Had a great time in Nashville- besides very, very drunken Thursday and Friday nights with some folks I hadn’t seen in ages, Krissa and I went to the state capitol, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Parthenon. Yes, they have a full-size replica parthenon in Nashville. Sort of a turn of the century attempt at virtual reality. Sort of cool, actually- which really surprised me.
yes, the parthenon, really.
Only downside of Thursday and Friday nights was going to Coyote Ugly(r) (well, that and the felt-like-food-or-alcohol-poisoning feeling that nearly ruined Saturday). Yes, that’s right, a bar that has a registered trademark, a gift shop, and as one guy put it, waitresses with ‘just a little too much self-esteem to become strippers.’ It felt… dunno, very phony; very demeaning. I much preferred the previous bar on our stop- also sort of creepy (waitress dress code could best be described as ‘catholic school girl’) but at least there was no faux-enthusiastic dancing on the bar. And it had 200 beers, which I’m always in favor of. Anyway, outside of that (which I felt like I had to write down) it was pretty good- lots of folks, lots of beer and Jack (it was tennessee, after all) and lots of fun.
The victim, early on during his bachelor party.
The wedding itself was… well, it was very Southern. The church was spectacularly Southern- very classic look. The grandmothers were listed in the wedding flyer as ‘Mrs. (husband’s name)’. About 400 people attended, many of whom actually had to introduce themselves to the bride and groom, because they were nth cousins or had at some point been acquaintances of the parents of the bride and so some sort of reciprocity required them to come to the wedding- it was very much an ‘event’ and not just a family/friends thing. Apparently tuxes are expected at weddings in the South if the wedding starts after 6:30, but not 6:00, or maybe not- the two older gentlemen I overheard having this conversation couldn’t remember the exact time, so one had worn the wrong thing, since it was a 6:00 wedding. It’s some kind of ‘no white after labor day’ rule, I guess. (The younger set had been given permission by the bride to wear dark suits instead of tuxes, so we were spared.) Reception was at a country club which was a converted plantation house (fascinating mentions of the club in this article on Bill Frist); the tree in the back yard had a nice little plaque noting that the three had been at the house since the Revolution. Definitely an experience.
The church.
The Country Music Hall of Fame was a blast too. I generally don’t like country music, but I thought what the hell, and I’m very glad I went- I don’t judge jazz, blues, or rock by the 80s or 90s, and after spending a couple hours wandering around the very modern, well-presented museum, I realize I shouldn’t judge country by those decades either :). There is a pretty rich heritage there that I realize I need to explore.
Twang!, outside the hall of fame. Part of a series of guitar art throughout the city.
We had a spectacular brunch this morning at Mere Bulles, near our hotel- if you’re a foodie, and find yourself in Nashville for some reason, I highly recommend it. I was able to stuff my face with fried chicken on biscuit with spinach and country ham- sooo southern. So yummy, so not really possible to get in Boston.
As an aside, fun link explaining open source to lawyers in their terms, via Joi Ito, who it turns out installed Ubuntu today on his T42 and was pleased.