Religion and the fillibuster

Andy Pac has a thoughtful post on "Justice Sunday" which happened at Highview Baptist Church East in Louisville this past Sunday. I'm a bit behind the times, and I wish I could find the picture that appreared on the Monday issue of the Herald-Leader of a man at a Louisville Presbyterian church holding a sign opposing the service that was happening at the Baptist church. Being a Presbyterian myself, it was nice to see.

Kentuckiblogs

My humble little blog is not all politics all the time, but I do peruse the politiblogs most days to see what is going on in the world, and if I see something I find interesting or I think y'all might want to know I'll post it here. This past Sunday, the Herald-Leader published an article about Kentucky politiblogs, and highlighted my favorite, Blue Grass Roots, which is linked there on the right. So, congrats to Ben and all the folks over there, and hopefully it got a few more Democrats interested in what is going on in our red state.

We're Number 1!

Now that I'm dating an allergy-sufferer, I've become keenly aware of the affects of pollen on those susceptible. We were at the UK Arboretum the last glorious Saturday we had and we weren't there a half hour before he was having a reaction. Well, it was for good reason. Lexington is number one in the country this year as the worst for spring allergies. And, we get to suffer 3 out of 4 seasons. Spring brings tree pollen, summer grass pollen, and fall ragweed pollen. Keep those Allegra prescriptions up to date, and invest in some Kleenex, 'cause this is just the beginning.

Bundle of Joy

Congratulations to my friends Kimberly and Mark on the birth of their daughter, Jillian Faye, last night. Jillian weighed in at 10 pounds 14 1/2 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long at birth. The family is doing well, and I can't wait to see their newest member this evening!

Foo and Flow

There is something to be said about flow. Whether it be within music, literature, or conversation, having flow is important, at least to some. Music that has flow tends to stand the test of time for me. One of the best examples I know is the cd by the Foo Fighters, The Colour and the Shape. From beginning to end, each song flows into the next to perfection. One may end in a delicate swirl and the next begin with a loud crunch, but the notes fit. It remains in my top 5 to this day. It is perfection.

I am excited about the Foo’s June 14 release of In Your Honor. It is a double cd, one heavy one mellow. Dave Grohl has posted the following on foofighters.com:

Hey there. Dave here. Sitting in my favorite chair in the control room with a few minutes to spare. Nick is mixing. MT is doing some technical shit that no one else could even begin to understand. BB is probably on the phone in the office, or practicing his pong skills (which have become utterly unstoppable). Sean is whittling wood in the warehouse. Geoff is back at home. Taylor just left after his usual afternoon visit. It's a hot one, today, though it makes no difference here deep in the bowels of 606, where it's always a cool, comfortable 72 degrees. Fortunately, I just had my week in the sun, taking a nice break before we begin the mix. Many beers were spilled (down my throat) beside the pool. Many listens of the new album. Many viewings of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. Many hours sleep. The past month was a flippin' bear. Noon to 6 am everyday. I have probably single handily depleted the Kona coast of all coffee reserves. But, we did it. It's done.
"In Your Honor" will be the bands fifth album. Almost exactly a decade from the release of the first Foo Fighters record, it will come out in June. It is a double album, as promised. One CD rock, one CD acoustic. It will surprise you. It surprises me. Almost a year in the making, from 5 hours of bedroom demos, to warehouses being built from the ground up, to months of rehearsals, to the construction of an 8,000 square foot classic recording studio, to the recording of 40 songs, to the final track list of 20 songs, it is by far the most ambitious project I have ever had anything to do with in my entire life.
There are subtleties. There are complexities. There are extremities. There are familiarities. There is orchistration. There is simplicity. There is a pile of blown speakers on the floor. There is full bottle of whiskey covered in drywall dust. There is a full bottle of whiskey covered in drywall dust that is about to disappear.
Never before have we ever put so much effort into the making of an album. 1st record- 6 days. 2nd record- 2 months. 3rd record- 3 or 4 months (but mostly just drinking and BBQ) 4th record- 2 and a half weeks. 5th record- writing, rehearsing, recording = 9 months. And now we are the proud parents of a beautiful 2 headed baby. Born with a 606 on her head, just like that creep from the Omen.
I will spare you the track by track bullshit. You can decide for yourselves. There are a few guests. They may seem strange to you. They don't seem strange to me. I just love music. Music can be faceless. It can be nameless. After all, it's the sound that makes your hair stand on end, right? It will.
I will write more soon (I always say that), but just so you know, I have a calendar in front of me that is a year long, fucking packed with tours that will spin us around the globe over and over and over again. It makes me dizzy just looking at it. I can't fucking wait.
See you soon,Dave

Reading that has upped my anticipation and VH1 has been posting foo news almost weekly now. I will most definitely be stopping by a cd shop on my way home that Tuesday and if they are in the area on their tour, we are going. Last time they got as close as Dayton and I didn’t go. Not this time.

Mallrats

I'm a Kevin Smith fan, and so is my S.O., and Mallrats is his favorite of the acclaimed director. Today I found this article about malls cracking down on mallrats. I believe all the folk in the movie would have made it in without any carding problems, the lot of them seemed to be at least 18. I can see both sides of this issue, as a grown-up who is annoyed by teenagers, but I'm not too far from those years not to see how this is like, totally unfair.

Maisonette

My significant other has wanted to dine at Maisonette, the contemporary French restaurant in downtown Cincinnati that has received the Mobil 5 star rating 41 years in a row, (more than any restaurant in the U.S) for years. We have made plans to go there for our 1 year anniversary next month as part of our getaway weekend to Cincinnati.

Today, via the Hegemo, I read this article stating that Maisonette will move out of downtown next spring due to a drop in business, as fewer people are visiting downtown. Business is business, but it is sad that this landmark is probably moving out to the 'burbs somewhere, where everything looks and feels the same. Maisonette has been in its current location since 1966, and all of those years there have been spent as the creme de la creme.

I am glad that we will get to dine in the current location before they make the move.

UPDATE:
Maisonette will be moving north to Kenwood in the fall of 2006. The downtown location will remain open until then.

It is a truth universally acknowledged

that a girl in love with literature will find her heart in Jane Austen.

I have loved Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice since it appeared on a reading list in high school English. In 1995, my love grew with the airing of the BBC adaptation starring one of my favorite British actors, Colin Firth. Then I got the chance to actually study the novel when I took an English Literature class as an elective at Morehead State. I've read the book many times but this past Christmas my wonderful significant other gave me a multitude of sequels to my beloved book.

The first that I read was Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. It is quite the bawdy tale of what happens after the wedding, as Jane Austen had no knowledge of that subject. I was enthralled; from the wedding night to the birth of children, to sex, violence, and rumor-mongering and of course, a grand happy ending for my beloved characters. If you don't mind a different, not-so-staid take on the Darcys, I do recommend it.

I next read Letters from Pemberley and More Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins that details the first year of marriage in the first book and the next six after that in the second in letter form. Most letters are correspondence between Elizabeth and Jane, and you get an idea of how daunting the task of running a grand estate really is. Both were entertaining, and great diversions on cold, winter evenings.

I then started the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy, having received the first book at Christmas, and bought the second upon completion. The third has not made publication yet, but many chapters can be found online. These books tell the story from Darcy's perspective, and it is a most interesting read. You come to understand what he is thinking behind his cold facade, and how his upbringing and expectations has made him who he is. I look forward to finally seeing the last chapters of the third "book".

After spending so much time in the post-wedding world of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy, I was ready to return to the original, and much to my delight I found The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, edited by David Shapard. Even though I have formed a clear understanding of the book over the years, this book has made me slow down and really take in the book and analyze words and situations with the help of numerous annotations per page. The format is quite pleasing; the original text on the left, annotations on the right, so there is no flipping back and forth. It has deepened my love of the novel, and I'm not yet even halfway through.

For a daily (or so) fix when not reading the novel, I stumbled upon The Republic of Pemberley. It is a site for all Jane Austen enthusiasts, if not obsessives, with lots of discussion groups and information. If you do visit, please note that there are lots of rules in this world, and if you do not follow, they will kindly point you in the right direction.

Perspective and Thanks

I came across this article in The Cincinnati Enquirer via Wes, and it really brightened my day. I can't imagine accomplishing what she did at 26.

At 26, I had been in my first real, permanent, full-time job out of college a year, was in my first apartment by myself, and was involved in the Lexington music scene and all the partying that goes with that. I was just a typical mid-twentysomething trying to figure life out.

Wil Wheaton dot Net

Within the last month I was looking for something new to read, blog-wise, so I decided to scroll down the right side of Wes' blog to see if he had added anyone new, and indeed he had. Wil Wheaton has a blog at Wil Wheaton Dot Net, which I've added to the links section at the right. I haven't even made a dent in his archives, but I find myself visiting daily to see what is on his mind. It is a very delightful and refreshing blog to visit. Please hop on over when you get the chance, and do read "If this is your first time here, you should read this" located right under the welcome title before you dig in to his posts. You'll be glad you did.

Food Fight

This is a strange occurance. Two mid-westerners at two different schools in two different states decided to through food product at two conservatives at college speaking appearances two days apart.

Commentator and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan cut short an appearance after an opponent of his conservative views doused him with salad dressing.

"Stop the bigotry!" the demonstrator shouted as he hurled the liquid Thursday night during the program at Western Michigan University. The incident came just two days after another noted conservative, William Kristol, was struck by a pie during an appearance at a college in Indiana.

Kristol, editor of the influential conservative magazine The Weekly Standard and former chief of staff to Vice President Quayle, was splattered by a student during a speech Tuesday at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.