Hammock Publishing production director Barbara Mathieson volunteers at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere during her time away from work. She is pictured on the zoo website at http://nashvillezoo.org/docents.htm. Barbara is in the new Lorikeet Landing and is showing visitors how to attract the colorful birds with cups of nectar.

For the first time ever, the Country Music Awards left Music City for the Big Apple. Cowboy hats, blue jeans and Southern accents were in full effect at Tuesday night’s awards ceremony at Madison Square Garden. And while you could probably argue that it was a good thing for country music that the CMAs were in NYC (more exposure and all) some of us back in Nashville couldn’t help but feel a little bitter at all the ooohh-ing and aaaahh-ing over the New York affair.
If you haven’t been here you might not realize it, but the Music City is a great city. Often referred to as the Athens of the South, Nashville is hardly a hick town. Below are a few reasons some of us would choose Nashville over New York any day.
We dont have the Yankees!!!
-Patrick B.
Two words come to mind…Pancake Pantry
Oh, and better traffic on Nashvilles Broadway.
Oh, and friendlier people.
And less crime.
And less expensive housing. Okay, I’ll stop…
-Summer
Let me take a contrarian point-of-view, here. The cabs are cheaper in New York than in Nashville and our public transportation is, well, challenged. But in the transportation department, Nashville’s abundant Southwest service makes it a snap for getting to and from most places quickly (and cheaply). Also, the Ryman Auditorium is a world-class venue for live music. (Oh, sure. New York’s not shabby in that category.) Speaking of live music, the Station Inn.
-Rex
One can afford to live alone because of slightly affordable rent.
-Carrie W.
Southeastern conference football is available in Nashville, although the “home” team Vanderbilt isn’t a powerhouse. and Radnor Lake, where my husband and I go hiking and herping (looking for snakes) on Sunday mornings.
-Barbara The Production Director
I can get most anywhere in 15 minutes or less. I can buy more than I can carry when I go to the grocery store. And people dont look at you funny when you say yall.
-Shannon
We have trees and grass within minutes of our homes and they are not full of muggers (just chiggers and ticks).
Jersey is a cow here, not a landmass barely visible through the smog.
A 30-mile commute doesn’t take two hours, and there are no tolls.
$300,000 buys a huge house and land, instead of just a third-floor condo.
We can wear shorts in November.
Our women are prettier. And some can even cook (and will).
-Bill
I can afford to have a car. Loveless Cafe. Great music, cheap cover charges.
-Jamie
More green spaces, parks, trees.
Closer to my family.
-Allison
If fellow drivers see that you’re stuck in traffic, most will actually let you in their lanes.
-Emily
1. Doesn’t reek of roasted chestnuts
2. Many fewer Yankee fans and other people who wear multi-colored, belted leather Giants jackets (and modeled their personal style after Don Mattingly)
3. Nobody here feels the need to announce, hourly, that they live in he world’s greatest city (It’s just understood)
4. Dogs here come in sizes larger than the Norwegian Brown rat
5. Camoflauge is not worn here as an ironic downtown pose (Fort Campbell soldiers, plus hunters, gain value from it)
6. Investment banker guys here don’t get manicures (or at least don’t brag about it)
7. A public display of orange flags isn’t referred to an art installation. It just means it’s “Football Time in Tennessee.”
8. We can visit. You have to live there and spend your free time figuring out when you have to move to Connecticut or New Jersey.
9. Car service? How about the luxury of driving a big-ass car yourself.
10. We don’t have to wait years before seeing someone we know at the grocery store.
-John

BtoB Magazine has just published its “Who’s Who in Business Publishing: Our inaugural list of 100 major players in business media.” We are proud to say that Hammock Publishing’s founder and president, Rex Hammock, is one of those players. We’re even prouder that he’s considered “edgy.” It would probably come as a surprise to him, though, to know that he’s also something of an edger.

So its Wednesday (aka The Day Lost Comes On), and lots of Hammoratis are among the millions of Americans taken with ABCs Emmy-awarding winning drama, Lost. Even though we dont have a water cooler at Hammock, we still gather somewherein the hallway, kitchen or copy roomon Thursday mornings to dissect what happened on the show and to fill each other in on the many details that can be discovered in each weeks episode.
Since a few Hammoratis were late in tasting the Kool-Aid and are still catching up on the first season, we cant make any predictions just yet about whats going on in season 2. But below, some of the show’s biggest fans reveal which character(s) they identify with most:
* Spoiler warning, some small things about season 2 are mentioned in answers.
Summer: I’d have to say I identify most with Shannon. Give me a loving dog and some cute clothes, and I’m a happy girl no matter where I am!!!
Laura: I am trying really hard to like this show because I want to be a cool kid, too. I have just started watching in the 2nd season, and I have no idea who anyone is except for Jack [well, wait, is he the doctor or the guy who wanted to open the hatch??] and the guy who won the lottery. Oh and Rose. She seems nice. I’m sure she’s hiding /something/. It looks like everyone is. So I don’t have a favorite yet because I can’t discern who’s evil [besides everyone] and who’s good [besides everyone].
Barbara: The new season of South Park starts tonight. Thats much more important.
Shannon: Id say Im a mixture of Michaelbecause hes bound and determined to get off that island as I would be; Charliebecause he can be a little whiny (my worst trait); and Waltbecause he loves his dog.
Allison: On most issues I can say I identify with Jack. Even though he succumbed, I would not have re-set the clock/timer thing. I would have wanted to know what would happen, because I don’t think anything would have happened. I think it is a mind game being played on them. I would just be out to survive and create the best environment possible, but I wouldn’t feel like Locke and believe the island has some special powers or whatever.
Jamie: A little hard to write about … I think I’m a combination of Sun (observant), both Jack (skeptical) and Locke (while having faith in lifes mysteries), and Hurley (likes to eat).
Lena: I think I’m the female version of Hurley (minus a few pounds). I would avoid the monsters at all cost, people wouldn’t find me too terribly annoying and I’d have a good time, despite being stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific with losers like JACK and KATE. That last statement, coming from someone who once said, “You guys are crazy! Shannon is cool. I like her.”
Julia: I would have to say that Sun fits that bill. She is strong, sensitive, creative and resourceful. In her life, she has stood up to her parents for the privilege of living her own life. She was ready to walk away from Jin, her husband and true love, when his lifestyle threatened her values. On the island, she has quietly added many things to the survivors’ existence acting as a nurse, gardener and friend. She seems to be an all around decent human being who is always ready to make her very worthwhile contributions to the cause. However, I would have to say that my favorite character is Sawyer. He brings a lot of humor and interest to every scene he’s in and, let’s face it, he’s very easy on the eyes.

October is a busy month so far for Hammock Days. What’s a Hammock Day you might ask Well, it’s the anniversary that each of us joined the Hammock team. Oct. 14 was that day for John Lavey, so we played a game of 20 questions, well, 10 actually.
1. October 14 was Hammock Day for you. How long have you been with Hammock Publishing? Nine years.
2. What do you remember most about your first day at Hammock? I started the same day as Anne Ray (formerly Crump), who worked at Hammock for several years and now works in San Francisco. She became a good friend. On that day, I remember thinking that the offices were much quieter than a newspaper newsroom, where I had come from.
3. If you didn’t work at Hammock Publishing, what do you think you would be doing? Hmm. Probably teaching literature and coaching track and cross country at a public school. With plenty of time left for my house full of girls (Hannah, my wife, and Frances and Mary Sparks, my daughters), and hobbies like running, travel and bird hunting. That, or Vandy divinity school.
4. What was your favorite cartoon growing up? On TV, there was a Japanese cartoon called Kimba the White Lion, which I watched back in the ’70s. It was basically the same story as today’s Lion King. In the newspaper, I was a fan of Peanuts (yes, really).
5. What was the last book you read? Last magazine you read cover to cover? David Halberstam’s “The Powers That Be,” a book about the rise of major media companies in the U.S. and the people behind the companies. Racer X, a magazine that covers the sport of motocross. This magazine is really well-done, beautiful images and well-written, relevant to the people who love this sport, fat with advertising, and of all things, published in Morgantown, W.Va.
6. What was your most memorable day at Hammock? Many memorable days, but 9/11 stands out. I walked in late because I had been at home watching, and no one here knew what was happening, so when I arrived, we all walked into the kitchen and turned on the TV. Everyone here (and it’s a pretty lively, opinionated bunch) was silent, horrified and in shock (no different than all Americans in those first few hours, I suppose). I’ll never forget the look on people’s faces here.
7. What’s your favorite reality TV show? Would you ever participate? Not a fan of the genre, but I suppose I have to say “Rock Star: INXS,” since my brother, Andrew, is a producer on the show. That show had great production values, and I do like the music competition part. No, I would not participate on the show. I’m the guy who selects Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” for Karaoke because it’s almost like speaking and not singing.
8. Where did you go to college? The College of William & Mary in Virginia. Second-oldest college in the United States, after Harvard. Established by Royal Charter in 1693. It’s where Thomas Jefferson and Jon Stewart both went to college. It’s where the academic honor code was established.
9. Where did you grow up? I grew up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, about 15 miles from Washington, D.C., with the exception of two years in Colorado. Most of my life, I lived in Fairfax County. I lived in Annandale and went to school in McLean.
10. If you could switch places with any other Hammock employee for one day, who would it be and why? Bill Hudgins, because he lives on a farm and because he knows how to dance really cool ballroom dances, including Latin dances like the tango. I know how to dance the hustle and other appalling steps that entertain me.

One of our clients is the American Watercraft Association , for whom we publish Ride Personal Watercraft Magazine. There’s a section in the magazine that is a joint project between AWA and Shawn Alladio, a world-renowned water safety and rescue trainer. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, Alladio and several colleagues went to New Orleans to assist in rescue efforts; their experience was chronicled by The New Yorker Magazine.

I had the pleasure of attending the Titans game this past Sunday with my dad. It was the first time either one of us had been to the Coliseum. We sat directly behind McNair’s family!
If you have a chance to go, make sure you know the correct street for parking since several are blocked off. We drove around the entire stadium to get to lot F (enter from 1st street for a much more direct route). I wore my t to show off my Hammock pride.
In case you didn’t know, we won 25 to 10.

From Rex Hammock:
Last week, I heard about the impact Katrina had on the publisher and staff of a New Orleans-based magazine and felt Hammock Publishing could reach out and help.
Romney & Charley Richard, publishers of Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine were flooded out of their home and office in New Orleans. (They still haven’t been able to return to either.) They are now living in an RV parked at their daughter’s home in Baton Rouge. Likewise, their staff are all direct victims of the disaster and are now evacuated across five states.
Committed to keeping Louisiana Cookin’ alive, yet consumed with the personal struggles she and her staff are facing, Romney sounded understandably dazed when I spoke with her for the first time last week. I told her that getting out a magazine is something we at Hammock Publishing know how to help her do…and that I know a lot of folks throughout the magazine publishing world will also love to volunteer to help out.
We’ve launched a weblog at KeepCookin.org. Please link to it. Please subscribe to its RSS feed. I know a lot of folks who read this blog are media-types, but we also really want to reach out to food bloggers, as well. Pass the word along to them.
Also, please purchase a subscription to the magazine. It’s a great magazine for folks who enjoy Louisiana cuisine or who have enjoyed the restaurants of New Orleans. Subscribing via the Louisiana Cookin’ website is perhaps the quickest and most-direct way that individuals can help support Romney’s efforts to get back up and running. (That, and advertising, which we discuss on the Keep Cookin’ blog.)
If you’d like more information regarding Keep Cookin’ or would like to volunteer your support, visit KeepCookin.org or e-mail: helpkeepcookin (at) hammock.com
Also, if you’re a blogger, as you make posts about this, please use the tags: magazines, louisianacookin, keepcookin.org

Hammock Production Manager and Red Sox true-believer Patrick Burns takes a break from attending PhotoShop World in his native Boston to root the Sox on to a 6-3 victory over the Angels. Since no party in Beantown is complete without T, he thoughtfully brought his Hammock shirt along for the occasion.

Digging through a folder of old family photos and letters today, our editorial director Bill Hudgins came up with this WWII gas rationing coupon that belonged to his mother. Let’s hope it is not an omen of things to come.