Outside Bend

Any idea of where in those states you'll be passing through? Lots of nice water in the Jackson area, although it can get pretty crowded between guides, outfitters, and DIY'ers.

As another twenty-something I'd have to disagree. All of your arguments against rap can just as easily be applied to classic rock, and many other musical genres- The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, CCR, The Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, and myriad other classic rock bands grafted lyrics and tunes from previous blues, pop, and motown artists and incorporated them into their own songs- how is that original? I'm not sure how much depth or deep introspection about your worldview you can derive fro a song about a yellow submarine, or a transvestite named Lola, a blind Elton John who can play pinball really well, or a song about money cleverly titled "Money." If Nelly fans are mindless zombies, what were the Beatlemaniacs at the Ed Sullivan Show and elsewhere? The Beatles got weird in part because they knew people would buy millions of their records no matter what. What about the folks at Altamont, or the folks dancing at the Grateful Dead concerts, or the people who still believe "Born in the USA," is a patriotic tribute to our country without bothering to listen to the lyrics? Aren't those folks zombies, too? And lest we forget where the "Wall of Sound," came from.... Point is- there's good and bad examples in any music genre- be that classic rock, blues, jazz, rap, or anything else. Painting the entire genre as "the death of culture," because you don't like one or a few of its groups verges on ignorance. All rap music is about pimping ho's (it's spelled ho's, by the way), is the same as saying all classic rock music is about free love and acid. Painting such a broad brush stroke doesn't encompass all the diversity of the music. Truth is there are a lot of rap artists out there making worthwhile contributions to music, whose songs are social commentary not unlike what Dylan an Neil Young were doing decades ago. They take on issues such as race, class, politics, diversity, war, cultural shifts in the urban environment, and other issues. The style is, yes, radically different. But the messages are often pretty similar. To me, there's plenty of skill involved- not everyone can write songs, even rap songs. When done well it requires a mastery of the English language (moreso than many country singers have ), as well as an intimate understanding of meter and rhythm, and spontaneity on the artist's part, not unlike what you'd find in a more conventional music jam. I don't listen to much rap, and I probably don't listen to 95% of the rap artists that are out there. But there are a few who do make the genre interesting and worthwhile. It's enough for me to appreciate it as an art form, even if I don't necessarily understand it all.

If you're not wedded to the Current, you may also want to look into the Big Piney... Either way, have a great time.

Gorgeous fish, and it looks like it came from some fairly small water, too. Good on you. Al- I think I've read that there was evidence of introgression between spots and largemouth in Kansas, though that could be due to one or the other being introduced outside its native range. And with the confusing history of spot systematics, it's hard to tell who saw what when.

The Chinese eat 'em, and there's a billion of those guys. The fish can't be all that bad I get the concern about eating fish out of the MO and MS rivers, especially fatty and long-lived fish like catfish and sturgeon. I'd probably even be reticent to eat suckers, carp, and buffalo from the big rivers. I wouldn't be as worried about asian carps, as they're planktivores and it only takes a few years for them to grow to the 5-10 lb range; basically a scaled, rostrum-less paddlefish. And honestly, I'm not sure how much worse eating something out of the MS or MO rivers is than eating fish from the Big, Black, LOZ, or parts of the Neosho watershed.

Soylent silver.

They survive fine in aquaculture ponds, as well as backwater areas on the large rivers. But I do think they need flowing water in order to successively spawn.

My thoughts as well. Every time I visit Branson (for entertainment, not outdoors), I come away with the feeling it's pretty inauthentic- lots of image, relatively little substance. There are plenty of smaller towns and festivals where you can experience the Ozarks without the hype and lights and traffic of Branson, and if I want quality entertainment, Memphis is just as far a drive, an easier drive, and has a little more diversity. Don't get me wrong, I think Branson's an excellent family-style vacation area. I'm just not certain their current model will hold up in another generation or two.

I'd be willing to bet the impact of Chicago's treated wastewater pales in comparison to the nutrient inputs of all the corn, soybean, pork, beef, poultry, and other ag producers in the region. I've had them both fried and smoked. Smoked is easier, you can do the whole fish. Butchering them isn't terribly tough, there's a way to do it where you avoid most of the bones, and the ones which remain are so large they can easily be removed. It's a firm, white flesh, not unlike tuna or paddlefish. As for the the market, Liyu is Chinese for carp, I believe, and sounds more appetizing than what they are.

And in winter, they can move in from just about anywhere.

This thread is a riot. You'd think there was never a rock or country song that had ever advocated the use of illegal drugs and the abuse of alcohol, talked about sex, degraded women, discussed murder, suicide, arson, railing against authority, or any other taboo subjects. All of this just suddenly materialized in rap, right? You've got Jim Stafford- a guy who peppers his family show with lame bathroom humor, sings a song about smoking pot with his brother, and throws mock cow turds at the audience. You have a brand new fountain, which did look pretty cool shooting jets of water and fire in time with AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," last time I saw it. There's a museum making profits off one of the greatest disasters in maritime history, and the building is designed to look like the Titanic hitting the iceberg. And you're worried Nelly isn't classy enough? I'd be willing to bet when the first acts arrived in Branson in the fifties, locals thought that was the end of a good thing. And when the strip started booming in the 80's, I bet locals thought it was the end of a good thing. And when Branson started ravenously expanding through the 90's and 00's, I know locals thought it was the end of a good thing. But maybe Nelly is just like when Ozzy and REO Speedwagon and Def Leppard played Lampe in the 80's- it seems like a huge, earth-shattering deal at the moment- but in a decade or two no one will remember. But for Branson to be a competitive tourist attraction into the future, I think they will have to diversify the attractions. Maybe that means Nelly, maybe not, I don't know. But Andy Williams isn't going to be around forever, and I can't think of any folks my age just dying to see the Osmonds.

Who knows, maybe Nelly's the next country crossover sensation, like Hoo....I mean, Darius Rucker.

From what I can see it sorta looks like a fly version of the Rebel craw, pretty cool looking bug.

The problem with electrofishing is partly that it isn't selective- you roll a ton of catfish, buffalo, and other fish in the process. Lots of commercial fishermen aren't going to let that "by-catch slide." There's also the issue of insurance- the fish jump, and it's no fun being hit with a 15 lb carp, trust me. Even if commercial guys were out there electrofishing asian carp, it'd take an awful lot of them to make a dent. Plus, it doesn't affect the market. If you can't sell the fish, you're not going to target them. Simply put, no one really wants to eat "carp," and there's only so much zoo feed and cat food you can sell.

Way to make lemonade : ) Hope for the best with you and your endeavours.

? I never said there's as many 90 pounders as ten pounders, only that a ten pounder has a shot at growing that big. Small fish do still grow into big fish, right?

It's a genetic trait, the offspring inherited two recessive albino genes from its parents, as opposed to to non-albino genes, or a dominant non-albino gene and one recessive albino gene. It's the same thing that happens in albino bunnies or pythons or bullfrogs or anything else- pretty rare in nature, but they can be produced in a hatchery fairly easily. Still a little surprising they've made it this far given all the big browns you saw Sounds like you had an excellent trip, glad you had fun.

I guess I'd rather see someone keep a stringer of fish here in the Ozarks than go to the store and buy something in serious trouble or unsustainable, like tuna, swordfish, shark, etc. Or go buy something aquacultured, with a sketchy environmental record and a track-record of depressing prices for wild-caught seafood (salmon and shrimp come to mind). I usually eat a couple fish meals a week during spring/summer/fall, almost all of which I've caught myself. The vast majority of my fishing, though, is catch-and release. I guess it's just part of the "localvore," trend- I like knowing where my food came from, what processing it has been through, etc.

I believe it's only illegal to sell sculpins if they've been caught from a river, stream, or other water of the state and then being sold by a bait dealer. If someone is raising them domestically and selling them, it's legal.

From the title, I expected a whole lot more than a bunch of dead fish

That ought to be a lot of fun, good luck!

They're at least as good as snapping turtle, and about as tough to clean

From what I've listened, she seems to have a lot of talent, although it's not a music genre I can really get into. And she seems a lot more genuine than a lot of female role models out there. The song discusses suicide, but lots of songs do. I don't think it encourages or condones the act. For starters, it wouldn't make sense to name a song condoning suicide after a life saving device (Tourniquet). Secondly, the phrase "my God my tourniquet," indicates to me God is what's keeping her from going through with suicide, that she's leaning on God, asking him for help through her struggle. To me, there's nothing really dark or sinister about that.

MDC is closing many of the public caves due to a fungal disease which is affecting many bat populations in the eastern US.

I eat just the eggs, throw the rest back.