I am leaving smokincat.com behind. I put this site together back in 2000, and it was one of the first web projects that I ever put together. In fact, it served as an impetus for 12v Auto Tech, my first online business.
Smokincat.com never pulled in much traffic, but it did attract a lot of spammers. The content was occasionally very good, but most of it was vitriol. I have moved all the relevant (and decent) content to Aceize.com. Here are some direct links to the articles that were transferred.
This website was involved in the creation of the annual burning of chupacabra. It may very well be the only enduring role that smokincat.com plays in anything. Below is the first video of a buring, taken in 2007 at the second annual burning. Also posted is a short treatise on why the event happens at all.
The Chupacabra Burning has its roots way back in the dark ages of man, before the light of reason had illuminated the lives of humanity - circa 2005. Anyone remember the winter of 2005-2006 in Richmond? It was a bad time and much gloom had settled upon the city. Something had to be done in order to counteract this cosmic concentration of ill will and depression. Such darkness and terribleness could not have been allowed to creep into the otherwise serene and playful Richmond spring time. So a few people consulted. And consulted some more. And consulted a third time with drink. It was decided that a symbol of darkness (Chupacabra) should be burnt releasing a giant ball of light, destroying the darkness and providing light for the new spring - and the thing should happen right after the Spring Equinox, well... because cosmic BS should happen on a day of cosmicness.
The Chupacabra burning party is a slightly modified version of the burning of Zozobra, which happens in Santa Fe every Fall just before the city's week long festival. Zozobra is a huge man like thing. It is a modified version of a mythical Pueblo Indian creature that is generally represented as a 12 inch long Katchina doll. The creature, Zozobra, has become a symbol of the gloom that has built up in Santa Fe over the course of a year. In order to ensure a happy festival the people of Santa Fe burn Zozobra and along with him, their ill will and gloom. Here in Richmond it just wouldn't cut mustard to burn a giant Katchina doll. For one, no one knows a Katchina doll from Barbi. For two, well there isn't really a number two. It just seemed wrong to steal an idea from a tribal culture that is so far away when there are plenty of tribal cultures closer to Richmond that can be stolen from. So a search was started for a symbol of evil to which Richmonders can relate. Of course, the dart missed the mark by a few thousand miles. Instead of picking some creature from the rich and well known Voodoo history of Richmond, a creature from deep within the dark jungles of South America was chosen. Chupacabra. The mythical winged, bat-like menace of South America, which has occasionally graced the front pages of the World Weekly News. A creature known by millions to abduct cattle and goats and suck their blood leaving only the shell of an animal along the side of the road... as a calling card of terror. Occasionally, unsubstantiated reports tell of Chupacabra abducting young children who are never found again.
That's what the Chupacabra burning is all about. Next weekend I will have a custom made pinata which will transubstantiate into the real Chupacabra just before (or during) it is burned. The actual moment when Chupacabra transubstantiates has not yet been validated by scientific exploration. Beverage consumption and a lively party, however, will render this point moot.
Hoping you can be there if you can, 'cause the Chupacabra Burning is a good time.