“You go under the earth so you can see Star Wars Christmas lights!” — Miles, my four-year-old, describing Lights Under Louisville at the Mega Cavern
1. Our collaborators at Kertis Creative made this 30-second video for a project we’ve been working on for the next print issue, out in December.
2. Every year, a portion of the Green Building on East Market Street transforms into Miracle, a yuletide bar with wrapping paper encasing the walls, flatscreens playing holiday movies on silent (A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life, sure, but also Die Hard!) and warming spiked cider in kitschy Rudolph mugs. This year, the festivities are moving to a heated, reservations-only patio on Fridays and Saturdays. I asked Thor Morgan, whose Galaxie restaurant is in the Green Building and who runs the pop-up, for his favorite Xmas movie characters:
“Clark Griswold from Christmas Vacation: He’s goofy and cheesy, but ultimately just wants to give the classic Christmas experience to his family.”
“Kevin McCallister from Home Alone. The being-home-alone concept with no parents is one that every kid can relate to. Break all the rules. Beat the bad guys.”
“Buddy from Elf because he’s an elf trapped in Will Ferrell’s huge, ridiculous body! And he knows nothing about modern society, which makes his idiocy all the better.”
3. And now some Burgoo, aka a serving of the roadkill stew that is the monthly inbox.
“First, a little story.” // Bluegrass musician Sam Bush performed a virtual concert with the Louisville Orchestra. // Were any of you able to buy a bottle of Pappy? // Yuletide at Yew Dell. // The library has extended WiFi access to its grounds after hours. // “White Castle-branded merch.” // Children’s book My Mom, the Lawyer. // “’Tis the season to buy cat furniture.” // The Olmsted Parks Conservancy has a new “Be a Park Hero, Leave Behind Zero” trash-reduction initiative. // THE HIDDEN MEANING BEHIND THE NUMBER 666 REVEALED! // The Bristol renovated its Highlands and Hurstbourne locations. // “This ALL NATURAL shoe deodorizer…” // The Root Cause Research Center launched the Louisville Metro Police Department Gun Violence Interactive Storymap. // Four Roses and Brooklyn Brewery collaborated on a Brooklyn Black Ops beer. // “Brain shrinkage.” // The Lee Initiative announced a meal program for JCPS families. // “Can you Zoom with us about these innovative shower mats at 7 p.m. Pacific time?” // A Louisville Tourism plan hopes to attract 25 million bourbon tourists to the state by 2030. (All 25 million of you won’t score any Pappy.) // Baptist Health employees worked the polls on Election Day. // The Winter Woods Spectacular has returned to Iroquois Park. // Drew Siciliano from St. Francis scored a perfect 36 on his ACT. // “No doubt, this year has been…unprecedented.”
4. Anybody else miss that the college basketball season started, and that the U of L men’s team won its opener 79-44 Wednesday against Evansville? (Sorry, but no slow clap for trouncing Evansville.) Cards play 4 p.m. today at the Yum! against Seton Hall.
5. My family gets competitive playing Fibbage, which you can download to your TV and play from your phone. The game poses an outrageous fill-in-the-blank trivia question, and each player submits a lie. Points if somebody guesses your fib, or if you select the right answer.
Thanksgiving night, this was one of the questions: “In 1976, boxing legend Muhammad Ali released an educational children’s album titled Ali and His Gang Vs. Mr. ___________.
Answer? Tooth Decay.
Support for Louisville Magazine comes from KET, whose video essay Kentucky Seasons premieres tomorrow night. It’s airing as part of KET’s annual WinterPledge (Nov. 28-Dec. 6), which is offering several Kentucky Seasons thank-you gifts: a 150-page coffee-table book, notecards, and DVDs and Blue-rays with bonus footage.
A little something from the LouMag archive.
The magazine’s inaugural issue came out in March 1950, and December of that year featured our first-ever Christmas cover. (I’ll share others in the coming weeks.) The “gay and Christmasy atmosphere” was the water color work of Edwin Finch, whose “Kentucky All Over” series had been a weekly feature in the C-J’s Sunday magazine. Re our cover: “Don’t be too sure about the locale because Finch let his imagination roam a bit.”
Last week I included this quote from Miles: “Will Santa wear a mask?” Reader Natalie Miller, an immunologist and allergist, wrote to me about his concerns. She said, “My kids — ages seven, five and two — have asked the same question, and I have explained that Christmas magic helps keep Santa’s immune system from catching viruses, including COVID. Plus, Santa is very good at wearing a mask and washing his hands.”
Josh Moss
editor, Louisville Magazine
jmoss@loumag.com