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Raving on Rusty #36: Shoni Schimmel, Dawn Yankeelov and an Update on Karen Faulkner Saturday, Mar 1 2014
actors theatre and Bill Clinton and Business and Culture and David James and Dawn Yankeelov and Education and Events and Health and Humana Festival and I Was There and John Yarmuth and Karen Faulkner and Louisville and Louisville women's basketball and LoUnique and media and Mike O'Connell and Mitch McConnell and Parenting and Politics and Rick and Rusty Satellite Show and Shoni Schimmel and Sport 10:00 am
The Rusty Satellite Show is mostly a labor of love for me. I am grateful that Passport Health Plan sponsors the show, but my motivation is really tied to the fact that the show gives me an opportunity to meet and talk with some really cool local people and also to air my opinions about things. So this was a really great week.
LISTEN TO THE RUSTY SATELLITE SHOW HERE
The first time I became aware of Shoni Schimmel was her freshman year, the first that the Yum! Center was open, and I took my son Luke to a few games because we couldn’t get tickets for the men’s games. Watching Shoni dribble and shoot was pure entertainment. Luke and I went to several games, in which we didn’t really watch the game, but watched Shoni — how she moved without the ball to get open, how she would shoot it under any circumstance, how she made the difficult and risky pass, how even then she was the emotional leader of the team.
Since then, of course, she’s scored more than 2,000 points and become a national figure in the game. Not only that, but she’s an engaging and outgoing personality who has attracted the attention of Native Americans across the U.S. So it was a bit of a thrill to have her on the Rusty Satellite Show the week of her final regular season game Monday at the Yum! Center. You should go. The few tickets left are just $5.
Talking with Dawn Yankeelov after a trip to D.C., in which she led a team to talk technology with John Yarmuth and Mitch McConnell was equally cool. Of course, I’ve known Dawn for many years, going back to my Business First days, where she preceded me as a reporter.
In the News: You should go Monday to Insider Louisville’s Meetup at Vincenzo’s, where you can hear more of the logical reasons we should have casino gaming in Kentucky from Johnathan Blue, a leader of the Kentucky Wins! campaign. But I pointed out on Rusty that stories like the one in which Mayor Fischer talked about a casino going downtown just don’t matter until the neanderthals in Frankfort pull their heads out of the sand and vote for gaming.
Once I posted my opinion about Bill Clinton coming to town, that Clinton’s popularity seems to really get under Republicans’ skin, I got a reaction on Twitter that proves my point: Clinton committed a felony, he lied under oath. Did that while he was Prez. Does that qualify as dishonest?
Kentucky is 49th in a health ranking, which is not really news.
I hope you get a chance to attend at least one of the performances in the Humana Festival of New American Plays. I’ll have a review of “Partners” that I attended Friday night soon here on LouisvilleKY.com.
THE UPDATE: You may remember that a week ago one of my guests was Karen Faulkner, who found herself and her campaign in the news this week. Faulkner’s opponent in the May election for Jefferson County Attorney, incumbent Mike O’Connell, seems to have decided the time is right to go after one of her main supporters, Metro Council member David James (another ex-Rusty Satellite guest). O’Connell found an obscure rule that says James can’t be a sworn U of L police officer and a sworn Metro Council member at the same time. O’Connell’s political ploy here is pretty obvious to insiders, as Faulkner told WFPL.
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Jackie’s a Write-In, and the Weekend Blogger’s Top Five Sunday, Feb 9 2014
Bill Nye and Business and Crime and Culture and CVS and Dr. Hong Ye and Education and Events and Ford Fusion and Franklin Family Chevy and Green and Health and I Was There and Jackie Green and JCPS and Ken Ham and Louisville and LoUnique and media and Parenting and Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Politics and Rick and RIck Redding and Rusty Satellite Show and smoking and weather hype 1:55 pm
Dr. Hong Ye with her Earth-Blends herbal healing patch
Jackie Green at this bike shop
It was a big week for Jackie Green. When I went down to his Market Street bike shop to do this week’s Rusty Satellite interview (LISTEN HERE), he was trying to figure out how to make the announcement that he’d be running as an independent candidate for Mayor. It was Tuesday, and he was announcing on Thursday, so he wouldn’t come out and say he was running during our interview, in which he DID criticize Mayor Greg Fischer for his sustainability record.
Well Jackie made his announcement at First and Main, despite concerns about the weather. He didn’t get much media coverage, but the story that aired on WHAS-TV wasn’t the one he’d have liked. Former RS guest Joe Arnold points out that a law that says that as a registered Democrat, Green can’t be on the ballot as an independent. So Green re-directed, saying he plans to mount a write-in campaign. Not that he, or anyone else, has much of a shot at unseating Fischer, but not being on the ballot makes the campaign more of a sideshow. Bob DeVore, the Republican candidate, won’t make it much of a race either.
I like Jackie, and the bike he sold me, and I hope someone will listen to his ideas for the city. If you download and listen to the podcast, you’ll hear an interesting interview with Dr. Hong Ye, who’s selling a healing product I plan to try on my surgically-repaired knee soon.
In addition to the Rusty Satellite Show, I’m hoping to have the discipline to be a weekend blogger, sort of the like the old Fred Wiche Weekend Gardener, with my weekly Top Five stories. So here you go:
Rob Totten at the debate
#1 Creation vs. Evolution: We’re still arguing about this? I watched the Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye debate online this week. It went on for 2 1/2 hours, complete with PowerPoint slides, convincing no one to change their mind about where we came from. I am, by the way, on the side of science. And smart people. My friend Rob Totten, pictured here, went up to the Creation Museum to see the spectacle and got in this great piece at Buzzfeed. I’d say that it’s silly that we’re still holding evolution debates in Kentucky, except I’m concerned that creationists believe we should be teaching our kids and changing textbooks to say the science is wrong, that Noah really could have built a vessel able to hold and feed 14,000 animals for 40 days and nights.
#2 Weather Hype: After this show was produced, TV weather-foolers predicted a late Friday-early Saturday storm that prompted JCPS officials to cancel Saturday ACT testing. Around 10 we got a light dusting of snow. This weather hype is out of control. JCPS officials are scrambling to make up days when the kids should have gone to school. They let them out early Wednesday for another threat, a storm that didn’t arrive until after 4:30, when kids could have already been home. Stop it!
NEW CAR
#3 Car Buying Experience: Yes, I got a new car. After helping my son Josh acquire a Ford Fusion, and driving a rental on my trip to New Orleans, I decided to buy one. My friend Chris Hammer works at Franklin Family Chevy in Bardstown, and he found me a great black one at a good price. Just for fun, I went to a local dealer and did the whole back-and-forth routine with a salesman, who eventually brought his manager over, who said he’d have to check with the GM to see if they could match my price. They didn’t.
#4 CVS and Smoking: It’s about time. Since Kentucky’s lawmakers refuse to adopt a statewide smoking ban, and Kentucky’s citizens are determined to rank last in health in the U.S. by having the highest rate of smoking, it was great to see CVS announce it’s not selling cancer sticks after October. It’s a decision to give up a billion-dollar business, but I think CVS executives are just being the boldest, first and smartest. Let’s hope Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid follow suit. Meanwhile, when I have a choice, my business is going to CVS.
#5 Hoffman and Heroin: No one criticized Phillip Seymour Hoffman as an actor. Brilliant, versatile, smart. But Hoffman was an addict, and his death at 46 on Super Bowl Sunday reminded America of the toll drug abuse is taking on our country.
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