Dooooon't Panic....

Ace wants to wish Chris Webb, our infamous List Editor, good luck as he joins the team at Southern Wine and Spirits, dispensing alcohol far and wide. Although Webb will be desperately missed by the Ace staff, we're holding out hope for free samples. As his successor, please join us in welcoming John Norris - Phi Beta Kappa Centre grad - who comes to us after a year at Sotheby's in New York. Familiar with the local music scene and an artist by calling, Norris looks forward to hearing from you all (list@aceweekly.com). -EC

Saccharine sweets invade San Fran

SF Gate reports that a bit of southern culture has taken root on the West Coast, although the crossover is a bit sweeter than you may suspect. Krispy Kreme doughnuts, the quintessential quality cake, have gained popularity on the left side of America by grabbing for the sweet tooth. Californians are now picking up a dozen before they hang ten, eager for the taste of the deep-fried doughnuts.

Krispy Kremes have popped up at the most unlikely of places: upscale groceries, wineries, even the occasional wedding. It's safe to say a product has traversed the consumer market when it can be found in-kind at both Marathon stations and marriage ceremonies.

It's unsurprising that the Left Coast has followed southerners falling wholly for the hole-less wonders.

-Danny Tenkman

Lexington does "Industrial Posh"

Don't visit 521 W. Short Street with the intention of getting some support beams sautered. The handsome former home of Brown and Shea Welders has undergone an extensive renovation and reopened on Dec. 13th as the new showroom of L.V. Harkness. The revitalized space sports a bow truss roof, skylights and an elegant tile interior, giving it an industrial chic aesthetic to complement the unique international gifts housed in the showroom. Patrons can now peruse 3,600 square feet of eclectic fare.

This latest addition is part of an ongoing Short Street revitalization, strengthening downtown retail scene, and growing arts district.

-Martha Mulholland

Don't Drop the Bomb

Listen up you global-beautification-savvy citizens because the Bluegrass Chapter of the United Nations has recently adopted a minefield in Mozambique that they are attempting to clear. If you feel like doing your part to mend a foreign warzone, send your tax free donations to Bluegrass Adopt-A-Minefield Campign, Box 25026, Lexington, Ky 40524-5026 to aid in the $28,250 cleanup effort and clear a path for a peaceful place. -Martha Mulholland

Sky's no limit for good music

With classic generational epics as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's films are known for their original, genuine depictions of love, angst and personal revelation and reconciliation - as well as great soundtracks.

Vanilla Sky is Crowe's latest addition , a surreal mind-bender that owes a little too much to Total Recall, and other dream-vs.-reality genre flicks.

The soundtrack includes an array of music from Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, The Beach Boys, REM, and the spacy, alternative styles of Radiohead and Nashville-based Spacecraft. Diane Timmons, Lexingtonian, fills the vocal and synth-talents for Spacecraft.(Catch their song in the movie directly after the pivotal car-crash scene- but that's all we're sayin'.) -Jessica Gipson

Living the fight of civil rights in Kentucky

Falling on the cusp between North and South, Kentucky's role in the Civil Rights Movement is sometimes lost in the gray middle. But a new documentary, Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky, reveals the powerful struggles of Kentuckians who fought to end legal segregation in Kentucky and participated in the civil rights movement from 1930-1975. Living the Story is based on more than 175 interviews collected by project director Dr. Betsy Brinson and Dr. Tracy K Meyer from the University of Louisville, detailing vivid recollections of men and women from the Civil War to the 50s and 60s with stories of protests, marches and boycotts that challenged the political and social barriers to change the segregation laws. It will premiere on Thursday, Jan. 17 at a private viewing at the Kentucky History Center, presented by the Kentucky Oral History Commission of the Kentucky Historical Society. It broadcasts statewide at 8pm on Monday, Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on KET. "The film is important because it provides a rare opportunity to get to know some of the people who were instrumental in the civil rights movement in Kentucky, and to be assured that a person can make a difference," says Arthur Rouse, co-producer/director. -Jessica Gipson

Restoration of historic facade, or another historic facade?

Mayor Pam Miller has announced plans to renovate the 1948 F.W. Woolworth building on Main Street, which has been empty for more than ten years now. The plan is to create a high tech center in the building called "The Factory."

Mayor Miller went on to say that the support of University of Kentucky President Lee Todd has been crucial for the project. And, the term "university town," continues to grow in meaning.

-Joshu Goebeler