Louisville: My Funny Town

"They are also unimpressed by the Golden Globes."
@usernamelesser

It's January, so over at Consuming Louisville, the lovely and talented Ms. Michelle Jones is featuring her annual column "One Thing I Love About Louisville." I participated a bunch of years ago back when I was still blogging anonymously and before I ever knew anyone here in town; it was actually how I ended up meeting Michelle, who has since become a dear friend and who helped to change my Louisville life.

I've always wanted to participate again, but I'm always flummoxed. How do I come up with ONE thing I love about this city that I love SO MUCH.

Inevitably, after the deadline to volunteer passes, I think of something. And of course, I've thought of that something this year.

One thing I love about Louisville: Louisville is full of funny people.

Google the "funniest actor in Louisville." The top search result leads to my boyfriend. (Who, in my humble opinion, also deserves the title "best laugh in Louisville" and maybe even "most unsung altruist in Louisville.") Sometimes, when I mention that to someone – "you know, my boyfriend's been called the 'funniest actor in Louisville'– people will respond: "Well, IS he?"

And the answer, I think, is yes. He also happens to be a very funny person when not in character. It's what drew me to him in the first place. And it's one of the many things that keeps me psyched about loving him on a day-to-day basis.

I gravitate toward funny people. I like to think that I'm a funny person myself. But the people I love most in the world– and in this city–  are the people who make me laugh hardest and longest.

And it's not just the "expected" people; I spend a lot of time with actors and performers and writers and "public figures," and it's not surprising that they're quick with a quip.

It's my friend who graffitis her Twitter pictures with images of cats.

It's the fact sometimes I will lose whole hours at work because my co-workers (all of whom are my "superiors" at work, so I feel justified in playing along) get on a roll with funny stories.

It's my favorite mom and our friends rewriting the rulebook for the Montessori school her daughter attends.

But no joke, the funniest thing I've seen all year is local twitter humorist "Brokey McPoverty" (best handle ever!) and her #RespectableHipHop meme.

I have to admit, I follow then unfollow Brokey all the time. She's a prolific tweeter, and sometimes when she's on a roll, it is pure gold. And sometimes I'm so busy that her prolificness is just too much for my feed, and I pull the plug.

But after this most recent "roll," I may never pull the plug again.

Genius.

From her blog:

Last night, much of Twitter united to reclaim and rewrite our favorite less-than-progressive rap and hip hop lyrics.  It was a beautiful thing.

It all started when I was listening to 2 Chainz, which I do when there’s no one around to judge me for it, and I thought about the line “She got a big booty, so I call her big booty.”  I thought to myself, really?  You can’t find a more inventive nickname than that?  This is what’s passing for a rap lyric these days?  Then I thought to myself–how fucking rude.  You strip her of her name–her entire identity–and refer to her by her ass??  Inappropriate, 2 Chainz.  Not cool at all.  So, I revised it for him.

Then figured, why not help out some other misguided hippety hop rappers, too.  Thankfully, Twitter joined in on the campaign and what we got was a few of the most hilarious hours of tweets I’ve seen in awhile.  Not putting all of them here was tough, but here are some of the best.

I laughed so hard I hurt myself. That's the best kind of ouch in the world.

We have a lot of "professionally funny" people here in Louisville. We're lucky to have the Comedy Caravan and The Bard's Town. I'm not too broken up about the loss of The Improv on 4th Street Live! because we have these two homegrown venues. We have the Louisville Improvisors and Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  Hunter S. Thompson was funny. Muhammad Ali was and is hilarious at times.

There's Kentucky for Kentucky and Lebowski Fest. And we're about to host Pee Wee Over Louisville.

Joseph Ley's, Why Louisville, even the recently-departed and WAY-controversial Lynn's Paradise Cafe: funny stuff.

We're a funny town. We're a smart town. And I love that so often I will meet a new person and think: "Wow, that's the funniest conversation I've had in...."

In what? A week? Maybe? At most?

I love that Louisvillagers makes me laugh. For all the right reasons. Y'all are funny, funny people. Thank you for entertaining me.

Menu & Hours Gets Big-Time National Attention

The question is... can I sit still long enough to write this post?

I am so dang happy that I am squirming and chair-dancing-- in public! Sorry patrons of Vint on Frankfort.

There's nothing better than when good things happen to good people.

The lovely and talented Michelle Jones of Consuming Louisville, who gives so much so unselfishly to the Louisville community, launched her Menu & Hours app just a wee bit ago and this app is BLOWING UP.

Fast Company, which is quickly becoming my second-favorite magazine after Garden & Gun, just released an article called: "This (Perfect?) App Offers Just the Menu and the Hours."

Mark Wilson writes:

Menu and Hours may be the smartest restaurant app ever created. It’s a directory of over 100 restaurants across Louisville, Kentucky (sorry, nowhere else yet). And rather than giving you tales about slow waiters during bachelorette parties, it offers the two things that matter most about any restaurant: Its menu, and its hours.

Not only are we so wicked happy for Michelle on a personal level but we're also tickled pink and purple that this app makes our foodie city look so damned good! And you know what's awesome? I know for certain that if Michelle suddenly goes all Zuckerberg, she'll still be the nicest woman in town.

Thanks, Michelle!  And good on ya!

All My Nerd Ladiez in the House!

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the meeting of one of Louisville's really exceptional women's groups. I met all kinds of fantastic women (and met-in-person some of my favorite Twitter people), listened to the advice a very wise life coach, and was pretty bowled over by the collective level of success in the room. Inspiring, for sure.

This big ol' life change thing I have going on is going to force me to do things that make me uncomfortable. One of those things is networking. Last night was awesome practice in a fairly "safe" space, but I have a long way to go before I'm cheerfully glad-handing and distributing business cards.

"Safe" spaces are funny. Last night I was telling the guy-I-am-currently-dating about that evening's women's group meeting, and I realized Let Them Tweet Cake is essentially the same sort of networking meeting. And yes, the very first Tweet Cake I attended was agony for me...

But nowadays, I don't think a thing about heading over to Sweet Surrender on a Wednesday to chit chat with a group of twenty or thirty women, many of whom are strangers. Tweet Cake has become total "safe" space for this Lou. Thems are my peoples, the Tweet Cakers.  Even the ones I don't know yet.

Are you my peoples? Are you a nerdy/geeky/tech- and media-savvy woman? Or a nerdy/geeky/tech- and media-savvy dude who is not afraid to join a women's group? C'mon down to Tweet Cake tonight at 630p at Sweet Surrender.

Good News Everyone, Michelle Did It!

Congratulations to one of my favorite Louisvillagers, my sister-in-blogging, and all around do-gooder Ms. Michelle Jones for busting her Kickstarter goal for the "Menu and Hours" project. She's already pushed past her initial goal of $6000 and the iPhone app has been funded. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she continues to earn pledges past the $8000 point so she will start development on the Android app as well.

This is why I love Louisville. Michelle has done SO much for this community. She truly is the quintessential Awesome Louisvillager.  And when the time came for this community to give back to her, to tell her how much we trust and appreciate her, we stepped up to the plate. I look at the list of people who have pledged to this project, and I am enthralled to see SO many familiar names.

We love you, Michelle! And we're so excited that this app will soon be available to us and will be one more thing that makes Louisville great!

Hungry With Questions: An App for That

Awesome Louisvillager, do-gooder, and Queen of the Louisville blogworld Michelle Jones of Consuming Louisville has kicked off a Kickstarter to raise funds for a very cool iPhone (and hopefully eventually Android) app.

Menu and Hours is just that: menus and hours. Well, it's pretty much just that. I'm guessing that "Menus, Hours, and Contact Info" was dismissed pretty quickly as a potential name.

Watch the video and let her explain why this app needs to happen. Michelle is offering generous incentives for people who pledge at the $10 level and above.

And sweet Pete, if Ms. Michelle's adorable narration of the Kickstarter video doesn't motivate you to pledge your support, you have a heart of stone.

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.

Happy #Geeksgiving! GO #teamtoothpaste

When I've been able to sneak a peek at the Twitters today, I am LOVING seeing the power of social media at work in Louisville.

On the very slim chance you read my blog and not Consuming Louisville... today is #Geeksgiving in Louisville.  And local computer and social media geeks have been invited by our mayor to participate in a day of on- and off-line service.

Michelle over at Consuming Louisville has been cheerleading a toothpaste drive for the Home of the Innocents. Help her out! Help them out! It's such an easy way to give. And if toothpaste isn't your thing (gosh, I hope it's everyone's thing), there are other items listed on the Home of the Innocents Amazon Wishlist.

Follow #Geeksgiving with the hashtag on Twitter and @michellej for more news on the toothpaste drive!  Go #teamtoothpaste!

(I'm honestly not sure there's a competition involved. I'm not able to check my Twitters all that often at the Meatspace Workplace. But if @michelle is #teamtoothpaste, then so am I.)

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!

An Embarrassment of Theater Options

"Embarrassment" is my favorite collective noun.

And for the next month and a half or so, we lucky Louisvillagers get to enjoy an embarrassment of incredible theater options. I'm so excited that I get downright squirmy if I think too much about it.

Of course the Grandaddy of said theater options is the Humana Festival, which kicks off this week. Every year, I promise myself that I am going to see as many Humana Festival plays as possible, and I've always maxed at out around three. Well, this year I've already secured tickets for four plays, and I have vouchers for two more. This is fabulous news. As always, the offerings for this year's Humana Festival look diverse and exciting, and as I have always said, it's almost impossible to not have a good night at Actors Theater. I'll do my very best to shoot you some reviews as I see the plays.

Seriously, kids. This is a national treasure in our backyard. The premier festival of New American plays ain't in New York or in LA; it's in Louisville. My "theater type" friends from college and high school are jealous that I live here because of the Humana Festival. You're missing out if you don't seize this opportunity.

Another city treasure is Walden Theater. One of my most popular posts on Loueyville.com (which was picked up by the amazing Michelle from Consuming Louisville for her "One Thing I Love About Louisville" series****) was my review-ish thing about their production of My So-Called So-Called Life. This weekend they open When in Disgrace, I Hap'ly Think on Thee . And I am so excited to see it. Listen to this description from their website:

"Inspired by a true story, When in Disgrace (Haply I Think on Thee) weaves a tale of shattered hope and personal destruction as three close friends are torn apart by jealousy, neglect, guilt, and ultimately, love. Combining rock music, iambic verse, and video games, When In Disgrace explores what leads youngsters to extreme acts of violence, and the eerie similarity between teenage melodrama and classical drama."

A student of mine told me today that Walden is the "second-best" young adult theater company in the country. According to him, the BEST is one that has students full-time and charges megabucks for tuition. I don't know how "they" decide the "best" young adult theater company in the country. But I'll take his word for it. He's a pretty reliable chap.

And if that's not enough for you, the always satisfying Pandora Productions has a show opening on March 11. As Bees for Honey Drown (besides having an awesome title) is by the same author as last year's production of Little Dog Laughed. As Bees in Honey Drowned is about "the unquenchable desire for fame," con artists, screenplay writers, and a life of glamor. I'm probably not doing it justice.

I know there's more, based on lurking on the twitterverse. Send me info if you've got a theater production going up in the next six weeks ago, and I'll add it to the list of our embarrassment of theater options. Just one more reason (or in this case, an embarrassment of reasons) to love this city.

*** Sidenote: Y'all know I'm a total fangirl for Michelle at Consuming Louisville. Well, the lovely Miss MJ was named as one of the Leadership Louisville Connectors this weekend. An honor super well-deserved. Squee!

Happy Holidays Area Bloggers Randomness

Hey kids, Mama's home.

So sorry for the radio silence, but Big Mama Lou and I hoofed it down to New Orleans for a few days of Abita, oysters, music, and festivities. Big Mama left on the 23rd, and I enjoyed a lovely couple of days flying solo, visiting with Louisville friends also in NOLA, and spending the holidays with one of my favorite families in the world. Good times.

But not much Louisville-related new here at Loueyville. Time to start thinking about New Years' plans and resolutions. You know, the 00's (oh-ohs) weren't very good to Mama. I will not be sad to see them go, but I'm thinking I will celebrate their passing in a pretty low-key way.

Anyway, enough about me.

• Congrats to the lovely Michelle on Consuming Louisville's new look-- sexy!-- and for getting banned at Humana for being a "web log." (My Loueyville is banned at my Meatspace workplace, which is why I almost never update during the day).
• Also all kinds of love to Michelle for putting together a master ("mistress") Blog roll for the metro area. Check it out at: Louisville Blogs. If you're an area blogger, add your blog! There sure are a lot of us blogging away in the Ville!
• I had to nuke my Google Reader list when I got home-- something like 900 articles to read. But I always take the time to read Consuming Louisville, Broken Sidewalk, and bits and pieces of Jake Payne's two blogs before chucking the rest of the list. Check out Branden Klayko's great article on the new Patrick O'Shea's restaurant set to open on Main Street by the arena in just a few weeks. Beautiful pictures, too.

And that's all I've got for yis for now. xo

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.

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.
  

Louisville Tweets

The new Facebook format has done much in the way of curing Lou of her Facebook addiction. Not the best layout for a woman who has weird manifestations of pseudo-OCD. Less is more, FB. Less is more. More is not more. More is not brushing the mountain of powdered sugar off the top of your Kentucky State Fair Fried Dough. It may not kill you, but you'll feel like crap for hours.

So my second favorite social networking tool is quickly moving up in my list o' loves. Twitter is oodles of fun. Where else can you hear about NPR's Scott Simon's pizza breakfast with his daughters and Adam Savage of Mythbusters' love of Battlestar Galactica* and still get local skinnies straight from the horses' mouths?

Today on Consuming Louisville, Michelle (our "Most Influential Loueyville Woman: Geek Edition") posted her "Louisville Guide to Twitter" listing Louisville businesses that are Tweeting. It's awesome. Check it out.

Michelle, along with Tweeties** @beccaheiser @mizhellion and @ashleycecil, convinced me that I really needed to "do the tweet" a few months ago at the Louisville Geek Dinner at the BBC on Shelbyville.

Can of worms, meet the Tweeties who opened you. Tweeties, meet my can of worms.

Don't forget, you can do the tweet with me at @loueyville .

* If you're wondering, I'm saving the final installment (blub) of BSG for tomorrow morning. Kind of like ye olde Saturday morning cartoons, only much fraking sadder. I can't wait. Was not a planned engagement though; turns out that after 5.5 months of seperation, my TiVo and I are like college sweethearts seperated by a semester abroad. We're so happy to see each other, but we're both still a little cynical and skeptical. What really happened while we were apart? Do we even remember how to be a couple anymore?

** The accepted term is tweeple. I know.