Meet Elizabeth O'Neill McCall. She is the master taster at Woodford Reserve, a bourbon owned by Brown-Forman. That's right. She has been trained as a taster of bourbons. At work. THIS IS HER JOB! Never, ever think that every job has a down side. Elizabeth is living the dream the rest of us can only imagine.
Month: August 2017
UK President Capilouto and UofL’s Dr. Ricky Jones on cultural upheaval, race, confederacy rallies, and free speech
University of Kentucky President Dr. Eli Capilouto visited my radio studio today to talk about UK growth, confederacy rallies, free speech, race, and student body diversity. Dr. Ricky Jones, an education colleague of Capilouto's, was also in my radio studio to chat with the UK president on cultural issues. Dr. Jones and I discussed colorblind relief help during Houston flooding and the number of people who are trying to get him fired from UofL, the newspaper, and our radio station.
Houston flood relief proves America has always been great
That's Brandi Smith going solo on Houston's CBS affiliate as other employees had to evacuate the studios because of massive flooding in Houston. Brandi is all alone with no direction from the newsroom, just doing what she can to inform the public and, oh, save a man's life simultaneously. No one needs to Make America Great Again! It has always been and always will be great! Challenges? Of course. The Southern Poverty Law Center counts 917 hate groups across America. Let's put that in perspective. On September 13, it's Character Day, a global exercise in strengthening human integrity, compassion, empathy, and collegiality. Over 80,000 are participating. The Houston flood relief support once again shows the power of American benevolence and generosity
The Beasman on UK football: “They blue it again!”
FOOTBAW IS BACK AND ALL THE SMART MONEY IS ON THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS. U UH KAY IS THE FLOYD MAYWEATHER OF FOOTBAW TEAMS. WE GONNA TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT BUT IN THE END THE REFFERMARIE GONNA STOP IT CUZ THE CATS IS BEATIN YOU UP TOO BAD! I TELL YOU, LARRY, STOOPS TROOPS IS GONNA SHOCK THE WORLD. AND BIG BLUE NATION IS GONNA DOMMERATE THE NATIONAL CHAMPERCHIPS. BLUE GITS IN! BLUE GITS IN! LOOK OUT, ALABAMMER. THESE HERE KENTUCKY WILDCATS IS GONNA JACK YOUR JAW! CATS! CATS! CATS! IT DONβT MATTER IF WE JUST LOST OUR #1 RECRUIT TO OHI-ER STATE. THAT RUM DUMMY WILL BE SORRY SOMEDAY WHEN HE
Jim Nantz turned down a chance to narrate it
Five years later and I still can't believe that we didn't win an Emmy for this video masterpiece.
Every CEO knows that you don’t mess with the profit center
The obvious tension among University of Louisville officials is no secret. Mounting pressures from a myriad of financial, legal, and NCAA entanglements have left the school's leaders singing out of different hymnals. The Courier-Journal's Tim Sullivan projects that VP of athletics Tom Jurich's massive new deal with adidas will break the wall of silence between the administration and the athletics department. Here is my previous blog post referenced in Sullivan's CJ column. What's next? UofL Foundation Chairman David Grissom won't say whether he has asked interim President Dr. Greg Postel to fire head basketball coach Rick Pitino for a "fresh start" following the NCAA scandal. Lots of sources say that's exactly what happened in July around the time of the new Yum Center
REAL RADIO – Louisville voices on statues, reparations, and LGBT rights
Yesterday's radio show delivered a triple punch of prominent Louisville activists amplifying their messages on 50,000 watt WHAS Radio. Dr. Ricky Jones always brings his A game. He dove headfirst into the issues of confederate statues, neo Nazis, and why Democrats are cowards. Plus, we sang a duet of Dixie. Chanelle Helm, one of Louisville's most noteworthy Black Lives Matter organizers, expounded upon her eye opening post "White People, Here are 10 Requests from Black Lives Matter" Director of the Fairness Campaign Chris Hartman followed up on his visit to the Kentucky Farm Bureau's state fair ham breakfast. For the sixth consecutive year, Hartman protested what he says are discriminatory policies toward LGBTQ citizens that are advanced by lobbyists for KFB. A sampling of
Fort Knox guards are the real golden state warriors
Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin texted that he was nearby and wanted to tell me something. It turned out that he was still buzzing from just visiting the gold depository at Fort Knox and wanted to tell my radio audience about it. Bevin, invited by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnunchin, is the only governor to ever visit the gold depository. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only commander in chief to visit the vault and Mnuchin only the third treasury boss to personally inspect America's safety deposit box. Bevin gave the WHAS Radio audience a fairly comprehensive accounting of the vault's contents, last opened for inspection in 1974. LISTEN HERE: Bevin had already had a pretty
SWEET SOUNDS: I heard it on the radio
Today is National Radio Day. In my life, it means almost as much as my birthday. I've been lucky enough to earn my living doing what I always wanted to do. From the time I was a little kid I just wanted to be on the radio. My dad laughed at Bill Bailey's jokes. I loved WAKY radio and the lunacy I heard from its deejays. I was hired at WHAS in 1985 for my sarcastic comedy streak, but the job evolved into conducting news making interviews with the powerful and prominent. Sometimes people become more prominent after appearing on my show. After some of my WAKY buddies helped me put together an audition tape in 1976, I was hired by
The gas station lady suddenly fell in love with her lotto winner customer
Lewis County, Kentucky is abuzz after one its residents won the LUCKY FOR LIFE prize on $1,000 per day for the rest of his life. David Jordan is the newest millionaire in Kentucky. Here's what he had to say on the radio a few hours after picking up his winnings at Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville. Mr. Jordan wants to buy his daughter a new home and get a truck for himself. Since his brother refused to drive him to Louisville to claim the prize, well, stay tuned.