Representin”: Bans, bans, everywhere are bans
The council decides what’s good for you. Trans fats and plastic bags are next. OK? At some point in the middle of the night last Thursday, in a fit of unrest probably initiated by the pool of $5.50-stadium beer that had collected in my stomach following a vain attempt to ignore a near-thrashing of the…
City Strobe
Money = free speech — unless it’s someone else’s U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell — who probably could use a hug… Anybody? Anybody? — became the talk of the town again last week after Insight Communications killed a political TV ad critical of him, and then promptly decided to unkill it, after the requisite outrage over…
My scorecard says Beshear 9, Fletcher 0
Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Democratic candidate Steve Beshear Just for a moment, let’s check our prejudices at the door. Let’s just be Kentuckians instead of dividing ourselves into Republicans and Democrats. With that in mind, let’s seriously evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates for Governor, Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher and Democratic challenger Steve…
In native soil: Could rain gardens keep the sewage out of our waterways?
rain garden: Photo courtesy of MSD The rain garden that Jack Francis and his neighbor, Cee Geiss, have cultivated between their Highlands homes. Last year Louisville was informed that fixing its post-storm sewage-filled waterways would require some belt tightening. In a printed report announcing “Project WIN” (Waterway Improvements Now), the Metropolitan Sewer District said the…
Bluegrass Beacon: Mining for money in tourism tax
Tax increases usually don’t pass the logic test. Take Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s so-called “Tax Modernization” policy. Lawmakers passed this sloppy legislation in 2005 after considerable arm-twisting. It includes the hated Alternative Minimum Tax, which taxes businesses regardless whether they make a profit. Raising taxes on businesses and entrepreneurs while at the same time campaigning about…
Erosia
LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or e-mail to leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.A Better,…
Rumor & Innuendo
The score. Kentucky 42 Louisville 38.Miss that coach in Hot ’lanta. No, not Bobby Petrino (although the “coaching savant,” as one local pigskin expert called him, was indeed The Next Great College Football Coach). No matter who coaches the Cards now or in the future, he’s unlikely to be as good as Petrino. But the…
Don”t tread on me: LEO readers sound off on cycling
Coexisting with bikers (by Jay R. Lillie) “sharrows”: It wasn’t two days after the “sharrows” were painted on the Second Street Bridge that someone laid a heavy patch of rubber on the first two sharrows in the southbound lane. Talk about symbolism. Let me first say that I’m a big advocate of bicycling. I love…
Staff Picks
Sept. 12-16Kentucky Bourbon FestivalGet this — the U.S. Senate designated, by unanimous vote, the month of September “National Bourbon Heritage Month.” Oh, happy days. So it’s perfect that the annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown gets the festivities started this week. Events for everyone — drinking age and not — are planned throughout this five-day…
Yet another They Might Be Giants chat that uses the Q-word
They Might Be Giants Friday, Sept. 14John Flansburgh is talking like a victim. Over the last 20 years, he and John Linnell, who together form Brooklyn kitsch pop group They Might Be Giants, have grown quite annoyed with a certain word.“We often get pinned with this quirky label,” Flansburgh says. “The Wikipedia entry for the…
Ani gets busy; rare Bird; ”dudes abide; legendary Lightfoot
Ani DiFranco Saturday, Sept. 15Ani DiFranco is quite possibly the hardest-working woman in show business. In addition to touring and recording music, she runs her own record label (Righteous Babe), eschews any corporate sponsorship whatsoever and was recently awarded the “Women of Courage Award” by the National Organization for Women. Most often seen on stage…
Staging “Secrets”: Blue Apple Players use drama to take on child sexual abuse
No More Secrets: In the Blue Apples Players’ “No More Secrets,” Sparky (Fran Whitaker) makes Jenny (Susan Schroeder) uncomfortable by touching her and asking her to sit on his lap. “No More Secrets,” an original work created by the Blue Apple Players more than 20 years ago, has many of the hallmarks of a kids’…
MTL closes summer run with an energizing “Oliver!”
Mr. Bumble (Bo Cecil) takes Oliver (Connor Holloway) to London in “Boy for Sale.”: Photo by Kathy Reynolds ‘Oliver!’Starring Bo Cecil, Cindy Crenshaw Smith, Dewey Caddell, Kristy Calman, Margo Wooldridge, Ian Ellis, Matt Orme, Laura Obenauf, Ryan Metzger, Jill Plappert-Higginbotham, Connor Holloway and Sean Sullivan. Directed by John R. Leffert. Orchestra conducted by Craig Swatt.…
PYRO gets mythical with “Immortals”
“Adam and Eve” by Ann Stewart Anderson. Collaboration among artists is a treat for both the artists and the viewers. Shared themes among the ceramic sculpture of John McCarthy, the mixed media drawings of Ann Stewart Anderson and the jewelry of Mark Needham have made intriguing shared relationships in their PYRO Gallery exhibition “Immortals: Images…
Splatters: Art News Bits
Charles Venable has been named director of the Speed Art Museum; he will succeed Peter Morrin, who is leaving after 21 years at the museum. A free event will honor Morrin on Oct. 12 from 6-8 p.m. (RSVP by Oct. 5 at 634-2731). The Mayor’s Office and the Mayor’s Committee on Public Art are working…
Aftertastes
CAFÉ LOU LOU, 106 Sears Ave., 893-7776, www.cafeloulou.com. After leaving Clifton for St. Matthews, it’s nice to know that nothing got lost in the move. The popular eatery still serves up lavish Mediterranean-Italian-New Orleans portions, a festive atmosphere and striking art pieces. (Reviewed 8/8; Rating: 86) CAFFÉ CLASSICO, 2144 Frankfort Ave., 894-9689, www.caffe-classico.com. Caffé Classico…
The Bar Belle
Gettin’ Stumbly in KYThe fourth annual Gettin’ Drunky in Kentucky pub crawl this past weekend was bigger than ever — at one point we counted more than 50 participants clad in Smurf-blue T-shirts snaking through the Original Highlands Festival and beyond. This year’s crawl featured 13 stops, from the Outlook Inn to Bearno’s Highlands. We…
Raise yourself up on wings of fire
The calendar says it’s September, and just about everybody in town is fired up for the Cards vs. Cats weekend. So where are the colorful leaves, that hint of wood smoke in the air and the crisp, hazy autumn afternoons that define “football weather”? OK, so it’s a little early for that, with temperatures still…
Film Review – 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma 3 stars Starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Alan Tudyk, Peter Fonda and Gretchen Mol. Directed by James Mangold. Released by Lionsgate. Rated R; 1:57. “3:10 to Yuma” rubs the grit back into action movies. After a summer of CGI-fueled fight scenes where even John McClane upgraded to superhero powers, this Western brings…
Video Tapeworm: Releases through Tuesday, Sept. 18
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKSGRINDHOUSE PRESENTS: DEATH PROOF2007; DVD $28.95-$39.95, RA two-disc Special Edition release of the lesser half of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez “Grindhouse Presents” project with Kurt Russell as a deranged stuntman who mows down unsuspecting babes on the highway. Until he picks on the wrong pack of pretties, that is. With references to…
CD Reviews 9-12
One Cell in the SeaA Fine Frenzy(VIRGIN) The rat-a-tat piano and drum rolls of Alison Sudol’s debut album echo Coldplay’s pop progression but never wallow in any one languid space. The emotional content of her lyrics are interesting and powerful, like on the standout “Whisper”: I’m down to a whisper/in a daydream on a hill/shut…
