Mayor Jeff Gahan is on the list of mayors opposed to HJR-3.

Previously, I noted the absence of certain names on an important list.

Human rights on the down-low: If not for New Albany's city council opposition to the HJRs, we'd already be constructing the gulag.

This morning, I took another look at the Freedom Indiana website, and while Jeffersonville's Mike Moore remains conspicuously (and not unexpectedly) absent, Jeff Gahan's name is right there on the list. That's good. I'm happy to see it, even if I cannot recall the occasion of his utterance.

Who opposes HJR-3?

It's an ever-growing list. This gives New Albany a mayor and council in opposition, and let's not forget Rep. Ed Clere, who stands in stark contrast to his low-wattage compatriot, Rhonda Rhoads, with Ron Grooms still fleeing the question.

Interestingly, just the other day at Facebook, Grooms's opponent signaled an embrace of the argument from semantics. Chuck Freiberger was replying to a question from Bob:

Bob: It's been a long time chuck hope you and family are doing we'll have to ask you your stand on abortion and guy marriage pm me if you want please

Chuck: Bob, I will give you the short answer. As a catholic, I do not believe in abortion as a form of birth control. I do believe there are matters for decisions when it comes to the health for the mom and rape. The doctors and patients need to make that decision. (Marriage) I don't think it is right for me or anyone else to descriminate against others of whom I am different. I believe our state constitution already has marriage defined as being between a man and a woman. I would not vote in favor of the bill being presented in the legistlature now because it goes too far in taking the rights away from others.

Frankly, I couldn't tell whether the questioner was too eaten up with God to use the word "gay", or was simply illiterate. What about the gals, Bob? Can they marry, too?

I suppose this means that Chuck's okay with discrimination as a state law, but not as a constitutional change. Maybe party chairman Adam Dickey can clarify that for us, and then broadcast the clarification over these loud speakers.

Of course, with every passing day, council members Scott Blair and Diane Benedetti look more and more isolated on what probably will be remembered as a keystone issue of our time.

That's a real shame.

On HJR-3, Tully takes Rhoads to school, and she skips class.

A while back on Facebook, Brad Bell asked State Representative Rhonda Rhoads to comment on her motives for sponsoring HJR-3 (formerly HJR-6), and she did.

I believe that if the definition of marriage is changed from what is current law in the state of Indiana , than it should go before the citizens of Indiana to decide if they want a different definition, not allow one judge to make that determination. This discussion has been going on for some time. Let it rest in the hands of the voters... Not me, not one judge. Amending the constitution is not easy nor was it intended to be easy. Lots of discussion and time are required. I want you and all Hoosiers to participate in the discussion hence my help in authoring this bill. Thank you for participating!

Yesterday, IndyStar columnist Matthew Tully replied; not specifically to Rhoads, which would be tantamount to asking a weather forecaster to look out the window, but to Indiana's enduring strain of theocratic fascism, which has reared its stupid, latent, ugly head repeatedly during the HJR era. Tully's elegant and sensible retort is among the finest I have read, and unlike certain city councilpersons, I read more than one book every five years.

Rhoads, Ron Grooms, Steve Stemler (the latter a Dixiecrat) -- could they ... would they ... are they capable of understanding Tully's position?

Tully: Gay marriage debate’s biggest problem? It’s just plain wrong, by Matthew Tully (IndyStar)

... This amendment is so disturbingly wrong, so morally offensive, so out of step with where our nation is, that it’s hard to believe its advocates continue to persist. The idea that our political leaders are calling for a public referendum to make clear in the constitution that some of our neighbors are second-class citizens — well, it’s stomach-turning ...

... Although I hope that the state I love would reject the amendment, and the spirit behind it, I don’t know what will happen in what will likely be a low turnout mid-term election. Just like I don’t know what would have happened if Hoosiers had been asked not so long ago to vote on an amendment to ban interracial marriages, or to protect segregated schools or other forms of discrimination ...

At last, photographic evidence of the existence of Kerry Stemler's erogenous zone.

Was it as good for you as it was for him?

(Photos pilfered from various heavy machinery and earth mover mags)

I'll keep nagging you until you watch the Jeff Speck video.

Pretty good numbers so far, and you need to be one of them.

Robert Landrum captured the entire Jeff Speck presentation in New Albany on video, and posted it on YouTube. Watch it.

Here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBnU8q5zUvA

Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin (41 Shots)."

Musically, the year 2014 has started slowly. It isn't unusual.

Historically, in January there is a tendency for me to delve into classical and jazz, and so it has been again this year; high points to date include a Louisville Orchestra performance (and a forthcoming Kentucky Center Chamber Players gig at U of L on Super Bowl Sunday) as well as a happenstance reconsideration of trumpeter Sonny Berman. The pop/rock realm usually waits until February, and may have something to do with my need to be charged properly for Gravity Head's onslaught.

Bruce Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, is a hodge-podge collection of newly recorded covers, unreleased material and older songs freshly re-imagined. What makes it most interesting is the presence of guitarist Tom Morello, formerly of Rage Against the Machine. A generation removed from the Boss, Morello also inhabits political terrain to the left of his elder. The result isn't Jay-Z, but then again, this is my blog, and I wouldn't know a Jay-Z song if I tripped over it on the street.

The Springsteen-Morello partnership works quite well on an electrified "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (originally recorded acoustically in 1995), and the venerable "American Skin (41 Shots)." The latter originally was penned by Springsteen to address the shooting death of Amadou Diallo by New York City police in 1999. Several versions were released, and then it returned to the stage set following the killing of Trayvon Martin.

It's far too early to tell whether High Hopes will rank among my most-listened-to releases of 2014. Still, there is something undeniably comforting to me about Bruce Springsteen's unflagging work ethic. In a nation filled with angry white guys, it's actually possible to be angry for the "left" reason.

2014 REPRISE: Stop "reaching out" before I tear off your arm.

Seeing as a new year just got under way, a reminder is warranted, because just today, I saw this:

@BellsBrewery #Hopslam is gone unless u have already reached out!”

At work, I receive sales solicitations on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. Most of them are advertising pitches, which are annoying in the best of times. Especially in January, I can rely on LinkedIn to deliver a dozen new "friends," most of whom immediately begin asking me to buy insurance.

However,  other requests are for a wide array of worthy causes, to which I generally respond by donating one of my personal, guided tasting certificates. These tend to do quite well in silent auction formats. Admittedly, I'm finding it a bit tedious to be asked to donate multiple kegs of beer for your crucial fundraisers, but that's a different topic, for another time.

Recently I received an e-mail; names and organizations have been removed to protect those about to be harshly berated.

My name is ( ... ) and I am emailing you on behalf of ( ... ). I wanted to reach out and give you an opportunity to participate in our first annual fundraiser to be held ...

Pay attention, world, and observe these words carefully:

I wanted to reach out ...

That's what I thought you wrote.

Note that I DETEST THIS CONTEMPTIBLE, LAZY, MBA PROGRAM USAGE!

You can request, ask, demand, beg, implore or connive, and there's a good chance I will finish reading your words, or listening to you speak your piece.

But, henceforth, any solicitation I receive that bears any trace of this lingustic "reach out" repugnance will be unceremoniously trashed.

You have been warned.

Carry on.

Sorry we can't do business.

(Not really)

If "the industrial park is about job creation," then what are indie local businesses -- chopped liver?

I'll lead with the link, and then tie the knot.

Commentary: To Tout Good Jobs, Visit Main Street, Not Amazon, by Jeff Milchen (at Bloomberg Businessweek)

 ... While politicians always gravitate toward a photo op at a business that promises loads of new jobs, the sustainable creation of good jobs almost always occurs incrementally. The actions that help nurture real, lasting job creation rarely make headlines.

It seems that every politician masters the statistics about small business being the engine of job creation, but delivers the goods to corporations that wield significant political power.

Following the Jeff Speck presentation last Thursday, and amid a broader-ranging chat, I mentioned to David Duggins, New Albany's director of economic development and redevelopment, that local independent business owners earnestly question the disproportionate time and money spent on incentivizing the city's industrial parks, given the ongoing absence of an economic development plan downtown.

Duggins insisted there is an economic development plan downtown, although the only tangible plank he could identify on short notice was the declining Urban Enterprise Association's zone programs, and he defended disproportionate industrial park efforts with this statement (paraphrased but accurate):

"But the industrial park is about job creation."

I had no idea that the 20+ guys and gals now working at Bank Street Brewhouse, which was an empty building prior to our investing close to $1 million in it, apparently exist somewhere off an "official" job creation grid. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear the crash, is there a sound? If a tree falls downtown and there is no economic development appointee there to hear it ...

Duggins's logic mirrors that of One Southern Indiana, to which we, as a city, outsourced numerous economic development tasks long ago, primarily so that 1Si can add another layer of coddling to the traditional model of incentivizing the larger corporate entities -- like Amazon and others at the River Ridge industrial park, itself a large measure of pretext for the Ohio River Bridges Project, which stands to actively harm local independent businesses in Southern Indiana, presumably owing to what we're now told is our inability to create jobs, or at least the right type of jobs.

And yet, with almost no outside assistance, local independent business owners have invested millions in downtown New Albany and ... that's right: Created jobs.

We've also spent quite some time making a very public case that for us, as indies driving revitalization with our time and checkbooks, a rational street grid (two-way streets, traffic calming, complete streets and walkability) is tantamount to economic development. It is a program that can only be facilitated by the city, but has the virtue of being something the city can do to help everyone, not just one or two businesses in piecemeal fashion.

The reply?

Nary a city official chose to read Jeff Speck's book until it was known that he'd be speaking here last week, and by his own admission, David Duggins still has not (although the mayor did). Also, Duggins recently hired a helper, Tonya Fischer, whose job it will be to coordinate business development in New Albany. Previously she worked as 1Si's appointee to the Bridges Coalition; presumably, now she'll assist us in making sense of the carnage inflicted by the bridges project. It may even make sense.

My point in all this is simple.

Until there is something, we must assume there is nothing.

"We're not against it" is not the same as "we're for it."

Until you do something, you have done nothing.

Capeesh?

The Gallery on Pearl isn't.

The White House Center storefront is clean, and the Internet is silent. Granted, six and a half years is a good run, extending all the way back to the Garner administration. I attended the opening in April, 2007.

Yesterday's Gallery on Pearl ribbon cutting and grand opening reception.

Who has the story?

(January 23 note: The newspaper confirms that Gallery on Pearl closed on December 31, not to reopen)

Attention: The "Voice of the Democratic Central Committee" now can be heard all over town.

All we need is a mausoleum, a reviewing stand and a shitload of furry caps, and we're good to go for the primary.

"Porn production moves to Vegas after condom law," and the city's fine with it.

It's an insightful story about supply, demand, the comparative costs of regulation and production, and in fact, the very essence of capitalism.

It just happens to be about porn, and the city of Las Vegas seems to be taking an approach to economic development unheard of amid the corridors of Southern Indiana municipal government. Just try to imagine our Floyd County (Indiana) commissioners Mark Seabrook, Steve Bush or Chuck Freiberger uttering the same words as the Clark County (Nevada) commissioner quoted below.

Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana would gag on its pablum spoon.

Porn production moves to Vegas after condom law (Associated Press via USA Today)

Number of permits requested to make porn films in L.A. County has declined by about 95%.

... The studio sits in what was once another empty building on blighted Industrial Road behind the town's tourist corridor. Local officials appear content with the arrangement and have no plans to pass additional rules.

"It's a legalized industry and properly regulated, so I don't see it as a problem," said Clark County commissioner Chris Giunchigliani. "I think the city and the county will benefit from any expansion of the film industry. It's economic diversification."

A Louisville Orchestra documentary worth seeing.

I'm eternally fascinated by this story. A Louisville mayor looking to Confucius for advice; an ambitious young conductor, Robert Whitney; a Louisville Orchestra in search of an identity; and the weird and wonderful result of their collective efforts, called the Commissioning Project, which thrust Louisville's musical scene into avant garde consciousness. It was like a post-war WPA for composers.

Yes, it was a different age, although probably some of the orchestra's patrons at the time considered closing their checkbooks unless the primacy of the romantic era composers was restored and buttressed against the intrusion of modernism. Whatever. I can't wait to view the film.

Music Makes a City: The Film

In 1948, a small, struggling, semi-professional orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky began a novel project to commission new works from contemporary composers around the world.

The Commissioning Project grew far beyond anyone's expectations. In 1953, the orchestra received an unprecedented $400,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to commission 46 compositions a year for three years. The new works were to be performed in weekly concerts and recorded for sale by subscription. The international music world was astounded at both the recipient of the grant and the scope of the project.

Heavy reading: A golf club, an outing, a suicide and Frank Sinatra.

For the hundredth time, thanks to Dave Zirin of The Nation for sportswriting that actually matters, on a daily basis. Zirin places sports into context, as a part of life, not removed from it. I only wish he had time to bring the same skills into beer writing, which is in a wretched state these days.

On Saturday, Zirin was tweeting about this saga. It begins here:

Dr. V’s Magical Putter; The remarkable story behind a mysterious inventor who built a "scientifically superior" golf club, by Caleb Hannan (Grantland)

... I play golf. Sometimes poorly, sometimes less so. Like all golfers, I spend far too much time thinking of ways to play less poorly more often. That was the silver lining to my sleeplessness — it gave me more time to scour YouTube for tips on how to play better. And it was then, during one of those restless nights, that I first encountered Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt, known to friends as Dr. V.

As soon becomes evident, this is not a story about a golf club. It is about a suicide, and a writer getting the story, whatever the outcome (in this case, chilling), because "The Story Is The Most Important Thing" -- as lucidly critiqued here by a fellow writer.

SINATRA’S COLD IS CONTAGIOUS: Hostile Subjects, Vulnerable Sources & The Ethics of Outing, by Maria Dahvana Headley (GLITTERING SCRIVENER blog)

THERE ARE THINGS ABOUT BEING A WRITER THAT SUCK. One of them is that as a writer, you’re sometimes sold a bill of bullshit.

Here is a prime example: The Story Is The Most Important Thing.

This line is a lie, but in order to make students pay for writing instruction – and sometimes in order to fuel our own egos as writers who often professionally neglect the people in our lives so that we can sit in silence making things up – we have to have a culture in which story matters more than anything else.

The Dr. V story is sobering enough, and Headley's deadly accurate corrective edifying, but what of colds? Specifically, what the hell is meant by "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold"? Read all about it here:

FRANK SINATRA HAS A COLD, by Gay Talese (April, 1966 in Esquire; 2007 reboot)

In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese arrived in Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to profile Frank Sinatra. The legendary singer was approaching fifty, under the weather, out of sorts, and unwilling to be interviewed. So Talese remained in L.A., hoping Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and he began talking to many of the people around Sinatra -- his friends, his associates, his family, his countless hangers-on -- and observing the man himself wherever he could. The result, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold," ran in April 1966 and became one of the most celebrated magazine stories ever published, a pioneering example of what came to be called New Journalism -- a work of rigorously faithful fact enlivened with the kind of vivid storytelling that had previously been reserved for fiction. The piece conjures a deeply rich portrait of one of the era's most guarded figures and tells a larger story about entertainment, celebrity, and America itself. We're very pleased to republish it here.

An excellent review of Louis Le Français by Robin Garr includes French language lessons.

For my next amazing trick, I will convince Louis that there is such a thing as good beer from France; namely, Bieres de Garde. If I achieve this, it really WILL be amazing. The man is seriously gifted, but just doesn't really "get" beer. That's okay; let's hope his restaurant has a long life span, affording me enough time to gradually wear him down.

It bodes well that Robin Garr favorably compares Louis Le Français with Le Relais, the Louisville gold standard. In doing so, he's recommending downtown New Albany for dining. Priceless.

Learn your French tastefully at New Albany’s Louis Le Français, by Robin Garr (LEO Weekly)

All right, boys and girls, it’s time for our French lesson! First, let’s review: “Bonjour” ... “Merci!” ... “S’il vous plaît” ... “Je voudrais un verre de vin rouge.” Very good!

Now, let’s learn two important food words. Repeat after me:

“Cassoulet.” Draw it out, warm and rich, just like the hearty dish itself, “Cahs-soo-lay.”

Louis Le Français
133 E. Market St., New Albany
812-944-1222
louisthefrenchman.com

Jeff Speck in New Albany: Newspaper coverage and video link.

It's real, and Speck referred to it during his talk.

For the record, here's the newspaper coverage of Jeff Speck's library appearance. As a reminder, private citizen Robert Landrum videotaped the entire presentation, which can be viewed at one's leisure at YouTube.

Something to walk about in New Albany; Author talks walkability in crowded event in New Albany, by Daniel Suddeath (N and T)

... Most roads are designed for far more cars than they will ever hold, so cutting lanes to install paths for biking or walking doesn’t mean vehicle capacity will be reduced below existing use levels, Speck said.

He believes many engineers fall victim to “induced demand,” where they add traffic lanes that aren’t needed and believe they are vindicated when more traffic arrives.

Studies prove that when you add lanes and make it easier to commute on a road more motorists will choose that route, Speck said.

“In congested systems, the primary constraint to driving is congestion,” he said.

Complete video of Jeff Speck's presentation, courtesy of Robert Landrum.

Robert sat up front yesterday, captured the entire event on video, and posted it on YouTube last night. Major props and kudos!

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBnU8q5zUvA

Speck was here. All that matters now is whether political courage exists in New Albany.

(Update: Robert Landrum videotaped the entire presentation! View it at YouTube)

You're expecting a full report on Jeff Speck's appearance in New Albany yesterday, but I'll have to disappoint, at least until the weekend.

Of course, if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you've already been exposed to much of what Speck had to say. Merely searching for his name will uncover the gist of his presentation at the library. Even before Speck came to prominence through his book, Walkable City, his threads and themes were being considered in America. This, I believe, is a very important point.

Less than a year ago, when I began thrusting copies of the book at city officials, both elected and appointed, they generally looked back at me as though my beard were constructed of writhing snakes. Yesterday probably 100 persons listened to the book's author outline his general theory of walkability, and the attendance alone disproved City Hall's general theory of community disinterest.

At separate junctures, two of us heard Speck allude to a return visit. In a spirit of profound vindication, permit me just one wish: Hire Speck to do the damned study, not the same old engineering firm that customarily returns the same tired engineering verdicts.

Old Lightning Rod Day is Sunday, January 19, 2014 at Bank Street Brewhouse.

This is a press release. Unlike Kona, NABC is fully craft-certified. That is all.

---

Old Lightning Rod Day is Sunday, January 19, 2014 at Bank Street Brewhouse

The legendary Benjamin Franklin was a multi-talented, endlessly creative Colonial-era renaissance man who also brewed and drank beer. In his writings, Franklin referred to various types of ale, and concluded that its consumption was healthy in moderation – an observation with which modern medical science concurs.

What did these ales of old taste like?

In 2006, as part of a nationwide promotion on the occasion of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, NABC’s brewers at the time tweaked a Colonial-era recipe provided to members of the Brewer Association, and the result was our first ever batch of Old Lightning Rod. Ever the diligent beery scientists, we've repeated the experiment every year since, and the ale keeps tasting better and better.

In 2014, NABC will observe Old Lightning Rod Day for the ninth time, beginning on Sunday, January 19 at Bank Street Brewhouse, and carrying over to the following day (Monday, January 20) at the Pizzeria & Public House. Franklin's actual date of birth was January 17, 1706, making him 308 years young … and cheers to that.

These two days will mark the tapping of this year’s batch of Old Lightning Rod, which is a cult favorite but only a small batch, and served only on draft – so get your pints and growlers while it lasts.

Old Lightning Rod

Colonial Dark Ale

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: 26

Color: Dark brown to black.

Flavor: Medium- to full-bodied, sweetish and malt-heavy. Distinctive flavor comes from molasses and/or sorghum.

Compare to: No commercial examples, but OLR is in the same flavor range as darker, sweeter beers like Wee Heavy, Doppelbock and some higher-gravity Belgians.

Description: “Let thy discontents be thy secrets” with this annual January release commemorating the birthday of Benjamin Franklin. Old Lightning Rod is a throwback strong ale from Colonial American times, incorporating “triangular” molasses (or sorghum) as an adjunct, and encapsulating Franklin’s sly founder’s wisdom.

Recipe suggestion: Our good friend Steve Thomas of the Thomas Family Winery in Madison, Indiana, makes fine wine and delicious ciders and scrumpy, and still has time to periodically cater fine victuals in his guise as "His Lordship’s Beef." With Old Lightning Rod (use earthenware or ceramic vessels to establish mood), Steve recommends an entrée of Steak and Ale, with Ben Franklin’s favorite side items: Clapshot (turnips and potatoes in butter) and Pease (peas in chicken stock and butter, topped with fresh mint).

Addendum: Other beers in NABC’s Heritage Series of occasional season releases.

Kaiser 2nd Reising … Pre-Prohibition Pilsner
Mt. Lee … California Common “Steam”
Phoenix Kentucky Komon … Kentucky Common
Tricentennial Ale, a.k.a. Steamboat Common

Muscle Monkey out of the library, in at the former Little Chef.

I still don't know much about Muscle Monkey. Information is appreciated.

By request: Council members bothering to listen to Jeff Speck.

City council members present for Jeff Speck's luncheon talk were John Gonder, Pat McLaughlin and Diane Benedetti.

Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks.

Democrat-pretend Steve Stemler can't wait to support HJR-3. How quaint.

If you can find evidence anywhere that Rep. Stemler has changed his mind, let me know and I'll happily publish it. Until then ... how exactly is he a Democrat?

Goliath's comments compelled me to dig out this piece from February 16, 2011:

Same-sex marriage: One in the win column for Rep. Clere, who refrains from supporting the "language of hate."

 ... Hurriedly speed-dialing ROCK's Ayatollah Wickens for direction, Stemler first beat the pander bear rush to become co-author of HJR-6, but did not cast a vote either way yesterday. Weidenbener explains:

Rep. Steve Stemler, D-Jeffersonville, was excused from House action on Tuesday and did not vote. However, he was listed as a co-author of the bill.

Professional grade fluffing like that belongs in California, not Indiana, but I digress. Kindly permit me to publicly ask a question that surely must have occurred to many readers: Is there any known way to distinguish Steve Stemler from a garden variety GOP stooge, save for his own declaration of affiliation, one regularly contradicted by his political actions?

Crickets chirp, pins drop.