11/27/2002 03:05:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|"Oh god dangit a cop. We already arrested. We already arrested Ray!" Oh hee hee.|W|P|85176512|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/26/2002 05:23:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|When in the hell did gas stations start charging money to use an air pump? I apparently have a slow leak in one of my tires, and when I went to fill it up today at lunch, I found that the station on the corner charges a quarter. Not having any change, and sure I could find one "Free Air" station somewhere, I ventured on. Not only did I not find a free pump, I found one charging 50 cents and another charging a ridiculous 75 cents. Can these things be such a cash cow that all gas stations have reverted to charging for air? Would not the good will generated by providing free air serve the station better than collecting change for three minute bursts of compressed air?|W|P|85129687|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/26/2002 09:03:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Whoa! Did you see that down there? A comment from Raymi. This young lady is far too cool for me. (And be careful, that link's not exactly safe for work.) Rock! |W|P|85107978|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/25/2002 10:02:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|If I ever complained about having nothing to do, I apologize. I obviously wasn't looking hard enough. Friday Friday night at Headliners two of the best-drawing roots music bands packed the house. First up was the newly reformed BR5-49. I was curious to see what would come of the recent line up changes. After many years together, Gary Bennett and "Smilin" Jay McDowell parted ways with the rest of the group. It was hard to imagine the band surviving the loss of these two vital members. Bennett, along with remaining member Chuck Mead, was one half of the lead vocal and songwriting team. On a personal note, he was always my favorite of the two. While Mead's songs relied heavily on gimmick, Bennett's writing was always heartfelt and often heartbreaking. The combination of these two elements defined the band, as it was before. So with the band's anchor of straightforward country lament gone, I expected Friday to see the band in all out kitsch mode. I was not altogether wrong. There was decidedly less introspection. But in a bar full of drunken music fans, introspection isn't always welcome. What was welcome that night was the kind of pedal to the metal hillbilly-beat stomping good time music supplied by the band in abundance. The band sounded as tight as ever, with the replacements Geoff "Fireball" on bass and Chris "Don't mention my uncle Earl" Scruggs on guitar and vocals. The last couple of times I saw BR5-49 with the original line up, they looked weary. This was understandable, since they were at the closing end of years and years of nonstop touring. That impression was obviously not too far off the mark, since they disbanded not much later. But with the addition of these new members, and a little time off, the band is roaring with the kind of energy that you can sense when you listen to one of their two fine live albums. The loss of two founding members, including a very important part of the songwriting team, could have killed a lesser band. And when it comes time to record again, it may kill BR5-49. For now, however, the band is playing live like it never missed a beat. Maybe it's the energy supplied by a fresh start. Maybe the band is able to stand because its foundation is a musical tradition bigger than any one singer or bass player. Whatever the reason, BR5-49 imposed their will on a packed house Friday. When the song told a story, everyone listened. When the song said to dance, they danced. When a song like "Eighteen wheels and a Crow Bar" placed it's foot on your chest and floored it, you were floored. The headlining act, Southern Culture on the Skids, is another big crowd pleaser. They play up the "southern" thing big time, with songs about pudding, dirt track racing and fried chicken. It's a very talented band, and their musical talent is top notch. But I've already stated my distaste for gimmickry, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise when I tell you I left before they started. Sometimes after a set as good as the one put forth by BR5-49, you don't want to spoil it by waiting around for a band you probably aren't going to like. Saturday Saturday night I promised my friend Lee Ann that I'd work the door at The Rudyard Kipling for her Lucero/Two Dollar Pistols show. Upon arriving, I didn't see many cars and was a little concerned that the turn out might be low. You never know with shows in Louisville. The fans are fickle and even the best and most reliable bands can fail to draw sometimes. But that was not the case this night. As I waited downstairs at the bar before the show, I ran into my buddy Nick, who played guitar in my long-defunct rockabilly band. We had a good chat about how much we want to get back to playing, and I think it just might result in yours truly actually starting a band again. Not long after I saw Nick, I glanced up at the door to the room where the band was to play. To my pleasant surprise, there was a long line already forming. The flow of people never seemed to stop that night. I don't know the official capacity of The Rud, but I'm pretty sure it was tested Saturday. Folks were standing, jumping, climbing and drinking. Oh yes, lots of that last one. The Two Dollar Pistols were the surprise hit of the weekend. Playing straight-ahead honky tonk from North Carolina, they made many new fans, myself included. I enjoyed their set much more than Lucero, and from talking to people at the show, I wasn't alone. It's really got me thinking that there's a big untapped market for that kind of music here in town. Especially with the kind of crowd at this show. It was mostly young people, around my age. I saw many, many familiar faces from my punk rock days. It makes perfect sense that these folks would dig hard driving honky tonk about drinking and heartbreak. But seeing the crowd's reaction to this type of band in person really drove the point home. Sunday After two straight nights of intense shows, I needed a little cool-down. So I went up to the BBC to see Mike Cleveland and the Blue Hollow band. For the better part of the night, I got what I bargained for. All acoustic, all bluegrass, and generally soothing. But at the end of their third (yes, third!) set, the boys broke into what could very well have been the fastest version of Orange Blossom Special ever played. Mike Cleveland wasn't named Fiddle Player of the Year by the IBMA for nothing. So at the end of the night, after hours of playing, these guys turned in what could have been the most intense performance of the entire weekend. I guess it goes to show that you should never underestimate the ability of Bluegrass to kick your ass. It hasn't managed to survive this long in tact without being able to blow people away every once in a while. **Update: Ben comes through like a champ with some excellent pictures from the BR5-49 / SCOTS show. One of these days I'll remember to take my digital camera to one of these great concerts.|W|P|85055926|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/22/2002 01:11:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Ok, here's the plan: December 20, 10:15pm Showcase Cinemas Stonybrook Hurstbourne Lane Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers buy tickets here|W|P|84933544|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/21/2002 04:08:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|The jam was excellent last night. Because of some negotiating at work on Wednesday, I didn't have to be in to work until 10 today. So I stayed and played late. I've got the blisters to prove it. It was strange. I saw all sorts of people I know up at the BBC last night: people who don't typically come out to the Jam. First there were two people I know from my old fraternity, apparently not even there together. I didn't get a chance to talk to them, as there was a large jam between me and them as they left. Next up is was a group of folks from the place I used to work. I didn't know most of them very well, but there was one guy I worked closely with on a couple of big projects. he came over and said hi. I ended up explaining to him all about how getting laid off from there was the best thing that ever happened to me. He probably thought I was just saying that, but it couldn't be more true. Then I was very pleasantly surprised to see Ron, Holly, Ben and Kelly all show up. My efforts to get people out to the BBC are beginning to pay off! They seemed to enjoy themselves, but Ben and Kelly were pretty worn out, having just finished swimming a ridiculous amount of laps up at the JCC. At the end of the evening, it was the same group of people left standing as in the two previous weeks. We ripped through another bunch of tunes and ended the evening trying to segue from a Flatt and Scruggs tune into James Brown's Sex Machine. Needless to say, it didn't work out too well.|W|P|84887614|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/20/2002 04:35:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|I think there's something out there eating the internet. I've gone to several pages today only to have them be completely blank. My boss had the some problem. My theory: it's The Nothing.|W|P|84834139|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/20/2002 02:18:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh You say it's your (blog) birthday It's my (blog) birthday too, yeah They say it's your birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you!|W|P|84828104|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/19/2002 03:41:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|I just realized that tomorrow is my blog birthday. I'm going to mark the occasion by going, like I do nearly every Wednesday, to the BBC for the Bluegrass Jam. I can think of no more fitting a way to celebrate. My invitation to any and all readers in the area still stands. Come out and enjoy it. There is nothing like a bunch of bluegrassers ripping into a tune to get you over the midweek blues.|W|P|84778131|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/19/2002 03:02:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Remember that party Saturday night? (yeah, me neither.) Ben has pictures of the debauchery up on his site. And in an aside, I don't look anything like I think I look. Ever. Maybe it's some weird psychological issue. Maybe it's just the lack of a full-length mirror in my place. Whatever it is, I cringe whenever I see a picture of myself. Especially after that much Knob Creek.|W|P|84776373|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/19/2002 01:35:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Tell me this isn't one of the most disturbing photographs ever taken. Apparently not satisfied with "allegedly" molesting kids, Jackson has resorted to covering their heads with towels and dropping them out of windows. Crrrrraazy! |W|P|84772572|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/19/2002 09:19:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Louisville Blogger Party Update Well, I'm sorry to say that the December 14 date is out. Many reasons conspired to make this a bad day for a Louisville Blogger party. Maybe I'll try and set something up for early next year. I do think, however, that the idea of meeting up in an informal setting, like the Harry Potter premier, is a great idea. So, I'll be the first to toss out the suggestion: is anybody up for meeting up at the Lord of The Rings premier? I see that the release date is December 18, a Wednesday. So how about that Friday night, the 20th? I would also suggest Showcase Cinemas Stonybrook on Hurstbourne. It's a much more central location. If anyone's interested, leave a comment or e-mail me.|W|P|84762654|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/17/2002 11:09:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Friday was the Harry Potter premier and found me waiting outside in the cold for fellow Louisville Bloggers. One small problem was that I had no idea what most of them look like. But all my guessing about who may or may not be a blogger walking by at the theatre was for naught. The only folks to make it were Ciscley, Mike and their friend Donnie. And they were up in the front of the line, where I never thought to look. So I watched and enjoyed the movie by myself. After it was over I spotted Cis et all walking out. I introduced myself and we went over to the O'Charleys for some post-movie drinks. It was good to have some adult company after spending several hours in a giant theatre packed with (surprisingly well-behaved) little kids. I was disappointed that more people weren't able to make it, but it was a nasty cold, rainy night and I can understand the desire to stay home. After a trip out to work Saturday, I attended an excellent party in the Highlands. It was a friends birthday party and I had a great time. Many of the attendees were from the regular Sunday baseball crowd, so I actually knew many more of them than I expected. And just to show you how thick this party was with geeks, Ben set up a web cam and broadcast the party live across the globe to our friend Gary in Japan, who was also celebrating a birthday. He joined us for a few drinks, with his web cam running, on the phone long distance and chatting over AIM. We really do live in a crazy-wonderful technological future world.|W|P|84690348|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/15/2002 01:51:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|It seems to me, in this clouded state, that despite the obvious clear and present threat of complete annihilation and chaos, that the total loss of hope is also the abandonment of reality. I made the conscious decision to embrace life, in whatever weird form it takes today. Life is strange, and life is enough to twist my head completely around every once and a while. But there is always beauty. And to abandon the pursuit of beauty is to actively disregard this wonderful world that puts us to bed every night and wakes us every morning. So to hell with giving in. To hell with giving up. There's too much out there waiting to be seen, heard and had. And there's only so much time left in which to get that done. (Disclaimer: The preceding was written late at night, after a very long day. Stress + Lack of Sleep + Fake but nonetheless anxiety-arousing article = weird semi-coherent posts.)|W|P|84565740|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/13/2002 01:13:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Back to the subject of Louisville music. The next couple of days have the potential to be stellar, musically speaking. Tonight is the latest installment of the 6-year running Bluegrass Anonymous bluegrass jam, now located in St. Matthews at the Bluegrass Brewing Company. I've written about this thing here over and over again, but I can't say enough times how fun it is. Lots of folks gathered just for the sake of playing a whole mess of lively, foot-stomping bluegrass. Word on the street is that there's going to be a bigger than normal group of pickers there tonight. Things get rolling around 8:30 and don't stop until they kick us out. If you make it by, be sure and say hello. If you don't recognize me, ask around for Jackson. Most people there know me. And I just might be playing my bass. Maybe. Thursday night is jam-packed with great hillbilly and bluegrass music. Over at the BBC, Tommy Brown and County Line Grass will be ripping through a set of white hot bluegrass. The BBC and the fine people in charge of that establishment have really taken a shine to the bluegrass crowd (and their healthy appetite for beer, no doubt). The show is free, so what's your excuse? Down the road a piece, Austin's favorite son and hillbilly genius Wayne Hancock will roll into Headliners for what is sure to be a memorable set. Wayne is one of my all time favorite current country artists. I only caught a brief glimpse of him in Green Bay because he was playing at the same time as Big Sandy and the Fly Rite Trio (reunion set) and another Austin act, The Bellfuries. I love Wayne, and from what I heard, he was smoking, but those other two acts won out that night. Tomorrow there really is no competition. I may make it down to the BBC for a bit of the early-starting bluegrass show, but I will be at Headliners for all of Wayne's set. We are definitely spoiled in Louisville where Bluegrass is concerned. But good hard driving hillbilly music is hard to come by, and it will be available in abundance tomorrow courtesy of Wayne "The Train" Hancock. I've seen Wayne several times. The first time I saw him was on my first trip to a full-fledged Rockabilly event. It was the first new year's eve celebration after my graduation from high school, welcoming in the new year, 1998. Wayne was the headliner at the beautiful Fountain Square Theatre, a venue that would play my host to a long string of Rockabilly events in the future. I loved every minute of it. I loved the people. I loved the atmosphere. But most of all, I loved the music. Wayne has a distinctively nasal voice, and does a little yodeling now and again. Until that night, I never thought I'd like yodeling. Mind you, this is just a short little song-ending yodel a la Jimmie Rodgers or Hank Williams. Not Slim Whitman style vocal acrobatics, the likes of which were used to kill many Martians in the classic "Mars Attacks". That first real event sucked me into the Rockabilly world, a place where I spent much time for the next four years or so. Rockabilly, much like bluegrass, is one of those weird genres that for some reason remained in tact over the generations. It has been played, almost unchanged, ever since its emergence and very brief flirtation with popularity in the mid 50's. It's the simplicity and honesty of the style that keeps people interested. The satisfaction of knowing something known to by so few others is addictive. It's that separation from the mainstream that, ironically enough, brings large groups of people together from across the planet to celebrate the music. Whether it's a small regional gathering in Indianapolis or Atlanta or a monstrous giant of a gathering like Green Bay or Las Vegas, the people come for the same reasons. On Thursday night there will probably be a bunch of casual listeners, some country enthusiasts out to hear a rare traditionalist act, very few hipsters, and a couple folks who really get it. And live it. And love it. ***Update: I almost forgot that the wonderful Fire The Saddle is having a CD release party/show at The Lighthouse on Friday. They're playing with the infamous Sean Garrison, so the show should be nothing if not interesting. Then on Saturday at the Lighthouse you can catch Satchel's Pawn Shop with 10 Months After. Rock!|W|P|84481877|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/13/2002 10:26:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Oh boy. These all sound very familiar. (via GeekPress)|W|P|84474704|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/12/2002 09:17:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|After waiting for the tornadoes to pass overhead, I went to see Jackass: The Movie Sunday. There were a few slow points, but the rest of the time I was laughing so hard I cried. There's nothing like a little dumb physical comedy to lift my spirits. Of course, we already have some dolts out there trying to be the next Steve-O. Jim Treacher makes some poignant comments and points to this hilarious Seanbaby article on the subject. That reminds me, you need to go read Seanbaby right now. This guy makes me laugh out loud every time I read him. I can go back and read the same articles over and over and laugh every time. (Which you often have to do because he updates so rarely.) Go now. It's like a punch in the neck. Only you get laughs instead of pain.|W|P|84417482|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/11/2002 03:09:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|There are times when I get an urge to start deleting and not stop until it's all gone. I can't count the number of posts, comments, emails, etc. I delete on a daily basis. I get halfway through, then something or other leads me to scrap it. Sometimes the idea isn't forming correctly on the page. Sometimes the momentary emotion that lead me to start writing wears off. And then there are those times when I'm so frustrated with myself and my writing that I have to seriously control my urge to delete everything. The whole site. So if you come by one day and everything's gone, you know why.|W|P|84377355|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/09/2002 12:46:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Ok, so here are a couple things that may or may not be related. I leave that for you, kind reader, to decide. First, since I'm planning to go see the new Harry Potter movie with some folks I thought it would be a good idea to see the first one. I haven't spent many nights at home doing nothing in a while, so I decided to take advantage of a free Friday night to rent some movies. In addition to the wizard flick, I grabbed Lord of the Rings. I had plans to see that one when it came out. But I never did. And then when it was initially released on DVD I had every intention of going right out and renting it. But I didn't. So with the sequels to both of these movies on the verge of coming out, I saw both for the first time. I've never been much for the fantasy genre, but I enjoyed both. Even more than the movies, I enjoyed the night at home doing nothing at all. So here comes the second topic. I need to start going out on dates. Lots of them. There are many things that lead me to say this, but primary amongst those is the fact that I am going out all the time and doing things. And believe me, I'm having a lot of fun. But the things I do are not particularly suited to meeting nice, smart young ladies. Take for example the weekly Bluegrass jam. There is a decent crowd there every week. And the waitresses there are all gorgeous. But they are paid to be nice to you, and I'd feel like a total creep trying to make time with someone I pay on a regular basis. So how about the rest of the crowd? Well, as you can imagine the bluegrass crowd is not very young, on average. And as I've stated before, most of my best friends are all around ten years older than me. Most of their friends are either married, involved, or not interested in 23 year-olds. At all. There are other young ladies who happen by the BBC on Wednesday night, but I'll be damned if I have ever seen one come in without a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. And so goes the story. Just not that many opportunities to meet available young women. I don't think I'm alone in this dilemma. I've hit the personal ad sections of all the big websites. MSN, Yahoo, and best of all, The Onion. But that creepiness factor is unavoidable. I am not going to go to one of those places, set up a profile saying how I just want to find someone smart and witty in town who's looking to have fun and then eventually have to pay to send pitiful electronic applications for attention. Too creepy. And man, if you start browsing the ads for dudes looking for chicks, you realize very quickly that there are a LOT of us out there. And the few poor girls who set up their profiles must be inundated with weird guys' requests. I'm a witty guy. And I don't have a problem talking to the ladies. I mean sure, I don't have much luck when I do, but who does? Josh Hartnett? So what am I looking for here? Advice? I don't know. Does anyone out there have advice? Probably not. Tony Pierce talks a lot about going out on dates with amazing women. He's got a great attitude about it. Who knows if he's getting serious with anyone? As it says on his BusBlog, "nothing in here is true". But he's obviously got the right idea. Get the hell out there and go out with 'em. It certainly can't hurt to ask. Well, actually it can, but it won't kill you. I'll bet there are lots and lots of ladies out there who would love to be asked out. To hell with not being the best looking dude on the block. If I waited until I was, I'd never meet anybody. Alright, let's tie it all back in here. Less movies about elves, wizards, dragons, demons and ogres and more dating. So look out ladies. You may be on the receiving end of a bold proposition real soon. And if you're going to say no, just be gentle.|W|P|84266322|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/08/2002 05:30:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Man, what year is it? 1992?|W|P|84251438|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/08/2002 10:45:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|I'm heading up to Cincinnati Saturday to see THE BLASTERS! And since I've been recently added to the list of folks who can submit to Blogcritics, I might make the write-up my first submission. That assumes, of course, that the notoriously unreliable Blasters do not cancel.|W|P|84233703|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/07/2002 10:35:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Without reservation, I implore you to go immediately and pre-order Tony Pierce's as of yet untitled BusBlogBook. Tony was one of my main inspirations for starting this site and he continues to be the standard up to which I hold myself. This book will contain, along with other special surprises, the best of his blog entries from the past year. It may be the first of its kind, but being such a good idea I can't imagine more people not following Tony's lead. Go now! Buy early and buy often. Support the one of the most creative and interesting writers on the net. And while you're in the book buying mood, you should get Ken Layne's Dot Con. It's full of crime, hi-tech intrigue, gonzo journalism and murder. It's a terribly fun read.|W|P|84175245|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/05/2002 04:39:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Here's an update on the Louisville Blogger Party idea. ***Correction*** As you can tell from Caleb's comment below, I may have jumped the gun on the party location. For that, I apologize. Here's the correction: Unless things change, the proposed Louisville Blogger Party will be at my apartment on December 14th. It's not huge, but will accommodate enough people. I think. If anyone out there has a house and is willing to play host, drop me a line. E-mail me or leave a comment if you have any ideas. Rhondalicious of Very Black is excited and votes no for bars. I think that's already out as an idea, so stay excited! Michelle of On A Path is also excited about a party and not excited about a bar. So that's two definite votes against bars. What do you people do with your free time if you aren't drowning your sorrows in alcohol? Am I missing out on something? p.s. Ciscley over at On My Mind has another good idea about a blogger get-together. I'm up for it, but I guess I should at least see the first movie first, right?|W|P|84079673|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/05/2002 10:40:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|I added a link to my buddy Tom's site over there on the left. But it is worth explaining in further detail. Tom is a good friend of mine, and we have spent many, many Friday nights talking music, politics, movies and literature. He's an ex school teacher, ex punk rocker (maybe not all the way ex, right Tom?), current printer / graphic designer and excellent cartoonist to boot. In fact, you can see a bunch of his print work hiding in the pictures from Jamfest. And I swear I didn't know that when I took the pictures. But really folks, go check out his site. He's got some of the most interesting music writing I've read in a long time. And links to some fantastic MP3's and Real streams ( including this live unreleased recording of Johnny Burnett and the Rock 'N Roll trio and this MP3 of Bill Haley's last recordings.) And I included him in the Louisville Links section even though he's a filthy stinkin' New Albany-livin' Hoosier.|W|P|84063376|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/05/2002 08:59:00 AM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|After a hard workout last night and a late bedtime, I was dragging this morning. Nearly a full hour of 'snooze time' after the alarm sounded its first shrill bleep I rolled out onto the floor. Even the cold air and bathroom floor after a hot shower were not enough to get me going. But I did leave early. Early enough to get to Lyndon City Hall, my designated voting location. There were lots and lots of well dressed fortyish women arriving to vote. Admittedly, this was an unscientific survey, but I guess it may say something about the voters in my area. Or maybe not. It was too early to try and extrapolate. But not to early to vote. So I wandered from numbered table to numbered table until I found the one with the book with my name. The nice lady handed me my ballot, reminded me to fill out both sides. "Oh, I will. I wouldn't want to miss out on voting for the judges. You never know when you'll need to have one of those guys on your side, heh heh heh." She was busy writing in the book, making sure they had my ballot number next to my name and signature, and failed to catch my early morning humor. I stepped into the plastic voting booth where the main pencil had already been abused; its tip hanging precariously as if the last voter became overwhelmed by the pressure, leaning with his or her full weight on the point while filling in the bubble. "Any white space and my vote for County Director of Purveyance and Management of Resources may not be counted. Disenfranchisement!" SNAP! The main pencil was obviously not built to handle such important tasks. But thank god for the backup pencil. Sturdy yellow number two. The proper instrument of implementation for all important bubble-filling operations. Looking for the first time at my two-sided ballot, I went straight for the familiar names. Anne Northup vs. Jack Conway for U.S. House, Jerry "Mayor for Life" Abramson vs. whatever chumps lined-up to be humiliated for Metro Mayor. Then on to the other important decisions: my local nominees for Metro Council. It's an attractive young Republican woman vs. the Lyndon fire chief. The primary job of the Metro Council will be to sort through all the laws, organizations, rules and regulations of the city and county; forging a new stronger and bigger "Metro Louisville" or "Greater Louisville" or whatever name we will call this new merged behemoth. So I decide which of these two I think will be best suited for this job. The self-described homemaker/volunteer who managed a Northup campaign, or the fire chief. They were all very hard decisions. Except maybe for the two thirds of the ballot containing only one unopposed name per race. I was initially disheartened by these choiseless races. "I guess I should have voted in that primary." I thought to myself. But then I saw the Lyndon City Council race, and there were seven choices! Fantastic. Finally, a race with some competition. Oh, but of course. A quick look to the top of that section revealed the words "Choose seven." Damn. The entire back side completed, I checked the front again. Nope, nothing missed. All done. A little anti-climactic, sure. But I'm glad I participated. In most of the races, the candidates provided very little specific information about issues. They relied mainly on painting their opponents as horribly corrupt, lying, cheating, puppy-kicking monsters. Which only half of them really are. The candidates hope people remember the pretty face on the yard signs when they see their name on the ballot, and the sweating, screaming nazi from the TV when they see their opponent's name. But I'm left thinking: "Is this the one who wants to improve health care, or increase jobs in the area? I hope it's the latter, because I sure hate sick people." And ultimately, it really just comes down to who I think will do the job better. I'm not tied so tightly to any one issue that it will play a deciding factor in my choice. And with so little information, it doesn't matter anyhow. I look at the way they ran their campaign. And I look at what kind of things they've done in their civilian life. Then I close my eyes and randomly pick a bubble, covering the names and party affiliation with the handy "blind-voting cardboard sheet" the lady handed me along with the ballot As I left City Hall, I saw that the rain had started. I passed an older man standing outside under an awning, smoking a cigarette and he said: "This awful stuff is supposed to last all day." "It sure is", I reply. And the rain is supposed to stick around too.|W|P|84058886|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/02/2002 03:39:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|I finally added the pictures from IBMA to the list over there on the left. Check it out.|W|P|83930129|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com11/01/2002 02:32:00 PM|W|P|Jackson|W|P|Louisville is usually a pretty tame town. We have our share of crime, but overall I'd say this is a safe city. On Wednesday, however, all hell broke loose with a spat of awful violent events. There was this story about the guy found beaten to death in the stairwell of an apartment building in Newburg. And then the shooting in South Louisville. Some lowlife was robbing the Corner Market on Ormsby when he decided to start shooting the folks in the store. The victims included two men and a ten year old girl. When the first reports came out, they said the girl was caught in the crossfire. But that is most definitely not the case. She was shot four times. And word has it that the scumbag robber stomped her a couple times before leaving. Either she saw too much or this guy is a complete lunatic. Maybe both. Next up we have Jason Cravens who, after threatening a few people in a car with a gun, found himself face to face with the Jefferson County Police. He also found himself with two handfuls of weapons. Apparently being more fond of the guns than breathing, Cravens refused to quit pointing the guns at the police and received one fatal bullet hole, care of the JCPD. Then there is the story I heard before most people. I was getting ready to head down to the bluegrass jam Wednesday night at the BBC. But before I left I returned a call to my dad. Calling his house, my step-mother informed me that he was called back into work (he's a sergeant with the Louisville Police Department) because of a shooting. So I called him on his mobile. He was a little worked up, to say the least. "This might get ugly" he says. There was another police vs. moron shooting. So my dad was going down to the hospital to assess the situation. And from what he knew already, there was going to be trouble. Because the guy was unarmed. And the cop was white and the guy was black. Louis Coleman was sure to raise a little hell, along with his team of anti-police activists. And what made it worse was that the police officer who fired the gun was a friend of the family. He went to the same church, and was friendly with some of my dad's friends. He was also a rookie on the department. "This could end his career. I feel awful for him." My dad was clearly upset. But this nasty little incident has a relatively happy ending. The guy only received non-life threatening injuries to his arm and leg. He was in no danger of dying. And what's even better: while in the hospital he freely admitted that he tried to make the police shoot him, committing "suicide by police" as it were. I also heard a pretty interesting story from my dad, who is a hostage negotiator for the police department, regarding some wacko up on the 2nd street bridge. (The Courier's web site only has a brief mention.) In what was apparently not an intentional suicide attempt, a certain deranged young man made he way to the top of the bridge's truss. And he was sprinting back and forth across the beams. When the police arrived, he had no interest in talking. Nor did he express any particular interest in taking the fast way down. He just wanted to take a jog somewhere with a good view of the river. So when the cops showed up, he was understandably indignant about being interrupted. But eventually he bacame tired, and cold. So he came down to the comfort and warmth of a tightly wrapped straight jacket.|W|P|83886819|W|P||W|P|jacksoncooper@gmail.com