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:
10-28: There comes a time when you realize you have a sickness. Most girls spend $20 on a new shirt. I bought a turkey.
Yes, a month before Thanksgiving every year, I get so excited that I can’t wait…and I buy a turkey. And I stuff it, and smother it, and baste it, and love on it, and eat the crap out of it until I pass out from Turkey Coma.
Yes, I could get a new shirt, but I bought a bird. Sickness? Nah. Priorities…
10-29: I may or may not have tried on some of those old pageant dresses last night and finished carving the turkey in one…I figured I should dress for the occasion when I’m cracking and boiling bones. I used my ex for added inspiration when it came to hacking at it with the cleaver – great stress relief. Don’t get this confused – I do not wish to hack him up – but boy is it fun taking undistributed hostility out on turkey bones, while wearing a full-length gown, with opera music playing in the background. If you find yourself doubting the credibility here, I promise you: I can’t make this stuff up on my best day. This is full-on, unadulterated truth as I live and breathe it. Seriously though, this exercise to preserve mental fortitude comes highly recommended. I went to bed accomplished, slept like a baby, and woke up wanting to seize the day instead of attacking it. Thank you, turkey bird.
10-30: It has been brought to my attention that the creativity with which I crafted my previous post makes me look like a mixture of Carrie and Kathy Bates in Misery. Apparently, my pseudo-psychopathic depiction got so much traction, it was shared multiple times, by multiple people outside our company. Might I remind you, Kathy Bates won an Oscar for Best Actress, Sissy Spacek garnered the nomination, respectively, for portraying those maniacs.
My self-indulgent FB Acceptance Speech: Thank you to all the adorably-dense gossip addicts. I’m so humbled you have the time and energy to worry with little ‘ole me. If you ever desire to walk a mile in each other’s shoes, I warmly welcome you to enjoy the perspective that it’s okay to be yourself – and really fun to freak people out while doing so. De-stressing by roasting a turkey, being resourceful by chopping up it’s bones for stock, all while dressed in a gorgeous gown you still fit into a decade later is sheer bliss. I’ll wear your shoes and walk around all pent up and miserable, whispering passive-aggressive quips as some kind of elitist overcompensation mechanism. I’ll purse my lips and scowl with that trademark pinched look on my face. I’ll trade so you can experience true and simple joy, never to fear your reflection in the mirror, so you can feel the freedom of being you, loving you – crazy and all, and of course dancing barefoot – because I don’t even like shoes. So c’mon. Walk in mine, put your feet up and relax those pinched butt cheeks of yours. Otherwise, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show. (Exiting Stage Left before the pig blood gets dumped on my head)
You probably haven’t heard of Richard LaMotta but I bet you have heard of and enjoyed his innovation, the Chipwich ice cream sandwich. I rank the Chipwich right up there on my list of all-time favorite innovations along with Guttenberg’s printing press and Apple’s iPhone. Like most great innovations the Chipwich didn’t require inventing anything new, just recombining existing elements in a new way to deliver value. What could deliver more value than sandwiching soft vanilla ice cream between two, large chocolate chip cookies? As if that isn’t innovative enough add in the piece de resistance, rolling the whole thing in chocolate chips! Now that’s innovation. LaMotta died last week and his classic entrepreneur story is worth remembering and celebrating.
LaMotta was ahead of his time in 1982 when he deployed unheard of guerilla marketing tactics to take the idea for Chipwich from a retail confectionary store called The Sweet Tooth in Englewood, New Jersey to selling 200,000 per day across the country at its peak. The name Chipwich came from an early crowd sourcing effort when LaMotta held a contest offering a year’s supply of the product to the winning contributor. A student from New Jersey came up with the winning name and was rewarded not only with a year’s supply of the tasty treat but also put through college by the company for her contribution.
LaMotta had a vision to take the Chipwich national but was told by marketing “experts” that it would take $50M in working capital that the company didn’t have. No worries, LaMotta took the campaign to the streets of Manhattan, literally, deploying street cart vendors complete with identifiable pith helmets and khaki pants. They created an innovative sales channel without the help of the experts establishing a new product category for premium handheld ice cream and an attractive new price point breaking the $1 barrier. Prior to Chipwich hand held ice cream products were low quality and low cost. Vendors consistently sold out of Chipwiches and the price point continued to move up. Fortune 100 food giants approached LaMotta to use the carts as a trial medium for their own products.
Chipwich went viral without the help of today’s social media platforms. Imagine the tweets. Chipwich received an estimated $50 million of earned advertising exposure receiving thousands of free endorsements. Mayor Koch even posed for a publicity photo, for no fee, as he took a big bite of a Chipwich. It was an attractive David vs Goliath story that the press ate up. LaMotta says he gained 30 pounds just doing free media interviews.
LaMotta learned the many hard lessons of entrepreneurship along the way, twice filing for and then emerging from bankruptcy, as the knockoffs came fast and furious. He also learned first hand what happens when an entrepreneur mixes it up with the world of large corporations. LaMotta laments what he called large corporate “analysis to paralysis” syndrome and cautioned aspiring entrepreneurs about the importance of non-disclosure agreements. In 2002 with a nationally recognized brand, more than a billion Chipwiches sold, and 3700 vendors in 36 markets, he sold the company to Coolbrands International, a Canadian distributor, who also owned the Eskimo Pies brand. Coolbrands then in turn sold both brands to Dreyer’s, a subsidiary of Nestle, who discontinued making the Chipwich because they already had another brand in the category. Like most entrepreneurs LaMotta struggled with losing control of his baby.
LaMatta was a classic entrepreneur who never quit. He said it best, “I got out there, I went for it, and persevered through the rough times.” He did indeed. Chipwich is a great innovation story. Rest in delicious peace, Richard LaMatta.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Nov 8, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Some people take sleep for granted. Like something that just happens naturally without thinking about it and without effort.
That’s not the case for everyone and advice to us about fluffing up our pillow, no caffeine after 4pm, not eating late and no watching TV in bed, isn’t very helpful. For one thing, we never make it to bed in the first place to not watch TV or fluff up our pillow. But thanks anyway.
That kind of advice, to a true insomniac, is akin to trying to house train a dog by explaining to the dog there is a restroom right next to their pen and to just use it as needed. But remember to put the seat back down when finished.
It’s just not in the cards for us. Or the dog.
And so as you wake up “bright and early” and are ready to greet the day with enthusiasm and see a colleague who looks like he is moving underwater and would have trouble following a multi-sentence conversation with The Dude from The Big Lewbowski, just look at him and smile to yourself and remember that if your friend were a dog you wouldn’t get mad at him for not putting the toilet seat back down in the restroom.
In other words, no advice, please. Just cut us a little slack.
If you’re still rocking that North Face parka over your suit jacket, it’s time for an upgrade.
Nothing ruins a great look faster than a not-so-great coat. For some reason outerwear often seems to be at the end of peoples’ priority lists, but I can’t stress enough how important it is for your coat or jacket to be up to par with the rest of your outfit. Think about it: you walk into a restaurant to meet a date.
Before you take your coat off, she’s already formed an impression of you. The same goes for your office elevator. People tell me all the time that they sneak in to their office building in junk clothes/shoes and change once they’re there, but if you’re riding up in the elevator with people in your office, the damage is done.
So, have I convinced you of the merits of a good overcoat yet? Good! Here are my suggestions on how to choose one.
Fit: I see too many people around in oversized, too long overcoats – such a disappointing look! It makes me think of a little kid playing dress-up. Ideally, your overcoat should fit comfortably over a suit but still be slim enough to look stylish with just a shirt and pants. The best, most versatile length for a modern but still classic look is around your knee.
It should hit anywhere from mid/low-knee to just above it, depending on how modern you want the look to be (the shorter you go, the younger the look). A good-fitting overcoat should make you look taller, leaner and broader across the shoulders.
Sizing: An overcoat is meant to fit on top of your suit, so when buying off-the-rack, start by going up one size from your suit. Try it on with a suit jacket or blazer and be sure it can close. The sleeves should cover your suit and shirt sleeves.
Buttons – Make sure it buttons to a location on your body that you’re comfortable with. I like this houndstooth check coat above from Balenciaga, but notice how low it buttons on the model’s body. If it’s too low, and you get cold easily, you might want to choose a coat that buttons a little higher. Remember that you’ll likely be wearing a scarf with it on very cold days which will give you additional coverage. What about the number of buttons? Most people will need 3 buttons for a classic single-breasted style, but if you’re very tall (over 6’ 3”), you should get 4.
Read the rest of… Julie Rath: How to Buy an Overcoat
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Nov 7, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Each year about this time my daughter and I take a father-daughter trip.
And this year is no exception.
We started with a bitterly cold weekend at Camp Piamingo for our first father -daughter weekend about 8 years ago. It was called Indian Summer, I think and was designed for dads and daughters. We gave oursleves the nicknames Papa Bear and Baby Bear and brought board games like Hooskerdu andCandyland. We slept on the floor of a cabin in below freezing tempretures as I kept an eye on a large spider that was either lazy, dead or frozen into the woodwork a few feet away.
The next year we went to Chicago to the American Girl Store and to see the Cheetah Girls in concert. Except I mistakenly bought Cheetah Girl tickets to a concert 2 hours from our hotel and didnt have a car. Maggie, my 9 year old and very wise daughter shrugged and suggested we just go to dinner, adding “This is supposed to be about bonding with each other anyway. Not about concerts.”
She just gets more awesome each year. And I look forward to bonding and seeing what she teaches me.
This weekend we decided to repeat last year’s NY weekend instead of repeating the original Camp Piamingo weekend.
“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 Nov 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
I watched the hubbub over the weekend and KY US Senator Rand Paul borrowing some lines from Wikipedia to use in a speech where he references the movie plot of Gattaca Well, for what it’s worth, if I had somehow found myself in a situation where I had to give an important speech and reference the movie Gattaca, I think I would simply have looked it up on Wikipedia for the plot summary–just like Sen Paul— instead of watching the movie for myself and having to come up with my own personal commentary about it.
I remember when the movie Gattaca came out in 1997 and was in the local theaters. At the time I had several opportunities to see it with my wife and chose instead Good Will Hunting, Titanic, As Good as it Gets, and even Lost World instead. And, yes, if you really press me to be completely forthright and transparent about this issue, I saw Nicholas Cage’s Face Off that year instead of Gattaca too. That was probably a mistake in retrospect.
But the point is I had many opportunities to see Gattaca in the theatres and never did. Later when it was on video, I rented (well….there are too many movie titles to list. Just know there were several hundred rental movies I chose to rent since 1997 instead of Gattaca, too) Later when it was available on cable, Gattaca got beat out by several hundred other movies I chose to watch instead.
Yes, I really love movies. But not enough to have ever watched Gattaca. Even though it did get an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes….. I can’t really explain it why it had no appeal to me. Maybe I’m just not much of a sci-fi guy.
Plus, Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman and Gore Vidal?? I just didn’t see how the chemisy would work.
And, finally, just the word Gattaca made my stomach turn and head ache wondering what it could be about that I wasn’t interested in. Finally, it is apparently mostly an anti-abortion political diatribe and those get a little wearisome to me whether I agree or not.
And for the final test–the test that proved beyond doubt—I understand and support Sen Rand Paul’s choice for going the Wiki route on this movie instead of watching it for myself? Even after all the brouhaha about the speech and movie over the weekend, I still have no desire to see Gattaca. I haven’t even read the Wikipedia article about it. Or even the few sections Sen Paul used.
And, frankly, don’t think I ever will. I’ll take Sen Paul’s word for it about the movie and what it says on Wikipedia about it (and back him up on not laboriously sitting through the whole tedious sci-fi flick).
I think I’ll just watch either Goodwill Hunting or As Good as it Gets again. Maybe both…if I don’t have to use either of them in a speech.
Every generation seems to experience a couple of epic historic moments that define them – we have ‘The Greatest Generation’ with their memories of World War Two, former ‘flower children’ who remember The Summer of Love (or at least did some indiscriminate making-out that year), and so on. I’m on the younger side of Baby Boomers – I was 10 in 1969, so the only real hippie experience I had was embroidering flowers on my bellbottom jeans and writing earnest but dreadful poetry with lines like “the earth was meant for love, not pollution.”
Usually these landmark moments are pretty serious, even tragic, like assassinations or weather-related disasters. And occasionally, they can be celebrations of the human spirit, like the first moonwalk, the falling of the Berlin Wall, or the record number of babies born 9 months after major power outages. But only rarely do we find a transformational, epic moment that has nothing sad about it, nothing triumphant, but just pure fun – in fact, up until recently, the only examples I could think of were pop culture silliness, like pet rocks, the Macarena, or Gangnam Style.
However, due to a calendar quirk, this month will be the first time since 1888 that Chanukah and Thanksgiving have overlapped. And it won’t happen again for over 77,000 years. (Which is how long I know many people hope it will be until the Macarena comes back.) So naturally, people are jumping on it as an opportunity to celebrate, to develop fun hybrid recipies (sweet potato latkes with melted marshmallows . . . don’t think about it too much), and of course to find the marketing angle. Someone has already trademarked “Thanksgivukkah,” and you can buy Thanksgivukkah-themed cards, t-shirts, and even a ‘menurkey’ (a menorah in the shape of a turkey).
Even though this would seem to be a completely apolitical moment of joy, in today’s bitter partisan climate I must admit I was expecting some pushback from the far right who keep insisting that our founding fathers meant for this to be a Christian nation, so I thought they’d be horrified that a holiday celebrating American history would be combined with a non-Christian observance. But so far the only objection has come from comedian Stephen Colbert (who complained that the war on Christmas is now going after Thanksgiving). So we can celebrate without reservation!
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Nov 5, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Sometimes I think it would be nice to take a vacation— not “to” any place but “from” myself.
Not sure how it works or what the lodging arrangements would look like but would kinda be a nice break to get away from myself for a week — or just a long weekend.
I think a little distance from myself could be good now.
I feel I am getting too enmeshed with myself and showing signs of copendency-…-I have this compulsion to have to know what I am doing and a compulsion to “fix” me. I need to learn to let go and not care what I think about myself.
A self-vacation may be just what I need.
Been a long, long time since I have been able to do that. Can’t even remember last time.
Wonder if there are any Groupons for a vacation like this?
Kansas City has always been an entrepreneurial city.
Companies such as Hallmark, Sprint, DST, Cerner, H&R Block, Garmin and Russell Stover Candies all call Kansas City home. However, a true renaissance in entrepreneurship and a renewed sense of a vibrant startup community has skyrocketed of late. A recent paper from the Kauffman Foundation shows that Kansas City has the third highest increase overall among the largest metropolitan areas in high-tech startup density from 1990-2010 in the United States. Kansas City ranked first for the highest increase among the largest metropolitan areas in high-tech startup density from 1990-2010 in the United States when based only on information and communications technology. This might strike some as surprising since Kansas City is not in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast, however it’s less of a surprise to those familiar with the technology ecosystem there. Kansas City’s growing tech density and its burgeoning startup activity demonstrates that the city has viability as a technology destination. Now, national technology players are truly taking note of the city and its success.
This newfound interest can be seen in the heart of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri at Think Big Partners. Think Big Partners is an early-stage business incubator, startup accelerator and mentorship-based collaborative network that takes ideas, opportunities and entrepreneurs and helps to take them to the next level. Why is this so important? Here’s why…Think Big Partners just became the first of its kind in the entire world to partner with Microsoft Ventures. To put this in perspective, think something similar to Google Ventures. In the past Microsoft Ventures has opened up its own accelerators in locations such as Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Paris and Beijing. However, Think Big Partners in Kansas City is the first established accelerator to build a partnership with Microsoft Ventures.
“Think Big Partners represents the best of KC as well as startup reach nationally and globally. We’re pleased to be working with them to find and support great startups,” said Cliff Reeves of Microsoft Ventures. The focus of Think Big Partners will continue to be helping entrepreneurs, grow, build and start their companies, but with this impressive partnership with Microsoft Ventures they now will have access to more of the “right” mentors to continue building their brand in an effort to grow and attract companies outside of Kansas City and the Midwest. These types of partnerships also allow Kansas City to attract more capital into town and more access to what it brings. “The extensive resources and boots on the ground that Microsoft Ventures adds to our checklist-oriented process will help us get entrepreneurs from idea to first customer faster and even more efficiently,” said Blake Miller, Director of Think Big Partners Accelerator.
In addition to what Think Big Partners is doing with Microsoft Ventures, Sprint has also been a relevant player on the tech scene launching the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator in partnership with the well-known accelerator brand, Techstars. Leaders of early-stage mobile technology companies from across the United States will be coming to Kansas City to work on initiatives driving innovation in health care. Seems like the right focus with all the transformations going on in health care right now doesn’t it? “Wireless innovations are helping people around the world by improving health care, empowering people with disabilities and promoting wellness,” said Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint.
The Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator, powered by Techstars, will provide entrepreneurs in this field an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen their businesses with the guidance of leading technology experts from Sprint, top technology companies in the area and many from around the country. “To me, Kansas City is an obvious place that has an up-and-coming tech community to rival other top geographies,” said David Cohen, Founder and CEO of Techstars. “The presence of leaders in the mobile health care space makes this the perfect home for the accelerator.” Oh, I almost forgot…guess what? The new Sprint Accelerator is located about a block and a half away from Think Big Partners in one of Kansas City’s most desirable neighborhoods, the Crossroads. Kansas City is building true technology density and a real innovation zone in its urban core.
The major Think Big Partners and Sprint Accelerator news comes off the momentum of Kansas City becoming the first city in the United States to receive and implement 100 times faster than broadband Google Fiber services in many areas in the metropolitan area. Downtown Kansas City is getting wired for Google Fiber right now. This will only help Kansas City increase its high-tech density startup growth and help it build on its status as an emerging entrepreneurial technology center.
Kansas City will continue to be a catalyst for growth in the entrepreneurial sector in America and its technology innovation prowess is proving to be on the rise.
Blog this!
