Cats & Musicals & Angels for No Kill Louisville

Editor's note: Because I have been working so hard at Insider Louisville, it's been a while since I let my freak flag fly on my own blog (not that I don't let my freak flag fly at IL-- bless their hearts for employing me anyway). So you get an extra helping of Lou here in this post. If you're only interested in the facts, skip down to the italicized bits. Lo siento mucho. I'll try to do better with moderation. -- Lou

Sometimes you just have to own your shortcomings.

Here's one that I'm willing to own: Sometimes (*cough* too often), I make up my mind about something based on what will later prove to be less-than-sufficient evidence. And I can be... well, a little recalcitrant about my opinions.

Exhibit A: musicals.

Ever since high school I have claimed to hate musicals. In retrospect, this may have been a case of sour grapes. I can't sing worth a damn. It's so bad, in fact, that Mama Lou would sometimes shush me when I was singing in the car (unless I was doing my spot-on imitation of Willie Nelson. Or Julio Iglesias. No joke, I can do both parts of "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," and you'd think that Willie and Julio were right there in the room with you... I never said I wasn't talented.).

I could dance, though. So I was always cast in the musicals in the silent dancing role. But I never got to sing unless I was deep, deep in the chorus.

(Oh goodness, sudden childhood trauma flashback: practicing for my first communion, I was asked by one of my classmates to just mouth the words of the hymn because I was throwing her off!)

But thanks to the good people at Broadway Across America here in Louisville, I've gotten over my "I hate musicals" prejudice. Sure, some of them still grate (I'm looking at you, WICKED), but I have been utterly delighted by the most surprising of musicals. LEGALLY BLONDE? So charming! JERSEY BOYS (now through Dec 2 at the Kentucky Center)? I'm not even keen on Frankie Valli's music and I loved it!

Opinion changed. You live, you learn.

Exhibit B: cats

This is a lighthearted post, so I'm not going to trace this back to very dark roots. Suffice to say that I have experienced two cat deaths that shook me so deeply that I convinced myself that I didn't like cats at all.

But I've been dating a cat person (actually an animal person, in general) for a little more than a year. And I've gotten to know his two beloved felines. And after months of practiced indifference I find myself deep in the thrall of kitty love. I talk to them all of the time-- even when The Guy isn't around. I am comforted when they cuddle with me at night. I am, I admit, a bit jealous when we both call for the cats and they inevitable choose to jump up on his side of the couch.

Do I love cats? I don't know. But I love these cats.

Opinion changed. You live, you learn.

Sorry to be Chatty Cathy there... sometimes I just get on a tangent.

Anyway, off to the point of the post:

No Kill Louisville is organizing it's 3rd annual Pet Angel Tree. 17 area businesses are hosting trees and serving as drop-off spots for donations for 17 area pet shelters. Each tree is decorated with tags representing wish-list items for the shelter. Take a tag, purchase something for the shelter, and drop off the gift where you picked up the tag.

It's so simple to do, and the needs, too, are very basic.

From the NLK news release:

Pet lovers can find a listing of the businesses taking part at nokill-louisville.com. Wish lists for each of the 17 area shelters and rescues in the program are also located on the site.  This year-end effort seeks to help thousands of abandoned and abused animals by providing needed supplies to area shelters and rescues. During our first year, No Kill Louisville’s Pet Angel Tree project collected more than $15,000 in food, equipment and other materials - all for local rescues and shelters.

This year’s list of rescues and shelters has expanded and includes (in alphabetical order): Alley Cat Advocates, Barktown Rescue, Furever Friends Rescue & Transport, GRRAND, Humane Society of Oldham County, J.B. Ogle Animal Shelter, Kentucky Humane Society,Kentuckiana Pug Rescue, Louisville Metro Animal Services, New Albany-Floyd County Animal Shelter, New Spirit 4 Aussie Rescue, No Kill Louisville (general and foster family needs), No Kill Louisville Pet Food Bank, Second Chances Wildlife Rescue, Shamrock Arrow Fund, Shamrock Foundation, Shelby County No Kill Mission, and Woodstock Animal Foundation.
 

Items needed for the upcoming year include but are not limited to cat or dog treats, paper towels, bleach, Ziploc bags, pens, peanut butter, dish soap, dog or cat food, gently used sheets and blankets, dog or cat collars, leashes, and much more.  For a full wish list, go to nokill-louisville.com/pet-angel-trees. 

Those who want to help can also choose to pick up a tag from a Pet Angel Tree at one of the following locations which also serve as the donation drop-off points (also listed in our website at the above address):

• Anchorage Animal Hospital
• Carmichael's Bookstore - Frankfort Avenuve location
• Dirty Tease
• Hair Lingo
• Heitzman Traditional Bakery and Deli
• Highland Coffee Company
• Jefferson Animal Hospital - two locations - Fern Creek & Okolona
• Kaleidoscope Hair Salon
• Moments Photography
• Office Supply in Jeffersonville
• Preston Animal Hospital
• Perkfections Cafe
• Shine
• Sonoma Cafe
• Tracy L. Carson - therapist's office

I Vant to Suck Your Blood! Early Halloween with Actors

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Actors Theatre Generation One Board. I am one of the Social Chairs (a little funny if you know me and know that I am not exactly a social butterfly), and I manage the GOBoard Twitter feed. You'll be hearing a lot from me about the GOBoard's activities. We're pushing hard to recruit new members this season. If you're young (we don't really have a cut-off age, but 45 or younger is the unofficial "young" -- woo hoo!) and you support Actors Theatre, we'd love to have you!

Remember when we all thought Tom Cruise was weird when he bleached his hair blonde to play The Vampire Lestat? Remember when that was the weirdest thing he did?

I loved Anne Rice's vampire books. And I'm not kidding all that much when I say that those books were one of the reasons I ended up in New Orleans for nine years. They were dark and sexy and arty and the literary companion of my musical diet of the Cure and the Smiths.

Those books made New Orleans seem so damned exotic, and the best part about New Orleans is that it lives up to every promise of grand beauty and sultriness that has been conjured by authors-- usually it exceeds these expectations.

As did the "real-life" vampires who roamed the streets at night in New Orleans. Some were just your standard Goths, but some were all-in living the lifestyle.

Don't think about that too much.

Anyway, to celebrate Actors Theatre's production of DRACULA, the Actors Theatre GO Board is throwing a Vampire Ball in the Victor Jory Theatre on September 29 at 9pm (or after the show).

Tickets are $30 or $20 with a ticket stub from any showing of DRACULA. Come dressed in costume, come dressed as a vampire. We have food and drinks from some awesome sponsors, and this promises to be a fantastic time. Get your Hallowe'en on a little early.

You can buy tickets at the box office or call 502-584-1205. If you're already a GO Board member, don't forget to ask for your discount. If

Personal: A Holiday Season Reminder

Even in the best of years, I'm just not a Christmas-y kind of person. When I was a kid, it seemed like holidays-- Christmas and Thanksgiving and Fourth of July-- had a Norman Rockwell sort of flavor to them. I had a big family. I was the oldest of a whole passel of kids. We lived in New England, which for some reason makes everything seem a little more Norman Rockwellish. But as an adult, I have admit that I could pretty much take or leave just about every holiday.

This year, I had a bunch of people over the night before Thanksgiving, and that felt more Thanksgiving-y than any actual Turkey Day meal I've had in a long time. New Years is overhyped and over-promised. And one of the many downsides of being childless is that Christmas just really doesn't feel like Christmas when there aren't little kids around.

But this year, my inner Grinch has been having a field day. Money woes and work angst have been amplifying each other into a feedback loop of crushing stress. In some ways, this Christmas was poised to be the least joyful holiday ever.

And I'm not saying I've figured out how to rescue it. I'm trying. Only time will tell. What I am saying is that I am going to work harder to have my long-lost inner Buddy Elf vanquish my long-standing inner Grinch.

Tonight I bopped on over to my personal Facebook page and saw that my Aunt KL posted this picture:

This is Christmas 1960. The tallest one is my dad. The other little dudes are his four younger brothers (Aunt KL is married to the littlest one). And when I saw this picture,  I was floored.

Dad died when I was three; he was twenty-seven. I was born on his 24th birthday. I think about him a lot. But I don't really ever think about him being a kid. A kid who had brothers. A kid who enjoyed Christmas. A kid who had awesome big ol' glasses that hipsters in 2011 would covet.

And my lord... if you've ever met me, you're probably freaked out by the resemblance too.

Anyway, I kind of needed that kick in the pants. Needed to be reminded to be grateful for the holiday season, regardless of the feedback loop of stress.  Needed to be reminded of how many more Christmases I've gotten to enjoy than my dad did.

So I'm going to try to do better, be merrier. I know so many people who are facing a far more challenging holiday than I am, so I need to do more than to just do better-- I need to be better.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make some headway banishing my Bah-Humbugs by seeing Actors Theater's A Christmas Carol with The Guy. How do you bring cheer to your winter holiday of choice when you're just not feeling cheerful?  Do you have any recommendations that are bound to put some jolly in my soul?

Power 2 Give: Support the Arts this Holiday Season

I admit, I have a knee-jerk bias against just about anything that subs numbers/letters for words (unless it's the title of a Prince song).  But, I'll squash that sentiment for the rest of this post because I do love this opportunity to support the arts.

Power 2 Give (see, I just had to go back and delete "to" and replace it with "2"... sorry, squashing) works kind of like Kickstarter or Donors Choose.  It lists projects that need funding in the local arts and sciences, and you can choose which ones you would like to contribute to.  Or more precisely, from their website:

A project of the Arts & Science Council (ASC), power2give.org empowers you to give directly to local arts, science and history projects you are passionate about. Nonprofit organizations post projects that are in need of funding. You help bring them to life with a gift.

What I like most about this website for this holiday season is that you can purchase gift cards in $25 denominations so that your friends, employees, family, Secret Santa recipient, etc can choose the project that they want to support.  

Many of the projects are also supported by matching gifts from local and national sources. Some organizations have opted to eschew matching gifts from corporations, which is also cool. 

I admit that I have a wee bit of a personal bias involved in this recommendation (No I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm a woman of mystery.), but if you're not sure which organization to support, you can't go wrong with Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble.  Get those actors some damned pants!

Baby It's Cold Outside: Outdoor Skating in Jeffersonville

Yesterday evening, I was bummed to see that WFPL reported that the proposed Waterfront Park Ice Rink had been put off for another year. According to the article on the WFPL website, Waterfront Park Facilities director, Gary Pepper, said, "Everybody thinks it’s a great idea. We’ve got a killer location for it. But with the economy the way it is, we’re working on a tight margin, a tight budget right now. We just don’t have the money.”

But just as soon as I tweeted my displeasure, Shea Van Hoy, editor of the News and Tribune across the river, responded with this news article: "Temporary Ice Rink Planned for Downtown Jeffersonville."

The outdoor rink, rented from an outdoor rink rental company (who knew?), will be open from the day after Thanksgiving until January 1 at the corner of Spring and Market in downtown Jeffersonville. Admission is $8 or $6 if you come in groups of 10 or more. There's no reason to worry that warm weather (we can still dream) will cause the rink to turn to slush; it's only 3 inches deep, and the company installs the same sort of chillers on outdoor rinks in Vegas.

It's great to read that they're loving on the local downtown businesses. According to the article:

The city plans several promotions related to the rink. For instance, Tuesdays will be eat local night wherein those bringing a receipt from a local restaurant can get a discount. Thursday nights will be shop local night — same drill but with a local business receipt... On Friday nights, a DJ will be hired for teen nights. Sundays will be Skate with Santa Day.

Now that we have recreational outdoor ice-skating taken care of for the season, kids, can we please start talking about my idea for outdoor hockey at Slugger Field again? I'm thinking it's time to try this charge again!

Ho Ho Holiday Stuff! Happy Snow Day!

Happy snow day, y'all!  Been sitting in a coffee shop for the better part of the day, and it's so adorable seeing moms and dads coming in with little ones off of school... playing cards and board games, having long post-snowman-building hot cocoas.

But, I still have more of the Scrooge than the Spirit in me right now.  This despite watching a marathon of Christmas specials in my pjs last night:  Muppets Christmas Carol, Shrek the Halls, the Family Guy Christmas (ugh), and something involving a baby reindeer who was abandoned by his asshole Santa-pulling reindeer dad, ends abandoning his own mother, and by the end decides that his "real" dad is a flying squirrel.  You can't make this shit up, kids.  

Anyway, I'm working on filling my ho ho ho gas tank.  Tonight I'm headed out to see Kalightoscope at the Galt House.  The Galt House et al have been hyping this holiday event since last Christmas, and I'm pretty jazzed to see what it ends up looking like. If somehow you've missed the major advertising push behind this, Kalightoscope is, according to the website:

... a landscape of larger-than-life, lighted holiday sculptures inspired by ancient Chinese art. Made of sheer, painted fabrics, each towering sculpture is enhanced by light, color and an imaginative setting. Some even reach 24 feet high!

Santa’s Midnight Flight over the World, Toyland and the breathtaking Nativity are just some of the twelve areas designed to awe and delight. Holiday music, aromas and little surprises make it an unforgettable experience for anybody. And it's all inside a temperature controlled, 16,000 square foot pavilion.

There's also a dinner show and special overnight Galt House packages available.  At the very least, the Galt House bar is always a spectacle during the holidays with the real candy gingerbread house that's bigger than my first NYC apartment and the beautiful Santa display.

This is my fifth holiday season in Louisville.  I find that so hard to believe.  But what's even more hard to believe is that there are so many local holiday traditions that I am just now getting around to.  This Halloween was my first Dracula at Actors Theater.  And while last year, I did see A Christmas Story, this was the first year that I went to see the more traditional A Christmas Carol.  Despite the fact that I spent the Christmas season of 2008 living a block away from Slugger Field, this was the first year that I went to the Festival of Trees.

A Christmas Carol is totally worth working into your schedule in the next couple of weeks.  After seeing the show, I immediately tweeted that, corny though it sounds, watching the play made me feel all warm and Christmasy.  (It didn't last: no fault of Actors Theatre).  There's a lovely trailer for the play at Actors' Theatre's YouTube page; watch it, and you'll want to go.  Unfortunately, I left my Playbill at home otherwise I'd cite particular performances, but the most stunning change (so I've heard...  as I said, first time for me) was the casting of an aerialist to play the Ghost of Christmas Past.  Beautiful.  Oh and hey, somehow Actors landed Stephen Colbert to play Cratchitt.  (I kid.  But seriously.  I did a double take.)

This week is going to be a crazy one.  Somehow I need (perhaps "want" is a better word) to work in seeing Barefoot in the Park at Actors and The Looking Glass Wars at Alley Theater.  Tonight is Kalightoscope.  Tomorrow is Let them Tweet Cake.  And I'd really like to get a Christmas tree in time to enjoy a little of its piney goodness before I leave.  Oh and shopping and shipping and packing and...

Ho ho ho!  Stay warm, Louisville!

Aglow Tonight (I sure will be!)

I spent yesterday at my Meatspace Workspace reminding people that tonight is Bardstown Road Aglow.  A little guiltily because I probably won't make it Aglowing this year.  Very few things would keep me from one of the best nights in the 'hood (see my review of my first Aglow), but some of my favorite people in town are having conflicting Holiday Ho-Downs, and it's going to be buggy enough trying to do justice to both of the shindigs without throwing a little shopping in there too.  

(Personal note to said friends and all of the pals who share my conflict: let's rent a bus next year!  Shuttle our noggy butts between parties!  Maybe add a third party to the mix! [NOT IT!])

Aglow is not only a fabulous time, but this year Four Roses Bourbon is a major sponsor, and there's all kind of bourbony goodness happening along the route.  AND Aglow is the perfect time to nail your entry for the LIBA Holiday Passport Contest.  Submit receipts from five LIBA member businesses and you're entered into a drawing for $1000 gift certificate and a host of other lovely runner-up prizes.  Enter as many times as you want.  Details here.  

Go forth and shop local, Louisvillagers!  

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!

NTDWL: Sniffles. Grumble. Valentine's Day. Bah!

This is the closest thing that Lou will get to a Valentine today:

From Miss Rosemary Mane.
lot 25 Immueble Dela Paix
Rue 28 Treichville.Abidjan
Cote D'Ivoire.
Email(rosemary_mane2008@cantv.net)

My Dearest one,

My name is Rosemary Mane.

I am 22 years old and an Orphan
After my praying and fasting for God to find me a trustworthy someone who will help me to receive the only money I Inherited from My late Father.

I send you this mail asking for your immediate assistance to help me to receive this money in your hand. The amount ($8.5M)

This money is consealed in a trunk box and deposited in the security company here in abidjan.My late father registered it as family valuables.

Now I want to secure it out and I discussed with Security Company and the company agreed to send the trunk box to any country I want them to send it.
The company said that they will send the trunk box to you through their diplomatic courier service to you.

The company said that it can only take them 3 or 4 days to send the box to your hand if you are ready to receive it.
Please I choose you as my partner to receive the box.

Please accept me and help me to receive the box as soon as possible.
I want you to send me the below details in this email(rosemary_mane2008@cantv.net)

(1)Your name
(2)Your address
(3)Your telephone number
(4)Your fax number
(5)a copy of your id card or pspt.

Please send me this information so that I will submit it to the security company and introduce you officially as my partner. You know that this is an issue of money please keep it very secret until you receive the trunk box in your hand.


Yours sincerely,

Rosemary Mane.

Sniffles. Grumble. Valentine's Day. Bah...

She called me her "Dearest One..."!! Somebunny loves me!! Where's my passport?

Seriously, Happy Dumb Hallmark Holiday to all my coupled readers. I send MY love to ALL of you EVERY day. xo

An Open Letter to Local Business Owners

My dear purveyors of good stuff,

Right now, I live in a hotel. And before you ask, the answer is: No, there's nothing glamorous about living in a hotel. I used to think living in a hotel would be sexy. Manny Ramirez lived in a hotel the whole time he played for the Sox. Kelsey Grammar's character in the tragically short-lived sitcom "Back to You" lived and loved in a hotel room. Heck, it worked for Zack & Cody for three seasons until they took their game onto a cruise ship. (Please don't ask how I know this. Let's just say that convalescing makes strange TV bedfellows. FYI: Dan Savage brilliantly eviscerated said show on This American Life last year, claiming Zach and Cody were turning his son into the worst kind of heterosexual.)

Alas, the Residence Inn is not the St. Gregory from that mid-80's Aaron Spelling show starring Brand Walsh's dad/Babs's husband (are they still married? is anyone still married?).

Last Friday, I came home from work to find that the housekeeper (and yes, having a housekeeper IS sexy-- that's the best thing about hotel life) had left a flyer for 32nd Annual Old Louisville Holiday Home Tour on my coffee table. And when I went downstairs to check about my mail, there was another full-color flyer for the Home Tour displayed on an acrylic stand. And I thought, "Oh how nice. I'm a little broke right now, but I can always hit it next year."

A few hours later, it dawned on me that I've been living in this *&^%^&* hotel for almost three months now-- Ooohh! No, today is my three month anniversary! I've now lived in a hotel for 1/4 of a year. Sigh.-- and that was the very first piece of local advertising I've seen pass through the doors of the joint. Sure, there's the obligatory "brochure shelf" tucked out of sight down an unused corridor, but the Home Tour folks put that full-color photocopied, attractive, festive ad in my face-- both in my room and right on the front desk-- all weekend long. And if I hadn't been a Villager, hadn't known that I'd have another chance to go at the 33rd Annual Home Tour, I would have jumped at it.

At least a couple times a week, I'll be hanging in the lobby or waiting in line at the front desk, and I'll hear some tourist or business person ask for dinner recommendations. If they're looking high end, the answer from the front desker is always the same: Jeff Ruby's. If they're just looking for something to fill their bellies, the front desker always directs them to... you guessed it: 4th Street Live.

Sometimes I stick my nose in. Sometimes I don't. I almost always stick my nose in when I hear folks mulling over dinner options in the elevator or in the hallways. (This takes a lot of effort as Mama is painfully shy around strangers.)

There are lessons to be learned here, Owner friends. First of all, there are 140 guest rooms in the Res-Inn. If the Home Tour people paid 15-cents per color copy, that meant that they spent in the neighborhood of $21 to blanket my hotel and get a brochure into the hot little hands of every single person staying at the hotel that weekend. A single, day-of-purchase ticket for the Home Tour was $30. If one Res-Inn resident hit the Tour, the Tour still made $9.

There are approximately 17,000 hotel rooms in the Louisville Metro area. That's a lot of color copies, sure. But if you're having a special event and you can share the cost with other businesses (Trolley Hops and Bardstown Aglow and Buy Local First and Louisville Originals folks, I'm looking at YOU), you've got quite the captive audience in hotel dwellers, whether they be tourists, businessfolks, or townies like me.

Secondly, if you're a local business within comfortable walking distance of a hotel, why don't you drop off some discount coupons for the front deskers to give out to arriving guests? It's only because I'm such a 'net nerd that I discovered the ill-fated Park Place's awesome Happy Hour deal. Heck, if Park Place had put a little ad in every Res-Inn welcome packet saying: "Hey, we're a high end eating establishment, but you can enjoy fine cocktails and appetizers at half price EVERY DAY and eat and drink like a classy person for the same price you'd pay at TGIFridays" they might have lasted a bit longer. Likewise, it's only through active interweb hunting that I've found out about the daily deals at the BBC Taproom and Artemesia. You don't even need to make it a discount coupon. Why is there no 1/4 page b&w photocopied flier on our brochure rack advertising BBC's daily specials? That's nutso!

And finally, I love me my front desk friends. They're a super sweet group of folks. I have no doubt whatsoever if you, Local Owners, scratch the front desk folks' backs a little, they'll scratch your backs A LOT. Just after Hurricane Ike, I was in a Highland coffee shop (Highland Coffee, to be exact) and a woman from one of the neighborhood Irish pubs came in and handed the baristas coupons for free beers on a particular night. I was behind her in line, so I didn't hear everything she said, but it was something along the lines of: we're thanking our neighbor businesses because we had power and were able to serve food during the dark days and our neighbors sent a lot of business our way. Aw. That's classy, folks.

There are approximately seven or eight people who work the front desk at the Res-Inn. Give them each a gift certificate for $25 at your eating establishment (you know they'll spend more than that). Give them a 25% off coupon for your store. If you're a tourist attraction, let them in free. And don't just do this once-- do it aggressively-- there's all kinds of turn over in the service industry, and you want to keep YOUR business at the front of their minds.

I'm still sick about the fact that I've seen six restaurants within walking distance of the Res-Inn go belly-up in the past three months: Primo, Market on Market, Melillo's, Jenicca's, Park Place, and Browning’s (she intones the litany of the dead). I’m trying to do my own broke-girl part by signing (and abiding by) the LEO’s Shop Local pledge. As soon as I’m finished with my work (if you can call this “work”), I’m heading over to Wild and Wooly to submit my 10 Buy Local receipts to enter their Holiday Passport contest.

But Local Owners, you gotta put yourselves out there a little more. Us Loueyvillagers don’t want to see you croak. We don’t like driving by the Spaghetti Warehouse (or whatever it’s called) and seeing it full to bursting, while 301 Bistro across the street has empty tables. It’s not that we don’t like the Warehouse—it’s yummy and cheap. We’re not unhappy that 4th Street now has a Panera Bread, as long as Panera doesn’t put Toast in jeopardy. Lou will probably end up spending her New Year’s Eve at one of 4th Street Live fine establishments. So, I’m not anti-chain. I’m just pro Local, for all the reasons one should be.

Rant over.

Lots of love,
Lou

Good Riddance 2008: Blues is Alright for 2008

Stevie Ray's Blues Bar is the closest drinking establishment to our hotel. They're hosting a NYE party, but right now their website is a little sparce for information. Here's what it says: Table is for (4) people and are $150, this includes guranteed seat, 2 bottles of champagne, party favors and a night with The Predators. We only have 32 tables to sell...this night always sells out, last year all tables were sold before the week of Christmas.

It's hard to find out much information on the Predators-- googling "Predators Louisville" was a bit unproductive. But I did find this video. They look like your standard white guy blues band. http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-predators-at-blues-n-barbecue/3283407846

Thirty-two tables makes it seem like it would be a nice, manageable night.

Pros: Cost; I've yet to have a BAD time at Stevie Rays
Cons: the Blues seem appropriate til Midnight, but it would be nice to kick off the year with something more upbeat. :)

Good Riddance 2008: You Can't Not Be On A Boat

Rosencrantz: Do you think Death could possibly be a boat?

Guildenstern: No, no, no… Death is “not.” Death isn’t. Take my meaning? Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can’t not be on a boat.

Rosencrantz: I’ve frequently not been on boats.

Guildenstern: No, no. What you've been is not on boats.

I just went through this very same discussion with my students the other day when we were talking about "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" by Walt Whitman. You can't "not be" on a boat because even if you're totally still, even if you're asleep, even if you're dead, if you're on a boat, you're still moving. (technically, I said, you could be docked and not moving and I get that; it's the thought that counts) We'll have this same discussion when we talk about Huck Finn next semester-- not only are they on a raft and therefore always "be-ing," the raft is rudderless, so they're at the mercy of the stream.

Thought I'd interject some philosophy/lit into the discussion.

What better way to begin a new year than to be NOT "not be-ing" on a boat??

The Spirit of Louisville Riverboat is hosting a New Years' Gala from 10p-1am. Includes dinner and costs $55. Doesn't sound like there are any drinks involved. I have seen talk of live music in regards to this, but I haven't been able to find out who.

http://www.belleoflouisville.org/schedule/cruisedetails.php?cd=1459

Pros: Profoundly symbolic

Cons: Probably a lot of grannies-- I do love grannies, though

Good Riddance 2008: 21c

My gut told me to omit this one because though I would reaaalllly like to go, it's also reallllly expensive. But how could I omit this option when the first sentences of the press release for the 21C New Years party speak so directly to my experience???

I may have to bring a flask of my own hooch to defray the cost! Drinks at Proof run about $8-12 a pop. If you were to do this, it might make sense to stay there, $$-wise.

Pros: One of my favorite places in Louisville. Great food. Cool environment

Cons: Will start 2009 in the hole! Bound to be wicked crowded.

The official press release says:

December 31, 2008
Let's face it, 2008 was a bummer. Bail yourself out of that funk with your friends at Proof on Main and 21c Museum Hotel.

If you'll be watching the ball drop elsewhere, Proof invites you to dine
from our signature Proof favorites. Our ala carte menu will be offered from
5:30pm to 7:00pm.

Beginning at 8pm, Chef Paley will offer diners a special pre-fixe tasting
menu. Enjoy four courses and a sampling of Proof sweets before heading
downstairs to a rocking party at 21c. Local favorite Hay DJ will be providing
the tunes in the atrium-turned-dance-lounge. The co st is $121 per person and
includes a four course tasting menu, party favors, and a champagne toast at
midnight.

Stuck with prior dinner obligations? Join us in the 21c Lounge, created
solely for New Year's Eve, complete with DJ, dancefloor, balloon drop, and space
to kick back and sip bubbly. Eleven dollars and a new or gently used backpack
will get into the party, with the goods going to support Blessings with a
Backpack. (We'll let you in for $21 if you come empty-handed, but c'mon, pick up
a backpack! There are kiddos out there that need your help.) A cash bar will be
available and, of course, a champagne toast at midnight underneath the glow of
disco balls.

Easy Cinderella. There's no reason to rush home when the clock strikes
twelve. Your fairy godmother must have been looking out because 21c is offering
the deal of the century. For just $365 per couple, enjoy the pre-fixe dinner at
Proof, the party at 21c, and a luxurious room to call home for the night. Throw
in late check out plus a little continental breakfast to soak up last night's
fun, and 2009 is already looking up.

Good Riddance 2008: Vernon Club

I didn't even know this place existed-- I knew the bowling alley was there and have always wanted to go, but I didn't know there was a club attached. The reason I'm suggesting this is that the Tim Kreckel Orchestra is pretty cool and I lurve the website. It doesn't seem to have any food or drink attached to admission, but I thought I would include it because it kind of speaks to my aesthetic. Before you reject it, at least poke around the website.

Pros: Guaranteed good tunes
Cons: Unknown quantity

Good Riddance 2008: Sound Your Barbaric Howl Over the Roofs of Downtown

Ever since we "moved" downtown, Roommate has been saying that he wants to go to Howl at the Moon. In my mind, it's just a step up from karaoke, and I am no fan of karaoke. My rule of thumb about this kind of thing has always been: "would I want to date someone who I met at X?" And the answer for Howl at the Moon is "most likely no." (unless said person -- hopefully a Johnny Depp/Mike Rowe/Ira Glass/Craig Ferguson combo-- had been dragged there against his better judgement).

That being said, I can think of no better time to go to Howl at the Moon than New Years Eve: a night about spending time with good friends, not a night of trawling for hot dude action. It's pricey, but they do seem to pack a lot of stuff into the cover price.

When I lived in New Orleans, I used to be able to abide the "dueling pianos" at Pat O'Briens only when I was seriously in my cups, you know? But when I WAS in my cups, "dueling pianos" suddenly became a pretty good, fun idea... so who knows?

Pros: At $100/pp you're guaranteed seating, and that's a big deal on NYE. Open bar. Free buffet.

Cons: Uh, it's Howl at the Moon. Sorry, I'm still not sold on the "fun" quotient here. That being said, with a few of the open bar drinks under my belt, I'd probably have a great time.

Buy Local First

*&^%&$%^&%$

I'm at Day's Coffee right now, and just before I sat down and read this news item from the Keep Louisville Weird folks, I did what I always do with my receipt: I chucked it.

The Louisville Independent Business Association is sponsoring a contest: save 10 receipts from any of its members between 11/7/08 and 1/5/09, bring said receipts either to the Louisville Science Center or to Wild ' Woolly, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a $1000 gift certificate good at any of the LIBA business. The first 50 entrants will receive a free tote bag.

Member list and details available here!

Shop on, Louisvillagers!

Holiday Shopping-- Ho ho ho in the Hometown!

Yesterday, Lou dumped a fairly substantial chunk of change into the local economy in an effort to put her Christmas shopping to bed. (Note: "substantial chunk of change" in Lou-speak just barely tips into three digits, so no one's going to be giving her awards for local altruism.)

First stop: The Mellwood Center's Good Folk Fest. It wasn't til I walked in the door that I realized I'd gone to the GFF last year. I'm a big fan of folk art-- and an occasional folk-artist wannabe (my trip ended with a trip to Artist & Craftsman Supply to refresh my supply of brushes and paint)-- but the problem with folk-art-as-gifts is that folk art is so incredibly subjective. What's cool to me (for example, a seemingly finger-painted and incredibly timely painting of Evel Kneivel jumping a tank of sharks) may not be the taste of my Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn lovinng cousin. That being said, there's a great deal of satisfaction to be had in buying at the GFF. I bought a lovely painted wooden box for a whopping $20, and from the reaction of the artist, you would have thought I was dropping $2000. I just wanted to hug her.

Stop two: I always get turned around leaving the Mellwood, and this time I found myself driving up Brownsboro Road, right past Barbara Lee's Kitchen-- a restaurant that my students have been imploring me to visit for the past few months (somehow it came up that I love diners). And bless their cholesterol-clogged little hearts, but they sure did deliver for me. Barbara Lee's, located at 2410 Brownsboro Road, is open 24 hrs and features just about every diner-staple imaginable. And some unimaginable dishes too. I had a BLT & fried egg sandwich with hashbrowns, and I am a wee bit surprised that I am still alive to type this. But man, it was yummy and cheap-- my whole bill came to less than $7 (they take cash only). Barbara Lee's is a little dark and creepy, and certainly rough around the edges, but what can you expect from a place that has at least five sandwiches on the menu that cost under $4 including fries or hashbrowns? Dark and creepy, yes. Unwelcoming? No. After an elderly couple left five minutes after I got there, I was alone in the joint and the sweet woman behind the counter chatted UK Basketball with me (which I know nothing about and I briefly incurred her wrath when I brought up Tubby Smith. I managed to distract her by talking about the weather.)

Fortfied by my meal-- my friend behind the counter eagle-eyed me until I finished every bite, she looked like she might be the kind to chastise me for not joining the "clean plate club"-- I hopped in the ol' jalopy and decided to go wherever the road would take me. It's been a blue eon since I drove around town for the sake of just driving. And eventually the road lead to the east side of Downtown. That morning I'd read in the newspaper something about the store Scout-- I can't remember what, but I've always liked their logo (I can be such a whore for marketing)-- so I decided to try to hunt it down.

But on the first pass down Market Street, I missed it (or I thought I did-- I actually didn't go far enough), but ended up stopping at Red Tree, which, for some reason, I'd always thought was a restaurant. When it comes to Christmas shopping locally, I always end up spending my hard-earned cash at places with serious charm-- a little flair goes a long way toward putting me in the holiday spirit. Red Tree has charm in spades. Jam-packed with eclectic gifts and furniture, the two-story shop features reasonable-prices in a beautiful and festive atmosphere. I picked up three gifts for three of my hardest-to-shop for relatives for under $70. And the sweet people at Red Tree even wrapped them for me (unfortunately, I realized when I got home that I would probably have to un-wrap them for plane travel-- damned TSA folks).

I eventually did find Scout, which was also oozing with charm and quirk. Unfortunately, try as I might, I couldn't find a damned thing there that I could afford. I'll go back, for sure, but as with some of my favorite shops on Bardstown, I think Scout will remain a browse-only option in the future.

Speaking of Bardstown-- last night was Bardstown Road Aglow! the annual dusk-10pm holiday open house. And this year's Aglow was twice as packed as last year's. I actually had to skip a few shops because of the crowd. These open houses are always a blast, usually featuring free food and wine and sometimes discounts. (Although this year seemed to feature less wine and fewer discounts than last year-- Kudos to Spree who offered hot cocoa with peppermint schnaps; that really warmed the cockles). Why Louisville? and the Book & Music Exchange saw a little of my holiday green, but for the most part I just walked, enjoyed the sights, and browsed. (Note to self: don't wear those high-heeled boots next year, you're still recovering today!)

Black Friday: Kicking off the Season at the Edinburgh Outlets

I've always been a big fan of Adbusters, healthily critical of our conusmer culture. If I ever have kids, I'll probably be one of those "mean parents" who won't pony up the latest trendy toy every Christmas, who'll substitute books for gagets as gifts. Once I became a homeowner, my level of consumption dropped dramatically, and that's a good thing.
That being said, I'm hardly the "dirty hippy" that Roommate claims I am. It's still been too long since my last trip to Disney World. I think Martha Stewart has just about perfect taste. I have "consumption crushes" of my own: sigh... Roomba... some day, you will be mine... oh yes, you will be mine!!

Honestly, though, it wasn't until I spent my first Thanksgiving with Roommates family, back when we were dating, that I was ever introduced to this thing call Black Friday. And I thought it was utter lunacy. And mostly, I still do. And Roommate's family isn't even hardcore-- I think we got up at 5am or so that first year.

But now that I'm in the habit of scouring the Black Friday ads, I realize that "Buy Nothing Day" is all fine and good if you happen to be a rich anti-consumerist. But what if you happen to be on a limited budget? What if your kiddo really, really wants that 5-speed bike for sale at Toys R Us at 6am for $100 off the regular price? On principal, you're going to forgo the $100 saving? Forgo getting the bike entirely or spending $100 more on Saturdays? That's lunacy.

Anyway, so Roommate and I went to Indiana for Turkey Day and the family happened to mention that the Edinburgh Outlet Malls were opening at midnight with all kinds of early bird specials. We joked about it a bit, but 11pm rolled around and found us parked in the lot watching cars flood in.

The Coach outlet was the biggest draw. We were floored that the line at 11p already wrapped around the building. Later we'd heard that some folks waited more than 2 hrs just to get 10% off. I find that hard to believe. Aeropostal, Gap, Nike, and a couple other stores had amassed significant lines before the doors opened.

Roommate and I played it cool, ducked in the stores that were less crowded, got a crappy hot mocha from the chocolate store, and basically treated it like any other trip to an outlet mall. When we walked into our first store-- the Bass Outlet-- Roommate said, "Okay, my brain just reset. It's no longer midnight."

"Why?"

"I'm in a shoe store."

If I was in the practice of giving clothes as gifts, I could have made out like a bandit, but as it was I bought one thing for my mom (and did save close to $50, so yay me!), and a skirt and sweater for myself. Roommate batted zero in the tis-the-season department and came away with just a pair of shoes for himself. In the end, we spent two hours, but it was a goofy, fun way to kick of the Christmas vibe.

That being said, I don't think I'll ever be the kind of person who can wait in line for hours for a store to open. When I saw the line at Coach, I said, "Okay, if Bono were signing the pocketbooks, I might. But otherwise never." Perhaps if I lived in South Florida and could start camping outside of Best Buy at 10pm for their $15.99 DVD player doorbuster in the comfort of 70+ degree weather, my feelings would change... but last night it was in the 20's!!! Lunacy, I tell you!