Recent Blog Posts

Pretending to like new music

July 9, 2008
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Noted curmudgeon—and very smart and funny writer—Joe Queenan recently threw down the gauntlet at contemporary classical music and those who, in his view, claim to like it. Some notable quotes from his article “Admit It, You’re as Bored as...
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Smoking ban for 'Jersey Boys'

July 8, 2008
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Chris Jones at the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago production of "Jersey Boys" (an outstanding show, by the way--and that's me talking, not Jones) has gone smoke free. He's not talking about the theater. He's talking about the...
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Hutcherson visits 'Journey' crowd

July 8, 2008
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Last night, the Heartland Film Festival (sorry, I mean Heartland Truly Moving Pictures--I'm still getting used to the new name) added some dessert to a packed advance screening of the new adventure flick "Journey to the Center of...
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You-review-it Monday

July 6, 2008
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It was a long weekend. Surely you found some entertainment beyond the barbecue. Like me, did you take the opportunity to visit with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Conner Prairie...on with the Sanders Family in "Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming"...
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Att. shoppers: explicit material

July 2, 2008
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My just-over-the-cubicle-wall colleagues at Indiana Lawyer reported yesterday that Judge Sarah Evans Barker "threw out a new Indiana law requiring bookstores and other retailers to register with the state and pay a $250 fee if they want to sell...
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'Wall*E': Quality as business plan

July 1, 2008
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"Quality is the best business plan of all." So Pixar chief John Lasseter told the L.A. Times. And the combination of reading that statement and seeing Pixar's remarkable "Wall*E" last night gives me hope for, well, everything. I'm not going to...
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Avg. TV viewer is now over 50

June 30, 2008
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Today's Variety quotes a study stating that the average age of TV network viewers--at least, those viewing shows live and not on DVR--is now 50. That's the highest it's ever been. CBS has the oldest average age viewer, at 54. The...
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You-review-it Monday

June 30, 2008
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So did you visit the "On the Road" scroll at the IMA? Swing to "Swing" at American Cabaret Theatre? Try to understand the great Joe Cocker at Verizon Wireless Music Center? Let us know what A&E you experienced this weekend. For me, much...
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Meet Indiana's new poet laureate

June 27, 2008
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I know the suspense was killing you, so here's some relief. As of last week, Indiana has a new poet laureate. He's Norbert Krapf, a St. Joseph's College grad with an M.A. from Notre Dame. His name is on 21...
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Mayor Ballard, arts patron

June 26, 2008
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When I attended last night's sneak preview of the "On the Road Again..." exhibition at the IMA, there was Mayor Ballard. When I attended Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre's "Hooray for Bollywood" performance at Pike Performing Arts Center, there was...
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Taking the "art" out at Keystone

June 25, 2008
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I've got a pretty broad definition of art. And a pretty broad definition of art films. But "Get Smart"? "You Don't Mess with the Zohan"? "Indiana Jones"? "The Happening"? "Sex in the City"? Such is the lineup at Landmark's Keystone Art...
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Ann Patchett on opera and veggies

June 24, 2008
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"Sometimes I worry that culture is like vegetables and that I'd be better off eating that which is locally grown," writes novelists Ann Patchett in today's Wall Street Journal. The piece isn't a celebration of local arts. Rather, it's a tribute to the...
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Tobias Theatre events announced

June 23, 2008
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The folks at the Indianapolis Museum of Art have named names (at least some) for programming at its soon-to-be-opening  Tobias Theatre. The initial schedule for this new "living room" for the arts includes: --"Virtuosos and Visions," featuring violinist Cho-Liang Lin, pipa artist Min Xiao-Fen,...
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DC: Final critical thoughts

June 23, 2008
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More random thoughts from the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington. * If the powers that be in Carmel--or any other place that aspires to be an arts destination--hasn't already made contact, they should reach out immediately and speak to...
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You-review-it Monday

June 23, 2008
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Okay, so what did I miss? Anyone visit the ISO on the Prairie, shop at the Eiteljorg's Indian Market, participate in the 48 Hour Film Project or stop in at the Florie Leviton show at the Indianapolis Art Center? What A&E encounters did you...
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DC: Awards matter

June 21, 2008
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It's the fourth day of the American Theatre Critics Association annual conference and my feet or sore, my eyes a little glazed over, and my excitement about theater and its potential increased. Here are some notes: * One of the factors credited...
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The death of the CD

June 20, 2008
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Reports of the death of the CD aren't exagerated. Wired magazine reports that Apple's ITunes store has sold over five billion songs. Meanwhile, Price WaterhouseCoopers LLC released a report that sales downloaded songs will surpass that of CDs by 2010. In...
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DC: Backstage at the Kennedy Center

June 19, 2008
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The latest in a serious of reports from the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington, D.C.  It's past intermission, but I chose not to go back into the theater. Stomach issues, I claim. Truth is, I saw a much better directed, better...
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DC: Dancing with Presidents

June 18, 2008
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We're on the stage of the National Theatre, rich in history but on the verge of irrelevance. With a mere 1675 seats, it's difficult to compete for tours and concerts with the Kennedy Center and other larger houses. This is...
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DC: Dinner with Harry Hamlin

June 18, 2008
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"Hi, I'm Harry," he says, shaking my hand. And when he sits down at our table, a woman next to him asks, "Who do you write for?" That's the standard first question here at the American Theatre Critics Association conference in Washington. But, in this case,...
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"Get Smart"--Your thoughts

June 17, 2008
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Since I'm out of town, I had to miss the Tuesday IBJ Night at the Movies preview of "Get Smart." So if you were there, enlighten me. What did I miss?
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DC: Critical mass in Washington

June 17, 2008
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It’s been about a decade since I’ve been to Washington, D.C., but memories rush back. On a junior high field trip, a kid sticking his hand in front of my Super-8 movie camera as I tried to film a “Hard Day’s...
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You-review-it Monday

June 16, 2008
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A busy weekend for me included spending quality time with "Some Men" at the Phoenix Theatre, an afternoon visit to the Indy Jazz Fest, finally getting to see "Iron Man" at the movies, a trip to Bollywood courtesy of the Gregory...
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Preview: Chakaia Booker in Indy

June 13, 2008
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IBJ reporter Jennifer Whitson takes over the blog for a moment with some info on the upcoming Chakaia Booker public art exhibition. New York-based artist Chakaia Booker’s nine new sculptures will be taking over downtown...
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Chakaia Booker

June 13, 2008
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Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit, a public art display of nine original pieces and one existing sculpture, will be set up in downtown Indianapolis on July 14. Here's where to go to see them: 1. “Gridlock” 2. “Tailgaiting” 3. “Plus or Minus?”...
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  1. First, the Athenaeum is going to have to get past the hurdle with the Lockerbie residents and the agreement that the parcel would be residential. Second, and in my opinion, this prime piece of property should include parking, PLUS, a black box theater(s), some market rate and affordable artist housing and a plan to renovate and reconfigure the second story theater. I would negotiate to add the DeHaan property surface parking lot into the development mix, place a one story surface parking garage on the DeHaan lot on the street level (for the Dehaan tenants use during the daytime) and add a second story to the garage that would become an addition to the current second story theater and then change the direction of the theater by moving the stage across the alley and on top of the DeHaan lot parking. You can add all the stage elements that are currently missing from the Athenaeum stage to make it more attractive for use by Ballet, Opera and traveling productions. Plus, the theater changes would probably help solve some of the soundproofing issues. Alas,it does not seem to be a part of the strategic plan to conduct a study to determine best use of the property. Seems like the current plan is a quick and easy move that ignores the property best use/potential and any strategic property planning for the effect on future generations.

  2. I recall that MSA's pilings are still in the ground and hard to remove. It’s not likely any proposal will include significant underground construction/parking because of this. Start adding 2 floors of retail, 8 floors of parking and 5-10 floors of possible hotel, and/or 10-20 floors of residential, and you are at 30 floors already with possible expansion of all the uses. But then again I could be wrong.

  3. Accoriding to their website there is no deadline to the Do Not Call list. What is this article referring to??

  4. On what planet are they entitled to this largesse from the stockholders? These people make multi-million dollar salaries: Pay for your own personal travel.

  5. It matters because they're already paid enormously fat salaries: Pay for your own personal travel. Being "taxed on it" isn't a valid excuse--so what? They're still being gifted a raft of luxury perks from somebody else's money on top of an enormous, lavish salary.

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