No More Swirls

With Andy out of town*, I decided to tackle a long delayed home project....painting book room. We bought paint for three rooms last April but only ended up painting two. So, opening the paint can (technically plastic jug...) was like a surprise b/c I had more or less forgotten the color we had chosen except that it was blue.

Painting took most of yesterday and nearly turned me into a smurf...but I am happy for our house to be swirl-less.

Before















After (it's not quite as bright as the pictures make it seem)

*at the National Forensics League (the other NFL) National Tournament. Go Ben Davis!

Music Video Shoot on the Monon

Not surprisingly, the Monon Trail is one of my favorite dog-walking spots. Yesterday, Ramona and I headed out. There's a nice spot north of Broad Ripple where you can go off into the woods and walk beside a creek. Most days, it's uncrowded and Ramona can run free.

Yesterday, I noticed there was a group of people dressed all in white right the south entrance to the wooded trail. So, I stayed on the Monon and decided to head in at the north end. I let Ramona off leash and we were walking along, when all of a sudden I noticed that there were about 8 people all dressed in white Tyvek suits with these odd white cones on their faces, and some of them were carrying what looked like objects from an old timey sci-fi movie. I got Ramona back on her leash before she noticed them (sometimes it's great she's so obtuse). Then, I noticed a camera man and quickly realized we were in their shot. I hopped off the trail (with Ramona) and heard someone yell "Keep Going" to the white-suited folks, one of whom apologized to me (I apologized back). There was a song playing this whole time. Finally, they yelled "Cut," and the suited folks let me by. The production team apologized to me, and I asked what was going on. It turns out they were shooting a music video!

In my bewilderment, I neglected to ask what band it was for. As I was kicking myself on the way home, I realized that I recognized the song but couldn't place it. After talk to Andy, we named off the Indianapolis bands we know and like: Red Light Driver (didn't sound like them), Loretta (broken up), Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos. Andy put Margot on, and 15 seconds into the first song, I said, "this could be it!", and then it kept going, and I excited declared that the song I'd heard was definitely "A Children's Crusade on Acid." So, I am totally disappointed that I didn't talk to them more, but I psyched that they were filming nearby!

What's Six Years of Benzene Releases Among Friends?

BP announced that it had been releasing known carcinogen benzene into the air for the last SIX years. Check out this post from the Huffington Post: BP Has a Deal it Hopes We Can't Refuse. Their argument reported in the Gary Post Tribune article about not causing harm to human health or the environment is particularly frustrating given the amount of time it takes for cancer and other chronic health problems to develop.

Jay Bennett

I am a little behind the news, but I was sad to hear that Jay Bennett passed away last weekend. I appreciated what he added to Wilco, and I saw him play a couple times solo, and though the shows were a little weird, they were fun and memorable. He will be missed.

Anything You Can Do, Elijah Wood Can Do Better

I don't like Tobey Maguire. For all those "he was good as Spiderman" people, I might as well share that I really don't like Spiderman. I never have...it has as much to do with how annoying of a character Mary Jane is as anything else, but I digress.

We watched The Good German last night. I generally like Steven Soderbergh, I am a fan of The Cloon, and I like Cate Blanchett a lot, plus the movie is shot in black and white with lots of old timey touches, so I figured I was safe. Then, the movie starts, and Tobey Maguire is "acting" all over the place. He's horrible, worse than usual, and I worry that I'm not going to make it through the movie. "Maybe he'll get killed." I genuinely believe that any role played by Tobey Maguire would be better suited for either (if not both) Topher Grace (frustrating since he also appears in the Spiderman franchise) or Elijah Wood. Andy and I spent much of Maguire's screen time naming actors that would have been better: Andy's dream choice was of course Ryan Gosling, I suggested Shia LeBeouf and Adrian Brody (who Andy declared too old even though he's only 2 years older than Tobey). Heck, there's a pretty good chance that Justin Long would have been better. Luckily, McGuire ended up not being onscreen for the whole movie, and I was able to make it through, but his scenes were painful and distracting. I'll admit that I am okay with Maguire's preformance in Wonder Boys, since he is playing the one role he's capable of (much like Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted).

By the way, The Good German ended up being just okay. It's worth a watch, espeically if you are into old movies, but it's by no means essential viewing.

(Another) Fox Guarding the Hen House?

IDEM has just released their new Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Legal Counsel. Who is it? Why, it's David Joest, a former registered lobbyist for Peabody Coal. The Post Tribune article provides similar info but (not surprisingly) is more critical. It's another frustrating day for an environmentalist in Indiana.

A Message from the CDC

With Indiana reporting 12 new cases of swine flu (ahem, H1N1 flu), I thought now was the perfect time to post this button from the CDC.