Cleaning the notebook (quickly)

It's late tonight, so I'll make this short with some odds and ends....

• I am becoming a Facebook fanatic. I joined at the suggestion of James Phillips, and thought, well, we'll see. Half the world is connected to it, I think, and I've already reconnected with at least two people I wondered if I would ever get to communicate with. It is easy to become addicted to it, and I can't really say I am a true fanatic; I think some must stay on it all day. (The ones I worry about are the ones who appear to be nice Christians, but they have 1,927 friends...and I've never heard of them. Aren't 1,927 enough for you?) I just learned today that you can have secure e-mail no one else can see...and that many kids use this instead of regular e-mail now. Boy, life is really passing me by now.


• The holiday movie season has been good for the industry, and for good reason. "Marley and Me" is an excellent film not only about a crazy dog but about adjusting in life. "Bedtime Stories" is one of the better entries I've seen from Adam Sandler, and even "Four Christmases" was better than I expected. "Bolt" was an excellent entry on the animation front. The biggest disappointment was "Yes Man," which only had moments here and there, and otherwise just sat there. For the most part, though, at a time when Hollywood needed to come through, it did. Although I haven't seen them, I've also heard good things about the new Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt movies.


• I have to say that if anyone had to win the national title, I was glad Tim Tebow led the Gators to the trophy. This is an excellent young Christian at a time when the sports world needs leaders like him. He will also be the poster boy for the effort that will likely now pave the way for home schooled students to be accepted into high school and college football.


• Jasper is beginning to really see the effects of the recession, as the toy store and the hamburger stand in the mall are going or gone, and Goody's clothing store will be closing its doors now. Maloy Ford apparently has not come back, and speculation this week Chrysler's national organization may not survive doesn't help the mood. (The Toyota and Chevrolet places only moved to new places in town, but now leave big empty spots that don't look good and ad to the gloomy feel.) The old Importers Warehouse apparently is empty. The old Wachovia building downtown is empty. Dairy Queen melted off its cone. The last full-service station that I know of, the Chevron across from Hardee's, is closed, and so is the old Quincy's that failed with another recent try at a restaurant. The grocery store downtown is closed. Let's just say 2008 was not good to Jasper's retail market and hope for the best in the coming year.


• The Jasper City Council talked again the other day about what to do about Sherer Auditorium. Without much use, it's costing $50,000 a year to maintain, and it could cost $500,000 to $1 million to renovate. Mayor Sonny Posey talked about making it into a court facility. Some in the city government hope the Obama administration come through with community grants to help fund it, but I have to admit I don't know what to think. If it was made into a better facility, more might use it, but you also might make it expensive like the CHS Building, and then even fewer would use it. As it sits now, it is practically an eyesore.


• If you want to check some new good contemporary Christian music, my friend, Durwin Kicker, has a son, Kyle, who is in a band called Time of Favor that is beginning to play to larger crowds. The music can be sampled at http://www.myspace.com/timeoffavor and is impressive.