New Ben Folds album out April 26th

Ben Folds announced the release date of his full studio album since 2001. "Songs of Silverman" will be released on April 26th. The first single, "Landed" hits your radio waves on February 1st. I've seen Ben live three times, once solo and twice with the old "Ben Folds Five". Great music. Check out BenFolds.com for details.

U2 Vertigo Tour Dates

U2 annouced their North American tour dates yesturday for their upcoming "Vertigo" tour. Unfortunately, the closest they're coming to me will be Chicago. Two dates at the United Center. I saw them twice at the United Center on the "Elevation" tour. I might have to skip out this time around.

NORTH AMERICA DATES

March 28th San Diego, CA - Sports Arena
April 1st Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
April 5th Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
April 9th San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
April 14th Phoenix, AZ - Glendale Arena
April 20th Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
April 24th Seattle, WA - Key Arena
April 28th Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
May 7th & May 9th Chicago, IL - United Center
May 14 Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
May 17 & May 18 East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
May 21 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
May 24 & May 26 Boston, MA - Fleet Center

Casino proposal is dead

A proposal by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson to fund a new Colts stadium with gambling revenues from a downtown casino is dead according to The Indianapolis Star. Unfortunately, the slot machine talks continue.

This web site is hella cool

Surf over to the South Park Studio and make a south park character to look like you. Best web site ever.


Here's Jim and Cathy as if drawn by Matt and Trey

New Big Brothers/Big Sisters Web Site

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana has a new web site at www.bigsindiana.org. There you can get more information about the upcoming Bowling for Kids Sake Fund Raiser. Cathy and I plan to have a team again with our little brothers. The event is going to be broken up into two weekends, February 26, 27 & March 5, 6. With your generous donations, we hope to raise even more than last year. More info coming soon.

Molly Hill's First Picture

Cathy and I got to meet Molly Hill on Saturday. She was the youngest baby I've ever seen at only 2 days old. You can check out her first picture and all her vitals at the Witham Hospital online nursery.

Congratulations to the Beards

Jon and Kara Beard were proud to annouce the birth of their first child on Sunday. William Randal Beard born was born at 9:45 PM on January 16.

Send your regards to Jon and son at catfood AT insightbb DOT com

MLK

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thunder cloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Rain down on him

So let it be
So let it be

Sleep
Sleep tonight
And may your dreams
Be realized
If the thundercloud
Passes rain
So let it rain
Let it rain

Congratulations to the Hills

Josh and Kary Hill are the proud parents of a baby girl. For those keeping score at home, that's three. Molly Elizabeth Hill was born today in Lebanon. Maddie and MacyAnn are now both big sisters. She weighed in at 6 lb 12 oz. and both Molly and Kary are doing great.

You can send Mom and daughter an e-mail at hillk AT leb DOT k12 DOT in DOT us

A Tribute to Bob Copeland by Nadine Farid

Here's the full text of that article about Robert Copeland from the DePauw Magazine.

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A Tribute to Bob Copeland by Nadine Farid

DePauw graduates of generations past are renowned for their generosity. Yet few recent DePauw alumni have had the opportunity to not only benefit from an alum’s thoughtful gift to the school but also make the close acquaintance of that alum. Those of us who were fortunate enough to receive the Copeland Scholarship to DePauw, established by 1937 graduate Robert V. “Bob” Copeland, had that rare opportunity.

Mr. Copeland, who passed away on August 12, came to DePauw in the footsteps of his two older brothers. He was by all accounts the quintessential DePauw student—intelligent, friendly, heavily involved in student life and dedicated to DePauw sports, playing basketball and football and lettering twice. His fondness for the school and his experience there is evident in his early career as an educator as well as in his exemplary generosity to the school.

An Indiana boy, having attended the former Valley Mills High (now part of Decatur Central High School) near where he was raised in Indianapolis, Mr. Copeland moved to my hometown, Lebanon, Indiana, close to his retirement from Eli Lilly & Company in the 1970s. He and his wife, Josephine, lost their son Ronald in childhood; Josephine also passed away prematurely. The Copeland Scholarship, now in the names of Robert and Josephine Copeland in memory of their son, was established to provide recipients with the opportunity to attend DePauw that Ronald Copeland never had. Mr. Copeland specifically conditioned the scholarship to be received by students from the small town of Lebanon, thereby truly giving a unique opportunity to many a student who would have not otherwise been able to attend DePauw.

It is telling of Bob Copeland’s generous spirit that he decided to fund the scholarship prior to his death so that he could meet its recipients himself. I was the first recipient of the scholarship to graduate from DePauw and can recall vividly the first time I met Mr. Copeland: how my initial nervousness was placated immediately by his kind smile, how he spoke humbly, how he instructed me in the joys and benefits of golf (a game at which, unfortunately, my skills are still lacking). Mr. Copeland had a genuinely engaging personality and a sense of humor that rivaled most. His affection for DePauw was contagious; listening to him talk about the school was listening to the voice of opportunity. College, he seemed to say, was what you make of it, but DePauw gives you the chance to make it an unforgettable experience.

Knowing Mr. Copeland made me want to succeed, to try and live up to all that the scholarship offered. That feeling has lasted in the nearly ten years since my graduation from DePauw, as has my affection for the school—something which has extended through my family, as both of my siblings are recent DePauw graduates. These experiences are shared by the family of Copeland Scholars. Drew Powell ’98, a successful actor, has two siblings who also attended DePauw. On receiving the scholarship, Drew notes, “The scholarship helped me to appreciate the true meaning of the word community. I was then and continue to be affected by Bob Copeland's act of generosity. It made me proud to be from a community, Lebanon, that cared about its young people, and it made me excited to enter a community, DePauw, that people loved so much. I hope that, wherever he is, Mr. Copeland can see the legacy that his stewardship has produced in the lives of the Copeland scholars.” And James C. Roach ’97, a Senior Zoning Planner in Bloomington, Indiana, echoes the thoughts of all of us when he notes, “Robert Copeland's generosity opened many opportunities to me. Without his scholarship, I would not have been able to attend DePauw. I would not have received the same scholastic or cultural experiences at any other university.”

Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Bob Copeland are saddened by his passing. We embrace his vision and endeavor to build upon it. Most of all, we remain truly grateful to this warm, wonderful person who has given us so much.

The Open Door

Cathy and I attended a new church this weekend. It's called The Open Door and it's run by the local First United Methodist Church. It was held in the historic Buskirk-Chumley Theater here is downtown Bloomington. We hope to go back next week.

They closed the service by singing Pete Townsend's "Let my love open the door." I thought that was a little odd, but strangely appropriate. I've always thought that The Who's "Bargain" would make a good song for a service however.

Robin Tackett Memorial Concert

UPDATE: There will be a memorial concert to remember Robin Tackett and to create a trust fund for his son Simon. The concert is Saturday, January 15th at Birdy's Night Club. Birdy's is located at 2131 E. 71st St. in Indianapolis. Performing will be Shadyside All-Stars, Painting Jaime, The Common, Transient Frank and Sonus Ventorium.

Also, Transient Frank has posted an MP3 of Robin's band "9 Drink Minimum's" final studio recording, Brown Dollar.

USAID: Earthquake and Tsunami Relief - NGOs

Sent help tp the victoms of the recent Tsunami in southeast aisa. Check out the U.S. Agency for International Development web site for links to relief agencies.

Jim's Top 5 of 2004

My top five lists from this past year, in no particular order. Enjoy.

Top 5 Events in our family

• Our first home
• I finished my thesis and recevied my Master of Urban and Regional Planning Degree from Ball State
• I passed the qualifing exam and was admitted into the American Institute of Cerified Planners
• Birth of Jake McElwee
• Launch of "The Roach Family Blog," of course!

Top 5 CDs

• U2: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
• Wilco: A ghost is born
• The Old 97's: Drag it Up
• Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked for the Holidays
• Ben Folds: Intenet only EPs

Top 5 Books

• Windows XP, Digital Music for Dummies by Ryan Williams, of course!
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
• Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine by John St. Clair
• The Wilco Book
• Adult Head by Jeff Tweedy

Top 5 Movies

• Fahrenheit 9/11
• Super Size Me
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• The Incredibles
• Spiderman 2

My Benefactor

If you happen to receive the latest issue of the DePauw Magazine, be sure to read the article on the inside of the back cover. There is a story written by Nadine Farid about the life and death of my benefactor, Robert V. Copeland. I have a couple of short quotes in it about Mr. Copeland and the generosity of his scholarship.

(Note that it appears that the Depauw Magazine website hasn't been updated in a while.)

New Year's Day

All is quiet on New Year's Day
A world in white gets underway
I want to be with you, be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day

I... will be with you again

Under a blood-red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspaper says, says
Say it's true, it's true...
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one

I... I will begin again

Oh, maybe the time is right
Oh, maybe tonight
I will be with you again
I will be with you again

And so we are told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
Though I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes
On New Year's Day

-U2