Up down town december 2014

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Food For Thought

Think of it as First Watch only more so...or a marriage between the best breakfast you ever had, a favourite moderately-priced lunch place and the neighbourhood hang-out, with just a bit of Starbucks and a great tea shop mixed in for good measure.

“It” is Yolk, the new restaurant which opened their first outside Chicago location a few months back in CityWay, the development that was gonna be called SoDo or “South Of Downtown” and which someone, in their great (lack of) wisdom renamed before the doors opened. Anyway, it IS just south of downtown. The actual restaurant location is 220 East South Street and if that doesn’t help it’s just east of Delaware on the north side of South in the new development there right by the Alexander Hotel.

The Yolk website (www.eatyolk.com) describes the place by saying, “At Yolk, we push the envelope with new and creative breakfasts, specialty juices and our own private label premium coffee. With a fresh and creative approach to breakfast and lunch in an urban, upscale setting, Yolk has taken the breakfast and lunch scene by storm...”

Well, we feel they also have taken the lunch and most other scenes by storm because with a price point about the same as downtown’s First Watch and some cool contemporary decor, they have hit our stomach and eyes on all cylinders.

In other words, we have been twice in recent weeks and found the food, smiling service and the place’s vibe totally to our liking. About the only drawback we see (and we had to dig hard to find even this) is that parking in the area between downtown and Lilly is a pain and means putting coins in a meter, paying a garage, a lot or, in our case, walking from our home on Washington Street five blocks away. In other words, no big deal to a downtowner.

So what’s on the massive menu? It would be easier to say what’s NOT there and that’s one word: dinner, because like First Watch (Sorry for the comparisons but there really is not much because Yolk is markedly better we feel, and that’s as a long-time and regular First Watch customer.) Yolk opens early (6 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and 7 a.m. the other days and on holidays) and they call it a day at 3 p.m. every day, so the line about the early bird catchin’ the worm does apply here.

But there’s nothing wormy about their prompt and efficient staff or kitchen and their menu is really huge.

Choices range from the advertised lunch, plus salads and soups to the really strong point of Yolk, which is breakfast. I do not know if all the readers are (like me) a fan of breakfast for lunch — and before any wags say I am because I do not get up for breakfast at breakfast time let me set that record straight right off: most days my alarm is at or before 7 a.m. — but if you are a breakfastaholic then you will strike gold here. They serve the very same action-packed menu from open till close every day. That means eggs, waffles, the best cinnamon french toast ever to grace my mouth and more.

On my two recent visits I did a smoked salmon plate once and what the menu calls a “Yolk 2X2X2X2 Combo” (shown at right) the second time. What is that you ask? The menu says, “For Big appetites! Two eggs any style, two slices of hickory smoked bacon, two sausage links and your choice of 2 pancakes, 2 slices of french toast, 2 crepes, or a half waffle.” I took advantage of an up-charge and upgraded (at our waitress’ suggestion) the starch to the cinnamon french toast (menu description: “Yolk bakery


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presented by Methodist Hospital Task Core

ART & ANTIQUESdesigner+artist=

REDUX

Methodist Hospital Task Core has reinvented itsArt & Antiques Show at

Downtown Midland Arts & Antiques Market!

December 4th - 7th • 907 East Michigan StreetComplementing the ambiance and uniqueness of Midland’s downtown atrium, some of our city’s most talented interior designers and artists are collaborating to create vignettes to showcase their work. Shop 140 Midland booths as well as those of specially invited outside dealers.

*Thursday, December 4, PREVIEW PARTY, 6:30 – 9 p.m. Tickets $25. Patron tickets $125/couple (includes complimentary wine and

admission one hour early). Mingle with the designers and artists while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, music, and wine. Complimentary valet parking.

*Friday, December 5, YOUNG COLLECTORS “AFTER HOURS,” 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Local interior designers will give advice and demonstrate how to mix styles and vintages. Tickets $10.

*Sunday, December 7, PRIVATE BRUNCH catered by Keith Little, Black Plate Catering, l0:30 a.m. – Noon. Enjoy Sunday brunch and shop the Show and Market before they open to the public. Tickets $25.

All weekend admission to the Market is free;admission to designer vignettes is $10, payable at the door.

A percentage of all sales during our show and all event proceedswill benefit IU Health Methodist Hospital.

BUY YOUR TICKET ONLINE at www.eventbrite.com(Art & Antiques Redux)

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Featured Designers: Todd Otterman, Jim Baker & Patrick Schmidt, Chris Hansen, Tom Vriesman, Matt Harris, Debra Maley, Angie Fischer, Michele Boggs, Ryan Paris, Mary Kay Kiefer, Rosalind Pope, Julie Browning Bova, Marika KlemmFeatured Artists: Phil O’Malley, Rob Day, DeAnne Roth, Darlene Delbecq, Allen Bannister, Ruth Medernach, Turner Woodard, Shelley Savini-Kroger, Forrest Formsma, Melinda Spear Huff, Susan Mauck, Mary Gretsinger, April Willy

cinnamon rolls! Sliced into three pieces, dipped in our batter and grilled.”) and while I felt the $4+ additional price was a bit stiff, the toast (with fantastic icing) brought a lot of smiles. I had enough to share with my dining companion, too, so maybe that up-charge was not too extreme, but it might need a bit of tweaking. Just sayin’ as the younger set does.

The other person at my table first time had an oatmeal bowl she raved about and the second time my dining partner had a BLTSMA, described as, “Whole wheat toast piled high with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese, mayonnaise and avocado.”

While it was good in itself, the side of wonderful and melt-in-your-mouth onion chips made his meal. Dare we say he was grinning from ear-to-ear after finishing his lunch?

Other items on the four-page menu range from the standard luncheon fare — burgers and wraps and soups and reubens — to breakfast stand-by’s like eggs and bacon and waffles. There are also frittatas, crepes and a head-spinning variety of eggs benedict, ranging from pot roast and smoked salmon ones to others with corned beef hash and grilled tomatoes and pesto. Suffice to say, as the Brits do, you will be spoilt for choice and there’s plenty in

both the lunch and breakfast categories to please the most picky person in your office group or party of friends. This reviewer also likes the fact that one person can have a


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More Food For Thought

soup and salad or burger and fries and slaw while another at the table can do an omelette or oatmeal or smoked salmon. There’s even (a bit pricy at $19.99, but we’ve yet to order and try it) a steak and eggs breakfast.

All of the breakfasts come with a huge variety of choices for sides, and the same is true of the lunch entrees. Dishes from fries and the aforementioned onion chips to specialty pancakes, English muffins and toast dot the menu.

Along with the menu, Yolk has a lot of smiling staff and that’s a huge plus. We have yet to catch any of the servers, managers or hosts off their game which is a pleasant change from too many downtown eateries where great food is accompanied by less-than-stellar (translate: grumpy) staff. At Yolk they serve smiles with the eggs, wraps and toast and that’s a huge plus — especially in the pre-dawn and before work hours when we are often less-than-cheerful ourselves.

Oh, and we did, in our intro to this piece mention Starbucks, so we’d better finish by saying they have a pretty decent beverage menu at Yolk also. There are the usual suspects like teas and coffees, but also juices abound and, of course, what menu would not be complete without a double espresso, cappuccino or latte? They offer all three.

So what’s the final tally? Well, it depends how many add-ons and extras and what you order but we managed to escape both times for two with drinks in the vicinity of $25.

We did kick in well-deserved 20% tips to staffers on both occasions, but even so, you do get what you pay for and Yolk is a wonderful addition to the area by whichever name you call their South Street location.

Oh, and yes, it did take all this reviewer could muster not to make a million puns about eggs, yolks and bringing home the bacon but this is supposed to be a serious opinion and we seriously like this place --- no Yolk!

Meanwhile. while we are on the breakfast topic, at the very opposite end of downtown and atmosphere from Yolk is the downtown branch of the Lincoln Square Pancake House at 2330 North Meridian Street. One of nine area locations for the establishment, which got it’s start in the 80s, Lincoln Square is

a place to go for huge plates of food and a menu which, like Yolk, has some bits of lunch mixed in with a hearty selection of breakfast, but the vibe here is totally family.

Not that Yolk is not family friendly and encourages all ages, but unlike Yolk, which is a more upscale, business casual and executive crowd, Lincoln Square is way more the screaming kids, staff singing happy birthday and an informal (translate torn jeans as opposed to business suits) type of place.

What appears on the plates is also a 180


change from Yolk, as while Yolk strives for what we feel is quality, the folks at Lincoln Square go for the quantity end of the scale with decent but, this reviewer feels, not gourmet food.

For example, our fave here (call it the reason we seek the place out every so often) is their $9.99 bone-in ham steak. That’s a photo of our plate on a recent visit below.

The huge piece of wonderfully-prepared (translate: not overcooked to shoe leather as so many places do ham) comes with enough sides to keep one happily full all day. Eggs are included, potatoes are crispy, but again not overdone, and the thick-sliced and grilled pineapple garnish is good enough to eat, which is just what we did with it.

Think that’s all? Think again! Toast and even pancakes (ours are below) are included in that $9.99 and while the hotcakes look delicious, despite our best efforts to work out before attending a lunch here, we never do them justice, which means we never can quite finish the whole breakfast.

Like Yolk, Lincoln Square does not do dinner, but they do also do breakfast and lunch as their cousin a few miles south does. We usually go for lunch, which means we are spoilt for choice here, too, as along with a full breakfast, they offer usual mid-day fare including wraps and other dishes for those not wishing to send their cholesterol readings quite as off the charts as we seem to with that $9.99 ham steak deal.

A few words about why we find a niche downtown for BOTH Lincoln Square and York, and those words are two: different styles. Yolk is our choice for a business lunch, a weekend brunch or to take family when they get to town for

a visit. Lincoln Square is where I go with a few friends for a quick lunch or a breakfast at noontime, but the atmosphere is much more chaotic, the staff never seems (on numerous visits) to be as “on their game” as the Yolk crew, and while management does everything they can to please, they just seem not to squarely hit the mark every time.

An example: On a recent visit, one at our table ordered a wrap with Tzatziki Sauce, which most folks know and Wikipedia says, “is a Greek sauce served with grilled meats or as a dip.” The problem was in his wrap what little they did put in in the kitchen was all at one end, so he had to call for a waitress and ask for more. Sadly, the waitress (and rest of the staff) was delayed as she was busy singing Happy Birthday to a table seated elsewhere in the massive Lincoln Square dining room — one of two birthdays which took place during our recent meal. Family friendly.

As I said, we got service (and the sauce) but things here just march to a very different drummer and not one which entirely pleases us on some days. We continue to go back

for the ham (Oh, and they do have grits on their menu if like me — a son of the south — you happen to adore them.) and the rest of the food ranges from passable to wonderful, but keep in mind what we said about quality versus quantity the next time you just gotta have breakfast at lunchtime downtown. These are two very different options with not egg-zactly the same ingredients (but close) and many of the same things on their menus. I suppose that’s why we call it choice.


B y B i l l E l l i o t tU p D o w n T o w n C r i t i c

Standard reviewer

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Phone: 317/632.8840 e-mail: [email protected]

Up Down Town is published the last week of every month at 110 E. Washington St., Suite 1402, Indianapolis, 46204. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy and fairness, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors. Liability is limited to the cost of said ad. Ads not cancelled by published deadlines will be billed at agreed-upon price. Ads may be edited or rejected for content at the discretion of the publisher. All items appearing in Up Down Town, as well as the name, logos and design are copyright 2014 by BBS, A division of High Speed Delivery Fork Ltd. & Ted Fleischaker and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written

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Tuesday 16th DecemberPapers On Street:

Tuesday 23rd December

There is a scene in Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s meditation on life and art, in which Michael Keaton’s character, Riggan Thomson, breaks down as he recounts a story of the abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of his father. Thomson is talk-ing to fellow actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), a man who bursts into life onstage but is a fraud off it. Thomson pushes Shiner up against a wall, his voice catching as he gulps back tears of unresolved rage. Shiner, groping to feel something akin to empathy, apologises to Thomson, claiming he had no idea about the abuse. And then, after a pause, Thomson smiles, wide-eyed, letting Shiner go. There was no childhood abuse. He is acting.

The scene is a revelatory interlude in a remarkable and insightful film. On the surface, Birdman is about filmmaking, actors and the theatre. More specifically, it is about the roles we all play each day as we try to negotiate the complex and intricate paths that intersect our lives.

Like a bird, the film twists and turns, soaring and swooping with grace and elegance, as it probes what it means to be human.

Keaton’s Thomson is a sixty-something former Hollywood A-lister who has turned his back on the successful Birdman movie franchise (think Batman). Two decades later he is struggling to reinvent himself as a “real” actor.

His latest attempt to resurrect his career is a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver’s short story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

Carver, the poet laureate of self-revelation and inner-truth, is an apt choice of mate-rial for Thomson. After making millions pandering to the public in a role that felt fake, Thomson has found, in Carver, a kindred spirit, an artist whose every sparse word seems to reverberate authenticity and truth on multiple levels.

There is an irony here. Carver struggled for many years to find his voice as a writer. And when he did, it was largely with the help of an editor who savagely slashed and sometimes rewrote his work.

Staging a talky and claustrophobic play is a gamble for someone who made his name playing a superhero in action films. In addition to adapting the script from Carver’s story, Thomson is also directing and starring in the play. It is as far from Birdman and fame as it is possible to be.

Things are not going well for Thomson. One of his troupe’s lead actors is not up to snuff. How can he be replaced the night before previews begin? Thomson finds a way that is inventive and shocking. Lesley (Naomi Watts), one of the play’s two female leads, suggests Shiner, a leading Broadway method actor. “How do you know him?” Thomson asks her. “We share the same vagina,” she quips.

Shiner comes to the production brimming with ideas. He challenges Thomson to cue him at any point in the script. When Thomson does, Shiner comes back word per-fect. He riffs about his own character, makes suggestions about Thomson’s. Shiner proves to be a handful, however, out-methoding even Thomson himself. Purity and authenticity are his mantras. He will not tolerate anything that feels or sounds phony onstage even to the detriment of the production.

From the point of view of the play’s producers, the preview performances are night-marish. But they are also edgy and powerful, the actors walking a tightrope without a net. Audiences are spellbound. By opening night the production is the hottest ticket in town. What could possibly go wrong?

The answer to that question lies with Thomson himself. He is a walking time bomb, neurotic, insomniac, prone to drunken binges and temper tantrums. He has a sex-crazed and possibly pregnant girlfriend (and co-star), a disgruntled and disaffected daughter (who is also his production assistant), a put-upon but forgiving ex-wife, and a loyal but beleaguered best friend (who happens to be his lawyer and the play’s pro-ducer). To cap it all: he is hearing voices and may or may not possess special powers.

Birdman is simply stunning on every level. The script by Iñárritu, Nicolás Giaco-

bone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo is razor sharp and understatedly funny. Like Carver, the dialogue sounds like real people talking even when they are talking pretentiously. The small ensemble cast (Keaton, Norton, Watts, Andrea Riseborough, Emma Stone) is near flawless, giving the kind of intimate, up-close performances that are usually confined to the theatre. But this IS theatre — theatre masquerading as film. Only Zach Galifianakis seems a little out of place as Jake, Thomson’s lawyer and friend. In a film that is all about authenticity and “realness,” Galifianakis comes across as the only actor who seems to be self-consciously “acting.”

Iñárritu planned to shoot Birdman in one single take. While some manipulation has been done in the cutting room, the film has, for the most part, the feeling of one seamless, continuous shot. This gives the film an immediacy and intimacy that is breath-taking. It also captures the emotional and psychological constriction that is suffocating Thomson.

The interiors of Broadway’s St. James Theatre feel like the insides of the German U-boat in Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 film, Das Boot. The camera snakes along laby-rinthine corridors leaving the audience with a sense of being enclosed in a space it doesn’t want to be. In intimate conversations in dressing rooms we feel like voyeurs, witnessing personal moments that should not be witnessed.

When the camera ventures, briefly, outside the theatre, the vibrancy and claustro-phobia of New York City are brought thrillingly to life on the film’s soundtrack. The sirens, traffic noises, and constant chatter suggest an inability to evade the presence of other people and other things. Even the clock in Thomson’s dressing room sounds menacing.

Antonio Sánchez’s manic drum score mirrors the constant pounding inside Thom-son’s head while pieces by Mahler, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff provide moments of sweetness and relief to counter the infernal, internal noises Thomson can’t escape.

Birdman opens with a line of Carver’s, written late in a short life defined by alcohol-ism and personal strife:

And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on the earth.

On one level Birdman is a satire that takes on the superficiality of modern popular culture, skewering our pretensions and petty obsessions with trivial things. But as it chronicles Riggan Thomson’s struggle to redefine himself through his work and rela-tionships, to find relevance in an increasingly meaningless world, it becomes a very serious and very important work of art. It tells a story of redemption and renewal and hope.


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Benefit Show Set at Midland

INDIANAPOLIS —Some of the city’s most talented interior designers and artists are coming together in collaboration with Midland Arts & Antiques, 907 E. Michigan St., to create a special event for arts, antiques and decorating enthusiasts 4th thru 7th December. A percentage of all sales during the show and all event proceeds will benefit IU Health Methodist Hospital. There will be more than 140 Midland dealers, as well as outside dealers ready to make deals and sell their merchandise. Inside, there will be special vignettes set up incorporating different decorating styles from traditional to contemporary. These vignettes will appeal to all ages and decorating tastes.

Shopping is free during regular Midland business hours, Friday & Saturday from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. and Sunday, noon till 5. The special vignettes will be available to view for $10, payable at the door. There are also special events scheduled to make your shopping experience more enjoyable:

— Thursday, 4th December will host a preview party from 6.30 – 9 p.m. Tickets are $25. Patron tickets $125/couple (includes complimentary wine and admission one hour early). Mingle with the designers and artists while enjoying hors d’oeuvres, music and wine. plus complimentary valet parking.

—Friday, 5th December it’s Young Collectors After Hours from 5.30 till 8 p.m. Local interior designers will be on hand to give advice and demonstrate how to mix styles and vintages. Tickets are $10.

—Sunday the 7th, come by and close our weekend in grand style with a private brunch catered by Keith Little, Black Plate Catering from 10.30 a.m. until noon. Enjoy Sunday brunch and shop the show and market before they open to the public. Tickets are $25.

The whole weekend is a great opportunity to shop, check out the latest interior design trends, see local artists’ work and help IU Health Methodist Hospital, which will re-ceive a percentage of all sales during the show. Sponsors of the weekend are Midland Arts & Antiques Market, Harrison Terrace, Monarch Beverage Company, AntiqueWeek, Indiana Design Centre and Black Plate Catering by Keith Little.

For more information or tickets visit www.Eventbrite.com (click Art & Antiques Redux) or contact Alyson Smith on 317/254.8234.

If you were caught in the traffic mess, featuring a myriad of closed streets and police barking orders not to walk or go here or there on a recent Saturday downtown, here’s the reason: The BMO ( First Indiana) Tower had an “airmail” delivery of new air handlers via helicopter. Sadly, there were some issues and delays with the job so the closures stretched for much of the day, but rain held off and the task was completed by late afternoon.


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Hackin’ The NetBy Ted Fleischaker / Up Down Town Publisher

What a December we have....Chanukah and Christmas are just a few days apart this year and that means gifts, which is my cue to do my annual look at some things I’d recommend you buy for yourself with those gift cards you get or to give to others so you can spread some “electronic cheer.” But before I start, I’ll give my equally annual reminder: Be sure you check with the person you plan to gift and make sure what you are planning will work for their needs and their system. If your pal is all pc then as much as you’d like to, a Mac accessory is not the best route, though these days things like drives, routers and more are able to be formatted out of the box to handle either system. For my as-old-as-me readers, we can recall a time not that long ago when that was not the case and a Mac accessory on a pc was as useful as two left shoes. That said, here are a few ideas, dividing roughly into price categories...

For those with more than a bit of cash to splash, there’s nothing like a new computer, laptop or tablet. Of course these all vary wildly and widely by price and what you pick as far as a brand. Apple usually has the higher price tag but is, in our way of thinking the ONLY choice. In full disclosure here, we have been Mac users since the latter part of 1989 when almost nobody would dream of using Mac and when an SE30 (or any “home computer”) was a rarity. These days there are a zillion different choices and prices one can pay — and that includes everything from a “no name” pc one can find

for $199 to way more costly deals. Shop with your eyes open, compare the numbers and above all, get some help (either on line or from a person you trust) before you buy. As with computers, be sure what the store’s exchange or return policy is before you buy — especially if the deal is a “Black Friday special” or “doorbuster”.

Heading down a few more bucks, in the $20 to $150 or so price range, you could get the recipient of your tech gift a TV viewer (below). The most popular of same is Apple TV, which for $99 offers all sorts of possibilities — from free channels to pay options like Netflix. Be warned, however, that the recipient has to have a compatible TV and Wi-Fi for things to work right, so as with all the possibilities thus far, ask and shop with your eyes open. If the Apple TV is not your thing, Amazon has Fire TV from $39 and Google Chromecast can be found online from $32. Each has its promoters and detractors so look at the options and buy carefully.Finally in the stocking stuffer area there are a myriad of choices — not all computer related. Last year I gave a NOAA Weather Radio which was a true life saver for a friend during a tornado in the Spring. They can be found at places from Radio Shack and Walgreens or CVS and priced from $30 up, depending on the features. I strongly recommend one which will turn itself on when a watch or warning is issued by the weather bureau for the recipient’s area.

While I am on the radio topic, a year or two back I would have suggested an HD radio which offers “hidden” channels for free. For example, WICR, the public FM in Indianapolis, has two HD channels: one with student programmes of mainly rock music and one of either jazz or classical — the flip side of whatever’s on the main FM signal we can all hear. WFIU in Bloomington at IU and Purdue’s WBAA also offer HD channels and some commercial stations do as well. Sadly, note I said I “would have suggested” because aside from mainly public radio the whole HD Radio concept has, thus far, failed to take off and very few stations and even fewer listeners have or want it. If you considered this for a gift, I’d suggest you forget it for now at least.

for under $300 to a top-of-the-line Mac Pro, which resembles a trashcan in appearance, has far more computing power (with six cores or processors) than the first moon landing did, requires a monitor to work with and starts at $3,999. Of course there are all kinds of differences between the top and bottom of the line and all sorts of things one can pick in between. Our advice, if you know what your lucky recipient wants, is go to the Apple store, the Microsoft store, Best Buy or even the local Costco or Sam’s and shop by price and warranty. An equally good idea if you are splashing out

hundreds or thousands: why not give a homemade “gift card” which can entitle the bearer to shop with you after the big day and pick out exactly what he or she wants? Such a card can have a limit (ie: “any Mac under $2,000” or the like) but will offer your recipient total flexibility. It’s like being sure those sox grandma always gave us would really fit or that tie from Aunt Lucille would go with our suit.

If you want to stay below most computer prices and still put some cash into your giving, we love the new iPads...and that’s not to say the Microsoft Surface is any slouch, either. These days the iPads come in all sorts of sizes (mini and air) and with a variety of connections (Wi-Fi and Cellular). They offer storage from 16 to 128 gigabytes and for the very first time, if you buy a Wi-Fi + Cellular model you can use it on any of the major carriers systems. Of note, too: usually the data plans they have will be applicable to the pad as well so you can pay for data and split it between your and your family’s phones and pads. iPad pricing ranges from $299 for a 16 gig mini to over $800 for the all-inclusive Wi-Fi & cellular models. Also, if you are gifting a tablet do be sure if your intended recipient is Mac or Droid or Microsoft before buying or they may find the apps they have not compatible with their new toy. Having to buy apps for a Droid phone and an iPad can be cumbersome and costly so do check.

Next down the price range ladder are monitors, screens and the like. A lot of computers come with a screen, of course, but top and bottom of the line models these days tend not to. A screen is needed for both that four grand Mac Pro and the under

$500 Mac Mini, for example. Screens are all over the place on pricing and sizing. There are LED and LCD and plasma ones. Resolutions are from 720 to 1080 and there are a few which are many more pixels (but you will pay for each and every one). Pricing ranges from a few bucks for a tiny 720 low res screen to thousands for the top-of-the-line home theatre model. In between you have option and more options...from a 50-inch Panasonic (at right) which one major retailer was offering “Black Friday”

Also in the stocking stuffer price range, a memory stick (correctly called a thumb drive) is always useful and these days can be had for $3 or less everywhere from the drugstore to the local Target. There are also a wide variety of ear buds or headsets or earphones or whatever you wanna call em. While the good ones with fancy gadgetry are $200 or more, there are some really decent ones for under $50 and a few under $20. Do avoid the $1.99 bin at Big Lots or the drugstore because under a certain price point headphones just will not perform in a way your recipient will find pleasing.

That said, and on a related gift, these days you can find a fair number of Bluetooth speakers under $30. Back in the day (when only ones like the expensive Jawbone Jambox series was out there) these came in at $100, $200 or even more. Now Fry’s or Best Buy or any number of stores (try Target or Meijer) offer discounted ones which can be found for under $30.

We even have a bluetooth speaker which works with our iPads and iPhones and lets us stream music in the shower. Cost was $20 and we got it online. The fidelity is so good we bought three more to give friends — especially one who carries his tunes so badly we are hoping he will listen to his music, not sing while soaping up!

People also always need last-minute things on the electronic side, so don’t overlook that pack of batteries, a phone case (be sure to find out which make & model phone is being covered) or that LED flashlight or those cables or chargers we all seem to lose, break or need. Just remember if you grab any of the above to make sure you get the right thing since a lightning connector won’t work if you need an HDMI and an iPad case doesn’t fit an iPhone 6+, much less a 5S or 5C or an old iPhone 4.

So there you have it...my ideas for Santa. And remember, just as there are different connectors and cables and devices, we all celebrate different holidays, so regardless of what you do or don’t do this time of year have a great December and stay in touch with your story ideas. My e-mail is [email protected] And a happy whatever!

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Your official resource for all things holiday in Downtown Indy: DowntownIndy.org

T is the season in DOWNTOWN INDY

City Sidewalksby BMO Harris Bank

Nov. 28 - Dec. 31Enjoy holiday décor and events all season long onGeorgia Street and St. John’s Christkindl Village,

Live Nativity and Winter Fest - Dec. 19-20

Downtown Indy’sNew Year’s Eve

by The Indiana UnionConstruction Industry

Dec. 31, 6 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.Party on Georgia Street and ring in the New Year with The

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You can celebrate like it’s 2015 downtown this New Year’s Eve because, well, it will be 2015, but what’s going to be new, besides the year, will be the first of what city officials and the Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (IDI) folks hope will be a “new tradition” of downtown New Years’ celebrations.

IDI, otherwise known as Downtown Indy, along with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and other community leaders, have announced initial plans for a community-wide, public celebration of New Year’s Eve on Georgia Street for (when else) but 31st December.

Officials told the media that the event will be “featuring an exciting entertainment line-up, stimulating sights, plenty of food and drink and a unique midnight extravaganza. Downtown Indy’s New Year’s Eve Celebration will be sponsored by The Indiana Union Construction Industry and we hope it will promise to become a new Indy holiday tradition.”

Headlining the event will be The White Panda – a nationally recognized and very popular act. They will bring their electrifying EDM (electronic dance music) craze to downtown.

Then, at 11.59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, when in most cities the traditional “ball drop” takes place, a suspended

IndyCar hoisted high above the crowd will descend to a collective countdown amidst great fanfare and fireworks at midnight.

“Indy showed the world it could host a great celebration downtown during the Super Bowl, so I am excited to see a similar kind of excitement continue here on Georgia Street as people come together to ring in the New Year,” Mayor Greg Ballard said.

Joining The White Panda at other times throughout the evening on New Year’s Eve will be:

—An Innocent Band – a great regional Billy Joel tribute band;

—Corey Cox;

—The Groove Factor;

—Greta Speaks—And the evening’s House DJ: Fred

Lockett — a.k.a. DJ Lockstar.

The all-ages evening will also feature a chance for revelers to step inside out of the cold thanks to Pacers Sports & Entertainment. Family-friendly activities are planned inside the Entry Pavilion at The Fieldhouse with the united support of the Pacers, Fever, Colts, Indians, Fever and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We couldn’t even attempt this event without the support and involvement of our civic partners and sponsors. We want the entire community to feel welcome to this free event – and that would only be possible with our growing list of sponsors, which currently includes the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis Star, Visit Indy and our title sponsor, The Indiana Union Construction Industry. Thanks to them – and those who are still considering our sponsorship appeal, we will deliver a top-notch celebration this year and for years to come,” promised Sherry Seiwert, president of IDI / Downtown Indy.

Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (a.k.a.

Downtown Indy) was founded in 1993 and is a public/private partnership

existing to improve downtown. As a private, not-for-profit organisation, IDI is uniquely positioned to address issues that affect the area’s growth and well-being. Downtown Indy focuses on three areas: development, management and marketing to advance downtown as a great place to live, learn, work and play.

Top Notch is the largest labour

management association representing union construction in the state of Indiana. Representing more than 75,000 union tradesmen and 4,000 contractors, Top Notch is an association of diverse construction employers and labor organizations, partnering to coordinate the interests and goals of the union construction industry. Its mission is to promote the union construction industry to its customers and its community.

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During this holiday season and every day of the year, we wish you all the best.

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Michael E Wright, CFP®Financial Advisor.

6925 E 96th StreetSuite 265Indianapolis, IN 46250317-841-9563

Merry Christmas

MKT-1920A-A-AD


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Up down town december 2014

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