The fourth issue of Naptown Buzz is now available for download and print copies will also be available this month at select locations, while supplies last.

Naptown Buzz October 2011: Download PDF

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

The third issue of Naptown Buzz is now available for download and print copies will also be available this month at select locations, while supplies last.

Naptown Buzz October 2011: Download PDF

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

The second issue of Naptown Buzz is now available for download and print copies will also be available this month at select locations, while supplies last.

Naptown Buzz September 2011: Download PDF

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

The inaugural issue of Naptown Buzz is now available for download and print copies will also be available this month at select locations, while supplies last.

Naptown Buzz August 2011: Download PDF

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

After having such a great time at The Chocolate Tweetup, we decided to start planning for round 2.  The time has finally come….

On Thursday, June 16th, Burd Ford will be hosting The Viva La Mexico Tweetup!  This is a theme like never before.  We are giving you the freedom to exercise your imagination and bring ANY food or snack that is Mexican themed.

(All guests must bring at least one Mexican themed item)

To go along with the Mexican theme, we will be having Boomerang Bob’s supplying flawless Margaritas to those who are of age.  Also on the menu will be Rum Runners and Bloody Mary’s provided by Boomerang Bob’s.

To make things even more eventful,  we will be holding a raffle for great prizes provided by Howl at the Moon, Burd Ford, Firestone Indy Lights Driver Stephen Simpson, Live Nation, and more!  The event will last from 7-9p, so the raffle winners will be announced around 8:30 and you must still be present to win!  Tickets for the raffle will be sold for $5 per ticket or in a bundle of 5 tickets for $20. You can buy as many as you’d like. More tickets = Better chance to win! The proceeds from the raffle will be donated to a pending organization, details will be announced as they come.

Make sure you come out and enjoy a great evening with great people.  Share this with your network and let’s pack Burd Ford full!

*PLEASE REGISTER AT EVENTBRITE.  YOUR FREE ADMISSION TICKET WILL BE EMAILED TO THE EMAIL ADRESS YOU PROVIDE.  PLEASE PRINT AND PRESENT THAT AT THE DOOR ON THE 16TH*

Comment on this post at Naptown BuzzBrian Groce»Naptown Buzz

For those of you wondering what I’ve been up to over the past week or so (and for the next week), I’ve been out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway covering the 2011 Indianapolis 500 activities for our sister company, Surge Bucket Media, and specifically Naptown Buzz.

I’ve been blogging, podcasting & taking a lot of photos. Feel free to have a read, listen & look when you have a minute.

Indy 500 Photos

• May 14, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Opening Day In Pictures
• May 15, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 2 In Pictures
• May 16, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 3 In Pictures
• May 17, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 4 In Pictures
• May 18, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 5 In Pictures
• May 19, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 6 In Pictures
• May 20, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Fast Friday In Pictures
• May 21, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Day In Pictures
• May 22, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Bump Day In Pictures

Indy 500 Podcasts

• May 14, 2011: Naptown Buzz #24 – Pippa Mann
• May 21, 2011: Naptown Buzz #25 – James Hinchcliffe
• May 22, 2011: Naptown Buzz #26 – Alex Tagliani
• May 23, 2011: Naptown Buzz #27 – Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, Sarah Fisher & Brandon (a.k.a. “Pagoda Tattoo Guy”)
• May 24, 2011: Naptown Buzz #28 – Pippa Mann & Dave “The King” Wilson

Indy 500 Posts

• May 14, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Schedule
• May 15, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 2 Schedule
• May 16, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 3 Top Ten
• May 17, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 4 Top Two
• May 18, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Drivers on Twitter
• May 18, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 5 Top Ten Planks
• May 19, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 6 Top Ten
• May 20, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Day 7 Top Ten
• May 21, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Day/Tom Carnegie Day Schedule
• May 21, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Day Qualifying Order
• May 21, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Pole Day Results
• May 22, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Bump Day Schedule
• May 22, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Bump Day Qualifying Order
• May 22, 2011: 2011 Indianapolis 500 Bump Day Results

If you happen to make it out to IMS, be sure to send a tweet to @naptownbuzz.

Note: this post will be updated through the conclusion of the race.

View this post at Watershed Studio, LLC

I’m shaking my head in disbelief. Disbelief that the years have been flying by so quickly. Seven years ago today my daughter was born.

I’ll never forget the emotion that overtakes you the moment that bundle of joy bursts forth into this world. As first time parents you suddenly have another person to take care of & guide into adulthood.

The road ahead seems so long from that moment, but as reality sets in it proves to be a mere blink of the eye.  You look back and see where you’ve been & what you’ve been through and can recount where the time went and how those hair changes and wrinkles came to be.

But you wouldn’t trade any of it, regardless how difficult certain aspects may have been.  We’re family, and thick or thin, we’re all in it together.

So as I wish my baby girl a happy seventh birthday, here’s to hoping that what the future holds is bright and that daddy does his very best to guide you along the way.

View this post at Never Picture Perfect

What? A guy can’t dress up as Bigfoot & have a good time? Come on!

CONCORD, N.H. – A performance artist who dressed as Bigfoot says state park rangers didn’t have the right to kick him off a mountain where he had been scaring, or at least amusing, hikers while friends videotaped him.

When Doyle returned with a small band of costumed friends to film “The Capture of Bigfoot,” they were captured themselves, sort of. Monadnock park manager Patrick Hummel interrupted the skit and barred them from filming, saying Doyle needed a permit.

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/03/08/2709515/bigfoot-lawsuit-accuses-state.html

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Well, it happened again.  And I’m complaining about it again. Daylight Saving Time (DST) kicked in yesterday and is rearing it’s ugly still head today.

Here’s my take:

• 1/3 of the year is “standard” time, 2/3 of the year is not. This makes no sense to me.
• If you want to change it, fine, but do it once and be done with it. Let’s spring ahead forever.
• Here in Indiana we’re already way off from “sun time” the way it is & now the sun will be up until 10pm in the summer. Which is great…if you don’t have kids that you’re trying to convince that it’s nighttime. How about we switch from the Eastern Time Zone to the Central Time Zone?

That’s the gist of my thoughts on DST & Time Zones.  What are yours?

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Come enjoy Mardi Gras while hanging out with the
Naptown Buzz / Utter Oddcast crew
at Left Bank Cafe
on Tuesday, March 8, 2011
from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

All attendees must register to attend
AND
must bring a party treat of some sort to share.

Costumes are encouraged & there will be a costume contest!

Follow @naptownbuzz on Twitter for more information or to ask questions.

Register to Attend

AND THERE ARE PRIZES FROM

• Graybull Wine
• Indiana Repertory Theatre
• Left Bank Cafe

PLUS EATS & TREATS FROM

• A Couple of Sweet Things
• Left Bank Cafe
• Sweet Ass Cupcakes

ORGANIZED BY

Register to attend

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

Organizing tweetups requires a lot of time and effort. If you like what we do and want to help grow the tweetups, we appreciate any and all help that we can get.  If you are interested in assisting, we are in need of:

• Word of mouth promotion – tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell everyone you see!
• Prize donations - Prize contributors will be announced as they come in and if you are interested in providing a door prize, please contact Brian Groce.
• Giveaways – something that all attendees will receive such as coupons, t-shirts, etc.
• Monetary sponsors & supporters – monetary support helps us tremendously and allow us to do things we couldn’t otherwise do. If you are able to donate a dollar or two, please use the PayPal button below to do so.

Comment on this post at Naptown BuzzBrian Groce»Naptown Buzz

Tonight we finished off the Christmas box of petits fours and asked our four year old (aka “The Candy Ninja”) to throw the box away.  As soon as we did I knew what would happen next.  He quickly grabbed the box, looked over his should back at us, then opened the box to make sure mommy & daddy weren’t having him throw away perfectly good candy. Too funny.

View this post at Never Picture Perfect

What an unpleasant surprise from Google’s Gmail service.

I have been using Gmail for YEARS & even paid for the storage upgrade and have never had an isssue.  Tonight while checking my email it suddenly kicked me out for “Unusual Activity”.

Looking at the list, #4 is the only thing it can be because I do not do #1, #2 or #3 and #5 is irrelevant in this case.

My account is open at home (in Chrome & Firefox, same IP address), at my office (in Chrome & Firefox, same IP address) & on my Android phone.  This is how it always is and always has been, so I’m not sure what’s different about tonight.

The strange thing is that everything else works & iGoogle even shows the new messages (but won’t let me view them).

To make matters worse, Google makes it next to impossible to contact them about issues. So since they like new content so much I figured I’d oblige them and write a post about it.

All of this to say, Google is now on my Naughty List.

Has anyone else experienced this before? If so, what was the outcome?

In the meantime, I luckily have everything going to a normal POP3 account which I check with Mozilla Thunderbird.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Come enjoy an evening of
CHOCOLATE & WINE
while hanging out with the
Naptown Buzz / Utter Oddcast crew
at Burd Ford
on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

All attendees must register to attend
AND
must bring some sort of chocolate to share.

We will have wine samples courtesy of International Wine Markets.

If you would like to bring your personal favorite chocolate wine pairing,
feel free to do so.

Follow @naptownbuzz on Twitter for more information or to ask questions.

AND THERE ARE PRIZES FROM

• ComedySportz Indianapolis
• Graybull Wine
• Holy Cow Cupcakes
• Miyagi’s Sushi Bar & Restaurant (courtesy of Charles Wolff)
• Petite Chou
• The Best Chocolate In Town
• Traders Point Creamery

PLUS EATS & TREATS FROM

• A Couple of Sweet Things
• Sweet Ass Cupcakes

ORGANIZED BY

Register to attend

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

Organizing tweetups requires a lot of time and effort. If you like what we do and want to help grow the tweetups, we appreciate any and all help that we can get.  If you are interested in assisting, we are in need of:

• Word of mouth promotion – tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell everyone you see!
• Prize donations - Prize contributors will be announced as they come in and if you are interested in providing a door prize, please contact Brian Groce.
• Giveaways – something that all attendees will receive such as coupons, t-shirts, etc.
• Monetary sponsors & supporters – monetary support helps us tremendously and allow us to do things we couldn’t otherwise do. If you are able to donate a dollar or two, please use the PayPal button below to do so.

Comment on this post at Naptown BuzzBrian Groce » Naptown Buzz

Via the WSJ:

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won his second Australian Open tennis title Sunday, breezing past Britain’s Andy Murray in straight sets.

The third-seeded Mr. Djokovic beat Mr. Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in what was the first Grand Slam final in three years without either Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

A victory for Mr. Murray would have given him his first Grand Slam title and ended Britain’s near 75-year drought in men’s singles Grand Slams.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via WISH-TV:

Just as firefighters were investigating the reported smell of a natural-gas odor … they were caught in a series of explosions.

“It was about five major explosions this morning; it was probably two-three minutes apart.”

“Shortly thereafter, within a couple of seconds, a manhole cover near the Athenaeum which sits behinds some bushes up against the building also blew,” said IFD Captain Rita Burris.

A total of 5 manhole covers blew off.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via WISH:

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Thomas Hardy has been charged with murder for the death of IMPD Officer David Moore.

Moore was shot four times during a Sunday morning traffic stop. Moore passed away Wednesday morning from injuries suffered in the shooting.

Hardy is due in court Friday when he will officially be charged

Such a sad story.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

If you haven’t heard yet, the news is out that Taco Bell’s “Taco Meat Filling” isn’t 100% beef and there’s a class action lawsuit about it.  The lawsuit claims that this so-called “meat” is actually only 36% beef plus a bunch of other stuff.

So Taco Bell gets upset and decides to launch their own countersuit for false statements (no surprise there of course).

This part of  Taco Bell’s response worries me a bit though: “We start with 100 percent USDA-inspected beef. Then we simmer it in our proprietary blend of seasonings and spices to give our seasoned beef its signature Taco Bell taste and texture.”

What do you mean you “start with”?  What I want to know is what you end with. Even if it turns out to be 60% or even 70% beef, that’s still a whole lot of filler.

Regardless of the outcome of all of this I can say without a doubt, IN MY OPINION, that Taco Bell’s “ground beef” is not that great, and a good 50% of the time it as returned in the form of diarrhea  an hour or so later (I wish I was kidding).  Thus when I do go I normally get a chicken burrito (please, oh, please, I do hope there isn’t a “chicken” lawsuit in the works…if there is, don’t tell me about it).

But food content & quality aside, I think Taco Bell has two much bigger issues at hand: employee competence & customer service.

At the Taco Bell’s in my area they are consistently slow, out of items (especially in the dual & triple branded stores with Pizza Hut & KFC) & it’s truly a crap shot if they get your order correct, especially in the drive thru.

In regards to customer service, I have put up numerous tweets over the past few years and wrote some blog posts in the past. No response.

Sure, I could take the time to go to their website to file a complaint (which I have before), but it’s not worth it if I have to do it every other time. That means the issues are not being addressed and corrected. I don’t complain to get attention or a $5 gift card. I complain to try to get things fixed because I actually want to be a customer.

If I send out a tweet about McDonald’s I get a response back. If I put up a blog post about an issue I had at Cheeseburger in Paradise, I get an email from them and a call from the district manager.  These guys get it and I wish there were more out there like them.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via The Wall Street Journal:

An explosion at Russia’s busiest airport has killed at least 23 and injured 130, Russia’s state news agency has reported.

The blast took place in the baggage pick-up area of Domodedovo Airport, Russia’s top investigative agency said.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Come enjoy an evening of bacon & hanging out with the
Naptown Buzz / Utter Oddcast crewat Left Bank Cafe.

Please follow @naptownbuzz on Twitter for more information or to ask questions.

All attendees* must bring a bacon treat or an uncooked pound of bacon.

And if bacon wasn’t enough, Sun King Brewery will be doing a beer tasting for the event as well!

Register at: http://bacontweetup.eventbrite.com/

AND THERE ARE PRIZES FROM

• A Couple of Sweet Things
• Burd Ford
• Graybull Wine
• HB’s Sauce Company
• Holy Cow Cupcakes
• Jeff Stanger
• Left Bank Cafe
• Lime+Coconut
• Texas Roadhouse: Shadeland Ave
• The Pork Shoppe
• The Tie Dye Grill
• U-Relish

PLUS EATS & TREATS FROM

• A Couple of Sweet Things
• Left Bank Cafe
• Sun King Brewery
• Sweet Ass Cupcakes
• The Tie Dye Grill

ORGANIZED BY

Register at: http://bacontweetup.eventbrite.com/

*couples/families only need to bring one per couple/family

Comment on this post at Naptown BuzzBrian Groce » Naptown Buzz

eC zine is looking for independent Christian music artists who would like their album to be considered for review on the eC zine blog AND to be considered for play on the future eC zine Podcast.

All interested artists or artist representatives should mail a CD for our review to the address below. Along with the CD please send all necessary purchase information and any other information you’d like to be considered for publication.

Now for the “fun” stuff…

Submission of a CD does not guarantee a review on the blog or a play on the podcast, and it is possible to have one without the other.

If submitting a CD for consideration for play on the podcast, please include a written statement which grants us permission to play music from the CD in a future episode (or future episodes) of the podcast free of charge AND states that you have the legal right to do grant such permission.

eC Zine
c/o: Surge Bucket Media, LLC
PO Box 78306
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268

You may also call and leave a message at Surge Bucket Media (317) 565-4250 if desired.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us and we will get back in touch with you ASAP.

Check out the music submission guidelines for complete details.

View this post at eC zine » eC zine

eC zine is looking for Christian writers who would like their original articles and poetry to consider for future publication on the blog and in potential future print releases.

Check out the articles and poetry submission guidelines for complete details.

View this post at eC zine » eC zine

eC zine is looking for Christian artists who would like their artwork to be considered for inclusion on the eC zine blog.

Check out the artwork submission guidelines for complete details.

View this post at eC zine » eC zine

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

On this episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, we talk about:

• Utter Oddcast Christmas Party
• Colts vs. Jags
• Conner Prairie by Candlelight
• Check out AroundIndy.com for other weekend events
• Indy Media School & Verizon Wireless Tech Tweetup overview
• Bacon Tweetup, Monday, January 10, 2011, 6:30pm at Left Bank Cafe
• Shoutouts!
  • Jordon with Pixie Vacations (Disney vacation planning)
• Call for Naptown Buzz guests & snow photos.
• Podcast feedback.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On this episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, Brian Groce interviews Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann (@pippamann) and they discuss racing, video games & life in Indy.

Thanks to David Bolton, Beth Gootee & Tamara Sullivan for their questions for Pippa via Twitter.
SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On this episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, we talk about:

• Weekend snow storm
• Quick weekend sports recap: Metrodome roof collapse & Pats rout the Bears in the snow
• In Studio Guest:  Mel McMahon interviews Chris Burd from Burd Ford and talks about her husbands’ suicide last year.
• Indy Media School & Verizon Wireless Tech Tweetup on December 14th. Come check out 4G and get some FREE food & drinks!
• Bacon Tweetup, Monday, January 10, 2011, 6:30pm at Left Bank Cafe
• Call for Naptown Buzz guests & local Indy indie musicians.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On this episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, we talk about:

• Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football in a must win game
• Indiana Pacers
• In Studio Guest:  Brian Schutt from Homesense Heating | Cooling (@TrustHomesense) gives winter heating tips.
• Shoutouts!
  • Colts
  • Beach Out
  • #SMDIndy
  • #Bacon!
• Indy Media School & Verizon Wireless Tech Tweetup on December 14th. Come check out 4G and get some FREE food & drinks!
  REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
• Call for Naptown Buzz guests & local Indy indie musicians.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On the second episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, we talk about:

• Weekend snowfall recap
• Indianapolis Colts Playoff Hopes
• Indiana Pacers
• Butler, Purdue & IU college basketball
• Indianapolis Drive & the ABA
• Naptown Roller Girls weekend results
• In Studio Guest: Brad Phifer from Bark Tutor School for Dogs (@barktutor) talks about pets and the holidays.
• Indy Media School & Verizon Wireless Tech Tweetup on December 14th. Come check out 4G and get some FREE food & drinks!
  REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
• Call for Naptown Buzz guests & local Indy indie musicians.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On the first episode of Naptown Buzz, your source for all things Indy, we talk about:

• The first real snow of the 2010-11 Winter Season (shoutout to Paul Poteet & Nicole Misencik)
• Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to run for re-election in 2011
• Indianapolis Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys & Jim Irsay‘s $2,000 plus tickets Twitter scavenger hunt.
• Indiana Pacers
• Butler vs. Duke in the Championship rematch plus Purdue & IU college basketball games
• Indianapolis Drive & the ABA
• Naptown Roller Girls in action this Saturday
• Indy Media School & Verizon Wireless Tech Tweetup on December 14th. Come check out 4G and get some FREE food & drinks!
  REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
• Call for Naptown Buzz guests & local Indy indie musicians.

SHOW INFORMATION

• Hosted by Brian Groce and featuring Mel McMahon
• Leave us a voicemail at 317-565-4250
• Snail mail us at:
  Naptown Buzz
  c/o: Surge Bucket Media
  212 West 10th Street, Suite B-310
  Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5416
• Follow us on Twitter: @naptownbuzz
• Recorded, edited & encoded by Watershed Studio, LLC in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Naptown Buzz is a proud member of Surge Bucket Media & R.I.P. FM.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

These stories are always sad and I just don’t get why people freak out before figuring out what the situation is. But I guess you just have to be there to really know what you’d do.  Sad indeed.

From the WSJ alerts yesterday:

Cambodia’s prime minister said that more than 180 people were killed in a stampede during the last day of a three-day water festival on a small island near Phnom Phenh. A witness said the crowd began to panic when a few people fell unconscious in the crush.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Office Max’s Elf Yourself is back this year for another go round.  Have at it and please share your creations.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

These emails from the city always paint a lovely picture. I figured I’d share today.

Indianapolis’ Combined Sewer System within the original City limits is more than 100 years old and was designed to carry both raw sewage and rainwater in the same pipe. As little as a quarter-inch (0.25″) of rain can overload the Combined Sewer System, causing raw sewage mixed with rainwater to overflow into nearby streams. Other circumstances occasionally occur that may also cause Combined Sewer Overflows such as mechanical failures, blockages, and hydrant flushing/water main breaks. The City has posted signs along our streams to identify more than 130 Combined Sewer discharge points where contact with the water could be hazardous to your health.

Even in dry weather, it is best to avoid contact with Combined Sewer impacted streams and teach children to stay out of the water. Swallowing or hand-to-mouth contact with contaminated water could make you sick. Always wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitizer after contacting surface water in urban areas, including downstream of the Combined Sewer areas, especially before eating, drinking, preparing food, or smoking.

Today, raw sewage overflows will occur or have occurred due to a rain event, a localized rain event, or other circumstances within the last 72 hours.

Please avoid all contact with streams for the next 4 days downstream of the Combined Sewer areas which include:

• White River downstream from 56th Street
• Fall Creek downstream from Keystone Avenue
• Little Eagle Creek downstream from Michigan Street
• Eagle Creek downstream from the confluence of Little Eagle Creek
• Pogues Run downstream from 21st Street
• Pleasant Run downstream from Kitley Avenue
• State Ditch downstream from Southern Avenue
• Bean Creek downstream from I-65

The City of Indianapolis is implementing a 20-year, long-term plan to capture raw sewage overflows during all but a few large storms each year. To view a list of planned projects or to learn how to protect yourself from raw sewage overflows, visit www.indy.gov/DPW.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

This is one of those things that happens time and time again & just makes you shake your head.

Via WISH-TV:

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) – Authorities say a reserve police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg while unloading his gun outside a northwestern Indiana church where he was picking up his son.

Valparaiso police said 29-year-old Daniel Glickauf’s femer was shattered in the shooting, but no one else was hurt.

Read story.

View this post at Utter Oddness » Brian

So it’s Halloween, you’re in from out-of-state and you decide to grab grandpa’s Depends and go out trick-or-treating. And you’re pushing 50 years old as well.  If that’s not enough, you decide, hey, I should do this while I’m drunk.

Via the AP…

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Maryland State Police said a drunken 47-year-old Florida man wearing a diaper was arrested for shouting profanities while trick-or-treating. Police said Joseph David DiVanna of Sarasota, Fla., was arrested about 9:15 p.m. Sunday and charged with disorderly conduct.

Police said witnesses reported DiVanna cursed at adults and children in the Fox Chapel neighborhood of West Ocean City as he tried to get them to give him candy.

Read the story

View this post at Utter Oddness » Brian

There’s nothing like a good superhero fight in a public parking garage, now is there?

Via the AP…

STAMFORD, Conn. – It is assault charges for Spider-Man and Captain America, and breach of peace for Poison Ivy. Police in Connecticut said a man dressed as Captain America and another as Spider-Man have been arrested after getting into a fight in Stamford over the Halloween weekend.

Stamford Police Lt. Elizabeth Erickson said officers found 25-year-old Michael Sanchez, dressed as Captain America, beating the father of 21-year-old Vincent DeCarlo, sporting a Spider-Man costume, in a parking garage Sunday morning.

Read the story

View this post at Utter Oddness » Brian

The October Oddness 2010 event schedule is set and we have an excellent lineup of event hosts and prizes for the events.

Click on individual events for more information and to register or you can head directly on over to Eventbrite to register for the events. Note that some events have limited space, so register early.

Friday, October 8, 2010

• Pinheads Entertainment Center (Fishers): Bowling & costume party
  

Sunday, October 10, 2010

• Indy ScreamPark (Anderson): Doors open at 7pm

Monday, October 11, 2010

• Houlihan’s (6020 East 82nd Street, Suite LL02)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

• Conner Prairie for The Headless Horseman

Saturday, October 23, 2010

• Hare Chevrolet: Afternoon
• “Tim Burton” Themed Halloween Party!
  Note: This is a private party. You must be a member of Brian’s Fan Club to attend as his guest.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

• Scotty’s Brewhouse (1 Virginia Avenue) 7-9pm

Friday, October 29, 2010

• The Tie Dye Grill (1311 N. Shadeland Ave): 6-8pm

Contests & Giveaways

We’d like to thank the following companies for providing contest prizes and/or giveaway items for October Oddness 2010 attendees.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

When I was a kid the hottest thing on Sesame Street was Maria (i.e. there wasn’t anything remotely “hot” on it). Nowadays there’s Elmo who hangs out with a barely dressed Katy Perry. I must be getting old.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

At Surge Bucket Media we’re currently gearing up for Utter Oddness‘/Utter Oddcast‘s October Oddness 2010 and are in the midst of doing some minor re-branding of everything, including the logo.  As anyone in design knows, it’s best to get opinions, and that’s where you come in.

Utter Oddness Logo: 100px & 200px wide

Utter Oddness Logo: 300px wide

We are looking for any and all feedback regarding this logo concept and here are our specific questions:

• What did you first think of when you saw this logo?
  • How did it make you feel emotionally?
• What are your thoughts on the readability of the text?
  • Is the text readable at the smallest size?
  • Is the text readable at the largest size?
  • Were you able to read it at first glance?
• What are your thoughts on the colors?
• What would you change about this logo?
• Would you wear/display this logo on a t-shirt, button or another product?

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. We truly appreciate it. (And we may just send random commenter’s some goodies once the logo is finalized…hint, hint.)

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

One thing that really annoys me on Twitter is when spammy people quickly follow & unfollow me (hit & run “followers”).  Thanks to TwUnfollow.com it’s easy to keep track of this. And in order to save you some headaches I’m going to list all of the people I’ve caught doing this.  Call it mean. Call it juvenile. But I’m sick & tired of a handful of fools ruining Twitter for everyone else. Police the tweets and the world will be a better place.

Here we go…

1. NateFowler
2. Mzs_Goof_Troop
3. sboselya
4. MichelleBerezan
5. lottsoftraffic
6. BusMatchMkr
7. No1_webmarketer
8. SEOFollowers
9. homebizmom2
10. iGrOOps
11. ByBox
12. adriana_a1ka
13. dimetr83
14. RandySchrum
15. OlivierVasquez
16. ritika111
17. StefyBau
18. nathankievman
19. onlineNBA
20. imobi_sports
21. quotes4_u
22. thinkreferrals
23. HappyToadMedia
24. shaileshtr
25. investorgeye
26. RoadrunnerNames
27. ictnewz
28. JeremyBuck
29. mytimematters

Last updated: Saturday, September 7, 2010

Note: these are not linked as we don’t want to encourage this behavior or give them any link love.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Friday, August 27, 2010

Indianapolis GP Pit Walkabout/Practice Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets $10, 12 and under free

Motorcycles on Meridian
Meridian Street, Downtown Indianapolis
7:00 PM – 3:00 AM

From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28, Monument Circle and South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis will be a flurry of engine roars and leather. Motorcyclists will gather to share interests and celebrate the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The inaugural Motorcycles on Meridian took place in 2008. The streets of downtown Indianapolis were an ocean of bikes and people, moving in waves. The event is for people with and without bikes. Interested parties with no steel horse of their own are welcome to walk around at this free event and marvel at the impressive choppers and sport bikes. On these two nights in August, the motorcycle culture of Indianapolis is open for everyone to enjoy. The entrance for the 2010 Motorcycles on Meridian is through Monument Circle, cyclists should enter the route from Monument Circle and continue onto Meridian.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Indianapolis GP Qualifying Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets $20, 12 and under free

Motorcycles on Meridian
Meridian Street, Downtown Indianapolis
7:00 PM – 3:00 AM

From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27 and Saturday, Aug. 28, Monument Circle and South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis will be a flurry of engine roars and leather. Motorcyclists will gather to share interests and celebrate the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The inaugural Motorcycles on Meridian took place in 2008. The streets of downtown Indianapolis were an ocean of bikes and people, moving in waves. The event is for people with and without bikes. Interested parties with no steel horse of their own are welcome to walk around at this free event and marvel at the impressive choppers and sport bikes. On these two nights in August, the motorcycle culture of Indianapolis is open for everyone to enjoy. The entrance for the 2010 Motorcycles on Meridian is through Monument Circle, cyclists should enter the route from Monument Circle and continue onto Meridian.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Red Bull Indianapolis GP Race Day
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 4790 W 16th Street
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Tickets start at $40, 12 and under free with adult General Admission ticket holder

• 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open
• 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Vendor Marketplace Open, Gasoline Alley Garages
• 8:40-9 a.m. 125cc Warm-Up
• 9:10-9:30 a.m. Moto2 Warm-Up
• 9:40-10 a.m. MotoGP Warm-Up
• 10:20 a.m. USGPRU Moriwaki MD250H Powered by Honda Race #2 (12 Laps)
• Noon 125cc Race (23 Laps)
• 1:15 p.m. Moto2 Race (26 Laps)
• 3 p.m. MotoGP Race (28 Laps)

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Martin Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship…I paid no attention to it while it was on and that’s all I really need to know for some random Jeopardy question some day.

I was on the varsity golf team in high school. I love hitting a bucket of balls around at the driving range. I love walking around the links playing or even watching from the gallery. But one thing I cannot wrap my head around is how anyone can sit and watch golf on television (unless it’s Happy Gilmore).  And to do it all day long.  Put on some pads, go full contact and we can talk.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Local bloggers from across Indiana will gather at the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex on August 20-21st, 2010, for BIN2010, a 2-day social media and blogging conference that aims to promote education, innovation and collaboration among Indiana’s fast-growing social media community. The conference is sponsored by the IU School of Informatics.

BIN2010 is a 2-day conference for both experienced and new bloggers and social media enthusiasts alike. Sessions will include topics ranging from beginner-level through more advanced social media marketing and business topics. Blog Indiana 2010 seeks to bring a high-impact, high-value blogging and social media conference to Indiana.

This post was submitted by Shawn Plew.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Hi, Indianapolis!

We’re part of the Midwest Fringe Circuit, about to perform in the IndyFringe, and we hope you’ll see our show! Here’s some more information:

Performing at Theater In The Square, 627 Massachusetts Avenue

“Grind” follows the owner of a doomed Minneapolis coffee shop, her aspiring-musician brother, a homeless evangelist, a comic-book writer and a young barista relocated by Katrina as each answers the question “what do I do when ‘home’ can’t be home anymore?” Punctuated by bursts of shadow puppetry done in the style of comic-book art, each character struggles to answer this question set to a soundtrack made from styles varying from rap to indie to jazz to spoken word. And somehow, it’s also hilarious.

See reviews from our Minneapolis performances here: http://www.fringefestival.org/2010/show/?id=1341

IndyFringe performances:

• Saturday, August 21, 6:00pm
• Sunday, August 22, 1:30pm
• Monday, August 23, 6:00pm
• Friday, August 27, 9:00pm
• Saturday, August 28, 6:00pm
• Sunday, August 29, 9:00pm

Tickets at http://indyfringe.org/fringefest/show/grind-the-musical

Want a review before you click “Attending,” or to check out what crazy stuff we’re up to on this tour? http://www.grindthemusical.com/

This post was submitted by Laura Stratford.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

INDIANAPOLIS – There will be many knights to remember this fall when Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre celebrates the 50th anniversary of Broadway’s classic Camelot. This magical musical with a stirring score is live on stage Sept. 7 through Oct. 10.

Based on the T.H. White Arthurian fantasy novel “The Once and Future King,” Camelot tells the famous tale of King Arthur, his queen Guenevere, Merlyn the magician, Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur has an idealistic vision of harmony and justice in his enchanted Camelot, but it is destroyed by the misplaced passion, greed and jealousy of those in his kingdom. Ultimately he is forced to choose: fight or forgive.

Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre’s own Douglas E. Stark stars as the legendary King Arthur, while Krista Severeid plays Queen Guenevere with Tony Lawson in the role of Lancelot and Jeff Stockberger as Merlyn. The show is directed by Eddie Curry, with musical direction by Terry Woods and choreography by Doug King.

Book and lyrics are by Alan Jay Lerner, with music by Frederick Loewe.

There are 39 performances of Camelot scheduled in the intimate space of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Tickets range from $35 to $58, and include Chef Odell Ward’s specially prepared buffet, with a fruit & salad bar, unlimited coffee, tea and lemonade. Parking is free.

For reservations, call the Beef & Boards Box Office at 317.872.9664. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays.

Camelot is sponsored in part by the National Bank of Indianapolis.

For complete show schedule, visit www.beefandboards.com.

This post was submitted by Patricia Rettig.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Now through August 31st, 2010 you can purchase OIOpublisher* for just $37 (normally $47) by using coupon code “SOLAR-WSHED” (no quotes).

If you’re unfamiliar with OIOpublisher, it is a PHP based ad platform with a focus on performance, control and ease of use. It allows you to easily serve advertising on your blog or website and keep 100% of the revenue you bring in. For those of you using WordPress, it includes a plugin that allows for easy integration. And if you need consulting help setting it up, please contact Watershed Studio.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of OIOPublisher, but I use the product myself and can vouch that it’s an excellent product.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via the Indy Star:

Indianapolis, Indiana – Jeri Holland, 25, of the 3700 block of West 10th Street, said a man in a pick-up truck stole the basketball goal in front of her house at 6 p.m.

After backing his silver Chevrolet pick-up onto her property, the robber — about 5-feet, 10-inches tall, and 145-pounds — lifted the goal off the ground and threw it into the bed of the truck.

If I were the thieving kind I’m pretty sure that a basketball goal would be pretty far down the list of things I’d be after.  But hey, sometimes in the summertime I guess you just have to have your hoops.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Via CNNMoney.com:

IPhone users can now legally hack their phones to download applications that aren’t in Apple’s App Store.

The U.S. Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress, has authorized several new exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), one of which will allow mobile phone users to “jailbreak” — or hack into — their devices to use apps not authorized by the phone’s manufacturer. The new rules will be published on Tuesday in the Federal Register.

Jailbreaking iPhones in order to download apps that are unavailable in Apple’s App Store had been a legal gray area: Apple technically had the right to request a $2,500 government fine for damages every time a user violated the law that bans “circumvention of technological measures” controlling access to copyrighted works — in this case, the iPhone’s iOS software.

I’m glad that the government made the correct decision.  Sure, the warranty is void if you do so, and they’ll continue to try to prevent it (and spend a lot of money doing so in a losing effort), but that’s a public step in the right direction.  In my opinion, you should be allowed to do whatever you want to with any device that you purchase.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via AFP:

LONDON — The strongest and most expensive beer ever created sold out within hours Friday, a Scottish brewery said, as they courted controversy by packaging the bottles inside the bodies of stuffed animals.

BrewDog, the self-described maverick brewery, presented the beer — which contains a record 55 percent alcohol — inside the bodies of dead squirrels and stoats.

Animal rights activists rushed to condemn the stunt.

“It’s pointless and it’s very negative to use dead animals when we should be celebrating live animals,” Advocates for Animals policy director Libby Anderson told BBC Scotland.

“This seems to be a perverse idea.”

BrewDog said the limited edition Belgian ale — made with juniper berries and dubbed “The End of History” — was also the costliest beer ever sold.

The squirrel bottles cost 700 pounds (1,000 dollars, 840 euros) each and the seven stoat bottles went for 500 pounds a pop.

All sold out within four hours of going on sale, BrewDog managing director James Watt told AFP.

Watt said the controversial drink was the last in a line of experimental brews, explaining: “For the final installment in the strong beer series, we wanted to create something epic, something monumental.”

He said there were no plans to come up with a beer to beat this record, insisting: “We’re quite happy at 55 percent.”

As for the taste, Watt described “The End of History” as a “complex” beer with a multitude of flavours including honey, mint and cinnamon.

He recommended sipping the drink “much like you would a malt whiskey”, served up in a spirit glass rather than a pint glass.

I can’t say that sounds appealing at all, but if that’s up your alley I’d love to hear about it.

View this post at Squirrel Dish » Squirrel Dish

Via AFP:

LONDON — The strongest and most expensive beer ever created sold out within hours Friday, a Scottish brewery said, as they courted controversy by packaging the bottles inside the bodies of stuffed animals.

BrewDog, the self-described maverick brewery, presented the beer — which contains a record 55 percent alcohol — inside the bodies of dead squirrels and stoats.

Animal rights activists rushed to condemn the stunt.

“It’s pointless and it’s very negative to use dead animals when we should be celebrating live animals,” Advocates for Animals policy director Libby Anderson told BBC Scotland.

“This seems to be a perverse idea.”

BrewDog said the limited edition Belgian ale — made with juniper berries and dubbed “The End of History” — was also the costliest beer ever sold.

The squirrel bottles cost 700 pounds (1,000 dollars, 840 euros) each and the seven stoat bottles went for 500 pounds a pop.

All sold out within four hours of going on sale, BrewDog managing director James Watt told AFP.

Watt said the controversial drink was the last in a line of experimental brews, explaining: “For the final installment in the strong beer series, we wanted to create something epic, something monumental.”

He said there were no plans to come up with a beer to beat this record, insisting: “We’re quite happy at 55 percent.”

As for the taste, Watt described “The End of History” as a “complex” beer with a multitude of flavours including honey, mint and cinnamon.

He recommended sipping the drink “much like you would a malt whiskey”, served up in a spirit glass rather than a pint glass.

I can’t say that sounds appealing at all, but if that’s up your alley I’d love to hear about it.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Via AFP & Yahoo!

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russian beachgoers got a shock when they saw a donkey soaring in the blue skies over the balmy beaches on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia last week, police said on Tuesday.

Attached to a parachute, the animal screamed in fear as it circled over heads of holidaymakers sunbathing on a beach in the Cossack village of Golubitskaya in the Krasnodar region.

A regional police spokeswoman said the donkey ended up in the skies as a result of an impromptu advertising campaign by several Russian entrepreneurs to attract beachgoers to their private beach.

Instead, they attracted the attention of regional police who learned of the flying donkey earlier this week and launched a probe.

“The donkey screamed and children cried,” regional police spokeswoman Larisa Tuchkova told AFP. “No-one had the brains to call police.”

Instead, she said, people reached for their cameras and bombarded a local newspaper with phone calls.

“It was put up so high into the sky that the children on the beach cried and asked their parents: “Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute?” the newspaper, Taman, said late last week.

“The donkey landed in an atrocious manner: it was dragged several metres along the water, after which the animal was pulled out half-alive onto the shore.”

The incident is stunning even for a country where animal cruelty is widespread and came as a shock to the locals, said Taman newspaper’s editor, Elena Iovleva.

“This has never happened before,” she told AFP.

The footage of the parachuting donkey was aired on national television Tuesday.

Wow. That’s funny & not funny at the same time. I’m not sure what to say other than if I saw a parachuting donkey calling the police would not be my first reaction either…and I’m not sure I’d even be able to find my camera to document the experience. Wow.

Thanks to my sister-in-law for sharing this oddity.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

National Touring performers Christian & Katalina are back with a sophisticated, interactive, and intimate theatrical show called Mind Tripping: Psychological Illusions for the Mind. They take audiences on a series of mind-bending adventures. It is a psychological thriller that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. It is perfect for ages 8 to 108. Shows are weekends through August 14th. Fridays and Saturdays at 6pm & 8:30pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students. It is an intimate cabaret performance with only 40 seats per show, so don’t delay. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.mindtrippingshow.com.

Discount: Naptown Buzz readers will receive $5 off each ticket with promo code: BUZZ. Type the promo code in the box during the ticket buying process on the website. In addition, with your Mind Tripping Show tickets, when you purchase an entrée at 120 West Market Fresh Grill, located in the Hilton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites, you get a second entrée (of equal or lesser value) FREE! Also, valet parking is only $5.00 and self-park in the Hilton parking garage is FREE.

Mind Tripping Show at The Hilton Indianapolis Hotel & Suites 120 W. Market Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
317-691-6399
www.mindtrippingshow.com

This post was submitted by Katalina Absolon.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Via WISH TV:

HAMILTON COUNTY (WISH) – A pet monkey went berserk Wednesday morning injuring two people and prompting a family to barricade themselves in a Hamilton County home.

Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a home in the 2900 block of East 276th Street after Eujo, the Patas monkey, got out of his cage.

Deputies called in animal control officer Tom Rogers who was finally able to wrangle the monkey.

The two injured people are said to have minor injuries.

The Patas monkey is said to be one of the fastest primates; it can reach speeds of 34 mph.

A few days ago it was Jungle Cats in Indiana. Today it’s a pet monkey. Seriously people, what are you thinking with your exotic pets?  I know what I’m thinking…I’m thinking that’s kind of funny and want to see a video.  You have fun with your monkey.  I’ll stick with my Zhu Zhu Pets.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Via WIBC:

Officials with a child advocacy group are trying to retrieve some 1,000 plastic ducks that remain on the loose following a Fort Wayne duck race last month.

Stop Child Abuse & Neglect says 17,000 ducks were placed in the St. Joseph River for the annual fundraiser duck race on June 19, but were swept away by the current and only 15,000 were retrieved the same day.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Boen says about 1,000 of the rogue ducks have been recovered and some have been spotted as far away as Ohio.

The group says it’s working with the city water department to catch the remaining ducks. Officials also are taking boats downstream to search the riverbanks for runaways.

The group’s website says it doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize the beauty of the river.

I’m thinking to only be missing 1,000 out of 17,000 isn’t too bad…those are numbers I can live with.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

God Bless Hardee’s…

USA Today – A cheeseburger sold as a foot-long sandwich, with three burgers and three cheese slices, is being tested at 50 Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Southern California and 50 Hardee’s units in Indiana. That’s the same chain that introduced the world to the 1,400-calorie Monster Burger and the Monster Breakfast Sandwich, with 47 grams of fat.

“We live in a society that’s fascinated with all things big,” says Scott Hume, editor of BurgerBusiness.com, an industry trade site. “It’s inherently American to push for something bigger and better than anyone else has.”

The foot-long burger idea was hatched two months ago from a product development chef at Carl’s, says Brad Haley, marketing chief. The chain is especially eager to create products that appeal to its core customers: young men ages 18 to 24. “Obviously, the foot-long sandwich has been very successful at Subway. But we decided to do it the Carl’s way.”

That means big — and controversial. The sandwich has 850 calories with 20 grams of saturated fat. It’s served on a white sub roll, sliced in half and wrapped in butcher paper.

If it’s a hit in testing, it could be sold at all Carl’s and Hardee’s — sister chains in different regions of the country — within three to six months, Haley says.

Responds Haley, “I’d rather have a charbroiled, foot-long cheeseburger than a cold, foot-long deli sandwich any day.”

Say what you will, but I love the fact that Hardee’s is up front about their food not being the most healthy option out there.  But boy, is it tasty.  I love that Indiana is a Hardee’s test market as there is always some sort of odd creation that they’re touting.  I may have to give the footlong burger a whirl…I only wish they had a Mushroom & Swiss option.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

China is trying to hang with the big boys…

China is now the world’s biggest energy consumer, knocking the U.S. off a perch it held for more than a century, according to new data from the International Energy Agency.

China devoured a total of 2,252 million tons of oil equivalent last year, or about 4% more than the U.S., which burned through 2,170 million tons of oil equivalent. The oil-equivalent metric represents all forms of energy consumed, including crude oil, nuclear, coal, natural gas and renewable sources such as hydropower.

The U.S. is still by far the biggest energy consumer per capita.

Via the WSJ alerts.

Seriously though, given the population differences I do find it surprising that the United States leads China in per capita consumption.  I know better than thinking that China is more “green” than the U.S. so I can only conclude that it’s due to the fact that we have more “free time” to fire up the computers, televisions, boats & RV’s.  And the fact that we’re America!

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via WTHR:

Goshen, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Natural Resources believes a hybrid of a rare tropical jungle cat is living in a vacant lot in Goshen.

DNR spokesman Phil Bloom says an Indiana conservation officer went to investigate Wednesday after a neighbor spotted an unusually large cat living there. Bloom says experts looked at photos of the cat and believe it is a hybrid of an ocelot, which are native to South America.

Bloom says there is an online market for ocelot hybrids, which is an ocelot crossed with another kind of cat.

More crazy people with exotic pets are trying to kill us all.

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Via WISH TV:

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Metro Police are looking for a man who gave a Broad Ripple security guard a hard time while stealing several boxes of condoms from grocery store.

Officers were called around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to the Marsh supermarket located at 2350 Broad Ripple Avenue. The security guard told investigators he witnessed a man shoving several boxes of condoms down his pants.

The guard told police he initially followed the man to the prophylactic aisle because the man matched the description of the suspect in a previous condom theft at the Marsh.

Wow. Is a 45-year old man is either embarrassed to buy condoms or find himself a place that gives them away for free?

View this post at Blue Shotgun » Odd News

Via “Financial Times” alerts:

“Toy Story 3″ is set to become Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) largest-grossing animated film after generating $630.2 million in its first month in theaters, the Financial Times reported Sunday on its website, without directly citing sources.

The film yet to screen in about half of the world’s movie markets, the report said.

It said the film was set to debut in the U.K. Monday, and would be released in Spain, Germany and Scandinavia in the coming month.

That doesn’t surprise me.  “Toy Story 3″ is a great movie which was highly anticipated.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

I won’t elaborate on the shootings in downtown Indianapolis last night but I’ll hit the key points of my thoughts:

• First, check out Abdul Hakim-Shabazz’s Second Saturday Night Special post.  I echo what he’s saying.
• Parents: for those of you whose children were misbehaving last night, what in the world are you doing and teaching your children? And where were you?
• Leaders: where were you on this one?  You think a kid getting beat down for not respecting and listening to the authorities is a travesty and wonder why this sort of thing happens.  I’m not saying that cops should necessarily go out beating people down, but just think about the message that you’re sending to the youth and the community by asserting that you don’t need to respect authority.  This is what that mindset leads to.
• Girls: stop dressing like “street workers” & fighting with each other in the streets! Respect yourselves first and foremost and control yourselves.  Whatever you’re after and upset about isn’t worth it. (Back to the parents.)
• Boys: pull up your freaking pants! I watched live coverage of kids trying to run away from the shootings and there were a handful of you not getting anywhere fast as you’re holding your pants up. I thought the “prison draws” were a fad back when I was in school, but I guess that I was wrong.  Come on fellas.  I’m not saying to wear slacks all of the time, but you can at least do functional baggy in something your size. (Back to the parents.)
• Morons with guns: I’m glad that you’re a horrible shot, but:
  1. where did you get your guns?
  2. are you even old enough to have a gun?
  3. what made you think it was a good idea to bring guns along?
  4. what made you think it was a good idea to start shooting people?
• IMPD & Mayor Ballard: You did the best job you could be expected to and you were on top of.  There were ample officers and no one should expect you to control the stupid actions of a select few.

That said, let me know your thoughts, agree or disagree via comment or voicemail at 317-565-4250.  And keep it civil.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

Via the WSJ:

U.S. retail sales tumbled again in June, threatening to drain steam from an economy saddled with high joblessness. Sales fell 0.5% from the previous month, the Commerce Department said. Excluding auto and gas sales, though, sales rose 0.1%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.3% decline. In May, sales fell a revised 1.1%.

As I continue to say, a small fluctuation either direction should be expected, but more importantly, the state of the economy isn’t really any better than it was two years ago.  If anything, from what I’ve personally seen here in the “real world”, things are actually a little worse.  Most companies are still making money, but they’re tightening their belts as they see their income decrease.

What have you seen? Do you agree or disagree? Please leave a comment or leave a voice message at 317-565-4250.

Comment on this post at: Blue Shotgun

What: Two chefs. Two unlikely friends. Two very different careers and philosophies. Hear them share stories and muse on the place of food in our personal, community and global life.

When: Thursday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Where: Clowes Memorial Hall, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis

Cost: Prices range from $25 to $100. The $100 ticket includes admittance to a private reception with the speakers in the Krannert Room at Clowes immediately following the show.

Tickets will go on sale July 19 at 10 a.m. You can purchase tickets at the Clowes Memorial Hall box office, online at Ticketmaster.com or through the Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone number, 1.800.982.2787.

Organized by: Spirit & Place Festival, Indiana Humanities Council and IndyTalks.

Financial support is being provided by BSA LifeStructures, Butler University, Café Patachou, Citizens Energy Group and a grant from the Efroymson Family Fund, a CICF Fund.

This post was submitted by Kristen Fuhs Wells.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Calling all bad emails. Delivra, one of the original email marketing software companies, is holding its first Extreme Email Makeover Contest to help rid the world of bad email design.

“There are scads of awful emails out there calling out for help,” said Neil Berman, president of Delivra. “Marketers know they are guilty. Their emails contain all HTML and broken links. They have high unsubscribes and low click-throughs. They have committed these or other transgressions. Let us help you.”

The Extreme Email Makeover will overhaul the email design that is most in need of a “face lift.” “In our competition, the worst wins,” said Berman. “We are asking marketers to compete for the opportunity to have their poor, underperforming email transformed into a high performance, eye-pleasing email.”

To participate in the Extreme Email Makeover simply “like” the Delivra Fan Page on Facebook and then upload your worst email design. You do not have to be a Delivra client to participate. The contest will run from July 1 through July 31, so you have no excuse not to participate. After submitting your own email designs, you can vote for the one you think most needs the Extreme Email Makeover. On August 4, 2010, after evaluating the entries and the voting that takes place via Facebook, Delivra will announce the email design that is most desperate for a “makeover” as the winner.

If the winner is not a current Delivra client, they will win: one custom-designed, sophisticated email template; one hour of email strategy consultation; access to Delivra 101 and 201 email webinars; and a 90-day Delivra trial account. If the winner is already a Delivra client, in addition to the embarrassment this will cause us, they will receive a custom-made, sophisticated email template, which will be placed into their current Delivra account for future email marketing needs.

PR.Extreme Email Makeover.06.29.2010.pdf (18 KB)

This post was submitted by Lavon Temple.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Via the WSJ:

Consumer Reports said its tests show a hardware defect causes the iPhone 4 to lose reception when held a certain way, challenging Apple Inc.’s claims that the problem is rooted in software that can be easily fixed.

The product-quality watchdog said Monday it can’t recommend the newest iPhone despite otherwise high marks, dinging a company that for many shoppers can do no wrong. It was the first time Consumer Reports has failed to give the thumbs up for an Apple phone.

…

Consumer Reports took some of the heat away from AT&T Inc.’s network, which has been criticized for dropped calls and not being able to adequately handle the load of data-guzzling iPhones.

Full story

The iPhone isn’t perfect? Really?  Well, I’m glad that we can now add it to the list of every other piece of hardware.

While the iPhone may have its software issues, I can say without a doubt that AT&T’s cell coverage is horrible.  I can’t count the times that I’m somewhere around Indy, even in my downtown office late at night, and either the phone drops out or I can’t get data to come through at all (I have a Blackberry Bold). And forget about trying to get a decent & consistent connection at a major event or an amusement park.  It’s not happening.

I can vouch that back when I had my non-3G Palm the service was better.  When I switched to my BlackBerry service was decent as well.  But by the time the iPhone market began to overwhelm AT&T it was really bad (they claim NYC is ready for the iPhone now…I wouldn’t hold my breath).

All of that to say, once my contract is up I’m planning on heading elsewhere. Someone that has decent service & isn’t going to start charging me outrageous fees for data usage (on top of an already expensive plan).  I don’t have time to worry about how much data I’m using and I’m sure not going to pay for data that only half way transferred because the network is choking on the data that’s trying to flow through it.

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Basics of Blogging

• Thursday, July 15, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Thursday, July 29, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Introduction to Social Media for Business

• Tuesday, July 6, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Tuesday, July 20, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

WordPress for Small Business and Nonprofits

• Saturday, July 24, 2010 from 9:00 AM - Noon

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

Mmmm…free beef…

Get ready America. It’s time for a star-spangled celebration of…roast beef! To celebrate the red, white and blue – and help America save some green – Arby’s, the home of the free and the delicious, is offering its new Junior Deluxe sandwich free, with any drink purchase, on Monday, July 5.

The latest addition to Arby’s Value Menu, the Junior Deluxe features oven-roasted, thinly sliced roast beef, topped with crisp, fresh lettuce, ripe tomato and mayo on a toasted sesame seed bun. The Value Menu, which launched in April, features Arby’s signature offerings starting at $1.

“We’re thrilled about adding the Junior Deluxe to the Arby’s Value Menu,” says Steve Davis, chief marketing officer, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. “The July 4^th fireworks may be over, but this sandwich will help people close out the weekend with another kind of explosion – a little ‘kaboom’ for their buck.”

Free Junior Deluxe Sandwiches will be available during normal business hours on Monday, July 5, with any drink purchase, excluding Value drinks and coffee, at participating Arby’s locations nationwide. This offer is limited to one per person while supplies last. Consumers will need to ask for their free Junior Deluxe with drink purchase to receive the offer.

For more information about Arby’s Junior Deluxe giveaway, please visit http://www.facebook.com/arbys or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Arbys.

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Congratulations to the 2010 College World Series Champs, the South Carolina Gamecocks with a 2-1 win over UCLA in the 11th inning of the best-of-three series.  Jeff was there in Omaha (as always) and I hear that Rosenblatt Stadium will be missed by all.

Read the story on ESPN.com.

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OK, we allow crazy people with bombs and their shoes and fireworks strapped to their crotch on planes, but we put 6 year old girls on the “Do Not Fly” list? Was she carry a knitting needle on board (which is allowable, and which I’ve seen)? Did she look at a flight attendant wrong?

The father of a 6-year-old Ohio girl who turned up on the U.S. government’s terror watch list says the worst thing his daughter has ever done is probably been mean to her sister.

But Santhosh Thomas, a doctor from Westlake, Ohio, says he’s sure that’s not enough to land his 6-year-old Alyssa on the no-fly list of suspected terrorists. “She may have threatened her sister, but I don’t think that constitutes Homeland Security triggers,” he told CNN.

Federal authorities have acknowledged that such a no-fly list exists, but as a matter of national security, they won’t comment on whose names are on it nor why. “The watch lists are an important layer of security to prevent individuals with known or suspected ties to terrorism from flying,” an unnamed spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration told Fox News.

[read the full story]

This will probably get me put on “the list” for saying this, but our government is apparently ran by complete morons.  Is it really that hard to find competent people for the  job? Boy, do I feel safer now that this 6 year old girl can’t fly.

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Make plans to see Disney’s hit High School Musical live on stage as it moves from the screen to Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre for the first time. On stage through July 18, it has all the fun and music of the original made-for-TV movie.

Fans will see all their favorite characters – from the spoiled Sharpay Evans (played by Lara Hayhurst) to the basketball star Troy Bolton (played by Tim Barsten) to the new girl at school, Gabriella Montez (played by Jessica Murphy).

They’re all in this together, singing the songs that made this movie soundtrack earn quadruple platinum status within months of the movie first airing. High School Musical introduced songs including “Bop To The Top,” “Stick To The Status Quo,” “We’re All In This Together” and “Breaking Free.”

Plus, this is Beef & Boards’ 2010 Family Show, with $10 discounts on tickets for ages 3-15, making it an affordable outing together!

There are 40 performances of High School Musical on stage scheduled in the intimate space of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Tickets range from $35 to $58, and include Chef Odell Ward’s family friendly buffet, with a fruit & salad bar, unlimited coffee, tea and lemonade. Parking is free.

For reservations, call the Beef & Boards Box Office at 317.872.9664. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays.

High School Musical is sponsored in part by Radio Disney 98.3 FM.

For complete show schedule, visit www.beefandboards.com.

This post was submitted by Patricia Rettig.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

On Monday Barnes & Noble cut the price of its Nook e-reader to $199 and Amazon.com cut the price of its standard Kindle to $189. Both models had been $259.

While I still don’t see myself buying one of these at this price, I’d lean towards the Nook since it does have removable storage. BUT, and this is a huge but, there are major issues across the board as far as format standards go (I believe it was the WSJ that had a great explanation of this) & the whole DRM nonsense must go.

Personally I’d really like a full color screen option, but for multiple reasons there’s no way I’d purchase an iPad (at least not as it stands now).  But I am glad to see technology moving along and hope everyone can get on the same page in the next 5 years or so.

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Hey The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the consensus is in and your new logo sucks!

Comments from my Facebook friends:

“GAG, the old logo was OK, but the new one has even less appeal.”

“Haha, or a zit! Ugh, what is the bump anyways?? Does the museum have a bump in it’s design somewhere!? They should have incorporated something iconic of the museum whether out-of-state visitors get it or not, like the clock, or something like that!”

“Looks like a crocodile eye or a terrible skateboard ramp. Either way, I expect record attendance and season pass purchases any minute now.”

“Very dated typography and very conservative.”

“I vote a big thumbs down on this change. Makes no sense. It doesn’t look very inviting as far as a museum geared towards children. Fail.”

“It looks like a stodgy business logo. Not kid-friendly at all. Boo.”

And to my own comments:

I’ll preface this by saying that I love the The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and the logo won’t deter me from personally visiting, but…

Some “marketing” people really don’t get “branding” at all. Yes, update logos once in a while if/when necessary, but not something like this. (UPS is a good example of how to do it right.)

It certainly doesn’t scream “Fun” and I’m wondering if they did any market research with this because I’ve not heard anyone say they really like it. Even my 6 year old tells me “It looks like a mountain or hill & it’s boring to look at all day.” Way to market to your target audience!

Personally if I were in charge of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis I’d have a nice chat with the creative director and the marketing team.  Bottom line, you want something that brings in your target audience, especially out-of-town  visitors.  While logos don’t always need to give a feel for what the business is about (their main purpose is branding), in this case that should be important.  And by all means you don’t drastically change them every 15-20 years.

But I digress and am just happy that’s not something I’m responsible for.

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The Indianapolis Colts return to Anderson this year for training camp. Here’s the schedule.

Sunday, August 1 – Players report by 2 p.m.

Monday, August 2 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 3 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (afternoon session is special teams only)

Wednesday, August 4 – 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 5 – 3:30 p.m. (special teams only)

Friday, August 6 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 7 – 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 8 – No practice

Monday, August 9 – 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (afternoon session is special teams only)

Tuesday, August 10 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 11 – 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 12 – 3:30 p.m. (special teams only)

Friday, August 13 – 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 14 – 9:30 a.m.

Sunday, August 15 – San Francisco vs. Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, 1 p.m. (preseason game)

Monday, August 16 – 4 p.m.

Tuesday, August 17 – 8:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, August 18 – 9:30 a.m., break camp

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Father’s Day is one of those days that I honestly don’t worry about too much for myself (as if we really need another card-buying, gift-giving day).  We normally swing the kids by both sets of grandparents and have breakfast, lunch or dinner.  But this year I was thinking it’d be nice to go fishing to do something different and relaxing, then the weatherman swooped in to ruin that idea…

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
534 AM EDT FRI JUN 18 2010
..VERY WARM AND HUMID CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED INTO NEXT WEEK…

Very warm and humid conditions will develop across much of the region once again and last into next week.

High temperatures will reach the upper 80s to lower 90s most days for the coming week. Heat indices combining the effects of temperature and humidity will reach as high as the upper 90s to near 100.

If possible stay in an air conditioned building during the afternoon and early evening hours. If you must be outdoors for a significant period of time be sure to take frequent breaks in the shade. Remember to drink plenty of water and avoid overexerting yourself.

I personally don’t do to good in the heat (it’s a miracle that I didn’t pass out at the Indy 500 this year) & I certainly don’t want my kids to get sick from it.  So I’m having second thoughts on that one.  And golfing would be an even less enjoyable outing.  Anyway, we’ll see what happens.  Maybe the norm in air conditioning.

So, what are your Father’s Day plans?

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via my Wall Street Journal News Alerts:

In a setback for the U.S. economic recovery, retail sales fell 1.2% in May from the previous month as consumers pulled back their spending on things from cars to clothing, the Commerce Department reported. The decline was the biggest — and the first — since September 2009, when sales fell 2.2%.

Excluding auto and gas sales, retail sales slipped 0.8%, the largest drop since 1% in March 2009.

For my own business I know that I think in a “micro” scale compared to the overall U.S. economy, and being up or down a few percentage points isn’t a huge hit to my business operations, but are we really basing any sort of reality off of a 1-2% fluctuation in sales (either way)?  If sales went down double digits during a single month on a grander scale for the economy as a whole I might be worried, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over this.

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I’m feeling sorry for my friends in California tonight. Your GOP candidate for governor is the Meg Whitman.  The lady who “diluted the magic of eBay” and did everything in her power to run the company into the ground. “Hey lets buy Skype but not the patents to the technology.” BRILLIANT!  Not to mention the other dumb business moves made during her short tenure at the helm.

On the other side of the coin you have former Gov. Jerry Brown. I don’t know anything about Mr. Brown, but one can venture to guess.

For the sake of your local economy (which has a direct impact on my own livelihood) I really hope that you have some decent third, fourth & fifth “party” candidates in the race.  I know you can do it!

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It’s kind of crazy it took so long to get Simona de Silvestro out of her car. Luckily she only suffered minor burns to her hand when she tried to get herself out.

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Now that sounds like a good Friday night in the summer! If only the Thunderstorm Watch as a bit longer.

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Via the WSJ:

The Supreme Court says suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke their Miranda protection during interrogations. A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are the first of the Miranda-rights warnings, which police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations. But the justices said suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop an interrogation.

So, my question is, if you tell the police anything, how do you remain silent? And for the sake of argument we have to assume that both written & oral communication, as well as sign language, are fair game.

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago via Facebook, AMC was determined to get rid of the Kerasotes Five Buck Club from the get-go.  They sent out a “survey” about the Five Buck Club and mentioned their alternative “Program X” for $5 movies.  Coming from a marketing & business background it was clear to me that AMC already had their mind made up on what to do regardless of the outcome of the survey (which they quickly shut down because they said that they had enough responses).

While the number crunchers probably sat down and came up with this grand plan, they failed to realize that there’s a reason people waited for movies to go to the Five Buck Club…because they don’t want to pay $10 (or more in 3D or IMAX) to see a movie that will be out in stores in a few months.  If people really want to see a movie then the price doesn’t come into play and they’d see it opening weekend anyway (and BTW, all morning movies at Kerasotes were $5 as well, even for new movies).

Anyway, what this means for me is that AMC won’t be getting as much money out of my pocket because most of my theater visiting opportunities come during their new Premium Pricing Club viewings.  But never fear, we still have second run movies and maybe Regal or another theater chain will see AMC’s folly and seize the opportunity.

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One of the country’s best Talking Heads Tribute bands is coming to downtown Indy.

Show will be at the Anthenaeum Theater on June 5th @ 8 pm.

Tickets can be purchased at www.talkingheadstributeshow.com

This post was submitted by Erik Compton.

Comment on this post at Naptown Buzz » Brian Groce

• If I see Mark Wahlberg out at the track I think I'm going to say "And will you, for the love of God, put on a @#$%&^! shirt?" #datenight #

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With their new project Reinvention, Grammy-nominated Superchick goes back to the studio to reinvent their favorite songs. Drawing inspiration from the 100+ TV shows, video games and movies that use their music, Superchick has created a soundtrack album for fast car chases, giant fighting robots, teen romance and bad guys walking in slow motion. Three new singles including “Still Here” and a solo breakout from bassist Matt Dally entitled “Let It Roll,” accompany nine reinventions pulled from every album in the band’s discography.

“These are songs we love; it means a lot to us to get the chance to go back into the studio as a band and rebuild them from the ground up. We have the technology. We can make them better, stronger, louder,” says Max Hsu, the band’s founder, producer and studio recluse.

Having taught themselves wireflying for the “Cross The Line” music video, Superchick plans even more ridiculous and dangerous videos for these cinematic respins, to begin shooting immediately following their headlining tour this spring with John Reuben. With over three quarters of a million records in the marketplace – including a previous remix project (Regeneration) which has scanned more than 100,000 units to date – and music heard regularly on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MTV and ESPN, Superchick plans to turn Reinvention up to 11, coming soon to a stereo near you on April 20th.

Track Listing

1. Cross the Line (Box Office Blockbuster Mix)
2. Rock What You Got (Fight Underdog FIght! Mix)
3. Let It Roll – Matt Dally with Superchick
4. Karaoke Superstars (Shiny Car Advert Mix) – Superchick with ThumpMonks
5. Hey Hey (Vampires vs Cheerleaders Mix)
6. One and Lonely (Chick Flick Mix)
7. Breathe (Dont You Die On Me Mix)
8. Bowling Ball (Not That Into You Mix)
9. Pure (Brand New Day Mix)
10. Wishes (Teens Falling In/Out Of Love Mix)
11. Still Here
12. With You – Tricia Brock

Product Details

CD
Release Date: 04/20/2010
Label: Inpop Records
Distributed By: Chordant (EMI)
ISBN-13: 804147152529
Product Code: 782250

Order Reinvention by Superchick

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The album, The Generous Mr. Lovewell, revolves around a fictional character we created who reminds us that we simply need to love others well. For some of us, it means that we need to put hands and feet on our ideology and rhetoric. For others, it means that we need to continue in doing well, but to not stop there. We need to let people know why we are called to make a difference. Our prayer is that this album would mobilize the body of Christ to encourage people in word and deed.

It’s almost like a ‘pay-it-forward’ idea that revolves around the Cross. We are called to be servants to our neighbors, but if we don’t share the gospel with them, it’s almost offensive and we have only accomplished a part of what God has called us to do. We need to stop letting the world teach us theology about how to act or speak. We need to encourage one another to provide a helping hand to our neighbor, offer up random acts of kindness and share with others how our lives have been transformed by the power of the Cross. It doesn’t take much action – or even many words – to make a difference both here and forever.

- Bart Millard, MercyMe

Product Details

CD
Release Date: 05/04/2010
Label: INO Records
ISBN-13: 000768481325
Product Code: 657687

Purchase The Generous Mr. Lovewell by MercyMe

View this post at eC zine » eC zine

I just looked up what this “Adderall” is all about since they’re fussing about it & saying that it helps kids “cheat” at school.

Via el Wikipedia “Adderall is widely reported to increase alertness, libido, concentration and overall cognitive performance while decreasing user fatigue”.

I didn’t bother to look up the side effects, but man, I’d be lying if I said increased alertness, concentration and overall cognitive performance while *decreasing* user fatigue wasn’t appealing.  (I have 5 children, so my libido is obviously fine.)

And while I’m not into chemicals unless absolutely necessary (and yes, caffeine is a necessary vitamin) I wonder why the ADHD crowd gets to have all the fun.  Maybe some day when I’m locked up in the loony bin I’ll find out first hand.  But until then I’ll stick to my Coca-Cola & Coffee.

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• "I've seen those finger-paintings you bring home and they SUCK!" #

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We’re hosting an awesome event at the Athenaeum May 1st @ 8 am.

If you like oldies music, they are the ultimate party band around!

This post was submitted by Erik Compton.

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Available in 7×5 The watermark does not appear on the printed photo.

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Available in 5×7. The watermark does not appear on the printed photo.

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Available in 5×7. The watermark does not appear on the printed photo.

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Relient K’s the First Three Gears includes Relient K’s first three albums (Relient K, The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek (Gold Edition) and Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right…But Three Do (Gold Edition) together for one low price! Includes 5 never-before-released songs!

Relient K Track Listing
1. Hello McFly
2. My Girlfriend
3. Wake Up Call
4. Benediction
5. When You’re Around
6. Softer To Me
7. Charles In Charge
8. Staples
9. Anchorage
10. 17 Magazine
11. Balloon Ride
12. Everything Will Be
13. Nancy Drew
14. K Car
Bonus Tracks
15. Breakdown (Live)
16. Softer To Me (Acoustic)

The Anatomy of Tongue In Cheek (Gold Edition) Track Listing
1. Kick-Off
2. Pressing On
3. Sadie Hawkins Dance
4. Down In Flames
5. Maybe It’s Maybeline
6. Breakdown
7. Those Words Are Not Enough
8. For The Moments I Feel Faint
9. Lion Wilson
10. I’m Lion-O
11. What Have You Been Doing Lately?
12. May The Horse Be With You
13. My Way Or The Highway
14. Breakfast At Tempani’s
15. The Rest Is Up To You
16. Failure To Excommunicate
17. Less Is More
Bonus Tracks
18. Operation
19. Jefferson Airplane (Demo)
20. Pressing On (Back Porch Acoustic)

Two Lefts Don’t Make A Right…But Three Do (Gold Edition) Track Listing
1. Chap Stick, Chapped Lips & Things Like Chemistry
2. Mood Rings
3. Falling Out
4. Forward Motion
5. In Love With The 80′s
6. College Kids
7. Trademark
8. Hoopes I Did It Again
9. Over Thinking
10. I Am Understood
11. Getting Into You
12. Kids On The Street
13. Gibberish
14. From End To End
15. Jefferson Aero Plane

Product Details

Format: CD
Release Date: 04/20/2010
Label: Gotee Records
Distributed By: Word
ISBN-13: 093624968771
Product Code: 782229

Buy Relient K’s the First Three Gears

View this post at eC zine » eC zine

The 2010 Final Four tips of tonight here in Indy & our hometown Butler Bulldogs try to make history.

6:07pm (5) Butler vs. (5) Michigan State
8:47pm (2) West Virginia vs. (1) Duke

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If I thought the National Weather Service had a sense of humor I’d think this one was an April Fool’s Day joke, as I have never heard of a “Fire Weather Watch” being called in my entire life of living in Indy. Not even in the “Dog Days of Summer”.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
248 PM EDT THU APR 1 2010

..FIRE WEATHER DANGER WILL RISE FRIDAY…

A strong dry South to Southwest flow will persist over Indiana into Friday. This will bring both far above normal temperatures and fairly low dew points. Relative humidity should fall to near critical fire weather levels Friday afternoon…fire weather watch in effect from Friday afternoon through Friday evening…

The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has issued a fire weather watch…which is in effect from Friday afternoon through Friday evening.

This includes the following fire weather zones…in Indiana…21…28…29…30…31…35…36…37…38..39…40…41… 42…43…44…45…46…47…48..49…51…52…53…54…55…56… 57…60…61..62…63…64…65…67…68…69…70…71…72

It is not certain yet a red flag warning will be needed Friday. However fire managers should remain alert for the possibility.

Precautionary/preparedness actions…

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible red flag warnings.

…weird. Be safe & don’t get burnt tomorrow.

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If there’s one thing that I love this time of year it’s the chance for a good thunderstorm and the excitement of tornadoes (you just never know when one will level your home…and given an infinite amount of time it will happen eventually). But what I love even more are the random summer-like days we get in February, March & April.  After a long cold winter those days are awesome, even if they’re not around to stay for a few more months.

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Elite Eight action concludes this afternoon & evening. Here are your match-ups:

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• @RepKevinBrady when is Texas going out on their own again? Count me in. in reply to RepKevinBrady #

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Elite Eight action tips off this evening. Here are your match-ups (winners in bold):

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Sweet Sixteen action concludes this evening. Here are your match-ups (winners in bold):

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Sweet Sixteen action tips off this evening.  Here are your match-ups:

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It’s a rare occasion that you can make a good move and a bad move at the same time, but the NFL managed to pull it off.

Yesterday the NFL announced that for the 2010 season the overtime rules would be changing. BUT, they’d only be changing for 12, or 37.5%, of the 32 teams in the league, for a cumulative 11 games.

First the rule change.

• If the team winning the coin toss kicks a field goal on their first possession, the other team gets the ball for a possession in order to either try to tie or win the game.
• If the team winning the coin toss gets a touchdown on their first possession, the game is over.
• If the teams are still tied after they each have had one possession, the old (a.k.a. “normal”) sudden death overtime rules apply (the first to score wins).

Now to when the changes take effect.

These rules will only be used during the playoffs due to injury concerns.  But this is extremely flawed as it:

1. Sends the message that player safety isn’t important during the playoffs. (And I’d debate that reasoning as a cop out regardless.)
2. Could possibly ruin other teams playoff hopes and/or seeding.

I agree that the new concept is better than the old, but I still like college rules better. And if you’re going to do it, do it. Don’t halfway commit to it.

There are my thoughts. What are yours?

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Sixteen teams play for the remaining eight Sweet Sixteen spots next weekend. Winners in bold.

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