March 15: Laura Engelbrecht shares her experiences with child soldiers in Africa

Ms Engelbrecht is coming to Indianapolis as part of the Indiana Council on World Affairs Distinguished Speaker dinner. She is working on an upcoming History Channel documentary about child soldiers in Eastern Congo

When: Wednesday March 15 -- SOCIAL HOUR 5:30 PM; DINNER 6:30 PM; TALK 7:15 PM; ADJOURNMENT 8:45 PM

Where: Butler University Johnson Room-Robertson Hall

This will be a powerful and disturbing presentation. In more than 30 countries around the world, children have become direct participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, several hundreds of thousands of children are serving as soldiers in current armed conflicts, participating in all aspects of contemporary warfare, wielding AK-47s and M-16s on the front lines of combat, serving as human mine detectors, participating in suicide missions, carrying supplies, acting as spies or lookouts, doing whatever they can to survive. Girls are also used as soldiers in many parts of the world. In addition to combat duties, girls are subject to sexual abuse and may be taken as “wives” by rebel leaders in Angola, Sierra Leone and Uganda. Because of their immaturity and lack of experience, child soldiers suffer higher casualties than their adult counterparts. Even after the conflict is over, they may be left physically disabled or psychologically traumatized. Frequently denied an education or the opportunity to learn civilian job skills, many find it difficult to re-join peaceful society. Schooled only in war, former child soldier are often drawn into crime or become easy prey for future recruitment.

Laura Engelbrecht is in the middle of trying to solve the problem of child soldiers. Born in San Jose, she spent much of her childhood overseas, including seven years in West Africa, where her parents lived and worked in rural villages in northern Guinea. After graduating from American University in December 1999, Ms Engelbrecht began working in the Secretary of State’s Operations Center, where she monitored breaking international events and gave regular briefings to the Secretary and other senior government officials during ongoing crises. Six months into her work, her team was given the Franklin Award for Outstanding Service by Secretary Madeleine Albright for their work after the USS Cole bombing and several airline hijackings. After a year, Ms Engelbrecht began traveling in advance of Secretary Albright (and then Secretary Powell) to prepare for their overseas trips.

In October 2001, Ms Engelbrecht began a two-year tour as a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in the Congo. Her portfolio was eastern Congo, and she soon became the Embassy’s primary expert on militia and rebel groups during the peace negotiations leading to a transition government and elections. Her ground-breaking investigation and reporting on human rights abuses, particularly mass rape, earned her the 2002 State Department Award for Exceptional Achievement in Human Rights and Democracy. Ms Engelbrecht suggested and helped implement several iniatives to advance the peace process in DRC and pave the way for the transition government and elections.

After returning to Washington D.C. in October 2003, she resigned from the State Department in February 2004 and began independent consulting on Africa for a variety of public and private sector clients. She has been asked to submit written testimony to Congress and participate in several State Department conferences as an expert on Congo and Great Lakes region. In June 2005, she began working as an Analyst/Trainer for the State Department’s ACOTA (Africa Contingency Operations Training Assistance) program, in which she travels with a team of former U.S. military officers to train African troops who are deploying with UN peacekeeping missions. As the only civilian on the training team, Ms Engelbrecht focuses primarily on civil-military relations and humanitarian interactions, in order to help the soldiers bridge the gap between traditional war-fighting and peacekeeping. In December 2005, she was hired as a consultant on an upcoming History Channel documentary on child soldiers, for which she will travel to eastern Congo several times in 2006. She has contributed to an online exhibit for the Holocaust Museum about eastern Congo, which features actress Angelina Jolie’s trip to Congo in 2003, and which I strongly recommend you see at http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/congojournal/.



For details about RSVPing for this event, please contact Kishor Kulkarni at kmKulkarni@aol.com.

Want to learn more about Africa? Here's your chance:

• Feb. 5: Watch Nigerian artist Prince Twins Seven-Seven work wood magic
• Feb. 15: Engage with activist Salih Booker on what Americans can do to help Africa
• Feb. 16: Watch the film Moolaadé on female genital mutilation in Africa
• Feb. 19: Come to Marian College to hear Senator Richard Lugar
• Feb. 23: Watch the African film "Daughters of Keltoum"
• April 3: Join a Community Summit on Citizen Diplomacy at Marian College
• April 18: Listen to prize-winning Nigerian writer Chris Abani
• April 26 to May 4: Spend nine days at the International Film Festival of Indianapolis!
• May 15: Celebrate USAID director Randall Tobias, Indianapolis International Citizen of the Year

In addition, Sarah Archer has worked long and hard on the issue of child soldiers. Laura Engelbrecht offers some suggested readings about how to solve the problem of child soldiers.

• “Children at War” by Peter Singer
• “Innocents Lost” by Jimmie Briggs
• “Beasts of No Nation” by Uzodinma Iweala (this is a newly-published novel written from the perspective of a child soldier, written by a Nigerian Harvard grad who wasn’t a child soldier but did an excellent job of capturing a plausible tone and writing a good fictional account that could very well be true)
  

In terms of websites and organizations, here are a couple Laura recommends:

http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/childsoldiers.pdf (UNICEF factsheet on child soldiers)

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/childsoldiers-index-eng (Amnesty International)

http://www.africanwanderings.com/?p=36 (Article interviewing child soldier, mentions Save the Children, who works a lot with child soldiers)

http://www.warchild.org/ (Homepage for War Child, an NGO very active in rehabilitation of child soldiers)

http://www.child-soldiers.org/ (Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, formed by six leading NGOs: (1) Amnesty Int’l, (2) Human Rights Watch, (3) Save the Children-Sweden, (4) Jesuit Refugee Service, (5) Quaker United Nations Office-Geneva, (6), International Federation Terre des Hommes)

Good recommendations, thanks Laura.

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March 18: Amy Cutler with Jan Švankmajer's distressingly beautiful take on Alice in Wonderland

A surreal art experience at the IMA with Amy Cutler and a viewing of the visually stunning film "Alice"

When: Amy Cutler's works will be displayed from March 10 to June 4; "Alice" will be shown March 18 at 2:00 PM

Where: Indianapolis Museum of Art -- Amy Cutler exhibit in McCormack Forefront Gallery; "Alice" shown in the DeBoest Lecture Hall

Amy Cutler's work is equal parts strange and lovely. Inspired by random stories and images from mass media, reality shows, book illustrations, folktales and personal experiences, she creates exquisitely detailed, enigmatic paintings that obsessively illustrate scenes of women, animals and hybrid beings engaged in magical, dreamlike activities. Her works, which include drawing, gouache on paper and paint on wood panels, vary in size and incorporate references that have been described as “snippets of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Hieronymus Bosch and Masterpiece Theatre plotlines.” Some find a deeper significance to her pieces: "Amy Cutler has rapidly achieved an international reputation for politically and psychologically charged narrative paintings and drawings. Exquisitely rendered on paper, or wood panels, Cutler's works are an enigmatic compilation of her dreams, fantasies and everyday observations inflected by a wide variety of sources ranging from Indian miniature painting and medieval European history to the latest shoe styles or the evening news."

Cutler identifies "Alice" (Něco z Alenky), Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer's disturbing semi-animated version of "Alice in Wonderland," as an inspiration for her work. Švankmajer mixes stop-motion animation and live action to create a dreamy, sinister journey with Alice, a stuffed rabbit come to life, a caterpillar sock puppet with dentures, and specimens from a natural history museum thrown in. It contains some of the most vivid and disturbing scenes I can recall ... and that was on a small telly in London, not on a big screen. "Alice" has had a strong impact on horror filmmakers and fans, on Tim Burton, and on rock music videos. Like most of the art and literature produced in Czechoslovakia while there still was a Czechoslovakia, "Alice" has a political subtext of violence and power. I strongly recommend it, but don't take little kids.

Amy Cutler's exhibit is free with IMA admission, as is "Alice"

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March 20: Ladies and Gentlement, give it up for Mr Nick Hornby!

Popular and important writer Nick Hornby comes to Butler

When: Monday March 20

Where: Butler University -- Riley Room, Atherton Union

Too many Americans know Nick Hornby through the movies made of his novels: "High Fidelity" with John Cusack, and the Drew Barrymore & Jimmy Fallon baseball-ified version of "Fever Pitch." Hornby is a splendid writer, much better than the movies turned out to be. When he was younger, he wrote with a rare combination of passion and discipline about themes at the center of the lives of all guys in their 20s: music and sports, slacking vs growing up, women and vulnerability. In his past couple of books, he has been broadening his range. "How to be good" was written from the perspective of a woman, and his latest novel "A long way down" explores the slough of suicidal despond. Hornby himself has emerged as an important philanthropist in the UK, a fierce and active champion of the cause of autism. It has been fascinating to watch this writer mature (however reluctantly, it sometimes seems), and it will be a treat to hear him in person.

Like other talk in Butler's "Visiting Writers Series," this is free and open to the public. For more information call 317-940-9861.

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March 21: Steve Akard explains what's up with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation

The World Trade Club presents Steve Akard, director of international development of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, who will explain the state's "New Programs and the Economic Strategies"

When: Tuesday March 21, registration and social hour at 5:30, dinner and program at 6:30

Where: Omni Severin Hotel Downtown 40 W. Jackson Place Indianapolis, IN 46204

For those interested in global business opportunities, this will be a great opportunity to hear how the state intends to develop. A flat state in a flat world, that's what Indiana is.

But Steve Akard should make the session even more interesting. Steve returns to Indiana after a career in the State Department, with postings in Mumbai and Brussels.

Evening meetings registration and social hour is from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Event Cost:$30 for members, $40 for non-members, $25 for full-time students

To make a reservation:
Tel: 317-261-0918
Fax: 317-888-6152
E-mail WTC Administration

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March 28: A first chance to hear Charles Dhanaraj on India and China

This talk concludes the Indiana Council on World Affairs "Great Decisions" series. Prof. Dhanaraj will just have returned from time spent in India, Singapore, and elsewhere in Asia. It should be very good.

When: Tuesday March 28 -- registration at 7:00, program runs 7:30-9:00 PM

Where: Butler University, Pharmacy Building

China and India have emerged on the world stage, after following different paths toward rapid economic growth. Will China and India work closer together or compete with each other to become major world powers? How will their growth affect the U.S. economy and strategic interests?

Charles Dhanaraj is carving out a unique space of expertise in the business of the rapidly growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. But unlike some academics and business commentators, Charles keeps a keen eye on the social costs that go along with the booming business opportunities.

For more on this topic, see the IndyBuzz blurb on Charles's upcoming presentation to the Mid-North Shepherd's Center ... you can catch him again on April 19. For a different a more geo-strategic analysis of China and India's relations, check out Susan Erickson at the Church of the Saviour February 15.

The ICWA's Great Decisions series is free for students. For ICWA members, the series costs $9 for an individual and $14 for couples. For non-members it's $12 for individuals and $17 for a couple. Attending single sessions costs $5. You should get the book of eight fine articles that goes along with the series, it costs $12. Any questions? Contact Mitzi Graham 317-872-4004.

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March 30: push the bounds of intellectualized sexuality with Nin Andrews and Brady's Leap

When: Thursday March 30 7:30 PM

Where: IUPUI University Library, Lilly Auditorium

IndyBuzz tries not to be prudish, but IndyBuzz does have a mother who sometimes checks in to the blog ... so let's start with IUPUI's description of this event, with hyperlinks added so you can check veracity for yourself:

"Acclaimed author of "The Book of Orgasms", "Spontaneous Breasts", and "Midlife Crisis with Dick and Jane", Nin Andrews has been called “a mixture of Green Acres and Carson McCullers.” She is also the editor of a book of translations of the French poet, Henri Michaux, entitled "Someone Wants to Steal My Name". About "The Book of Orgasms", David Wojahn has written “There is no other young writer — at least on these shores — whose work even remotely resembes that of Nin Andrews. To find her predecessors one has to look to Europe, to the sly and sometimes erotic zaniness of Luis Buñuel.” Nin’s work has appeared widely in such journals as Paris Review and Denver Quarterly and in Best American Poetry 1997, 2001 and 2003.

Brady’s Leap is a band of four award-winning poets and a physicist. Gathering inspiration from new and ancient sources, they play a creative blend of folk, Celtic, rock and blues. Their songs and ballads include layered a cappella, instrumentals, and haunting harmonies, reflecting the history of Ireland, Britain and America.

I like some of the Andrew's poems, some of them are thought-provoking and arresting. Some seem naughty for the sake of being naughty, or maybe to prove that it's possible to be naughty and well-read. Consider the opening of her poem "Black Magic":

According to William James, there are laws in psychology. If you form a picture in your mind of what you would like or wish, and you hold that picture long enough, you produce what you are thinking.

In this way monks in certain Himalayan monasteries manifest women out of thin air while balancing cups of steaming gooseberry tea on their cocks.

Sorry about that, Mom. I'll probably read James's "Varieties of Religious Experience" differently next time around ... read it better? That's another question. At the same time, I do like the efforts of the cool kids at Big Car to push the boundaries of how we view the so-called real world, so I'll give Nin Andrews a try.

The 2005-06 Rufus Reiberg Reading Series is presented by the School of Liberal Arts, University College, and the University Library. Contact: Karen Kovacik, (317) 274-9831

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March 31: Dennis Bingham tells us "who deserves a biopic?"

Dennis Bingham, who teaches English and film studies at IUPUI, picks over politics and parody, creativity, convention, and posterity in Hollywood's most prestigious and least aprreciated genre in his talk, "Who Deserves a Biopic?"

When: Friday March 31 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Where: IUPUI, Lilly Auditorium, University Library

This should be a good one. Unlike many other academics writing about film, Dennis Bingham's books and articles make you want to see the movies he analyzes. That at least was my reaction to his 1999 Cinema Journal article, "'I do want to live!': Female Voices, Male Discourse, and Hollywood Biopics," which made me want to see "I Want to Live!" the 1958 Susan Hayward movie about the first woman to be executed by the state of California. (To show how rare this is, consider the title of the article that followed Bingham's: "Devouring Creation: Cannibalism, Sodomy, and the Scene of Analysis in Suddenly, Last Summer" ... as they say, you can't make this stuff up.)

Based on previous versions of this talk Bingham has given, I am guessing he'll talk about (among other movies) The Story of Louis Pasteur, Ed Wood, and Ray. My answer to the question, "who deserves a biopic?" Louis Pasteur? Not really, scientists are part of a grand enterprise that dwarfs the individual scientist. Ed Wood? Get real! Ray Charles? Definitely yes.

Well, that would be a pretty short talk if I was giving it ... I am guessing Prof. Bingham will give a different kind of answer, I'm looking forward to hearing it. This talk is part of the School of Liberal Arts' Sabbatical Speaker Series, and it's free. Questions? Contact: Annette Hill, 278-1839.

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April 8: ¡Tanguísimo!

An evening of song and dance with Tanguísimo, an international tango orchestra at Clowes Hall

When: Saturday April 8, 8:00 PM

Where: Butler University, Clowes Hall

This performance fills me with a slight sense of unease ... but not because I'm nervous about the tango. No, I love the tango, as much as it is possible for a man who is utterly incapable of dancing to love a music form that fiercely grabs one by the hips and commands: "Dance!" (An irresistable force meets an unmoveable booty.) When I teach about Argentina in my Latin American politics classes, my students to listen to different tangos, and read Jorge Luis Borges's brilliant "History of the Tango," which observes how the music awakens in the listener memories of events that never happened, memories that are ever so much more vivid and real than those memories of things that happened in this mundane real world:

[The tango] reveals a personal past which, until that moment, each of us ignored, moving us to lament mis-fortunes that did not actually occur to us and to feel shame for wrongs we did not actually commit. For myself, I will confess that I cannot hear "El Maine" or "Don Juan" without remembering with great precision an apocryphal past, at the same time stoic and orgiastic, in which I defied and fought, only in the end to fall silently, in an obscure duel of knives. Perhaps this is the mission of the tango: to give Argentines the certainty of having once been valiant, of having realized the demands of valor and of honor.

What better metaphor for the history of Argentinian politics? (A couple of years ago The Economist had a gem of an article about the history of the tango, read it.)

Astor Piazzolla is one of the great geniuses of the second half of the 20th century, a brilliant composer who could in his Tango Nuevo rework a dangerous dance into an art form worthy of being recorded by the avant-garde Kronos Quartet and Yo Yo Ma, yet who himself remained the most passionate and skillful performers of the bandoneon. Very few days go by when I don't take time out to listen to Piazzolla at least once ... so yeah, I am a tango guy.

The problem is that just about every advertising agency in the world seems to be full of tango guys. This art form, at once starkly simple and wonderously complex, is ubiquitous today, providing the background noise for car commercials, for furniture polish commercials, for flavored gourmet coffee commercials ... The tango's grace and spirit, its beauty has been reduced to a trope, a cliché, and not a very interesting cliché at that.

Think of what happened to Dalmatians after 101 of them were featured in a popular movie. Suddenly every kid was clamoring for a spotted dog. As they sought to profit from the spike in demand puppy mills overbred, and within a few years the broad-browed and phlegmatic Dalmatian was reduced to a narrow-headed hyper dog barely capable of sitting still on a stationary firetruck. That could be the fate of the tango.

To be honest, I don't know much about Tanguísimo (named after a composition by Piazzolla), a self-styled "Argentine Tango Orchestra" even though the group is based in France and few of the members themselves seem to hail from Argentina. They do have skilled musicians, including the Bulgarian violinist Svetlin Roussev, winner of the 1998 Indianapolis International Violin Competition (which is presenting Tanguísimo's performance). So I plan to set aside my fears of overbred musical stereotypes and throw myself into the event (although I still won't dance).

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April 5: Milind Thakar talks about US-Iran relations

Milind Thakar, a rising favorite among local groups devoted to international issues, looks at Iran-US relations for the Mid-North Shepherd's Center's "Great Decisions series

When: Wednesday April 5 -- talk 11-12, lunch 12:00-12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

The election of Iran's conservative president has raised concern that hardliners will shape policies against U.S. interests. How can the U.S. check Iran's influence in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries in the region? How will the U.S. and the international community mitigate the crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions?

Helping answer these questions will be Milind Thakar, professor of history and political science at the University of indianapolis. It's part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com

Want more about the Middle East?

• Jan. 31: Attend a discussion of "The Coverage of Religion in the Middle East"
• Feb. 1: Join Charles Winslow to discuss US-Iran relations
• Feb. 14: Hear DePauw’s Sean Foley discuss US-Iran relations
• Feb. 19: Come to Marian College to hear Senator Richard Lugar
• March 2: Come to Butler to see former President Bush
• March 8: Hear IUPUI’s Scott Pegg explain where Turkey is headed
• March 20: Hear journalists from Lebanon and the US on the Middle East and its evolving news media
• April 3: Join a Community Summit on Citizen Diplomacy at Marian College
• April 26: Discuss energy security with John Clark
• April 26 to May 4: Spend nine days at the International Film Festival of Indianapolis

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April 10: Steven Pinker, or what Roger Daltrey would have looked like if he had decided to be the world's foremost popularizer of cognitive psychology

One of the world's leading cognitive scientists and tireless public intellectuals, Steven Pinker, comes to Butler University.

When: Monday April 10 7:30 PM

Where: Butler University Reilly Room in Atherton Union Hall

Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, Dr. Pinker writes about human nature and the development of the human mind, trying to understand the roles of genetics and environment in making us who we are. He will talk about his latest book, The Blank Slate, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Pinker is a presence explaining much more than only cognitive psychology. The mind, of course, permeates every aspect of human life and society, and Pinker effectively uses the public platform this provides. This will be an event worth making the time to attend.

I had been tempted to write that "Steven Pinker will be bringing his hair to Butler University" ... the second thing people notive when they meet Steve is that he is really, really smart. The first thing is that he has the hair of a 1970s rock god. It turns out that this not uncommon in the world of science. Check out the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists™,
by the standards of his peers Pinker really is quite restrained and modest in his Absolam-like locks.

[This cartoon is wrong]

For more on science and society:

• Feb. 7: Join the ACLU for a discussion of “Intelligent Design in Science Class?”
• Feb. 8: Listen to astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on “The Cosmic Perspective”
• March 4: Attend a conference on “The Realms of Science and Faith” at IUPUI
• March 4: Attend a Darwin Day Conference at IUPUI

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April 12: Fran Quigley on human rights and the war against terrorism

Fran Quigley is executive director of the ACLU-Indiana. More than that, he is emerging as a crucial intellectual and moral voice in discussions of law, the constitution, poverty, and society's obligations to the most vulnerable.

When: Wednesday April 12, talk 11-12, lunch noon -- 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

Terrorist attacks in Western nations have forced governments to adopt measures, sometimes controversial, to combat terrorism. While security is a priority for all societies, debate has arisen about how far some of these measures should reach. Can human rights and civil liberties be fully protected in an age of terrorism?

This may be the most important theme in this year's "Great Decisions" series. Fran is the person to lead this discussion ... and not only because he is getting a lot of practice in these troubled times!

Part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com

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April 13: Chinese dissident and possible Nobel Prize winner Bei Dao

Bei Dao is an important figure in Chinese culture, and not only because he has resisted Chinese dictatorship. If he does some day win the Nobel Prize for Literature, it would be very well deserved.

When: Thursday April 13, 7:30 PM

Where: Butler University, Robertson Hall Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall

The story of Bei Dao's life is depressingly familiar ... it happened to too many uncompromising artists in China, the former Soviet bloc, current dictatorships:

Bei Dao (pseudonym of Zhao Zhenkai), one of China’s foremost poets of the "misty school," was born in 1949 in Beijing. Both his father, an administrative cadre, and his mother, a medical doctor, came from traditional, middle-class Shanghai families. During the Cultural Revolution, Bei joined the Red Guard movement, expecting a spirit of cooperation between the Chinese Communist Party and the country’s intellectual elite. Like many other middle-class youth, however, he soon became disillusioned with Chinese society and was later sent to the countryside, where he became a construction worker. Living in total isolation in the mountains outside Beijing increased his youthful melancholy and prompted him and many of his contemporaries to explore a more spiritual approach to life. Searching for a
fresh poetics, many of China’s new writers of the Seventies experimented with "free verse" in a hermetic, semi-private language characterized by oblique, oneiric imagery and elliptical syntax. That linguistic style, in which subject, tense, and number are elusive and transitions are unclear, came to be called "menglong shi," or "misty poetry."

By 1974, Bei Dao had finished the first draft of his novella Waves and begun a sequence of poems. Those poems were to become a guiding beacon for the youth of the April Fifth Democracy Movement of 1976, in which thousands peacefully demonstrated in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Bei Dao’s poetry won instant recognition and a faithful following, especially among young readers.

Debasement is the password of the base,

Nobility the epitaph of the noble.

See how the gilded sky is covered

With the drifting twisted shadows of the dead

In December 1978, Bei Dao and Mang Ke published the first issue of China’s first unofficial literary journal, Jintian [Today], which survived until Beijing officials shut it down in 1980. (The quotation above comes from "Hui Da" [Answers], which first appeared in that number.)

Widely treasured by those who participated in China’s democracy movement, Bei Dao’s poetry is marked by the effort to reveal the nature of the self, to identify both public and private wounds, to trust in instinctive perceptions, and to reach out to other afflicted souls. It depicts the intimacy of passion, love, and friendship in a society where trust can literally be a matter of life and death.

He was forced into exile following the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. He, along with other exiled writers and artists, has found a voice in a renewed version of Jintian, which was re-launched in Stockholm in 1990. "Ironically, it is…this…position of an exile that has given Bei Dao new insights… His experience has translated into three volumes of poetry, each of which has earned more critical acclaim than the one before."

Bei Dao was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters as an honorary member." And his name is constantly reported by the media as being on the short list of Nobel candidates in the last few years. So much so, that the poet is rumored to not answer the phone when the time comes to announce the Nobel prizes.

It must not be a coincidence that Bei Dao and Chris Abani are both coming to Butler's Spring Visiting Writers Series at about the same time. Abani dedicates a recent poem:


Fire
by Chris Abani

—for Bei Dao

Lost, but for the flames we drag
through dark streets; smoke and dust
Aho je la, aho je la, aho jengeje, aho jengeje
This chant is sky orotund with sun
and the mirage: a pot smoldering
against night’s face, startling last year’s
spirits gathering in corners, holding on.
And this— The crackle
of burning firewood, a train of palm fronds
like hungry tongues licking the street,
parched from the intensity. Distant,
beyond the brood of dark hills the sea;
salt and stone. This is not superstition.
This is how we write love.

I like that poem a lot, but I am curious what the chant "Aho je la, aho je la, aho jengeje, aho jengeje" ... is it Ibo? There is a game in which you win by typing two words into Google and getting one and only one hit. "aho jengeje" wins that game, at least until Google takes account of this IndyBuzz blurb.

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April 18: You HAVE to see Chris Abani

It is glib to say that Chris Abani is one of the most important Africans writing these days. No, the truth is that he is one of the most important writers today.

When: Tuesday April 18, 7:30 PM

Where: Butler University, Robertson Hall Johnson Room, 4600 Sunset Ave.

GraceLand, Abani’s chronicle of a young man coming of age in Nigeria in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was a “Today Show pick” in January 2005. Abani won the 2005 PEN Hemingway Book Prize.

Abani's story is as coloful as Graceland's protagonist, Elvis.

In 1985 the Nigerian writer Chris Abani was arrested and imprisoned for six months on suspicion of masterminding a political coup. It was suggested that the plot of his first novel, a thriller published two years earlier about the return of the Third Reich called Masters of the Board, had laid a blueprint for the coup. Abani was eighteen years old at the time. Over the next five years, Abani would be imprisoned twice more. Upon the publication of Sirocco (1987), his second novel, Abani was accused of sedition and held for one year at Kiri-Kiri, a maximum security prison in Lagos, Nigeria. Released during a general amnesty, the young writer entered university and was arrested again in 1990, after a performance of his play Song for a Broken Flute that was attended by the head of state. Abani was convicted of treason and sentenced to death, spending the next eighteen months at Kiri-Kiri-six of them in solitary confinement-until concerned friends bribed prison officials to arrange for his escape. Abani spent the next seven years in London, writing and speaking out against the regime in Nigeria. But when a neighbor was murdered in 1999, Abani fled to the United States, fearing it was a case of mistaken identity-his neighbor was the only other Nigerian in the building.

I found parts of Graceland stunning, it was one of the best I read last year. This event I am very much looking forward to. The talk is free, which is a ridiculously good deal, so use the money you save to get a copy of Graceland, you will be happy you did.

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April 19: Charles Dhanaraj explains whether China and india are rivals or allies

Charles Dhanaraj is a very insightful expert on the rapidly emerging BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China)

When: Wednesday May 17, talk 11:00-noon, lunch noon - 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

China and India have emerged on the world stage, after following different paths toward rapid economic growth. Will China and India work closer together or compete with each other to become major world powers? How will their growth affect the U.S. economy and strategic interests?

These days the buzzword is "Chindia," or as the Guardian's headline put it, "where the world's workshop meets its office." No more skirmishes or war between the two Asian giants, cooperation to achieve prosperity is the game today. I remain skeptical ... it is a very long border these two prickly super-civilizations share. I expect Charles Dhanaraj, professor of management at the Kelley School of Business, to illuminate the topic. Thanks to the splendid conference on emerging markets that he organized last year, Charles should perhaps be called the BRIC-man.

Part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com

Read up on China and India before this event. If you would like to hear a more geo-strategic analysis of China and India's relations, check out Susan Erickson at the Church of the Saviour February 15.

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April 19: A great historian tells us why we are in trouble

A talk about current America in historic context by one of the greats of the history profession, Forrest McDonald.

When: Wednesday April 19, 12:00-1:30 PM

Where: Indiana Convention Center.

A distinguished history professor at the University of Alabama since 1976, Dr. McDonald is one of the nation’s most prolific authors on historical themes and one of the most honored. A Pulitzer finalist in 1986, he is widely acclaimed for biographical studies of late 18th and early 19th century figures, especially Washington, Jefferson and Hamilton. He also is co-author of three collegiate textbooks on American history. You can check out his books here. My personal favorite is Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution. MacDonald is a traditionally-minded historian who has been lionized by conservatives for refuting Charles Beard's "Economic Interpretation of the Constitution." I had assumed that Beard had been done in by his simplistic reductionism long before McDonald whacked away at ever so great length in We the People. For a flavor of McDonald's criticism of contemporary academia and kids these days, see his farewell lecture. Expect more of the same at this Economic Club luncheon.


For information about how to attend this Economic Club luncheon, go here.

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April 18: Latin America - The political environment & economic opportunities with a post-Castro Cuba

Don Villwock of Edwardsport, President of Indiana Farm Bureau and Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, talks about trade

When: Tuesday April 18, reception 11:30 AM -- noon; talk and lunch at noon

Where: Omni Severin Hotel Downtown 40 W. Jackson Place Indianapolis, IN 46204

One of those quirky things about those supposedly conservative Hoosier farmers is that an awful lot of them would love to make a deal with Fidel.

Check here for details, and here for making reservations.

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April 26: Energy security with John Clark

Help me figure out how to resolve the traumas caused by the US energy policy (or lack of such as policy).

When: Wednesday May 17, talk 11:00-noon, lunch noon - 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

Energy supply and consumption have a significant impact on U.S. politics and economy. Is reliance on Middle East oil making the U.S. vulnerable to political influence and economic peril? How will the rapidly increasing consumption of energy by countries like China affect the U.S. and the world?

Over the past year we in Central Indiana have had many vital discussions of energy security (the way we view it in the US) and the resource curse (the way it is viewed in countries that are cursed with energy resources such as oil). I've hosted panels of experts on Asian energy security and the country's top expert on the internationlal implications of US energy policy. We have local experts on the disaster oil has caused for the people of Cameroon and Nigeria. I'll try to pull these themes together in this talk at the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com

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April 26 -- May 4: The International Film Festival of Indianapolis!

This is going to be big, it's going to be important, and IndyBuzz will be devoting a lot of attention to it. In the meantime, check out this article from the Indianapolis Star:

December 10, 2005
"International film fest grows"
bonnie.britton@indystar.com

The Indianapolis International Film Festival will expand to four venues and run for nine days next year, from April 26 to May 4. The first festival at United Artists Circle Centre Theatre in 2004 included 16 shorts and five features in competition, and drew about 2,400 people. Fifty films from around the world were shown at the 2005 festival in April at Hollywood Bar & Filmworks, and attendance rose about 25 percent. For its third year, the festival has locked up the Eastern United States premiere of "Jewboy," an Australian film that will first be shown at the Sundance Film Festival; the Indiana premiere of the South African film "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha," a modern-day interpretation of Bizet's "Carmen"; and "Shanghai Dreams," director Xiaoshuai Wang's Jury Prize winner at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
The deadline for entries is Jan. 14. Festival director Brian Owens will announce the full slate of films in competition in March. There currently are movies from 31 countries and six continents in competition.
In 2006, films will be shown at Hollywood Bar & Filmworks (April 26-30), the Indiana Historical Society (April 26-27), the Indianapolis Museum of Art (April 26-30) and Landmark's Keystone Art Cinema & Indie Lounge (April 28-May 4).
Early-bird passports (all-access passes) are available by calling (317) 513-9379 between noon and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The passport is $75 if purchased by Dec. 30. After Dec. 30, passports are $85. For guaranteed delivery before Christmas, orders should be placed by Dec. 19.

****************************************

INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES PREMIERE FILMS

Sundance favorite “Kinky Boots” among eight films announced.
Indianapolis, IN – In the first of four line-up announcements, the Indianapolis International Film Festival (IIFF) has confirmed eight premiere films to screen in the out-of-competition Premieres Program. Premiere films are studio films showing for the first time in Indiana, the Midwest, the Eastern United States, or the US. The Festival opens on Wednesday, April 26, and films conclude on Thursday, May 4. The Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Party will be held on Friday, May 5.

For 2006, the IIFF received 298 films for consideration from 50 nations. These numbers represent an increase of 204% over 2005. The line-up of short films in competition will be announced on February 15. Feature films in competition will be announced February 28. The remaining ten premiere films will be announced on March 15.

Festival films screen in several programs, including: African Planet, American Independents, films of Australia & the Pacific, East Asian Celebration, European Directions, Nuevo Latino Cinema, and films of South Asia & the Middle East. In addition, there will be a special focus on Real Cinema (Documentaries) Animation, and Sports-themed films.

All films will be shown in at least two of four venues. The venues include the Indiana Historical Society, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Hollywood Bar & Filmworks, and the new Landmark Keystone Art Cinema & Indie Lounge, located in the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing.

All-Access passes are $85 and allow an individual admission to as many as 45 films, plus the Opening & Closing Night Receptions. Passes are limited in number available now at the IIFF website (www.indyfilmfest.org). Individual tickets for films and events go on sale April 13, 2006 at various box office locations around the city, and on the website or by phone at 317-513-9379. A complete schedule will be available on or after March 15, 2006.

The first eight Premiere Films for the 2006 Indianapolis International Film Festival are:The Heart of the Game. Directed by Ward Serrill. USA. Runtime: 102 minutes. Documentary. Courtesy Miramax Films.
The Heart of the Game is the inspirational story of Bill Resler, a University of Washington professor who, despite his lack of experience, becomes the coach of Seattle’s Roosevelt High School girls’ basketball team. Shot over seven years, the film depicts Resler’s unusual coaching style, and how it inspires his athletes to succeed. His most talented athlete is possibly his most troubled. The daughter of a cash-strapped family, Darnellia Russell has a sharp tongue and
quick temper which tends to get her in trouble. When an unplanned pregnancy threatens her eligibility as a player, Resler proves himself to be more than a coach, but an excellent mentor. The Heart of the Game had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and is making its Midwestern Premiere at the IIFF.

Iron Island. Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. Iran. Runtime: 90 minutes. Drama. In Farsi with English subtitles. Courtesy Kino International.
The titular Iron Island is a huge rusting tanker off the Iranian coast in which dozens of homeless families have found shelter and formed a community. The head of the ship, Captain Nemat tries to balance finding jobs, oil, food and even husbands for the poor and struggling families. He controls the “residence” with absolute power which comes to violent crisis when two young lovers attempt to defy his authority and from the increasing pressure of business interests seeking to seize the ship and evict the residents. Iron Island had its world premiere at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and makes its Indiana Premiere with the IIFF. Exclusive to the Indianapolis International Film Festival.

Jewboy. Directed by Tony Krawitz. Australia. Runtime: 52 minutes. Drama. Courtesy Fortissimo Films.
Yuri Kovner, son of a Rabbi, is 23 when his father’s death triggers his return to the Chasidic community of Sydney. Jewboy is a film about a young man searching for his place in the world, his family and his faith. Jewboy won the Australian Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Short Screenplay, and Best Short Film, and makes its Eastern U.S. Premiere at the IIFF, after having its North American premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

The King. Directed by James Marsh. USA / United Kingdom. Runtime: 105 minutes. Drama. Courtesy THINKfilm.
A troubled navy veteran (Gael Garcia Bernal – Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Motorcycle Diaries) makes contact with a Corpus Christi minister he assumes to be his father (Oscar-winner, William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman, A History of Violence). The preacher rebuts the sailor’s attempts to re-connect, sending the two on a collision course of wills. The King had its world premiere at the London International Film Festival and is making its Eastern U.S. Premiere with the IIFF.

Kinky Boots. Directed by Julian Jarrold. United Kingdom. Runtime: 107 minutes. Comedy. Courtesy Miramax Films.
Nominated for three British Independent Film Awards, Kinky Boots is the archetypal British film of an individual in trouble, who comes up with a unique solution to his economic woes. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton – Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) inherits his father’s struggling shoe factory. Seeking a way to revive his family’s business, he finds inspiration in Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor – Dirty Pretty Things, Four Brothers), a sassy drag performer who formulates a plan to design and market women’s shoes and erotic boots in men’s sizes. Fans of The Full Monty and Calendar Girls will love this high-heeled comedy, and the BBC says “Ejiofor takes you beneath Lola’s sequins and delivers one of the best performances of the year. Don’t miss it.” Kinky Boots just had its U.S. Premiere at Sundance, and makes its Indiana Premiere with IIFF.

Look Both Ways. Directed by Sarah Watt. Australia. Runtime: 100 minutes. Drama. Courtesy Kino International.
A stunning feature film debut, Look Both Ways is the story of Meryl, an illustrator who meets Nick, a photographer diagnosed with cancer. The circumstances of their meeting – they both witness a fatal train crash – eventually begins to affect their tentative relationship, but introduces us to a cast of vivid and unique supporting characters. Combining elements of existential meditation and romantic comedy seems truly unusual, but Watt’s deft direction earned Look Both Ways a stunning four Australian Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. Look Both Ways also won the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and makes its Indiana Premiere with the IIFF.

Shanghai Dreams. Directed by Xiaoshuai Wang. China. Runtime: 123 minutes. Drama. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Courtesy Fortissimo Films.
Following up the international success he had with Beijing Bicycle, Wang won the Prix du Jury at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival for this delicate story of a family in crisis. The film opens in 1983, as China begins discarding the legacy of the Cultural Revolution. In the 1960’s Wu Zemin and his family left Shanghai and moved to the rural West as a part the China’s national campaign to industrialize the region. Now, he wants to move the family back to the city he loves. However, his wife is firmly entrenched in her job as a doctor, and his teenage daughter has fallen in love with a local factory worker. Based on the director’s life, Shanghai Dreams makes its Eastern US Premiere at the Indianapolis International Film Festival.

U-Carmen eKhayelitsha. Directed by Mark Dornford-May. South Africa. Runtime: 120 Minutes. In Xhosa with English subtitles.U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (roughly translated: “Carmen in Khayelitsha”) took home the Golden Bear at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival – beating out Academy Award-nominee Hotel Rwanda and Golden Globe-winner Paradise Now. This unique piece of filmmaking takes Bizet’s classic Carmen, translates it into Xhosa (one of South Africa’s eleven official languages) and puts it right on the streets of Khayelitsha – one of South Africa’s poorest townships. Pauline Malefane’s stunning performance leads the way in this invigorating take on a timeless classic imbued with the rhythms and colors of South African life. U-Carmen eKhayelitsha makes its Indiana Premiere and will show for only the third time on American screens at the IIFF.

Festival SponsorsBorders Books, Music and More, Starbucks Coffee, Larry Ladig Photography and Video, The Indiana Historical Society, 92.3 FM – WTTS, Kenra, ElstaQP. Sponsorships are still available to interested businesses. Restaurants and Bars may participate in our first Hospitality Guide to be a part of the Official Festival Program.

Indianapolis International Film Festival

The mission of the Indianapolis International Film Festival is to present films that inform, enlighten, and educate the community by providing a vivid reflection of the rich cultural diversity of Indianapolis and the world beyond our doors.
For more information, email info@indyfilmfest.org or call 317-513-9379 between Noon and 5 P.M., Monday through Friday.

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May 3: Talk Turkey with Çiğdem Balım

A discussion of the chalenges facing Turkey and Europe with IU professor Çiğdem Balım

When: Wednesday May 17, talk 11:00-noon, lunch noon - 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

Turkey has long sought membership in the European Union. Roadblocks remain, as several European countries are wary of Turkey's candidacy. Could Turkey's membership in the EU help Western relations with the Islamic world? Or could the possible rejection of Turkey cause an even wider divide?

I met Çiğdem Balım at a talk last year, and even though I had only a few minutes to chat I was blown away by her very sharp and insightful views of the political situation in her native country. This will be a good event.

A part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com. You can get very different views on Turkey by attending the Great Decisions talks by Scott Pegg at the Church of the Saviour on March 8, or Prof. Harry Lepinske for the ICWA on March 21. Or contact the Turkish American Association of Indiana: 317-490-0752.

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May 3: Sally Pipes on why Americans shouldn't look to her home for answers to the health crisis

Sally Pipes is a Canadian living in the US, and as president of a free market think tank she will explain at great length why the US shouldn't look at Canada's government-oriented health care system

When: Monday May3, 12:00-1:30 PM

Where: Indiana Convention Center.

Sally Pipes is president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank founded in 1979. Prior to becoming president in 1991, she was assistant director of the the Fraser Institute, a libertarian think tank based in Vancouver, Canada. Ms. Pipes addresses national and international audiences on health care, women’s issues, education, privatization, civil rights, and the economy. A Canadian residing in the United States, Ms. Pipes is the author of “Miracle Cure: How to Solve America’s Health Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn’t the Answer.” She was a member of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s transition team in 2003-04. She received the Roe Award at the 2004 annual meeting of the libertarian-leaning State Policy Network. The award is a tribute to an individual in the state public policy movement "who has a passion for liberty, a willingness to work for it, and noteworthy achievement in turning dreams into realities." In 2005, she was named one of the Top 10 Women in the Conservative Movement in America as published by Human Events. She was also featured in a new book “Women Who Paved the Way” as one of 35 most outstanding women in business in the nation.

With that kind of background, you can imagine Ms Pipes will bring some very strongly formed opinions to her talk to the Economic Club. That's good, even if you disagree with her, it will be valuable to hear what she has to say. For a different, or at least more diverse, set of opinions about how to resolve the health crisis in America, check out the Taylor Symposium on the urban health care crisis February 22 and the Kelley Business School's March 8 conference, "The Health Care Conundrum: A Call for Leadership."

For information about how to attend this Economic Club luncheon, go here.

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May 10: Pandemics and global security with Eric Meslin

An explanation of the effects pandemics such as AIDS and avian flu have on global security and US foreign policy by one of the country's leading bio-ethicists, Eric Meslin ... Director of the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, Professor of Medicine, and of Medical and Molecular Genetics in the Indiana University School of Medicine, and Professor of Philosophy in the School of Liberal Arts, and Assistant Dean for Bioethics at the Indiana University School of Medicine (and carrying one of the world's largest business cards).

When: Wednesday May 17, talk 11:00-noon, lunch noon - 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

Post 9/11, security and public health authorities are planning for epidemiological disasters as never before. What does that planning encompass, and how effective is it likely to be? What lessons can be learned from reactions to the global AIDS pandemic and its growing impact on the developing world?

With the possible exception of Sarah Archer, it's hard to imagine anyone better at explaining the impact of international pandemics on US and world security than Eric Meslin, who came to Indiana University in July 2001 from the U.S. National Bioethics Advisory Commission (NBAC), where he had been Executive Director since 1998. NBAC was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1995, and was charged with advising the White House and the federal government on a range of bioethics issues including cloning, stem cell research, international clinical trials, and genetics studies. He has authored (or co-authored) more than 80 articles and book chapters, with most focusing on various topics in research ethics and health policy. His research interests include the ethics of research involving human subjects; the conduct of research and treatment in economically developing countries; the use of federal advisory committees as mechanisms for constructing public policy; the collection, storage, and use of human tissues for genetics research; stem cell research; and ethical and policy issues arising from the human genome project. He is also Co-Editor of the “Bioethics and the Humanities Series” published by Indiana University Press.

This very hot topic is part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com. For a different perspective on this topic, check out Sarah Archer's "Great Decisions" talks for the Indiana Council on World Affairs and the Church of the Saviour. Prepare yourself intellectually by reading the latest stories about how bad things might get in the months ahead.

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May 15: Randall Tobias, International Citizen of the Year

A richly deserved award for the new director of the US Agency for International Development, Randall Tobias

When: Monday May 15 -- 5:30-7:00 PM silent auction, 7:00 dinner and program

Where: Westin Indianapolis

Readers of IndyBuzz have seen Randall Tobias's name pop up before. His talk to the Economic Club in 2005 was one of the best I heard all year. He clearly gets the challenges facing necessary reforms of US and multilateral development assistance ... and he presents a brave face is arguing that is possible to work through the bureaucratic inertia that will be needed to make these reforms real. Tobias was just promoted from heading of the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to running USAID. Good luck!

Here is the official announcement about Tobias's award:

Since 1985, the International Center of Indianapolis has honored a foreign-born or Indiana resident who has made an outstanding contribution to Indiana and the world in the fields of business, culture, education, government, medicine, media, research, sports or community service. On the 33nd anniversary of its founding, the Center presents the International Citizen of the Year Award to recognize and honor Ambassador Randall L. Tobias, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
Randall L. Tobias became the US Global AIDS Coordinator in 2003. In this role, his mission is “to establish primary responsibility for all resources and international activities of the U.S. Government to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including U.S. contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and to advance the HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment goals in the President's emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.”
Ambassador Tobias has strong Indiana roots. Born and raised in Remington, Indiana, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and then joined AT&T’s Indiana Bell Telephone Company. After serving two years in military service, he quickly climbed the ladder at AT&T to eventually become Vice President at Illinois Bell Telephone Company in Chicago. He later moved to AT&T’s global headquarters in New Jersey and played a major role leading the company through the difficult period following the breakup of the Bell System in 1984. He served at AT&T’s Vice Chairman from 1986 to 1993, and also as Chairman and CEO of AT&T International from 1991 until 1993.
In 1993, Tobias returned home to Indiana to become Chairman, President and CEO of Eli Lilly & Company and enjoyed one of the most successful periods in its history. Upon retirement, he was named Chairman Emeritus. A noted philanthropist, teacher and writer, Ambassador Tobias is a worthy honoree for this distinguished award. The International Center is proud to honor Ambassador Tobias for his distinguished leadership in Indiana and the world.

This event is going to cost you ... it's the main fundraiser for the International Center of Indianapolis. It is definitely worth attending. To prepare yourself, read a few news stories about Amb. Tobias.

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May 17: UN Reform with Ed DeLaney

Discuss the limits of the UN and how it might be reformed with one of the smartest and most experienced lawyers around, Ed DeLaney.

When: Wednesday May 17, talk 11:00-noon, lunch noon - 12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St.

Both its supporters and critics recognize the United Nations as an organization in need of critical changes. Disagreements about intervention in Iraq, the oil-for-food-scandal and management issues have fueled the debate about the UN's ability to take on global challenges. What reforms are needed to make the UN more effective?

Ed has taught me all everything worthwhile that I know about the problems with the UN. He has been on the ground, building new legal systems with the cooperation and obstruction of the UN, and thus brings an utterly refreshing perspective to the question. You should try to catch Ed's talk ... if you can't see him May 24, hear him when he talks to the Indiana Council on World Affairs' Great Decisions talk on February 7.

How to prepare for the talk? Check out the website of the Stanley Foundation, which has done more than just about any other organization in the world to promote an effective and honorable United Nations. And take a look at the latest headline from Yahoo or Google to bring yourself up to speed on the scandal du jour for the UN.

Part of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great deicisons series. Questions? Contact 317-924-0959 or mnscenter@aol.com

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May 24: Brazil with Craig Auchter

A discussion of Brazil -- "The Next Superpower ... and it always will be" -- with Craig Auchter

When: Wednesday May 24, talk 11:00-12:00, lunch 12:00-12:45

Where: North United Methodist Church, N. Meridian St. at 38th St. Indianapolis

After decades of economic volatility, Brazil is finally enjoying steady growth, despite a political scandal surrounding the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Will Brazil continue on course toward stability? What impact will the scandal have on Brazil's economy, on its South American neighbors and on the U.S.?

Leading this discussion will be Prof. Craig Auchter of the Butler University Political Science Department. Craig should have an interesting take on Brazil since he recently spent time in that country's rowdy neighbor, Venezuela. Of the area's Latin Americanists, Craig's passion for justice is perhaps the greatest, and he is a favorite. If you think this event sounds interesting, you should check out some of the other Brazil talks that are part of Great Decisions series run by the Indiana Council on World Affairs (March 7, featuring Pedro Cardoso, Senior Systems Analyst with the virtual think tank Geo-Pol) or the Church of the Saviour (February 22, featuring some guy named John Clark).

If you want to get into the spirit of a talk about Brazil, listen to the greatest song of all time, Tom Jobim's "Águas de Março" ... although this not my favorite version (his version with Stan Getz transcends poetry).

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Step into the surreal world of Big Car

No one in Central Indiana should have to ask the question: "What should we do on the first Friday of the month?" The Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association (IDADA) offers a "First Friday Gallery Tour" from 6 to 9 the evenings of the first Friday every month. You can wander through 25 Downtown galleries -- and it's free. You can go here for a map of the galleries participating in the tour.


This evening I'll be checking out the cluster of galleries around Fountain Square, and in particular the cool kids at Big Car. If you haven't been to Big Car's space yet, you have missed a treat.

These days Big Car is emerging as a major hub of creativity and energy in the local art scene. Check out the article from WISH-TV for a sense of what this surrealist-influenced collective is about.

According to Big Car's descirption of tonight's happening:

Two of Big Car's resident artists start the year with new, Surrealist-influenced work. Clark focusing, in his watercolors and acrylic canvases on people and animals - some in masks. And Walker, with his collage prints of people in masks - and, sometimes, little else! Also on hand: real masks from around the world.

For this First Friday show I am particularly intrigued by Jim Walker's mask collages. One of the important contributions of surrealism ought to be to force us to look at "the real world" in fresh and different ways.

Chances are, I will look at nurses differently after seeing the "Masks" show tonight.

And as if creepy collages of masks and the gigantic birds that inspire the other John Clark are not enough, Big Car is showcasing some of the area's fresh "alternative folk" music talent as part of a showcase for the Underwater Teaparty record Label. Check out More Animals of the Arctic, Drekka , Justin Vollmar, and Bear & Pieces.

The Gallery opens at 6, music starts at 9. Throw in a splendid dinner at Decadentby Design, the imaginative Caribbean-inspired restaurant in Big Car's building, and you have a great Friday evening.

Big Car is located at 1043 Virginia Avenue, Suite 215, in Indianapolis. Go to the corner of Woodlawn and Virginia Ave. in Fountain Square just southeast of Downtown. Turn right on Woodlawn (at Skip's Market) and left on St. Patrick's. Park behind the Murphy Art Center and enter through the glass back door with the Big Car sign. Or park along Virginia Ave. and walk around to the back of the building and enter. (You will ascend a stairwell festively adorned with psychedelic wood sprites and then go through a hallway.) Want a map? Here's one, and here's another.

It's "Great Decisions" Season!

It's spring, which means that it's Great Decisions season. "Great Decisions" is a series of eight foreign policy topics selected by the Foreign Policy Association. The FPA commissions very solid articles about each topic, then assembles the articles into booklets that are used by a thousand groups around the country to explore the topics. It's an excellent program, definitely worth engaging.

Here are this year's eight topics, with the blurbs about each provided by the FPA:

UN Reform: Both its supporters and critics recognize the United Nations as an organization in need of critical changes. Disagreements about intervention in Iraq, the oil-for-food-scandal and management issues have fueled the debate about the UN's ability to take on global challenges. What reforms are needed to make the UN more effective?

US and Iran: The election of Iran's conservative president has raised concern that hardliners will shape policies against U.S. interests. How can the U.S. check Iran's influence in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries in the region? How will the U.S. and the international community mitigate the crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions?

Energy: Energy supply and consumption have a significant impact on U.S. politics and economy. Is reliance on Middle East oil making the U.S. vulnerable to political influence and economic peril? How will the rapidly increasing consumption of energy by countries like China affect the U.S. and the world?

Brazil: After decades of economic volatility, Brazil is finally enjoying steady growth, despite a political scandal surrounding the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Will Brazil continue on course toward stability? What impact will the scandal have on Brazil's economy, on its South American neighbors and on the U.S.?

China and India -- Partners or Competitors? China and India have emerged on the world stage, after following different paths toward rapid economic growth. Will China and India work closer together or compete with each other to become major world powers? How will their growth affect the U.S. economy and strategic interests?

Human Rights in the Age of Terrorism: Terrorist attacks in Western nations have forced governments to adopt measures, sometimes controversial, to combat terrorism. While security is a priority for all societies, debate has arisen about how far some of these measures should reach. Can human rights and civil liberties be fully protected in an age of terrorism?

Turkey: Turkey has long sought membership in the European Union. Roadblocks remain, as several European countries are wary of Turkey's candidacy. Could Turkey's membership in the EU help Western relations with the Islamic world? Or could the possible rejection of Turkey cause an even wider divide?

Global Health -- Pandemics and Security: Post 9/11, security and public health authorities are planning for epidemiological disasters as never before. What does that planning encompass, and how effective is it likely to be? What lessons can be learned from reactions to the global AIDS pandemic and its growing impact on the developing world?


One of the biggest "Great Decisions" series is run by the Indiana Council on World Affairs, meeting every Tuesday evening in February and March at Butler University (room still to be decided). ICWA has an excellent line-up this spring:

Feb 7 -- UN Reform, featuring Ed DeLaney, Partner with the law firm of Delaney & DeLaney

Feb 14 -- US & Iran, featuring Sean Foley, Assistant Professor of History, DePauw University

Feb 21 -- Energy, featuring Peter Grossman, Clarence Professor of Economics, Butler
University

Feb 28 -- Pandemics, featuring Sarah Archer, DrPH, RN, Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance Consultant

Mar 7 -- Brazil, featuring Pedro Cardoso, Senior Systems Analyst, Geo-Pol, “Geopolitics, Economics and Ideas”

Mar 14 -- Human Rights & terrorism, featuring Fran Quigley, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union, Indiana

Mar 21 -- Turkey, featuring Harry Lepinske, Central Asian Productivity Research Center, Purdue University, Calumet

Mar 28 -- China & India, featuring Charles Dhanaraj, Professor of Management & CIBER Faculty Fellow in International Business, Kelly Business School, Indiana University


A very interesting series is put on by the Church of the Saviour (6205 Rucker Rd., on the NE side of Indy) on Wednesday evenings. What sets this series apart is that is a combination of adults and Lawrence North High School students. It's the best interaction of older and younger learners that I know of in Indy. Their series:


Jan 25: UN Reform -- Pierre Atlas, Marian College

Feb 1: US & Iran -- Charlie Winslow, IUPUI

Feb 8: Energy -- Dick Davis, electrical engineer

Feb 15: China & India -- Susan Erickson, IUPUI

Feb 22: Brazil -- John Clark, some guy

Mar 1: Human Rights & terrorism -- Sheila Kennedy, IUPUI

Mar 8: Turkey -- Scott Pegg, IUPUI

Mar 15: Global Health and pandemics -- Sarah Archer, DrPH, RN, Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance Consultant


Finally, the Mid-North Shepherd's Center as always has lined up a very good set of speakers.

April 5: US and Iran -- Milind Thakar, University of Indianapolis

April 12: Human rights in an age of terrorism -- Fran Quigley, ACLU-IN

April 19: China and India -- Charles Dhanaraj, IUPUI

April 26: Energy resources -- John Clark

May 3: Turkey -- Cigdem Balim, Indiana University

May 10: Global health security -- Eric Meslin, IU Center on Bioethics

May 17: UN Reform -- Ed DeLaney

May 24: Brazil -- Craig Auchter, Butler University


IndyBuzz will provide more information about each of these sessions and speakers, as well as recommendations about how to prepare for these sessions.