A new program, new plans for the Barefoots

This quarter at ABC Adult School, I am taking two new computer courses.  Both are part of the creative suite of programs put out by Adobe Systems as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, which I took before.  One of the classes is After Effects, which is another video and special effects program like Premiere Pro.  The other is Dreamweaver, which may be the only computer program named for a one-hit wonder's hit song (Gary Wright sang "Dream Weaver" in the early 1970s).

It is the latter that I'm most excited about, since I can use the webpage design software, which Dreamweaver essentially is, to help visualize the Barefoots' rural world.  Eventually, I will use the program to create a dummy site for the family.  I established it just about an hour ago by using the Dreamweaver CC that I installed on my computer.  Here's what it looks like:

Between trial and error at home, and instruction through textbooks and my class, I hope to have a full fakeout site in a few months.

There's always something...

Just because I don't take Photoshop classes anymore does not mean that I am not up for manipulating photographs every now and then.

Moments ago, I placed B.W.'s niece Belinda into the extraordinary weather story that has played out across the eastern third of the United States this winter.  Many areas, including the South, have experienced near-record rain, snow, and ice conditions.  Life for millions of people have been inconvenienced, whether in the form of closed schools, canceled airplane flights, or loss of electricity.

But for children - and kids at heart - winter has been no problem.  Some have participated in snowball fights, others have made snowmen, and still others have taken out or made sleds and traveled down icy roads and driveways.

One of them was 9-year-old Sonia Swann of Alabama, in a photograph taken by Sharon Steinmann of AL.com (and which I found here).   In this montage, I not only replaced Sonia's face with that of Belinda's, but I added text in the form of a simulated tweet from B.W.'s uncle Noah Jr., who teaches Belinda, Bryson, and 19 others in a one-room schoolhouse.  Like just about every school in North Carolina on Wednesday and/or Thursday, the Barefoot Family School was "closed" at the time of this photo.   Since the family lives off a dirt road, so this would have happened on top of a frozen pond instead of the driveway actually shown.

(Noah is actually tech company executive Scott Ruttencutter.)

B.W. versus Hambone: A clash of visions

As with all other Christian subjects, there has been considerable speculation as to what Heaven will actually be like.  Books such as Heaven by Randy Alcorn and 90 Minutes In Heaven by Don Piper give glimpses in best-selling books.  What I have on this blog is another example.

On one hand, Buddy Wayne has a clear vision of Heaven based on his life experiences and how he interprets the Bible, and as head of household he wants to communicate that to the entire house.  On the other hand, Reba Pearl a/k/a "Hambone" has a different idea of what it is like, and to B.W.'s dismay this has led to a major dispute that is coming to a head now.

When Reba Pearl was first introduced on TV on Jan. 1, 2012, she was a minor character, brought into the farm house because she was the only daughter of Popeye - B.W.'s "father figure" - and his wife Annie.   Once there, she was given some dirty jobs in the house, cleaning the barn and bathroom areas and feeding the farm animals.  In her spare time, Reba pursued another life, as a "redneck woman" who loves hunting, fishing, mud bogs, and folk music such as the "hambone" that gave her the nickname everyone calls her.

She was given a supporting role in one of B.W.'s first TV spin-offs, Camp Paradise, which was intended to showcase Bunky's transition from "city slicker" to country boy.  But as Hambone's popularity rose, she was made into the star of the show.  Somehow, it was arranged for her to buy the camp from the four brothers (all third cousins of B.W.) who had owned it, and Camp Paradise was redone as What the Buck?

That program was billed as a "reality comedy," and the idea was for Hambone to exhibit what people should not do in Heaven - drink beer, defecate in the woods, and wear bras and panties to pool parties, among other things.  But thousands of viewers warmed up to Hambone, exceeding all expectations:  What the Buck? is now the most popular show on BMN TV, the channel B.W. founded, and she has become a sensation on Twitter with over 70,000 followers.  (Maybe it has to do with her unique position of being beautiful and rough around the edges at the same time.)  In the wake of that buzz, she would have had a book deal, an endorsement deal for Remington Arms Company (which gave her tickets to attend Super Bowl XLVIII), and a Grammy Award for Best Folk Recording.

All of that translates into a sense of entitlement for her as she tapes the current season.  I mentioned in the last post how B.W. responded to Hambone going AWOL at the "Handy Jam."  Well, B.W. would have been criticized for being too rough on a lady, and for the first time in many years, some of his former fans would have turned on him.

But things are only going to get more interesting in upcoming episodes, as rehearsals continue for the variety show in the new Jerusalem.  Let's just say she's not completely happy with her assigned role.

Hot topics at the farm

As expected, due to the transition in my class schedule for the start of second semester at ABC Adult School, my work in Photoshop was minimal this week.  All I did was to change three photographs that I posted previously.

But that doesn't mean I have nothing new to write about this week.  Since the news came out on Wednesday (no pun intended) that Clay Aiken, former runnerup on American Idol and The Celebrity Apprentice, had returned to North Carolina to seek the nomination of the 2nd Congressional District of the House of Representatives - which includes the area in which B.W. and his family has lived for over a century and a half - I have wondered how a fellow singer and reality TV star would react.

First, I think that Buddy Wayne would be jealous of the situation.  He knows that any public appearances by Aiken in his area during the campaign would bring more than the usual attention there.  At the same time, B.W. will make it clear that he is not running himself.  The district voted heavily Republican in the last Presidential election, and he is confident that Renee Ellmers will be re-elected in November.  Then again, if Ellmers is upset and the GOP nomination is open in 2016...


Then again, B.W. cannot concern himself too much about Aiken's activities at the moment.  That's because, for the first time since the 13 people were assembled in his extended family in 2011, there is a real conflict threatening to tear it apart.  It is playing out as part of season 4 of Gone Barefoot, and it's a classic battle of David versus Goliath as B.W. and Hambone play the respective roles.

In my next post, I will have details of this feud, but it began when Hambone ran away from the "Handy Jam."  She told B.W. and her parents that she was "stepping out for a moment," then was never heard from again.  It emerged that Hambone went to her "second home" at Camp Paradise and spent the rest of the night, redneck-style, there with the four brothers she works with.  In the first episode of the season, Hambone was given a verbal warning and told not to do it again.  However, things aren't done yet between them!


Finally, details of the Barefoot family variety show at the "new Jerusalem," the center of government in the post-Tribulation world upon Jesus Christ's ultimate return, have been revealed.  As I implied a few weeks ago, the show is part of a world's fair" of popular culture and folk performances from various peoples and countries throughout the world to honor Jesus and all that He stands for.

Here is the show rundown:

• Buddy Wayne will begin by singing "Bluebird," his signature country hit song
• Popeye, Harvey, and Ralph will sing a tune that would have been heard at the first state singing convention held in Benson, NC in 1921 (sorry that I'm not enough of an expert on old-time Southern gospel songs to give you a title)
• Bunky, also known professionally as "B.O.M.B." gives a one-man band performance at a circus midway with Bryson and Belinda in the audience; Brenda, dressed as a clown, will introduce him
• Brenda, Annie, Jennifer, and Brandy will sing a work song as they finish a special quilt celebrating Southern rural traditions (again, no title available)
• Hambone performs music with her body, similar to this video, accompanied by Bobby Ray who will make his public debut as a fiddler (The performer is Steve Hickman and this was recorded in 2010.)
• The entire family returns with "Come Home," an anthem-like song co-written by B.W. and his wife Brittany Spears (known as Brittany Raylene professionally)