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(10/10/02 5:24am)
In Bloomington, where diners tend to be brave and receptive to new flavors, ethnic restaurants have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the cultural roots of their cuisine. But sometimes those restaurants lack courage, choosing to offer flatly American versions of their dishes.\nDivino, which recently replaced the short-lived L'Opera at 252 N. Walnut, boasts of an authentic Mediterranean menu. My companion and I looked forward to robust, clear flavors, with an emphasis on seafood and vegetables. What we discovered instead was an American menu disguised as ethnic cuisine that placed too much emphasis on beef and too little on seafood.\nStill willing to give this menu a try, we started with frittata espana ($4). The four pan-fried potato cakes, each about the size of a silver dollar, contained caramelized onions and grated parmesan and were served with balsamic and chive aioli (essentially, tartar sauce). Although the potato texture was superb, the dish lacked flavor.\nMy first attempt at an entrée was pollo estufada, a chicken breast stuffed with chevre cheese and spinach and served with red pepper coulis and garlic mashed potatoes ($16.50). \nThis dish taught me a lesson I must now pass on: chevre cheese has a very distinct smell which, if it catches you off guard, can spoil your appetite. While I did send this dish back to the kitchen, I blame my own ignorance in ordering. Our server and the manager were gracious and helpful as I selected another entrée.\nThe next attempt to order -- seared tuna -- was superb. The filet was juicy and flavorful, with just the right amount of spice. In addition, this dish earns high marks for presentation. It was garnished with bright peppers that enhanced the tuna's appeal.\nMy companion sampled the "angry pasta," a real bargain at only $5.50. A bite of this pasta in marinara sauce at first tasted sweet, but the sauce had an "angry" but pleasing bite that slowly sneaked up on the tongue. This dish is highly recommended to the diner looking for something unique and clever.\nFinally, we sampled two desserts, displayed appetizingly on a tray rather than on a menu. I chose the tiramisu cheesecake with caramel topping, while my companion sampled the "chocolate confusion." Both were excellent, although they were too rich to finish.\nWhile we did discover some redeeming gems on Divino's menu, the atmosphere of the restaurant is lacking. Mediterranean meals are family affairs - warm, friendly and energetic. But the atmosphere here, including minimalist décor and a high industrial ceiling, is neither welcoming nor warm. The only area of the restaurant that meets those expectations is the hallway just outside the bathroom, where a beamed ceiling covered in ivy and white lights creates an intimate atmosphere.\nUltimately, Divino seems difficult to classify. Bloomington already offers a plethora of excellent ethnic food choices, as well as a wide range of up-scale restaurants. In both categories, Divino earns only a mediocre ranking. But some of its dishes are worth a try, as long as diners have low expectations for the ethnic authenticity of the meal.
(03/28/01 4:46am)
Picture the pastoral scenes of the English countryside, where ladies and gentlemen blush at balls and gossip at dinner, while wearing their latest finery from London and France. This is the world of Jane Austen, where love always seems to work itself out and the "nice" characters always get their happy endings.\nSex is the last thing you would expect to enter this landscape, but that's exactly what a new book -- "Pride and Promiscuity: the Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen" -- brings to the table.\nArielle Eckstut and Dennis Ashton, the authors, set themselves up as amateur Austen scholars who discover a box of the late author's lost sex scenes, rejected by publishers as indecent.\nThe premise is weak, at best, but then, the book never really tries to convince readers of its legitimacy. The only attempt is a few "letters" from Austen to friends, showing her outrage at being forced to remove the scenes. It's a farce, and the reader knows it, but readers will be anxious to see just how the authors will pull this off.\nParts of this book are genuinely funny, especially the "introduction" by a "renowned scholar" who has been called upon to "authenticate" the sex scenes. The scholar describes the letter she receives from the authors, requesting her help: "It was from a pair of Americans living in New York City and apparently eking out a living as some sort of lower-echelon literary hangers-on -- agents and/or freelance writers. You can imagine the type, and will no doubt be unsurprised to learn that they were also raging Anglophiles, of the Masterpiece Theatre-watching, Typhoo-drinking sort."\nThe rest of the introduction continues in a similar fashion and had me laughing out loud.\nThe book contains scenes supposedly from all of Austen's novels, including "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility" and "Emma." After the build-up of preface, introduction and Austen's letters, the reader is ready for a clever twist on the plots and characters of Austen's novels.\nAnd in fact, the authors try. Each "scene" is inserted into the middle of a text; the reader could pick up an Austen novel, find the scene and then insert "Pride and Promiscuity's" sex scene right in the middle. But the writing style is different; the scene and the novel won't quite match.\nIt's interesting, funny and irreverent at first, but it soon starts to wear thin. While the scenes are sometimes a bit clever, and sometimes make good use of Austen's characters and their interactions, the book overall seems like a laundry list of sexual proclivities. Although the book is never graphic, there is a scene for everyone -- bondage, role playing, incest, bestiality, orgies, gays, masturbation, sex outdoors and even sex in a boat. This is not as interesting as it sounds; by the end, readers might wonder why they have been subjected to a book that is just sex for sex's sake.\nAlthough "Pride and Promiscuity" is a quick and easy read, it is ultimately unsettling to Austen fans, who know deep down these scenes do not match Austen's style. Anyone not familiar with Austen's work will miss the clever twists of character and plot that redeem the book. It might best be used as a sort of reader's companion for those who've read Austen's novels a few times already; read the scene at the right time in the novel for an interesting and funny take on the characters and plot, even though the styles won't match.\n"Pride and Promiscuity" has a few glimmering moments of irreverent hilarity. But the premise soon wears thin. Although Eckstut and Ashton obviously understand the characters and plot of Austen's novels, they cannot recreate her writing style well enough to allow knowledgeable readers to suspend their disbelief.
(12/06/00 5:09am)
All parties have reached a settlement, and the Ten Commandments will be proudly displayed -- in a collection of "law-making" documents -- near Washington County's Courthouse in Indiana. Some will say this violates the separation of church and state, or that it is offensive to people who practice religions other than Christianity or Judaism. \nBut we cannot alter history, or reality, to suit our politically correct notion of what we think is right or wrong. It is right that the Ten Commandments be displayed with other "law-making" documents; it is not being posted as a religious text, but rather an example of the basis on which our Founding Fathers established the laws of this nation. \nIt is impossible to deny the reality that our founders' religion played a strong role in the establishment of this government. Our currency states "In God we trust" for a reason, and the Declaration of Independence states God has granted us those "certain inalienable rights" for which we fought a war. \nIt might be uncomfortable to embrace our nation's Christian background, now that we are at an inclusive and accepting point in our collective mentality. It might seem to go against our sacred "separation of church and state" mantra to post a seemingly religious document at a county courthouse.\nBut these doubts and concerns can't change the reality of history. Our founders carried the Ten Commandments close to their hearts, and used the document as a guideline in establishing the rules of our nation. To honor their achievement, we must honor the documents on which they based it -- like it or not, that includes the Ten Commandments. The settlement agreement in this case establishes a good precedent, because it allows one of the United States' law-making documents to be displayed precisely for what it is -- not a religious text, but a foundation of law.
(11/27/00 6:32am)
The men and women of America's police forces put their lives on the line every day to protect us and ensure our safety. They deal with many incidents and many different people, and they make many judgment calls. Mistakes inevitably happen, as they do in every profession. The news media has shown us numerous incidents of alleged police brutality or misconduct. \n But that doesn't mean police officers should face civil suits when things go wrong.\nPolice are often forced to make judgment calls in a split second. Is that man carrying a gun or a wallet? A weapon or a candy bar? To an outside observer after the fact, the answers seem obvious. But to an officer who is trying to protect his or her own life and the lives of others, and who has only a moment to make a decision, nothing is as clear cut.\nNo group of professionals is perfect. Not every doctor or lawyer is right every time. The police are no exception to that rule. But all police departments have internal review boards to handle situations when officers make bad decisions, and some serious cases even make it to the criminal courts.\nPolice officers cannot make decisions with thoughts of civil suits hanging over their heads. Officers should not have to second-guess themselves when they must make quick choices. If the Supreme Court allows victims and their families to sue officers, our police men and women will hesitate -- unsure of whether to act -- in critical moments when lives are on the line. \nIt might save the lives of a few innocent people, and that is obviously a positive effect. But it would surely cost the lives of dozens of officers who hesitate at the wrong time, paralyzed by threats of lawsuits. For the men and women in whom our safety and security is entrusted, that would be an unfair and terrible tragedy.
(10/26/00 7:06am)
\"You must have chaos within, to create the dancing star." - Friedrich Nietzsche\nWhen Jan Susina read that quote as a student at Samford University 25 years ago, he knew he had the title for a literary magazine. First, he needed an environment that would foster that kind of creative project.\nWhen Susina heard about Collins Living-Learning Center, then called the Men's Residence Center, he knew he had found the right place. Susina came to IU as a graduate student and resident assistant and founded a tradition that affects students to this day -- Collins' annual Dancing Star arts journal and literary magazine. \nIn the editor's note of that first edition in the spring of 1976, Susina called Dancing Star "a nifty little literary magazine."\nThis semester, Collins residents celebrated that the publication has become so much more than that, honoring its 25-year legacy with an anniversary edition edited by senior Brian McMullen. \nThe Legacy\nIn the early days, the magazine was written on typewriters, pasted up by hand and stapled together by the same students who selected and edited the content.\n"One of the great things for me was that the staff stayed with it, and people wrote poems to people and about things we knew. People grew as writers," said Susina, now an English professor at Illinois State University. "The magazine was just a part of this community of writers."\nFor Susina, working with Dancing Star was a pivotal point in his life. He said his experience with literary magazines is the reason he was hired as a resident assistant in the first place, and he spent four years editing the publication. \nHe married another Dancing Star editor, Jodie Slothower, who gave birth to their "own little dancing star" a year ago. (Slothower refers to young Jacob Wynn Susina as a "little bundle of poetry" instead.)\nBoth can claim a milestone for the publication. Her husband might have founded the publication, but Slothower was Dancing Star's first female editor in 1982.\n"I wanted to show that women could do it as well as all of the guys," she said.\nSince then, Collins' female residents have held their fair share of editorial positions. The list of past editors now features as many women as men.\nSarah Boehm, who edited or co-edited Dancing Star in 1996, 1997 and 1999, is one of the women to follow in Slothower's footsteps.\n"I think the best part of Dancing Star was what the readers don't see," she said. "Drumming up clever phrases on colorful paper to advertise 'Wanted: Critique Staff' … sifting through piles of writing so late at night we forgot 'My Favorite Christmas Cookie Cutter' poem was rejected, trying to negotiate prices and dates with the local, and often unreliable, printers … and swearing at the computer that rearranged the page order because I hit the wrong button."\nWhat Susina and Slothower remember best is not the publication itself, but the community of writers who worked with Dancing Star and its many related projects, including broadsheets and poetry readings.\n"It was a way for us to find a cohesive, very active group within the University," Slothower said.\nBoth Susina and Slothower said they are pleased with the publication's legacy and the support it has received from Collins and the University.\n"I am so pleased to see that there is an interest and that the magazine continues," Susina said. "One of the important things about being a parent is being able to let go; one of the things I like about the new issue is it may not be the issue I would have done, but I'm proud of it."\nThe Celebration\nIn a sense, little has changed since the early days. Dancing Star is still a student effort, supported by Collins activity fees. It's more streamlined now, with computer layout programs and professional printing services. But the purpose is always the same -- to offer students a chance at free expression and to give them an audience.\n"The challenge always for me is to rethink the entire concept," McMullen said, "but also to refer to what it was before."\nMcMullen said his goal with the current edition was to challenge people's notions of what a literary magazine can contain, which is why the publication is much more visual in this incarnation.\n"I hope it's a testament to the idea that the sky's the limit when it comes to being creative," McMullen said.\nThe staff did not rely on the design to carry the publication: The content is equally powerful. Students offered literary submissions ranging from haiku poetry to short stories. And every length and format in between.\n"I think we're doing things nobody else is doing anywhere in terms of visual and editorial concept," McMullen said.\nThe magazine also features a playful parody of another Collins publication, "Cocked and Ready." The Dancing Star version, "Red & Cocky," features art, poetry and even a collection of "stillnot.coms," as-yet unclaimed Web site names.\nMcMullen transferred his own design experience to the anniversary edition, and it has even garnered him an internship. But he said his Dancing Star experience is much more than a line on a resume. \nHe called it "the thing that consumes me."\nThe Cornerstone\nWhen Susina and Slothower remember their Collins experience, it is linked forever to the community of writers Dancing Star created for them. That nurturing environment is a landmark of the living-learning center environment.\nMcMullen called the magazine a "cornerstone" of Collins' goals for its residents. With more than 400 Dancing Star alumni worldwide, the publication has left its mark on current and former Collins residents.\nFor some, it will simply be remembered as a magazine that gave them a voice, an audience, a chance to be heard -- whether for the first time or the hundredth. For others, like McMullen, it will define and even jumpstart their careers. For still others, like Susina and Slothower, Dancing Star has defined their lives and values to the point that, without the experience, they would be completely different people, with completely different lives.\nThat's a lot for one annual literary magazine to accomplish. But at Collins, it's been that way for 25 years, and it's still that way today.
(10/18/00 5:08am)
Some people with disabilities spend their entire lives renting an apartment or sharing a group home. Less than 1 percent of people with disabilities own their own homes, as opposed to 66 percent of all Americans, according to the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.\nThe Back Home in Indiana Alliance, coordinated by IU's Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, is working to change that. And the program has received high marks for its efforts; the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently named it the "Best of the Best" in terms of housing programs.\nThe alliance was one of three projects in the state to earn the title, and one of 100 programs of more than 2,800 nominated nationwide.\n"They're our success stories at using HUD assistance for innovative programs that revitalize communities and bring new opportunities to American families," said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. "By honoring their efforts, we help communities across the nation learn from each other."\nThe program assists individuals with homeownership through low-interest loans, down payment assistance and home modification funding. The only criteria to apply is that the person have a disability as defined under the guidelines set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.\nSo far, the Alliance has helped six people with disabilities obtain their own homes, and a number of others are in the process of applying for loans, said Project Coordinator Deborah McCarty.\n"It's a piece of the puzzle in figuring out how do you assure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities that most of us really expect in our lives," she said. \nOne of those opportunities is choosing where and with whom to live.\n"Overall, there's a movement to have people have more individual options in terms of living and support services," McCarty said.\nShe said HUD recognized the Alliance because the program is new and it is a unique partnership of various organizations.\nThe Alliance allocates housing funding available through HUD and the Indiana Housing and Finance Authority (HFA). It also acts as a link between neighborhood housing organizations and people with disabilities who often are not aware of their services.\n"I think it's a tremendous opportunity for different agencies that all serve the same population of people with disabilities to be able to come together and share resources and come up with ways to overcome barriers these people have encountered with regards to housing," said Jennifer Boehm, director of marketing and public affairs for the HFA.\nThese services are valuable for people with disabilities because mortgage and loan companies are often unwilling to "take a chance" on them, said Melissa Downton, a member of the Alliance's steering committee and program development director at Key Consumer, a self-advocacy organization for people with disabilities.\nDownton herself knows the struggles people with disabilities face when trying to own a home. She and her husband, a Vietnam veteran with a disability, were recently able to purchase their own home through an arrangement with their landlord.\n"It's a really great feeling to be able to own something instead of just paying the rent every month for nothing," she said.\nThe Alliance has also coordinated projects with the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis.
(10/11/00 5:29am)
This spring, the sociology department will offer a new course covering issues related to one of the largest, but least studied minority groups in America -- people with disabilities. The course -- S101: Social Aspects of Disability -- will meet at 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays next semester. \n"I think this course has a lot to offer to anyone who has a friend or relative with a disability, to anyone planning a career working with the disabled, and to people with disabilities themselves," said instructor Sandi Nenga, a doctoral student. \nShe said future teachers, social workers, managers and medical professionals would benefit from the information to be covered in the course. Students will discuss all types of disabilities.\n"This is a topic that I think should appeal to a very broad range of students on this campus from a broad range of disciplines," said Brian Powell, director of graduate studies. "This would be a wonderful opportunity really to explore what are the obstacles and the barriers people with disabilities face."\nThe class will be valuable, said undergraduate adviser MaryLou Hosek, because chances are everyone will encounter a person with a disability in the workplace at some point.\n"You can't always identify someone with a disability. It's not always visual," she said. "You need to know how to ask the right questions."\nThe group will assess the accessibility of campus buildings to people with disabilities and discuss what kind of accommodations could be made. Other topics will include technology to assist people with disabilities, the pros and cons of mainstreaming students with disabilities at school, telethons and fundraisers and the controversy surrounding cochlear implants, a device to assist those with hearing impairments.\n"We will look at discrimination and struggle, but we will also discuss the triumphs and humor of disabled people," Nenga said.\nSimilar courses have been offered through the School of Education, the American Studies department and the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. But Nenga said this course will show a different perspective.\n"I don't know of any course on this campus which allows students to explore the social context of physical, learning, sensory and developmental disabilities," she said.\nNenga brings a personal knowledge of disability to the course. She has an orthopedic disability that causes chronic pain.\n"My personal experience ... led me to see that disability is a topic which affects everyone," she said.\nBut the information isn't as important to Nenga as the attitude of inclusion she hopes students develop.\n"I would like students to leave the course with a greater awareness of disability issues and an understanding of disabled peoples' perspectives," she said.
(09/20/00 4:30am)
For a student who is blind, reading a textbook is impossible without help, and studying a graphic or map can be even more difficult. \nBut a fledgling IU programnow offers tools to help students, faculty and staff with disabilities better perform tasks related to education.\nThe Adaptive Technology Center, located in the Main Library, featured some of its technology resources at its open house Monday night. The open house was part of University Information Technology Service's "Making IT Happen!" week, Sept. 18-21.\n"We're sponsoring this open house for students … to learn about how students use adaptive technology," said Margaret Londergan, ATC director and logistics support coordinator for UITS.\nStudents who use the ATC's resources include those with vision loss or impairment, muscular or mobility problems, hearing loss and learning disabilities. The ATC's primary focus is to help these students work on their own.\n"That's one of the best things adaptive technology is doing, providing students with the means to be independent," said Martha Jacques, director of Disabled Student Services.\nOne tool used is tactile graphics. A special paper called thermaform is used to display graphics, maps or other visuals on raised lines students can "read" with their fingers. Before tactile graphics were developed, graphics were traced on tin foil or tracing paper with a pen.\n"It was very difficult to try to come up with ways to help students to get access to graphs, to puzzles (before tactile graphics) … We kind of flew by the seat of our pants," Jacques said.\nA program called Kurzweil 3000 scans a textbook in about seven minutes, converting it to e-text on CD. The program then reads the text aloud and includes study tools, such as highlighting and virtual post-it notes, helping visually impaired students.\nThe program is an alternative to books on tape, which can be costly and time-consuming to produce. It allows students special features, such as searching by word or page number that books on tape don't offer.\nJeff Busch, an IU graduate who is blind, said it would have taken him longer to get through school without this technology. "Having this technology available has made me much more independent, in terms of what I can do."\nDuring the transition from school to the job market, the ATC empowers students by loaning adaptive technology equipment and software. Londergan said employers are often so impressed with the technology that they willingly purchase it for their disabled employees.\nAccording to the National Organization on Disability, only 32 percent of people with disabilities are employed. In a business environment, Londergan said, "sometimes there's a hesitation to get involved with someone with a disability. But there's no need." She said students who know what programs or technology they need in the workplace are able to help their employers make the necessary accommodations.\nThe ATC also offers tools to perform basic computer functions, such as e-mail and searching the Internet. Londergan said it is the only location on campus where blind students can check their e-mail.\n"We've really surpassed a lot of schools in the state and in the country," Jacques said.\nLondergan, who asked IU for permission to develop the ATC a year ago, agreed.\n"We've made huge strides," she said.
(09/18/00 5:22am)
"Blast!" begins with a lone drummer under a single spotlight on a dark stage. It appears unassuming and simple. But that one drummer becomes two, then three, and suddenly the stage is leaping with the most talented, vibrant musicians ever to perform in Bloomington.\nThe performance deserves every ounce of the praise it received for its London premiere, and then some. Bloomington's audience Friday evening gave the performers three standing ovations, two in the middle of the performance, and the show deserved even more applause than that.\n"Blast!" radiated energy from beginning to end. The opening number -- "Bolero" -- included trumpeters who walked across the stage on their knees and drummers who established a personal connection with the audience through their facial expressions. Not to be outdone, other musicians leapt across the stage and played catch with their instruments, all while playing a flawless musical number.\nIt was a fitting first piece for a wonderful show, which brought the audience to its feet more than once.\n"Battery Battle," a collection of drum pieces, earned a standing ovation right in the middle of Act 1. It was more than deserved. The piece featured dueling drummers, and one who played the drums with -- believe it or not -- his nose. A string of drummers performed under the glow of a blacklight, until drum sets descended from the ceiling. The musicians capped the breathtaking performance under a strobe light; it was the show's best and most energetic number.\nThe music of "Blast!" offered something for everyone. "Everybody Loves the Blues" was reminiscent of the best in blues clubs, while pieces such as "Lemontech" were more contemporary. The performance wasn't devoid of show tunes. "Gee Office Krupke" of West Side Story was a hilarious, slapstick number that left the audience rolling in its seats. Other pieces had a more bohemian, tribal tone.\n"Blast!" is expertly staged, which was most apparent in the closing number of the first act, "Medea." The music's angry, warlike chords complemented stark lighting and cold, metal props. \nThe geometric shapes and poles appeared as sharp lines on the stage, creating a powerful and moving image of war.\nEvery single aspect of "Blast!" was in harmony. The "visual ensemble" -- the equivalent of a guard in a marching band -- wore vibrant colors to match the mood of each piece. "Lemontech" featured bright yellow flags, costumes, sabers and poles, a celebration of a single color. Other pieces, including "Color Wheel" and "Color Wheel Too" displayed and celebrated every color in the rainbow, giving each its own unique personality.\n"Blast!" also had more quiet moments, with muted colors and a more somber atmosphere.\n"Loss," for example, was a quiet piece. It featured a trumpeter suspended in air by wires, one soul hovering above a somber stage of musicians. The image was more than effective. And "Simple Gifts/Appalachian Spring" featured bell solos and a singing cast; in this piece, something as simple as a synchronized arm gesture became a beautiful art form.\nThe most striking aspect of the performance is that it wasn't confined to a stage, but rather took place at times in the very midst of the audience. One piece featured a trombone player who rode around the audience on a unicycle, and the visual ensemble waved flags over the audience members' heads during another song.\nPerformers wandered throughout the auditorium during intermission, playing on trash cans and stools, and exited to the lobby to shake hands with the audience after the performance. This close interaction with the audience was unique and engaging and drew guests into the performance in a way no other Auditorium show ever has.\nThe one flaw of "Blast!" was that it came to IU for only one weekend; this reviewer, for one, would love to see it again and again. The show led the audience through a wide range of emotion, color and music, and was truly an engaging and exciting show.\nThe cast might soon be headed for Broadway, where "Blast!" is sure to impress even the most theater-savvy. With so much talent and such a unique premise, it is certain to be a phenomenon.
(09/15/00 5:49am)
Cast members can't explain what makes "Blast!" such a unique and powerful show.\nIt could be the magical blend of so many different genres of performing arts. Cast members dance, sing, do flips and even hang suspended by wires, all while playing their instruments. Costumes and lighting only add to the effect.\nStudents can see the magic for themselves this weekend, when the performance comes to the IU Auditorium Friday and Saturday.\n"What's really fun about 'Blast!' is that we actually get intimate with the audience; we actually communicate to them," said Ben Harloff, a cast member and 1999 IU graduate. "It's a very personal show."\n"Blast!" features a singing, dancing, colorful onstage brass band ' a unique combination called brass theatre. It also includes a variety of musical genres, from jazz to blues to techno-pop.\n"It's a celebration of music," Harloff said. "Expect many different genres of music, expect a lot of dancing, a lot of acting onstage."\nThe performance comes to IU as part of its pre-Broadway tour, direct from its premiere in London's West End, where it received glowing reviews.\n"Imagine the air spinning with superbly manipulated sabres, flags, streamers and rifles all tossed up in perfect unison and timed to drop to the nanosecond and you might just get some idea of the show's intricate synchronized choreography," wrote Roger Foss in What's On In London. "Try to imagine all of this going on while the vast, disciplined army of hunky musicians blow a storm or beat their drums, and simultaneously do cartwheels or run backwards, and you are still only half-way there."\n"You can't describe all we do in 'Blast!'" Harloff said. "We'll make you laugh, we'll make you cry, just a million things."\nThat success started right here in Bloomington in 1984, with a group called Star of Indiana. Founded to benefit young people in music education, the drum corps became the first ever to place in its first year among the top 10 at the Drum Corps International World Championships. In 1991, it won the world championship.\nAfter reaching the peak of success in that area, Star of Indiana shifted focus, evolving into a theatrical show that brings outdoor pageantry onstage.\nMost of "Blast!'s" 60 cast members are in their 20s, and 75 percent were members of a world championship drum and bugle corps. Each member fills one of three roles, as part of the brass, percussion or visual ensemble.\n"It's a bunch of talented people doing what they love to do," said Jennifer Ross, who put her studies at IU on hold to be a part of the cast.\n"Some weeks we perform daily," Harloff said, "and it's just a great experience … I get to learn so much just being on stage."\n"Blast!" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets range from $20 to $50, with a $10 student discount available for select levels. Tickets are on sale now at the IU Auditorium Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations.
(09/07/00 6:36am)
When Mayor John Fernandez offered to help the Bloomington Area Arts Council resolve its financial woes, the plan sounded like a good thing. Save the council and a downtown theater, the mayor seemed to say, and you'll save this town.\nYet that is a narrow view of the many things Bloomington has to offer, including other venues for the performing arts. Many organizations and businesses struggle to pay operating expenses, and all of those are important to at least some members of the community.\nIt is, the mayor claimed, still too early to determine whether the arts council will receive financial support. But he will, according to Aug. 31 The Herald-Times, help to "organize some resources." \nThe arts are a vital part of Bloomington. But so are charities, civic groups, churches, book groups, etc. These organizations thrive because individuals ' not the government ' give their support. If the arts are such a vital part of this community, citizens ought to be willing to support the arts council ' on their own, through donations of time or funds, not through mandatory tax dollars.\nJust what kind of resources will the mayor and the city offer the council? The more energy the city puts into the council, the less time will go to handling problems that really are within the city government's jurisdiction. That is unfair to the many aspects of this community that play an equally, if not more, vital role in the lives of citizens.\nOther alternatives for the Bloomington Area Arts Council remain available. The mayor himself said the organization just needs a "business plan." A consultant, hired by the council could take an objective look at its organization and structure, just as an independent commission would. A financial planner could help it get back on its feet. And the consultant or planner would not be draining city resources.\nIt is beyond argument that the arts play a key role in this community and in its reputation. That much is obvious. But the arts council's financial woes are not the concern of the city government. Diverting human resources and funding from the city to the council is an inappropriate allocation of government resources.
(08/24/00 3:21am)
It feels as though summer just began, but already we're back on campus, getting back into the daily routine. This semester, I'll be figuring out off-campus bus routes and clipping coupons for actual grocery shopping instead of meal point sprees.\nI'm also faced with a different challenge, to serve as your opinion editor.\n It's a challenge about which I'm excited. In the next few months, look for more political opinions as we debate a close presidential election. Though it's obviously big news across the nation, we're going to bring it home to Bloomington. What are fellow students thinking and feeling about this election? What are their opinions on key election issues? That's where the opinion page of the IDS comes in; we're going to find answers to those questions.\nColumnists will focus on everything from random daily activities to pressing philosophical questions. Some of those columnists will be, in a sense, familiar faces to regular readers; others will bring a new perspective to the page. Letters to the editor and letter spotlights will express the views you as readers have about a variety of topics.\nThe IDS has long played an important role in the IU community, but it's difficult to put into words how important this newspaper is in the lives of the students who work here. It isn't about the hours we spend in the newsroom, though they are many. It's about the ownership we have in the success of the IDS this semester and into the future. \nWe're financially and editorially independent of the University, which gives us the freedom to report the news without a conflict of interest. That freedom also means that this newspaper is far from being a University public relations tool. We're here for you, the students. \nThis opinion page, then, belongs to you. It's your own community forum, a place for you to praise or protest the people and events in the news. You're free to voice your opinion on any topic, from a global issue to a concern right here in Bloomington. E-mail letters@indiana.edu or visit www.idsnews.com.\nYou can also let us, and the rest of campus, know what you think about us as a paper, and as a staff covering the news. Like any other staff, we're not perfect. We're all students here, which means we're still learning and trying to juggle many responsibilities. Despite that, we're dedicated to producing a professional-quality newspaper, so let us know if you think we've slipped or done a great job on a story. That's one way we can improve our own coverage and better serve our readers.\nI view my job as opinion editor as a sort of neutral moderator position. I'll be the first to admit that I have strong opinions on a few topics. I've gone through a long process to decide where I stand on certain issues, and my mind is made up when it comes to the November elections. But those views don't matter when I'm putting together this page; my job as a journalist is to be objective. \nOn the opinion page, that means reflecting student and community opinions fairly and accurately, and giving people and groups on all sides of an issue an equal voice to reach out to the public. I'm going to put together pages that reflect all views on an issue, regardless of my own opinions and beliefs. That's my job when I put on my editor hat, and I'm committed to doing it right.\nI won't be able to print every letter I receive; there are too many to ever fit in this amount of space, and letters still have to follow certain journalistic standards. Like my predecessor in this position, I promise to read and consider every letter to the editor I receive. I know that you as a writer feel strongly about a topic if you write a letter to the editor, that it is important to you and that it has taken time and effort to produce. I respect that. That's why I'll give each the consideration for publication that it deserves.\nThis is a large campus, and it's sometimes easy to feel as though you're a faceless number in the crowd. Consider this page as your way to reach the thousands of students, faculty, community members and alumni who open this paper or visit our Web site every day. Let this opinion page be your voice in the crowd. The invitation is open.