Carl B. Johnson, Outlaw Artist

Keb Mo and Robert Cray at the House of Blues

Liz and I had free tickets to the House of Blues last night in Atlantic City.

The Robert Cray Band opened with a one hour and fifteen minute set. After a short intermission, Keb Mo took total control of the stage.

It was a night of awesome R&B and straightforward blues.

We had balcony seating, and there is not a bad seat in the house if you are up there. The balcony is horseshoe shaped and looks right down on the stage.

Yeah, I know the picture is crappy, but it was taken by a crappy 3-year old cell phone. I guess I should get a new phone one of these days.

If you haven’t been to the House of Blues, you need to get there if not for the great musical line-ups, then for the massive collection of outsider art.

I find it amusing that my good friend and ardent democrat, Mark Krull, was accused of being a spy for the Republicans. It is sad that the Democrat freeholders and candidates have spent so little time in Millville that they know absolutely nothing about one of our prominent citizen activists.

Mark Krull is a proud and dedicated Democrat. He is the first person that I know that had an Obama sticker on his vehicle. He is also an ardent blogger (mkrull.blogspot.com), as everyone in Millville knows. One of his favorite websites is the “Blue Jersey” blog.

One might ask, “How does a prominent Republican such as myself maintain a friendship with a hardcore liberal such as Mark?” Easy, we both put the needs of the community first, and understand that we approach our differing political philosophies with a focus on the common good.

Mark and his camera are ubiquitous, and his videos invariably end up on his blog, with commentary. When I read this morning that Lou accused him of being a “spy” I laughed so hard I had tears running down my cheeks. You don’t get any more “D” than Mark.

And what is more amusing is the fact that I thought their meeting was open to the public. Why would we need a spy? We can wait to read the papers the next morning. And, we actually pay for our papers, we don’t read them at Wawa, and then put them back on the rack. However, Lou did send a spy to our Town Hall meeting last night. Maybe he is paranoid and believes everyone is as underhanded as he is?

I was deeply offended by the way the Democrats treated Mark. Isn’t it a free country? Wasn’t their last minute press conference open to the public? We didn’t toss out the Democrat spy last night. We didn’t challenge him when he made frequent phone calls reporting in to HQ. But the Democrats accuse one of their own and make him feel unwelcome?

The Democrats told Mark to remove the video from YouTube and to edit his blog about the incident.

Finally, I was deeply offended by Lou’s accusation, calling Sheriff Barruzza “a liar”. Barruzza is one of the most upright and honest individuals that I have the privilege of knowing. His heart for the community is obvious by all of the committees he is involved with, including the Weed and Seed steering committee on which we both serve.

I have seen the Sheriff’s plan. Lou assumes that because he hasn’t seen it (he refused to even entertain a notion to review the plan previously) it doesn’t exist. Using that logic, Doug Rainier is a liar because he had no specifics on his plan to expand services of the County Surrogate’s office.

The second annual Bonfire of the Travesties took place last Saturday evening.

Once again it was an unmitigated success!

Michelle Post hosted the bonfire along with yours truly. Over a dozen artists made sacrifices to the Art Monkey.

Local musicians Steve Byrne and Dan Godbey provided musical entertainment with some of the best folk music you will hear anywhere.

Meade Barnett and Tricia Dufford provided back-up vocals

And once again, Wayne Russell made a spectacular offering to the inferno.

Those that attended last year will recall the effigy that when consumed by the flames became an iron skeleton.

This year he produced a magic plywood box, which you see engulfed in these videos.

After the box burned away, a Phoenix was exposed.

The party ended sometime after 1am, with some hardcore people staying later, watching the meteor showers that are happening in the heavens this week.

I understand that tonight will be the best night to see them, as long as we have clear skies.

New Jersey bucked a national trend this past year, seeing an increase in tax revenues from the state’s gasoline tax.

You will often hear me complain about Jersey’s highest in the nation property taxes, highest in the nation state/local tax burden on its citizens, highest auto insurance rates, blah blah blah…

However there is one tax that is lower than most states, and it provides a valuable lesson that our Democrat legislators refuse to acknowledge.

Do you want to strengthen the economy and bring in more revenue? LOWER TAXES!

New Jersey’s gas tax is lower than most; hence our neighbors to the north, south and west will make a trip here to fill up their tanks.  The teetering economy and high fuel prices have taken their toll, to be sure. We know for a fact that our neighboring states are not driving as much, tourism took a massive hit with the shore seeing as much as 25 or 30% reduction in revenues compared to last year.

A $300 stimulus check is not going to help the economy; not when we have to use it to pay last winter’s heating bill, or this years increased property taxes. In Cumberland County, despite rhetoric claiming our county Democrats decreased taxes, residents saw a $300 average county tax increase in Millville and Vineland. There goes your stimulus check!

Anyway, that is my political rant for the day.

Vintage race cars roll down High Street in the pouring rain

More than 20 intrepid drivers braved the pouring rain to bring their cars to High Street Friday evening.

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is holding an event at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) this weekend.

Donald Fauerbach, executive director, approached me several months ago about the idea of bringing the race cars downtown. I talked to Liz, who is on the board of the MDC, and together with Marianne Lods we made it happen.

As always, the best laid plans… The weather was beautiful all day, not a cloud in the sky. I spent the morning at the racetrack, assisting with parking, watching these vintage cars during time trials.

Number 86, which I believe is a Lotus but I am probably wrong, is proof that these drivers know how to enjoy themselves. I am used to vintage car collectors being afraid to take their cars out on a cloudy day. These drivers like to drive their cars, and will jump at any chance to show off to the public.

The owners of the MG did not allow the treat of rain to dissuade them from coming downtown. Neither did the owners of this late 60’s era yellow Alfa Romeo Duetta. They all just came prepared with umbrellas.

Of course my favorite car of the evening, even though he is not a member of SVRA and never exceeds the speed limit, is Jack Narbut’s Austin.

Jack was in the front of the pack, chauffeuring Donald Fauerbach and Carolyn Watson of the NJMP. I asked Jack when the last time his car was out in the rain. Jack said, “Never!”

The rain poured for around 30 minutes, then the clouds rolled away and like magic the streets were filled with spectators.

Local glass artist Ari Rom and friends played some funky bluegrass during the Vintage Racecar procession on High Street last night.

On Friday evening the roar of vintage race cars was heard on High Street. The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is holding an event at the Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Several intrepid drivers, behind a police escort, arrived on High Street at 6PM, in the pouring rain.

Around 8PM, the procession headed back to the NJMP. Here is a video of the procession as they head off of High Street.

Yes, once again New Jersey is in the news. We are first place, again. I am so damned proud of this state!

New Jersey proudly has the highest tax burden of all 50 states. The Tax Foundation reported that while the average tax burden in the nation dropped a bit, New Jersey under the wise leadership of Jon Corzine bucked that trend.

The Tax Foundation compiled the state/local tax burden of all 50 states. The national average is 9.7% of the average income, down from9.9% last year.

New Jersey not content to follow national trends, increased to 11.8%. Corzine is crying foul, claiming that New Jersey’s higher than average wages some how skew the numbers. This is double-speak.

In plain language Corzine is claiming that because our wages are higher than average (as well as the cost of living) the government has a right to confiscate a larger chunk of our hard-earned money.

3rd Friday at the Old Oar House

The New Jersey Motorsports Park is now looking for local artists to display in the dining room of the Driver’s Club.

Local businessman, artist and NJMP supporter Mel Brody took the lead, recruiting artists to submit work.

This morning I dropped off “3rd Friday at the Old Oar House”, a large oil painting of a popular local pub.

They plan to rotate the work every 60 days or so. Work is for sale, and this is an opportunity to reach a brand new audience.

Did you know that the Tyson Foods plant in Shelbyville Tennessee has removed Labor Day from its list of approved holidays for its workforce. Instead, they get to take off to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

I don’t know about you, but I will think twice before purchasing Tyson products. In addition to Tyson chicken, these brands are also Tyson products: ITC, Wright Brand, Russer, Jordan’s, and Iowa Ham.