The Tennessean seems to be implying that someone upstairs, or at least some of his followers, needs to take the edge off. In its calendar listing for Belmont University’s Lead Like Jesus seminar scheduled for tomorrow (Aug. 1), the daily newspaper’s Web site includes “$1 off Beer,” “2-for-1 Cocktails” and “$5 Martinis and Appetizers” promotions at nearby local bars as “Similar Events.” During a summer when the paper’s Web site has also predicted snowfall, I’d say the odds are good that this is an unfortunate consequence of an automated event calendar. It’s probably not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon, though.

Surely there’s an interesting story behind this house in Sylvan Park, which features both a John McCain and a Barack Obama yard sign. I bet the dinner conversation can get interesting in that dining room. Maybe it’s a husband and wife who disagree about the best candidate for president, or maybe it’s a house with a mother-in-law apartment. Maybe it’s just someone hedging their bets.

Regardless, I’m happy to see two parties that share a roof respect each other’s divergent political views. That’s a lesson that we could all stand to learn … and remember. Bravo.

Speaking of Summer Lights, Kentucky artist Van Cordle captured a flyover by the Man of Steel during the festival in 1988, or at least that’s what his oil painting featuring the city’s skyline puts on display. Cordle is selling his full-size work for $150 on eBay, so check it out if you consider Music City and Krypton’s native son a match made in heaven. Since the painting was created in 1988, Nashville’s iconic Batman Building is nowhere to be seen. Take that, Caped Crusader.

For more than 15 years, Nashvillians packed downtown in late May to listen to all kinds of musical acts perform during the city’s annual Summer Lights festival. I have fond memories from several of the annual events, and it was a sad day when the festival signed off for good. Summer Lights showcased the diversity of local talent and displayed Nashville at its best. The Tennessean’s Beverly Keel, then writing for Entertainment Weekly, described the festival near the end in 1997:

For a full view of Nashville, from the eclectic music that swings outside its country boundaries to food that leaves Southern-fried far behind, prepare for Fan Fair by heading to Summer Lights. The downtown street festival, which runs May 29-June 1, has nine stages that feature 250 acts, ranging from blues, hip-hop, classical, and gospel to Celtic, Hispanic, African, and a panoply of other forms of music. Nibble on Cajun food while listening to opera, or down a funnel cake to the sounds of big band. Of course, there’s still plenty of country music. This year’s headliners include Lorrie Morgan, Tracy Lawrence, and Mark Chestnutt. For Nashville natives, Summer Lights is the official start of summer, and they look forward to strolling down the several-block area around the War Memorial Plaza (last year it attracted more than 150,000 people). Locals like to boast that Nashville is Music City USA, not just Country Music City, and at least for one weekend a year, they’re right.

Nashville Scene film critic Jim Ridley, reviewing the 1997 slate of performers, made the case that the final festival had saved the best for last, though no one knew it was the end at the time:

There were many years when the music at the city’s largest annual festival seemed of tertiary importance to lemonade booths and funnel-cake stands. In recent years, however, it has steadily gotten better. Even if Summer Lights appears destined never to have the big-name rock ’n’ roll, funk, or blues acts that similar festivals in Memphis and Birmingham attract, festival programmer Kari Estrin has nonetheless assembled a remarkable cross-sampling of local, regional, and international talent. Besides, we’d rather see the Hackberry Ramblers, Othar Turner, or Joy Lynn White than some lame major-label headliner going through the motions.

As Ridley observed, Summer Lights wasn’t a cookie-cutter assortment of national acts, as some might argue that Memphis in May or Birmingham’s City Stages can be at times. (The short-lived Nashville River Stages that followed Nashville’s event was much more along those lines.) Summer Lights was an eclectic event that was distinctly Nashville, and I think we’re missing it, even at a time when the city has grown signficantly and improved tremendously in its absence.

Ridley’s article was ironically titled, “Summer Lights Gets Back on Track,” but then columnist (and future, but now former, editor) Liz Garrigan spread the word months later that the writing was on the wall for the festival’s fate.

Is Nashville in need of a Summer Lights’ revival? I certainly think so, but it would likely require an economic upswing and a better budgetary bottom line for the city for it to happen. In the meantime, it will have to remain a blast from the past alongside Dancin’ in the District and the Italian Street Festival as beloved local events that are long gone. Here’s hoping all of you rise again some day.

If you think the American Basketball Association’s Nashville Broncs are destined for a long tenure in Music City, then I have a “beautiful venue” called Municipal Auditorium in which you should invest heavily.

I’m not sure what to think of the ABA’s decision to host the finals for next season’s playoffs here in Nashville. Perhaps it’s an effort to make up for the fact that our previous ABA franchise elected to skip the playoffs during its first season before folding altogether in the middle of its second.

While I’m cautiously optimistic that this incarnation of professional hoops won’t (can’t) embarrass Nashville on the level that the Rhythm and owner/aspiring pop-star Sally Anthony did, I think the ABA’s local return is a bad idea and one whose time here will be lucky to be measured in years (two or three) rather than months.

I found it surprising that Nashville ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of volunteering, according to a study by the Corporation for National & Community Service. The Volunteer State as a whole is ranked in the bottom third nationally, which is even worse. Nashville’s volunteer rate now trails the U.S. figure, so the city is below average in donating its time.

I expected to see Nashville in the top 10. Considering how vibrant and active our nonprofit community is, I’m scratching my head at how the city landed where it is. I can’t blame it on tough economic times, either, because that’s likely influencing all of the results, not just Nashville’s, and these numbers are for 2007, when the downward trend was only beginning to emerge.

TSU professor and official state poet Dr. Harriette Bias-Insignares is calling on men of all ages to alleviate the socioeconomic ills that are leaving so many young males, particularly African-Americans, on the outside looking in in American society. Dr. Bias Insignares will sign her new book, Power & Glory: Brothers on the Journey, tonight at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Green Hills.

It’s time for men young and old, rich and poor of all ethnicities, professions, and religions to come together and reach out to today s young men and provide moral support, guidance, and encouragement. The inspiration for the book comes from the life of my father … and the way he approached the many roles men must play that define manhood: husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, colleague, citizen, and leader. I wrote this book to honor my father. Bias-Insignares wants to revive the conversation between the generations and create a bond, a sense of mutual investment. She wants young men to be exposed to the experience and wisdom of an older generation. I hope that men will see themselves as every father, the universal fathers who will invest time, talent, and resources to improve the prospects for young men.

With a school board election a week away and Metro Nashville Public Schools under direct state oversight, there’s a lot of change coming in the near future for our local school system. Schools and parents are often easy targets for those looking to point fingers and lay blame for what is clearly not working in our culture. Long ago, I might have argued that parents alone could be the difference between whether a child succeeds or fails, and in some cases that may still be the case. Looking at my own upbringing, though, I can unquestionably say that the influences that kept me headed in the right direction (assuming that’s where my compass is pointed) were a cast of hundreds, if not thousands, of people I encountered along the way. I am grateful to (nearly) all of them.

There is plenty to be done to improve our schools, and there are plenty of parents who can stand to take on more responsibility for raising their children. As a married adult without kids, that’s easy for me to say. What’s more difficult is to acknowledge that each of us shapes many lives beyond our own, and that, in my opinion, we have a responsibility to make those opportunities to influence as positive as we possibly can. I’d have never admitted it at the time, but Hillary was right: It does take a village–and good parents and good schools–to raise a child.

… you completely blank on the Nashville Scene’s You Are So Nashville If deadline and miss submitting your entries by a couple of days. At least that’s true in my case. I remembered that I hadn’t thought about the deadline in awhile on June 25. Oops.

I’m disappointed that the entries I compiled will not make the pages of the latest YASNI issue, which makes its debut today. (It isn’t online as of this writing, but it should be appearing later today.) It would be a shame to keep these silly notions of what makes our city such an eclectic and intriguing place to live under wraps, though, so here they are. Enjoy.

• Your Messiah didn’t speak English, but your landscaper sure better.
• You can’t decide what scares you more: turning into Atlanta or turning into Memphis.
• The closest your SUV has come to off-road is the Hill Center parking garage.
• You think that Orange County and New York have nothing on the Real Housewives of Green Hills.
• You wonder whether Bill Hobbs has a soul.
• Your Juvenile Court Clerk spends more time in his bathrobe than his office.
• You’re outraged that Davidson County voter registration data was stolen, but relieved because you’re not registered.
• Your gay community opens its doors to churchgoers marching for family values, not the other way around.
• You hear Out Loud is an excellent stereo shop.
• Vanderbilt is the team you hate to love.
• You wish Catherine Darnell were still around to distinguish the Harding Road “Hill Center” and the Green Hills “Hill Center” in snooty socioeconomic terms.
• You’re hoping Karl Dean will have a chance to address the non-hockey items on his mayoral agenda by his second term.
• Your solution to homelessness is destroying panhandlers’ natural habitats.
• Your blue blindfold obscures your view of the Hustler Hollywood store–and the homeless man begging for lunch across the street.
• You brag about switching to Green Power–and your second place finish in Metro’s annual holiday lights contest.
• You’re OK with Gaylord building a new convention center of their own, so long as it features a Flume Zoom.
• You carry your iPhone as a badge of honor because *you* stood in line for it at the mall–instead of having your record label’s intern do it for you.
• You’re outraged that Microsoft Word thinks “Opry” isn’t a word. (WordPress agrees.)
• You have season passes for the Schermerhorn *and* the Music City Motorplex.
• You’re thrilled that Bart Durham finally landed Nashville its “first soap opera.”
• You’re concerned that Nashville can’t possibly support Ghost Ballet for the East Nashville Machineworks *and* the Nutcracker.
• You find yourself wondering just how hot the Hot Yoga really is.
• You’ve started cheering for the ghosts instead of rooting for Pacman.
• You think Pacman has had a few too many power pellets.
• You fondly recall the era when Pacman was just a video game, not a public nuisance.

Stuff White People Like is so three months ago. It appears that How Not To Act Old, the brainchild of author and blogger Pamela Redmond Satran, is the quirky satirical blog of the moment. I think it’s pretty funny and dead-on for the most part. Here are my personal favorites.

#1: Don’t Say “Awesome, Dude,” or “Yo, You Copped Fire, Son”: This absolutely should be number one. I think it’s the cardinal sin of anyone who is trying too hard to seem young. We’ve all done it. (Well, except the young ones, but their day is coming.)

#6 Beware the Accidental Hookup:  I cringe every time my dad asks me whether I want to hook up with him. He means that we should meet for lunch, but it sounds like he’s hitting on me. Eew.

Here are my other top choices from the list:

• #4: Don’t Admit You’re Befuddled By Twitter, TiVo, Texting — Most of Technology: This just isn’t my disease, but it’s true for many of the no-longer young set.
• #14: Don’t Fear The Waxer
• #19: Don’t Describe The Doctor, The Cop, Or The Teacher As “Looking 12″
• #25: Don’t “Make Love”
• #26: Shave The Mustache
• #33: No Digestion Discussions, Ever
• #43: Don’t Fear Rap
• #46: Stop Hoping Lauren Conrad Will Just Go Away: “If you’re wondering who Lauren Conrad is, you’re worse off than I thought.” Lauren can stay, and so can Audrina as long as she behaves herself. If I never saw Heidi, Spencer and Brody again, I’d be fine. (Have I mentioned that my wife is six years younger than me?)
• #53: Don’t Fear The Teenager
• #60: Garage Your Hog: “Having just returned from a 700-mile road trip, I can tell you with certainty that every motorcyclist on the American highway is at least 56 years old. All the biker babes have Nice ‘N’ Easy covering their gray and pot bellies straining against their leather pants.” Gross, but it feels true.

I will confess that some of the items on the list sounded a familiar refrain for me. Here are the offenses I’m especially guilty of committing:

• #7: Don’t Count Out Exact Change: I’m a tightwad. I admit it.
• #9: Don’t Plan: I’ll be able to hear my wife laughing from wherever I happen to be at the moment that she reads this one.
• #36: Enough With The Seinfeld, Already: No soup for you! I’ll probably never let go of this not-so-young habit.
• #39: Don’t Wake Up Before Dawn
• #42: Torch Your Books: “If you don’t want to act old, you’ve got to stop reading.” Sorry, it’s not going to happen.

Leave me a comment if you see yourself anywhere on the list.

While the debate about Nashville Star and whether it benefits or disparages the city rages on, a lower profile discussion has been taking place on what is apparently a fan site for a preferred paintball gun: Who went to high school with a celebrity?

User Raion went to high school with show contestant Shawn Mayer, whom Raion thought would never “actually get somewhere.” Chris Brown (I’m guessing either the hip-hop artist or the former Tennessee Titan) and MadTV comedian Frank Caliendo also have the dubious distinction of having classmates brag about graduating with them on random paintball Web forums.

Maybe Nashville Star really has arrived. It’s not only on NBC this season, it’s even on Twitter. I think Failwhale deserves to make an appearance when contestants are voted off each week.

What has 1,700 legs and a keen interest in local natural areas? The Nashville Hiking Meetup, currently the largest local group on Meetup.com with more than 850 members, is a hiking and eco-volunteer group that plans hikes throughout the year ranging from easy to strenuous and local to regional. The aim of the group is to explore the natural beauty of Tennessee and beyond and to develop a social network for people with similiar interests.

NHM’s next adventure is tonight (July 8) at 5:45 p.m. at Radnor Lake State Natural Area. The planned hike is described as easy to moderate, and it’s expected to take about two hours. More than 45 members are planning to attend, so you can probably blend in safely if you’re a little on the shy side.

If you’re curious about Radnor Lake, check out the Friends of Radnor Lake Web site or local hiking blogger Stephen at Hiking Nature. Stephen has logged multiple entries of late about hikes at Radnor Lake, including a recent raccoon sighting (photo above).

Poison is bringing its glam rock revival tour to the Sommet Center tonight, but that isn’t your only chance to see members of the band. Lead singer Bret Michaels (above) and lead guitarist (and aspiring heir to Keith Richards’ path to destruction) C.C. DeVille will be holding after parties on opposite sides of the Cumberland. Michaels will camp out at Limelight on Woodland Street in East Nashville, andDeVille will stake out Fuel on Second Avenue. If you’re a fan, tonight promises to be “Nothin But a Good Time”wherever you may wind up