Goodness knows I did not love prolific local blogger and attorney Gary Welsh. Over the many years he wrote about local and national politics, he penned things that were complete libelous falsehoods, and he should have been sued many times over. Fortunately for himself, he was shrewd enough to aim his worst defamatory lies at
Read on »Indianapolis
Same-sex marriage is legal in Indiana
Yesterday, a federal court judge threw out Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that the Gay marriage ban violates Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause. See the the summary judgement here [pdf]. Because there was no stay on the ruling, Indiana couples could begin marrying immediately, and the Marion County Clerk’s office was prepared
Read on »A Brief History of Indiana’s Marriage Discrimination Amendment
I try to follow and post about the Indiana’s Marriage Discrimination Amendment every time it’s come up in the Indiana State Legislature, and here is a short history that I’ve been able to cobble together from past posts. This is mainly a testimony to my sketchy blogging more than anything else, as I seem to
Read on »Go Ahead and Play Project Photos
A slide-show of photos of many of the piano’s from the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana’s “Go Ahead and Play” Project. Now that the pianos are out and about through the downtown area, check out some photos of the various artist’s work. And visit the pianos while you’re out at GenCon or IndyFringe this weekend.
Read on »The 25th Annual Circle City Pride Celebration, June 8th
The Circle City Pride Celebration is a week of events, culminating in the Pride Parade and Festival on Saturday, June 8th. Visit their site for a list of the events; there’s lots to do this year throughout the week. But definitely the highlights are the parade and festival on Saturday. The Cadillac Barbie Pride Parade
Read on »Anti-Gay Churches will not have booths at Pride this year
After meeting with concerned LGBT citizens and with the two churches who had purchased vendor booths for the 25th Circle City Pride Festival this year, the organizers of Indy Pride have decided to return their booth fees and decline their attendance at the festival. I’m very glad that this has been worked out, and that
Read on »Anti-gay churches have booths at Indianapolis Gay Pride event
2013-05-29 UPDATE: According to a facebook note from the Indy Pride Organizers, These two churches will no longer have booths at this year’s Pride celebration. Last year and for the past few years apparently, there have been two churches from Indianapolis — Castleview Baptist Church and A.C.T. For The Gospel — who have had booths
Read on »Mayor Ballard’s Land Bank Scandal
Required reading: 11-03-2012 IBJ-Cory Schouten: City bans bulk land-bank sales after lopsided deal with not-for-profit 05-21-2013 IBJ-Cory Schouten: FBI searches City-County Building, makes multiple arrests in Land Bank probe 05-21-2013 IBJ-Cory Schouten: Feds used wire tap, undercover agent in Land Bank probe 05-21-2013 Indy Star-Dan Carpenter: Indy Land Bank indictments may be too late for
Read on »All hail Greg Ballard, our new Mayor King
It’s official – Governor Pence signed SB 621, the bill that drastically reworks Indianapolis city government to take power away from the Indianapolis City-County Council and hand it over to the Mayors office. If you want to understand a bit more about what this bill does, read more about it here: [The Brutal Republican Power
Read on »Indianapolis Cultural Trail Official Opening Celebration
Speaking of Indianapolis infrastructure – here is some news on a public works project that actually creates a positive impact on a large chunk of the city – The Indianapolis Cultural Trail “officially” opens on Saturday, May 11, with a round of celebrations called “Get Down On It.” (cute!) The celebration includes a pretty massive
Read on »Greg Ballard: We can’t afford sidewalks (but we can afford a cricket park)
In a Wish-TV news story on a fatal hit-and-run car/pedestrian accident, Mayor Greg Ballard was asked why there are no sidewalks on those streets where there is considerable foot traffic and where this accident and several other pedestrian fatalities have occurred over the years. In response, he said that we need about $800 million dollars
Read on »Infill Before Density: Some Ideas for Indy Velocity
Erika Smith from the Indy Star fills us in on a new plan for development in downtown Indianapolis that includes improving residential as well as retail and business development. Here’s some basics about the plan: This is the thinking behind a new strategic plan called Velocity. Led by IDI, this year-long process — with the
Read on »Mayor Ballard wants cricket venue in Indy, but can we afford it?
In a move that recalls his repeated “We need a chinatown in Indianapolis” public gaffe from early in his first term, Greg Ballard told business leaders in India today that he wants to build a cricket venue in Indianapolis [Ballard wants cricket venue in Indy, he tells business leaders in India., Indianapolis Star]: Indianapolis Mayor
Read on »Indy 5×5 Presentations: Make Indy
We’re at the second of Make 5×5 – four events designed to fund and celebrate ideas and innovation in Indianapolis. Five presenters have five slides and 5 minutes to explain their vision for a project that would make Indianapolis a better place. The audience votes, and the winner gets $10,000 dollars to make their project
Read on »Indianapolis Museum of Art’s unnecessary budget cut backs
There’s a lot to unpack in this article on the IMA’s recent decision to cut it’s budget under director Charles Venable – [The sad, unnecessary situations at MOCA, Indy | Tyler Green: Modern Art Notes | ARTINFO.com.] But it’s well worth reading the whole article to tease out the details, especially if you are a
Read on »The Brutal Republican Power Grab of Indiana Senate Bill 621 (SB 621)
This is an Indiana Senate Bill targeted at Indianapolis and designed to take away a great deal of political voting power of Indianapolis residents. If you are a resident of Indianapolis proper, READ THE TEXT of this bill and see the direct impact this bill has on you. Hell, even if you’re not an Indianapolis
Read on »Indiana Senate Bill 621 (SB 621)
Bill introduced in the Indiana State legislature this week: Indiana Senate Bill 621 (SB 621) The analysis of this bill by Indy Democrat Blog: “Where to begin? It’s pretty easy. Almost everything in this bill is designed to reduce the power of Democrats in Marion County. From reducing the power of the County Commissioners (the
Read on »Park 16 Apartment Fire
This evening, fire broke out in the “Park 16” apartments being build at 16th and Broadway Avenue in Indianapolis, a few blocks from our house. We ran up the street to take photos, and were able to get remarkably close. The Park 16 Apartment complex (formerly called Caravelle Commons) was controversial, which I wrote about
Read on »Guinness World Record for largest kinetic tension experiment
Indianapolis teens Andre Jefferson and Miles Parnell set a world record Saturday, March 24, for the largest stick bomb, which is a mechanical spring-loaded device constructed out of flat sticks woven together under tension. A stick bomb works similarly to a line of dominoes; setting off the kinetic tension of the woven sticks causes them
Read on »Tear down wall of denial so we can fix broken IPS
former IPS School Board President Kelly Bentley has some thoughts about how to fix IPS in this Indy Star editorial: Tear down wall of denial so we can fix broken IPS | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com. Even recent good news about IPS is tempered by the reality that the numbers often aren’t as positive as
Read on »Post-Super Bowl
As a Naptown native, it was quite fun to see how the city transformed for the event – sad that it takes a sporting event for the city to suddenly infuse the local arts scene and local businesses with cash so we can put cool murals and public sculptures in place and promote local restaurants
Read on »12 Indy Conversation-Starter Spots To Visit
Historic Indianapolis has a nice list of historical landmarks and site-seeing spots in Indianapolis. Places with connections to Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, C.J. Walker, and a confederate prison camp are some of the intriguing spots to visit around Circle City.
Read on »Indianapolis: Super Bowl City
A collection of recent articles about Indianapolis, many from an outsider’s point of view: Explore Indy’s Surprising Food Scene – PBS.org This week the world turns its attention to Indianapolis, as the Midwestern city plays host to Super Bowl XLVI. Long known as a haven for chain restaurants, in recent years the city has undergone
Read on »Dinner at Chatham Tap
The Indiana Humanities Council
Yes, I have gotten really lazy with the blogging, as MJ calls me out in a comment on the last link blog post I just put up. Indiana Humanities Council :: Home Page "the Council encourages Hoosiers to think, read and talk. How? By creating its own programs, such as Community Conversations, Evenings at the
Read on »links for 2010-09-24
Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers | Historic Wallpapers | Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, Damask, '40s, '50s and '60s Wallpaper OMFG that is some cool wallpaper. And I generally hate wallpaper (in my house, that is. On my computer it's fine.) (tags: wallpapers artdeco craftsman Modernism interiorDesign) Homophobic Bakery: Local bakery refuses to make
Read on »Indianapolis’ disastrous downtown parking meter deal
This has been a hot topic on facebook and with local blogs for the last couple weeks or so. Mayor Ballard had come up with a deal to privatize parking meters downtown and in the Broadripple Area that basically gives away the baby with the bathwater. The deal is a 50-year contract with a private
Read on »Central Library Shelves
In the old part of the library.
Read on »Indianapolis’ Unigov Disaster
The Evansville Courier and Press has an interesting article investigating the Republican political power grab that was Indianapolis’ “Unigov” consolidation of Indianapolis with Marion County in the 1970s. INDIANAPOLIS — Merging the city and county governments here helped improve what amounted to a scattershot set of public services, but it also diminished the political power
Read on »Old Northside, Caravelle Commons and political issues
I’m irritated right now at one of my neighbors. We live in Old Northside in Indianapolis, which is an historic neighborhood, but one with really large houses, and one that has been almost completely renovated in the 1970s and 1980s. So the first wave of renovators – the hippies and liberals and gays – has
Read on »Support Early voting in Marion County, Indiana
There’s a move afoot by the local GOP to try to kill early voting in Marion County, Indiana. Early voting is convenient for people with busy schedules and was wildly successful in 2008 and 2009 in getting record numbers of people to the polls. Marion County Clerk Beth White is supporting a plan to resurrect
Read on »Mayor Greg Ballard’s Many Tax Increases
Now that campaign season is rolling around our Mayor Ballard — whose original campaign charge was all about repealing property taxes in Indiana — is hauling out one of his favorite talking points: claiming he held the line on new taxes. Ballard was whipped into office on the froth of the anti-tax rabble after Governor
Read on »Homespun: Modern Handmade
I’ve mentioned INDIEana Handicraft Exchange here before; Stephanie and I were introduce to the contemporary craft fair by a friend and have attended their events twice. It’s helped inspire the two of us to plan and scheme about our own crafting projects and what we might be able to do someday as a potential vendor.
Read on »links for 2010-02-03
Daily Kos :: State of the Nation very disturbing poll of Republicans about their beliefs. (tags: republicans poll demographics politics culture) IMPD officer admits sex with suspect | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star No, he didn't "have sex" with a suspect, Indy Star. He RAPED her. Fix your goddamned headline. (tags: misogyny newspapers headlines mistakes)
Read on »links for 2010-01-30
IMA bets with NOMA over Superbowl – a masterpiece is the bet Wow – that's better than the Mayor's rinky-dink shrimp bet. Way to raise the stakes, IMA. (tags: superbowl museum sports IMA) Cameras Roll As Obama Schools GOP I cannot WAIT to see the video of this. (tags: Obama republicans funny) 30 Stylish jQuery
Read on »links for 2010-01-27
8 guides to apply jQuery and ImageSwitch in web design | HieuUK (tags: flipclock) Indianapolis, New Orleans mayors place Super Bowl wagers | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star Yeah, we're going them shrimp from St. Elmo's. Yes, you read that right; we sending SHRIMP south, to NEW ORLEANS. Which is probably where we flew it
Read on »Weekend Update 2010-01-19
Nope, I haven’t quit the 365 photo project, I’m just behind on putting the photos I’ve taken up. I know – three day weekend for me and I couldn’t get it done. But I was working on the project — I want to do some portrait work, and we have a southern-exposure window that I
Read on »links for 2009-11-02
Bobbs-Merrill Company – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (tags: education reading) 20th-Century American Bestsellers: House of a Thousand Candles information about the Indianapolis written novel. (tags: ideas Indiana novel MeredithNicholson) The House of a Thousand Candles (1936) – Overview – MSN Movies Synopsis of the movie, which seems much different to me than the book I
Read on »Downtown Indianapolis Restaurant Delivery Options
I put together this list of downtown Indianapolis delivery options for my own reference. If you happen to know of others or if this list needs an update, please comment with suggestions. Aunt Polly’s – 317-632-3663 Bazbeaux Pizza – 317-636-7662 Best Taste China Buffet – 317-684-1818 Bob’s Tu Your Door – 317-358-2627 China King –
Read on »Revolt (or something) at the Statehouse
If you know anything about local Indiana politics, you’ll understand why this video is really damned funny. UPDATE: As I was watching this, I was struck at how prescient local artist and commentator StAllio! was when he wrote about the event planning for this shindig a month ago: if you even know what all that
Read on »Indy.org using Flickr photos without copyright owners permission
One of my friends pointed out to me today that several of his and my photos that are posted on Flickr under an “All Rights Reserved” license are being pulled into the Indy.org website – the “Official site of the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.” You find some of them from this page – click
Read on »Comments Elsewhere: It’s Official: L’explorateur to Close
Regarding Indianapolis and 4-Star restaurants, comments posted elsewhere: For context: visit this link. It’s Official: L’explorateur to Close Honestly, I think it says more about Indianapolis budgets than our dining habits, and it says more about restauranteurs not really understanding the Indy market. I’ve never had the money to go to L’explorateur, and I certainly
Read on »Locally Grown Gardens
I read about Locally Grown Gardens, a new local food market on Urban Indy today, and was interested enough to drop by on the way home. It’s located at 1050 E. 54th Street, just off College Ave. and across the street from Mama Carolla’s restaurant. They carry lots of product from local farms, are open
Read on »Compact Fluorescents in Indianapolis
A handy tip from Green Piece Indy: Indianapolis Power & Light has partnered with several other Indianapolis hardware stores to offer discounted CFLs. Visit your favorite local hardware store today to stock up: * White’s Ace Hardware at Geist * Central Ace Hardware * Whites’ Ace Hardware at Nora * Mr. Mikes Ace Hardware *
Read on »Mary Ann Sullivan for State Representative
Mary Ann Sullivan is the Democratic candidate for my district – Indiana House District 97. She’s running against ‘cut and run’ Jon Elrod, who was going to leave the District high and dry to run against Andre Carson, but then ran back to District 97 when he realized he couldn’t beat Andre. I’ve met Mary
Read on »Photos: Corner of 11th Street and College Ave.
See the photo set on Flickr
Read on »Hoosier Political Report
Taking Down Words was one of my favorite local political blogs for a long time, and I really miss it. Since Jennifer Wagner switched over to a new URL and format — Hoosier Political Report — things just haven’t been the same, and sadly, it’s going to get booted from my feed reader soon. Rather
Read on »Save Public Funding for the Arts
I believe I may have mentioned Mayor Chinatownz recent decision to cut public arts funding 100% over the next 3 years. The city is, unfortunately, running a massive deficit – primarily because Our Man Bitch shifted the burden of many state taxes to local governments to balance the state’s budget (see: Robbing Peter to Pay
Read on »It’ ain’t me you’re lookin’ for, babe.
Over there at stAllio!’s digs, he’s been keeping a good hand in at critiquing the local political situation. Just to sum things up a bit for you out-of-towners – Indianapolis has a bunch of dirty cops; after a string of high-profile drug shootings, Mayor Ballard frantically tries to keep it together; and Jon Elrod quit
Read on »Indy Star Voter Guide
If you always wonder, when standing in the voting booth, how to pick candidates for the less well-known political offices, the Indy Star’s interactive voter guide goes through each of the candidates, provides information about them, and lets you make selections and print out a cheat sheet to take to the voting booth with you.
Read on »Indiana political blogging
Sometimes it’s really entertaining for all the wrong [link deprecated: http://www.blueindiana.net/showDiary.do;jsessionid=38F64BC3DD2AF56DA297D48ACAA576E0?diaryId=2332] reasons. 2019 Update: Lest it be lost to the ethereal ravages of time, this was the subject of the above posts. From: gwelsh@indy.rr.com Subject: Tyrion Date: April 9, 2008 4:55:22 PM GMT-04:00 To: bil@bilerico.com It’s quite interesting that you, of all people, would allow
Read on »Major A. Riddle and Old Lady Riddle’s House
NOTE & UPDATE: There’s a comment here on this post from DACI (see comments down at the bottom of the page) that corrects much of the information in this post. There was a kernel of truth and much speculation in the story I recount here from my older neighbor regarding Major Riddle, and because of
Read on »Dealing with some denial of service attacks on the site
I have been dealing with a denial of service attack on my site recently. I suspect that I’m the target of some unethical behavior in the gay Republican base in Indianapolis politics, specifically because of this post I wrote about Marion County’s special election to replace Julia Carson. It’s been almost exactly a year since
Read on »The Ripple Effect: How my post on Jon Elrod has spread
I presumed yesterday’s post on the special election would cause some consternation, but it’s always interesting to see how these things play out. Bil Browning of The Bilerico Project asked me to cross post my entry there, which I though would be fun. From there, Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, radio personality and erstwhile former blogger at IndyUndercover
Read on »links for 2008-02-17
X-Tra Rant Exclusive: Mayor Ballard Finds over $79 Million in budget excess to cut Replacing the IMPD with cyborgs?! No wonder Indianapolis is ‘over budget’! Thank Maude we have the accidental mayor to save us. Although I think that One Ring quest really would be worth it. (tags: Indianapolis politics funny) The Accidental Mayor: People
Read on »links for 2008-02-07
FBI wants palm prints, eye scans, tattoo mapping – CNN.com Note this is not for criminals – they want this for EVERYONE. Guess what FBI? Fuck you. (tags: datamining privacy surveillance policestate) Officials plan streetcar comeback Fun. This is interesting (tags: Indianapolis local traffic travel)
Read on »links for 2008-02-05
Jean Shepherd – A Salute to Jean Shepherd (tags: cool radio) Court: Gay marriage in Canada should be recognized in New York — Newsday.com Sweet. (tags: lgbt equality marriage rights) jwz – Happy Groundhog Day! JWZ estimates that Bill Murray was stuck on Groundhog Day for at least 4 years. (tags: movies analysis fun) Is
Read on »Local Food Indianapolis and Green Indianapolis links
In the process of signing up for a local food co-op, we’ve been reading several local blogs about local food and green living. Local Food Blog for Indianapolis – http://www.goinglocal-info.com/ Local Food Blog (not based in Indy) – http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/ A Guide to Local Foods in Indianapolis – http://www.goinglocal-info.com/my_weblog/indiana_food_guide.html Finding Local Food Markets in Indiana http://www.indianafarmdirect.com/index2.php
Read on »links for 2008-01-04
BBC NEWS |100 Things we didn’t know last year. (tags: 2007 lists fun) ruthholladay.com – Free parking for city market This is pretty awesome – downtown’s city market now has free parking on Saturdays and $1 parking during the week with a voucher. We haven’t taken advantage of all the City Market has to offer,
Read on »links for 2008-01-01
AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: Bigger Than Sports: Why Title IX Matters (tags: feminism education equality) Indianapolis 1950s-1980s. – SkyscraperCity Lots of photos of gorgeous old historic Indianapolis buildings since torn down and replaced by ugly crappy skyscrapers. I guess Indy has the fugly downtown it deserves, now. (tags: Indianapolis history architecture local)
Read on »Naptown Roller Girls
Mayor Peterson outlines how Daniels is going to screw Indy
Very interesting article in the Indianapolis Business Journal with outgoing Mayor Bart Peterson, and how Indianapolis is going to get screwed with Daniel’s proposed property tax reform. IBJ: The Legislature is preparing to substantially reform Indiana’s property tax system. Lots of Indianapolis residents are very concerned about their property taxes. They want to see them
Read on »links for 2007-12-29
NUVO.net | The Goldsmith Myth The dirt on former Republican Mayor Steve Goldsmith, whom the new mayor is hell-bent on imitating. (tags: politics local Indianapolis) 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2007 Very funny. (tags: lists 2007 culture society politics) 10 Signs of Intelligent Life at YouTube (Smart Video Collections) | Open Culture (tags: video
Read on »Julia Carson’s replacement should be LGBT Friendly
This is really disturbing – one of the names being discussed as a possibility for Julia Carson’s office by the Democrats is Indiana State Representative Carolene Mays, who voted in favor of SJR-7, the amendment to ban equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. More from Jerame Davis on Bilerico: The passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson
Read on »links for 2007-12-28
Google has been ogling Indy | IndyStar.com Indianapolis Star writes about my butt. Heh. (tags: local Indianapolis google egosurfing) Top 10 ice-skating rinks in the United States – CNN.com (tags: sports skating) Casa Verda Building Projects A local green builder has some great projects for downtown, including renovating a beautiful historic apartment building at 22nd
Read on »Goodbye, Julia
I did indeed love you. Check out this wonderful video of Julia speaking at the Rosa Parks Memorial. Sparkling, funny and well-loved.
Read on »Indianapolis
There are times when I love living in Indianapolis. And there are times when I can’t imagine why I didn’t leave on the few occasions that I’ve considered it and looked around at other places to live. I find myself feeling the second emotion after reading the IndyStar’s talkback forums regarding Congresswoman Julia Carson’s recent
Read on »Indianapolis Election Results
2022-03-17 Update: Greg Ballard was elected, for contrast. He was re-elected four years later. He basically bankrupted the city on pet projects and did such an awful job that even Republicans were endorsing his opponent.
Read on »Mayor Bart Peterson
Mayor Peterson attended the Old Northside neighborhood meeting this evening. Sent from my iPhone
Read on »My Comments on other’s stuff….
My reply to Richard Prince’s column on Rishawn Biddle, on the Maynard Institute website. The column was being discussed in the forums. If a white male writer in Indianapolis had written what Rishawn wrote he would have been fired, and probably a lot more quickly than Rishawn was. What he wrote wasn’t edgy or even
Read on »Rishawn Biddle Gets Fired
I’ve been trying to avoid writing about local politics of late, just because the bile and animosity therein was way to much to deal with given my increased workload at my place of employment, and because others do a much better job of saying what I would anyway. On occasion here, I’ve ranted about Indy
Read on »among the things that pissed me off today
Somehow or other, in a recent email exchange on gayindy.org, I managed to miss this little paragraph in one of the emails regarding the city-county council elections until just a few minutes ago, and now I’m pretty blind with fury at it: Now let’s go a bit further and talk about why the message in
Read on »Mass Avenue Movies Under the Stars
I found this event from the OutWord Bound Bookstore email newsletter interesting: Mass Avenue Movies Under the Stars Mass Ave Video Store in partnership with the Indianapolis International Film Festival presents their 2007 Outdoor Summer Film Series: Movies Under the Stars extending through September 27, 2007. All movies are free and open to the public!
Read on »Bigotted Atkins Cheesecake Family denies partner access to gay son
From today’s Indy Star: Brett Conrad spent more than half his life as Patrick Atkins’ partner. For 25 years, the men shared bank accounts, apartments and eventually a home in Fishers. But when Atkins, 47, fell seriously ill in 2005, Conrad faced what many gay Hoosiers consider a travesty: no law guaranteeing them the same
Read on »Bart Peterson’s Letter to Marion County Property Tax Payers
Making the rounds via email: July 20, 2007 Dear Neighbors: We have taken the first important steps toward long-term property tax reform. The Governor’s order of a Marion County reassessment is welcome news to our friends and neighbors who have been shocked by the unacceptable tax bills issued this month. Thanks to the reassessment, Marion
Read on »Indy Star vs. Houston Chronicle: Houston has better readers
I happened to be reading this article in the Houston Chronicle about a gay male flight attendant murdered by a homophobe, and discovered something interesting while scrolling through the reader comments on the article. Houston Chronicle readers seem to be more articulate and logical (and better writers) than the typical reader of the Indianapolis Star.
Read on »Indianapolis Pride 2007 Photos
Thoughts on the Jesus MCC Bilboard Campaign
Awhile back, I wrote about the second part of Jesus MCC’s anti-discrimination campaign here in Indianapolis, involving six provocative billboards. At the time, I said “I like it!” without putting a whole lot of thought into the matter. Soon after that, I caught sight of one of the billboards, at 38th and College. I have
Read on »Jesus MCC’s New Campaign
The second part of Jesus MCC’s anti-discrimination campaign is rolling out here in Indianapolis, and it involves six potentially provocative billboards like this one: I like it.
Read on »Regarding SJR-7
I just wanted to say that there are a lot of hard working people who were tireless in getting SJR-7 stopped in its tracks. I’m afraid to start naming them, because I’ll manage to leave someone out – but every single person who was involved in the grassroots effort worked hard – much harder than
Read on »SJR-7 Language rejected as flawed by ultra-conservative Bork
Bilerico contributor Don Sherffick testified before the recent House Committee meeting on SJR-7, noting that the language for the flawed second paragraph of the bill originally came from an early draft of the Federal version of the amendment – a draft that was later re-written considerably. That revelation caused some comment and concern amongst committee
Read on »Statewide religious coalition speaks out against SJR-7
From iconindiana.org: Indianapolis – The Interfaith Coalition on Nondiscrimination (ICON) today spoke out against Senate Joint Resolution 7 (SJR-7) in a letter to the Indiana General Assembly. The letter, which is signed by 130 Indiana clergy, leaders of faith communities, and other religious professionals, opens with, “Our backgrounds and those of the people we serve
Read on »Lilly Opposes SJR-7
As reported in the Indy Star (and by bilerico.com, Advance Indiana and Taking Down Words): Eli Lilly has joined several other large Indiana corporations (Cummins, Wellpoint, Dow AgroSciences) in opposing SJR-7, the Marriage Discrimination Amendment: “As a result of this uncertainty (over what the amendment’s impact might be,)” Murphy wrote, “some employees may choose to
Read on »Colts raise $20,000 for Anti-Gay Group
This is being discussed in the comments on my post on Tony Dungy – but it bears pulling up to it’s own entry – at the Indiana Family Institute Dinner, the Colts sent merchandise to be donated off in an auction, which raised $20,000 for the organization to oppose gay rights and to support SJR-7.
Read on »House committee tables SJR-7 vote
According to Bil from Bilerico: The House Rules and Legislative Affairs committee listened to three hours of testimony regarding SJR-7, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions. After several members of the committee commented that they’d like more time to review the testimony before voting on the matter, Chair Scott Pelath
Read on »Cummins plans to testify against proposed ban
From the Indianapolis Star: No private employers testified against a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage when it was before the Senate, but that will change when discussion begins today in the House. Cummins Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso has sent a letter to House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, encouraging him
Read on »Tony Dungy against same-sex marriage
According to the Indianapolis Star: Colts coach Tony Dungy said he knows some people would prefer him to steer clear of the gay marriage debate, but he used a speech Tuesday night to clearly stake out his position. Dungy told more than 700 people at the Indiana Family Institute’s banquet that he agrees with that
Read on »SJR-7 Assigned to Committee
House Joint Resolution 15 (HJR-15), the legislation formerly known as SJR-7 and the marriage discrimination amendment, has been assigned to committee in the house. It’s been placed in the House Rule and Legislative Procedures Committee. Please contact the members of this committee (information below) to oppose this legislation – for Democrats, remind them that putting
Read on »Urban Design Indianapolis
While we were exploring downtown Austin, we had an extended discussion comparing Austin and Indianapolis – and how Indy is quite a bit behind on basic urban design and development. Last night, though, a related email landed in my inbox forwarded by my neighborhood association – a link to Indianapolis’s website detailing their urban planning
Read on »SJR-7 and Eric Miller
Due to supervising all the work on my old house over the past few weeks, and the work on our current home (which is still ongoing. Sigh.), and a busy time at work, and preparation to go to SXSW, I’m guilty of quite a few “drive-by” posts: where I mention important things without enough context
Read on »Delicious Nut Sale – Update
Several years ago, I posted a memo that went around at work — It was a fund-raising notice from Spay-Neuter Services of Indiana announcing their “Delicious Annual Nut Sale” to raise money for their programs. Funny, right? Yesterday, one of the folks from the organization found the post on my blog and wrote me to
Read on »Apparently, I’m Chopped Liver
Hmmmm – I guess my 20,000 visitors a day don’t rate a mention on Indiana Equality’s thank you letter for the Rally organizing… Many, many other businesses, organizations and bloggers contributed greatly to Monday’s success by promoting participation in the rally. A big thanks to Advance Indiana; American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
Read on »Contacting Your Legislators about SJR-7
I’ve mentioned this several times, but it bears repeating. If you haven’t contacted your legislators about SJR-7 (or even if you already have!), you can do so in a number of ways. Two sites have easy contact forms you can use, that look up your legislators for you based on the information you provide. You
Read on »Bias Crimes Legislation Pending Before Indiana House
Bias Crimes Legislation Pending Before Indiana House. Make Your Voice Heard! Tell Your State Representative why Bias Crimes legislation is good for Indiana. House Bill 1459 (Bias Crimes) authored by State Representative Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) will be considered by the full House of Representatives during the week of February 19th. HB 1459 amends Indiana’s sentencing
Read on »Deleted… Indy Star’s Expresso Blog
… from my Feed Reader: The Indy Star’s Expresso blog. For taking up space in my brain that can better be used by something else.
Read on »Video from the Rally
Video of the Rally and Protest outside House Speaker Pat Bauer’s office. Updated with a better copy of the video… The young man you see in the foreground here on the left is the fellow that Mark St. John grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the protest to argue about why the Democrats
Read on »500 attend Rally, House Democrats Hide from Constitutents
About 500 people attended the Rally in the Indiana Statehouse, organized by Indiana Equality to address SJR-7, the amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and to support the hate crimes bill, which will include sexual orientation and gender identity. There were several speakers, including Candace Gingrich, lgbt civil rights activist and sister of Newt Gingrich. See
Read on »Grassroots Organizing Against SJR-7
I attended a summit this evening of a bunch of different organizations and groups that are opposing SJR-7, along with a bunch of individuals – it was a group of around 30 people, all of whom are active in working on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered issues at one level or another in Indiana. The
Read on »Rally Reminder
Please don’t forget there’s a rally tomorrow against SJR-7 at the statehouse — indoors, 1 – 2:30 p.m. in the North Atrium of the Indiana State House, 200 W. Washington St. (enter North Entrance, off Ohio Street). Candace Gingrich will speak at 1:40 PM. Many of you have President’s Day off tomorrow – please attend
Read on »Comparing the Indiana Legislature to the 20’s KKK is NOT Hyperbole
I’m sorry, RiShawn Biddle, but if you studied your history, like Chris Douglas and Gary Welsh have pointed out to you in several posts, you’d know better that to call it hyperbole. RiShawn is an editorialist for the Indianapolis Star, and posts to a “blog” on the newspaper’s site — which I still maintain is
Read on »SJR-7 Will Eliminate Purdue’s Health Care Benefits
As Gary Welsh rightly points out in a must-read article on SJR-7 and Purdue University’s health care benefits, the infamous second paragraph of the proposed amendment will indeed eliminate health care benefits for unmarried partners that are currently used by 31 employees of the university. The question is raised in the Lafayette Journal and Courier
Read on »Rally at the Statehouse – next Monday
The rally — called the “Read the Fine Print” — will feature Candace Gingrich, sister of Former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich. WHAT: “Read the Fine Print!” Rally at the Statehouse WHEN: Monday, February 19, 2007 from 1:00 pm — 2:30 pm (Presidents Day) WHERE: Indiana Statehouse, North Atrium, 200 W.
Read on »Right-wing lies about SJR-7
On the opinion page of today’s Indy Star, Sheila Suess Kennedy, associate professor of law and public policy at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in Indianapolis, (and one of my neighbors – she and her husband live a couple blocks away) comments on SJR-7, the amendment to ban equal marriage rights:
Read on »SJR-7 Passes Senate
The bill to amend the Indiana Constitution to ban Marriage Equality passed the Senate today. As Gary Welsh notes on Advance Indiana, the right-wing hate battalion have managed to achieve something that even the KKK weren’t able to do when they held total control of state government – disenfranchise an entire unfavored minority group. Here
Read on »Delicious Annual Nut Sale (Spay-Neuter Serv.)
I know this “true story” is true, because it’s an actual memo that got sent around our work email.
Read on »Prince’s Half-Time Show
Surprised no one’s screaming about this…
Read on »Matt captures Colts Frenzy Downtown
Downtown went crazy last night after the Colts win. My friend Kathy called me up from the circle, where she narrated some of the action – people surfing on their cars, people streaking down the street (brrr! It’s -10 below wind chill, people!), people climbing on the Monument, people screaming and hugging people they didn’t
Read on »Super Bowl Champions Indianapolis Colts
Colts Win.
Read on »The importance of contacting your elected officials yourself
I’m going to emphasize my point at the very beginning of this post, rather than toward the end: If you don’t want people to speak on your behalf — to potentially agree to things you don’t agree with, or to make decisions for you — then you have to speak up yourself. If you don’t
Read on »SJR-7 Update
SJR-7, the bill to amend the Indiana Constitution to prevent equal marriage rights for gay people, was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, and will soon be presented to the full Senate for voting – probably next week. That’s pretty bad news, especially since two amendments to the legislation that were presented were
Read on »My Thoughts on SJR-7
The SJR-7 legislation to amend the Indiana constitution is going to be heard in committee tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. The committee will meet in the Senate Chambers – 3rd floor of the Indiana Statehouse (200 W. Washington Street in Indianapolis). Everyone is invited to attend – a good crowd against the legislation will make
Read on »“What You People Should Do”
I’m shamelessly cribbing this post by Chris Douglas from bilerico.com, because it’s so true and bears repeating in as many places as possible — so hopefully people like RiShawn Biddle with see it. As long as we’re contemplating the advice from the straight community about the strategy employed by various sectors of the gay community,
Read on »Steph Mineart’s Corollary to Godwin’s Law
I’ve had an observation rolling around in my head for many years, but as far as I can tell, I haven’t put written it on my site yet, although I know I’ve pointed it out in email on the gayindy mailing at various times. It popped back into my head as I was thinking about
Read on »bilerico’s new policy
I read with excitement this piece on Bilerico.com: Looking at last year’s news cycle, one option had a high degree of success at influencing voters’ behavior, setting back a large segment of the conservative movement, and generally providing a modicum of entertainment value for the masses. What was it? “Outing” the hypocrite. Think Ted Haggard
Read on »Rishawn Biddle and Questions on Hate Crimes
Over on the Expresso blog, Rishawn Biddle asks this question regarding the current hate crimes legislation in the house. 3.) Can the supporters of the hate crimes penalities proposed in House Bill 1459 muster up evidence that gays are being murdered or assaulted at any higher rate than the rest of the population? More importantly,
Read on »Colts Win!
We immediately tried to call our friends/Bears fans up north to talk smack to them, but cingular appears to be down. Huh. We’re probably not the only ones. Great game. Colts in the Superbowl! Stephanie’s looking up how much her old 45 record of the Bears Superbowl Shuffle is going for on eBay.
Read on »Rally at the Indiana Statehouse to Oppose SJR-7
A while back, I wrote about SJR-7, the bill to amend the Indiana constitution to eliminate equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, and I urged people to contact the legislators responsible for this atrocious piece of legislation. Well, there’s more you can do. Indiana Equality is organizing a rally at the State House to oppose
Read on »Anti-Marriage Equality Amendment Introduced to Indiana Legislature
As Bilerico is reporting – the massively flawed legislation to put an anti-marriage equality amendment (banning civil marriage for same-sex partners) on the ballot for voting had been re-introduced to the legislature. Here’s the proposed bill: DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL Definition of marriage. Provides that marriage in Indiana consists only of the union of one
Read on »House District 97 Vote Recounts
Taking Down Words gives a nice run-down of what’s going on in my district with the “still-up-in-the-air-due-to-polling-screw-ups” race between Mahern and Elrod, who are just 65 votes apart. Seems that the touch-screen voting stations available at each of the polling places weren’t counted, and the state has just now decided to turn them on and
Read on »Four Indianapolis Races Affected by Missing Votes
According to the Indianapolis Star: Sadler said vote tally cards from 66 precincts remain out or have been misplaced with other election material. Election workers are searching for those documents this morning. She said the initial emphasis is on the 27 precincts that are involved in the four tight races. Sadler said that voting machines
Read on »Drinking Liberally Election Night Party
Drinking Liberally Election Night Party Election Night — Tuesday, 11/7 6pm-whenever Spencer’s Stadium Tavern 802 S. West St (SW Corner of West & McCarty) Drinking Liberally Indianapolis is having a special “Election Night” edition of their regular weekly gathering (usually held on Thursday nights, but switched to Tuesday this week for the election.) I haven’t
Read on »Indy Star survey on Marriage Equality
The Indy Star has an online poll on it’s front page, asking: Should the Indiana General Assembly amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages? Please go vote NO on the poll.
Read on »Local progressive websites I added to my newsreader
A couple of local progressive websites I discovered through actblue.com, the online donation clearinghouse for democratic candidates. I added them to my feedreader under politics. http://www.indianaprogressives.com/ http://indyfordemocracy.com/
Read on »A Commonplacebook Candidate Endorsements
These are Marion County, Indiana Democratic candidates who have shown strong stances and leadership on progressive issues including improving education, finding health care solutions for all Hoosiers, property tax reform and equality for GLBT citizens. I’ve personally shaken hands with all of these candidates at one time or another and discussed issues with them. I
Read on »Blogger Forum with Progressive Candidates
I attended a blogger forum at lunch to day, where three local progressive candidates for office met with local bloggers to answer questions and talk about their political issues and campaigns. The candidates were: Russell Brown ( Democratic candidate, Senate District 31) Dr. David Orentlicher (Democratic Representative, House District 86) John Barnes (Democratic candidate, House
Read on »Books I’ve read Recently
Garden Accents: Simple-To-Build Projects to Enhance Your Yard or Garden (How-to Gardening) Quite a few interesting building projects for hardscaping your garden. I read this over while drawing up plans for our flowerbeds. Pit of Vipers (Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective) #18 by Carolyn Keene There are 21 books out now in this all
Read on »People You Meet While Gardening
I met two interesting people this weekend while planting bulbs in my front yard. One of the is our neighbor, Craig, who owns the house to the north of us, and is moving back in. He’s not new to our neighborhood — his family has owned the house for decades — but he’s just now
Read on »Republicans for Voldemort
Halloween Decorating
Indy Undercover – Vague Recollections
You know, now that I think back, there was a version of Indy Undercover several years ago that was not anonymous. It was not a blog (this was before blogspot existed); it was a website. Maybe run by php-nuke or something? But the proprietor dude had his picture and bio on it. It was about
Read on »I got called the D-Word
No, no, not “difficult.” The other D-Word. The one that’s the equivalent of the N-word. You know… the one that if you had the balls to say it to my face, you’d be riding to the hospital in an ambulance. Yeah. THAT D-word. And who busted out this lovely phrase? Only our Indianapolis’ Finest —
Read on »Fishers Renaissance Faire, 2006
Indy Undercover
I mentioned Indy Undercover on IndyScribe, but I’ve now read several of the posts, and want to comment here on it separately. Indy Undercover a site about law enforcement issues in Indianapolis, purportedly written by an law enforcement officer. It’s getting lots of traffic and comments from other people who claim to be law enforcement
Read on »Ballroom Dance Lessons for Same-Sex Couples
From the Outword Bound mailing list: Ballroom Dancing Lessons for GLBTQ people and their allies who are willing to dance with persons of the same sex Mondays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM Jesus MCC, 2950 East 55th Place NO dance partner necessary. $5 per person per 2-hour lesson – please bring cash. Finally, we’ve found
Read on »Make Sure You’re Registered to Vote!
In all the recent hullabaloo surrounding the GOP purging voter rolls in Indiana, it turns out that although I returned my postcard with my corrected new address on it promptly, my voter registration was not updated. I talked to at least one other person who discovered that they are no longer registered to vote either
Read on »Secret Cameras in Downtown Indianapolis
With a WISH-TV headline like “Secret Cameras Could Help Keep Indianapolis Safe” — gee, I don’t know what I’m supposed to think about that. I guess, maybe I should feel safer? Whereas the alternate headline “Secret Cameras Could Help Keep Indianapolis Under the Thumb of Big Brother” would be equally accurate, but I guess it
Read on »Local News and Online Reporting
WTHR has this story on their website: Study: Omega 3 can save lives Experts say beefing up intake of Omega 3 fatty acids can save lives more than AED’s and implanted defibrillators. Omega 3 is found in foods like fish and nuts, and some experts believe they can lower the risk for heart attack because
Read on »How To Identify Where A Driver Is From
1. One hand on wheel, one hand on horn: CHICAGO 2. One hand on wheel, one finger out window: NEW YORK 3. One hand on wheel, one finger out window, cutting across all lanes of traffic: NEW JERSEY 4. One hand on wheel, one hand on newspaper, foot solidly on accelerator: BOSTON 5. One hand
Read on »Flickr Photo Pools for Indianapolis
Old Northside – Indianapolis http://www.flickr.com/groups/oldnorthside/ Indianapolis, Indiana http://www.flickr.com/groups/indianapolis/ Indianapolis http://www.flickr.com/groups/37996589023@N01/ indianapolis adventure http://www.flickr.com/groups/indianapolisadventure/ Flickr Lovers of Indianapolis http://www.flickr.com/groups/indy-flickr/
Read on »WTHR wants your state fair pictures
They’re calling for submissions of your pictures of the fair. Wonder if I should reprise my “Mullet Festival” photo essay from last year?
Read on »Recycling — our favorite place now takes plastics
Indianapolis Recycled Fiber 1775 S. West St. — just off of I-70 in the industrial hub just southwest of the RCA Dome. We’ve gone there for some time because they take all types of paper and cardboard products, including office paper, paper board, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, phone books, etc. But recently, they added bins for
Read on »AFA Sues Michigan State To Block Same-Sex Benefits
Advance Indiana comments on a recently announce lawsuit from the American Family Association — suing to block same-sex couples from receiving university health care benefits on the basis of Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriages. I’m blogging this specifically for my mom and other family members — THIS IS THE REASON THESE BANS ARE SO DANGEROUS.
Read on »Cross-dresser doused with gasoline (?)
“Cross-dresser doused with gasoline” is a headline in today’s IndyStar. That’s the kind of headline that makes my heart stop. Fortunately, it didn’t have a tragic outcome. And the story itself seemed to have little to do with the person in question being a cross-dresser, so I wonder why it made a headline, other than
Read on »The Harrison Art Gallery
The Harrison Center For The Arts 1505 North Delaware Indianapolis, IN 46202 An art gallery in our neighborhood – just bookmarking for future reference. The Harrison Gallery boasts a fast-paced gallery schedule featuring monthly shows. Focusing primarily on Indianapolis artists, the gallery provides an entertaining atmosphere that is welcoming to the seasoned gallery hopper and
Read on »Drinking Liberally: Indianapolis
Great idea — Drinking Liberally: “An informal, inclusive progressive drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don’t need to be a policy expert and this isn’t a book club – just come
Read on »1898 Sanborn Map of 2165 N. Penn
Sanborn maps were fire insurance maps that showed neighborhoods and houses for the purposes of determining insurance rates. This is the 1898 map of my neighborhood, showing my house as it looked at that time. I used to have a wrap-around front porch. There also appears to have been a stable on the property. See
Read on »RiShawn Biddle Doesn’t Know Anything About Blogs
I participated in a panel of bloggers this morning, addressing the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America, Hoosier Chapter) to talk about local blogs with public relations people. Here are my fellow panelists: RiShawn Biddle, Editorial Writer, The IndyStar, and Expresso blog Jennifer Wagner, Taking Down Words blog Gary Welsh, Advance Indiana blog Matt Tully,
Read on »Vonnegut High School
I’m watching the latest episode of Close to Home, and in the storyline, the kids who are suspects of a murder investigation speed away from the scene of the crime in a car with a bumpersticker of “Vonnegut High School.” That’s pretty funny. I wonder if they’ll show exterior shots of Shortridge High School, where
Read on »Indianapolis Progressive Candidates You Might Consider
Below are candidates that have been supportive of GLBT issues and strong on progressive issues in the past. Please consider voting for them tomorrow when you go to the polls for the primaries. Marion County Superior Court Judge Karen Celestino Horseman “Every so often an elected official will go to extraordinary lengths to improve the
Read on »2006 ICAAN Scavenger Hunt
The controversial post about 7th district candidate Kris Kiser
If you’ve been following local politics at all, you may have noticed this little dust-up. Democratic candidate for congress Kris Kiser threatened legal action against a local political blog for a post one of their contributors made about him, alleging some shadiness about his personal life and business dealings when he lived (recently) in Washington
Read on »Karen Celestino-Horseman for Judge
Karen Celestino-Horseman is a former member of the Indianapolis Marion County City-County Council, and she’s running for a position as Marion County Superior Court Judge. Please consider voting for her in the upcoming May 2nd primary. In 2002, (then City-County Councilor) Karen Celestino-Horseman introduced Proposal 278, which would have provided domestic partner benefits to Indianapolis
Read on »Overachieving Kids in Indianapolis
This is deeply scary article — 10 kids in Indianapolis under the age of ten who are over-achievers. One of them actually uses the phrase “extrapolate outward” in a sentence. I wonder how many of these kids will be shooting up the hallways of their high school, or getting their California Ranch raided a few
Read on »The Harrison Center and Anti-Gay Religious Groups
This is extremely disturbing, and not a hoax, despite today’s date. An “Ex-Gay” event will take place in Marion, Indiana, planned and sponsored by a church in our downtown neighborhood — the Redeemer Presbyterian Church at 1505 North Delaware, Indianapolis, IN., which is also home of the The Harrison Center art gallery, run by our
Read on »Outword Bound Bookstore seeks horse, sheep for Brokeback Mountain video release party
Yup, Outword Bound Bookstore (at 625 North East Street downtown, near Massachusetts avenue) is planning a party for the video release of the film Brokeback Mountain. Here’s an appeal they sent out for some help with the party planning: We are planning a Brokeback DVD release party for April 3 starting at 9PM. (Call or
Read on »Indianapolis Police are big drama queens about uniform design
According to today’s IndyStar, the newly merged IPD has arrived at a badge design, but is still deciding on what color their new uniforms will be. Members of a merger subcommittee endorsed a proposed patch design Friday and indicated they are close to agreeing on a new badge for the combined Indianapolis Police and Marion
Read on »“The Kiterunner” does not contain “pornography”
Some (idiot moron) parents in Lawrence Township schools are objecting to the book “The Kiterunner” being assigned in class, because they claim there is a scene that is “pornographic” in it. The Kiterunner is a story of children living in contemporary Afghanistan, and is a wonderful, amazing book. It is, unfortunately, fairly true to life,
Read on »2008 GOP Convention in Indianapolis?
The [link deprecated: http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/243304-2091-127.html] Indy Star reports that our fair metropolis is on the list of cities invited to bid to host the 2008 GOP Convention. Requirements: we have to foot the bill for security. God no. Please no. I’d rather gargle with motor oil than pay for security for wingnuts. Oh, wait. Can I
Read on »LGBTQ Youth Equality Ride Across the U.S.
During March and April The Soulforce Equality Ride will be visiting 19 religious and military schools to give voice to those who can not speak up themselves because of oppressive school policies. Many of these schools expell lgbtq students who come out or are outed. At military and religious colleges around the nation, bans on
Read on »Human Rights Ordinance Elimination Bill Withdrawn
Representative Thompson withdrew his amendment today to House Bill 1010 which would have eliminated local human rights protections in cities throughout Indiana. The House reconvened at 1:30 pm today. Rep Thompson withdrew his amendment and the House was recessed until 5:30pm tonight. This amendment may be only temporarily dead; it could still be attached to
Read on »Indiana Bill Amendment Would Make Illegal Local LGBT Non-Discrimination Policies
TODAY the Indiana House of Representatives will debate an amendment to House Bill 1010 that would prohibit cities and counties from providing equal rights protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity — like the Human Rights Ordinance we worked so hard on here in Indianapolis. Please Contact your State Representative immediately (TODAY!) and tell
Read on »IndyStar’s “In Touch” Blog
Read this blog entry from Jocelyn-Tandy Torkwase Adande: An individual’s sexual preference should be a private matter. Recently, the Democratic caucus of the City-County Council attached an ordinance relating to sexual orientation to a human rights bill that also allows 15 percent of all business contracts with the city of Indianapolis to be awarded to
Read on »The RCA Dome blows
I was reading this entry from the Indy Star blog’s “In Touch” section where people are arguing over increasing taxes and building a new Colts stadium. I had reservations about a new stadium, too, until we went to a Colts game earlier in the season. I discovered at the game that the RCA Dome blows
Read on »O, in case you missed it…
I was in the Indy Star on Monday morning.
Read on »Brokeback Mountain opens Wednesday, Dec. 28th
Due to the large box-office success in its limited run, the movie Brokeback Mountain will open in Indianapolis on Wednesday, December 28th at the Keystone Arts Cinema, rather than the originally scheduled mid-January release date. Who wants to go? Stephanie and I are seeing it…
Read on »Bomb Threat at the City-County building
People were evacuated from the City-County building today at 12:20 due to a phoned in bomb threat. Hmm. I’m guessing people are a little upset at last night’s city-county council meeting.
Read on »Local FBI spying on vegan groups
In another article about the domestic spying on left-wing organizations, this time from the New York Times, the article mentions in passing: One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a “Vegan Community Project.” Wow. If they’re spying on vegetarians in Indy, what do you think they’re doing
Read on »Prop 622 passed, 15-14
Proposition 622 passed at the City-Council this evening, 15-14. My councilor, Patrice Abduallah voted for the ordinance. And we’re on the fox news at 10 again. I’m very tired, and I’m going to bed.
Read on »People outside of Indianapolis coming here to tell us how to live
One of the things that needs to be pointed out about Proposition 622 is that many of the people opposing it don’t live in Indianapolis and wouldn’t be affected by it. For example, in today’s Indy Star, there are several letters from people opposing this ordinance. One of them is from Eric Miller, the director
Read on »I’m blogging because Fox 59 News is filming me right now
The News came to talk to us about Proposition 622, and I’m doing an action shot right now where they’re filming me at the computer, so I have do something. So I’m writing this blog entry. Say hi to the news!! I’ll be on Fox 59 news tomorrow night at 10 p.m., so don’t forget
Read on »The difference between “blogs” and sites and pages
Channel 8 news this morning had a news story on about a 25 year old male student teacher from a local high school who has been accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. During the course of the story, they show a web page they called his “blog” and mentioned that students
Read on »Prop 622 passed out of committee; vote to be Monday
Last night, Proposition 622 to amend the Human Rights ordinance passed out of committee by a vote of 5 to 3. It will be voted on in the full committee in a special session on Monday night. I’ll post details of time and room as soon as I hear them. Here are the undecided councilors
Read on »Human Rights Ordinance Hearing
Prop 622 information and updates
Your help is needed to get the HRO passed and to stop discrimination. Task #1 – – Contact your City-County Councillor and tell him/her that discrimination is wrong and that they should support the HRO amendment. Write, call, phone or all three –just do it. Find out who your Councillor is by calling 327-4242 or
Read on »City-Council President Steve Talley backs Prop 622
Thanks to the tireless work of Indiana Equality Region 8 (especially Bil Browning, Jerame Davis, Jeff Newman, Seth Kreigh, Gary Welsh and many others including the folks from Greater Indianapolis Fairness Alliance) in getting information and education about anti-gay descrimination to the city-county council, the president of the council, Steve Talley (D) has decided to
Read on »Last night’s City county council meeting about the HRO
Advance Indiana does an excellent job of narrating the action from last night’s city county council meeting, so I won’t duplicate the effort here. If you want to see it for yourself, the committee meeting will be broadcast several times on Channel 16, so haul out your TIVO. I was asked to speak at the
Read on »Monday December 5th hearing on amending the HRO
I will be at this meeting. Please, please, please come with me, or meet me there. If you’ve never been to the city-county building, it’s very easy to find parking; just east of the building, where Market Square used to stand is a parking lot that charges 3 dollars. You can park there easily. I’ll
Read on »Oh, no, they did not go there
According to the IndyStar: Leaders from a dozen African-American churches held a prayer vigil today in the City-Council building in advance of an upcoming vote on a proposal to protect gays from discrimination — a proposal the church leaders firmly oppose. Taking turns praying by name for each of the 29 members of the City-County
Read on »Indianapolis’ Human Rights Ordinance
If you have a few minutes to write to your city-county councilors asking them to amend the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity protections (aka Proposition 622), please take some time to do so. If you’ve been discriminated against, or if you know someone who has (here’s a hint I
Read on »Show Up Monday Night for the Re-Introduction of the Human Rights Ordinance
From Pepper Partin: Did you know that walking from your car to the Indianapolis City-County Building will burn 1 million calories? Enjoy a guiltless Thanksgiving and look great in your new holiday wear this year by attending the City-County Council meeting this Monday night. Why? In addition to burning calories so your body will be
Read on »This is apparently what passes for news at the Indy Star
“Kids try Cuss Lite: All the cool, less risk” Seriously, I read better content on this consistently on blogs. I’ve written more compelling content than this on my blog. WTF? God, we live in blandville, USA.
Read on »Indianapolis City Council figures it out
When an amendment to the city’s Human Rights Ordinance was proposed to the city council last year which would introduce protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, the council was bombarded with e-mail from the religious right — most of it from outside of Indianapolis, and some of it from even outside the state of
Read on »Helicopters
All last week and again this morning, there have been numerous helicopters over downtown Indianapolis. Normally there are some; the news helicopters fly over in the morning doing traffic reports, and the lifeline helicopter takes off and lands on the roof of Methodist Hospital. We’re used to hearing helicopters. This is beyond that, though. They’re
Read on »Herron High School
Coming soon to a neighborhood near me… a Charter high school focusing on the classic Liberal Arts education. Awesome.
Read on »Difference between civil rights and civil liberties
Author: Sheila Suess Kennedy Quick — what’s the difference between civil liberties and civil rights? If you aren’t quite certain, you have a lot of company. The distinction is lost on most of my students, and — far more troubling — on a good number of city and state legislators. Civil liberties are rights that
Read on »Our State Fair is a Great State Fair
Stephanie and I went to the State Fair on Saturday: see the pictures on IndyScribe. Also, I just recently found Godwin’s Law explained on Wikipedia, which is very cool. I thought it came into being long before 1991, though. I remember it being referred to when I was on USENET back in college, which would
Read on »Herron Morton Place Neighborhood Garage Sale
My neighborhood will be having its annual garage sale next Saturday, August 27, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and I and many other people will be participating. There will be maps of the neighborhood at each participating house. Herron-Morton Place is downtown east of Meridian; the boundaries are East 16th Street on the south,
Read on »“Outing” Revisited
Way back in March of 1998, I wrote a long article/essay/diatribe on the subject of “outing” people. Reading it today, I realize it wasn’t as much about “outing” people as it was about complaining about prevalence of opportunistic gay people who stay in the closet to prey on people who are out while avoiding the
Read on »Indy Star’s InTouch “Blogs” Censorship
I recently posted a comment to an “blog” post on the Indy Star’s INTouch page, and they have refused to post the comment to the entry in question. Here’s the entry by Kevin Bain, regarding “attacking” Christians. Unfortunately, I didn’t save a personal copy of my comments, but I promise, I was very tame. I
Read on »Irresponsible Pet Ownership
In the past couple of months, I’ve run across a person who was planning to dump a cat outdoors at a known cat colony, thinking it would “survive and fit in there” and a family that no longer wants their perfectly behaved, affectionate cat, because they have a child and “don’t have enough time to
Read on »Indianapolis Judge: Parent’s can’t teach children their religion
Wonderful; this local story is making national political websites. Now we look like total hillbillies in front of all of America. Thanks, bigots. Indianapolis judge, prevents parents from teaching their religion to their children. Just to be clear; the divorced couple are both Wiccans and both want their kid taught their religion, it’s just the
Read on »The House Next Door
The owner of the house next door is getting tons of stuff done on it. It’s moving along at a really great pace and should look amazing when it’s done. They’ve finished replacing all the windows and on Friday they started on a new roof. And inside, they’re done with the major mechanicals and are
Read on »Dining out For Life – Today!!
Dining Out for Life is an annual fundraising event held in 33 cities across America with all the proceeds benefiting respective HIV/AIDS organizations in their communities. On Thursday, April 14th, these fine restaurants will be contributing 25% of their food sales to The Damien Center. (The Damien Center provides and coordinates comprehensive services and education
Read on »Truck Cover Stolen
Last night someone stole the vinyl truck bed cover from my truck where it was parked behind my house. It will be $250 to replace the cover, and I don’t know if I want to do that, considering it might just get stolen again. It’s not like when my rainbow flag was stolen over and
Read on »Freecycling – Giving away your stuff
Freecycling networks harness the power of the Internet to connect people who have stuff to throw away with others in their area who would like that stuff, so it doesn’t wind up in a landfill. We ALL have things in our garages, closets, attics, offices, etc., that we don’t need. Freecycle lets you find someone
Read on »Dining Out For Life – Thursday, April 14th
Dining Out for Life is an annual fundraising event held in 33 cities across America with all the proceeds benefiting respective HIV/AIDS organizations in their communities. On Thursday, April 14th, these fine restaurants will be contributing 25% of their food sales to The Damien Center. (The Damien Center provides and coordinates comprehensive services and education
Read on »Town and Country Sign, 44th & Binford Blvd.
Nice Try, Though
Sometimes a building’s architectural style is so identified with its original business that it’s hard to shake the association, even when the business is long gone. Here’s a photo gallery of bad building conversions around Indianapolis. Let me know about the ones you’ve spotted around town… This Indian Restaurant on east 38th Street doesn’t disguise
Read on »Exhibit: Glimpses of the African-American Artist
My friend Chizoma Sherman has some art which will be featured at the Collective Art Gallery (1043 Virginia Ave, just before the fountain in Fountain Square on the corner of Virginia and Woodlawn) in their exhibit titled Glimpses of the African-American Artist, a juried art competition for African-American Artists. The exhibit is open until February
Read on »PARODY of the "Citizens Concerned for the Constitution" Logo
Eric Miller’s right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ hate group “Advance America” used to be called “Citizens Concerned for the Constitution.” This group has spent years lobbying in the Indiana State legislature on anti-LGBTQ+ legal issues intended to marginalize and eliminate LGBTQ+ folks from Indiana’s population. These are the folks that introduced legislation in the 1990s to get LGBTQ+
Read on »Review: Georgia O’Keeffe – Visions of the Sublime
Check out the review I wrote on IndyScribe about the exhibit currently displayed at the Eiteljorg Museum downtown. Also, the whole IndyScribe team of writers were interviewed this afternoon by a reporter for INtake Weekly newspaper, the competitor to Nuvo. We’re also going to a photoshoot for that newspaper as well. So I’ll have my
Read on »Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of the Sublime
One of the first stops for the Giant Red Arrow in its tour of Indianapolis cultural events is the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit at the Eiteljorg Museum. My familiarity with O’Keeffe was with her paintings of flowers and of animal bones in western landscapes, but Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of the Sublime contains only a few of
Read on »Books about Indianapolis and Indiana
Several members of the IndyScribe team have been perusing Indianapolis and Indiana literature during research for the writing we’re doing, and for education and entertainment about the city we live in. Since we’ve been passing books around between us, I thought it might help us (and maybe you) to put together a list of books
Read on »Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream
Situated right off the Monon on Main Street in downtown Carmel, Bubs is a popular lunch location, especially for (as my friend Mike pointed out) beefy white guys in corporate attire. It was so popular that we had to put our name in and wait fifteen minutes to get a table, and because we specified
Read on »Herron-Morton Place Neighborhood
Herron-Morton Place is an historic residential neighborhood in Downtown Indianapolis, comprising a 25 square block area just east of Meridian Street, and north of the bustling downtown area. It is beautiful, quiet, pedestrian-friendly, and is just close enough to downtown to walk or bike to major events, but just far enough north to be outside
Read on »Fake S.W.A.T. Van and Other Weird Stuff I See Driving To Work
I drive north on college from downtown everyday on the way to work on the north side. And every day I pass this cool fake S.W.A.T. van (which appears to be an old delivery van repainted) that’s usually parked on the street near the intersection of 49th Street and College Avenue. And everyday, I think,
Read on »Crate and Barrel comes to the Fashion Mall
I caught wind of this a few weeks ago, because my friend Jason works for the construction company that will be building the new store: the IndyChannel is reporting that a Crate and Barrel Store will be going into the location of the the recently vacated for new digs TGIFridays restaurant at Keystone at the
Read on »Rain, rain, go the hell away
As another 1.5 inches of rain fell on Indianapolis yesterday, neighborhoods like Frog Hollow (I love that name!) and Ravenswood, which were already battling flood waters are hit hard again. The city closed 12 streets, mainly in these neighborhoods and along Fall Creek and in a neighborhood on the southside near Troy and Harding streets
Read on »May We Suggest “Flat, cheap and out of control?”
According to the Indianapolis Star, the City of Indianapolis is trying to come up with a tagline to define the city, in the same way that Vegas has “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Although they hasten to assure us that they’re looking for something less risque. Damn. And I thought we were going
Read on »Story Time At the Zoo
On Saturdays in January, February & March this year, the Zoo will have a brand new activity for kids – Story Time at the Zoo! See your favorite storybook characters come to life at Story Time at the Zoo. This all new event gives your little ones the chance to meet Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Corduroy Bear,
Read on »Indianapolis Aerial Photography
Using Indianapolis’ official City website, Indygov.org, you can view maps of Indianapolis much like mapquest, and aerial photographs dating back to 1935 that allow you to view the whole city and also to zoom in close to see, for example, the roof of your house. The initial view of Indianapolis shows a map with a
Read on »Hidden Indy: Broad Ripple Dam
Just east of Westfield Boulevard and north of Broad Ripple Avenue is the Broad Ripple dam, a wooded area of the White River that’s fenced off and not accessible, just north of the Broad Ripple pumping station. On a sunny summer day a few years back, my friends and I climbed up the painted wall
Read on »Hidden Indy: The Catacombs Beneath Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Back in the early nineties, my friend Dennis Williams was a Franciscan friar. We met doing volunteer work, and once we were working on a fundraiser together and we needed folding chairs. Dennis asked the staff of Sacred Heart Church (one of the oldest and the only Franciscan church in Indy) if they would donate
Read on »Hidden Indy: The Mystery Tao on Delaware
Back in the early nineties, I lived in the Marleigh Apartment building in the 1400 block of Delaware in downtown Indianapolis, which is in Old Northside neighborhood. Across the street was an impressive array of old Victorian houses with all the gingerbread and other bling they put on houses back in the 1800’s. I used
Read on »Book Review: Indiana Curiosities
Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, and Other Offbeat Stuff, by local media celebrity Dick Wolfsie. You’ll enjoy this book even if you don’t live in Indiana — and you’ll definitely enjoy it if you do. Packed with the odd and unusual, this book was filled with surprises even for me, and I’ve lived in
Read on »Giant Red Arrow Coming to Indianapolis
A 750-pound, 10-foot-high, 18-foot-long and 8-foot-wide red arrow will travel around Indianapolis to major events throughout the year, to highlight arts and sporting events, building projects and other big attractions, according to Grant County’s Chronicle Tribune, which provides a list of events where the giant red arrow is scheduled to appear. There’s also a list
Read on »Indy Star’s “2005 hotlist” is really not that hot
The Indianapolis Star put together a list of “what and who will be noteworthy in the Indianapolis arts scene this year.” And it’s a big yawner, to say the least. My favorite noteworthy event is that Deer Creek (I refuse to use the corporate name for the concert facility, and you can’t make me) is
Read on »IMA Closes for 4 Months
The Indianapolis Museum of Art will be closed through May 5th while the ongoing $74 million construction project is completed. The project includes a three-story gallery pavilion, a special events pavilion and a glass-enclosed entry pavilion, as well as new and expanded galleries and a fine-dining restaurant. The Lilly House & Gardens will remain open
Read on »Mini-Marathon Sells Out Early
From the Indy Star: “Officials at the 500 Festival announced today the 2005 half-marathon has sold out at the earliest date in its 29 years of running. The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, which will be held on May 7, will have approximately 30,000 runners and walkers, officials said. The cap was reached today, with some
Read on »Apparently We Missed A Really Big Party
Indianapolis Police are looking for a disgruntled former beer delivery driver who, after being fired from his job, stole the delivery truck he drove and parked it on the west side of town. The trailer, which had contained 14,000 cases of beer, sat open for six weeks while people help themselves to the contents. Police
Read on »IPS: Sign The Yellow Petition
Currently in Indianapolis, there is a plan to renovate the crumbling Indianapolis Public Schools system by renovating 12 schools. The plan will cost $200 million and will be paid for through the sale of property taxpayer-supported bonds. The plan is “controversial” because the greedy Republicans in the suburbs don’t want to pay for inner city
Read on »Rupert Sightings
So far, we here at IndyScribe have had two close encounters with Rupert Boneham, beloved star of Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All-Stars. The first was at P. F. Changs Restaurant at Keystone at the Crossing. Rupert came in and ate at the bar with friends, prior to the season finale of Survivor: Pearl Islands,
Read on »Aerial View of Indianapolis
This got sent around our neighborhood website a while back, but I never had the chance to check it out until recently. It’s aerial maps of Indianapolis that you can zoom in on and move around, similar to map quest. The cool thing is, on the 2003 maps, I can zoom in and see the
Read on »Newspaper Names
For a brain-storming session on a name for a new local Indianapolis paper, these were some of our ideas. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks the name “Naptown Argus” as a Indianapolis newspaper is laugh-out-loud funny. Hmmm. Too much Greek Mythology as a child, not enough playing outside. (edited to add suggestions from reader
Read on »Two Indianapolis men sentenced for killing trans teen, friend
From the Indianapolis Star on the death of Nireah Johnson and the sentencing of her killers: Two Indianapolis men declared their innocence today even as a judge sentenced them to prison for killing a cross-dressing teen and his female friend. Superior Court Judge Robert Altice sentenced Paul Moore to a combined 120 years in prison
Read on »One Good Thing About Indianapolis
Some fashion trends appear and disappear on the coasts without ever making it to the Circle City. Case in point: Tall Von Dutch Lug Boots. These are apparently out, according to Gawker.com. Thank Jeebus we dodged that bullet.
Read on »Fever Tickets – Blue Half Season
Nine home games at Conseco Fieldhouse; I have tickets for Section 3, Row 13, seats 9 & 10. And you’re going with me, yo. 7:00 p.m., Friday, May 21 – New York 7:00 p.m., Saturday, June 5 – Charlotte (This is the day before my birthday). 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 16 – Sacramento 7:00 p.m.,
Read on »September 20th, 2002
Everybody seems to be remarking on the 1-year anniversary of the tornado that struck Indianapolis. I tend to remember the date because it was day I learned that my cat Idgie was dying. I had to have her put to sleep the next day. I sat down today with Dru and Huck and Annabelle and
Read on »And speaking of surprises… the Indy Star runs an editorial critical of Bush
Well, I’ll be god-damned. I never would have thought I’d read something like this in the Star. And editorial questioning what we’re spending in Iraq, questioning the Patriot Act. Holy crap. Time to get a subscription.
Read on »Don’t forget to tip your waiter…
Funny link I found on my friend Lori’s site about tipping waiters. Apparently there’s a gay waiter who’s a bit pissed off. I wonder why he’s mentioned the name Ben Solomon… I can’t tell if he’s dissing Ben or not. Ben is one of the wealthy gay men in town. I also like the other
Read on »Raves, Clubbing Losing their appeal
“But now dance music, the genre that revolutionised people’s clothing, drinking, drug-taking and socialising habits beyond recognition, is battling for survival.” Interesting, considering that I heard a rumor that the hot new nightclub near my house, Talbott Street, will be closing in the next few months due to poor attendance.
Read on »Local Indy Liquor Store Sign
Interesting rearrangement of a local Indianapolis liquor store sign that may have been perpetrated by someone I know.
Read on »September 14: Old Northside Neighborhood Home Tour
Old Northside is the neighborhood just to the south of mine in Downtown Indianapolis. It was the home, during the second half of the 19th century, of the principal leaders of Indianapolis social, political, commercial and industrial life, as well as the location of leading religious and educational institutions. The Old Northside reached its peak
Read on »Microchipping Your Pets
I just spent some time calling around to get this information for my new kitties, so I thought I’d share for the convenience of other pet owners. A microchip ID is safe, quick and easy lifetime protection that takes just minutes to complete. Should your pet become lost or stolen, your pet can be scanned
Read on »Barney, Beloved Beagle and TV Favorite, Dies at 14
I just heard on the news that Barney the Beagle, the longtime partner of TV personality Dick Wolfsie, from channel 8 News, died on Friday at the grand old age of 14. I’ll miss you Barney. I got to meet Barney back in January of 2002 when I was on the news with Dick Wolfsie
Read on »NY Apartment, 160 square feet, sells for $135,000
An interesting article on Manhattan closets… ahem… I mean co-ops, that are selling for outrageous prices in New York. The reason? “But the building is the epitome of location, location location.” What the hell could be around there that’s so damned compelling? Please. Just a side note: I paid $74,000 for my 2,300 square foot,
Read on »More on The Murdered Indianapolis Trans Teen
From the Indy Star: An initial hearing in the case of the teen’s murder was held for an Indianapolis man who has been arrested for the murder of Gregory Johnson and his friend Brandie Coleman. According to the hearing, the gun belonging to Paul Anthony Moore, 20, was matched to the bullets that killed the
Read on »17-year-old Indianapolis Youth Killed Because She Was Trans
From the Indianapolis Star: Gregory Johnson and his friend Brandie Coleman were killed and left in an SUV set on fire in the 6700 block of Fall Creek Parkway, North Drive. Johnson, they say, was a sweet and funny young man who liked to dress as a woman, fooling his dates. They suspect one of
Read on »People’s Temple
I’ve heard tons of conflicting reports about where in the downtown area the Jim Jones “people’s temple” church was located. It was somewhere in Old Northside Neighborhood, or in Herron-Morton Place. According to a recent report by the Indianapolis Star, it was located at 15th and North New Jersey street. And it’s for sale.
Read on »Mutual Friends Scavenger Hunt 2003
We wrapped up the hunt on Sunday, with the Mojo team winning with a whopping 1006 points, having answered an amazing number of the questions on the list. They kicked ASS. I’ll post the list of questions soon, as well as some more stats on how the team did, and pictures.
Read on »Indianapolis Star News Coverage
So I’m persuing the Indy Star website, because I just can’t bring myself to actually subscribe to the paper, and I ran across this little gem of an article. It’s about coffee mugs. The author of the article is comparison shopping coffee mugs. Indianapolis is an urban city of over a million people. We have
Read on »Canal Gondola Company
The company that rents gondolas downtown on the canal. Ben & Company Boat Rental, Inc., 632-1824
Read on »More proof of the dangers of the Patriot Act
The FBI seized and opened, without warrant or legal right, a package being exchange between two reporters containing unclassified information about terrorism. The exciting thing about it is that the government’s illegal seizure occurred right here in Indianapolis at the FedEx hub, and the jackass FBI guy who made the bonehead decision to snatch the
Read on »Weekend Update 2003-03-03
So this weekend I spent Saturday stripping wallpaper off the walls in the living room, and doing some cleaning in the living room and throughout the house. I finished two walls, have two to go. I felt kind of funny/ill all day, dunno why. Saturday night Kathy and I went out to the final evening
Read on »Put a Target Downtown!!
Do me a huge favor — e-mail Target and tell them to put a Target store at 16th and Central in Downtown Indianapolis. I’ll tell you exactly how to do it: Go to this page of the website, and click on the link “For questions about our stores, products�and services, click here.” You’ll see a
Read on »Lost U.S. city found as lake dries up
“Lost U.S. city found as lake dries up” All I can say is… cool. There’s apparently an old town under Geist Reservoir here in Indianapolis, too. On one of the online map companies, if you search for Geist, they still have a label for Germantown appearing in the center of the lake. I’ll endeavor to
Read on »Living downtown is cool, hip and trendy
Hey here’s an article on something I figured out back in 1992: Living downtown is cool, hip and trendy. “The death and life of America’s cities” – Fred Siegel, The Public Interest But do you own a cool Victorian there? I thought not. (2014 update: Yes, in 2002 I was obliviously quoting an article from
Read on »Gay Pride celebrations
This really sums up, better than I can do it, what I feel about Gay Pride celebrations, and why we should change ours in Indianapolis.
Read on »Build A Target Downtown!
E-mail Target and tell them you want a store built in downtown Indianapolis.
Read on »Indiana University corps special forces unit
This just in….a Indiana University corps special forces unit has surrounded the Bed Bath & Beyond in Keystone at the Crossing in Indianapolis. They believe they have Bed Linen surrounded. More news as it develops…
Read on »Local Political Organizing
I got an e-mail yesterday from a woman I know who’s on the board of directors of an organization I used to do volunteer work for. She was objecting to something I wrote here in my journal. The e-mail was titled “I’m disappointed” and in it, she chastised me for expressing some opinions about some
Read on »Fourth of July Party
Party went well. Stacy made a ton of food. We set off tons of fireworks, too. Not everyone came that I hoped would, but oh well. And they blew up Market Square Arena this morning, too. I know that there’s history to the place and all, but it was a really ugly building with uncomfortable
Read on »Bank seizes HIV, AIDS donations to AIDServe Indiana
According to Gina Barton, the Indianapolis Star [link deprecated: http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/indystar/access/1914935211.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+22%2C+2001&author=GINA+BARTON&pub=Indianapolis+Star&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Bank+seized+HIV%2C+AIDS+donations” title=”Indy Star Article Archives”]: Nearly $175,000 worth of donations for people with HIV and AIDS was seized by Fifth Third Bank to pay off the debts of AIDServe Indiana, a troubled statewide agency that closed in November. The money, raised at the annual AIDS walk
Read on »Gay/Straight Marriages and the Georges tragedy
This is in regards to Ruth Holladay’s recent column on the Georges murder tragedy. (excerpted below) I think we as a community, and Ruth Holladay, need to separate our issues here, because we’re talking about several different issues as though they’re a single issue. We’re talking about people, regardless of their orientation, being honest with
Read on »A Family By Choice
By Kathleen Schuckel Reprinted from The Indianapolis Star INDIANAPOLIS (Sun. Jan. 9, 2000) — Butch Kimmerling adopted his 8-year-old foster child to keep her from becoming a gay man’s daughter. Kimmerling, 52, is now accused of molesting the little girl, and has admitted it. Even as Kimmerling prepares to go to court soon on 10
Read on »Gay Indy Mailing List
On the bright side – I saw two movies this past weekend – Dogma and Run Lola Run. Both were good. On the dark side – It surprises me sometimes what other people find to be important. I say this because I’m on the GayIndy mailing list, and it’s kind of a joke. The mailing
Read on »The Official Roslyn’s Bakery Costume – Halloween 1999
For those of you who don’t know, Indianapolis’ Roslyn Bakeries (well-known local establishments for years) were closed because of the unsanitary conditions of their factory.
Read on »Families Never Sought Gay Men Found Dead On Estate
By Ken Kusmer / Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — From rural communities across Indiana, young gay men have moved to the big city, leaving behind their families to find a place where they could openly express their sexuality. When some of them began disappearing, no one came looking for them. Years later, at least four gay
Read on »