19 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/30/09 3:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>My assignment: Host a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in a foreign country. This task, although it might seem straightforward, is much more difficult than it initially appears.When attempting to complete this job myself, I concluded there are a handful of reasons why Italians do not celebrate Thanksgiving. Besides the obvious fact that Thanksgiving is an American holiday, Italians could not prepare an acceptable Thanksgiving spread even if all they truly desired was a helping of mashed potatoes.Reason No. 1: SuppliesItalian cooking relies heavily on the availability of fresh, local produce. As a result, importing Thanksgiving necessities like cranberries and sweet potatoes would be considered ridiculous.Secondly, creating a Thanksgiving staple such as pumpkin pie would be a duty only for the bravest of Italians because it would require one to make the dessert the old-fashioned way – reminiscent of carving and gutting a Halloween pumpkin.Reason No. 2: StuffingItalians are a group of people who know how to keep themselves in good shape. Walking through the streets of Florence, it would be extremely challenging not only to find an obese Italian, but it would be just as demanding to locate an Italian who was not perfectly fit or rather thin. Along these lines, they would not understand the American concept of stuffing oneself on this glorious day. Americans know how to throw it back. We eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green been casserole and plenty more. And we go back for second and third helpings. It is also common to take a short break from the eating to digest, nap and watch football and then return for desserts galore. I think I am putting it kindly when I say that many Italians would say we are gluttonous.Reason No. 3: ScheduleThe Italian eating style is bit off compared to the American way. Their breakfast seems to deliberately spite the age-old saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” – it consists of a mere coffee and piece of toast. Another drastic difference is the time for dinner. Forget 5:30 or even 6 p.m. Italians start to eat dinner, as many Europeans do, when our late night television programming begins. In my family, we start eating the Thanksgiving dinner around 4 p.m.; it’s earlier than usual to allow for colossal amounts to be eaten and digested without having to rush.The radical idea of eating a grand meal at a ridiculous time of day would simply not fly with the Italian lifestyle. But at the end of they day, when several Americans in Italy get together, a somewhat respectable Thanksgiving meal can come together. God bless the American way because I simply could not live without Thanksgiving Day ending with a chorus of popping pants buttons.
(11/23/09 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Forget “I love New York” T-shirts and give me one with the words “I love Bloomington.” From the local food options to strutting to class in crimson and cream sweats, IU students studying abroad cannot wait to return to campus. Even when studying abroad in a country like Italy where delicious, fresh spaghetti is available in mounds, and perfection is served in a warm ceramic cup in the form of a cappuccino, IU students still long for the gastronomical splendors of good old Bloomington. The Trojan Horse, Pita Pit, Laughing Planet Cafe, The Village Deli, Bloomington Bagel Company and, of course, Mother Bear’s Pizza, are among the most missed places. Many students are craving certain items so much they have even thought about their first meals when returning to Bloomington. IU junior Amelia Renshaw is planning on sitting down at her favorite restaurant, The Trojan Horse, and ordering a Super G with extra Zaziki sauce and then finishing off her meal with baklava a la mode. And a queso steak burrito with extra guacamole from Qdoba is precisely what junior Coley Knust craves. While some students have an appetite for the American version of foreign cuisine, senior Celeste Holyoake would be satisfied with a simple caesar salad from Panera Bread. Another aspect students miss about campus life is the ability to dress casually for class and not stand out. “Italians dress more formally here because their casual is more formal,” Renshaw said. She did not bring sweat pants to Florence so she would not be tempted to wear them to class. Courtney Seger, another IU junior, also said Italians dress better, and she does too in order to blend in. Despite all the different things Hoosiers miss about home, there are still certain aspects of Italian culture that have won them over. Fresh food at the daily markets, authentic Italian food stops near school and new experiences are among the top reasons why students love Italy. But the most popular reason seems to be the art. History of art and arts administration major Abby Purcell has studied art in textbooks for years. Her favorite part of being in Florence, Italy is having that art available to see almost anytime she wants.Another aspect students take advantage of while abroad is not having to devote as much time as they usually would to studying. While most students agree that the majority of their classes do not require as much studying or the material is not as difficult, the prominent reason students do not study as often is to take advantage of the travel opportunities. “That’s part of the study abroad experience,” Holyoake said. “To travel and see everyday Florence. You need to take advantage of it. I even travel on school days.” But still, students miss the simple things from Bloomington, like the leaves changing colors and seeing friendly and familiar faces on the way to class. There truly is no place like home.
(11/15/09 11:56pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FLORENCE, Italy - People can be too hard on Ebenezer Scrooge.Yes, Scrooge did hate Christmas, children, smiles, laughter and anything else associated with happiness, but that does not give people the right to deem him a bad person. Scrooge deserves a second chance. Before tying me up with fresh, prickly wreaths of garland and beating me with sticky peppermint candy canes for the previous statement, please let me explain.I, too. have been labeled a “Scrooge.” But this is not because I hate Christmas. It is more that I cannot stand hearing Christmas music from Thanksgiving until Christmas day and I become anxious-ridden trying to find the perfect gifts for family members and friends. Most notably I despise my neighbor’s front lawn that has overdosed on holiday light decorations and emits a fiery light that is, what I imagine to be, reminiscent of Hell. I do realize that Scrooge eventually does turn around because of some dramatic encounters with three ghosts. But I think those ghosts went through much more trouble than they needed. All Scrooge needed was to study abroad in Italy. Scrooge would fit right in with the Italians. Although Italy is a Catholic country and is expected to celebrate the holiday, most Florentines give little effort to show their Christmas spirit.Florence’s streets are free of white lights stretched upon the houses, decorated trees in the windows, candles, winter scenes of tiny towns and people in shop windows, sledding, ice skating, building snowmen, even those nightmarish three-foot tall animatronic Santa Clauses. And above all, there is not the slightest hope for snow. This extreme lack of decorations and overall shortage of a positive attitude around this time by Italians can do wonders for “Scrooges” like me. I have realized just how much I actually like Christmas and more specifically the commercialized Christmas. I miss hearing Chicago’s WLIT, The Lite, play holiday music 24 hours a day; I miss looking at store windows with winter holiday themes with signs in the window reminding me about a gift for Grandm;, and for some strange reason, I miss the Christmas inferno blazing on my neighbor’s lawn. I never thought I would miss any of these things because I usually resent them. And I realize this revelation is coming during the pre-Christmas season. But the releases of Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” and other movies set against a holiday background like Miramax’s “Everybody’s Fine” and even “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” – which makes me think of the Christmas songs I used to listen to as a kid – bring on the feeling of nostalgia for over-the-top Christmases.After being denied the commercialized and steroid version of Christmas, it might be awhile until I use the phrase “Bah, humbug!”
(11/09/09 4:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Florentines are unlike any sports fans on Earth.Fans went wild Nov. 4 as Florence’s Fiorentina played, but were ultimately pleased with the 5-2 victory against Hungary’s Debrecen.The Fiorentina, more commonly known as “la viola,” which means “the purple” in Italian, is having a good year because of its current second-place ranking in the Champions League. La viola was even able to defeat Liverpool, a notoriously strong team, 2-0.The match between Fiorentina and Debrecen took place at Florence’s Stadio Artemio Franchi, which can house more than 47,000 fans. Security is so strict that foreigners are required to show their passports and are directed to a special entrance. The stadium is composed of four different sections: the Tribuna Centrale, the Tribuna Maratona, the Curva Fiesole and the Curva Ferrovia. The Curva Fiesole is composed of the most dedicated fans. The section was filled entirely, and people were completely decked out in purple and white, the team’s colors. This section is also the most organized, and its members wave huge Florence flags, hold signs, wave scarves and lead most of the chants.Foreigners and less dedicated fans sit in the Curva Ferrovia. The section is still spirited, shouting both supportive chants to their team and unsportsmanlike chants at the opposing team. Rude hand gestures, child-like dances and extremely ungentlemanly mutterings about the opposing team’s mothers and sisters were common. Fans in the different sectors not only bundled up for the cold in their purple and white, but also prepared for the intimidating skies overflowing with sinister black clouds by wearing rain gear, some even resorting to wearing plastic garbage bags.During the 90-minute game, the only fans to leave their seats were foreigners. Whether to use the toilet or to buy a snack, most spectators did not leave their seat until halftime. It is not like in America, where people go to the game to get a hot dog or nachos; rather, in Italy, they just go to watch the game. Another noticeable difference between the Stadio Artemio Franchi and American stadiums is the fact that alcohol is not sold at the games. In past years, Fiorentina fans have become too violent during matches, and so alcohol has been banned from the grounds. Although alcohol is not permitted on the grounds, the smoke from thousands of cigarettes and cigars and who knows what other substances can been seen rising into the Italian sky. These matches allow outsiders a chance to observe a combination of the two things Italians would die without: calcio (soccer) and cigarettes.
(11/02/09 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FLORENCE, Italy - Nazism and Fascism seem to be distant ideologies of the past. In the United States, they are things American students merely read about in textbooks, but in Italy, remnants of these movements are not uncommon.For instance, Santa Maria Novella, the bustling Florence train station, was completed in 1934, and its plan was inspired by Mussolini’s Fascist movement.When the Nazis occupied Florence during World War II, Florentines were lucky to have been left the Ponte Vecchio when most of the other bridges connecting the north and south banks of the Arno River were destroyed. This past week I had the opportunity to hear two members of the Italian Resistance Movement, or Resistenza italiana, the name given to all kinds of opposition to Nazi-Fascism in Italy, speak about their experiences. The first to speak, a vibrant 81-year-old man, spoke so quickly he gave the translator few chances to communicate with the crowd.And although he spoke of impressionable facts, dates and numbers, emphasizing them with his right hand the way only Italians can do, his more personal accounts were the most captivating. “We were slaves,” he said, describing the living conditions under Fascism. He went on to talk about his older brother, who was an anti-Fascist and how he did not attend the required Fascist Public Manifestation. Later that night, a group of Fascists came to their home, beat his brother and forced him to drink large amounts of codfish oil, causing extreme vomiting. At age 15, he too became an anti-Fascist because of what he witnessed that night. After joining the Resistenza, he took part in an operation that required the partisans to steal machinery from the local factory before the Germans took it for themselves. He said they would break the machines down and put them into horse carts covering the machines with sheets. They would take the machines to farms and bury them so they would not only be hidden, but after the war they would still have means of production and jobs. One day the Germans uncovered this operation, and although he himself managed to escape, 152 of his peers were put into a cargo train car at Santa Maria Novella and sent to concentration camps. Only 22 returned. The other man, 84, spoke with the strained voice of someone who had smoked for most of his life. He began by talking about his own father, an anti-Fascist, and almost every day he would come home from work having been beaten by Fascists. He was only a young boy at the time, so when he asked his mother why his father was injured, she simply said it was from the machines at work. It was not until years later when his older brother finally revealed the truth. He joined the Resistenza when he was 18 and was made leader of his local group. “I was not responsible,” was his explanation for why he was put in this position. “I was dangerous, and when I had my gun I was afraid of nothing.” One operation he led required him and his team to shoot down a train of German trucks passing over a bridge in his town. At night, four men from their team, two on either side of the bridge, waited for the Germans. It was not until about midnight that they heard the rumbling of the trucks down the road. They threw about 15 three-sided nails on the road and waited until they heard the popping of the tires and the shouts of the Germans. The partisans shot up onto the bridge at their unsuspecting enemies, killing most of them and making the rest turn back.“The newspaper exaggerated it,” he said. “They said it was a ‘big battle.’ I wanted to write the paper to say it wasn’t true, but people told me to just let it go.”
(10/26/09 3:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Mickey Mouse has met his match.The happiest place on earth brings to mind images of Mickey Mouse leading a parade of Disney characters down a crowded street, the flying Dumbo, the whirling teacup rides and the blue turrets of Cinderella’s castle. But as a journalism major, my newfound happiest celebration on earth is definitely a visit to the British Broadcasting Corporation Television Centre. For readers who are not familiar with the BBC, it is a radio, television and Internet broadcasting company, and its news division is arguably the world’s most reliable. It is also the largest and oldest broadcaster in the world. In addition to BBC news, the programming is very popular in the United Kingdom, running some shows for as long as 45 years. The approximately two-hour tour began with a brief introduction outside the question mark-shaped building. One of the two guides was sure to warn the tour group, dotted with British humor of course, of the possibility of seeing recognizable BBC mugs inside the building. The tour continued to a conference room with huge glass windows allowing the tour group a clear shot of the BBC newsroom. Next, the tour guides led the group to the center of the facility, which is graced with a series of statues that used to be a fountain. The BBC stopped using it as a fountain because the constant sound of running water combined with its echoing in the circular courtyard decreased the productivity of BBC employees, causing frequent stops to the toilet.This area is only for pedestrians, but exceptions have been made for some, such as the Queen of England. The tour progressed to a small area where we were able to play around with blue screens. This technology was used by the BBC to produce special effects for the show “Doctor Who.” A stop at one of the BBC’s greenrooms decked out in modular furniture, white rugs and cow-skinned patterned chairs was filled with celerity gossip. The tour guides shared some of the requests celebrities made on their hospitality rider forms – a list of their requests to ensure their comfort. My favorite was a request by Mariah Carey for a box of puppies in her room to play with before she performed. The tour ended when three members of the tour group acted as contestants on the show “The Weakest Link,” which included news breaks starring a tour member as the anchor. Three tour members were in the control room operating the lights, sounds and additional video clips during the news breaks. I was operating the video clips, and I was like a kid in a candy shop pushing the buttons. Each tour differs from others because the Television Centre is an operating building, and not all the facilities are available for each tour. Also worth mentioning is the cost. In a country where the U.S. dollar is worth 61 cents, the 7- pound admission for students is one of the city’s cheaper activities. To be there, at the BBC, was my dream come true. Sorry Mickey, but I would much rather spend my holiday at the BBC.
(10/14/09 11:30pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FLORENCE, Italy - Some things are just better when seen in a photograph.And the city of Pisa, Italy, as well as its famous Leaning Tower, are included.Pisa is only a one-hour train ride from Florence and costs merely €5.70, making it an inexpensive and seemingly perfect Saturday day trip. But frankly, once you’ve seen any small Tuscan city, it can safely be said that you’ve pretty much seen them all.In fact, some of these quaint cities like Pisa are so similar I could write the same script for each visit.“A Typical Saturday Day Trip to a Tuscan Town”Scene opens with tourist sitting on train, staring wide-eyed out the window at the passing unblemished blue sky, greenery of the Tuscan hills and holding a small digital camera in their lap. With each movement of the train past a field of dead sunflowers or row of meringue-colored villas with its residents’ unmentionables line drying out the windows, the tourist excitedly jumps up, fumbles for the camera, and snaps a picture. Each click of the camera makes the old Italian man next to the tourist jerk in his sleep.The tourist sees the [insert name of Tuscan city here] station sign through their camera lens as the train gradually screeches to a stop. The combination of the jolt of the train and the tourist’s excitement causes the tourist to accidently take another picture. Tourist: Walking and reading “Top 10 Tuscany” guidebook simultaneously. First stop, the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here]!Looks at white plastic watch, purchased from a Florentine street vendor for €7.00; it reads 15:37. OK, just over three hours till I have to catch a train back to Florence. The tourist begins a brisk pace towards the direction of the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here.]They pass a McDonald’s, gift shop, bathroom and a row of vending machines before finally exiting the train station. The tourist embarks down a main street littered with signs pointing in various directions toward several tourist destinations. As the tourist continues in the direction of the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here] sign, they pass countless restaurants, gelato shops and souvenir shops all more or less selling the same things. There it is! Finally, the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here] is in sight so they start to walk a little faster and fumble with their camera. Dozens of street vendors are scattered around the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here] and the tourist sees one of them selling their watch for €5. I can’t believe that!After basking in all the [insert name of Tuscan city’s main attraction here]’s glory and taking enough pictures of it to be able to stack them to the moon, including the very stereotypical ones such as, holding up the Leaning Tower. The tourist walks around the vicinity of the main attraction and once they feel they’ve gotten a sense of the area, heads back.They walk along the typical narrow, stone-paved Italian streets through the strolling crowd. All her excitement has made the tourist hungry, so she stops for an overpriced piece of margarita pizza and tops it of with a cone of lemon and strawberry gelato. The tourist speaks in between licks of her gelato.What a great day! My day-trip to [insert name of another Tuscan city] tomorrow should prove just as memorable.The tourist’s sense of accomplishment coincides with the blowing of the train whistle. The End.Take it from me, skip the trip and just Google it.
(09/28/09 3:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Christmas came early this year, or so I thought. A three-day trip to the Amalfi Coast for a sweet-sounding sticker price of €200 seemed like a steal at first. But I learned my lesson after blindly booking a trip with EuroAdventures, an organization that guides study-abroad students to various European locations.In the spirit of Christmas, I would like to convince you, dear reader, why not to travel with EuroAdventures by paying homage to the holiday favorite “The 12 Days of Christmas.” 12 pages of bro lingo“A day on the island of Capri is a must” is the opening line of the 12-page itinerary, which, although very true, promised more bro-like lingo to come. Unsurprisingly, I found myself reading phrases like “This is a chill day.” This trip is targeted at college kids, but rereading the adjectives “crazy beautiful” and the emphatic phrase “for sure” is just insulting.11 p.m.An early bedtime for most, but this was the time a neighboring rooster started to crow. From 11 p.m. until 4 a.m., the unearthly sounds of this creature had us counting ceiling tiles. 10 p.m. This is the time we conveniently got locked out of our bathroom and my roommate spent her evening attempting to unlock the door with a kitchen knife.9 varieties of birdsIn addition to the one rooster, it sounded like we had eight other types of birds as neighbors. Not only was there a five-hour solo from the rooster, but the other 19 hours of the day were filled with the horrifying cries from, at the very least, turkeys, pigeons, chickens and crows.8 dogs We were greeted by a pack of eight dogs that emerged from the darkness when we reached our hotel. Immediately after the hotel attendant said the dogs were friendly, two of them started to fight – not exactly the warm hotel greeting I was expecting. 7 hours on a busThe seven-hour trip from Florence to the Amalfi Coast on a coach bus didn’t sound bad to me. But had the EuroAdventures advertisement said, “Also included on your bus ride are loud and incessantly chatting people, one person sitting right behind you with body odor reminiscent of rotten garbage, and one sexually overcharged young man putting the moves on every girl,” I probably would have reconsidered. 6 brain-numbing movies Fortunately included on the bus was the distraction of a constant string of movies. But I should have seen the lineup from a mile away. I don’t think they played a movie without Will Ferrell. By the end of the ride, I could feel my brain dripping out my ears and my jaw lazily dropping as I turned into a EuroAdventures zombie.Pitying PompeiiI am cheating on this one, but while talking to one of the leaders he said Pompeii was a cool place to see “if you’re into that sort of thing.” Um, yeah, I am into the sort of thing that entails visiting an amazingly preserved city and having the incredible view of Mount Vesuvius as the backdrop. And I think the 2.5 million people that visit there each year would agree with me.4 hours of sleepWhen the tour guides gave the group four hours of sleep because of their poor planning with arrival and departure times, I was a bit upset.3 rocks By rocks, I mean beds. The beds in our hotel room had absolutely no give. It was like sleeping on a park bench. 2 leaders Our leaders were two late-20-somethings going through some type of quarter-life crisis. They clearly were reverting back to their college days, donning flat bills and rock-star sunglasses the entire trip. And one seemed to be allergic to his T-shirt, because he always had it off. 1 company never to travel with: EuroAdventures.
(09/21/09 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FLORENCE, Italy - Florence is the city that birthed the Renaissance, the city that houses Michelangelo’s David and the prodigious walls of the Duomo – but it is also a city of complete contradictions. Of course some of the benefits while studying abroad in an Italian city include the opportunity to enjoy the appetizing cuisine and wine. But amid the tourists relishing their plates of caprese salad and bruschetta and platters of gnocchi with gorgonzola, there are fit Italians in every direction. It is definitely mind-boggling to see these Italian men and women of every age scarfing down foot-long panini and cones of gelato in the middle of the day – in complete tourist fashion – yet still managing to look like they just stepped out of a Versace advertisement.The apparent fact that Italians can eat whatever they want and remain in shape is reinforced in class every day. All of my teachers are women ranging from about 28 to 42 years old. Each one of them can probably still fit into a pair of jeans from high school. And none of them have failed to mention that they do not belong to a gym, they do not work out and they do eat all the things we probably think they don’t eat to look that good. My model-esque teachers and many other Italian women that fill the streets of Florence also all happen to be model-esque moms. Little Italian kids seem to be around every corner in a country with only 1.3 kids per woman, one of the lowest birthrates in the world. Handsome dads and moms are always driving their mopeds, riding their bikes, buying produce at the local market or gobbling down heaps of gelato, and they always seem to have a baby strapped to their back or be holding a little hand while they do it.But perhaps the most frustrating contradiction of all is in a city that relies heavily on tourism, its main attractions can be closed without any notice. This past Friday, my Italian art history class planned a visit to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. When we arrived at the museum doors, which seemed more like a set of bathroom doors compared to the overshadowing structure of the Duomo right across the narrow street, a clearly improvised sign was fastened to the door that simply read, “Il Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo chiuso.” As someone who knows barely enough Italian to buy a stamp, even I knew we were not going to be able to continue on our class visit. My teacher asked an employee who was standing outside the museum doors smoking why the museum was abruptly closed. He simply told her, “We have our needs, as well,” and walked away. I have no idea what he meant other than the possibility that he needed a few puffs from his cigarette, which most Italians do anyway when they are working.Although Florence is unfairly graced with beautiful art, culture, cuisine and people, there still seems to be a balance because of the many cultural contradictions.
(09/14/09 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I think I just died and went to heaven.For someone with arguably the world’s greatest sweet tooth and the cavity fillings to prove it, spending a semester abroad in Florence is a dream come true.But this isn’t a recently developed fantasy. This dream has been in the works since the time I can remember going over to my grandma’s house and her sneaking me copious amounts of sugar – hard candies, chewy candies, cookies, cakes and gum. And now this dream is finally becoming a reality; it’s just that this version of sugar overload is more sophisticated.Florence offers an abundance of flaky, buttery, mouth-watering pastries and, of course, gelato. And when I say abundance, I mean abundance. On my 20-minute walk to school, I counted a combination of 25 different pastry and gelato shops – I pass more than one place to stop and pick up a beautifully browned biscotti drizzled in chocolate or a cone of blushing pink fragola gelato every minute. It’s not the easiest thing to do, to say the least.And these sweet shops know the difficultly involved in just walking by. So, what do they do? They make it even harder for you to simply pass by by drawing you in like a fish on a reel.Il Procopio, a popular gelato stop, implements glass windows and doors to allow the passersby the ability to see the eye-catching interior design of the strategically placed Barney-purple glass tiles leading up to the display of gelato – the Sunkist orange melone, the deep brown of the cioccolato that effortlessly conveys the rich flavor and the ever-classic stracciatella, a twist on chocolate-chip ice cream. La Loggia Angelo isn’t even subtle about using their merchandise to lure people inside.They place – no, stack – plates and platters of fist-sized biscotti, chocolate, vanilla and chocolate-vanilla swirly shells of mesmerizing meringhe and millegue nutella, a flaky bread laced with nutella and dowsed in powdered sugar.Elaborate bread renditions of snakes, lambs, chickens and a 3-D turtle are cleverly used by the bread shop Antico Forno to attract people’s attention.Almost impossible to resist in my mind is Savini. This 50-year-old establishment serving both pastries and breads takes the game of luring in potential customers to the next level. They utilize the usual strategies of tempting sights and smells, but the element that sets them apart is giving people the illusion of not even having left the sidewalk upon entering their store. The use of floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows, which have been left open every time I pass by, lead people to believe it’s an extremely small diversion to walk a few quick steps to be able to see an array of scrumptious baked goods. The addition of a nearly black stone floor enhances the impression of not leaving the street by matching the sidewalk just outside its doors. Plus, various plants and flowers, the wood surfaces and natural color palette also add to the continuity of the outdoors.My knowledge of Italian language is nearly nonexistent – thank goodness drooling as a sign for wanting a sweet treat is recognized internationally.
(06/27/09 12:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Police arrested an underage male on June 24 for running away after a court hearing and continuing to defy officers. The 16-year-old faces preliminary charges for resisting and escaping law enforcement. BPD reports said around 11:55 a.m. the minor fled the Monroe County Justice Building, 301 N. College Ave., after he was ordered to continue his detention sentence. Sgt. Scott Oldham and Officer Chris Ryan spotted him at the intersection of West 7th and North Madison streets. After catching the boy, a struggle continued on the gravel-coated ground and the two officials were left with scratches on their arms, according to police reports. The boy was then shackled and handcuffed. He waited in a jury room with court bailiffs until sheriff transportation arrived, said reports.
(06/24/09 11:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The opportunity to play with internationally renowned musicians and conductors might be a performance highlight for some, but for Chih-Yi Chen, a Jacobs School of Music faculty member and acclaimed pianist, the familiarity of the Bloomington audience is the most exciting.“IU is so supportive of the players, and it’s really rare and makes playing here a lot of fun and easy,” Chen said. The Summer Music Festival’s fourth performance will feature the Festival Chamber Players performing “An Evening of Sonatas” at 8 p.m., June 26, in the Recital Hall. Tickets are $12 for regular admission and $6 for students.The group, featuring both full-time and Summer String Academy faculty, includes violinist Erin Aldridge, violist Atar Arad, cellist Csaba Onczay, and pianists Evelyne Brancart, Chih-Yi Chen and Cory Smythe. All are respected on an international level, said Mimi Zweig, Summer String Academy director. But not all six players will perform each piece; this concert varies from others because different combinations of the players will play the four pieces. “The different styles from one player to another throughout will be refreshing and different for the audience,” Chen said. “An Evening of Sonatas” will include pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert and Igor Stravinsky.Zweig presented the concept of a sonata-themed show to the players, she said. From there, a variety of sonatas were chosen by the players, and the list was then submitted to Zweig. She then chose four pieces from the submitted list. “It’s like putting together a puzzle, a well-rounded and balanced program,” Zweig said.IU alumna Aldridge returns this year for her first year as full-time Summer String Academy faculty.“It’s wonderful to be on this faculty and wonderful to work for everyone,” she said. “It’s coming full circle. I started out as kid in the (Summer String Academy) and now I am a teacher, so it’s pretty cool.” Aldridge said she is most excited to play Schubert’s “Fantasy” with Smythe because it is not a piece that is played often. When it premiered in 1822, it was not well-received. “People actually walked out of the performance,” Aldridge said. “It was way ahead of its time, but it’s really a glorious piece.” Chen even commented about how she is anticipating “Fantasy” because it is a technically demanding piece. In terms of the pieces she will be playing, Chen said she is excited to play both Grieg and Stravinsky. “The Grieg song is very romantic and folk-like,” she said. “It has a clarity of sound.” She is looking forward to Stravinsky’s piece for two pianos because of its beauty and simplicity and also because she will be playing with Smythe, whom she also played with as an undergraduate at IU.“The pianos piece is refreshing,” Chen said. “The sound and seniority is simple, and it’s not a piece that has a lot of fast passages and octaves.” Chen and Aldridge both love coming back to Bloomington because it is a familiar place and the atmosphere at the festival is inviting. “It’s fun, first of all,” Chen said. “It’s a great community just for the people to come enjoy music, feel the joy of making music and have a good time.”
(06/17/09 11:38pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Bloomington resident was arrested Monday for engaging in deviant sexual conduct with a child. Todd A. Rimstidt, 29, faces preliminary charges on three counts of child molestation.Rimstidt, already a registered sex offender because of a child molestation conviction in 2003, took two 13-year-old boys to ride go-karts and four-wheelers and purchased one of them a cell phone to keep in touch with him, according to Bloomington Police Department reports. Rimstidt also took the boys to an apartment where he allegedly sexually molested and assaulted one of the boys.At about 2:30 a.m., BPD officer Chris Scott was told to look for a white adult male driving a blue Honda Acura because BPD received information that the man was attempting to meet with a young boy and engage in sexual activity, according to police reports.At about 3:30 a.m., Scott spotted the vehicle on the 3000 block of South Walnut Street.BPD reports said Rimstidt was taken into custody because of a suspended driver’s license. He was then questioned about his connection to the young boys and admitted to having a sexual relationship with them.
(06/09/09 5:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An Ellettsville resident was arrested after he stole lottery tickets from a west side 7-Eleven.Andre Wells, 20, faces preliminary charges of theft.Video surveillance captured Wells stealing lottery scratch-off tickets–some of which were winning tickets– by reaching behind the convenient store’s unattended counter, according to police reporters. At the time his identity was unknown, but Bloomington Police Department officer Monica Zahasky saw a man that matched Wells’ description. After questioning Wells, he admitted to stealing the lottery tickets.
(06/07/09 1:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Police Department arrested and charged Shawn G. Smith with a Class A felony for dealing cocaine. The Bloomington Police Department arrested a Bloomington resident for dealing cocaine.Shawn G. Smith, 32, faces a preliminary charge of dealing cocaine.Smith was the target of a drug investigation and during the spring of 2009 he sold just more than three grams of cocaine to an informant. On Friday, BPD received a tip that Smith was at his residence, according to police reports. Smith verbally identified himself when police contacted him on the phone and said he needed to come to the police department for questioning. Smith said he would come in after he made a few telephone calls – including one to his attorney. Because police did not hear back from Smith for some time, they proceeded to Smith’s residence and took him into custody. Smith was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Jail.
(05/29/09 9:31pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bloomington Police Department is investigating a second burglary at The Uptown Cafe on Thursday.After an employee arrived at the restaurant, located at 102 E. Kirkwood Ave., they noticed the manager’s office door had been left ajar when it should have been closed, according to the police report.A safe located in the office was found standing open and damaged. In addition, a screwdriver and hammer from a toolbox located in the office were found on the floor. An undisclosed amount of money was stolen from the premises.BPD Officer Tracy Headley arrived on the scene at 4:14 a.m. and noticed a kitchen window was open and its screen had been cut.The window the perpetrator used for entrance required them to first climb the building’s fire escape and then walk along a ledge, according to the police report.A similar burglary took place May 14 when a back window was broken to gain entrance. The safe in the manager’s office was broken into, but with the aid of the safe’s key which was hanging nearby.
(02/19/09 3:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At 100 years old, World War II veteran, former general store owner, husband, grandfather and nature lover John Schoolman has seen and accomplished countless things. But being featured in ArtsWeek this year is a first for him.Schoolman will be one of the artists featured in ArtsWeek 2009. His personal and political expressive canes and walking sticks will be on display at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, 416 N. Indiana Ave., until March 8.He began making canes and walking sticks after his wife, Ada, died in 1978, Schoolman said. It occupies his mind and he enjoys it.Schoolman’s work clearly demonstrates this year’s ArtsWeek theme, “Politics and the Arts,” said Selina Morales, exhibit co-curator and folklore and ethnomusicology graduate student.Many of his canes and walking sticks are painted with red, white and blue and are inscribed with patriotic songs and motifs. They portray his patriotism, some reading “Remember Iran Hostages” and “Remember 9/11,” and call upon people to not forget national moments.Morales, along with Traditional Arts Indiana Director Jon Kay, visited Schoolman’s home in North Webster, Ind. From there, they selected 25 out of the hundreds of canes and walking sticks in Schoolman’s home. The chosen pieces portrayed aspects of his personal life, his respect for the military and his love of the country. “They aren’t just pretty works of art,” Kay said. “They are performance pieces and communication devices; they challenge people to remember. Even though you aren’t talking, you are engaging in a political conversation.”Co-curator Zilia Estrada, also a graduate student in folklore and ethnomusicology, and Morales chose 19 of the 25 canes and walking sticks to exhibit. The pieces have been grouped in categories based on the message they portray, such as memory and commemoration, home and personal life, patriotism and personal and national history. “His work says so many things,” Morales said. “It’s our job as curators to choose a way to help the audience understand it.”People who are familiar with his work believe his hometown of Peru, Ind., influences his bright paint color choice, said Gary Miniear, Schoolman’s grandson. Circuses stayed in Peru during the winter, and colorful tents, costumes and wagons were not a rarity.“I was accustomed to hearing lions, tigers and elephants along with the pigs, horses and chickens,” Schoolman said.As a child, Schoolman said he walked everywhere and that habit continues today. He walks at least five miles a day and picks up Sumac sticks along the way that he later transforms into expressive walking sticks and canes.Schoolman will speak about his artistic process, community, creativity and continuity at a reception held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Mathers Museum. “To me, if people didn’t come and enjoy them, I’ve lost something,” Schoolman said of the canes and walking sticks. “It makes me proud. I like other people to enjoy it and if they don’t, it’s all right. That’s the way it goes.”
(10/22/08 9:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Grim Fairy Tales Halloween DancePresented by: Collins Board of ProgrammersFeaturing: DJ Amber HansenWHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 25WHERE: Collins Living-Learning Center, Edmondson Dining RoomCOST: FREEMORE INFO: Open to all agesHalloween MasqueradePresented by: Residence Hall AssociationWHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 30 WHERE: Willkie AuditoriumCOST: FREEMORE INFO: Open to all ages“The Rocky Horror Show”Presented by: Starrynight ProductionsWHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 23-25, 27-30WHERE: John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St.COST: $9 students, $12 general admission in advance (online); $12 students, $15 general admission at the door (cash only)MORE INFO: Tickets can be purchased online at shareweb.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=91. “Rocky Horror Picture Show”Presented by: Cardinal Stage Company WHEN: 8 p.m. and midnight Oct. 31WHERE: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.COST: $9 in costume, $13 general admissionMORE INFO: Tickets can be purchased at the Sunrise Box Office or at the door. Bags filled with props can be bought at the door for $5.Tri-BOO!-te Terror showFeaturing: The Bradleys, Micefights and Ted Kennedys (cover bands for Operation Ivy, Misfits and Dead Kennedys)WHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 31 WHERE: Rhino’s All-Ages ClubCOST: $5MORE INFO: Open to all agesDJ Elo and costume contest WHEN: Show will start sometime between 8 and 10 p.m. Oct. 31WHERE: Uncle Elizabeth’sCOST: $2MORE INFO: 21+Student City Halloween BashFeaturing: DJ Sharf and DJ NimzWHEN: 9 p.m. Oct. 31WHERE: Jake’s NightclubCOST: $5MORE INFO: 21+, also will have a costume contestFinal Fridays:Halloween Night Dance Party Featuring: DJ Flufftronix, DJ Action Jackson, Everything ContinuesWHEN: 10 p.m. Oct. 31WHERE: Rachael’s CafeCOST: FREE before 11 p.m., $5 afterMORE INFO: Open to all agesFunky Monks (Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band)WHEN: 10 p.m. Oct. 31WHERE: Bluebird NightclubCOST: $5 in costume, $6 for those not dressed upMORE INFO: 21+, also will have a costume contest13th Annual Mad Scientist BallPresented by: Department of Computer ScienceFeaturing: Dr. Frankenstein’s Merry MinstrelsWHEN: 8 p.m. Nov. 1, costumes judged at 11 p.m.WHERE: 220 S. Lori Lane
(04/25/08 4:11am)
Hoosier Hills Food Bank will hold a benefit concert featuring the African music of Nomo and Sheasby Matiure on Saturday in order to raise funds for a new facility.\n“It’s the spirit of Robin Hood,” said Jim Manion, WFHB programming director. “The world of richer people has the resources you need to orchestrate (helping the hungry).” \nManion has volunteered regularly at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, a Bloomington food pantry that has received food from Hoosier Hills, for more than six years. When he became aware of Hoosier Hills Food Bank’s need for a larger storage warehouse, he decided to direct fundraising efforts toward the cause.\nThe idea for a musical charity event began when Manion and WIUX station manager Craig Shank wanted to unite the two Bloomington radio stations, WFHB and WIUX, for the community’s advantage, Manion said.\nManion said they were inspired to bring Nomo because the band had already established itself in Bloomington, playing at Lotus Festival in 2006 and Culture Shock in 2007.\nThe event will feature Nomo, whose sound finds its roots in Afrobeat and the traditional Zimbabwean music of Matiure. Matiure, originally from Zimbabwe and a current Ph.D. candidate, will also perform.\n“It will be fun to get new people to come and turned on to what (Hoosier Hills Food Bank) is doing,” said Elliot Bergman, Nomo’s band leader.\nNomo has enjoyed participating in previous fundraisers such as tsunami relief and leukemia, lymphoma and cancer research efforts, he said. \n“When there’s a chance to get involved and raise money for a local effort, it’s inevitably a better show,” Bergman said.\nMatiure, along with two of his groups, Mutinhimira Marimba Ensemble and The Mbira Queens, will perform at the concert as well.\n“It’s going to be a great combination of music styles,” Matiure said. “And it’s my last performance in Bloomington.”\nAfter he finishes a tour of the Pacific Northwest this summer, Matiure said he will leave Bloomington. \nWFHB, WIUX, Spirit of ’68 Promotions and Century 21 Realty Group will present the general admission show at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Bluebird. Tickets cost $15, and all proceeds will go to Hoosier Hills Food Bank.\n“If people are not exposed to the hunger problem, they do not know how bad it is,” Manion said. “That’s incentive enough to give money and we’re offering a one-of-a-kind show.”