598 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/06/08 2:25am)
INDIANAPOLIS – State Sen. David Ford died Wednesday at age 59 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.\nFord, a Republican from Hartford City, died at his home, Senate officials said. Ford had been absent from the Senate since January, when his family confirmed he was critically ill with cancer.\nSenators planned a moment of silence for Ford Wednesday afternoon.\n“Words cannot take away the sense of loss his family and friends are feeling at this hour, but it is important that they know he and they are in our hearts and minds,” said Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne.\nFord was the Blackford County prosecutor before being elected to the Senate in 1994. He represented District 19, which includes all or parts of Adams, Allen, Blackford, Grant and Wells counties in northeastern Indiana.\nRepublican Rep. Jeff Espich of Uniondale, who was a close friend of Ford’s and visited him often after he became ill, said he was heartsick about the death.\nHe said Ford was a good, honest man whose Senate colleagues called him “the road warrior because he was always out on the road doing town meetings and visiting constituents.”\nThe General Assembly lost “far and away the best expert on technology issues, as it relates to education and operation of government,” Espich said. “He was far ahead of anyone in terms of those kinds of issues.”\nGov. Mitch Daniels ordered flags at the Statehouse to be flown at half-staff through the day of the funeral.\n“I haven’t met a more insightful or harder working member of the General Assembly,” Daniels said of Ford. “I’m not sure a person like Dave Ford can be replaced.”\nFord, who did not miss a single vote in the Senate last year, had not been in the Senate since Jan. 15. On Feb. 21, he wrote a letter to the editor thanking his constituents for their support, e-mails, cards and prayers.
(03/03/08 2:30am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Leaders of Indianapolis’ Humane Society blame a budget deficit for a decision to stop accepting stray animals and to no longer allow people to drop off unwanted pets immediately.\nThose steps are aimed at reducing the number of animals for which the society must find new homes, but officials say it could force 4,000 to 5,000 more animals a year on the city-operated animal pound.\nThe policy changes should cut $800,000 from the operating budget of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, allowing it to close its deficit next year, said Martha Boden, the group’s chief executive officer.\nThe Humane Society has been in talks with the city for weeks on how the transition will work once the changes start March 15, but final decisions have not been made, Boden said.\nVeterinarian Ben Ealing said he worried that without a good plan to handle the strays no longer accepted by the Humane Society, the pet population could get out of hand.\n“If there are strays wandering around,” Ealing said, “there will be breeding, and the problem is going to be compounded.”\nScott Newman, the city’s public safety director, said he expected the changes will send more animals to the county pound and mean many of them will be destroyed. To handle the expected influx, money will likely be diverted to the animal shelter from a fund aimed at rooting out dogfighting.\nThe city’s pound now typically takes in about 18,000 animals a year and euthanizes more than 11,000 of them. The Humane Society, meanwhile, took in nearly 9,000 animals last year, with 3,200 being euthanized.\nUnder the new procedures for giving up pets, a Humane Society staffer will ask about the decision and possibly suggest tips or training classes to improve behavior. The owner will have to make an appointment for the drop-off and provide life history information that could help make the pet ready for a new adoption.\nThe Humane Society could still reject the animal under the policy, which Boden said was also aimed at prompting people to consider needs of homeless animals by doing more than driving them to the shelter.\n“We want to help them understand more about what’s involved with making a lifetime commitment to a pet,” she said.
(02/29/08 1:30am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Associated Press reported on several bills passed by the Indiana General Assembly Thursday.
(02/27/08 12:29am)
INDIANAPOLIS – More voters could cast ballots at centralized polling sites instead of traditional neighborhood precincts or submit absentee ballots by mail without giving an excuse under a bill that cleared the Indiana House of Representatives Tuesday.\nThe House voted 73-25 for Senate Bill 235, which would allow any county to opt for vote centers – scattered polling sites where people can cast ballots regardless of their precinct – if the local election board unanimously approves the change.\nAlthough the vote-center concept won support in the Republican-controlled Senate this year, GOP leaders in the chamber have opposed no-excuse absentee balloting by mail in the past. The bill could head next to a conference committee, where senators and representatives could try to hammer out a compromise on the legislation.\nUnder current Indiana law, anyone voting absentee-by-mail must meet certain provisions, such as being out of the county on Election Day or working through voting hours. Voters do not have to give an excuse if they cast an absentee ballot in person before Election Day.
(02/27/08 12:28am)
Ranchers and horse-barn owners are hoping a $2,600 reward will help catch the thieves who have swiped saddles worth thousands of dollars from two southern Indiana ranches.\nFive businesses chipped in for the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the robberies at Up-N-Over Stables and Stone Creek Ranch.\nLast week, thieves hit Up-N-Over Stables, making off with mostly English riding gear, ranging from a custom Pullman Roping saddle to bridles.\nThen, late Sunday or early Monday about $25,000 worth of saddles, including pricey custom-made ones, were taken from Stone Creek Ranch, said owner Wayne Allbright.\nHe believes the thieves are knowledgeable about different saddle types because they took only the more expensive varieties and left behind some lesser-valued ones.\nAllbright said the thefts occurred even though three of his employees live very close to the barn that was targeted.\n“They were very brazen. With all this lighting around, and with people here onsite, they were very brazen,” he said.\nAllbright has warned other farms in the area about the thefts. He said sheriff’s deputies suspect that whoever robbed his ranch had visited it or driven past it to scope things out.\nHe has notified local pawn shops to be on the lookout for someone trying to cash the saddles in for a quick turnaround, and he has someone checking eBay.
(02/22/08 3:03am)
INDIANAPOLIS - The six-county United Way of Central Indiana raised a record $39 million in corporate and individual contributions in its 2007 campaign, organizers said.\nThe amount might climb even higher because several national companies have yet to report contributions from their local employees, campaign co-chairman Denny Sponsel said Wednesday.\nMore than 100,000 people donated, Sponsel said. The average donation rose 10 percent, or $27 per donor, over last year. Contributions typically are made by paycheck deductions, which will be collected during 2008.\nIndividual donations make up about 80 percent of donations, with corporate giving accounting for the remainder.\nAt drug maker Eli Lilly and Co., the area’s largest private employer, employee contributions rose by more than $500,000 over last year, the United Way said.\nThe money goes to 104 human service agencies in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties.
(02/22/08 3:02am)
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The president of a Texas energy company has donated $1 million to his Indiana high school alma mater, a gift the school said it will use to hire another teacher, create programs and fund scholarships.\nT. Paul Bulmahn, founder and CEO of ATP Oil & Gas Corp., donated the money to Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne.\n“This gift just provides for incredible opportunities that we’ve never had before,” said David Widenhofer, Concordia’s executive director.\nSchool principal John Marks said the school will use the money to hire another math teacher and develop new programs in science, technology and entrepreneurship. He also said the gift will fund scholarships to help needy students afford the annual tuition of $7,600.\nBulmahn graduated from Concordia in 1961, and went on to earn degrees from Valparaiso University, the University of Texas and Texas State University. He founded ATP Oil & Gas Corp. in 1991.\nBulmahn’s cousin, Steve Bulmahn of Fort Wayne, presented the check to the school at a Wednesday news conference.\nThe gift was the largest single donation in the school’s history and amounted to a fifth of its $5.4 million yearly operating budget. Concordia was founded in 1935 and has 679 students.\nBulmahn said he decided to donate the money while attending the school’s graduation ceremony last year.\n“I was very impressed with what is taking place there and wanted to make a difference for Concordia to encourage young people to believe they can pursue their own dreams and potential,” said Bulmahn in a statement. “That possibility for Concordia gives me great joy, and I am eager to see the school flourish.
(02/20/08 3:58am)
On Wednesday’s episode of “Conversations,” host Brian Spegele welcomes Bloomington resident and amateur actor Barry Grooms to discuss the importance of Black History Month in a 21st-century context.\nGrooms performs a part of his recent monologue on “Conversations,” recounting a slave’s passage from Africa. He recently performed with the Bloomington Playwrights Project and discusses on the podcast how he sees a new future for a maturing generation – a future in which skin color will be almost invisible. Visit idsnews.com to hear the full interview.
(02/19/08 2:00am)
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – A free giveaway of emergency contraception doses at Planned Parenthood health centers in Indiana cities that have large college populations has angered an anti-abortion group, whose leader calls it “irresponsible.”\nThe giveaways are timed to remind young adults of the importance of responsible sexual behavior as spring break nears for many colleges and universities, said Steve Carr, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood of Indiana.\nCarr stressed that emergency contraception should not be relied on as a main source of birth control, just for emergency situations to prevent an unintended pregnancy.\nPlanned Parenthood announced Friday that between Feb. 26 and April 8, its health centers in Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette, Madison, Mishawaka, Muncie, Terre Haute and Valparaiso will be giving out emergency contraception doses, while supplies last.\nIndiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter said Planned Parenthood’s actions are “irresponsible.”\n“They’re giving kids a false sense of security for those who are potentially going to engage in risky sexual behavior,” Fichter said.\nHe said emergency contraception does not prevent disease and there’s little evidence it has any significant impact on abortion or unintended pregnancy rates.\n“This is all about Planned Parenthood gaining free advertising to build its customer base among sexually-active teens,” Fichter said in the statement.\nPlanned Parenthood officials recommend that women and couples back up their birth control, keeping emergency contraception in their medicine cabinets in case “the condom breaks, you miss your regular dose of birth control or have unprotected sex.”\nThe pills can prevent ovulation or a fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus and leading to pregnancy.\nFichter said that if implantation of a fertilized egg is prevented, the drug kills a human life, which is abortion.\nHe said Indiana Right to Life will work with its chapter in Saint Joseph County to get the word out about the negatives of emergency contraception. He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed it, but is “doing a disservice.”\nCarr said many people confuse emergency contraception with the RU486 abortion pill, or mifepristone – which ends a pregnancy. He said “emergency contraception is contraception. It’s right there in the name. It’s contraception.”\nHe said most of the emergency contraception services are accessed by young adults, with the median age being 23.
(02/19/08 1:59am)
LAFAYETTE – A big city’s drawing power can make it hard for rural school districts to attract good math and science teachers, but superintendents hope to find help in a fellowship program that starts taking applications this year.\nThe Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation is using Indiana to launch a program that pays for a master’s degree for teachers who pledge to teach math and science in high-need secondary schools.\n“These people can go into industry and make a lot more money,” Twin Lakes School Corporation Superintendent Tom Fletcher said. “If they have the good math skills, the good science skills, companies are looking for them.”\nMany people also want to live near big cities or work for larger districts that pay more.\n“Given the choice of a lower-paying job in a small, rural area, and a higher-paying job in a metropolitan area, we tend to lose out,” said John Sayers, superintendent of Carroll Consolidated School Corporation, a district near Lafayette. “You struggle to maintain a program over time.”\nMath and science teachers, especially in rural areas, often are not qualified to teach their classes, said James Fraser, lead consultant for Indiana for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.\n“But somebody’s got to cover the math or science class,” Fraser said. “A significant portion are taught by people who didn’t even minor in math or science.”\nThat can cause problems for students after they leave high school, said John Hill, executive director of the National Rural Education Association based at Purdue University.\n“Their experience isn’t in as great a depth as it needs to be to participate at the next level,” Hill said.\nThe first applications for the foundation program will be taken this year, and the first fellows will be named in 2009.\nSelected participants will get a $30,000 stipend to complete a year-long master’s program at Ball State, Purdue, IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis or the University of Indianapolis. In return, the graduates will agree to teach math and science at high-need secondary schools – both rural and urban – in Indiana for at least three years.\nThese master’s degrees are available for undergraduates finishing their degrees and thinking about teaching or others in the math and science fields who want to change careers.\nThe first graduates of the program will start teaching in 2010
(02/15/08 3:42am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A Republican state representative running for Congress has apologized for working on campaign materials while on the House floor.\nState Democrats took video of Rep. Jon Elrod, R-Indianapolis, signing campaign thank-you letters and sealing them in envelopes. There are few ethical rules for legislators, and no law or regulation appears to prevent lawmakers from engaging in such an activity.\nElrod, the Republican nominee in the 7th Congressional District race, said he was multitasking but used poor judgment. He said it would not happen again.\n“I feel horrible about it,” he said. “I really do. To put our caucus and everyone else in this position, it’s just inexcusable.” \nElrod is running against Democrat Andre Carson in a March 11 special election for the congressional seat previously held by Carson’s grandmother, Rep. Julia Carson, who died in December. Libertarian candidate Sean Shepard is also running.\nAfter Democrats heard that Elrod was working on campaign materials in the House, the party sent a staff member to video Elrod from the House balcony, and the aide recorded him working on campaign letters twice this month, said Dan Parker, a spokesman for the Democratic party.\n“It raises questions about Jon Elrod’s ethics,” Parker said. “Here he is on the floor of the House doing campaign work. That says that politics is more important than the people’s work.”\nElrod gave the letters to a legislative employee – Graig Lubsen, deputy media director for House Republicans – to mail.\nThe handbook for House personnel says employees “shall not perform campaign or political activity during hours they are performing work for the House.” The rules also state that “campaign activity may not occur on House property.”\nHouse Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said Lubsen violated House rules and there would be consequences, although he did not specify what actions could be taken. He said he had a stern talk with Elrod and Lubsen, who said he did not know the letters were campaign-related.\n“I’m confident it has not ever happened before, and I’m very confident it will never, ever happen again,” Bosma said.\nJulia Vaughn, policy director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Indiana, said the incident “isn’t the biggest scandal since Watergate.” But she said lawmakers should refrain from doing campaign work in the Statehouse.\nIndiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark, a former state senator, said he doesn’t see anything wrong with it. He said the flap shows that Democrats are desperate to hold onto the 7th District.\n“Democrats are going to pull out every trick in the book,” Clark said. “I’m going to call Jon and make sure he pulls his shades at night.”
(02/15/08 3:37am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana General Assembly overrode Gov. Mitch Daniels’ veto of House Bill 1388, which would grant tax incentives to the film industry, according to the House of Representatives Web site.\nThe bill, supported by Rep. Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, authorizes tax credits for certain media production expenses in Indiana, the House Web site said. Affected industries include movies, music videos, television shows and radio advertising, according to The Associated Press.\nDaniels vetoed the bill last April, saying it became bloated with too many incenatives and cost too much money.\nLawmakers hope the bill will encourage more films to be shot in Indiana, the AP said.\nThe House of Representatives voted 77-17 in January to override Daniels’ veto. The Senate voted 36-11 for the override on Thursday, so the bill now becomes law, according to the site.
(02/14/08 1:04am)
BROWNSBURG – Newlyweds could probably learn a few things from the five Estes sisters and their two brothers, who between them have amassed 391 years of marriage, and counting.\nIn an age when nearly half of new marriages are expected to end in divorce, the seven surviving children of C.M. and Minnie Estes have all been wed 50 or more years.\nThe youngest, Sue Bass, completed that golden anniversary streak Saturday when she and husband Edwin marked their 50 years together in a laughter-filled banquet room, surrounded by Sue’s six surviving siblings and many of the couples’ 71 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.\n“We’re the last. We made it,” Sue, 69, said after the Basses’ celebratory spotlight dance. Added Edwin, 73: “The others made it and we weren’t about to get beat!”\nThe Estes siblings, ages 69 to 84, attribute their marital success in large part to the moral example set by their late parents, who were married 58 years.\nC.M. Estes and wife Minnie raised their nine children – one died as a toddler and another is deceased – with the clear expectation that marriage is for life. The family lived in Kentucky before moving to Indiana in the mid-1940s.\nSeventy-four-year-old Joyce Samples said her parents endured hard financial times but set a loving example that she has emulated in her 57-year marriage to John Samples, 74.\n“They always showed respect for each other, which made us know that was part of marriage,” she said. “There wasn’t a lot of verbal advice. You just watched them and knew how it was done.”\nAside from Joyce and Sue and their husbands, the other Estes children and their spouses are: Agnes and Howard Byrd, wed 61 years; Douglas and Kathleen Estes, 60 years; Charles and Grace Estes, 57 years; Eula and L.B. Champion, 54 years; and Gladys and Bob Maple, who were married 52 years when Bob died in 1999.\nAn eighth Estes sibling, Joe, died in 1992, by which time he and his widow, Ruth, had 48 years between them. Their marriage boosts the Estes’ matrimonial total to 439 years.\nThe couples all live in Indiana except for Douglas and Kathleen Estes, who reside in Florida.\nStephanie Coontz, a professor of history at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., said it’s unusual for so many siblings to have such long marriages.\nCoontz, who has studied marriage trends for 25 years, said many marriages that began in the 1950s ended because of the marital divisions sparked as more women entered the work force in subsequent decades. That wasn’t an issue for the Estes siblings; all the wives were homemakers.\nDavid Popenoe, a professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University, said religion, commitment to the marriage itself and a willingness to overlook problems are often factors in long unions.
(02/13/08 2:52am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican hopeful John McCain have filed the necessary petitions to be on Indiana’s May 6 primary ballot.\nObama’s Indiana coordinator, Kip Tew, turned in more than 6,200 signatures supporting Obama to the secretary of state’s office around noon Tuesday. The petition included at least 500 signatures from each of the state’s nine congressional districts – the necessary number to get on the ballot.\nAbout 50 Obama supporters turned out for the filing.\nAttorney General Steve Carter and state GOP chairman Murray Clark delivered the required signatures on behalf of McCain. Republican Mitt Romney already filed in Indiana, but he has since suspended his presidential campaign.\nThe deadline to file is Feb. 22.
(02/13/08 2:52am)
EVANSVILLE – A self-employed Internet contractor who runs a Web site that calls evolution a “spiritual deception” has entered the race for southwestern Indiana’s 8th Congressional District. \nPaul Abramson, 50, of Evansville, announced plans Monday to seek the Republican nomination and challenge Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth, a former Vanderburgh County sheriff who defeated John Hostettler in 2006. He joins Greg Goode in the GOP field for the state’s “Bloody 8th,” a name that reflects the district’s history of contentious races.\nAbramson said his policies are similar to Hostettler’s religious and fiscal conservatism. He said he met with Hostettler for 90 minutes in October to discuss a possible run but did not seek or receive his endorsement.\n“We have a religious heritage,” Abramson said. “It’s not freedom from religion – it’s freedom of religion.” \nAbramson is the founder and editor of www.creationism.org, which promotes “creation science.” Goode, 34, who filed papers with the secretary of state Monday, left his post as Indiana State University’s chief public and governmental affairs officer to run.\nGoode welcomed Abramson to the race.\n“It’s a terribly difficult decision to make,” Goode said. “I respect (Abramson) for the decision, and I wish him \nsafe travels.”
(02/13/08 2:51am)
Steel processor Indiana Steel and Tube will build its new facility in Brownstown, Ind., boosting the southern Indiana town’s economy with new jobs and more incoming facility taxes, officials say.\nThe company plans to build the facility at the intersection of U.S. 50 and Indiana Highway 135 beginning in March, creating more than 100 new jobs by 2010 and supporting local economic development in the town, which is located about 45 miles south west of Bloomington. The new jobs will make up for those the town will lose when another company in Brownstown closes its doors.\n“This is very good news for Brownstown,” said Jim Plump, executive director of the Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation. “The facility is really filling a big void not only from an employment standpoint but also a tax standpoint.”\nDura Automotive Systems, the community’s largest employer, is closing its facility in Brownstown, Plump said. He said the facility employed more than 100 people, the same number of jobs Indiana Steel and Tube plans to create by 2010.\nPlump said discussions about the new facility started in the third quarter of last year, so the project moved very quickly. He said deciding the location of the new facility was relatively easy – the hard part was finding funds to repair existing infrastructure as well as building new infrastructure near the property.\nMitch Frazier, spokesman for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, said the development corporation offered Steel and Tube up to $650,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $75,000 in training grants if the company creates as many jobs as it has projected. Frazier said the development corporation will also provide Brownstown with a grant of up to $65,000 to assist in off-site infrastructure improvements and a grant of up to $75,000 to improve State Road 135.\n“With layoffs in Bloomington, Martinsville and Brownstown, the new facility is absolutely important,” Frazier said.\nFrazier said the development corporation helps bring new jobs and replace lost jobs, resulting in a net gain in jobs in the area since Christmas. \n“We’re confident that replacing jobs will diversify and stimulate the economy,” Frazier said.
(02/13/08 2:50am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A former swim coach charged with child pornography possession now faces felonies tied to hidden video cameras that shot girls changing in an Indiana high school locker room.\nBrian D. Hindson, 40, has been charged with three counts of production of child pornography, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Hindson was arrested last week and charged with a felony count of possessing computer video files of child pornography.\nHis attorney, Gregg Stark, declined to comment on the case.\n“Right now, it’s unfortunately very premature as to what he’s facing and where we go from here,” Stark said.\nHindson was head coach and chief executive officer of Central Indiana Aquatics and a coach at Kokomo High School, where his swim club used the pool, according to a probable cause affidavit signed by Federal Bureau of Investigations agent Emily Odom.\nHindson has admitted to hiding video cameras in the locker rooms at Kokomo and Westfield high schools, according to court documents.\nThe latest charges stem from three videos that show girls changing in or out of bathing suits in the Kokomo locker room. One video appears to have been shot from a camera hidden in a locker, an affidavit states.\nThe other two appear to have been made by a person using a handheld camera and shooting through a door vent from an office next to the locker room. \nThe girls were not aware they were being filmed, said Steve DeBrota, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. He did not say whether they were swimmers Hindson coached.\nThe swimmers were identified after investigators showed the videos to the swimmers’ parents.\nDeBrota said investigators were still analyzing evidence.\n“We’re trying to determine the identity of any minors that are the victims of a federal crime in connection with these activities,” he said.\nHindson was charged with possessing child pornography after investigators found eight pornographic videos involving children on a hard drive in his Carmel, Ind., apartment, court documents state.
(02/07/08 5:17am)
BAINBRIDGE, Ind. – A powerful line of thunderstorms marched across Indiana, damaging homes, knocking down trees and power lines and tearing the roof off a fire station.\nBut flooding could cause the most problems throughout the state as the National Weather Service was warning Wednesday that the Wabash, Tippecanoe and other major rivers will spill over their banks.\nIn Putnam County west of Indianapolis, the storm tore the roof off a fire station in Bainbridge and destroyed its radio tower Tuesday night. Barns and mobile homes also were damaged, along with several utility trailers.\nIn Greene County, southwest of Bloomington, the sheriff’s department said roofs were blown off several houses in Bloomfield. Officers reported a large amount of debris in trees as well as downed trees and power lines. The sheriff’s department said the damage resembled that of a tornado.\nHerman L. Walters, 82, was watching television in the living room of his Bloomfield, Ind., home when two trees crashed into his house in less than five minutes.\n“One of them blew over \nand it came right through the rooftop,” he said. “Then the rain and the wind was so strong it took the roof right off. I’m just darn lucky I’m here in one piece.”\nAn 80 mph wind gust was reported in Clinton in Vermillion County. Trees and power lines were reported down in Terre Haute.\nThe National Weather Service was investigating storm damage in Putnam, Greene, Jackson and Decatur counties to see if any tornadoes touched down. No major injuries were reported.\nThe storms followed unseasonably high daytime temperatures in the 60s, and were generated by the same system that produced tornadoes that were blamed for more than 50 deaths in the South.
(02/07/08 5:00am)
In the race of characters to populate your nightmares, Daniel Day-Lewis' Daniel Plainview surges past Anton Chigurh of "There Will Be Blood" by a nose. Equipped with a shrewd business sense, unending drive and an intense dislike for most of the human race, Plainview is at once sympathetic, perplexing and terrifying. Few actors could pull off such a towering performance. In a film concerned mainly with delineating the rise and fall of the American dream, Day-Lewis' Plainview embodies all that was admirable and terrible in an America bending toward modern industry in the early 20th century.\nEnough talk of Day-Lewis -- he'll get his Oscar. The mastermind behind this gloriously wacked-out film is Paul Thomas Anderson, a man known for coaxing memorable performances out of the great (Day-Lewis), the good (Tom Cruise in "Magnolia") and the mediocre (Adam Sandler in "Punch Drunk Love"). Anderson's cinematic sensibilities perfectly complement this tale of an oilman locking horns with a man of God and his cache of behind-the-scenes collaborators strives to complement its director's talents.\nCinematographer Robert Elswit evokes the spirit of Néstor Almendros and Haskell Wexler's work in Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven," adding touches of the grimy and mechanical to an otherwise picaresque landscape. Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood's propulsive, wrenching score crawls up your spine and can't be shaken off. Neither can the societal commentary peppered throughout Anderson's screenplay, based loosely on Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!"\nPaul Dano's Eli Sunday, the Evangelical minister of a small and oil-rich California settlement, plays both foil and victim to Plainview's inherently atheistic plans for domination of the oil business, and three separate scenes between the men define the story. By the time the seismic final confrontation arrives, both men are broken in their own way, and one asserts his dominance over the other in a manner both poignant and primal.\nAnderson has debuted with four stone-cold masterpieces in a row, each tackling a wide range of subject matter, and each of great import to the evolution of modern cinema. Warning lights typically start flashing when a current filmmaker is compared to the likes of Altman, Kubrick or Malick, but at this point, it's entirely apt to toss Anderson's name in the ring. With "There Will Be Blood," he has fashioned a new kind of epic -- born not just of the blood, sweat and tears of his actors and collaborators, but of the lifeblood of America itself.
(02/07/08 5:00am)
If one were to take everything arbitrary and random and disgusting in this world and put it into a cracked-out late-night TV series, one would come up with something called "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." The only reason somebody would ever buy Volume Five would be if they were truly an avid fan. It's just more of the same, and I say this with all the best intentions. What you have to realize about "Aqua Teen" is that there really is no continuity between episodes. One random episode relates to another in a way only a psychotic person could understand. \nThis shotgun approach is what's so crazy-awesome about "Aqua Teen" -- it produces a bizarre genre of comedy. (Seriously, after one episode you would understand.) This show is way beyond messed up and is vulgar to the extreme. I could never imagine raising a child on such a cartoon. Still, it is the type of cartoon I hope a spawn of mine would eventually grow to love. \nThe fast-food-item characters are so perfectly developed and the plotlines so twisted I can't help but love this bastard of a show. "Aqua Teen" demands respect, and if you won't give it any, then it tells you to piss off -- which it explicitly does in the special feature "ATHF Responds to the Critics." The features "Tera Patrick Eats a Hot Dog" and "Granny Takes Her Top Off" contain the same hysterical attitude as the rest of the show. However, the special features at times struggle to maintain viewer interest, and at times it feels as if the show compiled a bunch of random junk and called it "Special Features," including a mini video game titled "The Worst Game Ever." It is.\nIf you have not figured it out already, "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" is clearly not for everyone and appeals to a specific demographic. However, everyone should see at least one episode just to experience the crude and horribly politically incorrect humor.