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IU / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off
13
Jul 16

Trying different routes to, and around, campus

Seems they paint all of the traffic signal controller cabinets here. All of them are different. Each seems to have been done, or inspired, by a particular elementary class or some other youth group. Found this one this morning, which is particularly eye-catching:

Better than all of them being just a regular flat gray, I suppose.

While on the way from here to there I walked through the Eskenazi Art Museum today, mostly because it is fun to say and they have the air conditioning going full blast. Also, the place is huge. This is the foyer:

The museum itself:

ince its establishment in 1941, the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art has grown from a small university teaching collection into one of the foremost university art museums in the country. Today, the Eskenazi Museum of Art’s internationally acclaimed collection, ranging from ancient gold jewelry and African masks to paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, includes over 45,000 objects representing nearly every art-producing culture throughout history.

So that’s two giant museums we’ve discovered, but not attended, so far. And this one just down the road from everything, which is nice.

cycling / history / IU / music / Thursday — Comments Off
7
Jul 16

Stardust is a good song, y’all

I spent a bit of time in the Radio and Television Building today. In there we have a recently renovated 2,800-square-foot teaching studio, and the WTIU public television studios. WTIU is said to be one of the few high definition teaching facilities in the entire country. The WFIU public radio facilities are in there too. There are classes, labs, offices and the coolest poster ever:

Ordinarily I would try to avoid taking pictures of pictures, but that one, Curious George and curious kid, was too cool not to share.

I keep wandering by this statue of Hoagy Carmichael. He was from here. He went to school at IU and became a lawyer, but he always wanted to be a musician and so he composed “Stardust,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Heart and Soul,” “The Nearness of You” and more.

And in the sculpture he is really laboring over that piano. But in a cool, jazzy way.

Stardust:

More Hoagy:

This is the Monroe Lake Dam, on Salt Creek, which was the turnaround point for our bike ride this evening:

It was built from 1960-1964. It is 1,350 feet long and 93 feet tall. The lake itself is the largest in the state. Well, the largest that is entirely in one state, I’ve read. If you’re really into the master plans of dams, I have one for you.

I’m more into empty road pictures, myself:

Not seen, everyone in our little riding group.

I also made a video of the ride:

IU / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off
6
Jul 16

Look at this place

Hey, it is July, and hot. Even the statue of Ernie Pyle is sweating:

The Media School, where I live and work, is about to be moving. That’s the culmination of a three-plus year project, and since I’m new and it is the summer, there’s not a lot for me to do yet. A little HR ere, a little paperwork there. And I’m giving myself tours, so I went by to say hello to Ernie today.

I don’t yet know what goes on in this building:

This used to be a dorm. Now it is an administrative building. I hear it is going to become a dorm again:

And this is a side of one of the intramural gyms, Wildermuth. It used to be where the men’s basketball team played during the middle of the 20th century. It sat 10,000 people. Now there are 10 courts, a gym, a pool, locker rooms and classes in there:

The current facility, Assembly Hall, is undergoing a renovation right now ahead of next season. It will seat more than 17,000.

I walked through one of the international studies buildings:

It seems that every physical actor and voice actor that has ever played Vader was British, American, Canadian. But we’ll allow it on the basis of cleverness. And the idea that Polish might be a challenging language to study for most Americans.

food / IU / photo / Tuesday — Comments Off
5
Jul 16

First day at the new job

Had to happen eventually, going back to work, I mean. We have everything unpacked and most things are settled. Except for the hanging of picture frames. We might need some help with that, so come on up.

Anyway, reported for duty today. This is the new building:

I’ve been reading Ernie Pyle for years. As best I can tell I first mentioned him on this site 10 years ago. And some long time before that I first read his columns. He was an incredible rider, and he’s from Indiana and attended the university. He’d come back home from time to time to see his family and friends. He’d come to campus once in a while, too. And he’s still beloved here. His desk is here, this building is named after him. He has a statue that was installed in recent years, and that’s over at the location of the new building. I’m sure we’ll get around to explaining all of that here in time. For now, I’m at Ernie Pyle Hall, who could have seen that coming? Soon, we’ll be in a newly renovated facility. Pretty fancy upgrades all the way around.

This is a small part of the student union. They say its one of the largest in the country. They have a bowling alley and a barber shop and a bakery inside. Also, no kidding, a hotel:

This will take some explaining. Friends took us to this restaurant when we were up here at the first of the year. On a lark I tried a sort of burger I wouldn’t ordinarily order. It was delicious. We came back tonight for the first time, but they’d taken it off the menu. Didn’t sell. (Because I hadn’t gotten here yet, I guess.) I was so stunned and saddened that it took me even longer to think up a backup order, much to the delight and consternation of The Yankee and a friend of ours who was up visiting some family. I finally settled on this James Beard Foundation prize winning burger. It was OK, but not as good as what I wanted.

Now, the waiter, this poor guy who had to deal with me, he got the chef to give him the recipe for the mythical Cuban Frita burger:

Going to have to try to make that soon.

family / friends / history / IU / photo / Wednesday — Comments Off
8
Jun 16

A walk around part of the IU campus

Today one of our friends and colleagues gave us a walking tour around the main part of the campus. It is a big place. Quite attractive. Almost all of the buildings are made from local limestone, so it sort of looks like Hogwarts. But it is also big enough that a quick walking tour makes it all a bit hard to digest. (Mostly I started wondering what they aren’t good at here. The reputation of this place is pretty incredible.) It’ll take a bit of time.

But, here, this is part of our new building, Franklin Hall:

When I was up for my interview at the beginning of the year the students were still working away in Ernie Pyle Hall. The great journalist was an Indiana student and that’s his statue out front, there. When the students come back in the fall they’ll see his statue there, the famed Ernie Pyle desk inside and a lot of new opportunities.

Franklin dates back to 1907 but is right now enjoying the finishing touches of a $22 million renovation. You can’t go inside just yet. Next month, though, we move in. (Which is fine, I’m ready for a break from lifting and carrying cardboard.)

Franklin Hall was once the library, and later an administrative building and will now be home to the newly created Media School. It is going to be an incredible facility. My office is in there somewhere:

Right next to Franklin are the Sample Gates. Designed to look older than they are. They only go back to the 1980s, but the gates have a weird history prior to that. In the 1960s a donation toward building some version of the gates was consider “wasteful alumni spending” and ever since then alumni everywhere have been sure to spend their own money wisely.

Anyway, they are named after Edson Sample’s family:

In a twist of fate, it was long-time University director of scholarships and financial aid Edson Sample that provided the funding to build the Sample Gates in honor of his parents.

Schweir, the historian, says walking through the Sample Gates makes her feel like she’s stepping back in time. Starr, the artist, views them from a 21st century perspective.

“Every time I walk by it now, I don’t just see the Sample Gates,” says Starr. “I see Obama and Edward from Twilight and zebra skin and cheetah skin. You really transform the psychology.”

It took 90 years to get there.

We built our new grill and gave it a tour tonight:

I tasted beef and roasted vegetables. No Edward from Twilight, though.