If you haven’t heard about mountaintop removal, then you just aren’t paying attention. In a time when all sorts of environmental issues are receiving constant attention, one of the problems that hits closest to home is the aforementioned mining practice. Here in Kentucky (and all over the country) people rely largely on coal for power. Mining companies have found that it is quicker and easier to obtain that coal by blasting down through the top of a mountain – removing its top – than by tunneling in through the sides.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there was a time in my life when the imposing atmosphere of “The Bar” moved like an ominous cloud over my young, and decidedly lightweight, self.  The sticky floor, the museum of horrors on display in the toilet, the squeal of the heavily sloshed – it’s all a carnival of libation that intimidated my little, hermit life; “drinking” (as in, the art of) was, oddly enough, not something I learned in college (one’s already limited understanding of Ulysses tends to suffer under the influence).  But I would mature,

The courtyard of the Mellwood Arts Center was a great place to be last night. There was plenty of good people-watching, amongst the large, well-dressed, independent business-supporting crowd. The weather was nice, the beer was flowing, and the eardrum-shattering noise of the band inside the main hall was muffled. The bands weren't bad, they just overwhelmed the indoor space so much that the people pouring the beer could hardly hear the orders, and conversation was impossible.

Attention beer lovers (and that’s most of you, right?)! O’Shea’s, 956 Baxter Ave., is hosting Hop Week June 21–27, kicking off with a special dinner on Sunday, June 20.