Mike Altman and Liz Erlewine at the La La Art Gallery and Studio

Check out the work of these two amazing artists. Also notice that this is a new video hosted through Vimeo. I believe the video quality is superior and I am looking forward to using this great service.


Mike Altman and Liz Erlewine at the La La Art Gallery and Studio from Emmanuel Cervantes on Vimeo.

Root Hog at the Lafayette Brewing Company with Shadyside Allstars

Check out videos from Shadyside Allstars and Root Hog. I particularly recommend the Root Hog Part 3 video which is a cover of the Rolling Stones "Dead Flowers." This is one of my favorite songs and Root Hog does it amazingly well. It may be the only "punky rock/country honk," song of all time (I made that up).

Idle Flatlands River Band at the LaLa Art Gallery and Studio

The Idle Flatlands River Band recently performed a concert at the LaLa Art Gallery and Studio in Lafayette. The show was part of the Purdue Sculpture Class Artist Reception, "Invading Space." Special thanks go to Carrie Wing, an artist in the show, for inviting me to this tremendous event. Additional thanks go to Liz Erlewine, the instructor for the class (who by the way has an exhibition coming up at LaLa herself), and to Angela Vinson the gallery owner and teacher for allowing Take IN Lafayette to cover the event. Check out the Idle Flatlands River Band perform in this video for an amazingly catchy song while people enjoy the wonderful art of these talented students.

Parks and Recreation, Observe and Report, and "Comedy Heartthrob" Aziz Ansari

Parks and Recreation premiered this past Thursday on NBC. The very funny show is a mockumentary style sitcom by the creators of The Office. It stars Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider and Aziz Ansari and is set in the fictional town of Pawnee, IN. Much has been made of the fact research was done on Lafayette to create the fictional parks department. In a future installment of Take IN Lafayette we may investigate these similarities; in the meantime enjoy Parks and Recreation which can be seen on NBC on Thursdays at 8:30pm.



Observe and Report opened this weekend starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liota and co-stars Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride. The movie is entertaining but honestly not all that funny. It has it's moments particularly those brought to you to by my newest comedy favorite Aziz Ansari. This guy cracks me up by just being on screen. Check out Observe and Report if you must, but you may have a better time catching up on what Aziz has done in shows like Scrubs, Human Giant, and Flight of the Conchords. Check out this hilarious clip of Aziz doing stand-up.

2009 Purdue Fashion Show

The Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing hosted the 2009 Purdue Fashion Show at the Ross-Ade Pavilion on April 4th. Take IN Lafayette talked to Ashley Hendzell about her dress design which was modled by Melissa Knoebel. Take a peak at this interview and see some highlights from the show.


Special Thanks to Nancy Strickler, Wes Cummins and Bill Callison for their collaboration and to Purdue University and its students; both the Consumer Sciences and Retailing students who organized and put on the show and the Film and Video Studies students who video recorded the event. A full-length DVD will be available for sale through Purdue University. Stay tuned for details on how to purchase.

The Shape of Things

The Shape of Things was presented at the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre stage on the Purdue Campus. The play, written by Neil Labute and directed by Kristine Holtvedt, ran April 2nd through the 11th. For ticket information regarding future events call (765) 494-3933.

I had the great pleasure of seeing this wonderful play this weekend at a matinee performance. The Shape of Things is highly recommended to anyone that has ever done anything crazy for love; in other words everyone should see this play. The story takes place on a small Midwestern campus and is the story of 2 young couples. The Purdue production stars underclassmen Jordan Kubat, Mariana Fernández, Kaitlin Garrow and John Clauss. All four of the performers did a wonderful job at making this a very enjoyable experience. I first saw this play in New York with Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz and fell in love with the story. It would be unfair to compare the performances of the two casts, but what I can say is that these four young actors could be well on their way to skills comparable to the stars of the New York production (the New York cast eventually made a film from the play).

However, what I will compare between the two productions is the spectator experience. In a way seeing 4 real college students on a real Midwestern college campus added realism that was not there when I saw the New York performance. Also the intimate staging made me feel very much a part of the story which is a central aim of Neil Labute's script.


Watch the following video tour of this intimate space with the four cast members who were gracious enough to take time between performances to speak with Take In Lafayette. Additional Thanks go to Stage Manager Frank Montel, Director Kristine Holtvedt and Director of Marketing David Lageveen for helping to make this episode possible. Now go Take In Lafayette and see a play!