rajafacesbothways

Rick's--One More Time

Casablanca's "Rick's place" and Frankfort's "Rick's place" bear no resemblance to each other.  And this Rick has no resemblance to Humphrey Bogart. Here is Rick from White Light Diner:

Actually his attitude and appearance reminds me of my brother "Catman". 

When he isn't cooking, he is expounding on food, politics--he's definitely a liberal--and interacting with his customers. One diner commented that he had experienced 19 breakdowns in his life. Rick came back with, "Do you have any big plans for your twentieth?"

The cost of a bottle of water is $2.00. A bottle of domestic beer is $2.50. Coffee refills are free if you ordered a meal but beer goes best with the menu choices.

Show Time

This is Capital Cellars in Frankfort, where I'm presently exhibiting b/w infrared photos.

Across the street is the Old Capitol Building:

I have been very fortunate with seven exhibitions since moving here--two of US Highway 20 and five of  b/w infrared of Kentucky-- been included in some group shows. plus a permanent display of several  enlargements on canvas decorating Galvins. Galleries require delivery and a percentage of sales, if any. They handle invites, a reception,  and hang the work. Capital Cellars offered a good space for two months, a wine tasting and requires no commission. The rest is up to me.

The bar and benches were built from materials from a discarded church.

A friend made this to hold my cards at the entrance to the space. Since several photos include old tobacco barns, it was appropriate to mount it on barn wood.

 

Rick's White Light Diner

With the help of a friend who loves tools and is handy with a hammer, I now have 22 photos in Frankfort for two months on exhibition at Capital Cellars.  However my priorities remain in order. First stop--good food! And nothing in KY beats Rick's White Light Diner.

My object was the oyster po'boy on the home baked roll. However when I saw and sniffed the smokin' smoker out front, I switched to the barbe-que pork with the grilled potatoes; a generous sandwich with flavorful sauce and chunks of tender pork. (Rick uses only organic, mostly local, natural foods--he says the rest is just "crap"). It was followed by a slice of the Kentucky Bourbon pie, rich in chocolate and walnuts saturated with bourbon. Incredible.

The ambiance of this tiny diner is not subtle.

(view from the counter)

I learned about Rick's from a TV visit by Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

More about Rick later. When he isn't yakking with his customers, he is behind the grill to the left filling your order.

 

Location. Location. Location.

Although we've been avoiding the BIG snows along the east coast, we continue to get the dredges from those storms--- every day recycled with icy, snowy, gray and damp surroundings. Chatting with a friend in Phoenix, she mentioned watching the hummingbirds, the beautiful blooming flowers, etc. Hmm. She neglected to mention the unicorns frolicking in the heated pool.

However, reading about a woman in New York city who was thrilled to find a 300 square foot, 5 story walk-up, no w/d, loft for $1700/ month plus $2500 fee made me sooo much happier with living here. For much, much much less money I have amenities plus a rooftop porch. And if I avoid peering outside I can pretend I live in New York.

Actually, with my cost of living, I could  afford a long weekend in New York. And probably spend a couple of winter weeks in AZ.

Naw. I'll  get my bagel from the corner coffee shop and just wait for the hummingbirds to come to me.

Staying in Focus

On this raining/snowing morning (seems like schools here are closed most of the time) I spent hours preparing for the 2 month exhibition at Capital Cellars--figuring out the best wall arrangements for the 22 photos, pricing them, etc.

For me the fun of photography is the sense of decisively composing and clicking the shutter--the "eye". I read that 500,000 pictures a second appear on Facebook.  Now that everyone is a photographer is anyone a photographer anymore? Has it now become all about the "I" instead of the "eye"?

No Tears For This Onion

It has been pointed out that The Onion, my favorite publication now has a news video, discovered thanks to the BBC:

http://www.theonion.com/channels/ifc/

I read material from the straight news all the time; often it offers reality that is difficult to distinguish from The Onion. Following are a few recent examples of actual headlines seen in reliable newspapers:

"Saudi Arabia Detains Israeli Vulture For Spying"

"NYC Jumper Saved by Trash Pile Uncollected by Storm"

"Navy Commander Revealed as Mastermind Behind Raunchy Videos." (The Commander's name was "Honors").

They actually don't need to make this stuff up, but hooray for The Onion whose parody and humor continues to be ahead in the challenge for absurdity.

Ring My Chimes

 In this isolating winter--schools closed again and KY drivers and winter are a baaaad mix--a strange event took place. 

I can hear the court house chime the time every hour. It's not exactly accurate--it actually rings 3 minutes after the hour but time moves slower here so that's typical. However at 2 a.m. the other night, it rang out over 100 times. Since then, it continues to chime the correct number of hours.What happened?  My neighbor also heard the ringing so it was no dream. And the clock tower is inaccessible

The elements of excitement here never cease.

 

B-O-R-I-N-G

No need to read this entry because it's almost too dull to write. Spent the gray day sorting out piles of papers and photos, figuring taxes, organizing shelves, and on the phone with Starbucks who somehow had my Starbucks Rewards card registered in the United Kingdom--a hell of a distance to travel for my free birthday coffee.

Completed it all with a boring supper--chopped up cabbage braised with noodles and mushrooms. No point in disturbing the mundane when you're on a roll.

Winter Break

Showers have replaced the ice and snow, clearing the roads and washing off my car, but this is just a brief break before the approaching cold weekend. Such is winter.

Yesterday I scoped out the wine cellar/gallery space at Capital Cellars in Frankfort, where I'll be exhibiting my work for two months. Photos will be hung in a wine sipping room; the bar and booths composed of pews from old churches. Actually most of the building's interior was artfully created with wood and materials recycled from an old church in Ohio.

With sparkling displays of wine and bourbon bottles, church relics, and art I can think of no better place to get religion.

Blah Busters

Bashing the dark days and darker news with the following;

Pre-Code Hollywood films (late 20's-early 30's) when women were women and used what it took to survive the Depression. (Usually sex on poor dumb boys--except Dick Powell who sang his way through it all) Watched Night Nurse (1931) with Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable. (dir. William Wellman). I can identify all those old film stars but have NO idea who the famous faces are in People Magazine.

I Remember Nothing --Nora Ephron (2010) A humorous light read on growing older (she is 69) that I can relate to since almost all my nouns have taken flight like birds before an approaching tsunami.

High Low Party--given by friend Juilee. Everyone required to bring an example of each. The imprint of the Virgin Mary on slices of toast, box wine, Pimento cheese bought at a small town gas station store and a Gingerbread oven mitt where the hand fits inside the gingerbread man's butt were the lows.

Or were those the highs? I can't remember.