Cover Story
In the Company of Birds: Louisville’s Rich Bounty, Past Mistakes
On an autumn morning in 1813, John James Audubon set out from his home in Henderson, Kentucky, traveling east by horseback toward Louisville. A short distance beyond what is today Hardinsburg, steering his sorrel over a buffalo trace through what he describes as a “Barrens” — probably scrub oak and grasslands, spotted by underbrush rooted…
10 Things To Do Under $5 This Week In Louisville (7/8)
TUESDAY, July 9 Planting Terrariums & Dish Gardens Bon Air Library Free | 6:30-8 p.m. Create an indoor garden at this free library class. Come on — you know you want to. Get Out More Tour Quest Outdoors Free | 6:30-8:30 p.m. Learn from career traveller Randy Propster on how to pack for a backpacking…
Heyburn 9 protester speaks about the trial, motives and how to help
Courtney Kearney is one of the Heyburn 9 arrested July 26, 2018 after halting the operations of Louisville’s federal immigration court, located on the 11th floor of the Heyburn Building on Broadway. The Heyburn 9 — under the leadership of Black Lives Matter Louisville and Mijente — locked their wrists together with chains and PVC…
5 Things To Do In Louisville This Weekend (7/5)
FRIDAY, July 5 ‘Cardinal Moments’ Swanson Contemporary Free | 6-8:30 p.m. Organizers for this new art exhibit call the Ohio Valley “the muffin top of the Bible Belt” — “not quite the south, not quite the north.” “Cardinal Moments” explores themes important to this in-between area, including post-industrial suburbia, capitalism, conspiracy theory and more. Its…
LG&E launches plan to take land for pipeline in Bullitt County, Bernheim Forest
Pushing its plan to snake a natural gas pipeline through Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, Louisville Gas & Electric Co. has announced it will seek to acquire the needed land through eminent domain. In a related development, Berheim has created a webpage Forest Under Threat for “members of the public to voice their concern” over…
Budget Props Up Politicians
Mayor Greg Fischer said he’s worried that the budget will deepen inequities in the city. We all should share his concern, but we also should be outraged. Why? Because the politicians who chose austerity and draconian budget cuts did more to protect their jobs than they did to protect the people they serve. What’s more,…
Eulogy for an Old Friend
So long, puppy. You had a good run. It was your lot to have to depend on us, a bunch of smelly primates with barely any hair at all and an unbearable knack for destruction, to provide for your well-being. Sorry about that. If I could speak your language, or teach you more than 165…
Lexington’s Gay History Is My History: A Personal Journey Through A Newspaper’s Archive
There is a storage room in the back of the Lexington Herald-Leader with shelves of old, yellow folders with typewritten labels of familiar names and topics. I often gravitate to two of those folders: “Homosexuals #1” and “Homosexuals #2.” Filtering through the yellowed clippings, stamped with the paper in which they appeared and the word…
New Budget Hits ‘Vulnerable’
Louisville’s budget would have passed unanimously — if not for Councilwoman Madonna Flood. “I, in good conscience, cannot vote for something that puts the most vulnerable people into crisis situations,”the Democrat told fellow council members before the budget vote June 25. Flood also had been in the minority of 11 members who voted in March…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd (7/3)
Absurd: Inside Insider Finances You may recall this headline from February: “Insider Louisville cuts three top execs as it struggles to align costs with revenue.” IL axed CEO Tom Cottingham, COO Jon Pyles and Director of Audience Engagement Jim McKiernan to “help” cut “annual expenditures by 40 percent, from about $1.6 million to about $950,000,”…
Poorcastle Festival Has Outgrown Its Origins
When the organizers of the Poorcastle Festival saw the crowd at last year’s event, they knew it had outgrown Apocalypse Brew Works, where it had been held for six years. “Last year, both Friday and Saturday were at capacity, and we knew that for us to continue to grow we’d have to move to a…
From Bob Wills to George Strait: Cat Casual’s Sunday Country Cult
If you’ve been looking for a place to listen to old country records with a group of friends and/or strangers, then that void has been filled. Every Sunday at 9 p.m., William Benton hosts “Cat Casual’s Sunday Country Cult” at The Merryweather in Germantown, formally Lydia House, where he spins roots records from the late…
Record Review: Kogan Dumb — ‘Chlorine & Salt Water’
In regard to the narratives and overall tone, Chlorine & Salt Water is a dark chapter in producer/emcee Kogan Dumb’s artistic canon. The songs are intense and moody, featuring a swirling aural aesthetic, existing at the intersection of hip-hop, ambient and vaporwave. Kogan revisits his usual motifs — yams, bandannas on bottles, etc. — but…
Record Review: Howell Dawdy — ‘It’s Gonna Stink’
Have you ever considered that the nuclear apocalypse is going to smell bad? Well, the title track on the latest album from satirical hip-hop artist Howell Dawdy is here to spread that gospel, comparing the hypothetical odor of the end of mankind to “an abandoned Red Lobster” or when “a vacuum cleaner activates the carpet.”…
Record Review: Insatiable Digs — ‘Demo’
The blues-infected good times of Insatiable Digs is undeniable right from the first notes of “Just Be Mine.” The guitar chimes and breaks up in that old-school tube amp way, while the bass lays out the melody line. The drums keep everything steady, and the organ work is subdued in the mix to great effect,…
Record Review: Hawks — ‘Truth Will Out’
The debut album from Danny Cash’s band Hawks is a combination of heartland and Southern rock, mixing big guitars, anthemic melodies and soulful grit, falling somewhere between the radio gold of Bob Seger and the seedy punch of Drive-By Truckers. Cash, who used to be My Morning Jacket’s keyboardist, is on guitar and vocals in…
Eatz Vietnamese Brings Veggie Joy
On the emerging foodie strip of Barret Avenue, in a small converted house, I found the charming Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant. It is small, about 16 seats on the inside and another 16 on the front deck. A pho fanatic turned me onto Eatz, even though pho ($10) is not veggie, but it might be a…
Pho Phi’s Pho, Fresh, Clear And Light
You say “pho,” I say “fuh.” Which is the right way to say it, anyway? Inspired by a couple of bowls of pho, er, fuh, at Pho Phi (“Fuh Fee”), a new, fast-casual pho shop in St. Matthews, I dug into the roots of pho, and — somewhat to my surprise, since I thought I…
Ky Shake’s ‘King Lear,’ A Dark, Human Tragedy
Kentucky Shakespeare’s first play of its festival in Central Park was a production of “As You Like It” set in 1800s rural Kentucky. The second, “Henry IV, Part 2” took the audience back to early 15th century England. As the final of the main three plays, “King Lear” goes even further back, honoring the inspiration…
Patton Oswalt, ‘Evolved’
Patton Oswalt might be the busiest comedian around. He released classic albums such as “Werewolves and Lollipops,” “Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time” and “Annihilation.” The latter tackled the sudden death of his wife, author Michelle McNamara, with heart and humor. He was Spence on CBS’s “King of Queens” for nine seasons. He produces and voices…
Savage Love: Prejudicial Statements
Q: I’m a man from a very liberal background. Recently, a girl I started dating—a girl from a similar background—mentioned that she has “a thing for black guys.” She also met my childhood best friend, a man of Korean descent, and commented to me that she found him handsome despite not typically being attracted to…
Ask Minda Honey: I Love Him, But He Is Broke!
Hello Minda, I’m looking for a little advice on something that’s been bothering me for some time in my relationship. I have dated this guy for one year. He seems great and perfect and everything right. Unfortunately, I make more than he does. At the moment that’s OK; we live in separate houses and everything.…
