My IL Digest: Our Local Box, Happy Birthday Park, brilliant kids, the Churchill Downs bugler and more

Gabe Bullard in the deserted infield at Churchill

There's so much to love about my job with Insider Louisville. 

Sure there are drawbacks to every job. 

This one's pretty high-stress at times. Sometimes I find myself climbing the stairs to my office in the morning thinking, "Okay, you're not trying to cure cancer. Things shouldn't have you this worked up."

And as we all know, the comments-section of online journalism is where simple human decency goes to die. We're lucky at IL to not have too, too many trolls, but I assure you, my email in-box is a much thornier place than the comments section. (Really, we all can't agree that a childrens' museum might be a nice thing for the city? You disagree so heartily you have to get ugly about it? Think of the children!)

One of the things that bums me out about my job– and I'm sure all journalists, online, print and otherwise, feel the same way– is how ephemeral it is. I'll pour time and research and effort and care into a story. And at best it booms for a couple of days and gets passed around social media. At worst, it gets some reads and the quietly sinks down the homepage into the archives.

And that's sad. I guess it's a little bit about ego, sure. But it's more about the fact that these people that I report on are doing such remarkable things that I wish these pieces had a little more staying power. 

(Note: all links lead to the full article)

Like Dan Campbell and Jason Lee Menard of Our Local Box, a startup subscription box that is delivering a package full of Kentucky-made goodness to doorsteps across the country every month. I met them at Tony Boombozz, where the idea for their venture first germinated and listened to them wax passionately about ecommerce and buying local. 

Like Marsha Weinstein, who may be one of my new favorite Louisvillagers, who founded the effort to get a Happy Birthday Park installed on Fourth Street to honor the composers and educators Peggy and Mildred Hill. It had been a while since I last chatted with someone who shared my passion for US Women's History. And she brought some pretty serious deficits to my attention. 

According to Marsha Weinstein, there are over 2,400 historical markers in the state of Kentucky. Sixty of them commemorate the lives and accomplishments of women. A quick search of the database of historical markers in the state finds that Weinstein was probably being generous in her estimate. Of all the public memorials and artwork in downtown Louisville, none are dedicated to women.

I eventually confirmed this last fact with the department of Public Art. We have art designed by women (very little) but nothing honoring women. Weinstein is a powerhouse and a passionate advocate for women and girls. It was an honor to spend an hour picking her brain. 

Like Anthony Perry and Susana Almaguer Martinez, whom I didn't speak with but wrote about. These two Louisville high school seniors have 4.0 averages and a remarkable resume of acheievments. They've both been accepted by the Gates Foundation to receive Gates Millenium Scholarships– full rides to the schools of their choice. Perry, from St. Francis, will go to UPenn. Martinez, who has only been in the US for 2 years and attends Seneca, will be going to USF. 

Like Steve Buttleman, the official bugler of Churchill Downs, whom Linda and I interviewed on Louisville, Not Kentucky. The story about our behind-the-scenes adventures at Churchill Downs' Opening Night is one of my all-time favorite stories, I think.

Sometimes, of course, it is all about me. Right? Even though I was sick and cranky, I think my recap of who's going to be performing at the State Fair is still pretty dead-on. Again, pissy comments, but not not fun. Likewise, my rundown of what wasn't allowed at Churchill Downs during the Derby. Jeffrey Lee Puckett of the CJ did it better (video!) later, but I did it first. 

Those articles are just from the past 10 days and represent only a quarter of what I wrote during those days for IL.

I was also interviewed by the fabulous Erin Keane for WFPL's news special on the Great Gatsby and Louisville. The two of us went in search of Daisy Fay's house in the Cherokee Triangle. It was a lovely way to spend a lovely spring morning. You can listen to the story at the link. (you can pick up my part at around 10:00, but if you're into Gatsby at all, don't miss the whole special from the start). Spoiler alert: We didn't find it. We don't think anyone can. That wasn't a journalism-thing. It was a former-English-teacher-thing. But still, part of a good couple of weeks.

Thanks to all of you who bring me great stories or who ARE great stories. You make my life and job so much better.

Louisville, Not Kentucky-- We have a Podcast, People!

For better part of a year, Linda Golden of LJ Golden-- Just Exploring blog fame-- has been chatting me up about starting a podcast. And for the better part of a year, I've been enthusiastically "HELL YES"-ing her to death.

I love this woman to pieces (and if you keep track of my personal life, I love her so much that, last March, I married her to Awesome Louisvillager, WFPL's Gabe Bullard). And Linda is responsible for some of the best conversations and adventures I have, on a regular basis.

So Linda and I are super happy to announce our new podcast, "Louisville, Not Kentucky"-- episode 1 is now online and is 25 minutes of silliness, cheap booze, Louisville culture, and upcoming events.

In this episode, we discuss: LaBoy LeFemme drag show at The Connection, swimming at Lakeside Pool (courtesy of Awesome Louisvillager Brigid Kaelin), sweet tea lemonade booze, Costumes & Cocktails at Actors Theatre, our first viewing of BIG BROTHER season 14 featuring Louisville's own Wil Heuser, the fact that Linda has never seen ROMANCING THE STONE (WHAT??) and much much more.

The learning curve with this whole podcasting thing has been a little steep, and last Friday we spent SIX hours whittling down 35 minutes of tape to the lean, mean 25 minutes we have now. Next time hopefully it will go faster, but whoa, did we have a lot of fun. I honestly think a (highly-edited) documentary of the two of us cackling like crazy ladies would be even more entertaining than the podcast itself (I say highly-edited because those moments of cackling were interspersed with looooong moments of us staring slack-jawed at Audacity wondering what to do next).

We couldn't have done this without a little help from our friends. Thanks to Gabe Bullard for the crash course in recording and editing. Loads of love to Kyle Ware-- aka The Guy-- for creating our adorable logo. And sending mad love to Ms. Hazel Miller who, in 1982, recorded the song "Look What We Can Do," which we used as our intro music. No joke, when Linda and I realized that the last 8 seconds of this song was the PERFECT theme music, I thought I was going to explode from pure joy. I challenge you to listen to the whole two-minute song, and NOT want to clap/dance/jiggle/your-expression-of-glee-of-choice.  I, personally, think that Linda and I need to take a bio picture for the podcast of the two of us jumping in the air and pumping our fists, inspired by the last 8 seconds of that song.

Right now the plan is to have a new episode every two weeks. Once we get better/faster at editing, it may be more often.

Spread the word, people. This is basically MY LOUEYVILLE in a podcast. Do you have ideas about events and institutions we should cover? Want to provide us with a beverage for our "What are we drinking?" segment?  Want to be our sugar daddy/mama? Tweet us at @LouNotKY or email me at lou [at] loueyville.com.

So proud. Go listen, kids. Link to the podcast here: http://louisvillenotky.tumblr.com/

Happy Louiversary, Lou!

Me & Flat Stanley by the river.  (flatstanleylouisville.blogspot.com)

Six years ago today, a very sad and bedraggled Lou & a less sad and less bedraggled Roommate arrived in Louisville with their moving truck and two cars. It was a day very much like today-- hot, hot.

Neighbor 1 from across the street, an able-bodied dude, immediately offered an extra hand with the heavy furniture.

Neighbor 2 from next door, a delightful older woman who has since moved-- we miss her every day, came by later with a cheese pizza and a six-pack of beer in a cooler with ice "in case we didn't have a fridge yet."

By nightfall, Neighbor 3 from three doors down showed up with a fistful of takeout menus, just in case we didn't feel like cooking as we settled in.

The next day, Neighbor 4 from two doors down, came by with a gigantic houseplant.

I had planned on spending the rest of my life in New Orleans, but Katrina and my subsequent job loss made it too hard to stay. I was not happy about leaving-- I was miserable. But the school here in Louisville that recruited me and wined me and dined me and gave me all kinds of reasons to move to this town that I knew NOTHING about, promised me that I'd find a good and welcoming home here.

Honestly, it took a couple of years-- a couple of years and the creation of this blog and the discovery of our local Twitter community-- before I really found a HOME here. But find a home I did. And now I am one of Louisville's most passionate cheerleaders.

But those first few days, when my neighbors drifted over and welcomed us were a good indication of what was to come. Lots of people scoff at the idea of Louisville as Compassionate City, but I am a believer.

This is the city where my neighbors welcomed us in a way that we would normally chalk up to a "Leave it to Beaver"-style fiction. This is the city that, when a tree crushed my house during the Hurricane Ike wind storm, sent even more of my neighbors over to my house to help me clear out the rubble and be safe. This is also the place where, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had no family and VERY few friends nearby to care for me, my students and their families, my colleagues, and near-strangers stepped up and filled the void.

I love Louisville for so many reasons. But reason #1 will always be the people. I love my Louisvillagers.

I still miss New Orleans. But Louisville is my hometown now. My job search 6 years ago could have landed me any number of places (the city that ended up in second place was Washington, DC). I am so, so very lucky that it landed me here.

Thanks, Louisville.  Love you.  Hope to keep finding ways to give back because you have given me so much.

Happy Friday Randomness!!

If you're like me, this weekend is really only about one thing: THE HUNGER GAMES. Really, I haven't this HARRY POTTER-level excited since the last HP book came out.  Yes, book not movie.  I never got all that psyched for the movies... although I did see a lot of them when they premiered at midnight. Last night, I was a responsible adult-- in bed by midnight, but my students who went to see it have rave reviews.

Here are a few bits of news to take us into the weekend.

• Oh, right... it's not just HUNGER GAMES weekend, there's also a little basketball going on. Congrats to U of L for busting my brackets (I had Izzo's team winning the whole thing) and making it into the Elite 8. Can you tell Roommate is out of town? 
• Speaking of Roommate... Do you read Brandon Klayko's blog, Broken Sidewalk? You should. Goodness. I kind of think he's a little bit of a magic man... how else do you explain how someone has such a great Louisville blog without even LIVING here?? Today's post about facade loans to local businesses reveals an interesting move-- Highlands Tap Room is relocating to 1058 Bardstown Road-- that's right across from Arby's by Grinstead Road. Back when Roommate and I first moved to Louisville, the Taproom was our regular hangout.  But then it got to be a weird scene-- or we finally wised up to the weird scene it had always been. But still, it remains one of my favorite outdoor drinking spots in the city. Such great people-watching from their patio. I sure hope the new location recreates that patio space. (Oh my lordy, I just looked at their website. Do they really have karaoke four night's a week? That makes this move a little less interesting to me. Sorry folks, I am allergic to karaoke.)
• Don't forget... Humana Festival is in full force. There are currently seven plays in rotation.  Check out my reviews of  four of the plays here.  I've seen six of the seven plays, and those remain the four plays not to miss.
• A colleague of mine just bought the Dairy Kastle on Eastern Parkway. Sounds like he and his partner are doing it right.  Check out Michelle's reviews of the veggie chili dog here. 
• Don't forget, THE MOTH is coming around again next week.  Last Tuesday of the month at Headliners at 8pm. This month's show is hosted by the lovely and talented Awesome Louisvillager, Gabe Bullard.  The topic: Resourcefulness

Have a lovely, lovely weekend, folks.  And may the odds ever be in your favor.

(Oh, I know. But I had to.)

Catching Up With Some Awesome Louisvillagers

I don't mess around when I bring y'all Awesome Louisvillagers. The awesome thing about Awesome Louisvillagers is that they don't stop being awesome. Some of this is slightly old news, but there's enough old and new news to call for a little collective post.

Awesome Louisvillager and humble reporter Gabe Bullard is now the News Director at WFPL and is once again hosting the Moth Story Slam for November (Tuesday, November 29, 8pm at Headliners. $8. (more information here). Gabe did a bang-up job in October, and we're looking forward to witnessing his hosting chops again tomorrow. This week's theme is BUSTED. 

The lovely and talented singer-songwriter Awesome Louisvillager Brigid Kaelin is now living in Edinburgh, Scotland for the year and charming audiences overseas (and blogging about her adventures daily at Red Accordion Diaries). 

(By the way, it's that time a year again... go watch Brigid's "Dreidel's Day Out"-- even if it weren't holiday season, you should check it out to give a little jump start to your Ear X-tacy nostalgia).   

Local blogger and do-gooder extraordinaire, Awesome Louisvillager Michelle Jones is getting ready to roll out her annual "One Thing I Love About Louisville" series, which she features every January. If you're interested in participating by writing a guest post for her blog, drop her an email-- her contact information is featured prominently on her blog.  Hey Michelle, would it be too meta if my "One Thing I Love About Louisville" is your "One Thing I Love About Louisville" series? (I've already been featured, actually: here's mine.) 

Look forward to a couple more Awesome Louisvillagers before the year's end. You can read all the posts in the series here. Do you have suggestions? Are you awesome? :) Shoot me an email at lou [at] loueyville.com.

Awesome Louisvillager: Stephanie White

It's been a long time since I last featured an Awesome Louisvillager on the blog. But lately it seems like the more challenging certain aspects of my life become, the more the people in my life seem to matter. So, what better way to celebrate the good people of Louisville than by resurrecting the Awesome Louisvillager feature?

Our first Awesome Louisvillager, though, is someone I've never met! Who runs a website that doesn't really even benefit me! But she's pretty awesome nonetheless. Stephanie White runs the Louisville Family Fun website, and if you're a Louisvillager and a parent or grandparent, you should know about this site. Louisville Family Fun features discounts, contests, events calendars, and coupons all aimed at folks with kiddos.  

Meet our seventh Awesome Louisvillager: Stephanie White!

1) How did the idea for Louisville Family Fun come about? Did you always see it as a business, or did you start hunting down deals for local families for fun? 

Louisville Family Fun was born a simple blog for detailing events thought up by myself and another mom at a play date, of course.  She mentioned sharing a google calendar online for all of the events in Louisville for families, and I was interested in the blog aspect.  It was born a blog, not a business.  After traffic started to explode on the website from word of mouth, social networking, google and such, I was approached by a business about advertising.  Then, I made the decision to let Louisville Family Fun morph into a business in order to fund the machine it had become.  There is such a demand for the information, looking at it as a business helped to organize it and support it financially.  However, I stay true to my mission of finding great events for families, deals for things they need or want and informing them about anything that I feel pertain to their family lives.  To me, it still remains a ton of fun and since I have a team of writers now and someone to handle the events calendar, it's even more exciting to have people involved in the mission.

2) Social media in Louisville is a pretty vibrant "scene." I recently gave a talk at the Louisville Public Library about how social media, specifically blogging and tweeting, literally changed my life. How do you use social media in your business? How do you use it personally?

Social media is my business!  The Louisville Family Fun site is closely incorporated with Facebook and Twitter and a little bit on YouTube.  I can't be everywhere, but I try!  Social media and networking is the new wave in gathering and sending information and for my readers and business clients, it's a must in blogging.  Usually, all advertisers get some extra plugs on social media sites and they love that.  Because of social media, we provide such a cost-effective way for businesses to advertise.   I also use these sites to reach out to potential clients.  On the flip side, readers get alerts to new posts, events, deals or photos/videos of what there is to do around town.  Personally, I use social media to connect with my family and friends since I do not live close to them.  I grew up in suburban New York City and I love that sites like Facebook have reconnected me with my cousins and old friends and I can see pictures of my family nearly daily.  We also video chat through Facebook, it's convenient.

3) Why is Louisville a great place to raise a family? What are some things that are unique to Louisville that make this city kid- and parent-friendly?

I am from NY. I grew up having New York City in my back pocket.  I met my husband in college and he grew up in Kentucky.  All throughout our relationship, I knew we would eventually live in what I affectionately call "The Home Land" for him.  I was nervous because I liked living in states that touch water.  No, not the Ohio River, oceans! I like oceans!  So, when he took a job here and we moved from NC, I was a little nervous but within a month, I was sold. 

Louisville is easy to navigate with kids.  Everything is accessible and cost friendly.  There are so many options for physical activities as well as educational ones and all at different price points, including a lot of free options.  I find that in Louisville, businesses, whether they cater directly to families or not, care about kids and that makes people want to go out to festivals, participate in events and support local businesses. I see a nice cycle going on in Louisville that I have not seen in other cities that I have lived in.

What makes Louisville unique are the libraries and the parks.  The Louisville Free Public Library branches have fantastic programming for every age.  When I moved here, I did a tour of library story times.  Literally, a family can attend a different one each day and never repeat location for weeks.  At each location, the experience will be wonderfully different and the people, warm and inviting.   Also, the libraries themselves are so nicely maintained and they host special events like festivals, wonderful summer reading programs and things like scavenger hunts. I could go on!  And, the parks.  This is another venture I have taken on. I want to visit all of the Louisville Metro parks to let families learn more about them and inspire them to hit a new park next time they want a day out; forget about indoor video games or a movie.  From the quaint parks like Tyler Park to the huge ones like Cherokee or Iroquois, Louisville is most impressive when it comes to the park system.

4) Between raising two pre-school-aged kids and running Louisville Family Fun, you probably spend more time than most people in the "parent zone." When you want to have a decidedly grown-up night or afternoon out, what are some of your favorite things to do in Louisville?

I have always been involved with kids. I am a geeky math teacher at heart and by trade, so the parenting and teaching through Louisville Family Fun come naturally.  But, I am human and from time to time, I need and deserve a break.  I actually just wrote a little article that was in Today's Family Magazine this past issue encouraging parents to stop making excuses and go out, yes, *gasp* without their kids!  With my friends, I really have fun at Sips n Strokes.  We go and let loose on the canvas, laugh a lot and enjoy some good food and beverages.  I also like checking out all of the local coffee shops and have come to like Vint a lot so we will go there, share some wine or coffee and great conversation.  With my husband, our best night out on the town was a ridiculously awesome meal at Jeff Ruby's.  That is by far the place for us; I just love the decor and the food was incredible.  But, for a more casual outing, we love sports and have taken in a Bats game, and the FAT Friday Hop is fun for a more budget friendly date night.  We did that and got a bite to eat, walked around Mellwood Arts, did some people watching and got dessert.  Simple, good fun!  Also, I am just waiting for the perfect act to be booked at the Louisville Palace so I can get tickets and take him. That venue is beautiful and I don't know who that perfect act is yet, but I am waiting. 

5) What's the future for Louisville Family Fun?

Louisville Family Fun will continue to write informative reviews for families and maintain the densely detailed calendar.  That's the main priority.  Hopefully, we will continue to grow and I can keep contracting writers in order to diversify the perspective.  We will also secure more awesome prizes because people just love a good competition and the opportunity to win something fantastic.  I would love to increase the charitable aspect of the business and explore more ways to give back to local groups in need.    I also want to take the Louisville Family Fun Pass and instead of having one to cover all of Louisville, split it to create a few area specific cards.  Finally, I hope to secure some really strong sponsors in order to fund all of these endeavors.  Wow, that makes me tired just thinking about it!

Thanks to Stephanie for answering my questions. Previous Awesome Louisvillagers have included: Gabe Bullard, Michelle Jones, Brigid Kaelin, and the Fairdale Bigfoot. Check out those and other Awesome Louisvillagers here. More to come!

#1 Reason to Love Louisville: Louisvillagers

A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call asking for people to join me for a shift answering phones at the Louisville Public Media fund drive.  And so many people responded that I had to turn people away!

Tonight Louisvillagers (or should I say "Loueyvillagers") Stephanie, Emily, and Janelle joined me at the studio, where we hung out with some other lovely volunteers and recorded pledges. One of the nicest things about answering phones for the fund drive is that just about everyone who calls is a Big Fan of public media. One of my jobs was proofreading the pledge sheets, and I loved reading the "comments" sections-- all these listeners who "can't live without" Duke in the morning or "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" or "All Things Considered..."

So thank you to Stephanie, Emily (who I met last time I volunteered at a pledge drive), and Janelle for being such good Louisvillagers.

But I tell you, some of my nearest and dearests here in Louisville work for Louisville Public Media, and I'm repeatedly convinced that the people who work there are some of the best people in the city. Tonight reaffirmed that belief.  So many nice people.

My great night volunteering was briefly marred by the fact that I left my phone behind when I left the studio. I realized it about halfway home and turned around, but by the time I got back to the studio, it was locked up tight and a ghost town. I came home a little pouty, knowing I'd have to find a way to nick out of work in the morning and battle downtown traffic to pick up the phone.

But I wasn't home twenty minutes when I came out of the bathroom and found Roommate holding my phone-- "Some nice guy named Kelly dropped this off for you."

I'm pretty sure that returning cell phones is not in the job description for the Volunteer Coordinator for Louisville Public Media.

Louisvillagers.  Man, you got to love them.

Support your public media, people.  Click here to donate now or call 502-814-6565.

Dreidel's Day Out!

Happy Chanukah to one and all!  Whether you're Jewish or not, you're guaranteed to feel just a little more seasonally joyful if you give Awesome Louisvillager, Brigid Kaelin's "Dreidel's Day Out" video a looksee!

Clicky, clicky, and crank it up!

Awesome Louisvillager: Brigid Kaelin

Wow!  This installment of Awesome Louisvillagers?  You decide: one of the best Awesome Louisvillagers interview or THE BEST?  

I know I always hyperbolize about all of my Awesome Louisvillagers, but this is truly an amazingly fun and interesting experiment.  And it's proof positive that MY answer to my usual "Why Louisville?" question is a solid one: it's the people, silly.

Well, I imagine if you haven't heard of Brigid Kaelin, you've been living with Fairdale Bigfoot under a rock in Jefferson Memorial Forest.  We haven't actually met-met, although we HAVE hugged; that's just the kind of person Brigid is, I'm thinking. She's a singer/songwriter of self-described "alt-country cabaret music with Kentucky Roots."  She yodels, she plays the accordion, she's been on "A Prairie Home Companion," she's recorded an album of Chanukah songs, she plays the fricking SAW, folks.  This is a woman with a heavy dose of quirk, and all of my favorite people in the world are quirky people.  If I didn't already dig her for the quirk factor, well she's also a really sweet and interesting interview subject.  I challenge you NOT to want to hug Brigid after you read this!

Another Awesome Louisvillager we're lucky to have: Brigid Kaelin!

LOU: Brigid, I've been a fan of your work ever since I saw the "Dreidel's Day Out" (Note to Readers: if you haven't already seen it, stop now and watch!  Instant smile.  I promise.) video on You Tube a few years ago.  Then you went on to perform on "A Prairie Home Companion," so you're Louisville music royalty in my mind.  I've made two pilgrimages to St. Paul to see Keillor's show and have seen "Prairie Home" in almost every city I've ever lived in (and have met him a couple of times).  What was that experience like for you?  Is Mr. Red Shoes himself worthy of my undying, wish-he-were-my-dad, love?

Aw, thanks!  And yes, being on APHC, being backstage, hanging with the cast, and watching Garrison Keillor rehearse was unbelievable.  When the talent booker first called me, she scheduled me to perform on a regular broadcast in St. Paul at The Fitzgerald.  A few days later, she asked if I could play the newly-announced Louisville show instead.  I was actually kind of bummed (for about two minutes) because I really wanted to play The Fitzgerald.  Then, of course, I smacked myself and thought about how awesome playing in front of hometown crowd would be.  It definitely worked out for the best, and my family was able to be there in the audience. The whole crowd was great that night, and it felt so good to represent Louisville on the show.

As for Garrison Keillor, he was absolutely deserving of your worship. He was gracious and smart and kind and just how you’d think he would be.  My first interaction with him wasn’t until about 30 minutes before broadcast. I was hanging out with Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band before the show, talking about mutual friends, my Chanukah songs, living in NYC, and such.  They didn’t know that I played the saw, so I went and got it out of my car (there’s always a saw in my car).  Rich Dworsky and I were playing around with piano/saw duets when Garrison Keillor floated by, not even really looking at me, and said, “Yes, I think we’ll do that on the show,” and then walked right on past.  That’s how we met.

The next thing I knew, the production manager said I needed to cut my 4 songs down to 3 because the musical saw was now in the script.  It’s funny, I figured he knew I played the saw all along and that was maybe why they booked me, but apparently they just liked my music.  That felt good, so I was happy to provide a little more goofiness to the show with the saw.

It was really a cool night to be in Louisville.  The cast and I all went to the BBC afterwards (well, not Mr. Red Shoes … he went back to his pedestal, I presume!), and Fred Newman the sound effects guy graciously did imitations that my friends threw at him.  My friend Beth said, “Okay, okay, a cat and a pickle jar going through a woodchipper,” and Fred made bizarre sounds that sounded just like what you’d imagine.  It was really surreal. 

LOU: I don't know how old you are, but I imagine we're within a few years of each other, so you graduated from NYU summa cum laude probably around the same-ish time that I was plugging away at Columbia.  What was your college experience in New York like?  What were some of the venues that you loved to play or at which you loved to take in a show?  Any notable musicians you saw in their early years who later went on to make it big?

I keep meeting more and more people who lived in New York around that time.  I had a great time at NYU (and I lived in for two years after graduation, until Fall 2001), but my “college experience” was definitely different than most of my friends who went elsewhere. NYU doesn’t have a campus in the same way that most colleges do, so really, I was on my own to explore and find things to do.  That’s not hard in New York, but it definitely forced me to become an extrovert when I wasn’t really comfortable doing that.  The dorms just don’t have social events the same way that small liberal arts schools do.  At the same time, I remember my very first day at NYU, I walked through Washington Square Park. There was a crowd gathered around a guy at a piano.  It was Herbie Hancock.  That is why living in New York was awesome.

I didn’t get to see as much live music as you’d think, mostly because 1) I was in college with zero money and 2) I was underage most of the time I lived in NYC.

My piano professor (I was a politics major, but a jazz piano minor) would put me on the guest list at his gigs sometimes, which was great because when you’re on the guest list, they don’t check IDs.  He’d play at the Blue Note or the Sweet Basil, these famous clubs I’d read about in liner notes for years.

NYU also had a great program board and brought folks like Liz Phair and Yo La Tengo to school functions. I saw Modest Mouse a lot. That was back before they signed with Geffen.

Once I was old enough and had a real job with some disposable income, I would go to bluegrass jams on Sunday evenings at place in the East Village called 9C.  My Kentucky ID usually got me a free bourbon. I never sat in and jammed though, which is weird to think about now, seeing as my favorite thing in the world is jamming with other musicians.

Oddly, the only performing I did was playing piano in some cabaret clubs in the Village for extra money and accompanying the musical theater students on auditions and in their little Off-Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway shoes.  After college, I played guitar and sang in a traditional Irish ceili band, mostly just playing Irish pubs and Renaissance Faires.  I can’t even remember how I ended up in that band, but I learned a lot of tunes and had a lot of fun. 

And for the record, I turned 32 in July (that’s 27 in Nashville Years, ha) … Atherton Class of 1996, NYU Class of 1999.

LOU: In the years that I've been following your career, you've played at big music festivals, in the Bahamas (it was the Bahamas, right?) , in the British Isles, and of course, locally and on US tour.  Can you compare and contrast the two most different experiences you've had as a performer recently?  I'm sure your show is not the same no matter the venue.  What are the two most different performances you've given over the past year or two?

I’ve made a deal with myself that when I can, I bring the entire show, no matter how lazy I’m feeling.  My keyboard is 90 pounds, my accordions are 20-40lbs, then there’s a guitar, and the musical saw, plus all the cables, stands and merchandise (and that’s just for a solo show), so it’s a lot of work to load-in and out.  My US show is big, fun, and if you’ve seen it, you know I show off a bit.  It’s a “show” after all, right?

Overseas, unfortunately, I can’t bring the whole show out, so I end up playing just accordion or guitar.  That puts me on the spot because, though I’ve played guitar since I was 9, it’s the piano that’s my main instrument.  In some ways, it’s actually kind of refreshing, especially when the audience still responds to my songs.  I know that I get press as a novelty act or isn’t-it-crazy-she-plays-the-accordion, so it’s nice when the audience buys CDs even without the gimmick.  

One of my favorite gigs of the past year was at the Islay Whisky Festival, where I sang at the Laphroaig Scotch Distillery in the remote Hebrides Isles of West Scotland.  It was just me and a guitar for the most part.  My Louisville audience might not even recognize me, but I tell you, I sold more CDs at that venue than any other I’ve ever played.

The audiences in the UK are also unbelievably respectful.  You don’t even realize that American crowds are generally rowdy until you play in the UK, where everyone in a crowded bar just shuts up at the first “check-check-one-two.”  I’m not one of those artists who gets upset when people talk over my songs, and I definitely like performing in the US. But there’s something about the folks in the UK – they treat musicians like royalty. I think maybe it’s the whole history of traveling troubadours and storytelling, but it amazes me every time.

LOU:  I'm kind of a late-comer to your fabulous blog, The Red Accordion Diaries, but for the past few months I've been an avid reader.  Loads of people musicians have blogs, but few update theirs as regularly as you do.  Your blog is so personal and charming that I feel like when I finally meet you in person, I'll want to give you a hug.  Is the blog for you or for promotion? Has the blog furthered your career?  

Thank you so much.   It’s funny, I think more people read my blog now than own my records.  Who would’ve thought?  I kept a blog on my MySpace page, but I only ever posted maybe once a month when I had something music-related to talk about.  I would occasionally post funny stories from the road, and I started getting messages from people asking me to post more.

It was really Rob Carpenter from the now-defunct Louisville band The Muckrakers, who inspired my blogging. He challenged himself to a blog-a-day New Year’s Resolution (his is at blog.myspace.com/muckrakers), and it was so entertaining and fun that I decided to try it myself.  

I wasn’t 100% successful at blogging daily, but I still managed to get in at least 300 that year. Now I try to blog 4-5 days a week.  I think it started because I needed a routine, and I wasn’t feeling much like songwriting.  A typical artist fear is that you’ll forget how to do your art one day, and being self-employed makes it hard to maintain a creative schedule.  I forced myself to blog everyday so that at least I was writing, even if it wasn’t songwriting.  I honestly had no idea how many people read it, until I’d start running into people in coffee shops who confessed to being daily readers. Then I started getting messages from folks around the world who had no idea I was a musician, but were fans of my blog. 

Once I realized that I didn’t have to write about music – and that my growing audience seemed to prefer my rants and raves and stories from the road more than my thoughts on the new Lucinda album – then it became even more important to me. 

Really, I think I just enjoy storytelling.  And since making a new record is a lot more complex than writing an essay, at least I’ve got this regular outlet.  I do hope that soon I’ll get to blog about a new record, but in the mean time, it’s nice to know I’ve got a support staff when I’m feeling tortured.

LOU: In the immortal words of our fabulous local store/boosters/cheerleaders: Why Louisville, Brigid?  Why not New York or Nashville or Memphis or LA?  What keeps you in this city?  What are your favorite venues to play?

I’ve lived in New York, and I’ve dappled in Nashville, but, yeah, I keep coming back home.  Logistically, I couldn’t afford to be a self-employed musician if I lived in NYC.  In Nashville, where I’d make more money than here, I wouldn’t be able to earn that money doing my own art.  The money I made when I was in Nashville was all because of playing accordion or piano or saw on other people’s records – working as a session player.  Don’t get me wrong, I looooove doing session work, but right now, I’m not ready to give up my own songwriting and performing career.  My show is too quirky for mainstream Nashville, so I’m not going to try to go that route.   Louisville is a great home for all kinds of art that isn’t mainstream enough for commercial routes, but is still good, innovative, and meaningful.  And we’ve got appreciative audiences who are loyal and probably the most important part of all. 

As for venues, now that is something our town is seriously lacking.  Nashville definitely has us beat on that end, in that even the crappiest, tiniest room, has a great sound system.  I do like the Zanzabar in Louisville. It’s got a good sound system and a nice vibe.  The Rudyard Kipling is a nice room, but it’s hard for me to get a crowd in Old Louisville.  I adore the Monkey Wrench, but that’s mostly for location and an arts-lovin’ owner.  Shows are always fun there, and it’s probably my favorite place to play in town.   I do wish that perfect venue would open, but it seems that’s been Louisville’s challenge since long before I first started performing.

Louisville’s been really good to me, and it’s a sensible place to make a home. Its location is central enough that I can tour on weekends and be back home on off-nights.  We’ve got a great radio station in WFPK, that nurtures and supports local artists, and we get a lot of good national touring acts.  Plus, my family is here.  If I truly wanted stardom, I’d probably have to move to Nashville or LA.  But here I’m able to make a living doing what I love. I can tour when I want or need, but I’ve got a great place to call home.

Visit Brigid at:  Brigid Kaelin

Awesome Louisvillager: Gabe Bullard

Sorry for the lag between Awesome Louisvillagers!  But I promise you, this week's Louisvillager is well worth the wait.  

WFPL's Gabe Bullard is a stand-up guy.  He's smart, funny, a good friend, and has excellent taste in women. He interned with Conan (not the Barbarian, as I originally thought, but the redheaded O'Brien guy) and occasionally gets ragged on by Uncle Mayor Jerry.  But what really makes him awesome is that he loves his job, and he's fantastic at it.  Gabe is a reporter for WFPL and is the host of The Edit, the station's on-line news blog.  Listen for him Monday through Friday on WFPL news.  Sometimes he pops up on "State Of Affairs," too.  Like many Awesome Louisvillagers, Gabe's a fairly recent Louisville transplant, but he's doing our fair city proud.  

Here's WFPL's Gabe Bullard: 

LOU: Who's your favorite panelist for "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" and why?

It used to be Mo Rocca. He and Paula Poundstone were the only two panelists I knew when I first started listening to WWDTM. I shifted to Paula eventually, because she always seems to be the most willing to be foolish, and I like that. Now, though, Roy Blount Jr. is my favorite. I don't like everything he's written, but some of his work is fantastic, and I like what he brings to the panel. I like Charles Pierce's books, and I used to like old P.J. O'Rourke Rolling Stone articles, but I don't like Pierce or O'Rourke as much as the other panelists. I think it's because P.J. stopped being funny and Charlie is kind of loud sometimes. This was too long of an answer, huh?

LOU:  Everyone knows that NPR-types are also literary types.  Do you have literary ambitions?  A book in the works?  What book would you like to write?  Fiction?  Non-fiction?  (And if the answer is no, you don't have literary ambitions-- humor us and tell us what book you WOULD write if you DID have literary ambitions.)

As strange as it may sound, I enjoy the grind of daily news. I have to produce so many short pieces a day, and I'm also free to work on longer investigative pieces. It's great. I like journalism, and that's up front for me. 

I've done a few live readings of non-news stories I've written. The true ones get the most laughs, but I like telling those unscripted. I haven't had any life-changing experiences, though, so I think it's funny to go read a story about how I threw up in a K-Mart on my 8th birthday. Some personal nonfiction is so heavy, I wanted to do the opposite when I was invited to read stories in venues. No trauma, no learning, just awkward experiences. 

If I were to write a book, I'd want it to be nonfiction. I have this idea for a book that explores drinking in America. Not necessarily a tour of American alcohol, but a look at the ways people enjoy drinks. There are high-end bars and there are little rooms with picnic tables outside. There are people who go out to happy hours with their friends and there are people who have a highball alone before bed. I'm not interested in the characters who drink, but in the characteristics of drinking, and the attitudes that surround it in different locations and classes. 

I'm also interested in pop music criticism. I wrote music and comic book reviews in St. Louis before I moved to Louisville. 

LOU: I know you once got poked by a sword-wielding Ben Folds.  As awesome as that is, that's probably not your favorite story from your journalism career.  What is?  I'm not talking about the most important thing you've ever done as a journalist; I want to know what story left you feeling gobsmacked and thrilled. 

The Ben Folds encounter wasn't in the line of journalism. It happened when I was an intern on Late Night. I was gobsmacked a lot that semester. Conan threw (well-intentioned) insults at me, I went to the bathroom while a shirtless Frank Black brushed his teeth a few feet away and I asked Christopher Walken if he was calling me fat. In my journalism career, I've recorded a lot of phone interviews with exciting people. In 2007 and 2008, I covered every major candidate for President and Vice President. The closest I got to any of them was a brief chat (30 seconds maybe) with Obama in 2007 in St. Louis. I'm sure there are some very exciting stories I'm forgetting, but the most memorable encounters have been with total strangers.

LOU:  Also, because I'm famously shy, I'm wondering how you gather up your courage to ask people questions in the line of duty.  Especially hard questions.  Especially hard questions voiced to people who aren't very nice.  Have you ever had a really bad experience interviewing (or trying to interview) someone?  (In my brief, brief foray into radio journalism, I was cussed at by Alan Ginsberg.  And I gave up radio journalism immediately.)

I'm very neurotic in real life. I usually play interactions over and over in my head to analyze them, and my conclusions are rarely positive. I'm shy about meeting new people, too. Somehow, though, I can turn that off when I'm working. I don't do anything special to psych myself up. I'm just able to stop second-guessing myself about interviews. It may be because I put such a high value on reporting. I realize how useless these neurotic tendencies are when I'm on duty.

As far as asking tough questions or handling hostile subjects, there have been bad reactions, but they've never been a problem. I ask what I want to know and if a person reacts poorly, that's going to come through later. If I'm interviewing someone, there's probably a reason, and I'll stand by that. I'm not trying to make any friends. I'm not trying to make enemies, either. I'm doing my job.

LOU:  Louisville is really lucky to have you, so I refuse to even entertain the notion that a career-minded Gabe Bullard may NOT make Louisville his "forever home."  So let's do a little role playing, shall we?   Let's pretend for a moment that some fictional, honey-tongued local NPR reporter is offered some big-timey NPR job in a larger market and perhaps the opportunity to have his face featured on an NPR tote bag.  Gabe Bullard: convince this misguided young reporter to stay in Louisville. 

I can't convince anyone, but maybe I can help this fictional person decide. "Think," I would say, "why did you come to Louisville, and what have you accomplished? What will this other job and city offer you? If you feel like you can responsibly move on, having left a mark, and if you feel like you'll be happier, then go on...Also, can I move into your apartment if you leave?"

Check out Gabe online at The Edit and at GabeBullard.com.  

Awesome Louisvillager: Alisha Wheatley

I certainly wasn't one of the cool kids when I was in high school, and I don't know if Alisha Wheatley was either, but she sure is now.  By day she's running the interwebs site for Spalding U, but in her spare time, she's co-founder of Derby City IT, a former roller girl, a Lebowski Fest enthusiast, a chick with some of the coolest tattoos I've seen... and so much more.  One of the cool kids, indeed... let's face it, if you're stepmom to a high school senior, you've probably graduated to twin-sets and bathing suits with skirts-- unless you're Lorelei Fraking Gilmore... or Alisha Wheatley.  

I have a total crush on anyone who can make entrepreneurship work, so this week I give you our next Awesome Louisvillager:  Alisha Wheatley.

LOU: Tell us about Derby City IT.  What services do you provide?  What is Derby City IT's mission?

First off, thanks for including me in this series! I really admire all of these folks and am proud to among them.

Derby City IT is a two person operation that specializes in IT support and web development for local small and non-profit businesses. We basically came about when my friend Charles and I decided to merge our freelance businesses into a one stop shop for folks who have big dreams and small budgets. We each have more than a decade of experience working in the non-profit sector, which affords us a thorough understanding of the unique challenges non-profits face and the audiences they serve. We are extremely bare bones, keeping the overhead as low as possible so we can provide the most bang for your already overstretched buck. Our mission is to do good work for good people using good stewardship of resources as our guide.

LOU: You wrote your master's thesis about Lebowski Fest.  What was the thesis of your thesis and how did you decide upon Lebowski Fest as your subject?

I'd like to clarify just quickly that I took the research option for my Masters degree, so the fest paper wasn't actually a thesis, but it was the capstone project for my final class. Now that the technicalities are out of the way... :) My master's is in Media Studies from The New School. My final class was called Electronic Media and Live Performance. In that class we tried to find that line, that sometimes agonizingly thin line, between live performance and electronic media. In a realm where electronic multimedia has become so entangled with live performance, how much "liveness" is necessary for an event to count as "live." Does the presence of electronic media diminish or elevate the liveness? With this floating around in my noggin, I decided to study Lebowski Fest as a recursive live event, a temporary community of live performance inspired by a mediated object. I was fascinated by the fact that this live event, inspired by a media object, featured the live appearance of the actual man who served as inspiration for a character in said media object. The thought of it all made my media-nerd brain sizzle and pop with glee, so it seemed the obvious choice for my project.

LOU: If you could change Lebowski Fest in some way-- here in Louisville-- what changes would you make and why?

The folks at Lebowskifest HQ made a wonderful change this year. They set it up so that the event, in its entirety, could be enjoyed at one location. That made a huge difference in the flow of events and made for a really exhaustingly fun weekend. My only request would be that it not be so hot, but I'm just a wuss when it comes to heat.

LOU: You have a pretty great "day job"-- why did founding and working for Derby City IT appeal to you?

I do have a great day job, but when Derby City IT first formed, my co-founder did not. Joining forces has allowed him to craft his dream job. Combining our strengths was also a boon to our existing freelance clients who needed more than either one of us alone could offer. I like being able to better serve them, and help them reach their goals. I also have to admit that the thought of being president of my own company was more than just a little attractive. :)

LOU:  Finally, what is the best thing about living in Louisville?  

Mint Juleps. KIDDING Hands down, the best thing about this town is the people. I am constantly amazed by the depth of compassion, creativity, talent, ingenuity and support in this community. I'm getting a little choked up over here just thinking about it.

Contact Alisha and learn more about her and the business through the Derby City IT website. 

Awesome Louisvillager: Fairdale Bigfoot

Image from Consuming Louisville

I am thrilled beyond belief to have been able to land a celebrity of this magnitude for just my third edition of Awesome Louisvillagers.  Unless you've been living under a rock for a year (and the Fairdale Bigfoot has, literally, been living under a rock in Jefferson Memorial Forest), I'm sure you've heard of the Fairdale Bigfoot.  This erudite and hirsute soon-to-be-internet-phenom first appeared in Kenny Mahoney's backyard motion-detecting hunting cam in September 2009 and has been regaling us with his charming tweets and thought-provoking advice ever since (I don't know about you, but FDBF's advice always provokes thoughts  for me!).  We here at Loueyville (um, that would be me) were so sorry that FDBF has opted to retire his column at the end of his first year.  But it sounds like he's got some interesting projects in the works, and I'm sure October won't be the last we hear from him.  

LOU:  Fairdale Bigfoot, you first came to public attention in September of 2009.  Shortly thereafter, you joined Twitter as @FairdaleBigfoot, and shortly after that you became a regular advice columnist on Consuming Louisville.  Tell us about your early years.  What were you doing before you came to prominence on the internet?  And what made you decide to go public?

Fairdale Bigfoot is one of the New Hampshire Bigfoots, and his early life was fairly routine for a simian monster of that stature: private tutors, prep school, Ivy League, rowing team, speed addiction, commune, travel, house in the suburbs, cult, retail, uncredited cameo in The Big Chill, you know the story. Fairdale Bigfoot moved to Fairdale in the late 80s. Fairdale Bigfoot spent most of his time playing with model trains and starring in the occasional blurry video.

Fairdale Bigfoot first became interested in writing after sending several multi-page letters to editors of various newspapers and producers of movies. The highlight of this early period is a 4,000 word essay to the producers of Congo, written on a piece of an IKEA box. That one generated some early buzz in the law enforcement community and really made Fairdale Bigfoot think about his prose.

Going public last year was a matter of necessity. Fairdale Bigfoot was caught on tape in a Fairdale resident's garden. You see, Fairdale Bigfoot thought he saw a Twix next to the tomato plants. It turns out it was a 5th Avenue bar, but by the time Fairdale Bigfoot realized the mistake, a hidden camera had snapped a picture. Fairdale Bigfoot decided to use the incident as a little free publicity to start the column. The choice of Consuming Louisville was obvious, as Fairdale Bigfoot and CL's editor Michelle were in the same book club, until Fairdale Bigfoot got kicked out. (Because apparently in that book club, it's okay to insult Flaubert, but not okay to throw a tray of cucumber sandwiches through a window.)

LOU:  I subscribe to Fox Mulder's motto:  "I want to believe."  (Or maybe I've just always been a big fan of the Monkees' song "I'm a Believer") Ever since I was a wee Lou, I have refused to discount the possibility that cryptozoological creatures exist.  Thank you for giving us believers something to hang our hats on.  Now that we know Bigfoots/Bigfeet walk among us, can you tell us what other cryptozoological creatures are "real" and which are fabrications of active imaginations?  Are there other creatures we call "cryptozoological" that you're in touch with?  Do any live in Kentucky?

That is not his motto. That is just a phrase on a poster in his office. If phrases from posters were our own personal mottos, then Fairdale Bigfoot has a few creedos. "Is it Friday yet?" "You want it when?!" and "Styx."

There are multiple cryptozoological oddities in the world, and many of them live right here in Kentucky. We regularly meet for Civil War reenactments, barn dances, rollerblading and trips to Benihana. We can really knock back the teppanyaki. As far as the others' identities, they prefer to remain secret. That may not last for long, though, as a certain swamp monster of Shively has high hopes for his screenplay.

LOU: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself from a biological perspective?  Where do you fall on the evolutionary family tree?  How are Bigfoots/Bigfeet ensuring their posterity?  What does the genealogical future hold for you?

Fairdale Bigfoot cut down the evolutionary tree and carved the trunk into a model train. Prospects for more bigfoots seem unlikely, as most female sasquatches are "not really looking for a commitment" right now. In fact, most female humans tell Fairdale Bigfoot the same thing. They say they wouldn't get together if Fairdale Bigfoot were the last bigfoot on earth...which he almost is.

LOU:  When Obama became the first "post-racial" president, I had high hopes that Louisville would have the first "post-species" mayor.  In late 2009, you announced your candidacy for Louisville mayor.  Even had t-shirts printed out.  But after a few months, you pulled out of the mayoral race, and I was disappointed, as were many of my readers.  Can you tell us why?

After all those years on the Mondale campaign trail, Fairdale Bigfoot was confident he step out from behind the scenes, but the podium was too daunting. It brought back bad memories of throwing coffee at interns and slashing Mario Cuomo's tires. Fairdale Bigfoot didn't want to bring that side of himself back from retirement.

LOU: You're set to retire from the advice column business in October, and while we all value your privacy, I was wondering what kinds of things you'll be up to in the future?  You will be missed, no doubt.  We hope you don't fade back into obscurity.  

Let's just say the Shively Swamp Monster isn't the only one who has high hopes for that screenplay. Look out, L.A. Executive Producers, Fairdale Bigfoot is coming for you.

Contact Fairdale Bigfoot for advice while you still can at fairdalebigfoot@gmail.com and visit his weekly advice column at Consuming Louisville (the link will lead to back issues of his column in case you've got some catching up to do).  

Awesome Louisvillager: Michelle Jones

There were several people I had in mind when I started "Awesome Louisvillagers."  But numero uno (I'm in Mexico, remember) was Michelle Jones of Consuming Louisville fame.  There are few bloggers (at least locally) who are so universally beloved.  And while I try very hard to maintain my relative anonymity (and Michelle and I started our blogs within months of each other), let's face it, Michelle plays her cards much closer to her chest.  I am so lucky to also count Ms. Jones among my friends, and even more lucky that she was willing to answer some pretty personal questions for this installment of "Awesome Louisvillagers."

LOU:  Michelle, I have been a Michelle Jones fangirl ever since I first stumbled across Consuming Louisville.  I don't know if you remember this, but our first personal communication consisted of me writing you an actual "fan" letter.  In my opinion, you're the whole "Awesome Louisvillager" package: nifty, innovative, AND kind.  What inspired you to start Consuming Louisville, and why do you think it is (I have no numbers to back this up, but it seems a reasonable estimation) the most popular culture blog in the city? 

First, the fangirl thing is completely mutual. You are awesome and I love you. The precursor to Consuming Louisville was a site called Consuming Indy. When B was close to finishing her residency in Indianapolis she started getting inquiries from hospitals and practices up there. I was afraid that she was going to get a job offer too good to turn down and we were going to be living in Indianapolis forever. It would be fair to say that Indianapolis and I didn't get along. The vibe and culture of the city just wasn't right for me but I figured if we were going to be living there for a long period of time I would have to figure out a way to be happier there. So I started more actively seeking out the independent shops, galleries, restaurants and other cultural things that are really important to me. I decided if I was looking so hard for those things that at least a few other people had to be looking for them as well so I should share that information on the interwebs. Thus Consuming Indy was born.

The day B accepted a job offer in Louisville I bought the domain name for Consuming Louisville. I couldn't wait to get back home to write about all the amazing things going on here. With Consuming Indy I was searching really hard to find things, with Consuming Louisville I knew I'd be overrun with great things to write about it and instead my role would be a bit more like a curator.

What popularity Consuming Louisville has is due to three things I think. The first is consistency. Week in week out month after month I publish Consuming Louisville. Except when I'm on vacation (and even sometimes then), when I'm observing religious holidays or federal holidays I'm adding new content to Consuming Louisville very nearly every week day. People know they can expect new content. The second is passion. People know I love this city and I write about things I think are good and worthy of more attention. I'm upfront with my biases (both pro and con) so I think readers have a good idea of what I'm about and over time readers have figured out whether they generally agree with my assessments or not because there is enough. The third is diversity in content. Although the name leads some folks to think Consuming Louisville is only about food I publish about everything from Hummingbird Festivals to sci fi conventions and from Louisville based Etsy sellers to art shows at tattoo shops. So I think there tends to be a little something for almost everyone on Consuming Louisville.


LOU: I know you're a Louisville transplant, and I also know that you just bought and fixed up a home.  How did you end up in our lovely city, and do you think Louisville is going to be your "forever home"?


I moved to Louisville when B came to medical school. She's a few years older than I am and we met when I was an undergrad. I transferred to UofL, she went to med school and the rest is history. Well almost. After med school we lived in Memphis and Indianapolis before we came back home. When B finished her residency we were pretty free to move anywhere we wanted and we made the decision to come back to Louisville, it's where we want to be. It's the place we've always been most comfortable and happiest. It's big enough to have all the amenities we want and small enough that we feel we can really be part of and contribute to the community in positive ways. So yes, I definitely plan on Louisville being my forever home. Plus after we bought the house I swore I was never moving again.

LOU:  You're a "Louisville Connector."  I'm not really sure what that means or what the "job" entails.  Tell us about the Louisville Connector program and what it means to you and what the program means to the city.


I'm incredibly proud and honored to have been chosen a Louisville Connector.  I have a very non-traditional work life and a very non-traditional definition of career success. It feels like a victory for independent creative types and geeks everywhere that someone like me ended up on a list with such company as the mayor and Gil Holland. That being said I'm not sure what the job entails other than to keep on keeping on. Meaning it's inspired me to try to be even more proactive in not only doing good in our community but to also help others do good as well. For a long time now I've been looking for a mentor, someone who understands my life goals and can help guide me. I'm still looking for that mentor but the Connector program has helped me understand that I can, at least in a small way, be a mentor to other folks even though I totally still don't feel like a grownup. 

What I hope the Connectors program eventually means to the city is that a strong network develops among the Connectors and we help each other multiply the good we are each doing exponentially. I want us all to get in a room where individual Connectors say "This is the cool project I'm trying to get off the ground or that I want to support, who can help out?" Then hopefully that person is stampeded by other Connectors who can do just that. That hasn't happened yet, but I'm hopeful it will, if not with my class of Connectors then at least with future classes. 

LOU:  You're also a "do-gooder" in so many senses of the word.  Tell me about some of the "do-good" projects you're most proud of and about some of the "do-good" projects in the works.

The do-gooder project that I'm all kinds of in love with right now is a volunteer program through JFCS called "Shabbos Friends." Once a month volunteers, myself included, visit nursing homes or retirement communities to welcome Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) with the Jewish residents. It's a tiny little thing to spend a couple hours a month doing but it is so rewarding. I know the folks I visit enjoy it but truthfully I am so enriched by the experience I almost feel like I should be paying someone to get to do it. 

A couple of my favorite do-gooder projects were ones we did for the library. Consuming Louisville readers were so generous both during the "Libraries are Free but Books Aren't" book drive and the bake sale we had last year. I've actually been thinking it's time to do another bake sale just because it was so much fun. I'm not sure if it will be another library fundraiser or if it will support another organization but I'm thinking early October will be a good time for it so I can make all sorts of pumpkin based treats (mmm pumpkin)! 

I'm still trying to get a do-gooder project off the ground for "Let Them Tweet Cake." I've stalled out in raising money for it but essentially we're trying to help senior citizens stay connected to friends and family though social media tools. We want to pair up smart, tech savvy women with seniors to be, basically, their personal internet coach. From Facebook to YouTube to good old email there are so many free tools to keep folks connected we want as many people to have access to them as possible. We just need a little bit of hardware since nursing homes, retirement communities, etc don't tend to have open access computers for residents. 

LOU:  Here's a personal question, but to me, it's one of the things that makes you so "awesome."   I know you're about to celebrate your 15 year anniversary with B.  I'm a little older than you are, but too often when I spend time with my coupled friends, I come away thinking, "I'm glad he/she found someone, but I wouldn't want their kind of partnership for myself."  That's just not the case when I spend time with you and B.  As far as I'm concerned, you two share a relationship that we should all aspire to.  What is the secret to your success?

What a wonderful question. Yes, B and I have been together for very nearly 15 years. It's funny that you ask this questions because we actually talked about this today at lunch. There are many pieces that fit together to make our relationship work but I'll tell you what I think the three most important ones are. 

1. We genuinely enjoy each other's company. From the very beginning we've always had a really good time together. We laugh a lot, we have a ton of inside jokes and we have no reservations about being completely and totally silly together. To say it another way, not only do we love each other but we also really like each other. 

2. She is the best person I've ever known. She has always raised the bar for me to be better. To learn more, to be kinder, to recycle more, to stop throwing my clothes in a pile in the bedroom floor, whatever. It's not by guilt or nudging, it's by example. Her commitment to her patients and how genuinely she cares is an incredible inspiration. I think it's terribly important to be with someone who makes you want to be better, who makes you want to try harder. 

3. We are committed, there is no "out." We aren't the same people we were 15 years ago when we first met. We've changed in who we are, what we do and things that are important to us but through all of those changes we knew that being together was the one thing that would never change. Yes of course love is a feeling but it's also a choice. We choose to be together everyday, we choose to love each other. Even through fights or rough patches we know that we've chosen to be with each other so whatever it takes to fix things or make a situation better is what we're going to do. 

For example she works crazy long hours that frustrate me. I know though that her work makes her happy and I know I'm never going to leave. So I have to look at the situation and say "ok, that's not changing and our status as a couple isn't changing, so what can I change to make myself happier?" and then I go from there. And from her side of things I went from being a-religious to religiously observant after we'd been together for a decade. That was a huge change in our life but we both knew that even with such a change we would be together, leaving just isn't an option. So we worked through it to find a way for my religious observance to enrich our life together instead of being a burden for her. 

If you were to ask B what the secret to our success is though her answer would be much simpler. She'd say "Crusty edge, soft middle." Meaning she likes the crusty exterior of bagels and bread while I prefer the soft middle pieces. So I give her my crusty edges and she gives me her soft center. In other words our likes compliment each other.

You can read Michelle's blog at: Consuming Louisville
And her tweets at: twitter.com/michellej
And Michelle encourages everyone to volunteer with JFCS!

Three Great Things I Did Last Week

Thing One:  It's quickly becoming gospel in Casa Lou that midweek shows at Zanzabar are worth seeing.  The setting is intimate, the music is fantastic, and the folks behind the bar are delightful.  I'm only sorry that pretty soon, I won't be able to hack midweek shows when my Meatspace job returns.  This week, we caught the dreamy duo, Kaiser Cartel from Brooklyn.  Not only was the show wonderful, but the duo were really sweet people.  It's always nice to see musicians in a venue where you can chat them up after the show.  Zanzabar has some interesting-looking shows lined up for August.  I hope I have time to hit at least one more before I cease to be a lady of leisure.

Thing Two:  If you'd told me that I would genuinely enjoy the "Jersey Boys" show at the Kentucky Center  as much as I did, I would have told you that you didn't get my taste.  I'd heard too many times that your average "jukebox musical" was just a flimsy plot holding together crowd-pleasing songs.  Let me tell you, "Jersey Boys" pleased their crowd and then some.  I'd never seen a mid-act standing ovation before.  But the best thing about "Jersey Boys" wasn't the vocal gymnastics of the uber-talented cast, but the sad and sweet plot of the Four Seasons' rise to fame and eventual unravelling.  And who knew that the actor, Joe Pesci, as a boy, played an integral role in the formation of the Four Seasons!? (As they say in the script, "Yeah, that Joe Pesci.")  If you like the Four Seasons' music, you really have to go see this musical.  And if you don't like the Four Seasons, think about going anyway.  I was really blown away.  Another great job by Broadway Across America.

Thing Three:  You're probably tired of hearing me tell you to go to a Bats game... but we went twice this week, including last night when they beat the #1 Columbus Clippers in 11 innings.  Our boys are on a ten-game winning streak, and are trying very hard to make it to the Wild Card game.  Saturday, last year's boy of summer, Homer Bailey, was back on the mound for the Bats after playing most of the season with the Reds.  He's recovering from an inflamed shoulder.  We also happened to be at the July 27th game where the Bats took Charlotte to town, winning 19-6, with at least one RBI hit by every starter.

For the next nine glorious (hopefully) days, I'll be blogging from Mexico.  Or not blogging, depending on how glorious it is.  Mama hasn't had a "real" sit-by-a-pool-and-decompress vacation in years.  Sure, last summer was the summer of Newfoundland and Labrador, but we didn't stay in the same place two days in a row.  It was a great trip, but it was a lot of work.  And earlier this summer I hit up New England, but that too was a lot of traveling around and-- more taxing (but delightful)-- visiting people.

I have a couple of really fabulous "Awesome Louisvillagers" interviews to post while I'm away.  (Seriously, these are fantastic!)  Feel free to send me nominations for Awesome Louisvillagers, by the way... my list grows longer every day!

Take care of Louisville while I'm away!

Awesome Louisvillager: Courtney Paris

Welcome to the first installment of Loueyville's newest periodic feature: Awesome Louisvillagers.  It's no secret that my favorite thing about our fine, fine city is the people.  And one of my favorite things about Louisvillagers is that they always seem to be doing nifty, innovative, and/or kind things.  Wouldn't it be great to get to know these Awesome Louisvillagers a little better?  

Today's Awesome Louisvillager is a New Albany photographer who specializes in boudoir photography.  Meet Courtney Paris!  

LOU:  I know you're a traditional photographer who shoots weddings and engagement photos and senior pictures, but some of my favorite work of yours has been your boudoir pictures.  How did you decide to do boudoir photography, and what do you like most about boudoir sessions? 

Actually, I don't shoot weddings anymore (unless they're family or close friends). After I shot my first 5 or 6 weddings, I decided it was just too stressful. I've already been married and had to go through the wedding stress, I certainly didn't want to do it over and over again! My studio partner, Tracy Dupaquier, does the weddings and she loves and it shows in her work!

The boudoir and pinup photography are my favorite types to shoot, by far, and right now, it's about 70-80% of my business, and I couldn't be happier. I did my first boudoir session for a friend who wanted something different for her husband's birthday; she called to see if this would be something I was interested in doing for her. I said absolutely! That first session was in my home, in our master bedroom. She loved, he loved, and I was smitten. She referred a friend to me whose husband was deployed with the military. The rest, as they say, was history.

I was in love with these types of sessions. Not only are they fun (who doesn't like to play dress up?), but I could see what it was doing for women and how they saw themselves. My most popular package includes a photo album with 20 images. So many times I have a girl walk in at the beginning of her session and say something about how she's so nervous and she's sorry if we don't get many good pictures, and she doesn't think we'll get anywhere close to the 20 images for the book. It never fails, once their photos are up on their password-protected gallery, I'll get an email saying they just can't choose, there are so many that she likes. To me, that's flippin' awesome. As a female, I know what it's like to be totally self-conscious about our bodies and NEVER EVER feel like we look good enough, let alone sexy. So to know that I'm able to take this gift of photography that I've been blessed with, and use it to help a woman feel good about herself, and strengthen the relationship she's in, well, that's just awesome!!!

LOU:  Looking at the boudoir samples on your website, it seems that most of your clients are young fiancees wanting pictures for their soon-to-be husbands.  Do you have a marketing pitch for older women?  Single women with no immediate prospects?  Do you shoot boudoir photos of men? 

The clients on my website actually only represent about 10-20 % of my client base. I never post anyone's picture without their permission, and the ones that give permission, are all usually younger. They're typically more confident about their bodies and more comfortable with people seeing them.

I would say that I have about 30-40% of my clients are over the age of 35! A lot of them are doing them for their (or their husband's/boyfriend's) milestone birthdays (40, 50) or anniversaries (25, 30). And I do have a good number of women who do these sessions just for themselves! In fact, I have a couple clients who have a session once a year!

LOU: I follow you on Twitter, and I am in love with how sweetly you talk about your kids, your husband, and your extended family.  How does your family life inspire your photography? 

Thanks! My family has been HUGELY supportive of me and my photography, in so many ways. My kids are my inspiration for everything I do; I work to provide for them, and now I'm working for myself so I can rearrange my schedule and spend more time with them. They love coming down to the studio and 'helping mommy work.' My husband has encouraged me from day one, as cliche' as it sounds, we've always supported the other in doing what they truly enjoy and are passionate about. My parents and my husband's parents have always been there to help me with watching the kiddos if I have pictures, and my husband is out of town with his job or the military. Plus, they're (almost) always ready to lend a face for some new ideas!

LOU:  You recently opened a studio in New Albany.  Tell us about it and how it has changed your business. 

Yes I did. I opened a studio in Historic Downtown New Albany with Tracy Dupaquier. It's a great feeling being able to tell people that I'll just meet them at the studio. We have a separate office and shooting space. I think people see me as 'more legit' having a studio, and my husband is happy to have all my photo stuff out of the house! ha!

LOU:  Finally, tell us what you love most about living in the Louisville area.

I live over in downtown New Albany so the kids can be close to their grandparents but at the same time we love the proximity to the Louisville area, especially Old Louisville. We used to live in an apartment down there and were married at the Conrad-Caldwell House; the architecture there is amazing. The Waterfront gets a lot of use by my family too;  the Waterfront Wednesdays is always a blast and the kids love the park. I think that we've got some of if not the best public radio in the country!

Thanks, Courtney, for being the first Awesome Louisvillager!

Contact Courtney:

Courtney@CourtneyParisPhotography.com
www.CourtneyParisPhotography.com
www.LouisvilleBoudoir.com
812.987.6199
Twitter is Ceece and Lou_boudoir