Thunderstruck

It is that time of year again: Thunder Over Louisville (aka Thundar!) marks the official beginning of the Kentucky Derby Festival and due to a conflict with Passover has been scheduled a week early this year, giving us an extra week of the madness that is Durrbay!

This year is a chilly one at 50 degrees with the threat of rain as the B1 bombers whiz over Butchertown and rattle my 150 year old house. My cat, B-cup, is not pleased and frankly, neither am I.

Here are a few photos and observations from 2008's offering.



Thundar! offers the local Butchertown entrepreneurs an opportunity to rake in the big bucks. I saw parking from $15 to $35 dollars. This one was my favorite. Look closely at the sign.



Thundar! always kicks off with an eight hour long air show displaying the might and power of our US military. It's like being in Iraq only it's just for fun. With all those super cool planes flying around, the military sets up miles of recruiting booths. Look at that sweet Hummer. Dreams can come true.



The "Patriot Chopper" was new this year. Recruiting must be slow so they had to bring in this bad boy. You could even have your photo made in front of it!



In the midst of the madness, a small and quiet group of folks wandered through the masses with shirts that read "War is no Future." Buzz kill, man - this is Thundar!



The tanks were also new. They were crawling with kids who were clearly impressed. Don't they need to use these somewhere else?

So does all this hubbub really work? I mean who is going to actually sign up to go kill poor people so that rich people can get richer?



Oh, these people.



This whimsical soldier puppet has been in attendance in the past but this year he got a tan. Must have been all that middle eastern sun.



Not to worry, the spirit of Thundar! is alive and well with these underage thug-lets and their coconut monkey sippers.

Enjoy the fireworks boys, and god bless america.

After what has seemed like an infinite winter, the bright ball in the sky finally peeked through the clouds and gave us an almost 70 degree day. I dusted off the old bike and headed down to waterfront park.

I was beginning to believe that myself, my missus and my cat were the only people left alive on earth. It was quite a relief to see so many folks out and about today.

It's good to be reminded that it will get warm again. Sometimes I forget.

MyTeeth.com

There are periods in my life when I cannot for the life of me, get out of bed. These past several weeks have been one of those periods. The cold, the early darkness, some inexplicable internal timer I have always puts me down this time of year.

I am not one to remember my dreams but this recent hiding under the covers in various states of alertness in the morning to mid afternoon has allowed me to recall snippets of dreams that dance in my skull as I try to will myself out of bed.

This morning I dreamt that there was a website called MyTeeth.com. MyTeeth is similar to MySpace but it's all about teeth. Everyone has pictures of their mouth and you can be friends with other people's teeth, leave comments, etc.

I reckon this comes from my recent trip to the dentist where I got my tooth cleaned (they cleaned all of them but I only have one in the front that picks up a coffee stain). This trip resulted in my dentist, Dr. Barber recommending I get a Sonic Care toothbrush. Dr. Barber has been my dentist since I was a child and I was very confused about the difference between a Dentist and a Barber for many years.

Anyway, I now have a toothbrush that has an instruction manual and is currently being "charged" for its first use.

I am a little frightened as to how this is going to go down but I will keep my MyTeeth profile up to date with all the latest info.

I get the feeling that since the thought of getting up and brushing my teeth with just my regular toothbrush has been too much to stomach lately that this electrified contraption will only add to the stress.

P.S. The web page at www.MyTeeth.com is incredibly disappointing. I recommend you do not go there and just assume that it is a real social networking site all about teeth.

P.P.S. Upon further investigation, I have discovered that while MyTeeth.com may be disappointing in and of itself, the links it provides are not. I found this link under "Dental Humor."

You Can't Handle the Truth

Here is my acting resume' - all of which is true.

2nd Grade
Paul Bunyan in the Saint Agnes Production of "Paul Bunyan and Babe The Blue Ox"

All I remember is wearing boots that were too big and eating popcorn on stage. I have no idea why Paul Bunyan eats popcorn but he does.

8th Grade
Captain Von Trapp in the Saint Agnes Production of "The Sound of Music"

I landed this role during a period of my development known as puberty where my voice was changing. My solo performance of "Edelwiess" was absolutely humiliating.

Freshman Year
Leader of the Socs Gang in the Saint Xavier Production of "The Outsiders"

My stage-combat training from YPAS landed me the job of orchestrating the rumble scene. Stay gold pony boy.

Sophomore Year
Judge Randolph in the Saint Xavier Production of "A Few Good Men"

Can you handle the truth?

Junior Year
Private Boone in the Saint Xavier Production of "M.A.S.H."

My role was the comic relief. Every time I entered or exited the stage I tripped on my unlaced boots.

Hi-larious!

Senior Year - I lost my thespian ambitions.

Currently not acting.