Interesting Facts About Olympic Nations – France

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Did you know?

France is the birthplace of Pierre de Coubertin, who is the father of the Olympic Movement. This Frenchman was born on January 1, 1863 in Paris. Pierre once said, “The Olympic Movement gives the world an ideal which reckons with the reality of life, and includes a possibility to guide this reality toward the great Olympic idea”.

The Summer Olympic Games were held in Paris in 1900. For the first time, sportswomen were allowed to compete in the Olympics ( six tennis players ). France won first place in the Games with 26 gold, 41 silver and 34 bronze medals.

Marie-José Pérec was one of France’s greatest sportswomen. She was born in Guadeloupe ( Caribbean island ) and moved to France with her mother when she was sixteen. Marie-Jose became the second female athlete in the history of the Olympic Games to sweep the 200m and 400m ( Atlanta’96 ).

Like Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Reunion, New Caledonia -French territory in Oceania- is not member of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ). Why? France does not allow its territories to compete in the Olympics. For this reason, New Caledonia’s athletes can not compete in the Olympic Games. Unlike Guam ( American territory ), Aruba ( Dutch territory ) and Bermuda ( British territory ), it did not compete in the 2004 Olympics. Ironically, New Caledonia has several famous sportspeople in the South Pacific. Aquatics: Olivier Saminadin, Thomas Dahlia, Thomas Chacun, Reine-Victora Weber, Lara Grangeon, Diana Bui-Duyet, Adeline Williams and Gilles Durnesnil. Archery: Laurent Clerte, Emmanuel Guilhard, Henry Shiu, Isabelle Soeno and Sylvena Plazenet. Athletics: Vaikula Elise Takosi, Candice Soulisse, Erwin Casser, Bertrand Vili, Eric Frederic, Bina Ramesh, Eric Revillard, Phoebe Wejieme and Daniel Kilamo. Badminton: Nicolas Martoredjo, Florent Mathey, Marc-Antonie Desaynoz, Johanna Kou and Cecile Sarengat. Boxing: Christophe Lestage, Ataale Gyan and Hannequin Benoit. Judo: Sandrine Perel, Kyo Lussaud, Melissa Kaddour, Stephane Courtine, Jonathan Berger, Cyril Chevalier, Paul Dulac, Abedis Trindade de Abreu, Vaea Chadfeau and Diane Hillaireau. Sailing: Chrisptophe Renaud, Alban Rossollin, Feri Malhieu, Michael Borde, Cawle Dabin and Paiscillia Poaniewa. Shooting: Theodore Tein Weiawe, Fabrice Azarro and Phillipe Sinoni. Table tennis: Frederic Quach, Laurent Sens, Maxime Bataihard, Ornella Bouteille and Alexandra Heraclide. Taekwondo: Annie Odino, Kevin Belhameche, John Trouilet and Arnord Sariman. Tennis: Julien Couly, Elodie Rogge and Nickolas Ngodrela. Triathlon: Oliver Bargibant, Stephane Lacroix and Benedicte Meunier. At the last South Pacific Games held in Apia ( Samoa / formerly Western Samoa ) in November 2007, it finished 1st among 22 countries and territories. Certainly, New Caledonia has won more international gold medals per capita than any other country of the South Pacific.

Paris hosted the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in 1986. Final standings: 1.United States, 2.USSR ( currently Russia ), 3.Bulgaria, 4.Brazil, 5.Cuba, 6.France, 7.Argentina, 8.Czechoslovakia (currently Czech Republic/Slovak Republic), 9.Poland, 10.Japan, 11.China, 12.Italy, 13.Greece, 14.Venezuela, 15.Egypt, 16.Taiwan.

Jean Schopter became the first Frenchman to win the Roland Garros in 1892.

France send 243 athletes to the 1984 Los Angeles Games. It participated in 19 sports: archery ( 2 ), athletics (45), basketball ( 12 ), boxing ( 4 ), kayak ( 14 ), cycling ( 16 ), equestrian ( 11), fencing ( 20 ), football ( 17 ), gymnastics ( 9 ), wrestling ( 16 ), modern pentathlon ( 3 ), rowing ( 22 ), shooting ( 15 ), swimming ( 19 ), tennis ( 4 ), weightlifting ( 2 ), wrestling ( 8 ), sailing ( 12 ).

This European country won the gold medal in soccer at the 1984 Olympic Games in the United States.

France is the birthplace of fencing. Fencing was made part of the official program for the Olympics at the 1896 Athens Games.

Paris has hosted the Summer Olympics in 1924. There were 3,092 athletes from 44 countries who competed in 19 sports: athletics, aquatics, boxing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, modern pentathlon, polo, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, soccer, tennis, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling. France came third with 13 golds, 15 silvers and 10 bronzes.

Eunice Barber is one of the most famous athletes in France. She was born on November 17, 1974 in Freetown, Sierra Leone ( Western Africa ), the world’s poorest country. Eunice says, “I was fortunate to grow up in Sierra Leone, an English-speaking African country where sport is very present”. For political and economic reasons, she moved to France when she was 18 years old. In the 1990s, Sierra Leone had one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars. More than 70,000 Africans had been killed and 150,000 had left the country. Under the banner of Sierra Leone, Eunice finished fifth in the heptathlon competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in the United States. For many sportswriters and experts, her Olympic performance was amazing. Three years later, she become a French citizen.

Top performances:

1999: European Cup-1st heptathlon

1999: World Cup-1st heptathlon

2003: IAAF World Championships- 1st long jump, 2nd heptathlon

2003: European Cup-1st long jump

2003: IAAF World Athletics Final-1st long jump

2005: IAAF World Championships-2nd heptathlon, 3rd long jump

2005: IAAF World Athletics Final-4th long jump

2006: European Cup-2nd long jump

Eunice’s favourites:

Movie stars: Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone, Demi Moore

Music: From French to pop music

Hobbies: Theater, cinematography, music, reading

Fashion designers: Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gautier

Music artists: Celine Dion, Withney Houston, Wyclef Jean.

Review of Weber Gallatin – A Mandolin

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Weber Mandolins produces incredible instruments, and many are somewhat expensive, but not all will drain your bank account. An excellent example is Weber’s Gallatin A mandolin, a great looking carved top mandolin that has a price that will not make your heart stop beating. The Weber Gallatin A has a simple, rustic appearance that reflects its origins in Montana.

One listener observed that the Gallatin A had a “soft” sound. Granted, I was playing softly at the time, but even when I barked out a few notes, the Gallatin A still had a smooth and soft bark. The Gallatin A is a versatile mandolin that could work for many different types of music and playing styles, but I found it especially useful for crosspicking, light strumming, and also found it quite responsive to quick changes in volume; indeed, I could shift between a light, airy touch, and a hard attack, and then back again with ease. I did notice that with a hard chop that the Gallatin A produced a somewhat tinny sound, but if I held back just a touch, then it would produce a nice, full, “woody” chop.

Although previously made with mahogany back and sides, the Gallatin A mandolin is now constructed with maple back and sides ( larger Gallatin instruments are still built with mahogany). Features include solid sitka spruce soundboard, maple back and rim, tone bar bracing, matte finish, the Weber decal and Celtic knot on the headstock, black bound radiused ebony fingerboard (14 inch scale), mother of pearl diamond inlay position markers, 1 1/8 inch nut width, nickel Grover tuners, dual action adjustable truss rod, Brekke adjustable ebony bridge, Weber hardshell case, and limited lifetime warranty.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The Greatest Composer of All

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Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was born in a house on the Getreidegasse in Salzburg, Austria, on 27th January 1756, the feast of St John Chryostom. His parents were Leopold Mozart and Maria Anna Pertl. He was the last of seven children but only himself and his elder sister Nannerl, survived into adulthood.

Later in life the boy would choose to adopt the latin ‘Amadeus’ in place of the Greek Theophilus.

Wolfgang’s older sister (whose was called Maria Anna but always known as ‘Nannerl’) showed musical promise from an early age and began to learn the harpsichord in 1758 at the age of seven. Wolfgang seemed interested in her lessons and began to learn the instrument himself at the age of four and soon picked up some of her pieces. Incredibly he had, by the time he was five, managed to compose a few simple pieces of his own with the help of his father.

Leopold Mozart was at that time Court Composer to the Archbishop of Salzburg and was an accomplished composer and well respected teacher. However he realized that Wolfgang’s talents were exceptional and decided to concentrate on the musical development of his two children. He arranged for Wolfgang to perform publicly at the University in Salzburg in 1761 and over the next few years undertook a number of lengthy tours of European cities where the young Wolfgang and Nannerl would perform for the entertainment of the Royal Courts.These trips had their hazards. They could be lucrative but also highly expensive. Both Wolfgang and Nannerl were seriously ill on more than one occasion contracting both Typhoid Fever and smallpox.

Mozart’s first opera, La Finta Semplice, was performed in 1769, when he was just thirteen, in the Archbishop of Salzburg’s Palace.

When they finally returned to Salzburg Wolfgang spent time composing and was also appointed to the post of konzertmeister. However things changed when the old Archbishop, who was tolerant of the Mozarts extended absences,died. The new Archbishop was not so amenable.

In 1777, at Mozart’s request,the Archbishop released him from his post. He also took the opportunity to dismiss Leopold at the same time, although he was fairly quickly re-instated.

Mozart set off on tour again but this time with his mother. It turned out to be disastrous. Without his fathers strict discipline Wolfgang, now 21, was more interested in enjoying himself than working. At one stage they were almost penniless and had had to sell some possessions in order to continue their journey. In July Frau Mozart became ill and died. Mozart returned to Salzburg and returned to his former position which his father had managed to secure. This didn’t last long – the Archbishop dismissed Wolfgang during a trip to Vienna where they attended the celebrations of the accession of the new Emperor, Joseph II. Leopold was horrified but Wolfgang regarded it as a golden opportunity to stay in Vienna. He did reasonably well there teaching and composing. Then he shocked his father again -by announcing he was to marry. Leopold protested but to no avail and the marriage between Wolfgang and Constanze Weber took place on 4th August in St Stephens Cathedral.

The couple enjoyed relative success for a few years with Mozart’s music being popular and there being no shortage of pupils. However they had an expensive lifestyle to maintain and some jealousies began to emerge from other composers. A huge blow came when on 28th May 1787, Mozart’s father died.

Mozart’s financial situation became worse and by 1789 he was regularly requesting loans from friends. He toured again but had little success. He was working hard and earning money but their outgoings were such that they had constant financial worries.

Emmanuel Schikanader, was an actor,singer,writer and an old friend of Mozart’s.He was the manager of the Theater auf der Weiden in the suburbs of Vienna and he suggested to Mozart that he write a pantomime type opera in German which would have mass appeal and, most importantly, be profitable. Mozart agreed, probably in desperation for money and worked on it ( The Magic Flute) through the summer of 1791. It was a huge success and brought temporary relief financially.

During this time Mozart received an anonymous letter asking him to compose a requiem mass. Although it was a strange request he decided to accept as there was a significant fee offered. However Mozart became overworked and his health began to decline. He was desperate to complete the commission but was becoming exhausted and on 20th November his condition worsened so much that he took to his bed. With the help of his pupil Sussmayr he attempted in vain to finish the Requiem but got only as far as the Lachrymosa.

As Mozart’s condition deteriorated he suffered from fever, vomiting and swelling. On 4th December Mozart went into a coma. In the early hours of 5th December 1791, the greatest composer the world has ever known, died.

In a final ironic twist to the tale, the emperor confirmed Mozart’s appointment to the post of Kapellmeister at St Stephens, a position which would finally have given the Mozarts lasting financial security.

Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder Pursues Many Interests

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Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder does not spend his valuable time practicing for hours on end; he fills his days with projects that illuminate him. One of the world’s most prolific recording artists, he boasts a discography of more than 100 albums encompassing the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas, the complete Beethoven and Mozart’s concertos, all of Haydn’s compositions for piano, both Brahms concertos and numerous other major works. No wonder he is called the “Viennese oracle.”

To close his U. S. tour with the Dresden Staatskapelle conducted by Daniel Harding, he chose Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor for the Kennedy Center. He enthuses over the concerto, one of the great ones in the repertoire, pointing out that Schumann, like Beethoven and other composers of his period, is romantic and sensitive with feeling and soul in his music. He snubs the idea of classification done by people who came along later and wanted to put everybody into a neat package.

Laughing, he said, “These poor guys didn’t know they were supposed to be organized and classified as classical, romantic, modern, or what-have-you.”

The Dresden Staatskapelle, one of the world’s oldest orchestras, has been led by many outstanding chief conductors since its founding in 1548, including Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. As the orchestra of the Saxon State Opera, it is based in the opera house. This season, in his role as the orchestra’s Artist in Residence, Buchbinder will participate in two subscription series in Dresden and over a period of seven days will perform all 32 of Beethoven’s sonatas.

What might be a daunting task to others is sheer joy to the man who welcomes every opportunity to express himself live. He recorded all five Beethoven concertos live in two concerts on a single day and recorded the newly released Brahms piano concertos live with the Israel Philharmonic in Tel Aviv, Zubin Mehta conducting. He never goes into a studio if he can avoid it because he seeks the emotion that eludes him there. He enjoys recording live so much he doesn’t mind people coughing, especially if they cough when he plays wrong notes.

Buchbinder is not only one of the world’s greatest pianists, he is also a serious collector of autographed scores, first editions and original documents which he seeks out worldwide. He is equally interested in painting and modern art and often sketches for his own amusement, as evidenced by his intriguing signature in the form of a figure at the piano.
Just for fun, he is an avid collector of great books and movies. Ask him about Abbott and Costello, Alfred Hitchcock, Danny Kaye or Frank Sinatra and you quickly learn that all are represented in his collection of more than 4,000 movies. He even relishes bad movies.

“One day is not long enough for me,” he said. “Instead of using the piano as one would go to the office, I use my head, not my fingers, and become involved in many interests.”

The Life Of Mozart

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on January 27th 1756. Mozart’s father, Leopold Mozart, was a composer and violinist so the young Mozart grew up in a music-loving family. Mozart had one sibling who survived and that was Anna who was born to Leopold and his wife Anna Maria Pertl in 1951.

The young Wolfgang showed musical promise from a very early age. At just 4 years old he could play the same pieces as his sister who was 5 years older than him. By the age of just 5 it is said that he had composed his very first minuet and that by the age of 9 he was composing symphonies. In 1792 Mozart’s father took both his children on a tour around Vienna, on the tour the family performed for members of the nobility. Anna played piano and Wolfgang played both the piano and the violin. A longer tour of Europe was planned by the children’s father in 1763 and the children again performed in various courts in several countries. At the age of 14 Mozart was commissioned to compose an opera – his very first – entitled Mitridate, re di Ponto.

Mozart’s father was keen for his son to make a living from his talent as part of a nobleman’s court rather than on his own as he considered this to be the more stable option, however it was difficult for Mozart to find such a position as most courts were not prepared to take on a composer so young – despite Mozart’s obvious talent. Eventually Mozart found employment in his late adolescence/early twenties with the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. He continued to look for work elsewhere as he found life in provincial Salzburg too limiting. He was also frustrated by his father, who sabotaged any chance of romance for the young Mozart, who was keen to keep his son working to earn enough to support the whole family.

In 1781 Mozart clashed bitterly with the Prince-Archbishop and resigned from his post. His father opposed the resignation but 25-year-old Mozart had finally had enough. Mozart moved to Vienna to work as a freelance composer and musician although he continued to look for a position with an aristocratic court. Mozart further angered his father by marrying Constanze Weber, a singer from a poor family in 1782.

Mozart spent the next 9 years in Vienna teaching, playing and composing. During this period he wrote some of his most famous works – music that is considered to be some of the most accomplished in Western music. The later part of Mozart’s life was troubled with financial problems. Despite a growing reputation as a composer he never seemed to have enough money. The death of his father also troubled him greatly particularly as the two men were never fully reconciled after Mozart left for Vienna against his father’s wishes. At the age of just 35 in 1791 Mozart died from what was known as a ‘military’ fever.

You Wundt Have Thought So

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Preceding the American William James, the German Wilhelm Wundt was known by the vast majority of accounts as the first modern day Psychologist. His students rose to fame, and took his ideas to new heights, the best example is Hugo Munsterberg who revealed so much of what we now know about memory (1908). It would only be recently when their ideas would find the mainstream once again.

He saw a need for a meaningful and empirical stance on the human condition. As the first in the line of eminent psychologists, he spent a disproportionate amount of time establishing and wearily defending himself and his ideas.

What made his new school of study so interesting, controversial and problematic was that it sat on an awkward intersection of Science and Philosophy (Bringmann, Balance & Evans, 1975). Wundt stood alone on the dance floor between the chemists and physicians on his right, and the philosophers on his left. The latter still hankered for the good old days when they were the de facto scientists.

For most of his early career Wundt was misrepresented by biographers as someone who was wishy-washy. Upon scrutiny, one can only marvel at how he was anything but. As Psychology has matured as a science, scant little thought has been afforded to he who did the original and thankless work. Wilhelm Wundt’s ideas are now par for the course but very little credit is attributed to his work. Most of his ideas were suppressed by the Behaviourist movement only to be reimagined in the aftermath.

In this sense, he is the Leonardo da Vinci of Psychology.

Wundt was originally a physiology student, whose first publication circa 1853 did not introduce Psychology to the world – on the contrary, it was about the salt content of urine. I kid you not. In his study of physiology, he was soon fascinated by the leap between senses and experience. After a short stint as head of Inductive Philosophy at the University of Zurich, he moved to Leipzig, where in 1879, the University announced the first ever Psychological laboratory (Boring, 1950). Needless to say he was quite a hit with the students of the time. His classes were akin to a grittier and hands-on Philosophy course.

Wundt wasn’t attempting to start a new school of thought. He regarded his teachings to be part of Philosophy, just a line of thought that was a little chummier with the natural sciences. This, however, did nothing but disturb academic philosophers who cherished their unquestioned speculation and would surely have Wundt remain focused on urine.

Wundt’s primary mode of enquiry was something he termed “introspection.” In hindsight, this was an unfortunate choice of words – maybe more or less so in German. To the outside, “introspection” was tantamount to navel-gazing – trying to think about what you’re thinking about.

To find wider acceptance amongst his peer group, this young science would need to fend off the likes of Kant, a superhero among philosophers. Kant dogged Wundt, painting Psychology as a farce. Kant maintained that one couldn’t measure something which in itself is immeasurable; it’s impossible to do and a waste of time (Kitcher, 1990.) See a grinning Kant down at the bookstore signing his latest best seller.

In this Kant was right on the money. Thinking about how you think changes thought. Oops. Wundt was unconvincing in his efforts to amalgamate physiology with the study of consciousness. In other words, was it even possible to reconcile the inner experience with the external world of sensation?

To date, the only successful glimmer of hope came in the form of what is now known as Weber’s Law. Psychophysics would be Wundt’s key into his new school. Ernst Weber’s 1834 work was Psychology’s only refuge from Kant’s relentless onslaught. Weber showed that a constant ratio existed between a stimulus of a given weight and a second heavier stimulus for the difference between the two to be just noticeable. This ratio is fixed regardless of the weight of the first (Ernst, 1878). To Wundt, this was a bridge between internal and external worlds.

Wundt was adamant that Psychology, or as he called it, Physiological Psychology was not Weber’s Psychophysics nor was it the other side of the coin, the ethereal and mystic interpretations of Psychophysics propounded by Fechner. (Fechner had some bizarre ideas which were received in some circles but don’t merit repeating).

Wundt maintained that he was studying consciousness, but here’s the real gem: he would only look at consciousness in ways which could be overtly studied. It would mean merging philosophical interpretations with physiological experimentation. He would show that is was indeed possible to study the inner workings of the consciousness through experimentation. He would indirectly glean the inner machinations of consciousness through the empirical apparatus of natural science. In doing so, he could establish psychological concepts in relation to objective and measurable stimuli and reactions.

If Wundt was asked “What is Psychology?” he could reply that it is a philosophy, that the mind is an activity, not a substance or thing (the commonly accepted idea). He referred to mental processes as ‘Apperception.‘ Physiology studies the pathways of stimuli, through the nerves, resulting in reactions – and parallel to this was an inner experience or consciousness, which only could be indirectly observed through Introspection.

With Kant still casting a long shadow over him, he showed his mode of enquiry to include Kant’s misgivings. Wundt said that as consciousness doesn’t do much simultaneously, when the activity or process is intense enough, it is possible to study the unexpected processes thereof; those which are reactionary and involuntary. In laboratory experiments, it was possible to arbitrarily and repeatedly reveal the systematic concepts behind Consciousness. This horrid explanation aside, the results spoke for themselves.

Wundt was responsible for core ideas in Psychology. Though many of his good ideas would be soon become paraphrased and overwritten by American Psychologists; he was undoubtedly the original trail blazer. He penned enough to fill libraries.

For example:

  • Using Introspection he submitted the ‘Tri-dimensional Theory of Feeling‘. Here he classified feelings as being pleasant or unpleasant, tense or relaxed, excited or depressed. Any feeling one experiences is a combination of any of these. It was pretty neat stuff.
  • His work on selective attention and short term memory remain to date, largely untouched. Wundt’s work into short term memory, to be later championed in earnest by his student Hugo Münsterberg (1908) produced the +/- 7 short term memory limits. This is the size of an individual’s short term memory. The idea was ignored until the 1970s. Boo.
  • He established the ‘Principle of Actuality‘ which held Consciousness to be a reality in its own right. This was suppressed in favour of Behaviourism, but today is a truism.
  • Wundt also found Consciousness to have ‘Creative Synthesis.’ Although there is a physical brain, it is impossible to describe its ‘going’s on’ in terms of its chemistry or physiology. Colours, music, taste and meaning are subjective – therefore measurement is impossible.
  • Wundt pioneered ‘Psycholinguistics.’ The fundamental unit of language is not a noise, phoentic syllable or word, but a sentence. Only when the words form sentences can meaning be ascribed. A simple idea one may think, but this later flew in the face of Behaviourists whom believed in learning through association and so temporarily reversed Wundt’s findings.
  • With Psycholinguistics, by studying the language of children, Wundt also caught on to the idea that language has its origins in emotional sounds and gestures i.e. before thoughts come feelings (Blumenthal, 2001). This was astounding for the time, but again generally discounted.
  • Wundt proposed that Feelings were fundamental short term experiences; Moods more sustained Feelings, Emotions more complex experiences. Motivation is the intense version of Emotion that spurs on Behaviour (Blumenthal, 2001). Wundt refined these ideas in his latter works into the idea of Volition. Again this is an influential framework used to this day, which one is unlikely to find near his name in a text book.

All these ideas are used, perhaps somewhat improved, in modern day practice. They form the seminal frameworks for counselling and psychotherapy, and Psycholinguistics was an early Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP). When you use a hypnosis tape or a subliminal mp3, pick up a self-help book, or try to remember your 10 item shopping list – the Wundt’s ideas have echoed down in time.

A study of the evolution of Psychological thought does suggest that in the absence of Wundt, Psychology would still exist. However, his influence on Psychology is staggering. As one tallies up the enormous body of work and takes into account the clarity, originality and conviction with which the earliest and original first of Psychology were suggested, it is game changing. It would be well over 30 years until another came along to have such an influence on Psychology, Sigmund Freud through his work with the subconscious mind.

His ideas have been reworked, fallen in and out of favour throughout the decades, and in some cases remain untouched yet unaccredited. Surely this contribution deserves more than a few words on page one of your first Psychology textbook?

References:

Blumenthal, A. L. (2001). A Wundt Primer: The Operating Characteristics of Consciousness in Reiber, R W., & Robinson, D. K. Wilhelm Wundt in History: The Making of a Scientific Psychology. Kluwer Academic Publishing.

Boring, E.G (1950). A History of Experimental Psychology. 2nd ed. Appleton-Century-Crofts: New York.

Bringmann, W. G., Balance, W. D. &., Evans, R. B. (1975). Wilhelm Wundt 1832-1920: A Brief Biographical Sketch. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 11(3) 287-97.

E.H. Weber, (1878). The Sense of Touch. Academic Press

Kitcher, P. (1990) Kant’s Transcendental Psychology. Oxford: New Work.

Munsterberg, H (1908). On the Witness Stand: Essays on Psychology and Crime. Doubleday: New York.

Let’s Have a Barbeque Party

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“A wonderful way to entertain family and friends in an outdoor setting is with a backyard barbeque party. With proper planning and the right environment people will be talking about your party all summer. Important factors to think about when entertaining are things like the barbeque grill, seating, lighting, and of course the menu planning.”

Today’s barbecue choices have never been greater. The designs and options are wonderful, there really is a barbecue that fits your individual barbecuing needs. Barbecues come in both natural gas and propane grills. Barbecues are available in portable fire pit models excellent for a patio or backyard, giving the feeling of being around an actual fire pit. Other barbecue designs include charcoal-wood grills, portable grills and outdoor stoves. Weber makes some of the most durable and reliable quality grills, using stainless steel burners to provide long- wearing even heat and burners with spider and insect screens to keep the burners pest free. The stainless steel hoods and bodies are long lasting and great looking. Several of the designs also include built in thermometers.

Another great addition to your backyard cooking options might be a bbq smoker. These bbq smokers are perfect for seafood delicacies and traditional barbecue meals like beef brisket, ribs or pork. They are also excellent for chicken, seafood or anything needing direct high temperatures. Briquettes are available that burn for up to eight hours giving a wonderful smoked flavor.

A beautiful patio leaves you with the feeling that your at a cottage or a wonderful outdoor retreat, the nice thing is it’s a much more affordable alternative to owning a cottage. With the great selection of patio furniture and accessories on the market you can design your patio to be your own personal vacation in your backyard. The patio is not only a convenient getaway, but also a natural extension of your home’s design and décor. Black is a popular color for furniture as is antiqued greens with a distressed look. Wooden furniture is again popular, teak being a favorite as it ages so beautifully. Patio furniture is available with armrests, high back chairs and swivel rockers with matching ottomans, all for ultimate comfort. Most of the outdoor furniture sold today is made with all weather fabrics; it’s also wise to select furniture that will be durable and low maintenance.

When throwing and planning a barbecue patio party you’ll want to be prepared and know approximately how many people will be coming. You want to be sure there is enough available seating so everyone is comfortable. You’ll also want to be prepared for unexpected weather. Awnings are an excellent option, allowing you to take control of the weather on your deck or patio in a moment; there are also outdoor tents that you can set up with a table inside to shelter yourself from the rain. It’s important to have at least one outdoor umbrella to provide protection and shade for your guests from the hot sun, not to mention they also look nice. There is no shortage of excellent patio furniture and comfortable outdoor sitting options. Patio heaters are also welcome for cooler evenings after the sun goes down.

It’s important to have a proper serving or buffet surface for your party, a place where you can have all the food, beverages, plates and utensils. Portable carts or side tables can also work well. You may even have a built-in countertop.

The lighting for your outdoor party will only matter if the barbecue carries on into the evening; regardless the lighting is something that is nice to think about as it adds so many ambiences to your backyard setting. There are outdoor solar-powered lights available and other lighting options in several designs. Luminaries, candles, miniature white lights strung between trees or along your patio, or some lovely white paper lanterns hanging from your trees can make your patio extraordinary.

Bug control is a must at your outdoor party. Burn citronella candles to help keep a variety of bugs away. If yellow jackets are a nuisance in your yard, traps are available from your garden center or nursery. Remember to cover food, especially the meat and sweet drinks on the table to protect from bugs.

A few other nice additions to your party might be; gift bags for any children attending the party, you can fill the bags with fun ideas found at the dollar store like glow sticks, crayons and little notepads etc., it’s a nice idea to keep the children occupied; patio heaters are excellent if it starts to cool down in the evening, or for unexpected cooler days; flowers in planters or hanging baskets will further add to the appeal of your yard; lastly a nice variety of music sets the mood and adds a nice overall feeling to your party.

Planning the meal is probably the biggest challenge to your party. You’ll want to know in advance if any of your guests have any special eating preferences, allergies, dislikes. You can always go with the standard burgers, veggie burgers (f there will be any vegetarians attending), steaks and salads knowing that everyone will be satisfied and full. On the other hand, you might want to surprise your guests with a wonderful honey barbeque broiled steak; a simple marinade can be made with garlic, marjoram, salt, pepper, dry mustard, honey, and balsamic vinegar. The selected steak or chicken can then be kept in the marinade for a couple of hours in the fridge, next step is onto the barbecue. Excellent side dishes might be some potato salad, a green salad and corn on the cob.

In the summertime cold drinks are a must. You might make some cold lemonade, and have some carbonated beverages on hand. A nice addition to any buffet table is a lovely punch (alcohol or non-alcohol) with some lemon slices and fresh fruit additions. Always have lots of ice available to keep the drinks cold. For dessert some cut fruit such as strawberries, melon and watermelon slices prove refreshing or a fruit salad can be nice, and of course a nice cake or some cookies is always sinful but popular. Later on, a bowl of corn tortilla chips served with salsa is well liked.

Of course your budget will determine how much you can and can’t do as far as decorating at your party. But don’t let that discourage you, it takes time to get your patio looking exactly the way you want it, in the meantime keep your eyes open and look for ideas. A simple picnic table and some plastic outdoor chairs work well too; a barbecue really is all about the food and atmosphere created.

With some planning and the right atmosphere your outdoor barbeque party will be a success. Whether your party is big or small, a barbeque is a wonderful way to get together with your closest friends and family members to enjoy the summertime and some great food.

Writing Your Wedding Vows the Way Poets Do

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Let’s face it, not many of us have the kind of skills or experience to write truly poetic wedding vows. Or do we? Here’s the truth: Even if you don’t know Dylan Thomas from Bob Dylan, and you’re pretty sure T.S. Elliot was that guy who wrote the words to Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Cats,” all is not lost! In fact, there are ways to learn to write the words you want. With four simple steps, you can take what you feel in your heart and make it come out as sweetly as any Shakespearian sonnet.

Step 1: Decide on a theme

Finding a theme should arguably be the easiest part of writing poetry for your wedding vows. But you don’t want to be stuck with something trite or cliché, even though the theme of romantic love is probably the oldest known for poetry. There are lots of ways to avoid writing the same old “roses are red, violets are blue” type of poem. One trick the pros use is to envision what a newspaper article about your relationship would say. Would it discuss how and where you met? How your relationship has stayed strong, even during the hard times? What your love has meant to one another? Since newspaper articles get right to the point, this exercise can help you pick out an overriding theme for your vows.

Step 2: Allow time for reverie

No, not “revelry” (hopefully that will be what your wedding day is all about), but reverie – a quiet time devoted to a kind of dreamy meditation. Try some tricks for allowing yourself time to truly think about your poem — and not just those things that allow you to “act like a poet.” Go for a walk alone, listen to instrumental music, or simply shut the door to a room in your house and ask not to be disturbed. The most important thing to remember with any of these methods is that you don’t let other people interrupt your time.

Step 3: Choose your topic

Theme, as discussed above, is the driving idea behind your poem. The topic, however, is the specific vehicle you use to express the theme. While finding the theme should be the easiest part of writing a poem for your wedding, finding a topic that isn’t hackneyed and trite can be a challenge. For instance, love is your theme, but the beauty of your betrothed’s eyes may be the topic. You are using the example of her eyes as the symbol for your love. The key is to find something new. There’s something that makes your chosen one special, be it appearance, wit, or style. That’s the topic you want to choose. Poets use tools like automatic writing, journals, or “dream work” to come up with topics for their prose. (These tools are all discussed in detail in the home-study course I put together for couples personalizing their wedding vows – visit http://www.WeddingVowToolkit.com for more info.) But anything that allows you to spark your creativity can suffice if you’re short on time.

Step 4: Pick Your Style

As many different poems as there are, there are almost an equal number of styles in which they are written. There are traditional forms, modern, post modern, and many more. You can work on fitting your rough draft poem into one of these many forms, or you can go with no form at all. The benefit of working on an art form is that there are no hard and fast rules on what the end product must look like. Perhaps you’d like to try your hand at penning your vows in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. Or, to go a completely different route, maybe “experimental” is right up your alley. No matter what you choose, just make sure it fits your style. After all, personalizing your wedding vows means just that – they should be personal, not forced to fit into a style that just isn’t “you.”

The Rosebush Murders by Ruth Shidlo – Book Review

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The Thorny World Of Humanity

Danielle Hall is found dead in the peaceful grounds of an inner city park in Jerusalem. She had been shot in the back of the head. Investigation soon reveals that Danielle was a psychologist. Could it be that a client has lost their cool? Danielle was married to Mira Morenica and they have a daughter Shelia. How will the family cope with this sudden and violent death? D.I. Helen Mirkin finds that, despite her cool professionalism and objectivity, she cares for the survivors. Helen must use all her skills, her logic and her intuition, to solve this case, even if just to give the Morenica-Hall family closure.

Ruth Shidlo’s first novel, The Rosebush Murders, is a fine police murder mystery. While not quite of the ‘hard boiled’ style, this book is a no-nonsense account of a classic crime investigation case. There is no histrionics here, but we follow the plot with interest as Shidlo step by step reveals the mystery of the murders. At the same time Shidlo reveals to us bit by bit exactly who her character Helen Mirkin is. Even more Shidlo digs into some of the questions of life that fascinate us all.

The novel follows a fairly standard structure. In the first half we are given a complex of defuse plot threads that leave us asking, “What does this all mean?” Life is of course often like this and any crime investigation is at first an open question. Some of us like to think that we understand all about our life but philosophers, psychologists and scientists will tell us that things are not necessarily simple or obvious. The second half of the novel moves more swiftly as the hunt nears its close. Shidlo skilfully draws her themes and imagery neatly together to a satisfying conclusion. One small criticism is that the first half is perhaps just a little too long. Just before midway we begin to grow slightly tired, wondering where will all this lead? The opening of the book has some very well written descriptions. The long section describing Helen’s viewing of the corpse and crime scene is excellently written. We get a real sense of the ugliness of the death. Murder is of course a heavy subject and requires serious writing, however, Shidlo has included some moments of humour to lighten the mood. Most of this humour comes as banter between Helen and her colleagues. In Chapter 8, after a late night and restless sleep, Captain Adam Tamir, Helen’s boss, comments, “You look fresh as a lettuce.” Police detectives need some release from the pressure of their work and so does the reader otherwise reading a novel like this would become a chore. Shidlo has included the occasional ‘aha’ moment and surprise chapter ending which helps us keep turning the pages.

This novel is of the mystery genre; however, Shidlo supplies us with questions beyond the intrigue of the crime. “Who is Helen Mirkin?” we wonder, and as the novel progresses we dig deeper into the character. We get to know Helen as we get to know a friend. On first impression we like her very human responses to the brutal murder and her compassion for the relatives, but then questions arise and we wonder what her life beyond work is, what her past is and what motivates her? By the end of the book we certainly feel we have got to know Helen better. Beyond this many characters in the novel have secrets. We meet a series of people who are unknown to us, as they are to Helen, some leaving us with a good impression, some bad. By the end of the book we have certainly got to know the criminals better. It should be noted, however, that Helen is the only sympathetic character which Shidlo develops. In this array of character sketches one more individual we can relate to, developed to some depth, would have been good for reader empathy.

Murder is an act of dominance and The Rosebush Murders primarily has the theme of power. The philosopher Michel Foucault, and many others, have pointed out that much of society revolves around power and keeping people, organizations, classes and societal institutions in control. This theme is developed in many different ways. We see, for example, right from the Prologue onwards references to Fascism and the Nazis. This group, with its aim of European domination, and perhaps even world domination, is the ultimate example in modern history of the thirst for power. For this book, set in Israel, Fascism is of course a very potent example of the real and extreme effects of a desire for power. Also much of the story revolves around City Hospital, Jerusalem’s prestigious and world famous establishment. Here we see the world of bureaucracy which, as the sociologist Max Weber (Economy And Society: 1922) and the novelest Franz Kafka (The Trial: 1925) have pointed out, are very efficient and rational but can also lead to a “polar night of icy darkness” and an “iron cage” (Weber) which crushes the individual. City Hospital is depicted as literally a very large, complex warren in which Helen fears getting lost. The air is constantly stale. In Chapter 14 we see a visit to an X-ray specialist who is surrounded by cold technology. The specialist, along with others at the hospital, is cold and distant. Doctors in general are depicted as having power over life and death: they decide our fate. Religion also appears as a social institution prying into our lives and pushing us about. Terrorism also makes an appearance in the book. In the nine days the book covers there are two encounters with suspected bombs. Terrorism, nationalist and religious, is of course a fact of life in Israel and this is just how Shidlo depicts it. Terrorism is murder on the large scale and the contemporary equivalent of Nazism: an extreme grab for power.

Religion is indeed so prominent in the book that it can be considered as a theme in its own right. The ecclesia is meant to be a protection but Shidlo depict it more as a controller. Certainly much of the music that Helen listens to, sings, and takes comfort and restoration from, is religious based. In Chapter 38, while Helen rehearses her choir pieces, we read:

“I felt the prayer pour from me and at its conclusion felt somehow cleansed of the oppressive atmosphere of the hospital.”

But of course this is very much a personal, informal, unstructured, untheological experience. This is not the religion of the synagogue, of orthodoxy. In Chapter 8, in the context of a conversation about cancer, the Biblical notion of “sanctuary cities” is disparagingly mentioned as a metaphor. The idea of criminals escaping to a safe city, beyond the grasp of the law, is of course objectionable to police and something objectionable about Judaism is implied. By far the most important plot line in this theme is the scenario about the Morenica-Hall family wanting to bury their family member in a way free from the “despotism of the Orthodox Rabbinate… ” Here religion is seen as a kind of ‘fascism’ in the popular use of the term.

Death is central to the book, but this theme goes well beyond the plot line of murders. Death is depicted as something we must come to terms with, something that is pervasive and unescapable. In Chapter 14 Dr. Kate Jordan, head of the interns, comments:

“Makes you wonder what separates you from death, doesn’t it? We take so much for granted… “

As we learn more about Helen we see how important the death of her own father is to her.

Interestingly H.E. Eysenck in his essay The Psychology Of Anti-Semitism (Uses And Abuses Of Psychology: Penguin Books, 1953) identifies “superstition… i.e. a belief in the mystical determinants of the individual’s fate… ” and “power and toughness” as statistically discernible features of Fascism. He further notes of this group:

“There also seems to be relatively little enjoyment of sensuality or of passive pleasures such as affection, companionship, or art and music… ” (p. 271)

And later:

“… art, music, literature, and philosophy… may be considered… interests [that] contribute substantially to greater resourcefulness, and to the comparative diversion from power and status… ” (p. 277)

Power and religion (superstition) are, as we have seen, central themes in The Rosebush Murders. Helen, the central character, seeks her friends to relax, is looking for a partner, looks at the art on the walls of the abodes of those she interviews, is interested in music and quotes literature. She stands against those who would grab power.

Shidlo’s novel is definitely in the main part a no nonsense police drama, however, it also contains some imagery, which gives the book greater depth. As we have seen music, choirs and opera are a part of the characterization. Music also takes on a symbolic nature as a metaphor for life. Music brings Helen great pleasure and relaxation and she uses it as an escape from the pressures of her work. At the end of Chapter 6 we see Helen tuning her car radio to a jazz program while returning to the office after a difficult interview with Mira Morenica. In Chapter 13 Helen unwinds from a tiring day with music. Music communicates feeling and most composers would say that they hope to capture some quality of life. Music can be joyous, help us to express sadness and even be dramatic and tense. Nature also repeatedly is depicted as beautiful and relaxing. It is contrasted with humanity and civilization. In Chapter 3 Helen takes in the quiet beauty of the Morenica-Hall’s garden, but later in the chapter she drives passed the wrecked hulks of vehicles left over from the War of Independence. Nature certainly is restoring to us but there is one or two hints of danger. In Chapter 10 Mira, the Morenica-Hall’s maid comments on a “cute cat” she sees out of the police station window. Helen responds, “It’s not easy to be a street cat.” On a different tack police work is frequently compared to a psychologist’s job. Helen must of course help the victim’s family cope with grief, but also detection itself requires a knowledge of human nature, reading facial expressions, searching below the surface for hidden facts, and a Freudian ‘free association’ of one thing with another. In Chapter 11 Helen jokes with Dr. Sol, Danielle’s psychoanalyst and friend, about the similarity of their professions. Helen comments, “In fact would you care to join the Psychological Service of the Police Force?” Life is full of problems and in a way we are all in need of ‘the psychiatrist’s couch.’

Ruth Shidlo is a qualified psychologist and it is no surprise that this book is an accurate picture of life in that respect. Shidlo recognises that people are of diverse motivations, that they have secrets, that while not suffering from a diagnosed illness they can have “rescue fantasies” (Ch. 7). Dreams as revelations of personal reactions, turmoil and thought feature fairly prominently. (Ch. 7 & Ch. 41) Dr. Ann Faraday’s Dream Power (1972) is a good source illustrating this approach to self-development. Suicide is depicted, not as a real desire for death but as a cry for help and an attempt at communication.( Ch. 55) (Robert E. Larson, ed. Preparing To Listen: Contact Teleministries, c1978, p. 99) Shidlo is of course also correct on the psychology of a killer. (Martha Stout. The Sociopath Next Door: Broadway Books, 2005)

A lesbian couple are at the centre of this murder mystery and GLBTI issues are thus quite prominent. Queer people and their immediate families are generally depicted with respect. In Chapter 3 Sheila shows Helen a photo of her and her two mothers on holiday. We read:

“Shelia was in the middle, looking happy and contained and proud.”

The word “proud” has of course come to have special meaning to LGBTI people, as in, for example, ‘pride marches’. Danielle’s mother is completely accepting of the lesbian matching. (Ch. 10) The problems which queer couples face is also mentioned, for example, the difficulties of donor parenting. (Ch. 56) Bigotry occasionally rears its head. In Chapter 12 Adam, on hearing that the lesbian couple are married comments, “Wonders never cease.” In Chapter 33 a minor character brings on the bigoted, fantasy notion of a powerful heterosexual man “converting” a lesbian woman. Shidlo also does not err in being overly favourable to LGBTI people. In Chapter 24 Daniel blocks a lesbian couple from receiving IVF. No special favouritism there. None-the-less Shidlo notes the sociological fact that people, including LGBTI, have an affinity for others of similar background. (C. Peter Wagner. Our Kind Of People: J. Knox Press, c1979)

The Rosebush Murders also has quite a good standing from a feminist perspective. The book is full of successful professional women and femininity is depicted in all its many and varied forms. In Chapter 50 we encounter a typical male chauvinist in the form of IVF researcher Alberto Silberman. Once again women are not patronized by being overly favoured either. There are a number of unsympathetic female characters as well.

As we have already seen society is examined to a certain extent, particularly in terms of bureaucracy. City Hospital is very much a wealthy establishment and an institution for the privileged. (Ch. 23) From a Marxist view the latter is no surprise. Money means power, and power means elites. When success is over-rewarded and over-valued others suffer.

Israel is a place of many ethnicities and national backgrounds as the diaspora have returned to it and consequently Shidlo’s novel represents a view of the world and its people beyond the narrow limits of nationalist literature. The disabled make a brief appearance in Chapter 14 in the form of Dr. Maurice Leibovici the blind head the Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic. Leibovici is successfully working in a prestigious job, but is gruff. The picture is positive but not over flattering.

Ruth Shidlo’s The Rosebush Murders is excellent for those interested in police work and murder mysteries. While displaying the standard features of this type of novel it also has more unusual themes such as power and religion. Imagery of music art and psychology gives the book further depth. To varying degrees the book is successful in presenting psychological, LGBTI, Feminist and Marxist perspectives. The novel is, however, most of all simply an entertaining read, excellent to relax with.

Celebrate Black History Month in Downtown Indianapolis

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Experience living Black History on Indiana Avenue
Indiana Avenue is a powerful version of the American dream through an African-American lens. The Avenue is the historic African-American commercial, entertainment and worship center. Today’s landscape is filled with enduring landmarks, a burgeoning university campus, contemporary residences and a lush waterway. Indiana Avenue truly is rhythm reborn. The rich heritage comes to life on stage, in public art, museums, art galleries, nightlife and in the church.

Also located on Indiana Avenue is the historic Madame Walker Theatre Center. The Madame Walker Theatre Center, housed in the historic Madame C.J. Walker Building, has long symbolized the spirit of creativity and community pride in Downtown Indianapolis. Celebrate Black History Month with the Walker Theatre by joining Freetown Village for an evening dinner theatre called “This Little Light” on Feb. 18. Enjoy live music and a lesson in history at this living history museum. Also join the Madame Walker Theatre for Jazz on the Avenue Feb. 25 in the Ballroom for live jazz and cocktails. Call 236.2099 for more information.

Art & Soul at the Indianapolis Artsgarden
Don’t miss more than 18 FREE performances throughout the month of February as part of the 15th annual Art & Soul in the Indianapolis Artsgarden, which kicks off Jan. 27. This annual celebration of African-American art and artists celebrates Black History Month. The performances feature a broad range of musical, dance, spoken word, poetry and living history from both established and emerging artists. Highlights throughout the month of February include Billy Wooten Jazz Trio, Gregg Bacon, June Rochelle, the Asante Children’s Theatre and many more. For more details and a schedule of events call 631.3301 or visit the Indy Arts Web site.

Learn about black history
Join The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis as black history comes alive during the month of February. Don’t miss Target Family Night Feb. 3 from 4 – 8 p.m. Celebrate African-American heritage and achievements in history, science, art and music FREE of charge. Experience a slave’s flight to freedom and learn to navigate using the Big Dipper during Follow the Drinking Gourd starting Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. On Feb. 3, 5 and12, celebrate Black History Month in Lilly Theatre with vignettes exploring the lives of Levi Coffin and Madame C.J. Walker at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. To learn more, call 334.3322.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Indiana Historical Society and Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (IMCPL) invite children and families to learn about Indiana’s rich African-American history by participating in the Indiana Black History Challenge. The Indiana Black History Challenge is a contest that invites participants to investigate famous African-American Hoosiers and their contributions to society. The 10-question challenge can be taken online beginning Feb. 1. Printed game cards will also be made available at the beginning of February at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, as well as all branches of the IMCPL.

The first 5,000 entrants to the Indiana Black History Challenge will receive a prize. All participants who complete the challenge and answer all questions correctly are entered into a drawing for the grand prize and runner-up awards. The grand prize is a Family Fun Pack that includes an overnight stay at the Omni Severin Hotel in Downtown Indianapolis; four tickets to special exhibitions at the Indianapolis Museum of Art; a $25 gift certificate to Weber Grill Restaurant and a family membership to the Indiana Historical Society, which includes free admission to the Indiana Experience for a year. One winner from each IMCPL branch and the History Center will receive a runner-up prize of a family four-pack of tickets to an Indianapolis Indians game. For more information, contact the IHS at 232.1882.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s (IMA) Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial exhibition will open Feb. 25. As an artist, Dial explores the truth of American history and culture in all its complexities and contradictions. This exhibition includes more than 50 pieces of Dial’s work that range from sculptures to paintings and that address some of the most compelling issues of our time. Find out more information on the exhibition call 923.1331.

Visit the Indiana State Museum for their “African Americans in Indiana” gallery search starting Feb. 1 to uncover the rich culture and contributions of Indiana’s black communities. Meet President Lincoln on Feb. 12 and enjoy period music and activities or see Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches in the Legacy Theater through the end of March. Call 232.1637 for more information.

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art will host the 4th Annual Leon Jett Memorial Lecture featuring Dr. Quintard Taylor, professor of American History at the University of Washington, on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. Taylor will discuss how African Americans helped shape and develop the American West. A new exhibit that is partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian called Red Black: Related Through History will open Feb. 12. Red Black will showcase the interactions between early black slaves and Native Americans. Call 636.9378 for more information.

Head over to the Garfield Parks Art Center for “Black Pearls”: An Artistic Celebration of Black History Month starting Feb. 5. The FREE exhibit showcases African and African-American artists and will display sculpture, drawing, painting and ceramics. Hands on creative family activities will take place every Saturday and Sunday throughout February. Hours for Garfield Parks Art Center are Tuesday – Thursday 2 – 9 p.m., Friday 1 – 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m. For more information call 327.7135.

Black History performances
The Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) presents Charlayne Woodard’s Going Solo: Neat from Feb.10 – March 6. In this sequel to Woodard’s “Pretty Fire,” teenaged Charlayne encounters boys, high school, civil rights and her own vivid imagination, all while learning to live with her disabled aunt, Neat. Tickets, show information and a schedule of consortium events are available by calling 635.5252.

Join the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for the 26th Anniversary Celebration of Black History Concert Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. The ISO’s annual concert celebrates the significant impact of African-American culture on classical and symphonic music as well as the superb artistry and creativity of black artists, composers and conductors. This year the concert will be conducted by an Indianapolis audience favorite, Thomas Wilkins. This event is FREE and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for general seating. Call 639.4300 for more information.