A Comment About "Spotlight," The Academy Awards Best Picture For 2015

"Patty (my wife) and I watched "Spotlight," the Academy Awards Best Picture for 2015 on Time Warner's "On Demand." I liked it and I thought it's a good movie. It's about the Catholic Church priests sex abuse scandals in Boston where the Boston Globe published over 600 investigative reporting stories on the subject in the early 2000's and they won a Pulitzer Prize. I agree these acts of sex abuse were deplorable by these now defrocked priests. However, it was only four percent of all priests committing these acts from 1950-2002. There's always a few bad apples in every bunch. Also, the Catholic Church is not the only church where sex abuse among its clergy has occurred. It has occurred in all of the other faiths and religions also according to statistics."-Galen A. Smith Sr.

About The New Willie Morris Biography: "Willie: The Life of Willie Morris By Teresa Nicholas"

"I received from Amazon, the new biography of Willie Morris, the late Mississippi author and our former writer-in-residence at Ole Miss while I was in college there from 82-87. I am looking forward to reading it and I'll probably write a review for my blog regarding the book. I realize after being away from Ole Miss (even though I have returned many times for visits) and Oxford, Miss., for almost 30 years now that I was just simply a fan like a lot of admirers were back then. And sometimes fans go out of their way to do unusual things to try to obtain the admiration of their favorite celebrity, author, sports figure or musicians. Some are not so gracious but Willie was gracious and personable. He remembered your name and treated you like a friend."-Galen A. Smith Sr.

Nashville Hot Chicken Explodes Across The Nation

     If you haven't tried "Nashville Hot Chicken" yet, get prepared and molt some feathers because it's coming your way soon.

    The first time I had eaten the ever-so popular "Nashville Hot Chicken" was in, well, in Nashville, of course!  In the late Fall of 2014, our son, Tony, had just moved to East Nashville to further his music career about a month earlier and we drove down from Bowling Green to check out his new apartment as well as to take him out to lunch.  He suggested this trendy, little hipster bar and grill called "Tenn16" in the Five Points area of East Nashville. He also suggested that I try Nashville's most popular menu item that I had never heard of until that day called, "Nashville Hot Chicken."  It was really good and I loved it! However, I haven't had a chance to try it again but I've heard a lot about it in the media since then.  Apparently, tons of millennials are moving to Nashville, a boom town in the American South, in droves now and "Nashville Hot Chicken" is a new phenomenon that's sweeping across the country.

      Recently, I read that O'Charley's, a Nashville based national chain restaurant, has introduced "Hot Chicken" as one of its new menu items.  But the biggest bomb shell is that one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world owned by Louisville, Ky., based YUM Brands-"Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)" will also be rolling out its new menu item too.  You guessed it, "Nashville Hot Chicken"!  To learn more about this menu item that's taking America by storm, read more about it below.

From Wikipedia:

"Hot chicken or Nashville hot chicken is a type of fried chicken that is a local specialty of Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. In its typical preparation, it is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that has been marinated in a water-based blend of seasoning, floured, fried, and finally sauced using a paste that has been spiced with cayenne pepper. It is served atop slices of white bread with pickle chips. It is both the application of a spicy paste and the presentation that differentiates it from similar dishes, such as Buffalo wings. It can be viewed in similar context to other foods that have been tweaked to be unique in a regional way, such as the slugburger or the Mississippi Delta tamale.

There are many restaurants in Nashville that serve a variant of the dish, and there is a city-wide festival and competition commemorating it.[1] The popularity of hot chicken has spread beyond the Southern United States due to the influence of Nashville's music industry.[2]

Contents [hide]
1Preparation
2Variations
2.1Hot fish
3History
4See also
5References
6Further reading
7External links

Preparation[edit]

Although the components of the dish largely remain the same, the preparation of the dish can differ greatly. A pressure fryer or deep fryer can be used, although most restaurants serve a pan-fried product. Nearly all hot chicken is marinated in buttermilk to impart flavor and to retain the meat's juices upon frying. Some preparations of hot chicken are breaded and fried after application of the spice paste; the more traditional method has the paste applied immediately after the chicken is removed from the fryer.

A typical Nashville-style hot chicken spice paste has two key ingredients: lard and cayenne pepper. The two are mixed together, three parts pepper to one part lard, and heated until they form a thick sauce. Some restaurants vary the composition of the paste, adding sugar, garlic, or additional hot sauce. The paste is applied to the fried chicken by the server using a spoon and latex gloves; it is lightly squeezed into the finished chicken by hand. The heat level of the chicken can be varied by the preparer by reducing or increasing the amount of paste applied.
Variations[edit]

Nashville-style hot fish

Hot chicken strip on a stick

The main variation to traditional hot chicken is in the application of the spice paste: before breading or after breading, and whether or not additional spices are applied. Recipes, cooking methods, and preparation steps for hot chicken are often closely guarded secrets, proprietary to the specific restaurant, so the look of the chicken may vary widely.
Hot fish[edit]

A variation of the hot chicken theme is hot fish, typically a breaded and fried whiting or catfish filet prepared using a similar cayenne paste as hot chicken, or using a cayenne powder blend sprinkled liberally over the filet. Some hot chicken restaurants also serve hot fish, but recently some have begun to specialize in hot fish only.[3][4]
History[edit]

Anecdotal evidence suggests that spicy fried chicken has been served in Nashville for generations. The current dish may have been introduced as early as the 1930s, however, the current style of spice paste may only date back to the mid-1970s. It is generally accepted that the originator of hot chicken is the family of Andre Prince Jeffries, owner of Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. She has operated the restaurant since 1980; before that time, it was owned by her great-uncle, Thornton Prince. Although impossible to verify, Jeffries says the development of hot chicken was an accident. Her great-uncle Thornton was purportedly a womanizer, and after a particularly late night out his girlfriend at the time cooked him a fried chicken breakfast with extra pepper as revenge. Instead, Thornton decided he liked it so much that, by the mid-1930s, he and his brothers had created their own recipe and opened the BBQ Chicken Shack café.[5][6][7]

Ironically, what began as breakfast revenge is now considered to be a staple food for late-night diners. On weekends, most restaurants dedicated to hot chicken are open very late (some past 4 am). As of 2013, fourteen Nashville restaurants serve hot chicken, either as the focus or as part of a larger menu.[5] For a time,country music stars Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw owned and operated a now-defunct hot chicken restaurant called "hotchickens.com".[8] The former mayor of Nashville Bill Purcell is a devoted fan, sponsoring the Music City Hot Chicken Festival and giving numerous interviews touting the dish. While in office, he frequently referred to his table at Prince's Hot Chicken as his "second office".[9][10]

Reflecting the spread of the dish's popularity, at least one restaurant in Michigan, Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, now serves the dish.[11]"

Happy New Year, From Yours Truly!

"I am looking forward to the New Year and the good things to come. Regardless of the challenges (personal, business or spiritual) that await us in 2016, (the hills and valleys), we are all on this journey together called "life" and we are all interconnected one way or another by the past, present and future. I am glad that I know you and have you as my friend whether I have ever met you in person or not. Peace and Happy New Year to you and your family!"-Galen A. Smith Sr. (A recent Facebook post).

College Town At Christmas: Bowling Green, Ky., 2015

     Although Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky., (Kentucky's third largest city now) had an enrollment of 21,000 students this past fall semester in our town with a population of 65,000 or more these days, you really can't tell that things have slowed down much for us this Christmas break.

     I painstakingly made a long detour last night just to avoid heavy traffic on Campbell Lane and Nashville Road not to mention Scottsville Road and Campbell Lane where the Greenwood Mall is located.  It seems everybody and their brother were in Bowling Green last night from every small town in the 10 county area surrounding us.  Of course, we love our booming economy and the millions of dollars that are spent our college town each day but not the heavy traffic.

     But between the new Star Wars movie, cheap gas with heavy traffic, internet Christmas shopping, grocery shopping at Kroger, terrorism, the Republican debate, the gun debate, the NRA, the Obama administration, the California Muslims terrorists killers, the Paris, France, Muslims killers and the murder and rape of little seven-old Gabbi Doolin of Scottsville, Ky., this has been a very trying Christmas season so far for all us in our college town.  Finally, now it seems that citizens of Bowling Green are getting into the Christmas spirit somewhat with everything that has been going on.  We are a busy, hardworking class of people.  We are college professors, administrators, intellectuals, students, nurses, doctors, lawyers, accountants, factory workers, office workers, restaurant workers, bricklayers, construction workers, pastors, laypeople, sales peoples, service people and everyone else in between in our college town.  We have more houses and apartments being built than ever these days.  Also, old restaurants and houses on the By-Pass are being torn down to make room for new construction among other areas in town for new commercial developments.

    No, Bowling Green is not that the same college town that it used to be even since I moved here in 1988.  It has grown and changed tremendously.  For instance, Western Kentucky University's football team the "Hilltoppers" have had winning seasons these last several years. They have played more televised games than ever and they played in the Bahamas Bowl last year and they are going to play in the Miami Beach Bowl in Miami on Monday. We are proud of the major efforts and strides that the Hilltoppers have made with their football program these last several years bringing national recognition to WKU and our college town.

    However, I think the bottom line for us this Christmas season of 2015 in our college town is to try to strike a balance between the heavy traffic and our spiritual dynamics.  (No, seriously). We have to ask ourselves, "Where do we fit in this season with the big picture of Christmas?"  As a Catholic conservative, I am challenged to make choices and decisions everyday about my faith and how I judge and treat other people even though I may not like them or they may not like me.  Maybe they were not born in America.  Maybe they are not Christian and they are Muslim or another religion. Or no religion at all. That's what I am talking about this Christmas season.  Maybe it's challenging your faith and your belief system this Christmas like it's challenging mine.

     As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day, right?  And that's why we do everything that we do this time of the year-the hustle and bustle, Christmas shopping (internet) or shopping at the Greenwood the mall, driving in traffic (ugh), gift buying, exchanging gifts at Christmas, parties, decorations, Christmas music and food, family and spirits. But deep down in our hearts, we have to ask ourselves, "How does Jesus want us to treat our fellow human being?" Is it based on whether they are gay, straight, American, non-American, Christian or non-Christian?"  I think that's the real challenge of Christmas this year in our college town. Remember, it doesn't hurt to be cautious and be aware of suspicious activity and people.  If that's the case, please let the Bowling Green Police Department know what's going on.  But I think we have to somehow allow the light shine through us and allow the Christmas spirit glow inside us as bright as ever this Christmas even though it's been awfully dark and gloomy in the world around us. Just maybe, we can make someone else's Christmas a little brighter with even a touch of kindness and a smile. That's all. (And that doesn't mean flipping someone the bird and honking at them when they cut you off in traffic. lol.). Anyway, Merry Christmas and peace be with you my friends!

The Murder Of A Seven Year-Old Girl In Scottsville, Ky., And ISISTerrorists in Paris, France, Dominate The World-Wide News This Past Week

     Evil is lurking in the shadows of darkness even in the hills and valleys of a small town in Southcentral Kentucky.

     However, we never know when something incredible evil is going to strike and we as Americans these days are always hoping and praying that it does not happen to us.  Because after all, most of us are hardworking, taxpaying citizens of our cities, counties and states across the country.  I think most Americans feel like they are safe in this country to a certain degree.  Or least we hope so. But in the age of social media, most of us who are always connected to Facebook, Twitter and whatever else internet site is out there and we have developed a habit of venting.  We have become accustomed to expressing our opinions and views regarding of what's happening on a global, national or local level.  We are living in an age where a constant hit of dopamine to our brains has become an everyday occurrence on multi-levels while on our smart phones, iPads and desktop computers. We have become addicted to the "likes" of approval from our peers from these sites too. But sometimes we have Facebook friends who differ with us in our opinions which is okay, because after all there in a thing called, "Freedom of Speech" in America.  That's the way we like it and that's the way we want to keep it, right?

    But this past week was another one of those weeks, where the battle of opinions and the expression of views was a like an on-going 24 hour town hall debate that never stopped.  Millions of Facebook users including me had opinions and we expressed our views about ISIS in the world and the murders of the concert goers in Paris last Friday night. Also it was the war of words against the Syrian refugees between the liberals and the conservatives and the Obama administration for wanting to continue to allow Syrian refugees to keep coming in to America.  The voters of America got into action and started calling their congressmen's and senator's local offices to express their opinion against allowing these potential terrorists to come into our country.  A bill was passed in our government within a week and states across America banned them all together.

        Also, here in Southcentral Kentucky we were all exposed to the unthinkable, horrible news of the little girl who went missing at a little league football game at the high school in Scottsville, Ky., and her murdered body was found approximately 25 minutes later lying next to a creek in a wooded area next to the stadium. Fear struck the hearts and minds of  the small town residents with a population of 4,200 just southeast 25 miles of Bowling Green, Ky.  The murder of Gabbie Doolin has not only affected the residents of Southcentral Kentucky but the whole world it seems.  The kidnapping, rape, sodomy and murder of Gabbie according to Kentucky State Police (KSP) made world-wide news being portrayed on CNN, CBS, NBC, FOX and thousands of other news outlets which include local, state,  national and global media including People Magazine.http://www.people.com/article/timothy-madden-arrested-rape-kidnapping-murder-Gabbi-doolin

      Fortunately, thanks to the extremely difficult and hard work of the Kentucky State Police and local authorities, they were able to make an arrest of the suspect.  His name is Timothy Madden, 38 years-old, father of five and an unemployed construction worker who also went to high school with Gabbi's father. According to sources, Madden was at the football game last Saturday night and even sat close to the family in the stands. Madden maintains that he is innocent but KSP say that they have DNA evidence that connects him to the crime scene and Gabbi's little body.  If Madden is guilty of this unspeakable murder, we certainly hope that justice will be served to the extreme.  However, some people seem to still wonder if they have the right man.  I suppose that will be up to a jury to determine.

     As a Americans, we must be vigilant.  Nowadays we live in a different world.  It's not like used to be in the 60's, 70's and even the 80's somewhat. We have to watch our backs and protects ourselves against any potential terrorists by vetting the refugees coming to our country. And we most definitely must watch our children always and protect them against child predators and sexual monsters.  We must always keep tabs on them and who they are with.  Keep the evil of darkness on your doorstep outside.  Protect yourself, your homes and families with a spirit of God, love, light and even a legal and registered gun if you have one.

Looking Back: Sleeper Agent, The Former Indie-Rock Band From Bowling Green, Ky., Part 1

The Former Sleeper Agent Band From Bowling Green, Ky.

Sleeper Agent is a former alternative/indie rock band who was based out of Bowling Green, Ky., and they were originally signed with Mom + Pop Music of New York City, NY., but later signed with RCA Records. Members included Alex Kandel, lead vocals, Tony Smith, songwriter, guitar and vocals, Scott Gardner, keyboards, Lee Williams, bass, Josh Martin, lead guitar and Justin Wilson, drums. Their debut album, "Celabrasion," came out Sept. 27, 2011 and they toured with another Bowling Green national touring indie rock band, "Cage The Elephant," all over the United States in 2011. Sleeper Agent started 2012 off with a bang in Chicago with a New Years Eve concert with Cage The Elephant, Company of Thieves and Morning Teleportation at the Argon Ballroom. Also, in January of 2012, Sleeper Agent went on the Weezer Cruise from Miami to Mexico and back. They were the supporting act with Ben Kweller for several months during 2012. On their second album, Sleeper Agent's RCA Records, "About Last Night" was released March 25, 2014. The first single, "Waves" came off the new album in December of 2013. Sleeper Agent made national television appearances on the Jimmy Fallon Show during the first album tours and The David Letterman Show on their second album tours and had their first headlining tour during their second album in the Winter and Spring of 2014. They also toured on the second leg of the Summer 2014 Warped Tour. Sleeper Agent played shows with other well known bands across the country, Manchester Orchestra, Young The Giant, Grouplove, Awalnation, Weezer and New Politics just to name a few. After, lead vocalist, Alex Kandell appeared on NBC's The Voice in the Fall of 2015, Tony Smith released a brief statement on his Twitter account that Sleeper Agent had broken up and they were was no longer a band.

FROM THE 'HISTORY' OF SLEEPER AGENT'S WIKIPEDIA PAGE:

Tony Smith and Alex Kandell

"After a few "unremarkable gigs" as a musical duo, guitarist Tony Smith and drummer Justin Wilson recruited the young Alex Kandel as a vocalist after discovering her working as a barista and, "doing Adele covers on open mic nights." The band gained their current lineup after recruiting Williams, Gardner, and Martin. A short time later they were discovered by producer Jay Joyce, who prompted them to record their debut LP Celabrasion,[1] which was released through iTunes on August 2, 2011, followed by a physical release on September 27 the same year. The first single from the album, "Get It Daddy", was featured as iTunes' "Free Single of the Week" in late July/early August of that year. Sleeper Agent went on to tour with Cage the Elephant in late 2011. They were invited to play The Weezer Cruise in January 2012 pairing them with musical acts such as Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and Wavves.Sleeper Agent went on to support Fun. from February 29 through March 11 of 2012. Their tour continued through early May with the Texas wunderkind Ben Kweller. The band was featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 23, 2012. Sleeper Agent played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., on April 15 and 22, 2012. They also played The Hangout Music Festival in late May of the same year. After a few intermittent shows throughout June and July the band played Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY and then opened for Weezer at two shows in late July. Sleeper Agent also played Starry Nights Music Festival (hosted by Cage the Elephant) outside of Bowling Green, KY in late September 2012. That same month, singer Alex Kandel was nominated for the Women who Rock competition for a spot on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.
The band appeared on Doug Benson's podcast "Doug Loves Movies", with guest Graham Elwood.
Their second album "About Last Night" was released on March 25, 2014.
After the band toured their way through 2014 even playing on The Late Show With David Letterman on July 9, 2014 and had set up tour dates in early 2014 with the band New Politics. The band had become inactive on social media and Sleeper Agent had not played any shows for the majority of 2015 with the only news to come out from the members was news of side projects and Alex Kandel being a possible contestant for the show The Voice, although she had once tweeted about the band possibly having new material back in May 2015.
On September 29, 2015 Tony Smith had posted a picture of the band on Sleeper Agents Facebook and Twitter reading "2010-2015". Tony had posted with the picture "The 5 best years of my life... so far." - Lurve, @tnysmth". He had also stated in another post on twitter "Cat's officially out of the bag. Sleeper Agent aren't together anymore. There's no bad blood and we're all still friends.‪#‎neversaynever‬" officially stating that the band had broken up. Finally Alex stated as well that the band "hit this plateau and we decided to part ways and try other things." She talked about the band in the past tense and said her time in Sleeper Agent is over.
As of September 29, 2015, Alex had appeared on NBC's The Voice as a contestant choosing to work with Gwen Stefani."

To become a member of Sleeper Agent's Facebook Fan Page click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/192104947473887/

Alex and Tony