Stop And Go Diner

Originally we reported on the old Cain's Diner, which stood on Water Street in Richmond for decades before morphing into The Silver Diner.

Now, the place has changed hands again, and is called Stop And Go Diner. From a recent article in the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Stop and Go owners Russell Cantrell, 50, and Robert Miller, 56, have been cooking longer than the two have been friends.

Cantrell and Miller were a few years apart when they both attended Madison High School, but became friends when they were in the band SPAN (Soul Pleasing All Night), from 1976-1978. Miller played the drums and Cantrell was the sound technician for the group that was formerly known as the Techniques.

It was during Miller's sophomore year in high school that he had one of his first experiences with the restaurant he would later co-own. Miller descended the hill from his school down to the restaurant on Water Street, then known as Cain's Diner.

According to Miller, the owner, James Cain, still kept a sign on the wall that seemed to yell at blacks: "We have the right to refuse patrons." Miller walked in and sat down at the counter. He says Cain called Miller and his friends the N-word and promptly told him to leave.

Miller's mother, Mary B. Turner, 83, remembers how disappointed her son was that day. "I guess he was kind of shocked and surprised that he couldn't come and eat here," she said.

Stories like Miller's left a sour impression for many blacks in Richmond for many years.

I haven't sampled the food at Stop And Go yet, but from all reports, it's fantastic. Not just good, but great, and blows all previous incarnations of the diner out of the water. I'll be dropping in to Stop And Go soon and will give a full report.

NUFORC UFO Roundup

It's been a while since I've checked out NUFORC's files of submitted UFO reports in Kentucky. Here's the latest ones they list:

7/14/2008: Fern Creek, KY. "VERY SMALL OBJECT , MOVING VERY RAPIDLY, AT VERY EXTREME ALTITUDE. THE OBJECT APPEARED TO BE FLYING VERY VERY HIGH AND AT A VERY VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED.IT MADE NO SUDDEN ZIGS OR ZAGS, IT ONLY FLEW FORWARD, AND WITHOUT SOUND . I'VE SEE MANY PLANES FLYING AT VERY HIGH RANGES BUT NEVER AT THAT KIND OF SPEED!!!! TO THE NAKED EYE THE OBJECT WAS ABOUT THE SIZE OF A PIN HEAD. I DONT BELIEVE IT WAS A METEOR OR MODERN AIRCRAFT."

7/27/2008 : Florence, KY. "I left my boyfriends house in Hebron KY around 1:15am. I was headed south to my home in Crittenden KY. I noticed a large, bright orange light (about a half mile in front of me) in the sky along south-bound I-75 around the Dream Street area. As I got closer I noticed that the light was on the front of what appeared to be a triangular shaped object. It did not appear to be moving. My best GUESStimate was that it was about 50-75 feet in the air. As I drove underneath the object I saw two green lights and one red light, all of which were blinking as opposed to the one in front (the orange one) which was not blinking. I could not tell if the three blinking lights were on the bottom or the side of the object due to the fact that I was passing under it at around 60mph."

7/28/2008 : Mount Sterling, KY. "My children and I watched as blinking lights (red, white, green, and blue on some) moved across the sky at different directions. Then there were several more that even met up and went almost in circles before disappearing. Lastly, we even saw one meet another, then both go in the same direction with one following the other. They were definitely not plane, or helicopters due to the amount of them, lack of noise, and the strange flight behavior. It lasted roughly 30 minutes, and I would've watched longer, but I was getting tired. I wanted to film it, but my small video camera would not have captured it very well due to the dark night and they were pretty high up in the air. Some were barely able to be seen if not for the blinking of the lights. It was amazing and I wish someone else would believe us!"

8/8/2008 : Murray, KY. "Oval object shoots across the sky and explodes in bright flash. My step-brother, his friend, and I were walking down the road. The event occurred between 1:30 to 1:45. First we were just walking we were about 200 yards away from the house. And we all saw a flash of light and, then there was an oval shaped object that shot across the sky with a hissing noise. It left a bright trail that remained even after it was gone. But after it shot across the sky it had seemed to explode in a sudden silent flash."

8/9/2008 : "Two small orbs seen hovering over Dawson Springs, KY at a great distance. The objects were too far up to describe in much detail. There was one object that appeared to emit light or simply reflected sunlight. The other object appeared only for a few seconds and simply appeared as a dark spot. The lighted object moved only a small distance then stopped, moved back and then stopped and did this about 4 times before disappearing. I have taken photos of the objects as well."

(Photo above: UFO spotted over Louisville in 1973.)

Kentucky vs. the Internet

We've reported on some truly weird Kentucky laws in the past, but this new court ruling from Frankfort has to take the proverbial cake. In case you haven't heard, Governor Steve Beshear has proclaimed, as if by royal fiat, that the state of Kentucky has the right to confiscate the domain names to online gambling sites (even ones in other countries) that, in his view, violate Kentucky anti-gambling laws.

Sounds insane? Sounds illegal? Yes, indeed. And yet Beshear's view is also held, coincidentally enough, by a certain Judge Thomas Wingate in Frankfort. Judge Wingate has ordered owners of 141 online gambling domain names to appear at a court hearing on November 17. And then they have to demonstrate that they're blocking traffic from residents in Kentucky - which of course, they're not. If the sites don't appear or don't comply with the ruling, the rights to their domain names will be forfeited to the state.

Experts, however, take an extremely dim view of Beshear and Wingate's confused idea of how the internet works. The professional Poker organization GPSTS called it "bizarre, far-reaching, and unpleasant", and iMega (Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association), which is an organization championing internet growth and innovation, had this to say:

"Judge Wingate has ignored the clear laws of his own state in coming to a decision that essentially green-lights any jurisdiction - in the U.S. and abroad - to ignore our rights and abuse their power to do away with competition or speech or content with which they oppose, regardless of the law. This is a dark day for Internet freedom."

John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance is equally outraged at Beshear and Wingate's scheme:

"This action not only unduly restricts the freedom of Kentucky residents to play games of skill online, such as poker, but sets a precedent for censorship of the internet by force.

Many of Governor Beshear's arguments - that online poker is illegal, unregulated and without a mechanism to capture tax revenue - are false. Online poker is not illegal under Kentucky law, it is regulated in its home jurisdiction and the Commonwealth of Kentucky chose not to license and regulate poker websites."

Most disturbing of all to me is that the Governor openly admits that a key part of his reason for committing this constitutional travesty is because he would prefer gambler's dollars to be spent at Keeneland, Churchill Downs, and the Kentucky lottery:

"Illegal and unregulated gambling Web sites - many of which operate from other countries - are leeches on our communities and unfairly undermine Kentucky's horse-racing industry. By seizing those Internet names, the state can require the casino operators to block their sites from being accessed in Kentucky. Kentuckians likely spend tens of millions of dollars on illegal internet gambling sites each year - money that might otherwise go to Kentucky's horse tracks, charitable events and the state lottery."

So, uh, that pretty much reduces his argument to a very petty matter of professional jealousy: 'hey, dese other guys' gambling scams are interfering with OUR gambling scams! Dah, we can't have dat! We'd betta rub 'em out, boss!'

Mind you, I don't give a hoot about online gambling myself. It's strictly for suckers and dopes, if you ask me. But I'll still defend to the death these rubes' constitutional rights to go clickity-clack on any internet site they choose, and to blow their money on said sites.

If allowed to get away with this madness, I guarantee you internet erotica will be next, and then the precedent will be laid to quash political dissent sites and anything else that anyone in any Government anywhere wants to banish from the web. So this isn't just about Poker, it's about setting a legal precedent that allows two-bit politicians and judges to really screw up the internet for everyone else in the world.

Stonehenge in Munfordville

Next time you're in Hart County, stop through Munfordville and check out this replica of Stonehenge.

I'm not actually sure what purpose it was created for - although it's on private property, people are welcomed to visit it. Technically, it really isn't even close to being an authentic replica in terms of placement and sculpting of the stones, but it's a pleasant place to visit nevertheless.

Dixie Cup Water Tower

Does this water tower, mimicking a paper Dixie cup, still exist? Last I saw, it was still intact on Harbison Road in Lexington.

The Ghost of Octavia Hatcher

There's no shortage of spooky Kentucky ghost stories (all of them sworn to be totally true, of course) circulating on the web as myths turned memes. Dozens of books and websites exist that are packed with these tall tales that are unverified and probably unverifiable. That's fine if you're in the mood for a simple vicarious chill around the campfire, but I'm only interested in things we can research, dissect, and work towards verifying and understanding.

The "Octavia Hatcher" meme is a curious one. A search for this name brings up only a handful of relevant hits, like this one and this one.

As Troy Taylor notes in the Prairie Ghosts link above, "Students at nearby Pikeville College can tell you a dozen different versions of how this ghost died, how she lived and how she makes her spectral presence known in the local graveyard. Unfortunately, few of these stories are actually true."

What I want to know is, on what basis do we assume any of them are true?

The Prairie Ghosts page also states, "According to a number of reliable witnesses, unexplained things still take place around the place where her life ended in terror." Okay, that's great. So, uh, like what? Who are these reliable witnesses? Who deemed them reliable? Exactly what did they say??

I won't bother recounting the soap-opera-esque Octavia Hatcher legend here, but instead I'll skip to the meat of the matter, which is the allegations of sightings of Octavia's ghost near her grave, as well as paranormal phenomena such as weird sounds. I'm very interested in getting firsthand reports about all this for a future book I'm working on.

Hatcher is buried at Pikeville Cemetery, Johnson Cemetery Rd, Pikeville, KY.

PETA Wants Big Brown Castrated

Those wacky kids at PETA are at it again.

They're calling for Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown to be castrated, against the wishes of the horse's owners, Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo, who are preparing to make him a high priced stud sire at Three Chimneys Farm. Their thinking, as far as I can tell, is that any offspring of Big Brown may be more likely to have the same kind of accidental injury as his parent. (If that logic seems fuzzy, remember that PETA is the same organization who handed out leaflets to little children that said "Your Mommy Kills Animals".)

There's been no word as far as I know that Iavarone and Schiavo are taking PETA's protest seriously. Myself, as a card-carrying member of the Kentucky-centric Old Order of Transylvanian Gentlemen, I can't support anyone who calls for the end of racetrack betting, nor anyone who disparages the holy name of Colonel Harlan Sanders.

The USA Today story is here.

EKU's Mystery Arsonist

A series of unexplained fires on Eastern Kentucky University's campus - and during Fire Prevention Week, no less - have officials baffled and perturbed.

Four of the five fires have been concluded to be acts of arson. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader:

"Officials are still looking for suspects in three small fires that took place last week in the Dupree Hall dorm and one in the Powell Student Center. The fires all seem to be related and caused by arson, but officials aren't sure whether one person or a group is responsible..."

The department is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of a person responsible for the arsons. Anyone with information about the arsons should call the EKU Police Department at (859) 622-2821.

Please help Catclaw Theatre!

My theatre company, Catclaw, is in dire need of funds to continue our weird and mysterious works, and to take it to another level. Catclaw benefits the community by bringing new quality and variety to the theatre scene in Kentucky and surrounding areas. Furthermore, for our traveling productions, we intend to promote Kentucky actors and give them new opportunities to make their talents known to a national (and even international) audience.

We have a goal of setting up our own theatre space in Louisville by this time next year. Help us reach that goal!


No donation is too small, and all donors will receive acknowledgement in our playbills and newsletters, plus receive special discounts and thank-you gifts. For supporters giving over $500, your donation will include exclusive VIP invitations to upcoming special events, as well as other benefits we haven't even thought of yet. Contact us for details on how superdonors will get free tickets for life, and/or free advertising in our playbills for life!

You can also support us by purchasing items from our eBay auctions, and if there's anything else we can do for you, just let us know. Seriously. We'll come over and cook you dinner and paint your fence and shovel the snow from your driveway for a donation. You tell us what you need.

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Madison County Meteor

Once when I was a kid living on the farm in Waco, KY, my father and I saw a huge red glowing ball streak down through the sky and disappear on the forested horizon. It made an audible crash, and a red glow momentarily rose the spot.

I've always wondered about that fireball from the sky, and a few years ago I decided to go poking around in the general vicinity that it appeared to have landed. I came upon this round pond that seemed uncannily like an impact crater. Unfortunately, the next time I came to the site to investigate further, construction work for homes had begun and obliterated the evidence.

Bubbleland

There's a small isolated piece of Kentucky that isn't actually connected to the rest of the state ("exclaves", geographers call such things) known as "Kentucky Bend", or more colorfully, "Bubbleland". The exclave was created due to the shift in course of the Mississippi after the New Madrid Earthquakes in 1811 and 1812.

Located in the southwestern corner of the state, Bubbleland is a curiosity in many ways. Although the area is 17.5 square miles, only seventeen people live there according to the 2000 census. And despite being declared part of Kentucky after a long and protracted squabble with Tennessee over the land (who actually owned it as recently as 1848), the official post office mailing address for the area is nearby Tiptonville, Tennessee. (Since rockabilly legend Carl Perkins is from Tiptonville, this could in a sense make Perkins an unofficial Kentuckian!)

Mark Twain, in Life on the Mississippi, wrote about the feud between the Darnell and Watson families in Bubbleland, one that lasted six decades!

Toulouse-inations

No Unusual Kentucky updates in a week??

Well, I've not had much time as of late. I've been in superserious crunch time with my play Toulouse-inations, which makes its world debut tomorrow night at 8pm at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Louisville. The show is pretty damn weird in itself, in more ways than one, so go and check it out even if you think theatre's not your bag.

After its run in Louisville, the show will go on to play in other cities and will set its sights on an Off-Off-Broadway production in NYC in 2009. By sheer persistence, stubbornness, and plugging away, this play will eke out a reputation for itself, for better or for worse, by hook or by crook, a bis ou a blanc.

Someday you'll kick yourself for not having jumped on this chance to see the show in its very first raw incarnation with its original cast, so save your future self the anguish of hindsight, and purchase tickets NOW!

Consult the Kentucky Center's schedule here to peruse and purchase. The show opens August 7 and runs for FOUR DAYS ONLY.

Questions? Call the Kentucky Center at 502.562.0100 or Catclaw Theatre Company at 502.649.3378.