Brenternet (The World as seen by Brent Moore)

Trying to appeal to the highest common denominator. I can't give you 110% effort, but I will give you 107.4% effort. If you're a spammer and leave me a comment, I will make fun of you. I use twice as many semicolons compared to most other bloggers

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Location: Smyrna, Tennessee, United States

As the title implies, I am Brent K. Moore. I married MariLynn Simons on Sept. 25, 1999. we attend Stewart's Creek Church of Christ. We have five pets, a dachshund, Slinkie, a malamute, Juno, and three rabbits, Ebunny and Ifurry, and now Houdini.

Monday, October 13, 2008

100 Things to see at the fair part 1

I had a unique opportunity at the 2008 Tennessee State Fair in Nashville, TN. There's so much going on all the time that you can't see everything in just one day. I was able to go multiple days with a pass to get into all of the events. It was difficult to narrow everything down to just 100 pictures. I have divided the photos into groups of 20 so that one blog post isn't too long. Like usual, click on any picture to enlarge.

100 Things to see at the fair #1: Goats

100 Things to see at the fair #1: Goats

100 Things to see at the fair #2: Purity Ice Cream eating contest

100 Things to see at the fair #2: Purity Ice Cream eating contest

For the Purity Ice Cream eating contest, a dozen kids had 2 minutes to eat as much Vanilla as they could. Messiness was encouraged.

100 Things to see at the fair #3 High Divers

100 Things to see at the fair #3 High Divers

This diver is a member of a pirate themed diving group known as Sinbad's high divers in search of the golden pineapple.

100 Things to see at the fair #4: Fire Eater

100 Things to see at the fair #4: Fire Eater

This Fire-eating was part of the African acrobats show.

100 Things to see at the fair #5: Cow shed

100 Things to see at the fair #5: Cow shed

Over the 2nd weekend at the fair, all of the show cows, along with their owners are in one of the two long sheds.

100 Things to see at the fair #6: Randall's Diving Pigs

100 Things to see at the fair #6: Randall's Diving Pigs

Randall's Racing Pigs have been at the fair for several years in a row. One thing this show has that many don't is some of the pigs at the end run up a ramp to the platform and get to splash into the pool below.

100 Things to see at the fair #7: Tractor Pull

100 Things to see at the fair #7: Tractor Pull

Perhaps the think I liked the most about the tractor & truck pull was to see how these people "Pimped their tractors" and White Lightning was my personal favorite.

100 Things to see at the fair #8: Ferris Wheel

100 Things to see at the fair #8: Ferris Wheel

Although it still felt odd, this was the first time I ever brought my tripod out to the midway. Of course, this gave me much more leeway to where I could take blurred motion Ferris wheel pics.

100 Things to see at the fair #9: Beauty Pageant

100 Things to see at the fair #9: Beauty Pageant

On the 2nd Saturday of the fair, there was a beauty pageant for several age groups that lasted several hours. The youngsters went earliest in the day. Shown here is the oldest age division, which I think was 17-18. After each contestant had a chance to be on the stage alone, they all went onstage at the end.

100 Things to see at the fair #10: Wave Swinger

100 Things to see at the fair #10: Wave Swinger

When Opryland was open, My wife's favorite ride always was the Tennessee Waltz. Now, anytime we go to a theme park or a fair, the Wave Swinger (or sometimes called the Tornado) is high on her priority. She's in this picture as she's got her hand on her head to hold down her red hat.

100 Things to see at the fair #11: Rabbit Barn

100 Things to see at the fair #11: Rabbit Barn

If you've only seen the rabbits they have at the pet store, then you're missing out on some breeds that you've likely never seen before: Rex, lop, angora, Himalayan and long-eared. Some of them are even for sale! My wife and I bought a bunny at the fair two years ago. We still have him and we'll never buy one at a pet store again, because those seem plain compared to the ones at the fair.

100 Things to see at the fair #12: Mother & Baby

100 Things to see at the fair #12: Mother & Baby

One of the Goat owners had brought a family of newborn goats to the fair. Under the watchful eye of mom, the 5 day old sleeps. Some of this goats siblings will be seen in upcoming pictures.

100 Things to see at the fair #13: Swine Barn

100 Things to see at the fair #13: Swine Barn

You can stroll the aisles and see all kinds of pigs and hogs, like this female. If you show up at the right time, you might see a pig owner trying to wash their pig in the pig shower, which involves the owner usually getting really wet.

One caveat, Compared to many of the other show animals, the swine are not treated like pets! Pigs can be stubborn and have to be strongly coerced to move sometimes, which might be upsetting to children (or sensitive wives, like mine) if you go during the judging.

100 Things to see at the fair #14: Funny Dummy

100 Things to see at the fair #14: Funny Dummy

Funny Dummy is a local ventriloquist who was a fair performer this year. This gorilla girl was my favorite of his three dummies.

100 Things to see at the fair #15: Model Trains

100 Things to see at the fair #15 Model Trains

A local Model train club sets up a rather large exhibit every year in the exhibitor's building. They have just enough Plexiglas from keeping the hands of children out of the display.

100 Things to see at the fair #16: Petting Zoo Camel

100 Things to see at the fair #16: Petting Zoo Camel

100 Things to see at the fair #17: Midway Prizes

100 Things to see at the fair #17: Midway Prizes

It may be shooting hoops or throwing a ring around a bottle, but odds are you and I will not win the prize, even though the carnie can make it 50 times in a row and you'll spend 20 bucks trying.

100 Things to see at the fair #18: Quilt Design contest

100 Things to see at the fair #18: Quilt Design contest

In the Creative Arts building are several wonderful quilts that have been designed. This one had a certain excellent, yet playful quality to it that made it my favorite.

The maker of this quilt should turn this into a fridge magnet that comes with a 2nd smaller magnet with the words "Today, I'm feeling" that you could place ontop if your mood for the day.

100 Things to see at the fair #19: Krystal Square-off Controversy

100 Things to see at the fair #19: Krystal Square-off Controversy

One of the biggest events at the fair was a qualifying round of Major League Eating's biggest prize, the Krystal Square Off. Seen here is competitive eater, the diminutive Juliet Lee, and her controversial eating style.

The following are excerpts from the Official Krystal Square Off website's blog:
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In a contest marked by controversy and the hottest and most humid conditions seen on the tour so far, Lee’s victory had some calling foul due to excessive debris during the eight-minute regulation period. After a lengthy conference with judges, Major League Eating made the decision to hold a three person eat-off, the first ever in Krystal Square Off history.

Explaining its decision, IFOCE.com reports:

"Juliet Lee maintained a five second dunk throughout regulation but pre-chewed so aggressively the judges had difficulty determining her final count. Many fans and eaters alike questioned the outcome. Judges determined that the eat off should occur.

"Major League Eating has announced it will hold an an impromptu conference call this evening to consider the adoption of a new rule to eliminate confusion in future contests."
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Yesterday’s Nashville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier, and the controversy surrounding excessive debris from several eaters, including the winner Juliet Lee, has led to the creation of a new rule by Major League Eating that will allow judges to disqualify competitors for “messy eating” during a contest after an initial warning is given.

As detailed at IFOCE.com:

"Major League Eating announces today the creation of a new rule called the Mustard Yellow Card. The rule allows league officials and judges to formally caution a competitor if the official or judge feels said competitor is eating in a fashion that is so messy it impedes the ability to determine the amount of food consumed.

"After one caution is given the judge has the right to disqualify the warned competitor if the competitor has not satisfactorily corrected his or her eating style.

"While no formal definition need be given, messy eating can include food and debris on a competitor and in a competitor’s eating area and cups."
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You can read the entire blog HERE, and then HERE.

Hello to anyone who found this photo on EatFeats.com
eatfeats.com/link-buffet-october-10-2008.html
The comments on the blog post there has quite a discussion from competitive eating enthusiasts of Juliet Lee's eating (or lack thereof) style.

100 Things to see at the fair #20: BMX Stuntbike

100 Things to see at the fair #20: BMX Stuntbike

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