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I had no idea.

I got called April 12 to take photos of a run-down house on the Northside for an IndyStar story. Writer Will Higgins had talked to Dan Kirklin, a neighbor across a pond from the house, and he'd organized a visit where I would talk to Dan, take a photo of him looking over to the house, and work my way into the house for some more photos. All I knew about the house was that it belonged to a Jerry Hostetler, a guy who was a bit rich and had put a lot of gaudy additions onto his home before his death in 2006, and that it was going to auction soon because it had been abandoned since then.

When the story got published online last night, I was treated to the real Jerry Hostetler. From Will:

For most of his adult life, Hostetler was a minor celebrity around Indianapolis. Celebrity is not the right word. But he made the papers, first back in 1964 when, as "Mr. Big," he pleaded guilty to two charges of pandering, running prostitutes. // A report filed by a probation officer back in the day said: "When asked how he became involved in the business, (Hostetler) said it was difficult to pass up that easy money."

You can find the full story and all the photos of the house and Hostetler here. Enjoy, and if you're game enough, you should go to the auction June 4. You might be able to reverse what Kirklin told me: "The whole was far, far less than the sum of its parts."

Resident Dan Kirklin looks from his backyard to Jerry Hostetler's house, abandoned since his death six years ago, in the Windcombe neighborhood on the Northside of Indianapolis, Thursday, Apr. 12, 2012. Kirklin said of the house's disparate features, "The whole was far, far less than the sum of its parts." (Alex Farris / For The Star)

I haven't been a part of any political coverage for an outlet this year. (There is an entry, though, featuring Rick Perry.) It's much different than 2010, when I was at Todd Young's headquarters for the IDS when the GOP candidate won the 9th district U.S. House seat from Democrat Baron Hill. As such, I have no photos of this year's Republican senatorial battle between six-term Richard Lugar and Tea Party-backed state treasurer Richard Mourdock. I certainly couldn't do any political coverage during my day job.

I do, however, have photos of Mourdock from an IU College Republicans event last January. He was the third invited speaker in the Indiana Memorial Union's Frangipani Room that night, and he introduced himself as the primary challenger that he turned out to be. I don't remember much about what Mourdock said that night, but I do remember being much more impressed with Tony Bennett, Indiana's superindendent of public instruction, who talked about working across the aisle on bipartisan education reform. I also remember, generally, that Mourdock's partisanship made me a bit chagrined. I guess I'm not alone.

Indiana state treasurer Richard Mourdock talks with IU College Republican's Justin Kingsolver before a College Republicans event Jan. 24, 2011, in the Indiana Memorial Union. Mourdock beat six-term Senator Richard Lugar in the GOP primary election May 8, 2012.

For how much I love Little 500, I've gone to its parent event, the Indy 500, about as often. From 2006 to 2008 I joined my dad and family friends at seats in Turn 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In that first year, I saw Sam Hornish Jr. beat Marco Andretti (just barely) to the finish line, a finish almost as thrilling as last year's when Dan Wheldon (God rest his soul) passed rookie J.R. Hildebrand after Hildebrand hit the wall in the final turn. I was hooked on the race before then, though; my parents threw a 500 party with 60-odd people the day before the race, and in high school we got Carburetion Day off every year because it was so close to the track. Every month of May, we knew school was almost out by the sound of the roaring engines at 4790 West 16th Street.

The Indianapolis Star gave me another photo assignment this weekend, this time of the 1st Rev Your Engines Concert on Monument Circle. It's the first event this year of the long build-up to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The announcer before the show said May is getting so big that they had to push it into April, and I'm okay with that.

Check out more photos of Plain White T's and The Romantics in the Star's gallery. And if you're in the area, you should find a copy of today's paper. Three of the photos made the front of the Metro & State section.

Tom Higgenson of Plain White T's sings into a megaphone during the 500 Festival Rev Your Engines Concert on Monument Circle, Saturday, Apr. 28, 2012. (Alex Farris / For The Star)