117 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(04/15/05 6:11am)
Although many people do not often associate Asian-Americans with hip-hop, senior Aaron Berkowitz of the IU Hip Hop Congress said people should let go of their preconceived notions of hip-hop artists when the IU Asian Culture Center and IU Hip Hop Congress presents "The Rise of Asian Hip-Hop" at 7 p.m. today at the Asian Culture Center, 807 E. 10th St.\nHip-hop fans can meet with Asian-American hip-hop artists Snacky Chan and Agile One. The artists will also perform with local Asian-American DJ Tom at 9 p.m. today at the 9th Street Bar, 107 Ninth St. \nAccording to the Asian Culture Center Web site, the month of April has been designated to "honor the rich history and presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S." \nThis show is part of a longer lineup of events put on by the Asian Culture Center for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.\n"It's a tradition that we hold here dearly," said Asian Culture Center Director Melanie Castillo-Cullather. "(These events) show how we honor the rich history and diversity of Asian and Pacific Americans."\nThe hip-hop show should be a good experience, Berkowitz said. Snacky Chan and Agile One are popular hip-hop artists, he said.\nSnacky Chan currently emcees in Boston. According to promotional material on his Web site, www.chanhiphop.com, he was nominated for "Best New Rap/Hip-Hop Act" in the 2001 Boston Music Awards. He has toured the United States as well. \nAgile One is also a talented and popular artist, Berkowitz said, calling her "one of the best female DJs." Korean by birth, Agile One has been playing hip-hop since 1998, according to www.f5records.com. She has performed in many venues, according to the Web site, and won the first battle she entered in August 2002.\nSnacky Chan and Agile One will join local artist DJ Tom for their performance. DJ Tom has performed at major clubs in Bloomington for seven years, Berkowitz said.\n"Know that just because of the stereotypes of hip-hop artists, that doesn't mean that they can't rock out," Berkowitz said. \nCastillo-Cullather said she believes activities like "The Rise of Asian Hip-Hop" will help teach the Bloomington community more about the Asian Pacific American community. \n"(These activities) speak about different interests and talents within the Asian Pacific American community," she said.\nFor more information about the Asian Culture Center, visit \n www.indiana.edu/~acc. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny \nKobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(04/06/05 4:44am)
Most courses at IU require students to do work outside of class. Most of that work simply changes students' grades. \nThe work outside of Jeff McKinney's class, however, attempts to change communities.\nMcKinney, a doctoral student in higher education, teaches a class called "Understanding Diversity" through the IU School of Social Work. His class this semester focuses on social class and poverty, with some treatment of the poverty problem in Monroe County. So, when McKinney suggested the class establish an organization based on what they were learning, a number of students stepped forward. They formed a group dedicated to raising awareness about poverty in Monroe County, calling it "Understanding Social Class and Poverty."\n"I believe most students don't understand poverty in Monroe County," McKinney said. \nMonroe County had an 18.9 percent poverty rate in 2000, the highest of Indiana, according to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, an organization with which the group has been working. \nMcKinney and students in the organization feel strongly about alleviating hunger and homelessness in their neighborhoods. \n"College is more than just getting a GPA," said sophomore Andrea Schaefer, a student leader of the organization. \nSchaefer believes the college experience entails experiencing new things, including those that might be uncomfortable. \nThe group strives to help students better understand poverty and solve the problems it creates. The group coordinated a Poverty Awareness Day Tuesday in the Frangipani Room the Indiana Memorial Union, and although the response was not large, "the people who have stopped by have been interested," McKinney said. \n"I think it's going well for the first time," he said. "As well as can be expected." \nThe group hopes to continue reaching out to the IU community by providing both learning and volunteer opportunities for students. Members will participate Saturday in Hunger Cleanup, a nationwide one-day community service project for students, Schaefer said. During the event, groups around the country will work at various hunger and homeless relief agencies. Then, Sunday, Understanding Social Class and Poverty then will participate in the Homeward Bound Walk, a 5K event aiming to raise awareness and funds for homeless individuals. \nLater this month, the group also will coordinate a larger, campus-wide event called Hoosier Band, which will take place April 23 in Dunn Meadow. Their goal is to raise awareness about hunger and poverty, as well as support the Community Kitchen of Monroe County, which works to eliminate local hunger.\nAlthough the group and its events are relatively small now, members have great hope for the future. \n"In the long range, we want to start having some major events so we can help support all of the organizations that help the homeless and the hungry," McKinney said. "It's not just a Monroe County problem -- it's a global problem." \nUnderstanding Social Class and Poverty is now an official student club through the Student Activities Office, so any IU student can join. Interested students should contact McKinney at jsmckinn@indiana.edu.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny \nKobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(03/21/05 6:14am)
Despite the unpredictable Midwestern weather in Bloomington, there is always one place on the IU campus that maintains just the right climate. Flowers bloom, fruit grow and trees reach up to the heavens -- or at least to the glass ceilings of the greenhouses of Jordan Hall. \nIU students, faculty and visitors have probably seen the glass buildings as they walk or drive down Third Street. But few realize the importance of the greenhouses in the research of the IU Department of Biology. The network is home to a wealth of different plants to study and enjoy.\nThe greenhouses on the first floor of Jordan Hall have seen visitors and been instructing students since 1956, when the building was built. This "teaching collection" has grown into a "diverse collection of plants from many different families and areas of the world," said Greenhouse Supervisor John Lemon. \nLemon, along with the rest of his four-person, full-time staff, takes care of the plants and the buildings, as well as gives greenhouse tours to visitors. \nMany plants in the teaching collection, which are primarily composed of tropical and desert plants, might be familiar to visitors. Plants like pineapple, plumeria, eggplants and azaleas grow year-round. Trees bearing coconuts, lemons, dates and figs reach to the ceiling alongside papayas, olives and even coffee beans.\nThere are also rare plants to observe. The agave plant, for example, is housed in the "desert room" of the greenhouse. The plant is used in the making of tequila, Lemon said. Its fibers can also be used to make rope. There are venus flytraps and pitcher plants, which are carnivorous plants that use tricks to capture insects to eat. Another plant, called a mimosa plant, curls up its leaves at the slightest touch or change in temperature. There is even a type of plant called a cycad, which has been around since the time of the dinosaurs. \n"It's still around," Lemon said, "and they look much like they did back then."\nLynda Delph, professor of biology at IU, spends much of her time researching plant evolution, but she enjoys the collection.\n"I think we have a beautiful teaching collection," she said. "You go into (one greenhouse), you feel like you're in the tropics. You go into another and feel like you're in the desert. It's a very peaceful place to go and spend some time."\nThe first-floor greenhouses are open to the public, and are quite popular in the community, Lemon said.\n"Some of the local or even regional elementary schools, junior high and high schools take classes through here," he said. \nOther clubs and organizations also tour the greenhouse, but "we do more school classes than anything else," Lemon said.\nJordan Hall is also the home to IU's research greenhouses, located on the roof of the building and accessible from the fifth and sixth floors. These greenhouses are home to more normal plants, Lemon said. \n"It's not necessarily tropical," Lemon said. "There are things we would consider weeds, and grasses." \nHowever, he claims the plants in these greenhouses are just as important, if not more so, than the exotic flora in the teaching collection. These research greenhouses are where faculty and graduate students go to study the evolution, genetics and biology of plants. \nCurrently, Delph is studying the evolutionary ecology of silene, a flowering weed. Lemon also said there is a large study of sunflowers currently going on in the greenhouses, as well as numerous other projects. Full details on the research projects being done by faculty and student can be found at www.bio.indiana.edu. \nThe Jordan Hall first floor greenhouse complex is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tours for groups can be arranged by calling the greenhouse at 855-7717.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny Kobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(02/07/05 4:43am)
"Bacchai" by Euripides, is a famous play by an old dead Greek guy. \nBut your drama teacher's Greek tragedy this is not.\n"Bacchai," presented by the IU Theater and Drama department, mixes the old with the new in Irish playwright Colin Teevan's brand-new translation of Euripides's classic drama to create an intriguing and understandable production.\nThe play revolves around the conflict between the god Dionysus (Robert J.D. Spalding) and his mortal cousin King Pentheus, played with amazing depth and passion by Sam Wootten. Dionysus come from "Asian lands" with his cult of women. When Pentheus refuses to recognize Dionysus as a deity, Dionysus and his frenzied women brutally punish Pentheus and his family.\nAt first glance, "Bacchai" seems to be a strange, almost sacrilegious version of the story of the god Dionysus and his struggle against Pentheus. Dionysus is bare-chested in silver pants and a floor-length pleather jacket. The Greek chorus dresses provocatively in the style of Japanese anime girls: schoolgirl skirts, platform shoes and electric blue or pink hair. The chorus dances to modern music, and everyone speaks in plain English. There are still some robes and wreaths of ivy, but even those characters have their own modern touches. For example, Pentheus' father uses a golf club as a cane, complete with a horn he honks periodically throughout the play.\nThis production of "Bacchai" keeps many of the classic elements of Greek theater, while also allowing it to be accessible for modern audiences. Probably the most striking classic element of this production are the beautiful masks that many characters wear, expertly hand-crafted by undergraduate fine arts student Ian Martin.\nThe danger, of course, with the use of masks is the obvious loss of facial expression by the performers, but the actors meet the challenge and surpass all expectations by using body language and voice inflection to give their performances depth and passion.\nSome people will probably criticize this production of "Bacchai" for being too pop culture and too "outside the box" to be a good representation of Euripides' original idea. But for everyone else, this crafted play tells an exciting and interesting story in terms that we can easily understand.\nRather than seeing a play that needs to be translated because of the snobby Shakespearean English the robe-clad actors use to tell the story, audience members can sit back and enjoy the story in plain, contemporary English while watching colorfully-clad actors performing the story with energy and passion. After all, plays like "Bacchai" were originally written for the masses to watch and enjoy, and it's nice to have it understandable enough for it be watched and enjoyed by the masses once again.
(02/04/05 4:11am)
When most people think of a Greek tragedy, they conjure up images of formal white robes. Check those preconceptions at the door, though, as the IU Department of Theatre and Drama presents "Bacchai" at the Wells-Metz Theater, beginning today. \n"Bacchai," a Greek tragedy by Euripides, tells the story of the struggle between the Greek god of wine and theater Dionysus, played by Robert J.D. Spaulding, and his cousin Pentheus, the king of Thebes, played by Sam Wooten. After Pentheus refuses to acknowledge Dionysus as a god, Dionysus comes to Thebes from Asian lands with a group of 12 women to exact his revenge. \nThe cast and director gave "Bacchai" a facelift for this production, Wooten said.\nGenerally, Greek tragedies are translated into old, Shakespearean English. However, Irish playwright Colin Teevan retranslated the play and updated the dialogue to a more modern version of English. The IU performance is the U.S. premiere of Teevan's translation, and Teevan will be at IU after the Feb. 5 show.\n"Colin Teevan did a great job," Wooten said. "I think Teevan's version brings it up to date and makes it accessible to modern audience. He was faithful to the script, but he brought it up to date."\nAn aspect of Greek theater that Guest Director Randy White and the design team decided to use is the Greek tradition of wearing masks.\nIn ancient times, these masks were used to over-emphasize facial features when the Greeks would perform their plays for large audiences on hillsides. The masks were a cooperative effort between costume designer and Theatre and Drama professor Linda Pisano and IU senior Ian Martin for this production. Pisano said she came up with ideas for the masks and Martin sculpted each one. \nAnother aspect of Greek theater used in IU's production of "Bacchai" is the Greek chorus. In "Bacchai" it serves as the "Cult of Dionysus." These are women who travel from Asian lands with Dionysus to wreak havoc on Pentheus and his family. The chorus of 12 women will be dressed as Japanese anime schoolgirls, complete with electric-blue-and-pink-dyed hair.\n"Basically, (the chorus) is expressing the influence of one culture on another," Stage Manager Nicole Brickley said. \nPlaywright and translator Teevan will appear at the Curtain Talk after the performance Thursday, Feb. 10. Teevan will also appear on a panel at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., and will deliver a public lecture at 4 p.m. that day at the Wells-Metz Theater. Tickets are not required for any of the events featuring Teevan. For more information, visit the Web site www.indiana.edu/~thtr.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny \nKobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(01/12/05 4:17am)
Artists in need of resources need to look no further than the Bloomington Area Arts Council. This week the BAAC will hold a workshop focused on applying for Indiana Arts Commission grants. The meeting, which will occur at 5:30 p.m. today at the John Waldron Arts Center, will assist people and groups interested in applying for Indiana Arts Commission Regional Arts Grants. The grants cover arts projects and operating support funds for nonprofit organizations and public agencies for the 2006 fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2006, in Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Owen and Monroe counties. \nAccording to the Bloomington Area Arts Council Web site, these grants are designed "to provide general public access to quality arts and cultural activities, with special attention to underserved communities." \nOrganizations must be able to provide matching funds to qualify for the grants.\nThe Bloomington Area Arts Council decided to hold this workshop, as well as workshops in Greene, Brown and Owen counties, because of the complexity of the application process.\n"We ask the people interested to come to the session," said Nancy Krueger, assistant director of the Bloomington Area Arts Council. "It's complicated, and you have to follow the instructions exactly. We've found that many people don't follow the instructions."\nKrueger reports that because of state budget cuts and other factors, there is about $60,000 to re-grant this year. Most grants run from about $3,000 to $5,000. There are four grant categories, which cover specific areas for art resources and specific types of programs that are eligible for funding. The Level 1 Arts Organization Grant underwrites general operating expenses for small- to mid-sized organizations. The Level 2 Arts Organization Grant provides operating expenses for mid-sized to large art organizations, the Arts Project Support Grant provides funds for one-time only events, and the Mini-Grant Program offers support for new and existing arts projects produced or presented by nonprofit organizations or public agencies.\nMany Bloomington-area fine arts groups have received these grants in past years. One such group is the Bloomington Playwrights Project, which has received a Regional Arts Grant for many years. For the past few years, the BPP has received between $4,800 and $6,000 to help cover operating costs. Because the money is not designated for specific projects, it is generally used to cover items like rent, utilities and staff salaries.\n"Arts money is so scarce," said Sonja Johnson, volunteer director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project. "We're very grateful for any grant we can get. We love it."\nJohnson said individual artists at the BPP also have been receiving grants from the Indiana Arts Commission since the BPP opened 25 years ago.\n"We have been fortunate enough to receive money from Indiana Arts Commission for our 25 years," Johnson said.\nThe deadline for submitting a notice of intent for the grants is Feb. 28, and the deadline for submitting an application is March 31.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Jenny \nKobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(10/20/04 5:13am)
An array of independent films and special film-related events, similar to the Sundance Film Festival, will be close at hand next week when the Heartland Film Festival comes to Indianapolis.\nIn preparation for the festival, independent filmmakers submitted 579 films for consideration. Of the submitted contest films, 21 will be shown at the festival. \n"It's a great lineup," Heartland Film Festival President and Co-founder Jeff Sparks said. "There's something for everyone."\nSparks said the Heartland Film Festival is quickly becoming one of the best film festivals in the country. Many filmmakers who have attended in past years agree.\n"The 2003 Heartland Film Festival was a very rejuvenating experience for me, and an unexpectedly inspiring one as well," Don Hahn, producer of "The Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast," said in a press release.\nAlthough Sparks was hesitant to name the best films in the festival, he highly recommended a number of films for college students.\n"Killer Diller," starring Lucas Black and William Lee Scott and directed by Tricia Brock, chronicles the efforts by a guitar-playing car thief and an autistic blues pianist forming the Killer Diller blues band. "Miracle Mile," a dramatic short directed by Dong Hyeuk Hwang about an illegal Korean-American cab driver and a young Korean girl, will precede the movie.\nIn "Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre" director/producer Brian Patrick chronicles the events surrounding the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah in 1857, when a Mormon group massacred a wagon train of settlers bound for California under a white flag. The film includes a reenactment of the incident and interviews with historians and descendants of the few survivors. It also focuses on reconciliation between the Mormons and the descendants of the survivors. \n"It's a movie, but it has a lot to do with why they did it and why they're maybe trying to cover it up, and it's about reconciliation," Patrick said.\nFew people know about the massacre, which Patrick says is a sore subject within the Mormon community. In fact, some Mormon groups have been deeply offended by the film, even sparking threats of a boycott of Spudfest, a film festival in Idaho..\nPatrick said he believes "Burying the Past" will interest people with its virtually unknown story. \n"It's a horrific story, and it's an incredible story," Patrick said. "Not many people know about it, and I think that's what makes it compelling."\nIn addition to film screenings, the Heartland Film Festival offers many special events. One such event is the filmmakers' brunch at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Marriott Downtown. During the brunch, the general public will have the opportunity to speak to various filmmakers in an informal setting. Tickets are $30.\nAnother event Sparks said he is excited about is the 2004 Education Seminar. This seminar, which takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 25, will feature two separate programs -- "An Inside Look into Film and Music" by music editor Joseph DeBeasi, and "Creative Screenwriting in Today's Film Industry" by screenwriter Mike Rich, who also wrote "Finding Forrester." Tickets for the event cost $25 for adults and $15 for students and teachers. \nMany of the films shown are recipients of the "Crystal Heart Award." This annual award is given to a select group of independent filmmakers for dramatic, documentary and animated films of any length. The awards are presented at the annual Crystal Heart Awards Gala, with a $50,000 grand prize for best dramatic feature also being announced. \nSparks said he is very excited about this year's film festival and encourages college-aged film lovers to attend.\n"A lot of college students say, 'I want to go to Sundance' but this is a lot more accessible," Sparks said. It's right in their backyard, and it's one of the biggest festivals in the country."\nFor more information, and a full schedule of events, visit www.heartlandfilmfestival.org.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Kobiela at
(10/06/04 4:11am)
Sweet aromas of food, just like your Bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother) used to make, will waft through the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center tonight.\nHillel will host "In Our Bubbes' Kitchen: Sephardic Cooking" at 7 p.m. in the Hillel Center, 730 E. Third St. The class is the second in a series focusing on different styles of Jewish cooking. This week's class focuses on the food of Sephardic Jews, who are Jews that originated from Spain and were exiled in 1492. Since evacuating Spain, Sephardic Jews have spread all over the world.\nJessie Mallor, the director of Jewish Student Life at the Hillel Center, said she is excited about the program. After the success of the last class, which focused on Ashkenazic, or central European Jewish cooking, Mallor hopes for a bigger crowd at this event. \nFreshman Lauren Berman attended the last cooking class.\n"I'm a Jew, and I can't cook," she said. \nBerman is not sure if she will be able to attend the class today, but she said she believes it is a great opportunity for Jewish students to learn about their own culture, as well as different cultures within the Jewish community.\n"People eat the food our Bubbes make, but they don't know how to make it," she said.\nMallor is not sure exactly what the group will be making at the class, though she has been researching different Sephardic treats. \nAccording to www.inmamaskitchen.com, Sephardic cooking incorporates Mediterranean herbs and spices.\nMallor also hopes that this cooking program will help students learn about their culture in an exciting way. \n"They learn to cook and use that as a really fun way to talk about Jewish culture," she said. "When you can talk about your culture through food, it's an entirely different thing."\nThe cooking class will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight. For more information, visit www.indiana.edu/~hillel or call (812) 336-3824.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Kobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.
(10/01/04 5:26am)
Move over, Austin Powers. Watch out, James Bond. There's a new British spy around! She's stealthy, she's sly and she's oh-so fabulous! Her name is Olivia Joules, and she's the main character in "Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination," the most recent novel from Helen Fielding the author of "Bridget Jones Diary." \nOlivia Joules is a fashion and entertainment writer for a British magazine. While in Miami covering a face cream debut, she meets the debonair Pierre Ferramo. Naturally, she is immediately drawn to his irresistible charms. However, something bothers her about him: He reminds her of Osama bin Laden. Everyone, of course, thinks it's just a product of her so-called "overactive imagination,", but she's not so sure. \nSoon Olivia is traveling all over the world, from hip hotels in Miami and Los Angeles, underwater caves in Central America, the deserts of Sudan and everywhere in between, to try to prove that her new acquaintance is a terrorist.\n"Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination" is an exciting book that women everywhere will enjoy. Olivia is a woman for the 21st century -- she's tough, intelligent and she can take care of herself, but she's still doing what every young woman does: She's looking for love, going out for drinks with her mates, shopping and succeeding at her job. \nThe book isn't exactly believable. Much like Britain's other favorite spy, Olivia gets into (and out of) crazy situations that probably would never happen. However, Olivia, like James Bond, is a lovable and dynamic character. The book is quite enjoyable. It's full of action and excitement, and no one ever knows exactly where Olivia is going to end up next.\nThere's a certain warmth and humor in "Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination" that is nicely melded with the action and tension of the situations Olivia encounters. Even in the most dire circumstances, Olivia has snide remark or interesting thought to break the tension. To be honest, and a little clichéd, Olivia Joules is like a James Bond for the 21st century woman. \nUnfortunately, the book drags in a few spots. It gets a little tiring to read expositories about Olivia's shopping or pampering when all you really want to know is whether Pierre Ferramo is going to blow up the United States. Obviously, Fielding is trying to show exactly what's going through Olivia's mind during all parts of her adventure, but it gets a bit tedious at moments. \nIt was also annoying that Fielding left a few loose ends. During the book, she continually eluded to Olivia's past life, which seemed crazy enough to merit a book of its own. However, Fielding never really explains what happened to Olivia prior to this book. Of course, it's difficult to reveal that information without dedicating a chapter to boring exposition. If Fielding exposed these bits of Olivia's life, she'd need to piece it all together. I hope this less-than-stellar aspect will be revisited in a sequel or prequel, because all women need a little more Olivia Joules and her overactive imagination in their lives.
(09/29/04 4:24am)
IU School of Education Professor Jeff Daniels, like most people, has taken note of the school violence trend. But instead of researching why these violent crimes occurred, Daniels took a new approach by examining how such frightening situations can sometimes end without tragedy. \nWhile researching school violence, Daniels, whose other areas of research include counselor and supervisor of training and development, and positive psychology, noticed that all of the research done in the area involved situations where shooting or other forms of violence occurred. Daniels decided he wanted to see what the staff and students of schools did where violence was diffused.\nTo find schools to research, Daniels began to search Lexis-Nexis for articles about schools where violence had been thwarted. He then set up a database of approximately 40 schools and began to contact the superintendents to investigate the possibility of researching their schools.\nFour schools have been examined so far, and Daniels found that the most important aspect for the schools, which are unnamed in the report due to human subject clearance restrictions, was building relationships with students. \nThe teachers and staffs, according to the report, interacted with students in a variety of ways, including eating lunch with them, talking to them in the hallways and attending extracurricular activities.\nDaniels said he believes this common theme of paying attention to students is very important in preventing and diffusing violence.\n"Parents need to pay attention to their own children," he said, "and educators need to pay attention to all their students, not just the ones they like."\nDaniels is running his research on a profit grant from the School of Education, which will run out in the spring semester. Daniels has applied for a Guggenheim grant but will not find out the results of that application until December.\n"If we don't get the Guggenheim grant," Daniels said, "we'll run on what we have for the next phase (of research)."\nThe next phase of his research includes interviewing the perpetrators of these school violence incidents, especially those who were convicted. He hopes to find out how the school successfully talked the students down from violence and averted tragedy.\nDebbie O'Leary, assistant director of communications for the School of Education, believes Daniels' report was released at an opportune time, especially after a recent incident in the Detroit, Mich., area, where a student reported a boy she met online was planning to blow up his school.\nO'Leary said she thinks the research is important because "even after Columbine, there are still these people that have a really, really bad plan." \nDaniels recently presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association and will report this fall at a convention of the American Society of Criminology. He also hopes his findings will be published and said there was interest from various journals and magazines, as well as New York University Press, to report his findings.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny \nKobiela at jkobiela@indaiana.edu.
(09/09/04 4:00am)
Poor, poor celebrities. They really have it rough, you know: big, beautiful houses; millions of dollars; zippy new cars …\nOf course, there's a dark side. And that dark side is completely overblown in the new film "Paparazzi." \nSure, celebs have to deal with the paparazzi, and it's no picnic. After all, the sleaziest of the so-called entertainment journalists do invade their privacy, shoot pictures of celebrity families and cause some nasty problems. It must be a pain … but does the director really expect everyone to feel that bad about the plight of the poor celebrities sitting in their multi-million dollar mansions in Beverly Hills? If they did, their plan backfired, because "Paparazzi" comes off as an overblown, so-bad-it's-fun attempt at a late-summer blockbuster.\nThe plot revolves around Bo Laramie, the world's next big action star. Poor Bo wasn't expecting to be hounded by the paparazzi, who will stop at nothing to get a scandalous shot. Unfortunately for both the Laramie family and the paparazzi, one of the attempts for a photograph results in a big, old-fashioned car wreck that leaves Mrs. Laramie hurt and little Laramie Jr. in a coma. Bo decides to exact revenge on the paparazzi in some pretty extreme (and fairly silly) ways. \nIt's obvious this film was created to try to exact a little revenge on the paparazzi. To be honest, it's a pretty enjoyable little hour-and-a-half film, but it definitely doesn't get its point across. It comes across as campy and stupid rather than as an education-of-sorts for the masses about dealing with the paparazzi, as I'm pretty sure they tried to do. There were exciting chase scenes and a little good action, as well as a fun bit part for Chris Rock and a wonderful little cameo by producer Mel Gibson, but it was just too unbelievable and silly to take seriously. \n"Paparazzi" would be an excellent film to see with free movie tickets or as a matinee on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Better yet, though, would be to wait for this goofy film to come out on DVD. That way, you and your friends could rent it and make snide remarks throughout it in the comfort of your own home instead of disturbing other moviegoers.
(09/09/04 2:43am)
Poor, poor celebrities. They really have it rough, you know: big, beautiful houses; millions of dollars; zippy new cars …\nOf course, there's a dark side. And that dark side is completely overblown in the new film "Paparazzi." \nSure, celebs have to deal with the paparazzi, and it's no picnic. After all, the sleaziest of the so-called entertainment journalists do invade their privacy, shoot pictures of celebrity families and cause some nasty problems. It must be a pain … but does the director really expect everyone to feel that bad about the plight of the poor celebrities sitting in their multi-million dollar mansions in Beverly Hills? If they did, their plan backfired, because "Paparazzi" comes off as an overblown, so-bad-it's-fun attempt at a late-summer blockbuster.\nThe plot revolves around Bo Laramie, the world's next big action star. Poor Bo wasn't expecting to be hounded by the paparazzi, who will stop at nothing to get a scandalous shot. Unfortunately for both the Laramie family and the paparazzi, one of the attempts for a photograph results in a big, old-fashioned car wreck that leaves Mrs. Laramie hurt and little Laramie Jr. in a coma. Bo decides to exact revenge on the paparazzi in some pretty extreme (and fairly silly) ways. \nIt's obvious this film was created to try to exact a little revenge on the paparazzi. To be honest, it's a pretty enjoyable little hour-and-a-half film, but it definitely doesn't get its point across. It comes across as campy and stupid rather than as an education-of-sorts for the masses about dealing with the paparazzi, as I'm pretty sure they tried to do. There were exciting chase scenes and a little good action, as well as a fun bit part for Chris Rock and a wonderful little cameo by producer Mel Gibson, but it was just too unbelievable and silly to take seriously. \n"Paparazzi" would be an excellent film to see with free movie tickets or as a matinee on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Better yet, though, would be to wait for this goofy film to come out on DVD. That way, you and your friends could rent it and make snide remarks throughout it in the comfort of your own home instead of disturbing other moviegoers.
(09/02/04 4:00am)
Babies are cute -- no doubt about it. But when they become the sugary-sweet, smarty-pants protagonists of a plotless movie, that's when I draw the line.\nI have to admit, I've never seen the original "Baby Geniuses." If the movie was twice as good as the sequel, though, it would still stink more than a 2-day-old diaper. The plot of "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2," frankly, doesn't make a lot of sense. Apparently, a little kid named Kahuna goes around saving other little kids from the big, bad grown-ups. The biggest, baddest grown-up of them all is Bill Biscane, played by Jon Voight. (Why a talented actor like Voight decided to join in this crapfest is beyond me.) \nBiscane is planning to launch a television station that will control the minds of children everywhere. (Part of this plan must be to constantly change his accent from American to vaguely French to vaguely Russian and back again.) Four smart little babies figure out the overly-elaborate plan and help Kahuna save the day. The cuteness factor is through the roof.\nThe children are cute, and I appreciate the fact they can't really say their lines, so the voices are dubbed over. But the bad dubbing, matched with the terribly squeaky little voices of the children, was distracting and highly irritating. The children were terrible actors as well, but I suppose that can be overlooked, considering the kids were only a few years old.\nHowever, the terrible acting of most of the rest of the cast cannot be overlooked. Especially grating was Skyler Shaye, who obviously landed the role because Jon Voight is her godfather. In fact, the little rugrats actually had the edge over Shaye in the acting department. Stan and Jean (played by Scott Baio and Vanessa Angel) weren't much better. They seemed positively happy when they didn't know where their children were. "Oh, the kids are gone? Ha ha, I'm so worried." The babies don't have to be able to act, but surely the adults need to have some skills. \n"Baby Geniuses 2" was not worth the time it took to watch it. There are far more productive things to do rather than to invest an hour and a half into this piece of drivel. Even the possible kitsch factor of talking babies and Scott Baio put together isn't enough to redeem this movie. Go watch the grass grow instead.
(09/02/04 2:48am)
Babies are cute -- no doubt about it. But when they become the sugary-sweet, smarty-pants protagonists of a plotless movie, that's when I draw the line.\nI have to admit, I've never seen the original "Baby Geniuses." If the movie was twice as good as the sequel, though, it would still stink more than a 2-day-old diaper. The plot of "Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2," frankly, doesn't make a lot of sense. Apparently, a little kid named Kahuna goes around saving other little kids from the big, bad grown-ups. The biggest, baddest grown-up of them all is Bill Biscane, played by Jon Voight. (Why a talented actor like Voight decided to join in this crapfest is beyond me.) \nBiscane is planning to launch a television station that will control the minds of children everywhere. (Part of this plan must be to constantly change his accent from American to vaguely French to vaguely Russian and back again.) Four smart little babies figure out the overly-elaborate plan and help Kahuna save the day. The cuteness factor is through the roof.\nThe children are cute, and I appreciate the fact they can't really say their lines, so the voices are dubbed over. But the bad dubbing, matched with the terribly squeaky little voices of the children, was distracting and highly irritating. The children were terrible actors as well, but I suppose that can be overlooked, considering the kids were only a few years old.\nHowever, the terrible acting of most of the rest of the cast cannot be overlooked. Especially grating was Skyler Shaye, who obviously landed the role because Jon Voight is her godfather. In fact, the little rugrats actually had the edge over Shaye in the acting department. Stan and Jean (played by Scott Baio and Vanessa Angel) weren't much better. They seemed positively happy when they didn't know where their children were. "Oh, the kids are gone? Ha ha, I'm so worried." The babies don't have to be able to act, but surely the adults need to have some skills. \n"Baby Geniuses 2" was not worth the time it took to watch it. There are far more productive things to do rather than to invest an hour and a half into this piece of drivel. Even the possible kitsch factor of talking babies and Scott Baio put together isn't enough to redeem this movie. Go watch the grass grow instead.
(08/26/04 4:00am)
Everyone has at least heard of the classic 1972 movie "Deliverance," where a group of guys takes a trip down a river in Georgia backcountry and meet up with some pretty scary hillbillies. At first glance, "Without a Paddle" looks like it's going to be a rehash of basically the same story: three city slickers go on a trip in backwoods camping trip in the Pacific Northwest. "Without a Paddle" combines the excitement of "Deliverance" with the comedy and fun of a movie like 1985's "The Goonies" -- treasure hunting, friendship and fun.\nOur heroes, Tom, Jerry, Dan and Billy, were best friends as kids. After graduation, though, they all went their separate ways (as childhood friends often do). At the age of 30, though, Billy died, and at his funeral, the remaining three decide to fulfill a childhood dream and go in search of the treasure of D.B. Cooper, a legendary man that parachuted into the backwoods with his money and was never heard from again. \nAlthough "Without a Paddle" holds some thrills, as well as some sweet parts, it is, above all else, a comedy. Many of the jokes are nothing but silly toilet and sex humor in the vein of pretty much every teen comedy out there. However, I was impressed by all the nods to pop culture in the movie. \nThere is a lot of physical comedy in "Without a Paddle," but without the perfect delivery of their lines, the actors could have easily ruined this charming little flick. Especially notable is the talented Seth Green, best know as Oz on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and as Scott Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies, as Dan. Green really succeeds at softening the movie from his two manic co-stars, Dax Shepard as Tom and Matthew Lillard as Jerry. Shepard and Lillard are talented, no doubt, but their talent mainly lies in overacted physical comedy. Green contrasts perfectly with the more understated comedy which allows all three actors to shine. \n"Without a Paddle" is never going to win any awards. Some of the jokes were predictable, and the ending was too happy for real life. However, "Without a Paddle" succeeds at its ultimate goal: entertaining the audience.
(08/26/04 3:30am)
Everyone has at least heard of the classic 1972 movie "Deliverance," where a group of guys takes a trip down a river in Georgia backcountry and meet up with some pretty scary hillbillies. At first glance, "Without a Paddle" looks like it's going to be a rehash of basically the same story: three city slickers go on a trip in backwoods camping trip in the Pacific Northwest. "Without a Paddle" combines the excitement of "Deliverance" with the comedy and fun of a movie like 1985's "The Goonies" -- treasure hunting, friendship and fun.\nOur heroes, Tom, Jerry, Dan and Billy, were best friends as kids. After graduation, though, they all went their separate ways (as childhood friends often do). At the age of 30, though, Billy died, and at his funeral, the remaining three decide to fulfill a childhood dream and go in search of the treasure of D.B. Cooper, a legendary man that parachuted into the backwoods with his money and was never heard from again. \nAlthough "Without a Paddle" holds some thrills, as well as some sweet parts, it is, above all else, a comedy. Many of the jokes are nothing but silly toilet and sex humor in the vein of pretty much every teen comedy out there. However, I was impressed by all the nods to pop culture in the movie. \nThere is a lot of physical comedy in "Without a Paddle," but without the perfect delivery of their lines, the actors could have easily ruined this charming little flick. Especially notable is the talented Seth Green, best know as Oz on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and as Scott Evil in the "Austin Powers" movies, as Dan. Green really succeeds at softening the movie from his two manic co-stars, Dax Shepard as Tom and Matthew Lillard as Jerry. Shepard and Lillard are talented, no doubt, but their talent mainly lies in overacted physical comedy. Green contrasts perfectly with the more understated comedy which allows all three actors to shine. \n"Without a Paddle" is never going to win any awards. Some of the jokes were predictable, and the ending was too happy for real life. However, "Without a Paddle" succeeds at its ultimate goal: entertaining the audience.
(08/05/04 4:00am)
Ned Kelly" is the tale of a gang of famous Australian outlaws, led by the notorious title character. The Kelly Gang, as they came to be known, robbed a bank, killed some policemen and staged a shootout with a train full of police, surviving by using homemade steel helmets and chest plates, which make them look strikingly similar to the Black Knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." \nThe movie looks and feels wonderful. The film, with a story that has been expanded and exaggerated for the past 120 years or so, has a gritty, realistic feel to it, while still retaining its "legend" status. The heroes, two of which are played brilliantly (and handsomely) by Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, have an almost mythic stature to them. Ledger and Bloom, despite their teeny-bopper eye candy status, play their parts beautifully. The movie is an all-around interesting and enjoyable film.\nHowever, the DVD extras are actually quite painful to watch. There is only one featurette, which chronicles the history behind the story of the Kelly Gang and Ned Kelly's place in Australian pop culture. The featurette is mildly interesting to a history buff, but will probably be a bit dry for your run-of-the-mill DVD viewer. The rest of the "features" are lame: pictures of artist sketches, pictures of the real Kelly gang, posters and a couple of trailers.\nThe story of Ned Kelly may be legendary, but the DVD extras of "Ned Kelly" definitely aren't.
(08/05/04 2:25am)
Ned Kelly" is the tale of a gang of famous Australian outlaws, led by the notorious title character. The Kelly Gang, as they came to be known, robbed a bank, killed some policemen and staged a shootout with a train full of police, surviving by using homemade steel helmets and chest plates, which make them look strikingly similar to the Black Knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." \nThe movie looks and feels wonderful. The film, with a story that has been expanded and exaggerated for the past 120 years or so, has a gritty, realistic feel to it, while still retaining its "legend" status. The heroes, two of which are played brilliantly (and handsomely) by Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, have an almost mythic stature to them. Ledger and Bloom, despite their teeny-bopper eye candy status, play their parts beautifully. The movie is an all-around interesting and enjoyable film.\nHowever, the DVD extras are actually quite painful to watch. There is only one featurette, which chronicles the history behind the story of the Kelly Gang and Ned Kelly's place in Australian pop culture. The featurette is mildly interesting to a history buff, but will probably be a bit dry for your run-of-the-mill DVD viewer. The rest of the "features" are lame: pictures of artist sketches, pictures of the real Kelly gang, posters and a couple of trailers.\nThe story of Ned Kelly may be legendary, but the DVD extras of "Ned Kelly" definitely aren't.
(07/29/04 4:01am)
A "big bounce," according to cast members in the film of the same name, is that feeling a criminal gets when they pull a big heist. Essentially, a "big bounce" is a thrill.\nWell, sorry, but the special features on "The Big Bounce" DVD hardly live up to the title of the movie. They are lackluster at best, and downright boring at their worst.\nThe movie is decent enough. Based on a book by Elmore Leonard, the genius behind the novel "Get Shorty," "The Big Bounce" is in the same vein -- a light, irreverent crime comedy. This time, the plot involves con man Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson), who ends up working for the town's judge, Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman). During the course of his work, he meets up with the beautiful Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), who is the mistress of real-estate tycoon, Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise), who is also an enemy of Walter. "The Big Bounce" never really lives up to its counterpart "Get Shorty" in terms of style or entertainment value, but it still delivers a few laughs, gorgeous Hawaiian scenery (even though the novel took place in Detroit) and some good acting from screen veterans Wilson, Freeman and Charlie Sheen, as well as from gorgeous newcomer Foster. \nThe extras, however, are disappointing. There's the seemingly mandatory 10-minute documentary that pretty much involves the main actors giving glowing descriptions of the movie, scenery, director, other actors and anything else they can think of to compliment. There's also a slightly more interesting clip about how they filmed the gratuitous amounts of surfing footage stuck in the movie. (After all, you can't have a good movie set in Hawaii without at least a quarter of the footage showing random people surfing.) Finally, adding to the surfing atmosphere is an unnecessarily lengthy featurette showing random people surfing. \nThis film, although entertaining, isn't worth purchasing unless it's in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Rent it instead.
(07/29/04 4:00am)
Pretty much every superhero movie these days follows a set plot line. A shy and/or geeky person wants something more out of life. A freak accident happens. Then poof! The person's DNA is mutated, causing them to be able to kick ass and look amazing in spandex. (When or where can I become the mutated "victim" of a freak accident!?) But, oh no, our superhero is outcast by society! The superhero broods for about 10 minutes and then continues to save the world, culminating in a huge battle against the bad guy, while still looking marvelous. The end. Is it time for a sequel yet?\n"Catwoman," starring the stunningly sexy Halle Berry, doesn't deviate from this preordained path of superhero success -- and it really doesn't need to. Our heroine is the shy advertising agent Patience Phillips. After she's killed by the Hedares (Sharon Stone and Lambert Wilson), owners of the beauty company at which she works -- for overhearing information about the toxic effects of their new anti-aging cream -- a cat resurrects Patience as Catwoman -- a woman that (surprise!) acts an awful lot like a cat -- a stripper cat. She always lands on her feet. She sucks down tuna and sushi like it's going out of style. Her favorite drink is a White Russian without vodka or Kahlua. She wears a barely-there leather outfit, which includes gratuitous amounts of cleavage, and she carries a whip. \nAnyway, Catwoman soon finds herself an outcast from society, which is understandable, considering that she stole some expensive jewelry on her first night on the prowl (although, she returned most of it the next day). She broods, alone, on the top of a tall building (bringing to mind shots of Peter Parker doing the exact same thing in "Spider-Man") before deciding that she will attempt to bring down the evil organization. The movie culminates in a wonderful catfight (har!) between Catwoman and Laurel Hedare (delightfully overacted by Stone). \nAdmittedly, this movie has virtually no plot. If you're looking for something that requires any shred of brainpower, "Catwoman" is definitely not the film for you. But, as far as pure entertainment value goes, you just about can't go wrong with Berry in a leather dominatrix outfit beating up on everyone that gets in her way, up to and including Stone. Every man's fantasy, I'm sure, is to be in the vicinity of that battle. And what woman doesn't want to be able to look as hot and kick as much butt as Halle does? Is it a thought-provoking movie? No. But as a guilty pleasure, it's purrrrrrr-fect!