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(11/07/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hope. Change.I was 18 and eligible to vote in 2008, smugly liberal and fanatically in love with Barack Obama. My parents, friends, teachers, everyone was so excited when he was sworn in. Then it happened. Nothing. Hope dwindled as change never came.We’re still killing innocent civilians overseas, spending billions of dollars on a military designed to show off and maintain our colonial power.We’re still sending millions to jail for victimless crimes, exploiting prisoners’ labor and denying their humanity.We’re still trapped in a dominant culture and laws structured by racism, sexism and queerphobia that deny women equal pay and punish the non- and anti-normative.This is a broken down, morally diseased nation. His re-election means four more years of slightly less evil than Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, hopeless non-change. Still, he’s probably better for the United States than Romney for a few reasons.First, he isn’t anti-abortion and doesn’t plan to federally defund Planned Parenthood. Second, he isn’t in favor of a constitutional amendment that limits marriage to the union between man and wife. Third, he won’t increase military spending.Finally, he sponsored the DREAM Act, which is a small step forward for U.S. policy on immigrants. Obama at least has the decency to talk like he cares about protecting people and improving the damaged country that is the U.S.The U.S. is not the hope for the U.S. Neither Obama no Romney are the hope for the U.S. Real hope is found in radical political change, which two-party candidates can’t offer. I’m 22 and eligible to vote. I almost didn’t.I had to overcome a lot of ideological turmoil to vote for Obama, conceding that though this country is deadlocked in a partisan struggle for illusory justice, too many more people could be hurt by Romney.So I voted to re-elect President Barack Obama. I’m not proud of my vote. I’m privileged enough to have spent thousands on my state education, and all my classes have taught me one thing: Humans are interdependent, vulnerable creatures, and we have to take care of each other.The U.S. preaches militarism and middle class idealism, while it practices white supremacist heteropatriarchal capitalism.I doubt Obama will change that, but at least he won’t make it much worse. I hope.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(11/04/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Everyone wishes their house had a porch. If you’re lucky enough to have one, you better put it to good use. Lounge around in the shade with friends and a six-pack or two. Read for class in the crisp autumn air without getting rained on. Make a bold or freaky statement about your house to passersby. Here’s are ten things to help you liven up the coveted comfort zone known as the porch.1) Old couch 2) Christmas lights 3) Beer pong table 4) iHome / sound system (might get stolen) 5) Cornhole boards 6) Bike (might get stolen) 7) Piles of empty beer cans 8) Cardboard cutouts of celebrities 9) Potted plants and other greenery 10 Too many ashtrays
(11/04/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Empty Smirnoff and wine bottles won’t count as legitimate decor once you leave IU, but your undergrad living room will look empty without them. Some homes show off proud trophies from long nights, and others make the most of free stuff. While you’re still in less-than-bourgie, off-campus housing, deck out your place with these college-only must-haves.1) Stacks of Pizza X cups2) Too many coffee tables3) Black lights4) Empty beer bottles5) Full beer bottles6) Cheap IU flag7) Discarded paintings from School of Fine Arts dumpsters8) Mason jars from Nick’s English Hut9) Stolen road signs10) Mini fridge(s)
(10/25/12 5:25pm)
Here are the weekend’s horror offerings at Bloomington theaters.
(10/25/12 4:58pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ghosts and gore aren’t big box office draws these days. It’s been years
since the $200 million grosses of “The Sixth Sense,” “Jaws” and “The
Exorcist.”Hollywood has taken notice.Rather than putting
their faith in original concepts or actually scary movies, mainstream
Halloween weekend releases have tended toward low-budget subgenre films.Torture-horror hit when the first “Saw” movie returned big on a modest budget. Suddenly, “Hostel,” “Turistas” and other torture flicks were hitting screens.Found-footage-horror
took off in the mainstream with the surprise success of “Paranormal
Activity,” which made $100 million off a $15,000 production budget.These cheap movies get franchised and released around Halloween, when casual moviegoers are expected to get their annual thrills. This helps explain why “The Cabin In The Woods,” one of the best mainstream American horror films in years, was quietly released in April.The offbeat horror-comedy opened to $14 million, about half its estimated budget, in the blockbuster wake of “The Hunger Games.”This
Halloween’s “Paranormal Activity 4” had a production budget of $5
million and earned $30 million during its opening weekend.You
can probably expect another “Paranormal Activity” next Halloween. It’s a
surefire win for the studios, something they can depend on until the
next cheap horror sensation comes around. The only original
horror film in theaters right now is “Sinister,” a not-too-bad spin on
found-footage, supernatural and slasher flicks. It opened in third place with a meager $18 million and fell to sixth after the opening of “Paranormal Activity 4.”By
no means a classic, “Sinister” is still a cut above the lamely paced
shock tactics of “Paranormal Activity.” Some of its better scenes even
go somewhere new with serial killers.But Halloween means horror remakes, retreads and sequels nowadays as much as it means pumpkins and trick-or-treating.If
cash cows like “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity” continue to capitalize
on small budgets and cheap thrills, it’s unlikely the studios will
pursue anything more creative or substantive.The worst part is
casual fans don’t know what they’re missing. They get their seasonal
dose of scares and deny themselves the special experience of horror.Don’t let Hollywood scare you away.Horror movies are more than jump-scares, torture-porn and bad acting. They are more than Halloween novelties. Horror
movies are the blood and guts of genre filmmaking, where some of the
boldest visuals make their mark and the best stories get told.Instead
of routine scares from “Paranormal Activity 4,” go for the
character-fueled classics like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Carrie” or the
freaky-fun gore of “The Descent” and “An American Werewolf In London.”There’s nothing to be afraid of.By Patrick Beane
(10/25/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Congratulations, Hoosiers have their very own Todd Akin.During Tuesday night’s senatorial debate, Republican State Treasurer Richard Mourdock one-upped the Missouri congressman’s infamous “legitimate rape” comment with some substantive ignorance of his very own. “I’ve struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God,” he said. “And even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.” Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is trying to distance himself from this outrageous statement, especially after he recently endorsed Mourdock for the U.S. Senate. Mourdock himself is eager to refute the statement, rejecting the accusation he believes God ordains rape as “not even close” to what he said.It is, though. What he said is as awful as it seems. Mourdock can’t back off now and claim he only believes God intended the pregnancy, not the rape. In this case, there would be no pregnancy but for the rape.He is accepting rape. He is denying women’s personhood.This is what it means to deny abortion rights. This is what it means to imply the inevitability of rape. This is what it means to legislate against women.For Mourdock to suggest that he is the one struggling with thinking through rape is audacious. Who is he to call the shots here?The danger is to think Mourdock is something like an extremist. This is more akin to a “47 percent” comment that reveals underlying principles. In this case, it’s the acceptance of violence against women.Democratic candidate U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd District, is attacking his opponent for the comment, but his own anti-women policy is nothing to be proud of.Both Donnelly and Mourdock oppose abortion except in special cases — both support abortion when the mother’s life is threatened, and Donnelly also supports it in cases of rape and incest.This approach to abortion rights reveals a fundamental unwillingness to value women’s bodily autonomy over misogynistic religious beliefs.In a state that tried to defund Planned Parenthood for providing access to abortion, these attitudes are particularly dangerous.Neither of the two frontrunners is an ideal candidate, and even the Libertarian is anti-abortion, but only one conflated rape with divine intervention. It’s probably worth a formal gesture to vote for the other two or at least spread the word about Mourdock’s open avowal of rape culture.I don’t think there’s a GOP war on women. I think there’s a non-partisan war on women. Republican candidates need to take a page from President Barack Obama’s drone war and stop fighting out in the open.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(10/18/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If I only watched the debates, I’d have little to no idea what President Barack Obama or Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney believed in.If I only watched the debates, I’d have no clue at all there were other presidential candidates.There are.The Green Party presidential candidate is Jill Stein, physician and environmental health advocate. The Libertarian presidential candidate is Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico. Neither of these candidates have been represented in the presidential debates, which are organized by the supposedly “nonpartisan” Commission on Presidential Debates.Stein and her vice presidential running mate Cheri Honkala were arrested Tuesday night when they entered the debate grounds in New York. They were charged with “obstructing traffic” on a street that had no traffic.I can’t think of a more fitting image for dominant American politics than the policing and arrest of challengers to the established norm.Instead of an invigorated debate featuring divergent ideas from candidates outside the mainstream, we witnessed a fight between two tired old guys.Obama and Romney stalked and pointed fingers at each other during Tuesday night’s town hall debate. It was aggressive and exciting, but not enough was discussed.Neither of them addressed the pressing concerns raised by the Occupy movement. Neither of them really addressed gun control. Neither of them addressed drone warfare.These are the kinds of questions ignored by the second-rate entertainment that are presidential debates. These debates elude meaningful confrontation with political ideologies that structure decision-making in this country.Viewers seem to be lost in a sea of lies and vague claims about America’s future. The poll results bespeak gross generalization of the two-party system without much attention to the candidates themselves.Who are these undecided voters who can differentiate between improving the economy and doing a better job to help the middle class? I would have loved to see voter reaction to some new contestants. The two-party system has restrained the voting public to “binders of women” memes and Obama quips.There’s more to be said for American politics than this, not that any change will come of it.Stein and Johnson will be debating at 7 p.m. today. The live webcast of the debate is available on ivn.us, YouTube and Google+. I’m not encouraging you to vote for either of these candidates – the system is rigged for the two corrupt parties we know and fear.It might do you some good to know other candidates exist. At least you’ll get to hear something other than Obama’s posturing and Romney’s lies.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(10/17/12 9:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Sinister” is a cut above the contrived terror movies of the past couple Halloween seasons.Best of all, it’s actually scary.Yes,
phantom footsteps run across the attic and strange visages appear from
offscreen, but the spooky atmosphere, for the most part, earns the
shocks.Much of the movie is spent watching old Super-8 film
projected in a dark, claustrophobic office. Found footage is a tired
concept popularized by “The Blair Witch Project” and now attaining
cash-cow status with the “Paranormal Activity” series.By
integrating the concept into conventional narrative, and only when
befits the storytelling, the otherwise cheap device feels mostly
grounded.The Super-8 films themselves are creepy pieces of work,
featuring the mass murder of families in their own homes. It’s an
unsettlingly detached first-person depiction of violence.Unfortunately, the characters are less compelling.Author
Ellison Oswalt (Hawke) grows possessed by his latest true crime book
about the hanging of a Pennsylvania family in their backyard. After
moving into that same family’s obviously haunted house, he and his
insultingly out-of-the-loop wife, Tracy (Rylance), run into troubles.Their
relationship drama is played out in big fights and clichés. There’s
little subtlety to the writing, but Hawke makes the most out of the
material, even if Ellison remains an unsympathetic hero.With the
assistance of occult specialist Professor Jonas (an uncredited Vincent
D’Onofrio) and the well-intentioned Deputy So-and-So (Ransone), he
begins to unravel the mystery behind the mass killings.The
writer’s ego and skepticism might account for his refusal to turn on any
lights ever, but it’s not enough to keep the audience from smacking its
collective forehead.After the second or third time Ellison
journeys up to the attic in the dark or wanders around in the dark
carrying a bat, you have to wonder if the town is in a perpetual
blackout.“Sinister” is best when it strays from bumps in the
night. One ghostly sequence follows Ellison through his dark house
without relying on shock tactics. The snuff films are truly haunting,
and the occult overtones add some zest to the frights.Otherwise,
the sound design becomes increasingly out-of-control as the story
crawls closer toward its supernatural finale, and the jump scares come
fast and hard.The ending is inevitable, but the escalating sense of dread throughout makes it an intriguing sequence.“Sinister”
recalls the classics for its slow-burn pace, long shots and spooky
sound design. It’s just missing some heart and common sense.By Patrick Beane
(10/10/12 9:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Halloween sometimes calls for horror movies that are more fun than scary. “Frankenweenie” joins “Coraline” and “Monster House” as horror-light worth watching at any age.Pop-goth icon Tim Burton has re-animated his 1984 short film as a surprisingly sharp black-and-white stop-motion 3-D feature.Young outcast Victor Frankenstein’s only friend is his beloved dog Sparky. After his father coerced him to join the baseball team, Victor’s moment of glory is cut short when Sparky chases the ball into the street.Not ready to let go of his best friend, Victor puts his scientific genius to the test and brings Sparky back to life in a faithful recreation of the classic “Frankenstein” scene.It’s hard not to feel for Victor and Sparky’s friendship, which makes up the heart of the story, but the offbeat supporting characters are the real blood and guts.Victor’s classmates range from problematic ethnic caricatures to excellently macabre goth kids, all of whom are ridiculously dedicated to winning the science fair.One creepy schoolgirl steals a few scenes with her unblinking eyes and ominous cat, and a mock-Igor earns some good-natured laughs with his genuine weirdness.Martin Landau’s deliciously over-the-top turn as Mr. Rzykruski dazzles in the classroom scenes and as a role model for Victor.The art direction is inspired, and Burton’s retro-gloomy style is updated for a contemporary setting. The character designs are reminiscent of “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride,” and the expressive animation keeps the visuals compelling.The 3-D is tasteful and unobtrusive but maybe unnecessary given the gorgeously shot black-and-white. The undead creatures are freaky for a PG movie, and the atmosphere feels haunting when it’s supposed to.Though the conventional plot does little to inspire, the monstrous third act is entertaining enough, and the movie has fun with itself.Most importantly, as a film marketed to children, “Frankenweenie” doesn’t condescend or simplify. The movie’s only overt moralizing is a lesson not heard enough in kids movies: Adults aren’t always right.By Patrick Beane
(10/10/12 9:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Looking at the penis on the cover of Death Grips’ latest album, you might think the trio is overcompensating for something.It doesn’t have to prove anything.“NO LOVE DEEP WEB” takes the noisy successes of “Exmilitary” and “The Money Store” to the next level. If the band’s extreme music sounded like it might quickly grow stale, Death Grips is here to power drill your doubts away.MC Ride sounds like he’s possessed by six demons, each trying to speak through him more loudly than the last.It makes him hard to believe when he repeatedly shouts, “I’ve got some shit to say/Just for the fuck of it.” This music sounds like it matters from start to finish, from every cymbal crash to every voice break.“Lil boy” roars against twinkling keys and prison sirens. “World of Dogs” menacingly reassures, “It’s all suicide,” while noisy samples sputter in the background. In 45 minutes, the album never lets go.“NO LOVE DEEP WEB” earns the surprise free release. It earns the ALL CAPS title. It earns the penis. It even earns its place among the best albums this year.By Patrick Beane
(10/10/12 9:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Weekend presents an overview of the best burger joints in town, from greasy to gourmet. Bub’s Burgers & Ice CreamBloomington’s gluttons feel at home at Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream on Morton Street.Bub’s is known for its “Big Ugly,” a massive one-pound burger challenge. Champions of the “Big Ugly” meal earn their picture on the restaurant’s walls. In June, Indonesian visitor Stephen Sulimro achieved the legendary task of eating four “Big Uglys.” His performance earned him a poster-sized print.Customers who can’t quite muster the “Big Ugly” may also order the “Not So Ugly” half-pounder or the “Settle for Less Ugly” quarter-pounder. All of these burgers are available with ground chuck or ground elk.As if the monstrous burgers weren’t enough, Bub’s offers chicken sandwiches, mahi mahi burgers, Bub Dogs, milkshakes, chili, waffle fries, wings, pie a la mode and an extensive collection of beers.Though the gastronomical challenge of Bub’s attracts customers with its large portions, it also wows with quality. Bub’s chooses bread from local bakeries and uses only the freshest ingredients possible. In short, Bub’s takes a classic menu and makes it masterful.ChompIn a town teeming with local foodie treasures, it’s no wonder some places are overlooked. In the end, we’re the ones missing out. Chomp, a newcomer to the Bloomington burger scene, can no longer be ignored. It’s heating up the competition and with good reason. Located at 208 S. Dunn St., just off Fourth Street, Chomp has made a name for itself since its April opening. Affordable, properly portioned and well-seasoned, the burgers at Chomp are the ideal dinner for any hungry Hoosier. Priced from $5.45 to $7.75, Chomp showcases a selection of 15 antibiotic and hormone-free burgers.And the variety doesn’t stop there. This restaurant also boasts more than 50 additional toppings for your burger. If that isn’t enough variety for you, you don’t deserve Chomp. Chris Hoenke, Chomp’s house manager, said the Cream and Crimson burger is the most popular. Topped with garlic, parmesan, sautéed red peppers, chipotle mayo and mozzarella, this nod to Bloomington is sure to satisfy. Try it out on a Tuesday, when Chomp offers $2 draft beers all day. It’s sure to become your new $2 Tuesday. Hinkle's HamburgersTownie favorite Hinkle’s Hamburgers is Bloomington’s best hole in the wall. It’s hard to imagine much has changed since it opened in 1930.You order the moment you walk in the door, chat with the sassy cashiers, take your receipt and watch your burger move from grill to brown paper bag. It’s rough around the edges, the real deal. Hinkle’s is about more than the experience, though. It’s about good old-fashioned hamburgers. If you’re looking for gourmet burgers, you better look elsewhere.The Bloomington institution’s decidedly unflashy motto is, “We grind our meat fresh daily.” Hinkle’s knows what it is. The meat is ground and pattied in-store before your eyes. Onions are cooked right in the patty. If you ask them to hold the onions, you’ll get a funny look.Imagine what White Castle’s thin and onion-rich patties were meant to taste like.The burgers are served hot and greasy. The fries are basic, but the homemade milkshakes and fountain drinks are delicious.A little pricier than you’d expect given its appearance, Hinkle’s pays back with local color and some of the most savory hand-pattied burgers in town.Laughing Planet CafeThe Laughing Planet Café makes a mean, green, veggie burger. The off-Kirkwood restaurant is mostly known for its organic burritos and quesadillas. It shares a deck, and fanbase, with Soma Coffeehouse. While it is less widely ordered, the homemade veggie patty is not to be dismissed. Fully vegan, the veggie burger is made of rice, lentils, oats, carrots and black beans. Laughing Planet serves only locally grown vegetables, attracting the kind of people who like to know where their food comes from. Junior Eric Tidwell, Laughing Planet employee, said the Classic Veggie Burger is made freshly in-house, with love. Instead of fries, the burgers come with corn chips and your choice of hot, medium (verde) or mild salsa. “We don’t have any fried food on the menu,” Tidwell said.There are three choices if you’re going the veggie burger route: the Classic, which I enjoyed; the Bubba Burger, featuring BBQ sauce and melted jack cheese; and the Mushroom Cheese Burger, which is self-explanatory. Ranging from $5.89 to $7.30, the burgers are not as affordable as your Micky D’s single, but the benefits the veggie burger provides to your body and local farmers justify the cost.Opie Taylor'sSmall and cozy and right off the Square, Opie Taylor’s has been serving some of B-Town’s best eats since 1984. With a bar-like atmosphere, Opie’s is known for their burgers, which come in more than 30 different combinations. If you’re really in the mood to eat or love to pretend you’re on Man vs. Food, try the Double Tank burger, a gargantuan task for any taker. With two one-pound beef patties and a topping of bacon, sautéed mushrooms and “everything else we can find,” this burger is easily one of the tastiest and most fattening things you can find in Bloomington. If you’re not up for the challenge, try one of Opie’s fantastic other varieties, such as the Tom Crean and Crimson, with mozzarella cheese and buffalo sauce, or the Kevin Wilson Experience, topped with Thousand Island dressing, lettuce and tomato.Grab a side of Cajun-spiced buffalo fries with your meal or start out with Opie’s famous mozzarella sticks, which are truly legendary. If you’re 21 or older, wash everything down with a Big Lebrewski, a 36 oz. mug of beer. On Thursday nights, it goes for only $3.Scholars Inn BakehouseBurgers at the Scholars Inn Bakehouse are a must for every hungry intellectual. They’re reasonably priced, made to order, as in not sitting frozen on a counter, and delicious, albeit a bit small. There are eight different options ranging from $6.19 to $7.99, and each comes with your choice of side: coleslaw, grapes, chips or pretzels. Salads, soups and Scholars fries, a mix of regular and sweet potato, are available extras.Though front of house manager Donna Fletcher said the bacon cheddar is the most popular burger, the Scholars burger is the one with special Scholars sauce. Scholars sauce is a deliciously tangy complement to the burger, similar to Thousand Island dressing. It’s definitely a subtle flavor and sometimes hard to taste once ketchup has been added.Fletcher’s personal favorite is the Blues burger, which comes with bleu cheese dressing. She also recommends the Scholars fries and Scholars’ signature granola. Go for both, because as tasty as it is, the burger leaves you wanting more.Don’t want to spend the money? Scholars Inn Bakehouse has $3 burgers every Wednesday, and the fries are only $1.50 more.
(10/04/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’m afraid of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.Not because Romney thinks paying 14 percent taxes on his millions of dollars makes him a swell guy. That is why I despise Romney, why I won’t be voting for him and why I’m convinced President Barack Obama is merely the lesser of American white supremacist heteropatriarchal capitalist evil.I’m afraid of Romney because he is the champion of the privileged, ignorant and hateful. His supporters vehemently oppose collectivist thought.Romney’s running mate, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., aptly reduced Washington to a battle between individualism and collectivism in a 2005 speech at an Ayn Rand society gathering. He’s got a point.Walking home from one of my jobs last week, I came across two sights.A person, maybe homeless, was playing guitar beside a sign asking for help. I offered a smile and, truth be told, nothing else.Soon after, I passed two well-dressed, middle-aged white men talking loudly.One of the men was angrily asking, “Can you believe these bums who do nothing and get free food?”I didn’t confront him at the time, but I’m left regretting my passivity and wondering where his hatred came from. He is one of many who have convinced themselves that other people don’t deserve help, that some people live off government programs because that’s an easy thing to do.Capitalist liberalism has convinced the country that individual rights should be valued more than collectivist thought, and thus it perpetuates attitudes that depend on the subjugation of our fellow humans.My radical friends have rightly accused me of being liberal. I’ll grin and bear it.Note to GOP readers: Radical leftists aren’t Democrats. They actually disdain Democrats more than you do.If voting for Obama reveals my liberalism, so be it. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and revolutionary politics won’t stop Romney in the next month. Social security, Medicare and middle-class tax rates will be jeopardized if Romney wins the presidency. For the next five weeks, I’ll have to hope voting is compatible with broader anti-normative politics. Call it diversity of tactics.Don’t get me wrong: Obama almost definitely isn’t going to change the U.S. for the better. He has done little for women’s rights, except to neglect redefining rape. He hasn’t actively sought to implement gun control. He hasn’t kept his promise on immigration reform. But Obama won’t do anything that Romney isn’t going to do, and then some.The American political system is bought and sold. The United States is doomed to suffer the consequences of capitalism until a radical leftist group actually gains traction.For now, Romney has scared me into liberalism.I’m so scared of Romney that I’ll be voting for Obama.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(10/02/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Does ignoring ignorance make it go away? Are we really so far beyond racism as a nation that talking about racism in pop culture rehashes stereotypes more than it dismantles them?I don’t think so. To pretend racism and other violence will disappear if we stop bringing them up bespeaks privilege and ignorance.Dolce & Gabbana is making something of a splash with the preview of its spring 2013 fashion collection.The lineup, which featured caricatures of black women on earrings and dresses, hasbeen rightly accused of troublingly racist overtones. The white, idealized models make the appropriation of racist stereotypes even more overt.There has been debate as to whether the caricatured imagery is reminiscent of American South “mammy” tropes. Some have likened it to historical Italian portrayals of Moors, Muslim populations in northern African and the Mediterranean. This kind of nitpicking misses the point.I don’t care which racist cultural-historical moment inspired this collection, both are dependent on white supremacist colonialism.The imagery recalls white supremacist depictions of colonized populations, and the historical violence committed is reproduced by high fashion in the name of ... what?The runway becomes a site of racial violence when decapitated black heads with big red lips dangle from the ears of white models. There’s a difference between being hypersensitive to racialized iconography and confronting representations of colonialist narratives.Fashion, like all cultural institutions, does not operate outside of politics. It interacts with dominant culture and represents ignorances and violences in that culture.If we’re ready and willing to turn a supposedly “colorblind” eye to instances of racism like the Dolce & Gabbana collection, we need to reexamine where that willingness is coming from.Do we not care because we don’t confront racism from day to day? Do we think racism in pop culture has no effect on dominant (mis)conceptions of race? Do we think we’re above “real” racism when we make art with racist overtones?If you really care about fashion, why would you also turn around and pretend like it doesn’t matter to real life?Ignorance should be met with opposition, not deference.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(09/28/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After foregoing salaries for the 2011-12 academic year, the IU Student Association has reinstated executive salaries for 2012-13.“This year’s budget grants $3,000 to each of the executive positions, representing about a fifth of the budget. These salaries are accompanied by analysis of performance by administrators, who can withhold the money if job performance isn’t up to par,” according to Thursday’s Indiana Daily Student article. This should make you skeptical.If University administrators evaluate IUSA performance, won’t the IUSA be less likely to oppose their policies?How commanding does a IU Board of Trustees-approved student government appear?I don’t oppose salaries for IUSA executives. They’re students like the rest of us, and students need money.However, unlike the rest of us, the IUSA gets paid by students. We should have a say in what it does.“No compensation really means no consequence for focusing on things other than IUSA,” IUSA President Kyle Straub said in the same IDS article.While I wish money weren’t the only binding incentive to improve student well-being, it makes a good one.If we’re going to get our money’s worth out of those executive salaries, we need to make demands. I have a few.RepresentationMeetings with IU higher-ups are no longer open forum. The IUSA needs to let students know when it meets with IU administration and the IU trustees.After the IU trustees effectively removed the University Chancellor, the IUSA is one of our only University-sanctioned means of reaching out to IU administration. We need to make our voices heard, or our increasing tuition will continue to fill the pockets of administrators.Since less money is going toward initiatives and $10,000 is going toward marketing, it should be easier for the IUSA to reach out to us. TransparencyWhen a fifth of the student-funded IUSA budget goes to salaries, we should know what it’s paying for.We deserve to know when IUSA makes decisions, what it’s deciding and why it’s deciding it. The IUSA website hasn’t been updated since February. I want to know what our salaried executives plan to do with the rest of our money this year. The website would be a convenient place to make these plans available to students.And I hope the IUSA remembers to ask students what we want from it.Initiatives that matterYou know what the touch screen in the Herman B Wells Library has done for me? Nothing.Let’s take the administration to task about tuition increases.Let’s keep administrative bureaucracy outside of classrooms.Let’s investigate hazing and the culture of violence in the greek system.Let’s demand the administration voices committed condemnation of sexual assault and rape on and off campus, rather than intermittently issuing objective reports via email.Let’s force our student government to at least try to make substantive differences on campus.When an unopposed ticket decides to pay itself, I assume the worst.Prove me wrong, IUSA.Of course, I’m game for more radical political action. Nothing else seems to work.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(09/26/12 9:12pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Grizzly Bear tends to release growers, not growlers.“Shields” is another exercise in restraint even as the band departs further from its chamber-folk roots toward something more immediate and precise.This precision cuts to the bone when it works. When it doesn’t, the album sounds lifeless and routine.Pristine production and arrangements place the focus more than ever on the songwriting, which soars and stumbles in equal measure.The singles showcase Grizzly Bear in top form. “Sleeping Ute” is a beautiful and spooky shapeshifter. “Yet Again” is one of Ed Droste’s catchiest melodies, with weight to ground it.“Shields” gets drab for a while after that.Closing duo “Half Gate” and “Sun In Your Eyes” is worth the wait. “Half Gate” lets loose and reaches a satisfying end. “Sun In Your Eyes” takes off to heights only hinted at by the rest of the album.“Shields” is hardly folly but, except for a few tracks, never sinks its claws into you like “Veckatimest” did.This isn’t a misstep, but it is overcalculated. Grizzly Bear has refined itself to the point of perfection but also predictability.By Patrick Beane
(09/20/12 1:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Lotus World Music and Arts Festival has become as much a part of Bloomington culture as Little 500 and Nick’s English Hut.I’ve attended Lotus several times as a high school student and during my undergraduate years, and I’m always impressed by the gathering of international musicians and artists and the staggering number of townies and students who celebrate them.If you’ve never been to Lotus, you’re missing out on a special experience.“Your wristband is a passport to the world,” Lotus Development Director Kristin Varella said. “It’s a chance to broaden your horizons.”For me, the appeal is obvious. It’s all about the atmosphere.Around the square downtown and onto Kirkwood Avenue, you’ll be enveloped by smiling faces, flashing lights and vibrant music.Lotus brings international artists to Bloomington, showcases local acts and floods downtown with a totally different set of people, sights and sounds.Lotus provides IU students the chance to embed themselves in Bloomington’s community, because it “enables people of all ages and abilities to attend,” Varella said.It’s a chance to get a better sense of your city in addition to world music and art.The main festival tents deserve the crowds they always draw, but Lotus features other events worth your attention.Make sure to swing by the Arts Village on Sixth Street, where “there are a lot of opportunities for Lotus ticket holders and the general public to see installations from a wide array of organizations in Bloomington,” Varella said.Always gorgeous and surreal, the free Arts Village wows festival goers with visual treats and interactive pieces.The space on Sixth Street plays home to some of the quieter as well as not-so-quiet festival moments.Make chalk art on the street with Kansas City artist Mark Glover. Get lost in the 200-panel Lotus Community Labyrinth inspired by African textiles. Dive into a school of inflatable fish carried by models wearing 2012 Trashion Refashion.The Arts Village is always a surreal detour from the featured performances.Another overlooked free admission event is Saturday’s Lotus in the Park, where international and locally featured performers play outdoors in Waldron, Hill and Buskirk parks.It’s a great space to lounge in the sun with other community members, which is partly what Lotus is about.Though it’s a little pricey, Lotus delivers a rare experience.Most of my long nights of dancing and parading at Lotus have left me breathless, sweaty and smiling. It’s the best way to discover music and art you might otherwise neglect.“You get to see, learn and experience different cultures and people from all over the country and the world to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world,” Varella said.
(09/13/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’m sick of this.My fellow Opinion columnist Alex Carlisle wrote a column titled “Our women vs. theirs” on Sept. 6, about prominent Democrats Sandra Fluke and Debbie Wasserman Schultz at the Republican National Convention. The piece used their appearance at the RNC in Tampa, Fla., to expound on the difference between Republican and Democratic women.In the process, the column reveals disgusting anti-women sentiment based on perhaps deliberate misunderstandings of feminism, women’s health and government.It’s hard not to write this rebuttal in all-caps, but I don’t want to cause my editors the trouble.No, Fluke and Wasserman Schultz were not “raving,” though I wouldn’t blame them if they were. They plainly criticized the RNC for featuring women who vote for anti-women policies and don’t vote for pro-women policies.The RNC appealed to women voters with women leaders who do not show any interest in benefiting and protecting women.No, Republican women who vote for anti-women policies are not “masochists,” they’re caught up in GOP-sponsored false consciousness.If they were openly masochists, they might help to destabilize the stigmatization of BDSM in dominant American sexual culture. That was a joke.It is, however, a good sign you’re pro-women if you support abortion rights and health coverage for birth control.That’s because women’s bodies and sexuality deserve respect from the state.To folks who think birth control is easily accessible, please consider women who can’t afford it.No, the brand of today’s feminist is not, “Treat me differently because I have a vagina.” In fact, some of today’s feminists don’t even have vaginas! And I’m not just talking about cis male feminists.Today’s feminists ask to be treated differently because American policy doesn’t treat them with dignity.Today’s feminists come from across the world. They have different economic statuses. They are different colors. They have sex, or don’t, with different kinds of people. They are different sizes. They are differently abled. Today’s feminists agree on a lot of issues and disagree on more. No, it is not “silly” for women to care about women’s issues. Why is it silly to care about rights and policies that shape and control your livelihood?Why is feminism treated like some evil scheme to take money from hard-working GOP men?Why is it considered radically leftist for women to have control of their bodies?This is a woefully inadequate rebuttal, but it’d take more than a few pages in print to cover the reasons why women don’t enjoy the same privileges as men and why some women don’t enjoy the same privileges as other women.I wish I didn’t have to keep writing about this stuff, but if misconceptions and misogyny are printed in the Indiana Daily Student, they demand response.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(09/06/12 12:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If ever there were a musical adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road,” post-punk juggernaut Swans’ 12th record “The Seer” should be the soundtrack.Heavy, bleak and grinding, this double album would be exhausting at 30 minutes. At nearly two hours, the desolate expanse of noise is enough to get lost in.Despite the near-total gloomy atmosphere, “The Seer” sounds driven by ragged hope and, occasionally, moments of ecstasy.Swans demands patience, but the payoff is often worth it.The dogged 32-minute title track goes from grim to ghoulish before finding resolution in the bluesy stomp of follow-up “The Seer Returns.”Legendary frontman Michael Gira sounds as ragged as ever, and his imaginative production and leadership shine bright at the record’s darkest and lightest moments.A much-needed breath of respite, “Song For A Warrior” opens the second album with sleepy vocals from Karen O.Standout “A Piece Of The Sky” churns along on a blues riff to end the world, then lapses into sickly sweet territory, with Gira repeatedly asking, “Are you there?”Swans is still here, and it still rattles to the bone.By Patrick Beane
(09/05/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>He probably doesn’t even remember.I was walking a friend home last week when a passerby shouted something not suitable for print, not suitable for shouting and not suitable for compassionate thought.This column is for him and everyone who carefully or carelessly hurls hate speech.From the balcony of one of those big, bourgie apartment complexes on the north side of downtown, a drunk-sounding bro shouted something hurtful at my friend.The drunken offender targeted my friend for their dress, perceived color, perceived gender and perceived sexuality.It’s more than hurtful words.It was a sobering moment that caught us both off guard.I wish one of us had thought of something to shout back. I wish I could have thought of something comforting to say to my friend.My friend was in no position to take the harassment in stride, wear the hate with pride or wait for things to get better.My friend shouldn’t have to.We both let our guard down that night, though we’re both used to hearing comments about our appearances.This is even more true for my friend, who both suffers insults and receives compliments for their self-presentation and eye-catching fashion sense.After all the bullying, they still haven’t gotten used to queer-bashing language or gender harassment.Simply leaving the house can feel like an invitation for fellow students and city folk to shame them. It’s not something I’d want to get used to.My friend’s life isn’t a life lived in fear, mind you. It’s a boldly lived life driven by self-determination and ambition. It’s one that inspires me.It’s also a tumultuous life.Most importantly, it’s one that forces me to recognize my privileges. I don’t often worry my appearance will make me a target of racist, sexist and homophobic slurs.After several years studying feminist and queer theory, and especially after that night, I’ve come to a couple of conclusions.First, folks hate being hated.Second, folks need to spread awareness about hate speech and bullying.Some drunk guy shouting filth at a friend doesn’t signal an epidemic of homophobia or sexism.But it does merit the reconsideration of our society’s collective stance on queerness.Your drunk-guy words aren’t harmless or “only words” if they actually hurt somebody.If you can make someone hurt with your taunts, you shouldn’t be saying them.Bloomington has a reputation as a queer-friendly city.That reputation doesn’t hold up now. It won’t hold up in the future unless we actively change our attitudes toward queer people.— ptbeane@indiana.edu
(08/30/12 12:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This land is our land.This land is no man’s land.Dan Deacon’s “America” is a sonically sprawling concept album that tackles the overdetermined and contradictory knowledge surrounding the United States. His expressionist lyrics describe American false consciousness and environmental destruction, the beauty of the American landscape and the power of political activism.It makes sense that Deacon took his act to the Occupy movement on May Day, and his collectivist politics can be heard in this album’s music. Beautiful and brash all at once, “America” sounds like “The Star-Spangled Banner” for our particular moment of political unrest.Classically trained in composition, Deacon leads his most engaging conversation yet between conventional orchestration and noise.A compromise between the full-throttle freakiness of “Spiderman of the Rings” and the epically ornate “Bromst,” this album has moments explosive (“Lots”) and restrained (“Prettyboy”).“America” closes with a sweeping, four-part “USA” suite as broad as the land it laments and celebrates.By Patrick Beane