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(10/23/07 11:31pm)
Indiana needs more worm farmers. \nNo, really, it’s true. For whatever reason, a worm farmer, technically known as a vermiculturist, is not generally among the answers you will get when you ask someone, “What do you want to be when you graduate?” \nBut the devastating lack of students studying worm farming may soon be solved if Mitt Romney gets his way. At a campaign event last week, the former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential hopeful mentioned that he would like to see federal college aid distributed to college students based on the career paths they intend to take following graduation. In other words, if the government were to notice a marked lack of entrants into one professional field, they would provide extra scholarship funding for students enrolling in college with the intention of pursuing a career in it. Although Romney offered no specifics as to which careers he believes would merit government-funded scholarships, we can guess these extra funds would go toward areas that are suffering low levels of entry, such as nursing. Sorry to have gotten your hopes up, but worm farming would probably not be among them. \nBut is it really fair to disqualify an extremely qualified incoming student from federal aid because he or she has not yet decided on a career path? Won’t these targeted scholarships crowd out strict merit-based aid for other students who have chosen the wrong major?\nThis idea is nothing new. For example, during the Cold War era, the government threw additional funds into intensive science-based educational programs to ensure that the youth of America would someday be able to defend our country against those damn “Pinkos.” And right now, the private market is already working toward what Romney proposed. For example, General Motors offers a number of scholarships to students enrolling in engineering programs, and Proctor & Gamble offers funding to students who have been accepted into dentistry programs. \nBut even if the government does initiate a program that works along these lines, college may be the wrong stage in the educational process to start supplying these funds. While some students remain undecided about what they want to study for most of their college careers, for others, by the time they apply to college, they have set their minds on a major based upon what interested them during high school, or even middle school.\nSince market watchers can generally see in what direction career trends are headed, let them take care of providing the dough that is needed to change them. In the meantime, if the government sees a shortfall of qualified entrants into certain career fields, let them address the problem through the curriculums of primary and secondary schools right then and there. Anything beyond that kind of creeps us out in a post-Marxist sort of way. \nOne way or the other, worm farmers of the world – even without direct government aid to direct the best and the brightest into your ranks – your day will come.
(10/23/07 8:36pm)
I am very upset and discouraged by the IDS’s coverage of Take Back the Night this year. Wednesday’s article “Uniting to Take Back the Night” by Chelsea Merta misrepresents the purpose of the event, ignoring one of the most important messages reiterated by every speaker in Dunn Meadow: Victims are not to blame for domestic and sexual assault.\nTake Back the Night is an annual march and rally against domestic violence and sexual assault which aims to break the silence surrounding these issues by uniting students and community members in collective voice against such attacks. It is the goal of the event to help prevent future attacks by providing a dialogue about what assault is and how to stop the perpetuation of violence. It is also a time to recognize the heinousness of these crimes and their affect on victims and their loved ones. During the rally in Dunn Meadow, speakers called for an end to the abusive and sexual violation of women and men. IU student and faculty representatives as well as Middle Way House Crisis Intervention Services Coordinator Liz Hannibal urged others to shatter the silence surrounding these crimes by reporting assault and believing and supporting those who experience this violence. A candlelight vigil was held in honor of victims and survivors.\nIt is disappointing that the message of the event was lost in Merta’s article which quotes two event attendees blaming women for attacks enacted against them. One misinformed woman stated, “women in college, especially, make poor decisions” while another (a student and Middle Way House volunteer) said, “change needs to start within a woman,” implying that female victims are somehow at fault if they are assaulted. It is never a victim’s fault when someone chooses to hurt her or him. Victim blaming must stop in order to end the oppression of women and men affected by these issues, who are too afraid to seek help because they think they have (or believe others will think they have) done something to cause the attack against them.\nDo not blame victims for their attackers’ crimes.
(10/22/07 10:21pm)
Recently, employees in university research facilities across the country have been exposed to bubonic plague, monkeypox and anthrax. In another case, Texas A&M has been scrutinized for the security (or lack thereof) of its biological agents in biodefense labs. \nOverall, these events are just a few of the more than 50 incidents involving agents that are federally regulated microbes and toxins. According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2007 alone, there have been 37 incidents through August. All of these events call into question the safety of our nation’s biodenfense labs and cause us to ask: should the government step in more to regulate?\nObviously, supporting more government intervention, especially interference that stymies the progress of the research, isn’t something that we would typically support. However, all of the incidents have created a lot of evidence that says the respective universities cannot control the laboratories.\nThe governmental agencies that regulate what the schools do, including the National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, set minimum safety standards and conduct routine inspections a few times a year. But it seems like the universities still cannot follow the rules, and instead would rather have a monkey with the “28 Days Later” virus jumping around freely or full syringes of anthrax just hanging around. \nIf the universities are lackadaisical in their precautions towards biodefense agents – the most dangerous of all situations – who knows what they’re doing in the less stressful laboratories. Screwing around with dangerous pathogens could create national security threats greater than those the program supposedly prevents, so asking the labs to follow minimum regulations is not unreasonable. Minimum regulations are set in other situations and people make sure to surpass them by far. Most people don’t drop out of school at 16 just because they went the minimum years. \nAdditionally, some of the regulatory agencies say that most of the university labs fail to ever report any of their accidents. The Agriculture Department, one of the main agencies dealing with biodenfense, has not received any accident reports in three years. And even if they do report their screw-ups – which are almost always due to human carelessness or error – the universities only do so after some time has passed. Texas A&M waited an entire year to report an incident in which three lab workers were exposed to Q fever. The schools have seemingly forgotten that they’re allowing people to roam around with highly contagious, deadly diseases that could wipe us out, and it’s unforgivable.\nIn this situation, suppressing the creativity of our brightest minds is definitely a better option than the threat of massive calamity. If the schools aren’t taking care of this, the government must step in on more occasions to make certain that the trust in universities has not been misplaced. At this point, the research being done at these labs is important to national security, so we cannot scale back the efforts by shutting the rule-breaking labs down. Government intervention is the only choice.
(09/27/07 4:00am)
Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry. This is rather humiliating. While I struggle to find the skating rhythm, the derby girls pass me left and right. Again and again. Mere minutes after lacing up my outdated roller skates -- with awesome neon-green wheels -- I've become frustrated with my inability to contend with my skating comrades. Gut-check. Time to show all the Flatliners that I'm a journalist who can fly just like they can.\nEntering a straightaway on the squad's makeshift track at the Bloomington SportsPlex, I violently pump my legs to gain speed -- and end up at a blistering five miles per hour. At this speed, everyone's attention is beginning to turn to this rookie phenom on the track.\nI try not to lose speed as I approach a turn. My quadriceps burn as I stay low to the track.\nYet somehow, I experience that split-second loss of balance. My body tenses up as I squirm uncontrollably, awaiting the crash landing. Fully extended, I plant myself on the hard wood. Thud. \n"Stupid rookie," the Flatliners are thinking to themselves.\n"Nice fall," says Truly F Obvious, the most intimidating woman I have ever encountered in my life. Her vintage Rec Specs remind me of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.\n"True," as the skater has been deemed by her teammates, is a co-founder of the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls roller derby league to which the Flatliners belong. The league is associated with the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. The league was launched in August 2006 and still is composed of only one team, but the skaters are optimistic that the sport's growing popularity will allow for expansion.\nAfter being informed that I would practice with the Flatliners, I surfed the team's Web site to see what all the hype was about. Reading the skaters' names -- "Molly McFracture," "Hell No Kitty" and "Badd Mudda Trucker" -- made me laugh at first, but my amusement soon turned to terror. The team's photo gallery devoted to various injuries had me imagining how my hospital bed was going to feel.\nBefore practice, I have the opportunity to calm my fears by conversing with a few skaters before hitting the track.\n"Are you ready to get your ass kicked?" asks one skater. I chuckle anxiously and introduce myself to lighten the mood. "Hi, I'm Joe."\n"I'm Sue Cidal," she says.\nOh my God.\nBetti Rampage, the team's volunteer coordinator and a soon-to-be mother, lends me skates for the day, and we begin talking about the obscurity of roller derby. The excitement and intensity of the sport brings audiences of roughly 700 fans to the Flatliners' home bouts, Rampage says.\nA bout is composed of two teams, each team having a lineup of five skaters: a jammer, a pivot and three blockers. The blockers and pivots make up the pack -- the group of skaters closely crowded together. The jammers, indicated by stars on their helmets, start off behind the pack and attempt to pass the blockers and pivot on the opposing team. Each legal pass is a point for that jammer's team. The object of the blockers and the pivot is to help advance their respective team's jammer while prohibiting forward progress by the opponent's jammer.\n"The whole roller derby spectacle is just bizarre," Rampage says.\nI take a couple of laps around the track, trying desperately to regain the roller-skating skills I once had in my youth. After a few wipeouts, referee Epic Brendemic decides to show me basic falling techniques, my favorite being the "rockstar," where you put both knees to the ground as you kill that electric chord. \nBecause of liability issues, I'm unable to participate in the team's 20-minute scrimmage. I'm a little disappointed about not being able to experience some real action, but my shoulder welcomes the break. During practices like this, when the squad has an upcoming match, hitting is limited to upper-arm checks and booty bumps. The physical nature of the sport is evident nonetheless.\nUnfortunately for this spectator, there are no bone-jarring hits to gawk at today, just winded faces and fatigued bodies. \nI head back onto the track, assuming I will get some time to hone my abysmal skills. Brendemic helps demonstrate the "slingshot." In order to pull off a slingshot, the jammer grabs the outstretched hand of a teammate, who pulls the jammer forward, increasing her speed. This maneuver can allow for easy passing and a significant point boost.\nAs I get whipped around a bend, picking up considerable speed (which is probably only seven miles per hour), out of the corner of my eye comes True, who denies me the inside pass by cutting off my angle and lowering her shoulder into my waist. That little nudge while going at top speed (for me) means only one thing -- I'm going to the ground once again. \nTrue is a veteran who demands the respect of everyone that steps on her track. I admire that, and I show her my respect by sneaking up behind her and trying to knock her onto her ass. With a mischievous grin on my face and rage in my heart, I slammed my shoulder into her massive arm. WHAM!\nShe doesn't budge an inch. My shoulder begins pulsing again.\nA few members of the team have me try to pass them on the track. (It is a common misconception that the object of roller derby is to deliver as much physical punishment as possible to the opposition.) This is perhaps my most disheartening stunt of the entire evening. I try passing inside; they "booty block" me there by sticking out their butts and not allowing me to pass. On the outside, a shoulder check denies me access. I try faking outside and cutting in -- I'm on the ground once again. Calling it quits.\nAs I roll off the track, I ask coach Sylver Maximum how the team will fair at its next match.\n"We're gonna win. And we're gonna kick their asses."\nIt wasn't just the words themselves that were threatening; it was the sincerity in her tone of voice.\nCall the paramedics.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
n 1970, possibly the greatest sports tragedy occurred when a plane crash killed 75 people, including most of the Marshall University football team. But what seemed like an absolutely hopeless situation turned into an inspiring one. The following year the Marshall Football team returned to the field under new coach Jack Lengyel, and while playing with nothing but freshmen and scrap players, it went on to win two games and inspire the people of Marshall and restore the town. Unfortunately, while this is a very moving story, it is delivered poorly and does not capture the spirit of Marshall on screen. \n"We Are Marshall" has a very unconventional story line for an inspirational sports movie, in that it starts in the middle of the 1970 season and ends at the beginning of the '71 season. Most of the movie takes place off the football field, from the tragedy 'till the beginning of the next season. While this irregular plotline would seem like an out-of-the-box sports movie, it ends up fitting into the old mold of the inspiring football film. Whether it's the "football is everything" small-town mentality that is a main focus of the movie, or the feel-good oldies soundtrack, the movie feels very old-hat and reminiscent of movies such as "Remember the Titans" or "Friday Night Lights."\nAnother issue is the acting, which at times is unconvincing. Matthew McConaughey stars as oddball head coach Lengyel. While he is right for the part, his performance comes off simply awkward at times. Also, there is Matthew Fox of "Lost," who stars as Red Dawson, Marshall's assistant head coach. He plays the same role that he does on "Lost" -- the leader who battles with inner conflict. I couldn't stop thinking that it was Jack on a football field. Other characters and subplots (such as the relationship between the fiance and father of a deceased player) don't amount to much and serve as nothing more than distractions from the main plot. There are, however, a few moments of brilliance, such as Coach Lengyel's understated speeches, that keep the movie out of the dumps. \nThere are only really two features, one worthwhile and the other worthless. The legendary coaches feature is a segment approximately 20 minutes long that includes interviews with various coaches, from Marshall's Lengyel to Tennessee's Pat Summit. The extra proves to have nice insight into what makes these coaches great. However, the only other extra is a short segment on Marshall University today, which is more of a short advertisement for the university than anything. \nThe story is truly inspiring; the movie is not worth your time.
(09/06/07 4:00am)
If falling down an elevator shaft, getting kicked in the balls and being inflicted by any multitude of horridly painful accidents is the hot ticket of movie jokes, then "Balls of Fury" hits the jackpot. \nThe film is basically a poor comedian's "Dodgeball" or "Kingpin" as far as sports comedies go. While it features little in the way of clever humor, there are plenty of blind jokes (actually it's basically the same joke repeatedly), prostitute gags and Def Leppard references. \nAt the onset we are introduced to Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler), a 12-year-old ping-pong master. Daytona is so skilled in the sport that he is chosen to represent the United States in the 1988 Olympics. Daytona's match against German ping-ponger Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon) goes awry, which leads to a gambling debt for his father (Robert Patrick) that is paid for with his life. \nFlash forward to the present. Daytona is a washed-up sideshow act performing tricks at dinner buffets until FBI agent Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him to help find Mr. Feng (Christopher Walken), the man who killed his father. The mission requires Daytona to compete in Feng's ping-pong tournament, which he initially refuses and then confusingly accepts. \nTo get in shape, Daytona must train with the blind Master Wong (James Hong), who with his odd lessons and foul mouth is essentially the anti-Mr. Miyagi. Wong's niece Maggie helps with the training and also throws in some kung fu flavor. \nThe movie is mainly a collection of random plot occurrences, with no mention of how characters move from point A to point B. The arbitrariness of the plot would not be as noticeable if the humor were more varied, but I will give you this: The ping-pong matches do add some much needed intensity to the film. \nAs Mr. Feng, Christopher Walken adds his trademark wit to an otherwise bland character, and his costume, a la Mr. Burns as Dracula in "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror IV" steals the show. \nThe film was directed by Ben Garant and written by he and Thomas Lennon, the duo that brought you the television show-movie "Reno 911!" and the brilliant '90s MTV sketch-comedy show "The State." The two also wrote "Taxi," "A Night at the Museum," and "Herbie Fully Loaded." While "Balls of Fury" is not their finest work by any means, it will suffice for a few cheap laughs if nothing more is expected.
(08/05/07 5:28pm)
INDIANAPOLIS – A voting machine company must pay Indiana more than $350,000 in civil penalties and investigative costs for 198 violations of Indiana election law, an administrative law judge has ruled.\nIndianapolis-based MicroVote General Corp., which provided voting equipment to 47 Indiana counties, including Monroe County, during the last election, came under investigation last year after allegations that the company sold uncertified machines.\nAdministrative Law Judge J. Lee McNeely indicated in his order that voting equipment companies must comply with state laws to preserve the integrity of elections.\nAccording to the findings, MicroVote marketed uncertified voting equipment between Oct. 1, 2005, and April 28, 2006, negotiating more than $400,000 worth of new sales contracts in 10 counties, according to a Friday news release from the Indiana secretary of state’s office.\nThe company had discovered its equipment could not handle split-precinct and straight-ticket voting – functions required under Indiana law.\nAs early as April 22, 2006, MicroVote knew one of its systems was not operational, the release states, but concealed that from the Indiana Election Commission until later that summer. The 47 counties that used the voting equipment in the May 2006 primary elections did not meet Indiana’s legal standards.\nThe Associated Press left a message seeking comment with MicroVote on Friday.
(08/04/07 4:00am)
David Fincher is, first and foremost, a director who specializes in manufacturing moods and emotions through visual details. "Zodiac," his best film aside from 1999's "Fight Club," is a crime procedural concerning a true story whose telling has been attempted on film several times before but never so masterfully.\nIt's brave for any filmmaker to take on a true-crime film that audiences know will have no neat and tidy conclusion. The San Francisco-area Zodiac murders of 1968 and 1969 were never solved, and they're presented in harrowing fashion by Fincher, an aesthetic stylist unafraid of employing lingering violence and dread around every metropolitan street corner and in every dank basement. The first hour of "Zodiac" condenses the killer's brief reign over the fears of the Bay area population into some of the year's most vital filmmaking, leading to the final 100 minutes, during which the case tightens, unravels and tightens again, never once becoming tedious or exploitative like so many television and film crime procedurals. \nFincher's cast is almost uniformly superb, headed by Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, an unassuming political cartoonist who becomes so obsessed with solving the Zodiac killings that he loses his wife and writes a best-selling book on the subject (on which this film is based). Robert Downey Jr., excellent as always, embodies the hard-drinking, quick-witted crime beat writer Paul Avery, and Mark Ruffalo offers up a career-best performance as David Toschi, the San Francisco Police Department detective who comes closer than anyone except Graysmith to solving the Zodiac murders. \nThere are no special features on this single-disc edition of "Zodiac" other than a teaser ad for the upcoming expanded edition due out this winter.\nAs a serial detractor of formulaic crime shows such as "C.S.I." and "Law & Order," I was pleasantly surprised by Fincher's adeptness at presenting the minutiae of the Zodiac case in fresh, exciting, terrifying ways. He never allows this particular search for the truth to sag under its own weight, or, by contrast, because of its own effortlessness. "Zodiac" is ominous, elusive and uniquely mysterious, like the killer himself.
(08/04/07 4:00am)
Comedies are usually a tough sell for me. It's hard to find something that makes me laugh when most of the "comedy" programming out there consists of garbage like "The King of Queens." But then I found "Weeds" and proceeded to watch the first two seasons in the span of two days, officially developing a dependency that will only be satisfied by subscribing to Showtime to catch Season 3. \nSeason 1 ended with Nancy Botwin (the talented and beautiful Mary-Louise Parker) moving marijuana and accidentally falling for a DEA agent, which is exactly where Season 2 picks up. It's hard in the 'burbs to be a single mom, sell weed and get laid every now and then. What was once a small chance for Nancy to make ends meet has fully blossomed into a chronic enterprise co-headed with friend/partner-in-crime/wannabe-lover Conrad (Romany Malco), where the hottest bag on the block goes by the deserving title of "Milf Weed." Even Snoop Dogg shows up for a few tokes, but nobody said it was easy being a drug dealer. \n"Weeds" works not only because it is high-concept but also because it is high-content. It is incredibly smart, uproariously funny and has a cast that you love or hate on an episode-by-episode basis. \nI've never been one for TV supplements, due mostly to them being uninteresting. This season of "Weeds" offers seven episode commentary tracks, four featurettes (including one on how to properly grow, um, "tomatoes"), a gag reel, Huskeroos commercials and photo montages set to variations of the theme song. All in all, there's nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary, but those featurettes are worth a viewing. \nIf the end of Season 1 left you anxious, by the end of Season 2 your head will be spinning. That's all right though, it just means the effects are finally getting to you.
(08/02/07 1:19am)
An announcement will be made at 1 p.m., Thursday at the Tibetan Culture Center, 3655 S. Snoddy Road., about the Dalai Lama’s visit to the center this October. Lisa Morrison, the center’s publicity and media coordinator, said the announcements will include the schedule of events and other matters concerning his trip.\nThis year, Morrison said, the Dalai Lama will be in town Oct. 23 to 27, and will be conducting classes Oct. 24 to 26 at the IU Auditorium on spiritual enlightenment. \nThe Dalai Lama last visited IU in September 2003 in order to dedicate the center’s interfaith temple, an event that drew more than 5,000 people. Retired boxing champ Muhammad Ali attended the visit, accompanied by his daughter Hana, who spoke on his behalf.\n“It will be a wonderful experience for the entire community and for all who participate and attend,” Morrison said.
(07/27/07 2:08pm)
Researchers at IU’s School of Medicine may have discovered a way to cure testicular cancer in patients who do not respond to initial chemotherapy, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The treatment calls for high doses of chemotherapy followed by infusions of the patients’ own peripheral-blood stem cells.\nThe report, authored by several researchers, including renowned oncologist Dr. Lawrence Einhorn, stated that 116 of the 184 patients involved in the study went into complete remission after being treated.\n“Testicular tumors are potentially curable by means of high-dose chemotherapy plus hematopoietic stem-cell rescue, even when this regimen is used as a third-line or later therapy or in patients with platinum-refractory disease,” the report concluded.\nThe report concluded that this experimental method of treating patients with metastatic testicular cancer that had progressed even after receiving “cisplatin-containing combination chemotherapy” proved effective in defeating the disease.\nEinhorn, a distinguished professor and the Lance Armstrong Foundation Professor of Oncology in the IU School of Medicine, authored the study. \nEinhorn, a leader in testicular cancer research who helped cure seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong during his now-famous bout with the disease, developed a method of successfully treating testicular cancer in the 1970s by mixing chemotherapy with a drug considered experimental at the time. The regimen has proven quite effective, making testicular cancer one of the most curable forms of all malignancies. \nThe overall cure rate for testicular cancer is in the range of 90 percent, according to www.webmd.com. Even after the malignancy has spread, about 70 percent of patients still respond to treatment and are cured of the disease.\nThe report appears in the July 26 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
(07/12/07 4:00am)
Meredith Hunter, an 18-year-old fan who made the mistake of bringing a concealed weapon to the free concert at Altamont Raceway on December 6, 1969, ended up dead at the hands of the Hell's Angels in a clash of mind-sets that has haunted the rock world ever since. Captured in a film initially filmed to showcase the Rolling Stones' 1969 American tour, the Altamont show was in direct contrast to Woodstock. This was not how the year was supposed to end. \nAltamont's music has since been overshadowed by the tragedy that ensued, as well it should be. What began as a celebration became an undulating human mass of anger and violence. Jefferson Airplane tried to riff on "The Other Side of This Life" until Marty Balin got in a scuffle with a Hell's Angels member, and The Grateful Dead, who showed up, refused to play once they felt the negative mood. \nThe 2000 Criterion Collection release of "Gimme Shelter" is crammed with special features, the best of which are a series of essays written by Amy Taubin, Stanley Booth, Michael Lydon, Sonny Barger and Godfrey Cheshire, as well as a somber radio wrap-up of the Altamont concert from a San Francisco radio station.\nDecember 6, 1969, might well have been the death of the 1960s ethos. The Maysles' and Zwerin's film plays like a memorial, not just to the deceased but to the decade.
(06/28/07 4:00am)
I'm issuing a challenge to my fellow indie rock snobs: Check out My December, the new Kelly Clarkson album. Not only will you be amazed by what you hear, it'll reaffirm the very values leading you to eschew the major labels in the first place.\nIf you haven't followed the past month's gossip, "American Idol's" most successful graduate has, in succession, fought with her record label, fired her manager and postponed her summer tour. The drama started because Clarkson wrote and co-produced My December herself and Clive Davis, head of Sony BMG (which owns RCA), didn't like that the album wasn't generic Velveeta pop. In fact, RCA went so far as to recommend that Clarkson include a Lindsay Lohan cover (which Clarkson rejected). \nHere's the rub: My December is surprisingly good. And I speak as someone who hates "American Idol" and couldn't give a damn about anything on 2004's Breakaway except "Since U Been Gone." Indeed, Clarkson might have produced the break-up album of the year.\nNow, it's not perfect. The lyrics are kind of bland (Clarkson could use the Poetry 101 suggestion "emphasize imagery and avoid cliches"), the rock tracks get pretty emo-derivative and it's all relentlessly dark (guys, you'll think twice about dating ol' Kell). But with hooks abounding, Clarkson's superhuman pipes and the whole proceeding's winning sincerity, you could well end up singing along in spite of yourself. The best of the angry-rock moments -- first single "Never Again" (with Clarkson's wonderful snarl "a trophy wife? Oh, how cute"), "Hole" and "Haunted" -- appropriate Evanescence's chilly effects and big choruses but ditch their dull, murky chug for buzzing garage-rock guitars and smart, subtle flourishes.\nAnd even better than the rock are the album's more unusual tracks: "One Minute" sounds like Madonna's "Hung Up" meets Nine Inch Nails. "Be Still" and "Irvine" are stunningly beautiful grooves worthy of Leslie Feist. And hidden track "Chivas" is a lovely, stripped-down, overwhelmingly bitter acoustic gem.\nIn the fight between artistic integrity and major-label calculation, My December represents a win from a most unexpected corner.
(06/11/07 2:14pm)
Charlie Nelms, IU’s vice president for institutional development and student affairs, will leave the University to become chancellor and provost of North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. On June 8, the University of North Carolina system approved Nelms’ appointment, a position he will assume Aug. 1, according to a press release. \nNelms will replace James Ammons, who will leave NCCU to become president of Florida A&M University.\nNelms’ departure will follow that of IU President Adam Herbert, who will leave office July 1. Both are high-ranking black administrators on IU’s campus.\nMore than 8,200 students attend NCCU, one of the fastest-growing campuses in the University of North Carolina system, according to the release. \n“Charlie Nelms brings to North Carolina Central University more than three decades of solid, successful administrative experience at both the campus and system levels,” UNC President Erskine Bowles said in a statement. “He is a proven leader, having served as chancellor of two very respected public universities, and he is a man who leads by example.”\nNelms has led several major, system-wide initiatives at IU involving University planning, institutional research and effectiveness, enrollment management, student affairs, academic support services, K-12 outreach initiatives, student retention, honors programs and diversity and equity efforts, according to the release. \nNelms previously served as chancellor of IU East in Richmond, Ind., from 1987 to 1994, and at the University of Michigan at Flint from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he left the University of Michigan at Flint to return to IU, where he previously received two advanced degrees, according to a press release. \nFrom 1978 to 1984, he served as the associate dean of academic affairs at IU Northwest in Gary, according to the release. \nNelms plays an active role in several “professional, civic and higher-education organizations,” according to the release. He has served on the National Advisory Board of the National Survey of Student Engagement, which is based at IU. He also led the American Council on Education’s Commission for Leadership Development.\nNelms currently serves on the board of directors of the Indiana African-American History Museum and is a former American Council on Education Fellow and Ford Fellow, according to the release.
(06/04/07 1:36am)
Director of Student Media Dave Adams died over the weekend.\nHe was 59.\nAdams, a defender of student media rights and former executive director of the Journalism Education Association, came to IU in 1989.\nDuring his tenure as publisher of the Indiana Daily Student and Arbutus, he brought the yearbook back from the brink of bankruptcy and oversaw the IDS change to a free-distribution model.\nThe cause of death was not immediately known.\nCheck Monday's IDS for the full story.
(05/31/07 1:15am)
A night at a live punk show can be a little hard on the eardrums. But with a staple pop-punk powerhouse coming to Indianapolis, the tympanic membranes can take one for the team.\nMxPx, which has been making power-charged, ear-shattering music since the early 1990s, will take the stage at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Irving Theater, located at 5505 E. Washington St. \nAfter an 11-year hiatus, the band has reunited with former record label Tooth and Nail to produce its eighth album, “Secret Weapon.” The tour will introduce the new album, which will be released July 17.\nTonight’s show also features Hawk Nelson, The Classic Crime, The Fold and Sullivan.\nTickets are $18 at the door. Checkered Vans shoes are optional.\nFor more information, visit www.toothandnail.com.
(05/24/07 4:00am)
"Pan's Labyrinth" may have lost the Oscar for Best Foreign Film a few months back, but that didn't stop the masses from packing into theaters to experience one of the most genius, original creations in recent film history.
(05/09/07 9:23pm)
NEW YORK – When Cleaster Graves noticed some crumbling mortar around the foundation of her family’s aging Brooklyn brownstone, she turned to an unusual expert for help: her 17-year-old daughter.\n“She said ‘You know what to do with this stuff. Go on and fix it!’” Thomas said.\nAsking the teenager, Corrie Thomas, to restore the foundation wasn’t just wishful thinking. Thomas happens to be a fairly skilled preserver, as are all of her classmates in the Preservation Arts and Technology program at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts.\nThe program, founded in 2000, is believed to be the first and only preservation arts program in the country. It aims to prepare students for future jobs in restoration crafts or in related fields such as conservation and architecture. Students learn about engineering and city planning and also take part in hands-on classes and internships in stone masonry, stained-glass restoration and timber-framing.\nBecause the High School of the Arts is so new, students find their way there largely by chance, Principal Robert Finley said. They come to the school wanting to be actors and dancers, then realize there are different careers related to the arts that might be just as meaningful. Almost all the students go on to college, and last year two students were accepted at the prestigious Cooper Union School of Architecture.\nThe school uses an interdisciplinary approach to preservation arts, so all 650 students, regardless of major, are introduced to the basic ideas of preservation technology.\nTeachers also plan their lessons collaboratively: When history teacher Mark Watson teaches his social studies students about the significance of Grand Central Terminal, a math teacher covers the geometry of the building and an Earth Science instructor gives an astronomy lesson based on the constellations in the ceiling.\nWatson said the integrated curriculum not only challenges teachers to think creatively about their subjects but provides a focus for the students. Exploring different aspects of a topic engages the students on several levels, he said.\nThe fact that such a unique program has taken root in a city like New York isn’t all that surprising. That is because New Yorkers are keenly aware of the value of buildings and monuments to their communities, said Bonnie Vernon, president of the World Monuments Fund.\n“The impact of 9/11 influenced a reflection on what matters in this city,” she said. “The World Trade Center was a historic, symbolic building.” Looking around, the city is full of important structures deserving of preservation, she said.\nKate Ottavino, director of preservation technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said there’s an increasing interest in preservation arts as Americans realize that the country is full of crumbling historic buildings and few people know how to fix them.\nA large part of the collective knowledge about the building arts is lost with each generation, she said. When churches like St. Anne’s and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights need repair, specialty craftsmen must be imported from France because American tradesmen are simply no longer taught restoration techniques.\n“It’s absolutely a crisis situation,” Ottavino said. “I’m one of the youngest people in the industry and I’m 48 years old.”\nAlthough most parents don’t encourage their children to be craftsmen, the timber-framers and restoration tradesmen who teach master classes at the high school are quick to point out that restoration trades can be very lucrative.\n“That’s what gets the kids really excited,” history teacher Watson said. “They can make $100,000 a year, and there are jobs forever.”\nEven if they don’t go on to high-paying jobs, students in the program say a greater awareness of what preservation arts teachers call “the built environment” is invaluable. Senior Jonathan Rice said he and his fellow students are inspired to take a closer look at their own neighborhoods, sometimes even spotting illegal construction practices.\n“Some of those buildings just don’t fit in with the others,” he pointed out. “They’re built too fast, and the materials are too cheap.”\nFor Principal Finley, this is the true value of the program – teaching students to be good stewards of their communities, especially the historic sites and structures that they will inherit from previous generations.\n“Ultimately, it’s about civic duty,” Finley said. “That’s what this program teaches.”
(05/04/07 4:00am)
Tomorrow, after 8,229 of you get your degrees in the two ceremonies at Assembly Hall, most of you will pack up (if you haven’t already) and leave Bloomington – scattering off to the four corners of the world and an unknown future.\nBut do you have to? I mean, couldn’t you stick around for a little while longer? What’s the big rush?\nIt’s great that you’re so excited about finding a job, having grand adventures and changing the world. One day you will get married, move to the suburbs, and have 2.3 kids. That’s all fine, I guess. But ask yourself this: When’s the next time you’ll play flippy cup or ‘sink the biz’? When will you walk through the Arboretum on a misty morning, or listen to a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon behind Woodburn? Before you know it, painting your body crimson and cream won’t be so appealing, and a 2 a.m. hot dog on Kirkwood won’t be so appetizing. When will you hear a lecture just because it sounds interesting (or because the professor has a nice butt)? Be honest, have you ever gotten lucky in the stacks of a world-class research library or did you hear about the experience from your roommate’s cousin’s friend who claimed to know a guy who did?\nDo you think CEOs or Nobel Prize-winners get to dye their hair blue whenever they want? OK, they probably do – but you understand our point. The real world is overrated. Stay here with us.\nA bunch of you are already saying: “But I have to get a job so I can pay off my student loans!” Pfft. Here’s the thing about debt: when you owe a lender $100, you’re in their pocket – but when you owe them $100,000, they’re in yours. And what would be a better way to rack up more than $100,000 of debt than pay an extra decade’s worth of tuition? The university gets more money, the state of Indiana gets a more educated workforce and you get to hang out with us – it’s a win-win-win situation. Only the student loan companies lose, and nobody likes them. It might do something funny to the economy, but who understands economics anyway?\nBesides, somebody has to school the incoming freshmen on the ways of IU. The current juniors/soon-to-be seniors could probably do a good job of this, but they don’t have your experience – they’ve had less opportunity to work out the best times to hit the Wright Place food court, for example, or find the cheapest haircut in town. These are important, complex skills that can only be sufficiently developed after, say, seven to eight years of college. And here you’re leaving just when you were getting good at this stuff!\nWhat’s that? No, this is not merely an excuse to keep you here just because we’re going to miss all of you. We would never do something so devious ... Not us!\nNot to our dearest graduating seniors, readers and friends.
(05/04/07 4:00am)
Buskirk-Chumley Concert Series kicks off