Everyone else can watch too but this is really for my west coast friends so they can have a peek at some bourbon yumminess and know what to expect when they come visit soon.

How cool would it be to bike from Mobile, Alabama to Niagra Falls, Ontario? Pretty darn cool. That's just what this blogger is doing. She came to my attention because after 16 days of riding she and the other women on the bike tour spent their fourth resting day in Louisville. She had very lovely things to say about Louisville.

Louisville is a beautiful city. Our hotel is in downtown, just off the Ohio River between Main and Market Streets, so we could walk or take the trolley to so many great places. The lazy rest day I had planned didn't happen--there was just too many good things to do. Louisville is the hometown of Muhammad Ali, and I admire so much his determination to succeed in the sport he loved, so I had to go see his museum. Then there was the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory--I couldn't miss that either. I saw a huge YMCA just down from the hotel, and went there to see if they had a Yoga class or a lap pool. They had both, so I swam a half hour, then went to Yoga. Oh, and I was able to squeeze in a massage and a late lunch between the museums and the swim. It was a beautiful day here, and I walked a lot, but I'm so glad I got to visit this city for a day. I would like to come back one day.

You totally rock bike riding blogger Sondra Hartt. If you ever come back to Louisville I hope you'll let me show you around.

Big Brown, named of course after major Louisville employer UPS, has kicked ass in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. No reason to think he won't do the same in the third leg. So, in honor of those victories a little video magic.





*Which is to say totally synonymous.

I was at a social gathering this weekend when some semi-recent transplants to Louisville offhandedly said something like "if you're going to sever your hand off Louisville is the place to be because they've got hand transplant experience here and they'll probably be able to reattach it and maintain hand functionality." Well, ok, that's a very odd thing to say but I'm always up for bragging on Louisville so sure, thanks for pointing out how cool and cutting edge the medical and bioresearch communities in Louisville are. Now let me do a little more bragging and point out a new, and I think, very exciting development from the Louisville medical research community.

An announcement this morning says that researchers have confirmed a connection between HPV and head and neck cancers. That potentially means that the virus for HPV (you know you've seen commercials for it with all the pre-teen girls talking about being "one less.") cold be used to prevent these types of cancers. Yes, yes it's all potential and pretty theoretical at this point but man that's cool.

Researchers at the University of Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center have confirmed a link between the Human papillomavirus and head and neck cancer.

Their findings could have implications for the prevention and treatment of such cancers.

Under the leadership of UofL resident doctor Payal Desai, the team analyzed tissue samples from former patients with head and neck cancer. They found that 29 percent of the samples were positive for HPV and that a majority were the HPV 16 strain of the virus.

These findings indicate that current vaccines, which protect against the HPV 16 virus, could prevent a large number of head and neck cancer cases.

Those are some pretty kick ass findings UofL James Graham Brown Cancer Center researchers. Well done.

Photographer Daniel Light is one of the most prolific in town. He's out and about capturing images of Louisville all the time. This image, Main Street Reflected, is one of my favorites by him.

A little blurb on Drinking Tours from the May 2008 edition of Outside magazine encourages visitors to hit the Derby infield (a little late for that but there's always next year), visit the Maker's Mark distillery down in Loretto and just all around have a good time here in the Louisville area. If a bourbon drinking tour sounds like a fine time you'd do well to visit JustAddBourbon.com to get info on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Urban Bourbon Trail here in Louisville.

THE DRAW The 134th Kentucky Derby takes place May 3 in Louisville, and while you're probably not interested in the stodgy Churchill Downs grandstand, the infield will quell your thirst for adventure: This debauched mud pit, full of fruit hurlers and flashers, inspired Hunter S. Thompson's first foray into gonzo prose (tickets, $40; kentuckyderby.com).

THE DRINK While worthy single-barrel bourbons like Elmer T. Lee's are all the rage with booze aficionados, we have a soft spot for Maker's Mark, the bourbon that first slaked our thirst when we were 21-ish. The reason is simple: Because Maker's uses wheat instead of the traditional rye, it has a softer, sweeter taste.

With the end of May right around the corner I thought now would be a good time to remind you that IdeaFestival is September 25-27, 2008. That means it's time to start looking at plane tickets and booking hotel rooms. I'll be putting together some "if you're coming to Louisville for IdeaFest" posts to help you have the absolute best time while you're in our fair city.

Last night was the May meeting of Social Media Club Louisville. It was a really good meeting with lots of interesting discussions. My favorite comment of the evening though came from a relatively recent SF Bay Area transplant. He'd had to go back to San Francisco for business and noted an insanely high Twitter adoption rate amongst friends and colleagues in San Francisco compared to Louisville. He was quick to say he didn't mean that comment be construed as being "down on" or negative toward Louisville. He followed up by declaring his undying affection for Louisville:

I Love Louisville. I can buy a house here.

With median house prices being in the $150,000 range here you don't have to be super wealthy to buy a house That means entrepreneurs bootstrapping startups, single income families, freelancers and lots of other folks in Louisville can actually afford property. Try that in the Valley.

Best Life Magazine put together a list of The 100 Best Places to Raise a Family. Louisville came in at #25 on the list.

Television executives seized the idea long ago: American families value where they plant their roots. The Cosbys had Brooklyn. The Cunninghams, Milwaukee. The Simpsons, Springfield. But fathers face reality when they're not in prime time. They want to raise their children somewhere safe, where they can attend good schools with favorable student-teacher ratios, above-average test scores, and respectable budgets. Plenty of museums, parks, and pediatricians also contribute to a good quality of life, whereas multihour commutes, expensive houses, and divorcing friends and neighbors do not. Best Life editors used these categories and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, FBI, American Association of Museums, National Center for Health Statistics, and American Bar Association to evaluate 257 cities.

While I'm not normally one to  traffic in rumors it is after all the political season. And when in Rome and all that. The manager editor of LEO, a local alt weekly, blogged the following:

A source close to the Obama campaign in Kentucky told LEO today that Clinton will use her appearance tomorrow night in Louisville to officially concede the Democratic primary to Barack Obama. Bill and Chelsea are planning to be here, and the word is the Clinton camp has informed national media to send their big guns to cover a major announcement in the Ville. Clinton's camp has denied it, of course.

I'm also not usually one to jump to outlandish conclusions. So I'll just point out that Hillary Please Stop came from here and you can make up your own mind.

Occasionally a photograph of Louisville turns up on Flickr that makes me go "Wow, that's so cool." This is one of those photographs. At first I was like "um, are you sure this is really in Louisville?'" then the fog cleared from my brain and I remembered it's at the Crescent Hill Reservoir.

_{Image by taurusaficionado on Flickr}

Louisville photographer David Harpe has put together my new very favorite website: Hillary Please Stop.

The site is a collection of pleas to Senator Hillary Clinton, in the form of photographs, to please stop her campaign for president.

"It is not surprising that Senator Clinton is not listening to media pundits, political consultants, or even some of her own advisors. After all, these were the same people that told her two years ago that she was the de facto nominee. But it is obvious now that the contest is over.

So who will she listen to? Well, maybe us.

That is the purpose of this site. Post your photo with a message. A message of support. A message that lets Senator Clinton know that she can stop the battle for President, and instead focus on being a strong Democratic force in the Senate."

_{Image courtesy of David Harpe and Hillary Please Stop}

....and they love them some 21c.

Just a few years ago, the five buildings that compose 21c Museum Hotel-19th-century warehouses and a bank-stood vacant on Main Street. What a difference a few million dollars can make. Now those refurbished, fine brick-and-cast-iron buildings house a world-class contemporary art gallery, a 91-room boutique hotel, and a first-rate restaurant that holds its own with the big boys anywhere. Dark wood floors, exposed-brick walls, and steel columns still give the rich feeling of the old, totally remade for the new. Floorboards salvaged from the 1860s buildings serve as bar fronts and front desk, and such touches add charm throughout the complex.

I love the lobby, with its sculptures behind the reception desk. If you're an artistic conservative, think before you enter. This isn't Norman Rockwell territory. And if old Norman's works were depicted here, they might be missing some clothing. Owners Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown gave a large chunk of their modern art collection to be on permanent exhibit in the hotel, and there's something to see in every nook and cranny.

- Southern Living Tales from the Road

Bicycling Magazine has named Louisville one of the three most improved cities for biking in the country. I'm thrilled that Bicycling Magazine has noticed how much work has been done to make Louisville a more bicycle friendly place. I'm not going to lie, there is still much work to be done, but we've made real strides forward. I ride my bike all over my neighborhood and am expanding my bike travels with nearly every ride.

What's happening: More miles of the Louisville Loop; more bike-lane connections; rumor of a permanent cyclocross venue; a second bike summit next year

Why: Mayor embraced cycling as a way to improve downtown liveability; bike summit created a visionary goal-the Louisville Loop-that has inspired the whole city

In case you're curious, our companions in the top three most improved cities are Washington D.C. and New York city.

Full article: The New Best Cities For Cycling

Curious about the kind of art you'll see when you visit 21c Museum Hotel? Of course you are. A few videos have popped up on YouTube that highlight some of the really interesting art and types of art you can expect to find there.

I don't actually know Craig Dos Santos but clearly he's a fine upstanding citizen with deep insight and feeling.
 

1. Name and what you do for a living?
Mathias Kolehmainen. I do software engineering for a living. I used to like computers. Now I hate them. But I still like solving problems using software.

2. How did you end up in Louisville?
My wife Juliet grew up here. When I met her I totally bought into the dream of moving to louisville and maybe getting a farm or something like that. And when I say farm, I mean some land in the country with an airstream on it. Think dwell, not farmers almanac. I always imagined it as a place to go where we could pursue whatever loud and space consuming hobbies we happened to be in to.

3. What did you think of Louisville before you moved here (if anything?)
The only thing I knew about louisville was that slint was from here. I am also a musician and slint-- as well as a few other louisville/louisville-related bands like evergreen, for carnation, and gastr del sol-- have been a big influence on me.

4. What preconceptions did you have about Louisville that have changed since moving here?
I thought that there really was not going to be a geek/tech scene at all. I visited several times, and came looking for a job after grad school, and was really only exposed to the large corporations (human, yum, GE). Now that I've been here a little while I've met a bunch of people (thanks really to the work that matt wynn is doing with forge louisville) who are doing interesting things with technology. It's no san francisco, but it is more than I think anyone would expect.

5. How do you like living here?
I like it. (sorry, I can't think of how to elaborate on this one.)

6. Has Louisville been a good place to do business?
I took a substantial pay cut to move here. That probably speaks more about my lack of good business sense than the louisville job scene. I'm used to doing work on the fringes of main stream software development. I do prototyping and implementations of new ideas coming out of the research community. There is definitely not much of a market for that here. I don't have a business. But I subscribe to Inc magazine.

7. What's your favorite thing about Louisville?
I like the laid back people. I like imagining that I have a job at brown-forman, where (I believe) you can have a bourbon at your desk in the afternoon. Of course that would make me completely useless at my job, but a man can dream can't he? Oh yeah, and spring is nice. Coming from california, seasons in general are nice.

8. What is Louisville missing (for my money it's a good creperie)?
Diversity. If you want to talk about food, I'd say it lacks interesting, small restaurants. I also feel like it lacks a variety of good foreign restaurants (there are some good ones to be sure, just not many).

What about a modern furniture store? Without that I'm forced to send all the money I'm saving on my mortgage out of state.

More independent cafe's would be nice, especially downtown. More bike lanes. Not that I have a bike. But I want to get one, seriously. And when I ride it, I want to ride on wide, asphalted, clearly marked bike lanes.

9. What's the one thing people should know about Louisville?
Eh... I'm drawing a blank here. Corn Island?

10. What's your favorite restaurant in Louisville?
Before I moved here I visited a lot over holidays and Derby and we made repeated visits to Jack Frys. I have a lot of sentiment for that place. When pressed I admit that it's the ambiance. The food is good, but not exceptional. It's also expensive. I can't defend my choice rationally.

God(ess) bless cell phones. Local rock band Wax Fang played a show last week and Jim James of local legendary rock band My Morning Jacket came on stage to join the band in a rendition of My Old Kentucky Home. An audience member, clearly a superior member of society, caught it on his phone video recorder that all the kids have these days.

The sound and video quality are pretty shoddy but it is still bad ass. Oh also, some maybe NSFW language can be heard in the background.


Thank you YouTube user asidereflex. You rock.

OK maybe saying the Wall Street Journal loves us is overstating things a wee bit but they did run a few nice articles relating to town and that little race we had here on Saturday. The most interesting article is "Where to Go When the Horses Aren't Running." It's a pretty good article except for the misspelling of Heine Brothers' coffee.
 

About a ten-minute drive from downtown, the Bardstown Road strip is another favorite hangout for Louisville locals. Spanning roughly from Broadway to the Douglass Loop, the area contains more art galleries, bars, coffeehouses, traditional and ethnic restaurants, and is easily explored on foot. Pass a lazy weekend afternoon at Hiene Brothers' Coffee, where you can enjoy a fair-trade pumpkin latte and browse the adjoining Carmichael's book store. If the weather cooperates, plop down on an outdoor bench and do some people-watching, or head around the corner for a bite at Ramsi's Cafe On the World, a funky and vegetarian-friendly restaurant. Live piano jazz and a cozy speakeasy vibe make Jack Fry's a friendly spot for new American cuisine and cocktails. Another important stop on any Louisville itinerary is a five-minute drive south, Lynn's Paradise Cafe, a famous neighborhood spot that serves stick-to-your ribs Southern cuisine like biscuits and grits.

For a digestive (or sobering-up) stroll, take in the vintage homes lining Cherokee Road and Cherokee Triangle, a neighborhood that includes the actual childhood home of author Hunter S. Thompson and the fictional homes where Jay Gatsby courted Daisy Buchanan in F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel. If you're visiting during daylight hours, make a side trip to Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Cherokee Park, an urban oasis for bike riding, walking, sledding and picnics.

1. Name and what you do for a living?
Dave Durand. I'm the president of Visual Scientists, an interactive studio. We focus on high-end online campaigns that require an engaging presentation. Flash, 3D and motion graphics let us get creative with that.

2. How did you end up in Louisville?
I met my wife in San Diego, where VS had originally started. The company being so young at the time (just me), we decided to move here so she could be closer to her family. I had driven her here from San Diego, and when I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. So it was an easy decision to move the business here.

3. What did you think of Louisville before you moved here (if anything?)
Well, San Diego is pretty amazing. The ocean, awesome beaches, palm trees... so when you think of anywhere that is deep in the mainland, it just doesn't sound appealing. So at the time, I just couldn't really grasp why it would be such a great place to live.

4. What preconceptions did you have about Louisville that have changed since moving here?
I thought Louisville was full of crazy backwood country folk. I was only partially right there. I also believed that Deliverance  was filmed here, and that also turned out to be incorrect. That being said, my first impression of Louisville was great, and all those crazy misconceptions are just laughable now.

5. How do you like living here?
I'm very happy. I have been able to start a family, get my business off the ground , and buy a house, all under the age of 30. The market in San Diego was competitive and pricey. It is comfortable here, and I think really easy to make things happen if you are motivated.

6. Has Louisville been a good place to run your business?
I would say for the most part, great. Affordable for sure. The only downside is that we wish we could do more business here. It seems like a lot of our clients are coming from cities larger than Louisville.

7. What's your favorite thing about Louisville?
The parks are great for going mountain biking , running, having a picnic, or grabbing a game of bocce ball with friends  It's all something that I catch myself taking for granted sometimes, but we are pretty fortunate to have such great places to hang out. I'm probably at Cherokee park the most, either with my wife and daughter or flying solo.

8. What is Louisville missing (for my money it's a good creperie)?
Right now, it looks like a Kroger downtown. Why build all these fancy lofts, with no place to shop? Come on guys.

9. What's the one thing people should know about Louisville?
That VS is here. I'll give you another one too though, so I don't seem selfish. Probably that it is 'Possibility City', the city did a good job on encompassing a lot of good traits of this city with that title.

10. What's your favorite restaurant in Louisville?
Right now it is a toss up between two very different restaurants. There is El Mundo. This place has excellent Mexican food, and if you ask for the 'extra super' hot sauce on the side, you are in for a treat. And then L&N Wine Bar and Bistro. Number one, they have wine on tap, and their fish and chips is mouth watering.

Turns out I'm not the only one who thinks Louisville is so cool she's willing to take on a major project to get the word out.

Leslie Lyons is a rock star photographer, no seriously, she's shot lots and lots of rock stars. Her work has appeared in Vibe, LIFE, Time, Rolling Stone, the Fader and many others and record labels like Atlantic Records, Columbia Records/SONY Music and Universal Music Group have hired her. She happens to live in love Louisville. She recently moved back here and digs it so much she's started a project called I Live in Louisville.

There's much going on in Louisville. With the recent merger of Metro Louisville and Jefferson County, we've been identified as the 16th-largest city in America. A city with quantity is one thing. But a city with quality -- now that's special. Louisville is special.

This is a city with much to offer: culturally, aesthetically, and economically. All these Louisville features are the result of people who make things happen here. Interesting people, smart people, creative people, innovative people. People who live here and make a difference in this community. And in many cases, exporting ideas, products, and arts to the world at large.

So she's using her photography to showcase these very cool people doing very cool things in Lousiville. The project site just launched yesterday but it's already got a host of interesting profiles live on the site. I'm impressed. The project really shows a diversity of people and diversity of work and service being done here.
 

I confess I've not eaten at Proof on Main yet. It's not for lack of interest or lack of good word of mouth about the place. I just, haven't been yet and now I've been shamed about my lack of visits by no less than my foodie bible: Bon Appetit.

In the June 2008 issue a brief article on fritters (mmm, fritters) recommends the chickpea and ham fritters with mustard crema at Proof. If it's good enough for Bon Appetit it's certainly good enough for me. Besides, anything combining chickpeas and ham is almost assuredly tasty yes?

1. Name and what you do for a living?
PJ Chmiel, self-employed graphic and web designer, activist, photographer, vegan food critic and scooter promoter.

2. How did you end up in Louisville?
In a very roundabout way! I'd been living in Chicago for 5 years but grew tired of the harsh winters, expensive rents, cookie-cutter condos and isolation from nature. I decided I was going to move, but didn't know where to...I'd been saving some money and have long loved road trips and motorscooters so I decided to quit my job, put my things into storage and set out on the road on a 10-week, 10,000-mile cross-country journey in search of adventure (and a new place to call home). I visited 30 states and provinces and most of the larger cities east of the Mississippi. I'd never considered Louisville as a place to move (or even visit...can you say "best kept secret?") but several of my wisest friends, including Louisville artist Kathleen Lolley (see her website at www.lolleyland.com, we both attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design) *insisted* that I come through here and check it out, and I'm really glad that I went out of my way to do so.

Deciding where to move was a difficult decision, the siren songs of Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Nashville were all strong (and I'd only spent about 24 hours in Louisville during my brief visit...the only time I'd ever been here!), but I chose this town because it offered the best of what I was looking for: a good climate, lower cost of living, quality independent stores and restaurants (I'm a vegan), fairly progressive politics, walkable neighborhoods, a nicely-preserved downtown with wonderful architecture and housing stock (one of the biggest factors for me), proximity to nature and scenery, a central location in a good part of the country, and so much more.

3. What did you think of Louisville before you moved here (if anything?)
I knew nothing about this city before my trip in 2006, save for the namesake baseball bats. My notions of Kentucky were probably typical for an unaware Northerner; caves and horses and coal-miners and banjo music somewhere off in the distance...

4. What preconceptions did you have about Louisville that have changed since moving here?
I'd say my mental image of the city is about the same as when I first visited, see 2b above, but there may be even more bearded men than I'd previously imagined.

5. How do you like living here?
I really enjoy living here, there's always something interesting to do, yet I seem to always run into someone I know when I'm out and about...so it seems less cold and anonymous than a huge metropolis. Plus it's small enough to get around without too much hassle.

6. Has Louisville been a good place to run your business?
Yes, business has been good and I think it would be easy to get more if I were out looking for it, lots of friendly acquaintances and word-of-mouth.

7. What's your favorite thing about Louisville?
Hard to choose just one! The beautiful tree-lined streets and historic architecture, the strong contingent of local independent businesses, the sense of community.

8. What is Louisville missing?
A few things that would make this a truly dynamite city would be more cohesive and greener public transit (forget about the bridges and let's lay the tracks for light rail, what are we waiting for, $10/gal. gas?!), more attention given to the marginalized parts of town...for instance the rarely-mentioned but enormous western half of the city, more diversity overall, more green initiatives like community centers and gardens, revitalized brownfields, cutting-edge green architecture, new bike trails, etc.

9. What's the one thing people should know about Louisville?
Louisvillians place way too much emphasis on college sports!

10. What's your favorite restaurant in Louisville?
Zen Garden on Frankfort. All healthy, totally delicious and made with love!