By Nila Nealy, principal and brand strategist of TwentyTwo, a brand consultancy specializing in brand strategy, identity and communications. This review was also posted on Nila’s blog, The Human Condition. 

I can’t say exactly what took me so long to read this book. It had been sent as an advance galley copy by the publisher on my request through LibraryThing. The offer description appealed to me with it’s promise of animal companions and the I Ching. Perhaps it was simply the timing. I received the book in July shortly after I’d left my job. And things rather suddenly became tumultuous in the life of someone very close to me. I was soul searching, supporting the same for someone else – and I didn’t quite want the distraction of escaping into someone’s fictional story.

About a week or so ago when the turmoil in my loved one’s life came to a conclusion of sorts, I was ready to read something besides blogs, articles and books on brand, business and health. So, I pulled my copy of A Year of Cats and Dogs by Margaret Hawkins from the shelf.

I very quickly connected with Maryanne, the main character who tells her story first person, memoir style. She brought a knowing smile to my face as she related how she just passed through a major transition in her life and then chose to go through another. What she discovers about herself and her immediate world reminded me to accept and believe. The book isn’t all lesson, however. In large part, it is simply enjoyable with language that paints word pictures I’m still holding in my mind, having laid the book to rest around 1:00 this morning.

The author uses a few devices to advance the book and add layers of understanding, the two most notable being those I mentioned earlier – animals and the I Ching. While the I Ching does show up in the text, it is mostly found as the chapter titles, corresponding to each of the 64 hexagrams in the Chinese divination system. The I Ching is also known as the Book of Changes, an apt parallel to the year Maryanne shares with readers. Her relationship with her cat Clement and several dogs, especially Bob, Gregoire and Harvey are key to the self-discovery Maryanne experiences as well as much of the action in the book.

I read A Year of Cats and Dogs over about five or six sessions, mostly as my evening relaxation reading. I’m not a particularly fast reader, with fiction especially, so you may find it faster for you. I find that I like to re-read a section or pause to take in the images or feelings of what I’ve read. As with all fiction (that I like), I had to force myself to call a break for sleep after an hour or so. I could have easily stayed up in to the wee hours reading it from cover to cover.

I’m neither a voracious fiction reader nor particularly critical of literary conventions. What I do want are books that offer glimpses into the human condition through character studies, relationships and symbolism. A Year of Cats and Dogs met my reading requirements nicely.

Twelve ideas. Hundreds of chit-chatting audience members. And one $10,000 prize. It’s all on the line Thurs., Nov. 12, at 9 p.m., during “Pecha Kucha Vol. 7: The Next Indianapolis,” an official Spirit & Place Festival event. At the conclusion of the unique presentations, judges will award $10,000 from the Central Indiana Community Foundation to one of twelve presenters – on the spot.

Sarah Green: a resident of Indy’s near north side since 2007 and Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

 

David Hoppe: a regular columnist and editor who writes about culture and politics for NUVO, the alternative weekly in Indianapolis 

 

Tammi Jones: Senior Vice President of Policy and Planning for the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, named by Women’s Enterprise Magazine as one of the nation’s top 100 Female Executives in Supplier Diversity 

 

Gail Payne: owner of The Goods: Thoughtful Marketing, Authentic Living and manager of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail public outreach and fundraising

 

Aaron Renn: consultant and urban affairs writer who publishes The Urbanophile blog

Krista Skidmore: president of FlashPoint, an Indianapolis-based human resource consulting firm, and a board member of the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indiana Humanities Council

 

David Wu: policy director for the Mayor of Indianapolis

 

Tamara Zahn: President of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., a NFP organization charged with developing, managing and marketing Downtown. 

By Krista Skidmore, Indiana Humanities Council board member, and president of FlashPoint Human Resources Consulting

We all know the rhetoric that great organizations are made up of great people — and with this in mind, most companies spend a significant amount of time, energy, and focus trying to find and develop talent. One of the toughest challenges leaders face, though, is trying to understand how to develop peak performance in their employees or volunteers. Is it born or bred? Is it nature or nurture?

Geoff Colvin attempts to tackle this question in his book Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else. He concludes that great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to everyone. He asks his readers to confront the myth that abilities are innate and encourages us to consider that deliberate practice is the common factor that explains great performance.

After all, Colvin points out, Mozart became Mozart not because he was born with talent but because he furiously worked to develop his skills through finger-bloodying practice. Colvin discusses a study he conducted of high performers in various fields; it showed that the most excellent performers develop their skill not only through participation in organized activities but through hours of individual practice as well. For example, he found that the best violinists practice during scheduled hours with the orchestra but also devote many hours to solo performance; meanwhile, Jerry Rice became arguably the greatest wide receiver to play the game of football because he spent most of his time honing his skills through rigorous workout routines.  Deliberate practice requires intense concentration and commitment; it far exceeds what most of us do when we think we are “practicing.”

Colvin admits that deliberate practice alone does not fully explain excellent performance. He acknowledges that the performer must also have a supporting environment in which to work. This is an especially important concept for those leaders who are seeking peak performance in employees. But those who wish to apply it to the workplace should beware—most of our organizations simply are not designed to support deliberate practice. Goals aren’t always clear; activities that would make us better are usually not highly repeatable; there are few incentives to exceed our limits; feedback is not consistent; and most activities are within our comfort zone, not our learning zone. Those organizations who want to get the most out of top performers must address these issues.

Fortunately, Colvin gives several helpful tips on how to apply his concepts. Leaders who are interested in the idea of deliberate practice and who want to eliminate environmental challenges in order to build an organization that truly supports peak performance will find Talent Is Overrated insightful.

For a small county (pop. 34,000), Adams County has a lot of towns, or so it has always seemed to me.

Photo: Berne Chamber of Commerce

BERNE – First settled in 1852 by Swiss Mennonites, Berne was named after the capital of Switzerland. A popular place to visit in Berne is the Swiss Heritage Village & Museum. On the grounds of this outdoor museum are a number of nineteenth-century buildings (schoolhouse, church, sawmill), but the one I remember is the Sweitzer Barn. Cleverly designed with an upper story accessible from the rear by going up a bank or ramp, the “bank barn” was popular among Pennsylvania Germans as well as settlers in this area of northeast Indiana. I enjoyed my tour of this impressive structure during planning for the Indiana Humanities Council’s Barn Again! program.

Photo: Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

GENEVA – Indiana author and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter’s Limberlost Cabin is another highlight of Adams County. Now a state historic site, the home was built near the Limberlost Swamp, described as Stratton-Porter’s “playground, laboratory and inspiration.” Here she wrote novels, including Freckles and A Girl of the Limberlost, and nature books. While the home may be considered rustic by architects, I thought the interior was polished and beautiful with its updated Arts and Crafts style.

DECATUR – We should not leave Adams County without a brief nod to the town of Decatur, Indiana. Although I’ve missed it in my meandering, it is the county seat and site of the courthouse. No doubt the courthouse will be along the route of the Callithumpian Parade, scheduled for Oct. 26, 2009, although someone besides me will have to explain the origin of this annual Decatur event.

Photo: Derek Jensen

By Rosemary Dorsa, vice president for partnerships and strategic initiatives at the Central Indiana Community Foundation, Inc., and current Indiana Humanities Council chair-elect.

As a kid I read like crazy – The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys – all the serial books, regardless of gender-targeting.   I loved going to the library and taking out a stack of books.  The scent of old paper, the smooth slide of the card catalog drawer (yes! the card catalog) were wonderful.  Some favorites I would re-read often.   I read The Swiss Family Robinson every summer for at least five years, much to my family’s amusement.  In college, I would always treat myself to a big, fat novel the minute finals were over.

In recent years, perhaps influenced by the 24-hour news cycle and the constant barrage of information, I have gravitated more toward non-fiction.  I’ve read lots of history, politics, social commentary, economics, etc.   While I’ve learned a lot and would make a good Jeopardy contestant, it’s only been the past few months that I realize how long it’s been since I have savored a really great “can’t-put-it-down-lose-yourself in the story” book.  And so, I am now on a quest to rediscover the pleasure of “a good read.”

I had attended two really great events in the past months which have assisted my quest.  The Indiana Humanities Council hosted two author panels last week at the Meredith Nicholson Home in conjunction with the Bouchercon Mystery Conference.  This was a very special opportunity to be part of exclusive, intimate talk with seven nationally-acclaimed mystery authors.  It was such a delightful evening of animated, spirited interchange among the panelists and with the attendees and it exposed to authors I had not read.  I picked up several books, including Hallie Ephron’s Never Tell a Lie which I started reading that evening.  It is a terrific book with a really strong narrative where each chapter draws you into the next.  I am now about to start on Charles Todd’s A Test of Wills, which is the first in series of mysteries, set in England between the world wars.  I was intrigued to find out that “Charles Todd” is actually Charles and Caroline Todd, a mother-son writing duo.

The other event was the inaugural Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Author Awards dinner, very appropriately held in the beautiful Indianapolis-Marion County Central Library.  Nine Indiana authors were recognized for their contributions to the literary landscape in Indiana and across the nation.  I left with several books, and have finished Dear Mrs. Lindbergh by Kathleen Hughes.

And while I am enjoying discovering new books, I must confess that I still like rereading some old favorites.  The other day in an airport I picked up East of Eden by the incomparable John Steinbeck, which means I will soon be on to my favorite book of all time, Theodore Dreisier’s An American Tragedy.  Now that’s “a good read.”

Vote for Hoosierati as one of the Top 50 Indiana Blogs.

Top 50 Indiana Blogs is a contest to determine the top ranked blogs in Indiana. The contest was originally designed by Lorraine Ball of Roundpeg and Kyle Lacy of Brandswag in order to determine their favorite blogs. Blogs were chosen for content, comments, and visibility in Indiana and Indianapolis.

Written by Richard McCoy, an Associate Conservator of Objects & Variable Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Honestly, I don’t work for the IMA’s public relations department, but I can’t think of anyway to tell you about the show that just opened here without sounding just like a “PR Guy.”  Simply put, Sacred Spain: Art and Belief in the Spanish World represents the best any museum has to offer, anywhere in the world. 

From the beauty and significance of the artworks on view, to the scholarship surrounding their context and selection, to the accompanying two-day symposium (which is free and starts this Friday: Sacred and Profane in the Early Modern Hispanic World, to the conservation work done on some of the artworks in the show (both here at the IMA and abroad), to the coordination and effort required to bring here over 70 artworks literally from all over the world, and, finally, to the design of the gallery and the hand-held devices you can use to learn more about the artworks as you experience them, all of this comes together for just three exceptional months right here in Indianapolis.

This exhibition is but more visual and tangible proof that Indianapolis is no longer a fly-over state for the art world; we’re quickly becoming a fly-into state.

As an art conservator at the IMA, one of my main responsibilities is to help make sure the artworks are safe and sound while they travel and are on view — this is a responsibility I share with a host of IMA folks.  My personal experiences with this show were in travelling to Madrid to oversee the packing and transportation of a few artworks from there to here (via a 15-hour truck ride to Paris), and earlier this year I oversaw the photography of The Crown of the Andes, which is in a private collection, and rarely on view.  Spending a few hours in close proximity to the Crown ranks up there as one of the most special days I’ve had working in the museum world.   

But what also makes this show exceptional is that you can see it all free — thanks to a generous donation by the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation. Also, the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue are presented with the collaboration of the prestigious State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad, SEACEX.

Finally, to give you some in-depth background about one of the paintings in the show, here’s a video with Max Anderson, the Director and CEO of the IMA, Ronda Kasl, the IMA curator, who for the past 5 or more years has been working to put this exhibition together, talking about one of the paintings in the show, which was conserved right here at the IMA by Christina Milton-O’Connell and Linda Witkowski.

McCoy conserves artworks across all areas of the collection and his research extends beyond the technology and structure of artworks to include artistic intent and execution as it relates to the preservation of contemporary art. His current research includes the investigation of interior channels in African Songye power figures and making conservation public through social media.

This is the first time that National Arts and Humanities Month has been recognized by an official Presidential Proclamation. 

It begins:

“Throughout our Nation’s history, the power of the arts and humanities to move people has built bridges and enriched lives, bringing individuals and communities together through the resonance of creative expression. It is the painter, the author, the musician, and the historian whose work inspires us to action, drives us to contemplation, stirs joy in our hearts, and calls upon us to consider our world anew. The arts and humanities contribute to the vibrancy of our society and the strength of our democracy, and during National Arts and Humanities Month, we recommit ourselves to ensuring all Americans can access and enjoy them.”

Read more, here.

For National Arts & Humanities Month, we asked some of our friends to tell us what the humanities mean to them. Here is a compilation of their eloquent statements:

The Humanities gives us a front-row seat and an all-access back-stage pass to the best life has to offer: history, music, art, philosophy, and literature. Working in a Presidential history museum, I agree with the idea that “the study of humanities leads you through the development of thought and catapults ones understanding of why things are the way they are,” no matter your political ideology.

Erin Trisler
President Benjamin Harrison Home

For me, the arts and the humanities are the array of ways we humans engage with the world, emphasizing our most positive human characteristics, the need to belong, to love and be loved and to communicate. They are also the ways to transform the abstract into tangible, the individual into the collective, possible to appreciate and share.  Society’s challenge is to find the ways to engage all humans in the arts and the humanities regardless of class, color, ethnicity, or any other diverse characteristic.  The arts and the humanities can be a source of liberation for all or can also become the source of power and oppression for the few. 

My hope is that arts and the humanities can become like water, a precious resource needed to grow and nurture our humanity, available to all and needed by all.

Carmen E. DeRusha
Economic and Community Development, Purdue Extension -  Marion County

Humanities give us the tools to relate to those around us and to express our thoughts and our humanness.  Without arts and humanities, the world yearns for a way to show the past and present to the future.

Amanda Wesselmann
Acting Director, General Lew Wallace Study & Museum

The humanities are integral to my personal and professional life–without history, literature, and performance, the most fulfilling human interactions in my daily life would be nonexistent.  At the museum, it’s the art and the history, the fabric of everyday life that connects our visitors to the past and allows me to have meaningful, engaging conversations with them.  And it’s through literature and the performing arts that I have met my closest friends, and continue to connect with them regardless of distance.

Aimee Rose Formo
Program Coordinator, Morris-Butler House and Heritage Tourism

What better way to explain this facet of our lives than to look at the root word, human.  The humanities are what tells the world what we are about.  It is the imprint that is left for generations to come.  How do we remember our past?  So often it is the music, the art, the culture of the era.  Without the humanities our world would certainly be a dull existence.  When we look at them as being powerful statements of society, we can truly appreciate the importance, the value of humanities.

Gretchen Leuenberger,
Curriculum and Instruction Facilitator, Wabash Valley Education Center

As a forum to express a diversity of gifts and talents, humanities act as a reflection of a visual or written synthesis of what is of paramount importance to mankind.  The humanities exist to host works of thought in mixed media, sometimes becoming an abstract instrument to mirror the cultural and interpret social values transcending and guiding man’s thought through the times.

For our culture, overtures from these refined arts deliver a calculated statement, an overtone and synthesis of the human condition gleaned from an ocean of man’s dreams and desires.  Works of art, heritage and unique expressions distill into integrated and overarching messages that synthesize and portray an oversoul of man’s philosophy that captures his creature.  The collections clustered in the humanities rise above the mundane to emphasize an often elusive conclusion — an order from the chaos about what the spirit of man truly values.  They take form as tangible objects or provide an innate contributing impression, transcending from elusive meaning.  That meaning generally defies words alone to be understood at many levels of life and existence.  Therefore, humanities, as a language, responds to the yearn for understanding — for man to comprehend mankind as well as himself.  To explore humanities gives greater measure to the welfare of the species and the future of the community as a whole, a composite bespeaking man’s cumulative personality.

Brenda Bush
Sheridan Historical Society

By Kristen Fuhs Wells, communications director at the Indiana Humanities Council

I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t read any of the books up for the 60th National Book Awards, which are six National Book Award-Winning Fiction books from 1950-2008. But if you have, go to www.nbafictionpoll.org to vote for your favorite. It’s the first time the vote has been opened up to the public in the award’s history.

The nominees are:
The Stories of John Cheever, John Cheever
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Collected Stories of William Faulkner, William Faulkner
The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor, Flannery O’Connor
Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, Eudora Welty

Which one should be tops on my list?