The impulse to create music is as old as humanity itself.  Human beings have always needed to express themselves through rhythm, melody and harmony, using both voices and instruments.  Different cultures have widely varying tonal scales, melodic patterns, harmonic combinations and inst… Read full post »

Every year, our local free weekly, The Nashville Scene, sponsors a contest inviting readers to come up with the funniest/truest/Nashvilliest ending for the sentence beginning, "You are so Nashville if...".

Several years ago, the winner was, "You are so Nashville if...you think your Parthenon is bette… Read full post »

It's a subject that can make even the most progressive person hem and haw just a little.  People who are otherwise die-hard union supporters often distance themselves from it.  It drives conservatives absolutely nuts.   And I find that it's one of the more misunderstood concepts a… Read full post »

Garment Industry Joke

A garment worker was walking back from her lunch break to her job sewing in a factory in the garment district.

From out of a doorway jumps a man wearing nothing but a raincoat.  He steps in the front of the woman, throws open his coat, and exposes… Read full post »

Many people go to Paris in April.

But when your husband tells you that his dream for his 50th birthday is to go to Paris to shoot with his Leica, and his birthday happens to be at the end of November, that's when you go to Paris.

Although this was the… Read full post »

It's that time of year again... 

We have a possibility of severe storms today, which always takes me back to that day in 1998...

A little background.

My husband and I decided in 1997 that, after eight years of marriage, it was probably going to last, and it would be … Read full post »

I'm thinking about turning in mine.  After all, she did have a Palin bumper sticker on her car during the 2008 campaign, and her cannas keep coming up in my yard.  Plus, I think the White House is giving away toaster ovens this month!

If you haven't heard about it already, I'm… Read full post »

Once you've seen this face, you will never forget it.

I had the privilege of viewing Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 silent masterpiece, The Passion of Joan of Arc, last night in the beautiful sacred space of Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Nashville, with live or… Read full post »

You'll have to pardon me, but I'm positively reeling right now.  

Just for the hell of it, I did a Google search using two phrases from my wayward youth, and what I found has me in a state of shock.

But I have to give you a little background first.… Read full post »

When asked about protesters at local town hall meetings, Nancy Pelosi said the following:

"I think they’re Astroturf… You be the judge. "They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare."

So, nowhere did she call protesters Nazis.

What she said is th… Read full post »

Has this ever happened to you?

You spend half an hour, half a day, or half a month on a post, editing and polishing, putting your best self forward on a subject that you find utterly fascinating, getting ready to share a part of yourself with OS and the world at large.… Read full post »

Sometimes the best part of the movie is the opening credits!  I think there should be an Academy Award given every year for them.  (After all, they give out a Grammy for packaging and liner notes.)  Here are just a few of my favorite opening sequences.

In the comments section, share… Read full post »

While watching the first disc of the second season of Mad Men, I got very excited when I saw that scene where Don Draper comes home and pours himself a drink.  You know, the scene that happens several times an episode?

"Oh my God!", I exclaimed.  "I have those glasses!"

… Read full post »

I just found out today, reading a blog by 1 Irritated Mother, that longtime OSer Jodi Kasten has quite a thing for Trent Reznor.

Jodi, you probably know that Trent spent more than a few years in Cleveland before hitting it big, although I don't know if you've ever seen any… Read full post »

Before you jump all over me, let me start off by saying that I'm not talking about all yard-salers.

Single moms and stay-at-home moms on tight budgets, no problem.  (Unfortunately, though, I have nothing to sell you.  No kids' clothes, no baby accessories, no toys.  I wis… Read full post »

This seems to be the summer of our discontent here on Open Salon.  There is a groundswell of opposition to the selection process used by the Editors in designating the Editor's Picks and the cover spots.  Many people believe that there is no selection process at all, and that there is… Read full post »

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, my husband and I spent several years navigating the rather surreal world of infertility.  Tubes were checked, sperm were counted, hormone levels were graphed, ovulation tester sticks were peed upon, and drugs were taken, both orally and b… Read full post »

Everywhere I look these days, I see people extolling the virtues of hot (as in spicy) food.  Rachael Ray and the Neelys on the Food Network are always adding hot sauce or cayenne pepper to foods that seem perfectly fine without it, claiming with a giggle or a shake of the hips&nbs… Read full post »

Summer has arrived and the 4th of July holiday will be here soon!  Summer holidays are often when blood supplies run critically low.  If you could spend an hour to save a life, would you do it?

It is estimated that 38% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood,… Read full post »

It has saddened me to read the accusations and counter-accusations that have been lodged here on OS in recent days.  I'm not going to link to any particular blog, and I'm not going to comment on what I may think about this situation because, ultimately, what I think doesn't matter in… Read full post »

I recently wrote a blog about why I think Christian rock and heavy metal are cynical.  I got a lot of interesting, thoughtful comments, and I figured I was done with the subject for awhile - I had said all I wanted to say.

Then I watched the second episode of… Read full post »

Although I did not attend the Nashville tea party tax protest, my husband was there with his camera to record the event for, um, posterity.

He estimates the attendance at a thousand-ish.  Speakers at the event included Republican State Representative Marsha Blackburn and conservative radio talk… Read full post »

For Min - Chariots&… Read full post »