the defense is Marcus Freeman’s best yet, and with the talent across the board, it’s national title or bust.
Notre Dame 2026 Team Preview

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

Predicted Record: 12-0
2025 Final Record: 12-2
2025 CFN Preview Rank: 4
2025 CFN Final Rank: 4
Week 1: Ball State
Swing Game: at USC, Oct. 31

It’s the best team in college football with an offense loaded with guys who should be in the NFL already. The defense, though, has to undergo just enough of an overhaul to matter with road games at Texas, Indiana, and USC, and getting Oregon and Michigan at home.

And here’s the link with the rest ranked:

https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/cfn-2026-preseason-top-10-college-football-rankings

Here is a very interesting analysis with nifty AI graphics of how the U.S.A. stands today from an economic perspective. It’s based on a book written 39 years ago by Dr. Paul Kennedy, a Yale Professor. Image from Facebook, Deficit Finance

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers described the fall of the Roman and British Empires clearly so we can see that we will probably be the next to fall.

Dr Kennedy says that an Empire must face ever-growing costs to maintain its military to defend their Empire. The Empire soon runs out of borrowing power and is short of cash, so they then debase the currency, causing inflation, building a house of cards that ultimately collapses on its innocent citizens.

Our guide then takes us further and informs us that we maintain 750 military bases on the soil of eighty countries. This carries a price tag of $150 BILLION EVERY YEAR. These bases do not produce revenue to offset their cost. Facebook image from Deficit Finance

This does not include the cost of the wars and other conflicts. Readers may recall a previous post called “Wars ‘r US” in which I described the 33 conflicts with casualties we have participated in since 1945, or a new one in every thirty months for the last 81 years.

Our national debt has reached $38 TRILLION, a figure impassible to image, so just think of it as a million times $38 million.

$38,000,000,000,000

And what are we going to do about this?

Our leaders seem unconcerned as they spend our money with no thought to the catastrophe they are bringing to all our children and grandchildren, ours and theirs. They are accelerating the destruction of their own country and all it stands for.

Dr. Kennedy’s book is available at Target, Wal-Mart and other stories. Here’s a link to a copy at Thrift Books.

The original post came from Deficit Finance, a very insightful site which posts other finance-driven essays often.

True Fake News is a recurring feature in which I MAKE THINGS UP that are NOT TRUE. These are to be distinguished from proclaimed “Fake News” by those who prefer to believe a serial liar rather than legitimate news sources.

August 11, 2026 IAP News Service Washington D.C.

The President of the United States has just issued a statement concerning Executive Order DJT666

“In an effort to clarify matters and accelerate the process the following schedule will apply to all requests for custody releases (local, state or federal imprisonment), lawsuits settled (fee according to amount), convictions expunged, pardons issued and sexual misconduct cases dismissed.

All fees payable in Bitcoin to Trump Account 14MeDJT and are 100% tax-deductible per Executive Order #667DJT

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Pardons

Plain, not in confinement $15,000

Pardon while in confinement $25,000

Custody Release

City/County Jail $50,000

State Penitentiary $100,00

Federal facility $500,000

Lawsuits Dismissed

UP to $1 Million $75,000

$1-20 MILLION $75,000-$$1Million

Make various sexual misconduct cases disappear

Abuse/harassment $20,000

Groping/unwanted advances`

Pussy grabbing, breast fondling $1,000*

*Special DJT discount price

Rape Cases, State/federal $100,000

Imprisonment for Murder Market Price**

**Multiply market price by number of victims.

JL3 photo of map showing route

JL3 photo of map 2

Atop Mt. Washington Observatory, Gorthan, New Hampshire

Here we are with chapter 3 in my essays about Places I have Been. While many will have gone to some of these spots, I am certain that no one in the world has touched all the bases when the series concludes.

Stop one was the Orange Show in Houston, one of the world’s leading examples of “outsider art”.

The second was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, at the Ryman and the Opry House.

Next up is where the highest winds ever recorded besides tornados and cyclonesare to be found. In 1934 the winds atop Mt. Washington gusted to 231 m.p.h.

How can this happen atop a mountain of just 6.288 feet high?

How can winds here be higher than those found in the Rockies, Andes or Himalayas with mountains miles higher?

My loving wife Melanie and I went up top to see for ourselves back in 2019. She opted for the guided trip on board a van driven by an experienced driver. I opted to drive my rent car and when I checked in to the office and paid the fee, I received a CD to listen to while I ascended, a disc which described various points of interest along the way. We met up on top and enjoyed spectacular views, a nifty small museum and a look at the overnight lodging from decades ago oh my.

Visitors are permitted only in June, July and August as the weather gets even more problematical in the other nine months. Conditions can change from 70 and calm to 40, with high winds and/or rain in minutes. There have been 14 deaths since 2016 from falls and hypothermia.

There’s also a trip up via cog railway from a different starting point.

A hardy group of scientists winters atop Mt. Washington, enduring high winds, low temperatures and several feet of snow cover. These hardy souls take important weather measurements EVERY HOUR, EVERY DAY!

The simple answer is that three major wind systems meet atop Mt. Washington, often two, even all three meet simultaneously.

For a more detailed explanation, here’s the Official website

https://mountwashington.org/about-us/our-history/https://mountwashington.org/about-us/our-history/

Facts about Mt. Washington

https://facts.net/earth-and-life-science/15-facts-about-mount-washington/

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“I’m an over-caffeinated mother of three and I am running for Governor of Tennessee”, the text read.

That piqued my curiosity so I dove right in to see what Jerri Green had to say for herself.

She said less about herself but a whole lot about what she planned to do when she is elected this November.

Jerri is the Democratic candidate for Governor , having won the Primary vote easily with @69.5% of the vote.

Marsha Blackburn, our Senior Senator, is the Republican candidate though her victory over John Rose did not come as easily, winning with 43.6% to Rose’s 32.7% with Monty Fritts pulling 23.7%,.

Vote totals rounded up to next thousand;

Republicans

Blackburn 285,000

Rose216,000

Fritts 155,000

Democrats

Green 210,000

Atwater 54,000 (nearest competitor)

Let’s examine the contenders, shall we? One will become our next Governor, the first female to be Tennessee’s Governor.

JL3 Photo of News 3 image

Jerri Green is 53. this is her first state election.

Marsha Blackburn is 74. She has served 25 years in state and federal positions, the last 7 1/2 as a U.S. Senator.

Jerri Green’s campaign is funded almost entirely from individual donations averaging $41 each.

Marsha Blackburn’s campaign is funded by Big Pharma, the NRA, Core Civic and other huge corporations to the tune of millions.

Jerri Green has an excellent platform.

Marsha Blackburn’s platform is whatever President Trump tells her to do.

Jerri Green plans to abolish the tax on groceries, end the voucher program and reclaim the Medicaid Funds that Governor Lee (another Trump toady) sent back to Washington. She will also work to improve Tennessean’s health care, legalize marijuana and plans to help ALL Tennesseans to have a better life.

Marsha Blackburn is against Chinese buying our farmland and transgender athletes winning medals. She also appears to be against fortune cookies as she keeps crumbling them up. She is for education despite having voted to abolish the Education department.

(Fortune cookies were invented by Japanese-Americans, not Chinese people so Marsha is crumbling a very American product).

Jerri Green has raised $850,000 mainly from individuals.

Marsha Blackburn has over $14 MILLION accumulated from mainly PACs from such as the NRA, Core Civic, Pharmaceutical companies and lots of other big corporations.

Jerri Green will do what’s best for Tennessee.

Marsha Blackburn will do what Donald Trump and her corporate puppet masters tell her to do.

Jerri Green is not owned by corporate interests.

Marsha Blackburn has so many corporate owners if they each had a sticker like a NASCAR driver you would barely be able to see her face.

That’s your choice Tennesseans and may the best woman win!

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Text by JL3, Design by Russell Graphics

Greetings from the woods of west Nashville.

Back on June 30 I posted “Oh Grammy® Show Recognition, Where Art Thou”.

The Recording Academy® is concerned with music preservation, so why not recognize a family with 150 years and four generations of preserving our shared musical Heritage, both for the Library of Congress and privately.

I have received no response from the top two Recording Academy® officials. I sent my request for our family recognition with supporting material.

There are two Special Achievement Awards that apply to us: the Trustees Award for non-performers and the Lifetime Achievement Award for performers.

IN 2003 Alan Lomax received the Trustee’s Award. I checked the Lifetime Achievement Award and it dawned on me that Lomaxes have been performers in addition to recording others, writing books, making films and penning magazine and newspaper articles.

In fact, seven of us have been professional entertainers, as follows:

1. John Avery Lomax began singing in his lecture appearances in 1923.

2. Bess Lomax Hawes came next, performing with the Almanac Singers in 1939.

3. Alan started performing next and made numerous albums, starting in 1956.

4. My dad, John Avery Jr. began singing professionally in 1951 and made his first of four albums in 1956, for Folkways.

5. Nicholas Hawes, Bess’s son, a singer-songwriter, began performing in the mid-70s.

6. Joseph Franklin Lomax, John Avery Jr’s younger son also began singing in the ‘70s

7. John Lomax Iii, John Jr.’s older son, began performing professionally in 2022, issuing his first CD in 2024.

“OK”, I thought, let’s go for the Achievement Award. Alas, Alicia Warwick, who heads the Nashville Recording Academy® office informed me that the deadline to submit for Special Achievement Award consideration was in May.

I missed this on the website.

I’ll be setting up to submit for 2028. This in no way affects the campaign for recognition during the February 2027 Show. My hope is for contemporary performers of multiple genres to sing a few of the Lomax discoveries.

Dream Big or don’t dream.

Mark Palen painting - Photo by John Lomax III

I got to Nashville in June 1973. There were few places for live music but the Exit/In, begun by Brugh Reynolds and Owsley Manier hippie music lovers, had opened in 1971 and quickly became the “hang” for the younger generation as the old guard headed to Printer’s Alley downtown.

The Exit/In, located where it stands today on Elliston Place, booked a wide variety of terrific artists, examples being

Jimmy Buffett Joan Baez The Allman Brothers Joan Armatrading

Mickey Newbury Doc Watson Willie Nelson Johnny Cash

Tom Waits Townes Van Zandt Guy Clark Odetta John Prine

Charlie Daniels Vassar Clements Rahsann Roland Kirk

Steve Martin (before his national television fame)

It had a cozy bar separate from the music room and served vegetarian food. But eventually the owners couldn’t make ends meet and closed the venue in 1975

This is the story of its first would-be salvation, written in 1980 with minor revisions)

The Exit/In’s re-opening in mid-1980 following a period of dormancy excited the city and the music business. A new partnership had taken over the venue, a match we were told supposedly made in nightclub Heaven. Joe Sullivan, major domo of Sound 70, Nashville’s leading promoter/agency/management firm, would handle the talent booking, PR and advertising.

Wayne Oldham, who had gained fame and a big fortune by being an early Wendy’s investor. He and his people would handle food and beverage, security and internal operations.

At that time the club consisted of its present space as plus the area next door, later the memorable Sherlock Holmes British Pub later some sort of “Hookah” bar and afterward. This area became the bar.

What could go wrong?

The showroom - with pew-style seating ala the Ryman -- occupied the remainder with the stage in the same position it is today but wider and the loft was in the future.

Chuck Berry opened the newly refurbished venue, and a gala time was had by all, in fact one couple, Pam Hirst and hubby Joe were so moved by Berry’s classic rock that they jumped onto an unused side of the stage and began dancing with abandon. They were soon removed from the stage if not the room in an action which was more foreboding in retrospect.

A few nights later Asleep at the Wheel came in to perform. Frank Jones, who headed Capitol, the band’s label, did not receive a backstage laminate due to some mix-up. When he arrived for the show, he was denied entry. Since all had assumed he would have the all access laminate his name had not been put on the Guest List given to the doorman. Despite his protestations that he ran the band’s label, hFrankwas refused admittance and rudely so. Remember, the Oldham crew, who knew nothing of the music biz, oversaw internal policy at the club.

Another point no one seemed to understand until it was too late was that staff in the fast-food industry are trained to keep the customers moving -- come in, pay, get your food, eat it and go. A table should turn at least every 20-25 minutes. This is not the way a bar operates -- the exact opposite rules apply -- you want people to stay and order another round and stay and stay.

And one final lesson learned the hard way was that pew style seating does not lend itself to the purchase of beverages for it is a pain to serve when anyone not on the aisle must depend on a line of patrons to pass their drink and change back and it provides no place for customers to put their drinks.

Oh, and they had not realized they legally had to provide parking space as the club capacity was larger. So they had to buy a nearby space in a hurry and thus paid too much. Then they had to change set the unimproved space as a parking lot.

I was not at all surprised when they pulled the plug within a few months. Oldham never launched any other successful businesses. Sullivan soon forsook Music City for Branson a few years later to become a pioneer in that city’s music development.

Today the club is owned by a massive corporation.

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7.28.26

I’m reading that “some Republican Senators are losing confidence in the Defense Secretary”.

This, as we begin month six of a war whose stupidity is exceeded only by its execution.

What did the Senators expect when they confirmed a completely inexperienced National Guard officer thus putting him in charge above career military Generals, Admirals and Colonels, all with actual combat experience and all used to command.

And his boss, a serial draft-dodger, is a Stupidhead for hiring Hegseth and following his advice.

There’s an actual military man in this high level war cabinet, General Dan Crane.

I believe he and his aides, experienced military career officers told the two Supidheads that Iran might retaliate by bombing their Middle East allies and closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Drunk from the relative ease in which they extracted Venezuela’s Dictator Maduro and his wife with no casualties (except for some 150 Cuban and Venezuelan defenders), they thought that blowing the shit out of Iran with Israel would bring Iran to its knees, begging for Peace in weeks, free their citizens from tyranny by killing their Supreme Leader, most of his family and his closest advisers.

What kind of Stupidhead can’t figure out that it might a a bit harder to achieve all the U.S. aims, a shifting palette of goals.

So, how’d this working out?

Regime Change? Yes, but for the worse.

Military destruction? We’ve wreaked havoc with overkill while Iran shows that only a little can do a lot of damage, hello cheap drones.

Free the Iranian People? So far, we’ve killed between 8,900 and 18,300 civilians.

Surrender their enriched uranium? Per reports we’ve “destroyed their Navy and Air Force” so the only possible way Iranians can defend themselves is with their nuclear material. Many feel they have accelerated programs for further enrichment.

Kill their Supreme Leader, much of his family and closest advisors and injure his son badly? And now the Iranians vow to kill any Trump or Trump-related person.

Leave the back door open? Now the Red Sea passage is endangered by the Iran-backed. Houthis.

Seek a diplomatic solution? Sure, start by calling Iranians “scum” and “crazy bastards”” and send a ever changing cast of untrained lackeys rather than experienced diplomats.

And now we are stuck in a war that we have clearly lost and cannot figure out what to do next.

This is what happens when two Stupidheads start a war, ignoring all common sense and military advice.

We didn’t accidentally get ourselves into the tar patch – no, we ran and jumped in!

And as for Hegseth, the former Fox News talking head, how many strikes is the Trumpire going to give this LOSER?

Fun for Kids, Circa 1972
Houston guidebook has
(bad) tips

By John Nova Lomax, May 30, 2012

Unsplash Image

With school winding down, you might be wondering how you are going to amuse your idle whippersnappers all summer long.

While it is no easy feat, you, the parents of 2012, should count yourselves lucky. Your own parents were in even more of a bind back in those pre-Internet, pre-water park, pre-video game, pre-Chuck E. Cheese and Children’s Museum days of 1972, and so what constituted fun time for the kiddies was, shall we say, somewhat broader than it is today.

Here are five selections from Houston Tours for Children and Other People, published by Ebenezer Press in the Heights the year Tricky Dick unleashed the burglars on poor old George McGovern. (To be fair, the booklet does include stuff like Astroworld, NASA and the Battleship Texas/San Jacinto, too, not to mention some more obscure things that seemed pretty amazing, but we’ve selected only the weirdest ones here.)

5. Take ’em to a tortilla factory, or even two! At Tony’s Tortilla Factory (913 McKee), your kids will thrill at the workings of this “small family owned business of a type rapidly disappearing in an age of complex industrial plants.” They will marvel as several people make tortillas and taco shells out of fresh corn and water with no preservatives added! Plus, at the end of the tour, there will be “plenty of hot, buttered tortillas for everyone to taste.”

Maybe Tony’s doesn’t offer the kind of visceral delights your kids demand. If that’s so, take them instead to La Monita Tortillas (4214 Chapman).

At La Monita, “every week end, 120 pigs’ heads and cows’ heads are barbequed in huge bins and sold to be taken home for dinner. Americans have many different customs of food and language, and at the La Monita factory the flavor of Mexican traditions comes through.” Such as “the music of guitars on the big radio in the workroom,” where the “girls with big long braids operate the machines that turn large bags of corn into coarse, yellow dough and then to the flat, round tortillas that are a type of bread.”

Make sure you ask the suggested questions: What is the recipe for a favorite dish called “menudo“? And then the follow-up: What is “tripe”?

4. Where better to take the kids than the downtown Foley’s (1110 Main)?

Unsplash Foley’s Department Store, a Houston marvel in 1972

“Not so long ago,” the guide tells us, “when the first large department stores were introduced, they were a ‘must’ on the list of any visitor to town. Today such establishments as Neiman-Marcus in Dallas, Sak’s Fifth Avenue in New York, and Foley’s in Houston continue to hold the same kind of attraction for tourists.” At Foley’s, visitors are awestruck, as “nowhere else in the city can one find quite the variety of color, sight, and sound that Foley’s provides.”

Fashions for every taste, size and pocketbook! Piece goods, patterns and needlework, each a whole tour in itself for their devotees! Exotic fish from faraway waters in the aquariums in the Sporting Goods Department! Noted authors signing their works in the Books Department! And, on many days during the lunch hour, “fascinating demonstrations of time-saving or unusual appliances in the housewares section”!

3. At True to Life Taxidermy (5220 Nolda), your kids can watch this unusual craft from beginning to end, starting in the brine room, “where pelts, separated from antlers or horns, are soaked in large vats.” Sound a bit much? Don’t worry. “The odor one expects is absent from all stages,” the guide hastily adds. You can also watch as heads are stretched, “and in which eyes, tongues and teeth are eventually placed.” In the end, customers leave with “artistically mounted headpieces” and “luxurious rugs for the family room.” Rarrr.

2. Show them the exciting world of casually sexist journalism at “the outwardly striking and impressive within” Houston Post building (4747 Southwest Freeway.) Not only will the kids love the “polished slate floors, wood-grain concrete walls, and contemporary art work,” they will find it equally amazing when they see the “Want Ads Department,” where “about 60 women process the various types of personal advertising.”

If you want to see the Linotype machines, you’d better hurry, because that technique is “rapidly being replaced by a relatively new method called ‘Cold Type.’” And no visit would be complete without a trip to the newsroom, which “is divided into City, State and Copy Desks, Women’s World, Business News, Sports, Action Line, and a few others.” The Action Line? Sounds groovy.

1. We’ve saved the best for last. Are y’all ready? Are you strapped in? Got your helmets on? The Electric Living Center (2121 West Loop South) is a “public service operation of Houston Lighting and Power Company,” and man does it rock.

Arrange a group tour two weeks in advance, and gaze in slack-jawed wonder as HL&P reps give “demonstrations of the latest modern electric appliances”! And there’s more! “In a program given in the auditorium, graduate home economists prepare unusual dishes [no doubt utilizing the “latest modern electric appliances”!], sampled by the guests, and give helpful hints on food preparation and home management.” They’ll give you a seat for that show, but you’re only gonna need the edge of it, but good gravy, this riveting thrill-ride is still not over, folks!

“Other programs feature the effective use of lighting in the home and garden.” And there will be refreshments courtesy of HL&P! Living at its most…electric!

Unsplash image

We are hearing a lot about aliens these days. Trump released t bunch of UFO files and Stephen Spielberg’s DISCLOSURE DAY added fuel to this fire as did numerous theologians who wondered whether aliens had their own Jesus who died for their sins or is there one Supreme Being overseeing aliens and us who died for the sins of all living beings? To summarize, WTF?

This all gets deep and confusing so let’s begin our time today with the central questions:

Is there intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?

“Intelligent’” per our definition which may or may not be accurate. It’s not specified as to the type of “intelligent life”, for instance does an ant qualify? A whale? A bird, small animal or various forms of flora?

Let’s not consider the entire Universe as it’s way too big for us to imagine, in fact our galaxy is too big for us to visualize, heck it’s hard to even visualize the size of our solar system.

So, as they say on NPR, “let’s do the numbers”, just for our Milky Way galaxy.

Scientists say there are between 200 and 400 BILLION stars in our galaxy. Exoplanet studies have so far shown that just about every star has had a planet or planets AT SOME TIME during the 13.8 billion years of the Universe’s existence. It’s been 13.6 billion years since the Milky Way was formed, early on in galactic formation.

Let’s go with 300 billion stars and say each has had at least one planet over this span though most could have or had many more.

If only 1% of these planets hosted intelligent life that’s a pool of 3 billion planets so let’s say instead of 3 billion candidates lets cut it to .0001 so that cuts matters to a mere 20 million potential sources of life.

But wait, let’s remember time is a factor as intelligent life that existed thousands or millions of years ago is lost in the mists of time whether they at one point visited Earth or not.

And what about distance? Our galaxy is out on the fringes some 26-27,000 light years (ly) from galactic center where a hungry black hole awaits stars who come too close.

Our concern is that aliens will arrive while we are here on Earth so let us examine what would have to happen for that to occur.

First, why would they come way out here on the outskirts to visit a planet orbiting a very ordinary sun?

Unsplash image

Yes, we have water, but it appears Mars once did also and even the moon harbors water in their subsurface ice. That leads one to believe that planets with water are plentiful. One can then assume there are far closer planets with water than Earth. We are over 4 lys from our nearest neighbor; there are 30 stars within 30 lys of us who are our next closest neighbors. Clearly aliens must have vessels capable of Faster Than Light (FTL) travel, otherwise we are just too far away and lack some compelling (at least known to us) reason for a visit.

Of course, the galaxy has been around a long time and if the aliens send vessels out crewed by machine intelligence, then voyage length is not important.

Maybe aliens even started human life by modifying genetic codes of beings living here millions of years ago.

Meanwhile, let’s examine some parameters.

Here’s timeline perspective as supplied cy ChatGPT:

• 13.8 billion years ago — Big Bang

  

  The Big Bang per Chat GPT

• 13.6 billion y

  ears ago — Milky Way begins forming

• 4.57 billion years ago — Sun and planets form

• 4.54 billion years ago — Earth forms

• ~3.7 billion years ago — early microbial life

• ~1+ billion years ago — multicellular life appears

• ~540 million years ago — explosion of animal diversity

• ~300,000 years ago — Homo sapiens appears

One striking comparison: if the Milky Way’s history were compressed into one calendar year, the Solar System would not appear until around early September, complex animals would arrive in mid-December, and all recorded human history would occupy only the last few seconds before midnight on December 31. (Chat GPT)

My takeaway from this is that the aliens have had a 4.5-billion-year head start on us so who knows what’s gone down during those 4.5 billion giga years?

We are newcomers in this cosmic game and, if you ask me, are unqualified at this stage to even answer such questions.

British scientist J.S. Haldane made this statement 99 years ago:

“Now, my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”

Today this has been paraphrased as

“The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”.

https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a5d362a46508191a47c5cf9918eb6aa

Chat GPT image from John Lomax III text

The final is Sunday, pitting Spain against defending champion Argentina. This seems like a good time to review the history of, and achievements in, the world’s biggest sporting event.

The Cup began in 1930, hosted and won by Uruguay, and has been played every four years except for 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.

Sunday’s final will conclude the 23rd edition of this global phenomenon.

Only eight countries—five from Europe and three from South America—have won the Cup:

Germany, France, Spain, Italy and England join Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

Here’s the breakdown of the eight winners:

• Brazil – 5

• Germany/West Germany – 4

• Italy – 4

• Argentina – 3

• France – 2

• Uruguay – 2

• Spain – 1

• England – 1

Italy and Brazil are the only countries to win consecutive World Cups, the last being Brazil in 1958 and 1962. If Argentina defeats Spain on Sunday, it will end a 64-year gap between nations winning back-to-back World Cups.

Top Career World Cup Goal Scorers

As of the 2026 final, Messi and Mbappé have each scored eight goals during this year’s tournament.

1. Lionel Messi, Argentina
21 goals in six World Cups, 2006–2026

2. Kylian Mbappé, France
20 goals in three World Cups, 2018–2026

3. Miroslav Klose, Germany
16 goals in four World Cups, 2002–2014

4. Ronaldo, Brazil
15 goals in three World Cups, 1998–2006

Tied for 5th: Gerd Müller, West Germany
14 goals in two World Cups, 1970–1974

Tied for 5th: Harry Kane, England
14 goals in three World Cups, 2018–2026

7. Just Fontaine, France
13 goals in one World Cup, 1958

8. Pelé, Brazil
12 goals in four World Cups, 1958–1970

Tied for 9th: Sándor Kocsis, Hungary
11 goals in one World Cup, 1954

Tied for 9th: Jürgen Klinsmann, West Germany/Germany
11 goals in three World Cups, 1990–1998

Let’s go a bit deeper and rank these players by goals per World Cup entered and by goals per World Cup match played.

Goals Per World Cup Tournament Entered

1. Just Fontaine, France — 13.00

2. Sándor Kocsis, Hungary — 11.00

3. Gerd Müller, West Germany — 7.00

4. Kylian Mbappé, France — 6.67

5. Ronaldo, Brazil — 5.00

6. Harry Kane, England — 4.67

7. Miroslav Klose, Germany — 4.00

8. Jürgen Klinsmann, West Germany/Germany — 3.67

9. Lionel Messi, Argentina — 3.50

10. Pelé, Brazil — 3.00

Goals Per World Cup Match Played

1. Sándor Kocsis, Hungary — 2.20

2. Just Fontaine, France — 2.17

3. Gerd Müller, West Germany — 1.08

4. Kylian Mbappé, France — 0.95

5. Pelé, Brazil — 0.86

6. Ronaldo, Brazil — 0.79

7. Harry Kane, England — 0.78

8. Miroslav Klose, Germany — 0.67

9. Jürgen Klinsmann, West Germany/Germany — 0.65

10. Lionel Messi, Argentina — 0.64

Just Fontaine’s 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup remain the most ever scored by one player in a single tournament.

England and France will vie for third place on Saturday, while Spain and Argentina meet Sunday for the sport’s biggest prize.

Here4’s a handy-dandy chart with the information above from a ChatGPT image