A few more details have come out about the Gay and Lesbian Film Series at Village 8 next month. While not the collection of modern gay fairy tales I was wishing for it does seem to be an interesting collection of films. Of the eight I've only seen Transamerica so I'm excited about all the other films. In particular I'm looking forward to Finn's Girl.

June 6-12: Shelter & 'Vivere'
June 13-19: 'Witnesses' & 'Kiss the Bride'
June 20-26: 'Finn's Girl' & 'The Houseboy'
June 27-July 3: 'The World Unseen' & 'Transamerica'

A couple trailers after the jump.

Just a reminder friends and countrymen that Bardstown Bound is tonight and hopefully the rain has gone the heck away (ask me about the leak in my house won't you?). Go out and shop, spend your economic stimulus package (have you gotten yours yet?), support the local economy, etc. Or you know, just people watch. I'll be making the rounds so if you see me say hello. 

I noticed a sign at Java Brewing Company on Main that says they're celebrating Bike to Work Week. If you ride your bike to work downtown tomorrow (Friday May 16, 2008) swing buy Java Brewing Company on Main and get 50% off any drink on the menu.

Yay for biking and double yay for significantly discounted coffee.

I don't know anything about Kate Buckley so I'm just going to give you the press release blurb:

Please join Carmichael's for a unique poetry reading by Kate Buckley from her new book, A Wild Region. Artist and poet Buckley grew up in Kentucky and her finely crafted poems strongly reflect her Appalachian roots. She is the winner of the Gabeheart Prize for Imaginative Writing and the North American Review's James Hearst Poetry Prize.

Carmichael's Bookstore

2720 Frankfort Avenue

Louisville, KY

(502) 896-6950

According to the Courier some wicked cool kids over at Male High School have probably set a new world record for Mentos and Diet Coke geysers.

With a lawyer and accountant present, Male High School students set off nearly 1,800 Mentos and Diet Cola geysers simultaneously.

Prior to the attempt, the officials with the Guinness Book of World Records was notified of the attempt on the school's football field. The results will need to be officially reviewed.

I've scanned YouTube but no video of the feat has appeared yet. If anyone finds it/sees it/has it let me know.

From May 16-June 28 the Cressman Center will be presenting Revolutionary Voices: Cultural Revolution Posters from the Crane House.

The exhibition of 38 posters printed in the decade following the beginning of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966 is curated by Youn Ju Yu as part of her masters thesis in critical and curatorial studies at the University of Louisville.

Yu selected and grouped the posters into themes important to communist ideology of the period. They also are sources for post-modern Chinese art and provide a historical background for work of current Chinese artists.

This show's opening this Friday at 6:30PM will feature a gallery talk by UofL history professor Yuxin Ma.

Ma lived through the Cultural Revolution and received two degrees in English in China before completing her PhD in Chinese history at the University of Minnesota in 2003. She came to UofL in 2006, and is completing a book titled, "Constructing a Female Public Space: Chinese Women's Periodical Press, 1898-1937.

Cressman Center for Visual Art
100 E. Main St.
Louisville, KY

This Friday night The Late Seating at Actors is throwing a Derby's Over Party. There will be an Iron Bartender competition and a "Gonzo inspired performance" by Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble. I have no idea what you can expect from that but it sounds interesting:

"A frenzied dystopia where prices are high, traffic is miserable and the mad roam the streets on four-poster beds: the stuff of fiction, of course, and in no way meant to resemble any local spring festival. Join The Late Seating at Actors for an original comic evening of song, dance and neo-vaudevillian hullabaloo celebrating the city, its people and their will to survive one more Derby. Assuming we do survive..."

Derby's Over Party
Friday May 16, 2008 10:30PM
Tickets $5
Call 502-584-1205 for reservations

Actors Theatre of Louisville
316 W Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202

Tonight at 6PM there is an opening reception for Western Middle School Perspectives: an exhibition of tableaux vivants at 21c.

21c Museum is proud to present its second collaboration with Blue Apple Players and their most recent drama and photographic project with Western Middle School students. Blue Apple Players has guided 100 sixth and seventh grade Western Middle School students through a creative and educational drama workshop, with a specific focus on the tableau vivant art form. Photographed by Patrick Pfister of Pfoto.com, the photo project will be displayed at the 21c Museum until July 8th. To mark the opening of this special project, a select group of students will share a short demonstration of drama skills, and some will be available to answer questions about the process of creating the photographs.

21c Museum
700 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
502-217-6300.

If you're lucky enough to live in Tom Owen's district then you get to participate in Front Porch Tuesdays. The first one is tomorrow night. Sorry for the late notice, I meant to write about it earlier.

"This is the third year, we have encouraged Front Porch Tuesdays. Each year, it continues to grow," says Owen. "With the beautiful spring we have had so far, we've structured a time for neighbors to talk and visit with one another."

The idea is a simple one. On two Tuesday evenings in the month of May, neighbors will either host or go visit their neighbors on the opposite side of the street. On May 13^th, people who live on the odd numbered side of the street will host. Then on May 20^th, the even number side of the street will welcome an evening of conversation.

"To often, we have let time go by and we just do not get know the people who live right next door to us or the people we may throw a glance at when we hop in the car in the morning to go to work," says Owen. "Many of us remember the days growing up when you knew just about every one in the neighborhood. That is the goal here."

Owen says hosting does not have to be elaborate. The idea is just to talk and find out if there is anything in the neighborhood that may be of common interest as you get to know other home owners. "After all," he says "for some, community is built one 'howdy do' at a time."

To let your neighbors know you're participating you can pick up a sign at Highlands/Shelby Park Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library to put in your yard. 

1. I really like the food at Toast on Market. I adore pancakes and I've got to say I think they make the best ones in town. The ones at Wild Eggs are fantastic, the ones are the North End Cafe are awesome but the ones at Toast are consistently wonderful and the variety (buttermilk, lemon soufflé, gingerbread) is a real treat. I'm also a serious fan of their banana nut oatmeal. However I hate the coffee they serve at Toast. Really hate it. This is a serious barrier to my breakfast enjoyment. I'd go to Toast a lot more frequently if they'd serve different coffee (I'm suggesting they start serving some very nice Jackson's Organic Coffee). Seriously, I can only go to Toast when I'm going to be ok with having diet Coke for breakfast instead of coffee.

Like the folks at Toast care if I really want them to serve better coffee so I can give them more of my business. This is my Monday morning rant though and I'm using it to rant about wanting better coffee at Toast.

2.Red Pepper on Brownsboro road is currently a very trendy place to love. I've heard raves about it from my neighbors and friends and read glowing reviews of it in both the Courier and Louisville Magazine. I've heard just one "meh, it was ok." We've been a couple times and have really enjoyed it both times. The restaurant's claim to fame is the offering of a green "Americanized Chinese" menu and a red "Authentic Chinese" menu. The green menu offers all the American Chinese restaurant staples like sweet and sour chicken, crab rangoons, hot and sour soup and egg rolls. The red menu has a great many dishes that have the little red pepper symbol beside them indicating extreme spiciness. I've yet to order from either menu because I've ordered the same special every time: General Tso's Tofu. I mention this for my other vegetarian and flexitarian friends. You know I've always got our collective non-meat eating back. When I ate more meat (and when I ate a way less healthy diet than I do now) I loved General Tso's chicken. I've never encountered General Tso's tofu anywhere before so the first night I saw it on Red Pepper's special board I had to order it. My only beef with it (Get it? Beef? I'm talking about tofu! Whew good heavens I'm funny with the puns. Or not.) is that they use soft tofu instead of the extra firm tofu I much prefer. I'm still not in love with the texture of soft tofu but I enjoy the dish as a whole very much. Normally I wouldn't mention a special dish like this because I don't want to crush your little vegetarian hearts by describing something that's not on the regular menu. However since it's been on the special board both times I've been there I'm going out on a limb since it seems like they serve it frequently.

3. Queen of Sheba is moving from that very scary Buechel motel location to the former Mazzoni's building on Taylorsville Road, directly across the street from Bowman Field. The sign on the door says they open May 12. Um, that would be today. I'm excited. I've heard from more than a couple people that Queen of Sheba has great, great Ethiopian food but I could never summon up the urge to go purely because of the old location. Now I can't wait to go try it. In fact I've already got plans to go there this week. Two out of two vegans polled say Queen of Sheba offers some of the best vegan food in town and now it's actually closer in town. Winners all around.