Features

Sevendust: Better than ever

If you’ve never heard nor seen Sevendust, then you don’t know rock music. The five-piece band from Atlanta has been throwing down since their self-titled first release in 1997.

While bands struggle to continue to keep their heads above water, it’s the polar opposite with this band. It may be cliché to compare Sevendust to an aged fine wine, but it seems this band continues to get stronger and gain more popularity with age (if they weren’t good and popular already).

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‘Atonement’ director, young star reunite

This feature seems an odd choice for director Joe Wright. His previous films have been lush period pieces such as “Atonement” and “Pride and Prejudice.” This modern day thriller about a teenage assassin seems a stretch, but Wright brings a fresh perspective to the genre and proves he can step outside his comfort zone.

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Long live Uncle Ted

The Nuge is an avid hunter, advocate for groups such as the National Rifle Association and the right to bear arms. He’s joined the ranks of the New York Times Bestseller list with the 2000 publication God, Guns and Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Despite what they see on television, those cannot deny the fact that a career, which basically began in 1958, has led Ted Nugent to sell over 40 million records thanks to hits like “Strangehold,” “Dog Eat Dog,” “Free-for-All” and the 1977 classic “Cat Scratch Fever.”

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Spring spawns increase chances for novice anglers

Outdoors folks seem to continually face natural obstacles that give them plenty of excuses for slow fishing days. Sometimes it is too cold, and at other times it is too hot. Then comes the too windy days and then the thunderstorms. All of these things do make conditions uncomfortable for the anglers. At least it does for most folks. There are others, however, who seem to score well no matter what nature seems to put in front of them. I’ve long believed in the old saying that 10 percent of the fishermen will catch 90 percent of the fish.

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Master Gardener Market Day

Master Gardener Market Day is just around the corner! We all wait for it, so get there early on Saturday, April 16. They will feature plants that are adapted for our area. Many of the plants are in the EarthKind program, which means that they require little special care. Lots of vendors will be there who will offer a range of interesting products, even homemade cookies, links and drinks. In tandem, as always, is the Master Gardener Flea Market. Peek through for trash and treasures just waiting for you to take them home.

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Dealing with unjust critics properly 04/14

We are going to deal with a subject today that I firmly believe God has put on my heart. I have several reasons for choosing this subject, and one of them is that some folks never get it right in an entire lifetime. There is good and helpful criticism, which leads to improvements, good jobs being done and healthy attitudes among all ages. And there is bad or poor criticism, which usually leads to anger, uncertainty, bitterness and often failure.

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Happy Earth Day to you

At Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, every day is Earth Day.

It’s not uncommon for the volunteers and staff who operate the 252-acre ecosystem to be caught up to their elbows in dirt, up to their knees in swamp or even with their hands in a beehive. So, as you can imagine, they know how to throw an Earth Day bash for the rest of us.

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That's amore

If there’s any truth to the Italian proverb that one does not age while seated for a meal, then Sophia Loren is living proof. At 76, the woman known the world over as the Italian Marilyn Monroe credits her killer curves to one lifelong beauty secret: pasta.

“Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti,” Loren once said.

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Urban Cowboys

 

The days of gun-slinging roughriders who deliver swift justice might be over, but that cowboy code of honor, integrity and courage is still very present in the men of Southeast Texas. Men who challenge the obstacles of life head on with determination — from business ventures to the fight against a life-threatening disease — are the men who achieve the impossible and inspire courage.

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Texas needs an ‘earnings fee’

Recently, while watching television, I noticed a Geico insurance ad in which the speaker asked, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound?” He reasoned that it did. This got me to thinking about the ever-present pledge of conservative members of the Texas Legislature about no new taxes. This question comes to my mind: If it’s not called a tax, is it a tax, even though it takes money out of taxpayers’ pockets?

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