Please sign the petition below to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis currently in Kentucky’s Capitol Rotunda, and replace it with a tribute to Muhammad Ali, “the Louisville Lip” and “the Greatest of All Time.”
I just heard from the Ali family: It is the Champ’s belief that Islam prohibits three-dimensional representations of living Muslims. Accordingly, I have adjusted the petition to call for a two-dimensional representation of Ali (a portrait, picture or mural) in lieu of a statue.
UPDATE (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)
In this interview with WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold, Governor Steve Beshear endorses the idea of honoring Muhammad Ali in the State Capitol (although he disagrees with removing Davis). Arnold explores the idea further on his weekly show, “The Powers that Be.”
Click here to check out WDRB-TV’s Lawrence Smith’s coverage of the story.
And here’s my op-ed in Ali’s hometown paper, the Louisville Courier-Journal.
UPDATE (Saturday, June 4, 2016)
In the wake of the 2015 Charlestown tragedy, in which a Confederate flag-waving murderer united the nation against racism, all of the most powerful Kentucky policymakers — U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Governor Matt Bevin, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Greg Stumbo — called for the removal of the Davis statue from the Rotunda. Today, as we commemorate last night’s passing of Muhammad Ali, there is no better moment to replace the symbol of Kentucky’s worst era with a tribute to The Greatest of All Time.
UPDATE (Wednesday, June 8, 2016):
Great piece by Lawrence Smith of WDRB-TV in Louisville on the petition drive to replace Jefferson Davis’ statue in the Capitol Rotunda with a tribute to Muhammad Ali.
UPDATE (Thursday, June 9, 2016):
Excellent piece on the petition drive by Jack Brammer that was featured on the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Highlight of the article:
Miller said he has received a few “angry comments” on his call to honor Ali.
“One of them encouraged me to kill myself,” he said. “You can quote me that I have decided not to take their advice.”
UPDATE (Friday, June 10, 2016)
The petition drives continues to show the Big Mo(hammed): check out these stories from WKYU-FM public radio in Bowling Green and WKYT-TV, Channel 27 in Lexington:
UPDATE (Saturday, June 11, 2016):
Still not convinced? Check out this excerpt from today’s New York Times:
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Dec 24, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
We can all admit it. Sometimes when it is late at night and we have been tossing and turning in bed and unable to go to sleep, the only thing that really helps is sauntering into the kitchen half-awake and helping ourselves to a satisfying late night snack.
Last night I found myself in that exact situation.
Like most homes we have a fair choice of late night snack choices. There is a cupboard in our kitchen corner where we keep chips, cereal, cookies, and even healthy snacks we are experimenting with that we hadn’t tried before.
Last night I was willing to try something a little different and something healthier than usual so I settled on Fruitables (skinny minis) as it said on the bag. Sounded interesting and even had a unique Apple Bacon flavor described on the label.
I grabbed a handful of these morsels and popped them in my mouth and began chewing. Dry and tasteless was all I could think at first so I didn’t what anyone who do in that situation and figured the solution was to pop more into my mouth until I could get a real taste of this new snack. And I did just that.
Now I had more than a full mouthful of this fancy sounding snack and decided this was about the blandest and driest and yet chewiest snack I had ever eaten and bagan wondering if it was even made for humans or perhaps I had accidentally confused a bag of puppy treats for our dogs for a late night human snack.
Turns out it was, indeed, the latter and I decided to spit out what I had been chewing on and had a bowl of Raisin Bran cereal instead.
In conclusion, I can recommend Fruitables (skinny minis) Apple Bacon flavored bits for a late night snack by themselves. Too dry and chewy and, frankly, tasteless. I personally don’t see what dogs see in them. However, if you are willing to add milk and, say, some raisins, it may be worth trying. But I recommend, all things being equal, to go with Raisin Bran instead– unless you just can’t stand Raisin Bran and are one of those people who always has to pretend you like things other people have never heard of before.
By Erica and Matt Chua, on Tue Dec 24, 2013 at 8:30 AM ET
When I saw the Capture the Color photo contestwas going on again this year I was excited to dig through the photos from our trip and share a few with you. Not only did this contest give me an opportunity to reminisce about all the places we’ve been by reliving memories through our photos but I love the theme, it’s so simple, capture the colors Blue, Green, Yellow, White and Red in your photos. I have to admit the deal was sweetened knowing I wouldn’t be competing against some of the travel blogosphere’s most talented photographers: Ken Kaminesky, Abi King, Davefrom the Planet D, Christine Gilbert and Daniel Nahabedian, because they are the judges. You can enter too and have the chance to win £3000, an Arc’teryx voucher or other great prizes. Without further ado below are my five photos that Capture the Color:
WHITE
Huyana Potosi, Bolivia (19,974 feet)
As we carefully inched along the snowy trail on the exposed ridge of Huyana Potosi leading us to the summit the sun just started to peek above the horizon. It was a beautiful sight and a view I will never forget. Once we reached the summit I looked back on the path we had taken in the dark to reach our goal and realized how precarious of a position we had been in. As I watched another group of climbers descend I pulled out the camera to capture the trail with the sun highlighting the pristine white snow. The moment I took this picture I still couldn’t fully comprehend what we had just done to be standing at the top of a mountain overlooking Bolivia.
GREEN
Banaue Rice Terraces commonly referred to by the Filipinos as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”
The vibrant green rice terraces of Banaue are a source of pride for the local Ifugao people and meticulously cared for. Many people believe that the terraces were built by ancestors of the Igugao people with minimal equipment, mostly by hand. The terraces are located about 5000 feet above sea level and cover roughly 6000 square miles of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe. The size is difficult to comprehend from the above photo, but you can see how it reduces the people in the photo to mere ants to help give you a perspective of the massive scale. As I climbed up and down the stairs I loved the sense of being so small and taking in the vast expanse of terraces that stretched out in both directions.
YELLOW
A monk praying at Dambulla Rock Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sri Lanka
The elaborate paintings and statues that make up the Dambulla Rock Temple in Sri Lanka depict the Lord Buddha and his life. Monks from around the area make the pilgrimage to this holy site to pray and meditate. The five major caves include a total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses and the murals cover an astonishing 2,100 square meters. I captured this monk praying to one of the many Buddhist statues and then watched in awe as he mindfully and methodically made his way around the cave pausing to pray or pay his respects to specific statues within the cave. It was a beautiful meditation in motion. To see more photos from the other four caves at Dambulla check out A Buddhist View of Sri Lanka.
BLUE
Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE
A visit to the spectacular Sheikh Zayed Mosque is a must for anyone visiting Abu Dhabi even for a short layover. The over-the-top opulence is incredible and outshines even the most amazing sights of the world, it is a modern day Taj Mahal and amazing feat of architecture. This reflection of two of the domes that make up the mosque are reflected in the glass doorways that lead into the prayer hall. The reflection of the perfect blue sky adds to the allure of this magnificent building. To see photos of the crystal chandeliers and marble columns in the interior click here.
RED
Market vendor in Mandalay, Myanmar
For any traveler that visits Myanmar the take away seems to be the same, this country has the most wonderful people in the world. They are friendly, helpful and always have a smile to share. I love this photo from a market in Mandalay, not only do you get a sense of the warmth of the people in Myanmar but I was able to capture a little slice of the local market culture. I love markets all over the world, but there was something special about the markets in Myanmar where vendors would invite you to come over and share with you something they are selling or request a picture of themselves, simply so they could see themselves on your digital screen. I have fond memories of meeting the young lady in this photo and wandering the beautiful and busy markets of Myanmar.
NOMINATIONS
Another highlight of this competition is seeing fellow bloggers photos, below are five travelers that I would love to see highlight their pictures:
Hannah and Adam from Getting Stamped, they have been making there way through Central and South America and I’m sure have some amazing beach shots!
Cassie and Keving from Ever in Transit, they claim to take way to many photos- so, I would love to see what they might dig out of their archives for a capture the color entry.
Erica and Shaun from Over Yonderlust, I loved their recent post on the Portland Japanese Garden and would love to see what other photo gems they have up their sleeve.
Jodi from Legal Nomads, food is her forte and I’d love to see the colorful dishes she may have captured in her years of traveling
Kate from Adventurous Kate, she is currently traveling all around the world with a new camera in tow- I would love to see what images she has captured in the past few months.
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Dec 23, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
I am getting a little nervous.
Everything I use each day seems to have a new updated version that needs to be downloaded every six months or so.
I am 50 years old and can’t remember the last time I offered an updated download for myself.
I hope no one js getting suspicious that I may not have one.
I am starting to feel like the driver of a car that has driven 50,000 miles and has forgotten ever to get an oil change– and there are no Valvoline stations in sight.
I am just going to pretend I have one even though there is nothing really to download. Kind of like a placebo or sugar pill to make us feel better but has no medical use. Just psychological. I think that’s what a lot of these tech updated downloads are anyway.
So…For the latest updated version of me, John Y Brown III, please click here. And use your imagination. While taking a sugar pill.
Drip, drip, drip. One comment on a blog post. One re-tweet of a point of view. One new Facebook friend. You might not even realize while it is happening but over time an audience is developing that is genuinely interested in what you have to say and gives you permission to share it. Individuals are learning how to share their stories and gaining confidence by participating actively in social networks. Personal networks have become the new marketing channels and marketing has become the art of dribs and drabs. The problem is that most organizations haven’t figured it out yet.
I believe the marketing model of companies deploying large internal teams of marketing specialists supported by even larger external advertising and public relations firms is dead. Watching the series Mad Men reminds me of how little the advertising and communications industry has changed from a model that is clearly being disrupted by the new world of social media.
It is exciting to be a participant in the seismic shift away from the old models of mass marketing and communication. The days of the big campaign developed behind closed doors followed by a grand unveiling comprised of orchestrated media placements and road show whistle-stops are behind us. Now the message is developed and honed every day. You don’t need an army of specialists to tell you what the message is. You just need to put your genuine ideas out in public every day where a community of interest can provide you with immediate feedback, help you to improve, and share your ideas with their networks if they like them.
No intermediaries required. Being genuine is valued above all else. No need to assign the task of sharing your perspective, idea, or message to a third party. Share them yourself.
This shift must be driving traditional marketing types and communications firms crazy. The industry was built on a foundation of “controlling the message” and secret sauce that only the experts possessed to unlock access to big media outlets. Imagine the horror when huge campaigns are ripped apart within 24 hours of release by the viral unknown masses or when an undiscovered talent like Susan Boyle can become an overnight global sensation.
Dribs and drabs sound so inefficient and even dangerous when you grew up in an industrial era when marketing was about controlling the message, leveraging marketing experts, and mass media channels to reach a target market segment. Marketing and Communications has been a centralized and protected function within most organizations. God forbid anyone outside of the chosen functions speaks on behalf of or about the company in public or on the web. Social media has blown traditional marketing up and most organizations I interact with are struggling with how to manage the new world where individuals are empowered communicators with an audience.
Communication is personal and everyone has a role to play. The world of personal and organizational communication is merging whether we want it to or not. I have talked to many active participants on social media platforms that are constrained or even blocked from communicating while at work or about work after hours. This is silly. Organizations are missing an amazing opportunity to virally share their stories and to tap into the networks of all the organization’s stakeholders. Organizations need to trust employees, contractors, suppliers, and customers to build and strengthen networks of supporters and fans that are the most important marketing asset today.
Organizations should be focused on turning all stakeholders into active storytellers and passionate supporters. Accentuate and build on the positive. Forget trying to hide the negative. Respond, learn and improve from it. It is no longer possible to control communications about your organization. Everyone should be encouraged to communicate openly and large marketing departments should be replaced with listening departments to learn from and leverage what is being shared.
The learning curve to go from industrial era mass marketing to personalized social media marketing is steep but rewarding. The most important rule is that everyone gets to play. I mean everyone. Celebrate the dribs and drabs.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Dec 20, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Apologies and the sexes. (Yes, there are differences. Between the sexes. And, yes, differences in how they apologize to one another).
I asked my lovely and beloved wife, Rebecca, for an apology this morning for something kinda hurtful she blurted out in haste to me during a minor misunderstanding we had—and after I had blurted out something kinda hurtful to her. And also after I had apologized for my mistaken kinda hurtful comment caused by our misunderstanding.
My apology was direct, clear and stated multiple times in multiple ways with slightly different wording to make clear my apology was for what I had said and that it was beyond dispute I was at fault.
It felt good to clean up my side of the street in the same way it must feel when, say, a teenager gets caught dining and dashing and the owner of the restaurant catches him and wants to teach him a lesson by beating him up and making him wash dishes for 8 hours straight for the grilled cheese sandwich and soda he dined and dashed on and then making him apologize after calling the cops and his parents and then beats him up again and leaves him outside the locked restaurant door in the cold and windy rain without a jacket. But the young man feels “whole” again. Like he’d paid penance for his wrong. I had that “whole” feeling too, conscience-wise. That’s the main point of this analogy. The rest are just ancillary similarities that aren’t as important.
So after I had finished my penance, I asked Rebecca for a reciprocal apology and to my delight it came almost immediately, rolling off her lips like someone hungry to have that “whole” feeling, penance-wise, I just described. Rebecca lovingly, patiently and methodically explained, “I am sorry, too, if what I said made you feel bad.” I liked it at first but then thought about it and if started to feel like it was my fault and that what Rebecca blurted out to me was actually very reasonable and it was really something defective in me that caused the comment to bother me at all….and that it wouldn’t have bothered a more reasonable person. (Rebecca basically called me “imprudent” although I am paraphrasing).
After I said, “Thank you,” for the “apology” I began to realize that my “thank you” only reinforced the imprudent reference. So I asked Rebecca for an elaboration to her apology—and quickly got it.
Rebecca clarified that she was sorry also if the tone of her comment made me feel bad.
Phew! This was definitely a big improvement. I think.
So it really wasn’t all my fault —although it still felt like it—and there was more at play than me merely reacting unreasonably. Rebecca ceded that there was a “tone” problem on her side. I liked that. Nothing else to apologize for, mind you.
I then made the mistake of asking “Except for the tone part and my feeling bad part, was there anything else you regretted that you’d like to articulate to me now?” (I’m paraphrasing). I was relieved to find there was. Rebecca, understandingly getting a little exasperated by now with attempts to squeeze more and more of an apology to me out of, conceded that the “timing” of the imprudent comment was probably unfortunate given that I was writing an important email and could have waited until I was finished.
Well now THAT was really all I was looking for! And now I felt fully reconciled and understood.
I think, anyway.
Look, let’s just net this thing out. Sure, I had one simple apology (with multiple recitations….but once you say it it gets easier each time).
And by contrast, if you are keeping score at home, I got not one but three—that’s right THREE (3)!!—apologies in return.
Clearly, I was able to extract more apology-wise than Rebecca got from me.
And here’s the beauty part. I didn’t even have to mention I had screwed up on my comment on the tone, timing and how it made Rebecca feel! Totally off-the hook on that.
In the world of chess, gentlemen, I believe we call that “Game, set, and match,” right? No, wait. That’s tennis. I mean, gentlemen, in the chess world they call that “Checkmate!”, right? Or maybe they say “King me!” I can’t remember exactly. Anyway, the point is, I’m pretty sure I carried the male flag shrewdly and impressively today in this face-off for apologies between the sexes.
And if I didn’t, gentlemen, I apologize for blowing it. And for the tone, timing and way this entire post made you rightfully feel.
===
The sexes apologies and dentistry
1) A man apologizing to a woman is about as painful, as difficult and carries the same resistance as agreeing to have a cavity filled in a decaying tooth.
2) For a woman apologizing to a man is about as painful, as difficult, and carries the same resistance as agreeing to have a tooth extracted that arguably shouldn’t be.
Note: Filling cavities occurs much more frequently than tooth extractions. And cavities, over time, often need re-filling. An extracted tooth, on the other hand, is a one-time event. And often, over time, gets replaced with a shiny new implant.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Dec 20, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
Sam Youngman is someone who if you haven’t heard of yet, you will.
And you will enjoy hearing from and about him –and want to hear more about him. And read more from him.
Sam is the Lexington Herald-Leader’s newest political reporter after recently returning from DC to his home state of Kentucky.
The cliched comment would be to reference something about Kentucky’s brain drain and Sam’s return being a bright spot and encouraging anecdote that Kentucky’s best and brightest do often return home to settle down. But Sam’s story is anything but a cliche or mere anecdote. I would say it is a story epic in its trajectory but serenely sane in its current arc–an arc which seems to be good news for Kentucky generally and Sam personally.
And D.C.’s loss–as Sam decided he’d absorbed about all the wisdom one can staring into an abyss. Sam appears to have concluded that the mirage of besotted and noisy power games in our nation’s capital was , in fact, an abyss –and that the orgiastic yet mind-numbing self-absorbed tedium drawing him in was instead the abyss staring back at him.
Homer-esque at moments; and at other times capable of making the Prodigal Son blush. But with a similar happy ending; just not one that is similarly Biblical in proportion. In fact, it’s a very humble ending that really isn’t an ending all. But rather an inspired and edifying new beginning.
Welcome home, young man. (No pun intended. Seriously)
1. Hair product can tend to make your forehead shiny, so wash your face after application to avoid that lacquered look. 2. If the weather is foul, and the party you’re going to isn’t dressy, try wearing a dark wash, slimmer cut pair of jeans with rugged boots. You can even roll your jeans up neatly as seen here:
3. Be prepared for the occasional host who asks guests to remove shoes at the door by wearing dress socks that are in good repair – you could even try a pair of red or green ones (not both!) for subtly festive flavor. I like these which are on sale from J. Crew.
Read the rest of… Julie Rath: Ten Holiday Party Do’s and Don’ts for the Stylish Man
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Dec 19, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
I just always check “I agree to all the terms and conditions” without ever actually reading the fine print of a website privacy policy.
But today I decided to try something different and read a privacy policy I was asked to agree to. In fact, I read several. It all sounded like fairly routine language and, you know, they all have almost identical language. But one section I found hidden in every privacy policy that I found gave me pause. Maybe it is standard boilerplate language but it seemed to stand out to me as somewhat concerning.
Here it is below in a section of the privacy policy. See the portion in parenthesis.
“We do not sell or rent any part of your information to a third party without your permission unless you opt out, we may use your (Hahahaha your mother wears combat boots you stupid moron!!! Oh, and by the way, your combat-boot wearing mother can’t do anything about all the crazy ways we are gonna make bank by using your personal information even though we pretend we aren’t going to. You just signed your life away. Hahaha!!!) contact information to provide you or others with information we believe you or others may need to know or find useful, such as but not limited to…….”
“The journey is not measured by math but by feelings, because the feel lasts longer.”
Most will come to me with the idea of losing weight, body fat, gaining muscle or something that can be tracked. What most will realize is these measurables only account for a small percentage of the journey. It is the things we cannot measure by numbers that matter most. Increased self esteem, more energy, believing in one’s self are all feelings you cannot measure but have a dramatic impact on how you will feel about fitness.
To me, as a trainer, the most impactful reflection from fitness is confidence. Transforming one’s body and loving what you see in the mirror is great but having the confidence inside the gym as well as outside the gym, impacting EVERY intricate detail of life, is what fitness is all about. As a skinny 140 lbs weakling, I learned the value of confidence through fitness. I was shy and my social skills were lacking but as I started my journey in fitness I realized my confidence began to blossom. My social life was dramatically improved. The way I felt about me and my world couldn’t of been better. Not only did I transform my body but my life. Fitness is that impactful. Quite frankly, I cannot think of another thing that can have as big of a dramatic impactful on someone’s mind, body and spirt as fitness. It literally impacts everything about you.
The most successful clients I have had have been impactful by increased confidence. As a result, some have had increased function in their occupation, some have increased their relationships with their significant others, some have had increased their confidence to walk away from bad situations and others have had the confidence to walk away from their full time careers and transition into fulfilling their dream of being a personal trainer. It comes in all shapes and sizes, feelings and impacts but confidence is by far my favorite direct reflection of the fitness journey. It also has the most impact on people’s lives, all the more reason to start your fitness journey.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Dec 18, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Another brilliant business idea. Sort of.
(Think late night infomercial)
In our more mature years resolving marital disagreements can be challenging.
When couples are younger couple and one spouse (often the male spouse) finds himself in error, there are a variety of conventional methods for remediation. These can range from from taking on extra chores around the house, finally doing yard work put off for too long, visiting in-laws for the weekend, long talks processing feelings, to utilizing the pull out couch in the den over night.
But as you get older a male spouse’s energy level and physical limitations make some of these conventional remedies impractical. Yet a mistake was still made and something has to be done about it.
I propose a new product that allows perjorative things to be written on the offending spouse’s tombstone for an agreed on period of time. The product would be made with a type of disappearing ink after a set number of days, weeks, or in some cases, years depending on what the spouses agree upon is the appropriate period of time for the public humiliation punishment.
For example, a tombstone could read:
John Smith 1947- 2026
Loving husband, great father, and dear friend to many
Lazy (2011)
Inconsiderate (2013)
Assh*** (2005)
The last three rememberances could be in the disappearing ink and written out without asterisks with the year the offending behavior occurered in parenthesis. These could be recompense for punishment for mistakes made in the past but during the mature years.
The beauty part is there is no painful extra work in the yard to do right now but a satisfactory punishment is still meted out that is appropriate to the misdeed. And remains for everyone to see. At least long enough for everyone the surviving spouse wants to see it. (For example, long enough for all living friends to see but not great grand children)
And for just an extra $9.95 a month the same tombstone message can be placed on the bereavement website for your loved one.
This way, finally, there is a way for both the deceased and their surviving spouse to Rest In Peace.
Blog this!
