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(10/25/06 6:38pm)
Oops, I spilled on myself -- again. By the time you read this, I might have spilled thousands of food items all over my clothes. In the course of a day, I can spill an entire list of things on myself, including nacho cheese, maple syrup, Salisbury steak, Chanel No. 5, and two-thirds of an iced venti mocha chai machiatto frappuccino with an extra shot of albino koala tears.\nFor years I've felt emotions like shame, embarrassment and shame-barassment. People are cruel when you have frozen daiquiri all over your pants. I tell you this because I belong to a special group of people: the spillers. If you are one of those people who can't control food or beverage as it makes the treacherous journey to your mouth, know that you are not alone. It's time to fight. We deserve to be represented in society.\nOne attempt to make spillers feel like stained clothing is acceptable is that detergent is now available in convenient "to-go" form as a pen. You can take it everywhere and write on yourself with detergent every time you experience a food-related accident.\nI'm glad that the spillers' greatest allies, the detergent companies, are trying to make our lives easier, but telling us we need to arm ourselves with methods to erase the stains just exacerbates the shame cycle. Sure, I have a splotch of clam chowder on my shirt in the shape of Winston Churchill's profile, but should I be so ashamed of it that I rush to the bathroom to remove it immediately? No!\nIt's OK -- dare I say cool? -- to have stains on your clothes. Very soon I'd like to see skateboarding kids (the epitome of cool) who have clearly spilled their Go-gurt. I want to see an anchor on the evening news with cranberry sauce on her cranberry lapel. I want children everywhere to play with "I Spilled on Myself" Barbie.\nI'm tired of hearing people complain about Hollywood's unreasonable standards of beauty. Get over it. The real problem is that you never see stains on the clothes of those unobtainable bodies. \nThe media like to pretend nobody out there spills. Spills happen every day, and you never hear about it in the news.\nI can't tell you how many times I've felt disenfranchised by the lack of spill legislation. It wouldn't hurt to start a campaign with government-funded public service announcements to let everyone know that spilling is OK. \nPicture this: A school cafeteria is full of children eating lunch. Suddenly, one child spills chocolate milk on his Oshkosh B'goshes, and the room freezes. Everyone stares. There's a moment of hesitation -- then someone starts the slow clap. The entire cafeteria erupts in cheering, and we zoom in on the chocolate-milk kid. He smiles warmly and gives a thumbs up.\nIf you're especially skilled at eating and drinking, congratulations, but I no longer envy you. And if you do spill, don't stand in the shadows while people with pristine white shirts prance around eating spaghetti marinara on a stick. Stand tall, spillers.
(10/18/06 2:47am)
It rained Monday. The raindrops themselves were quite ordinary. They were wet and falling from the sky. There was nothing particularly masculine about them. In fact, the raindrops were incredibly asexual, more so than the most asexual things -- even peanut butter, TV stands and Nebraska.\nDisco divas Martha Wash and Izora Armstead had the right idea in 1982 with their chart-topping hit "It's Raining Men." Precipitation should have a sex.\nYes, it was raining Monday. But it wasn't raining men -- and that's a problem.\nI'm not trying to hate on rain. Rain and I go way back. It's fabulous for agriculture and the survival of the human race, but rain needs to know when it's time to get out of the game.\nIt's time to spice up the weather. A dreary, rainy, my-pants-are-all-wet day is depressing. But a happy, cheerful, hey-look-I'm-swimming-in-a-sea-of-men day is great for boosting everyone's morale.\nAs the Weather Girls sang, you can leave your umbrella at home when it's raining men. And there's nothing more stylish than big rubber boots. But the stress of accessorizing goes way down when you substitute men for rain.\nI think rainologists and manologists should explore the environmental advantages of raining men. Perhaps they could enrich the soil or save endangered sea turtles.\nIt's easy to sit around and make demands. Why aren't there more men plummeting to Earth from the clouds? Why isn't someone doing something about this? I can only assume man-rain lobbyists have been urging policymakers to take action on the severe lack of man-rain over the past few decades. But these demands are difficult to meet.\nThe Weather Girls make the process of raining men sound easy. They say Mother Nature can simply cause this weather phenomenon to occur. That's ridiculous. I look to the innovation of science. There must be some way to shoot masculine dry ice into the clouds, generate man-friendly electromagnetic waves or control the weather from space.\nGo, scientists. Win that Nobel Prize.\nThere are a few minor counterarguments that suggest man-rain has a dark side.\nWe could have issues with draught. Focusing on making the clouds rain manly stud muffins en lieu of water might be viewed as a waste of resources. People could get injured (not just the men falling but also people walking on the street below). The fragile ecosystem of the rain forest could be destroyed. \nBut running a simple cost-benefit analysis reveals that those side effects are negligible when compared with the advantages of rainin' men. Hallelujah!\nThe environment and human lives are relatively expendable, but you can't put a price on a veritable ticker-tape parade of the tall, blond, dark and lean, rough and tough, and strong and mean.\nI urge everyone to join in this grassroots campaign so that the next time you're checking your local weather forecast, it says the humidity is rising, the barometer's getting low and the street's the place to go. Because tonight, for the first time, at just about half-past 10, for the first time in history, it's gonna start raining men.
(10/11/06 3:26am)
A wise British pop singer named Petula Clark once said, er, sang: "When you're alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go -- downtown."\nThat's a great idea. But if you're not looking for hookers, there's a better way to end your loneliness. Check your e-mail. You have an inbox full of love. \nBut before you run to your computer, I will warn you: Your friends and family did not e-mail you. They don't have the time, or they simply don't care. (And honestly, who could blame them?)\nEveryone is looking for love, acceptance and companionship. All of those things are sent to you in unsolicited, bulk messages known as spam. True, you don't know who or what sent you these messages, but that doesn't nullify their loving sentiment. \nA lot of people complain about spam, but these people simply have difficulty accepting love. A few therapy sessions might help conquer a fear of unsolicited, bulk intimacy.\nYou get lots of e-mail. You're popular. Accept it.\nYou probably apply a filter to block spam. But ask yourself this question: If it weren't wonderful, why would they name it after canned meat?\nSometimes I sit alone in the dark and cry and I think to myself: "Does anybody out there care?" When I check my e-mail and see so many ways to get instantaneous capital that I can use any way I want, I know the answer is yes.\nSpammers are always sending good news. For example, I have $715,810 in unclaimed lottery prize money. If it weren't for spam, I wouldn't even know I could afford to quit my job.\nMr. Chow Lee of Hong Kong e-mailed me to say he considers me a trusted friend and wants to include me in a business endeavor. I was so excited to finally have someone I could call "friend." And I was flattered that he thought I was qualified enough to tend to his financial affairs.\nI was also lucky enough to receive an e-mail from the CEO of a Russian oil company. He needs my help to "re-profile" $42.3 million, providing me with a sweet 10 percent kickback. \nOf course, it was supposed to be confidential, so I guess I blew it. Boris, if you're reading this, is there any way I can regain your trust?\nSpammers also show they care about your health by telling you about numerous weight-loss opportunities. Some might even be FDA-approved. It stings when spam says you're fat, but that's tough love.\nI know spam cares. Why else would I get so many offers for discount prescription drugs for when my erectile dysfunction flares up? And I never asked for additional information on "male enhancement" but, if that's not love, I don't know what is.\nThe world might seem cold and cruel, but electronic caring is abundant. No matter how impersonal you might think bulk e-mail is, it has to be better than looking for tricks downtown with Petula Clark.
(09/27/06 2:49am)
Calling all future Miss America hopefuls: If you're looking for the perfect interview coach, I'm your go-to gal. You know that question, "What could be done to make the world a better place?" I have the answer:\nNo pants.\nForget "world peace." Once you eliminate pants as a social fashion norm, the peace will follow.\nPantaloons, trousers, slacks -- they're all tools designed by a fashion designer known as "the man," who created them not for comfort, not for style but specifically to keep us down.\nLook around you. Everyone is wearing pants. Pants have become a wardrobe staple for virtually everyone, but getting rid of them has so many benefits.\nThink of all the money we could save by not purchasing pants. Your average pair of pants ranges in price anywhere from $10 to $10 million.\nHow many times have you heard, "Sorry kids, no food tonight. We had to buy another pair of pants?" \nNever again!\nPants also play a major role in the obstacle course of equality-- perhaps even more so than running through the tires of prejudice or climbing the wall of ignorance. If everyone stood together, unbuckled their belts and said, "To hell with pants!" they could knock down socioeconomic barriers and lead us one step closer to a classless utopia.\nThose pants are from Wal-Mart. Those pants are Gucci. Who cares? Labels and price wouldn't matter anymore if no one were wearing those pants. No longer would we be third-class citizens judged by our choice of pants aspiring to wear the fancy pants worn by the very elite. We would just be people, purely people.\nSocial inequality isn't the only injustice perpetuated by pants. The spark of gender inequality is fanned into a fire with the plague of pants-wearing. Pants are a symbol of masculinity. You've heard the phrase "wearing the pants" as a way to describe who holds control in a situation or relationship, implying that a man or whoever is most masculine should hold control. Without pants, clothing-based hierarchy could be debunked.\nThe absence of pants could also squelch the uprising of disruptive fashion controversy. Recently people have been taking to the streets to riot against the infiltration of leggings into mainstream fashion. Remove the pants factor and leggings would become a nonissue. Lives could be saved.\nSome people might argue that pants exist for a reason, for warmth and protection. Those people are sissies.\nSome might worry that cutting down on pants sales would ruin the lives of pants-makers everywhere. However, pants-dependent economies can easily transition their trade into crafting useful, pants-shaped nuclear weapons.\nAnd some people might just really love pants. Not to worry: Pants should not be outlawed, merely made optional. \nPants restrict movement and air flow. If the lower half of our bodies is restrained and controlled, how soon before the same happens to our minds? Or is it too late? No! The revolution begins when you take off your pants.
(09/20/06 7:19pm)
Let's play a guessing game. There's one vital organ that is supposed to be responsible for leading you in the right direction in all of life's hard decisions. This organ is supposed to lead you to happiness. I'll give you a hint: It also pumps blood.\nDing, ding, ding! How many times did your high school guidance counselor tell you to follow your heart?\nSome of the stupidest things in the world came from following the heart. Those electronic singing fish named Big Mouth Billy Bass, gerbil figure skating, Crystal Pepsi -- all the results of people following their hearts.\nRemember that show "Felicity" on the WB? The lead character, Felicity, followed that dude to college because her heart told her to. \nHer show got canceled.\nYou've heard of World War II, I assume. Hitler was simply looking inside his heart when he led Germany to invade Poland.\nListening to your heart only leads to trouble.\nYour heart tells you to do things like become a musician or get back together with your baby daddy's loan shark cousin Gerald.\nThat's dumb.\nIt's true that your heart is linked to your emotions. But according to MSNBC, researchers at the Institute of HeartMath said the heart sends more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart.\nIt won't shut up, and it doesn't listen.\nFeelings like anger, frustration, anxiety and insecurity change heart rhythm patterns, making them erratic. The erratic patterns are sent to the brain, and the brain interprets them as negative or stressful. All this leads to the actual feelings experienced in the chest or heart region of the body. Researchers also say the erratic heart rhythms block the ability to think clearly. \nFollowing your heart is like following a severely deranged and alcoholic penguin through an enchanted forest on a quest to find the perfect dry martini.\nFollow something else -- like your spleen.\nYour spleen will tell you to major in finance instead of art history.\nOr better yet, follow your pancreas. \nYour pancreas will tell you to date that nice, young Informatics major instead of the rebel who drives a 1996 Dodge Neon and makes you feel just a little dangerous.\nThe liver, perhaps? You can always count on your liver to say, "Hey, buddy. That hot girl in your poli sci lecture will never be attracted to you."\nIf your heart's decisions leave you in agony -- eating out of dumpsters so you can keep a job that you love or pining for Chelsea Clinton when she's clearly unattainable -- you need to tell it what's what.\nDon't quit your day job, heart. Go back to regulating the circulatory system. Or better yet, start doing stand-up at open mic night. Just stop ruining people's lives.\nIf your internal organs aren't reliable, a wise toucan once said: "Follow your nose." And look where he is now: a utopia of "frooty" flavor.
(09/13/06 3:33am)
What's black and white and overrated?\nIf you're about to retort, "Hey! I love pandas!" think it through. What have pandas done for you lately?\nI'll wager it's a whole lotta nothin'.\nYou can't be a productive member of society when you spend 12 hours per day eating bamboo. I've tried.\nEveryone's all excited because a baby giant panda was born at the zoo in Atlanta last week. Welcome to the world, baby panda. It's a world where everyone will love you, assuming you survive the high baby panda death rate. \nAccording to the China National Tourist Office, the "giant panda craze" began after 1869 when a French priest named Armand Pierre David thought it would be a good idea to introduce a big, furry raccoon wannabe to the Western world.\nIn preparation for the world's newest raccoon wannabe, CNN.com hosted a "Name that panda" contest. CNN said of the names suggested by readers: "Some are serious, some are silly, but all show originality and thought."\nStop being diplomatic, CNN. "Originality and thought" is merely a code for "incredibly dumb."\nFor example, Linda RyanJames of Oakhurst, N.J., wrote, "I would name the Panda 'Oreo.' Pandas are black and white like Oreos, sweet like Oreos and everyone loves PANDAS AND OREOS."\nSpeak for yourself, Linda.\nWhy do we have to love pandas? Is it because they're endangered? Is it because they're a symbol of racial harmony? If Oreos were endangered, would you love them more?\nZoo Atlanta's baby panda was born to mother Lun Lun and father Yang Yang through artificial insemination. Pandas have the hardest time getting knocked up, scientists are rumored to have said.\nThe zoo pays China $1 million per panda each year. Ouch. I can think of better ways to spend money than $1 million worth of Yang Yang. According to CNN, the money goes toward research, bamboo salvation and creating environments "conducive to breeding."\nWhy doesn't the zoo just save $999,984.44 and buy China a cheap bottle of wine and Barry White's greatest hits?\nAccording to the San Diego Zoo, giant pandas, despite being called "giant," are only about the size of a stick of butter at birth and about a million times less useful. (Well, I added that last part.) \nBelieve me, if you try to use a baby panda to grease up a griddle, you find yourself in some serious trouble.\nUp until 1997, a person convicted of killing a panda could be executed under Chinese law, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Now the penalty for panda poaching is more than 10 years in prison.\nThat's a lot of panda-monium for bears who don't do anything.\nBut baby pandas are so cute, you say.\nYou have low standards. The New York Times reported last January that the "human cuteness detector" is set at a low bar and will find cuteness in anything that remotely resembles a human baby or parts of a human baby, including the young of almost all mammalian species and even "a big round rock stacked on a smaller rock."\nAwww.
(09/06/06 2:51am)
Young lady, would you kindly oscillate your hindquarters? This is a request that many artists communicate by combining the words "shake," "ass" and "girl." \nI've been listening to popular music for a while now, and I think I finally understand its message. Women are objects put on Earth to shake it. And "it" can be shaken in various ways -- like a salt shaker, like a dog and my personal favorite, like a Polaroid picture.\nNext time you listen to the radio, count how many songs address females specifically and tell them what to shake, how to shake it, where to shake it, what time of day is best for shaking it and which brand of sports drink will give you the endurance needed for extended shaking.\nSexism is completely palatable as long as it has a good beat. You might even find yours truly singing and dancing along. But one song that always warrants a dial change is "Ms. New Booty" by Bubba Sparxxx. If you're not familiar with the song, I'll just tell you it uses the terms "wigglying," "whip woop" and "jiggling."\nHowever, I commend the use of the more politically correct "Ms." in the title that, unlike Miss or Mrs., does not specify marital status. Who knew someone who spelled his name with three X's could be so forward thinking?\nI have nothing against dancing, not even the "booty" variety. There are plenty of songs about dancing that aren't derogatory toward women. In Aaron Carter's "Shake it," he invites everyone to shake, regardless of gender. But not every artist is like Aaron Carter (tragic, I know).\nLucky for me, I have a very special whistle. I carry it around with me at all times, and its pitch is a frequency that only Tipper Gore can hear.\nBut I don't care if teenagers are taking a cue from Nelly Furtado and acting "promiscuous" (kids will be kids). If girls in grade school are singing along with the Pussycat Dolls, beckoning a gentleman caller to "loosen up their buttons," that's certainly disconcerting but is something parents have had to deal with for decades. The problem is that so many popular lyrics perpetuate inequality among the sexes.\nDoes that sound like feminist rhetoric? (Aw, man. She said "feminist." Is she going to set her bra on fire now? Wait ... That could be cool ...)\nBecause I am female, I apologize for any previous thinking or talking. All that will stop, and I will dance for you now. Any spare change you throw my way is simply an added bonus that comes along with the inner joy I feel from shaking "it" just for you.\nArtistic freedom is a beautiful thing. I love the word "freedom." I've been known to shout it at passing motorists and random strangers on the street. I encourage artists to degrade women if that's what sets their souls aflame.\nBut why are we as a society gobbling down this derogatory musical pie as if it were made by Betty Crocker herself? We don't need songs to remind us hundreds of times per day that inside every woman is a stripper yearning to break free. That's what public service announcements are for.
(08/29/06 2:16am)
I have a riddle for you: What do women's jeans, razor blades and crying all have in common?\nAll of these things can be found at Wal-Mart. Other than that, I'm stumped.\nThe term "emo" gets thrown around a lot these days, usually as a descriptor for a supposed youth counterculture. But what does it mean?\nI'm sick of hearing people say, "I wish my lawn was emo so it would cut itself." That's uncalled for. There's a time and place for being offensive, but these remarks can be heard at Bible study groups, playgrounds and family restaurants with kitschy memorabilia on the walls.\nEmos, hipsters, scenesters, indie \nkids -- are these all words for the same thing? \nYour stereotypical emo person has black, asymmetrical hair, wears second-hand clothing, is passionate about music you've never heard of and is full of pain and anguish.\nIs the pinnacle of pain and anguish listening to Panic! At the Disco in your SUV as you drive to Urban Outfitters? I'm not sure.\nFind the next kid in your class wearing chucks and ask him or her, "Are you a representative of the counterculture?" I dare you.\nEveryone seems to have a strong opinion about what emo is. I fear simply writing this column will cause hundreds of alternative young people in tight jeans to riot in the streets, strangling anyone who walks by with their vintage scarves. \nFor answers on emo, I turned to one of my good Internet friends, UrbanDictionary.com, a Web site where users can define slang words others might not understand -- and an extremely helpful resource if you listen to the rap music but don't come from the streets.\nUrban Dictionary has 1,147 entries for the word "emo." The most comical is "Like a Goth, only much less dark and much more Harry Potter."\nEmo stems from a genre of music. Which genre? Emo scholars heavily debate this issue. Many people think the term emo is short for the word emotional. But that could be a common misconception. According to the Chicago Tribune (June 12), emo is actually short for emotive (tomato, tomahto), and the music genre it describes is emotive hard-core which started in the '80s.\nWhile everyone has a different idea about emo, the word can't help but become what society defines it as. But as your kindergarten teacher should have told you, trying to use one word to fit different people into one group is bad news. No group or movement has a clear definition. People who dress and behave unconventionally? That pretty much describes every youth culture ever, from the beatniks to the hippies.\nIt will be interesting to see how history views the youth of our generation. What will be featured in VH1's "I Love the Oughts"?\nIf one day one of my children ask me, "Mommy, were you emo?" I'll say, "No, honey, but my favorite band was a band that no one else ever heard of -- not even the members of the band. And so I was cool"
(08/25/06 3:28am)
There's an old Hawaiian saying that goes, "E Hookumu Maua ka Hale Puni Maua Ohana me ka Pumehana a me ka Oiloli Kealoha." Roughly translated it means: May we create a home that surrounds our family and friends with warmth, laughter and love.\nI don't believe in love. It seems like an imagined concept that haunts our every action and thought. Who has time for that?\nBut love is so prevalent in our society. I ran a search in my iTunes library, and it has 43 songs with the word "love" in the title, three of them by Britney Spears. And if we really wanted to get technical, I'd mention that most of my music isn't even on my computer right now because I recently had my hard drive erased. But the current list is a total of 56 MB and 2.7 hours of love.\nWho has 2.7 hours to spend listening to love songs? That's what I thought to myself as I poured a bowl of cereal this morning. Well, actually, it was this afternoon. I slept in.\nI was reading the cereal box, and it turns out Crispix is an experience that my mouth won't soon forget. What does that mean? I wanted to find out, but the cereal box was pretty wordy, so I just gave up. Honestly, Crispix. "Corn on one side, rice on the other." Who do you think you are? Shakespeare?\nSure, eating the Crispix is an experience my mouth won't soon forget, but the rest of me needs stimulation, too. So I grabbed a magazine, a copy of Transworld Surf. I have absolutely no idea why I receive Transworld Surf in the mail, seeing as I didn't subscribe to it, and I don't surf and I live in Indiana. \nI glanced at an article on how to frontside varial reverse in the waves of Costa Rica. As soon as I got to the part about grabbing my board toward the nose and beginning to lift my front leg off the deck, I got bored. \nLuckily, I heard a knock on the door. My neighbor wanted to have a chat, but after about 30 seconds of his yammering, I realized I was wasting precious seconds of my life simply by listening. No one wants to hear inane personal details from your life.\nI'm sure your aunt Sophia is a lovely woman. And I'm sure she has a lot of moxie for being able to cultivate a garden with so many different species of rare marigolds, but Crispix waits for no man.\nThat brings me to my point. We're becoming an instant oatmeal society. We can't sit around and listen to or read thousands of words that don't contain pertinent information. Is the bomb going to explode within the next five seconds? No? Then stop telling me about the intricate workings of its circuitry. Sheesh. Bomb technicians, your neighbors, newspaper columnists and everyone else simply needs to quit babbling on and get to the point.
(06/29/06 4:00am)
Terms like "folk," "anti-folk" and "singer-songwriter" often send people running to their bomb shelters because they're usually code words for self indulgent, un-listenable music that only five other people besides the artist truly "get." But do not be afraid of Russian-born-raised-in-the-Bronx Regina Spektor. Though she is a singer-songwriter and pianist who rose out of the coffeehouse circuit, her music is accessible to the masses. If you've never listened to her music, I guarantee it's not what you'd expect.\nHer last album, Soviet Kitsch, gained attention for its emotional swells of piano and sultry vocals, each song like a unique, musical novella. Artists who can sing pretty seem to come cheap these days (Even artists who can barely sing at all find their way into the music scene. I'm looking at you, Ashlee Simpson), but it's Spektor's eccentric lyrics accentuated by the unexpected that make her break free from the folksy mold.\nBut as long as we're talking about molds, Jell-o molds, the mold in your fridge, etc., I feel I should mention that Spektor's newest album, Begin to Hope, breaks even further from the mold of a classically trained singer-songwriter with a sweet voice. It's every fan's worst nightmare when a new album comes out and it becomes clear that the musicians tried to keep things fresh by taking their sound to strange new places. But let's not forget, Regina was already a little "out there" to begin with. Her new album is different, but in a good way.\nRegina keeps it real with the traditional and simplistically beautiful character ballad "Samson" and the goose-bump inducing "Aprés Moi." But fans of her old stuff might be surprised by a more electronic sound that pops up throughout the album. The drum beats and synth sounds in between the piano will keep you guessing upon first listen. But once again, be not afraid. Change is good. The rock sounds of "That Time" and the pop of "Hotel Song" are addicting and Spektor has a voice that can swim the tide from genre to genre.\nBegin to Hope is a well-rounded mix of new and old. Expect drama, smooth melodies, biting notes and even a tiny sprinkle of gangsta flare. It's the album that picks you up as it calms you down.
(06/29/06 1:11am)
Terms like "folk," "anti-folk" and "singer-songwriter" often send people running to their bomb shelters because they're usually code words for self indulgent, un-listenable music that only five other people besides the artist truly "get." But do not be afraid of Russian-born-raised-in-the-Bronx Regina Spektor. Though she is a singer-songwriter and pianist who rose out of the coffeehouse circuit, her music is accessible to the masses. If you've never listened to her music, I guarantee it's not what you'd expect.\nHer last album, Soviet Kitsch, gained attention for its emotional swells of piano and sultry vocals, each song like a unique, musical novella. Artists who can sing pretty seem to come cheap these days (Even artists who can barely sing at all find their way into the music scene. I'm looking at you, Ashlee Simpson), but it's Spektor's eccentric lyrics accentuated by the unexpected that make her break free from the folksy mold.\nBut as long as we're talking about molds, Jell-o molds, the mold in your fridge, etc., I feel I should mention that Spektor's newest album, Begin to Hope, breaks even further from the mold of a classically trained singer-songwriter with a sweet voice. It's every fan's worst nightmare when a new album comes out and it becomes clear that the musicians tried to keep things fresh by taking their sound to strange new places. But let's not forget, Regina was already a little "out there" to begin with. Her new album is different, but in a good way.\nRegina keeps it real with the traditional and simplistically beautiful character ballad "Samson" and the goose-bump inducing "Aprés Moi." But fans of her old stuff might be surprised by a more electronic sound that pops up throughout the album. The drum beats and synth sounds in between the piano will keep you guessing upon first listen. But once again, be not afraid. Change is good. The rock sounds of "That Time" and the pop of "Hotel Song" are addicting and Spektor has a voice that can swim the tide from genre to genre.\nBegin to Hope is a well-rounded mix of new and old. Expect drama, smooth melodies, biting notes and even a tiny sprinkle of gangsta flare. It's the album that picks you up as it calms you down.
(06/22/06 4:00am)
This weekend, science fiction fans have the opportunity to look 500 years into the future with a renegade crew aboard a space ship exploring unknown corners of the galaxy, and aid charity at the same time. \nOn Saturday, June 24 at 1 p.m. the Serenity Now, Equality Now charity event features a screening of the film "Serenity" in addition to film-related games at the Monroe County Public Library. Proceeds from the event will go to Equality Now, a group dedicated to protecting women's rights worldwide. \n"Serenity" is a film based on the television series "Firefly" created by Joss Whedon, who is also known as the man behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." The movie is named after the spacecraft of the crew in the series.\nIU graduate student Michelle Bolin got a few Serenity fans together to plan the screening in Bloomington when she heard about the international "Brown Coat" charity event. "Firefly" fans are referred to as "Brown Coats," named after the rebel space travelers that the series chronicles.\n"It's just a name for the fans, like 'Trekkies' for 'Star Trek,'" Bolin said.\nAlong with the movie screening, the event features a mixer with games such as "Firefly" trivia, "Firefly"-based card games and a costume contest. \n"A lot of people have characters they like to dress up as," Bolin said.\nThe event's soundtrack will include songs about "Firefly" in a genre of music known as filk, the marriage of science fiction and folk music.\nTickets to the event can only be purchased online at \nhttp://www.cantstoptheserenity.com, as $10 donations to Equality Now, which was chosen for being Whedon's favorite charity.\n"We paid for some things out of pocket so all of the money we raise can go straight to the charity," Bolin said. "We're hoping that people will be generous."\n"Firefly" has a devoted following, but its fans are described as disenfranchised because the show, aired on Fox, was canceled after only 11 episodes.\nIU graduate student, and "Firefly" fan, Jennifer Atkins said she thinks the show and its follow-up movie have such a strong following because the show was canceled in its infancy. She also credits devotion to the show's creator.\n"I think they have such a devoted fan following because Joss Whedon has such a huge fan following," Atkins said.\nThe show's popularity was clear from the success of its DVD sales, which encouraged the making of the film "Serenity," produced by Universal Studios and released last year.\n"I think the fans believed that if they supported it enough, they would bring back the show or make the movie, which they did," Atkins said.\nIU graduate student Joshua Maze said he's a fan of "Firefly" because he fell in love with the characters.\n"They feel like real people," Maze said.\nMaze, like many other fans, holds onto the hope that "Firefly's" storyline will continue in some form; from the continuation of the series, the creation of more movies, novels or even comic books.\n"I'm not really a comic book fan, but if that's what it takes, then I'll be there," Maze said. "Those characters are so close to us that we just want the story to continue so they can live a little while longer."\nBolin hopes Serenity Now, Equality Now will raise awareness about the charity. Equality Now works with national human rights organizations and individuals to document cases of violence and discrimination against women and tries to stop these abuses by raising public awareness of crimes and injustices against women. \nBloomington is one of 40 cities in five countries screening the movie to raise money for Equality Now and generate demand for more content. \n"We're also a little bit selfish," Bolin said. "We want more 'Firefly.' We want there to be a sequel to the movie Serenity."\nAlong with gathering support for the TV series and movie, Bolin said the event will give Firefly fans a chance to meet each other and spark interest in the show with people who are new to the series.\n"Even if you've never seen 'Firefly' before, you definitely want to come," Bolin said. "We're just trying to meet some people and have some fun"
(06/21/06 11:22pm)
Charitable giving increased last year in the United States according to a report researched and written by the Center on Philanthropy at IU and published by the Giving USA Foundation. The report stated the jump in philanthropy was sparked in part by the recent series of major natural disasters.\nAmericans gave an estimated $260.28 billion in 2005, about a 3 percent increase from 2004, adjusted for inflation. The tsunami in South-East Asia at the end of 2004, Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in South Asia in 2005 contributed to an increase in giving. Donations for disaster relief amounted to about $7.37 billion, about 3 percent of all total donations according to the Giving USA Foundation, a sector of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel. \n"It was disasters that really led the way for giving in 2005," said Richard T. Jolly, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation. "If it were not for disasters, giving still would have been strong, but somewhat flatter." \nThe Giving USA report includes contributions from individuals, bequests by deceased individuals, foundations and corporations. Individual giving is always the largest source of donations, according to Giving USA. In 2005 individuals contributed about $5.8 billion, about 79 percent of the total amount for disaster relief. Corporations gave about $1.4 billion, about 19 percent of total disaster relief. \nCorporate donations saw their largest increase last year, increasing by about 18.5 percent overall from 2004, adjusted for inflation. Individual donations increased 2.9 percent overall from last year, adjusted for inflation. \nPatrick Rooney, director of research at the IU Center on Philanthropy, said research methods were modified to account for the large number of natural disasters in 2004 and 2005. The survey for charitable giving in 2005 was lengthened with an added section for disaster relief. \n"We asked people to separate disaster receipts and philanthropy receipts," Rooney said. "Quite a few organizations filled out both sections."\nMelissa S. Brown, associate director of research at the Center on Philanthropy and managing editor of the Giving USA report, said the questions added to the survey about natural disasters had a direct impact on the response rate. Data from 7200 charitable organizations were used in the research. Twelve percent of the surveys were returned and 10 percent were fully completed. Only complete surveys were included in the research. \n"Nonprofits have higher priorities than filling out surveys," Brown said. "We would like the response rate to be higher." \nBased on analysis of IRS data, Brown said the results of the survey would be the same even with more responses. \n"A higher response rate would not create a dramatic shift one way or the other," Brown said. \nJolly said the data gathered by the report will be helpful for fund-raising practitioners to get a sense of trends in charitable giving and also for government policy makers, students of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations themselves. \nThe Center on Philanthropy is a part of the School of Liberal Arts at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. \n"We've been extremely pleased by the quality of the writing and research and the methodology they've helped establish for the research," Jolly said.
(06/21/06 7:53pm)
This weekend, science fiction fans have the opportunity to look 500 years into the future with a renegade crew aboard a space ship exploring unknown corners of the galaxy, and aid charity at the same time. \nOn Saturday, June 24 at 1 p.m. the Serenity Now, Equality Now charity event features a screening of the film "Serenity" in addition to film-related games at the Monroe County Public Library. Proceeds from the event will go to Equality Now, a group dedicated to protecting women's rights worldwide. \n"Serenity" is a film based on the television series "Firefly" created by Joss Whedon, who is also known as the man behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." The movie is named after the spacecraft of the crew in the series.\nIU graduate student Michelle Bolin got a few Serenity fans together to plan the screening in Bloomington when she heard about the international "Brown Coat" charity event. "Firefly" fans are referred to as "Brown Coats," named after the rebel space travelers that the series chronicles.\n"It's just a name for the fans, like 'Trekkies' for 'Star Trek,'" Bolin said.\nAlong with the movie screening, the event features a mixer with games such as "Firefly" trivia, "Firefly"-based card games and a costume contest. \n"A lot of people have characters they like to dress up as," Bolin said.\nThe event's soundtrack will include songs about "Firefly" in a genre of music known as filk, the marriage of science fiction and folk music.\nTickets to the event can only be purchased online at \nhttp://www.cantstoptheserenity.com, as $10 donations to Equality Now, which was chosen for being Whedon's favorite charity.\n"We paid for some things out of pocket so all of the money we raise can go straight to the charity," Bolin said. "We're hoping that people will be generous."\n"Firefly" has a devoted following, but its fans are described as disenfranchised because the show, aired on Fox, was canceled after only 11 episodes.\nIU graduate student, and "Firefly" fan, Jennifer Atkins said she thinks the show and its follow-up movie have such a strong following because the show was canceled in its infancy. She also credits devotion to the show's creator.\n"I think they have such a devoted fan following because Joss Whedon has such a huge fan following," Atkins said.\nThe show's popularity was clear from the success of its DVD sales, which encouraged the making of the film "Serenity," produced by Universal Studios and released last year.\n"I think the fans believed that if they supported it enough, they would bring back the show or make the movie, which they did," Atkins said.\nIU graduate student Joshua Maze said he's a fan of "Firefly" because he fell in love with the characters.\n"They feel like real people," Maze said.\nMaze, like many other fans, holds onto the hope that "Firefly's" storyline will continue in some form; from the continuation of the series, the creation of more movies, novels or even comic books.\n"I'm not really a comic book fan, but if that's what it takes, then I'll be there," Maze said. "Those characters are so close to us that we just want the story to continue so they can live a little while longer."\nBolin hopes Serenity Now, Equality Now will raise awareness about the charity. Equality Now works with national human rights organizations and individuals to document cases of violence and discrimination against women and tries to stop these abuses by raising public awareness of crimes and injustices against women. \nBloomington is one of 40 cities in five countries screening the movie to raise money for Equality Now and generate demand for more content. \n"We're also a little bit selfish," Bolin said. "We want more 'Firefly.' We want there to be a sequel to the movie Serenity."\nAlong with gathering support for the TV series and movie, Bolin said the event will give Firefly fans a chance to meet each other and spark interest in the show with people who are new to the series.\n"Even if you've never seen 'Firefly' before, you definitely want to come," Bolin said. "We're just trying to meet some people and have some fun"
(06/15/06 4:00am)
Thoughts of summer weather usually include constant days of golden sunshine, unless you're in Indiana where the weather could be anything, including a torrential downpour. Rainy days are usually reserved for building arcs and playing games with funny, exclamation-pointed names like Yahtzee! and Jenga! But those games usually end in tragedy, heartbreak or both. The next time your summer fun gets rained out, try some of these ideas instead of spending 45 minutes searching for the little top hat and the wheelbarrow.\nThe old standbys\nIf the rain forces you to cancel your picnic there's always the movie theater or the bowling alley. The Back Alley at the Indiana Memorial Union is open from noon to 11 p.m. every day.\nIf you don't feel like leaving the house you can always hold your own American Idol competition or create your own film series based on your favorite genre or actor. Mary-Kate and Ashley marathon, anyone?\nGet domestic\nWhen was the last time you baked cookies, cooked a meal or made toast for that matter? \nThe Bloomington Cooking School website, bloomingtoncookingschool.com, has recipes and information on registering for summer cooking classes.\nIf you experiment in your own kitchen, you won't have to step out in the bad weather or endure that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see water dripping from the pizza delivery guy's nose.\nTurn tricks\nPlaying cards originated in China in the 10th century with a form of paper dominos that were shuffled and dealt, according to USplayingcard.com. Europeans began mass producing four-suited decks in the 14th century. The card game tradition is so old—why stop now? Get some friends together for some euchre or poker, no natural light required.\nAnd if you've seen or read The Da Vinci Code you can revel in the secret meanings of the symbols on the cards and impress your friends who have no idea what you're talking about.\nLearn something\nBloomington has several places that provide indoor entertainment for absolutely free. They're called museums, but don't let the name scare you away. Special exhibits going on this summer could actually be the cure for boredom.\nMonroe County History Center, located on 202 E. 6th Street, has two special exhibits running this summer. "A Collection of Collections III," a variety of collections gathered by locals, will be on display until June 20. Some of the collections include hotel silver, antique dolls, thimbles, pocket knives and pigs.\n"A Garden Wedding" opens June 17 and features wedding gowns from 1902 through the 1980's.\nThe Mathers Museum of World Cultures, located on 416 N Indiana Ave, has a new exhibit called Japan in American: The Turn of the Twentieth Century. The exhibit displays everything from paintings and illustrated books to sheet music and post cards to demonstrate the influence of Japanese culture in America.\nThe Indiana University Art Museum, located on East 7th St, currently displays "Horses in Classical Art" in its Special Exhibitions Gallery. The exhibit features images of horses throughout history from jewelry to sculptures.\nDon't fight it\nDamp clothes and pneumonia might be unpleasant, but there's no rule that says you have to avoid the rain. If it's only raining and the weather isn't dangerous, you can embrace the rain and take your sports to the next level. Juliette McNamara, a junior on IU's intramural women's ultimate Frisbee team, called Calamity Jane, offers these tips for playing Frisbee in the rain.\n•Wear cleats or go barefoot in the rain because there's no traction and it will probably be muddy.\n•You can't worry about getting dirty because when it rains, it is the best time to layout for a disc. (Laying out is when you jump horizontally in the air to catch a disc.)\n•Obviously the rain makes the disc slippery, so you have to focus on your catches and throws more than usual.\n•Don't play if there's lightning because that would be really dumb.\nIf you master the art of the flying disc, Calamity Jane is recruiting new team members for the fall.\nIf all else fails on your rainy day, you can revert back to childhood and make good, old fashioned mud pies. The recipe is two parts dirt and one part water, says the leading authority on mud cuisine, otherwise known as your little sister.
(06/14/06 7:25pm)
Thoughts of summer weather usually include constant days of golden sunshine, unless you're in Indiana where the weather could be anything, including a torrential downpour. Rainy days are usually reserved for building arcs and playing games with funny, exclamation-pointed names like Yahtzee! and Jenga! But those games usually end in tragedy, heartbreak or both. The next time your summer fun gets rained out, try some of these ideas instead of spending 45 minutes searching for the little top hat and the wheelbarrow.\nThe old standbys\nIf the rain forces you to cancel your picnic there's always the movie theater or the bowling alley. The Back Alley at the Indiana Memorial Union is open from noon to 11 p.m. every day.\nIf you don't feel like leaving the house you can always hold your own American Idol competition or create your own film series based on your favorite genre or actor. Mary-Kate and Ashley marathon, anyone?\nGet domestic\nWhen was the last time you baked cookies, cooked a meal or made toast for that matter? \nThe Bloomington Cooking School website, bloomingtoncookingschool.com, has recipes and information on registering for summer cooking classes.\nIf you experiment in your own kitchen, you won't have to step out in the bad weather or endure that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see water dripping from the pizza delivery guy's nose.\nTurn tricks\nPlaying cards originated in China in the 10th century with a form of paper dominos that were shuffled and dealt, according to USplayingcard.com. Europeans began mass producing four-suited decks in the 14th century. The card game tradition is so old—why stop now? Get some friends together for some euchre or poker, no natural light required.\nAnd if you've seen or read The Da Vinci Code you can revel in the secret meanings of the symbols on the cards and impress your friends who have no idea what you're talking about.\nLearn something\nBloomington has several places that provide indoor entertainment for absolutely free. They're called museums, but don't let the name scare you away. Special exhibits going on this summer could actually be the cure for boredom.\nMonroe County History Center, located on 202 E. 6th Street, has two special exhibits running this summer. "A Collection of Collections III," a variety of collections gathered by locals, will be on display until June 20. Some of the collections include hotel silver, antique dolls, thimbles, pocket knives and pigs.\n"A Garden Wedding" opens June 17 and features wedding gowns from 1902 through the 1980's.\nThe Mathers Museum of World Cultures, located on 416 N Indiana Ave, has a new exhibit called Japan in American: The Turn of the Twentieth Century. The exhibit displays everything from paintings and illustrated books to sheet music and post cards to demonstrate the influence of Japanese culture in America.\nThe Indiana University Art Museum, located on East 7th St, currently displays "Horses in Classical Art" in its Special Exhibitions Gallery. The exhibit features images of horses throughout history from jewelry to sculptures.\nDon't fight it\nDamp clothes and pneumonia might be unpleasant, but there's no rule that says you have to avoid the rain. If it's only raining and the weather isn't dangerous, you can embrace the rain and take your sports to the next level. Juliette McNamara, a junior on IU's intramural women's ultimate Frisbee team, called Calamity Jane, offers these tips for playing Frisbee in the rain.\n•Wear cleats or go barefoot in the rain because there's no traction and it will probably be muddy.\n•You can't worry about getting dirty because when it rains, it is the best time to layout for a disc. (Laying out is when you jump horizontally in the air to catch a disc.)\n•Obviously the rain makes the disc slippery, so you have to focus on your catches and throws more than usual.\n•Don't play if there's lightning because that would be really dumb.\nIf you master the art of the flying disc, Calamity Jane is recruiting new team members for the fall.\nIf all else fails on your rainy day, you can revert back to childhood and make good, old fashioned mud pies. The recipe is two parts dirt and one part water, says the leading authority on mud cuisine, otherwise known as your little sister.
(06/08/06 12:05am)
The world's leading entrepreneurship conference with 320 researchers from more than 29 countries is taking place at the Kelley School of Business until Saturday. This is the first time the 2006 Babson College Entrepreneurship Research Conference has been held in the Midwest since it was founded in 1981. \nAndrew Zacharakis, John H. Muller Jr. Chair for Entrepreneurship at Babson College, said BCERC is the leading entrepreneurship conference in the world due to the quality of the professors who attend. \nZacharakis said Kelley School professors have been coming to the conference for many years and the school was chosen to host the event this year based on IU's overall reputation and its specific reputation in entrepreneurship. \n"Schools from all over the world asked to co-sponsor the conference," Zacharakis said. \nMore than 500 abstracts were submitted for consideration to be presented at the conference and more than 200 were selected by a blind review board. A few examples of entrepreneurship research areas to be presented are family enterprise, venture finance and cognition of entrepreneurs.\nIU is building its reputation in entrepreneurship. Last year the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship in the Kelley School was ranked 4th in the nation in Entrepreneurship Magazine.\nSue Artmeier, assistant director of IU's Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, said the University's entrepreneurship program has a national reputation because it is one of only six schools that offers a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship.\n"We are one of the few schools in the nation that offers a major in entrepreneurship at the undergraduate level and an MBA and Ph.D.," Artmeier said. \nIU faculty presenting at the conference are Jeffrey Covin and Dean Shepherd from the Kelley School of Business management department and David Audretsch from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. \nAlso presenting from IU are Ph.D. entrepreneurship graduate John Robert Mitchell and current Ph.D. entrepreneurship students, Robert Garrett, Steven Bradley, Bradley George, Kim Green and Hana Milanov. \nIn conjunction with the conference, the Kelley School of Business is holding the 2006 BCERC Doctoral Consortium Program, which gives doctoral students insight into current research issues through meeting with consortium faculty. About 30 doctoral students from 10 countries are expected to participate in this year's program. Shepherd, who is also the co-coordinator of this year's doctoral consortium program, said he wants to show participants what it's like to be a junior faculty member. The program covers hot research areas of entrepreneurship, how to structure and write a dissertation and how to publish research. \nParticipants will then give presentations based on what they learn from meeting with faculty members at the conference. \n"They're sort of forced to meet with leading professionals in the field," Shepherd said. \nSome of the entrepreneurship issues to be covered in this year's program are social networks, decision making processes of entrepreneurs and resource providers and how a lack of resources helps innovation. \nThe conference is in its 26th year and will be held next year at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain.
(04/27/06 3:41am)
I came into work earlier this week, and I noticed something strange sitting on my desk: muffins. Old muffins were on my desk. The presence of these muffins caused coworkers and passers-by to ask me: "Are those your muffins?"\nNo.\nI would like to set the record straight. I want the entire community and world at large to know that while those muffins were in fact on my desk, they were not mine.\nI did not put them there. I had no plans to consume them. Not my muffins.\nWhile some sort of desk easement by estoppel might have transferred the rights of the old muffins to me, I hereby reject any ownership or claims to the muffins.\nContrary to any rumors that might be floating around, I'm not the kind of person who leaves muffins just sitting on a desk. That sort of assumption puts implications on my character that I'm not comfortable with. Look into my eyes. Look into my soul. Do you see a muffin-leaver? I don't think so.\nWho would leave muffins on my desk?\nI used the one surefire technique for tracking down a perpetrator, once a trade secret of debonair detectives: the "Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar" song. I revised it slightly for my purposes.\nWho put the muffins on Joanna's desk? (Insert name) put the muffins on Joanna's desk.\nWho me?\nYes, you.\nCouldn't be.\nThen who?\nThis method might be useful for catching Jack the Ripper, but it didn't work for me.\nSince singing didn't get me answers, I used my investigative skills as a journalist to learn more. I found out who purchased the muffins, why the muffins were purchased, where they were purchased, when they were purchased, how much the muffins cost ($3), who was in possession of the muffins and that the muffins were on the desks of at least two other people before they made it to my desk.\nI got testimonials from fellow co-workers who saw the muffins on my desk.\n"I'm typically a huge muffin fan, but those muffins definitely weren't appealing," one co-worker said.\nShe went further to describe the appearance of the muffins.\n"One looked like carrot cake. I'd never seen a carrot cake muffin, and it was missing at least half its top."\nAfter the muffins sat on my desk for three days, someone brought them to my attention.\nI cringed as I got the question.\n"Are those your muffins?"\nIt was officially go time.\nI believe my exact words as I let the muffins drop into the trash can abyss were: "Say goodbye. I don't know the muffin man. Do you?" \nI still don't know exactly who placed the muffins on my desk or why. Perhaps it's not something I was meant to understand. I guess the "Who done it?" of this mystery isn't important. What really matters is that we're all clear on one thing: Those muffins weren't mine.
(04/20/06 4:03am)
The other day I was having a nice little chit chat on American Online Instant Messenger, otherwise known as AIM. I noticed something out of the ordinary in my chat window. No, it wasn't "Omg, lol or wtf." There was a little box that said, "Vonage: 1st month free!" \nAIM found a new place for advertisements. \nThis made me realize that the world is full of missed opportunities to inform the public of goods and services they might want to purchase. To put it quite simply, sometimes I look places and I don't see ads. What's up with that? The bottom of shoes, for example, is uncharted ad territory I'd like to see conquered. The next time someone kicks me in the face, I want to learn about a Citibank e-savings account in the process. \nAds are great because they basically mean money for everyone involved. You probably couldn't be reading this newspaper if it weren't for advertising. I think we should embrace advertising and make it a bigger part of our world, like the Internet, oxygen and Oprah. \nOnce something becomes popular, it turns into a great place for advertising. If microscopes were more popular, ads would be put on bacteria. If I were the most popular girl in school, I'm sure Geico would call me up and pay me to wear a gecko suit. \nAccording to AOL, AIM has more than 195 million users. I'd say that's pretty popular. The instant messaging service is free because it's supported by ads. It's no surprise ads are popping up in new places with its wide popularity. \nI think ads should be tacked onto the end of screen names. Why should screen names be lame like KoalaMan12 when they could be advertising with names like SoccerChick85DrinkRedBull or HotStud132WatchHBO? \nBlazing across new ad frontiers doesn't have to stop with AIM. I'm surprised that no one sells wallpaper with ads on it. This floral pattern brought to you by Mentos, the freshmaker. Bubblegum wrappers are another opportunity to advertise. Instead of hilarious Archie comics coming with your gum, why not the number of a good injury lawyer? \nInventions such as Tivo that allow television watchers to fast-forward through commercials make product placement more important than ever these days. Right now, product placement is most commonly found in forums that have a captive audience such as television shows and movies. But perhaps we've overlooked one of the best places to find a captive audience -- the classroom. \nImagine a teacher in front of his wide-eyed pupils explaining the Pythagorean Theorem. He pauses, brushes the sweat from his brow and drinks a nice, label-prominently-displayed, refreshing Fresca. Then back to the lesson. It's all about being creative. \nBefore I die, I'd like to eat an edible ad. But after food, where could advertising possibly go? \nThere are no advertisements in my dreams when I'm sleeping. But if the true advertising pioneers continue the good fight, I'm sure that recurring dream where I play croquette with Paul McCartney and a turtle will be sponsored by \nCareerbuilder.com.
(04/20/06 3:42am)
Sophomore Tanah Combs often finds herself naked in the middle of a classroom full of people staring at her, but it's not a bad dream. It's her job.\nCombs is paid $9.50 per hour and fills out a time card. But the job requirements involve being naked for three-hour intervals and staying completely still until her muscles start to tingle. Combs is a nude model for the Fine Arts department.\n"I've done modeling since I was a little girl, so I'm pretty comfortable with my body," Combs said.\nCombs started nude modeling because she thought it would be an easy job she could fit in between her classes. She said she was worried about what her parents would think, but said they were understanding.\n"I'm usually pretty modest in everyday life, so people think it's kind of ironic that I go out and get naked," Combs said.\nCombs has been modeling nude for about a year. She said the experience has given her the ability to handle any awkward situation. \n"The first time, I actually walked into the wrong classroom naked," Combs said, "It was a beginning class and they were supposed to be drawing plants and vases." \nAt first, Combs said she was worried about seeing art students outside the classroom setting and not knowing what to say. Once she encountered a student from class when she was on a blind date with someone who didn't know she was a model.\n"Someone came up to us at 'The Nutcracker' and asked, 'Hey, aren't you that girl who posed naked for our class?'" Combs said. "You have your awkward moments."\nWhen Combs first had to pose with another nude male model, she said she felt awkward, but now she feels comfortable around other models.\n"I didn't know where I was supposed to look," Combs said. "But you get used to seeing naked bodies walking around."\nSophomore Chris Bultman decided to apply to be a model when he saw an ad in the Indiana Daily Student.\n"I thought it would be crazy to do. So I tried it," Bultman said.\nModels change into robes in the bathroom before entering the classroom. The model removes his robe in front of the class and then learns the pose he needs to hold.\n"It was weird for the first five minutes," Bultman said. "You disrobe in front of strangers."\nBultman said he appreciates art more after being a model. He said he admires the work of the art students because he said he can't draw and hasn't done art since junior high. \n"Sometimes I think, 'Wow, do I really look like that?'" Bultman said.\nModels have the options of being next to a space heater and listening to music while posing. \n"It's always cold in the Fine Arts building," Bultman said.\nModels receive a break from posing every 25 minutes during the three-hour classes. Holding the poses can be a challenge, they say.\nSophomore Katherine Cochrun, who has been modeling for artists since high school, said she struggles with sitting still if she's been having a stressful day.\n"Sometimes you just want to get up and kick the wall because you're so tired of sitting," Cochrun said.\nSometimes body parts get sore or fall asleep during the posing, but Cochrun said she finds modeling to be a meditative experience. She started the job because she enjoys the process of art and seeing how different artists interpret her emotions and poses.\n"The body is a landscape in and of itself," Cochrun said.\nShe also wants to disprove the idea that being naked is automatically sexual. She said that modeling is a way to be naked in a nonsexual way.\n"Our society is kind of strange about nudity," Cochrun said. "It's always associated with sex."\nFine Arts professor Bonnie Sklarski said nudity is the last thing an artist thinks about when trying to draw the body because it is such a challenge.\n"It's so hard to get good at drawing the body; it takes years and years of practice," Sklarski said. "Most people when confronted with a model in a beginning drawing class are so intimidated because it's so hard."\nSklarski's classes focus on recreating human anatomy. Students draw and paint both live models and plaster casts made from cadavers with the skin removed so the muscle structures are visible.\n"When you get a living model, the first thing you notice is that it's impossible for them to be completely still," Sklarski said. "They're always slightly twisting to get more comfortable."\nDrawing a model who moves, even just a little bit, can be a challenge for artists. Sklarski said the process is a combination of perception and conception.\n"You have to use ideas as much as your eyes," Sklarski said. "What if the model moves? Before you could only see one eye, now you see both. What do you do? Do you change your drawing?"\nEven though the models' slight movements can be challenging to work with, artists are sympathetic toward the models' job. Sklarski suggests trying to stand perfectly still in a pose for 20 minutes to try to understand the challenge of being a model.\nJunior Kasey Branam, who started modeling for the art department last fall, said she feels strong when she's able to hold a difficult pose for a long time.\n"You feel empowered when you're done," Branam said. "Not just from the nude aspect, but for the ability to fight through something your body doesn't want to do."\nBranam said her peers seem impressed when they find out she models nude for art classes.\n"Sometimes they giggle," Branam said. "A lot of people say, 'Oh, I could never to that.'"\nBranam sees modeling as a unique opportunity to be immortalized in art.\n"There aren't many moments in your life where you can completely freeze a moment of yourself," Branam said. "My body can be turned into a piece of artwork"