Category Archives: 2012 Presidential Election

10/23/2012
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2012 Presidential Election, Astronomy, BBC World Service, Bloomington Playwrights Project, Boy Scouts of America, Carl Sagan, Curly Howard, NPR, Scout Association, WFIU, Woodward/Newman Drama Award

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” — Carl Sagan

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TODAY’S VOTING NAG

Vote or shut up.

Cast your ballot today at these locations:

❐ The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St. — 8am-6pm

❐ Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St. — 10am-6pm

If you must put your duty off until the very last day, find your precinct polling place here.

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DOPES

Sigh.

As Curly Howard once wondered, “Is everybody dumb?”

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The BBC World Service this morning reported on a recent effort by the Scout Association — the UK’s version of the Boy Scouts — to crack down on the use of nicknames.

The deep thinkers who run the outfit say nicknames are the gateway to bullying.

Nicknames.

Apparently, the Scouts believe bullies often start their nefarious work the moment they label a kid. Which is true.

If I recall correctly from my days at school, bullies also often begin terrorizing their victims at lunch time. Therefore I propose we crack down on eating.

Curly was right.

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PAY YOUR BILLS

The Loved One phoned in our annual contribution to WFIU Saturday morning.

Have you thrown a little green the station’s way yet?

Here’s how simple the online process is:

Click Image To Pledge

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PLAY FOR PAY

The Bloomington Playwrights Project raised $20,500 during this past weekend’s 2012 Ike & Julie Arnove PlayOffs.

See, competing groups of playwrights, directors, and actors were given a theme, a prop, and a line Friday night. They were to turn these simple raw materials into 10-minute plays, all shined-up, spiffied, and ready for the stage a mere 24 hours later.

The group deemed best Saturday night was called the Far-Off Broadway Bombers. Their playlet, “The Games,” was written by C. Neil Parsons, directed by Brian Donnelly and Benita Brown, and performed by Anthony Bradburn, Katie Becker, and David Sheehan.

The Far-Off Broadway Bombers

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What? You missed it?

Your penance is to attend at least one BPP production this coming year. The next play up is “Lemonade” by Mark Krause. It has won the Woodward/Newman Drama Award and runs from November 30th through December 15th.

Go and sin no more.

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SKY BLINDNESS

Believe me, folks, this is all too true:

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Bloomington proper seems to straddle the border between the suburban sky and the rural sky. The sky above Chez Pencil gets a tad closer to the brilliance of the dark sky.

Any time you get a chance, go out to a real dark sky area — the region south of Paoli and French Lick, for example — and simply look up.

You won’t need a fancy telescope or even binoculars, only your eyes.

You’ll be reminded that we’re essentially nothing in this Universe.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

VOTE TODAY ◗ Two Locations, Bloomington:

  • The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.; 8am-6pm
  • Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St.; 10am-6pm

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Lilly Library, Slocum Room — Special exhibit: “Violentology: A Manual of the Colombian Conflict“; 10:30am

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Doctoral Recital: Eunice Park on piano; 5pm

LECTURE ◗ ◗ IU Memorial Union — “After They’re Gone: Afghanistan After 2014,” Presnted by Timor Sharan of the USAID project; 5:30pm

ART ◗ The Venue Fine Art & Gifts — Wood Carving, Demonstrated by Mark Braun; 5:30pm

CLASS ◗ IU Hilltop Garden & Nature Center — Preserving Fresh Garden Produce; 6:30-8pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Lilya 4 Ever“; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Lloyd Wood; 7-9pm

DISCUSSION ◗ Monroe County Public Library — “Organizing to Combat Wage Theft,” Led by Sung Yeon Choi-Morrow & Dianne Enriquez of Interfaith Worker Justice; 7pm

STAGE ◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — “Richard III“; 7:30pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Maurer School of Law, Moot Court Room — Patten Lecture: “Whats Does Genocide Look Like? And How Do We Know It When We See It?“; 7:30-9pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Kelley School of Business, Rm. 223, Auditorium — “From Auschwitz to Forgiveness,” Presented by Eva Kor as part of the IU Holocaust Awareness Program; 7:30-9:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Octubafest: Guest Recital, Roland Szentpali; 8pm

GAMES ◗ The Root Cellar at Farm Bloomington — Team trivia; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Blues Jam hosted by Fistful of Bacon; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Hot Tuesdays: Jazz Combos: Nate Anderson Group, Alejandro Papachryssanthou Group; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Hallowe’en Celebration: The Gantle Shades, Apollo Quad, Dingo Duster; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Dave Walters karaoke; 9pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
  • “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
  • “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

  • “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

  • “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
  • “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
  • “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
  • “Picturing Archaeology”
  • “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
  • “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
  • “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
  • “TOYing with Ideas”
  • “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
  • “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

  • “Outsiders and Others: Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil: Bloomington’s Best

10/22/2012
3 Comments
2012 Presidential Election, Catholic School, Lenny Bruce

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.” — Lenny Bruce

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DO IT NOW

Vote or shut up.

Cast your ballot today at these locations:

❐ The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St. — 8am-6pm

❐ Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St. — 10am-6pm

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JESUS IS ON

When I was a kid, this switchplate was on my bedroom wall:

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I always thought the boy kid was the world’s biggest square because he had cuffed pants, a fashion faux pas in the 1960s tantamount to wearing parachute pants to school today. Plus, he was a trousers-monster: See how high he’s got his drawers hitched up?

At the time, I was in primary school. I was trying to figure out what the nuns meant when they commanded me to love god. Just looking at that boy kid, though, convinced me that I wanted nothing to do with their god.

I’d gladly suffer the horrors of hell in exchange for not looking like such a dope.

When I hit the age of 13, I unscrewed that switchplate and replaced it with a peace sign one. Ma said, “Oh, Mike, why?” when she discovered it was gone. I think she may have been more traumatized by the realization that her little terrorist was growing up than she was that he was losing a religion he never really had.

This pic has been making the rounds on Facebook these days. The first time I saw it, it jarred me, the way seeing your class picture from the sixth or seventh grade makes a guy feel a little uncomfortable. All those cute girls who inspired stirrings and arousals and furtive sessions dedicated to the intense contemplation of their budding breasts suddenly seem a bit embarrassing, considering those little girls were, well, little girls.

Anyway, thank heavens neither I nor my peers who had that same switchplate (trust me, every Catholic school kid had one) were as perceptive as we are now. Note the position of the on-off switch.

I mean, honestly!

Is it possible that whoever designed this thing simply could not see what was going on here?

Man. Lucky I’m not a conspiracy theorist or I’d think the Catholic Church had some kind of weird sex thing going on.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Monday, October 22nd, 2012

VOTE TODAY ◗ Two Locations, Bloomington:

  • The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.; 8am-6pm
  • Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St.; 10am-6pm

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

MUSIC & LECTURE ◗ IU Auer Hall — Ludger Lohman on organ & talks about Franz Listz’s “Fantasia” and Fugue on B-A-C-H; 3pm

FILM ◗ IU Hillel Center — “Paperclips,” Part of Hillel’s Holocaust Awarenes Program; 6pm

MUSIC & LECTURE ◗ IU Auer Hall — Ludger Lohman on organ & talks about Franz Listz’s “Fantasia” and Fugue on B-A-C-H; 6pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Ernie Pyle Hall — School of Journalism Speakers Series: Rajiv Chandrasekaran of the Washington Post; 6:30pm

CLASS ◗ The Lodge — Tango lessons, Presented by Bloomington Argentine Tango Organization: 6:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Project Nim“; 7pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — “What Is the Higgs Boson?” Presented by Harold Ogren; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Studio Recital: Octubafest 2012, Daniel Pernatoni, director; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Richard Groner; 7-9pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Sweeney Hall — Guest lecturer, Composer Joseph Schwantner; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — Lobby Concert Series: Jazz Combo; 7:15pm

STAGE ◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — “Richard III“; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Rachael’s Cafe — Mathis Grey; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Dinosaur Jr; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — Jazz Ensemble, Director: Brent Wallarab, Guest Artist: Curtis Fuller on trombone; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Songwriter Showcase; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — DJ Jeremy Brightbill; 8pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
  • “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
  • “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

  • “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

  • “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
  • “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
  • “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
  • “Picturing Archaeology”
  • “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
  • “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
  • “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
  • “TOYing with Ideas”
  • “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
  • “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

  • “Outsiders and Others: Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil: Bloomington’s Best

10/20/2012
Leave a comment
2012 Presidential Election, Monroe County Voting Centers

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” — Franklin Roosevelt

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VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN

You can vote almost every day from now until election day, Tuesday, November 6th.

Where To Vote

The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St., voting hours:

  • Monday through Friday, until November 2nd, 8am-6pm
  • Saturdays, October 27th & November 3rd, 9am-4pm
  • Monday, November 5th, 8am-Noon

Evangelical Community Church, 503 S. High St., Satellite Voting Center:

  • Monday & Tuesday, October 22nd & 23rd, 10am-6pm

St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, 4607 W. SR 46, Satellite Voting Center:

  • Thursday & Friday, October 25th & 26th, 10am-6pm

IU Assembly Hall, South Lobby, 1001 E. 17th St., Satellite Voting Center:

  • Monday & Tuesday, October 29th & 30th, 10am-6pm

Local precinct polls, find yours here:

  • Tuesday, November 6th, 6am-6pm

No excuses. Plus, if you don’t vote, I don’t want to hear a peep out of you after the election.

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OOPS, I FORGOT

In order to streamline the electoral process, Republicans are advised to wait until Wednesday, November 7th, to cast their ballots.

Thanks for your cooperation.

▲

The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Saturday, October 20th, 2012

FOOD ◗ Outside City Hall, Showers Building — Farmers Market; 8am-1pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — 3rd Annual Indiana International Guitar Festival & Competition, Registration; 9-10am

CLASS ◗ IU Research & Teaching Preserve Field Lab — Improve photography skills in the nature preserve, Meet at IU Foundation parking lot for car pool; 9am-1pm

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

ANIMALS ◗ PALS Barn at Ellington Stables — PALS Fun Show, Events & demonstrations include obstacles courses, drill team, dressage, English equitation, etc., to benefit People and Animals Learning Services; 10am-5:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — 3rd Annual Indiana International Guitar Festival & Competition, Preliminary round; 10am-4pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Robbie Bowden; Noon

SPORTS ◗ IU Bill Armstrong Stadium — Hoosier men’s soccer vs. Michigan; 1pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Haunted Hayride & Stables — Friendly hayrides; 1-7pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ RCA Community Park — Trick or Treat Trail, Presented by Bloomington Parks & Recreation; 1-4pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Master’s Recital, Nathaneil Brown, baritone; 2pm

FILM ◗ Buskirk Chumley Theater — Dark Carnival Film Festival: Schedule:

  • Screening Series 1: “Dummy,” “The Keeper,” “Vadim,” “Zero Killed“; 2-4:35pm
  • Performance: Lacore Valmon Circus; 4:50-5pm
  • Screening Series 2: “Other,” “Once Upon a Liver,” “Seamstress,” “Transmission,” “Attack of the Brain Suckers,” “Nailbiter“; 5-7:35pm
  • Performance: Lacore Valmon Circus; 8-8:20pm
  • Screening Series 3: “All Men Are Called Robert,” “Bariku Light,” “The Last Days of Harold Fishman,” “Sandwich Crazy,” “Hell’s Belles,” “Video Diary of a Lost Girl“; 8:20-10:50pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — Home Movie Day, International celebration of the home movie, Bring in your 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, VHS, & DVD home movies for preservation advice, Various archived films will be screened; 3-5:30pm

NATURE ◗ TC Steele State Historic Site — True Nature: A Mondful Hike & Write Workshop; 3pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Pacifica Quartet; 4pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — 3rd Annual Indiana International Guitar Festival & Competition, Koyla Panhuyzen guitar demonstration & Tom Yeiser lecture on recording classical guitar; 4-7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Harpsichord Studio Recital; 5pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center, Recital Hall — Doctoral Recital, Kaoru Yamamura on piano; 5pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Sweeney Hall — 3rd Annual Indiana International Guitar Festival & Competition, Master Class, Edoardo Catemario; 5-7pm

BENEFIT ◗ Terry’s Banquets & Catering — NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet; 6pm

BENEFIT ◗ St. Mark’s United Methodist Church — Taste of East Africa, Presented by Kilimanjaro Education Outreach; 6-8:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Side by Side“; 6:45pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Barbara McGuire; 7-9pm

MUSIC FEST ◗ Various locations, Bloomington — BloomingTONE Music Festival, purchase tickets for single events, all events on one night, or a full two-day pass, Friday & Saturday, Tonight’s events:

  • Serendipity Martini Bar — Classical: Cor 4; 7:15pm — Early Winds; 8pm — Andrew Lunsford; 8:45pm — The Park Trio; 9:30pm — Square Peg Round Hole; 10:15pm
  • The Bluebird — Elephant Quiz, Midwest Hype; 10pm
  • The Vid — Indie: Architecture Aviva; 9pm — Keeping Cars; 10pm — She Does Is Magic; 11pm — Wailin’ Smithers; Midnight
  • Jake’s Nightclub — Rock: It’s a Trap; 10pm — Gentle Shades; 11pm — Dirty Kluger; Midnight — Fluffer; 1am
  • Rachael’s Cafe — World: Delgerbat Uvsh; 7pm — Emily Backal & Friends; 7:30pm — Silk Road Ensemble; 8:40pm — Jon Peters; 9:40pm — Sweet Poison Victim; 10:40pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Octubafest, Daniel Perantoni, director; 7pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Haunted Hayride & Stables — Scary hayrides; 7-11pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Bakers Junction Railroad Museum — Haunted train; 7pm

STAGE ◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — Drama, “Richard III“; 7:30pm

STAGE ◗ Bloomington Playwrights Project — Ike & Julie Arnov PlayOffs, Writers, directors, & actors stage original mini-plays using themes, props, and single lines given to them 24 hours previously, Mayor Mark Kruzan will open the proceedings; 7:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall Theatre — Ryder Film Series: “2 Days in New York“; 7:30pm

STAGE ◗ Bloomington High School South — Comedy, “Once Upon a Mattress“; 7:30pm

OPERA ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — “The Merry Widow“; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Fistful of Bacon; 8pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Kumail Manjiani; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — 3rd Annual Indiana International Guitar Festival & Competition, Guest recital, Martha Masters; 8pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Hall — “The Dark Knight Rises“; 8pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Stars in Shorts“; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Paul Burch, Busman’s Holiday; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Junior Recital, Ethan Cobb on trumpet; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Bear’s Place — The Owen Sweeney Show; 9pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Detropia“; 9:30pm

DANCING ◗ The Root Cellar at Farm Bloomington — Whatever: 80s & 90s Alternative Dance Party; 10pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Kumail Manjiani; 10:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Hall — “The Dark Knight Rises“; 11pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
  • “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
  • “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

  • “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

  • “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
  • “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
  • “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
  • “Picturing Archaeology”
  • “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
  • “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
  • “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
  • “TOYing with Ideas”
  • “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
  • “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

  • “Outsiders and Others: Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

  • Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

  • “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil: Bloomington’s Best

08/19/2012
Leave a comment
2012 Presidential Election, Adolf Hitler, Apollo 11, Barack Obama, Chicago Cubs, Hank Aaron, Hank Williams Jr., Islam, Kenny Holtzman, Linda Wertheimer, Lovable Losers, Miriam Makeba, NPR, Racism, WASP, Woodstock

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit.” — Miriam Makeba

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THE COLOR OF FEAR

NPR’s Linda Wertheimer this morning on Weekend Edition Sunday pointed out that this year’s presidential election will be the first in our history in which no one on the major parties’ tickets is a WASP.

Perhaps that explains why so many people are freaked out — still — about Barack Obama.

See? See? That’s The Nazi Salute!

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The world that every American once knew and too many are terrified to leave, is gone.

And speaking of terrifying, yet another music star has blown verbal chunks about the Prez. Hank Williams, Jr., who last year compared Barack Obama to Hitler (natch, they were both half-black men who studied at Harvard Law), now ups the ante. Yesterday, the man who once asked Are you ready for some football?, declared the President of the United States to be a Muslim who not only hates the military but the rest of the nation, for good measure.

Proof!

✍

Williams, Jr. sings something called “Take Back Our Country.” He needn’t add, …From all those scary brown people.

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LET’S GO TO INDIANA!

Lauren Spierer’s disappearance last year raised a puzzler.

Why do so many Indiana University students come from suburban New York City?

IU’s Prep School Attendance Boundaries

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With a record 7590 freshmen expected to attend IU this semester, many of them will come from  the tri-state area including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Spierer family hails from Edgemont, north of the big city.

Edgemont is a part of the town of Greenville in Westchester County, a tony enclave that through the years has been home to the likes of Linda McCartney, Bugsy Seigel, Walter Winchell, and Billy Collins, the former US poet laureate.

It’s funny how certain campuses become desirable destinations for specific matriculate populations. For instance, it was well-known in my old Chicago area that the University of Wisconsin in Madison drew a disproportionate number of northwest suburban Jewish kids.

I suppose the Madison thing makes sense because it falls into that Goldilocks zone for college students: far enough away from mom and dad to not worry that they can drop in at a moment’s notice but near enough to dash back home for a laundry run and a good warm meal, PRN.

Bloomington, Indiana seems an odd choice for Eastern Seaboard kids and their megalopolis classmates who might want to run back home in a six-hour or less drive.

Any ideas?

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GLEE

Indulge me for a moment. Today is the 43rd anniversary of the most exciting moment I’ve ever experienced as a rabid Chicago Cubs fan.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 19th, 1969, my fave Cubs pitcher, Kenny Holtzman, tossed a no-hitter against the mighty Atlanta Braves.

Bliss

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The Braves that afternoon were led by one Henry Louis Aaron, who’d go on to become baseball’s all-time home run king.

The sun was bright, a pleasant lake wind blew in from the northeast, and the Cubs were in first place, on their way to their first World Series since World War II and — fingers crossed — their first championship since the Peloponnesian War.

In a summer during which two human beings had stepped on the moon and nearly half a million people jammed Max Yasgur’s farm just to be able to brag to their grandchildren that they’d attended Woodstock, the Cubs racing for a World Series was the most jaw-dropping miracle yet.

And the high point of the season was Kenny’s gem.

Basking In The Glory

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I watched that game from a bleacher seat under the centerfield scoreboard at Wrigley Field.

I was 13 years old.

Even now, nearly half a century later, I still believe had I died that afternoon, I’d have gone happy.

Have pity on this aching soul: don’t ask me to recount the ensuing weeks. Nor, for that matter, the ensuing decades.

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Here’s how I waste my time. How about you? Share your fave sites with us via the comments section. Just type in the name of the site, not the url; we’ll find them. If we like them, we’ll include them — if not, we’ll ignore them.

❏ I Love Charts — Life as seen through charts.

❏ XKCD — “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.”

❏ Skepchick — Women scientists look at the world and the universe.

❏ Indexed — All the answers in graph form, on index cards.

❏ I Fucking Love Science — A Facebook community of science geeks.

❏ Present & Correct — Fun, compelling, gorgeous and/or scary graphic designs and visual creations throughout the years and from all over the world.

Click Image For Full Article:

Present/&/Correct: 44 Old Typewriter Instruction Manuals

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❏ Flip Flop Fly Ball — Baseball as seen through infographics, haikus, song lyrics, and other odd communications devices.

❏ Mental Floss — Facts.

❏ The Universe — A Facebook community of astrophysics and astronomy geeks.

❏ Sodaplay — Create your own models or play with other people’s models.

❏ Eat Sleep Draw — An endless stream of artwork submitted by an endless stream of people.

Eat Sleep Draw: Illustration by Rachel Sanson

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❏ Big Think — Tapping the brains of notable intellectuals for their opinions, predictions, and diagnoses.

❏ The Daily Puppy — So shoot me.

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Electron Pencil event listings: Music, art, movies, lectures, parties, receptions, games, benefits, plays, meetings, fairs, conspiracies, rituals, etc.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

◗ Oliver Winery — Creekbend Vineyard tour; Noon-2pm

◗ Monroe County Public Library — Basic Literacy Tutor Training, session 2 of 4; 1:30-5pm

◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — Drama, “Solana”; 2pm

◗ IU Bill Armstrong Stadium — Hoosier women’s soccer vs. Ohio; 2pm

◗ Bryan Park — Outdoor concert: O2R Blues Band; 6:30pm

◗ Bear’s Place — Ryder Film Series: “The Well Digger’s Daughter”; 7pm

◗ IU Cinema — Film: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; 7pm

◗ The Bluebird — BoDeans; 8pm

◗ The Bishop — Jamaican Queens, Fly Painted Feathers; 9pm

ONGOING:

◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “40 Years of Artists from Pygmalion’s”; through September 1st

◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “A Tribute to William Zimmerman,” wildlife artist; through September 9th

  • Willi Baumeister, “Baumeister in Print”; through September 9th

  • Annibale and Agostino Carracci, “The Bolognese School”; through September 16th

  • “Contemporary Explorations: Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists”; through October 14th

  • David Hockney, “New Acquisitions”; through October 21st

  • Utagawa Kuniyoshi, “Paragons of Filial Piety”; through fall semester 2012

  • Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan, “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers”; through December 31st

  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century”; through December 31st

◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibits:

  • Coming — Media Life; August 24th through September 15th

  • Coming — Axe of Vengeance: Ghanaian Film Posters and Film Viewing Culture; August 24th through September 15th

◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — “Ephemeral Ink: Selections of Tattoo Art from the Kinsey Institute Collection”; through September 21st

◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit, “Translating the Canon: Building Special Collections in the 21st Century”; through September 1st

◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Closed for semester break, reopens Tuesday, August 21st

◗ Monroe County History Center — Photo exhibit, “Bloomington: Then and Now” by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

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