At Large In Louisville

Peepers, Teavana, and Nirvana

2012-02-06T21:39:00.000-05:00

I could see perfectly well this morning after putting my glasses on. I went to the eye doc to be evaluated for LASIK. A friend of mine who works as a sales rep for an eye care company recommended this doc. They dilated my pupils, measured my corneas, and tested my vision. After speaking with the doc I've decided against it and go back to contact lenses.

I met wife at the local mall and sitting at the corner of Teavana and Soma (where do they get the names of these stores?) I watched the hazy flow of people walking past. I was drinking a cup of Starbucks while eating a chocolate chip cookie. It was almost nirvana. Having your pupils dilated is similar to being tranquilized. You feel as though you're somewhat invisible as though you are a little kid again and when your eyes are closed no one can see you.

Back to LASIK, they slice the outer skin of your cornea, fold it back, and laser your cornea to reshape it. It takes about fifteen minutes and, bada-bing!, your eyes are eighteen years old again. It's not 100 percent risk free and that's the main reason I decided not to go that route. The cost is anywhere between $1,300 and $2,000 per peeper which isn't too bad considering the cost of eyewear and contacts over your lifetime.

Pins and Needles

2012-02-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

It was December I put my hat in the ring for a Network Analyst position at the central office of the Department of Corrections. A secretary in the Information Systems department called me last week and left the message, Call me if you'd like to set up a time for an interview for the Network Analyst position.

I called her the next morning at 8:30 and set up an interview for Wednesday at 1:00. The next day at work this secretary calls me and says she needs to push back the interview 24 hours to Thursday at 1:00. Okay, no problem, I'll be there.

All the while I'm skimming over my MCSE tombs, refamiliarizing myself with DHCP, DNS, MMC, and all other complex esoteric networking thingies that make a network run.

I get home and a message is on the phone. It's her again leaving a message saying that the interview is postponed until a later date. I call her the next day and ask what's going on. She doesn't know but she'll call me with another date in the near future.

I'm stoked for this interview, I want this job, it's what I've done, it's what I do, it's what I'm good at, it's what I haven't done in over two years since that terrible day I was laid off. On that day I didn't remember driving home.

I found out there's only six or seven other candidates interviewing for this position. I'm gonna get this job...I feel it in my bones. I'm gonna dazzle 'em in this interview...whenever it happens.

Unknown Boy

2011-12-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

I guy I know has the first name of UB. I asked him if his first name was Ulysses. He said no and that UB stood for Unknown Boy. He told me the story about his great-grandfather who was a slave in the south and it was fairly common at that time that black boys and girls who were split from their families and sold to another slave owner didn't come with their birth names and the owners simply wrote their names down as UB or UG. His great-grandfather's name was passed down to the UB I know.

Lyrics by William Chatterton Dix "What Child Is This?" set to the tune of "Greensleeves" written in 1580 possibly by King Henry VIII. Performed by the Moody Blues.

2011-12-24T18:02:00.000-05:00

We went to Kroger last night so wife could pick up a few last minute things for Christmas. I was sitting in the car waiting and I saw this guy getting out of his car WEARING A HOODY, BOXER SHORTS, AND FLIP-FLOPS! It's 35 degrees outside and he's dressed like it's the middle of Summer.

A little while later this same guy comes walking back out of the grocery store with nothing....he didn't buy a thing.

What's up with that?

Eyeing My Back

2011-12-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

She drew a lttle sketch for me, how she would cut it out, holding her pen like a scalpel. I imagined the blade slicing around the iris/scab left over from the biopsy, making it look like the green eye atop a dollar bill pyramid.

She told me to lie on my "tummy" like I was ten years old. I felt the pin pricks for for the numbing medicine. I thought of asking for a shot in my brain, it being election season.

I was a little kid again at my Grandparents pool in Florida, the sun beating down on my shoulders. I remember the rest of the evening being miserable, my back and shoulders had blistered from too much sun. My sister paid the ulimate price from cumulative sunshine.

I was at the doc's a few weeks ago and he stethoscoped my breathing, and said I had a suspicious looking spot on my back. The dermatologist biopsied it and said it wasn't a melanoma but wanted to carve out a perimeter just to be safe. I was suprised how much tissue they took.

It looked like a small uncooked Chicken McNugget.

Drive Home

2011-12-17T19:37:00.001-05:00

Driving home from work, listening to the radio and Wilco's "Impossible Germany" came on. It's such a great song, great melody, great guitar solo and it's been awhile since I've heard it. I may have posted the live version a few months ago. This is the studio version. You don't have to listen to it..but I'd advise it.

Wilco "Impossible Germany" 2007.

Peace and Dignity

2011-12-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

The peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Kentucky was served today by the inauguration of our second term governor and therefore I was off work governing inmates that commited crimes against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Wife and I brought our 2011 Christmas Tree home. We decorated. There are three ornaments on it that were from 1931. They're the most ordinary but, I think, the classiest ornaments on the tree.

The Tip of My Tongue

2011-12-12T20:47:00.001-05:00

We went to Hailee's Christmas chorus at church. We came early and once inside there were a couple of girls at a piano, one playing and the other singing. The piano tune sounded very familiar. It was driving me crazy trying to think of who it was. When the other girl started singing I knew who it was.

Adele "Someone Like You" 2011.

Let It Roll

2011-12-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

I was reading and the TV was on some inane show and then I hear a song in the background that sounded familiar. It hit me...what a strange song to put on this idiot TV show.

Most everyone I knew had this three LP album "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison. This was the first triple album released by a solo artist and in regards to the album's size, Harrison stated "I didn't have many tunes on Beatles records, so doing an album like "All Things Must Pass" was like going to the bathroom and letting it all out."

George Harrison "Let It Roll" 1970.

A Downer Post

2011-12-02T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's getting so I brace myself whenever watching the news. The killings, pedophilia, burglaries, and thefts wear me down. In most of these crimes the root cause is methamphetimine, oxycontin, alcohol...take your pick of drugs which are grinding up innocent affected families and communities across the country.

Working at the prison a large part of my day is spent reading the crime narratives of the inmate's offenses. Some of the stories are horrible and sickening. Truth is always stranger than fiction. When I talk to the inmates, most are like anyone you'd see outside the prison fence. They don't have horns growing out of their heads or three eyes blinking at you.

When you're out in the world doing your business there are more people than you think who are looking for a chance to get something for nothing and could possibly use violence to get it. Never think it couldn't happen to you. Sad but true.

Commercial Time

2011-11-30T21:13:00.003-05:00

Carvillion

2011-11-24T12:22:00.000-05:00

Wife said it looked like a pavillion. We've been wanting a carport put on our house for ten years. It was beyond my capability to do myself so we hired it done by a friend/remodeler with few equals...he did the job right so that it looks like part of the house.

Low Jumping

2011-11-19T11:26:00.003-05:00

What Happens At Papa's Stays at Papa's

2011-11-15T20:39:00.000-05:00

Hailee spent the night last night. "Dancing With The Stars" was on. We watched and they were dancing the Argentine Tango. Hailee and I danced the Argentine Tango, wiggling our heads back and forth being silly.

I went to the kitchen and she tangoed up next to me and whispered, "Mommy thinks I'm in bed asleep."

Not a Simple Break

2011-10-31T16:30:00.000-04:00

Noelle took a fall at her part time job Saturday off a two foot ladder jamming her femur into the tibia, shattering it so badly the trauma orthopedic doc said it looked like she'd been in a bad car accident.

Today she underwent a four hour surgery with a couple of pounds of screws and plates added to her anatomy. She'll be off her feet a month and it won't be at least until three months before she can walk normally again.

Before

After

Twice in Ten Minutes

2011-10-28T21:16:00.002-04:00

Driving home from my late day at work last week, St. Aloysius church on my right was lit up and the parking lot was full. I slowed down a little thinking a kid could dart out in front of me. What if that happened and I hit and injured or killed a child? I imagined it happening. The rest of my life lived out in alcohol soaked guilt. You see in the paper or TV about some poor person hitting a child. What makes me think about that sort of stuff?

I drive on and cut through the business park to Old Henry and catch a shadowy figure out of the corner of my eye, running towards my truck from my right. It's a deer and it runs in front of me. I slam on my brakes, narrowly missing it. The damned animal could've ruined my front end.

I Was Just Saying

2011-10-04T20:54:00.000-04:00

There is a phrase which I've been hearing alot of lately and I don't know what it means. It's like a after thought piece of fluff which follows a statement. The statement is usually derogatory or off color about someone or something. The phrase is "I was just saying"... like what you said sounded stupid or insensitive and it just fell out of your mouth accidentally.

At work in the last month I've received alot of emails that were supposed to have attachments...like a Word or Acrobat document which aren't attached. The email will say something like "here are the monthly figures for September" and there's nothing attached. There follows an email which usually says "duh, I guess it would help if I attached the document." I've heard of separation anxiety. You could call this attachment aversion.

We have weekly AA meetings at the prison with my inmates of which I'm the staff sponsor. We had the usual guest speaker last week. "Hi guys, I'm John and I'm an alcoholic." "Hi John." This guy was telling about his road to addiction and at one point he said that his doctor said that if he didn't quit drinking was going to get "psoriasis of the liver."

The Kings of Leon

2011-09-17T10:40:00.000-04:00

I love these guys.

Kings of Leon "Back Down South" 2010

Biting The Bullet

2011-09-15T10:13:00.000-04:00

Wife and I bought a new car on Labor Day. It's a brand spanking new Mazda CX9. It took some getting used to, with all the gee-gaws, bric-a-brac, bells & whistles, and gimcracks, but I think we're both about to be CX9 certified.

Let me clue you in about getting a good price, go to this Consumer Reports websight. If you have chosen a make & model you can click on "build and buy" and they'll send it to local car dealer for that model in your area. This costs fourteen dollars but I found it's well worth that small amount. We got the CX9 AT DEALER INVOICE. No fuss, no muss.

Three Dimensional Day

2011-09-15T09:53:00.003-04:00

Everyone said last night I haven't posted anything to my blog lately. Truth is, I didn't think most even looked at this anymore. I took a few pics last night. Here they are.

Tough Luck Thomas

2011-08-31T17:25:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law's alleged killer was refused bond reduction today. He's still languishing in the Louisville Jail. Awww. I hope he rots until he's found guilty in his April trial.

Anchorage in 1879

2011-08-28T21:15:00.003-04:00

I came across an old platte map of Anchorage, an old neighborhood just north of where we live. It was a place for the wealthy to live and play, founded who knows when. We go through Anchorage when we do our five mile walk.

Notice up in the upper left hand corner "Lunatic Asylum" and the little icon of the building. (You'll have to click on it for a bigger version.) They tore that building down around ten year ago. It's known now as Central State Hospital and the present version is about a mile down the road.

Cruisin the Aisles

2011-08-19T22:35:00.000-04:00

Wife and I went to the grocery, our weekly Friday night thang. They're remodeling the Kroger and we're still trying to get a feel for it. Most guys don't like doing the grocery thing. I find it relaxing, sauntering up and down the ailes, pushing the cart (in Western Kentucky they're called buggies.) Going past the ever mysterious evaporated milk, the chic pet food they market to people's taste, and WHAT THE...? There's a can of Heintz SPOTTED DICK. I can't help but be juvenile about this and make a few remarks to wife.

I had to look it up...from Wikipedia: Spotted dick is an English steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants) commonly served with custard. Spotted refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots) and dick may be a contraction or corruption of the word pudding (from the last syllable) or possibly a corruption of the word dough or dog, as "spotted dog" is another name for the same dish with the use of plums rather than currants. Another explanation offered for the word "dick" is that it comes from the German word for "thick" or dick.

There you have it. I think one night I'll have a nice steaming bowl of SPOTTED DICK!

Sparkly

2011-08-09T22:05:00.001-04:00

I washed my danger Ranger last night. Washed it real thorough, inside and out. On my way to work this morning I noticed all the vehicles I saw looked sparkling clean. Damn, I thought, must've been a mass thinking of like minds the previous evening.

After a few minutes I realized everything looked clean because it had been so long since I cleaned my windshield...duh.

In A Tizzy

2011-07-30T21:45:00.000-04:00

Wife is running around the gardens snipping what blooms survived this broiling summer, readying flower arrangements around the house for my family who's coming tomorrow evening for supper. The cicadas were making their summer racket. I thought Radiohead's tune kinda went with this post.

Radiohead "Everthing In It's Right Place" 2000

Pop Goes The Harold

2011-07-22T22:07:00.000-04:00

I found Harry Canary violated an emergency protective order and is now under the supervision of Ky Dept. of Probation and Parole and there was his latest mug shot. It won't be long now until he screws up somehow and turns up where I work.

Speaking of work...I received a promotion and raise July 18th. That's the exact month and day I started work in my previous job/life in 1998. I'm a caseworker now. If someone told me this would happen two years ago, I would've labeled you insane in the first degree. When I first started working at the prison I thought I might've been crazy to take this job. I really like it now...alot.

Birthday Eve

2011-07-19T22:06:00.001-04:00

Thirty five years is a long time to look back and remember with clarity most things. I was talking with my brother on the phone last night and I told him I would write a post about what we and our room mates did on that day. We were talking about that day the four of us ditched classes at UK and drove to High Bridge.

Brad said he thought I drove since I was the only one with an intact consciousness. The rest were, shall we say, seeing glowing edges and happy trails on that brilliant spring day. I was part designated driver, part spirit guide.

There wasn't a whole lot to stand on crossing the bridge on foot. a narrow way to the left of the double train tracks. Hell, no one was supposed to be walking on the bridge anyway and if we were caught we'd most certainly be fined or at worst, taken to jail. There had been people killed walking on this bridge while a train happen to come along. Nah...this could never happen to us.

High Bridge was built in 1877 and at that time was the highest railroad bridge in the U.S. It is still in use today. It crosses the Kentucky River, 300 feet below.

We were about halfway across and my brother threw a large rock he was carrying for that purpose off the side. It fell..... and fell..... and fell. We lost sight of it just before it hit the river. We barely heard it. We continued to the other side and turned to walk back. We heard the train whistle when we were about midway. I could feel the panic well up. We all stepped up the pace, hoping we could make it back before the train came through.

The train appeared and we could feel the bridge rumbling beneath our feet. The tiny walkway was too close to the track and there was a step up to an iron girder but there was nothing to hold onto but a steel cable two feet out. There we were, our backs to the passing train, holding onto the cable for dear life, our feet bouncing around on the girder, looking out upon the 300 foot drop. It seemed the train went on forever.

The drive back to our apartment was a quiet one. I've never been so terrified before or since. I'll be fifty-six tomorrow.

I Gotta Get me a Pair of These

2011-07-14T16:54:00.000-04:00

Quatro de Julio

2011-07-04T11:03:00.003-04:00

Rain on Independence Day in Louisville. We're going out to car dealers today. Wife has Murano Fever.

Steely Dan 'Deacon Blues' 1977.

Julia's Ninieth Birthday Reception

2011-06-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Touch Down

2011-06-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

Off work all week I've had alot of down time to help with my mother-in-law's birthday reception held this Sunday, getting the house ready for out of town cousin-in-law's I've never met before. They're from Mooreland, Oklahoma. I Wikied the place, a thriving metropolis of 1,190 souls located near the pan handle, tornado alley. They would've felt right at home if they arrived last night.

Louisville got hit last night with a few, one of which came damn close to us. I thought for a while that we wouldn't have to pay to have our backyard tree brought down after all. It was a nail biter. A few horse barns were demolished on the backside of Churchill Downs. The horse owners arrived to find horses wandering around like nothing happened. If you believed the news we had five tornados briefly touch down, all F1's and F-2's.

On the lounge by the pool today looking at the panorama of cumulus float by near the horizon while reading the thoughts of Harry Angstrom. I haven't read any John Updike since college. Love his style. Quote from Harry Angstrom in 'Rabbit Is Rich' ... "All in all this is the happiest fucking country the world has ever seen."

Van The Man

2011-06-22T13:58:00.000-04:00

I was rooting around looking for CD's to change out my in the stereo in my truck. I came across a Van Morrison CD he put out in '83. I was at a party back then and the host had the latest Van Morrison album 'Inarticulate Speech of The Heart'. It wasn't opened yet. We pealed off the plastic and put it on the turntable.

Wow...I remember thinking this was the best music I've ever heard...I was at a loss for words.
I bought the album the next day and played it so much I wore it out.

Van Morrison 'Higher Than The World' 1983

Well Smell

2011-06-15T22:38:00.000-04:00

Last night we were piddling around in the gardens and I smelled a very familiar smell.

"Do you smell something?"
"Yeah, it smells weird."
"Smells like marijuana to me."

It was the pungent sweet smell of weed and it lasted all evening long. Whoever was smoking it must've rolled up a baled size joint.

The Nerve

2011-06-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

I lost some of my majesty about three weeks ago in a storm but I'm still capable, mighty, and can still see a fur piece, nodding in the wind to all my cousins.

When the sun made it's way three quarters around the great arc a man pulled in the black stripe and barry met him and they walked back to look up at me from all angles. The man would look up and write something on a paper and look up again, pointing at me.

The man and barry talked for awhile and then he left, leaving barry the paper he was writing on. I guess he was writing a book report about me. barry gave me a wistful look, then went back inside the house where my shadow casts long across the top.

Wah Wah

2011-06-02T20:40:00.000-04:00

This post is for the purposes of bitching, whining, and moaning only.

First of all, part of the our backyard maple tree blew down. It crushed our deck, privacy fence, totalled wife's car, and messed up the front of my truck. We received a mega check in the mail from our home owners insurance yesterday and of course our premiums will most likely increase dramatically, as well as the car insurance. They're all blood suckers. You just can't win.

I'll have to do the repair/replace work myself 'cause lord knows any contractor will try and gouge us for every cent we have and do shoddy work to boot. I'll replace the wood deck with the synthetic Trex. I read where the Trex stuff is heavier than treated lumber..figures. Of course I'll pay through the nose for that stuff. My mother said don't work too hard or else I'll have another heart attack...you watch, it'll probably happen.

And if I have a heart attack there's another major price tag for a hospital stay. I pay buckets of money out my miserable salary for health insurance and what do I get? I'll tell ya what I get, I get iffy care from iffy nurses. The last hospital nurse I had on the 3rd shift had that glassy eyed high as a kite look. I was scared to death of her. I tell ya, I don't get any respect.

George Harrison 'Wah Wah' 1970.

Medication

2011-05-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

Every morning I take all my pills.
I take a:

Statin
Beta Blocker
Blood pressure pill
Nitro pill
Aspirin
Plavix (Slick 50)
Multi-Vitamin

I then rattle off to work.

Son Volt 'Medication' 2005.

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

2011-05-29T21:57:00.000-04:00

We sang this song in church this morning and I looked at the bottom of the page and it read, Words and Music by Thomas A. Dorsey. I immediately thought of the big band leader of the '40's but, after some research, I found that there was another Dorsey.

He was known as "the father of black gospel music" and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as "dorseys." Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom.

His first wife died in childbirth in 1932. Two days later the child, a son, also died. In his grief, he wrote his most famous of all gospel songs, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand"

Some guy on Youtube -- 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand'.

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear
Precious Lord linger near
When my life is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When the darkness appears
And the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

Storm Damage

2011-05-26T09:43:00.000-04:00

We had a storm blow through last night and we heard a whoooomp while lying in bed. About a third of our backyard maple came down and damaged our cars, crushed part of the deck, and damaged part of the fence. We were lucky in that it could have been much worse.

Tristan in The Talent Show

2011-05-21T16:28:00.001-04:00

Tristan loves to watch Michael Jackson dancing videos, copying every move. Once he heard that his elementary school was having a talent show that was it...he had to be in it. He auditioned for the teacher and the rest is history.

Spring Fashion for the Well Dressed Detective

2011-05-13T20:32:00.000-04:00

The Back Side of Churchill Downs

2011-05-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

Friends invited us to a tour of the backside of Churchill Downs given by Elliot Shelton, a horse trainer and thoroughbred farm manager. He trained Derby also rans and one Derby winner, Super Saver.

Since it's less than a week before the Derby there was more of a crowd than usual; groomers, exersize riders, trainers, the media, and a class of future jockey's lead by Chris McCarron.

Racing thoroughbreds are exhilarating to see in person. They're huge, agile, beautiful animals. They each have their own personality.

This is Shackleford, one of the favorites to win the Derby

A Monday on Frankfort Avenue

2011-04-25T21:34:00.001-04:00

My wife and I took an antique lamp to have re-brassed to H & D Brass today. H & D Brass is on Frankfort Avenue, a narrow road close to downtown Louisville on which train tracks run parallel along side of the street. On the other side of Frankfort are small shops, remodelled old homes, and restaurants. I supposed you could call it gentrified.

Back in the 80's I lived off Frankfort Avenue in an apartment complex called Belleau Wood. There was a famous WWI battle which took place at Belleau Wood along the Marne River in France in 1918. The apartments looked nothing like a battle field, but it was heavily wooded. Go figure.

We parked outside H & D Brass and I took the antique lamp out of the back seat. Wife said don't dare get hit by a car, it might break the lamp. We ordered a new globe and chimney and left the lamp there to be re-brassed. I asked the guy how old he thought the lamp was and he said around the turn of the century...maybe 1918...from France...along the Marne River.

On the way home we stopped at this place called Bluegrass Burgers to eat. There were a couple of women there al freso-ing and one was breast feeding her baby. We went inside and ordered and wife asked me if I wanted to eat outside. I said sure. The baby was done at the milk bar. The other woman had a baby too. We started talking with them and they were both mid-wives who worked mainly in a Amish community across the river in Indiana.

Photos and a Song From Easterland

2011-04-24T18:11:00.001-04:00

Marvin Gaye 'Wholy Holy' 1971

I Saw Smoky One Night

2011-04-23T19:49:00.001-04:00

The other night 'Nightline' was interviewing Smoky Robinson and they asked who was his favorite musical artist and he didn't hesitate at all and said Marvin Gaye. Smoky said he still listens to Gaye's most popular album 'What's Going On'. He went on to say that Marvin Gaye was way ahead of his time in music and lyrics.

I couldn't agree more. His music is timeless and sounds as good today...maybe better.

Marvin Gaye 'Mercy Mercy Me' from the 'What's Going On' album. 1971

Synchronicity for Everybody

2011-04-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

I was at work this past Saturday and I got to thinking about this guy my wife and I used to talk to at our old gym. Since we switched gym membership a couple of years ago we haven't seen him since.

Jerry was very funny and witty in a very dry sort of way and it took awhile to know just how funny and unique he was. Whenever we saw him we knew that working out would take a back seat to standing around yaking and having a few yuks. As I was sitting at the Gate One post I got to thinking he would join the gym we go to now and that I would surely see him soon bopping around the weights, plugged into his ipod. I miss the guy.

When I got home wife was putting away the groceries.

"You wouldn't believe who I saw at the grocery!"
"Jerry from the old gym?"
"HOW DID YOU KNOW!"
"'Cause I was just thinking about him today at work. Is he still going to Fitness 19?"
"No! He told me he just joined our gym!"

That doesn't happen often, but it does happen....the synchronicity. It happens to everybody.

The New Room

2011-04-20T22:26:00.002-04:00

It used to be a wide hallway we just walked through. We've working on it off and on since February. All that's left is the new couch and chair due in a couple of months.... oh, and new flat screen and sound system.

We broke down and had the wallpaper hung by a professional....one woman who did it in six hours.

Design, color, and concept by wife. labor by bb.

Girly Girl

2011-04-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

Hailee was over for Mimi to syle her hair for a cheerleader banquet. Her new dress, shoes, and new hairstyle for the occasion. Unbelievably, she'll be eleven years old on May eleventh.

To Buy or Not to Buy

2011-04-11T21:12:00.002-04:00

Steely Dan is coming to Louisville in August and if I don't buy tickets soon it will sell out. This is torture for me. I haven't been to a concert in a long time and Steely Dan was and is one of my favorite bands. I called my brother to see if he wanted to go. He hasn't called me back yet...the brat.

They're playing at The Louisville Palace. The Palace exhibits a Spanish Baroque motif with arcades, balconies and turrets. Cobalt blue, bursts of red and gold indirectly light all of the niches, coves and entrances. Above is a curved, vaulted ceiling with 139 sculptures of the faces of historical figures. The actual theater room inside The Palace is heavily ornamented and displays an imitation nighttime sky on the ceiling.

The theater is two stories with a floor and a balcony. Both floors contain bars that run the width of the building behind the theater, separated by a grand lobby of intricate art and architecture.

Its uncommon appearance has made it a popular venue for musicians to record live performances. I wonder if they're recording this concert.

Steely Dan 'Slang of Ages' 2003.

Let me put it this way doll
And I know it's getting late
I can tell from the planes of your face
That you're from out of state
But here in the Willows now here's the deal
Tomorrow's for squares -- tonight's for real

Drop me off in Groovetime
Do you hear the Slang of Ages
Show me how it's done

Now did you say you were from the Netherlands
Or was that "Netherworld"?
If you grew up in Amsterdam
Then I'm the Duke of Earl
These tabs look iffy -- you say they're good
Let's roll with the homeys -- knock on wood

Drop me off in Groovetime
Soothe me with the Slang of Ages
Show me where I turn

Are you all part of the Dreaming
Or the end of my life so far?
Or something half way in between
You oughta know
Hey -- where'd she go?
Damn -- she skipped dimensions
Was it something that I said?
Or something I was thinking
When she opened up my head?
Let me make it right baby -- never mind how
There's a crazy little place I know called "Be There Now"

Drop me off in Groovetime
Do you hear the Slang of Ages
Show me how it's done
Drop me off in Groovetime
Soothe me with the Slang of Ages
This is where I turn

Woof!

2011-04-06T18:39:00.000-04:00

I felt more sluggish than usual rolling out of bed Monday. I chaulked it up to wife and I working in the yard and garden spring cleaning most of the day Sunday. I stumbled into the kitchen to put water on for coffee and by then I knew something was skulking around in my veins, making me feel sick as a dog. I felt as if I had the hangover from hell.

Allergies, I thought. The days are getting warmer and I was practically wallering around in the lawn and garden yesterday. After struggling to eat a bowl of shredded wheat and finishing my coffee I started feeling nauseous. I hit the couch and slept off and on for four hours.

Wife woke me and commanded me to make a doctor's appointment. Walter doesn't come into the office on Mondays so I hauled my sorry ass to an urgent care place. I've been to this place a few times but they always have me fill out the Emancipation Proclamation of confidentiality agreement. I could care less if the whole world knew I was sick today.

They show me to the same room I've been in before to sit and wait for the doctor. He finally makes his appearance and introduces himself as Dr. Smith. I mentally bet his first name is John. He asked a bunch of questions and nurse comes in and wants a sample of snot from both nostrils. She leaves with the snot rockets and it seems like forever before Smith comes back.

You have the flu. The Flu? I haven't had the flu since I was the little kid. I take flu shots almost every year. It must be the Roederer Correctional Complex Hong Cong Crud. He gives me Tamilflu and phenergan for the nausea. He also gives me hydrocodone for the head and body aches. That's kinda overdoing it.

I fill the prescriptions and sleep the rest of the day. I call in to work and tell them I won't be in the next couple of days and I choke down a slice of toast for dinner and sleep in the guest bedroom. Wife gives me a wave good-night. My right shoulder bursitis decides to act up and I can't sleep. I'm glad I filled the hydrocodone script and take one. I know from experience Ibruprofen won't touch this pain.

I've been having alot of dreams lately. My brother and I are back at U of K and the whole campus is partying for spring break. It was like Daytona beach converged on the campus and Brad and I were going from bar to bar, drunk as hell. That's all I remember.

I don't how Tamilflu works but it does the trick and today I feel almost back to my ornery self. I've forgotten how bad influenza can make you feel. I tell ya...I was sick as a dog.

Winter's Bone

2011-03-31T21:30:00.002-04:00

We watched "Winter's Bone" a couple of weeks ago. It's a small independent film (my favorite kind of film) and starred Jennifer Lawrence who was a Oscar nominee for best actress. I liked it alot and so did my wife which kind of surprised me.

One Eyed Bill

2011-03-26T22:26:00.000-04:00

My grandfather would occasionally take cattle to be slaughtered for meat. The man he would take the cattle to was known to me as 'one eyed Bill' because that's what my grandfather called him. He wore an eye patch and since I was a little kid this intrigued me to no end. I remember grandfather telling me not to ask him why he had only one eye and where his other eye was. Of course my grandfather called him Bill when talking business with him.

I was around ten years old on my first trip to the slaughter house. I remember grandfather telling me that if I didn't want to watch, that it was okay and I could do something else around town while one eyed Bill did his work. I felt a mixture of excitement and dread but I wanted to see it.

I was seated in a chair to the side of the cement killing floor, a floor drain in the middle. I heard grandfather's truck backing up outside. The animal was stumbled out in a small pen made of wooden slats from floor to ceiling in the corner of the room. The animal somehow sensed something terrible was about to happen and was thrashing about, it's eyes wide and darting around so that you could see the whites.

I felt my face getting flush and my heart was pounding as one eyed Bill suddenly pulled a rifle up, holding it like a pistol with one hand. He was pushing a lever with his other hand that somehow squeezed the cow against the wall, making it easier for a clean shot to the head.

The rifle made a pop and the cow dropped. He opened the gate and pulled it's now lifeless body out in the middle of the killing floor. I felt a mixture of revulsion and fascination. My grandfather was now in the room leaning against the wall smoking. I could feel him watching me. Blood was coming out of the animal's mouth and ears.

One eyed Bill cut the cow's throat and blood gushed out finding the floor drain. He gutted it with a large machete like knife, cutting out the stomach, intestines, heart, and lungs from the rest of the body. In no time a big pink side of beef was hanging from a meat hook. After coming back that day I remember feeling exhausted as though I had done the work myself.

My grandfather asked if I were hungry because my grandmother was making hamburgers for supper.

Graffiti and Confetti

2011-03-24T17:29:00.001-04:00

The car windshield had smears and she reached over to spray fluid and wipers. This slightly irritates me; who's driving this car anyway? Wife and I are going to pick up something quick to eat after the gym.

Last night I had an intense vivid dream. I'll blame it on the non-drowsy antihistamine I starting taking the other day.

I'm installing some sort of kit....a new kind of windshield washer kit to replace the old system on my truck. Someone says I'm going about it all wrong and besides, it works the same way as the old system anyway. This person is really upset over the way I'm doing it.

I look at my truck which is laying on it's side and this person is saying something about the wiper indicators don't line up and it's the reason the system doesn't work right. We have a heated argument and I take off running.

I'm running around my childhood neighborhood in a pouring rain. I look over my shoulder and there, running along side of me, is my niece. She's assuring me that I did the right thing with my truck and tells me to follow her.

I follow her to a beach house and the sky is drenched with sun. There are many small people dancing around and they're waiting for something to come ashore. They all have bags of confetti, throwing handfuls in the air. The confetti becomes animated and changes into all sorts of sparkling shapes. There are also little people drawing a colorful graffiti on a stilted beach house.

I can't help but laugh at the feeling of celebration. My niece tells me to follow her up the stairs of the beach house and then there are hundreds of people with us, among them are my brother, sister, other nieces, nephews, and my parents. I'm behind my mother, helping her up the stairs. My shirt sleeves are ballooned out because they're full of confetti.

My niece and I are in the beach house and she's showing me photographs of her mother and father. She wants me to help decide which ones we show at their funeral. All the photos don't look like photos but graphic representations of photos. Some look like crude M.C. Escher prints.

I wake at 2:50am. That's were the dream ended. It's the most vivid, colorful dream I've had in a long time.

Summer White

2011-03-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

Our living room is taking shape and we're almost through with the painting. The name of the paint is Summer White. A white by any other name smells like paint.

Enamel Wins

2011-03-20T10:47:00.002-04:00

All day Sunday jazz streaming from the web and I'm off work sitting here in my sweats playing spider solitaire. I don't want to do anything because my barking sinuses, but there's plenty to do. The gallon of woodwork paint is sitting upstairs nagging at me. The paint brushes are feathering my conscience. Even the green cut in tape rasps at me. Will we never finish the damn living room?

I feel like ibuprofen and a nap, fall asleep while the 'Trane plays Aisha....no no... ibuprofen and a whispering TV golf announcer "That was a beautiful chip shot, but I would have used the 60 degree wedge instead." zzzzzzz.

Ahh screw it, I'll go ahead and paint (while jazzing it up)

As Clear as Water

2011-03-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

I had a dream last night. I told my wife about it this morning:

"I was in a sort of forested outdoor ampitheater and I was called that there was trouble and started running where I somehow knew where the trouble would be and came upon a correctional sergeant (who I know from work.) He said they were coming.

Several wolf-like animals were running towards us. We were protecting each other, back to back, fending off the wolf-like creatures. We ran and the scene around me had changed to the UK campus. I was walking up and down the aisles of the student center theater searching the faces of the people for someone I knew. It was somehow important that I find him or her.

The creatures appeared again and I ran and the scene changed again to our home in the early morning. I rushed in the back porch. There were clothes neatly laying on the floor and I knew they belonged to a couple who are close friends of my wife and I.

I heard Bruce snoring in the living room and then he came out fully dressed with a hat on. He seemed upset and asked where I had been, your wife has been crying. My wife appeared and asked what I had been doing all night.

I held out my shredded bloodied arms and said this is what. There was a slow deep growling sound coming from outside. The wolf-like creature was as big as my truck and was circling the deck around our back porch.

I woke up terrified and it was awhile before could get back to sleep. It was 2:38am."

My wife said with all the stuff going on with you at the prison I can see where that dream came from, It's as clear as water.

Alternative Minimalist Chanteuse

2011-03-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

Jessica Lea Mayfield just put out a new CD. She's dark, sad, and mysterious. I can't figure why I like her music, and especially her voice..but I do. A twenty-one year old alternative minimalist chanteuse.

Jessica Lea Mayfield 'Our Hearts Are Wrong' 2011.

It Didn't Work

2011-03-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

The first book of Timothy was a letter written by the Apostle Paul to Timothy regarding how to minister to the early Christian church of Ephesus. It was written about 64 AD and at that time Ephesus was the second largest city in the Roman Empire with a population of roughly 250,000.

I showed the following verses to wife today. She just rolled her eyes at me and said "Yeah, right."

"¹¹ A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. ¹² I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."

Chiropractic Wikipedia Tangents

2011-02-28T21:46:00.001-05:00

Most of the day Saturday I finished up the caulking.

Saturday night my back started in on me.

Sunday it was worse.

Had a hard time getting out of bed this morning.

My chiropractor squeezed me in.

She manipulated my spine.
She TENSed my back.
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

It has been used since 1974.

It feels weird, but good.

good vibrations.

Beach Boys.

Then her massage therapist squeezed me in. Her name is Mary Hieronymus

There was a painter from the fifteenth century.

His name was Hieronymus Bosch.

Not much was known about him.

He was Dutch.

Fewer than twenty-paintings survive.

My deductable has increased five dollars.

Blood suckers.

Academy Connection

2011-02-27T20:07:00.000-05:00

Jennifer Lawrence starred in the film 'Winter's Bone'.
Her mother's name is Karen Lawrence
Her maiden name was Koch.
Karen Koch was a cheerleader at Westport High.
She married a guy named Lawrence.
I went to Westport High.
Karen and I graduated from Westport together.
Karen probably wouldn't remember me,
if she tripped over me.
I haven't seen 'Winter's Bone' yet.

Big deal huh?

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

2011-02-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

Today I heard this song covered by a Welsh band, the Stereophonics. Most people think that Roberta Flack wrote this song.

It was written in 1957 by political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who was later to become his wife. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else.

MacColl wrote the song for Seeger, also a folk singer, after she asked him to pen a song for a play she was in. MacColl wrote the song and taught it to Seeger over the phone. The alternative version of the creation of this song is that MacColl was challenged by a friend to write a love song, with no politics. This song was the result.

MacColl and Seeger included the song in their repertoire, when performing in folk clubs around Britain. During the 1960s.

The song entered the pop mainstream when it was recorded by Roberta Flack in 1972. The Flack version was much slower than the original: an early solo recording by Seeger, for example, clocked in at two and a half minutes long, whereas Flack's is more than twice that length.

Stereophonics 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'

BB Studley

2011-02-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

I rely on our neighbor Bill, a semi-retired Finnish carpenter, when doing projects involving wood working. The last three days I've held his compound miter saw and two nail guns hostage. However much I would like to buy these goodies, I can't justify it. Our living room smells like a saw mill but things are looking good. All the wainscotting and trim are up and I ran into very few problems.

Now comes the tedious finish work of setting odd finishing nails, which despite using the nail gun, didn't have enough umph to penetrate the plaster walls and the fifty-five year old studs beneath. I'm a fifty-five year stud myself...HAH. Caulking...how I hate to caulk, but no matter how much you'd like to be the perfect stud-carpenter, caulking is necessary.

Chair Rail Dragster.

Never Ending

2011-02-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

After the new hardwood floor, new baseboard and repainting the wood trim in our bedroom the remodel cancer has now spread to the living room. The wainscotting has been put up and tomorrow I start on chair rail and baseboard. I have the week off. surely I can finish in five days -- even with the unseen problems that will come. In spite of this, I love doing remodels on the house. It may be because of the problems that I like it.

On home improvement TV shows they edit out the cussing and gnashing of teeth. They make it look so simple. At the end of "New Yankee Workshop" Norm Abram says you can order the plans for the project he just finished and you'll be off and running. Of course Norm has 100,000 dollars worth of equipment in his designer workshop and decades of professional woodworking experience.

After I'm through with my part we're papering between the chair rail and ceiling. Wife is the official wallpaperer and I'm her gofer. We work well together...hell we should, we've papered most every room in the house...twice.

Paul & Art

2011-02-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

You've probably seen a car commercial with a background song which happens to be Simon and Garfunkel. The snippet of the song sounds speeded up slightly on the commercial. For some reason this irritated me.
It's similar to changing words in a Mark Twain novel.

Paul Simon wrote this as a thinly-veiled message to Art Garfunkel, referring to a specific incident where Garfunkel went to Mexico to act in the film Catch-22. Simon was left alone in New York writing songs for the album 'Bridge over Troubled Water', hence the lonely feelings of 'The Only Living Boy In New York' Simon refers to Garfunkel in the song as Tom, referring to their early days when they were called Tom and Jerry, and encourages him to "let your honesty shine...like it shines on me."

The background vocals (the part in the commercial) feature both Garfunkel and Simon recorded together in an echo chamber, multi-tracked eight times."

Simon and Garfunkel 'The Only Living Boy in New York' 1970.

A Tub Of Lard.

2011-01-22T12:24:00.004-05:00

I was listening to some Bruce Hornsby this morning and thought I'd post a song of his. This song fits my mood this morning 'cause it's too dang cold to do anything today (besides try and shovel the frozen solid driveway.)

Bruce Hornsby 'This Too Shall Pass' 2002.

Gotta get somethin' done today
Give a accomplishment a shot
Might not have a full palette to use
But im gonna paint with the colors I've got

Then your hopes and ideals you embrace
Then there's what's staring you in the face
Sorrowful times are here but they won't last
'Cause, this too shall pass

This to shall pass

Feelin like a lazy tub of lard
Rajneesh Jr. gave me his business card
Think I'll take a personality test
Document my fineness this far

Then your hopes and ideals you embrace
Then there's what's staring you in the face
First place man will one day roll in last
'Cause this too shall pass

And this too shall pass

Better get on out to the startin' line
Comin' soon they're gonna fix it in time
I just want to get what's mine
Not a function, gonna just, gonna adjust the lights

And this too shall pass

What you gotta do to find a cure
For the things that make you feel so inpure
Just now i don't know for sure
Sometimes misery has a stange lure

Then your hopes and ideals you embrace
Then there's what's staring you in the face
Sorrowful times are here but they won't last
Because this too shall pass

Then your hopes and ideal you embrace
Then there's what's staring you in the face
Sorrowful times are here but they won't last

Because this too shall pass
This too shall pass

Yellow Snow

2011-01-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

We have a large back porch with seven sliding glass doors. We've been putting 1x1 wood sticks in the tracks at night for security. It's impossible to slide the doors open now. I found out how impossible today.

I recently painted some baseboard and shoe mold which I had atop a couple of horses in the living room. Today I the put all the dried wood on the living room floor and took the horses out on the deck to use for outside work when the weather broke. It was about twenty-five degrees outside.

I took the horses outside and as I slid the door shut I heard the 1x1 wood piece fall from where it had been propped up. I looked and saw the stick had fallen in the track, locking me outside in the cold. I immediately had to pee of course and as I went in the great outdoors on the snow I thought of that stupid Zappa song and couldn't get it out of my head.

I tried prying the door up...didn't work. I tried the front door we never use. It was locked. I went to Bill's across the circle. I think we had given him a key to our front door sometime past. No, Bill didn't have a key. I could've call wife but I know she had given her key to one of the girls.

I thought of the windows and knew there was one that wasn't latched on the inside and the storm window was stuck open. AHA! Thank God I'd never gotten around to repair it. I got a ladder and screwdriver out of the shed and took out the storm window. Wife had two antique depression glasses sitting on the window ledge.

I could move the top window down just enough to get my arm through to bend my elbow. One of the glasses fell and by some miracle it didn't break when it fell into the kitchen sink. I could just barely grasp the other glass and took it out. I think I'd rather die of hyperthermia than face my wife with broken antique in hand.

I was half way in the small window when a Louisville Metro Police cruiser pulled up in our driveway. A week ago we had called and requested extra patrols in our Circle because some punk had been rummaging through our vehicles at night. (Middletown aint the sleepy suburb it used to be) They had a few questions to ask me. I told them the story and he kind of smiled and took off.

I'm grateful for Louisville Gas & Electric and the Louisville Metro Police Department. After I warmed up I went to the local locksmith and made two copies of the front door key and I'm having new locks installed on the sliding glass door entrance and do away with those 1x1's.

Frank Zappa 'Don't Eat the Yellow Snow' 1974

Boardwalk Empire

2011-01-13T11:36:00.000-05:00

I'm currently watching the first season of 'Boardwalk Empire'. The time and place is the 20's Atlantic City, New Jersey. I'm always a sucker for period stuff. Martin Scorsese produced it and Steve Buscemi plays the title role of the corrupt city official, Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson.

The Price of Beautiful

2011-01-10T21:12:00.001-05:00

We had come here after meeting the Luntes for pizza and beer at Impellizari's (best pizza in Louisville.) I had a couple of beers so wife drove us to Von Maur. She needed face cream. I seldom drink beer anymore and I had that floaty feeling. It's nice to be driven sometimes.

Watching the woman run her fingers across the keys in the post Christmas cavernous almost empty space of the department store, the notes had an empty sound. She was around seventy-five and I imagined her as an old maid who, in younger years, gave piano lessons to middle schoolers.

There's that mysterious link between wife and the sales clerk, full of female cues and symbols the meaning of which most men are clueless. They finally came to an agreement which potions and lotions wife should purchase. Sales clerk rang her up as the pianist was reaching a crescendo. Surely I had heard wrong.

As we were walking to the car I asked her if what I heard was right. Wife said yes but it's cheaper than botox.

A Simpler Time

2011-01-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

Listening to the radio today a song started playing I'd long forgotten about. It sounded so good. Remember this one?

'This Guy's in Love With You' Written by Burt Bacharach & Hal David. Performed by Herb Alpert 1968.

Eez Inger Ed Ookies Are Ood

2010-12-30T11:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think about backpacks. Let's see, the newspaper in my left hand, coke in the other. I spy the tin of homemade ginger bread cookies a client gave my wife for Christmas. I put down the newspaper and coke, take the tin top off and get a cookie. I tuck the newspaper under my left arm to hold the cookie in my left hand and grab the class of coke with my right.

I hear my wife downstairs. "Barry, can you bring down the can of chex mix please?"

I put down the newspaper, cookie, coke and take the can of chex mix out of the pantry. I cradle the chex mix between my right arm and chest so I can hold the glass of coke. The newspaper, tucked in my left armpit, cookie in left hand.

"Honey, can you fix me a coke too?" (In most southern stated this translates to filling a glass with ice and pouring in any kind of soft drink, including coke products.)

I put down newspaper, cookie, chex mix, and my coke. Fixed wife a coke. Cradle chex mix on right side, wife's coke in right hand, tucked newspaper in left arm pit, and my coke in left hand. The ginger bread cookie delicately held between my teeth.

I stepped downstairs, Wallenda-like, without spilling a drop.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T17:06:00.000-05:00

Robert Earl Keen 'Merry Christmas from the Family'

XXX-Mas

2010-12-23T21:35:00.000-05:00

Who Are Those Geezers?

2010-12-23T16:35:00.000-05:00

The Rolling Stones have been around since 1962. In 2005 they released their 27th studio album called 'A Bigger Bang'. I think it's the best they've sounded for a long time. They have returned to their roots...straight ahead rock and roll.

The Rolling Stones 'Rough Justice' 2005.

New Round

2010-12-22T15:41:00.004-05:00

Remember singing 'rounds' in grade school...Row, row, row your boat? I was listening to Beck in my truck the other day and the song 'New Round' came on. I never really paid much attention to this song but it struck me how the song got it's name. It has become one of my favorite songs by Beck.

Beck 'New Round' 2006.

New Round

When the oceans are dark
The heavens are foreboding
A chain link wind
Is breaking you open

And lessons of the day
On a blackboard night
It seem to be erased
And the beacon has a light

The eyes of confusion
Looking for a string
Everything they need
To keep the dogs at bay

There's no escape hatch
No submarine
Could take you to the moon
rake you in the leaves

And keep you just the same
All in my arms
Some day, some day
Say bye bye bye bye

Bye, bye, bye

I'm smaller than a stone
Bigger than a road
Farther than an ocean
Closer than a soul

Every little word
And every little step
Every new direction
Closer you would get

The farther away
You go from where we went
I'll try to keep with you
Hold you like a star

Found the frozen bank
To a hollow tune
Pushes up beyond
And all they come from home

When you bring them down
All they fall aside
On the radios
Don't forget it's yours

Bye, bye, bye

[Spoken]
What?
Dinner time, yeah.

We're Floored

2010-12-14T21:08:00.000-05:00

We added on to the front of our house back in 1992. I cannot believe it's been that long ago. Today we had the eighteen year old carpet ripped out and a new hardwood floor installed. Australian Cypress. Looks good.

All that's left is baseboard and shoe mold and we're good to go.

Birth of Venus

2010-12-14T20:57:00.000-05:00

There is a new female Correctional Officer at work and the first time I saw her she reminded me of someone or something. It was her face.

I figured it out the other day; she's Venus in Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' painted in 1485.

Cauliflower Brain

2010-12-01T12:47:00.004-05:00

On my way to roll call the Captain stops me outside his office. "McClain, you're going to BHNE to relieve Ramsey." I do an about face and walk to the parking lot and arrive at the hospital fifteen minutes later. It's going to be an easy, but boring day.

Ramsey hands over the restraint keys, cell phone, and weapon. He's anxious to get home. The inmate is sleeping as far as I can tell, with the sheet over his head. He occasionally stirs.

Besides keeping an eye on the inmate, there nothing to do but watch TV. There's a cops & robbers rerun, then a little food channel. What's his name was stuffing hens with a cranberry dressing mixture. For drinks he made a champaign cur royale with craneberry juice. I'm not sure I would like it. Too foo-foo.

A CT tech comes to take the inmate to get a head scan. I wheel chair him behind the tech, who is wheeling the IV stand. They move and adjust his head inside the donut hole. The image appears on the screen and as the tech moves the mouse an invisible plane moves down through his brain like a time lapse of a blooming cauliflower.

These Are The Days

2010-11-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

I was watching James Taylor and Carole King performing live at the Troubador on PBS. It sounds every bit as good as it used to.

Carole King's first big hit; 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow'

Black Friday

2010-11-26T07:00:00.021-05:00

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Depending on the source, the term dates either from the 1980s or back as 1966, although its usage was primarily on the East coast. The term has become more common in other parts of the country since 2000. On this day many U.S. retailers open very early, with most of the retailers typically opening at 5AM or even earlier, at midnight.

The day's roots may have originated in Philadelphia, where it was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Others claim it was part of mid-1980s anti-consumerism backlash, when people took a pledge to "blackout" that day - staying home, rather than shopping.

I'd rather be drawn and quartered than to go anywhere near a mall on this day.

Steely Dan 'Black Friday' 1975

Messin With The Camera

2010-11-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

Has it really been that long ago?

Ready for the big day.

Law and Order

2010-11-23T20:42:00.001-05:00

Ben is no longer an officer but was promoted to detective and was on TV a week ago.

A Day in The Life

2010-11-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

'A Day in The Life' is one of the Beatles most famous and influential songs.

the song comprises distinct segments written independently by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, with orchestral additions added later. While Lennon’s lyrics were inspired by contemporary newspaper articles, McCartney’s were reminiscent of his youth.

George Martin, the Beatles' producer, later described explaining his improvised score to the puzzled orchestra:

"What I did there was to write ... the lowest possible note for each of the instruments in the orchestra. At the end of the twenty-four bars, I wrote the highest note...near a chord of E major. Then I put a squiggly line right through the twenty-four bars, with reference points to tell them roughly what note they should have reached during each bar ... Of course, they all looked at me as though I were completely mad."

McCartney had originally wanted a 90-piece orchestra, but this proved impossible; the difference was made up, as the semi-improvised segment was recorded multiple times and eventually four different recordings were overdubbed into a single massive crescendo. The results were successful; in the final edit of the song, the orchestral bridge is reprised after the final verse.

Following the final orchestral crescendo, the song ends with one of the most famous final chords in music history. Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Evans shared three different pianos, with Martin on the Harmonium, and all played an E-major chord simultaneously. The final chord was made to ring out for over forty seconds by increasing the recording sound level as the vibration faded out. Towards the end of the chord the recording level was so high that listeners can hear the sounds of the studio, including rustling papers and a squeaking chair.

'A Day in The Life' The Beatles 1967.

Ooooooooh Scary

2010-11-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Hailee as Eighty's Girl and Tristan as Dash Incredible. Tristan's mask looks upside down but we turned it over and that looked upside down too.

Death Grip

2010-11-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

I was pulling the dead zinnias out of the ground. They'd served the previous season's purpose, giving summer color in our house. I'm surprised at the death grip strength of the roots as I pull. I can't help but feel a slight sorrow for the zinnias and the passed Summer. Do plants have a slight consciousness? Do the trees around me mourn at their dormancy?

Not to worry; next Spring comfort will come in seed packets and the trees will wake to watch the planting and watering in of their next of kin.

Made By Hailee

2010-11-09T20:37:00.000-05:00

The Theremin

2010-11-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

The Theremin is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928.

Theremin demonstrated the device to Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was so impressed he began taking lessons in playing it.

The theremin is associated with a very eerie sound, which has led to its use in movie soundtracks such as Spellbound, one of my favorite films.

Roto Rooter

2010-11-02T17:48:00.001-04:00

On the way home from work yesterday I was behind a Roto Rooter truck most of the way and this morning on the way to the hospital wife and I saw another. When I made the appointment for my colonoscopy I didn't think about it being on election day. I suppose there's a certain irony about that.

The evening before I drank three liters of that goop which cleans you out and early this morning I drank the final liter. I was miserable. Five years ago I took the horse pills but they have since discovered a threat of renal failure with the pills. I'd almost take my chances with the pills.

They wheeled me into the procedure room and put the twilight cocktail through the IV. The doctor looked like Rand Paul behind the mask and the nurse became Sarah Palin. I went kicking and screaming into unconsciousness.

A Sort of Halloween Story

2010-10-28T21:08:00.001-04:00

We had next door neighbors, two women, who had a side business involving estate auctions and antique sales. All sorts of stuff was always being moved in and out of their garage...chairs, sofas, antiques of all sorts, knick knacks, bric-a'-brack, paddy whack, and give a dog a bone. Jackie and Betty were real characters.

A first Saturday in May Betty calls me.

"Barry, look out on our back patio, do you see that woman?"

"Yes"

"She just walked up and sat down and she won't say anything to us, she acts like she on drugs or something. Can you walk over and try and talk to her?"

The seated woman had her back to me with an arm leaning against on patio table. She was wearing a black dress and had a black wide brim hat on her head. I thought since it was Derby Day she may have wandered over drunk from another party. Wait a minute, black on Derby Day? nah. All sorts of scenarios were running through my gullible head.

As I got closer I said "Ma'am...Ma'am? she remained stock still. Then I saw it was a mannequin and looked up to see Jackie and Betty at the back window laughing.

Good one.

Crown Mold

2010-10-28T12:53:00.000-04:00

We recently had crown molding installed in a couple of rooms. I can do alot of things involving carpentry, but crown molding is beyond me. I've installed chair rail, shoe mold, and base board but crown molding I don't get. It would seem to be straight forward but there's much more to it than meets the eye. You have to think inside out and it's difficult to visualize the inside or outside corners when you're out making cuts with the miter saw.

We had a friend who lives across the circle install it. He's been a finish carpenter all his life. He said that when someone tells him they're going to install crown themselves, he always replies, "Can I watch?"

Burn It Down

2010-10-13T10:25:00.000-04:00

There's a severe drought here in Louisville and most of Kentucky. Everything is brown and lifeless and doesn't look like it's going to be a very colorful fall.

Los Lobos 'Burn It Down' 2010

Radio Flyer Car

2010-10-07T21:28:00.002-04:00

I Was a Teenage Punk

2010-10-06T15:43:00.003-04:00

I was in a car with five guys, most of whom I didn't know very well. We had one more guy to pick up who had to sneak out of the house and into the waiting car down the street. His strict father was picky about who his son hung out with. We were going to the State Fair, or so we thought.

We stopped for gas and strict father pulls up behind us and commands his son to get out of the car. He walks up to the front passenger side window and asks for my name.

"Why do you want to know?"

WHAMMO! strict father hits me in the face with his fist. My nose gushes blood. Strict father goes to his car and pulls out a miniature Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Everyone is yelling at the driver to start the car, he's coming back with a bat!

The car finally starts and we pull away in time. I'm still dazed from the punch in the nose. I look up and there's a spray of blood on the inside windshield and all over my shirt. I look at the other guys in the car and they're all wide eyed and white as ghosts. I thought I must look pretty bad.

We stop at the driver's home, I clean the blood of my face and we ditch the idea of going to the fair. I come home with a bloody shirt and a fat lip. I told the story to my father. He calls strict father and he comes to our house and offers apologies and tells him that he has anger issues and problems with his son. As I recall he may have been a minister...probably Baptist.

Ghost Of Love

2010-09-27T20:24:00.000-04:00

I was reading about David Lynch one night as well as listening to the sound track of his movie "Inland Empire" one night. The next morning I heard the same song on WFPK so I had to post it. It seemed like I had to.

"Ghost Of Love" from the David Lynch film "Inland Empire" 2006.

Comfortably Numb

2010-09-16T16:21:00.005-04:00

There is a Pink Floyd song which they play on the radio to this day. That song is 'Comfortably Numb' which has the most noted and famous guitar solo of all time played by David Gilmour, who was co-writer of the song with Roger Waters.

According to Rolling Stone, Roger Waters was injected with tranquillisers for stomach cramps by a doctor prior to playing a Pink Floyd show in Philadelphia on the band's 1977 In The Flesh' tour. "That was the longest two hours of my life", Waters said. "Trying to do a show when you can hardly lift your arm". The experience gave him the idea which eventually became the lyrics to this song.

Although much of Pink Floyd's music was good for its time in the 60's and 70's, 'Comfortably Numb' stands the test of time and is a classic.

Pink Floyd 'Comfortably Numb' 1979.

Coconut Cream Pie

2010-09-05T21:28:00.000-04:00

Tonight we went out to eat with friends, then came back to our house to eat desert. A beautiful relaxing evening. Wife makes a mean pie too.

Chris Whitley

2010-09-02T09:51:00.000-04:00

Chris Whitley 'Weightless' 1996.

Magnifique

2010-09-01T21:44:00.000-04:00

We were browsing the wares at Williams Sonoma. Wife has been wanting to buy new pots and pans, specifically the pricey five ply all clad pots and pans. I don't blame her for wanting the best. She loves to cook and she's good at it, so...what the hell.

This five ply all clad stuff is supposed to heat up faster and, so the saleswoman said you'll almost never have to turn the burners above medium flame. I can't wait to fry myself some gourmet bologna sandwiches...I'm sure they'll be magnifique.

Last week we celebrated a birthday and wife baked a rasberry chocolate cake. It fell apart as she was pouring the ganache on the three layers. It didn't look so good but was heaven to eat. I called it Firing Range Cake and wife gave me the stink eye.

90's

2010-08-31T21:19:00.000-04:00

It has been a long hot Summer here in Louisville, so hot it has broken the record for the hottest Louisville's ever been. Day after day after day it's been in the 90's since June. I've never wished so much for Fall. The rest of the week and Labor Day weekend is predicted to be in the 90's.

I curse the Summer of 2010.

Another One From Boz

2010-08-26T16:24:00.000-04:00

Boz Scaggs 'I Just Go' 2001.

How Do You Stop?

2010-08-26T10:13:00.002-04:00

Joni Mitchell 'How Do You Stop?' 1994.

Close And Far Away Memories

2010-08-25T11:26:00.003-04:00

Walking out last night to my truck to make a store run I saw someone who I haven't seen in maybe seven years when her mother had passed away. She had come to her father's home, where she grew up to visit. She was packing to go back to her Junior year in college up north.

It was so good to see her. I remember when she was eight or nine, running over to watch me work around the house asking a million questions. She's changed in appearance so much but her voice is the same. I can see her mother peeking out from her eyes. How can time pass so quickly?