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(06/25/07 10:12pm)
A self-proclaimed student radical visited Dunn Meadow on Tuesday for the first time in a long time. \nGuy Loftman, who was student-body president from 1967 to 1968, posed for photographs at the Memorial Pillar and Centennial Steps in Dunn Meadow, where free-speech forums were routinely held 40 years ago. \n“I can smile as big as anybody,” Loftman joked while posing for a picture in a spot where he frowned about 40 years ago. “I bet there is no file in the archives bigger than my FBI file.”\nLoftman, who’s now a Bloomington attorney, was referring to the Counter Intelligence Program that tracked radical student leaders in the 1960s and early 1970s.\nRadical students led such profound protests that former IU student Mary Ann Wynkoop documented them in her book, “Dissent in the Heartland: The Sixties at Indiana University.” \n“Midwestern students felt the most impact (of student demonstrations and protests) because they ran so counter to what they were taught in school,” Wynkoop said. “Bloomington had a deep-seated conservative element in it, and the idea of challenging authority was really revolutionary for Midwesterners.” \nIU designated Dunn Meadow as the official campus assembly ground on May 7, 1963. The campus assembly ground was for “members of the community to express themselves freely on all subjects, within the limits of applicable laws and regulations, with or without advance notice,” according to the proposal, now housed in the University archives. Since 1963, Dunn Meadow has been the location of hundreds of protests and assemblies, from anti-war demonstrations to the farewell speech of ex-IU basketball coach Bob Knight in 2000. \nHowever, many students of the past said students of today have lost touch with the power of protest, said Douglas Wissing, an IU alumnus who has written about student protest on the campus.. While student protest still exists, it’s not as profound or as visible as it once was in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, \n“Today, protest is orderly, mainly middle-class and middle-aged people,” Wissing said. “The deficit of students is sad and shocking.”\n \nViolent protests, radical leaders \nBy 1967, the anti-Vietnam War sentiment was reaching its pinnacle, and students began to target not only the government, but also private companies that aided the war, such as the Dow Chemical Co. Dow Chemical manufactured the napalm used in Vietnam as a weapon against the Viet Cong and the people living there. When representatives from the company came to IU for recruitment, about 125 students gathered in the hallway outside the office of then-IU President Elvis J. Stahr. The objective of the sit-in was to “strive for intellectual integrity (of the University) and to stop IU complacence with those who needed napalm,” according to an article in the Nov. 1, 1967, issue of the Indiana Daily Student. That particular demonstration led to 37 student arrests.\nLoftman, student body president and a political radical at the time, said he didn’t play a role in protesting Dow, but was certainly involved in the aftermath.\n“From my perspective, it happened without my guidance,” Loftman said. “I was not a participant, not arrested.”\nLoftman said the Dow Chemical protest was one of the first student sit-ins at IU, which may have accounted for police beating the students with batons and arresting them.\n“The police freaked out,” Loftman said. “That was the first time that I can remember any police violence against student demonstrators.”\nAfter the arrests, Loftman spent the following days getting the demonstrators out of jail, another first for him during his presidency.\nAt the end of it all, Loftman enlisted the help of a professor who put up his house as collateral so the 37 demonstrators could get out on bail. \nDuring Loftman’s presidential term, he organized more than three dozen student demonstrations, relying on leaflets and flyers to rally students. Loftman was a “student power” advocate and focused his energy on gaining student rights, as well as speaking out against the Vietnam War.\n“Almost everybody who was out there really didn’t like the war in Vietnam,” Loftman said. “It was very unpopular and intrusive. The draft came into your living room.”\nLoftman cites the military draft as the primary reason students opposed the war, but he points out it wasn’t the only issue.\n“For every 100 people protesting, there were 100 different motivations,” Loftman said. “... Plus, half the protesters were women, and they weren’t going to get drafted. It wasn’t just ‘I might get drafted,’ it was ‘You might get drafted.’”\nAfter his student-body presidential term was up in 1968, he told the IDS that his greatest accomplishment was changing students’ attitudes and sparking greater political awareness in them.\n“What is important is how (students) relate to society, how they view themselves in relation to the world,” Loftman said in 1968. \nThe change in attitudes he effected allowed the student body to get more organized in the 1970s.
(06/18/07 7:10pm)
Laughter is the best medicine and Bear’s Place is hard at work prescribing the funnies.\nBear’s Place has been on the Comedy Caravan circuit 21 years. Comedians on the circuit perform in nightclubs and bars all across the country. Comedians Russ Nagel and Mel Fine performed on June 11.\n“It’s a great room to perform in,” feature comedian Mel Fine said. “The mindset here is comedy.”\nIn the 2005 USA Today article “10 great places to sit down and watch comedy,” Bear’s Place was ranked the 10th best place in the nation to watch a comedy show. Everyone from Dave Chappelle to Roseanne Barr has performed at Bear’s at some point in their career, Master of Ceremonies Brad Wilhelm said.\nBefore the show starts, Wilhelm recited to the audience the rules of the show. By the time he got to the last and most important rule, the audience recited it with him: “Laugh your fucking ass off!” \nThe first comedian up was Bloomington resident Ben Moore. He did a 15-minute set to warm the audience up for Fine and Nagel.\n“I was really nervous,” Moore said. “After the set I went straight to the bar.”\nFine performed next with her 30 minute set. She reflected on life in the 80s and bigger women who like to dress scandalously.\n“Don’t they know they look like a busted tube of biscuits?” Fine said. \nNagel took the stage after Fine. Wearing a leather vest, chains and fingerless leather gloves, it is obvious why he is billed as “the funniest biker.”\n“You all are looking at me like you are waiting on the Indian and the construction guy to show up,” Nagel joked as he took the stage. \nNagel’s performance had the audience laughing for the entire 45-minute set. Jokes ranged from quick-hit one-liners to a pantomime detailing the intricacies of driving while intoxicated with the police following you. At the end of the show, Nagel stuck around to greet the fans and sell his comedy CD.\nNagel has been a professional comedian since 1987. This performance was his first in Bloomington.\n“The show went well; sometimes you get lucky,” Nagel said. “Every town is different; you never what an audience will respond to.”\nNext up for Bear’s Place and Comedy Caravan is Robert York featuring Dan Fontaine on June 16.
(06/14/07 4:00am)
"Ocean's 13" is not a movie -- it's a world. But in this world, the audience will forever be on the outside looking in. By no means does the film leave the viewer jealous of this cinematic world; for us, it's just fun to be along for the ride. The feel is, in a word, cool. \nThe movie begins with a shady business deal between casino czar Willie Bank (Pacino) and Reuben Tishkoff (Gould), Danny Ocean's financier, which causes Reuben to have a near-fatal heart attack. Ocean (Clooney) and the crew decide to rig Bank's casino so that for one night only, the house loses. Smuggling in Black Jack card shufflers that guarantee the table always gets 21 while the dealer busts and dispersing remote controled dice throughout the casino are only a few of their revenge-driven schemes.\n"Ocean's 13" pays homage to the 1960 original film. Both Bank and Tishkoff are "old school" guys who live by a code. They've even shaken hands with the Godfather of their world, Sinatra himself. To them, that's supposed to mean something. \nThe missteps of the second film (the worst of trilogy) were a painfully difficult-to-comprehend plot and the absence of a Vegas setting. This time, though, the boys are back in the desert, and the plot, at its core, is a simple revenge story which kept my attention the entire time. \nThe cinematography is brilliant, right on par with Soderbergh's previous two "Ocean's" and "Traffic." The set and costume design is such that a still from this movie could be put right into the pages of GQ. It's not just the clothes -- it's the never-panicked and super smooth attitudes of the characters that men want to emulate and women want to get with.\nAlso, Soderbergh uses creative editing techniques like freeze frames and wipes to weave the story together coherently and smoothly. In one seduction scene, the audience even gets to see exactly how pheromones are dispersed into the air.\nAl Pacino is a great addition to the elite, coolest-of-the-cool cast, but his performance is noticeably toned-down. It's refreshing to see Pacino in a supporting role, and it's nice to see that he doesn't mind being upstaged by a ensemble cast with the best on-screen chemistry in recent memory. \n"Ocean's 13" is a venue for the elite of Hollywood to flaunt their immense talent for the audience to eat up, but it's clear by watching them work that everyone involved is having fun. And you know what? As a viewer, I did too.
(06/13/07 11:26pm)
Last Thursday, I made a bold prediction that Tony Soprano would die in the series finale of “The Sopranos.” \nI was so geeked the entire weekend that I couldn’t think of anything else. I had dreams, violent fantasies of the act and how it would go down. At one point I even hypothesized the killer would be Colonel Mustard with the lead pipe in the conservatory. Page Dr. Melfi, I was losing my friggin’ mind.\nFinally the moment of truth: Sunday at 9 p.m. A couple of friends and I gathered around my television and watched with sustained glee. This was the end ... Only it wasn’t.\nAs 9:58 rolled around, Tony was still alive and breathing his patented deep, nasal breaths. He walked into a diner. What a perfect place for a bloodbath, I thought to myself. Then it happened. No, he wasn’t whacked. It was far worse. He put money into the jukebox and selected Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin.’” How can the best television mobster die to such a cheesy sound track?\nIt’s now 10:04. I know the end is near. A shady-looking character at the bar goes into the bathroom. He’s going to get a gun! Tony’s daughter comes running into the diner. She’s trying to warn Tony about something! What does she know? Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the suspense is killing me! I can’t wait! I ... WTF? My satellite feed has gone out! Of all the inopportune times! I fumble for my remote and curse up a storm that would make Paulie Walnuts blush. Why can’t I fix this? Ugh!\nAnd then the credits roll. That’s all, folks. After an eternity of thunderstruck silence, I speak.\n“What the hell?”\nApparently, legions of other viewers felt the same way. Bloggers charged the finale was worse than that of “Seinfeld.” A Facebook group “aaaaaaaa I’M PISSED BC THE LAST EPISODE OF SOPRANOS SUCKED” has been formed and thus far has 381 members. I was thinking about joining the group, but then I watched the episode again.\nIt’s not as bad the second time around, with the brutal yet darkly funny execution of Phil Leotardo (he gets shot and then an idling car rolls over his head) and the hospital scene in which Tony visits an unconscious Silvio and does not say a word. And, yes, even the ending.\nWith the open-ended ending, creator David Chase has given the world’s culture junkies a barstool conversation for the rest of time: “What do you think happens to Tony Soprano?”\nI still believe that in the gangster film genre (yes “The Sopranos” is an 86-part film), no one stays on top. You either end up dead or in jail. I also believe Tony Soprano is too good at what he does to ever end up in jail, at least for the rest of his life. I think Tony Soprano dies in a mafia-FBI shoot-out. He goes out blasting.
(05/17/07 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Watching "The Queen", you are witnessing filmmaking at its best. Oh, and it's not a product of Hollywood.
"The Queen" is an intimate look at the British Royal family after Princess Diana's death. Also juxtaposed into the story is the rise of Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), who was elected Prime Minister of England mere days before Diana's passing.
This is a beautifully made film; one that demands multiple viewings to take in all the brilliant subtleties like the Queen's sleep attire or the way Tony Blair's flat is decorated. The expert acting is what stands out upon first viewing. What more can be said about Helen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance that hasn't been said already? She plays the queen with a dignified humility while maintaining a royal presence every moment she's on screen.
While on the surface the film is about the royal family, it's actually about British culture and the people of Britain. Frears uses footage from the "telly companies" to assign authenticity to the period. Some of the most powerful scenes are that of Diana speaking out against the royal family and real British citizens mourning the death of their princess. Something that I, as an American, did not realize, was how absurd some Britains think the royal family is. Diana was their fighter against The Establishment, which the Queen embodied.
The special features are hit and miss. While the making-of featurette delivers interviews with all the actors, producers and director, I feel like the movie can stand alone. The two commentary tracks (one with the writer and the director, one with a British Historian/Royal Family Expert) adds more insight into the making of the film and the culture surrounding it and should not be missed.
"The Queen" is a must see not only for film buffs, but for culture buffs as well.
(05/17/07 4:00am)
As I was scouring the internet for CD and DVDs to review in this issue, I noticed Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 5 released on DVD two weeks prior. Pissed off because this was the second time I missed the chance to put the show into the magazine (Season Six wrapped up on HBO in the Spring), I decided I would have to write a Last Word piece about Def Poetry, not just about the show but it's impact on pop culture.\nThe tagline for the show is 'A powerful expression in hip-hop'. That's a great tagline; but what is hip-hop? Hip-hop is the music of the youth and urban culture. At its best, hip-hop is a voice for the voiceless. In the 90s, rap pioneer Chuck D said hip-hop is the "black CNN." I am going to stay with this analogy, the culture of Hip-hop as a news network. \nLet's see what's on...\n...Three Six Mafia just settled into their new Beverly Hills home on "Hollyhood." Will these Memphis kings be able to survive in Lala land? Stay tuned... in other news 50 Cent is feuding with the entire rap industry, holding up the release of his next album. Sources close to the rapper said Fiddy will end the feud only after someone shoots him thus bolstering his 'street cred' into the stratosphere .... We'll end tonight's broadcast with breaking news. Justin Timberlake, aka JT, just brought sexy back!\n(click)\nOK, so maybe that is not the type of news network Chuck D had in mind when he made that statement (and in that regard, what does Chuck D think of Flava of Love?), but that's the state of hip-hop right now. \nNotice the broadcast failed to mention the war in Iraq. The broadcast failed to mention the unpopular Bush administration. The broadcast failed to mention the rising costs of health care and college tuition. The broadcast failed to mention the negative effect that cocaine and crystal meth is having on American families. \nThe broadcast failed us. \nSo, what is hip-hop? Hip-hop is broken. 'Def Poetry' and the Def Poets are doing trying to save it.\nThe Def Poetry movement is spearheaded by Mos Def and Talib Kweli, the Bob Dylan and Neil Young of our generation. Mos is the host of the show, and the voice. Kweli is his longtime friend a frequent 'Def Poetry' performer. Whenever either of these two artists drops a record, the hip-hop world pays attention. Mos Def even got a shot in at Jay-Z a couple years back without Jay reciprocating. Common is another rap artist prominently featured on 'Def Poetry', but he loses credit in my book for appearing in commercials for The Gap.\nSaul Williams is the Jim Morrison of our time, sort of. Morrison was a self-proclaimed poet and, in the 70s, the people adored his work. On the other hand, Morrison celebrated excess and died accordingly. Williams' poetry is nothing like that of Morrison's. He is socially responsible and at the same time so far out there that I still don't entirely understand 'Coded Language', a poem he performed on 'Def Poetry' way back in Season 2, and I have seen probably 100 times. I could go on and on about how brilliant Saul is, but you should check him out yourself.\nWhile I am a huge fan of music, hip-hop has always been my favorite genre. And it is a big genre where there is room for a Snoop Dogg and a Lil' John as well as Def Poetry. If Mos and Talib are the Bob Dylan and Neil Young of hip-hop then Lil John is the Motley Crue. There is a place for both the Crue and Lil' John in their respective genres, but artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dylan and Young wield the responsibility in their genres, respectively.\nThe purpose of this column was to get you, the reader, exposed to a different kind of music. If you are still reading, thank you. Check out Season 5 of 'Def Poetry' as it came out last week and features artists such as Dave Chappelle and Kanye West. Also, the Amir Sulaiman album will be worth listening to, I promise. 'Def Poetry' is folk music, listen accordingly.
(05/10/07 4:00am)
We -- this summer's WEEKEND caretakers -- need your advice and opinions as the magazine expands on the Web and in print. If you love music, movies, DVDS, videogames, popculture or the Internet as much as we do -- trot on down to Ernie Pyle Hall and get yourself a job.
(05/10/07 4:00am)
Remember way back in the mid 90s, when you would see any action movie Nick Cage attached himself too ("The Rock", "Face/Off", "Con Air")? After "Ghost Rider", Cage desperately needs to revive his action image. "Next", it seems, was the best he could do.\n "Next" is the story of a Las Vegas musician named Cris Johnson (Cage) that can see two minutes into the future. His ability, however, is only limited to his future. That changes when he sees the beautiful Liz (Jessica Biel) in a vision. He seeks Liz out and they begin to passionately fall for one another. Enter Callie Ferris (Moore), an FBI agent who wants to use Johnson's power to find terrorists who are about to detonate a nuclear bomb. Cris and Liz find themselves running from not only the terrorists, but the FBI as well. \nThe movie is based on a Phillip K. Dick novel, the same author who wrote "Minority Report" and "A Scanner Darkly." Both of those books translated beautifully to the big screen, so I was (maybe unjustifiably so) expecting to be dazzled by clever, how'd-they-do-that? action sequences and a multi-faceted plotline for the director to play with.\nAnd "Next" delivered, sort of. There were some incredible action sequences, including Cage's character dodging a "lumber avalanche" down the side of a mountain. The gimmick is he can see himself get crushed so he knows where to be and what not to do. The main plotline is your typical, run-of-the-mill action flick. The plot is highlighted, though, by the tortured malaise Cage brings to his character. The audience feels for him, knowing that his "gift" is also the pain in his ass that forces him to isolate himself from the world.\n"Next" is not the resurrection of Cage's bad-ass film persona, but it is a promising step in the right direction.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
If you are seeking thrills, "Vacancy" delivers. If you demand an original storyline, well, this one has been done before.\nThe film opens with feuding married couple Amy and David Fox (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) having car trouble in the middle of a night. They walk to the nearest motel they can find and check in for a night they will be lucky to survive. The couple get to their hotel room and are annoyed and slightly frightened by constant banging on their walls and door. The couple's tired indifference turns to true terror when David finds a videotape on the VCR that contains a murderous snuff film seemingly made in their motel room. Suddenly the power to the room gets cut and it is clear the couple broke down in front of the wrong motel.\nThe killers watch everything the two do through video cameras placed throughout the motel complex. They hear audio, too. The video camera not only adds to the scariness of the film by showing graphic violence, it is also chillingly disturbing how the killers like not only slaughtering strangers; they get off on watching it again and again.\nWilson and Beckinsale are great as a couple teetering on the edge of divorce. When survival instincts kick in, so does the love they once shared and it is that love that ultimately fuels their attempted escapes. Antal's direction is dark, sometimes too much so. Horror movies are supposed to be dark, but when most of the action is happening in a dimly lit hotel room, the audience gets confused. Some of the action was hard to believe simply because it was hard to see.\nThere are some genuine jump-out-of-your-seat scary moments in this film, which any decent horror flick must have. And even though you've seen "Psycho" and "Turistas," this movie was surprisingly unpredictable. The movie, which runs a little less than 90 minutes, is short and abrupt. Unlike watching "CSI," where the resolution will come within the hour, "Vacancy" was sudden and added to the feel and atmosphere of the film as a whole experience. But you have seen it before and there is no resolution so if it does well at the box office, you will probably see it again as a sequel. That's good. This is a great popcorn movie and an interesting way to spend an afternoon. \n"Vacancy" is by no means a horror classic, but it does add the video camera to the cat-and-mouse horror genre. At least it doesn't take anything away.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
Take "Dances with Wolves," remove any discernible plot and the brilliant acting and you have "Pathfinder." \n"Pathfinder" opens with an American Indian woman finding a young boy on a wrecked Viking ship. The Vikings had destroyed most of the woman's village but they decided to take the boy in and raise him as their own. Fifteen years later, the Vikings return to cleanse the American shore of the "savages" before they settle it.\nDirector Marcus Nispel directed 2003's sinisterly gory "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" but apparently did not get all the gratuitous slasher violence out of his system. There are multiple decapitations and raw violence on the screen throughout but even a fan of violent movies will be turned off by the often incomprehensible editing of the battle scenes. There are times when the audience sees a flash of action, lots of bodies hitting each other, then a couple hit the ground. It is as if Nispel thinks that we should just take his word that the corpse on the ground at the end of the scene was the warrior who lost the fight from the beginning of the scene. This kind of camera work and editing has worked before ("Braveheart"), but here it's just a jumbled mess and the acting doesn't help.\nThe acting in "Pathfinder" is terrible and seemingly historically inaccurate. There is very little engaging dialogue but when there is, it's in English! For some reason the director decided to have the American Indians speak English throughout while the Vikings speak a crude, probably Norse language. Where is the authenticity? Even if you think reading subtitles is a pain, you can never argue that "The Passion of the Christ" or "Apocalypto" didn't feel authentic. "Pathfinder" does regain (a smidgen) of authenticity with the filming location, Vancouver. \nWhile the camera work is suspect, the cinematography is beautiful, but it would be hard to make the snowy mountains of Vancouver look bad. Also, the costumes and makeup were top-notch. The Vikings wore so much armor they looked otherworldly, something like you might see in "Lord of the Rings."\nAlthough there are some decent technical aspects of the film, it doesn't make up for a razor-thin, recycled plot and uninspired filmmaking. When was the last time you left a theater raving great choice of filming location, anyway? Skip this one, and go see "Grindhouse" or "300" to satisfy your violent movie craving.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
"Payback" was a good flick but far from a great one. It had its moments, but it really couldn't hold a candle to 1967's "Point Blank," which it is a remake of, replacing the ice-cold Lee Marvin with a brooding yet snappy Mel Gibson. What I never knew though was "Payback" was butchered by Gibson due to some of the graphic content, and an altogether new third act was shot after director/screenwriter Brian Helgeland had the film taken from him. \nNow we are finally treated to Helgeland's restored vision, under the title "Payback: Straight Up," in which Gibson plays Porter, a professional robber left for dead by his ex-partner-in-crime Val Resnick (Gregg Henry) and former wife Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger), who manages to survive two shots in the back and comes calling for the $70K which is owed him. Turns out Resnick has bought his way into the local crime syndicate, so now Porter has plenty of other folks to put a bullet in if he wants his cash.\n"Straight Up" feels almost like an entirely different movie. Gone are most of the blue/gray tones coating the screen and Gibson's awkward narration. The two major scenes that Gibson didn't agree with, those being his physical assault on a doped-up Unger and Resnick's killing of a dog, are rightfully restored. I'm not a fan of violence against women or animals, but these scenes, especially Gibson's attack, add a darker layer to the characters populating this yarn. \nAbout that changed third act mentioned earlier: In the theatrical release, Gibson seeks out syndicate boss "Bronson" (Kris Kristofferson) and kidnaps his son in order to get his money back, the end result being Gibson is severely tortured before he blows the syndicate to pieces with a bomb and lives to tell the tale. In "Straight Up," "Bronson" is actually a woman whose face we never see and Gibson spends the final minutes of the film navigating the subway system taking out every man he comes across. He finally gets his money, but he also takes a few rounds in the stomach, and we're left with the ambiguity of whether or not he'll live.\nHelgeland shows up for a commentary track, but having disowned the theatrical cut, he never bothers to comment on that version. There are also four featurettes covering the filming in Los Angeles and Chicago, an interview with author Donald E. Westlake whose "The Hunter" inspired "Point Blank" and "Payback," and a making of the director's cut. What is so important in this latter segment is that Gibson actually shows up to discuss the changes to the film, and for this he gets my respect.\n"Payback: Straight Up" is the way to go if you've never seen the film before, although I recommend watching both versions just to see what the power of editing can do to completely alter one's take on a film.
(04/16/07 4:00am)
The Indiana Memorial Union proved to be the perfect venue for slam poet Amir Sulaiman’s intimate Friday night performance.\nChairs were arranged in a crescent around the stage and the lights dimmed for the event. Before the show, freshman Sloane Trugman was excited to “immerse herself in the diversity of the campus.”\nSulaiman took the stage and performed myriad spoken-word poems that tackled issues ranging from faith and love to war and revolution.\nSulaiman said he wanted the atmosphere of the show to be more of a conversation than a presentation, so he encouraged the crowd to ask questions and give him comments. Between poems, the audience and Sulaiman dialogued about “The Boondocks” and Don Imus.\n“It was good to hear the ideas and the frustration expressed so elegantly,” graduate student Leeanne Bowen Atkins said.\nSulaiman has performed the poem “Danger” on HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.”\n“Number one, it is a poem of desperation,” Sulaiman said. “Number two, it is to remind those who would like to be reminded. Number three, to remind those that not like to be reminded. And number four, to inform those that don’t know.”\nSulaiman then blasted into the poem with a purposeful fury.\n“I am not angry; I am anger,” he declared.\nAs the poem continued, Sulaiman lost himself in the words and it began to feel as if the poem were delivering itself.\n“It’s not mine; it’s divine,” the devout Muslim said after the show.\nNot long ago, Sulaiman was a high school teacher. After “Def Poetry” aired, he said, the FBI began interviewing his students, trying to build a case that Sulaiman and his poetry were un-American. Nothing came of the inquisitions, he said. And Sulaiman joked that if the FBI wanted to investigate him, all they needed to do was buy his CD, not interview his students.\nTen-year-old Quoran Wimbley had never seen a poetry slam until Friday night, but he had studied it in school. He said he liked the performance because it was like hip-hop and wished Sulaiman was his teacher.\nAfter the performance, Sulaiman hung around to autograph copies of his CD, “Dead Man Walking.” The album, which contains both spoken word and hip-hop, was sold for $10, and all the proceeds went to combat homelessness.\nThe Muslim Student Union brought Sulaiman to campus. Senior Khizar Ali, the group’s vice president, said the show was a success. Ali said he is proud Sulaiman is a positive image of Muslims in the arts and entertainment industry.\n“It’s nice to see Amir is going towards the same goals that we are trying to accomplish on campus,” Ali said. “He is someone that is paving the way.”
(04/13/07 4:00am)
After about a two-week postponement due to scheduling conflicts, poetry slam fans can rejoice. The Muslim Student Union, Black Scholars Collective and the Union Board present Amir Sulaiman Friday in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery.\nSulaiman is a hip-hop artist, spoken word poet and educator. He has recorded three albums and his latest, “Like a Thief in the Night” will be released sometime this year. Sulaiman has also been featured on HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry” twice.\nSulaiman was originally slated to perform in the Whittenberger Auditorium on March 29 during Muslim Awareness Month but the event was relocated to the IMUG after the rescheduling. Director of Diversity Performance Committee on the Union Board Kelli Zimmerman said the atmosphere of the IMUG is better suited for this event because poetry reading should be intimate. Poetry slams and readings staged there in the past have been successful, Zimmerman said.\n“Amir Sulaiman’s performance will present a type of entertainment that is not often seen on this campus, and because it is so unique, it will expand the horizons of those who attend,” Zimmerman said.\nPir Ali is the coordinator of the event for the Muslim Student Union. He also is excited about the change of venue, because it makes a better show for the audience.\n“Spoken word belongs in a coffeehouse setting,” Ali said.\nEmployees at the Starbucks are excited about the event, too.\n“(Poetry slams) make my job more enjoyable,” sophomore barista Brent Hirschy said. “I would normally not seek out a poetry event so it’s fun to see something different.”\nThe event starts at 8 p.m. Friday in the IMUG next to Starbucks. The show is free to all.
(04/12/07 4:00am)
The Recording Industry Association of America slapped IU with 28 pre-litigation letters on Wednesday.\nThe letters alleged 28 instances in which copyrighted material was downloaded on the Internet service provided by the University. As of press time, Director of IU Media Relations Larry MacIntyre was unable to comment on the RIAA letters.\nThis marks the third wave of pre-litigation letters sent out to universities by the RIAA, but the first time IU has received any. There were 413 letters sent to 22 universities Wednesday and more letters will be sent out on a monthly basis to universities across the country, said RIAA spokesperson Liz Kennedy in a phone interview.\nThe RIAA does not know which students were trafficking the illegal music, only the IP address is known. The IP, or internet protocol address, is sent to IU officials with the hopes they will forward the pre-litigation letters to the student using the IP address. \nAccording to University policy, the user in question is sent a “First Offense” e-mail that includes a copy of the complaint from the copyright holder. That user is then given 24 hours to complete a tutorial and quiz about copyright infringement and delete all copyrighted material from his or her computer. If these two items are done, no further action will be taken by the University. Still, some students say they will still obtain their music illegally.\nFreshmen Jesse Goldstein and Evan Hirschhorn said they do not download music illegally, but if they did, this RIAA crackdown would be little deterrence.\n“I get music online from www.archive.org,” Hirschhorn said. “Artists put their own music from concerts up for free download.”\nJunior Jade Tirotta said she gets her music from the peer-to-peer site LimeWire for free or she pays for it on iTunes.\n“Limewire goes slow, iTunes is much more reliable,” said Tirotta, who also said the threat of lawsuit would not keep her from downloading on peer-to-peer sites.\nStudents also said they did not know when it is OK to share files and when it is illegal. Kennedy said burning a backup copy of a CD you own is legal, but giving that burned CD to a friend, even without monetary gain, is illegal.\nThe goal of this RIAA crackdown is to teach students that music is “intellectual property” and a copyright is not something to be ignored, according to a statement prepared by RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Bainwol and RIAA President Cary Sherman. College students are more prone to illegally downloading music than the population at large, the statement said. College students accounted for more than 1.3 billion illegal music downloads in 2006, according to research done by the market research firm NPD.\nFor more information regarding file-sharing copyrighted material, visit the University Information and Technology Services filesharing Web site, www.filesharing.iu.edu
(04/10/07 4:00am)
Two Belgian draft horses pulling an authentic beer wagon entered the Yogi’s Grill and Bar parking lot at 5 p.m. Monday. The wagon is filled with Dyngus Day party-goers and kegs of Lebowski Lager from Upland Brewery. After arriving, the beer and the party-goers made a quick exit off the wagon and into the bar to get the party started.\n“The beer-delivering horses is my new favorite Dyngus Day tradition,” bartender Bob Hebenstreit said. Hebenstreit has worked eight Dyngus Days and said he sees something new every year.\nDyngus Day is a Polish celebration that marks the end of the Lent season and is always the first Monday after Easter. Yogi’s Grill and Bar celebrates Dyngus Day by throwing a party in which patrons and employees wear ridiculously mismatched clothes, listen to live polka music and drink the liquor Navip Slivovitz.\n“Dyngus Day is like St. Patrick’s Day on acid,” manager Chris Karl said.
(04/09/07 4:00am)
The 14th annual Dyngus Day celebration kicks off today at Yogi’s Grill and Bar, 519 E. 10th St.\nDyngus Day is a Polish tradition and celebrates the end of the Lent season. In America, Dyngus Day is most celebrated in Buffalo, N.Y., and South Bend according to www.dyngusdaybuffalo.com.\nDyngus Day partygoers must wear clothes that clash, be ready to do the chicken dance and be able to down an obligatory shot of Navip Slivovitz, a plum brandy from Russia, said Yogi’s owner Jim Karl.\n“In order to take a shot of Slivovitz, you must first cleanse your palate with kerosene,” Karl joked. “But on Dyngus Day you have to have at least one.”\nYogi’s also adds special Polish food to the menu like Polish sausage, buffalo sausage, sauerkraut, Polish potato salad, and perogis, a potato pasta. Also, a horse drawn carriage will carry Lebowski Lager from Upland Brewery, down Kirkwood, then up to Yogi’s.\n“This is the first year for the horses and we are very excited,” Karl said.\nKarl said the best attire for the party are the clothes found in the back of your closet and are mismatched. Plaid and stripes are popular, as well as bowling shirts.\n“On this day, you embrace the clothes you are embarrassed to own,” Karl said.\nKarl describes Dyngus Day as a place where both young and old can come, dress funny, drink and have a good time. In 2002, The IU men’s basketball team was playing the championship game on Dyngus Day. Some college students showed up at 11 a.m. to get good seats to watch the game that evening, Karl said. They were not prepared for the unique festivities of Dyngus Day.\n“The college students were offering money to the polka band to stop playing,” Karl said. “But, they ended up having a great time.”\nAfter 2002, more college students began going to Yogi’s to celebrate the day every year and this year is expected to be packed wall to wall. There will be room to chicken dance, Karl said.\nThe party starts at 11 a.m and goes until 3 am. At 6 p.m., the polka band Kid Kazooski with the 3 Pilzudski Twins will perform. The Dynamics and the Schmenge Brothers Blues Band take the stage at 10 p.m.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
"Meet the Robinsons" is a trifling Disney effort with too many characters to keep track of. While the title suggests a movie about the Robinson Family, it's really about an orphan inventor, Lewis, who creates a memory extractor device so he can remember who is mother is. He unveils his invention at the school science fair when a dangly guy with a Bowler hat, named Bowler Hat Guy, arrives in a time machine from the future to sabotage the science fair and steel Lewis' invention. Wilbur Robinson shows up soon after in another time machine and takes Lewis with him to the future so Lewis can meet the Robinsons and get his invention back. Confused? Me too, and I thought this was a kids' movie!\nThe animation is good but nothing compared to recent computer-animation films like "Cars" or "Monster House." The movie is set in the future, but it's a future world that presents and offers no new ideas. There are flying cars, and pedestrians get from place to place using a series of complex tubes. You've seen it all before, done better. I wish the story centered more on the eccentric Robinson family rather than Lewis. The family is the best part of the movie and, save a humorous dinner scene, is not featured long enough, but I'll do my best to introduce you to them.\nThere's Grandpa Bud, who is always losing and looking for his dentures; Grandma Lucille wears her pink hair beehive style; Uncle Art is a pizza-delivery man who tackles his job with the same tenacity of a superhero; Uncle Fritz's wife, Aunt Petunia, is a puppet on his hand; the mother, Franny, teaches frogs how to sing lounge tunes; Frankie is the bandleader of Frankie and the Frogs; Cornelius, the patriarch, is a Tom Selleck look-alike; and Wilbur is the time-traveling preteen who is about to get grounded. There's also Cousin Lazlo, Cousin Tallulah, Uncle Gaston, Spike and Dimitri, Buster the spectacle-wearing family dog and Lefty, the octopus butler. \nIf the filmmakers spent more time developing the characters of the family, the movie would have been enjoyable. Instead, the film centers around a thin storyline about an outcast orphan with a knack for inventing. The filmmakers come off as lazy, and I hope this is not a sign of things to come from Disney. Skip the movie and watch the trailer. All the best parts are in it.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
It's 20 years from today in Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men," based on P.D. James' '90s sci-fi novel, and no woman has been able to get pregnant since 2009 nor do they know why. Upon the breaking news that the last baby born has died, the world goes to shit faster than you can say "pigs on the wing." Soon after, we meet Theo, played with a poignant hopelessness by Clive Owen. The scenario requires some disbelief suspension, but doesn't all science-fiction? \nTheo, after some terrific exposition of the world's current condition, is recruited from his melancholy London existence to escort a very special girl named Kee to the coast. She's the first woman to get pregnant in 18 years, and we'd better hope the government doesn't find out. The film pits the British government, which rounds up and cages refugees trying to flee to the island nation, against a "terrorist" organization called the Fishes, which fights for refugee rights. Theo is our anti-hero, trying to avoid both the government and the Fishes just to get Kee to the Human Project off the coast, a sort of Dharma Initiative of fertility testing. All the performances, including the reliable Michael Caine and a brief stint by Julianne Moore, carry crosses of hopelessness and quiet rage, yet the actors are overshadowed by the backdrop of something much bigger than themselves, which is the bleak future in which they're grounded. \nSeveral scenes and set-pieces in the film are literally jaw-dropping, including an extended action take inside a vehicle and an even longer uncut shot depicting the beginning of the Uprising, in which the British government march in to sweep and clear a refugee camp, calling to mind the ghetto liquidation sequence in "Schindler's List." The most impressive work on display here, aside from that of the production designers, is of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who was robbed of an Oscar in February. His efforts, combined with the grimy, leftover futurism of Cuarón's imagined UK, are a thrilling example of visceral visual cinema. \nThis one-disc edition may not be loaded with supplements, but what's there has some weight. A few inconsequential deleted scenes breeze by, followed by a cursory look at one of the film's only CGI'ed sequences, but a peek into how the astonishing in-car sequence was pulled off as well as an overview of the film's futuristic production design are worth more than a look. It's the disc's two documentary-style featurettes, however, that work to elevate the art of DVD special features. Comments on the film by postmodern philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek ring as true as a lecture by your favorite sociology professor on his best day, and "The Possibility of Hope" collects the musings of several notable modern thinkers on the various aspects of our possible global existence and works to understand how we can avoid a dire future of our own making. \n"Children of Men," harrowing chase movie though it may be, is, at its core, a political work. One of its most redeeming aspects, though, is that it doesn't take sides. Contrarily, and even though we follow the journey of Theo and Kee from its inception to its presumed conclusion, it represents a frightening vision of the future from a voyeuristic perspective. More so than in any film I can call to memory, Cuarón's imagined future feels more real than imaginary. Steeped in death, despair and chaos, "Children of Men" still champions the difference one human being can make in the midst of it all.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Few know the story of Alan Conway, a man who failed at life and decided to go around London claiming he was director Stanley Kubrick during the early '90s. Kubrick, notoriously private in his late years, never did interviews nor did anyone truly know what he looked like, making it that much easier for Conway, or anyone really, to claim he was the legendary filmmaker.\n"Color Me Kubrick" revolves around Conway's (unfortunately played by John Malkovich) con-man schemes throughout England as he meets one person after another, promising them fame and success in his next feature, all the while trying to pick up any man he can at the local gay bars. Unfortunately for Conway, the more people he cons, the bigger the mob that is hunting him down around town gets. \nSave for some great jokes (many of which are only funny if you know a lot of trivia/random facts about Kubrick) and the usage of music from numerous Kubrick films, "Color Me Kubrick" is disastrous. Malkovich is terrible; I can't recall many films I liked him in, and his bouncing between British and New York accents gets annoying fast while being terribly exaggerated (also fueling the common mistake of those who thought Kubrick was British when, in fact, he was from New York and moved to England in the 1960s). We never really are given the explanation behind why Conway did what he did; the film simply picks up with him walking into bars and saying he is Kubrick.\nThe film is directed by Brian W. Cook (a former assistant director to Kubrick) and penned by Anthony Frewin (Kubrick's personal assistant), both of whom certainly had a great idea to work with but miss the mark almost entirely. Kubrick himself was informed shortly before Conway's arrest that a man was running around London claiming to be him and the idea fascinated Kubrick; one could be sure that had Kubrick made a film out of this story, it would've been brilliant, but "Eyes Wide Shut" was certainly a triumphant end of a career. \nThe only extra is a 45-minute documentary, "Being Alan Conway," a slow, uninspired making-of that accomplishes nothing. In fact, after 20 minutes, I was so bored I just turned it off as I got sick of listening to Malkovich ramble on about his acting style. \n"Being John Malkovich" is a good movie -- I'd recommend you watch that instead of "Color Me Kubrick," as it should've been titled: "John Malkovich Being Alan Conway Being Stanley Kubrick Being John Malkovich"
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Three new Kirkwood establishments are competing for students' business -- day and night. Whether it's lunch between classes or a sobering snack after a weekend bar crawl, these restaurants offer a diverse selection of food.