So, when I read about an initiative to raise awareness about the WAM through public art, I can’t help but share it. Read the article here:

Young artists spread the word about WAM | Wichita Eagle.

Go to the museum. Take a friend. Then tell people about it.

The Wichita Downtown Development Corporation (WDDC) is opening an Innovation Center in downtown Wichita modeled after the Create Here project in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Read the story here:

Innovation Center announced | Wichita Eagle

We may look back on this as a pivotal moment in the evolution of downtown ICT. The type of ideas and inspiration that can come from an organization, nay a movement, like this can be a game changer. The main reason is that it allows ideas to come from anywhere and for momentum to be built through collaboration.

A big “thanks” is owed to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for providing $64,000 in funding.

I can’t wait to see, and hopefully be involved in, the ideas and energy that comes from this group.

Melad Stephan to open Italian restaurant in former Uptown Bistro space | Have You Heard? | Wichita Eagle Blogs.

Stephan has taken a crack at Italian before with his restaurant Bellini’s. It was in the space now occupied by Sabor in Old Town. Early on, the menu featured some very tasty gourmet pizza’s and pasta dishes. However, the menu shifted at some point, as did the level of service. I stopped going there after two consecutive bad experiences. It closed shortly after and became Sabor. My taste buds still have fond memories of the very early days of Bellini’s.

Maybe some of that wonderful food will make its way to this new place.

Director Sidney Lumet Dies at 86 – The Hollywood Reporter.

As a film buff, Lumet’s filmography contains some of the finest representations of American cinema. If you are unfamiliar with his work do these two things:

1. Watch Dog Day Afternoon. Released in 1975, this is one of Lumet’s most critically acclaimed works. Featuring Al Pacino in a jarring performance, this film grabs you from the start and does not let go.
2. Watch Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Released in 2007, I believe this was Lumet’s last film. It is a tragic morality tale about two brothers who botch a robbery of their parents’ jewelry store.

Both of these are available on Netflix On Demand. Watching these films, one old and one new, will give you a sense of how Lumet was able to consistently make great work and stay relevant throughout the course of a long career. It will hammer home the great loss that the film world has suffered.

Rest in peace, Sidney. And thank you for all the great movies.

KFDI News > Wichita NCAA Women’s Tournament games announced

Many people thought the only real reason to build an arena would be to get an NCAA Men’s Regional. That hasn’t happened, yet. It may not happen anytime soon, due to the size of the Arena. However, that doesn’t mean that the Arena has not delivered value to the city. The Women’s Tournament is just one of many great events that have come our way because of the Arena.

I share Go Wichita CEO John Rolfe’s hope that basketball fans come to town to support their teams, fall in love with the city and decide to return.

I know that there are places in Wichita that can inspire this sort of reverential prose. How great would it be if someone actualized the story?

• The book “Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. If you are going to read one book about this band, make this the one. I liked it so much I also bought the audio book and listen to it every 6 months or so.
• The movie The Doors. Probably not very accurate. Totally plays up some of the more mystical parts of the Doors legend. Still, it is entirely watchable. Val Kilmer embodies Morrison. The Special Edition DVD also has some nice features, including a great Oliver Stone commentary.
• The Doors album Essential Rarities. Two tracks that might change your life: I Will Never Be Untrue [Live] and The Soft Parade [Live]. The former is a song even my wife loves, and she is not a big fan of The Doors. The latter is poetic, bearded, moments-from-a-breakdown Morrison at his best.
• The book “No One Here Gets Out Alive.” This one is far from a perfect. It  goes too far down the  “maybe Jim faked his death” path. However, it is very readable and was the first non-fiction book on The Doors that I read. As Cat Stevens said, the first cut is the deepest.
• The Morrison poetry album “An American Prayer.” Most critics hate this. Jim was dead. There were studio recordings of him reading poetry. The surviving members decided to lay down some music to the poems and put out this album as a tribute. The music is tame. Some of the poems aren’t that great. But there are certain passages that illustrate the poetic side of Morrison, an aspect of his literary influence that drove the lyrical brilliance of the band’s earlier albums.

If you’re not a Doors fan already, this list may not be worth your time. Starting out, make your way through the studio albums in order of release. If the band strikes a cord, check out some of the above books and albums.

“Let me tell you about heartache and the loss of god, Wandering, wandering in hopeless night…”

I decided to spend part of my lunch hour walking through the neighborhood near the agency I work at. I came across this storm drain painted like an American flag. I see this as an interesting piece of found art. I’m sure that it was intended to be nothing more than a homeowner’s statement of patriotism, but when taken as a metaphor, it is thought-provoking.

America as a storm drain? Are we a great country serving the valuable role of managing the flood waters of our turbulent times?

Or

America as a sewer? Can we sometimes be a collection of waste? Do we capture the urban runoff of our culture and fuel contamination?

I love this country. Living here we have the freedom to express ourselves through art. We can individually assign meaning to things we experience. We can celebrate and criticize. Maybe the real meaning of this picture is found in its ability to capture the dichotomy of what it means to live in America.

Young Professionals of Wichita: Vote!

These local elections are the most important elections you can vote in, becaus,e in Wichita, it is the city council and mayor that are charged with making the decisions that most directly impact our day-to-day lives.  I’m talking about issues related to public safety. Issues of economic development. Issues too numerous to list.

Then throw in the school board that is responsible for ensuring that our children  get the best educational experience possible. Regardless of if you have kids in Wichita public schools, you do benefit from having a more educated citizenry.

These are also some of the hardest elections to vote in. You have to do research because not everyone one of the candidates has the cash to tell their story through large media buys. This research takes time and effort. Take advantage of posts like the YPW one above that aggregate sources of info.

Right now, I’m torn about who to vote for in my district, district IV. None of the candidates stand out to me. I have issues with every one of them.  Lately it seems that I am waffling back and forth from Bailey to Blick on an hourly basis. Part of me thinks that it would be easier to just not cast a ballot.

But then I realize how idiotic that is. Voting is important.  Voting means you cared enough to share your opinion and take a stand. Later on, it allows you to celebrate when your candidate does good work and complain when they mess up.

So vote. I’m going to. I just don’t know for who