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(04/03/07 4:00am)
If Christian Briggs has his way, “Why do I keep coming back here?” will never be uttered by frustrated restaurant and bar patrons again. \nBriggs plans to launch a Web site, http://www.bigtreetop.com/, in May. The site will breakdown the “barrier” between businesses and customers by essentially making the customers advisers to the business owners. Residents in a smaller community, such as Bloomington, can give advice to local businesses through a virtual suggestion box.\nThe site will cater to small businesses, but can be used by big companies as well. Also, non-competing businesses in the same city would be able to share notes and ideas to maximize their market potential. Briggs has already talked with some Bloomington business owners about the site.\n“The goal of the site is to make local, online communities and have businesses help each other out,” Briggs said. “We want to reinvigorate local economies.”\nBriggs, 35, is a doctoral student and associate instructor in the School of Informatics. Informatics, simply put, is the application of technology to problems, Briggs said. He focuses his studies on human-computer interactions, which ranges from ringing up a customer at the supermarket to social networking Web sites.\nOriginally from Boston, Briggs got his undergraduate degree in journalism at a small college in Providence, R.I. He has been an interactive designer and business consultant in the past, and he has also designed children’s video games.\n“So the next logical step of my career is to go back to school and study HCI!” Briggs joked.\nIn 10 years, Briggs hopes to be a college professor.\n“I love teaching and working with students,” Briggs said. “I don’t consider it to be a noble cause; it is just downright fun.”\nGood ideas are conceived when people with different perspectives and agendas sit down and talk, like a think-tank. That’s the mindset Briggs is applying to www.bigtreetop.com, and it’s how he is raising money for the University right now. \nBefore graduating he hopes to aid in “bridging the gap” between the University’s academic and business sides by introducing people from the private sector to researchers at IU.\n“The University has the smarts and the businesses have the money,” Briggs said. “Why not introduce them to each other?”
(03/29/07 4:00am)
"Reign Over Me" is one of the first movies Hollywood has produced detailing the emotional destruction the 9/11 attacks brought upon everyday people. Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler) is a 9/11 widower who lost his wife and three daughters to the attacks and Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is a successful dentist who was Charlie's roommate in college. Charlie lives in a protected fantasy world in which his family never existed and Alan is trying to get Charlie to face his demons and remember.\nThe movie was shot on location in NYC and provides authenticity for a story rooted deeply in one man's fantasy. The music is great and in some moments adds to the tension of mood of the film. Charlie collects vinyl records and music buffs will love to hear his dialogue about The Pretenders and Bruce Springsteen.\nWhile it is fashionable to knock a comic actor who takes a serious role, Sandler has done it before in "Punch-Drunk Love," and he pulls it off again with this movie. Sandler breathes life into his character by playing him with a vacant glaze over his eyes and a happy-go-lucky sadness. Alan is a successful dentist, but something in his life is missing. He finds happiness in hanging out in "Charlie World." Cheadle is a great and versatile actor and meshes well with Sandler's over-the-top performance.\nWhile the acting is top-notch, the story is thin and relies too much on the characters. There are times when the rhythm of the story is interrupted and feels disjointed. Charlie is delusional and at times maniacal, but the audience only sees it in spurts. One minute the audience is sickened by his destructive behavior, the next minute their eyes are welling up when confronted with his pain. Also, it is also hard to tell who is a friend of Charlie and who is just enabling him.\n"Reign Over Me" is a decent movie that truly stirs emotions within the audience. You will laugh out loud and perhaps audibly sob. Despite not having any real conclusion, the movie ends with hope. "Reign Over Me" shows how beautiful humanity is and can be.
(03/29/07 4:00am)
In the same vein as "Harvey" and "Donnie Darko," "The Last Mimzy" features a bunny rabbit named Mimzy who talks to the main character. But this is a kids' movie, so unlike Frank, Mimzy is a nice rabbit that is there to help the kids save the world. Oh, and did I mentioned Mimzy is a stuffed animal?\n"The Last Mimzy" is the story of two kids, Noah and Emma Wilder (O'Neil and Wryn), who stumble upon a magic box on the beach that contains special stones and the stuffed rabbit named Mimzy. The stones look normal to adults, but to the children they are glowing magical toys. Emma can make the rocks spin and perform cool tricks. The tricks are so cool, in fact, the children and their parents are detained by the Department of Homeland Security.\nThis movie features brilliant acting by the child actors and special effects that are not too overbearing and enhance the world created by the script. It even features Rainn Wilson ("The Office's" Dwight Schrute) as a very eccentric teacher who dreams winning lottery ticket numbers. It's nice to see Wilson trying a different character and unlike other famous TV characters (i.e. Matt LeBlanc as Joey), the audience doesn't automatically typecast Wilson's character as Dwight. \nThe story is really good, and it addresses so many different issues. The film covers a wide range of topics from religion and pollution to increased human isolationism and time-traveling bunnies. Plenty of on-screen splendor keep the kids fixated on the screen.\nUnfortunately, despite the dazzling special effects, the story is too meandering and ambitious for a kids' movie. The filmmakers should have taken a cue from "Shrek;" make the story simple for the little ones but still entertaining for the parents.\nIt tries to be this generation's "E.T." and "Alice in Wonderland" rolled into one but ends up being another disposable kids' movie that will be syndicated on cable networks in a year and a half. I'd wait until then to watch it.
(03/28/07 4:00am)
Jacobs School of Music students could pay up to 24 percent more for graduate credit hours next academic year if the board of trustees approves a planned proposal.\nThe increase would help pay for faculty salaries and school equipment, said Gwyn Richards, dean of the Jacobs School of Music. Richards said the exact amount of the increase is still being determined, but it will probably be about 24 percent more than what graduate students pay now, which is $241.30 per credit hour for in-state students and $702.75 per credit hour for out-of-state students, according to a list of student fees from the Office of the Bursar. \nA 24 percent increase would raise those figures to about $300 per credit hour for in-state students and about $870 per credit hour for out-of-state tuition.\nBy comparison, between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 academic years, the tuition increased about 6 percent for both in-state and out-of-state students. \n“We want our budget to grow with our aspirations,” Richards said.\nThe proposal also includes an $800-per-semester program fee. This fee will replace the $670-per-semester “performance study fee.” The performance study fee is now only paid by performance students that use the facilities in the music school for performing, such as ballet and piano students. The program fee would be assessed to all students, graduate and undergraduate, who major in music.\nStudents feel “misled” by the timing of the proposal, said School of Music Student Representative Committee President Aisha Ahmad-Post. Graduate school applications for most other music schools are due by December and January, Ahmad-Post said.\n“The fact that we didn’t find out about this until last month is the most problematic issue,” Ahmad-Post said.\nMarysol Quevedo is a second-year graduate student in the School of Music studying musicology. Quevdeo said the proposal was a shock to current students because they made the decision to come to the school before the proposal.\n“It’s a big hike, even though the reasons they have given us seem well-founded,” Quevedo said. “The rise in salaries for faculty has been very low in the last few years. If another institution offers (a faculty member) more money, they might leave.”\nMatvey Lapin, a doctoral student in the Jacobs School, said that even though he pays in-state tuition, he is still not happy with the proposal.\n“I have student loans and those would increase,” Lapin said.\nAnother graduate student, Carol Dusdieker, said that if the proposal passes, the music school will price itself out of the music market and students would go to other music schools.\nIU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said there are lots of procedural steps the proposed budget must go through before it becomes the actual budget. All proposed budgets are reviewed by the provost and then the president before being presented to the board of trustees, who ultimately make the final decision.\n“Knowing how much money the state is going to allocate to the University will be critical in the board of trustees decision-making process,” MacIntyre said.\nThe board of trustees will make a decision about the budget proposal by June 30, MacIntyre said.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Richard Cooper (Chris Rock) has it all -- the important investment banking job, the corner office, a house with a white picket fence and a loving wife and kids. The only problem, as said by Richard in a voiceover in couple's therapy: "I'm bored out of my f***ing mind!"\nRichard is tested when a seductive friend from his past, Nikki Tru (Kerry Washington), walks into his office one morning. Nikki makes no attempt to hide her attraction to Richard, which makes for some humorous situations in the office. But the closer Richard gets to Nikki, the closer he comes to losing his job and family.\nThe contrast of married life and single life is smart and provides lots of laughs. Watching Richard and his wife (Gina Torres) eating dinner with another married couple is not inherently funny. But when Richard tells the audience (via voiceover) how boring married couples are and how they always talk about the same things and then we see the veiled disdain on Richard's face during the scene, suddenly, it is laugh-out-loud funny.\nThis marks Chris Rock's second outing as a film director, and he does a great job. In the beginning of the movie, the direction and editing was lucid and unambitious. Instead of using fancy editing and camera angles, Rock was more focused on letting the actors tell the story. But by the end of the movie, Rock was using editing techniques and camera angles to help convey emotion through the film. It was as if he were gaining confidence in himself as a director while he was behind the camera.\nThis movie is billed as a romantic comedy, but it could also be called a morality tale. "I Think I Love My Wife" is the funniest movie I have seen this year and also one of the smartest. This is an ideal date movie; both parties will not only enjoy the movie but take something away from it as well.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
After an hour of waiting in line, getting a big Long Island iced tea and saving front-row seats for her friends, senior Danielle Mendelson screams in delight as smoke begins to pour out onto stage. Hairbangers Ball is about start its show in tribute to the "decade of decadence" -- the 1980s.\nHairbangers Ball is an '80s tribute band that not only covers the songs of the period but also the fashion. From the big hair to the tight leather pants, band members look like they came out of a popular '80s music video. \nThe band makes a living traveling the Midwest. This Friday, they will perform at the Bluebird, a venue they have played more than a dozen times. Bluebird manager and owner Dave Kubiak said the club is packed wall to wall for Hairbangers Ball shows.\n"It's always a wild night," Kubiak said.
(03/09/07 5:00am)
IU officials announced last week plans for the demolition of the historic Margrave Apartments on East Third Street.\nThe structure, which is vacant, contains 22 apartment units and was built in the late 1920s, said Nancy Hiestand, programming manager for housing and neighborhood development.\nAfter the demolition, a new building will be erected that will house the IU School of Optometry clinic. Currently, it is located in the IU School of Optometry.\nThe cost of the two-story, 17,000-square-foot building will be about $3 million.\nThe Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission is upset IU is demolishing another historic building, said Lisa Abbott, director of Bloomington’s Housing and Neighborhood Development. IU demolished the Kappa Sigma fraternity house last year. Abbott said buildings that appear on the 1996 Inventory of Historic Sites and Structures, which includes Margrave Apartments, should be preserved. The inventory is a list compiled by the Department of Natural Resources, which identifies buildings of historical value.\nLynn Coyne, the assistant vice president for real estate and economic development at IU, said the University looked into renovating the East Third Street property but in the end, it was cost-prohibitive. The old structure is not adaptable for modern academic research and uses, Coyne said.\n“We do care about properties of true academic nature,” Coyne said. “We’ve spent a great deal of money renovating buildings in the past. (Margrave Apartments) was not an academic building; it was a (22-unit) apartment building.”\nDespite the controversy surrounding the demolition, Coyne said the relationship with the mayor’s office and IU is strong.\n“HPC does not always agree with the decision we have to make, and that’s fine,” Coyne said.\nAbbott said she thinks the mayor would like a better dialogue between the University and the community in the future.\nNo demolition date has been set because the Department of Natural Resources must sign off on the action within 30 days. Abbott said she has no plans to appeal the decision.
(03/07/07 5:00am)
According to Walt Becker's "Wild Hogs," the easiest way to get over a mid-life crisis is to get four of your underachieving friends, some motorcycles and an air mattress that only sleeps three. Leave wives and cell phones behind. Adequate clothing is optional.\nThis movie opens with four separate sequences showcasing just how lame the characters have become in their middle-aged lives. Woody (John Travolta) has lost everything in a messy divorce; Doug (Tim Allen) doesn't have the respect of his own son; Bobby (Martin Lawrence) has a crap job and is afraid to stand up to his wife; and Dudley (William H. Macy) is a nerdy computer programmer who is afraid to talk to women. All four men decide to take their motorcycles on the road to reclaim their lives and their manliness.\nThis is an above-par buddy movie. Marketed (and seemingly made) for aging baby boomers, there is still enough slapstick humor and gross out jokes for the sixth-grader in everyone (the method of Dudley "doing his business" in the woods is hilarious).\nThe characters are well-developed and mesh together nicely. Established character actor Macy is the best part of the film, as he plays a role normally reserved for the likes of such buffoons like Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell. Ray Liotta turns in the second-best performance of the movie as the leader of vicious motorcycle gang, "The Del Fuegos." \nThere are great cameos as well from the likes of John. C. McGinnley ("Scrubs") and one-half of Tenacious D. The biggest cameo by far is Mr. "Easy Rider" himself, Peter Fonda.\nA detraction from this movie: It's highly predicable. Right down to the soundtrack (which includes AC/DC's "Highway to Hell") to the stereotypical biker bars, you have seen this all before.\nAlso, Fonda serves as a sad statement of the baby boomer generation. "Easy Rider" was about finding America on the open road. Forty years later, the establishment that "Easy Rider" resisted so much is now the norm. The hipsters lost, and Fonda is here to make sure everyone knows that.\nOverall, "Wild Hogs" is just OK. While the laughs are here, it's hard for the typical college student to relate to these men as they enter their mid-life crisis. My advice, wait until the DVD. Your parents will love it.
(03/02/07 5:00am)
An Indiana law passed in July 2005 granted the Indiana State Police permission to make a DNA database for all convicted felons in Indiana’s 92 counties. \nAccording to state law IC 10-13-6, Indiana may “establish a database of DNA identification records of convicted felons, crime scene specimens, unidentified missing persons and close biological relatives of missing persons.”\nThis means anyone convicted of a felony after July 2005 will have to submit his or her DNA for the database, said Tippecanoe County Chief Probation Officer Kipp Scott.\nPreviously, only people convicted of felonies involving violent crimes or burglaries were were required to register with the state’s DNA database, according to The Associated Press. But this new law includes nonviolent felons as well.\nLast week, officials in Tippecanoe County started collecting DNA samples from convicted felons in the community. The Tippecanoe County Probation Department sent 1,503 letters to felons to let them know about the collection, which occurred Saturday at the Tippecanoe fairgrounds, according to the AP. Of the 1,503 felons who were sent letters, only 612 showed up to submit samples.\nDespite less than half of the felons showing up, Scott said the turnout was pretty good.\n“Our goal is not to get people locked up; our goal is to get everybody compliant with the law,” Scott said.\nScott added that he cannot wait forever for the remaining felons to submit their DNA samples.\nIndianapolis-based Strand Analytical Laboratories collected the DNA samples for Tippecanoe County. The lab has an exclusive DNA databasing contract with the Indiana State Police and is aiding the police in implementing the “Indiana all felons DNA collection law,” said Mark Renner, director of operations at Strand Analytical Laboratories. \nThe process of obtaining DNA samples from felons is painless, Scott said. A cotton swab is used to collect saliva and skin from the inside of the cheek, Renner said. The sample is taken back to the lab, where it’s used to generate a profile from the swab. That profile, not the physical sample, is submitted to the DNA database.\nThe profile in the database is not permitted as evidence in a court of law. However, the DNA profile is enough for law enforcement to get a probable-cause warrant, Renner said. \nDNA profiles taken from Indiana felons not only go into the Indiana DNA database but also to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System.
(03/02/07 5:00am)
Kevin Brown, co-president of the IU Black Faculty and Staff Caucus and a law professor, says new IU leader Michael McRobbie will be a good president who has a solid sense of what will be best for the University in the long run.\nOne of McRobbie’s long-term goals for the University is making the campus more diverse.\nAccording to his Jan. 23 speech to the Bloomington Rotary Club, titled “Seven Directions of Change: The Next Decade at Indiana University,” McRobbie wishes to double the enrollment of minority students by 2013.\nThe fall 2006 student enrollment was made up of 38,247 students, but only 4.4 percent were black, according to the Office of the Registrar Enrollment Report. That percentage is less than the 8.4 percent of blacks who make up the state’s population, according to 2000 U.S. census data.\nBlack student enrollment reached its peak in 1981, but the black student population increased during Adam Herbert’s presidency, Brown said.\nCharlie Nelms, vice president for institutional development and student affairs, held conversations with McRobbie when he was serving as provost. McRobbie indicated that diversity was a priority, Nelms said.\n“Things that got started under Herbert’s reign will hopefully be carried out by McRobbie,” said Brown, of the Black Faculty and Staff Caucus.\nD’Anna Wade, president of the Black Student Union, said she was sad to see Herbert’s departure because he was such a strong figure for blacks on campus, but she said McRobbie seems approachable.\nWade is encouraged by McRobbie’s diversity goal of 2013 and hopes he has what it takes to reach that goal, since he is not a minority himself.\n“Even though it’s a noble thought, he really needs to evaluate what he feels is attainable,” Wade said. \nAt the news conference Thursday in Indianapolis, McRobbie fielded questions about diversity on the IU campus. He spoke of his proposal that will fund the first year of his diversity goal.\nAlvin O. Chambliss, a professor in the School of Education and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, said the hiring of McRobbie is a “disaster” that has “compromised the integrity of higher education.” McRobbie’s plan to raise admission standards at IU is detrimental to public education, Chambliss said.\nEric Love, director of diversity education, said it will be “business as usual” with McRobbie as president.\n“I know we still have challenges to face. We are going to keep doing our jobs, doing what we do so IU students graduate with diversity education,” Love said. “I imagine the new president will be supportive, (because diversity) is part of the IU mission statement.”\n–Staff writer Alberto D. Morales contributed to this story.
(03/01/07 5:00am)
Maybe Billy Bob was confused. Maybe when the script for "The Astronaut Farmer" was pitched to him, it sounded like he would be playing the role of a space-age farmer, negotiating the elements on Mars while trying to grow space fruit to support his family and fend off alien invaders who try to destroy his crops. But sadly, that's not the plot of this movie. This movie is much worse.\n"Astronaut Farmer" stars Billy Bob Thorton as Charles Farmer, a rancher in a small town in Texas with aspirations of taking his homemade rocket into outer space. His wife, Audie (Virginia Madsen), is so inexplicably supportive of her husband's dreams that she doesn't even bat an eyelash when he takes their kids out of school to help build and launch said rocket. The rest of the cast is rounded out by Bruce Dern as the grandfather and Bruce Willis as a colonel and old friend of Charles.\nI know you are supposed to suspend your disbelief when you walk into a theater to see a movie, so I am not going to sit here and say the premise for this movie could never happen in the real world. However, the filmmakers bring that upon themselves with dialogue between government officials and Farmer about him building a WMD. "If I was building a (WMD), you wouldn't be able to find it," is the smartass response from Farmer. With the mere mention of WMD, the audience is reminded that this film does take place in post-9/11 America and a redneck rancher ordering 10,000 pounds. of rocket fuel over the Internet would raise some red flags in Washington.\nNow let's proceed to the scene with the launch failure. The rocket falls off the launch pad and launches horizontally (like a stinger missile). Somehow, Farmer survives! OK, I'll let that go, for now. But then, with the sheer love and support of his family fueling him, Farmer recovers from the accident and rebuilds the rocket in less than 15 minutes of screen time.\nLastly, let's get to the rocket. How and why this rancher from Texas built a rocket in his barn is never adequately explained. In the beginning of the movie, the rocket is just there, and we slowly learn that Farmer had some pilot experience in the military. According to the movie, Farmer got all the parts for his rocket from "rocket graveyards," and from my perspective, I think the set designer got most of their props for their sets from a "movie set graveyard" that included sets from "Apollo 13" and "2001: A Space Odyssey."\nIn fact the entire film has that recycled, yet arrogant feel to it. Just because you can make a movie about a delusional "astronaut" with a shoddy premise, bad set design and superficial characters, doesn't mean you should.
(03/01/07 5:00am)
"Reno 911: Miami" opens with a big-budget action sequence. There is a hostage situation and the "best sheriff's department in the world" is flown in via SWAT helicopter to save the day. Cut to Deputy Junior (Robert Ben Garant) waking up in his police squad car. It was all a daydream, a fantasy. My fantasy, as I was leaving this celluloid turd, was me slapping the producers of this movie, screaming, "The idea doesn't translate to the big screen!"\nThe film starts off with Lt. Dangle (Thomas Lennon) getting a letter instructing the Reno sheriff's department to report to Miami for a police convention. They show up there, after some confusion, to find the whole convention is quarantined in a hotel due to a biological terrorist attack. Now, the Reno sheriff's department is the only entity in Miami standing between law and order.\nThe worst part of this movie is the length. With a running time of 84 minutes, "Reno 911: Miami" is 54 minutes too long. Viewers feel like prisoners forced to watch a great performing comedy troupe fail making an overly ambitious movie. Also, while the film was actually shot in South Beach, the new setting doesn't add anything to the premise. The filmmakers even admit this when they bring some Reno regulars down to Miami to harass and annoy Dangle and Co.\nOne aspect of the movie I did like, however, was the cameos, which included Paul Rudd, Paul (Pee-Wee) Reubens, Patton Oswald and the best by far, The Rock. Most of these actors have made cameos on the show before, so I guess it wasn't that hard convincing them to do the movie as well. Rudd plays a Miami drug lord with a tan and thick Spanish accent. We later learn (anti-climatically, I might add) his character is really from Colorado.\nAs a casual fan of the show, I was expecting to laugh a lot harder than I did. I can count on one hand the times I laughed out loud. For 84 minutes of screen time, that is pretty sad. What's worse, the actors who play the members of sheriff's department weren't even at the top of their game. It really seemed like they made this movie just so they could take a trip to South Beach. The R-rating should have been used to try things that would never fly on TV. Instead, all we get is a scene at a nude beach with a gratuitous amount of nudity. This movie was a failure on so many levels and I hope the television program will be able to bounce back.
(02/22/07 5:00am)
In the first round of the poetry slam, Indianapolis resident Tasha Jones brought the house down with the performance of her first poem. The poem was so intimidating that the next man competing forfeited his time and a chance to win $100.\n“Man, I am not a poet,” he muttered before wandering off the stage, looking like a toddler lost at the supermarket.\nThe Indiana Memorial Union Gallery housed the “Poetry Slam” put on by the IU Hip Hop Congress on Wednesday night. Thirteen poets competed for a $100 cash prize in front of a full house. The poems ranged from political commentary to romantically complex love ballads. Jones won the slam in a narrow victory over freshman Patrick Wilson.\n“I write poetry that reflects society” Jones said.\nJones said she focuses more on content than performance. Runner-up Wilson, on the other hand, turned in such a high energy performance that he didn’t even use the microphone during two of his poems, and people could still hear him in the back.\nHip Hop Congress president Tim Zawada said that lyrics of rap songs are poetry.\n“This event focuses solely on the lyrics, the poetry of hip hop,” Zawada said. “Rap is poetry to a beat. All rappers are poets in their own right.”\nThe mood was set by DJ Xander, who said he was going to set a “coffee house vibe” with the music he spun. He also fed off the energy of the poets performing.\n“If a poet ends on a peaceful note, I might play something peaceful, like Pete Rock,” DJ Xander said before the show. “If they end on an energetic high note, I might play “99 Problems” to keep the crowd going.”\nDJ Xander played everything from the Chicago-based Eulorhythmics to Mos Def and kept the vibe diverse.\nThe slam was hosted by junior Calvin Craig. Wearing red and black Jordans and a sports coat over a red-splattered t-shirt, Craig kept the show flowing and introduced the poets before they came on stage.\n“An emcee is an essential part of the show if you want to have a traditional slam,” Zawada said.\nJudging the poets was the job of Tony Brewer. Brewer picked out three people in the audience and gave them dry erase boards with the instructions to grade the poet after each performance with a number from one to 10. Junior Melody Berry was one of those asked to judge.\n“This is my first time judging, so it should be fun,” Berry said before the show started.\nThe rules of the slam were simple. Every performer was given three minutes on the microphone, and every poem performed had to be the poets own work. There were three rounds. After each round, the four poets with the lowest score from the judges were eliminated.\nLast year’s winner Derrin Granger, a senior, made it all the way to the third round. \n“I knew there were going to be more poets this year and I am grateful I was able to see Tasha Jones compete,” he said.\nJunior Jamel Dotson was also one of four poets to make it to the third round.\n“I like the fact that people came and showed their stuff,” Dotson said. “I always appreciate great art.”
(02/20/07 5:00am)
As part of the seventh annual Hip Hop Awareness Festival, the IU Hip Hop Congress is putting on a “Poetry Slam” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery. IU Hip Hop Congress President Tim Zawada said he is excited that the Starbucks in the IMU is sponsoring the event and offering a cash prize of $100 to the winner. \n“It’s good to see Starbucks helping out student groups,” Zawada said. “Hopefully, with them, we can bring in more people.”\nAccording to www.poetryslam.com, “a poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores based on the poets’ content and performance.” Zawada wouldn’t say who the judges are going to be but said the standard poetry slam format will be in place.\nLast year, senior Derrin Granger won the event and was invited to open for poet, activist and master of ceremonies Saul Williams when he came to campus. Granger said Williams took him out to lunch, too.\n“At lunch, I was nervous, but then Saul and I kicked poems back and forth to relax,” Granger said. “(Williams) also told me to read more and my poetry would develop more.”\nOne of the poems Granger performed last year was “Another One Bites the Dust.” \nAlthough Granger originally penned it as a rap song, he turned it into a poem just before the slam.\n“I used to rap,” Granger said. “A few months before last year’s ‘Poetry Slam,’ I started to focus on writing poetry.”\nGranger said there is not much of a gap between hip-hop and spoken word poetry.\n“Rapping and poetry are kind of the same thing,” Granger said. “Poetry has a broader perspective; you do not have to make yourself seem like a specific person or character. Poetry frees it up and you can just be yourself.”\nGranger will be competing again this year and thinks he will meet stiff competition.\n“I don’t know if I’ll win, but I definitely want to be involved,” Granger said.\nWhile last year’s contest boasted only nine competitors, Zawada and the Hip Hop Congress “Poetry Slam” coordinator, junior Braydon Thompson, are expecting a lot more this year.\n“This year is going to be big,” Thompson said. “There are lots of (student) groups attending and a lot more is going into it than previous years.”\n“Poetry Slam” is open to everyone in Bloomington. Anyone wishing to compete should e-mail IU Hip Hop Congress. Zawada said competitors can also arrive 30 minutes before the event to sign up.
(02/20/07 5:00am)
The crown prince of Thailand presented IU School of Education professor emeritus Hans Andersen with an honorary doctorate degree from Phranakorn Rajabhat University during a Feb. 11 ceremony at the Thai Royal Palace in Bangkok, Thailand.\n“Dr. Andersen’s award is an affirmation of the long tradition of international engagement the faculty of the School of Education is known for,” Dean of Education Gerardo Gonzalez said in an e-mail interview. “His recognition brings honor not only to Dr. Andersen but to the School of Education and Indiana University as well.”\nAs a professor of science and environmental education since 1974, Andersen – or Sostrajarn Hans as he is called in Thailand – has helped promote environmental management, as well as water and wildlife conservation in Thai communities, according to an IU news release. Hans said he was honored to get the award and was in awe when he got to meet the crown prince of Thailand, who presented the award to Andersen.\n“Yes, I got within three feet of him,” Andersen said in an e-mail interview sent from Thailand. “He handed me the diploma and many people said he talked to me. I was so nervous I did not hear him so I did not respond to what ever he said.”\nAccording to the news release, Andersen came to IU in 1966 as an assistant professor of education. In 1971, he first traveled to Thailand. He spent 1972 in Bangkok as a senior expert in educational techniques for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology.\nFor the past three years, he has taught in an environmental education master’s degree program at Phranakorn Rajabhat University as a guest lecturer and worked toward extensive science teaching methodology reforms. Andersen said he calls Thailand his “home away from home” and is teaching and lecturing at Phranakorn Rajabhat University. He will return to Bloomington near the end of the semester and begin working at the IU School of Education again.\n“All of us in the School of Education are thrilled that Dr. Andersen’s work in Thailand has been recognized in this highly prestigious manner,” Gonzalez said. “He has worked tirelessly to help improve science education in Thailand and certainly deserves the recognition.”
(02/15/07 5:00am)
It's been 19 years since "Coming to America," seven years since the Klumps and almost a month since Eddie Murphy earned an Oscar nomination for his role in "Dreamgirls." So, what is Murphy going to do next? Throw on a 'fro and get back to his outrageous, gross-out comedy roots with his newest flick, "Norbit."\n"Norbit" is the life story of the title character (Eddie Murphy) who was orphaned as baby and taken in by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy, again), the proprietor of a Chinese restaurant and orphanage. At the orphanage, Norbit befriends Kate (played when she's older by Thandie Newton) until she is adopted and taken out of Norbit's life. Norbit is then introduced to Rasputia, (Eddie Murphy, yet again) the fattest bully in school who coerces the weak-willed Norbit to marry her. Suddenly, Kate comes back into Norbit's life and he is eager to rekindle their childhood love, much to the dismay of Rasputia.\nThe best parts of this movie are the characters and makeup wizardry. The story is clunky, but Murphy is at the top of his game, acting-wise. The three characters Murphy plays are all brilliant and elicit an emotional connection from the audience. You feel for Norbit, hate Rasputia and are ashamed of liking the racist Mr. Wong, who himself is a racist caricature of Asian Americans. Eddie Murphy deserves more credit for the characters he breathes life into. Also, Eddie Griffin has a small role as a pimp named Pope Sweet Jesus and gets a laugh every time he's on screen.\nThe makeup department outdid itself and deserves as much credit as the actors for the laughs in this movie. Seeing Rasputia at a water park in a two-piece is disturbing, yet the audience couldn't stop laughing. Her thighs and belly are so large you can't see her bikini and it looks like she's walking around naked (all looks of disgust are deflected with a bellowing, "How YOU doin?!").\nDespite the great acting and makeup, the script for this movie is lame. If the writers (including Eddie Murphy and his brother of "Chappelle's Show" fame, Charlie) would have put as much passion and work into the script as the actors put into the acting, this could have been a legitimately good movie. Instead, it is just a disposable popcorn movie; great for a date on a Friday but that's about it.
(02/14/07 11:14pm)
It's been 19 years since "Coming to America," seven years since the Klumps and almost a month since Eddie Murphy earned an Oscar nomination for his role in "Dreamgirls." So, what is Murphy going to do next? Throw on a 'fro and get back to his outrageous, gross-out comedy roots with his newest flick, "Norbit."\n"Norbit" is the life story of the title character (Eddie Murphy) who was orphaned as baby and taken in by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy, again), the proprietor of a Chinese restaurant and orphanage. At the orphanage, Norbit befriends Kate (played when she's older by Thandie Newton) until she is adopted and taken out of Norbit's life. Norbit is then introduced to Rasputia, (Eddie Murphy, yet again) the fattest bully in school who coerces the weak-willed Norbit to marry her. Suddenly, Kate comes back into Norbit's life and he is eager to rekindle their childhood love, much to the dismay of Rasputia.\nThe best parts of this movie are the characters and makeup wizardry. The story is clunky, but Murphy is at the top of his game, acting-wise. The three characters Murphy plays are all brilliant and elicit an emotional connection from the audience. You feel for Norbit, hate Rasputia and are ashamed of liking the racist Mr. Wong, who himself is a racist caricature of Asian Americans. Eddie Murphy deserves more credit for the characters he breathes life into. Also, Eddie Griffin has a small role as a pimp named Pope Sweet Jesus and gets a laugh every time he's on screen.\nThe makeup department outdid itself and deserves as much credit as the actors for the laughs in this movie. Seeing Rasputia at a water park in a two-piece is disturbing, yet the audience couldn't stop laughing. Her thighs and belly are so large you can't see her bikini and it looks like she's walking around naked (all looks of disgust are deflected with a bellowing, "How YOU doin?!").\nDespite the great acting and makeup, the script for this movie is lame. If the writers (including Eddie Murphy and his brother of "Chappelle's Show" fame, Charlie) would have put as much passion and work into the script as the actors put into the acting, this could have been a legitimately good movie. Instead, it is just a disposable popcorn movie; great for a date on a Friday but that's about it.
(02/08/07 5:00am)
Without Kevin Smith, "Catch and Release" would have just been romantic without the comedy. "Catch" is the story of Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) putting her life back together after the sudden death of her fiancé. Co-starring Kevin Smith as the best friend and Juliette Lewis as the kooky ex, the movie has a formula for success.\nAfter Grady's death, Gray begins learning about secrets from his past, including a 4-year-old kid he's been supporting. After the money stops because of Grady's death, the mother of the child (Lewis) crashes Gray's life and sets up shop in a hotel close to Gray's house. She begins coming over and we learn about her quirky behavior and her kid's desire to destroy almost everything. Among all this chaos, Gray begins falling for Fritz, the sleazy guy from the funeral.\nPerhaps the best part of this movie is the emotional development of the characters. I left the movie caring about Gray and the adorable kid as well. Smith provides some much needed comic relief (90 percent of the laughs come from him), but I can't tell if it's because he is a talented actor or because he is so ludicrously casted. It's probably more of the latter, but I was impressed to see Silent Bob so animated.\nThe movie has some genuinely funny moments in (see Sam trying to teach a kid how to fish) and can elicit an emotional response from the audience (see Sam give the kid his father's fishing hat before they go fishing). However, there are also many parts of the film that drag on and I was bored as much as I was truly laughing. The movie could have easily been 25 minutes shorter.\nAll told, the movie is not as bad I thought it would be. As far as romantic comedies go, this one is pretty typical and follows the same formula. I guess the formula (you know, the girl gets heart broken, seeks out an at-first unimpressive love interest but then we learn to love him and they live happily ever after) works and is in place for a reason.\nJennifer Garner is as beautiful as ever and lights up the screen whenever she is on it. Garner carries the movie, and watching Smith is, if anything, interesting.
(02/08/07 5:00am)
Take equal parts "The Sixth Sense" and "The Birds." Add in "The Shining" and garnish with Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic," and you have yourself a tasty horror cocktail called "The Messengers."\n"The Messengers" opens with the Solomon family moving from Chicago to North Dakota to begin new lives as sunflower farmers. There's the obligatory teen female lead Jess (Kristen Stewart), the overly optimistic father Roy (Dylan McDermott), the doubting mother Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) and the mute little brother Ben.\nWhen the family moves into the dilapidated house, they meet a well-natured drifter (John Corbett) who agrees to help Roy in the fields in exchange for a place to sleep. Everything is hunky-dory until Jess and her brother begin to see and be tortured by ghosts.\nTwo things stuck out to me while watching this film. First is the great performance turned in by Kristen Stewart. The way she is both a strong protector and a weak little girl is hard to pull off for any actor, let alone one so young. Corbett's performance was also brilliant. In the first part of the film, he is a great worker and good friend to the family, and in the second act, he is terrorizing them with a pitchfork (what a great weapon by the way).\nAs all great horror films, the mounting tension with music and rapid editing keeps the audience on the edge of their seats the entire film. What is on screen is scary, but what is left off the screen (and in the imagination of the viewer) proves to be the more terrifying than anything special effects could produce. \nThis film is inspired by the classic horror flicks I mentioned before and that's great. However, there is a fine line between paying homage and ripping off, and "The Messengers" dangerously flirts with the latter. But to be fair, whenever an audience sees a flock of black birds attacking a person, it can't help but think of Hitchcock's 1963 masterpiece. Does that mean the premise should never be used again? No, but it should be done sparingly and creatively, and I think overall, the Pang Brothers did a good job with this balancing act.\nAs far as horror movies go, this is never going to be classic, but it is genuinely scary and is worth the price of admission.
(02/08/07 4:41am)
Take equal parts "The Sixth Sense" and "The Birds." Add in "The Shining" and garnish with Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic," and you have yourself a tasty horror cocktail called "The Messengers."\n"The Messengers" opens with the Solomon family moving from Chicago to North Dakota to begin new lives as sunflower farmers. There's the obligatory teen female lead Jess (Kristen Stewart), the overly optimistic father Roy (Dylan McDermott), the doubting mother Denise (Penelope Ann Miller) and the mute little brother Ben.\nWhen the family moves into the dilapidated house, they meet a well-natured drifter (John Corbett) who agrees to help Roy in the fields in exchange for a place to sleep. Everything is hunky-dory until Jess and her brother begin to see and be tortured by ghosts.\nTwo things stuck out to me while watching this film. First is the great performance turned in by Kristen Stewart. The way she is both a strong protector and a weak little girl is hard to pull off for any actor, let alone one so young. Corbett's performance was also brilliant. In the first part of the film, he is a great worker and good friend to the family, and in the second act, he is terrorizing them with a pitchfork (what a great weapon by the way).\nAs all great horror films, the mounting tension with music and rapid editing keeps the audience on the edge of their seats the entire film. What is on screen is scary, but what is left off the screen (and in the imagination of the viewer) proves to be the more terrifying than anything special effects could produce. \nThis film is inspired by the classic horror flicks I mentioned before and that's great. However, there is a fine line between paying homage and ripping off, and "The Messengers" dangerously flirts with the latter. But to be fair, whenever an audience sees a flock of black birds attacking a person, it can't help but think of Hitchcock's 1963 masterpiece. Does that mean the premise should never be used again? No, but it should be done sparingly and creatively, and I think overall, the Pang Brothers did a good job with this balancing act.\nAs far as horror movies go, this is never going to be classic, but it is genuinely scary and is worth the price of admission.