Do the Butler Bulldogs compare to the "Hoosiers" team?

Butler University Police Chief Benjamin Hunter described the increasing interest in the Northside campus via Twitter this morning: "Looking forward to a busy week at Butler. Never seen so much media on campus. Go Dawgs!"

Why is Butler a darling of the press? The small private school is making its first appearance in the Final Four and is the first school since UCLA in 1972 to be playing in the Final Four in its hometown.

But there's more: the players are bracing themselves for a week full of "Hoosiers" references. They are piling up.

See the comparisons?

donkeys at the Indiana State Fair 2008

The family and I had enjoyable time at the fair last night. The weather was pleasant and the crowds weren't crushingly overbearing. We were able to hear a few songs from Carrie Underwood's concert, including "Jesus, Take the Wheel." Our daughters didn't become bored and they didn't complain of tiredness. All in all, a good night.


The Cute One was fascinated with the donkeys. We went through the horse barn and she petted a few. After we left to enjoy an elephant ear, she begged us to return to the horse barn.

Let all the Hoosiers of Indianapolis mourn

Crawford's Bakery will soon close the doors of their downtown location. At least they will give us the recipe for their chicken salad, but we have to wait until Labor Day and then we can go here.

Indiana flooding

Please pray for my Indiana neighbors in the lower third of the state. They've been hit hard with rain and flooding in the past few days, and some have lost their homes. Residential areas aren't the only places being hit hard because of the rain - the flooding has affected the economy, too. If you look through the pictures on the Indianapolis Star website, you'll see Marines, Amish men, and Mennonites working together to save homes and property.

the United Countries of Baseball

For the most part, this map seems right. It's hard to tell where central Indiana's loyalty lies. We have a pretty good mix, at least I think we do, of Reds and Cards fans, but I'm not sure we have that many Cubs fans. We have our triple-A Indians, of course, but they are affiliated with the Pirates and I've never met any gung-ho Pittsburgh fans around these parts.

Maybe my fellow Hoosiers who stop by here can offer their thoughts.

the Eiteljorg Museum

I had some free time the other day, so I went somewhere I had never visited before - the Eiteljorg.

I strolled around the hallways and galleries:

I was entranced by the eyes and cheeks of this girl:

This piece is the Tesuque Papoose, 1916, by Robert Henri (a fellow Ohioan!).

spelling erors

I usually don't blog about things as they happen, but I feel I must right now.

I'm watching WTHR for the evening news. They are talking about the Pacers, informing the viewers that David Harrison has been suspended for a game (I missed the reason why). The text on the screen reads the following: "Harrison disaplined."

I'm thinking that it's supposed to read "Harrison disciplined." But you never know...

I would like to think that the ability to spell correctly is an important quality in a reporter, but perhaps not. Maybe too many reporters depend upon spellcheck.

emerging Indy

The emerging church in Indianapolis is having the spotlight shone on it, courtesy of Indy.com. Quite frankly, I'm glad to see this site, which caters to the twenty- and thirty-something crowd, willing to write about church-related issues. You know, moving beyond the usual stuff like where to eat, which movie to see, and at which bar to hang out.

In case you're interested, I once attended the church where Shane Fuller used to pastor the youth. It's definitely a different kind of church than the one he pastors now.

Indiana in the spotlight

The focus is on our photo-identification voter law.

The U.S. Supreme Court is now scrutinizing whether that statute violates the first and 14th amendments, in the most contentious legal battle over voting since the high court issued a bitterly divided decision eight years ago that stopped Florida's recount and handed the presidency to George W. Bush.

If the law is upheld, voting rights advocates fear it will encourage conservative lawmakers across the country to enact equally restrictive measures. The high court's decision is expected in the summer — leaving time to impact November's general election.

Opponents, most of them Democrats, say requiring photo ID at the polls disproportionately affects the poor, the elderly and minorities — the most likely to lack photo identification. But supporters, most of them Republicans, say such requirements are necessary to prevent voter fraud.

snow day

Snow has come to Indiana at last.


I have two pine trees in my backyard. This one is right next to the house.

We're fortunate, I guess, that we don't live way up north where even more snow fell. I'm sure my family members in Florida are quite jealous of all the white stuff we have - the only white stuff they have is sand and the occasional whitecaps of the waves. Don't worry. They'll be able to enjoy it when they come north in a few weeks. If it's still here, that is.

12 Days of an Indianapolis Christmas

If you live in or around Indianapolis, you should check out Indy.com. The site, which features articles and reviews of local atractions (restaurants, movies, theatre events, concerts), lists 12 holiday-themed events.

If you don't have much money but still want to get your cultural groove on, stop in at one of the 12 listed destinations for free.

• Dec. 13 (Thurs.): Mistletoe Music Festival at the Indianapolis Artsgarden
• Dec. 14 (Fri.): Holidays in the Heartland at the Indiana History Center
• Dec. 15 (Sat.): Eiteljorg Museum
• Dec. 16 (Sun.): American Super Heroes Museum
• Dec. 17 (Mon.): Celebration Crossing at the Indiana State Museum
• Dec. 18 (Tues.): Lilly House on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
• Dec. 19 (Wed.): James Whitcomb Riley Home
• Dec. 20 (Thurs.): The President Benjamin Harrison Home
• Dec. 21 (Fri.): Morris-Butler House
• Dec. 22 (Sat.): NCAA Hall of Champions
• Dec. 23 (Sun.): Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
• Dec. 24 (Mon.): Jolly Days at The Children's Museum.

dusk in an Indianapolis neighborhood

This is how the day ended last night:

It appears as a fire, but it's only the sky.

It doesn't happen often, but sometimes the Indiana sky can be exquisitely beautiful and haunting.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

More artwork from the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Or, perhaps you could spare $200,000:

Love

This is Love -the original Love by Robert Indiana. You've seen it on stamps and on postcards, and it has been installed in various other incarnations around the country. This, however, is work located in Indiana's home state, Indiana. It sits on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, just north of downtown Indianapolis.

Here is the view of the back:

I thought that the space between the "L" and the "V" was most intriguing. Is it shaped like an arrow? If so, perhaps Indiana is suggesting that love can only bring you down. Maybe he's saying that we try to love as best we can, but it's imperfect because we are only human. Is it shaped like the head of a spear? Ah... Indiana is saying that love can pierce us, maybe even destroy us. The interpretive possibilities are endless.

Why is it rust-colored, you ask? There is an explanation:

birthday party at Children's Museum

The Sweet One and I were able to go to one of our favorite places in the city - the Children's Museum. We were invited to one of her classmate's birthday celebration, and since it was being held at one of Indianapolis' best sites, we had no choice but to attend. (OK, we would have gone to the party no matter where it was held. It was so much more special, though, at the Children's Museum)


Naturally, I took my camera with me.

We saw frogs...



... masks...



... and a T-Rex.

there's a sponge by my spleen!

Scary!

Indiana hospitals and surgery centers committed 85 serious and preventable errors last year, according to the final report of the state's new system to record medical errors.

The most common errors were 26 instances of serious bedsores that developed after a patient was admitted to a hospital and 23 instances of a foreign object, such as a sponge, being left inside a patient after surgery.

State officials say such information is vital to helping doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals work together to help improve patient safety. They say the new reporting requirement, ordered by Gov. Mitch Daniels to start in 2006, will ultimately pay off in improved patient care.

Good news for my hospital, though. We had zero errors.

Hoosier politics

I sometimes think I don't spend enough time talking about things pertaining to Indiana, my current home state. So that I may remedy the situation, I direct your attention to two political Hoosier stories.

1. Mayor Bart Peterson does indeed have a challenger for the fall - Greg Ballard. He has a website and a blog (through Blogger!).

2. U.S. Rep Julia Carson announced her plan to run for office in 2008. Even though she's been plagued with health problems and has missed votes on the House floor, she thinks she should still be able to drive around Washington.

the State Fair odd couple

I've gone to the Indiana State Fair every summer that we have lived in this state. I think it's a trip everyone should take, especially if you have kids. The excitement of the rides on the midway... the odd mixture of animal and food smells... the glorious bites of fried dough....

One thing I noticed this year, that I hadn't before, is when it comes to animal barns, the rabbits and the chickens get the shaft. The larger animals have their own barns. The Swine Barn, which always has the world's largest and second largest boar. The Horse Barn. The Cow Barn. The Sheep Barn. But the rabbits and chickens? They have to share. All because they're small and take up less space, so there's room for them to be grouped together. Size discrimination exists even in the animal kingdom.

Anyway, here's a shot of some blue-ribbon winning rabbits:

2 white rabbits
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

Here's one of the many chickens in the barn, which surprisingly wasn't as noisy as you would think. Of course, we were there in the afternoon - I can't imagine what it's like when the sun is rising.

rooster
Originally uploaded by Good Brownie

Cajun corn fritters

I took the family to the Indiana State Fair on Tuesday. The Sweet One went to her first day in the second grade, and got out early because the school ran for only half the day. Just like last year, we decided to spend the other half of the day at the fair.

One of the big food items at the fair this year is the cajun corn fritter. The corn fritter isn't cajun by itself, it has a little help from the accompanying cream sauce.


Not as much corn in the fritters as I would have liked, but they were still delicious. The sauce, which appeared to be composed of sour cream, cajun seasoning, and jalapenos, had just enough heat.

Here's how I looked after eating the fritters:

"And despite living within an hour of Indy for most of my life, I've never been inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

Jason talks racing... and Indy pride.