Sunday, October 28, 2007

Sunday Song, Superstitition

Come to Rabbit Hash, KY November 3 and 4

Friends of Rabbit Hash Plan Benefit for Richard Young

Citizens in and around the historical town of Rabbit Hash (best known for electing a dog as its mayor) are staging a benefit to be held Saturday and Sunday November 3rd and 4th in the barn and in the Rabbit Hash General Store. The proceeds of the benefit will go to Richard Young, husband to Terrie Markesbery-Young, proprietress of the Store. Richard has been diagnosed with Stage 4 neck and head cancer. The money is meant to defray what will undoubtedly be astronomical medical costs.

Young is a master stone carver, whose craftsmanship and artistry is known for his expertise with the hammer and chisel. He carves the same way it has been done for thousands of years; strictly by hand. Examples of his work can be found throughout the tri-state, most notably at the All Saints Catholic Church in Walton, KY., for which he carved hundreds of figures, symbols and architectural features that adorn the church.

The benefit will include a silent auction to be held on Saturday only from 4:00 to 7:00 pm in the Art Gallery. The auction will include donated items such as original artwork, hand made jewelry, specialty baskets and an antique ruger with a hand crafted holster.

The rest of Saturday and Sunday will be filled with barbeque, burgers, raffles, live music and an appearance by the world famous canine mayor, "Junior". Over 20 local bands from varied genres of music have generously donated their time to the benefit.


Beginning at 12:00 NOON both days, the scheduled live music acts will be:

Saturday, November 3rd: Remember... Turn clocks back 1 hour Saturday night!

In the Store

12:00 The Rabbit Hash String Band
1:00 Moonshine Drive
2:15 Cynical Mountain Boys
3:30 Brian Ewing
4:45 Anna Scala 6:30 The StarDevils
6:00 Comet Bluegrass All-Stars
7:15 Frontier Folk Nebraska

In the Barn

1:30 Lagniappe
2:45 DRB & the Private Orchestra
4:00 The Modified
5:15 The Turkeys
7:45 Poke
9:00 500 Miles to Memphis
10:15 Kenton County Regulators

Sunday, November 4th:

In the Store

12:00 Reminiscent
1:00 Lauren Houston
2:15 Downtown County Band
3:30 Raison D'Etre
4:45 Chris Dunnett
6:00 The Moxie Band

In the Barn

1:30 Core
2:45 Kelly Thomas & the Fabulous Pick Ups
4:00 Dallas Moore
5:15 Jake Speed
6:30 Straw Boss

Food, drink, raffles, and kisses from Mayor Junior throughout both days! All aspects of the benefit are open to the public. $10 donation to the "Richard Young Expense Fund" is suggested.

In addition, a fund for Richard has been set up at Heritage Bank. Donations to the Richard Young Expense Fund can be made at any branch. You may also donate online via the Rabbit Hash General Store's Paypal account.

NOTE: For the latest up-to-date event information, directions or to make a contribution go to:
Richard Young Benefit

They were making a mockery of my horror!

Sunny - Hi 88 Lo 65 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 78 Lo 45 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Sunny - Hi 57 Lo 35 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Superstition, Stevie Wonder


This song is from a time when Stevie knew how to do rock. I love this song- the fact that he performed this on Sesame Street makes me giggle. Turn up the volume and dance--- get the blood flowing!

Ramble:

The following is a portion of my October 30, 2005 post. I still haven't done the top 10 creepy movies... maybe next year. Michael and I watched a horrible movie last night. It was from 1964 and must have been a drive in movie although Vincent Price starred in it... called The Last Man on Earth. It was on local cable- Public Access... This movie was bad, but like a train wreck... could not stop watching it. Vincent Price is just so good...

I have never been a huge fan of Halloween. I suppose it's because there was never a huge emphasis put on any holiday when Terry and I were growing up. It is also a holiday that revolves around the occult, and I've always been a little creeped out by it. Don't get me wrong... I can come up with another list of movies that hit this genre... note to self... top 10 creepy movies.... Night of the Living Dead... Halloween... anything with Bela Legosi.... Being married to Michael, Halloween has become more fun for me, since it is one of his favorite holidays...(I still get creeped out). Over the years we have a developed a couple of traditions that we are obligated to uphold... Pumpkin carving, watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and now, Blair Witch Project.... Michael loves to be scared... not the kind that causes one to scream or be "grossed out", but rather the kind that causes that tingling on the back of your neck... he loves that... but don't we all?


TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story. It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever. Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what caution --with what foresight --with what dissimulation I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened it --oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly --very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a madman have been so wise as this, And then, when my head was well in the room, I undid the lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously --cautiously (for the hinges creaked) --I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights --every night just at midnight --but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would have been a very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept. Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers --of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back --but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,) and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out --"Who's there?" I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; --just as I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall. Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself --"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel --although he neither saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head within the room. When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little --a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it --you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye. It was open --wide, wide open --and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness --all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot. And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense? --now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage. But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eve. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! --do you mark me well I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me --the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once --once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But, for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eve would trouble me no more. If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs. I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye --not even his --could have detected any thing wrong. There was nothing to wash out --no stain of any kind --no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all --ha! ha! When I had made an end of these labors, it was four o'clock --still dark as midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door. I went down to open it with a light heart, --for what had I now to fear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves, with perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a neighbour during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been lodged at the police office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises. I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search --search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim. The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness --until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears. No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound --much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly --more vehemently; but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men --but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! --hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!"

The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe
1843

Tell-Tale Heart artwork by Alan M. Clark

Have a great week everyone!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sunday Song, Sympathy for the Devil

It's Rabbit Season... It's err a ...

Sunny - Hi 91 Lo 69 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 82 Lo 49 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Sunny - Hi 81 Lo 56 for Northern KY, USA (Unreal!! We still have crickets!)

Song of the week: Sympathy for the Devil, The Rolling Stones

Halloween is just a couple of weeks away... so, I've been listening to stuff like this on my iPod. I was sent one of those chain emails by my niece... one of the questions was... Beatles or Stones? My short answer was *yes*. Of course, it depends on my mood... Even when John Paul George and Ringo were into all the hippy stuff and mysticism... they still came off as the good boys... The Rolling Stones were always the bad boys and the music was always dark... always...

Ramble:

Herk commented last week that he wanted to see some of my photos... Well, I took some a couple of weekends ago when we were visiting Rob and Jo... They live year round at a resort... It's beautiful... Michael and I invite ourselves out there as much as possible.

Anyway, it's not wabbit season... but ummmm... it is deer season... err...uhh... everywhere but where they live... the deer that share this resort with Rob and Jo and their neighbors are off limits to hunters... cameras are okay.

The one thing you quickly realize is that these creatures have personality... lots of personality...

For a better more detailed view, please click on each photo. I have not modified any of these photos... these were downloaded from my camera to my computer... One slight modification is mentioned below.

We were tossing apples at the deer.

Pretty girl.

This is one of two favorite shots from that evening.

We were all amused because the deer were all congregating at this house.... we were surmising they heard there was a party...

This girl seemed to have no fear... was very curious and wanted some more apple.



Look at those long eyelashes!

This guy was huge!

I used a flash and had to doctor this photo to minimize the red eye.

My most favorite...

Before playing the cartoon--- please stop the Sunday song.





Have a great week everyone!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Sunday Song, Fire and Rain

Put a Fork in Me...

Partly Cloudy - Hi 99 Lo 73 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 83 Lo 44 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Partly Cloudy - Hi 75 Lo 54 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Fire and Rain, James Taylor

I have always loved this song. The melody sings to my heart, the lyrics always take me to places and people I thought I had forgotten...

Ramble:



Put a fork in me... because I think I'm done. When I started this blog, I made a commitment about 2 1/2 years ago to post every Sunday... I have stayed true to that commitment, but since the beginning of this past summer I have looked at this endeavor as a chore... something this should never become. The posts have been lazy at best.... a waste of time at worst... So, I have made the decision to keep this blog open... I intend to still post, but only when it suits me and I actually have something to write.

Thank you to those of you that continue to visit. I will still be checking in on my favorite places. Sunday mornings you will still find me having a cup of coffee and perusing my favorite blogs. That won't change.

Keep our troops in your hearts and support them whenever possible. We owe them so much. Keep an eye on our political leaders... stay active and let them know what you think. Keep your eyes on the horizon and the upcoming elections... Vote for the most conservative candidate possible during the primaries... Vote for the Republican during the presidential election... Watch Heroes and The Office... Take care of your families and loved ones... Remember to laugh and not take things so seriously...

Have a great week everyone!

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Sunday Song, October

October

Sunny - Hi 97 Lo 73 for Baghdad, Iraq
Sunny - Hi 82 Lo 51 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Sunny - Hi 91 Lo 67 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: October, U2


This time of year, I turn off talk radio and listen to music... I do a lot of deep cleaning this time of year... Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away.... family and friends will be spending some time here...I dance a lot when I clean... (that's one of the reasons it takes me so long to clean). Anyway... one of my favorite albums to listen to from beginning to end is U2's sophomore record, October. They were so young- so full of passion, their talent so apparent. Back when we were kids and sitting in Monkey Man's basement, we all marveled at the fact that they were only a couple of years older than us... The most powerful aspect of this album was U2's proclamation of their faith... It's not a bible thumping proclamation... Gloria??? With a Shout?? Listen to the entire album... er... CD if you get a chance. If you've never listened... it's time... It's not dated... It's rock n roll, baby.

Although it is October, we are still experiencing ridiculously hot humid weather. Since June, we have had one day where it has rained... maybe Algore is right...

In any event... the days are getting shorter... we don't expect the fall colors to be vibrant this year due to the dry summer, however we are getting a little color on the trees... This time of year opens the door to fall... an incredibly melancholy time of year for me although, I have grown to embrace and enjoy it, thanks to Michael. It's time to make a trip up to Amish country and down to Keeneland. All in due time... but definitely before the winds turn cold...

Have a great week everyone!