Civil Discourse Now

Where the far left and far right overlap for fun and enlightenment

All Blog Posts Tagged 'Indianapolis' (48)

Best birthday present ever: I do not have Multiple Sclerosis.

   In June, on the morning of my birthday, I had an appointment with a neurologist, at IU Clarian North.  A too-long drive was one of several reasons I had decided to switch neurologists.

   My reality has been shaped, significantly, since January, 1994, when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I have blogged previously about the events that led up to the diagnosis. By the second day of what became a nine-day stay in the hospital, I was paralyzed from the waist down. I could not…

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Added by Mark Small on September 7, 2015 at 6:10am — No Comments

I got by with a little help from friends, both old and new.

   There are periods in which person experiences self-doubt. Self-doubt can lead to loss of  “confidence”—“full trust; belief in the trustworthiness or reliability of a person.” The American College Dictionary, 1962 ed. Three people had to help me the last three-quarters of a mile to finish yesterday’s race. They gave me confidence.

   Yesterday I was determined to finish the Mini. My goal in my first Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon®), in 1999, was to break three hours for the…

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Added by Mark Small on May 3, 2015 at 6:23am — No Comments

My 17th consecutive Mini after MS---and, to the diagnosis, I once more flip the "bird" and wish everyone a safe Race.

   Today I shall walk my seventeenth consecutive Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon®. Two years ago, I blogged here about the reasons I walk the Mini.

   In 1994, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. By the second day in the hospital, I completely had lost use of my legs. That evening—or maybe it was the next; things were a bit of a blur—a neurologist visited my room to inform me of the diagnosis. He said, “You have MS.” I was goofy on the drugs I had been administered—lawfully…

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Added by Mark Small on May 2, 2015 at 6:07am — No Comments

Trash Pick-up Cancellations---Fodder for Mayor Ballard to Privatize Another Aspect of Indy Before He Leaves Office?

   The number of days trash pick-up has been canceled worries me. I think the administration of Greg “Give Me a Reason to Toss Sweet Deals to Pals” Ballard will use the days trash pick-up have been canceled this winter as a pre-text for final privatization of that service by the City.

   First, let me say that I understand what it is like to work in sub-zero weather. During college, I worked for my old man’s construction company. His company was union, but there was an exemption for…

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Added by Mark Small on February 24, 2015 at 6:59am — No Comments

The "newsroom of the future" and the (ir)relevance of The Indianapolis Star: Saturday's Show.

   The Kokomo Tribune (pronounced, by most locals, TRIBune) was an afternoon paper. When it was delivered, my mother would grab it to read about whomever had received a speeding ticket, filed for divorce, or died. She was into gossip. That newspaper was important, to me, for its coverage of local sports and, later, the occasional photograph or item about some debate award or other thing I had received.

   For national or international—i.e., “real”—news, my old man received The…

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Added by Mark Small on September 3, 2014 at 6:22am — No Comments

Sunday Star's editorial by Tim Swarens: did he write of a fictional Mayor Ballard and a City with decent streets?

   In the early 1960s, Indianapolis had more than one daily newspaper. Writers from the Indianapolis Times won a few Pulitzers before the paper shut down in 1965. The Indianapolis Star was a decent paper, although very conservative for my tastes. Still, the reporters covered local stories well, and tried to act as a check on local corruption and local politicians. The sports section was pretty good, too.  On Sundays that section was thick with good coverage of major sports and, each May, the…

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Added by Mark Small on August 19, 2014 at 6:48am — No Comments

You'd pass on the Indianapolis International Film Festival to see---"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes"? Really?

   Big studio movies—films that play in cineplexes and were produced with big budgets—are the primary fare for moviegoers. Four of the top five films at the box office last week make on shudder at the level of intellectual content of such works.  First was “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”  The first part of the original string of “Planet of the Apes” films, with Charlton (“Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape—and you can take away my gun when you pry off the fingers of my cold dead…

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Added by Mark Small on July 18, 2014 at 6:17am — No Comments

Indianapolis International Film Festival---7/17 to 7/26---great value for the entertainment dollar.

   The Indianapolis International Film Festival starts Thursday. Do yourself a favor: go to indyfilmfest.org and read the descriptions of the films, then check the schedules. If you find a description or two interest you, you should try to attend.

   The films shown at the Indianapolis International Film Festival do not feature car chases or shootouts. The films have off-beat storylines and a lot of talent. You might not like some of the films you see there.

   How many films have…

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Added by Mark Small on July 16, 2014 at 6:01am — No Comments

Remember: Indianapolis International Film Festival runs from July 17 to July 26 and a Festival pass is one of the best entertainment values in Indy.

   Value for the entertainment dollar is a matter much sought after. The admission price of a feature film at an area theater plus popcorn plus a beverage can easily top twenty bucks per person. If the movie sucks, one has experienced rolling the dice of seeing only “snake eyes.”      There are a few entertainment bets that produce “wins” for less of an investment.  

   The Indianapolis International Film Festival starts Thursday, July 17 and runs until Saturday, July 26. This will be…

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Added by Mark Small on July 7, 2014 at 6:13am — No Comments

Seasons for sports over: Pacers, Cubs, and even cricket.

   Any sports season now is over for me until September.

   Tax dollars funded the latest effort by YOUR Indiana Pacers to make yet another run at the NBA Finals. In 2000 the team finally made it to the Finals, only to be blown out by the Lakers. Maybe we shall have another stretch of five or six years before the Pacers lurch into the best-of-seven for the NBA Championship. By then the San Antonio Spurs will be so old, their starters will use walkers. The Pacers probably will loose four…

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Added by Mark Small on June 2, 2014 at 6:07am — No Comments

Today's Show: guest panelists Rick Ward and George Wilson discuss the Indianapolis 500 from Good Earth!

   Today we will talk about the 500 with Rick Ward---whose racing team I once helped sponsor---and George Wilson, sports savant extraordinaire. We shall stream "live" from Good Earth in Broad Ripple. Matt Stone will provide his outlook on the Race and on current events. Kimann Schultz will give us her "Fashion News and Muse."

  

Added by Mark Small on May 24, 2014 at 5:59am — No Comments

Tomorrow's Show: the Indianapolis 500 (r).

   Near Kokomo, outside the hamlet of West Middleton on Sunnybrook Farm, where I was raised, an annual event was the radio broadcast of the Indianapolis 500. Sid Collins, who started his radio career at Kokomo's WIOU, was the "Voice of the 500." After Tony Hulman announced, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" the excitement was "on." 

   During the parade lap, announcers from various posts around the track would describe each car in two or three rows. "We go to Howdie Bell in Turn Two!"…

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Added by Mark Small on May 23, 2014 at 5:59am — No Comments

Today---the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini-Marathon! Good luck to everyone and: let's be careful out there.

   Today I will participate in my 16th consecutive "Mini." Two years ago I slowed down just past mile 10 and took the bus to the finish live. Otherwise, I have made it all 13.1 miles on foot each year.

   I was gratified this week when David Barris, on Channel 8, did a piece about my participation in the Mini and my diagnosis with MS in 1994. When I was diagnosed, the MS had rendered my legs immobile. I began to walk as therapy, and later used the challenge of the Mini to walk the…

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Added by Mark Small on May 3, 2014 at 5:37am — No Comments

Brackets not printed in The Indianapolis Star: one of that paper's last functions gone.

   Every year for a long time my ritual on NCAA(r) picks Sunday---or whatever the formal brand name for the day has become---has involved watching the NCAA(r) draw of teams for the tournament and filling in the brackets on the form printed in The Indianapolis Star. I used to purchase of a copy of the Sunday Star, but after I graduated from law school I subscribed for home delivery of the daily publication then owned by the Pulliam family.

   A savvy lawyer in trust laws figured out…

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Added by Mark Small on March 17, 2014 at 5:40am — 1 Comment

"Body, Mind, Spirit": this week's Show streamed "live" from the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

   We will stream live from "Body, Mind, Spirit," on Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm for this week's "Civil Discourse Now." "Body, Mind, Spirit" is an exposition of people and providers in the holistic movement. As I blogged earlier this week, the website, http://bmse.net/bmseweb/event/eventhome.php, gives more details of booths where one can see "the best advances in alternative health and as always the nation's finest selections of…

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Added by Mark Small on October 18, 2013 at 5:47am — No Comments

This weekend: Body Mind Spirit at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

   "Body Mind Spirit" stages expositions around the country. This weekend one such exposition will be at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. As the release for the exposition states:

  "Body Mind Spirit brings refreshed energy to the holistic movement in 2013. Join us for the latest in new thought presentations, the best advances in alternative health and as always the nation's finest selections of psychics and mediums. This year we have themed our events 'Time to Explore' and we invite…

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Added by Mark Small on October 16, 2013 at 5:43am — No Comments

Indianapolis International Film Festival: our last weekend coverage!

   We will stream "live" from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, at 38th Street and Michigan Road, from 11 am to 1 pm, to cover, for the second weekend, this year's Indianapolis International Film Festival. Our guests will include Qunicy Rose, filmmaker and director of "Miles to Go," a feature-length flick; an actor from a short film, "Rearview Mirror"; Craig Mince and Luke Sanders, from the Indianapolis International Film Festival; and members of a panel discussion that will take place after…

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Added by Mark Small on July 27, 2013 at 6:45am — No Comments

Sort of like a "live" movie network, but the selection is better and more varied: Indiaqnapolis International Film Festival.

   Yesterday we streamed live from the Indianapolis International Film Festival at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. We shall do so again next Saturday.

   I said this on The Show and I have written this before, but, I'll say it in a different way. If one employs cost-benefit analysis, one would be hard-pressed to beat the value of the price of admission to the IFF. You will see films you otherwise would not see---almost certainly not in a theater, but equally unlikely on TV. Maybe one…

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Added by Mark Small on July 21, 2013 at 6:04am — No Comments

Tomorrow's Show: Indianapolis International Film Festival!

   We will stream live from the Indianapolis International Film Festival from the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 11 am-1 pm. This is a good value for the entertainment dollar. Check out their website and see all the films on-tap from July 18-28.

Added by Mark Small on July 19, 2013 at 6:14am — No Comments

This week: Indianapolis International Film Festival.

   The Indianapolis International Film Festival runs from July 18 to 28. If you go to their website, you can read the schedule of events. Many take place at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Most of the films are less than feature length. Last year was my first experience at such a festival. There were a couple of works for which I did not particularly care. Some were fantastic. We will stream live Saturday and have, as guests, directors and actors from films entered at the festival.

  …

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Added by Mark Small on July 16, 2013 at 6:13am — No Comments

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