Volunteer work for October was at the Heartland Film Festival. As a movie lover - especially of small budget film - it was exciting to be given tickets to see festival films in exchange for volunteering. I worked the Hospitality Suite.
The suite offers help for anything and everything the filmmakers and / or actors need, as well as a place to relax. That included running people to a med check on a Sunday night (and no, there are not a lot of immediate care facilities open on a Sunday night), arranging for transportation, helping with hotels when flights were cancelled, etc.
Corbin Bernsen, the gentleman who is head of CastleRock Entertainment, Quinton Aaron (who starred as Michael Orr in "The Blind Side") and others were there.
The stars of the festival for me, however, were the filmmakers who have been so dedicated to the process and their projects. One man spoke of the fact that he and his wife have spent so much money they've not been able to afford to have a family. They asked people to support film as an art and a method of storytelling. I never really thought about film as THE storytelling mechanism of this generation and those to follow, but it is true that the format of film has replaced reading or oral story / passing of history and legends.
Overall, a good experience.
www.trulymovingpictures.org/heartland-film-festival
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
France
Spent 9 beautiful October days in France. Road a bullet train (Paris to Dijon), went to the Palace of Versailles (opulent) and walked the beaches of Normandy (D-Day landing beaches). The bullet train runs over 200 miles an hour. I'm sure we did not go that fast, but it was quick, quiet and so smooth. We ended up sitting in what I think was first class due to ticket issues as a result of the transportation strike... lovely. They brought around juices, menus to order lunch were proferred, the seats were larger.... very nice experience.
The French people were so much more pleasant than my first experience there. A lovely surprise. These are experiences I would love for everyone to be able to have.Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Benjamin Harrison Home
We visited the Benjamin Harrison Home this month. Tour cost is $8 / adult, $7 if you are a Triple A member. Tour is approximately an hour and 45 minutes.
Interesting factoids:
1. Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison are the only grandson / grandfather Presidential combo
2. William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia 30 days into his time as President. He wanted to prove he was not too old to be Pres, so he did not wear a coat to his inaugaration (on a cold, rainy day) and gave a 2 hour speech. This really does bring up the question - did he actually have good enough judgement to be President? Perhaps the country was given a break? Ironically, Benjamin Harrison also died of pneumonia.
3. Benjamin Harrison is the guy who had electricity put into The White House. However - he was nervous about it, so he had the servants actually flip the switches to turn lights on and off. Nice.
4. He was a progressive person. Went straight from chamberpots to indoor plumbing (skipping the outhouse option) in the house here in Indianapolis.
5. Benjamin's first wife (Caroline???) was a very good painter and started the tradition of designing the Presidential china pattern. Hers / the Harrison's china had a pattern of ears of corn around the outer rim. Not for Indiana though - the ears of corn represent the economy of the time (agrarian).
Check it out !
September Volunteer Work:
Indianapolis International Film Festival.
Needs work. Small. Lots of "gritty" films.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
August
Hey Everybody,
So August was pretty lame. Okay, what I really mean, is that I was pretty lame in August. Did not get any volunteer work done. Ridiculous. Not one day or even a part of a day doing any kind of volunteer work. I am not proud of myself for that.
And only did two new - and minor - things this month
1. Paul and I saw the International Space Station fly over. I know - that is some super passive activity. In fact, it really does not qualify as doing something new, but it was new to me / to us. And truth be told, it was kinda cool to know that we were watching it fly by. It came from the west and was headed east / northeast. It had flashing white light(s) - but no red ones, which is really the only way I think you can tell it apart from an airplane at night - which is the way we were viewing it.
2. I learned how to preserve the harvest. My wonderful Mom (Jan) came over and patiently and lovingly taught me how to make / can pickles. We made Bread & Butter pickles. What I've eaten so far were quite good, so if anyone wants the recipe, let me know. Heck - if anyone wants to learn how to can pickles, let me know and I will try to come teach you.
Much more fun and interesting things coming up in September and October.
Peace out.
So August was pretty lame. Okay, what I really mean, is that I was pretty lame in August. Did not get any volunteer work done. Ridiculous. Not one day or even a part of a day doing any kind of volunteer work. I am not proud of myself for that.
And only did two new - and minor - things this month
1. Paul and I saw the International Space Station fly over. I know - that is some super passive activity. In fact, it really does not qualify as doing something new, but it was new to me / to us. And truth be told, it was kinda cool to know that we were watching it fly by. It came from the west and was headed east / northeast. It had flashing white light(s) - but no red ones, which is really the only way I think you can tell it apart from an airplane at night - which is the way we were viewing it.
2. I learned how to preserve the harvest. My wonderful Mom (Jan) came over and patiently and lovingly taught me how to make / can pickles. We made Bread & Butter pickles. What I've eaten so far were quite good, so if anyone wants the recipe, let me know. Heck - if anyone wants to learn how to can pickles, let me know and I will try to come teach you.
Much more fun and interesting things coming up in September and October.
Peace out.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Blog Alert
Nearly one year of the blog. 365 days of focusing on doing something new every month. Low points - first root canal, first colonoscopy. High points - nearly everything else. Original plan was to shut the blog down at the end of August - close the 365 days and walk away from the lesson.
I've changed my mind though. I knocked many things off my list of "would like to do's" and in the process added many new things. So I'll continue to work on the list and do something new each month, but I am also going to try to focus on giving back. I'm hoping to do some type of volunteer work every month.
July volunteer work was for the Indianapolis International Film Festival. The Indpls Film Fest is 100% volunteer organized and staffed - which is pretty impressive. It's people who love film - especially independent film.
The difference between IIFF and the Heartland Film Festival is that Heartland is focused more on qualities like being uplifting, on having a positive ending, etc. The films at IIFF are more "gritty" with endings that don't tie up in a box with a neat little bow at the end. If you like a variety of films and want to see those little pictures that may not have the luxury of national distribution, check out the Indy Film Fest next year. Ticket cost in 2010 was $10 / film or you can buy an All Access Pass (which was a heck of a deal).
Find details here: http://www.indyfilmfest.org
I've changed my mind though. I knocked many things off my list of "would like to do's" and in the process added many new things. So I'll continue to work on the list and do something new each month, but I am also going to try to focus on giving back. I'm hoping to do some type of volunteer work every month.
July volunteer work was for the Indianapolis International Film Festival. The Indpls Film Fest is 100% volunteer organized and staffed - which is pretty impressive. It's people who love film - especially independent film.
The difference between IIFF and the Heartland Film Festival is that Heartland is focused more on qualities like being uplifting, on having a positive ending, etc. The films at IIFF are more "gritty" with endings that don't tie up in a box with a neat little bow at the end. If you like a variety of films and want to see those little pictures that may not have the luxury of national distribution, check out the Indy Film Fest next year. Ticket cost in 2010 was $10 / film or you can buy an All Access Pass (which was a heck of a deal).
Find details here: http://www.indyfilmfest.org
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Niagra
Went out for a drive and ended up at Niagra Falls on the Maid of the Mist. $13 per adult. Boats carry about 300 people each. The boats look over-crowded from shore - makes you feel like you might be on the 6:00 news (due to boat capsizing), but once onboard does not really feel that crowded.
Best location for a good view - the bow of the boat. There are several areas to view the falls without actually going on the boat... but yes... go on the boat anyway!
Long drive... about 8 or 9 hours with a couple of very brief stops. But a good overnight outing.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
DeBrand
Visited DeBrand Chocolates - great way to start July 2010.
The factory is located off Exit 116 in Fort Wayne, IN. The tour is $5 per person, and you get a $5 off coupon for each $10 in merchandise purchased, so it's not terribly pricey. Good thing, as the tour itself is somewhat underwhelming. Basically it is a walk down a hallway with a look into each of three kitchens.
The upside is that there are samples at each of the three kitchen stops. Sample type is dependent upon the products they are making that day.
Even if you don't do the tour, it is worth a stop off the highway for a quick chocolate and a coffee or one of the amazing looking desserts in their french-style cafe. Yum !
For more info.: http://www.debrand.com
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