Still even more Photoshop work

Here are two more recent items - one from the Photoshop class I take in the morning and one from the Illustrator class I take in the afternoon.

From the Illustrator class, here's Jennifer's "business card."  If you've been with me since last fall, you know that Jennifer is Bobby Ray's wife and was a podiatrist before her new life began.  (She is now a housewife, hobby farmer and gardener, and has prepared Brandy for the Miss Idealia pageant.)

Below that is a promotional ad for The Plumpkins that I made in Photoshop class.  The new "reality TV" show stars an African-American family that lives in central Alabama and which I first wrote about last November.  The parents are Bunkley Ray "Bunk" and Lulabettie Mae "Lulu," and they have a son LaBloodrick Lorenzo "Bam Bam" and a daughter La'BooTeasha Raylene "Boo."  The Plumpkin family are "blacknecks," meaning they carry on a rural lifestyle similar to "rednecks," who are stereotypically white.  I made the last name from a portmanteau of the surnames Plump and Lumpkin; however, it's also a real last name, almost entirely in England.  (And it's certainly not to be confused with this comedic vegetable.)

Family members prepare for Easter

Easter is coming up, which means another occasion for us to catch up with family, friends, and neighbors.

Actually, it all began on Palm Sunday last week.  This is a Christian holiday commemorating the arrival of Jesus Christ in the city of Jerusalem for trial in front of the Roman judges.  It is called such because his followers waved palm fronds as he rode on the donkey.  Catholics also consider it the start of "holy week."

Tonight, we had a special church service in honor of Good Friday.  We began by looking at scenes from Mel Gibson's masterpiece The Passion of the Christ, which came out in 2004.  Of course, the kids cried at some of the scenes, but in the end we talked about what the images meant and it all made sense to them.  Ralph had a special message after that, reminding us of the significance of the crucifixion and how it helped us get through the tough times we experienced on Earth.

This coming Sunday, we plan to begin very early in the morning with a sunrise service.  The timing symbolizes the new life in Christ that can be gained through understanding of the meaning of his resurrection.  For this service, we will be joined by Popeye's nine brothers and sisters, their spouses, and all their children, as well as Daniel and Laurie (Brandy and Bunky's parents) and Daniel's sister Dina.  In all, we'll see a little more than 50 people.  To give you an idea of how our transport system has regressed, Laurie has already left Chicago for a 700-mile journey by way of animal-drawn carriage to get here, which will take about 10 days to complete.  (Daniel will journey about two days from his home in Lincolnton.)  In the modern days, this was a two-hour plane flight from the O'Hare airport to RDU [Raleigh-Durham International Airport].  But at least I know Laurie stayed in the U.S. and did not move in with her ancestors in Italy, as I had suspected.

As much as I look forward to reconnecting with relatives I didn't know I had before moving into this next life, Brandy and Bunky's parents are ecstatic to see their two children again.  I fully expect them to also be part of our other celebrations - summer block party, Thanksgiving, and Christmas - in the future.

Oh, one more thing: Tune in this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT for the season finale of our show Buddy Wayne: Coming Home.  On that program, see the debut performance of B.O.M.B., Bunky the One-Man Band.  It's the new musical act that Cousin Bunky created with the Christmas gift he received.

B.W. drops in, and even more Photoshop stuff

Yeah, I know.  I have slacked off my responsibilities playing Buddy Wayne Barefoot; I haven't posted as him in at least a month.  So he dropped off this note:
All is still good here on the farm.   Due to a colder-than-expected winter, the first planting has been postponed until at least the middle of April.

We broke off from each other a lot last year to tape BMN Superfan and other TV shows, and for other professional responsibilities, but we are now more together than ever before.

I promise to share more about what's going on here in the coming weeks.


In the meantime, here's more from the Photoshop file:

Up first is the picture that should have accompanied the November 2012 article that Bunky supposedly wrote, about the "blow me" billboard on the Las Vegas Strip.  It is on top of the Paris Hotel and Casino.  The picture itself is a capture from this video showing the lyrics to the 2012 Pink hit song "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."
 

Next, the family has its moment as part of the neon scene at Times Square in New York City.  I superimposed the family photo as an advertisement on Broadway between 43rd and 44th streets.
 

The last picture is something I am especially proud to have made.  This imagines B.W. performing at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry.  The Ryman is considered the "mother church" of country music, and yes, this was opened as a church in the early 20th century.
 

All pictures are based on images on DiscoverAmerica.com, the official site of a lobbying group formed for the purpose of promoting tourist to the United States from other countries.  I was first made aware of it when it was a sponsor of the just-completed World Baseball Classic.

A bunch of fake facts and another picture

With this post, I follow in the spirit of the latest chapter in the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series.  Instead of its usual fascinating facts, everything in that book was completely made up.  Of course, this makes it appropriate for a site like this, so here goes. - D.H.

• B.W.'s aunt Hambone has joined the cast of the 16th season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, with partner Derek Hough.  As Hough has been the winning professional partner a record three times, Hambone is confident of her chances: "The combination of his instruction and the support of the Barefoot family should take me far in this competition," she told Good Morning America, also on ABC, on Feb. 26 when the cast was announced.  B.W. was reportedly approached by producers and the network, but insisted on bringing Julianne Hough (Derek's brother) out of retirement to be his partner.  Julianne refused.
• The Barefoot name is back on the racing scene!  Randy (Blake) Barefoot, the fifth of 20 children of Labell and Allene, has joined All-American Off-Road Racing, where cars compete on courses in mud bogs all over the Southeast, similar to one owned by reality-show contestant Anna "Lil' Bit" Granthum.  Blake drives an all-wheel-drive GMC car #21 and finished fifth in last year's standings, winning his first race at a bog in Georgia.  B.W. has said that Blake is the kind of driver he would be if B.W. had devoted himself to racing full-time rather than juggle sports and entertainment gigs.
• Bubba Brister, who once was on the same label as B.W., is writing an original theme song for star Major League Baseball slugger Josh Hamilton.  Most players choose their own music when they come to the plate, but this is believed to be first to be exclusively used in this way.  Hamilton, who joined the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as a free agent last December, will make his regular-season home debut on April 9, when the Angels host the Oakland Athletics.  The song, which Brister describes as "symbolic of the hard road he has traveled and the satisfaction of reaching where he is now," will be unveiled at that time.  After the game, it will be available on iTunes and through the shop at MLB.com.

I will end with yet another Photoshop montage, this time showing Popeye in his element - on his boat as he looks for some fish to reel in and take home.

Some more stuff on Photoshop

I was supposed to jump back as B.W. with this post, but there were a lot more obligations all week long, with a haircut on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with my social worker two days later.  Never fear - more of my work on Photoshop is here!

First is a picture of Brandon McLamb, B.W.'s publicist, hard at work at his office.  The work of spreading the good word of a beloved cult hero is never done!

Up next, we have BMN Superfan winner Brit - oops, teacher Shirley Mae Crabtree - posing at the one-room schoolhouse with two of her prize pupils, Belinda and Bryson.  Both of them are eager to learn, which is certainly not true for everyone.

The last item is that of Hayley McBroom, which as I have written was the runnerup in Sing for the World, the reality competition on which B.W. restarted his musical career.  McBroom launched her own best-selling career from Australia before she was involved in a double suicide that was straight out of the plotline of Romeo and Juliet.  Of course, both have been reunited in Heaven, with their disapproving parents thankfully out of the picture.

 

And there's more to come.  Stay tuned!

BMN Superfan winner Ramos: Meant to be?

It may be called reality TV, but Brittany Ramos couldn't have scripted her win on BMN Superfan any better.  Here are two reasons why:

• The stay-at-home mom and extreme couponer from Florida was born with the last name Barefoot.  However, Ramos' dad, who is from Alabama, is not related directly to the Barefoot family that's featured here in this blog.  But there is a connection with that family nonetheless: I have her as the avatar for Shirley Mae Crabtree, teacher at the one-room schoolhouse where Belinda and Bryson attends.
• She is not the only person named Barefoot that is connected to this genre.  Brian Barefoot has been part of the Survivor cast for all 26 seasons it has been running, as an editor.  Survivor was created by Mark Burnett; the same night Ramos won, two of his other projects debuted on American TV: All-Star Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, and The Bible, a new dramatic re-creation series, on History.  There is also Harold Barefoot Sanders III, writer-composer who made the theme for the Bravo series Top Chef.  His father was a U.S. district attorney who was involved in the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  (See also their listings on the real-life Barefoots page.)

Note: the third reason I cited originally is unfortunately not true.  I do have an avatar of runner-up Megan Turnipseed; you can see it in the summary of the fourth episode, in which she "won" the photo-shoot challenge.  I still don't know what Jeff Porter looks like, though. (Updated Mar. 8, 2013)

BMN Superfan names its first winner

The live finale of what turned out to be the first season has all the elements - a reunion of past contestants, never-before-seen footage, and special surprises:

• First up is the introduction of the eliminated contestants, all except for Ivey, who will be held over for a later segment.  The rest are in the order of their elimination.  Sgt. Lindsay Hall brings the most emotional response by showing up in her dress uniform from the U.S. Army.  Salutes and "USA" chants follow from the audience.  Anna "Lil' Bit" Granthum is also popular with the crowd.
• Brittany Raylene performs her single, "Lonely," from her album of the same name.  Her new reality TV project, Brittany Raylene: On Her Own, goes on to debut after this live finale.
• Family members share their favorite memories of the season.
• The three finalists - Jeff Porter, Brittany Ramos, and Megan Turnipseed - are introduced and asked their feelings.
• Season 2 is officially revealed, with contestants Deb Holmes and Matt Jeffers in the audience.  Footage is shown in which it's revealed that the grand prize will be a trip to Camp Paradise, the location where younger generations of Barefoots hone their outdoor skills and where Hambone is the marketing director.
• Ivey is introduced in a separate segment.  Her misdeeds were recapped - lying about Hambone's name, accusing the producers of rigging the show, and accusing Lil' Bit of falling down so that Brittany could advance.  When asked, she insists that "the real Ivey isn't like that" and claims that she merely wants an on-air persona similar to that of Omarosa, the multiple-time contestant on The Apprentice, because "bad [attitude] sells."
• Shandi Finnessey then announces that Jeff has finished third in the nationwide vote and will not win the competition.  Porter thanks "Braves nation" for its support throughout the season and calls the season "the most unforgettable experience I've had since the Braves won the [1995] World Series."
• In the next segment, everyone connected to the show take selected questions from fans.
• The show then ends with the moment everyone has waited for.  Finnessey gives the sealed envelope with the winner's name to Buddy Wayne.  After a few words to draw it out, he says, "The winner of BMN Superfan is...Brittany Ramos!"  The confetti flies, Brittany cries with joy, and her family (pictured at right) rejoices.  At the end of the show, Brittany says, "This is exactly why I did it.  This is for my kids!  Every time I thought of giving up, I thought of them and what they can learn from me being around them for a week and living the way they do.  Seeing them tonight made it real for them."  B.W. then gives Brittany the formal invitation to the Barefoot house, a check for $50,000, keys to the Chevrolet SS that she will receive this fall, and checks for $10,000 each to give to the Wounded Warrior Project, the Bluebird Fund, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the American Red Cross, and World Vision International.

(In the next post, I'll explain why Ramos' win seemed to be in the stars.)

Some upcoming BMN programs

Again, Buddy Wayne Barefoot has nothing to report this week as he prepares for the live finale of BMN Superfan this Sunday.  Speaking of which, here are three new shows on that network that you might enjoy. - D.H.

• Immediately after the BMN Superfan finale is the premiere of Brittany L. Spears: On My Own.  This is a "spinoff" of the Buddy Wayne: Coming Home special about the reunion of the formerly married couple over Thanksgiving.  Now, B.W. is gone and Spears must deal with life without her husband and with a daughter, Blanton Elizabeth, who can never grow beyond her infancy.  "I never thought Heaven was going to be like this," she sighs in the promotional ads.  Spears must rely on her faith and the support of the family she lives with and performs bluegrass music with to help her through difficult times.
• The first new show on Tuesday is 40 Little Bare Feet.  Labell and Allene Barefoot (Labell is one of Popeye's brothers) have one small problem on their hands.  Make that 20 of them; that's right, that's how many children they have.  Meet Benny, Deborah, Donnie, Ronnie, Randy, Tony, Timmy, Tammy, Peggy, Vallie, Bobby, Ola, Ricky, Lovie, Lollie, Mickey, Lexie, Violet, Willie, and Danny.  Oh, and Benny, Donnie, and Randy have children of their own, so it's nearly 30 people under one roof.  Good luck to all involved!  (Software engineer Scott Ruttencutter and real-estate investor Beverly Baldridge play the "parents.")
• Finally, there's the second season of Redneck Paradise, which also premieres on Tuesday night.  On that show, Brandy, Hambone, and Bunky Barefoot and brothers Tracy and Stacy McLamb, continue to answer the question: What can teenagers and young adults do without smart phones, video games, and other gadgets we associate with today's young people?