Garden & Gun

With the news on Wednesday that Conde Naste has decided to cease publication of both Domino Magazine and its website, www.dominomag.com, I was disappointed, but more nervous for the end of another sacred mail day - Garden & Gun's bi-monthly arrival.

If you haven't seen or read G&G, its a glossy, 9" x 11"devoted to, well, Gardens & Guns. Features include profiles of noteworthy people, environmental conservation, gear for the good life and the food that defines our lives - all captured through stunning photography. Started a few years ago with the byline, 21st Century Southern America, it has been rebranded under the tutelage of Editor-In-Chief Sid Evans (formerly of Field & Stream) as Soul of the New South.

Many loyal readers of Domino posted on blogs and comments sections that they would pay more to keep the magazine going in the face of declining ad pages - I hope the readers of G&G present the same offer.

You can do your part by subscribing HERE.

Image Credits: Garden & Gun

Southern Delights: Bacon Explosion

Bacon, Sausage, BBQ Sauce, Mmm Hmm!

The genius' over at BBQAddicts.com have created this master piece of bacon woven into a mat, filled with a layer of sausage and then topped with cooked crumbled bacon. It's then rolled up tight, slathered in BBQ sauce and put on the smoker till it hits 164 degrees.

These Gents do this as a hobby through their BBQ team "Burnt Finger BBQ", but thanks to the NY Times and others, you too can now indulge in this 5000 Calories/500 grams of fat delicacy.

Image Credit: NY Times (full slide show and article HERE)

Technical Difficulties

There was a technical difficulty with the email subscription tool powered by FeedBurner. If you subscribed prior to the post "Old Blue Chair" you will need to resubscribe. Apologies.

Until next time - DAM

Old Blue Chair

The Homestead in Snow

It snowed today for the first time this season. As if clockwork, it almost always snows on the third or so week in January. But unlike years past, we had to work today which takes all the fun out of wintry weather in the Nation's Capital.

Heading off to Old Town in Bean Boots and bundled up in the Barbour, I grabbed Kenny's "Be As You Are" to remind me of why I like winter: Summer (and maybe all the warm clothes and holidays and parties too, but I digress). If we didn't have 3 months of gray and wet in DC, we wouldn't really appreciate the stifling heat and sweltering humidity.

Rolling Stone said in 2005: "On his recent records, country superstar Kenny Chesney has been a good ol' boy on some Jimmy Buffett shit, going multiplatinum with a combo of clambake honky-tonk, cowboy-hat calypso and breezy change-of-pace ballads. Be As You Are is also inspired by the islands, but this time Chesney has recorded an entire album of breezy change-of-pace ballads."

Instead of a day started by a lazy morning of coffee and TV followed by an afternoon stomping around to see the snow-covered vignettes and an evening of a hearty meal with friends, I put on "Be As You Are" at work for a change-of pace:

Wishing I was "Somewhere In the Sun" on my "Old Blue Chair" with a piece of "Key Lime Pie" imagining I was an "Island Boy."

Oh, and for those of you who know how much I like Kenny, I recently learned he'll be in the area twice this year, May 22 and August 29.

A perfect way to start and end the Summer.

The Duke at the Ball

This:

+

One of these:


+

3 feet of table decoration:


=

The Duke*

*Stance & photo inspiration courtesy of Richard from WASP101

Okay, Okay. It's awful. 1 Bourbon + 1 glass of wine + 3 feet of table decoration is the equation that lead to this sartorial atrocity.

However, a ball, sponsored by a society, for residents from their southern state inspired my brief lapse in judgment that it would be well received to go as a debutante's escort to the North Carolina State Inaugural Ball. Sadly, none of my friends stopped me. They encouraged it. And, I respect them!

In the end, besides a few odd looks walking over to the hotel and a few whispers of "who's that (enter expletive) guy in the sash?" it went over fine for the 30 or so minutes it stayed on.

Appropriate? Debatable. Jovial? Yes. Ridiculous? Absolutely.

Quote

"The important thing is to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

- Charles Du Bois

This was sent to me yesterday and I couldn't immediately figure out its specific meaning for me, but I thought it was extremely poignant being here in D.C. during the Inauguration.

I'd like to think this is a quote Obama could use in his Inaugural Address to the Nation on Tuesday.

What does it mean to y'all?


Image Credit: Shepard Fairey

The Name of the Band is...

Cowboy Mouth!

The first time I saw Cowboy Mouth I snuck in at the age of 15 to their concert at the Rendon Inn and left forever hooked. Whether it's their love of New Orleans, the way Fred feeds off the crowd, or just the good ole southern rock n' roll, it gets me going every time.

Recently, a great buddy of mine from Lower School, Jonathan Pretus (J.P.) joined their ranks and I had the opportunity to see him when CBM performed at the 9:30 Club in DC adding so much more meaning to my "favorite band."

Cowboy Mouth is best known for "Jenny Says" (above), but my favorite song was "How Do You tell Someone" until their post-Katrina release of The Avenue which captures everything I love about my hometown.

Performing at Ram's Head Tavern in Baltimore on February 2nd, you can get tickets HERE.

It's Fraternity

In the last month, two posts were made about Greek life -

The post I read first has beautiful photographs (almost still lives) of Greeks from an era gone by; elegantly dressed young men, beautifully built and well-maintained Chapter Houses, and socialization (w/o alcohol that we can see).

I had initially written this post being thankful, they did not do the cliche "Animal House" comparison - written or visual. Then, this morning, I saw this post with the ridiculously amazing video from Deke at LSU.

These two posts provide an interesting compare/contrast to the evolution of Greek Life and, more than likely, represent stereotypes and sweeping generalizations at the point in time they were captured.

Today, as a former chapter-president, its makes complete sense why our National Organization worked very hard to dispel the 1980's idealized vision of Greek Life when we were young neophytes of Pi Kappa Phi, with this colloquialism:


"Do you do refer to your Country as a c*nt? Then please do not call my Fraternity a Frat"

Twelfth Night

In New Orleans, the holiday season doesn't end on January 6, the Epiphany, but instead marks the beginning of Carnival.

As the reds and greens of the Christmas season come down, purple, green and gold buntings, garlands and beads are dragged down from attics and out of storage to continue the holiday season that started back in October with Halloween, through November/December with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, and will last until the strike of midnight on Shrove Tuesday.

Whether in New Orleans, during high school in Chattanooga or college and post-collegiate life in the District, Twelfth Night is a tradition I uphold. A King Cake Party in Lower School at Newman, a pot of Red Beans & Rice made by my mother, Popeye's and a six pack during college or now a New Orleans supper with friends, this celebration always makes me "Proud to Call New Orleans Home."

Photo Credit: Keith Marszalek/NOLA.com

A Hand Written Note

Blogosphere,

Happy New Year! Since discovering Google Reader this past Spring, I have had the chance to learn from so many of y'all about the styles, topics and personalities that can be shared through this medium.

I start every new year by writing "thank you" notes for holiday gifts I received and parties I attended, so here is one to you all:

Thank you in advance for reading Southern Gent, contributing through comments, sharing ideas and for continue to post to your own blogs. I find them a daily sense of inspiration and doing one myself , now more than ever before, appreciate just what kind of work and thought goes into each post.

I don't know how frequent or what the theme of the posts will be yet, but I am excited about many of the topics I have jotted down on a note pad near the key board. Stay tuned...

Best,

DAM