My Latest Brilliant Idea: Louisville Merit Badges

So, as of tonight, I am one play (the 10 Minute Plays) away from seeing the entire Humana Festival line-up. And yeah, I think that's an accomplishment worth bragging about. I've been wicked lucky. Between being a subscriber, being "media" for Actors Theater, and having friends with an extra ticket or two, I've been able to run through the festival for almost free (save my subscription price).

But I want a prize. I want some kind of prize for having seen all of the Humana plays (and unless something wiggy happens, I'll definitely see the 10 Minute Plays next weekend).

Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all walked around wearing Girl/Boy Scout-style sashes with "accomplishment" badges? Really, wouldn't it? Talk about instant conversation-starters, right? You see someone at a bar or restaurant, you notice he or she has a "Louisville Film Fest" badge-- well, there you go. Instant conversation starter: "So, you saw X number of films for the film fest? Tell me about it."

"Four Square" has sort of caught on here in Louisville. (In case you don't know, "Four Square" is an application for smart phones that allows you to "check in" at certain locations-- pretty much any address on a GPS-- and if you're the person who checks in at that spot most often, you become the "Mayor" of that location. Somehow, you can link this to Twitter, so Four Square will tweet your locale and tweet when you become the Mayor of someplace.) I'm kind of thankful it isn't MORE popular. When it first hit town it seemed like most of my local Tweeties were using it and becoming Mayors of all kinds of strange places-- Kroger? Lowes? Speedway??? I downloaded the app, but I've never used it. Mostly because-- and Mama loves you ALL very much-- I don't want folks to know where I am 90% of the time!

So... point is: I think I have a brilliant ideas for all the Louisville booster organizations out there. And I don't know who would be best suited for this idea, so if you, gentle reader, know-- pass it on.

I think that some Louisville booster organization should take a page from the Urban Bourbon Trail and create a program that allows super-cheerleaders for Louisville to earn points for achieving certain goals.

• Hit X number of local museums in X number of months= X points
• Go to X number of Humana Fest plays= X points
• Attend X number of Derby Festival events = X points
• Dine at X number of Louisville Originals Restaurants in X months = X points

And so on... UNTIL at some point you hit the magic point number and become a super Louisville booster. Or, to borrow from our Lebowski fan friends, maybe an ACHIEVER?

At that point, you'd be invited to all kinds of special events, openings, etc just for these super Louisville boosters. What an awesome networking opportunity! What a great way to know who you can count on to spread the Good Word of Louisville! (And sure, Mama's single, so she's thinking "what a great way to meet like-minded dudes!").

I LOVE the idea of Louisville Merit Badges. And because life can hand you all kinds of lemons, I think your status should be permanent in some way. Like, once you hit the the platinum status, you should only have to do a few things to maintain it. This is way less annoying and more meaningful than Four Square. It encourages people to dash out and embrace all the wonderful things this city has to offer. And it fosters a community of True Believers. And we need more of those, right?

You like this idea? Pass it on!

My Lenten Promise-- It's all about YOU

Tonight as I was walking home from O'Shea's after having Mardi Gras drinks with friends-- a couple who are now two of my closest friends in Louisville and who I met, basically, through Twitter-- it finally dawned on me what my Lenten pledge should be. Sure, giving up stuff is always a good Lenten promise, but I have very few vices. I ain't giving up booze, and the thought of giving up any other creature comfort this Lenten season is complicated by the fact that I'm scheduled for surgery in two weeks. I already don't eat sweets or drink much soda. I CAN'T give up coffee. And all other creature comforts will be huge comfort to me post-surgery.

The alternative (in my mind, at least) is to make a Lenten Promise.

So here's my Lenten Promise: Between tomorrow and Easter, I vow to do everything that I can to meet, in person, at least ONE person I only know via the interwebs. As of today, I have 467 followers on Twitter and there are a bunch of people who subscribe to my blog. But, I probably only know about a dozen of those people in the Meatspace world.

Let's have coffee. Let's grab a happy hour drink. Let's go see a movie.

A few weeks ago, I met a guy I only knew thru Twitter. He asked me about BBQ restaurants, and we decided to check out the Ol' Hickory Pit together. And it was a total success (foodwise and friendwise). A week later we went to check out ELLA at Actors Theater together, and I'm hoping we'll meet for sushi sometime soon. What a lovely experience. I'd love to replicate it as often as possible in the next 40 days.

So help me make my Lenten Promise work. Email me at lou@loueyville.com or talk to me on Twitter @loueyville. Let's hang out.

Loueyvillager Powers Activate: Outdoor Hockey In Louisville?

Everything about this picture makes me happy. It's hockey. It's the Bruins. It's Boston. It's FRAKING FENWAY....

Oh Lordy, you gotta love that. Well, okay, you don't. But I do. I'm originally from just outside of Boston. I was raised by a family that lists "Red Sox" as their religion on their Census forms. The best thing that happened to me when I had cancer was that I survived. The second best thing was that my favorite uncle took me to a Sox game at Fenway as a get well gift.

Tonight Fenway is hosting their second hockey game of the season. The first was the Bruins (who won) in the Winter Classic. Tonight is a BC-BU game. At least two of my cousins are going. I am seething with jealousy. You know how much Mama hates the cold, but if I lived in the Boston area, I'd be there looking like Randy from "A Christmas Story." The pain would be more than worth it. Fenway + hockey = harmonic convergence of awesomeness.

All this prompted me to start looking into local hockey. I started this morning on Twitter and found out that U of L does, indeed, have a hockey team. I had always assumed that Louisville had no hockey to speak of because if the city did have hockey, we'd all be talking about it. Right? We're a sports-lovin' city, and hockey is pretty much the best sport imaginable. Right?

Turns out the U of L hockey team has a very limited schedule-- only 8 local games listed on the schedule. They play at Alpine Arena. And they play HALF their local games at MIDNIGHT. I don't know what to make of that. Half of me thinks it's fabulous-- like Rocky Horror for sports fans. Half of me is totally bummed out. Where's our next gen of hockey players going to come from when we can't take our little dudes to hockey games? (And by "dudes" I mean that gender-free. Some of the coolest hockey players I've met have been women.)

My solution?

Dear Slugger Field,

Please take a gander at what Fenway is doing this winter. I know they're still not sold on making hockey a permanent part of their schedule, but everyone I know in the Boston area is madly in love with hockey at Fenway. And you, Slugger Field, are gorgeous and perfectly suited for outdoor hockey. And seriously, what else do you have going on during the winter? We need to generate some support for hockey in Louisville. And Louisville sports fans could really use something new to get excited about. It's a marriage made in sports heaven. (Usually) our winters are more mild than Boston's. Sure the wind whips off the river, but if Fenway fans can hack it, then we certainly can. Hell, we've got kids out sledding today, and it's negative eleventy-billion degrees out.

Slugger Field, Louisville Bats, Mayor Uncle Jerry, etc... what can I do to help you make this happen? Mayoral candidates-- what's your platform on outdoor hockey? I'm on a mission from God here. Or from Bobby Orr.

The next U of L hockey game is midnight on 1/22. Let's meet there to discuss how we can bring this kind of awesomeness to the winter of 2010-11.

Yours in the goal for the city,
Lou

Loueyvillager Powers Activate! Form of: Hotel Toiletry Hoarders

Planting the seed of an idea:

Do you travel? Do you compulsively stash the free hotel toiletry items in your suitcase, sure that you'll need them some day? Do said toiletry items pile up in a shoebox in your linen closet? Are they collecting dust?

I spent the day volunteering at a local homeless shelter today. As could be expected, I was overwhelmed by the experience and came away wishing that there was some small way I could continue to help.

There is. A very small way.

Turns out, the shelter is always in need of small, travel-sized toiletry items to give to residents. Especially soap and shampoo. Seems like the bathroom of Casa Lou is always cluttered with these souvenirs of hotel stays; I end up pitching half of them in the waste bin.

So, my wheels are turning... I'm still working out the logistics. But if you read this blog, and you live in the Louisville area, I'm asking you to start hoarding your hotel toiletries. If you take a trip, scoop up those unused soaps and shampoos and lotions. In the next week or so, I'm thinking I'll officially announce the first Loueyville.com "do good" action. I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday Afternoon Randomness

So, yeah, kiddos... I forgot to mention that I am home. Back in the Ville. Home Sweet Home. And very glad to be here. Missed Casa Lou, missed Louisville, missed my friends, even missed Roommate a little. Although I must say, after traipsing around the relatively cool Northeast for the better part of the summer, it's too fraking hot here!

And I'm back at work. Both here at Loueyville and in Meatspace too. And while working on Loueyville is a pleasure, and it sure is good to have a Meatspace job in this economy, Big Girl work is for the birds. I used to think that if I had "too much free time" on my hands, I'd go bonkers; now I know that there ain't no such thing as "too much free time." Ladies of Leisure, I salute you. And if any of you loyal readers wants to pay me to travel, read books, write, and watch tv, I will take you up on that offer and make you damned proud. As Big Mama Lou is fond of saying, "You should have married rich." Yep.

So here's a little Wednesday afternoon/evening clearing house for you:

• Is it wrong to say that you have a "girl crush" on someone you're friends with? I looked up "girl crush" on Urban Dictionary and it said: feelings of admiration and adoration which a girl has for another girl, without wanting to shag said girl. a nonsexual attraction, usually based on veneration at some level. Well, at the risk of sounding wonky, I have a girl crush on Michelle from Consuming Louisville. She's at it again, folks: planning cool and caring activities to benefit her fellow Louisvillagers, this time in the form of a bake sale to benefit our poor drowned LFPL. Come get your dessert on at Derby City Espresso next Wednesday, August 26 from 4p-8p. $1 from every drink sold will also benefit the LFPL. I would have offered to bake something, but I am pretty sure that no one would want to eat anything that came out of my kitchen. So, I'll just plan on spending some dough. (bah ha ha ha!)
• And to round out an already awesome Wednesday evening, make sure you hit Waterfront Wednesday. I have heard super duper good things about the Great Lake Swimmers. Also performing will be Cracker-- who had a string of great songs a while ago-- and Will Hoge-- who I know nothing about, but who sure is cute!
• It's Kentucky State Fair time! Just in case you forgot. Mama loves the fair. The fair is the best reminder that you actually DO live in Kentucky without having to leave Louisville. Am all over the free Wallflowers concert next Friday (8/28).
• Alongside IKEA and Trader Joe's, I am adding the Gulu-Gulu Cafe to my list of things I wish were in Louisville. Gulu-Gulu isn't a chain; it's a bar/coffeeshop/restaurant in Salem, Massachussetts that I TOTALLY fell in love with. It's got very reasonable Proof-style food, a fantastic line-up of events and entertainment, a casual and quirky atmosphere... easily the most "Lou-ish" place I've come across outside of New Orleans. Seriously, take a buzz around the website and see if you don't get jealous of Witch City.
• Big Mama Lou spends all of her time and energy during our visits asking me why I don't want to move back to the Northeast. I usually mumble something about loving Louisville and loving Casa Lou and not being able to AFFORD the Northeast. But today I decided that I can give her a definitive reason why there's no Northeast in my future-- one she can't argue with: Nobody in the Northeast serves sweet tea! What is wrong with those people? Tea that you've stirred sugar into ISN'T sweet tea. A total of more than 40 days in the North-- not a single sweet tea to be found. Damn Puritans.
  

Louisvillagers Powers Activate! Form of LFPL Supporters!

I just love love love that Louisville is so full of fantastic people and that I’m getting to know so many of them.

The wise and lovely Ms. Michelle over at Consuming Louisville is urging her readers to support the Louisville Free Public Libraries with her: “Libraries are Free, But Books Aren’t” drive. The LFPL has established an Amazon wish list just for this cause.

In the rather unlikely event that you read my little blog, and not Consuming Louisville, I would love love love it if you would help support Michelle’s drive and support the LFPL by purchasing a book off of the wish list.

Mama’s a bit broke these days—even this whole blogging hobby that I have is starting to get expensive—but how can I not support this cause? I was on my way to the end of the list to purchase an adult book (if you want to buy adult books, they’re on pages 8 & 9—and I don’t mean “adult books” like the Adult Bookstore across the river means it), and I discovered that the LFPL was in need of one of my favorite books as a child: Blueberries for Sal by Robert “Make Way for Ducklings” McCloskey.

Totally reminds me of Nana and G-pa Lou, and their old beach house by the New England shore. Sniffles.

Blueberries for Sal, it is for me. What is it for you?

The Little Dog Laughed at the Henry Clay

The pickin's for theater in Loueyville have been great lately and are about to get better. Humana is on the horizon, and tomorrow the curtain goes up at the Henry Clay for the production of the Broadway comedy The Little Dog Laughed.

According to the press release (yay! Mama loves press releases!):

Simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking, The Little Dog Laughed is the story of a red-hot movie idol up for the role of his career (if he can keep himself and his sexuality in the closet), his calculatingly crude and controlling agent, and the can't-help-but-adore-him hustler (who, by the way, has a girlfriend) whose services he has engaged. Bawdy, brash and tender all at once, this frenetically funny fable voyeuristically peeks into the tumultuous world of Hollywood celebrity, unveiling, literally, the peaks and valleys of fame.

The Little Dog Laughed was nominated as Best Play for the 2007 Tony Awards. Written by Douglas Carter Beane, the play will be produced by Pandora Productions and directed by Michael Drury and features

a terrific cast that includes Carol Tyree Williams as incorrigible talent agent Diane, Brenton Lengel as Diane's sexually confused movie star client Mitchell, and Corey Macon Long as Alex, the rent boy who falls in loves with Mitchell. Ellen, the girlfriend, is portrayed by Laura Ellis. [Lou's note: twitter has it, Ms. Ellis dyed her hair red especially for the role. Cut me a break. This counts as "insider knowledge" in Mama's world.]

INFO: Through March 15. Running Time: 2 hours with intermission. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., all matinees at 2:00 p.m. Tickets may be purchased in advance for $15 by visiting www.PandoraProds.org or calling 502.216.5502; $17 day of show.

Loueyvillager Powers Activate! Form of A Letter of Support

This weekend is Kentucky Crafted: The Market at the Expo Center. Now, I've never been, and the website is awfully unhelpful when it comes to telling me what to expect (but it is very nice that it features a $3 off coupon), but there's all kinds of good listy thingies that think Kentucky Crafted is pretty special.

Back in December, American Style Magazine named it #2 on its list of Top 10 Arts Fairs & Festivals. And how much does it ROCK that St. James Court Art Show is #6 and Francisco Farm's Art Fair at Midway College (also in KY) is #7. Say what you will about Kentuckians, but we apparently know how to put on an art show. The KY department of tourism lists it in its top 10 events, as does the Southeast Tourism Council. Good stuff, I guess. I will be there with bells on.

(That being said, I really hope Kentucky Crafted isn't a "craft show" like, say, the Ursuline's Art Fair-- which, by the way, is moving to the campus of the Louisville Collegiate School next fall-- or the Cherokee Park Art Fairs are "art fairs." There's some good stuff there, given, but a lot of the stuff is mass-produced and soulless. I'd say the same thing about the St. James Art Show, but I think someone might try and revoke m y citizenship of this city if I talked trash about St. James. Again, some nice stuff. But lots of beads and scarves and pocketbooks. I'm just saying.)

Anyhoo, on to the point: Over at FatLip, Stephen George has posted a... well, I'll just let him explain:

The American Craft Council (ACC), the nation's largest non-profit contemporary craft organization, is planning to relocate its headquarters from New York City. Greater Louisville is one of eight cities asked to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the ACC as they begin the process developing their short list of preferred headquarter locations. Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI) is working with several local arts organizations, the state, artists and local government to help spread the word.

Part of that process involves gathering letters of support to help make the case for Louisville. In order to demonstrate the support the ACC would receive in Louisville, GLI is asking members of the community to write a short (one page) letter of support regarding the benefits of locating an organization in Louisville. GLI's deadline to respond to the RFP is coming up quickly, so they ask that you send your letter c/o Bobby Ferreri at GLI (614 W. Main St., Ste 6000, Louisville 40202) by February 20. However, please address the letters to: Andrew Glasgow, Executive Director American Craft Council=2 072 Spring Street 6th Floor New York, NY 10012-4019

(Mama's note: that last little bit confused me, but that might just be my burned out chemo brain. He means ADDRESS the letter to Andrew Glasgow-- as in Dear Mr. Glasgow-- but SEND it to the GLI.)

Heck yes! That's a cause I can truly get behind. We want this, Loueyvillagers. Contemporary craft goes very nicely with things like 21c and Museum Plaza and the Arts and Crafts Museum and bourbon (because everything goes well with bourbon).

And if you write a letter, and I think you should, send it along to me. If I like it, I'll post it. If I don't like it, I'll probably still post it. Don't forget, we're lou at loueyville.com.

(If you're wondering what the other Wondertwin power "form" would be, it would be a stamp. Of course.)