LIFE LIST UPDATE – No. 950: Watch “Easy Rider” (1969)

“Easy Rider” was released in theatres during the summer of 1969 and while it’s a movie that I’ve heard a lot about over the years, I’d never seen it, that is, until yesterday when I watched it for the first time.

Considered a “counterculture classic,” this movie is on a lot of “best-of” lists. The American Film Institute ranked it No. 88 on its “100 Years, 100 Movies” list, and “Easy Rider” was added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 1998 for its cultural and historical significance. I added “Easy Rider” to my “life list” last year after ShortList.com included it on its list of the “30 Coolest Films Ever Made.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this movie, it’s about two bikers named Wyatt and Billy. At the start of the movie, they smuggle a significant amount of cocaine out of Mexico and sell their stash for a small fortune to a drug dealer in Los Angeles. Flush with cash, which they hide in one of their gas tanks, they decide to ride to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.

On the way, they pick up a hitchhiker and agree to take him to the commune where he lives. Before leaving, they’re given LSD, which they put up for later. Their adventures continue further down the road in a small town, where they’re arrested for the misdemeanor of "parading without a license."

The police toss them in jail, where they befriend the town drunk, who turns out to be a young lawyer named George Hanson. The lawyer helps get them out of jail and then agrees to travel with them to New Orleans. Things go bad though in another small town when they run into some unsavory locals, who attack them in the middle of the night at their campsite. Hanson is killed, and the bikers, who are only slightly injured, leave his corpse behind wrapped in his sleeping bag.

Wyatt and Billy eventually arrive in New Orleans, where they have a big time at Mardi Gras. They befriend two ladies of the night and proceed to drop acid in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, which results in a very bad trip. (I’ve actually been on a tour of this cemetery before and have seen where the film was shot, which is another reason I added this movie to my “life list.”)

Mardi Gras winds down, and the two bikers hit the road once more. Their adventures come to an end though when they’re both shot by two random strangers in a pickup who are armed with a shotgun. I honestly didn’t know anything about how this movie's ending, so I was very shocked by its abrupt end.

Directed by Dennis Hopper and produced by Peter Fonda, the movie’s cast included Fonda (Wyatt), Hopper (Billy) and Jack Nicholson (Hanson). Fair warning, "Easy Rider" is probably not for everyone as it does contain more than a little objectionable content. If you think you wouldn’t enjoy it, you probably won’t. The movie is rated R and is 95 minutes long.

In the end, I enjoyed watching this famous movie, which allowed me to scratch another item off my “life list.” How many of you out there have seen this movie? What did you think about it? Let us know in the comments section below.

2013 LIFE LIST ITEM “CONFIRMED KILLS” TO DATE:

1. Ate a funnel cake
2. Ate a peach from Chilton County, Alabama
3. Ate at Big Daddy’s Grill in Fairhope
4. Ate at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club in Mobile
5. Ate catfish at the Stage Coach Café in Stockton
6. Ate octopus
7. Attended a Beulah Campground service
8. Drank a fresh lemonade at Toomer’s Drugs in Auburn
9. Drank Cognac
10. Drank goat’s milk
11. Hiked the Grand Canyon
12. Joined the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
13. Joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans
14. Made an origami animal
15. Listened to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” without interruption
16. Listened to The Beatles’ “White Album” without interruption
17. Planted a vegetable garden
18. Ran the Alligator Trot 5K in Florala, Alabama
19. Ran the Battle of Mobile Bay 5K on Dauphin Island
20. Ran through the Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile
21. Read all the Hellboy graphic novels
22. Read “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie
23. Read “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl
24. Read MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
25. Read “Savage Wilderness” by Barry Ralph
26. Read the entire Bible

27. Read “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr.

28. Saw the Ginkgo tree in Evergreen

29. Took the downtown Selma walking tour

30. Tried 100 different types of beer

31. Visited Ellicott’s Stone

32. Visited Packer’s Bend

33. Visited the Grand Canyon

34. Visited the grave of Lewis Lavon Peacock

35. Watched “A Streetcar Named Desire”

36. Watched “Brazil” (1985)

37. Watched “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958)

38. Watched “Dracula” (1931)

39. Watched “Easy Rider” (1969)

40. Watched “Nosferatu” (1922)

41. Watched “This Is Spinal Tap”

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: The whole point of these life list updates is NOT to draw attention to myself or to anything that I’ve done. Instead, I hope to encourage others to accomplish their own bucket list goals. I’m just a regular guy, and if I can do these things, so can you.)

How would you have voted in this week's Alabama high school football poll?

Just for the sake of conversation, I've posted my ballot for this week's Alabama Sports Writers Association prep football poll below. Sports writers from across the state vote in the poll, and we have to submit our ballots before noon each Monday. The poll itself, which takes into account all of the ballots submitted from across the state, will be released to the public on Thursday morning.

What follows is how I voted in each classification, and I'm posting my ballot to hear what you think about it. How would you have voted? Do you think your team's worthy of being ranked? Why? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Evergreen Courant's Prep Football Poll Ballot for Sept. 2, 2013:

Class 6A
1. Hoover
2. Clay-Chalkville
3. McGill-Toolen
4. Auburn
5. Opelika
6. Tuscaloosa County
7. Florence
8. Mountain Brook
9. Carver-Montgomery
10. Vestavia Hills

Class 5A
1. McAdory
2. Spanish Fort
3. Jackson
4. Hartselle
5. Muscle Shoals
6. Athens
7. Homewood
8. Benjamin Russell
9. Demopolis
10. Cullman

Class 4A
1. Calera
2. Charles Henderson
3. UMS-Wright
4. Central-Clay County
5. Dadeville
6. Oneonta
7. Beauregard
8. Dora
9. Madison County
10. Cleburne County

Class 3A
1. Madison Academy
2. Leeds
3. Piedmont
4. T.R. Miller
5. Deshler
6. Daleville
7. Fayette County
8. Straughn
9. Hamilton
10. Excel

Class 2A
1. Washington County
2. Fyffe
3. Oakman
4. Tanner
5. Mobile Christian
6. Reeltown
7. Walter Wellborn
8. G.W. Long
9. Lanett
10. Lamar County

Class 1A
1. Marion County
2. Pickens County
3. Maplesville
4. Brantley
5. Addison
6. Linden
7. Geneva County
8. Berry
9. Notasulga
10. Hubbertville

AISA
1. Edgewood
2. Clarke Prep
3. Tuscaloosa Academy
4. Restoration
5. Monroe Academy
6. Pickens Academy
7. Fort Dale
8. Crenshaw Christian
9. Macon-East
10. Lee-Scott

The Evergreen Courant's News Flashback for Sept. 2, 2013

USS Oakland

EIGHT YEARS AGO

SEPT. 1, 2005

Local weather reporter Harry Ellis reported .35 inches of rain on Aug. 22, 2005, .03 inches on Aug. 24, a trace on Aug. 25 and .10 of an inch on Aug. 28. He reported a high temperature of 95 degrees on Aug. 22 and low temperatures of 70 degrees on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27.

“Traffic on I-65 slowed to a crawl Tuesday afternoon when evacuated citizens attempted to return to their homes along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area Monday. Traffic stopped many times and trucks attempting to take equipment to the area were hampered because of the bottleneck.”

“Workers were busy last Thursday morning moving this home formerly owned by the late Rance English to its new location on Highway 84. The house was moved by the state in preparation for the new bridge that will be built in Repton sometime in the future. The house has been deeded to the Town of Repton and will be used for a visitors center and Community Resource Center.”

“Conecuh County was spared when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast Monday morning. While some areas in the western part of the county saw high winds and a possible tornado, the county as a whole was spared.
“County Engineer Winston Foshee said that there was no flood damage to roads in the county and very small road blockage because of fallen trees reported.”

23 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 6, 1990

“Weatherman Harry Ellis reports .17 of an inch of rain on Sept. 1. Total rainfall for August was 2.49 inches.”
He reported a high temperature of 96 degrees on Aug. 29, 1990 and low temperatures of 66 degrees on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

“Troy Smith of Smith’s Ambulance Service requested the (Evergreen city) council grant his ambulance service an exclusive five-year franchise. Smith said that he would provide free ambulance service locally for city employees who needed an ambulance while on the job and if they needed to be transported out of town, he would charge half of his usual rate. The council thoroughly discussed Smith’s proposal, but the matter was tabled until a later date.”

“Tony A. Sabino Jr. of Evergreen was recently named to the Who’s Who in the Republican Party. Sabino received an official certificate of registration from Albert E. Mitchler, Executive Director of the Republican Presidential Task Force.”

“Members of the Sparta Academy Student Government Association manned the local Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon Center Sunday night and Monday in the offices of Hendrix Insurance Agency. SGA President Jeff Brundage said $1,800 was raised and thanked county residents for their support of the fight against muscular dystrophy.”

38 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 4, 1975

“Earl Windham reports rainfall of .9 of an inch on Aug. 25, .9 on Aug. 27 and .2 on Aug. 29. Total rainfall for the month of August was 7.9 inches.”

“Hartley talks to Rotarians: Attorney Richard Hartley of Greenville spoke to the Evergreen Rotary Club at its meeting Thursday noon at the Evergreen United Methodist Church. He was introduced by Mabry Huggins, program chairman.
“Hartley spoke on the implementation of the Judicial Article, a major revision of the State Constitution that was ratified by the voters of the state by a 2-1 margin. The article provides for updating Alabama’s court system and Hartley pointed out that it has been praised throughout the nation and is being used as a model by other states.”

“The Evergreen City Council accepted a low bid of $88,898 by W.P. Loftin & Son of Claiborne to resurface 6.43 miles of city streets at its meeting Tuesday night. The only other bid was $109,519.75 submitted by Hooper & McDonald Construction Co. of Andalusia.
“Portions of the following streets to be resurfaced: Bruner Avenue, Magnolia Avenue, Belleville, Mill, East Front, Desplous, North Shipp, North Main, South Shipp, Chapman, Court, Jackson, Liberty, Belleview, Travis, Martin, Mimosa and Stanley Streets.”

“The Conecuh County Hospital Board is in the process of borrowing $150,000 through a bond issue with part of the receipts of the county’s two-mil ad valorem hospital tax pledges to hire the bonds, according to Chairman Jimmy Cook.”

53 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 1, 1960

“Conecuh County’s public schools will open their doors for business next Thurs., Sept. 8, according to County Superintendent of Education Guy S. Kelly.”

“There’s No Place Like… Jail: Be it ever so confining, there’s no place like the Conecuh County Jail. At least that’s the story with one of the jail’s present inmates.
“The man, a resident of the Castleberry area, was brought to the county lockup about two months ago after being involved in an altercation. No charges were pressed by others in the case, and so a week or so ago Sheriff James Brock offered the man his freedom.
“The ‘prisoner’ refused the sheriff’s offer and said if it was alright, he believed he would stay on a while. He lost a leg some years ago and says he has trouble getting around on his artificial limb and can’t work. He told Sheriff Brock that he wished the county would give him three years to serve as he was better off in jail.
“Since then, the sheriff, Chief Deputy Mancil Pearce and Deputy Ronnie Edson have all on several occasions tried to get the prisoner to leave, but he ignores the open door policy and remains right where he is.
“’I’ve had all kinds of prisoners and all kinds of problems’ the sheriff said. ‘but, this is the first time I’ve ever had one I couldn’t get out of jail.’
“The Courant wonders if the inmate would have been so happy in the old jail as he is in the new top-floor layout at the Courthouse?”

68 YEARS AGO
SEPT. 6, 1945

“J.T. Gaillard, City Clerk of Evergreen, is critically ill at his residence on Bruner Avenue, having suffered a stroke at noon Monday.”

“CASTLEBERRY, Ala. – Fire destroyed a large two-story frame building erected here 55 years ago by the late J.P. Matthews. The structure was owned by W.L. Matthews of Montgomery and occupied by the Clarence Godwin family, no member of which was present at the time.
“Mrs. Frances Hoover’s home across the street was slightly scorched.
“The Evergreen fire engine responded to a call.”

“CASTLEBERRY, Ala. – Conecuh County High and Elementary Schools opened Monday with an enrollment of 343.

“Prof. M.C. Thomasson, recently discharged from the Army after three years’ service, has been elected principal.”

“Serving On USS Oakland: On the USS Oakland in Tokyo Bay – James E. Rains, seaman, first class, USNR, Rt. 1, Evergreen, Ala., is serving on this cruiser, which is part of the powerful Pacific fleet completing the first stages of the occupation of Japan.

“Under the operational control of Admiral William F. Halsey, USN, the OAKLAND, with 19 other cruisers, 12 battleships, 17 aircraft carriers, six escort carriers and more than 290 other U.S. ships, is helping take over control of the Japs’ big naval bases.”

Daily Weather Observations for Mon., Sept. 2, 2013

Temp: 73.4 degrees F

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.00 inches

Humidity: 83 percent (High)

Conditions: Clear skies; thin fog in the distance; birds and bees audible and visible; cows audible; dew on the ground.

Wind: 0.0 mph (No wind)

Barometric Pressure: 29.45 inHg

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.00 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.0 inches

Summer to Date Rainfall: 8.80 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 39.35 inches

NOTES: Today is the 245th day of 2013 and the 74th day of Summer. There are 120 days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK – “Detective Comics” #677 (August 1994)

This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “Detective Comics” #677, which was published by DC Comics in August 1994. This comic was titled “Flesh and Steel” and was Part Nine of a series called “KnightsEnd.” The creative team included Chuck Dixon, writer; Graham Nolan, penciller; Scott Hanna, inker; Adrienne Roy, colorist; John Costanza, letterer; Darren Vincenzo, assistant editor; and Scott Peterson, editor. Kelley Jones, John Beatty and Bob Le Rose were the cover artists for this issue, which sold for $1.50 at newsstands.

This 26-page issue begins on a large suspension bridge in Gotham City with Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Robin (Tim Drake) about to duke it out with Jean-Paul Valley. Valley, who is dressed in a red and yellow metal Batman costume that looks like it was designed by Tony Stark, has just blown up the Batmobile, which is in flames in the background. Nightwing and Robin believe Bruce Wayne has been killed, so Nightwing tries to take out Valley while Robin rescues a trapped infant from a car that’s about to explode.

Robin rescues the kid about the time that Nightwing and Valley topple over the side of the bridge. Nightwing appears to get the upper hand when he forces Valley into a bridge support, but then they both drop into the river, where Valley takes advantage of his brute strength and his suit’s supply of oxygen. While Robin’s trying to figure out what to do next, the real Batman makes his first appearance on Page 8 and tells Robin that he knew the Batmobile had been rigged to explode and that he’d escaped just in time.

Nightwing eventually frees himself from the clutches of Valley, and they both make it to the surface. Nightwing then watches as Valley climbs aboard a paddle wheel-style party boat called the “Alabama Rose,” which is full of poker-playing gamblers. Meanwhile, back on the bridge, Gotham firefighters putting out the fire and Gotham Police Sgt. Harvey Bullock and Detective Renee Montoya have also arrived on scene.

Back on the river, Valley snatches Nightwing aboard the “Alabama Rose” as soon as Nightwing reaches the boat, and they begin to fight once more. Keep in mind that Nightwing still believes that Valley has killed the Batman, so he’s ticked off big time. Nightwing gets the upper hand for a while, but then Valley brings out the heavy artillery, using a flamethrower and firing bullets at the unarmed Nightwing. They crash through a wall, and then Nightwing assaults Valley with a piano before smashing a banjo over his head.

Nightwing eventually becomes distracted by an old woman who doesn’t want to abandon her slot machine, and Valley knocks him out from behind with a blow to the head. Two police officers show up around that time with guns drawn, and Valley escapes by throwing Nightwing into the police officers. Valley flees on foot, then catches a ride on top of a train before going beneath the streets and making his way to the Batcave. It’s there were he comes face to face with Batman, bringing the issue to an abrupt end.

This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.

Four top spots on this week's best-selling books lists remain unchanged

Today is Sunday, so that means that it’s time for my weekly breakdown of this week’s Publishers Weekly Best-Sellers Lists. According to those lists, there are no new books at the top of the four major best-sellers lists this week.

"Mistress" by James Patterson and David Ellis remained the No. 1 book on the hardcover fiction best-sellers list for the third straight week.

"The Liberty Amendments" by Mark R. Levin retained its spot as the No. 1 book on the hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list for the second week straight.

"The Inn at Rose Harbor" by Debbie Macomber remained the top book on the mass market paperback best-sellers list for the fourth week in a row.

"The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling remained the top book on the trade paperbacks best-sellers list for the second straight week.

There were four books on this week’s hardcover fiction best-sellers list that weren’t on that list last week. They (and their places on the list) included “The Third Kingdom" by Terry Goodkind (6), "Night Film: A Novel" by Marisha Pessi (7), "The Kill List" by Frederick Forsythe (8) and "The Bone Season: A Novel" by Samantha Shannon (9).

There were four books on this week’s hardcover nonfiction best-sellers list that weren’t on the list last week. They included "Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias" by Jane Velez-Mitchell (6), "The Synchronicity Key: The Hidden Intelligence Guiding the Universe and You" by David Wilcox (10), "Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life" by Chris Powell (12) and "Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson" by Jeff Guinn (13).

There was only one book on this week’s mass market paperbacks best-sellers list that wasn’t on the list last week – “The Last Man: A Novel” by Vince Flynn, which came in at No. 5 on the list.

There was only one book on this week’s trade paperbacks best-sellers list that wasn’t on the list last week - "Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel” by Maria Semple, which came in at No. 13 on the list.

As a reminder, I’m posting these lists each Sunday because they, as a whole, represent a great, contemporary recommended reading list. These lists are initially released each week on Thursday, and if you’re interested in reading them then, visit Publishers Weekly’s Web site at www.publishersweekly.com. Below you’ll find all four of this week’s best-seller lists.

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. "Mistress" by James Patterson and David Ellis
2. "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith
3. "Inferno" by Dan Brown
4. "Rose Harbor in Bloom" by Debbie Macomber
5. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini
6. "The Third Kingdom" by Terry Goodkind
7. "Night Film: A Novel" by Marisha Pessi
8. "The Kill List" by Frederick Forsythe
9. "The Bone Season: A Novel" by Samantha Shannon
10. "First Sight" by Danielle Steel
11. "The English Girl" by Daniel Silva
12. "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty
13. "Hotshot" by Julie Garwood
14. "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman
15. "William Shakespeare's Star Wars" by Ian Doescher

HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. "The Liberty Amendments" by Mark R. Levin
2. "Happy, Happy, Happy" by Phil Robertson
3. "Zealot" by Reza Aslan
4. "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg
5. "The Duck Commander Family" by Willie Robertson, Korie Robertson and Mark Schlabach
6. "Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias" by Jane Velez-Mitchell
7. "Lawrence in Arabia" by Scott Anderson
8. "This Town" by Mark Leibovich
9. "The Butler" by Wil Haygood
10. "The Synchronicity Key" by David Wilcox
11. "Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls" by David Sedaris
12. "Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life" by Chris Powell
13. "Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson" by Jeff Guinn
14. "Life Code" by Phil McGraw
15. "The Legend of Zelda" by Shigeru Miyamoto

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. "The Inn at Rose Harbor" by Debbie Macomber
2. "Webster's New World Dictionary" by Michael Agnes
3. "Low Pressure" by Sandra Brown
4. "University of Chicago Spanish-English Dictionary" by David Pharies
5. "The Last Man: A Novel" by Vince Flynn
6. "The Tombs" by Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry
7. "Ready to Die" by Lisa Jackson
8. "I, Michael Bennett" by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
9. "Calculated in Death" by J.D. Robb
10. "Friends Forever: A Novel" by Danielle Steel and Nick Podehl
11. "Forever" by Nora Roberts
12. "Heart of Texas, Vol. 2" by Debbie Macomber
13. "Never Let Go" by Sherryl Woods
14. "Castaway Cove" Joann Ross
15. "Three Little Words" by Susan Mallery

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. "The Casual Vacancy" by J.K. Rowling
2. "Alex Cross, Run" by James Patterson
3. "Proof of Heaven" by Eben Alexander

4. "The Silent Wife" by A.S.A. Harrison

5. "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter

6. "Joyland" by Stephen King

7. "The Panther" by Nelson DeMille

8. "I Declare" by Joel Osteen
9. "Burn" by Maya Banks
10. "DSM-5" by American Psychiatric Association

11. "Chesapeake Blue" by Nora Roberts

12. "Inquebrantable: Mi Historia, A Mi Manera" by Jenni Rivera
13. "Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel" by Maria Semple
14. "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed

15. "Entwined with You" by Sylvia Day

In the end, let me know if you’ve had a chance to read any of these books. What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

Daily Weather Observations for Sun., Sept. 1, 2013

Temp: 71.4 degrees F

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.00 inches

Humidity: 83 percent (High)

Conditions: Partly Cloudy skies; security lights still on in the distance; birds and bees audible and visible; dew on the ground.

Wind: 0.0 mph (No wind)

Barometric Pressure: 29.43 inHg

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.00 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.0 inches

Summer to Date Rainfall: 8.80 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 39.35 inches

NOTES: Today is the 244th day of 2013 and the 73rd day of Summer. There are 121 days left in the year.

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level. CoCoRaHS Station No. AL-MN-4, Station Name: Excel 2.5 ESE.