June 22, 2009
"Pensive Papa"
This was drawn by Hailee. My head is really that round and she captured my mood quite well.
If A Tree Falls
The weather’s been unusually hot in Louisville for the month of June, high 80’s and lower 90’s with lots of rain and powerful thunderstorms. Thank goodness we haven’t lost our power (yet).
The last few years it seems the weather’s nature has changed in more dramatic ways. With the drought ridden hot summers, wind storms, and ice storms we’re facing the music with the excesses we’ve forced on the environment.
Bruce Cockburn ‘If A Tree Falls’
The last few years it seems the weather’s nature has changed in more dramatic ways. With the drought ridden hot summers, wind storms, and ice storms we’re facing the music with the excesses we’ve forced on the environment.
Bruce Cockburn ‘If A Tree Falls’
A Perfect Ending
I didn’t care if it was overcast. I went to the pool while wife went shopping. Like most men, I’d rather have all my teeth pulled than wander around a mall looking for doo-dads and gee-gaws.
Laying on the lounge, on the edge of consciousness, I listened to the conversations around me. The disembodied voices seem like they came from a great distance away.
“I like baked chicken a lot better than fried.”
“Johnny, quit licking the fence!”
“We went to Fourth Street Live last night and this is all I felt like doing today.”
“She’s been having so many troubles lately, with the break-up and all that.”
“I like fried better than baked.”
“If I have to tell you one more time Johnny, we’re going home.”
“We drank too much and the sucky band was too damn loud. Everybody was too hammered to listen anyway.”
“You wouldn’t believe what an asshole he’s been since they’ve separated.”
“That’s it Johnny, we’re leaving.”
I called wife and asked her if she knew what time it was. She was still shopping and I told her I’d see her at home later when I got back from visiting my parents.
Dad buzzes me in. They’ve taken up the carpet in the condo building and the floor is bare concrete. There’s the faint smell of carpet adhesive that fills the cavernous lobby and hallway leading to their condo. Mom pours me a coke and I give Dad his father’s day gift.
We talk about their quirky Florida neighbors; Carmen and Gay, my brother, my family, melanomas, Lipitor, health care, and my shaky workplace situation.
I drove home and dogs were on the grill. I opened my father’s day gifts and we ate. Hailee was looking cute as ever, a freckled sight for sore eyes. She spent the night with us. She drew a picture of me and made a father’s day card out of it. I sketched her face and she cut it out to put in her notebook. She asked if I would tickle her face to help her fall asleep. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Laying on the lounge, on the edge of consciousness, I listened to the conversations around me. The disembodied voices seem like they came from a great distance away.
“I like baked chicken a lot better than fried.”
“Johnny, quit licking the fence!”
“We went to Fourth Street Live last night and this is all I felt like doing today.”
“She’s been having so many troubles lately, with the break-up and all that.”
“I like fried better than baked.”
“If I have to tell you one more time Johnny, we’re going home.”
“We drank too much and the sucky band was too damn loud. Everybody was too hammered to listen anyway.”
“You wouldn’t believe what an asshole he’s been since they’ve separated.”
“That’s it Johnny, we’re leaving.”
I called wife and asked her if she knew what time it was. She was still shopping and I told her I’d see her at home later when I got back from visiting my parents.
Dad buzzes me in. They’ve taken up the carpet in the condo building and the floor is bare concrete. There’s the faint smell of carpet adhesive that fills the cavernous lobby and hallway leading to their condo. Mom pours me a coke and I give Dad his father’s day gift.
We talk about their quirky Florida neighbors; Carmen and Gay, my brother, my family, melanomas, Lipitor, health care, and my shaky workplace situation.
I drove home and dogs were on the grill. I opened my father’s day gifts and we ate. Hailee was looking cute as ever, a freckled sight for sore eyes. She spent the night with us. She drew a picture of me and made a father’s day card out of it. I sketched her face and she cut it out to put in her notebook. She asked if I would tickle her face to help her fall asleep. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
June 21, 2009
June 18, 2009
June 17, 2009
No Dead Cat Bounce
I woke up yesterday morning and didn’t feel right. It was one of those headaches that felt unlike a regular headache and my eyes felt funny. When I got to work I
sneezed about five times. It’s either my allergies flaring up or a cold. I thought I’d swab my nose with Zicam when I got home. It’s worked for me in the past and it makes a cold a lot milder and quicker to get over.
As soon as I walked in the door yesterday wife asked me if I could smell. I told her if I didn’t take a shower for a few days, I could. She didn’t laugh.
She saw the news about Zicam supposedly causing some users to lose their sense of smell. The FDA has ordered the makers, Matrixx, to take Zicam off the shelves. Matrixx stock price has dropped to fifty percent of its value with not a hint of a dead cat bounce.
There was a class action suit brought by 340 people back in 1999 against Matrixx. The court found in the plaintiff’s favor, awarding 12 million dollars. That makes
each plaintiff’s sense of smell worth 34,294 dollars. That sounds like a good chunk of money but after I thought about it, it’s worth a lot more than money to me. Could a trained dog smell for you? What would you call it, a smelling nose dog?
Imagine not being able to smell the rain, the first cut of grass in spring, taste a fine wine, or enjoy good food. A fellow blogger told me that she had lost her sense of smell years ago and one of her big worries was not being able to smell smoke from a fire in her house before becoming larger and dangerous.
My wife said the loss of her sense of smell would be devastating. I agreed with her.
sneezed about five times. It’s either my allergies flaring up or a cold. I thought I’d swab my nose with Zicam when I got home. It’s worked for me in the past and it makes a cold a lot milder and quicker to get over.As soon as I walked in the door yesterday wife asked me if I could smell. I told her if I didn’t take a shower for a few days, I could. She didn’t laugh.
She saw the news about Zicam supposedly causing some users to lose their sense of smell. The FDA has ordered the makers, Matrixx, to take Zicam off the shelves. Matrixx stock price has dropped to fifty percent of its value with not a hint of a dead cat bounce.
There was a class action suit brought by 340 people back in 1999 against Matrixx. The court found in the plaintiff’s favor, awarding 12 million dollars. That makes
each plaintiff’s sense of smell worth 34,294 dollars. That sounds like a good chunk of money but after I thought about it, it’s worth a lot more than money to me. Could a trained dog smell for you? What would you call it, a smelling nose dog?Imagine not being able to smell the rain, the first cut of grass in spring, taste a fine wine, or enjoy good food. A fellow blogger told me that she had lost her sense of smell years ago and one of her big worries was not being able to smell smoke from a fire in her house before becoming larger and dangerous.
My wife said the loss of her sense of smell would be devastating. I agreed with her.
June 16, 2009
Scary
The layoffs are coming at my workplace, probably next week. We don't know who will be let go, or how many. You can cut the apprehensive atmosphere with a knife.
Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks 'I Scare Myself'
Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks 'I Scare Myself'
June 15, 2009
Weekend Fire and Rain
Friday night I helped wife make overnight brick sandwiches. This involves hollowing out herbed focaccia bread that’s been sliced lengthwise. Creamed cheese is spread on
the bread. Salami, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, provolone cheese, sliced roasted red peppers, shredded basil leaves, and artichoke hearts are then added. You put the focaccia lid on this and put it in the fridge with a brick on top so the flavors will meld overnight. We had to go out to wife’s herb garden with a flashlight for the basil leaves and we found some bricks out by the garden shed.
Saturday I finished spreading the pile of mulch around our gardens, mowed Abby’s lawn, and mowed our lawn. We went to Tristan’s T-ball game which was a nail biter and, as always, comical. A kid will hit a grounder and if no one stops it (usual case scenario), the whole team will clear the field to run after the ball and there ends up being a mess of piled up kids trying to grab the ball. That’s when the T-ball game looks more like a football game.
After the game we all met at the Middletown Manor for the overnight brick sandwich dinner. They were better than I imagined them to be. After the meal Ben called about four children, the oldest being eight, and left alone by their mother that morning. The eight year old called 911. He thought someone was breaking in. Ben took the call. Ben and other officers kept the children occupied while waiting for Child Protective Services to come and get the children. Ben later found and arrested the mother for child endangerment.
I was lying on the porch couch Sunday reading the newspaper and lasting only a few paragraphs, my eyes fell closed. I rose to half sleep with the rumble of thunder and the rich smell of rain breezing in through the porch screens which sent me to a deeper sleep, my tired bones momentarily retired from cares. I woke over an hour later, the sky scrubbed clean, a light rain still falling, on fire in the sun. I thought of those four children and prayed for them.
James Taylor "Fire and Rain"
the bread. Salami, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, provolone cheese, sliced roasted red peppers, shredded basil leaves, and artichoke hearts are then added. You put the focaccia lid on this and put it in the fridge with a brick on top so the flavors will meld overnight. We had to go out to wife’s herb garden with a flashlight for the basil leaves and we found some bricks out by the garden shed.Saturday I finished spreading the pile of mulch around our gardens, mowed Abby’s lawn, and mowed our lawn. We went to Tristan’s T-ball game which was a nail biter and, as always, comical. A kid will hit a grounder and if no one stops it (usual case scenario), the whole team will clear the field to run after the ball and there ends up being a mess of piled up kids trying to grab the ball. That’s when the T-ball game looks more like a football game.
After the game we all met at the Middletown Manor for the overnight brick sandwich dinner. They were better than I imagined them to be. After the meal Ben called about four children, the oldest being eight, and left alone by their mother that morning. The eight year old called 911. He thought someone was breaking in. Ben took the call. Ben and other officers kept the children occupied while waiting for Child Protective Services to come and get the children. Ben later found and arrested the mother for child endangerment.
I was lying on the porch couch Sunday reading the newspaper and lasting only a few paragraphs, my eyes fell closed. I rose to half sleep with the rumble of thunder and the rich smell of rain breezing in through the porch screens which sent me to a deeper sleep, my tired bones momentarily retired from cares. I woke over an hour later, the sky scrubbed clean, a light rain still falling, on fire in the sun. I thought of those four children and prayed for them.
James Taylor "Fire and Rain"
June 12, 2009
Abbey Road
Most everyone knows the iconic album cover photo from the Beatles' Abbey Road album. Ever since there are lots of tourists who visit the crossing to have their pictures taken.
This is a time lapse sequence of the famed Abbey Road crossing.
June 11, 2009
The Lawrence Welk Show
As a kid I remember my grandparents loved The Lawrence Welk Show. The Lennon Sisters were a regular act on the show and they sang sugary sweet bland songs with not a hair out of place and dressed just so.
I was watching Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago and they did a parody of the Lawrence Welk show. Please pardon the commercial.
I was watching Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago and they did a parody of the Lawrence Welk show. Please pardon the commercial.
June 10, 2009
Cherry Wood Smoked Turkey
At a dinner party last night our host and hostess, the Sizemore’s, had prepared a cherry wood smoked turkey. It was a damn tasty bird, along with the mashed potatoes, green beans, and frozen lime salad. Dessert was chocolate cake and coffee if you wanted after which we adjourned to the deck, overlooking a large backyard with open fields and leaden skies beyond the post and wire fence.
We spoke of the Vatican, Bosnia, Istanbul, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, the Parthenon, sheep farming, raccoons, skunks, tomato plants, bamboo, poison ivy, no till gardening, DDT, grandchildren, the Middletown Mafia, illiteracy, frozen vs. iced Margaritas, arrowheads, Cherokee bloodlines, the Trail of Tears, Deadwood S.D., the Old Testament, Ephesians, Catholicism, cantors, and cantatas, .
Daylight had imperceptibly crept to twilight, then to dusk so that all we could see were speaking silhouettes. After hugs and handshakes we gathered to the car to head home. We left sated and satisfied, grateful for conversation with friends and prayerful for those who are alone in the world.
We spoke of the Vatican, Bosnia, Istanbul, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, the Parthenon, sheep farming, raccoons, skunks, tomato plants, bamboo, poison ivy, no till gardening, DDT, grandchildren, the Middletown Mafia, illiteracy, frozen vs. iced Margaritas, arrowheads, Cherokee bloodlines, the Trail of Tears, Deadwood S.D., the Old Testament, Ephesians, Catholicism, cantors, and cantatas, .
Daylight had imperceptibly crept to twilight, then to dusk so that all we could see were speaking silhouettes. After hugs and handshakes we gathered to the car to head home. We left sated and satisfied, grateful for conversation with friends and prayerful for those who are alone in the world.
June 9, 2009
Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson would have been seventy-nine years old today. While singing "Lonely Teardrops" at a benefit concert in 1975, he had a heart attack and fell from the stage, hitting his head. For almost nine years he remained in a coma until his death in 1984.
Jackie Wilson "Lonely Teardrops"
Jackie Wilson "Lonely Teardrops"
June 7, 2009
The French Open Tennis Heathen
We went out to a Cuban restaurant last night with friends to celebrate wife's birthday. I woke up this morning and could tell I had a couple of bourbons. I had the lucid makings of a poem in my head but made the mistake of turning on the TV and the thing was washed from my mind.
The Sunday paper peeked out of the box and I carried it back and sitting on the porch, I opened it and found two comics; two Blondie's, two Beetle Bailey's, and two Peanuts. There was just one copy of the news. Letters to the editor spoke about a local off-brand denomination church having a carry-a-gun-to-service-sunday to celebrate our constitutional right to bear arms. Pretty twisted huh? One letter writer said good for them. After reading that I read the comics...twice.
The Swiss and Swede were warming up for their dance on red clay. High definition was made for tennis nuts in mind. While on my second cup of coffee, wife comes out on the porch, looking much younger than she is. I was furtively watching her read the paper. She's a piece of work, an original. I'm a lucky man.
"So, you aren't coming to church?"
"I'm watching the final."
"That's a poor excuse."
"No, it's my tradition."
"Heathen."
"Did you see we got two comics in the paper?"
She rolls her beautiful dark eyes at me and leaves for church. She comes back in ten seconds. "Move your truck heathen."
Roger Federer wins his first French Open and tears run down his cheeks. This is the only kind of reality TV I watch.
The Sunday paper peeked out of the box and I carried it back and sitting on the porch, I opened it and found two comics; two Blondie's, two Beetle Bailey's, and two Peanuts. There was just one copy of the news. Letters to the editor spoke about a local off-brand denomination church having a carry-a-gun-to-service-sunday to celebrate our constitutional right to bear arms. Pretty twisted huh? One letter writer said good for them. After reading that I read the comics...twice.
The Swiss and Swede were warming up for their dance on red clay. High definition was made for tennis nuts in mind. While on my second cup of coffee, wife comes out on the porch, looking much younger than she is. I was furtively watching her read the paper. She's a piece of work, an original. I'm a lucky man.
"So, you aren't coming to church?"
"I'm watching the final."
"That's a poor excuse."
"No, it's my tradition."
"Heathen."
"Did you see we got two comics in the paper?"
She rolls her beautiful dark eyes at me and leaves for church. She comes back in ten seconds. "Move your truck heathen."
Roger Federer wins his first French Open and tears run down his cheeks. This is the only kind of reality TV I watch.
June 5, 2009
Blue Rondo A La Turk
Dave Brubeck wrote this song fifty years ago today.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Blue Rondo A La Turk. (You'll know it when you hear it).
The Dave Brubeck Quartet. Blue Rondo A La Turk. (You'll know it when you hear it).
Back In The Day
We all piled in the Rambler for a ride out to Sleepy Hollow. Trees moving past us making the sunlight dapple across our eyes.
"Put in Allman Brothers and play Jessica."
"I will if you quit bogart'n that thing and pass it."
Dickey Betts' meandering guitar washed over us in those carefree days and, being eighteen, we didn't think it implausable for these kinds of days to last forever.
It turned out those carefree days weren't meant to go on forever after all, but we sure had a good time while they lasted.
The Allman Brothers Band "Jessica"
"Put in Allman Brothers and play Jessica."
"I will if you quit bogart'n that thing and pass it."
Dickey Betts' meandering guitar washed over us in those carefree days and, being eighteen, we didn't think it implausable for these kinds of days to last forever.
It turned out those carefree days weren't meant to go on forever after all, but we sure had a good time while they lasted.
The Allman Brothers Band "Jessica"
The Flobots
The Flobots are a hip hop band who formed in Denver, Colorado in 2000.
"Handlebars" by the Flobots.
"Handlebars" by the Flobots.
June 4, 2009
Zappa Guitar Solo
Frank Zappa was a prolific musician and a remarkable guitar player. He died of cancer in 1993. RIP.
"Watermelon in Easter Hay" performed live in Barcelona, Spain 1988.
"Watermelon in Easter Hay" performed live in Barcelona, Spain 1988.
Boz Scaggs
He was born Royce Scaggs in Canton, Ohio and got the nickname “Boz” as a teenager in high school. He first became well known as a singer and guitarist in The Steve Miller band, then went out on his own to make several albums. His most successful album was Silk Degrees which was nominated for several Grammys and won one for Best Song “Low Down”. Everyone and their grandmother had this album in their collection at the time.
One of my favorite Boz Scaggs songs is “Look What You’ve Done to Me”, written in ’80 for the movie Urban Cowboy.
One of my favorite Boz Scaggs songs is “Look What You’ve Done to Me”, written in ’80 for the movie Urban Cowboy.
June 3, 2009
Strap That Tool Belt On!
I put my swim trunks on yesterday evening. The leak at the main irrigation shut off had been repaired. It was time to adjust the sprinkler heads and get soaking wet while doing it. It makes me feel like a little kid again.
Our irrigation system is my toy I installed myself fifteen or so years ago and get to open every spring. We have many gardens around our house. Wife is Martha Stewart of the garden and I’m the brute force.
Before irrigation we would spends hours dragging the hose around, watering the impatiens, hydrangeas, peonies, Boston ferns, ghost ferns, Japanese painted ferns, rhodendrons, azaleas….etc. It’s heaven to water the gardens while sleeping.
I love big home projects….Over the years I’ve built.
1. Roughly 30’ x 20’ deck.
2. A winding rock path through our side shade garden.
3. Custom garden shed. (With help from my friends.)
4. A Pergola.
5. Terrace foundation. (A pro poured, dyed, and stamped the concrete.)
6. Privacy fence.
7. An addition to the front of our house with considerable help from two friends. Couldn’t have done it without them. (I’m handy, but not that handy.)
Near future projects.
1. A lattice privacy blind to hide ourselves from that mean, nasty, nosey, and Nazi neighbor woman.
2. An attached carport over the driveway. Wife is sick (and tired) of scraping ice off the windshield.
A dream project is warm water lines under the driveway so I’d never have to shovel snow off that long ass thing again.
Our irrigation system is my toy I installed myself fifteen or so years ago and get to open every spring. We have many gardens around our house. Wife is Martha Stewart of the garden and I’m the brute force.
Before irrigation we would spends hours dragging the hose around, watering the impatiens, hydrangeas, peonies, Boston ferns, ghost ferns, Japanese painted ferns, rhodendrons, azaleas….etc. It’s heaven to water the gardens while sleeping.
I love big home projects….Over the years I’ve built.
1. Roughly 30’ x 20’ deck.
2. A winding rock path through our side shade garden.
3. Custom garden shed. (With help from my friends.)
4. A Pergola.
5. Terrace foundation. (A pro poured, dyed, and stamped the concrete.)
6. Privacy fence.
7. An addition to the front of our house with considerable help from two friends. Couldn’t have done it without them. (I’m handy, but not that handy.)
Near future projects.
1. A lattice privacy blind to hide ourselves from that mean, nasty, nosey, and Nazi neighbor woman.
2. An attached carport over the driveway. Wife is sick (and tired) of scraping ice off the windshield.
A dream project is warm water lines under the driveway so I’d never have to shovel snow off that long ass thing again.
June 2, 2009
Remembrance
I was about fourteen or so when my grandfather died. Some parts of his funeral I dimly remember but there are parts I can sharply recall.
At the end of the eulogy the funeral director motioned for my mother, grandmother, and father to stand and approach the open casket for a final farewell. The director then took grandfather’s gently removed the glasses from his face and handed them to grandmother before closing the casket.
Everyone filed out to their cars for the funeral procession to Franklinton cemetery. We rode in a limousine behind the hearse. I was in a jump seat behind the driver’s side. It was a very silent ride along the country roads. On the right there was a steep hillside with four or five men standing next to a black man lying face up, arms outstretched on the ground, his blank eyes stared unseeing at the sky. There were two tractors connected by block and tackle close by.
I still wonder if I was the only witness riding in the limousine that day. If my brother and sisters saw the scene that day, they didn’t say anything about it afterwards. Neither did I.
It was either the day before or the day after the funeral when we drove to pick up the clothes grandfather wore at the time of his fatal heart attack. A brown paper grocery bag with khaki pants and checkered shirt sat on the floorboard near my older sister. Looking at the bag of clothes, she sobbed as we pulled into grandmother’s gravel driveway.
At the end of the eulogy the funeral director motioned for my mother, grandmother, and father to stand and approach the open casket for a final farewell. The director then took grandfather’s gently removed the glasses from his face and handed them to grandmother before closing the casket.
Everyone filed out to their cars for the funeral procession to Franklinton cemetery. We rode in a limousine behind the hearse. I was in a jump seat behind the driver’s side. It was a very silent ride along the country roads. On the right there was a steep hillside with four or five men standing next to a black man lying face up, arms outstretched on the ground, his blank eyes stared unseeing at the sky. There were two tractors connected by block and tackle close by.
I still wonder if I was the only witness riding in the limousine that day. If my brother and sisters saw the scene that day, they didn’t say anything about it afterwards. Neither did I.
It was either the day before or the day after the funeral when we drove to pick up the clothes grandfather wore at the time of his fatal heart attack. A brown paper grocery bag with khaki pants and checkered shirt sat on the floorboard near my older sister. Looking at the bag of clothes, she sobbed as we pulled into grandmother’s gravel driveway.
Jesus and The Wizard of Oz
I was messing around in the backyard afer church. It was Easter Sunday and the twins were playing in the adjoining backyard. They're around five years old, a boy and a girl. They were both pulling grass and putting it into a little red wagon, making it look like a giant Easter basket. I could hear their innocent child voices, catching bits of their conversation. They were talking of Jesus and the Wizard of Oz. In their minds I guess there was a connection there somewhere.
May 29, 2009
May 28, 2009
Two From MGMT
There's a hot new band. Two friends from college started The Management in 2002. Since then they're known as MGMT. This is off their first album Oracular Spectacular called "Time to Pretend". Every song on the album is just as good as this one. They'll probably be around for a long time. I like 'em.
"Kids"
"Kids"
Deadwood
I was a kid, around fifteen years old, when our family went on vacation out west and among the many states we visited I loved the Black Hills of South Dakota the most, in particular, the city of Deadwood. We saw the saloon where “Wild Bill” Hickok was shot and the cemetery where he’s buried. You could almost feel the ghosts of Calamity Jane and Wyatt Earp still wandering the streets.
We recently started watching the HBO series “Deadwood” the last few evenings. I love period pieces and this series, which ran three seasons from ’04 to ’06, is authentic in every way. It is a story of a new civilization coming together after gold was discovered there. You feel as if there was a film camera there in 1876 filming the action.
From its debut Deadwood was controversial for its use of extreme, modern profanity, especially from the more coarse characters. It was a deliberate anachronism on the part of the producer, David Milch. He had explained, originally the characters were to use period slang and swear words. Such words, however, were based heavily on the era's deep religious roots and tended to be more blasphemous than scatological. Instead of being shockingly crude (in keeping with the tone of a frontier mining camp), the results sounded comical. As one commentator puts it "… if you put words like "goldarn" into the mouths of the characters on "Deadwood," they'd all wind up sounding like Yosemite Sam. It was decided the show would use current profanity in order for the words to have the same impact on modern audiences as the blasphemous ones did back in the 1870s.
After watching so many episodes, you become somewhat desensitized to the cursing. While having dinner just the other night, I asked wife if she could “pass the fucking green beans please.”
We recently started watching the HBO series “Deadwood” the last few evenings. I love period pieces and this series, which ran three seasons from ’04 to ’06, is authentic in every way. It is a story of a new civilization coming together after gold was discovered there. You feel as if there was a film camera there in 1876 filming the action.
From its debut Deadwood was controversial for its use of extreme, modern profanity, especially from the more coarse characters. It was a deliberate anachronism on the part of the producer, David Milch. He had explained, originally the characters were to use period slang and swear words. Such words, however, were based heavily on the era's deep religious roots and tended to be more blasphemous than scatological. Instead of being shockingly crude (in keeping with the tone of a frontier mining camp), the results sounded comical. As one commentator puts it "… if you put words like "goldarn" into the mouths of the characters on "Deadwood," they'd all wind up sounding like Yosemite Sam. It was decided the show would use current profanity in order for the words to have the same impact on modern audiences as the blasphemous ones did back in the 1870s.
After watching so many episodes, you become somewhat desensitized to the cursing. While having dinner just the other night, I asked wife if she could “pass the fucking green beans please.”
May 27, 2009
The Child
Apparently this video has been around for awhile which a guy named Alex Gopher made called The Child. I've never seen it before. Pretty cool.
Sky Starts Falling
I came across a Doves music video of "Sky Starts Falling". A surreal and dream-like beauty.
May 26, 2009
James McMurtry
Larry McMurtry is a teller of stories through writing such novels as “Lonesome Dove” and “Brokeback Mountain". His son, James McMurtry, is a teller of stories through song.
The Sound of Music
Hailee spent the night with us Sunday night and we watched “The Sound of Music” which we bought for her ninth birthday. It occurred to me that I was ten the first time I saw it, not on DVD but in a theater, when it first came out in ’65 (do the math). I loved that movie and I had the biggest crush on Julie Andrews.
I’d forgotten just how good the movie was and Hailee loved it. Nowadays all the kids, especially the little girls, love Hannah Montana and all those Disney channel kiddy shows, which is just pure (excuse me) vapid crap.
Interesting facts about the film…
While shooting the dramatic shot near the start of the film of Maria singing on the mountaintop, the downwash of the helicopter used made it exceedingly difficult for Andrews to remain standing.
The nighttime scene between Maria and the Captain in the garden gazebo, where they confess their love for the first time, should have been one of the easiest to shoot in the production. Actually, it took around 30 takes. The cinematographer used one or more arc lights to simulate moonlight, and back in 1964, arc lights used a technology that, as the filaments heated up, gave off an almost human sound. While Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer were standing within inches of each others' faces expressing intimate sentiments, the arc lights would "squeal," as if on cue, sounding like "objections" to their love. Andrews and Plummer, and eventually director Robert Wise, were "on the floor" laughing, tears rolling down their faces. Finally, after 30 takes, Wise decided to remove the arc lights and shoot that particular moment in silhouette. The change, while pragmatically motivated, worked very good artistically.
The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saved 20th Century Fox, after high production costs and low revenue for Cleopatra nearly bankrupted the studio.
Every year starting in 2005 the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California holds an annual Sound of Music sing-a-long, where the film is played with song lyrics underneath the screen. The actors who played the Von Trapp Children in the film along with the real Von Trapp children have made appearances at this event. Called "The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Prozac", this event has sold out every year since its inception.
I’d forgotten just how good the movie was and Hailee loved it. Nowadays all the kids, especially the little girls, love Hannah Montana and all those Disney channel kiddy shows, which is just pure (excuse me) vapid crap.
Interesting facts about the film…
While shooting the dramatic shot near the start of the film of Maria singing on the mountaintop, the downwash of the helicopter used made it exceedingly difficult for Andrews to remain standing.
The nighttime scene between Maria and the Captain in the garden gazebo, where they confess their love for the first time, should have been one of the easiest to shoot in the production. Actually, it took around 30 takes. The cinematographer used one or more arc lights to simulate moonlight, and back in 1964, arc lights used a technology that, as the filaments heated up, gave off an almost human sound. While Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer were standing within inches of each others' faces expressing intimate sentiments, the arc lights would "squeal," as if on cue, sounding like "objections" to their love. Andrews and Plummer, and eventually director Robert Wise, were "on the floor" laughing, tears rolling down their faces. Finally, after 30 takes, Wise decided to remove the arc lights and shoot that particular moment in silhouette. The change, while pragmatically motivated, worked very good artistically.
The Sound of Music is credited as the film that saved 20th Century Fox, after high production costs and low revenue for Cleopatra nearly bankrupted the studio.
Every year starting in 2005 the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California holds an annual Sound of Music sing-a-long, where the film is played with song lyrics underneath the screen. The actors who played the Von Trapp Children in the film along with the real Von Trapp children have made appearances at this event. Called "The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Prozac", this event has sold out every year since its inception.
May 22, 2009
The Knife
I was listening to the World Cafe on NPR last night in my pick-em-up truck and this song came on and it floored me. It was techno/electronica music, which I don't really like all that much. I didn't catch the name of the group so I had to do some digging to find out who it was.
The Knife is a brother and sister band out of Sweden. The album is Silent Shout recorded in 2006. The song I heard is the title song "Silent Shout". You've got to give a listen to this, performed live in Sweden.
The Knife is a brother and sister band out of Sweden. The album is Silent Shout recorded in 2006. The song I heard is the title song "Silent Shout". You've got to give a listen to this, performed live in Sweden.
78 rpm's
My grandmother had a bunch of 78 rpm records that I had come across when I was a kid. I brought a few home to play on my stereo. On the radio this morning they played a song by the Inkspots and I found it on YouTube played on a record player. What a hoot.
The Inkspots with 1941's "I Dont Want to Set the World on Fire"
The Inkspots with 1941's "I Dont Want to Set the World on Fire"
May 20, 2009
Nice Weather We're Having, Isn't It?
I'd hate to post something as trite as the weather but I feel I have too. After two weeks of almost constant rain, this week has been nothing short of spectacular. It's been sunny with nary a cloud in the sky and very low humidity. As soon as the sun slants towards the horizon there's a delicious coolness that almost imperceptively steals in. I relish it while I can, 'cause Summer's coming with the high temperatures and smothering humidity.
Wife and I have been doing alot of gardening work while it's still enjoyable to do. Next post will be pics of flowers, flowers, and more flowers for another fluffy post.
Wife and I have been doing alot of gardening work while it's still enjoyable to do. Next post will be pics of flowers, flowers, and more flowers for another fluffy post.
Harland Sanders
The man in the KFC logo was a real person. His name was Harland Sanders. His father died when he was five years old and since his mother worked, he was required to cook for his family. Jobs he had during his lifetime included a steamboat pilot, insurance salesman, and railroad firemanWhen Sanders was forty he owned a service station in Corbin, Ky and would serve customers his fried chicken and after it grew in popularity, he bought a motel and restaurant that seated 142 people. Over the years he perfected his method of cooking his chicken which included the eleven secret herbs and spices.
He was given the honorary title of "Kentucky Colonel" in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon (rhymes with buffoon). Anyone Kentuckian can become a Kentucky Colonel by request to the Governor's Office. My wife's a Kentucky Colonel. I have to give her
the secret handshake whenever Colonel McClain dresses in her white suit, string tie, and fake goatee. After the construction of Interstate 75 reduced his restaurant's customer traffic, Sanders took to franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants, starting at age 65, using $105 from his first Social Security check to fund visits to potential franchisees. Sanders allegedly had 1,009 rejections when trying to establish his franchise, until he founded the now international restaurant chain KFC. You've got to admire the man's perserverance.
Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporation, in 1964, for $2,000,000 to a partnership of Kentucky businessmen headed by future Governor of Kentucky, John Y. Brown, Jr. Sanders stayed only as the spokesperson.Back in the 70's I made an acqaintance with the man who drove Colonel Sanders around to his various public relations jaunts. He said the Colonel cussed like a sailor and was always cranky.
In 1973 he sued Heublein Inc. (the KFC parent company at the time) over alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975 Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly referred to their gravy as "sludge" with a "wallpaper taste".
Sanders later founded the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, which used the proceeds to aid charities and fund scholarships.
Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, of pneumonia on December 16, 1980. His body laid in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol. His funeral was attended by more than 1,000 people. He's buried in his characteristic white suit and black string tie in Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetary.
May 18, 2009
Cassandra Wilson
Who said The Monkees can't sound good? They can when Cassandra Wilson sings "Last Train to Clarksville".
May 16, 2009
The Surface of The Exterior
Wife and I went downtown to Charlie Wilson's Appliance & Electronics today to buy a TV. Charlie Wilson's has been on Market Street a very long time. Daniel Boone bought supplies there when on his way to explore the Falls of the Ohio, back when Charlie Wilson sold salt, traps, and flintlock rifles. You can't say that Charlie hasn't changed with the times.
Every city probably has a store similar to this. A store where you get very good personal service, the prices beat every store around, and beats shopping at all the mega-chain stores hands down.
When I was around thirteen years old my parents took me there to buy my first TV set with the money I earned delivering newspapers. It was a nineteen inch B&W Sylvania. I was thrilled. When we remodeled our kitchen a few years back, we bought all our new appliances there; fridge, microwave, oven, and dishwasher.
We came home with a thiry-two inch LCD flat panel to replace the TV on our back porch room. We practically stole the thing from old Charlie. He's so INSANE, he's practically giving them away! While taking it out of the box and assembling the swivel stand, I came across a square of pastel green cloth in a cellophane bag.
The instructions for use of this cloth read:
"Slightly wipe stained spot on the exterior only with the cleansing cloths for the product exterior if there is stain or fingerprint on surface of the exterior."
Our new TV is nice. I threw the cloth away.
Every city probably has a store similar to this. A store where you get very good personal service, the prices beat every store around, and beats shopping at all the mega-chain stores hands down.
When I was around thirteen years old my parents took me there to buy my first TV set with the money I earned delivering newspapers. It was a nineteen inch B&W Sylvania. I was thrilled. When we remodeled our kitchen a few years back, we bought all our new appliances there; fridge, microwave, oven, and dishwasher.
We came home with a thiry-two inch LCD flat panel to replace the TV on our back porch room. We practically stole the thing from old Charlie. He's so INSANE, he's practically giving them away! While taking it out of the box and assembling the swivel stand, I came across a square of pastel green cloth in a cellophane bag.
The instructions for use of this cloth read:
"Slightly wipe stained spot on the exterior only with the cleansing cloths for the product exterior if there is stain or fingerprint on surface of the exterior."
Our new TV is nice. I threw the cloth away.
May 15, 2009
Things That Cross My Mind
Gross National Product
Supply
Demand
Employment
Unemployment
Retirement
401k
Inflation
Deflation
Conflagrations
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Milk shakes
Shake ‘n Bake
Easy Bake
Barbie & Ken
Yin & Yang
Elephants & Asses
Holy cow
Holy Grail
Holy Ghost
Fundamentalists
Evangelicals
Charismatics
New Age
Ice age
Stone Age
Emotional age
IQ
Artificial Intelligence
Active Directory replication
Dynamic hosting
Host names
Forward lookup
Reverse lookup
IP’s
Static IP’s
Password enabling
Password disabling
Network drop offs
Rogue laptops
Site spoofing
Ad-ware
Trojans
Computer viruses
Human viruses
Contaminants
Muscle mass
Muscle loss
Bone loss
Blood pressure
High Density Lipoproteins
Low Density Lipoproteins
Coronary arteries
Plavix
Slick 50
Lipitor
BP
Beta blockers
Blow holes
Blow hards
Rush Limbaugh
Limburger cheese
Bleu cheese
Blonde
Information leaks
DVR’s
DVD’s
CD’s
CIA
Cover ups
Cover alls
Paint
Plastic lattice
Wood lattice
4 x 4’s
2 x 4’s
Crown mold
Shoe mold
Mold
Miter saws
Chain saws
Laser levels
Cedar mulch
Hardwood mulch
Synthetic mulch
Irrigation leaks
Fescue
Bluegrass
Thatch
Weeds
Deeds
Child abuse
Drug abuse
Alcoholism
Pedophiles
Francophiles
WWI
WWII
Korean war
Vietnam war
Ho Chi Mien
Mao Tse Tung
General Tsao’s Chicken
Egg drop soup
Parachute drops
Desert Storm
Enduring Freedom
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Sandals
Hippies
Yippies
Yuppies
Generation X, Y & Z
Renaissance
Expressionist
Abstract Expressionist
Post Modern
Stream of consciousness
Southern gothic
Goth
Cults
Mental illness
Hypochondriacs
Hissy fits
Hysterics
Historic districts
….And the band played on.
I heard this song on the way home from work yesterday. It sounded so good. And it kinda goes with this post.
The Temptations "Ball of Confusion"
Supply
Demand
Employment
Unemployment
Retirement
401k
Inflation
Deflation
Conflagrations
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Milk shakes
Shake ‘n Bake
Easy Bake
Barbie & Ken
Yin & Yang
Elephants & Asses
Holy cow
Holy Grail
Holy Ghost
Fundamentalists
Evangelicals
Charismatics
New Age
Ice age
Stone Age
Emotional age
IQ
Artificial Intelligence
Active Directory replication
Dynamic hosting
Host names
Forward lookup
Reverse lookup
IP’s
Static IP’s
Password enabling
Password disabling
Network drop offs
Rogue laptops
Site spoofing
Ad-ware
Trojans
Computer viruses
Human viruses
Contaminants
Muscle mass
Muscle loss
Bone loss
Blood pressure
High Density Lipoproteins
Low Density Lipoproteins
Coronary arteries
Plavix
Slick 50
Lipitor
BP
Beta blockers
Blow holes
Blow hards
Rush Limbaugh
Limburger cheese
Bleu cheese
Blonde
Information leaks
DVR’s
DVD’s
CD’s
CIA
Cover ups
Cover alls
Paint
Plastic lattice
Wood lattice
4 x 4’s
2 x 4’s
Crown mold
Shoe mold
Mold
Miter saws
Chain saws
Laser levels
Cedar mulch
Hardwood mulch
Synthetic mulch
Irrigation leaks
Fescue
Bluegrass
Thatch
Weeds
Deeds
Child abuse
Drug abuse
Alcoholism
Pedophiles
Francophiles
WWI
WWII
Korean war
Vietnam war
Ho Chi Mien
Mao Tse Tung
General Tsao’s Chicken
Egg drop soup
Parachute drops
Desert Storm
Enduring Freedom
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Sandals
Hippies
Yippies
Yuppies
Generation X, Y & Z
Renaissance
Expressionist
Abstract Expressionist
Post Modern
Stream of consciousness
Southern gothic
Goth
Cults
Mental illness
Hypochondriacs
Hissy fits
Hysterics
Historic districts
….And the band played on.
I heard this song on the way home from work yesterday. It sounded so good. And it kinda goes with this post.
The Temptations "Ball of Confusion"
May 14, 2009
On Tour in America
Michelangelo's "David" brought to you by corporate sponsors McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
May 13, 2009
Chris Isaak
The first time I heard this song on the radio I thought it was The Moody Blues.
"Wicked Game"
"Wicked Game"
May 12, 2009
Crash Test Dummies
Some guy from work was playing this song today. I haven't heard it in a long time. It's a weird little tune but I always liked it.
Crash Test Dummies with "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm" live.
Crash Test Dummies with "Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm" live.
May 11, 2009
Birthday & Baseball
I think something is wrong with my camera. It's someone's ninth birthday today and the pictures I took make the birthday girl look taller and there's a shadow of teenager peaking out from her face. I'll either have to get my camera repaired or put a brick on top of this birthday girl's head.
And the birthday girl's cousin played in his T-ball game.
And the birthday girl's cousin played in his T-ball game.
May 7, 2009
Chris Whitley
Whitley was born in Houston, Texas. He spent the first decade of his career in Belgium, where he recorded several albums and saw moderate success. Though relatively unknown to the mainstream, he worked with many top named musicians throughout his career. In 1991, U2/Peter Gabriel producer Daniel Lanois and his protégé, Malcolm Burn, recorded Whitley's Stateside debut album Living With the Law. Two of his singles charted in the United States on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts: "Big Sky Country" and "Living with the Law" Others like Dave Matthews and Bruce Hornsby also appeared on 2001's Rocket House. Whitley played a brand of confessional acoustic and electric blues, mixed with
modern rock. His lyrics often contained overt sexual references and sometimes bordered on the surreal. An avid fan of jazz legend John Coltrane, Whitley played the National/Dobro, made famous by many of the great Mississippi delta blues players of the 1930s. In fall 2005 it was revealed that Whitley was terminally ill with lung cancer. He died on November 20, 2005; his brother, Dan, and daughter, Trixie, publicly announced his passing.
Although Whitley wasn't a mainstream act, his passing resonated throughout the music community and garnered coverage and press throughout the world, ranging from Time, the New York Times, and National Public Radio to a tribute mention at the 2006 Grammy Awards. His albums Living With The Law and Dirt Floor are regarded as classics, and passionate advocates abound for any of his dozen or so other releases, from the hard rock driven Din Of Ecstasy to the somewhat more experimental sound of Rocket House to the dark, jazzy minimalism of Hotel Vast Horizon. Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Hornsby, Tom Petty, Don Henley, Iggy Pop, Alanis Morissette, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, and Keith Richards all count themselves admirers of Whitley's music. Dave Matthews has said, "I feel more passion for his music than I do for my own.
Lost and the Digital Video Recorder
We were late getting to the TV to watch Lost last night. I told wife not to worry because I had it set to record on the fancy schmancy downstairs DVR. Our upstairs DVR can record two different shows that are on at the same time. It’s a dual recordable DVR. I didn’t know the downstairs DVR was not dual recordable, but I was about to find out because I had recorded another show on another channel, on at the same time as Lost. I pressed the “my DVR” button on the remote and Lost wasn’t on the list. WTF? We had missed the first twenty minutes. The show is confusing enough as it is.
Lost involves a lot of shifts in time, in real-time, flash-back’s and flash-forward’s. DVR’s have the same similarities, in pausing live TV, fast-forward, and fast-reverse. I found out last week that if you haven’t set Lost to record
and you pause the show for, say twenty minutes while on the phone with some idiot who dares call you while “your” show is on, and then resume watching, you’re going to miss the last twenty minutes because when the show ends, it ends. I’ve had to go to abc.com a few times to watch parts of Lost that I had missed due to these mishaps.
I’ve gone to bed after watching the show, wondering if I was my past self or future self. Maybe if I enrolled in the advanced physics doctorate program at Oxford University, I’d be able to figure out the relativity between the present time, my DVR and Lost.
Lost involves a lot of shifts in time, in real-time, flash-back’s and flash-forward’s. DVR’s have the same similarities, in pausing live TV, fast-forward, and fast-reverse. I found out last week that if you haven’t set Lost to record
and you pause the show for, say twenty minutes while on the phone with some idiot who dares call you while “your” show is on, and then resume watching, you’re going to miss the last twenty minutes because when the show ends, it ends. I’ve had to go to abc.com a few times to watch parts of Lost that I had missed due to these mishaps. I’ve gone to bed after watching the show, wondering if I was my past self or future self. Maybe if I enrolled in the advanced physics doctorate program at Oxford University, I’d be able to figure out the relativity between the present time, my DVR and Lost.
April 28, 2009
Germany's Got Talent
I've had occasions when I have to hammer in nails in hard to get to places. This guy's got it figured out.
April 27, 2009
My First Kentucky Derby
I don’t actually remember much about my first Derby experience. What I do remember is that it was the 100th running of the Derby. The year was 1975. It was a record setting crowd at Churchill Downs which still stands today. Oh…and I remember we were in the infield. Today wild thoroughbreds couldn’t drag me to the infield on Derby day.
April 24, 2009
My Old Kentucky Home
"My Old Kentucky Home", written by Stephen Foster, is sung annually at the Kentucky Derby with the accompaniment of the University of Louisville marching band. The tradition began sometime between 1921 and 1930, by which time it was established as the music played while the horses are led to the post.
According to folklore, Foster was inspired to write the song when, while traveling from his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New Orleans, Louisiana, he stopped in Bardstown, Kentucky to visit his cousins, the Rowan family, and saw their magnificent Federal Hill mansion.
Some of his other well known songs are Camptown Races, Swanee River, and Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair.
Eighteen of Foster's compositions were recorded and released on the "Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster" collection. Among the artists that are featured on the album are John Prine, Alison Krauss, Yo Yo Ma, Roger McGuinn, Mavis Staples and Suzy Bogguss. The album won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.
Foster died a penniless alcoholic at Bellevue Hospital in New York City at age of 37.
According to folklore, Foster was inspired to write the song when, while traveling from his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to New Orleans, Louisiana, he stopped in Bardstown, Kentucky to visit his cousins, the Rowan family, and saw their magnificent Federal Hill mansion.
Some of his other well known songs are Camptown Races, Swanee River, and Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair.
Eighteen of Foster's compositions were recorded and released on the "Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster" collection. Among the artists that are featured on the album are John Prine, Alison Krauss, Yo Yo Ma, Roger McGuinn, Mavis Staples and Suzy Bogguss. The album won the Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2005.
Foster died a penniless alcoholic at Bellevue Hospital in New York City at age of 37.
The Mint Julep
The Mint Julep has been the traditional drink at the Kentucky Derby for over 100 years. Here is the recipe:
4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water
Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
Take the Mint Julep and pour it down the drain. Think about it…bourbon, sugar, and mint? Ugh, who dreamed up this gross concoction?
Make yourself a bourbon & club soda instead.
4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water
Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig.
Take the Mint Julep and pour it down the drain. Think about it…bourbon, sugar, and mint? Ugh, who dreamed up this gross concoction?
Make yourself a bourbon & club soda instead.
Hunter Thompson at The Kentucky Derby
Louisville native, Hunter Thompson, covered the 1970 Kentucky Derby for Scanlon’s Monthly. Titled “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved”, it was Thompson’s first article coined as “Gonzo Journalism”.
“Creeping Jesus, I thought. That screws the press credentials. I had a vision of some nerve-rattling geek all covered with matted hair and string-warts showing up in the press office and demanding 'Scanlan’s' press packet. Well…what the hell? We could always load up on acid and spend the day roaming around the clubhouse grounds with bit sketch pads, laughing hysterically at the natives and swilling mint julep so the cops wouldn’t think we’re abnormal…
“I took the expressway out to the track, driving very fast and jumping the monster car back and forth between lanes, driving with a beer in one hand and my mind so muddled that I almost crushed a Volkswagen full of nuns when I swerved to catch the right exit.”
It’s quite a departure from the style and substance of William Faulkner’s piece fifteen years earlier. Hunter Thompson could have just as well grown up to be a sociopath.
“Creeping Jesus, I thought. That screws the press credentials. I had a vision of some nerve-rattling geek all covered with matted hair and string-warts showing up in the press office and demanding 'Scanlan’s' press packet. Well…what the hell? We could always load up on acid and spend the day roaming around the clubhouse grounds with bit sketch pads, laughing hysterically at the natives and swilling mint julep so the cops wouldn’t think we’re abnormal…
“I took the expressway out to the track, driving very fast and jumping the monster car back and forth between lanes, driving with a beer in one hand and my mind so muddled that I almost crushed a Volkswagen full of nuns when I swerved to catch the right exit.”
It’s quite a departure from the style and substance of William Faulkner’s piece fifteen years earlier. Hunter Thompson could have just as well grown up to be a sociopath.
April 23, 2009
Faulkner at The Kentucky Derby
The 135th Kentucky Derby is held on the first Saturday in May which is nine days from today.
In 1955 Sports Illustrated was first published and, wanting their magazine to stand
out from the rest of the sports oriented magazines, hired Nobel prize winner William Faulkner to come to Louisville to watch and write about the Derby. What better way was there to set Sports Illustrated apart from the rest of the sports rags?
Faulkner always painted scenes with a broad brush and opened his piece by writing about Daniel Boone’s exploration and opening of Kentucky to people wanting to settle here. He ended his narrative without bothering to mention the name of the horse who won the Derby that year.
“Only a little over two minutes: one simultaneous metallic clash as the gates spring. Though you do not really know what it was you hear: whether it was that metallic crash, or the simultaneous thunder of the hooves in that first leap or the massed voices, the gasp, the exhalation--whatever it was, the clump of horses indistinguishable yet, like a brown wave dotted with the bright silks of the riders
like chips flowing toward us along the rail until, approaching, we can begin to distinguish individuals, streaming past us now as individual horses--horses which (including the rider) once stood about eight feet tall and 10 feet long, now look like arrows twice that length and less than half that thickness, shooting past and bunching again as perspective diminishes, then becoming individual horses once more about the turn into the backstretch, streaming on, to bunch for the last time into the homestretch itself, then again individuals, individual horses, the individual horse, the Horse: 2:01 4/5 minutes."
I love Faulkner.
In 1955 Sports Illustrated was first published and, wanting their magazine to stand
out from the rest of the sports oriented magazines, hired Nobel prize winner William Faulkner to come to Louisville to watch and write about the Derby. What better way was there to set Sports Illustrated apart from the rest of the sports rags?Faulkner always painted scenes with a broad brush and opened his piece by writing about Daniel Boone’s exploration and opening of Kentucky to people wanting to settle here. He ended his narrative without bothering to mention the name of the horse who won the Derby that year.
“Only a little over two minutes: one simultaneous metallic clash as the gates spring. Though you do not really know what it was you hear: whether it was that metallic crash, or the simultaneous thunder of the hooves in that first leap or the massed voices, the gasp, the exhalation--whatever it was, the clump of horses indistinguishable yet, like a brown wave dotted with the bright silks of the riders
like chips flowing toward us along the rail until, approaching, we can begin to distinguish individuals, streaming past us now as individual horses--horses which (including the rider) once stood about eight feet tall and 10 feet long, now look like arrows twice that length and less than half that thickness, shooting past and bunching again as perspective diminishes, then becoming individual horses once more about the turn into the backstretch, streaming on, to bunch for the last time into the homestretch itself, then again individuals, individual horses, the individual horse, the Horse: 2:01 4/5 minutes."I love Faulkner.
April 22, 2009
I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
At work today we had a mandatory safety meeting. I chose to attend the second meeting at one o’clock which was a bad move on my part. I didn’t get much sleep the night before, the meeting was right after I ate lunch, and the room was warm.
The meeting was in the cavernous first floor conference room. I set up the wireless keyboard and mouse on the presenter’s laptop, plugged in the video cable in the floor jack and the back of the laptop, and turned the projector on. I signed into the meeting and took my seat towards the back of the room, which was filling up fast.
The lights were turned down low and the room was getting even warmer from the crowd. The presenter started the safety presentation and it didn’t take long for my lids to start south. I was struggling to stay conscious.
My head snapped up as I heard my snore snap shut. Everyone’s head turned towards me with half smiles on their faces. I feigned a scratch at my chin, checking for drool. It turned out that I was the entertainment portion of the meeting. Thankfully, there was no pop quiz afterward.
The meeting was in the cavernous first floor conference room. I set up the wireless keyboard and mouse on the presenter’s laptop, plugged in the video cable in the floor jack and the back of the laptop, and turned the projector on. I signed into the meeting and took my seat towards the back of the room, which was filling up fast.
The lights were turned down low and the room was getting even warmer from the crowd. The presenter started the safety presentation and it didn’t take long for my lids to start south. I was struggling to stay conscious.
My head snapped up as I heard my snore snap shut. Everyone’s head turned towards me with half smiles on their faces. I feigned a scratch at my chin, checking for drool. It turned out that I was the entertainment portion of the meeting. Thankfully, there was no pop quiz afterward.
April 21, 2009
Weaponized Ice Cream
I had scooped out my small dish of ice cream wife brought home the other day and started scooping hers when I hit a depression and a hemisphere of ice cream sailed through the air and hit the floor. One thousand one…one thousand two… what the hell, I just vacuumed the house Saturday.
Guilt got the better of me and I took the corrupted ice cream myself, at least I
think I picked the right dish. By the time I got downstairs I took my best guess. We were watching “24” and my mind was consumed with worry whether Jack Bauer was going to die from exposure to the bio-weapon. Surely the writers wouldn’t kill off Jack Bauer, would they? I handed wife the dish in my left hand, hoping it was the un-weaponized ice cream.
I like “24” but Kiefer Sutherland couldn’t act his way out of a wet paper bag. He can’t even get suffering right. If I had to act like I was infected with bio-weapon
goo, I’d like to think I’d do a better job; chew on furniture and foam at the mouth. Kiefer Sutherland just does his funny blink and sweats fake sweat.
I sneak a peek at wife after she had finished her ice cream. No sweat on her forehead or hand tremors. I guess I gave her the right ice cream. By the same token, there weren’t any floory notes on my palate. I guess we were going to be okay. The same can’t be said for Jack Bauer. At the end of “24” Jack Bauer was reduced to a bug eyed, sweating, and trembling mass of a man who still needs to save the United States of America from certain doom.
Kiefer Sutherland looked like he might have eaten some bad ice cream.
Guilt got the better of me and I took the corrupted ice cream myself, at least I
think I picked the right dish. By the time I got downstairs I took my best guess. We were watching “24” and my mind was consumed with worry whether Jack Bauer was going to die from exposure to the bio-weapon. Surely the writers wouldn’t kill off Jack Bauer, would they? I handed wife the dish in my left hand, hoping it was the un-weaponized ice cream.I like “24” but Kiefer Sutherland couldn’t act his way out of a wet paper bag. He can’t even get suffering right. If I had to act like I was infected with bio-weapon
goo, I’d like to think I’d do a better job; chew on furniture and foam at the mouth. Kiefer Sutherland just does his funny blink and sweats fake sweat.
I sneak a peek at wife after she had finished her ice cream. No sweat on her forehead or hand tremors. I guess I gave her the right ice cream. By the same token, there weren’t any floory notes on my palate. I guess we were going to be okay. The same can’t be said for Jack Bauer. At the end of “24” Jack Bauer was reduced to a bug eyed, sweating, and trembling mass of a man who still needs to save the United States of America from certain doom.
Kiefer Sutherland looked like he might have eaten some bad ice cream.
April 17, 2009
April 16, 2009
Thunder Over Louisville
This Saturday is Thunder Over Louisville which is a kick off for the Kentucky Derby festivities where there's not a whole lot of work being done in our fair city for two weeks before the The Horse Race itself. It's free and open to the public which is why you won't see me there. About 500,000 people will gather at the Ohio river on both sides of the shore to watch millions of dollars worth of fireworks go up in smoke. The Zambelli Brothers produce the show.
A few years ago, my wife and I went to the air show which precedes the fireworks. We vamoosed before the fireworks began. Before that, the only time I've seen so many drunk people in the same spot was the night before the Indianapolis 500. We always watch Thunder on TV and, if the wind is right, we can hear it too.
A few years ago, my wife and I went to the air show which precedes the fireworks. We vamoosed before the fireworks began. Before that, the only time I've seen so many drunk people in the same spot was the night before the Indianapolis 500. We always watch Thunder on TV and, if the wind is right, we can hear it too.
New Radicals
The New Radicals were led by Gregg Alexander who wrote and sang all the songs on their one and only album put out in 1998. When I first bought it I listened to almost nothing else. I think it's one of the best albums I've heard in a long time.
This is "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough".
This is "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough".
April 15, 2009
Gomez
Gomez is a band from England who are very popular on both sides of the Atlantic. They're coming to Louisville in May. I might just have to go and see 'em. This is one of my favorites by Gomez titled "See The World".
April 14, 2009
Shawn Mullins
This song should've been all over the radio when it came out but top forty radio stations play nothing that's not at least twenty years old. This is "Beautiful Wreck" by Shawn Mullins.
April 13, 2009
Wheelchair
Last week Tristan was at my wife’s shop and there was an elderly woman in a wheelchair preparing to leave. Tristan walks up to her and starts asking questions.
“What you doin?”
The woman looks at Tristan but doesn’t answer.
“Where you going?”
“I’m going home.”
“A car will hit you!”
Tristan thought she was going to wheel her chair right out onto U.S. 60 to go home. This, of course, makes perfect sense to a three year old boy looking at a chair with wheels on it.
“What you doin?”
The woman looks at Tristan but doesn’t answer.
“Where you going?”
“I’m going home.”
“A car will hit you!”
Tristan thought she was going to wheel her chair right out onto U.S. 60 to go home. This, of course, makes perfect sense to a three year old boy looking at a chair with wheels on it.
April 7, 2009
Thunderstruck
I never cared too much for heavy metal bands and although I heard AC/DC occasionally on the radio when they were hugely popular, I didn't care for them all that much either. During the heavy metal/head banger era I had practically given up popular music and turned to jazz.
I always thought AC/DC was a band from England but in fact they're from Sydney, Australia. AC/DC formed in 1973 and are still head banging today. The lead guitarist, Angus Young, still wears the school-boy uniform in concert as he always did since the band started. This is "Thunderstruck" from their 1990 album The Razor's Edge performed live in England.
I always thought AC/DC was a band from England but in fact they're from Sydney, Australia. AC/DC formed in 1973 and are still head banging today. The lead guitarist, Angus Young, still wears the school-boy uniform in concert as he always did since the band started. This is "Thunderstruck" from their 1990 album The Razor's Edge performed live in England.
Cult of Murray
I guess Abby was a sophomore at Murray State University when she brought home the cute puppy for us to see. She had named the little guy Murray. Little Murray was not well and we suspected the parvovirus. He wouldn’t eat or drink water and was very lethargic. I suspected he wouldn’t make it through the weekend.
The next morning Abby called me from her basement bedroom to look at him. His lifeless body was lying in the shoe box. Abby, with tears in her eyes, said she didn’t want to be around when I took care of the body.
I took the shoe box out to the edge of the backyard and laid it on the ground between the two wooden crosses supporting the clothes lines. The weird canine irony wasn’t lost on me and, as I recall, the next day was Easter Sunday.
I dug the shoebox size grave about four feet deep. Removing the shoe box coffin lid, I double checked to make sure Murray was indeed dead. I didn’t want to bury the poor thing alive. I put the lid back on and put Murray in his final resting place. Before I shoveled in the dirt I said a two word eulogy, “Sorry Murray.” I felt a little silly as I said it; after all, it’s just a dog, right?
I wonder, if in a far off future civilized incarnation of our world, while digging the foundation for a new building, they find the fossilized bones of a puppy between two fossilized wooden crosses. What would they think?
The next morning Abby called me from her basement bedroom to look at him. His lifeless body was lying in the shoe box. Abby, with tears in her eyes, said she didn’t want to be around when I took care of the body.
I took the shoe box out to the edge of the backyard and laid it on the ground between the two wooden crosses supporting the clothes lines. The weird canine irony wasn’t lost on me and, as I recall, the next day was Easter Sunday.
I dug the shoebox size grave about four feet deep. Removing the shoe box coffin lid, I double checked to make sure Murray was indeed dead. I didn’t want to bury the poor thing alive. I put the lid back on and put Murray in his final resting place. Before I shoveled in the dirt I said a two word eulogy, “Sorry Murray.” I felt a little silly as I said it; after all, it’s just a dog, right?
I wonder, if in a far off future civilized incarnation of our world, while digging the foundation for a new building, they find the fossilized bones of a puppy between two fossilized wooden crosses. What would they think?
April 6, 2009
Yard Monkeys
I worked under the cloudless sky on our rock bordered landscape gardens. I was grateful for such a nice day after the crappy fall and winter we’ve been through. The night before, after the OJ made her wanna, the weatherman called for a high of seventy today. Hallelujah and pass the pruning shears. 
The first order of business was cleaning out the narrow garden strips on either side of the backyard deck. I couldn’t use the rake as the hostas and ferns had their heads already poked up through the ground. Being careful where I stepped, I did the orangutan walk, picking up leaves and twigs as I lumbered along.
I came to this small weedy looking sapling that I had meant to dig out last August while I was putting up the new fence. I think it was a Rose of Sharon tree that had seeded itself there somehow. A Rose of Sharon by any other name would look as ugly. I retrieved from the shed my trusty irrigation shovel with the recently sharpened blade and struck it into the soil eight inches from the base. I could feel the blade hit the tap root and after the eighth strike I felt the root sever and despite hanging on for life I pulled the stubborn little yip out of the ground. The song birds cried my victory.
I heard my wife from the other side of the fence, “Look at all the hawks!” Looking up I saw
seven hawks making wide lazy circles, their outstretched wings floating on the rising thermals. Over the past few years it seems there are more and more hawks making a living in our area. It’s a beautiful sight and makes you wish you could fly along with them.
I joined my wife pruning the burning bush next to the driveway. The bush had gotten so out of hand we used the ladder to trim the top part. There was one branch in the
middle we couldn’t reach to cut. It looks as though the burning bush has an antenna for carbon dioxide reception. I mowed the lawn and then we cleared the gardens on the south side of the house.
It was a long day outside cleaning up from the very messy winter and everything looked a little better. The next thing is composting, mulching, and fine tuning the irrigation system which will take every bit of a three day weekend.
I woke up Sunday with a very sore back and it’s still sore today. Damn that Rose of Sharon. You’d think with the hours we spend at the gym I wouldn’t feel sore from gardening. Maybe I need to develop an aerobic routine with a shovel.
Watching the news I see that we're getting snow tonight with a low of 32 degrees. Is this rogue winter ever going to end?
The first order of business was cleaning out the narrow garden strips on either side of the backyard deck. I couldn’t use the rake as the hostas and ferns had their heads already poked up through the ground. Being careful where I stepped, I did the orangutan walk, picking up leaves and twigs as I lumbered along.
I came to this small weedy looking sapling that I had meant to dig out last August while I was putting up the new fence. I think it was a Rose of Sharon tree that had seeded itself there somehow. A Rose of Sharon by any other name would look as ugly. I retrieved from the shed my trusty irrigation shovel with the recently sharpened blade and struck it into the soil eight inches from the base. I could feel the blade hit the tap root and after the eighth strike I felt the root sever and despite hanging on for life I pulled the stubborn little yip out of the ground. The song birds cried my victory.
I heard my wife from the other side of the fence, “Look at all the hawks!” Looking up I saw
seven hawks making wide lazy circles, their outstretched wings floating on the rising thermals. Over the past few years it seems there are more and more hawks making a living in our area. It’s a beautiful sight and makes you wish you could fly along with them.I joined my wife pruning the burning bush next to the driveway. The bush had gotten so out of hand we used the ladder to trim the top part. There was one branch in the
middle we couldn’t reach to cut. It looks as though the burning bush has an antenna for carbon dioxide reception. I mowed the lawn and then we cleared the gardens on the south side of the house.It was a long day outside cleaning up from the very messy winter and everything looked a little better. The next thing is composting, mulching, and fine tuning the irrigation system which will take every bit of a three day weekend.
I woke up Sunday with a very sore back and it’s still sore today. Damn that Rose of Sharon. You’d think with the hours we spend at the gym I wouldn’t feel sore from gardening. Maybe I need to develop an aerobic routine with a shovel.
Watching the news I see that we're getting snow tonight with a low of 32 degrees. Is this rogue winter ever going to end?
April 4, 2009
The Orange Juice Made her Wanna
At the end of the evening "my" chair had slowly inched farther back until, while watching the 11:00 o'clock news, it was in full reclining position. I was going in and out of the late night sleepy twilight zone. Elf ear was lying very still on the couch. I thought she had fallen asleep.
A loud commercial opened my eyes and a woman, after drinking her orange juice, was flitting around her house cleaning her kitchen, choreographed to an idiot pop music background. My thick voice said "So stupid."
A faint sleepy voice from the couch said,
"The orange juice made her wanna."
A loud commercial opened my eyes and a woman, after drinking her orange juice, was flitting around her house cleaning her kitchen, choreographed to an idiot pop music background. My thick voice said "So stupid."
A faint sleepy voice from the couch said,
"The orange juice made her wanna."
April 3, 2009
NRBQ
Stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet. The band was started by Louisville natives Terry Adams and Steve Ferguson. I used to have their first album, simply titled "NRBQ" put out in 1969. I loved them then and now as they're still performing. Their music covers almost the whole spectrum of genres from Jazz, to pop, to rock, to rockabilly. Their lack of commercial success have led some to say NRBQ stands for No Records Bought in Quantity. They have legiones of fans world wide. This is "Dummy" from the same titled album of 2004.
April 3rd, 1974
I was in a Kroger picking something up, I can’t remember what. There had been tornado watches issued by the weather service earlier in the day. Coming out the skies had a leaden background with rags of clouds in the foreground moving rapidly westward. My eye followed the clouds west and that’s when I saw the top of the tornado, about five miles away, and the occasional electrical flash close to it. It was a very scary sight and I’ll never forget it. I never had dreams of tornados before that day and now I still have the occasional tornado dream.
The F4 tornado formed over Louisville’s airport and touched down at The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and destroyed the horse barns at the center and part of Freedom Hall arena before it crossed I-65, scattering several vehicles. The tornado continued its 22-mile journey northeast destroying over 900 homes, and damaging thousands of others. Cherokee Park, a historic 409-acre municipal park designed by Frederic Law Olmstead had thousands of mature trees destroyed.
Today is the 35th anniversary of the “Super Outbreak” It is the largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period. From April 3 to April 4, 1974, there
were 148 tornados confirmed in 13 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York; and the Canadian province of Ontario. It extensively damaged approximately 900 square miles along a total combined path length of 2,600 miles.
The F4 tornado formed over Louisville’s airport and touched down at The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, and destroyed the horse barns at the center and part of Freedom Hall arena before it crossed I-65, scattering several vehicles. The tornado continued its 22-mile journey northeast destroying over 900 homes, and damaging thousands of others. Cherokee Park, a historic 409-acre municipal park designed by Frederic Law Olmstead had thousands of mature trees destroyed.
Today is the 35th anniversary of the “Super Outbreak” It is the largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period. From April 3 to April 4, 1974, there
were 148 tornados confirmed in 13 states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York; and the Canadian province of Ontario. It extensively damaged approximately 900 square miles along a total combined path length of 2,600 miles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)