Friday Fun Fact:Prince Charming Josh Dallas

I am sure that I am late to this game and that the Lamestreet Media (LOL, Sarah Palin jokes never get old) has been all over this story. But I had no idea that the male lead on one of my new favorite TV shows was a Louisvillager.

ABC's ONCE UPON A TIME is a little hit or miss. When it hits, it's pretty fabulous-- usually thanks to Jane Espenson's writing (Espenson's career is one of the most enviable in television... she's written for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, BUFFY, GAME OF THRONES, TORCHWOOD, and many more geek favorites).

My favorite thing about the show is that it revolves around the lives of three women, stars Lana Perilla Ginnifer Goodwin, my favorite wife from BIG LOVE, and Jennifer Morrison (Ginnifer/Jennifer... I wonder how that goes on set.). For once, the men on a television show are simply there to service the stories of the women. And these aren't SEX IN THE CITY style chick-plots. It's fantasy and fairy tale and crime and thriller.

One of those men servicing the women's stories is Josh Dallas, who was born in Louisville and raised in New Albany and attended New Albany High School.

I had no idea about any of this until Roommate told me he was in the Pegasus Parade (it also explains why Ginnifer Goodwin was in Louisville for Derby-- apparently, they're a couple).

Here's some interesting stuff from his bio:

At the age of 16, Dallas received the Sarah Exley Scholarship, awarded to one American student every three years in support of their study of acting at the prestigious Mountview Conservatoire for the Performing Arts in London, England. In London, at the age of 20, he landed his first professional job as an actor with the acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company, and he went on to perform with some of the most renowned theatrical companies in the world, including the Royal National Theatre, The English National Opera, The New Shakespeare Company and The Young Vic.

Though he never left the theatre far behind, Dallas began to land parts in television and independent features. Feeling nostalgic for his home after a decade abroad, he made the move back stateside and landed in Hollywood. Five days later he received a call offering him the leading role of Fandral in 2011's Blockbuster Thor, directed by the Oscar-nominated director/actor Kenneth Branagh.

Awesome.

He's not really my type, so William Mapother doesn't have to worry about losing his place in my heart as favorite celebrity Louisvillager. But he's pretty adorable, and that resume is pretty darned impressive.

Have a great weekend, kids!

Save the Date: Skate Tweet Up II: Electric Boogaloo

Even though I can barely skate, and I am going to hurt like HECK tomorrow, I had so much fun at tonight's Skate Tweet-Up that I can't wait to do it again.

Tonight's turnout was pretty small; I think some folks were scared away by the spitty rain this afternoon (although it was largely spit-free from 7p-830p while we were skating). But what a fantastic group of people!

The Jeffersonville rink is tiny and adorable. There's a hot dog/hot chocolate vendor outside. And street parking is convenient and easily found. And it's only $8 for the whole shebang-- skating AND skate rental!  I really wish the rink would stay open longer than just January 1.

So, I am planning another Skate Tweet-Up before the rink closes.

Who: YOU! This event is kid-friendly and non-skater-friendly.

What: Skating at the Jeffersonville rink.

When: December 28 from 7-9pm, apres-skate gathering at the BBC on Main Street

Where: Jeffersonville, Indiana-- corner of Market and Spring Streets.

Why: Because it's lovely and festive, and you'll work muscles that you didn't know you had-- ow!

Hope you can make it!

Baby It's Cold Outside II: Skating Tweet Up

Last month I posted about the outdoor ice rink that opened across the river in Jeffersontownville or whatever the town is called. (sorry Hoosiers, you know me and my aversion to bridges).  Last week on Twitter, I proposed a Tweet Up at the ice rink. Our first date looked like it was going to get rained out, so we moved it.

What: Loueyville Tweet Up at the Ice Rink

When: Monday, December 19, 7pm-ish

Where: Corner of Market & Spring in Jeffersonville, IN

Who: YOU!

Why: Because it's only $8, and so dang festive!

I don't know how to tell you how to find me. I don't really look much like an acorn. But I'll try to remember to tweet what I am wearing. Just ask every short, blonde, thirtysomething who falls on her ass, "Are you Lou?" :)

If it rains, we'll reschedule. Keep checking Twitter, if it looks like the weather is going bad (@Loueyville).  If it snows, it will be even MORE dang festive!  Let's all get our Norman Rockwells on, Louisvillagers!

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!

Need Some (Used) New Work Clothes?

... While supporting a great cause?  Go to Dress for Success' Summer Inventory Clearance Sale at the Horseshoe Casino.

I'm a big fan of Dress for Success. Not only do they provide career counseling and training for women living in poverty, but they also supply an interview suit and a week's worth of work outfits to women using their services. The lack of professional clothes should never be an obstacle to getting a new job.  Not exactly an apt analogy, but I still remember as a teenager getting a job at a diner and having to shell out $70 for a uniform before I even got my first paycheck or tips. I had to borrow money from my mom, and as my job started during off-season in a tourist town, it probably took me two weeks' of part-time work to pay her back.

The Dress for Success sale is Thursday June 9 from 5p-8p, June 10 from 2p-8p, and June 11 from 11a-3p.  The first 350 people to donate a gently used or new suit will get a $5 off coupon for Paula Deen's Buffet.  All procedes from the sale (they're reducing inventory to make room for new donations) go directly back to their programs.  No children allowed (I guess because it's in a casino?) and plus sizes are limited.

Over the River: Habana Blues

I'm not really a "foodie." My food interests tend toward the plebeian.  For example, over the holidays, I was one of the poor unfortunate souls stuck in the New England HellaBlizzard (though, thankfully, not one of the poor unfortunate souls STILL stuck in the HellaBlizzard), and when Mama Lou asked what I wanted her to chef up for some cabin fever comfort food, I said, "Remember that thing you used to make with the Velveeta and the canned tomato soup?"  (It's good. Mmmmm.... )

Anyway, so my food/restaurant posts can always be viewed with a bit of skepticism, I'm sure.

Two nights ago, Roommate and I availed ourselves of cheapo rates at the Horseshoe Casino and did an overnighter.  Casino trips, especially non-Vegas trips, are always a pretty even mix of depressing and fun.  But we found the cheap drinks at the Envy bar and a dolphin slot machine that liked to give us money (pretty dolphins, good dolphins, we like the dolphins), so a good time was had by all.  I'm not ashamed to admit that one of the draws to the casino was the Savannah-toned siren call of Paula Deen's buffet.  And we weren't disappointed.  Good southern comfort food.  Fresher and better done than most big ass buffets.  And (really) a totally cute little Paula gift shop.  Hey y'all!

But, it turned out that the culinary highlight of the trip was not the raw oysters on Paula's salad bar, but the great little Cuban restaurant in New Albany where we had lunch the next day.  Habana Blues is right in downtown New Albany on Market Street.  For lunch, all sandwiches come with either black bean soup or a side salad for just $7.50.  Roommate had the Cuban sandwich, and I had a wonderful grouper sandwich.  And... best of all, the dark, strong, fruity sangria is only $11 a pitcher all day Monday-Wednesday!  Super great deal considering a single glass was $6.  Half a pitcher of sangria-- three glasses or so-- and I was zonked for the afternoon.

What I liked best about Habana Blues was not the great, reasonably-priced food or the good, cheap sangria, but the fact that our waiter clearly LOVED where he worked.  He chatted up the place to us with a huge smile.  Outdoor patio.  Live music til 2am.  DJs on weekends.  And most exciting of all: a dinner paella that takes an hour to cook-- you can call in advance, and they'll start it for you!

Really, when your waiters are as happy as this guy was, you're doing something right.  I'll totally make the bridge trek to visit Habana Blues again-- especially for the paella and definitely during the summer when I can eat outside.

The Man Who Should Be Columbus, Indiana's Favorite Son

A blue million years ago (ie. 2005-06) an LA-based Pop Culture blogger took note of my Katrina New Orleans blog and asked me to join her small stable of writers.  It was a fun (unpaid) gig.  Right up my alley.  And I enjoyed the national exposure.  Then one day the blog (Subcrawl.net) just... disappeared.  So sad.  Too bad.


Anyway, yesterday I was reveling in the news that our president not only shot a segment with my favorite uber-geeks, the Mythbusters, but also invited them to the White House.  And I remembered an article I wrote for Subcrawl... and dug it up in ye olde computer archives.  Seeing that it's (A) a Louisville-area-based article and (B) Subcrawl is long dead, I figure it's A-OK to reprint it here.  

An Open Letter to the Town of Columbus, Indiana:

As a frequent visitor to your beautiful and unique small town, I have been charmed by the astounding architecture—from the library designed by IM Pei and the bank building designed by Saarinen to the cozy Victorian homes downtown.  

I have sipped upon hot mochas at Jitters, gotten drunk on New Years Eve at the Eagles Lodge while watching a grown man prance about in an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weenie-yellow-polka-dot-bikini, and breakfasted on biscuits and gravy at the Moose (the half portion is large enough for a lumberjack).  It’s a great town, full of great people.

Columbus has enjoyed many honors in recent years.  It was named one of the “Ten Most Playful Towns” by Nick Jr. Magazine.  The National Trust named it a 2005 Distinctive Destination.  And the city is ranked sixth in the US for architectural innovation by the American Institute of Architects.  

It is in this spirit that I write to protest the fact that Columbus has failed in bestowing  sufficient honor upon its most illustrious native son.  

Yes, I recognize that Columbus has many “favorite sons” (alas, few daughters) to choose from including Chuck Taylor (of the Chucks sneakers fame) and Clessie Cummins (who created the Cummins diesel engine).

Yet, as a visitor enters the town the “Welcome to Columbus” sign is flanked by two “Home of…” designations.  Home of Tony Stewart, race-car driver extraordinaire.  Home of Don and Ross Barbour Original Members of The World Famous Four Freshmen, who are, according to their website “The Best Vocal Group of All Time!”  (Note that there have been TWENTY-TWO incarnations of the Four Freshmen since 1947).

It is with heartfelt love for your town that I urge you to consider bestowing the great honor of a “Home of” sign to Jamie Hyneman, the oddly sexy walrus-mustachioed co-host of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters, and 1974 Columbus North High School Graduate.

Hailing from Indiana farm country, Jamie Hyneman is a not just a Mythbuster-- he's a multifaceted man: wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist, and chef. His career has been equally diverse: Jamie earned a degree in Russian languages and literature and ran a sailing/diving charter business in the Caribbean for several years before he moved over to the visual-effects industry.

I’m sure Tony and Don and Ross won’t mind sharing their roadside space with a genius of Hyneman’s stature.  I’m sure Hyneman would appreciate the nod (as long as you don’t put his high school picture on the sign). 

Kind regards, 

Lou

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

$6 to Visit Indiana: What's Worth It?

Today the Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridges Authority released a report suggesting a $3 toll-- each way-- on the Ohio River bridges.

I don't really get my politics on in this blog.  So, I don't want to talk about what you think about the proposed tolls (although I hope your answer is [a] bad idea [b] really bad idea or [c] worst idea ever).

What I want to talk about is-- what in Southern Indiana would be worth paying an extra six bucks for?

I've been very forthright since I moved here that I am practically allergic to crossing the bridges into Southern Indiana.  Sure, I have a mild bridge phobia, but it does deeper than that.  It's... it's just a "thing."

And it's NOT an "Indiana" thing-- don't get all "You're a Louisville snob" on me.  When I lived in New Orleans, I knew empirically that the nearest Home Depot/Target/etc was across the bridge on the West Bank, but I persisted in traveling an extra 10 minutes or so to the stores in Metairie (an equally hideous suburb) for the entire nine years I lived there.

Roommate & I cross the river every month or so to visit his family in Columbus, Indiana.  I once crossed the river to go to a rocking holiday party in New Albany.  I'll still make those kinds of trips, of course.

But what else is worth the extra $6 that a bridge crossing may end up costing you?  Comment below,  email me at lou [at] loueyville.com, or tweet me @loueyville, and if I get enough responses, I'll post a list.

I'll start you off:  I think I'd be okay with paying $6 for an occasional seasonal Huber's visit.  Likely in the fall.  For pumpkins and apples.

Save the Date: Bouchercon 2009 in Indy

I know, I know, we're jumping the gun a bit here, but I've always wanted to go to Bouchercon, and now that it's going to be so nearby I don't have any whinybaby excuses for missing it. Bouchercon is the World Mystery Convention, the largest annual meeting of mystery writers and mystery fans.

The event features Michael Connelly as the Guest of Honor and is October 15-18 (I know, I know, I can barely plan what I'm doing tomorrow let alone what I'm doing in EIGHT months, but I thought I'd give y'all a head's up).

The best part of these events are usually the panel discussions. And the list of attendees features a lot of great writers and a couple of great writers who are Friends of (this) Lou including: Jack Getze, author of the Austin Carr series including the books BIG MONEY and BIG NUMBERS and dear, dear friend of Lou, and Nancy Pickard, Edgar & Agatha winner and acquaintence of Lou.

Just before this event on October 14, Sisters in Crime is presenting "SinC Into Great Writing!" a dinner, seminar, and keynote event featuring Nancy Pickard and friend of Lou, NYC Literary Agent Donald Maass. Register here.