Hey, the Scotsman's got Louisville down!

Craig Ferguson lectures on the proper way to pronounce 'Louisville'. :)


Okay, maybe I find it hilarious because 1) I find all Scotsmen hilarious, pretty much (no doubt because I come from good Scottish stock) and 2) I live in Lexington, Kentucky. :)

I rather like Craig Ferguson. I really should watch his show religiously, but I'm usually asleep. Thank goodness for YouTube.

Also hard hit by flooding

--the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs in Louisville:

Derby Museum damage could total in millions

'The curator is going through it now as much as she can in the dark,' Treinen said. 'We are seeing things that have water damage but nothing so far that we don't think can be conserved if necessary.'

'Really we're playing a race against the clock. Because all of those things haven't suffered massive water damage, at least things of real high value, the time is now to save it. If it got damp at all, it is going to be sent to cold storage and frozen for the next couple of months. That prevents the mold from setting in. It's really the paper that's the first concern, before the mold starts.'

For updates, see the Kentucky Derby Museum Flood Blog.

Right now the damage is estimated at around 4 million dollars. Tours of the Downs and museum gifts will relocate to the racetrack's gift shop starting tomorrow. The grave of Eight Belles was undisturbed--even the begonias were in place, although the track itself required more dirt and they brought sand into the barns to help. But the museum itself is particularly hard hit, and they continue to be closed to evaluate the collection and prepare it for conservation. I didn't find any information on the blog for flood relief donations, but here is the address/contact info for the museum:

The Kentucky Derby Museum
704 Central Avenue
Louisville, KY 40208

(502) 637-7097 Info
(502) 637-1111 Office
Tour reservations: (502) 637-1111 ext 220
Front desk: (502) 637-1111 ext 242
info@derbymuseum.org

Their website is up and running so I'm assuming the e-mail is currently valid. I'm not sure about the phone infrastructure.

Whew! It's been a rough week for Louisville!

Oh, no....

Flash Flood Drowns Lousiville Free Public Library (Thanks to Libraryman for the information.)



[Image by Greg Schwartz, Library Systems Manager of the Louisville Free Public Library (the library's website is down as I write this, but I'm sure they'll get it going as soon as possible.)]

According to LISNews and the story at the Louisville Courier-Journal, damage is estimated as of now in the range of $1,000,000 to the main branch, which has three feet of water in the basement and has sustained quite a lot of damage to the lower level, used for much of the operations such as tech services, judging by the statement than thousands of books have been destroyed, including news ones being processed. The main branch is closed until the damage can be fully assessed. Two other branches are also closed due to flooding. In the meantime, donations can be sent to:

The Library Foundation
301 York Street
Louisville, KY 40203

And crazier

Mom pleads not guilty to murder, had declared bankruptcy (the link, unfortunately, should only be good for 7 days...that's the Herald-Leader for you).

Gail Lynn Coontz, 37, a University of Louisville student and a widow, apparently took a counselor at the school hostage at gunpoint on Thursday, then handed the gun over without anyone being harmed. She was sent to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. U of L police contacted the Louisville police, advising them of this and asking them to check on the woman's two children.

They found the children, a 14-year-old boy, Greg, and 10-year-old girl, Nikki, dead of multiple gunshot wounds. They had been shot in their sleep, according to reports.

This looks to be a clear case of mental illness. The woman had apparently racked up huge amounts of debt despite being on disability payments and a small part-time job with a non-profit agency. She looks in pictures like she has the weight of the world on her back--she is three or four years younger than me and looks ten years older in the photo they published. I could almost feel sorry for her, because being a victim of mental illness is a horrible thing.

But my sympathy stops when I think about her children, and how they are truly the victims in this case. I hope their mother gets the help that she obviously needs, and that she can live with herself afterwards but at the same time understand what she lost. I wish someone had seen the danger signs and the children could have been removed from the home rather than be endangered.

So sad.

I'm sorry I haven't posted

I've been coming in too tired to type. I'll try to catch up in the next day or so. On the agenda:

• lots of library stuff, including videos, images of librarians, and cause to celebrate
  
• weird, sick news that makes you really wonder about your fellow man
  
• a lawsuit McDonald's is so going to lose--I'm sure they'll try to settle
  
• bad Latin and laughable, pathetic curses, or, my exes are at it again
  
• why I hate Louisville and its University
  
• my ankles are convex!, or, how I learnt to like a water pill, even if it makes me pee
  
• just a few days before Harry Potter, the book (I like the movies, but the book, or rather the Book, takes precedence)
  
• plus, the usual quizzes
  

So please, stay tuned.