Want to see Bunky's "home"?

Something else I did during my recent trip to Las Vegas was to take a photograph.  But it wasn't just any picture.  This is where Bunky Barefoot lived in his final months before returning to the family for good.

The location is the Mandarin Oriental, a luxury hotel that Bunky was using as if it was an apartment building.  Where he lived is circled in red.  It is part of the CityCenter master-planned area, which also includes two other hotels (Aria and Vdara) and the Crystals shopping mall.

Double entendre, bubble gum, and another family hit

After a week spent on vacation in Las Vegas, I thought I would skip a posting this week.  (By the way, I highly recommend the Tournament of Kings show at the Excalibur.)  But inspiration can strike at any time, and in writing a "response" song to a recent hit, this is what occured. - D.H.


The sexually-charged phrase "blow me" became familiar in 2012 as part of the title of a hit song by global pop star Pink, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."   But few people know of another song called "Blow Me" that was written and recorded the year before!

It started with a conversation between Reba Pearl "Hambone" Barefoot and one of her nieces, Kimberly Strickland.  (Kimberly's mother, Dina Barefoot Strickland, is the brother of Alfred Wayne Barefoot, nephew of Hambone's father Alonzo.)  Like her famous cousin Buddy Wayne Barefoot, she is an acoustic country guitarist.  "I channel the old music of Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette, but give it a rock-star voice twist to make it my own," she says.   At the annual block party - a reunion with extended members of the families of the 13 core members - Hambone whispered a joke to Strickland:
HAMBONE: What did the stick of bubble gum say to me?
STRICKLAND: What?
HAMBONE: Blow me.
With that, Strickland was inspired!  She wrote a song to the tune of the modern-rock song "Monsters and Angels," recorded by Voices of the Beehive in 1990.  However, Strickland modified it to be an upbeat country song called "Blow Me (The Bubble Gum Song)."  Unlike Pink's tune - which is centered on a fictitious breakup - this song takes double-entendre and makes it fun and friendly.

One night I was laying down on my bed,
And I noticed a pack of gum that said,
"Blow me."

I couldn't believe what was on the label
But it kept screaming at me on that table,
"Blow me."

(Chorus)
Yes, the song's about bubble gum,
Put it in your mouth and have a little fun
It just sat there, like a sign
Like it was winking back, as if to show me
The only thing that I knew I could do
Was "blow me."

So I opened a stick and began to chew,
I understood it and I got a clue,
"Blow me."

Then I smiled and laughed in total bliss,
Knowing it was a sign that I couldn't miss,
"Blow me."

(Repeat chorus)
(Guitar instrumental)

Now I make bubbles every night and day
Because of a label that I obey,
"Blow me."

There's just one thing of which I think
When I see sweet rubber and the color pink,
"Blow me."

(Chorus)
"Blow me."
"Blow me."
"Blow...me!"
(Final guitar riff)

Note: This is not related to the "blow me" billboard I wrote about in November 2012 and then later showed in this portfolio.

(Avatar: Brittany Barefoot, recent graduate of the University of South Carolina, originally from Greenwood, SC; taken at her high-school senior class dinner in 2008.)

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!