Is Louisville the focus of the world this week? Maybe. The number of big names in town is staggering, all to attend some portion of the funeral activities for Muhammad Ali. Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal, Jesse Jackson, Will Smith and that’s just the top of the list. I heard Mike Tyson was seen at the Marriott downtown Friday morning.
And here’s the good news — it’s all about the message of peace and love that Ali stood for. I’m not even getting upset about those fools out to make a buck selling Ali funeral tickets – Karma will get them.
I hope you’ll listen to my interview with John Ramsey this week — it’s includes very revealing insight into Ali’s friendship and Ramsey talks about his awareness these last few years, even as the Champ struggled to speak. Here it is:
Float, Rumble Rest: Plus, there’s this great story involving some of my local favorite, interesting people — Teddy Abrams, Jim James and Gill Holland. On the Rusty show, Heather O’Mara hints that such a project was in the works, but it obviously came together faster than anticipated.
Chew, Chug and Chat: I’m certain those words won’t make it past this post, as we continue to search for a tag line for the EatDrinkTalk podcast. Suggestions are welcome. This week Steve Coomes has an interview with Brent Elliott of Four Roses, plus I’ve learned all about LouVino and the new location coming to Middletown. We also discuss restaurant news involving Butcher Block, Danny Mac and the Taj. Listen here:
Beer Me in Jtown: I’ll be pouring cold ones for you at the Jeffersontown Beer Fest on Saturday, so come on by and get one. It’s the second annual — the first one sold out last year. It’s a great setting — in the town Pavilion, and the weather is supposed to be great. This week I got to speak with Jason Schuster, the Craft Beer Manager for River City Distributing, on the Jtown Podcast. He knows a lot about beer.
City Girl Gone . . . I hope you got some good advice from Jackie Bentley in here “Gone Gardening” post right here. Now she’s gone on vacation, so I’ll have to work a little harder next week.
Worth Noticing: Watch this space next week for news about Butcher Block, the new project from Butchertown Market developer Andy Blieden that’s going to include Saigon Street Food, among many other businesses. . . The Taj is Open. You heard about this Nulu project on Rusty last September, and it finally opened last weekend. I’ve been twice – worth the wait. . . Louisville City Steal – I was glad to see Jonathon Lintner was hired by Louisville City FC to be its new media director. The WKU grad has been keeping the C-J’s sports page interesting for the last few years. . . If you ever wanted to be a minor league radio announcer, you just missed you chance. Matt Andrews is moving on, and the Louisville Bats quickly promoted Nick Curran as the Voice of the Bats. . . Last week, LouisvilleKY.com favorite Chris Thieneman got married in Chicago. Best wishes to the bride and groom. . . The bumbling Metro Council continues to grapple with ideas for unnecessary regulations on short-term rentals. The latest brainstorm is to ban all apartments and condos.
Also, during a trip to Churchill Downs, I took this great shot:
