Arts rally on the Circle

April 19, 2009
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Monday is/was (depending on when you are reading this) the Indy Culture Matters Rally on  Monument Circle. Music starts/started at 11:30. Speakers at noon. I will be/was there. And I suspect many of you will/were be, too.

Enough of that. So share your thought on the event and what it may mean for the arts in Indy.

 And, yes, this is usually when I post You-review-it Monday so go  ahead and let us know what you saw this weekend. For me, the events included "Crowns" at the IRT (I always count Thursday as the weekend), the Spark a Revolution happening at Earth House and the Campus Super Star competition at the Madame Walker.

Your thoughts?
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  • Dan CooperApril 19, 2009 6:26 PM
    I would be at the Circle but have an art class at the Indianapolis Art Center starting at 12:30. I'm hoping somebody will be inspired to be there for me. If you weren't planning on going but ended up finding yourself there anyway, please let me know!
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  • Hope BaughApril 20, 2009 9:31 AM
    I'll be there, too, but you already know what I look like, Lou.

    I thought about getting a shirt that says I'm blogging this! in large letters on one side and Indy Theatre Habit on the other, but didn't have time. Maybe I'll do that for the Indy Fringe Festival this summer.

    Dan, I can't be your sub at this event because I have been planning to go since I first heard about it, but I'm glad you would be there if you could. Have a good class!

    As for my arts activities this past weekend, my friend Adrienne organized a goddess outing for several women to go see Juli Inskeep in Does This Show Make My Butt Look Fat? at Theatre on the Square. We had a lot of fun. The show is sold out through May 2 or 3, but has been extended a bit to try to accomodate everyone who wants to see it, so if you have been thinking of going, don't be discouraged. Give TOTS a call.

    I also have been casually telling lots of people how much I enjoyed Crowns at the IRT and Treasure Island at Beef and Boards, rather than writing about it on my blog. I wouldn't call my procrastination writer's block, but...

    Lou (and any other artists who might be reading this) do you ever just get too antsy to complete your assignments? If so, what do you do?

    Anyway, this past week I also judged one Encore community theatre show and read and enjoyed two novels:

    HUMPTY DUMPTY WAS PUSHED, by Marc Blatte (Schaffner Press 2009) is a murder mystery set in New York's hip-hop world. This is a more violent read than I usually like, but I could not put it down. Also I am now completely smitten with the main character, Detective Salvatore (aka Black Sally Blue Eyes) so I will probably have to read the next book in this new crime series, too, when it comes out.

    THE MYSTERY OF GRACE, by Charles de Lint. (Tor Books 2009) This urban fantasy by one of my favorite authors is a lovely stand-alone novel set in the southwestern United States (a new location for him.) It is about love, faith, tattoos, cars, and what happens, maybe, after we die.

    Okay, now I'd better go get dressed and head downtown for the Indy Culture Matters rally.

    Hope Baugh
    Indy Theatre Habit
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  • Ann ReinApril 20, 2009 12:20 PM
    It worked! Lots of good press, including a Star editorial, before the event and one assumes after, too -- a format that the mayor couldn't refuse to state his supportof the arts -- a crowd that the noon-hour traffic couldn't ignore.
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  • rayApril 20, 2009 12:21 PM
    I was there and was glad to see so many people come out to support the arts and cultural destinations. It was a little disappointing to hear Mayor Ballard say that we have to get out and tell everyone, when it seemed like everyone who was there already does that. Seems like the city government needs to figure out how to promote the city to their own people. Looks like they're doing a decent job outside of the city, but it's time to reach out within our boundaries more.
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  • A BallApril 20, 2009 1:24 PM
    I was impressed to see the number of people - using the same counting methods used for the Tea Party event last week, anywhere from 1,000 to 50,000 attended.

    I agree with Ray about the Mayor's comments. He kept saying YOU must tell others, YOU have to get out and promote it. Not WE. Subtle but important.

    As always, Frank Basille was enthusiastic and got big responses in return from the 1,000 to 50,000 attendees. The mayor, on the other hand, received polite applause.
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  • Hope BaughApril 20, 2009 2:31 PM
    I loved that there were SO MANY people there! I saw lots of theatre people, lots of storytelling people, lots of museum people...and lots MORE people that I didn't recognize. AND I couldn't even see a lot of the people that I KNEW were there, somewhere in the crowd. Yay!

    (I know I'm using a lot of caps today. I just feel like it!)

    So now I have participated in a political rally.

    If I ever do it again, I will bring a sign. Shirts don't grab camera attention when you have to bundle coats, gloves, and hats over them.

    I agree with Ray and A Ball about the Mayor of Indianapolis. I was delighted and touched that he was there...but then very disappointed that he said something like, Your mission is to get the word out about all of the great arts that this city has to offer.

    I growled, That's why we're here, bub! and the man in front of me turned around and smiled. Still, I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I hope no one else heard me.

    Because the good thing is, the Mayor of Indianapolis seemed sort of dazed, as if he had never expected to see so many people at a rally in support of the arts. Maybe the rally will be the wake-up call that its organizers hoped it would be.

    I hope that the Mayor of Indianapolis will soon change his you to we.

    Hope Baugh
    Indy Theatre Habit
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  • Hope BaughApril 20, 2009 2:33 PM
    And can I also just say that I loved the band! Especially that sax player. Steamy hot, even in the frigid weather.

    Hope Baugh
    Indy Theatre Habit
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  • foghorn leghornApril 20, 2009 5:52 PM
    Rob Dixon is the sax player, often at the Jazz Kitchen. Good guy, great player.
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  • Cissy CoalpittsApril 21, 2009 12:01 PM
    Granted I thought there was a fair amount of press for the event, but I was never sure what the message was. It seemed to be the same message the Arts groups have been using for a long time, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to catch on. The Arts may be an economic power house. Unfortunately most people are getting the message. I would much rather discuss just what kind of society we would have with out them.
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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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