What happens when a British legend of stage and screen shows up in New Orleans? Why, tornadoes, of course. Sunday morning, Stephen Fry tweeted about what a beautiful day it was in the Crescent City, and the wildness that went down in the French Quarter following the Saints’ preseason win. But by late afternoon, things took a turn.
When we’ve lived in tornado-prone areas, funnel clouds tend to show up during the changing of the seasons, though when it’s still hot. And intense afternoon thunderstorms in the South are nothing new. But down on the bayou, it got a little bit more interesting. As the funnel cloud appeared and began snaking its way toward the ground, Fry was tweeting pictures, keeping his international following apprised on the situation.
Fortunately for Fry and residents of the area, it never did touch down. However, the takeaway here is that this is another example of how social media is really changing things. When we were quite a bit younger, we watched a waterspout make its way across Pensacola Bay in Florida. At the time, as Sting would say, there were “heavy clouds, but no rain.” Of course, this was a time of cell phones the size of bricks and 28.8 kbps modems. It was a full 20 minutes later before a local television station reported the incident. To turn a hackneyed phrase, immediacy is immediate. And few things are more immediate than blasting out current happenings with pictures or video via Twitter.
Believe it or not, South Carolina is the fourth-happiest state in the South. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the Palmetto State is the only trails Virginia, Texas and Georgia in being the happiest state in Dixie. Of all the states in America, Virginia rocks No. 15, Texas shows up at No. 21, Georgia ranks No. 23, while South Carolina comes in at No. 26.
Happiest States in the South
15. Virginia
21. Texas
23. Georgia
26. South Carolina
30. Florida
33. Alabama
34. North Carolina
40. Louisiana
42. Tennessee
46. Arkansas
48. Mississippi
49. Kentucky
50. West Virginia
Recently, the Gator Bowl has been moved to the stadium that is the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Funny enough, a low-level bowl game should be able to fill the stands to the level of a Jags game or an ACC Championship Game.
For far too long, the Southeastern Conference has been in a contract to make sure that a six-win team was sent to Shreveport, La. for the Independence Bowl. A lot of SEC teams have decried this, considering the lameness that is the Shreveport-Bossier City metroplex. Starting next season, it is no more.
Turns out, the SEC is ending its ties with the Independence Bowl and moving said team to Jax for the Gator Bowl, which before was reserved previously for the ACC v. Big XII/Big East/Notre Dame. This won’t happen until next season. From the stories that have come out, Gator Bowl 2010 will involve an SEC and a Big Ten team.
“This is tremendous, getting the SEC,” Gator Bowl chairman Dan Murphy said to The Times-Union. “Jacksonville is an SEC city and I hope people will really support this game with the SEC as a partner.”
As it stands, the Independence Bowl, which no one wants to go to, will now be relegated to representatives from the ACC and the Mountain West Conference. Haha. Good luck in the northern Louisiana casinos, you unfortunate six-win jokers.
