Fest with the Best

MAIFEST is upon us again in Covington's MainStrasse Village: http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090514/NEWS0103/905150358/Maifest+kicks+off+Friday.

This is always one of the most fun-filled weekends of the Spring, and also a big weekend on the catfish calendar. Marking the unofficial beginning of the summer Frisky season for the gigantic catfish, the festival provides the first real opportunity for the beast to get its fill of bumwurst and degeneroetta. But it's also a great time for the rest of us to tip back some frosty lagers and savor some of the finest pork products modern culture has to offer. So come on down & join the ORCR crew at Maifest tonight, tomorrow and maybe Sunday for a little bit.



NOTE: This year's Maifest celebration will be 100% Hillary Clinton-free.

A Time to Take Arms

There are certain situations in which it is OK for honest citizens to take the law into their own hands. This is such an occasion: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090513/NEWS0107/305130010/1055/NEWS/Three+armed+men+rob+Skyline+Chili
Sacred ground has been trampled upon. Let us seek our vengeance.

A message to these men: "...what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you... I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." - Liam Neeson

Brilliant New Film Premiering at Cannes

This wrenchingly sad but extraordinarily moving drama provides an authentic, superbly acted portrait of two people whose lives intersect just as they've reached their lowest depths of despair. Billy Clyde Gillispie is a former college basketball coach who's lost his job and team in a sea of alcoholic self-destruction. Rather than start over elsewhere he’s stayed in Lex Vegas literally to drink himself to death, and that's when he meets Karen Sypher, a recently indicted prostitute who falls in love with him--and he with her--despite their mutual dead-end existence. They accept each other as they are, with no attempts by one to change the other, and this unconditional love turns Leaving Lex Vegas into a somber yet quietly beautiful love story. The film may strike some as relentlessly bleak and glacially paced, but attentive viewers will readily discover the richness of these tragic characters and the exceptional performances that bring them to life.

The Swine Flu thing is still going on, right?

Portrait of the bloggist as a young man

“Summer 2009”

The dawn of Summer is upon us once again, and with it comes months of river escapades, water fun and the continued quest for the elusive gigantic catfish. Thank you for joining us once again!

This Summer’s going to be a little bit different though. There is no real place on this website or in our journey for some of the darkness that has been lurking in the troubled hearts of a haunted few. As a result, a few select names have been removed from the list of permitted users. Their presence will not be missed, nor will their sour demeanor. Things are going to be much lighter around here now! Hey, I don’t know about you kids but I think this is fun!

So it is with a renewed exuberance and hopeful kickstart that we look forward to the months ahead as a time of excitement and wonder. If you truly believe in the mystical essence of the gigantic catfish you will know deep down that there is plenty of room in this great big world for the seabeast and all of us to coexist. But until the day when we can welcome our friend with open arms, let’s simply enjoy the ride!

The Ohio River Catfish Reader is hearby turning over a new leaf, one that will be filled with jokes, games and general revelry. We want to hear from all of you, too, so please please please send along any ideas you have for making this site more enjoyable for everyone. Use the Comment link at the bottom of any post any time you want an easy way to contribute. The more we all pitch in and create a true community of shared thoughts and vision, the more we’re all sure to take away from the mission itself and the vast amounts of good times that are sure to accompany it, regardless of daily outcomes.

It’s going to be an amazing Summer! See you on the River!