Fiction Honorable Mention 4
The Barn Cats BY JOE PEACOCK During the bitter blow of cold and snow this January, they appear in the loft, first the long male, sticking his head down between the planks and sighing a plaintive Gregorian meow as he watches my movements. The other one, smaller and perhaps his sister, echoes…
Fiction Honorable Mention 3
Forming BY KYLE MINOR I don’t know what it is about the music. The energy, the attitude, the feeling that someone else is angry and upset about life. That I’m not the only person who is disillusioned and more than a little confused. Ever since I really discovered it — not just…
Fiction HONORABLE MENTION 2
Frozen Peas BY KIMBERLY A. POWERS At seven Gary places the key in the backdoor lock and turns it. The jamb sticks; he kicks the door at the base. He’s home late again, but no one stirs at the backdoor’s shudder. Gary kicks the door shut behind him. From the kitchen, he…
Fiction HONORABLE MENTION 1
Bag Factory by sue carls The seams were seemingly endless. Mae turned the bag, her foot pressing down on the pedal, the sewing machine running fast. The rough, cotton fabric used to make the bags caught on the chapped skin of her hands. The high pitched scream of sewing machines surrounded her,…
Literary LEO 2006
Literary LEO, more than anything this newspaper does throughout the year, is by and for the community. This year we received hundreds of submissions, and as you can see by the judges’ comments on the following page, the work was strong, which made picking the best quite a challenge. These next several pages contain the…
Putting yourself on the shelf: The modern phenomenon of self-publishing and on-demand printing
Sometimes it seems as if they fall from the sky, in every imaginable shape and size and color and genre. Science fiction, crime thrillers, country cookbooks, fantasy epics, romance, how-to and many a memoir of dubious provenance. Susan Watson of Borders says she gets nearly one a day (maybe 20 per month), many from people…
Rumblings From the World of Sports
Colonels Redux. Kentucky Colonels’ 1975 ABA champs were honored last year at the Derby Parade, and with induction into Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Now you can relive the victory as many times as you desire. Focal Point Productions has released a double DVD containing interviews plus the entirety of the Game 5…
What a Week
She’s ba-ack (emphasis on the “ack.”) Punxsutawney Dana Seum Stephenson, the constitutionally challenged half-Hoosier deemed too unKentuckian for the Kentucky Senate, climbed out of her hole, saw her shadow and announced her candidacy for the 38th District House seat, ensuring eight more months of political hilarity. Citing the Kentucky House’s lower standards, Stephenson expressed confidence…
Sen. Seum’s smokestack lightning
When it comes to improving Jefferson County’s air quality, state Sen. Dan Seum is public enemy No. 1. An inveterate opponent of government measures to regulate toxic emissions of everything from cars to factories, Seum’s most notorious strike was his bill that resulted in the closure of the VET program in October 2003. After all,…
Nate Robinson, a music scene fixture, dies after accident
LEO learned yesterday about the tragic death of Nate Robinson, a prominent figure in the Louisville music scene, after a Monday evening traffic accident. Few details were available at press time.Robinson, 24, was a sound engineer who collaborated with a long list of prominent Louisville bands. Nate Robinson: Photo Courtesy of Todd Smith “It’s not…
Mark Besten: Rest in peace, oh obsessive one. Hail and farewell.
LEO was shocked and saddened this week to learn of Mark Besten’s death. Working as a free-lancer, Besten wrote numerous articles for LEO, including a lengthy cover piece about his 2001 visit to Holcomb, Kan., where he was able to fully indulge his obsession with all things Clutter. (That notorious murder case from 1959 led…
You had mail: Police investigate theft of letter at Metro Council
The mailboxes for Metro Council members at City Hall look like the boxes teachers use at elementary schools or universities. They’re cubbyholes with open fronts. There’s no real privacy. It’s a typical setup, and it infers a certain level of honesty — the honor system, if you will — that you figure people in leadership…
Clash of the titans: Bucking the establishment, Jones and Schnatter pony up for a new arena study
For months, David Jones, the retired co-founder of Humana, kept receiving packets of information that supported the old Louisville Water Company property (on Muhammad Ali Boulevard, across from the Pendennis Club) as a better and more economical site for a downtown arena than the LG&E site (on Main Street between Second and Third) that was…
The Race for the 37th: A Closer Look
Deborah Peden: What’s a nice girl like her doing in a race like this? EDITOR’S NOTE: LEO made repeated attempts to interview Deborah Brock Peden, the Republican candidate in next week’s special election for Kentucky’s 37th District State Senate seat. Peden initially made an appointment with a LEO reporter but ultimately canceled. Despite several phone…
Erosia: Letters to the Editor
LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. We need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202, or e-mail leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity. Behind the Curtain I am writing in response to the Feb.…
Guest Commentary: What Christianity is not
A group of people came together to talk and discuss the world in which we live, under the rather humorous guise of a “nonfiction book club.†The makeup of the group went like this: four white (two male, two female) evangelical Christians; a young black male of Kemetic spirituality (see Ra Un Nefer Amen); a…
Message to the People: I’m tired of today’s ‘strong black womenâ€â„&ce
It’s an off-week, but I had to write this. To be sure, the title of this Message alone will elicit hate mail from a gaggle of sisters who proudly label themselves “strong black women.†Many will not even read the piece, they’ll just erupt. Others will read, but still refuse self-criticism. Most will simply respond…
Bluegrass Politics: What’s TiVo got to do with it?
For anyone still pondering what to do with those gift certificates from Best Buy or Circuit City, allow me to make a suggestion: Buy TiVo, and be sure you have it up and running by late summer. Otherwise you may never want to watch television again. Why? Because Jan. 31 was the filing deadline for…
Your Weekly Reeder: This message brought to you by the Buzzkill Society
I don’t know how much fried chicken, pizza and tacos Yum! Brands sells in the West End of Louisville, but now that the Louisville-based global corporation has bought the Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs, surely it can do something to resolve the controversy surrounding Derby Night “cruising†on West Broadway. In the wake of the…
Bad Poetry – Honorable Mention
Bad Poetry – honorable mention 1A Republican Nursery Rhyme by Cheryl Clark Eenie Meenie Minie Moe Catch a terrorist by his toe If he hollers don’t let him go, Make sure you pull harder, and twist, and maybe yank out his toenails with a pair of pliers! Because torture is the way to go…
Bad Poetry – Winners (?)
Bad Poetry – 1st PlaceOde to a Booger by Nick Borho Moist as the morning dew Sweeter than a honeysuckle From whenst I first picked you I knew it worth all the trouble. You, I could not flick away With a fleeting, careless gesture, So on my finger you shall stay, Verdant as…
Poetry – Honorable Mention
Poetry – honorable mention 1Another Weekend in Peki Ghana by Kate Hartman It begins on Friday afternoon. Young men, in red and black, already intoxicated, Head to the hospital in the back of the truck. The rules are posted outside the clinic — Only family members can claim a body, And only for a…
Poetry Winners
Poetry – 1st PlaceMonarch by Olivia Cole the summer the chickens drowned you called me across the withered yard to pray, you said; to worship and confess. but i had seen your starved fingers, the way your knees were so quick to bend. the butterflies would not land near you, the little blonde…
Flash Fiction – Honorable Mention
Flash Fiction – honorable mention 1My New Haircut by Kent Roberts “If you give me some cash, I can find your family,” I told the man in my chair. He looked confused. “What in hell are you talking about? My wife’s at work, and my kids are in those chairs there. You’re cutting their…
Flash Fiction – Winners
Flash Fiction -1st PlaceMore Complicated by Rebecca R. Block Once braces came off & bras on my confessions became more complicated. No more I really hate our new neighbor, Dad, I was the eyes and ears other family members still forgot to notice. I collected the she’ll leave him if her father dies and…
Fiction – 3rd Place
Fiction – 3rd Place Up in Alaska by Vince Tweddell Up in Alaska, we called this old guy we did work for Emphee because we could never remember his name and he had emphysema. Sometimes when we arrived and knocked on the door, Emphee would be too fucked up to answer, and so…
Fiction – 2nd Place
Fiction – 2nd Place Ikey by Michael Ginsberg “Ikey died.” The words spilled out of my mouth before I had time to think about them. I stood at the breakfast table — my parents and my sister, Susan, staring up at me, like I’d announced I was catching the next flight to Mars. “Mr.…
Fiction  1st Place
Fiction — 1st PlaceInto The Great Behind by Kennedy Kilean No more arguing about it. He’s oldest and more experienced and owns the place, cleaned it up and stocked it with booze, signed the lease, the licenses. Name of the place stays, as is. So be it, says his younger brother Max, pinching silver cufflinks…
Literary LEO 2006
THE JUDGES Chris Parente (Bad Poetry) Early risers will recognize Chris as former a morning reporter, talk show host and anchor for WAVE-TV (NBC). He spent nearly nine years creating havoc in the wee hours, and he was thrilled to judge Louisville’s ”best of the worst.” Chris’ work as reporter earned him two regional Emmy…
Plugged In: Feb. 8th – Feb. 14th
WED FEB 8 Air Devil’s Inn: Serpent WisdomBluegrass Brewing Co.: Bluegrass Anonymous jam w/ Mike BucayuBrickyard Sports Bar: Open mic/DJ TerryBulldog Café: Open Jam — CountryCactus Jack’s: Mike OwensCafé Lou Lou: Larry Abrams jazz trioCoyote’s: Sixth Floor, SilvertideDame: The GreencardsDiamond Pub & Billiards: Big Rock ShowDutch’s Tavern: Kimmet & Dougear-X-tacy: Asylum Street SpankersGerstle’s: Dave…
Five Important Questions With the Velcro Pygmies
For more than a year — give or take a few Fourth Street Live appearances — the Velcro Pygmies have been absent from the Louisville scene. Pygmie fans used to count on monthly performances at Phoenix Hill to transport them back to the days of big hair, tight jeans and rockin’ music. Now fans have…
Asylum Street Spankers build the barn. Then they burn it
Washboard. Bells. Whip. Backhoe. Musical saw. Various pieces of metal piled in the back of Leroy’s ’67 Ford F100 parked in the studio driveway. These are among the instruments you might expect to hear when cueing up an Asylum Street Spankers album — and that doesn’t even speak to the legendary live shows of this…
Comedy & Karaoke
WEDFEB 8 316 OrmsbyOpen Mic — ComedyAkiko’sKaraokeAngelo’sKaraokeBrewskees Karaoke w/ TriciaBrickyard Sports Bar Open Mic/DJ TerryComedy CaravanDerrick CameronCreeker’s Bar & GrillKaraoke w/ Dirty DanDiamondKaraoke ContestGaslite Tavern Karaoke w/ LarinsoGood Times Pub Karaoke Jim Porter’sKaraokeJ.T.’s Variety Club Karaoke, The Summit Bros.LighthouseKaraokeMain MenuKaraokeMichael E’sKaraokeMonon Station KaraokeNew ViewKaraoke w/ JoePhoenix HillKaraoke w/ DJ Big KahunaR Place Pub KaraokeReflections Lounge…
Arts & Entertainment Listings from Feb. 8th
Special Events •• “Sexual Health, Naturally†a lecture discussing the lack of sex among married couples, Feb. 9, 7pm, 3738 Lexington Rd., 645-3423. Asylum Street Spankers in LEO’s “A Little Off Center†series, performs country to ragtime to rap, Feb. 9, 8pm, $17, Bombard Theatre, 584-7777. InKY Reading Series celebrates second birthday with poetry from…
Community Listings from Feb. 8th
The ONE Campaign hosts free educational workshop, “Advocacy Matters,” free, Feb. 11, 1-3pm, League of Women Voters, 115 Ewing Ave., 608-0586.Kentuckiana Single Hikers and Walkers — Feb. 12, at Taylorsville Lake State Park, leave at 10:30am, from McDonald’s, 5027 Shelbyville Rd., across from Mall St. Matthews, strenuous (bushwhacking) 6 miles, 894-0579 or www.kishaw.org.UofL Fencing Club,…
Bad dates, indeed
Winner 1:Payback’s a bitchBy Kim Woodring It all began when my sister, Diane, decided she would fix me up with this guy, “Joe.” She worked with him at General Electric for more than nine years and knew him pretty well. “Everyone wants to go out with Joe,” she would tell me every chance she could.…
Staff Picks
Through Feb. 14Send a Singing Valentine Don’t be left standing in the retail aisles, searching for the card or the candy that will seal your romantic intent for your true love. Chocolate is fine, but think out of the box this Valentine’s Day. Be spontaneous by sending your significant other, boss, loved one, teacher, etc.…
Video TapeWorm: Releases through Tuesday, Feb. 14
Video TapeWorm: Releases through Tuesday, Feb. 14 THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS:SAW II2005; VHS Rental/DVD $28.95, RFrankly, these dismemberment-and-torture movies don’t entertain us much (something our parole officers are kinda happy about), but we understand the appeal. In this better-than-the-original sequel to 2004’s unexpected hit, the disturbed mastermaniac is back for another round of “games” in…
There and back: Kathy Griffin spied on Hollywood for years … and lived to tell about it
Taking on Oprah is a brave and daring mission, and very few have succeeded. Just ask someone from the meat industry. But for comedian Kathy Griffin, who has balls of steel, metaphorically speaking, Oprah is just another personality to be conquered — to be publicly called out and stripped of all hypocrisy. And, out of…
Aftertastes
211 Clover Lane Contemporary Rating: 5 $$$ HA 211 Clover Ln. 896-9570. From appetizers to salads and desserts, the meals at 211 are well thought out and beautifully presented. They clearly have one of the best kitchens in the city, with a focus on seasonal ingredients and perfect techniques. As for atmosphere, if you’re looking…
Nibbles
Valentine’s Day specials Several local restaurants are preparing special menus for Valentine’s Day. Artemisia will offer a variety of appetizers, gourmet salads, entrees and desserts. Call 583-4177. Jarfi’s Bistro will celebrate the lovers’ day with “Absolutely Aphrodisiac,” a dinner featuring a range of foods thought to be aphrodisiacs. Cost is $55; call 589-5060. Finally, L&N…
Cutting Board Café is worth searching out
If I had a dollar for every time my buddy Larry crowed to me about the Cutting Board Café, I could retire and move to Florida. You know how it goes: Someone builds up a movie, album or a restaurant so much that when you finally check it out for yourself it can’t live up…
