The Art of the Blog

Welcome to the IBJ A&E corner of the blogosophere—a salon of sorts where arts and entertainment issues large and small, local and national, low-, medium- and high-brow, will be discussed, debated, argued about and wrestled with.

It’s a place I hope you’ll visit frequently to share your opinions and to see what others have to say.

It will be a spot for everyone from the occasional museum visitors to the academic, from the hardcore symphony subscriber to the bar-dwelling band fan, from the passionate student to the arts administrator, from the tortured artist to the generous philanthropist.

IBJ reporter Jennifer Whitson, whose beats include arts and tourism, will occasionally be joining me here. And we’ll solicit the opinions of arts professionals as well.

As for me, I’m exploring specific productions in my A&E review column in the print edition of the IBJ (see the latest HERE) and in my IBJ Daily A&E preview (to sign up for the latter, for free, click HERE).

But this is something different than those—more of a place for me to raise questions and hear from you.

For starters, let’s talk about what we’ve got … and what we are missing.

Specifically: What A&E have you experienced in 2007 around Indy that was truly outstanding?

And what do you think Indy is missing? What do you need to go out of state to find in sufficient quality?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

P.S. This blog also will be the place to find out information about IBJ A&E special events and offers. For instance, this week, how about joining me at an advance screening of the new Philip Seymour Hoffman/Laura Linney film The Savages? Geoff Berkshire of the Chicago Tribune says this R-rated drama features “…some of the best writing and acting on screen all year, The Savages shouldn’t be missed.”

I’m not going to miss it—in fact, I’m offering 25 of this blog’s readers a chance to join me and see it at Landmark’s Keystone Arts Cinema on Dec. 17. I’ll give pairs of passes to the first 25 e-mails HERE. If you hear back from me, that means you’re a winner and you can pick up your passes from IBJ’s downtown office.

To suggest a topic for Lou Harry’s A&E, send a note HERE.