Monday Night Randomness: Summer is over, long live Summer

First real work day at the Meatspace Workplace.  It's a bit like childbirth, methinks.  While we're on vacation, we're programmed to forget how much effort and energy real work takes.  But then we adjust.  At least, I usually adjust.

Lots of good stuff going on in Louisville these days.

Of course, there's the fair.  I've yet to make it this year, but I'm sure I'll squeeze it in. While I'm not a big fan of fair food, which seems to be the main reason many of you go, I just like the whole "fair culture."  The booths, the livestock, the this year's clever take on "I'm With Stupid" t-shirts.  Didn't see much on the music line-up that spoke to me this year.

But that's okay because there are two shows this week I plan on attending.  Alex Wright is playing at Zazoo's on Thursday around 6pm.  This promises to be a special show; not only is it his 10th year wedding anniversary, but it sounds like his lovely wife has been coerced to sing a little too.  And on Friday, Awesome Louisvillager, Brigid Kaelin is playing her farewell (for now) show at the Monkey Wrench starting at 630p.  While we will sorely miss her, Edinburgh, Scotland is in for a treat for the next 15 months.  Read more about the show at Consuming Louisville.

And next week is Waterfront Wednesday.  And my birthday.

As the nights get cooler, Bats season is wrapping up.  My friends at Actors Theater tell me that this Friday, Dracula will be throwing out the first pitch. If you're not headed to Ms. Kaelin's show, I hope you get to see that!

Speaking of Actors, as Roommate said recently, it's very kind of Actors to start their season just as the Bats season wraps up.  SENSE & SENSIBILITY starts Tuesday, August 30.  I'll be sure to let you know what I think of the production after I see it on September 1.

So even though it's back to work for me, my social dance-card is still pretty full.  Clinging to the last few bits of summertime here.

Hope you are too.

(Have you seen Another Earth yet?  No?  Go, and then thank me.)

Monday Night Randomness: Be Jealous!

Today I had to scrape the frost off of my car windows for the first time, and I have to admit I got a lump in my throat.  No, seriously folks.  I really almost cried.  I know, I know, it's mid-November.  It's appropriate. But still... You can take the girl out of the Deep South, but... well, you know.

So, I need some good news.  Here's some good news:

• Thanks again to the folks at Bohlsen PR for setting up the Cirque Dreams Holidaze giveaway.  We have two very happy winners.  Thank you too to Michelle at Consuming Louisville who played fairy godmother and added two extra tickets to the mix so we could, indeed, have two winners.  Even if you didn't win, you should go.  It looks like all kinds of good holiday fun-- who doesn't love acrobats and stuff?-- and the Palace Theater is a magical place to see anything, anytime.
  
• Speaking of theater, I'm very sad to have to miss The Disappearance of Daniel Hand at Walden.  It's being directed by Alex Volz, whose work at Walden is consistently fantastic.  Really, people, I promise I wouldn't lead you astray-- you should really check out this show.  Supporting Walden is so important for the future of arts in this city.  And someday you might just be saying, "Hey I saw that actor when he/she was a teenager..."
  
• And speaking of supporting the arts (and in decidedly ungood news...), Gabe Bullard's Edit post about the Louisville Orchestra's financial woes and likely cutbacks made me powerful sad.  Who's going to save the day??
  
• QUICK! I NEED SOME GOOD NEWS FAST!  ::deep breath:: Right, so the reason I can't go to the Walden Play is that I will be someplace that rhymes with Whizney Girled.  And while the trip is 95% business, and it won't be all that much fun, it is very possible that I will be spending this coming Sunday at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!  (yeah, I couldn't figure out how to rhyme that one...)  Seriously, I am so excited that I haven't even allowed myself to look at the website.  I mentioned it to a group of teenagers today, and one of them brought up the fact that there is an Olivander's wand shop there, and all five of us-- zombie-like-- intoned "swish and flick, swish and flick" in unison.  Good news for the rest of you: Deathly Hallows.  Two days.  Need I say more?  #mynerdinessisstrongerthanmypride
  
• Did anyone catch Louisville's own Nichole Scherzinger on tonight's How I Met Your Mother?  Who knew there was a "Jessica Glitter" counterpart to Robin's "Robin Sparkles"?  No, I don't think she's the "mother."
  
• As we speak, Roommate is gearing up for ESPN's 25+ hour NCAA hoops marathon that starts at midnight.  Yes, he intends to stay up for it all.  Yes, he stocked up on snacks and beverages. U of L plays Butler at "Pitino's Palace" (aka, the Whale, the Fish, the Bucket) tomorrow night at 8pm on ESPN.  GO CARDS! Roommate wants me to tweet Dickie V and invite him over for drinks...
  
• Did you happen to catch Louisville Life this weekend?  If not, you missed a great show-- I'm so glad that Casa Lou now gets local channels again.  This week's episode featured a really nice story on River City Canoe & Kayak.  AND, if you were paying attention, Lou herself was featured in a lot of nice footage of paddling on the river.  (My 15 minutes of fame are dwindling quickly.)
  
• Reminder:  Actors Theater is currently showing "A Christmas Story"-- which I saw last year and is fabulous.  AND is starting Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park"-- which I can't wait to see.
  

That's all for me for now.  If anyone has any secrets about how to scrape your windows with minimal elbow grease, let me know.  I have a feeling it's going to be another bad morning tomorrow.  But with all this GOOD NEWS... naw, it's still going to suck.  Bah humbug, winter!

Saturday Night Randomness!

Just got back from the Jug Band Jubilee-- caught the last three bands.  It was my first time at the Brown Forman Amphitheater, and what a nice venue that is!  It's DARK though, like really dark after dark.  Next time there's a festival-y thing there, I'll do my best to arrive before sunset.  What fun!  Not only is the Jug Band Jubilee free, the beers are cheap ($4), and you're treated to jug bands and folk icons from around the country.  I happened to be lucky enough to meet up with Awesome Louisvillager Gabe Bullard who filled me in on the significance of the headliners:  Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur, pioneers of the American folk music scene.

Thanks to Heather from the Jug Band Jubilee for reminding me about the event.  I'm so glad I went, and it will be on my "must do" calendar from now on.

In other news:

• Tomorrow is the last day for Art in the Highlands on the campus of the Louisville Collegiate School on Grinstead east of Bardstown.  Get your Christmas shopping done early (!!) or see some great artistans and bands.  The art fair is open from 11am til 5pm on Sunday.
  
• I REALLY enjoyed Andrea Davidson when she opened up for Charlie Mars at Zanzabar in the late spring.  But whoa, I got an email from her PR folks saying that she was playing her last show in Louisville for 2010 on September 21 at 10pm at "Dutchess Tavern."  Um, yeah... I googled the heck out of that and finally went to her MySpace page (yuck-- why do people still have MySpace pages?) and figured out that the PR folks meant Dutch's Tavern at 3922 Shelbyville Road.  Don't hold it against her...  she's awesome.  Put on a great show at Hullabalou, too.
  
• Craft Beer Week starts on 9/24 here in Louisville.  I defer to Michelle, who already covered it very well on Consuming Louisville.  I absolutely plan on getting in on the "Junk Food Beer Dinner" on Oct 1st.  

Working through my backlog of press releases and such.  Hope you're having a GREAT weekend!

Change Your (writing) Life in Ten Days

I've written about Writers Retreat Workshop before. The last time, it was a bit more nuts and bolts. (Click on the link in the first sentence for that entry) But I'm going to pitch it again because it's such a huge, important part of my life.

Eight years ago (almost), I attended my first WRW. I won the Robin Hardy New Student Scholarship (PDF application) and got to go for free. But even when I found out that I had won free tuition, I was super skeptical. I think I was having a Woody Allen moment: Did I really want to be part of a club that wanted me as a member? But I got over my insecurities, in no small part due to some long and involved email correspondences with one of the staff members: a very patient, very persuasive man who will henceforth be known as "Roommate."

Yes, that Roommate.

WRW is a ten-day, very intensive (think "boot camp") residential program for aspiring novel writers. But in the past eight years, I've seen memoir writers and screenplay writers and short stories writers go through the program and benefit as much as I did.

For the past blue million years (well, ok, the program was founded in 1987, so that's hyperbole), WRW has been held at the Marydale Retreat Center in Erlanger, KY. And honestly, even back in 2002 when I first attended WRW, if you'd asked me what I thought about WRW, I would have said that I had had ten of the most perfect days of my life... except that the facilities were kind of shabby.

So this year, WRW has BIG news. The program is relocating to the Saint Joseph's Retreat Center in Owensboro, KY. And holy cow, this place looks GORGEOUS. And, best of all, Louisvillagers, it's still basically in our back yard!

Listen, WRW changed my life in so many ways. I know I've taken some time off from "serious" writing lately for any number of reasons, not the least of which has been the after-effects of chemo. So I may not strike you as a "serious" writer. But I used to be. Pre-cancer, fiction writing was part of my daily life. And I hold out so much hope that this summer I'll be able to be a "real" writer once again. But before WRW, my writing was a hobby. Like scrapbooking or collecting troll dolls. After I went to one WRW, I felt legit. I felt validated. I felt like I knew so much more about not only the craft of writing but the business of writing. And don't kid yourself, kids, writing is very much a business.

But no smoke and mirrors here: WRW gave me so much more than that. WRW gave me Roommate, my very best friend and partner in crime since 2002. A couple years after I first attended, the founder retired and handed the reins over to Roommate, and he has run it ever since. And I have to admit, when I see Roommate teach the new student classes, I get chills.

WRW also gave me a new family of all of the attendees since 2002 and the core staff. It gave me a built-in cheerleading section for all of my successes since 2002, and a source of support for all of my trials since then.

And, frankly, I think you'd be hard pressed to find an attendee who didn't feel exactly the same way.

Do you need a "name" to attract you to program? How about this one: Michael Palmer. Palmer is the author of 14 medical thriller novels, some of which have ended up on the NYTimes bestsellers list. Palmer and his son, Daniel, a debut novelist, will be there teaching classes. In past years, the program has featured teachers/guests (both in person and via teleconference) such as Dean Koontz, Ayelet Waldman, Nancy Picard, Gregory McDonald, and Trish McGregor.

Folks who have been through the program and gone on to success include: Janet Chapman, Christine Goff, Jack Getze, Kimberly Frost... and many more.

You fancy yourself a writer? A fiction writer? A novelist? Gosh darn, kids... I promise you, you won't regret attending the Writers Retreat Workshop. You just won't. Expert advice. Thoughtful guidance. Good damn people. Always.

You want to know more? Email me at lou (at) loueyville.com. I will answer your questions and give you more personal testimony.

In the meantime: This year's WRW is June 10-19 in Owensboro, KY. I'm 99.9% sure that the new student scholarship is still accepting applications. Pass this along to your writer friends. I would sure love to welcome them into MY WRW family.

Visit the website at: Writers Retreat Workshop

Tourist in my own town: Downtown Vacation

Can we still call this "Indian Summer"? I mean, we're just about as close to the first day of winter as we are the last day of summer. I, for one, couldn't be happier about this warm spell. Not just because I'm a hothouse flower, but because the heat on my house has been kablooey since Thursday, and I can't seem to get a repairman out here to save my life.

But the house fiasco led to an unexpectedly nice weekend, thanks to Roommate. He's out of town til the end of the month, and as an "I'm sorry you're shivering" gift (it was miserable those first couple of days), he paid for a room at the downtown Hyatt for me for Saturday night. So I had a lovely Saturday playing tourist in my own town.

Faithful readers may remember that this time last year, I was actually a denizen of downtown-- exiled to the Residence Inn on Market for almost seven months because Hurricane Ike toppled a tree onto my house. So my downtown stay was equal parts vacation and "Old Home Days."

I started the day at Bodega on Market, the charming little gourmet market/beer store with a lovely deli/restaurant. If there's any restaurant in Louisville that makes a better bisque than Bodega, I haven't found it. My spirits were dashed when I found out that they were out of Lobster Bisque, but a patron at the coffee bar said that the Roasted Red Pepper Bisque was even better. And it was marvelous (though I still prefer the lobster-- New England girl and all). I always kick myself for not going there more often, and I'm so glad they're surviving the death of sister restaurant Melillo's and the popularity of nearby Toast. Lovely atmosphere, free wifi, and very nice people.

When it comes to nice people though, few can hold a candle to the guys at Scout. I just love, love, love them. And they always remember me and ask me all kinds of lovely personal (but not too personal) questions. I suspect, however, who they REALLY love is Big Mama Lou who, whenever she comes to town, hits Scout like a friggin Yankee Tornado, buying up tons of loot and shipping it home. (Or, bless her heart, if she's feeling the bug, buying a ton of stuff for me.) Both Scout and Scout Home seem to be doing really well. Big Mama Lou is coming next week, and I promised to bring her by. I bought myself an adorable pair of squirrel earrings. (Uh, squirrels love acorns!)

The Louisville Beer Store has just opened up next to Scout Home on Market. What an exciting addition to the Nulu District. I mentioned this upcoming opening in my post about the Nulu Festival. I peeked inside and it looks lovely and cozy. Folks were pretty busy stocking shelves, so I didn't stop in.

The only bummer about that new arrival is that it has popped into the store that used to belong to the adorable Boston Flower shop. Anyone know what happened to that place?

Another new opening, mentioned in the comments of a recent post, is the new Sol Azteca's on Fourth Street, which moved into the funky space vacated by Raw Sushi. Can't find much about it online, and I've never been to a Sol Azteca's, but it looks like it's doing well.

One place that definitely calls for further investigation is the absolutely gorgeous Theater Square Market Place on Fourth Street near the Palace. I stopped in for a (kind of poor) iced coffee, but was stunned at the very sophisticated decor and the awesome layout. Theater Square Market Place seems to be treading the same ground as Bodega in many ways (though Bodega's iced coffees are awesome). Gourmet deli, market, etc. But in the back there's a full restaurant and bar (with beautiful lighting) and next door there's a wine shop.

There's also another new (to me, at least) pizza place on Fourth Street. Little joint. The name escapes me right now. But it smelled divine. UPDATE: It's called Sicilian Pizza & Pasta. Thanks, @funambulator

I spent my evening bar-hopping a little. Manhattan at the hotel bar. Beer and Octopus Bagna Cauda at 21c (it's so simple but so tasty... I can hardly bring myself to order anything else). Manhattans at AJ's at the Galt House-- I think they make some of the best (and fairly reasonable) Manhattans in town. Back to the hotel bar. (Uh, yeah, Manhattans again... Mama loves her bourbon).

Morning = chocolate chip bagel and cream cheese at Einsteins.

All in all, an excellent downtown vacation. And while I don't know what he spent on the hotel room, I do know Roommate got it on Hotwire for pretty cheap. The Hyatt is one of the 4-star options, and it is very nice. Lovely comfy beds, sizable rooms. I do wish they had nicer bathrooms. And, because it is an atrium hotel, it's rather noisy in the mornings. The hotel was booked to full-occupancy-- Yay Louisville!-- and it sounded that way. Often 4-star hotels in Louisville can be booked on Hotwire for as little as $60. That's peanuts when you consider the quality of getaway you can have!

Bigfoot, Chicago, and Sushi: Monday Evening Randomness

Whether it's the sudden uptick in the temp today or the residual benefits of Roommate's fantastic homemade chili last night, I'm feeling darn near perky this Monday evening. I've been a bit laggy with my blogging of late; these past few weeks have been mild, but persistent, madness. I'm not saying that there's a light at the end of the tunnel (another surgery next month, for example), but... you know... I'll take what I can get.

Some random stuff for this (unfortunately cooling) Monday evening:

• This weekend Chicago is at the Kentucky Center-- the musical, not the Peter Cetera-fronted pop/jazz fusion band-- and if you buy your tickets through this website: www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com/GroupSales and if you use the password: GildasClub, $5 for every ticket goes to Gilda's on Baxter.
  
  
• Speaking of cancer stuff, last weekend's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk raised upwards of $250,000. Some people have remarked on my absence from said walk this year... and the truth is, I've decided to give myself a year off from The Pink Stuff. Or, more specifically, as much time off as I need. Last year I Pinked it up real good, but always had to nurse myself back from shell shock after every event. I donated to support a friend, but I couldn't bear to join the walk this year.
  
  
• On a lighter note: Last week's Fairdale Bigfoot column at Consuming Louisville was perhaps the funniest so far (definitely the randiest!). Check it out. And don't forget, you can email FBF with questions at fairdalebigfoot [at] gmail.com
  
  
• The Twitter gods are saying that Raw on 4th shut down. I thought that was old news. Maybe not. I kind of liked the place-- especially their super cool wood wall. But all is well: Cafe Mimosa is open again and is rumored to be doing booming business. We ordered delivery last week... yummo. Nothing says comfort like eating sushi on the couch in your pjs while watching TiVo. And, as before, you can even order delivery online.
  
  
• On a personal note: my Newfoundland & Labrador travel companion from last summer got engaged this weekend. On Facebook. As I watched in real time. It was a harrowing three minutes after I watched him post "[Name redacted]? Wanna get married?" But quick came the reply. Congrats, friend. I happily hand over all future Navigator responsibilities to your lovely wife-to-be. (If there's a better use for the new Facebook Live Feed, I've not heard it.)

Time for a little more homemade chili therapy. Have a wonderful week, Louisville.

Tuesday Afternoon Randomness

I'm having yet again another "I'm feeling jazzed about Louisville" day. There's just so much good stuff going on these days, it's hard not to feel the jazz. Even when it's totally yucko outside like it is today.

• First up: tomorrow is the last Waterfront Wednesday of the year. Sniffles. I am not familiar with any of the artists, Bell X1, the Workers, or Company of Thieves. But it's Waterfront Wednesday, so I will be there. I'll be there hoping that the Company of Thieves guy wears the hippo on his head again.
  
• This is the final week to see Rocky Horror live. It's practically sold out, you know. And I've been hearing super good things about it. This Louisvillager is going to lose her Rocky virginity on Thursday night. There are still tickets left for Thursday night, so you could watch!
• Thanks to Broken Sidewalk for bringing us information about the adorable art installation on East Market Street. I actually startled someone on a bicycle while walking toward Nulu Fest. I saw the crazy white doggie prancing around the window of the old Wayside building and exclaimed, "Holy crap!" (Yes I said "crap" not the other word.) Sorry, bike dude. If you haven't seen "Sniff" yet, go, go, go! He'll (she'll?) only be around til Oct 30. (I think there's a missed Halloween opportunity there. Couldn't they make the puppy go all Cujo on Halloween and scare the bejeezus out of people? Good times.)
• This weekend is the Louisville International Film Festival. This is a very exciting event, chock full of new films you won't see anywhere else. (But not Adventures in Power) And like with the Labryinth seminar, if I didn't have a Meatspace job, I would TOTALLY shell out the $60 for the all day Friday and Saturday pass. It's a steal.

Brrr... do I really need to turn on the heat in September? Disappointing. Otherwise, Louisville, you're my hero.

Random Tuesday Randomness: Swayze, Kanye, Jugbands, and more

How about this weather, Louisvillagers? Can't beat it. It's hard to stay sad for too long when the weather is this beautiful. And Lou's been battling the blues this week:

• First there was Sunday's season-ending loss for the Bats at Slugger Field. Thanks to our Bats for providing another amazing year of some of the best cheap fun to be had in Louisville. Those damn Durham Bulls. They're our Captain Hammer.
  
  
• And now Swayze. Sigh. If you haven't seen him in Keeping Mum with Rowan Atkinson and Maggie Smith, rent it now.

On the positive side of things:

• Hear Obama call Kanye a "jackass." Yeah, I know it was supposed to be off the record and all that, but I couldn't help but beam when I heard this. Especially considering my one degree of separation from the Taylor Swift scandal. Obama's probably going to catch crap for this, but I love it!
  
  
• I came home from work today all fired up to make some beef stroganoff but not really wanting to head to the grocery store. And then I was reminded that it's two-for-one burger night at the Monkey Wrench. I always forget that the Tuesday deal at the Monkey Wrench is one of the best cheap eats deals in town. I'll hold off on the stroganoff.
  
  
• Don't forget that this weekend is Arts in the Highlands-- September 19 & 20. The weather is supposed to be beautiful again.
  
  
• You can make it a full weekend of festivals by hitting the Arts in the Highland on the 20th and enjoying America's Happiest Music at the Jug Band Jubilee on September 19.
  
  
• Please, please tell me you're following the Fairdale Bigfoot on Twitter. And on Facebook. His new advice column will appear at Consuming Louisville soon. Email questions to fairdalebigfoot (at) gmail.com. Rumor has it, the Manbeast may run for mayor of Louisville. (no, I don't mean Uncle Mayor Jerry-- he's already said he won't run again).
  

Coming soon... NULU Festival, IdeaFestival... It's a good time to be a Loueyvillager.

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.
  

Sunday Afternoon Randomness

Yeah, sure, I have real work that I could be doing, but it's a bright sunshiny Sunday, and I have zero motivation juice. So here's some mostly NTDWL randomness for you:

• Bri Tunes: Roommate and I had a great goofy time checking out Brian Williams' new music blog. Yes, that Brian Williams, from MSNBC. The first interview is with Deer Tick from Brooklyn, and if you've ever longed to hear Brian Williams utter the phrase "Give it to Me Right" check out his introductory blog. Made me go a little bit wobbly in the knees. Brian Williams = another Loueyville crush.
  
• Carla's AT Experience: Follow my kick-ass, tough cookie friend as she walks the Appalachian Trail alone. Gorgeous pictures and a very thorough log of the journey. Carla's doing this right.
  
• The Bonnaroo Schedule is out! No overlapping artists that will break my heart. I always get a bit nervous when first looking at the schedule. Sometimes they do stupid shit like pitching Bruce Springsteen against Elvis Costello (they didn't, but it wouldn't have suprised me). Looking most forward to the 1:00AM Nine Inch Nails show, honestly. For those of you 'Rooing this year, my hot tip is the Low Anthem at 10pm on Thursday night. The Low Anthem opened for Lisa Hannigan at the 930 Social concert. As I sat in the audience, I downloaded their album Oh My God Charlie Darwin. Great stuff.
  
• On a personal note, I just celebrated my one year Cancerversary-- diagnosed May 7, 2008. I can't believe how much has happened this year, but it's really flown by. Last year, I went to Bonnaroo 2008 just 12 days after my bilateral mastectomy. I'm looking forward to going to a 'Roo that I will likely REMEMBER-- I was so hopped up on (legal) drugs last year. The one moment burned into my brain from 'Roo08 is Pearl Jam singing "Alive" and feeling very... alive.
  
• On a Loueyville note, somebody's got a birthday coming up!!... May 27, Lou turns (the terrible) two! Mama's gonna reboot sometime between now and then. Fun trivia: Lou's first post was about Birdzerk!

Friday Night Randomness

Thoughts and blather...

• Wow, the whole Pitino extortion story gets all Weekly World News-ish weird. Okay, maybe not THAT weird, but still wicked weird. The allegation is here.

• I have a big ol' Portuguese family, so the odds were pretty good that more than one of us would put our gift for useless but uber-nerdy knowledge to use in a blog. I'm pretty proud of my baby cousin MOVIEBOB, though. He's been nominated for at least one super geeky award. (Although big cousin Lou just surpassed him by two on her Google reader subscriptions-- take that, geekchild!) Check him out. He kind of rocks.
  

• City Block is closing. The only concert I've ever felt compelled to attend there was Hanson. And I didn't. But, come on... "Mmmm Bop" makes you smile, doesn't it? Smile big and perky? I need to go download that right now.
  

• The tix for the Holy Trinity at Slugger Field are a whopping $69.50. If you've been thinking about asking Lou out for a date but have just been too shy or too nervous, now's the time. Yes, I'll go to see Dylan/Willie/Mellencamp with you. And I'll even buy the hot dogs... if you'll just snag us a couple of tickets.
  

• Big Mama Lou is visiting for the weekend, and as I dropped her off at the Residence Inn (where I lived in Ike-delivered exile for nearly six months... it was actually awfully nice to see the place, especially the front desk crew, again) I was happy to see that Market Street from DCE to Baxter was hopping. Big Mama and I will be hitting the Cherokee Triangle Art Fair tomorrow in this absolutely blissed-inducing weather.

Hope the weather induces bliss in you as well this weekend.

Randomness: Art Jobs Available

I don’t usually repost other folks’ whole blog posts, but in light of the economy, I thought I’d share two job openings posted on LEO’s FatLip news blog:

The Kentucky Arts Council (www.kyarts.org) has two open positions: Arts Education Program Director and Arts Access Program Director. These positions should be available for application on the personnel website by Friday, May 1. For more information, contact Katie Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@ky.gov or (502) 564-3757, ext. 470.

The ZOOM Group is seeking a Studio Arts Manager. The non-profit organization helps adults with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Must be a practicing artist and familiar with various types of art media including paint, digital arts, ceramic, fiber art and other 2-D and 3-D art. For more information, go to www.zoomgroup.org or call 581-0658 ext. 16