var Kentucky = new Array("Wired", "Hickish", "Amish")

Awhile back I wrote about how Kentucky's long-held hillbilly image was being reconsidered in light of efforts to wire every corner of the state, and to woo tech-heavy businesses to the area (See: When did Kentucky become cool?). Unfortunately whatever steps forward Kentucky made to look like a progressive region, it took leaps back recently when the media latched onto the controversy surrounding the opening of the Creation Museum (technically Northern Kentucky, but might as well be Cincinnati). The media has us looking like hicks again.

I'm not going to comment too much on the Creation Museum myself, except to say that if you're going to invoke science as a religious explanation, it's no longer under the scope of religion. It becomes the realm of science, which automatically makes it subject to peer-review. If you don't want the criticism, don't invoke science.

That's not what I wanted to talk about here, though. What we're talking about is stereotypes. Kentucky is actually pretty diverse. My question: How can any universal statement be made about a region where you routinely encounter the following at the local supermarket?


(photo shot by mobile phone, apologize for the quality)

Obviously the region isn't that homogenous when Amish are shopping at the grocery store, while I'm running around snapping pics with a mobile phone and checking my email on a laptop that's swiping wi-fi from the Super 8 motel down the street : )

Kentucky != "Hick". Kentucky = Array.

The state that bleeds blue and votes red

What's a blog without a little politics? Election primaries (today) suck for registered Independents, like myself. I can't vote (no one to vote for). Local politics are all skewed anyway. Everyone around here are registered Democrats — Southern Democrat I'd imagine — but they consistently vote red, like Southern Democrats do. UK sports led to the phrase that "Kentucky bleeds blue". I joke about the conflicting politics in Kentucky when I say it's the only state that bleeds blue but votes red. I vote the colors of a sunset, and my opinions are just as varied.

When did Kentucky become cool?

What's this? I was reading through MIT's Technology Review and came across this ad. Kentucky seems to really, really want to shed it's hillbilly image, like big time. Forget Silicone Valley in California, or even Silicone Alley in New York, make way for Silicone Holler! The whole damn state is wired and now Kentucky is out to seduce high-tech companies through matching funds. It's not just tech either. Last year, Esquire named Kentucky the most stylish state, based largely on the amount of hipsters it's produced, including the likes of George Clooney, Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, Muhammad Ali, and others. Last October, Louisville was even tapped to play host to the IdeaFestival. The IdeaFestival is a world-class meet up bringing together the most diverse and leading thinkers from across the nation and around the globe to explore and celebrate innovation and cutting-edge ideas. It's a huge think-tank filled with some of the most brilliant and extraordinary problem solvers on the planet. It's no small thing that it was held in Louisville. Guess where the IdeaFestival is going to be this year... Louisville again! It's all just a little too weird. Kentucky's not supposed to be cool.