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(01/20/05 5:00am)
After "The Ring," horror-film-fanatics were afraid to pick up their telephones. Now, it seems, putting your radio on the wrong station can kill you. Or at least, that's what the producers of "White Noise" want you to believe.\nFollowing in the spooky, paranormal feel of "The Sixth Sense," and "The Ring," director Geoffrey Sax looks to capitalize on EVP (known as Electronic Voice Phenomena), which deals with messages sent by the dead through static on television and radio.\nCrawling out of a bunker somewhere, Michael Keaton makes his return to the screen as Jonathan Rivers, an architect who suffers the tragic disappearance of his wife, Anna, in the first few minutes of the film. Filled with grief, Keaton begins conferring with a creepy old man who claims to have messages sent from his dead wife. Soon, Keaton becomes obsessed with EVP, looking for a complete message from Anna and he completely ignores his only son as a result.\nThe first 30 minutes of the movie are promising. The EVP phenomenon is explored in a way that seems realistic and scares audiences with subtle, creepy clues. But as ensuing plot twists build on the simple premise it becomes more complicated and more unbelievable. A film about obsession and grief turns into a film involving psychics, cosmic coincidences and death prevention -- and I began to care less and less about the outcome of the mystery.\nSax, who has directed more television than film, doesn't seem to have the grasp of a good horror film tempo. You can almost count down all of the "unexpected" jumps and surprises due to his overly stretched-out silence or swelling orchestra.\nScreenwriter Niall Johnson antes up the ridiculousness for an overblown ending, matched by Sax's exaggerated direction. I honestly haven't been more confused by a film's ending since Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes." The explanations I've heard only make me sneer and say, "Well, that's stupid."\nKeaton isn't a bad actor at all, but he just isn't talented enough to save this train wreck. If you are a 13-year-old girl looking for lame version of "The Ring," check it out. Otherwise, you're better off watching static on your TV.
(01/19/05 6:17am)
With a season-ending player lockout in the NHL, Hoosier hockey fanatics haven't been able to get their fix on TV this year. But for those in Bloomington with ice in their veins, some solace can be found at the Frank Southern Ice Arena, located off of South Henderson Street The IU ice hockey team has continued its dominance at the arena with a 7-1 home record. The team's Friday 14-1 victory over Purdue has continued its home advantage.\nComing back from a sabbatical last year, head coach Richard Holdeman said he has been focused on rebuilding for the team's success. But in the meantime, a 11-5-2 record ain't too shabby, he said.\n"I'm real pleased. When I was gone, I knew we would have some things to work through and some rebuilding," Holdeman said. "A lot of guys I didn't know you came in last year and I've been real pleased and surprised by some of these players.\nHoldeman said he was lucky to have so much youthful talent on the squad. Freshman Chad Fiala is second to junior Reed Schafer in scoring this season with 33 points. Freshman Dan Karlander has also been a presence with 27 points this season.\nScoring hasn't been a problem at thus far, with five players averaging about two points per game. Right now in the season, Holdeman said he's more worried about stepping up the defense. The team has only had two shutouts and has relied more on out-scoring opponents than guarding them.\n"Offensively, our production is fantastic," Holdeman said. "We've just given up too many goals in these games. We are just trying to work on our defensive play on the team. When you have a team like us and you are so involved in a lot of offensive, you tend to give up a lot on the defense."\nWith only six games left before their conference tournament, including four home games, the Hoosiers are looking to continue their dominance in the hope of tournament success.\n"Things are in the up and up with the team," Schafer said. "We just are in the home stretch before the national tournament and we need to keep it going. The team chemistry is clicking real well and this is a great time for the team to come together."\nClub sports often feel overlooked, Schafer said, because they don't receive much funding from the University. Holdeman said IU's RecSports department gives the team $6,000 a year, but the costs of $90,000 per season can be daunting. \nSchafer said all of the players pay $1,200 in team fees and participate in fund-raising to pay for equipment, travel and rink fees. With such a financial impact, Schafer said all of the players are just as committed to the team as varsity hockey players at other schools. But what is very exciting for the team is the support for the community. Attendance at the rink averages in the hundreds and at some games there is only standing room available. It's this audience support that has really added to their home advantage, Holdeman said.\n"The rink isn't that big, so everybody is really that close to the action," Holdeman said. "You can't appreciate how fast it is how close to the action. The audience has a great time and we really appreciate their support."\nSchafer said he knows a lot of hockey fans bummed by the NHL lockout, but knows even more who are still enjoying the sport at their games.\n"There's a lot of losers in this whole NHL ordeal. A year going on without hockey hurts the sport even more," Schafer said. "There are loyal fans in Bloomington. Attendance keeps rising at our games. We're still playing and people are still coming and having a great time."\n-- Contact Sports Editor Adam \nAasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
(01/19/05 6:01am)
After "The Ring," horror-film-fanatics were afraid to pick up their telephones. Now, it seems, putting your radio on the wrong station can kill you. Or at least, that's what the producers of "White Noise" want you to believe.\nFollowing in the spooky, paranormal feel of "The Sixth Sense," and "The Ring," director Geoffrey Sax looks to capitalize on EVP (known as Electronic Voice Phenomena), which deals with messages sent by the dead through static on television and radio.\nCrawling out of a bunker somewhere, Michael Keaton makes his return to the screen as Jonathan Rivers, an architect who suffers the tragic disappearance of his wife, Anna, in the first few minutes of the film. Filled with grief, Keaton begins conferring with a creepy old man who claims to have messages sent from his dead wife. Soon, Keaton becomes obsessed with EVP, looking for a complete message from Anna and he completely ignores his only son as a result.\nThe first 30 minutes of the movie are promising. The EVP phenomenon is explored in a way that seems realistic and scares audiences with subtle, creepy clues. But as ensuing plot twists build on the simple premise it becomes more complicated and more unbelievable. A film about obsession and grief turns into a film involving psychics, cosmic coincidences and death prevention -- and I began to care less and less about the outcome of the mystery.\nSax, who has directed more television than film, doesn't seem to have the grasp of a good horror film tempo. You can almost count down all of the "unexpected" jumps and surprises due to his overly stretched-out silence or swelling orchestra.\nScreenwriter Niall Johnson antes up the ridiculousness for an overblown ending, matched by Sax's exaggerated direction. I honestly haven't been more confused by a film's ending since Tim Burton's "Planet of the Apes." The explanations I've heard only make me sneer and say, "Well, that's stupid."\nKeaton isn't a bad actor at all, but he just isn't talented enough to save this train wreck. If you are a 13-year-old girl looking for lame version of "The Ring," check it out. Otherwise, you're better off watching static on your TV.
(12/09/04 5:29am)
Typing furiously on an iBook, a student reaches out and takes a large bite of an Italian submarine sandwich. As he chews, his eyes don't turn away from the screen, fixated on his task at hand.\n"Study fuel," he jokes to a friend.\nBut this student isn't tucked away in his room, cramming for his test. He's found a comfortable environment to relax and study in while picking up something to eat at Dagwood's on Kirkwood Avenue, one of many places that have started offering amenities once found only at Starbucks.\nMore and more the coffee shop of the '90s is losing out as the main youth hangouts -- restaurants -- are adopting the same comfort and services that have made many of these cafes a hot spot for work or play. Several restaurants in Bloomington have made this leap by offering a spacious, comfortable dining area, food to snack on and wireless Internet access.\nThe usual business model for most restaurants has always been to be as efficient as possible. Rush customers in and out, so more customers can take up their dining space and spend more dollars. This new coffee-shop strategy embodied by restaurants is not aimed at constant turnover, but at luring people in and having them continue to consume as they relax in the surroundings.\nOne restaurant which has been leading in this trend is Panera Bread, a national chain that serves homemade bread, sandwiches and soup. Not only does Panera have a wide-open dining area with soft chairs and coffee shop-like scenery, but wireless Internet access is free to all customers.\nJudy Favreau, general manager of Panera near Bloomington's College Mall, says this is all part of making the eatery an "everyday oasis" for customers.\n"People can come in and conduct their business without being bothered or rushed out the door or they can just have a conversation and chill out," Favreau said.\nBloomington resident Lois Saxton comes into Panera at least once a week for lunch or dinner with a thick book in hand to enjoy some time to herself.\n"I like eating here, because I don't feel like I have to be in a hurry," she said with a mug of coffee in one hand and a book in the other. "I can just sit here, read as much as I want and relax."\nFor most of these café-style restaurants, the empty space can actually be a draw. \nNate Wilerson, general manager of Yat's, an Indianapolis-based chain of Cajun restaurants, said Yat's boasts of the coolest places for college students to hang out and enjoy a meal. The dining room is spacious and adorned with hip, coffee-shop art. The location on College Avenue in Indianapolis even puts its customers at ease with couches placed right inside the restaurant and wireless Internet access.\n"You seem to open up the audience and really draw people in with atmosphere," Wilkerson said.\nOwner and head chef Joe Vuscovich said he wanted to make a place with low overhead and a comfortable atmosphere where anyone could hang out.\nAnother tactic restaurants have borrowed from coffee shops is offering wireless Internet access. Both Panera and Dagwood's, among others, offer these services in their dining area.\nSorin A. Matei, an assistant professor at Purdue University, said this is all part of a larger trend to spread wireless Internet hot spots nationwide.\nMatei did a study of Lexington, Ky., which he says represents average Midwest metro areas, and found the number of hot spots more than tripled from 754 in August 2003 to 2,652 in May 2004. Matei said this trend shows no signs of slowing, with more and more restaurants adding wireless Internet access. He did however discount the theory that customers would consume more during their extended stay at the restaurant unless they served food like Panera's -- coffee, bagels and snacks. He also questioned the usefulness of wireless access and whether offering it for free would be a sound business move.\n"This is an experiment for now," he said. "I don't know how necessary the service is at most coffee shops or restaurants, but it adds to the image as a hip place to hang out."\nIU economics professor Eric Rasmusen notes that though this trend may be new in the United States, it's been practiced before in European cafes. He said that most slow, spacious restaurants use tactics like wireless Internet access to create a "hangout vibe." \n"This would work best for restaurants that are not full to capacity," he said. "It would be especially useful for restaurants whose emptiness might otherwise deter customers from coming in. Sometimes people do not want to be the only customers at a restaurant."\nWhether it's because of the dining space, casual food choice or Internet access, it seems the Monk's Diners of "Seinfeld" are catching up with the Central Perks of "Friends" to become the new hangouts for this generation.\n"Going out to eat doesn't always have to be a big fancy thing," Favreau said. "With great conversation and a comfortable place to hang out, cheap dining can be a treat, too."\n-- Contact sports editor Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
(12/03/04 4:09am)
Freshman Joe Andrews walks down Kirkwood Avenue until he sees something that stops him dead in his tracks. A myriad of colorful puzzles, games and figurines adorning the window of a local store pull him in like a magnet to a refrigerator.\n"This is not your average store," Andrews says as he plays with oversized chess pieces. "You just don't see stores that sell such fun products like these anymore."\nThis attraction is The Game Preserve, a quirky Fountain Square store that sells board games, strategy games and puzzles to Bloomington gamers. Mike Underwood, an employee of the store for four years, says the shop tends to bring out the kid in anyone.\n"It's the ultimate store to just browse through and look at things for hours," Underwood said.\nSome might wonder how a store that just sells games and puzzles can attract enough business to stay afloat, but board games are big money. According to ABC News, board-game sales in 2003 were $1.04 billion, up from $1.02 billion the previous year. In addition, board-game sales from January to August 2004, which are generally slow months, touched $70 million, up 7 percent from the same period last year. \nThe Game Preserve relies not just on its products, which can be ordered online or found at many other stores, but instead on knowing its customers.\nIndianapolis native Kit Underwood started the shop with that philosophy in mind -- knowing the customers and making them happy. She sold her sports car and started her first location in Indianapolis. Twenty-five years later, she has expanded her business into a four-location chain, including the shop in Bloomington.\nUnderwood said each store has seemed to embody that business model. He said the local shop not only caters to the casual shopper, but has a very loyal customer base built up with hobby gamers. For these enthusiasts, Underwood said, most of their free time is spent playing strategy games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and several others. And as their obsession grows, so follows their financial investment.\n"Without these customers, there'd be no way this place could stay afloat," Underwood said. "This place strives on regulars."\nUnderwood said the lifetime gamers are usually attracted to these games for numerous reasons. Some are artists who enjoy painting figurines and some are frustrated writers who use role-playing games as a way to create elaborate stories.\n"For both of these (types of) people, they have made up characters for these games and they only exist in their minds, but they have back stories, they have internal conflict, they even have favorite foods and colors," he said.\nOthers just enjoy the social aspect of gaming.\n"It's just an excuse to sit around and talk and just do something with your hands while you do it," he said.\nWhatever the reason, Underwood said the store pays particular attention to these loyal customers by setting up game tournaments to encourage them to come in and buy more items. For some tournaments, such as Magic: The Gathering, they even are forced to buy new cards before they can begin playing, which can add up to quite a bit for the store. \nIn fact, these strategy games make up a big chunk of the board game industry. The Game Manufacturers Association says that sales of non-electronic specialty games, which exclude best-selling standbys like Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble and Monopoly, have increased rapidly since 1995, from $700 million to $2.7 billion.\nUnderwood says the store also tries to appeal to its hardcore gamers by knowing their tastes and ordering items based on them. Because of the close-knit environment between employees and customers, some people have made this store their everyday hangout.\n"People have said that this store is like Cheers without the bar," Underwood said.\nAlthough 10 months out of the year these hardcore gamers are the store's focus, come November and December, the casual shoppers start to increase their traffic in the store. Underwood said a lot of people come into the store with Christmas lists in hand, but the store's policy is not to heckle them like a salesperson but to talk to them as an expert.\n"You really have to be able to give suggestions that they need," Underwood said. "You can't pressure them or they get scared, so we just try to ask what games their kids like and then we name games that are similar."\nIn order to give so many suggestions, each employee in the store has to spend many hours actually playing the games so they can answer questions. Sometimes, the regional manager will hand out assignments to each store to have their employees play a few new games by a certain time. This is an assignment that game enthusiast Underwood doesn't mind at all.\n"I started out as a wacky kid who hung out at the store, and so I love working here," he said. \nWhether it's a hardcore gamer coming in to buy expansion sets or the mother who wants a copy of Monopoly for a family game night, Underwood said the friendly atmosphere is what sets The Game Preserve apart from other suppliers such as Toys 'R' Us or Kaybee Toys.\n"It's just a really inviting place," he said. "Our manager hangs out with his dog in the store. People can try the games in the store. Some hobby shops have the stereotypical intimidating bearded jackass who isn't social with any customers, but we are definitely not like that. Anyone can stop by and have a great time."\n-- Contact Weekend editor in chief Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
(12/02/04 5:00am)
Who sticks to his formula to placate his viewers? Spongebob Squarepants! Absorbent, yellow and comically safe is he! Spongebob Squarepants!\nNickelodeon has a record of turning any popular animated series into a feature length film, and each time it has proved disastrous. "Hey Arnold! The Movie" and "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" couldn't capture the little appeal each series had, and there's a reason why "Doug's 1st Movie" turned out to be his last. But with three successful "Rugrats" movies raking in the dough, Nickelodeon can't resist a chance to cash in, especially with a series like "Spongebob Squarepants," which holds lots of crossover appeal with audiences up to their thirties. Unfortunately for our readers, the silver screen version of "Spongebob" tends to favor children rather than the stoners who love to sit around and watch the cartoon between "Halo 2" tournaments.\nIn the film, Spongebob and his starfish friend Patrick go on an epic journey to stop the evil Plankton from taking over the world. The standard plot is filled with the cringingly uplifting moral of "kids can do anything adults can do," since for some reason Spongebob and Patrick are suddenly kids in this movie. Celebrity voice cameos such as Scarlett Johansson and Alec Baldwin fail to add anything for kids who won't recognize them, but David Hasselhoff's sequence does invoke genuine, if not cheap, laughs.\nThe bright side is since most animated films (with the exception of Pixar's masterpieces) have royally sucked in the past few years, this film stands on its own. It doesn't explore any new sea, but it keeps the flavor that has kept the TV show so hip.\nParents are going to have to drag their kids to crappy family movies, which is the only reason I can see how commercial crap like "Shrek 2" and "Shark Tale" kills at the box office. At least with this kids flick, you can resist playing billiards on your cell phone and enjoy the $8 you spent by actually laughing.\nFor a decade now -- since "The Lion King" -- we've been without good (non-CGI) animated movies. In this desert of horrible kids' movies, this movie stands as a sip of water, but not the bottle of Gatorade for which we still wait.
(12/02/04 5:00am)
There aren't many Christmas movies where the syrupy-sweet cheer doesn't make you want to run to the dentist, but "Elf" is a film that not only makes it work, it thrives on it.\nPart of this film's colossal success is due to the fact that Will Ferrell plays every role with the utmost earnestness. Little throw-away jokes that fit his characters become the staple of Ferrell's comic genius.\nIn this traditional Christmas movie, Buddy (Ferrell) is a human raised by elves who decides to journey to New York to meet his real father (James Caan), a bitter executive. Fast-paced society confuses Buddy, and Ferrell embodies him with infectious child-like charm. My only complaint about the actual plot of the movie is the insistence to prove Santa is real, which garners groans from most over 11 watching the film.\nThe DVD is packed with special features spanning two discs. The first disc just offers the "InfiniFILM" version, which is like VH1's "Pop-Up Video," but with deleted scenes and director commentary. I despise this format, and Elf's version further cemented that hatred.\nYet, the other disc offers special features that are actually worth checking out (and not just because you are too lazy to get up and change the DVD). You can have a snowball fight, sing-a-long, read-a-long, race down a mountain, fix Santa's sleigh and follow Ferrell on a day on the set. Hey, I'm 20 years old and I enjoyed these features. Hours of featurettes on the making of the movie fill the disc too, but it's nothing to scream over. Deleted scenes provide extra laughs including ice-hockey Ferrell body checking some elves.\nSince every Christmas movie that has hit theaters this year ("Surviving Christmas," "Christmas with the Kranks," "The Polar Express") have all been worse than a root canal and 24 hours of "The Christmas Story" gets really old, you might want to consider picking up this DVD. That way you won't have to talk to your family during the holidays.
(12/02/04 3:21am)
There aren't many Christmas movies where the syrupy-sweet cheer doesn't make you want to run to the dentist, but "Elf" is a film that not only makes it work, it thrives on it.\nPart of this film's colossal success is due to the fact that Will Ferrell plays every role with the utmost earnestness. Little throw-away jokes that fit his characters become the staple of Ferrell's comic genius.\nIn this traditional Christmas movie, Buddy (Ferrell) is a human raised by elves who decides to journey to New York to meet his real father (James Caan), a bitter executive. Fast-paced society confuses Buddy, and Ferrell embodies him with infectious child-like charm. My only complaint about the actual plot of the movie is the insistence to prove Santa is real, which garners groans from most over 11 watching the film.\nThe DVD is packed with special features spanning two discs. The first disc just offers the "InfiniFILM" version, which is like VH1's "Pop-Up Video," but with deleted scenes and director commentary. I despise this format, and Elf's version further cemented that hatred.\nYet, the other disc offers special features that are actually worth checking out (and not just because you are too lazy to get up and change the DVD). You can have a snowball fight, sing-a-long, read-a-long, race down a mountain, fix Santa's sleigh and follow Ferrell on a day on the set. Hey, I'm 20 years old and I enjoyed these features. Hours of featurettes on the making of the movie fill the disc too, but it's nothing to scream over. Deleted scenes provide extra laughs including ice-hockey Ferrell body checking some elves.\nSince every Christmas movie that has hit theaters this year ("Surviving Christmas," "Christmas with the Kranks," "The Polar Express") have all been worse than a root canal and 24 hours of "The Christmas Story" gets really old, you might want to consider picking up this DVD. That way you won't have to talk to your family during the holidays.
(12/02/04 3:10am)
Who sticks to his formula to placate his viewers? Spongebob Squarepants! Absorbent, yellow and comically safe is he! Spongebob Squarepants!\nNickelodeon has a record of turning any popular animated series into a feature length film, and each time it has proved disastrous. "Hey Arnold! The Movie" and "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" couldn't capture the little appeal each series had, and there's a reason why "Doug's 1st Movie" turned out to be his last. But with three successful "Rugrats" movies raking in the dough, Nickelodeon can't resist a chance to cash in, especially with a series like "Spongebob Squarepants," which holds lots of crossover appeal with audiences up to their thirties. Unfortunately for our readers, the silver screen version of "Spongebob" tends to favor children rather than the stoners who love to sit around and watch the cartoon between "Halo 2" tournaments.\nIn the film, Spongebob and his starfish friend Patrick go on an epic journey to stop the evil Plankton from taking over the world. The standard plot is filled with the cringingly uplifting moral of "kids can do anything adults can do," since for some reason Spongebob and Patrick are suddenly kids in this movie. Celebrity voice cameos such as Scarlett Johansson and Alec Baldwin fail to add anything for kids who won't recognize them, but David Hasselhoff's sequence does invoke genuine, if not cheap, laughs.\nThe bright side is since most animated films (with the exception of Pixar's masterpieces) have royally sucked in the past few years, this film stands on its own. It doesn't explore any new sea, but it keeps the flavor that has kept the TV show so hip.\nParents are going to have to drag their kids to crappy family movies, which is the only reason I can see how commercial crap like "Shrek 2" and "Shark Tale" kills at the box office. At least with this kids flick, you can resist playing billiards on your cell phone and enjoy the $8 you spent by actually laughing.\nFor a decade now -- since "The Lion King" -- we've been without good (non-CGI) animated movies. In this desert of horrible kids' movies, this movie stands as a sip of water, but not the bottle of Gatorade for which we still wait.
(11/18/04 5:00am)
Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a man who enjoyed nature in its most raw forms. He started out studying the lives of gall wasps, and ended up famous for studying human sexuality -- human nature at its most basic.
(11/18/04 1:50am)
Dr. Alfred Kinsey was a man who enjoyed nature in its most raw forms. He started out studying the lives of gall wasps, and ended up famous for studying human sexuality -- human nature at its most basic.
(11/11/04 5:00am)
There are a few films that actors and directors turn to when they want to win an Oscar. There's the big-budget epic, the adaptation of a best-selling book and, of course, the old stand by -- the biopic.
(11/11/04 3:55am)
There are a few films that actors and directors turn to when they want to win an Oscar. There's the big-budget epic, the adaptation of a best-selling book and, of course, the old stand by -- the biopic.
(11/04/04 5:00am)
As Colorado-based jam band String Cheese Incident played to a sold-out crowd at the IU Auditorium last week, some of its real fans lurked in the dark, damp garage located on Jordan Avenue.\nClouded by smoke from grills and cigarettes, 23-year-old "Cheese-head" Liz Wrege adds cilantro to her sizzling fajita. She chugs the rest of her bottle of Corona Light and tosses it over her shoulder right into a garbage bag tucked to the tailgate of her car. She stirs the rice, tomatoes, cheese and peppers as she continues to tell her story.\n"It was honestly the greatest experience of my life," she said with the utmost seriousness on her face. \n"I mean, Bill Nershi himself came up to me and signed my sign," she said, pointing to a piece of paper with the words "I love you," scrawled on with colored markers.\n"Who is Bill Nershi anyways?" asks one fajita consumer as he wipes his mouth.\n"What?" Wrege asks incredulously. "Only the lead singer of the band you're following."\nWrege said she guesses some people are in the garage not for the music but for the scene -- a scene that has been built into its own subculture, with etiquette, merchandising and its own economic system.\nMuch like fans of the Grateful Dead (now The Dead) and Phish, people quit their jobs, move out of their homes and just follow String Cheese Incident to all of their shows. With The Dead not touring and Phish broken up, these nomads have flocked to set up camp everyplace the String Cheese goes, whether it's outside the concert hall or in A-pass parking spots here in Bloomington.\n"On this tour, we had a guy call the cops on us," said Sarah Ferguson, a 25-year-old fajita cook and Cheese follower. "He was screaming to them, 'You need to get out there quick; a bunch of gypsies have taken over the town.' I thought that was funny, but I suppose we are like a band of gypsies."\nThere are plenty of stereotypes about these followers, but it's hard to group them all into one category since there is so much diversity in the crowd. Some people were engaged in serious political discussions, going on 10-minute rants without taking a breath. Some claimed to be strung out on mescaline, forming a mosh pit without any music. Some fed their hoard of leashed dogs pieces of blackened Cajun chicken, all the while playing hackey sack.\nThe culture of these followers is just any part of society. There are the different cliques for different bands. Ferguson said there are "moochers" and "druggies" who start trouble and give followers a bad name. There's the veterans, people born into this lifestyle who just don't know anything else and there are merchants, such as Ferguson and Wrege, who make a tidy profit while paying their way across the country.\nThe business model of their plan is based sound few economic principles. Almost anything is sold at these shows, but the main items are food, shirts, pipes, crystals/trinkets and other merchandise. \nOverhead is low and includes gas for travel and ingredients for food. Food can be traded for other items, and the other items such as T-shirts and merchandising don't depreciate in their value, so losses almost never occur. The only question is how much they can make off of each show.\nOne merchant who calls herself Amethyst said she spends less than $50 a show in production costs, but can profit about $400 to $600 a night, depending on the turnout. She attends a minimum of four shows a week, which adds up to one pretty penny.\n"Is this profitable? It certainly is in many cases," said IU economic professor James Walker. "In the case of the followers of this band -- one would have to know the details -- demand for these 'goods' and the cost of these groups supplying their 'goods.' It may very well be profitable now, but not sustainable. But this is the essence of many markets."\nAnother aspect that adds to their economic success is a loyal base of customers. Everybody huddled together in the garage described the scene as a "family." Amethyst said giving out free food when people are broke makes them more likely to spend $3 or $4 for a sandwich next time.\nBut all of this economic theory exists solely to sustain a culture -- a culture for which people quit their high paying jobs just to be a part of.\nDavid Moreno, a resident of Sonoma, Calif., worked in a fancy restaurant, stomping grapes and serving wine. A typical night could earn him more than $150 just in tips, but he gave it all up just to go on tour with String Cheese Incident to sell pipes and listen to the jams.\n"These are honestly the coolest people I've ever met, and you can't put a price on that," he said.
(11/04/04 3:58am)
As Colorado-based jam band String Cheese Incident played to a sold-out crowd at the IU Auditorium last week, some of its real fans lurked in the dark, damp garage located on Jordan Avenue.\nClouded by smoke from grills and cigarettes, 23-year-old "Cheese-head" Liz Wrege adds cilantro to her sizzling fajita. She chugs the rest of her bottle of Corona Light and tosses it over her shoulder right into a garbage bag tucked to the tailgate of her car. She stirs the rice, tomatoes, cheese and peppers as she continues to tell her story.\n"It was honestly the greatest experience of my life," she said with the utmost seriousness on her face. \n"I mean, Bill Nershi himself came up to me and signed my sign," she said, pointing to a piece of paper with the words "I love you," scrawled on with colored markers.\n"Who is Bill Nershi anyways?" asks one fajita consumer as he wipes his mouth.\n"What?" Wrege asks incredulously. "Only the lead singer of the band you're following."\nWrege said she guesses some people are in the garage not for the music but for the scene -- a scene that has been built into its own subculture, with etiquette, merchandising and its own economic system.\nMuch like fans of the Grateful Dead (now The Dead) and Phish, people quit their jobs, move out of their homes and just follow String Cheese Incident to all of their shows. With The Dead not touring and Phish broken up, these nomads have flocked to set up camp everyplace the String Cheese goes, whether it's outside the concert hall or in A-pass parking spots here in Bloomington.\n"On this tour, we had a guy call the cops on us," said Sarah Ferguson, a 25-year-old fajita cook and Cheese follower. "He was screaming to them, 'You need to get out there quick; a bunch of gypsies have taken over the town.' I thought that was funny, but I suppose we are like a band of gypsies."\nThere are plenty of stereotypes about these followers, but it's hard to group them all into one category since there is so much diversity in the crowd. Some people were engaged in serious political discussions, going on 10-minute rants without taking a breath. Some claimed to be strung out on mescaline, forming a mosh pit without any music. Some fed their hoard of leashed dogs pieces of blackened Cajun chicken, all the while playing hackey sack.\nThe culture of these followers is just any part of society. There are the different cliques for different bands. Ferguson said there are "moochers" and "druggies" who start trouble and give followers a bad name. There's the veterans, people born into this lifestyle who just don't know anything else and there are merchants, such as Ferguson and Wrege, who make a tidy profit while paying their way across the country.\nThe business model of their plan is based sound few economic principles. Almost anything is sold at these shows, but the main items are food, shirts, pipes, crystals/trinkets and other merchandise. \nOverhead is low and includes gas for travel and ingredients for food. Food can be traded for other items, and the other items such as T-shirts and merchandising don't depreciate in their value, so losses almost never occur. The only question is how much they can make off of each show.\nOne merchant who calls herself Amethyst said she spends less than $50 a show in production costs, but can profit about $400 to $600 a night, depending on the turnout. She attends a minimum of four shows a week, which adds up to one pretty penny.\n"Is this profitable? It certainly is in many cases," said IU economic professor James Walker. "In the case of the followers of this band -- one would have to know the details -- demand for these 'goods' and the cost of these groups supplying their 'goods.' It may very well be profitable now, but not sustainable. But this is the essence of many markets."\nAnother aspect that adds to their economic success is a loyal base of customers. Everybody huddled together in the garage described the scene as a "family." Amethyst said giving out free food when people are broke makes them more likely to spend $3 or $4 for a sandwich next time.\nBut all of this economic theory exists solely to sustain a culture -- a culture for which people quit their high paying jobs just to be a part of.\nDavid Moreno, a resident of Sonoma, Calif., worked in a fancy restaurant, stomping grapes and serving wine. A typical night could earn him more than $150 just in tips, but he gave it all up just to go on tour with String Cheese Incident to sell pipes and listen to the jams.\n"These are honestly the coolest people I've ever met, and you can't put a price on that," he said.
(10/29/04 6:05am)
Encircled by a mass of supporters armed with blue and red signs, Gov. Joe Kernan shook IU students' hands while making a campaign stop at the Sample Gates Thursday.\nKernan spoke about cutting tuition, making health care more affordable and bringing more jobs to Indiana, but it might have been hard to even hear him. During his speech, protestors tried to drown out the governor.\nKernan supporters tried to silence the activists, but Kernan didn't mind -- he just kept talking. He had bigger things on his mind, such as the five days left before Election Day.\n"I like to think about it as only 120 hours or so until Indiana makes (its) decision," Kernan joked. "That way, it doesn't seem as long."\nWith so little time left, the Kernan-Davis campaign has been busy. According to an Indianapolis Star/WTHR poll, Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels leads by only 3 percentage points in the race.\nKernan sat down at Bloomington's Village Deli for lunch and spoke to seniors at Redbud Hills Retirement Community earlier in the day. \nWhile gathering at the Sample Gates, Kernan was joined by local Democrats, such as State Rep. Peggy Welch, State Sen. Vi Simpson and Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan. Although not all of these politicians agree with Kernan's support for the I-69 plan to extend the interstate from Indianapolis to Evansville, they still back their candidate.\n"I think you have to look beyond just one issue," Kruzan said. "I disagree with him about I-69, but I still will be voting for him."\nSimpson agreed, saying that she supports the I-69 extension but prefers an alternate route.\n"But I-69 isn't all you're getting with Joe Kernan," Simpson said. "He's done so much for bringing jobs to Indiana and helping our economy that we need to keep him in office."\nTensions were high at the rally, and IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said he was keeping a watch on the event but that nothing got out of control. Arguments between die-hard Democrats and anti-I-69 activists continued long after the event.\n"I just don't see how you can go through with a route that 94 percent of Hoosiers are against," senior Daniel Cappy told Kernan supporters.\nHighway construction wasn't the only issue debated. One protestor yelled Kernan was giving more attention to Ivy Tech and other state colleges than public institutions like IU.\nKernan disagreed, saying "Education is (the) way for all Hoosiers to succeed and should be available for everyone."\nHe said he plans to keep tuition low, not with mandatory tuition caps similar to one proposed by Indiana State Sen. Luke Kenley last February, but by working with leaders, such as IU President Adam Herbert.\n"We need to work with the universities, not against them," Kernan said. \nSenior Peter Cheun, vice president of IU's College Democrats, said he thinks Kernan is the best man to keep tuition down.\n"Every year, tuition has been raised by 6 or 7 percent, and with Kernan, it raised by only 4 percent," he said. "We've seen what he can do for college students."\nSophomore Emma Cullen came out to support Kernan because she believes Kernan will help college students more than Daniels.\n"As much as he says he isn't, Daniels is a career politician," she said. "He just isn't in touch with us students. He doesn't worry about keeping tuition costs down because he's rich and he can pay for it."\nBoth candidates have raised more than $28 million in political contribution since last year -- record numbers for Indiana. Campaign ads have dominated television, including Kernan's ad launched in September, attacking Daniels for his role in the sale of power company Indiana Power and Light Company.\nSome have called this one of the nastiest gubernatorial elections in Indiana in years, but Kernan wouldn't say so.\n"Obviously, they haven't been around that long," Kernan said. "I think this has been a campaign about issues, and our strategy is to look ahead and see what Indiana could be doing better."\nKernan said the only deciding factor in this race to him is "who gets more votes."\n"I trust the people of Indiana, and I trust that they'll make the right decision as they head to the polls." \n-- Contact Weekend editor in chief Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
(10/26/04 5:57am)
U.S. Rep. Baron Hill has gotten used to criticism in the last few years.\nAs soon as he entered Bloomington North High School on a routine campaign stop, he immediately had constituents asking him about campaign advertisements accusing him of misrepresenting the people of the 9th Congressional District. \n"Oh, yeah, I saw that one," the Democrat said with a smile and a chuckle before turning deadpan. "This is the most negative campaign I've ever been in.\n"I mean, if I believed everything he said about me, I'd vote against me. This campaign has gotten so negative, that when I walk into my house my dog growls at me."\nIt's a joke he'd make two more times during his visit to the school last week, and it's a joke he's used to making. With the Republican party arming his challenger Mike Sodrel with nearly $3 million for this election, Hill has been pretty busy fighting to keep hold of his seat.\nOut of the 435 congressional races, 400 incumbents are running for re-election, and only 40 races have been deemed competitive, according to the Rothenberg Political Report. Only a dozen House races are considered toss-ups. Hill and his opponent are one of those races to watch. Sodrel is back for a rematch after his narrow defeat in 2002 with more money to support his campaign and notable politicians supporting him.\nTwo years ago, Sodrel, a New Albany resident and founder of Sodrel Truck Lines, took out $1 million of his own money to take on Hill, a congressman since 1998. Because Sodrel had never held any political office or ran in an election before, not many people expected this businessman to lose with 46 percent of the vote compared with Hill's 51 percent. National leaders took notice and Sodrel was offered a speaking spot at this year's Republican National Convention and has had such big names as Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Vice President Dick Cheney and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay all come to Indiana on his behalf. He has hit the streets in his decked-out campaign van, pumping Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" for all to hear.\nSodrel's campaign manager Kevin Boehnlein said these two years have just given Sodrel's office more time to tweak the campaign strategy.\n"I think Hill's record has been the major difference in the last two years," Boehnlein said, noting Hill's vote against President Bush's tax cuts, his stance against banning gay marriage and his vote against a bill banning partial-birth abortion.\n"He's just given us more fuel for our campaign," Boehnlein said.\nHill, on the other hand, sees Sodrel's campaign advertisements as a complete distortion of his record.\n"I got a call at my home the other Sunday from a volunteer distorting my record in Washington," he said. "I know it may not be Mike personally leading this, but I know it's his party and I ask him to stop it."\nHe said Sodrel is trying to paint him as a man who is against tax cuts, but Hill contends that he is in favor of tax cuts -- as long as they are paid for. All of this underscores his plan for cutting the deficit, which Hill says proves he's a fiscally responsible and conservative Democrat.\nBut Hill said he's used to hearing these accusations as he's had experience with Sodrel's campaigning.\n"Mike Sodrel is your average boilerplate candidate, putting Republican spin on everything," Hill said. "It's the same lies he said two years ago -- over and over again."\nSodrel says this year is different for one very important reason -- there's a presidential election going on at the same time.\n"Once you have a presidential election, it's a completely different campaign," Sodrel said. "You have what I like to call the 'cicada voters' who only come out once in a while and they're going to make all the difference."\nSodrel's theory is that because most of the district supports President Bush -- 58 to 40 percent in 2000 -- Sodrel will ride Bush's coattails to victory.\nWhether increased voter turnout will help Sodrel is yet to be seen, but Michael Ensley, an IU political science professor who specializes in congressional elections, said it could have an impact.\n"My guess is that this race might be closer than expected because of higher turnout which I would guess would favor Sodrel, but I don't (think) it will be enough to overcome Hill," Ensley said. "Hill is a fairly popular incumbent and I think it would take a strong tide against Democrats in general to unseat him. Clearly, there does not seem to be a significant national tide in favor of either party."\nEnsley noted that although Indiana is rather socially conservative, the state elects quite a few moderate Democrats, including Sen. Evan Bayh, former Gov. Frank O'Bannon and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (whom Hill succeeded upon his retirement). Ensley said one aspect that will play a crucial role is voter turnout among youth.\n"There has been an effort to mobilize young voters and students, which most likely would help Hill as long as the students vote in the ninth district and not their home district," he said.\nStill, Sodrel isn't without his collegiate support in Bloomington. The IU College Republicans flooded the parking lot of WTIU with a sea of blue Mike Sodrel signs as the candidate exited his televised debate last week. Sophomore Andrew Lauck, events director for IU College Republicans, said his group has been excited about the competitive race.\n"Mike created 500 jobs as a small business owner. Imagine what he could do as a Congressman," Lauck said. "The possibilities for Indiana would be endless with a leader who actually cares about his constituents, like Mike Sodrel."\nStill, the IU College Democrats expect Hill to be able to hold on to his seat.\n"Congressman Hill will win re-election because of his ability to work with both parties and because he has clear and legitimate plans to make Indiana stronger," said senior Mandy Carmichael, president of the IU College Democrats.\nDespite both candidates having equal name recognition, which Ensley said is unusual for an incumbent race, he said he has to give the advantage to Hill because of his incumbency.\n"He has probably been in the news much more because he is the current representative," he said. "Further, Hill has had the opportunity to prove himself as a legislator by helping constituents as well actively working in the House on legislation. Thus, overall we would expect that he would have more credibility with the 9th's voters."\n-- Contact Weekend editor in chief Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
(10/21/04 4:58pm)
Mos Def is an unusual hip-hop renaissance man. He's made his name as one of the fiercest rappers out today. He's impressed audiences on the silver screen and on Broadway. He's even crooned a song or two. But now we finally get to see the other side of Dante Smith. On The New Danger, Mos Def is a rock star plain and simple -- and he's pretty damn believable at it.\nOn his debut album, Black on Both Sides, Mos Def sang "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul/Bo Diddly is rock 'n' roll," lamenting about how black music has been harvested and turned into white entertainment. Ironically, most black people have turned their back on modern rock 'n' roll, but Mos has a plan for bringing them back.\nThe biggest threat in his arsenal is Black Jack Johnson, his band made up of the guitarist from Bad Brains, the drummer and bassist from Living Color and the keyboardist from Parliament Funkadelic.\nThrashing guitars meld well with Mos' angry lyrics on "Ghetto Rock" and "Freaky Black Greetings." Blues riffs on "Blue Black Jack" may seem cookie-cutter, but they break down into some great solos toward the end. Mos even puts the instruments into his own hands, playing the piano, drums, guitar and bass on a couple songs.\nMos doesn't ignore hip-hop by any means, he just sandwiches it between his experimental rock/hip-hop concoctions. He parodies Jay-Z with political consciousness on "The Rape Over," where he spouts, "White people running this rap shit." An amazingly-catchy flute-powered beat accompanies him on "Sex, Love and Money," and Kanye West provides the sole celebrity production on "Sunshine." The lyrical highpoint would have to be on "Close Edge," the flow made famous on "Chappelle's Show," where he spits some of his best rhymes since 1998. The only downside is with the background playing such an important role we never get to hear Mos Def's energetic rapid-fire flow, which means less political uppercuts to throw.\nIt's hard to call The New Danger a follow-up album because it strays so much from his debut. Make no mistake about it, this is a rock album first and foremost and will most likely disappoint people wanting another Black on Both Sides. Nobody reigned Mos in on this album, with no celebrity cameos or commercial singles. It takes guts to put out a nine-minute song, but it seems like Mos did what he wanted to do, without folding to any pressure. I'd compare it to Beck's Mutations which was so different that most fans didn't call it a true follow-up (but of course, that's my favorite Beck album). \nUnlike his partner Talib Kweli, who keeps pushing for more commercial success, Mos has seemed to abandon that pursuit. He risks alienating some of his core audience, but he's doing it for the betterment of hip-hop. He wants to broaden the ghetto's musical palate and won't sell out to do so. Hopefully, the streets are listening.
(10/21/04 4:00am)
Mos Def is an unusual hip-hop renaissance man. He's made his name as one of the fiercest rappers out today. He's impressed audiences on the silver screen and on Broadway. He's even crooned a song or two. But now we finally get to see the other side of Dante Smith. On The New Danger, Mos Def is a rock star plain and simple -- and he's pretty damn believable at it.\nOn his debut album, Black on Both Sides, Mos Def sang "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul/Bo Diddly is rock 'n' roll," lamenting about how black music has been harvested and turned into white entertainment. Ironically, most black people have turned their back on modern rock 'n' roll, but Mos has a plan for bringing them back.\nThe biggest threat in his arsenal is Black Jack Johnson, his band made up of the guitarist from Bad Brains, the drummer and bassist from Living Color and the keyboardist from Parliament Funkadelic.\nThrashing guitars meld well with Mos' angry lyrics on "Ghetto Rock" and "Freaky Black Greetings." Blues riffs on "Blue Black Jack" may seem cookie-cutter, but they break down into some great solos toward the end. Mos even puts the instruments into his own hands, playing the piano, drums, guitar and bass on a couple songs.\nMos doesn't ignore hip-hop by any means, he just sandwiches it between his experimental rock/hip-hop concoctions. He parodies Jay-Z with political consciousness on "The Rape Over," where he spouts, "White people running this rap shit." An amazingly-catchy flute-powered beat accompanies him on "Sex, Love and Money," and Kanye West provides the sole celebrity production on "Sunshine." The lyrical highpoint would have to be on "Close Edge," the flow made famous on "Chappelle's Show," where he spits some of his best rhymes since 1998. The only downside is with the background playing such an important role we never get to hear Mos Def's energetic rapid-fire flow, which means less political uppercuts to throw.\nIt's hard to call The New Danger a follow-up album because it strays so much from his debut. Make no mistake about it, this is a rock album first and foremost and will most likely disappoint people wanting another Black on Both Sides. Nobody reigned Mos in on this album, with no celebrity cameos or commercial singles. It takes guts to put out a nine-minute song, but it seems like Mos did what he wanted to do, without folding to any pressure. I'd compare it to Beck's Mutations which was so different that most fans didn't call it a true follow-up (but of course, that's my favorite Beck album). \nUnlike his partner Talib Kweli, who keeps pushing for more commercial success, Mos has seemed to abandon that pursuit. He risks alienating some of his core audience, but he's doing it for the betterment of hip-hop. He wants to broaden the ghetto's musical palate and won't sell out to do so. Hopefully, the streets are listening.
(10/11/04 5:17am)
Youth involvement promises to be much higher in this election than it was in 2000, but many students still question whether their vote will really make any difference.\nThe Pew Research Center released polls last month that indicated 57 percent of voting-aged people under the age of 30 say they are giving the election lots of thought. Four years ago, that rate was only at 41 percent. In addition, 85 percent of registered young voters plan to make it the polls this year, compared to only 67 percent in 2000.\nStill, despite projected increased participation, some students aren't kidding themselves about the value of their vote.\n"I'm going to vote, but it won't make much of a difference," said senior Evan Kanarek, who votes absentee in Democrat-favored New York. "I just feel that if you don't participate, you don't have a right to complain."\nKanarek isn't alone in his sentiments, as many students believe some races are already locked up despite their vote.\nJunior Chase Downham, vice president of IU's College Republicans, said his group plans to go help out President George W. Bush in the battleground state of Ohio, since Indiana hasn't voted democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson.\n"Overall, Indiana tends to be very conservative," Downham said. "President Bush is pretty loved here, so we aren't worried at all."\nEspecially with an electoral college that values a few states over the rest of the nation, a victory for Bush in Indiana in is virtually guaranteed.\nAs a result of Bush's Indiana lock, the IUCRs have turned most of their attention to the highly contested Indiana gubernatorial race, where, according to The Indianapolis Star on Tuesday, republican challenger Mitch Daniels is barely beating Gov. Joe Kernan, 46 to 43 percent.\nDownham also noted the race for the Senate has garnered less campaign attention since incumbent Sen. Evan Bayh has such a following in this state. Currently, he enjoys a 39-point lead over Republican challenger Marvin Scott, according to The Indianapolis Star's poll released Thursday.\nIt's circumstances such as these that has Political Science Professor Russ Hanson questioning whether participation is necessary.\n"You might consider whether it matters if many people don't vote in elections," he said. "In most cases, the outcome wouldn't be different even if everyone voted. That's true of most Congressional elections, where incumbents are so safe that it's almost impossible to defeat them. It's even true in close elections, when nonvoters view candidates the same way voters do, and there is evidence that this is the case."\nSenior Matt Brunner, vice president of IU's College Democrats, agrees that incumbent congressmen and senators who keep getting reelected can be discouraging to some voters.\n"Still, nobody is invincible," he said. "But the power of incumbency is a very powerful thing."\nAnother reason some voters are deterred is because candidates don't address issues that appeal to them.\nBrunner contends that the lack of representation among younger voters is a vicious cycle.\n"People don't vote because the candidates don't address their needs, and candidates don't address their needs because they don't vote," he said.\nBrunner contends the youth have to take responsibility and end the cycle by showing up to the polls and getting involved.\nDownham understands why some students might feel the election doesn't matter to them but said he thinks some issues go behind age groups.\n"Terrorism is probably the most important issue in the election," he said. "Terrorists don't care if you are young, old, rich or poor."\nMonroe County Clerk Jim Fielder, who is in charge of voter registration in Bloomington, said he believes issues are what drive people to the polls. Even in close elections, such as the governor's race, he said the power of the vote doesn't seem to compel people as much as a hot-button issue such as gay marriage or reinstituting the draft.\nWith only a few states in this election becoming battleground states and the 2000 election reminding the public that one can win the popular vote without winning the election, many question why students are still so excited to vote even if they don't think it will make a difference.\n"Of course the outcome is not the only thing that matters," Hanson said. "Some see voting as a civic duty, and some democracies even fine those who don't vote. The idea is that everyone owes something to the political community in which they live. They owe taxes; they owe military service; and they owe their time at elections."\n-- Contact Weekend editor Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.
