Still Having Adventures

Dear readers, I so hoped to post more in the way of adventures from my Super Nerd Literary Camp. But I believe the ghosts of Virginia City had it in for me. The day after my bank account got hacked, my Macbook suffered a kernel panic, whatever that is, and has refused to start up ever since. I am crushed.

But I am still having a wonderful time. Sure the 'kernel panic' has led to some real panic. But I'm able to put it aside.

Tomorrow we're off to Hartford, where I will hopefully have more adventures... including a trip to the Apple store.

Hope you're having adventures of your own!

XO
Lou

Summer Adventure 2011: Adventures in Stress

I wish I could say that today's adventure was as exciting as yesterday's adventure: riding in an authentic stagecoach.  Alas, when I wasn't sitting in a fabulous lecture at Super Fun Adult Literary Nerd Camp, I was on the phone with Chase Bank.

For the fourth time since I signed on at Chase, five years ago, my account was hacked.  I came "home" after lunch today to discover that my account was $96 overdrawn.  This morning someone had drained my account.

Long story short, today was our one afternoon off, so we could go visit the museums and historic sites in Virginia City that usually close before our classes are over.  But, I spent my afternoon off on the phone with Chase trying to get someone to sympathize with how dire my situation is.

I don't own a credit card.  I had $2 in my wallet.  I called five times and probably spoke to 9 or 10 different people.  It took me more than half of those people for someone to understand that there's not a Chase Bank within... well, I never figured it out really, but more than 200 miles.  Definitely not in Nevada. Their go-to response was "go to a Chase and get a temporary card."  I kept telling them that I was in the middle-of-nowhere Nevada, with no means to travel and $2 in my wallet, and they just didn't seem to understand.  Finally I got someone who "got it" and did a really good job of fixing it to the best of her ability.

I'm still in a bad place.  Awful for a traveler, in fact. But with some finessing and the kindness of strangers, I should be okay.  I hope.

I mention this in the blog not for sympathy or because it characterized my day, but because this is the fourth time. And just last month, the same thing happened to Roommate-- maybe for the third time.

Despite the fact that I am attached to the people at my local Chase Bank in the Highlands, I think it's time I changed banks.

Anyway, after spending hours on the phone with Chase, I had to let off some steam before my evening classes began.  So I took a long walk, a grueling walk-- any walk in Virginia City is grueling.

Virginia City is on the side of a mountain, the streets that run perpendicular to the crest of the mountain are so steeply graded that sometimes it feels like you should be climbing on your hands and knees.  We're also at an elevation of 6K feet, and our hotel is at the lowest point in the city.  If you're walking with friends to town, the unspoken rule is that once you reach the main street after an exhausting climb, y'all just shut the heck up and spend a few minutes catching your breath before you move on.

Anyway, afternoon walk...  Walks are free.  Taking pictures of all the historic places is free.  So that's what I did. I needed to cleanse the noggin of all the ugly debit card issues and just BE here in Virginia City.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you why you shouldn't come to Virginia City expecting to see where Samuel Clemens became Mark Twain. And why you should.

Summer Adventure 2011: Authentic Stagecoach Ride

This was my Adventure du Jour: an authentic stagecoach ride with  TNT Stagelines in Virginia City, NV.  It only lasted a couple of minutes but it was both more exciting and scarier than I thought it would be.  Cowboy Gary gets those pretty painted ponies up to 24MPH just inches from a sheer drop-off into the canyon there.

This is the last authentic stagecoach ride in the world, says Gary... the word "authentic" being key.  Hollywood westerns have romanticized stagecoach rides as calm and classy.  But the original stagecoaches rode hard and fast over bumpy terrain for days at a time with stops every 8-10 miles to change horses.  Sure, they didn't go 24MPH all that time, says Gary.  Only if "the bad guys were chasing them."

Out of Office: See Y'all in August

So long... farewell...

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that I'm gearing up to head out of town for a month while I attend a Super Awesome Adult Nerd Literary Camp.

Jinkies, folks. I've spent the whole day mired in some serious pre-trip anxiety.  Worry worry worry, fret fret.  I do this every time I travel, but this one feels especially hard.

I'll be gone for a month or so, and that feels like a really long time. And frankly, I've been having a really great time in Louisville this summer.  I haven't done as much "stuff" as I wanted, but I've been spending time with my awesome family of friends, and I hate pulling the plug on that for a month. I haven't had a group of friends this big since college, and I don't think I've had a group of friends I've liked this much since... ever. Also, I'm embarking on an adventure where I'll be spending 21+ days with 20+ strangers, and I'm not really a people person. (Yes, it may seem that that statement contradicts the one that precedes it. But it takes me a long time to warm up to people.  I've warmed up to my Louisville friend family.)  I just had a conversation about this with Roommate.  He said, "What are you so afraid of?"

Me: "Mean people."

Roommate: "Don't worry. You'll probably be the meanest one there."

Thanks, dude.

Anyway, I'm not sure how well information flows through the internet tubes in Virginia City, NV, where I will be for two weeks. But you can probably expect a slow-down in posting here on Loueyville.com.  Honestly, I don't know what the Verizon service will be like too, so you can probably expect a slowdown on the Tweetybox as well.

More importantly, because I'm not going to be in town til August, I won't have my ear to the ground about upcoming events and goings-on in town.  So if you hear of good stuff you think I should be posting about, please email me stat at lou (at) loueyville.com.  Or just email me to say hi.

In the meantime, follow me on Twitter (@loueyville) to hear about my adventures in Nevada and then in Connecticut (and then all over New England as I visit the New England Lous).  I'll miss you folks.  Have a fabulous July, and try not to have too much fun without me.

"Commuter" Rates offered for Breakout Novel Intensive

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the exciting Breakout Novel Intensive with Donald Maass that is coming to Louisville September 19-25.  After I posted, I emailed the lovely Lorin Oberweger, program director, and asked her: "What if Louisville folks are interested in attending the event but would rather stay at their own homes?"

Her (wise) response was:

I do offer a limited number of commuter spots... [but] It's such an all-day kind of affair that I hate for people to miss out on anything, and on opportunities to socialize with Don, staff, and other students... I think people, even locals, should come and let themselves "retreat" a bit and get away from family and pets and bills, etc.

Good advice for sure.  But, locals, she's offering $400 off the workshop if you'd rather commute.

My experience with these kinds of intensive retreats is that the socializing and networking does, indeed, extend way beyond the normal workshop hours.  And while I have no doubt you'll come away from the workshop with loads of new insight into your writing, sometimes it's those personal connections you make during those off-hours that matter most.  Those extra hours are why I now count Roommate and Lorin as two of my dearest friends.

Will Lavender at Carmichael's

New York Times best-selling novelist (and Louisvillager), Will Lavender, will be appearing at the Frankfort Avenue Carmichael's this Thursday at an event celebrating the release of his newest thriller Dominance.

The brief blurb on the Carmichael's website has me intrigued:

Set on a college campus in 1994, with a controversial night class, Unraveling a Literary Mystery, taught from prison by literature professor Richard Aldiss, who was serving a life sentence for murdering two female grad students 12 years before, Dominance is an outstanding psychological thriller.

Lavender is a friend of Roommate's and has taught at Writers Retreat Workshop.  I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, but I look forward to seeing him on Thursday.  I plan on taking his first book, Obedience, which has been on my to-read list forever, with me on my month-long trip.

The event starts at 7pm and is, of course, free.  Hope to see you there.

Not Always Good News Lou

Admittedly, I've had my panties in a bunch all day.  I overslept this morning (not for anything in particular, but it set my day wrong from the start).  Then I woke up and saw that someone was bitching about my grammar on last night's blog post and then excusing her bitching by saying that she "had to comment" because she was a teacher (Yes, folks, I'm a teacher. An English teacher, to boot. The grammar issue was that I had used "that" instead of "who" when referring to a group of people**.). And then Roommate was still so sick, and I felt bad because I basically made him come out to the Waterfront show on the 4th when he really should have stayed home in bed.  (It was really fun, and he had lots of fun, but still... bad best friend).  And then, and then...

But even so, I'm not always the Good News Blogger.  (That's here-- and by the way, she won 3rd place for Best Louisville Website from Louisville Magazine this month... and while I'm gearing up to bitch: THIRD place? Really? We can do better folks.)  So there's this:

I can't believe more people aren't talking about the fact that we had THREE murders in Louisville on July 5. Them's New Orleans numbers, folks. There was a murder-suicide at LG&E this afternoon, and two young men were shot in the middle of the night at Sheppard Square in Smoketown. Totally tragic. Three murders on the same day means that yesterday represented 10% of the murders for the whole year so far for Louisville.

And barely a peep.  Heck, you know that I love WFPL with a burning NPR-geek love, but the Sheppard Square homicides didn't even warrant a mention on their news blog.  (If the Courier-Journal is in a downward spiral-- which it is-- we need to look to someone to pick up the slack, and I'm hoping it will be WFPL.)

But you know why we didn't hear torrents of dismay on the Twitterbox and in the mainstream media in general?  Because everyone and their sweet little Auntie Mae were frothing at the mouth about the Casey Anthony verdict. This generation's OJ Simpson (who wasn't even a sexy former-NFL-player/actor before the crime-- oh come on now, he was sexy) hogged the airwaves and threatened to crash the interwebs.

Remember what I said about media not existing in a vacuum?  That every newspaper (like the C-J) is moving closer to being the mutant offspring of Sports Illustrated and People Magazine?  The media is giving the People what they want.  The Nancy Graces of the world exist because people WANT THEM TO.

According to Twitter (and I have no evidence that this is spot-on truth, but the number seems reasonable), in 2008-- the year that Caylee Anthony was murdered (or died in a pool, or whatever)-- 569 children under the age of 4 were murdered.  Heinous, tragic, awful.  As someone who is not necessarily childless by choice, I always have a steaming, irrationally extreme hatred for anyone who mistreats a child.  A child is a gift and a blessing and a miracle.  If you're lucky enough to have one (or two or nineteen), be the best parent you can possibly be. It's the most important job you'll ever have.

We did this, folks.  We created Casey Anthony, "Media Superstar."  And not only did she overshadow all national news today (oil spill in Montana, anyone?), she overshadowed the important news that 10% of the murders for 2011 in Louisville were committed today.  And that made this already-too-cynical blogger more cynical than ever.  We need to be better than this.

*gets off soapbox, kicks it over, and exits stage right*

** Yes, the grammar was wrong.  No, I'm not going to fix it.

Breakout Novel Intensive: Coming to Kentuckiana Soon!

So, y'all know I'm a (kind of) closet novelist-wannabe. And loyal readers of this blog know that Roommate is the Big Kahuna of Writers Retreat Workshop (WRW), from which I recently returned (We met there, in fact, in 2002, and we've been BFFs ever since).  This year's WRW was especially good-- a great batch of passionate writers, some exciting visiting staff, and of course a core group of returning staff and students that keep this writers' boot camp vibrant each year.  

Through my friendship with Roommate and my affiliation with Writers Retreat Workshop, I've gotten to know some fabulous people in the fiction-writing biz: writers, editors, publishers, mentors, and teachers.  One of the best teachers of fiction-writing I've met is Donald Maass, head of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in NYC and author of a number of books on writing, including Writing the Breakout Novel and Fire in Fiction. His agency's client list features best-selling authors like Todd McCaffrey, Anne Perry, and Jim Butcher. Don is not only an excellent teacher, but he's a really good guy and a good friend.

Lorin Oberweger, writer, program director, and independent editor, is also a dear friend and a fantabulous cheerleader when it comes to inspiring creative-types.  And this year Lorin's company, Free Expressions, is bringing Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel Intensive Workshop to our neck of the woods, September 19-25.

From the website:


This retreat and workshop includes:

• All meals and comfortable, private sleeping accommodations with private baths.
• Morning classes with Donald Maass, geared toward building students’ specific projects using concepts covered in his popular, Writing the Breakout Novel book and workbook.
• A private thirty-minute consultation with Donald Maass, who will read the first fifty pages of each student’s manuscript.
• A private consultation with Editor-in-Residence and Program Director Lorin Oberweger.
• Opportunities to confer with other professional writers on staff.
• Afternoon and evening writing time and voluntary critique groups.
• Group follow–up discussions and pitch practice with Donald Maass.
• Complimentary copy of the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook.

In order to ensure an intimate and productive environment for our students, enrollment is strictly limited to thirty–five writers. Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please register early.


If you enroll by July 15, you receive $75 off.  For more information, visit the Free Expressions website.

If you're a fiction writer or if you've got a fire in your noggin about being a fiction writer, this is truly an amazing opportunity.  As an aspiring novelist, I can't tell you how valuable it is to have the chance to have a Big Time New York Agent read 50 pages of your novel.  Usually it takes a barrage of query letters (that you've edited and adjusted a dozen times) just to get an agency to give you the time of day (no offense to my agent friends).  For a lot of us, this service is almost worth the price of the entire workshop.

Not only are Don and Lorin a power duo of teacher/mentors, but the always awesome Roommate is on staff too.  If I could take the time off from work, I would be there for the whole thing; as it is, I'm certainly going to try to capitalize on my friendships with these folk to take advantage of some of the after-work and weekend activities.  I hope to see you there.

Brief gripe: How can the Sheraton Louisville call itself the Sheraton "Louisville" if it's in Jeffersonville, Indiana? Ugh, that bites my butt. 

4th of July: Best Going Away Party Ever!

If you follow me on Twitter (@loueyville), you probably know that I will be vacating the city for a month next weekend. I'm attending a Super Awesome Adult Literary Nerd camp in Nevada and Connecticut and then spending a week visiting with all the New England Lous.

I spent this past week visiting with my lovely Louisville friends, catching up and saying goodbye for the time being.

Just a side note: I know I say this often, but it bears repeating for the social media doubters out there (if you're reading this blog, I'm probably preaching to the choir.)...  between Waterfront Wednesday, a lunch date with eight amazing women, a splendid Shabbat dinner, and a trip to the Le Grange quarry, I probably met up with two dozen people this week.  You know how many I met through this blog or Twitter? 100%. Man, I love you people.

Anyway, my social calendar for the next week before I leave is surprisingly empty, and it's just as well.  There's lots of prep for this trip, and I have a ton of projects on my summer to-do list that are incomplete or have been ignored.

But it's Fourth of July weekend, and I'm telling you, I feel like the Waterfront Park folks are throwing a Going Away party especially for me.  July 4th's free show on the Waterfront features three amazing bands: The Funky METERS, De La Soul, and Fitz & the Tantrums. If you were to ask me what kind of music I like, I could pretty much sum it up by pointing to this line-up.

The METERS are a New Orleans institution.  They've been around since the late 60's, off and on.  And they feature members of the most iconic musical families in New Orleans: Art Neville, Joseph Batiste, George Porter Jr.  If you're a fan of HBO's TREME (and if you're not, you should be... amazing), you need to be at this show.

De La Soul was a band that was in constant rotation on my CD player in college.  They're hip-hop light with smart lyrics and a fantastic groove.  And Fitz & the Tantrums' song "Money Grabber" is easily one of my top five favorite recent songs.

This is a line-up that was created for me.  This is my kind of music, people, and I am so terrifically excited (I could take or leave the fireworks, frankly).

The gates open at 5pm.  No outside food or beverages, except sealed water bottles.  You can also bring a 32oz or smaller refillable water bottle (but it must be empty).  Y'all should have a late lunch/early dinner before heading down, although there will be vendors.  Chairs, blankets, umbrellas = all okay.

Don't forget that the Bats are also in town, so parking near Waterfront Park is going to be a real bugger.  Check out your local TARC busses.  Some routes are canceled for the holiday.  There will be a bike valet available, so if you know how to ride a bike (alas, I do not), that's going to be your best bet.

So thank you, Waterfront Park folks, for throwing me the best Going Away Party!  I am counting the hours, and I will dance my pants off.

PS: Louisville is really loving me this year.  Not only is this a great Going Away party, but August's Waterfront Wednesday concert is on my birthday.  Save the date!

Waterfront Wednesday & Steamboat Race

I've been looking forward to this Waterfront Wednesday show since it was first announced.  And I've never even heard of the headliner, Nicole Atkins. I "discovered" Abigail Washburn at Bonnaroo 2008 when she was playing with her exquisite Sparrow Quartet, featuring our own Ben Sollee and her future husband Bela Fleck. I love me a lady with a banjo, and I've been a fan ever since.

Don't forget that Waterfront Wednesday is still relocated to the Big Four Lawn because of the late spring floods.  I didn't mind the venue change all that much last month when we went to see Over the Rhine, but the sound was nowhere near as good as the classic site.

Also, I had totally forgotten that tomorrow is also the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Festival Great Steamboat Race, also a victim of the spring floods.  I know you would've been able to see the race from the classic Waterfront Wednesday site, but I'm not 100% sure about the Big Four Lawn.

Seeing that I will be out of town for July's Waterfront Wednesday, I'm going to really make this one count.  Packing a picnic, going for the whole shebang, and hoping to see a couple of racing steamboats.

Welcome to Louisville, Qannik!

Welcome Qannik, the newest resident of Louisville Zoo's Glacier Run.  The poor sweetie was abandoned by her mother in Alaska in April.  She arrived at the Zoo via UPS late last night.  The Zoo is officially tweeting Qannik's experience at @QannickTheCubLZ, but there's a cutie-pie unauthorized tweeter at @QannikBear.

I haven't been back to the Louisville Zoo since Scotty the baby elephant died. That wasn't really a conscious decision, but I was utterly heartbroken when Scotty died.  Then Misha, the sweet little gorilla baby who had to be transferred to Columbus when she was wounded by other gorillas in Louisville, died.  And, I've always been of two minds about zoos and aquariums, you know? (That being said, when I was looking for a job post-Katrina, I applied to the education departments of every zoo and aquarium I could think of... never got a single call back.  I guess they want you to, you know, know something about animals/fish.)

But not only do we now have a wee polar bear for the newly reopened Glacier Run, we also have a new baby girl giraffe born last Monday.

So it's time to go back to the zoo.  Welcome, Qannik!  Sorry it's so hot. Just you wait til December, dear.

A Great City Deserves a Great Publication

Unless you, like Fairdale Bigfoot, live under a rock, you heard the news that Gannett absolutely gutted the Courier-Journal yesterday, laying off 50 employees, 24 of them editorial staff. Goodbye Velocity, goodbye a lot of the Neighborhood coverage.  Arts and uber-local reporting... gutted.

As Roommate tweeted today: "From out here in the docks, it looks like the @courierjournal has become 'Sports Unillustrated.'"

And apologies to the terrific sports staff at the C-J, especially those I am "twitter friends" with, but yes... Roommate is right.  I don't know if any of the sports staff got the sack, but it has long irked me that when you pull up the C-J website, the very first section is sports.  Before local news. Shows you where the editorial priorities are.  And I love sports, I do. But that's embarrassing.

I'm not fool enough to believe that the C-J made that layout choice in a vacuum. I know I live in a sports-obsessed town, and most of the time I'm pleased as punch that I do. But it is a decision, and it's a terrible one in my opinion. If newspapers were all about catering to the masses, every paper would be People Magazine, or at best USA Today-- all Kardashians and Fantasy Football.

Anyway, based on the unscientific evidence of my Twitter feed, lots of Louisvillagers were just heartbroken about this decision. And I was surprised how very hard I took it myself.  I only know one of the laid-off editorial staffers (I think) personally. So this wasn't about just hurting very badly for a friend (although, I was).  And honestly, I haven't subscribed to the paper for years (before you say I'm part of the problem: [a] we all know subscription money doesn't keep papers in business and [b] I read it regularly online). I've always been disappointed with the C-J, especially coming here from New Orleans when the Times-Picayune was cranking out its post-Katrina consistent brilliance.

But I felt sad for personal reasons too. My first job out of college was as the Assistant to the Editor of this newspaper. (I'd never been to the website before. I briefly got insanely excited when I saw the archive section... but the archives start 10 years after I worked there, give or take.) In addition to running around doing crazy errands for the Diva Editor, I also worked as an entertainment reporter.  My "beat"?  Foxwoods Casino.  Highlights of my job: interviewing Tom Jones and Ted Neeley ("Jesus" from Jesus Christ Superstar), writing my only front-page piece about the music scene in Mystic, CT, and covering the Mashantucket Pequot tribe's cultural news.  I hated every part of my job except the arts reporting. I loved the arts reporting. And occasionally when I get antsy about my chosen field (as I am right now), I kick myself for not pursuing that as my career (hence, this blog).

And Gannett mauled its arts reporting today.

A great city deserves a great publication. And we just don't have one.

Normally I would say: "I may be biased because I know this person personally and can't distance myself from her work." But no. I won't add that disclaimer. One of the laid-off editorial staff was Erin Keane, and I can empirically say that she was one of the best, if not the best, writers at the C-J. Her arts reporting was grown-up, sophisticated writing for readers who were invested in the fabulous Louisville arts scene. Her articles were beautifully-conceived, well-researched, and often challenging.  I will fess up to having to employ Dictionary.com a couple of times when her diction eluded me. When I finally met her after reading her reporting for a while, I was honestly a little fan-girly.  Hell, how many times over the years have I written a theater review and linked to her review and said, "I can't say it better than Erin Keane already did"??

For the C-J to lay off its most literate and literary writer?-- it's an insult to the readership.

My heart broke for her, personally.  But my heart breaks for this city.

I'll say it again. A great city deserves a great publication. And we just don't have one.

The LEO is... fine.  I admit, I read it rarely.  I don't know what the general public sentiment is, but my gut says that it went a bit south post-Stephen George and when it went glossy (and when it lost Phillip M. Bailey to WFPL).  Louisville Magazine has a stable of solid writers but only features a handful of good articles each month.  I don't think anyone would argue with me if I said that the magazine was 85% advertising of some kind. There's some quality reporting being done on some of the local blogs, but no one in their right mind would call it quality writing.

It was a sad day for Louisville.  And a disconcerting day for me.  I never in a blue moon thought that I would remake myself as an arts reporter this late in my life, but to discover that the newspaper in my city had such a low regard for arts and local reporting... terrible.

Louisvillager wins Miss Congeniality USA

Congrats to Kia Hampton, already an award-winning singer and performer, for winning Miss Congeniality in this year's Miss USA Pageant.

Check out Kia's ReverbNation page, where you can listen to some of her music and view her bio.  Miss Kentucky USA 2011 has already won the Kentucky and Indiana Idol contest in 2006 and been featured on BET's Welcome to Dreamland television program in 2009.  (And while this isn't mentioned in her bio, it's worth noting that according to pictures/videos on the site, she also recorded a special Christmas commercial for, of course, KIA car dealers.)

Louisvillagers have been doing well with the beauty pageant circuit lately.  Alexandria Mills won Miss World last year.  And let's face it, if you can't be Miss USA, then you want to be Miss Congeniality, right?  Congrats, Kia!

Grayson Capps @ Phoenix Hill 6/25

Dear, dear readers, I love you all from the bottom of my heart. But when are you going to start believing me when I say that I have impeccable taste in music, huh?  If I say "go to this show" then REALLY, you need to go to that show.  I am not a music junkie.  I won't just go see any show.  We're blessed here in Louisville to have an abundance of great options for music-seeing.  But I'm downright picky.

As I promised Galactic at Headliners was A-MAZ-ING!  Not only did they bring the New Orleans jam-funk to Louisville, they brought Corey freaking Glover as their lead singer.  Corey Glover, folks.  Lead singer of Living Color. One of the first notable non-white, hard rock/heavy metal singer ever.  Dude went on to star in the touring production of the greatest musical of all time (Jesus Christ Superstar) singing arguably the most demanding stage role in the history of musical theater (Judas) for, like, 4 years.  Pinch me, I'm still totally in awe. Really. What a night.

And now I know why I weighed considerably less when I lived in New Orleans, despite the awesome food. I used to go out to see live NOLA music weekly.  I danced those pounds off.

So speaking of NOLA music, Grayson Capps is coming to Phoenix Hill on 6/25.  I will likely not be in town, but sweet pickles, you NEED to go see this man.  I saw him loads of times when he/we lived in New Orleans.  And he played a show at the old PourHaus here just a few months or so after Roommate and I moved here... and we bought him a drink and totally bonded over post-Katrina life in exile.  I went to see him (alone) at Phoenix Hill a couple of years later...  He's amazing.  New Orleans blues.  Killer voice.  Fabulous story teller.  And, of course, it doesn't hurt that he's beautiful to look at.

C'mon people.  Listen to me already.  I was right about Low Anthem, Trombone Shorty, Galactic... I'm right about Grayson Capps, too.  I would not lead you astray.

Andrea Davidson wins Tipperary Song of Peace Award

If you're a lover of all things British, you're an Anglophile.  But if you're a lover of all things Irish... you're what? I'm a sucker for all things Irish and have been since I was a wee child.  I grew up listening to Ma tell me Irish fairy tales and stories of the Irish rebels.  I loved it all so much that my undergraduate concentration was in modern Irish Lit (my thesis: fish & fishermen in the poetry and prose of William Butler Yeats) (I earned an A+, btw).

I don't normally like to cut and paste a whole press release, but this is something really special.  Andrea Davidson rocked my world when she opened up for Charlie Mars last summer. So lovely and talented. And now she's won a beautiful award.  Tipperary = a small city in Ireland.  And here is the press release:

Kentucky singer/songwriter Andrea Davidson was the clear winner of the Tipperary Song of Peace Final in Tipperary, Ireland on Saturday June 4th. Scoring a perfect 10 from each of the four judges, Andrea beat off strong international competition to take the top prize of €1,500 plus Tipperary Crystal Trophy. The Final was one of a number of peace related events that took place in Tipperary and was organised by Tipperary Peace Convention.
In the days prior to the Song Contest, the Tipperary International Peace Award was presented to Afghan Human Rights Activist, Dr. Sima Samar. The Song Contest Final was held in the Tipperary Excel and along with Andrea Davidson from Kentucky. U.S.A. it also featured finalists from Germany, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. 

The song that Andrea performed in the Final was titled "Natchez Trace" and is one of a vast collection of original compositions from this talented singer/songwriter. The song was perfomed by Andrea and featured Scott Moore on fiddle.
Professionally Andrea has played well over 1,000 shows ranging from clubs to festivals and theatres. She has toured extensively and recently completed a musical residency in Santa Monica, California. 

Andrea was a very popular winner with the Tipperary audience and received a huge ovation when the result was announced and returned to the stage to perform a reprise of the winning song. She also performed the winning song at an Ecumenical Service in St. Mary's Church, Tipperary on Sunday June 5th 

During her stay in Tipperary, Andrea also performed for the puipls of Shronell National School as well as 'gigging' with the other contestants in Tony Lowry's Pub. The Best Irish Entry in the Song of Peace Contest was composed by Co. Down songwriter Ken Warke. Titled "Love is Everything", the song was performed in the final by well known Tipperary singer, Margi Maxwell and they received the Mick Tuohy Memorial Cup for being the winners of this category.

Galactic at Headliners 6/17

I tweeted and blogged relentlessly about two of the best music shows to hit Louisville this year.  If you didn't see Trombone Shorty or Low Anthem at Headliners over these past couple of months, I'm so sorry you didn't follow my advice.

Trombone Shorty was energetic, sexy, funky, and wonderful.  His album, BACKATOWN, was my favorite album of 2010.

The Low Anthem, hailing from Providence, RI, are pretty much my favorite new-ish band now, and their show at Headliners was so good that it left many members of the crowd wiping away tears. They were featured in a number of top ten lists of "Bands you need to see at Bonnaroo 2011."  Their Bonnaroo 2009 show was transcendentally amazing.  In a few weeks, they start a national tour opening for Mumford and Sons, and I swear to you, they're better than Mumford and Sons. I know that may be indy-rock heresy, but they do what Mumford and Sons do... better.  But the crowd at Headliners? Tiny.

I don't think the crowd at the Galactic show will be tiny.  First of all, they've been gaining a loyal following for around a dozen years.  But seriously folks, I do NOT lead you wrong when it comes to music-- go see Galactic on June 17 (Friday) if you like a little funk, a little jazz, and a little New Orleans infusion.  Tickets are on sale for $17 or $20 at the show.

I am SUPER picky about music, but I love me some Galactic.  Back when I lived in NOLA, a couple of the members of Galactic were parents at the school where I taught.  Every year just before Jazz Fest, they would come in and play a show for the little kids... the K-6 kids... and you've never seen pure music appreciation until you've seen a hundred or so teeny tiny girls dancing their behinds off to pure NOLA funk and jazz.  Awesome.

Can't wait.

Public Radio Rock 'n' Stroll

We love some Ben Sollee 'round these parts (read my post about meeting Sollee at HullabaLou last year, but make sure you read the comments too).  And we love our Public Radio.  This weekend, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield presents Rock 'n' Stroll 2011-- a 5k walk around Iroquois Park followed by a concert featuring Ben Sollee and Nashville's David Mead.

From the website:

Stroll through Iroquois Park with all of your friends and fellow fans of Public Radio…When the walk/ride is over you will be treated to an outstanding performance by two WFPK  favorites!  Bike-lover and cello-slayer Ben Sollee and his full band will perform  songs from his exciting new album, Inclusions AND Nashville songwriter David Mead will open the show with his impeccable melodies.

Read more: http://www.wfpk.org/rock-n-stroll/#ixzz1PULfp9gg


The stroll and walk is $25 and includes membership to Louisville Public Media (if you don't already have one) a t-shirt, and the show.   $20 gets you access to the show alone.

Tickets are on sale now at http://www.ticketfly.com/event/38529/, earX-tacy and the front desk at Louisville Public Media. (619 S. Fourth Street)



Schedule of Events5:00pm Walkers and Bikers begin
6:30pm Walkers and Bikers admission to Amphitheater
7:00pm Doors open to the General Public
8:00pm Music Begins

Another Earth Doesn't Disappoint

So, I'm thrilled to report that William Mapother's ANOTHER EARTH did not disappoint. The film lived up to and surpassed the promise of its exquisite trailer.  And while Mapother holds down a stunning performance, the movie belongs to Brit Marling. According to Mapother at the Q&A following the event, Marling, a 26 year-old Georgetown University grad, didn't even have a SAG card when she co-wrote and filmed ANOTHER EARTH. She just wanted to be an actress, so she co-wrote this film with the director.  Her performance as the tortured Rhoda... there just aren't words for it. I don't know how awards nominations work, but good Lord if this woman isn't nominated for Best Actress left and right, there's no justice in the world.

According to Mapother, this film was made for 20% of the budget of the next cheapest film in its Sundance category, where it won a Special Jury prize and the Alfred P. Sloan feature prize for movies involving science and technology.

The last time I've seen a movie this quiet and beautiful may be when I saw ONCE.  I felt on the verge of tears for days after seeing that movie (no hyperbole there).  And I feel that way about ANOTHER EARTH, a movie about unrelenting and un-healable sorrows. It's gorgeous.

The movie opens in limited release on July 22.  Visit the official website here. STAY AWAY FROM SPOILERS.

Kentuckiana Pride Festival: June 17 & 18

After seeing ANOTHER EARTH yesterday at the Kentucky Center, Roommate and I hopped over to the Greek Festival for a quick bite. I'm not a huge fan of Greek food, but for just $5 I got a hummus and a small Greek salad that was a sufficient dinner.  And the Greek salad? Best I've ever had. I kind of want to go back today to have more-- this time I'll order a large.

But the best part of our brief stay at the Greek Festival was when the 6-piece band started to play and the dance floor filled with eager, soon-to-be-sweaty dancers of all ages.  I don't know what the Greek dances are called, but it's so nice to see that people are clearly still teaching them to the younger generations. A good quarter of the dancers were in their teens and early-twenties. Looked like the wedding scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding... is that tacky to say?

All that is to say, I loves me a festival on the Belvedere.  And during the summer it seems like there's a festival nearly every weekend.  Good for us.

The next one is the Kentuckiana Pride Festival.  The event is presented by the Kentucky Pride Foundation, whose mission states:

Kentuckiana Pride Foundation is a volunteer-based non-profit promoting the gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer/questioning and intersexed (GLBTQI) community in Kentuckiana's social, cultural and economic landscape. Each year on the Belvedere in downtown Louisville, we hold the Kentuckiana Pride Festival, a place where the GLBTQI community and its supporters can meet and celebrate, enjoying a variety of food, entertainment, and showcases from local and regional businesses and organizations.

The festivities start on June 17 at 8pm with the Festival Parade.  The parade starts at Tryangles at 209 S. Preston and makes its way down Market to Main and the Belvedere.  Friday night's festivities on the Belvedere start when the parade arrives and continue til 11p.  And they're free!

But the big day for the Festival is Saturday.  Performers start at noonish and run until 11pm or so.  I will admit to having been sucked into a couple of Ru Paul's Drag Race marathons, so I was kind of psyched to see Jade Sotomayor and Phoenix were on the bill.  Saturday's admission is $5, and there will be food and drinks and other vendors. Saturday's schedule:

12:00pm	Opening Ceremony: Pride Interfaith
1:00pm	Sibella
2:15pm	Dangerous Liaison
4:00pm	Sienna
4:45pm	Elliot Truman
5:30pm	Galaxy Girls
6:15pm	The Blue Umbrellas
7:30pm	Jenn Stout
8:45pm	La Boy Le Femme
9:00pm	Performances by: Cazwell Roxy Cottontail Adam Barta From RuPaul's Drag Race: Jade Sotomayor Phoenix

Please note, times are subject to change.

Listen Louisville, back in the day, long before I knew a dang thing about Louisville, I used to intellectually lump Tennessee & Kentucky together.  You know, like, "Tennessee... Kentucky... same diff!" Now I know that's just not true, but we do live across a border from a state that passed a law that makes it against the law to use the word "gay" in a public school classroom.  While this festival is largely aimed at the LGBTQI members of the Louisville community, you know some a**holes from other communities will be out there with their signs and their bigotry.  So, you know.... go.... whether you're LGBTQI or not.  Go to the parade, swing by the fest, bring your kids. I have a pretty strong feeling that if you're reading my blog, you know why and you know what I mean.

And enjoy a little George Takei Vs. Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" law while you're at it.

Summer To-Do List: Swim

Let's just get this out of the way: no one really wants to see me in a bathing suit. That's cool. I'm fine with that. I had my salad days of being the girl with the smoking body.  I did. Those days are over. Maybe not for good (but probably for good), but at least for now.

But that doesn't change the fact that I want to swim. I want to hang out by a pool. And I need to make that happen this summer.

Lakeside has become my Xanadu. My Dulcinea. My Holy Grail.  Oh my sweet swimmies, I want to be invited to Lakeside just to see it. I don't have to swim. I don't have to sully your pool with my ordinary-person juices. I just want... to see it.  Awesome Louisvillager, Brigid Kaelin teaches swim classes there.  And plays gigs there.  Swoon... that just makes her 100X cooler in my eyes.

I don't want to join a gym or community center.  So I think my next best bet (indoor pools don't count, BTW) is to book a night at the Galt House, the only downtown hotel with an outdoor pool.

Or I can go to the Quarry.  Which I know nothing about but has been a looming mythologized presence for the past few summers.  When Roommate gets home from his Florida adventures, I think I will enlist him in a road trip.