FLASHBACK: "Blog of the Year NA Confidential's press release takes third straight top press release award in its own competition."

Headline: "This is the fifth time in the past nine years that the News and Tribune has been designated Newspaper of the Year for CNHI."

I can't believe it's been five+ years since CNHI's "homer" awards annoyed me enough to comment. Gadzooks, I may be maturing or something. Let's revisit the acrimony (in 2013 and 2014).

---

March 26, 2013

NA Confidential press release takes third straight top press release award in its own competition.

1117 EAST SPRING STREET NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION — NA Confidential was named Blog of the Year for the third consecutive year in the Best of NA Confidential blogging competition for 2012.

The blog — with offices in the aging laptop belonging to the senior editor — competed in the “Only New Albany Blog That Matters” category, which is the only category awarded, and was honored by itself for comprehensive coverage of the devastating errors found in CNHI publications based locally but owned from afar. Individually honored in the “only New Albany blog that matters” category were Bluegill, who was named Junior Editor of the Year in his most recent year at the blog, and Senior Editor Roger A. Baylor, who was named polemicist of the year for the third time in the past four years of voting for himself after precluding other entrants.

NA Confidential received praise from a team of NA Confidential judges for “breadth of coverage, strong photography and initiative” in everyday news and civics coverage, but especially in the aftermath of the latest offenses against taste and decency committed by the CNHI publication based locally but owned from afar, which dreadfully bored readers in Floyd County, Clark County and surrounding areas, according to an NAC news release.

“During the CNHI publication’s reign of terrors, I watched as our reporters, photographers and designers did some incredible work documenting a horrific time in this area’s journalism history,” said NA Confidential’s Roger A. Baylor. “They went about their business as clock-punchers, but what really struck me at first read, though, was how everyone did their work with such devotion to posting Bible proverbs.”

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a pop-ad to foist on unsuspecting on-line readers."

Baylor, who has worked in blogging for 10 years and in five states of booze-addled consciousness, added, “The residents of Clark and Floyd counties are served by some of the best and brightest producers of birdcage lining anywhere in the country. I’m so happy for the parakeets able to use that as a target and for their aviaries.”

The NA Confidential blog has won Blog of the Year each year a competition has been held for itself, run by itself, and with nary a merger in sight.

NA Confidential serves more than 130 readers housed in at least 23 separate New Albany street addresses. The annual Best of NA Confidential recognizes the individual and collective works of the company’s two contributors and sole voters.

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December 10, 2014

NA Confidential wins "General Cantankerousness" at HSBA awards in Birdseye.

There wasn't an award for Best Twitter Parody.

NA Confidential won 12 awards — including General Cantankerousness in its division — at the 48th weekly Hoser State Blog Association Foundation Better Blogging Awards on Saturday at the No Tell Motel in Birdseye.

General Cantankerousness is based on the number of welts administered.

“I’m really proud that the great work of the NA Confidential staff was recognized by our bile judges,” said Editor Roger A. Baylor. “Winning General Cantankerousness shows the depths to which we’ll descend to match what other chain photographers, reporters, designers and editors produce every day, and we’re excited to win six first-place HSBA Foundation awards. It’s one of our best showings in the weekly contest in my nine relatively sober months of paying scant attention to awards.”

NA Confidential competes in division four against blogs of similar size:

Freedom to Screech
Kitchen Linoleum
Laryngitis of the People

But in the spirit of déjà vu ... haven't we been here before?

Why yes, we have. Let's return to March 26, 2013 ...

NA Confidential press release takes third straight top press release award in its own competition.

The NA Confidential blog has won Blog of the Year each year a competition has been held for itself, run by itself, and with nary a merger in sight.

NA Confidential serves more than 130 readers housed in at least 23 separate New Albany street addresses. The annual Best of NA Confidential recognizes the individual and collective works of the company’s two contributors and sole voters.

Although Bluegill was a bit annoyed.

I'm just bummed NAC didn't snag a web design award this year. The site template it shares with so many others couldn't be any more innovative and effective, even if the person at Blogger HQ who actually designed it tried really, really hard. I'm proud to work with them.

No biggie. We'll keep calm and carry on as the New Albany blog no one reads.

The two most recent Manic Street Preachers albums, ending one era and beginning another.

A new Manic Street Preachers album has been released. It's called Resistance is Futile, and I love it. There'll be more to say about the album at another time; for the moment, here's a glorious song (above) and an excerpt from the review at NME:

A Franz von Stillfried-Ratenicz photograph called ‘Samurai Warrior 1881’ adorns the sleeve of the Manics’ 13th album, ‘Resistance Is Futile’. It’s a snapshot of one of the very last warriors of his kind. Much like the record’s title itself, is this a call to arms in the face of the changing tide, or an acceptance of defeat?

“People get tired, people get old – people get forgotten, people get sold,” pines James Dean Bradfield on opener ‘People Give In’, but rather than collapsing under the weight of the sorrow at how “there is no theory of everything”, the band gloriously rise from the ashes – driven by their hardened will just to exist and grow stronger.

This morning over coffee, my thoughts turned to the band's previous 2014 release, Futurology, and I started thinking about the way certain aspects of your life make perfect sense in an instant, while others take a while. It's especially relevant to me now, with Pints&union just around the corner (cross your fingers for early July).

In 2014, I turned 54, perhaps a bit late for grand epiphanies, but those were exactly what I received, one after the other, all year long.

We closed the original kitchen at Bank Street Brewhouse. My mother sold the house where I was raised, and she moved to Silvercrest. After four years of continental absence, Diana and I returned to Bamberg and Poperinge, two of my favorite European cities, and we also visited Berlin together for the first time.

The album Futurology by Manic Street Preachers was released in July, 2014. It quickly became my preferred soundtrack for the latter portion of the year, and now, when I listen to a track like "Between the Clock and the Bed," it reminds me of how hopeful I felt at the time. All the changes coming down weren't easy, but even then, there was a dawning awareness that they were necessary.

In retrospect, it's clear to me that the year 2014 was about addressing exhaustion, plotting escape and seeking redemption. Numerous challenges were ahead, and I was gathering the strength needed to take a big leap into the unknown, which is exactly what happened in 2015 and the years since.

If Futurology was the soundtrack to the end of an era, Resistance is Futile is poised to serve the same purpose for the start of a new one. This is the effect music has on my brain, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

As an aside, thanks to everyone with whom I chatted last week at the Fest of Ale. It's humbling and flattering that you're interested in the forthcoming pub, and I hope to have a more coherent update about all of it very soon. Stay tuned, and thanks again.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: All these unresolved issues, and there goes the mayor -- pouring cash into the Valley View golf course "partnership."

The Green Mouse no longer is surprised by anything. As it turns out, Donald Trump isn't the only one wasting time (and your money) at the golf course.

Hearing that City Hall has taken over operations of Valley View Golf Course. Zach Johnson has been hired as head pro. From what I understand, he is a city employee and not an employee of the golf course. Also, Valley View Golf Club LLC still owns the land where the clubhouse, restaurant and bar is located, so I assume it is operating independently of the golf course.

Ah, but it's all about "quality of life," eh?

It's a bit strange that Mayor Gahan wouldn't annex the hospitality portion, too, given his team's constant claims to have revitalized New Albany's food and dining scene all by themselves.

On second thought, Develop New Albany did that.

Back on September 29, 2015, the Green Mouse brought to light the extent of the city's ongoing "partnership" with Valley View. For those just tuning in, quirks of local history have resulted in county government owning the Sam Peden Community Park enclave within the city, and the city owning Valley View in the county.

---

Green Mouse asks: Who knew the city "abated" almost $1 million in lease payments for Valley View Golf Course? (2015)

The Green Mouse isn't much of a golfer, but recently he came across documents that suggest a disturbing absence of transparency on the part of city officials during last year's Valley View Golf Course reconstruction.

In a "Status of Reconstruction Project" memorandum dated May 25, 2014, written by club president John Kraft and addressed to the golf club membership, two conditions for the reconstruction project are identified (underlined passage is ours).

Your Board of Directors met on May 22, 2014. As stated during the opening day activities, this memo is written to provide an update on the reconstruction project and additional information you may find interesting.

The Board unanimously approved a loan proposal from Your Community Bank to finance the construction of 19 new greens and 18 new bunkers. This loan remains contingent on two items: 1) that the city of New Albany signing a revised Agreement, now an Operating Agreement, that essentially abates our payment obligations during the life of the loan (16 years), and 2) the commercial appraisal of our facility and assets that will be used as collateral for the loan. The city currently has a final draft of the Operating Agreement and we remain confident this will be executed soon.

The lease payments in question are $60,000 per year, totaling a $960,000 abatement over the 16-year term.

The minutes of the June 24, 2014 Board of Public Works and Safety meeting document the city's official explanation of the new operating Agreement.

Mr. Gibson presented an operating agreement between the city of New Albany and Valley View Golf Club, Inc. He explained that this deals with the quality of life projects that they have been doing over the last couple of years which include the aquatic center, the sports complex, and improvements to the parks. He stated that this goes along with those other improvements and explained that the paving of cart paths have been approved for Cherry Valley Golf Course and this is another intiative dealing with Valley View and the land out in that area. He explained that the golf course is owned by the City of New Albany and there has been a lease agreement with Valley View since that time and this will modify and replace the old long term lease with an operating agreement which basically says that the land will continue to be used as a golf course and Valley View will continue to maintain and operate it on behalf of the city.

A question from Warren Nash followed: Is the club making the improvements?

Mr. Gibson stated that they are and they are assuming all of the debt that goes along with the improvements.

The $960,000 abatement is not mentioned in the minutes. BOW unanimously approved the agreement, and on July 28, another memorandum to club membership from Kraft confirms it.

... making a true partnership in the spirit of the cooperation between the Club and the City when I-64 forced the Club to move from New Albany to Floyds Knobs.

That, and now $960,000 more.

On June 24, 2014, following the choreographed Board of Works rubber stamp, the News and Tribune reported details of the city of New Albany's new operating agreement with Valley View.

The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to a 16-year operating agreement Tuesday that will see more than $700,000 in improvements made to the course.

The best part, from the city’s standpoint, is that Valley View will be paying for the upgrades, which will feature 19 new greens at the golf course.

City residents will also receive a 10 percent reduction in green fees when they play a round at Valley View ...

... Shane Gibson, an attorney with the city’s legal department, said the city will also receive 5 percent of gross sales

“This will be a good, positive step for land the city of New Albany owns,” Gibson said.

The mayor was ready with a press release.

“These long-overdue investments will benefit the people of New Albany now and for many years to come,” Mayor Jeff Gahan stated in a news release issued following the board of works meeting.

From start to finish, either in BOW minutes or the newspaper's coverage, is there any mention of the $960,000 abatement.

And by the way, city council knew nothing until the deal was done.

For those of you keeping score, it looks as though another cool million should be added to the bill ... and deducted from a neglected list of opportunities.

An oldie but a goody: "The truth got me kicked out of a Mike Pence event today."

This essay from 2014 is a minor classic.

It sufficiently hilarious to observe Pence taking credit for what he opposed, but the funniest moment of all is when the author's relative snatches the protest sign from his hands.

Lemme tell you, pal, I know the feeling.

The truth got me kicked out of a Mike Pence event today, by bradams (Daily Kos)

 ... Today was the official dedication ceremony for the recently-completed but long-overdue Milton (KY) - Madison (IN) Ohio River bridge ...

 ... The dedication ceremony was attended by both Governor Steve Beshear (yeah!) of Kentucky and Governor Mike Pence (boo!) of Indiana. As we all know Mike Pence was the #3 Republican in the House in 2009. He strongly advocated against the stimulus, saying:

“[The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act] won’t work to put Americans back to work. It won’t create jobs. The only thing it will stimulate is more government and more debt. It will probably do more harm than good.”

Green Mouse asks: Who knew the city "abated" almost $1 million in lease payments for Valley View Golf Course?

The Green Mouse isn't much of a golfer, but recently he came across documents that suggest a disturbing absence of transparency on the part of city officials during last year's Valley View Golf Course reconstruction.

In a "Status of Reconstruction Project" memorandum dated May 25, 2014, written by club president John Kraft and addressed to the golf club membership, two conditions for the reconstruction project are identified (underlined passage is ours).

Your Board of Directors met on May 22, 2014. As stated during the opening day activities, this memo is written to provide an update on the reconstruction project and additional information you may find interesting.

The Board unanimously approved a loan proposal from Your Community Bank to finance the construction of 19 new greens and 18 new bunkers. This loan remains contingent on two items: 1) that the city of New Albany signing a revised Agreement, now an Operating Agreement, that essentially abates our payment obligations during the life of the loan (16 years), and 2) the commercial appraisal of our facility and assets that will be used as collateral for the loan. The city currently has a final draft of the Operating Agreement and we remain confident this will be executed soon.

The lease payments in question are $60,000 per year, totaling a $960,000 abatement over the 16-year term.

The minutes of the June 24, 2014 Board of Public Works and Safety meeting document the city's official explanation of the new operating Agreement.

Mr. Gibson presented an operating agreement between the city of New Albany and Valley View Golf Club, Inc. He explained that this deals with the quality of life projects that they have been doing over the last couple of years which include the aquatic center, the sports complex, and improvements to the parks. He stated that this goes along with those other improvements and explained that the paving of cart paths have been approved for Cherry Valley Golf Course and this is another intiative dealing with Valley View and the land out in that area. He explained that the golf course is owned by the City of New Albany and there has been a lease agreement with Valley View since that time and this will modify and replace the old long term lease with an operating agreement which basically says that the land will continue to be used as a golf course and Valley View will continue to maintain and operate it on behalf of the city.

A question from Warren Nash followed: Is the club making the improvements?

Mr. Gibson stated that they are and they are assuming all of the debt that goes along with the improvements.

The $960,000 abatement is not mentioned in the minutes. BOW unanimously approved the agreement, and on July 28, another memorandum to club membership from Kraft confirms it.

... making a true partnership in the spirit of the cooperation between the Club and the City when I-64 forced the Club to move from New Albany to Floyds Knobs.

That, and now $960,000 more.

On June 24, 2014, following the choreographed Board of Works rubber stamp, the News and Tribune reported details of the city of New Albany's new operating agreement with Valley View.

The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to a 16-year operating agreement Tuesday that will see more than $700,000 in improvements made to the course.

The best part, from the city’s standpoint, is that Valley View will be paying for the upgrades, which will feature 19 new greens at the golf course.

City residents will also receive a 10 percent reduction in green fees when they play a round at Valley View ...

... Shane Gibson, an attorney with the city’s legal department, said the city will also receive 5 percent of gross sales

“This will be a good, positive step for land the city of New Albany owns,” Gibson said.

The mayor was ready with a press release.

“These long-overdue investments will benefit the people of New Albany now and for many years to come,” Mayor Jeff Gahan stated in a news release issued following the board of works meeting.

From start to finish, either in BOW minutes or the newspaper's coverage, is there any mention of the $960,000 abatement.

And by the way, city council knew nothing until the deal was done.

For those of you keeping score, it looks as though another cool million should be added to the bill ... and deducted from a neglected list of opportunities.

ON THE AVENUES REWOUND: Complexities and simplicities in Boomtown.

ON THE AVENUES REWOUND: Complexities and simplicities in Boomtown.

A weekly web column by Roger A. Baylor.

Yesterday we learned there will be a sophomore edition of the Boomtown Ball & Festival, to be held on Sunday, May 24. As reported by the News and Tribune, City Hall's press release leaves a few details unreported, but the broad overview is complete.

BAND BUZZ: Houndmouth to present encore Boomtown Ball & Festival in New Albany

NEW ALBANY — A band with New Albany roots making waves on the national music scene is presenting the second annual Boomtown Ball & Festival, and is curating the event’s music lineup.

Houndmouth, along with New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan and WFPK, are staging the Sunday, May 24 event, which serves as the kickoff for New Albany’s Bicentennial Park Summer Concert Series, according to a news release from Production Simple.

The release does not state whether Houndmouth will perform at the event.

As for the band, Houndmouth's tour schedule shows the group with the weekend off, and it is as yet unclear whether the newspaper's reporter Daniel Suddeath will await their arrival with subpoena in hand.

As for NABC's beer of the same name, of which somewhere between 15 and 20 kegs were vended to eager fest goers in 2014, readers from Timbuktu know exactly as much as I do. Really.

The same consideration applies to speculation about the fest's difficult and intricate layout, which (I'm guessing) will change owing to construction under way at the farmers market. Without a trace of irony, permit me to wish the best to whomever works out the "drinks enclosure" details this year.

It won't be me. After all, I'm on leave of absence. Following is last year's Boomtown preview.

---

Complexities and simplicities in Boomtown.

(original 2014 text)

Friday is a very important day. That’s because I’m getting a haircut. Personally, it is slated to be a timely and symbolic act, considering that my year to date has constituted a journey from complexity to simplicity – and for me, taking care of foot-long hair has become far too complicated.

This hirsute situation, which has taken several years to create, will be rectified in short order with the generous assistance of Strandz & Threadz, which will be staging its annual Cuts for a Cure. My original aim was to solicit donors for the occasion, but unfortunately the daily grind has been a bit too … well, complicated, so instead, I’ll make a donation on behalf of those friends who would have been subjected to the hard sell. It’s simpler that way.

---

By all rights, Tuesday should have been a day for New Albanians to triumphantly remind the world that while Jeffersonville’s connecting ramp to the Big Four Bridge finally was open, those many months of barred, inaccessible ineptitude could not possibly be forgotten – and, by comparison, New Albany still had its act together as the Brooklyn/Hoboken/Boomtown/Not Jeffersonville of the Falls Cities.

In fact, one can conceive of only a handful of ways for us to flush such a commanding lead in the waning seconds, among them photos of a Democratic grandee in bed with a sheep, a Padgett truck wedged into two Spring Street buildings while trying to make a turn, or 387 Little Leaguers forming a human chain across the Plan Commission.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and somewhere in the world an elderly Franco Harris donned a Red Devils uniform, grinning broadly in approval as we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, yielding the usual media spin:

Reporting from Jeffersonville: Look at these delighted folks crowding the Big Four in their spandex with Bibles, ice cream cones and homespun drooling.

Reporting from New Albany: POLICE SCANDAL! NEWS AT 11!

Two days later, it has gotten even more Byzantine. Sifting through the usual stenography from the same Jimmy Olsens:

First, a police officer registered a complaint over alleged incidents some years back, and threatened a lawsuit.

Next, the chief of police suddenly quit for “family” reasons, followed by her second in command, albeit of a different family.

Then, a grand jury made a report on a recent alleged episode involving a police officer, but declined to issue an indictment.

An agoraphobic City Hall seemingly shaken to its core by the grudging necessity of appearing in public to address any issue other than “quality of life” in EDIT-funded parks gradually rushed forward to reassure the citizenry that each of these policing occurrences took place in a hermetically sealed vacuum similar to that surrounding municipal parks construction decision-making.

Now our choices are to ignore these protests of non-linkage and retreat to our favorite watering holes to formulate conspiracy theories, a habit sometimes referred to by cultural anthropologists as the “old lady Internet troll with dangling cigarette” theorem, or to go even deeper by pondering which is worse, multiple acts of weirdness taken together or separately?

As far as I’m concerned, it’s Rosenbarger’s fault, and nothing a few bump-outs wouldn’t cure.

But seriously: At this precise moment, the only thing crystal clear about any of it is that we’ll have a new police chief. Beyond that, it’s all innuendo and murk. I’m not jumping to conclusions.

When we’re finished gossiping, might someone – City Hall, police department, Democratic central committee, Kim Jung-un – take an interest in the escalating speeds on our almost entirely unenforced one-way arterial streets?

---

This brings me to Sunday, when there’ll be a new event downtown called the Boomtown Ball and Festival. Boomtown is the brainchild of Houndmouth, a Southern Indiana musical group with strong ties to New Albany. The city has played a leading role in this celebration, as with the Bicentennial Park Concert Series, which begins on Friday, May 30.

On Sunday evening, the band will play a sold-out indoor show at The Grand. During the afternoon preceding Houndmouth’s performance, other bands will play on an outdoor stage at Market and Third, as selected and booked by Houndmouth and Production Simple, while in the farmers market space and on Bank Street, there will be vendors of all varieties as organized and arranged in the loose aggregation known as the Flea Off Market. It’s an all-ages, all-interests event.

A consortium of downtown food and drink businesses will operate the Boomtown Tavern, located within the confines of the farmers market pavilion. Owing to Indiana state law, the entire Boomtown festival will be located within a fence and enclosures, but of course, the full range of downtown’s independent businesses are a short walk away. Many of them will observe special Sunday opening hours for the occasion.

In a conceptual sense, if the Boomtown festival were to declare its relationship status, the likely choice would be “It’s Complicated.” Nothing about it has been simple, and yet the day slowly is coming together. By Sunday, we’ll be ready to muddle through it, and I’m sure everything will work out acceptably.

It’s worth remembering that when it comes to serving the cause of simplicity, communication goes a very long way toward reducing complexity to manageable levels, if not eliminating it outright. During the course of my involvement with Boomtown, I’ve tried to make decisions and urge solutions on the basis of more communication, not less, and in the simple recognition that downtown stakeholders already have issues with unanswered questions pertaining to pre-existing impositions (read: Harvest Homecoming) without needing any more of them.

I’m hoping that in spite of the many rough spots experienced while planning and executing this complicated first-time event, all those working so hard to make it happen will learn from the input offered by those doing business downtown, every day of the year. I can’t speak for everyone, but it has been revealing for me.

Downtown has changed, and we just can’t persist in top-down planning without seeking some measure of consensus first, from those who stand to be affected by the actions being considered.

Granted, the Boomtown Ball will bring commerce downtown on a Sunday, and of course, that’s a good thing, but it must be grasped by those in positions of authority that starting the Ball rolling by emphasizing the importance of a Louisville-based flea market – a fine and reputable institution in its own right – sent an immediate and frankly insulting signal to local merchants, which sounded like this: “We’re not good enough here, so we’ll bring in someone else’s panache.”

No, this was not the city’s intent. However, it was ill-considered just the same, and it has complicated every step of the process since.

Simplicity? Please, and here’s an example.

“Do you mind if we use your space?”

2014: My year of books and reading.

The advent of winter tends to come as a relief. My working world never really abates, because owning a business means always being on the clock. Writing as much as I do takes time, and that's a constant, but with winter comes more quality time for reading. It's required nourishment for better writing.

At this late date, it is unimaginable that music would not be playing in my head at all times, or that a book (or books) wouldn't be somewhere within arm's reach. I'm willing to read newspapers and magazines on an electronic device, though not a book. Books are meant to be tactile, and I'm closed to persuasion on this count, at least so far.

When I finally settle down to listing the books consumed in 2014, the first reaction is shock, in that it's half the number from 2013. Then it dawned on me that the average length of these books probably is in the range of 400-500 pages. Two of them are in excess of 800 pages. It seems as though I'm reading fewer books, longer books, and not enough novels.

Well, what can I say? 2014 was the centenary of World War I, and once things started rolling down the historical path, they stayed there.

The past year’s completed book list is offered here, somewhat chronologically in reverse, beginning with the most recent. Next up in the queue is Roberto Bolaño's novel 2666, although I'll set it aside for later in the year if my friend Jon and I can decide on a book to read in tandem, like we used to. Also, although the Bookseller isn't yet aware, I'll be ordering Havel: A Life, by Michael Zantovsky.

Works of fiction are marked with *

The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, by Mary Elise Sarotte

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt (previously read in 2008)

Thinking the Twentieth Century, by Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder

*The Vivisector, by Patrick White

Louisville Beer: Derby City History on Draft, by Kevin Gibson

Land of Promise: An Economic History of the United States, by Michael Lind

The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams, by Ben Bradlee Jr.

Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War, by Max Hastings

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914, by Christopher Clark

1913: The World Before the Great War, by Charles Emmerson

The World of Yesterday, by Stefan Zwieg

The columnist Dunman looks back at Louisville in 2014.

A river and state line separate us, but it's one big metro area. The trick is to parse the similarities and differences when concocting revolutionary slogans.

I've never met Joe Dunman, but his columns at Insider Louisville have been consistent revelations by virtue of their unabating relevance. We need more writing like his, not less.

Joe Dunman: From bike lanes to the minimum wage fight — a look back at Louisville in 2014 (Insider Louisville)

Over the past eight months I have penned regular opinion pieces for Insider Louisville, mostly about issues of law and government, and since May I’ve covered a lot of ground. No cause (noble or otherwise) should be pursued without periodic reflection, however, so in that light I present a year-end retrospective of my pontification.

Top Fifteen posts at NA Confidential for December, 2014.

The December Top Ten/Fifteen is determined by numbers of unique hits, as reported by Blogger. The list begins with No. 15 (five honorable mention), and ends with No. 1.

Following a fine statistical November, December continued strong in terms of postings, unique hits and page views. Because of this, the Top Ten once again is expanded this month.

Thanks for reading. Obviously, you are reading, even if some observers are fond of pretending otherwise.

FIVE HONORABLE MENTION

160

Bank Street Brewhouse is the Holiday Store Window Contest winner.

168

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

170

10 reasons why Jeff Gahan's quarter-million dollar farmers market fluff job is wrong for New Albany.

174

Pomp, circumstance and fickle fingers: Vote now for New Albany's "Person of the Year" for 2014.

177

ON THE AVENUES: Who (or what) is New Albany's "Person of the Year" for 2014?

TOP TEN

186 (tie)

News and Tribune to sell its building and relocate NA HQ to a handy laptop at Quills.

186 (tie)

ON THE AVENUES: The Adamite Chronicles: Have muzzle, will drivel.

187

Drinking Progressively returns tonight to Bank Street Brewhouse at 6:00 p.m.

205

What's next?: "Aunt Artie's in New Albany closing Wednesday."

247

Seeking to avoid termination, poor ol' Rosenbarger goes full Orwell and claims Main Street potholes as "successes."

260

ON THE AVENUES SUNDAY SPECIAL: How many businesses already have died because of City Hall’s street grid procrastination?

276

ON THE AVENUES: Fairytale of New Albania.

311

ON THE AVENUES: To the third floor -- but first, we throw the rascals out.

323

As NABC "soldiers on," Floyd County Brewing Company joins Donum Dei and Wrecker on the "coming soon" NA brewery list.

404 (tie)

Finally, the Carponizer Erotic Carp Calendar is here, and I want one.

404 (tie)

Mayoral hopeful David White offers exciting plan to keep the Reisz Furniture building dilapidated in 2026.

478

R.I.P. Rachel Blanton.

Top Fifteen posts at NA Confidential for November, 2014.

The November Top Ten/Fifteen is determined by numbers of unique hits, as reported by Blogger. The list begins with No. 15 (five honorable mention), and ends with No. 1.

Following a fine statistical October, November continued strong in terms of postings, unique hits and page views. Because of this, the Top Ten once again is expanded this month.

Thanks for reading.

---

FIVE HONORABLE MENTION

157

Lloyd Wimp +4: Gone, but not forgotten.

158

What we really need is for Bob Caesar keep his jewelry business and retire from his council seat.

168

Gahan re-election campaign off to full-throttle start at (mayor's) (city's) (?) Facebook page.

176

Are we about to see "Mainland: The Sequel" at the Coyle property on I-Spring Street in New Albany?

186

That Thursday morning meeting with the city I twice told you about? Shockingly, it has been postponed.

---

TOP TEN

194

The new Keg Liquors location in New Albany opens today.

218

New Albany's new slogan: "Truck Through City" ... Part 54: Jeff Gahan averts his gaze as dump trucks keep dumping all over us.

222

Downtown business owner: "Without the city itself doing more, we can kiss (revitalization) goodbye."

242

Floyd County hands its Democrats a purely epic, top-to-bottom beat down.

267

ON THE AVENUES: Really, the word “progressive” embarrasses you? That’s okay, because political cowardice disgusts me.

279

Local Democrats courageously prepare for 2015 by censoring Roger on social media.

282

Floyd County Democrats said to be itching for another bout ...

298

Is anyone interested in crafting a local platform while drinking craft beer?

822

I almost fell on my knees and cried when I saw THIS.

1200

City officials giddy as New Albany finally makes Guinness Book of World Records.

Raq'n Around the Christmas Tree is Monday night at The Grand, downtown New Albany.

The poster says it all. I'll stop by, say hi, and shuffle off to the city council meeting. Even I'm not entirely sure how NABC is helping out this year, but we're doing something ... and you should, too.

Top Fifteen posts at NA Confidential for October, 2014.

The October Top Ten/Fifteen is determined by numbers of unique hits, as reported by Blogger. The list begins with No. 15, and ends with No. 1.

October was NAC's birthday, and fittingly, it was the most prolific month ever in terms of postings, unique hits and page views. Because of this, the Top Ten is expanded this month.

Thanks for reading.

172

ON THE AVENUES: Chocolate covered frozen banana republic, or "understanding" Harvest Homecoming, our peculiar institution.

199 (tie)

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

199 (tie)

These two photos tell the compelling story of the 2014 Harvest Homecoming parade.

207

ON THE AVENUES: Egg, meet face: How many different ways can we botch the Main Street Deforestation Project?

230

ON THE AVENUES REWOUND: Incompatibility City ... with a 2014 preamble.

262

News and Tribune bombshell: "Fake Facebook accounts linked to State Rep's wife."

264 (tie)

Floyd County Health Department prepped for Ebola.

264 (tie)

It's the Harvest Homecoming Friday, dear -- and that means it's time for the Swill Walk.

290 (tie)

Devil's Rock night club is opening on Main Street.

290 (tie)

ON THE AVENUES: Now on tap at the ghost of Haughey’s Place: The politics of pure spite.

306

Meet Lee Ann Wiseheart and Danita Burks. They'd like you to vote them to the public school board. Their kids attend Christian Academy.

446

Same architect as always releases plans for new New Albany City Hall.

519

Et tu, Bobby? But not to worry. A council raise will make up for lost revenue during Harvest Homecoming, right?

531

A brewery at 1419 E. Market Street in New Albany?

754

Good grief, Wick's Pizza somehow has managed to tick off Harvest Homecoming worse than even me.

NABC calendar highlights for November, 2014.

NABC CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS FOR NOVEMBER … 2014

Quick reference dates:

• November 1 (Saturday): ThunderFoot Oak Aged Cherry Imperial Stout release at both NABC locations
• November 4 (Tuesday): Elector Day at both NABC locations
• November 28 (Friday): Saturnalia kickoff (Pizzeria & Public House only) and Naughty Claus Spiced X-mas Ale release (both NABC locations)

Welcome to our quick recap of upcoming events involving the New Albanian Brewing Company.

There are plenty of special goings-on during the cooler weather months, but typically these events are scaled somewhat smaller than those falling on open air dates in summer and fall. When the beers move indoors and the days get shorter, there is more time for contemplative and thoughtful drinking.

It seems like only yesterday that we were motoring to the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival. That was in April, and now the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season is coming. Taking all these factors into consideration, NABC will lead off November with a momentous release, one that isn’t scaled small … no, not at all.

Saturday, November 1
ThunderFoot Halloween Hangover and 2014 release at both NABC locations, with a special program at Bank Street Brewhouse
For the first time since 2011, NABC has brewed, bottled and kegged a new batch of ThunderFoot, our much sought-after, reasonably epochal Oak Aged Cherry Imperial Stout. 22-ounce bombers go on sale at both NABC locations on Saturday, November 1. You can buy as many bombers as you like for $13 each, plus sales tax. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Next year, we’ll make more. Drafts of ThunderFoot also will be pouring at both locations on the 1st of November, offered in half-pint pours only, and with no growlers allowed (see above).

The Pizzeria & Public House opens at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, withThunderFoot bombers and draft, as well as the usual wholesome food and drink options.

At Bank Street Brewhouse, we’ll have Eh Cumpari Pizza’s mobile wood-fired pizza oven on site from 1:00 p.m. until John decides to fold his tent. We think he’s experimenting with Nutella and bacon. Also at BSB on the 1st, our friend, musician and urban poet Thunder Wrane will perform in the WCTU Reading Room at 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 4
Elector Day at both NABC locations
NABC’s Elector Ale was born 12 years ago on Election Day, 2002. Now it’s 2014, and on November 4, we’ll be celebrating Elector’s birthday at both NABC locations with big cuts in the “poll” tax:

• $2 Imperial pints of Elector, all day long
• $6.66 growler refills of Elector, all day long

The Pizzeria & House opens at 11:00 a.m., and Bank Street Brewhouse at 3:00 p.m. No longer must we labor under the injustice of an election day prohibition on alcohol sales, so drink early and vote often.

Friday, November 7
Our friends at Bridge Liquors (110 Knable Lane in New Albany) will be offering NABC’s ThunderFoot and Hoosier Daddy for a Friday night beer tasting from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 22
“Chili, Brats, and Brew” is a fundraiser for the Vintage Fire Museum and Safety Education Center (723 Spring Street, Jeffersonville). The museum is a nationally known collection of restored fire engines (hand pumpers, chemical engines, horse-drawn steamers and early motorized engines) and other equipment dating back to 1756. NABC will be on hand to sell Progressive Pints for pairing with the food.

Plaid Friday, November 28 
Saturnalia Winter Solstice MMXIV and Naughty Claus release
Saturnalia Winter Solstice MMXIV, kicks off on Plaid Friday, November 28, at NABC’s Pizzeria & Public House. This is the eleventh edition of Saturnalia, which first took place in 2004.

For Saturnalia, we try to find representative samples of winter and seasonal styles (themselves pleasingly varied, in stylistically terms) from guest breweries, and augment them with others that strike us as somehow festive in purely subjective ways. Not only is it fun, but it’s also educational, providing Roger with frequent polemical opportunities to pontificate about the importance of unleashing our innermost pagans. When the lineup of Saturnalia guest drafts is finalized, typically a last-minute task, it will appear on the NABC web site.

Saturnalia also marks the annual release of NABC’s Naughty Claus (Spiced X-mas Ale). While pre-ordered supplies of Naughty Claus will be shipped to wholesalers and retailers prior to Saturnalia, we’ll not begin pouring Naughty Claus (at both NABC locations) until our traditional holiday opener on the 28th of November. While we understand the demands of the marketplace, our preference is to be seasonal when seasonal really matters.

Saturday, November 29
The annual Holiday Fest and Jingle Walk takes place in downtown New Albany. The walk itself takes place in the afternoon and emphasizes wine tastings in retail shops. FYI: Bank Street Brewhouse will be serving beer.

Looking ahead:

• January 2 (Friday): Hoptimus Inception Reception 2015 … at NABC Bank Street Brewhouse
• January 18 (Sunday): Old Lightning Rod Day … at NABC Bank Street Brewhouse
• January 31 (Saturday): BIG Winterfest … at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis IN
• February 21 (Saturday): Tailspin Ale Fest … at Bowman Field, Louisville KY
• February 27 (Friday): Gravity Head 2015 … at NABC Pizzeria & Public House

—

Note: Both NABC locations will be closed on Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 27.

NABC has two locations in New Albany. Our original Pizzeria & Public House near IU Southeast offers a pizzeria-style food menu, NABC’s beers of proven merit and a list of quality guest beers. In downtown New Albany, our taproom at Bank Street Brewhouse no longer prepares meals, but you can pair NABC drafts and bomber bottles with delivery food, carry-in or the contents of your own picnic basket. However, for those venturing to read all the way to the end, there may be a surprise coming soon on the BSB food front. We’re working on it.

Top Ten posts at NA Confidential for September, 2014.

The September Top Ten is determined by numbers of unique hits, as reported by Blogger. The list begins with No. 10, and ends with No. 1.

As a side note, I'm pleased that three ON THE AVENUES columns appear on the Top Ten list for September. The non-local newspaper never figured THAT one out, did it?

181

Dear Taco Punk: Come on over to the West Bank. I have a kitchen, you know.

182

New Albany's new slogan: "Truck Through City" ... Part 38: Have you heard the one about J & J Pallet and the Main Street Deforestation Project?

189

Previewing the colorful floats on lovely residential Spring Street at this year's Harvest Homecoming parade.

190

ON THE AVENUES: The same tired "run government like a business" mantra.

198 (tie)

Sincere apologies to the Jehovah's Witnesses who've besmirched my porch.

198 (tie)

Squeals of arousal and delight resound across the 3rd council district as more of the city's history bites the dust.

208

ON THE AVENUES: Listing the most influential books in my life.

227

Dapper suburban-derived orgasms ripple across the 3rd council district as 922 Culbertson is prepared for demolition.

230

Are we about to witness a reincarnation of La Rosita?

293

Keg Liquors announces the closing and imminent relocation of its New Albany location.

500

ON THE AVENUES: Law-abiding by weenie was never this viral.