Week 35: Pecha Kucha at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
After one of our first
Individual Artist Program grant workshops at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, April and I

(later joined by Adam) headed to…
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Added by Laura Frank on November 20, 2009 at 11:30am —
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Top Economist Offers Housing Insights
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of
REALTORS® (NAR), addressed a packed crowd at the NAR Convention;
Expo Nov. 13 with his insights on the national economy, predictions for
success of the extended/ expanded tax credit and 2010 housing forecast.
Yun predicted that the
tax credit will have additional positive impact
on the economy as a middle class wealth building mechanism. He
estimated that the initial first-time home buyer…
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Added by Marita Topmiller on November 16, 2009 at 3:30pm —
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To celebrate my day of mourning 2009..aka my birthday
I decided to indulge my grief and depression with all the foods I’ve successfully cut out of my diet. Allow me to explain. Back in 2006, I dropped from 317 lbs to around 238 lbs, or I went from size 44 pants and xxl/xxxl shirt to a tight 36 pants and large shirt. What happened after that can be summed up with one phrase..I F@#k up!! What I hadn’t realized was that I had cut back too far on my calorie intake. This was causing me to be e…
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Added by asa blevins on November 14, 2009 at 12:00pm —
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In the last month or so, I have received many requests for information, as well as orders, for table coverings. Last year I posted several blogs about table coverings. I think it is appropriate to republish these. . . . Are you thinking about having a booth at a trade show?
Are you signed up for a booth at a trade show and you are wondering. . . Now What?
If you answered Yes to either of these questions then I can help!
There are two very important things to consider. What will my display loo…
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Added by Kristie Bradford on November 14, 2009 at 10:48am —
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Owning a business and working for oneself seems to have a lot of perks, right? Why wouldn’t everyone want a flexible schedule, no boss, freedom to make their own decisions, etc?
It’s not as easy as it seems. A lot of people don’t make it through their first year of business with their start up company. Here are 10 common mistakes people make when starting their own business that lead to failure.
1.
Not doing your homework: Before getting into an industry make sure you know the in’s and o…
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Added by Will Hardison on November 13, 2009 at 9:00am —
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As reported by the National Association of Realtors®, the Pending Home
Sales Index posted its 8th consecutive monthly gain in September.
It’s the longest winning streak in the history of the index and Pending Home
Sales are now at their highest levels since December 2006.
A Pending Home Sale is a home under contract to sell, but not yet closed.
Trade group data shows that nearly 80 % of “pending” homes close within
2 months. The majority of those remaining close within months 3 and 4.
When t…
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Added by Marita Topmiller on November 6, 2009 at 6:30pm —
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I wanted to go on an anniversary trip for our fourth anniversary but I was laid off in July and it just wasn't practical. When I read on SmallerIndiana.com that VisitIndiana.com was holding a contest for a trip, I jumped at the chance. I started tweeting and Facebooking like crazy.
The trip ended up being postponed due to a last minute booking so we just went - Nov. 2-4. We had just went to Naperville for a conference and stopped in Elkhart to visit my parents and then stopped at our house to c…
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Added by Melinda Cooper on November 5, 2009 at 9:30pm —
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First time home buyer tax credit gets unanimous Senate approval A measure to extend and expand the first-time home buyer tax credit won unanimous Senate approval Wednesday on a 98-0 vote, and House passage would send it to President Barack Obama for his signature into law.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said the chamber may act on it Thursday.
If passed into law, the new tax credit would
extend the existing credit for first-time homebuyers,
worth up to $8…
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Added by Marita Topmiller on November 5, 2009 at 11:00am —
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I hate ugly websites. I realize that I have a particular bias as a result of what I do so I'm sure that is to be expected. In fact, people often have fun with me by sending me links to ugly websites just to see how much I cringe.
All fun aside, however, how often do we really think about how design affects our credibility as businesses? Do ugly websites hurt business? Turns out, the answer is yes.
Many studies have been done on this topic, including…
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Added by Michael Reynolds on November 4, 2009 at 4:30pm —
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I learned a valuable lesson this weekend when trick-or-treating with my 2.5 year old son. As we were putting his costume on I was explaining to him how we were going to go from door to door and say “trick or treat” and then he would get candy from the person at the door. My wife stayed at the house so she could pass out the candy and stay with our newborn. She frantically took pictures as we bolted out the door heading down the sidewalk in our neighborhood.
The first few houses all had their li…
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Added by Aaron Prickel on November 3, 2009 at 3:45pm —
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We are about to head down to
Patoka's Edge!
We spent part of last week outside of Naperville for my husband's conference then drove to Elkhart (my hometown) for Halloween festivities and drove back to Anderson (our home base) and are now off to Taswell in beautiful Southern Indiana! I've been to the top and now bottom of Indiana in a 5-day span!
I amused myself during his conference and wandered across the highway to the…
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Added by Melinda Cooper on November 2, 2009 at 3:30pm —
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I had the privilege of going to the Indiana Ballet’s performance of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ with my husband this Halloween. I hadn’t been to a professional ballet before and was awed. We were told a little about the IBC itself before the performance and learned that all the dancers at the IBC are Hoosiers. I found this to be very interesting, not only are we supporting the IBC, but really great dancers who have chosen to make Indiana their home.
The performance was beautiful and moving. I wa…
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Added by Jennifer Swineford on November 2, 2009 at 8:27am —
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I was lucky enough to score two free tickets to the Phantom of the Opera performed by the Indiana Ballet Company, thanks to Smaller Indiana. My husband Dan and I went last night to the show and were very impressed. I hadn't been to a ballet in several years, and the Phantom of the Opera is one of Dan's favorite narratives. It was also the first time either of us had been to the Madame Walker Theatre - what a beautiful venue (have you seen the funky monkeys above the stage!?). The performance was…
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Added by Carey Driscoll on November 1, 2009 at 6:32pm —
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On Halloween this year, I had the pleasure of attending the
Indiana Ballet Company’s production of
The Phantom of the Opera. This was a double pleasure because it was also the day my oldest daughter Isabelle (Izzy) and I spent together for her 9th birthda…
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Added by Jeff Corns on November 1, 2009 at 1:48pm —
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Thanks to the generosity of the
Indiana Ballet Company (IBC), my wife, Sharon, and I attended our first ballet performance this afternoon. It was
Phantom of the Opera, a perfect show for Halloween. We got the tickets through the IBC's SmallerIndiana.com contest. Woo hoo! Thanks to Elizabeth Audet, pictured here with me after the…
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Added by Chuck Lasker on October 31, 2009 at 7:37pm —
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Who invented the horseless carriage aka, the car? Some might say it was Henry Ford while others know better. Henry Ford didn’t invent the car, but rather the assembly line process. Elwood H Haynes from Kokomo, Indiana was the first to invent a horseless carriage using an internal combustion engine. Currently, his automobile is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Think about whom of these two gentlemen have household names? It’s not Elwood Haynes. Did you also know that Central Indian…
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Added by Paul Lushin on October 27, 2009 at 10:00am —
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In the style of
Hollywood disaster flicks, October saw the coincidental release of two contests intended to highlight Indiana’s best blogs. One competition, sponsored by
Linking Indiana, features sixty-seven candidates divided into ten categories. Despite its name, the
Top 50 Indiana Blogs pro…
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Added by Robby Slaughter on October 26, 2009 at 8:56pm —
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I always enjoy hearing stories of small business owners using social media to generate leads and connect with new clients. As much as I encourage people to give social media a chance, it's the real-world case studies that speak the loudest.
Jim DeWitt is an owner at DeWitt Insurance Group and is a member of my
BNI chapter. Jim's agency offers life and health insuranc…
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Added by Michael Reynolds on October 25, 2009 at 9:21pm —
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If you haven't seen it already, Paula Henry who runs one of the
most popular real estate blogs in Indy got the spotlight on Forbes! Paula made the news when she argued with MIBOR on whether or not Real Estate Agents could each others' listings and get them indexed by Search Engines.
The online storm pushed the issue onto the agenda of the National Association of Realtors, the professional organization for real estate age
…
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Added by Douglas Karr on October 23, 2009 at 8:00pm —
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I work at the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and we're running a promotion, in association with Smaller Indiana, to help promote our Leaf Cam and Fall travel in Indiana. In the spirit of transparency, I wanted to get some thoughts from the community about things we'r…
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Added by Jeremy Williams on October 22, 2009 at 11:06am —
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