Outfitted: Fastpacking, the ‘Sexy Hybrid’ of Trail Running and Backpacking

Michael Waterford

Adventure-travel writer Michael Waterford says the best way to see more fauna and foliage on long-distance trails is by fastpacking — the “sexy hybrid” of trail running and backpacking. Calling fastpacking “the stripped-down, all-out pursuit of mileage in the forest,” he offers these tips for your first fastpacking trip. Click here to read the full story.

February 28, 2017

Paths of Homelessness, Part 1: Your First Day

TJ Jaeger

It's your first day of experiencing homelessness. What do you do? What are your options? Where will you sleep tonight? In the first of this two-part series, writer TJ Jaeger looks at the difficult circumstances people face — and choices they have to make — when they find themselves living on the streets of Bloomington. Click here to read the full story.

February 23, 2017

Sponsorship

Stirring the Pot: Guiltless and Often Tastier Shortcuts

Ruthie Cohen

Sometimes, taking a shortcut will reveal something new and wonderful; sometimes it just gets the job done faster. In the kitchen, as Ruthie Cohen has discovered several times, something as simple as a jar of salsa could be your eureka moment. Click here to read the full story.

February 21, 2017

(l-r) Theresa Ochoa and Sarah Swank present Lizzy Chandler her completion certificate officially inducting her as a HOPE mentor. | Photo by Ann Georgescu

More HOPE for Youth in School-to-Prison Pipeline

Ann Georgescu

HOPE, a program started by IU professor Theresa Ochoa, is designed to help youths in juvenile-detention facilities across Indiana. Anne Georgescu follows up her first article on HOPE, showing how the only mentorship program of its kind in the country continues to help break the school-to-prison pipeline for juvenile offenders. Click here to read the full story.

February 16, 2017

‘Places, Things, People’ 4×5 Photo Gallery: Part 1, Places

Adam Reynolds

In this three-part photography series titled “Places, Things, People,” Adam Reynolds roams the southern Indiana countryside with his new 4x5 “large format” camera — a style that was popular until 35mm film began to hold sway in the mid-1900s. Making pictures with this camera, Reynolds says in his artist's statement, “is a slow, almost meditative, affair.” The results can be striking. Click here to read Reynolds' artist's statement and to see a gallery of his 4x5 photography.

February 14, 2017

Sponsorship

‘Art in the Underground,’ a Video About the DIY Ethos

Chris Green

Filmmaker Chris Green takes a glimpse at the DIY art community. In Bloomington, DIY art overlaps with more established artist groups in town, including those creating music and film. But, at heart, it maintains its alternative (or punk) approach to creating and enjoying art. Click here to watch the video.

February 9, 2017

Hoagy Carmichael sits at the piano surrounded by friends in the Book Nook on Indiana Avenue, sometime in the 1920s. | Photo courtesy of Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music

Dada a la Bloomington — a 1920s ‘Anti-Art’ Hotbed

Michael G. Glab

When the absurdist art movement known as Dada began spreading to major cities around the world in the 1920s, it rarely found its way to sleepy Midwestern towns. But writer Michael G. Glab looks into how a soda shop in Bloomington became a hotbed of Dada, courtesy of favorite son Hoagy Carmichael and his friends. Click here to read the full story.

February 7, 2017

Armand Fields, who plays drag queen Rexy in Cardinal Stage Company's production of "The Legend of Georgia McBride," wearing what writer Jennifer Pacenza describes as "the sexiest thigh-high boots I’ve ever seen." | Courtesy photo

Behind the Curtain: A Drag Legend Is Born in ‘Georgia McBride’

Jennifer Pacenza

Jennifer Pacenza opens her theater column in Limestone Post with a preview of “fierce, funny” The Legend of Georgia McBride. Pacenza, author of Bravo, Bloomington!, a blog dedicated to local performance, says this Cardinal Stage Company production about the drag community challenges its audience “to consider the permeability of gender and sexuality.” Click here to read the full story.