Indianapolis, IN

Fri 10 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about Jermaine O’Neal of the Indiana Pacers. Earlier this week while he was in Los Angeles, he did an interview with Sports Illustrated where he was quoted as saying that he would welcome a trade with the L.A. Lakers. Then when he was interviewed by our local media here in Indianapolis, he was asked if he was moving to LA to make a trade (which is what I probably would’ve asked given his statement to SI). He said that “local media twisted his words around,” and went into this rant about how local media always just hears what they want to hear for the sake of a story. But when you make the statement “welcome a trade,” doesn’t that mean that you would are looking for a trade? But afterwards, I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps what he means is that he’s happy being a Pacer, but given the opportunity to move to L.A. or to New Jersey (the other team he said he’d be happy with), then he would jump on it in the blink of an eye. Maybe he should’ve said that, instead of saying one thing, and then blaming the media when he was misunderstood. I get so tired when people who are interviewed (I’m talking about sports figures, musicians, actors, politicians) say one thing, and then turn around and say another thing. Don’t they know that everything they say is recorded somewhere and can always be brought back (and usually cut and pasted to mean something different)? (Just read Al Franken’s book The Truth (with Jokes), or Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them.)

: Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers, Sports Illustrated, Al Franken

Thu 09 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about change in the educational system. Recently, IPS turned four of its lowest performing schools into year-round schools. The idea behind this was to give the students extra instruction time so that they can have a better opportunity at passing the ISTEP. (I’ve written about this before.) You know the kids are going to complain, because that’s what they do. But my beef is with the parents who are deliberately keeping their kids home from school. Now the schools are in trouble because so many parents are keeping their kids home, and the schools aren’t meeting their attendance requirements. Because of the No Child Left Behind act, schools are required to keep around a 97% attendance rate to keep accreditation and funding status. In fact, these schools started the school year with only a 50% attendance rate. Actually, the teachers really don’t mind so much. Class size is much smaller, sometimes as few as 10 students, which allow for more individualized instruction. And the students who are there are the students who want to be there. (One time in high school, an illness spread rampant through the school, and one of my classes had only 3 people. It was great!) However, when all the kids come back, the teachers will be wasting their time and the time of the ones who have been in school because the rest will all be behind. But the sad part is that if parents don’t start getting their kids to school, then schools are at jeopardy for shutting down. (The state department of education said they might cut them some slack because this is the first year of the change.) I think the hardest thing about this change is trying to change the mindset of some of these parents. Some of them are so hard-set against change, even if it means making the change for their kids to have a better life. I just don’t get it. It’s a sign of ignorance, and it’s hard to stop an ignorant people from being ignorant. They don’t realize that keeping their kids home from school is detrimental to the entire system that is designed to help them. I hope that somehow, they will change their minds for their kids sake.

: ISTEP, Indianapolis Public School, No Child Left Behind, year-round schools, attendance problems

Wed 08 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about good fast food restaurants. We recently tried a new restaurant called Five Guys Famous Burgers & Fries. It’s located in the Willow Lake West strip mall on W 86th Street (near Starbucks and Trader Joe’s, across the street from Brebeuf Jesuit HS and near Wal-Mart). There aren’t too many choices per se, but you get your choice of one or two patties and you can get any topping on your sandwich (I had lettuce, fried onions and hot sauce). My husband took a double with lettuce, fried onions, and barbecue sauce. We also got a kosher hot dog for our daughter. The only thing I can say is that the French fries tasted like they were fried a little too long. But otherwise, everything was excellent. And really for two sandwiches, a hot dog, a large order of fries, and three drinks only cost us around $15. I noticed that they had Cajun fries on the menu, and I don’t know why I missed those when I was ordering. The thing that attracted me to Five Guys was the signs in the windows. They were advertising that their beef is All-American with no fillers or preservatives and never frozen. Their fries are also fried in 100% peanut oil with no cholesterol and no preservatives. I think you’ll start finding more and more restaurants advertising healthier fare. People don’t want all that crap in their food—they just want to taste the food. (And for dessert, just go next door and try the Marble Slab Creamery for some great ice cream!)

One more place to mention is the Bajio Mexican Grill that near 99th and N Michigan Rd. My husband and I actually think it tastes better than Q’Doba or Chipotle. One, I really like the counter. It’s made of bits of broken pottery embedded into the clay, and I think it’s really interesting to look at. I also get the same thing when I go there: a Mexican pizza. This isn’t the slop they serve you at Taco Bell. They make it with real fried tortillas, and you get your choice of rice, your choice of meat (you even get two choices of chicken!), a choice of salsa, cheese, and a choice of other vegetables and toppings. There is so much food, I always have to take it home. For two entrees and three drinks, it runs us about $20.

So, there you have it, a couple of MSG-free, fresh fast food places that won’t break your wallet. So, enjoy!

: healthy fast food, Five Guys Famous Burger & Fries, Bajio Mexican Grill, affordable restaurants

Tue 07 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about fad dances from pop-culture. Last week, WTHR Channel 13 aired a video from a prison in the Philippines, where officials started requiring all inmates to do group morning exercises in the form of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” (They have other dances too.) It’s really kind of funny to see a bunch of people dancing American dances from 20 years ago. But I was immediately reminded that I was required to do the same thing where I used to work. I used to work at Concordia Language Villages in northern Minnesota at the Japanese camp, Mori no Ike (our campsite was about an hour and a half east of Fargo, ND). Every morning, in the Japanese fashion, we would do RAJIO TAISOU. Rajio Taisou (lit. “radio exercises”) are group exercises done by schools and businesses that are still being done in Japan (so I’ve heard). The idea is that if you start your day by doing exercises, then you are more energized and ready to work. Well, part of our rajio taisou at the Japanese camp included doing a dance to the song “UFO” by Pink Lady (which is a group that was popular in the seventies and early eighties). All of the Japanese people who work at the camp laugh because we’re still doing the “UFO” song and dance. We always wondered if somewhere on the other side of the world if there was a group who was still doing the “hustle” or even the “macarena.” And now we know that “Thriller” is kept alive in the Philippines by a bunch of inmates. And at times while we were working at the camp, we felt like inmates. I’ve heard that isolation makes you do crazy things, but does it make you crazy enough to conjure up dances that were popular 20-30 years ago? Hmm… Maybe I should mention it to a sociologist as a topic of research. Or maybe I should do the “UFO.”

: prisons in the Philippines, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Pink Lady, UFO, Mori no Ike, Concordia Language Villages, the hustle, the Macarena

Mon 06 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about the Dalai Lama. The 72-year-old Buddhist leader will make a week-long tour of Indiana in October, stopping at Purdue University and also at Indiana University. He will be receiving the Congressional Gold Medal for his contributions to world peace in Washington before he makes the stop in the Hoosier state. I’m really glad that there are opportunities for the Dalai Lama to visit our area. I really wish I had the opportunity to hear him speak. I think it is great that here in Indiana, where there is a large Christian population, there is always a huge turnout to hear the most-revered of Buddhist teachers. I’ve been studying Buddhism for nearly 8 months now and find it fascinating. I have a toddler, and the deep-breathing exercises really help me in my focus. And actually, I find there are many teachings and ideals in Buddhism that really aren’t that far off from Christianity. For example, Buddhism teaches the Four Noble Truths, which is (1) the acknowledgement of suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of creating suffering and (4) the path that leads us to end our suffering. The Fourth Noble Truth is broken down to the Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. As Thich Nhat Hanh explains these in the book The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, they sound quite similar to the Ten Commandments. I find that Buddhism fits quite nicely into my life, and that it doesn’t compromise my Christian upbringing as well. But there are a lot of Christians who believe that you can’t follow the teachings of any other religion or prophet (Buddha, Mohammed, etc.), even though most of them say the same things, just in a different way. I’m not saying that I believe in EVERYTHING that Christianity or Buddhism or Islam says, but I do think that Jesus and Buddha and Mohammed had some good things to say about how to conduct your life. Regardless, I hope that the people who do have the opportunity to see the Dalai Lama, come out with a positive outlook on their lives.

Dalai Lama, world peace, Congressional Gold Medal, Purdue University, Indiana University, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Thich Nhat Hanh

Fri 03 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about neighborhood associations. There is a little girl who lives in Avon who has a genetic disorder that prevents her from speaking (Trisomy 13). St. Vincent Hospital and Sweet Dreams chose her to be the recipient of a bedroom makeover, and on top of that, they donated a full-blown playhouse. The playhouse came furnished with a table and chairs, a play refrigerator and stove. (What girl wouldn’t love to have a playhouse like that??) Well, one of the neighbors (who needs to be hit in the head with something just for being a cold-hearted jerk), complained to the neighborhood association, saying that her playhouse looks like a mini-barn. They neighbors took a vote and voted to let them keep it. So, as a thank you to the neighbors who voted for them, they contacted Channel 13 and was the recipient of the last WTHR/Outback Block Party. (I wonder if the nosy neighbor was invited… I wouldn’t invite them if it was up to me.) This is just one example of why I’ll never live in a neighborhood where your neighbors dictate to you what you can and can’t have in your yard or on your property. If you’re paying for your house, and what you put in your yard is a reasonable size, then it shouldn’t matter to you. (So, bug off!) So, I’m giving a big tip of the hat to the neighbors and to the family and girl who won the bedroom makeover and the playhouse, and a huge wag of the finger to the nosy neighbor and the idea of neighborhood associations for coming up with stupid rules like that.

Avon Indiana, St. Francis Hospital, Sweet Dreams, neighborhood associations

Thu 02 August 2007

So, I’m thinking about Gleaners Food Bank. A few days ago, two stupid kids broke in to the back of the food bank and cut the copper piping that went to the refrigeration system. Gleaners Food Bank is one of the largest food banks in Indianapolis and gives food to hundreds of poor and hungry people. There are hundreds of families that depend on this food. And unfortunately, they had to throw out tons of spoiled food because the refrigerated cooler was compromised. Gleaners president Pam Altmeyer said that the boy who did the cutting got sprayed with refrigerant and caustic oil. So, he’s probably got really irritated skin. (Good, I hope it hurts really bad!) Luckily, Marsh and Kroger and some radio stations pitched in to help donate goods and money to help Gleaners get their donations back up so that families will have some frozen food with their boxes of food. I’m so glad that there are some decent people who live here and step up to the plate to do what’s right. I just hope that people will continue to give and donate even when there isn’t a tragedy going on. (Did you notice that people turned out in droves to give after Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, but then stopped?) I hope someone with a conscience turns in the two low-lifes who did this. Someone out there knows something, and it’s time to come forward.

: Gleaners Food Bank, food banks, copper, donate to non-for-profits