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(04/23/13 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tara Haelle has five guns in her house. She also has a 2-year-old son, Darrell. A former teacher, guns on campuses scare Haelle. She supports gun use for sport and even self-defense, but she doesn’t see the great gun debate being resolved by placing firearms on campuses. Haelle is a member of Parents Against Gun Violence, a group of University of Texas-Austin graduates who came together on Facebook after the Newtown, Conn., shootings in December 2012. Some members of the group, like Haelle, are gun owners, and some aren’t. Haelle and the rest of the members of Parents Against Gun Violence all agree, however, that guns and school aren’t a pairing they support. “It doesn’t ever bring down the tension,” Haelle said about having guns in the classroom. “Just its existence raises the stakes.” Something needs to be done, Haelle said. Some in the Indiana General Assembly are working toward what they hope will be the end of gun violence on school campuses. Senate Bill 0001, relegated to a summer committee study April 11, mandates that public schools employ armed resource officers to increase safety on school campuses. The initiative would mean the presence of firearms in Indiana schools. According to the bill, a school resource officer “means an individual who has successfully completed the minimum training requirements ... and who has specialized training to work with students at a school site.” A school resource officer can be a teacher, a school administrator, a staff member or a hired security officer. “I think we need to do anything within reason to ensure the safety of schoolchildren,” Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, the House bill sponsor, said. “I mean, if we can do anything that will help prevent that type of tragedy in a school or even reduce the number of casualties, it’s worth the effort.” Torr clarified the bill was not a response to the Newtown shootings. An owner of more than one gun himself, Torr said Indiana was actually the first state to require safety assessments in its schools. The security assessments review what the schools would do in high-risk situations, he said.Haelle taught for seven years in Texas schools and said, despite her respect for guns, they have no place in schools. The presence of a gun brings up too many “impossible” moral situations. Haelle asked, what if a child gets ahold of the gun? Or what should a teacher do in the case of a shooter if he or she is designated as the resource officer? Do they leave their students alone in the classroom, attempting to find the shooter? Or do they stay with their students, allowing the shooter or intruder to possibly harm others, left unprotected, in the school? This proposed legislation is only a band-aid solution, Haelle said. Arming teachers is not the way to stop potential gun violence.Some within the Indiana educational field agree with Haelle.“There is a high level of reassurance that our children are safe when they are with us,” said John Althardt, the spokesman for Indianapolis Public Schools. The IPS corporation hires its own police force, stationing a school-based police officer at each middle and high school and employing additional officers to patrol campuses and IPS administrative buildings. The proposals from SB0001 worry IPS. Specifically, IPS is concerned about the costs associated with the program and the training that might be required, Althardt said. Jay True, assistant principal at Bloomington South High School, echoed these concerns. “You want a teacher or a security guard with a gun?” True said. True worries that the massive cuts slashing many different areas of public education will leave no one to fund the initiatives SB 0001 proposes. Bloomington South currently employs four security officers. True isn’t sure one more would make that much of a difference. “It’s a school, not a fortress,” he said. A school of 1,700 students entering and leaving through 30 doors a day can only be so protected, he said. If it comes down to one more security guard or a teacher, he said, you have to make a cost-benefit analysis.Another issue arises in training. Training for school-based police officers is significantly different from that of everyday police officers, Althardt said. IPS uses its own strategy to protect students and employees. Althardt said they look at school districts with populations similar to IPS and see what safety tactics they use. IPS reviews communities like Fort Wayne, which holds about 300 more students than IPS’s 30,000 students, he said. Other urban school districts like Nashville, Dayton and Cincinnati are also close comparisons. It’s the small town of Newtown, Conn., however, that has many worried.On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.Even though Newtown is not the inspiration for Senate Bill 0001, Torr said it amplified the bill’s presence.Parents Against Gun Violence does not believe the Newtown tragedy will be the end of the violence.“This will not be the last one,” Haelle said. In January of this year, MeLinda Porter, who lives outside Muncie, heard about the group “Moms Demand Gun Sense for America” with its campaign “One Million Moms for Gun Control” and attended her first pro-Second Amendment rally to protest against the group’s pro-gun control stance.“I can tell you that the tragedy at Sandy Hook did affect me,” Porter said. “I had not been careful about carrying a weapon, and after the tragedy I was reminded of the evil in the world. I have not left my home without a weapon since.” Porter, a mother of three and a handgun owner, started her own group, “Indiana Moms Against Gun Control,” earlier this year. “We feel that requiring schools to have armed personnel has become a necessary step in protecting our children and school staff from the violent tragedies that have struck too many American schools,” Porter said. That final decision, however, will be further discussed by a state study committee this summer after the legislature closes its session early next week.
(04/11/13 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Like a Princeton reject, “Admission” just didn’t quite make the cut.Actually, this new romantic comedy-slash-drama wasn’t even close to the cut.Starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, “Admission” centers on Portia Nathan (Fey), a Princeton admissions counselor who makes her living off rejecting eager high school applicants more often than accepting them. She meets John Pressman (Rudd), the head of an alternative high school, who believes one of his students is not only Princeton material but Nathan’s son.What looked like an endearing, original comedy starring Fey and Rudd ended up being a muddled, overwrought and genre-less film that takes as long to “find itself” as a high school senior.“Admission” starts as a film about a woman on the brink of a breakdown. The audience meets Nathan in the midst of her failing 10-year relationship with her boyfriend, Mark (Michael Sheen), who fancies a Virginia Woolf scholar over Nathan. With Nathan’s focus on a promotion at work, the relationship dwindles when Mark announces he’s having twins. Well, the Woolf scholar is, anyway. Then the film morphs into a rom-com as overtones of “they have to end up together, right?” override every scene Rudd and Fey are in together. Rudd far outshines the boring Fey, whose usual humor is lost in the technical, type-A personality of her character.Soon, a messy family narrative enters the picture. Nathan resents her mother, Susannah (Lily Tomlin), an ardent feminist and free spirit, who Nathan feels never gave her the proper structure growing up. Pressman, on the other hand, felt stifled by the privileged upbringing his white, upper class family gave him, so his rebellion included running away to remote corners of the world and helping those less privileged. Not such a bad way to live, but, to keep things complicated, he has a sixth-grade son, Nelson (Tavaris Spears), who he adopted from Uganda. All Nelson wants is some stability in his life. Sounding familiar yet?And don’t forget about the extra ethical questions that come up. The writing, whether meant to be funny or sincere, isn’t good enough for the audience to actually believe Nathan can pull off the absurdly unethical practices to get her maybe-son into one of America’s most notoriously difficult schools.“Admission” does make a few funny jabs at higher education and the oftentimes ridiculous admissions process it involves, but the jokes aren’t enough to carry viewers through 117 minutes of cliché romantic lines or complicated plot lines. Instead of seeing the movie, spend time re-reading your college entrance essays. They’ll make you laugh more. By Bridget Ameche
(02/28/13 5:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Her first memory is of her dad beating up someone else.“I actually never understood it to be domestic violence until I started working here,” said Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, prevention program coordinator at Middle Way House.The violence continued.At age 14, Thomas-Williams was raped — the first of multiple times.Today, her work at Middle Way House aids those who have undergone similar experiences. Thomas-Williams works with teenagers to build healthy relationships and healthy sexuality.“My inspiration is my own victimization or my own survivor hood,” Thomas-Williams said.Tonight, Thomas-Williams will be one of three panelists speaking after the 8 p.m. airing of “Shadows of Innocence,” a documentary produced by WTIU and WFIU of Bloomington. The documentary examines the statistics released last summer in a joint study between the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy and the Kinsey Institute. The study revealed that sexual assault has been a serious problem in Indiana for decades, said Sara Wittmeyer, WTIU and WFIU news bureau chief.“This is an epidemic in Indiana,” Wittmeyer said. “It’s a public health crisis.”Specifically, the study revealed high rates of rape and sexual assault among Indiana’s youth. One in five teenage girls is raped in Indiana. When the issue affects so many, it affects everyone, Wittmeyer said.“Sexual violence affects everybody whether they know it or they don’t,” said Erik Scheub, director of media and public relations for the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault.There is an attitude that sexual assault won’t happen to you, Wittmeyer said.According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana ranks as the state with the second highest rate in the nation of forced sexual intercourse for girls between ninth and 12th grades. Indiana is second only to Wyoming.The issue lies in the culture of Indiana, Thomas-Williams said. The state’s social norms and attitudes portray masculinity and femininity in traditionally stereotypical roles. In terms of sexual violence, men are often depicted as perpetrators, while women are the victims, Thomas-Williams said. The Indiana rape code does not mention same-sex assault. Attitudes toward sexual violence need to change, Scheub said. However, this discussion will also vary upon region. As Scheub noted, attitudes can vary across the state. The Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault is in the early stages of piloting research that will collect samples from various communities across the state.And according to Thomas-Williams, this change needs to come in the form of new policy. With a change in policy, a change in the culture can follow.“If we get consent for our actions, we will change the relationship between people,” Thomas-Williams said.Rape prevention isn’t always possible, Thomas-Williams said.“I will never ever say what a teen could do to protect themselves from rape,” she said. “If a rapist is in the room, we are all at risk for being raped.”Common prevention tactics, such as advising teens to travel in groups, does not stop rapists, Thomas-Williams said. Many victims know their rapists, she said.Despite the difficulty of preventing rape, Indiana’s Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Council developed goals between 2007 and 2009 to help reduce the rate of sexual violence. According to the CEEP and Kinsey report, the Council has identified the want to facilitate awareness of their plan, build capacity to prevent sexual violence, support communities in prevention, enhance social norms, include as much of the population as possible in the effort to prevent and enhance the data collection on sexual violence. Wittmeyer said the documentary intends to start a discussion of an issue that demands more attention. “Shadows of Innocence” closes by talking to Indiana residents who are living after their assault. While “Shadows of Innocence” examined other states, such as Minnesota and its progressive sexual assault policies and cultural attitudes, it focuses on what makes Indiana different, Wittmeyer said.“Why is Indiana so much worse?” she asked.
(02/12/13 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The parking lot is empty. Doors remain closed and windows shut. No one is going in — no one is going out. The house doesn’t stir.Following Sunday morning’s fire at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on North Jordan Avenue, residents have had to relocate. The white house looming at the top of the hill has been forcibly vacated.“Any type of incident like this can be really tough on a chapter (and even community), and we are supporting them as best we can,” said Michael Goodman, senior assistant director for fraternity and sorority life in IU’s Student Life and Learning office.As reported yesterday, emergency services received a call around 10:15 a.m. concerning a fire in the chapter house. Initially, the fire department showed up to the house but failed to find anything concerning and left, said Thomas Dakich, an Indianapolis attorney representing Phi Psi. When the fire alarm went off a second time, a fire in the back corner of the house was found. The fire is believed to have been started by electrical problems, Dakich said.Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity does not actually own the chapter house. Instead, the house is leased to the students living there through a housing corporation. The housing corporation, which is led by volunteer alumni, helps the students run the chapter. Shawn Collinsworth, executive director for Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, said he has been in contact with the alumni who lead the chapter’s Housing Corporation.The Phi Kappa Psi Housing Corporation and the members of the IU chapter have been working with the Student Life and Learning division to resolve the situation.The Interfraternity Council is acting as a resource for the leaders and members of the chapter, IFC Vice President of Communications Sean Jordan said.The amount of time chapter members will spend living out of the house is unclear. Dakich said the damage isn’t as extensive as originally thought. He also said the chapter was already planning on building a new house. The demolition of the current house was planned for this coming May. A former IU Phi Psi and a current member of the local advising board, Dakich said the board and the chapter had been working on the plans for a new house for about five years.Collinsworth said he has not experienced any chapter house fires in his 12-year tenure of the position. A former Phi Psi at Indiana State University, he didn’t fend any flames there either.The closest incident Collinsworth has dealt with was a boiler explosion at the Phi Psi chapter at Oregon State University in 2008. The gas explosion burst through the house, rendering the home unlivable. The experience was similar to Sunday’s because, in both cases, chapter members were uprooted from their homes and forced to relocate immediately. This inconvenience is little when compared with the relief of safety.“First and foremost is the health and safety of our students,” Collinsworth said.This gratitude was common. “We’re happy that nobody got hurt,” Dakich said. “Local fire and law enforcement helped a lot.”
(02/12/13 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After eight years of service as the Pope of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation early Monday, leaving much of the Catholic world in surprise.“I was very surprised. I never expected him to resign,” said Father John Joseph Meany of the St. Paul Catholic Center. “John Paul was very sick at the end. You know it would have been a good idea to have him resign considering the demands of the office. So, I thought Benedict would do the same thing, die off, because that’s more of the tradition.”In his official statement, Pope Benedict XVI said, “after having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.”While it is rare for the Pope to resign, this resignation is not unprecedented. “As you know, this is not without precedent,” Archbishop Tobin said in a press release. “The law of the church has provided the possibility of a Pope to resign, but in fact it hasn’t happened for nearly six centuries. And so it’s going to cause some wonderment and anxiety among the people.”Rev. Meany said the job of the Pope is very demanding with endless meetings, speeches and discussions about important matters. In his official statement, Pope Benedict XVI said, “In today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”During his press conference, Archbishop Tobin said that while the Pope’s physical health was deteriorating, there was no impairment to his mental health. “We express gratitude for his eight years of papal service, but also for his years of service to the Catholic Church,” Archbishop Tobin said during his press conference.Pope Benedict XVI will officially leave office Feb. 28. Following his resignation, the Papal election process, based on centuries of tradition, will begin. What’s next?Many Catholics and non-Catholics are wondering what’s next for the Church at large. Logistically, how will the next Pope be chosen? The time between a Pope’s death or resignation is called the “Interregnum.” Until a new Pope is elected, no changes to Church governance are allowed, as the Interregnum is a period largely focused on the election of the new Catholic leader.Fifteen to 20 days following a Pope’s death or resignation, a conclave of the College of Cardinals is called to elect the new Pope. Voting for Pope Benedict XVI’s successor will begin March 1. Cardinals younger than 80 are eligible to vote. Currently, there are 118 cardinals who qualify. There are 67 who were appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. Those eligible are sequestered in Vatican City and meet four times a day, with two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon, to vote on the potential successor. A two-thirds-plus majority is required to elect a new Pope to the seat. Technically, any baptized Roman Catholic male is eligible for election. However, only Cardinals have been elected since 1378. After each round of voting, the ballots are burned. Smoke wafts out of the Sistine Chapel’s chimney — if it’s white, a new Pope has been elected, and he has accepted. If the smoke is black, no decision has been made. In 2005, when Pope Benedict XVI was elected, there were four votes.
(01/18/13 2:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Chicago-based cover band Rod Tuffcurls and the Bench Press, a band known for a “weird” following, will play back-to-back shows this weekend at the Bluebird Nightclub.“I think it was the Halloween show,” said Ben John, an IU fifth-year senior. “I was dressed up as Aziz Ansari.” John paused as he reflected on one of his favorite memories from a Tuffcurls show at “the Bird.”“C.C. Ryder, he came down and I stood next to him and played the air guitar,” John said. “In retrospect, that’s really embarrassing, but I was having a good time.”John was experiencing Rod Tuffcurls.Tuffcurls is no newcomer to Bloomington or the Bluebird. The four-member band has been playing for four years, first gracing the stage of the Bluebird about two years ago, said drummer Dick Celebrity. Besides Celebrity’s percussion, Rod Tuffcurls is the lead guitarist, C.C. Ryder plays the bass and Uncle Sex is the lead singer. The band operates under these stage names, choosing aliases instead of their actual names. John first found out about Tuffcurls from his roommates. “They’ve built a cult following almost,” John said. Celebrity said the ties between Tuffcurls and Bloomington might be new, but they are strong. “We also kind of struck a chord there, something about the combination of smart, quirky kids getting our off-brand humor,” Celebrity said. “Even the whole ‘let’s get weird’ thing.”“Let’s get weird” is a chant the band does between songs. The crowd often joins. It helps create Tuffcurls’ interactive experience, John said.“It’s a state of mind,” John said. “It’s a unifying factor that they want to get weird and we want to get weird.”Hoosier fans often come out in droves to see the band play everything from Mariah Carey to Simon and Garfunkel to Wilson Phillips. Don’t expect original music from Tuffcurls — they are strictly a cover band and proud of it.“We never approach it as ‘we’re not all we can be’ because we’re a cover band,” Celebrity said. “We go to the opposite and say, ‘oh, we’re a cover band, let’s be as creative as possible.’”That creativity and energy keeps crowds at the Bluebird going for the band’s three-hour shows. Bill Klump, an IU senior and Tuffcurls fan, has seen the band in Palatine, Ill., Chicago and Bloomington. “Bloomington is different,” Klump said. As compared to crowds and venues in Palatine and Chicago, the size of the Bluebird is small enough for the crowd to focus on the music and feel connected to the band, Klump said.“The whole Bluebird is completely different when Rod Tuffcurls is there,” Klump said. “The crowd’s way more into it — it’s just a lot more fun.” Tuffcurls has played other college towns but none have struck such a relationship with the band as Bloomington, Celebrity said. After his first time playing in Bloomington, Celebrity said the southern Indiana college town was his favorite place to play — a fact he still brags about to the other three band members today. “Bloomington has taken off like no other town we’ve played,” Celebrity said. This weekend will be the band’s first back-to-back endeavor. Different setlists will be played each night, Celebrity said. “I think it’s an experience everyone should have at IU,” John said. “Going to the Bluebird and seeing Rod Tuffcurls is probably one of my favorite things and experiences so far other than basketball and Little Five.”
(01/15/13 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FROM IDS REPORTSDouglas G. Carter took the oath of office Monday to become the 20th superintendent of the Indiana State Police. Chief Justice Brent Dickson gave Carter the oath in the Indiana Supreme Court.He will replace Paul Whitesell, a 30-year veteran of the state police and former superintendent.Whitesell withdrew his name from the superintendent race following a controversy in November 2012 when Whitesell said he would support the legalization of marijuana in Indiana. Whitesell told the State Budget Committee that marijuana should be regulated and taxed. Whitesell cited the votes in Colorado and Oregon as signs that marijuana would soon be legalized.Carter has served for 18 years on the state police beginning in November 1984 until December 2002. He was then assigned to the Pendleton State Police post in Hamilton County. From January 2003 to December 2010, Carter was elected to the office of Sheriff of Hamilton County. He served two terms. Following his position as Sheriff, Carter accepted a position with the RQAW Consulting Engineers and Architects corporation. The firm specializes in the design and building of municipal buildings, including jails, police and fire stations and criminal justice facilities.-Bridget Ameche
(01/15/13 4:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FROM IDS REPORTSGov. Pence enacted 15 executive orders Monday, six of which were new. The first order will ensure sound ethical practices in government agencies. An ethics officer has been named to each state agency. The order also requires the Inspector General’s office to hold a legal and ethics conference every year. Taxpayer transparency will be increased with Pence’s second order. The Program Assessment Comprehensive Evaluation will ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently.In his third executive order, Pence aims to promote job creation and economic development. A moratorium on the creation of new regulations until the old ones are assessed by the Office of Management and Budget will boost employment opportunities and economic development and freedom.The fourth order asks certain agencies to recognize economic advantages that married families offer children through the creation of family impact statements: the Family and Social Services Administration, the Department of Workforce Development, the Department of Child Services, the State Department of Health, the Department of Correction and the Criminal Justice Institute.Pence will protect veteran businesses by procuring three percent of state contracts with them. Pence wants to promote job creation and economic stability of veteran businesses. Finally, the last order separates Office of Energy and Defense Development (OEDD) into the Office of Energy Development (OED) and the Office of Defense Development (ODD).- Bridget Ameche
(01/11/13 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Crayle Vanest’s concealed-carry permit is currently in the mail, making its way to Bloomington. Whether or not she will be allowed to use the permit on the IU campus is subject to legislation currently in the Indiana General Assembly. Last year, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, filed Senate Bill 97, which would allow students with permits to carry guns on public university campuses in the state.Vanest, president of Students for Concealed Carry at IU, said she has wanted to be a gun owner since she was 16.Students for Concealed Carry aims to promote education and give students the right to protect themselves. Vanest said a specific kind of gun owner can pose a threat to the community, but not all of them.“I usually tell them that people who follow rules about guns aren’t the ones who are dangerous,” Vanest said.The debate about gun possession and concealed carry permits has become particularly heated following the December elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.Gary Butcher, owner of Bloomington’s Leathers Limited Firearms, said he noticed a significant increase in gun sales following the events in Newtown. Fear is driving customers to seek out assault weapons to protect themselves.“Now they’re in fear they’re not going to get assault weapons — people who have never had guns,” Butcher said. Butcher also said the many college students he deals with are often seeking handguns. Most students purchase these handguns for self-protection, as well as recreation.The implications and responsibility of being a gun owner, however, has Butcher and others worried. “Carrying is a really big responsibility,” Vanest said. “It effectively changes your lifestyle.”Gun owners run through the list of potentials when they carry: what to do if the gun needs to be drawn and how to make sure those nearby are safe from the weapon.“People who carry really hope they don’t need it,” Vanest said.Vanest said a certain mental state is required of gun carriers. Recognition of the consequences of shooting is vital knowledge for carriers, Vanest said.“If you shoot someone, even if it’s in self-defense, there are serious consequences,” Vanest said.However, many argue arming students to fight violence would not curb violence itself.Mark Land, IU associate vice president for university communications, said no evidence suggests gun violence is an issue on campuses. In addition, Land said IU Police Department is well-trained and adequately prepared to keep the University safe in all situations.The Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct strictly prohibits the possession of any weapon or potential weapon on any University property.It further prohibits the sale of firearms from University property and the intentional possession of an article that could be a potential weapon.State Sen. Mark Stoops, D-Bloomington, said the solution to a gun threat is not arming more people. Instead, Stoops said he wants to reduce the number of guns that are placed in the wrong hands and that the threat could be alleviated through more stringent background checks.The restriction of purchasing automatic weapons and assault rifles could also help curb the threat of violence.“I don’t think anyone is interested in O.K. Corral shootouts on campus,” Stoops said. Aaron Dy, IU junior and IU College Democrats president, echoed Stoops’ sentiments.“I think people that have been on a college campus would know you don’t want a bunch of concealed weapons going on in the mix of what happens on a college campus,” Dy said.He said, especially on a large campus like IU, guns can pose even more of a threat.“Any shot fired is going to hit someone,” Dy said. “You have 40,000 students. You’re likely to have accidents.”The bill’s passage remains uncertain and has been relegated to the Senate rules committee where it awaits a decision on its future.
(10/17/12 9:13pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Shouts of “Allahu akbar! Marg bar Amrika!” ring out. Effigies hang and banners wave.“Argo,” Ben Affleck’s latest political thriller, opens as outraged Iranian students and militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. The protesters were angered that the U.S. government gave refuge to the former Shah, an opulent and selfish ruler.The Iranian protesters held 52 American hostages for 444 days. However, six Americans escaped to the Canadian embassy. Based on a true story, “Argo” chronicles CIA operative Tony Mendez’s (Affleck) rescue mission to save the six. Mendez enters Tehran under the guise of filming a movie called “Argo.” While he enters alone, he plans to leave Tehran with the rest of his film crew — the escaped six. This plan was actually the best option available. “Argo” brilliantly highlights the bureaucratic ignorance in the State Department and White House, whose suggestions were nothing short of laughable. The tension in Washington creates a tangible fear in Tehran. From the opening scene, the claustrophobia and paranoia in 1979 Tehran send shocks through the audience.The actors playing the six Americans intricately capture the fear of being discovered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the simultaneous mistrust they hold for their liberator, Mendez. He will either save them or lead them to their public execution. Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman keep the operation alive in the States and, more importantly, use humor to break the seemingly constant suspense. Of course, parts of the story were heightened and fictionalized to add to that suspense. Affleck’s direction walks the line between harrowing and hokey in the final escape scene but manages to stay on the right side of that line thanks to a quiet ending. The timing of this release cannot be understated. Whether it was intentional or not, “Argo” connects to the United States in 2012 in a breathtaking manner. U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens was killed in the Benghazi consulate last month. Policy debates regarding Iran have escalated as the presidential race has made the Middle Eastern country a key foreign policy issue. “Argo” looks back on history but suggests this story hasn’t ended. Affleck’s film will take you on a thrill ride and make you think. Who knew Hollywood still had it? By Bridget Ameche
(10/17/12 9:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What do “The Jersey Shore” and the presidential debates have in common?They’re both scripted.The recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed upon by the Obama and Romney campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates established rules for the presidential debates this election season. These rules create a pseudo-script. While such agreements aren’t anything new, they should be troubling.The CPD refused to release the document, so TIME’s Mark Halperin released the full text on Monday.Among the agreements included a restriction prohibiting Tuesday night’s moderator, Candy Crowley, from asking follow-up questions to any Town Hall participant. The rules prohibited her from re-phrasing a question. What’s the point of a moderator, then? The MOU suggests both campaigns and the CPD don’t see anything wrong with such a sculpted debate. Unfortunately for us, the presidential hopefuls battle a paralyzing fear of on-the-spot questions and candid remarks. If there isn’t a perfectly timed and practiced response to a question, an answer isn’t given. Hasn’t reality TV taught us anything about scripted reality?Whether you prefer the gooey moments of “The Bachelor” or the harrowing adventure of “Survivor,” every reality TV watcher knows the content of these shows is not 100 percent real. Don’t try to tell me you actually believed Lauren Conrad’s glowing Hollywood life was real in “The Hills.” It was as fake as Heidi’s nose by season 5.The debates are similar.Romney and Obama won’t have time to prepare for every situation in the Oval Office, so why should they prepare for every second on the debate floor? The combination of their intense preparations and the regulations from the MOU create a scripted scene. Any spontaneity might hurt a candidate’s performance in the debate. Translation? The candidate will look dumb on television. Clearly, the CPD didn’t watch “The Hills.” Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so worried about a stupid comment on TV. The first town hall presidential debate was in 1992, with Carole Simpson as its moderator.Simpson was basically given control of the entire debate. She did not know any of the questions participants would ask, and she could call on whomever she wanted. She even made comments after the questions were asked. This assured a randomness that would reflect responses closer to reality. Since that debate, regulations have continually been tightened.Fast-forward to the present, when regulations are at their tightest. With these guidelines, the debates depict something closer to fictionalized reality shows than an actual discussion.And if I’m watching reality TV, I’d prefer “The Amazing Race” over “The Great Debate.”By Bridget Ameche
(09/20/12 1:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For Dave Matthews Band fans, the 1990s was the golden age. The band released arguably its three most influential albums, catapulting DMB into cultish fame that still lives today.Steven Lillywhite, famed producer of the Big Three albums in the mid-90s, returned to help produce the band’s latest record, “Away From the World.” You can tell. Tracks such as “Drunken Soldier” and “The Riff” sound like tracks off 1998’s “Before These Crowded Streets.” Tying these iconic DMB sounds to the pop that dominated DMB albums in the early 2000s is a welcome move.AFTW bridges the gap between the two eras. The politically-charged “Mercy” marries the light, cautious rhythms of the 2000s with the insightful, probing growl of the ‘90s. “Belly Belly Nice” is a sex-fueled romp reminiscent of the anything-but-shy “Crash” (1996) mixed with the noisy fun of “Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King” (2009). For the band and fans alike, on AFTW, what was old is new again.By Bridget Ameche
(09/05/12 11:14pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Blood and booze. That’s all there is.Based on a true story, “Lawless” chronicles the efforts of the Bondurant boys and their illegal bootlegging operation that stretched from the misty hills of Virginia to the gleaming lights of Chicago.Tucked away in Franklin County, Va., the infamous Bondurants led one of the biggest bootlegging operations in the late Prohibition era. Whispered rumors speak of the family’s immortality, but “Lawless” won’t survive the history books.Shia LeBeouf leads the cast as the young runt Jack Bondurant. LeBeouf convincingly shivers in the shadows of his brutish, grunting older brothers Howard (Jason Clarke) and Forrest (Tom Hardy). When Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) moves from Chicago as acting special deputy, he sets his sights, and guns, on the Bondurant boys. Their destruction means his success. The movie is a cat-and-mouse chase between Rakes and his cronies, all complete with less-than-stellar Chicago accents and the Bondurants. The violence can’t be escaped — not by the Bondurants or the audience. It’s lawless, senseless violence that fails to do more than make the audience wish they hadn’t bought popcorn.Love is a brief interlude that allows for some comic relief despite its clichéd plot. Jack falls for the preacher’s daughter Bertha (Mia Wasikowska), a prim girl with a rebellious streak. Jack’s attempts to woo Bertha are endearing and funny, which adds to Jack’s believable naiveté.The other romance is too subtle to stand out, with Maggie Beauford (Jessica Chastain), an ex-dancer from the big city, chasing Forrest, the grumbling brute.Jack repeatedly tries to prove his courage to his older brothers, but his courage resembles brash ignorance instead. The Bondurants stumble into quite a bit of trouble and even more violence, courtesy of Jack’s arrogance and stubbornness. LeBeouf is believable as the runt of the family but can hardly be taken seriously as an actual bootlegger, let alone an adult. The other brothers add little depth. Howard hardly does more than inflict unwatchable pain on anyone who dares to question the Bondurants’ operation. Forrest usually reacts to the blood and guts with an, “Alright then,” and walks away. Sorry, Forrest, but grunting doesn’t make me believe you are a person.And “Lawless,” violence doesn’t convince me you are a worthy blockbuster.By Bridget Ameche
(08/30/12 12:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What would “Friends” be without Central Perk?Not much.“Friends” highlighted the late-90s cultural infatuation with the coffee shop. The iconic “Friends” characters spent many an episode lounging on the couches of Central Perk, their neighborhood coffee shop. With an espresso in hand and a newspaper spread across the table, “Friends” visualized the reality off-script.“Friends” fanatics identified with the tight-knit ensemble and found their own urban coffee shop to recreate the on-screen haven. What’s today’s Central Perk?MacLaren’s.Today, we’ve ditched coffee for booze thanks to TV shows like CBS’s hit sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” For those unfamiliar, “How I Met Your Mother” follows a group of five adults living in New York City, trying to navigate careers and relationships. HIMYM, like many successful sitcoms, makes its core characters easily relatable to viewers. Viewers connect characters to people they know in their lives.Central to this group friendship is the local watering hole, MacLaren’s. MacLaren’s is an ordinary bar, complete with the pseudo-pub atmosphere and artery-clogging bar food. By creating a familiar atmosphere, audiences easily think fondly of their own MacLaren’s down the street. If this is where HIMYM’s writers are connecting with the audience, it reflects our culture’s affection for bar culture. Just think about our beloved Bloomington. Many students cherish memories of their friends around a beer-soaked table at Nick’s after a game of Sink the Biz. Think of all the photos that pop up on Facebook and Twitter each Sunday following weekends spent in the bars. Or how about the deals that entice students out on Tuesday nights despite early Wednesday classes?We can’t deny our love for the bars. Seeing Ted, Robin, Barney, Marshall and Lily seated at their usual table in MacLaren’s rolling their eyes at Ted’s latest love connects to more than just our liver. It connects to our emotions. Audiences laugh because they can relate to the situation. It’s what makes HIMYM an impressively successful sitcom. Television, fictional or not, is most successful and influential when it can connect to the audience in familiar settings and situations. HIMYM capitalizes on this by making the bar a central location for the show. Bloomington is a haven for the bar scene, which makes TV shows like HIMYM a popular Netflix choice for many students. To Long Island—drinking Hoosiers, such a show is legen – wait for it – dary. By Bridget Ameche
(08/23/12 12:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s no surprise that celebrity chef and world traveler Anthony Bourdain wrote his first graphic novel about the food obsession that pervades the national conscious. It is surprising that he does it well.Co-authored by Joel Rose and illustrated by Langdon Foss, “Get Jiro!” cooks up a dystopian future in which restaurant life dominates Los Angeles pop culture. Other cultural standards have been cut away, victims of the prowess of food and those who cook it. “Get Jiro!” outlines two routes restaurants can take. The first reflects a global awareness, with out-of-season, inorganic imports flooding high-end, money-making chains. The second focuses on the local, organic food movement advocated by chefs like Alice Waters. Both camps are fighting to recruit the acclaimed sushi chef, Jiro, who doesn’t care about these definitions. Instead, he focuses on serving quality sushi and decapitating those who desecrate it. Watch out — putting wasabi in your soy sauce will get your head lobbed off. The commentary on the direction of our culture and its food fascination, largely Bourdain’s influence, makes for an insightful satire and a fulfilling read.By Bridget Ameche
(08/15/12 11:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This week, terrified audiences have watched in silent — and dry — awe as sharks swam from the murky depths into their living rooms. The devoted, cultish following of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week bask in the artificial glow of the week-long marathon of all things shark. More importantly, though, Shark Week proves TV can be more than the cheap thrill. It can be important.In its 23rd season, the look into the terrors of the deep has consistently garnered more than 20 million viewers. Discovery built its impressive commercial success since Shark Week's debut in 1995 through following a typical formula for popular television.This path helps grab the high numbers network executives drool over. The content — long a sense of terror and fascination in our culture — acts as the initial hook. Then the drama unfolds. The content itself is naturally dramatic — watching the great beasts break the barrier between water and air on their stunning attacks creates its own drama. The most important aspect of Shark Week is its demand that TV can affect issues and events outside the tangible television. Discovery’s online educational resources on animal conservation dare to be something more than TV. In today’s TV world, short, empty sitcoms and even emptier reality TV shows grab the most attention and discussion. While Shark Week employs many of the same tactics as popular TV shows, its educational content shows promise that TV can break that mold. Shark Week proves TV does not always have to follow the viewers’ wants. With more than 20 million people watching shows about the necessity of shark preservation, the anatomy of sharks and the truth behind their rare but deadly attacks, we are fostering a respectful and informed social conscious. Sure, we can't fully bridge a gap between ourselves and the giant fish who don’t recognize humans, but that attempt to learn about the watery world shows genuine concern and interest on our part.Other preservation efforts should note Shark Week’s success and harness the power of TV. Perhaps its naïve to think, but Shark Week could be the great white hope of animal conservation projects.
(07/26/12 1:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Picking up seven Emmy nominations this week, the critical and popular acclaim for Louis C.K.’s FX hit “Louie” is undeniably well-deserved. How is the third season standing up to the show’s successful first two? C.K.’s still breaking the boundaries, rules and definitions of TV comedies. This week, he tackles recurrent sitcom themes with the usual “Louie” originality. In the latest episode, C.K. explores the world of casual sex and dating. This being “Louie,” nothing is typical. Audiences have watched Louie bumble through countless awkward, damaging and painful (for us or for him, it depends) dates and sexual encounters. C.K. tries to get a one-night fling (Maria Bamford) to meet his daughters, but she is so repulsed that her rejection sends Louie into a slew of romantic fantasies about his daughters’ teachers and a bookstore clerk (Parker Posey).After the initial rejection, Louie finds some romantic success when Posey gets along swimmingly with his daughters. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. After all, it was only part one. Knowing “Louie,” it’s not going to be just as simple as a two-episode romance. Stay tuned, friends. By Bridget Ameche
(06/20/12 10:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Decadent, oversexed and over-teased, “Rock of Ages,” the film version of the Tony-nominated musical, sings a familiar song. Stifled by her rural life, smalltown girl Sherrie (Julianne Hough) picks up and leaves for the headbangers’ haven of Los Angeles. Underneath the gleam of the stage lights, she meets Drew (Diego Boneta), another aspiring musician. The glossy lure of fame threatens to tear the couple apart. Can they have both love and success? It’s a movie musical — you guess the ending. Hough looks the naïve smalltown girl, but her voice resembles the sugary pop of today’s stars, not the hardened sounds of bygone rockers. Overly sweet, Hough doesn’t match Boneta’s hungry demand for both love and fame. Rock god Stacie Jaxx (Tom Cruise) rules the Strip with his eyeliner-rimmed eyes and tight leather chaps. Jaxx looks and sounds the part, but the one-dimensional writing only hints at something below the surface of his tattooed torso. “I am a slave to rock ’n’ roll,” Jaxx says. This strange compulsion to conform to the rules of rock, a genre defined by nonconformity, could be developed to give both Cruise and the film the heart they need. Where the acting and underdeveloped plot fail to deliver, the music succeeds. Surprisingly, the iconic songs of the hair band era give the plot depth and context. Fun and recognizable, the music meshes perfectly with the plot. Overall, the film is upbeat and catchy, there to have a good time and celebrate the era lost to pop music. However, it offers nothing more than that.“Rock of Ages” is forgettable and unoriginal, like many of the former rock gods who ruled the stage. By Bridget Ameche
(04/26/12 3:42am)
WEEKEND previews this summer's big TV seasons
(04/26/12 3:26am)
WEEKEND previews this summer's big upcoming movies