Trick or Treaters

Fun with costumes!

With all the intense politics going on right now, both locally and nationally, it's a relief to indulge in some Halloween silliness. Our only "trick-or-treaters" tonight were our 80-year-old neighbor who was costumed as a white bird of unknown species and her daughter who was the designated driver, thank goodness. I don't think Miss M. could see very well through her mask.

I should explain that we live about ten miles out of town and a quarter-mile off the highway. We never get trick-or-treaters here, but we always buy some candy just in case. Or at least, that's our excuse for buying some candy.

Plastic Flamingos' Swan Song

Some Interesting News...

It's the end of an era. The little factory in Leominster, Massachusetts, where the pink plastic flamingo was invented in 1957 has come upon hard times and is going out of business.

If you own one of these birds, you should check whether it was made by Union Products, Inc. If it's a Union Products flamingo, it will probably become highly collectible, and perhaps you should even keep it safe from thieves!

Union Products Inc. stopped producing flamingos and other lawn ornaments at its Leominster factory in June, and is going out of business Nov. 1 — a victim of rising expenses for plastic resin and electricity, as well financing problems.

The small privately held firm has been in talks with a pair of rival lawn ornament makers interested in buying the molds and resuming production of the flamingos, designed in 1957 by local son Don Featherstone.

"We think the flamingo will go on," Keith Marshall, Union Products' chief financial officer, said at the company's aging brick factory, where just a few years ago more than 100 employees churned out flamingos by the millions.

Quoted from "Pink plastic flamingo faces extinction"
Associated Press by Mark Jewell
Sun Oct 29, 2006

I have never owned a pink plastic flamingo, but I find them mildly amusing. Someone along Country Club Lane in Hopkinsville has a flock of them. They move around on the lawn. It's kind of interesting to see where they'll be next. I'm sure they do most of their moving when it's time to mow the grass.

Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University, paid tribute to the infamous bird that has been immortalized everywhere -- from the John Waters' movie Pink Flamingos, to bachelor parties and lawns across America.

"Let's face it," he said. "As iconic emblems of kitsch, there are two pillars of cheesy, campiness in the American pantheon. One is the velvet Elvis. The other is the pink flamingo."

Quoted from "RIP: Pink Flamingo, 1957-2006"
South Florida Sun Sentinel by Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub
October 20 2006

Personally, I would so much rather have a pink plastic flamingo than a velvet Elvis.

_________________

More about pink plastic flamingos:
JaneyZee's Flamingo Pages: The Pretty Pink Plastic Flamingo
Pink Flamingos: So Tacky Yet So Cool

Technorati tags:

kitsch
1950s
pink plastic flamingos

Autumn on a Backroad

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... More About Trees and Plants...

Fall foliage, mostly maples.

Holsteins at Pasture

Life in Christian County, Kentucky...

I'd better post this photo as it's rapidly going out of season. I took this about two weeks ago, and the white flowers in this pasture have been frosted now.

With a few more Holsteins standing broadside, maybe a few Hampshire pigs, a U.S. flag flying on top of the silo, and the name of the farm painted on one of the barns, I can imagine this farm scene painted in Charles Wysocki style.

HHS Choir at Alhambra Theatre

Alhambra Theatre in Hopkinsville, KY

Alhambra Theatre in Hopkinsville, KY.
I tried to hold steady, but needed a tripod.

The Hopkinsville High School advanced choir (including Isaac) had a busy weekend of performances at the Alhambra Theatre in Hopkinsville. They performed twice on Friday and again on Saturday night.

Restored interior of the Alhambra

The show was"100 Years Of Broadway," and it featured "music from Tin Pan Alley to state-of-the-art, contemporary Broadway... a glimpse of our history and the trials and triumphs that Americans have endured for a century." (quoted from the showbill.)

The two shows on Friday were for elementary and middle school music classes . The show on Saturday night was for the general public, and Dennis and I attended with Keely and her boyfriend Taurus. It's always exciting to visit the Alhambra; it has a dramatic Arabian Nights atmosphere.

Isaac steps to the front.

The performance was great! Many of the choir members had short solos. Isaac and two of his "friend girls" sang The Ballad of Sweeney Todd . I was so impressed with all the beautiful young voices.

The HHS advanced choir has been invited to represent the state of Kentucky at Jamestown's 400th Anniversary in Virginia next spring. This weekend's performances were fundraisers for that trip.

The Hopkinsville High School Choir has a long history of excellence. It was directed by Barbara Felts for about 30 years. When Ms. Felts retired several years ago, Rebecca May became the director. Ms. May had a hard act to follow, but she has made the kids work hard, insisted on their best, and earned their respect and affection.

Isaac's solo

It has always been an award-winning choir, and they have always taken trips to compete and perform. When Keely was in advanced choir during her senior year, they went to Chicago to perform at an invitational competition. She still remembers that trip as a highlight of her senior year. The trip to Jamestown will be like that for Isaac.

I have talked about the advanced choir, but the choir program also includes two freshman choirs, the intermediate choir, and the chamber ensemble (a small group that performs a capello.) Isaac is a bass in chamber as well as advanced choir. I love the fact that this great choir program exists in a public school.

Technorati tags:

Hopkinsville KY
Hopkinsville High School
teens
choir

One last look at the Alhambra