A yawning GREEN MOUSE presents NAWBANY WEEK IN REVIEW for 24 April.

New Albany remains in administrative double-secret COVID lockdown limbo as we conclude the sixth week of incrementally accrued Gahanesque imperial powers.

As The Economist pointed out yesterday, "Rulers everywhere have realised that now is the perfect time to do outrageous things, safe in the knowledge that the rest of the world will barely notice. Many are taking advantage of the pandemic to grab more power for themselves."

Rather than a city council meeting this or any other week, the body's button-down president Bob "CeeSaw" Caesar instead addressed the city's budget situation with a sing-along dial-up webcast from his backyard shed via a carrier pigeon named Zoom.

That's about all for news, folks. A quick recap, beginning with something genuinely amazing. After a quarter-century of nothingness, the city's downtown parking garage is receiving splashes of ... yes ... COLOR.

Say what? Look, it's a pandemic parking garage painting innovation.

The newspaper is diminishing, and the publisher is in denial.

The newspaper shrinks -- but let's leave psychiatrists out of it, okay Bill?

Hanson's not the only one. For the moment, my world's already gone -- and I won't kid you, it's been hard.

My homes away from home are gone, so the SOCIALIST is having BEERS WITH himself.

The relief effort continues at Pints&union, and if you're able, please consider a donation. Joe Phillips and our coordinator Jamie Yeager are doing the work of a half-dozen persons.

The LEE Initiative Restaurant Workers Relief Program at Pints&union, and how you can help by donating.

Say what? Look, it's a pandemic parking garage painting innovation.

I still like my idea better (December 4, 2016).

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My State Street Parking Garage public art dream.

Even better: Hang a Trabi right in the center.

Zoo TV Tour

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But what happened to "wrapping" the parking garage with apartments and other luxury amenities -- or did Cornerstone merely tithe the mayor's re-election slush fund and move on to a different town?

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March 19, 2017

Lucky ol' Cornerstone Engineering: Redevelopment awards $17,500 contract to explore the possibility of "wrapping the parking garage and adding apartments and businesses to the structure."

Here's one out the blue.

Redevelopment Commission secretary Adam "Where the Fix Is Always In" Dickey records Irving Joshua's strange musings on the possibility of the State Street parking garage's adaptive reuse (from the meeting of February 14).

Wouldn't you love it if Cornerstone came back with a recommendation to convert the parking garage into a farmers market?

Develop New Albany's on-line farmers market "poll" is a reeking, juvenile cesspool of intellectual dishonesty. (March 8, 2014)

Why is DNA opposed to having an intelligent community discussion about the farmers market and its place in a revitalizing downtown without resorting to the misconceptions and scaremongering?

Moreover, if we're paying engineering consultants to explore different uses for the parking garage, does it mean we don't have a parking problem, after all?

We need to hurry with the public art solution before Dogs Playing Poker wins -- again.

Chromatic Homes: "How the simple act of painting an ornate structure in bright or bold colors can inspire, empower, sustain and enlighten an entire community."

A Courier-Journal article sets the table.

Want to revitalize Louisville? Paint the town red. Or yellow. Or blue.

So says John Gilderbloom in his new book, “Chromatic Homes: The Joy of Color in Historic Places," (University Press of Kentucky, $24.95).

The director of the University of Louisville’s Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods asks readers, “Can chromatic homes be the secret sauce for neighborhood and community regeneration?”

Do people still give books as Christmas presents?

CHROMATIC HOMES: The Joy of Color in Historic Places

John I. “Hans” Gilderbloom explores and celebrates the appeal of these captivating houses in Chromatic Homes: The Joy of Color in Historic Places. Highlighted in gorgeous detail are the relevance of the homes’ styles and colors as well as their history—many believed to have been around for decades in American cities such as Louisville, Cincinnati, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Miami, and around for centuries in far-flung places such as Havana, Cuba, Venice, Italy, and Moscow, Russia.

Filled with 182 engaging and eye-catching photos of homes all across the nation and the world, Chromatic Homes perfectly illustrates how the simple act of painting an ornate structure in bright or bold colors can inspire, empower, sustain and enlighten an entire community. Chromatic Homes creates prosperity, pride, and joy for the homeowner and neighborhood.

Published by the University Press of Kentucky.

A sampling of new windows, paint and facades in downtown New Albany.

Then back to Pints & Union. The front doors are going to be red, and the first floor ceiling has been installed.

Of recent interest:

Exciting news from Schmitt Furniture: "All of our buildings are to have new windows installed, including the currently covered windows."

True colors: A Pints & Union visual update.

GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Is the price tag escalating for our luxury City Hall at the Reisz Furniture building?

INDOT to make funding available for railroad crossing safety projects. The path to the amphitheater might be one of them.

Quiet no longer, Josh Staten makes the newspaper: "New Albany reveals new redevelopment, economic development director."

ON THE AVENUES: New Albany's downtown food and dining scene is solid ... for now.

THE BEER BEAT: Fest of Ale returns on June 2, so please allow me to revive an idea for pre-fest fun next year.

The life and art of Georgia O'Keeffe.

Apologies for being a day tardy in marking International Women's Day 2017.

Imagine ... Georgia O’Keeffe: By Myself

We visit the farm where she was born, the New York college where she studied back in 1906, the skyscraper hotel where she lived with Stieglitz, Lake George where she often felt suffocated but did much of her most beautiful work and the legendary landscapes of New Mexico, with her two extraordinary houses there. We find an inspiring, honest and witty woman, and a truly original artist.

O'Keeffe was a true American original.

About Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the most significant and intriguing artists of the twentieth century, known internationally for her boldly innovative art. Her distinct flowers, dramatic cityscapes, glowing landscapes, and images of bones against the stark desert sky are iconic and original contributions to American Modernism.

The old Little Chef/Coqui's is the new Lady Tron's, coming soon, with a whole new color scheme.

The photo below is mine, and the one above is by Michael Wimmer, who says "The former Little Chef in New Albany gets a new face lift by Art Cartel."

Most recently Coqui's Cafe, the space is being transformed into Lady Tron's.

New owners, new menu, and a new paint job underway! This is the former "Coqui's" / "Little Chef" in downtown New Albany, now known as "Lady Tron's." Please share the news with your friends and family. We plan to open in December, serving fresh and delicious soups and sandwiches.

In case you haven't seen it, the most recent Art Cartel decor job in New Albany was the Honey Creme building: See the sweet new public doughnut art at NA's classic Honey Creme Donuts.

Northern Renaissance, with Jan Van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer and Hieronymus Bosch.

Any excuse to hoist Albrecht Dürer's image to the marquee is appreciated, but in fact this series is three hours well spent. The link takes you to the YouTube portal for all three episodes.

Northern Renaissance (BBC 4; first broadcast 15 Nov 2007)

Series in which Joseph Leo Koerner argues that the Renaissance in Northern Europe - more so than its Italian counterpart - laid the foundations of modern art.

The Supreme Art
A look at how Jan Van Eyck's oil paintings transformed the art world.

The Birth of the Artist
A look at painter Albrecht Durer, the first world-famous artist.

Image Wars
Joseph Leo Koerner examines the work of Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch.

Hieronymus Bosch would have adored New Albany.

I suspect that my experience isn't unique, in that Hieronymus Bosch first came to my attention as mentioned in passing in No One Here Gets Out Alive, the 1980 biography of Jim Morrison by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman. From there, it was off to the library, and later to European museums to see the paintings up close and personal.

Here's a decent old-school documentary about Hieronymus Bosch. View it at YouTube, and you'll find a collection of links to source material.