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(10/25/01 5:57am)
Anyone who needs proof that parenthood is a lifelong ride should go see "Riding in Cars with Boys." Starting with a fateful night parked in steamy car beside the reservoir and ending with a snowy road trip, Beverly Donofrio (Drew Barrymore) finds out how having a baby changes every part of life, even after that baby grows into a man.\nBased on Donofrio's memoir, the movie follows Bev from ages 15 to 35. In real life, Barrymore is somewhere in between the two. Thanks to her offscreen persona, it's easy for audiences to believe her as giddy, selfish teenage Beverly. But, surprisingly, she's more impressive when playing the character as a hardened, frustrated adult.\nAfter getting pregnant by dim-bulb boyfriend Ray (Steve Zahn), Beverly is forced to give up dreams of college and a successful writing career for marriage, poverty and spending the rest of her life seeing the disappointment and shame on the face of her once-adoring father (James Woods). The movie alternates between these flashbacks of Beverly's early days as a mother in the 1960s and '70s and a 1986 road trip being taken by Beverly and now-grown son Jason (Adam Garcia).\nThe best part of the movie is how shockingly unlikable Beverly is. There are many sappy U-turns in which Barrymore as Bev and successive child actors as young Jason prove how cute they are by jumping around and mugging adorably for the camera. But that doesn't disguise the fact that Beverly is distant, inattentive and angry toward what Jason's presence has done to her life. And Garcia's portrayal of a bitter and conflicted adult Jason shows how much of a negative effect his mother's selfishness has had. \nAlthough many of the more negative sex and drug-related parts of Donofrio's book have been left out of the movie, "Riding in Cars with Boys" doesn't whitewash how depressing and complicated it is to have dreams of success replaced with bills and dirty diapers. But although Beverly and, for the most part, Jason end up coming out on top, you'll be glad their journey happened to someone else.
(10/25/01 4:00am)
Anyone who needs proof that parenthood is a lifelong ride should go see "Riding in Cars with Boys." Starting with a fateful night parked in steamy car beside the reservoir and ending with a snowy road trip, Beverly Donofrio (Drew Barrymore) finds out how having a baby changes every part of life, even after that baby grows into a man.\nBased on Donofrio's memoir, the movie follows Bev from ages 15 to 35. In real life, Barrymore is somewhere in between the two. Thanks to her offscreen persona, it's easy for audiences to believe her as giddy, selfish teenage Beverly. But, surprisingly, she's more impressive when playing the character as a hardened, frustrated adult.\nAfter getting pregnant by dim-bulb boyfriend Ray (Steve Zahn), Beverly is forced to give up dreams of college and a successful writing career for marriage, poverty and spending the rest of her life seeing the disappointment and shame on the face of her once-adoring father (James Woods). The movie alternates between these flashbacks of Beverly's early days as a mother in the 1960s and '70s and a 1986 road trip being taken by Beverly and now-grown son Jason (Adam Garcia).\nThe best part of the movie is how shockingly unlikable Beverly is. There are many sappy U-turns in which Barrymore as Bev and successive child actors as young Jason prove how cute they are by jumping around and mugging adorably for the camera. But that doesn't disguise the fact that Beverly is distant, inattentive and angry toward what Jason's presence has done to her life. And Garcia's portrayal of a bitter and conflicted adult Jason shows how much of a negative effect his mother's selfishness has had. \nAlthough many of the more negative sex and drug-related parts of Donofrio's book have been left out of the movie, "Riding in Cars with Boys" doesn't whitewash how depressing and complicated it is to have dreams of success replaced with bills and dirty diapers. But although Beverly and, for the most part, Jason end up coming out on top, you'll be glad their journey happened to someone else.
(10/17/01 5:35am)
Money intended to help the relief efforts of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was reported stolen from the offices of the IU Student Association Friday afternoon.\nThe money had been collected during a fundraiser for the Red Cross and other charities. \nIt was counted Oct. 9, put in an envelope and locked in a file cabinet at IUSA's offices in the Student Activities Tower of the Indiana Memorial Union, IUSA President Jake Oakman, a senior, said. Sometime between Tuesday and Friday, $1,300 disappeared, he said.\nIUSA vice president Jeff Wuslich, a sophomore, reported to the police at 4 p.m. Friday that nearly $1,300 was missing.\nIUSA had raised $7,000 total for relief efforts, through the Miss A Meal program, a car wash and a coin-bucket fundraiser.\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the department is investigating.\n"Investigators will be interviewing people who have access to the office to at least narrow down the time of the theft and who may have had access to the money," Minger said.\nThe money was locked in a filing cabinet in the IUSA office. Whoever took the money had access to both, Oakman said.\n"I never thought someone would steal money from that charity," Oakman said. "You don't think someone's going to go in and steal the money."\nThe security code for the IUSA office door has since been changed.\nWuslich said he could not comment on the incident because of the investigation.\nOakman said security measures for the office were discussed at the IUSA executives' weekly meeting Tuesday evening.\nDespite the theft, Oakman said IUSA still plans to donate $7,000 to disaster relief efforts.\n"It's important to know we're going to make up the $1,300," Oakman said. "We're going to still donate the full amount to the charities, so students don't have to worry about their money being stolen"
(10/11/01 4:59am)
Non-fans probably know Suzanne Vega best for the dance version of the song "Tom's Diner." Although that song is undeniably catchy, it doesn't even scratch the surface of what Vega is musically capable of.\nThankfully, Songs in Red and Gray, Vega's first album since 1996, does scratch that surface. The album is far more introspective than "Tom's Diner," which was basically a story set to music. On the new CD, Vega sings about heartbreak, anger and longing, much of which probably stems from a shake-up in her personal life -- she recently broke up with husband Mitchell Froom, who also produced two of her previous albums.\nThe most interesting thing about the album is that while each of the songs have similar acoustic guitar melodies as a foundation for the music, all of the tracks sound very different. Throughout the album, you will hear the guitar and swear the CD player accidentally was skipping. But this feeling is quickly dispelled when you pay attention to the lyrics.\nVega covers the feelings surrounding a break-up with a series of creative metaphors. In "Songs in Red and Gray," Vega wonders about how the conflict with her husband is affecting her daughter, while also questioning "Did I break the thread or did you break the thread?" "Soap and Water" finds Vega asking to "hang my heart on the line/scour it down in a wind of sand." \nLuckily the whole album isn't tragedy and despair. "Last Year's Troubles" an infinitely happier song than most of the CD, celebrates the fact that most of this discord has been left behind. \nSongs in Red and Gray isn't particularly uplifting. It's also not the best CD to play if you don't plan on actually listening to the words, considering the lyrics are the strong suit. But if you've got the free time, listening to the story of Vega's break-up is an hour or so well spent.
(10/11/01 4:00am)
Non-fans probably know Suzanne Vega best for the dance version of the song "Tom's Diner." Although that song is undeniably catchy, it doesn't even scratch the surface of what Vega is musically capable of.\nThankfully, Songs in Red and Gray, Vega's first album since 1996, does scratch that surface. The album is far more introspective than "Tom's Diner," which was basically a story set to music. On the new CD, Vega sings about heartbreak, anger and longing, much of which probably stems from a shake-up in her personal life -- she recently broke up with husband Mitchell Froom, who also produced two of her previous albums.\nThe most interesting thing about the album is that while each of the songs have similar acoustic guitar melodies as a foundation for the music, all of the tracks sound very different. Throughout the album, you will hear the guitar and swear the CD player accidentally was skipping. But this feeling is quickly dispelled when you pay attention to the lyrics.\nVega covers the feelings surrounding a break-up with a series of creative metaphors. In "Songs in Red and Gray," Vega wonders about how the conflict with her husband is affecting her daughter, while also questioning "Did I break the thread or did you break the thread?" "Soap and Water" finds Vega asking to "hang my heart on the line/scour it down in a wind of sand." \nLuckily the whole album isn't tragedy and despair. "Last Year's Troubles" an infinitely happier song than most of the CD, celebrates the fact that most of this discord has been left behind. \nSongs in Red and Gray isn't particularly uplifting. It's also not the best CD to play if you don't plan on actually listening to the words, considering the lyrics are the strong suit. But if you've got the free time, listening to the story of Vega's break-up is an hour or so well spent.
(10/04/01 5:44am)
When terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, professors and students in many IU classes got the chance to discuss what had happened and the feelings they were experiencing.\nLesson plans went on as usual in IU's Japanese classes. Not because everyone didn't want to talk about what happened. But because they couldn't.\n"The grammar we use in class is very basic," Joanne Quimby, a graduate student and assistant instructor for Japanese classes said. "We talk about how the weather is."\nFor the last week, students and professors in these classes expressed their emotions for those who lost their lives in another way: with their hands.\nJapanese language students and East Asian Languages and Culture faculty and staff folded more than 1,000 origami peace cranes to help with an effort to send 7,000 cranes to the Red Cross, with about one crane to represent each person killed during the terrorist attacks.\n"This was something we could do," Quimby said of the project. "We could share something we all knew we were feeling."\nIU's part in this project began when Kazumi Hatasa, a professor of Japanese at Purdue University, contacted Yasuko Watts, an IU professor of Japanese, asking for help with making and sending the cranes. The idea for the project came from Yasumi Kuriya, a professor of Japanese at the University of Iowa.\nWatts made up an instruction sheet on how to make a crane and recruited a member of the department to track down origami paper. Watts cut the paper into small squares and had her assistant instructors distribute the paper during Japanese classes. Students folded cranes at the end of classes and were encouraged to take paper home to make more.\nAfter less than a week, the result is 10 strings of 100 tiny cranes each. More sit inside a box at the department office. There are cranes in all shades of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Others feature thin yellow and purple strips or red and white flowers. Some are folded neatly and some feature haphazard or crooked creases.\n"Some are beautiful and some are not, but they were folded thinking of the people who lost their lives and their families," Watts said. \nThe idea of folding cranes for peace originated in Japan after World War II, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Twelve-year old Sadako Sasaki, who was two at the time of the bombing, was diagnosed with leukemia as a result of the radiation she was exposed to when the atomic bomb was dropped. \nJapanese legend says anyone who folds 1,000 paper cranes is granted a wish; Sadako attempted to fold cranes so she could wish to get well. Although Sadako eventually died of her disease, she did fold her 1,000 cranes and inspired millions of people do to the same. \nFreshman Jeni Schaibley, who helped fold some of the cranes, remembers reading a book about Sadako in elementary school. Schaibley said although the legend might not be grounded in reality, its sentiment is still important.\n"It's funny that this was done in such a patriotic spirit yet the concept came from another culture," she said. "I think that's symbolic of America."\nSchaibley and freshman Elisa Leverett, who are both taking first-year Japanese, were two students who took home extra paper for crane-making. \n"Sending the cranes is like sending flowers but it's more meaningful because we put effort into making these beautiful little things," Schaibley said.\nLeverett hopes the folded cranes will send a message to those affected by the terrorist attacks.\n"The cranes show that our thoughts and prayers are with them," Leverett said.\nMany students got very involved with making cranes. Watts said one student, who wanted to remain anonymous, sent a friend to her office with a bag of about 200 cranes.\n"I don't know who he or she is but I'm so glad this person did it," she said.\nJanet Donely, administrative assistant for the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department, spent all of last weekend folding about 100 cranes. \n"I got the directions Friday and spent all weekend trying to follow them," she said.\nThis week people often came by the office where Donely works asking for origami paper to make cranes for the project. Making the cranes and encountering the many others who volunteered to do so as well was touching to Donely.\n"It was a reminder how much need there is in the world and how much sorrow," she said. "There's need everywhere and we always have to step up and do our part"
(10/04/01 5:06am)
The look of "The Deep End" is ominous, as if something horrible is always on the brink of happening. There are several shots under the water of lakes or swimming pools. Characters pass in front of a bubbling fish tank. Although the electric blue water looks bright, there is a darkness lingering in the corners, as if something is laying in wait. \nAnd as the movie begins, it appears the film is going to fulfill the promise and provide two hours of nail-biting suspense. Nevada mom Margaret Hall's (Tilda Swinton) calm domestic world is swept out from under her when she wakes up one morning to discover her teenage son's sleazeball male lover impaled on an anchor by the dock of her lakeside backyard. Margaret fears her son, Beau, (Johnathan Tucker) is the culprit and goes to great lengths to protect him. This leads to her getting mixed up with the attractive Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic), who is sent by his creepy boss to blackmail her out of $50,000.\nThe movie plods along and seems like it will build up to some sort of climax, but unfortunately never does. Plot points seem to float in limbo, and characters make decisions without much explanation. For example, the relationship between Alek and Margaret becomes increasingly more complex but the motivations for this are never adequately developed. "The Deep End" was adapted from a 1940s noir novel, "The Blank Wall," written by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. The plot was most likely better explained in the book, but cut by the directors for time constraints or the characters' inability to be portrayed on film.\nDespite these shortcomings, the cinematography is beautiful and the performances are for the most part excellent. Both Swinton and Visnjic do their best with the material given and try to give their lines deeper meaning, as if to make up for the lack of real subtext. Even though it's not explored nearly enough, their relationship is still compelling to watch as they alternately threaten and bond with each other. \nWatching "The Deep End" is enough to make a person want to take a vacation to beautiful Lake Tahoe, take a swim and then head to the library to pick up a copy of "The Blank Wall," all in an attempt to pick up where the script leaves off.
(10/04/01 4:00am)
The look of "The Deep End" is ominous, as if something horrible is always on the brink of happening. There are several shots under the water of lakes or swimming pools. Characters pass in front of a bubbling fish tank. Although the electric blue water looks bright, there is a darkness lingering in the corners, as if something is laying in wait. \nAnd as the movie begins, it appears the film is going to fulfill the promise and provide two hours of nail-biting suspense. Nevada mom Margaret Hall's (Tilda Swinton) calm domestic world is swept out from under her when she wakes up one morning to discover her teenage son's sleazeball male lover impaled on an anchor by the dock of her lakeside backyard. Margaret fears her son, Beau, (Johnathan Tucker) is the culprit and goes to great lengths to protect him. This leads to her getting mixed up with the attractive Alek Spera (Goran Visnjic), who is sent by his creepy boss to blackmail her out of $50,000.\nThe movie plods along and seems like it will build up to some sort of climax, but unfortunately never does. Plot points seem to float in limbo, and characters make decisions without much explanation. For example, the relationship between Alek and Margaret becomes increasingly more complex but the motivations for this are never adequately developed. "The Deep End" was adapted from a 1940s noir novel, "The Blank Wall," written by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. The plot was most likely better explained in the book, but cut by the directors for time constraints or the characters' inability to be portrayed on film.\nDespite these shortcomings, the cinematography is beautiful and the performances are for the most part excellent. Both Swinton and Visnjic do their best with the material given and try to give their lines deeper meaning, as if to make up for the lack of real subtext. Even though it's not explored nearly enough, their relationship is still compelling to watch as they alternately threaten and bond with each other. \nWatching "The Deep End" is enough to make a person want to take a vacation to beautiful Lake Tahoe, take a swim and then head to the library to pick up a copy of "The Blank Wall," all in an attempt to pick up where the script leaves off.
(09/27/01 4:00am)
First take the "L" train to "Bad Acting" street. Then take an express to major suspension of disbelief. Finally, ride the line for grossly ridiculous plot points and self-egrandizing 'N Sync moments. If you can do all of these things and still retain your enthusiasm, then maybe "On the Line" is the movie for you. If not, then please do not subject yourself to what is by far the worst product a boy band has put on the market. \nThe so-called "'N Sync movie" stars band members Joey Fatone and Lance Bass. Bass' production company, A Happy Place, produced this movie, and he's listed as executive producer. \nIt's really sad that this movie is so bad, because the premise is actually rather clever. Commitment-phobic Kevin (Lance Bass) meets Girl of his Dreams (Emanuelle Chriqui) on a Chicago train, is too much of a wuss to get her name and number. He then tries to right that wrong by making up "Are you her?" posters and papering the city with them, hoping she'll call. \nFatone plays one of Kevin's trio of dim-bulb best friends. Because he's a fellow 'N Sync boy, his character gets to be "the funny one," complete with increased screen time, a music career-subplot and truly disgusting flatulence jokes. \nThere are many other plot contrivances -- excuse me, subplots -- that make Kevin's life even more complicated, but they are all ill-conceived and out of place with the main plot. I had to suffer through them, but there's no reason you should have to do so as well. Bottom line is that the writers, director and producers involved in this movie obviously have no idea that sometimes less is more and that external complications are usually less interesting than internal ones. \nActing is also not the film's strong suit, with most of the performers sounding like they're simply reading the script aloud. The only saving graces of this movie, are some nice shots of downtown Chicago and Wrigley Field and appearances by Dave Foley (as Kevin's boss) and Jerry Stiller (as the mailboy at Kevin's workplace). What Foley, Stiller and the Chicago film commission were thinking when they agreed to be involved with this film is a column in itself. \nIt's also nice that Chriqui doesn't have average Girl of His Dreams looks -- she's very different looking, and that's good. If only her character, or any of the characters for that matter, had been given a little substance.\nUnfortunately, I fear this movie will end up as box office success. The audience who shared the theater with me, mostly junior high-age girls, appeared to enjoy it, laughing at the "jokes" and delighting at the finale, with its happy ending and cameo by fellow 'N Sync-ers Justin Timberlake and Chris Kirkpatrick. So please, do not get "on the line." Instead walk, run, sprint to a movie of better quality. Even "Summer Catch" was better than this.
(09/20/01 4:27am)
After watching nonstop CNN for a week, Saturday I desperately flipped the channels looking for something upbeat, something happy, something mindless. I finally settled on renting "Bring It On." I was right in between lusting over Kirsten Dunst's movie love interest and laughing at the scene where the cheerleading squad auditions hopeless new recruits when I had to turn the tape off. I was having a good time. And that's exactly why I couldn't keep watching. I felt too guilty.\nLast Tuesday, the United States experienced the worst terrorist attacks in its history. Most people spent last week watching the horrible footage of planes crashing into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, people running for cover when the World Trade Center buildings eventually collapsed and all other breaking news related to the event. For the last week, most people in the United States have experienced sleepless nights and days filled with worry, fear and waiting. In the first few days following the attacks it was hard to think about anything else. It was hard to get through a day without crying and near impossible to try to laugh or have a good time.\nBut although what happened is obviously worse than the average tragedy, it is like most tragedies in that there comes a point where people consciously or unconsciously begin drifting back in to normalcy. People still think and worry about the possibility of war or the death of thousands. But whether they can help it or not, thoughts about upcoming movies at a theater or a band playing at a club somehow find ways of sneaking to the surface.\nSo you go out to a movie, go shopping or indulge in a late night trip to a restaurant for some dessert. You laugh at something on the screen, glory in picking up that longed-for sweater at a considerable discount or begin moving your feet to the music of a great new band. And then it hits: you're having fun while thousands of people have lost parents, brothers and sisters. You're having a party when we might go to war tomorrow. The country will never be the same but your life is moving forward. And that's when you start to feel guilty. Is it okay for us to have fun when our nation is experiencing a crisis? Is it okay to flip off CNN to catch the season premiere of "Friends"? How can any of us think about having fun when something this horrible has happened?\nSome things about living life in this country will never be the same after Sept. 11. As a country and as individuals we aren't going to think the same way or act the same way ever again. It's important to remember that people very close to us are suffering and that our country is in trouble. \nAfter switching off "Bring It On" last weekend I turned back to CNN in time to catch more news. A report came through about a passenger on one of the hijacked planes who managed to contact a relative via cell phone before he died. His last words to the relative were "Live your life." And although many of us feel bad about cheering at a baseball game or taking a tropical vacation, we have to go on and live our lives, not just for ourselves but for those people who will never have the chance to finish living theirs.
(09/20/01 4:00am)
For those of you who think "bluegrass" and imagine stereotypical redneck, old men in overalls and plaid shirts, Canadian group The Be Good Tanyas will present a pleasant surprise. \nCountry without being twangy, easy to listen to without being bland, the all-woman group came together in 1999 to write songs about their separate and collective lives on the road. The result is their first album, Blue Horse, a listening experience perfect for all kinds of travel, from driving down sleepy country roads in the middle of the night to speeding down the city expressway in broad daylight.\nThe group is composed of Samantha Parton, Frazey Ford and Trish Klein. All three contribute on vocals and guitar, Parton and Klein play the banjo and Parton plays the mandolin. A few "very special" guests add fiddle, electric violin, drums and a double bass to the 12-song album, which is a mix of original songs written by the three women and traditional folk songs.\nEach song on Blue Horse sounds distinctive, proving the group can handle a variety of styles and types of music. Two of the best tracks come at the beginning and end of the album. The album begins with "The Littlest Birds," a catchy song about life's smaller and simpler pleasures. At the end is "Light Enough to Travel," one of those great self-discovery "road trip" songs perfect for a long drive and some deep thoughts.\nJudging from the concert schedule on their Web site, The Tanyas typically play events in Canada. This weekend's Lotus Festival is the first time the group has performed a U.S. festival in at least two months, so Saturday is not only a perfect time to get to know them, but it might be one of only a few chances. So plan a trip, see The Be Good Tanyas, buy the CD and be guaranteed the perfect music for any long trip home.
(09/20/01 4:00am)
After watching nonstop CNN for a week, Saturday I desperately flipped the channels looking for something upbeat, something happy, something mindless. I finally settled on renting "Bring It On." I was right in between lusting over Kirsten Dunst's movie love interest and laughing at the scene where the cheerleading squad auditions hopeless new recruits when I had to turn the tape off. I was having a good time. And that's exactly why I couldn't keep watching. I felt too guilty.\nLast Tuesday, the United States experienced the worst terrorist attacks in its history. Most people spent last week watching the horrible footage of planes crashing into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, people running for cover when the World Trade Center buildings eventually collapsed and all other breaking news related to the event. For the last week, most people in the United States have experienced sleepless nights and days filled with worry, fear and waiting. In the first few days following the attacks it was hard to think about anything else. It was hard to get through a day without crying and near impossible to try to laugh or have a good time.\nBut although what happened is obviously worse than the average tragedy, it is like most tragedies in that there comes a point where people consciously or unconsciously begin drifting back in to normalcy. People still think and worry about the possibility of war or the death of thousands. But whether they can help it or not, thoughts about upcoming movies at a theater or a band playing at a club somehow find ways of sneaking to the surface.\nSo you go out to a movie, go shopping or indulge in a late night trip to a restaurant for some dessert. You laugh at something on the screen, glory in picking up that longed-for sweater at a considerable discount or begin moving your feet to the music of a great new band. And then it hits: you're having fun while thousands of people have lost parents, brothers and sisters. You're having a party when we might go to war tomorrow. The country will never be the same but your life is moving forward. And that's when you start to feel guilty. Is it okay for us to have fun when our nation is experiencing a crisis? Is it okay to flip off CNN to catch the season premiere of "Friends"? How can any of us think about having fun when something this horrible has happened?\nSome things about living life in this country will never be the same after Sept. 11. As a country and as individuals we aren't going to think the same way or act the same way ever again. It's important to remember that people very close to us are suffering and that our country is in trouble. \nAfter switching off "Bring It On" last weekend I turned back to CNN in time to catch more news. A report came through about a passenger on one of the hijacked planes who managed to contact a relative via cell phone before he died. His last words to the relative were "Live your life." And although many of us feel bad about cheering at a baseball game or taking a tropical vacation, we have to go on and live our lives, not just for ourselves but for those people who will never have the chance to finish living theirs.
(09/14/01 6:32am)
As approaching clouds ended days of clear, sunny weather and tree branches and cattails blew back and forth in the wind, IU students, faculty and community members gathered together at Showalter Fountain Thursday afternoon for a vigil.\nFor an hour, about 1,000 people listened as students, faculty and administration reflected on the worst terrorist attack on the United States and came together to support healing and support for campus community members of all races, religions and beliefs.\nBeginning at about 5 p.m., people began to walk up Seventh Street for the vigil, sitting on the ledges of the fountain, on the grass, on the steps of the School of Fine Arts and Lilly Library buildings and standing on the street surrounding the Fine Arts Plaza. Professors in suits sat on the grass and small children dangled their legs in the fountain. Representatives from the many campus groups who helped bring the vigil together in less than 24 hours passed out orange ribbons attached to safety pins. Orange, explained Elizabeth Wood, a sophomore and programming vice president for Wright Quad, represents international peace and unity. \nWoods and other members of residence hall government held up banners of all colors bearing handprints and messages written by dorm residents. A table set up in front of the fountain held another banner, that people signed as they showed up for the event. \nSeveral student groups along with IU's administration took part in pulling the event together. They had less than 24 hours to plan the vigil for "sorrow and solidarity," said Erin Ransford, a junior and vice president of programming for the Residence Halls Association. Looking at the colored signature banners, which RHA hopes to sew together to form a quilt, Ransford said she was "ecstatic" about the turnout for the event.\n"I thought we'd only get 25 signatures per banner," she said. "But look at them ... they're packed."\nAround 5:30 p.m., the vigil began with a speech by Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm. She wrote it at 1 a.m. Thursday. Brehm quoted from "The Second Coming," a poem by William Butler Yeats, which included the lines:
(09/12/01 7:13am)
In the wake of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center buildings in New York City and part of the Pentagon in Washington, IU President Myles Brand decided not to cancel classes, but urged students and faculty to use academic meetings as a way to find comfort and stability in a time of crisis.\n"We urge students to engage in conversation to try and understand what is going on and what this means to our lives," Brand said. "This is a defining moment for our country. It's a learning experience and an emotional experience."\nBrand made the decision not to cancel classes Tuesday morning after a meeting that included Chancellor Sharon Brehm and Dean of Students Richard McKaig. Brand said he was not aware of decisions concerning classes at other Big Ten universities. Although faculty were encouraged to talk to students about the issue, Brand acknowledged that some professors might not feel comfortable in discussing the situation with students.\n"We're going to leave it up to individual faculty members," Brand said. "Some may feel better equipped than others to deal with it."\nWhile Brand said he felt professors choosing to teach class material as usual might provide needed stability to students, Catherine Feldman, a sophomore, said if classes were not going to be canceled it was important for professors to talk to classes about the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.\n"Nothing is more educational than learning about this and watching history happen," Feldman said. "My first class today is chemistry, and the professor didn't say a word. There were probably 400 people in that lecture hall and probably not one was thinking about what the professor was saying."\nAssociate Professor of History David Pace used class time to provide a discussion forum for his students.\n"(The students) were as perplexed as I was," he said. "There's a lot of helplessness, I think." \nBrand spoke to representatives from all eight IU campuses and urged all to set up formal and informal forums for students to discuss their feelings. Brehm said she and IU Student Association President Jake Oakman, a senior, would walk around campus Monday evening to talk to students.\nAnother concern for University officials was the safety of both individual students and student groups who could be targets for violence or disruptions in the wake of the attacks on the East Coast.\nJames Kennedy, chief of the IU Police Department, said the Department was providing additional security to some groups, while also calling in additional officers and extending shifts in order to be a greater presence on campus. Kennedy said IUPD was also coordinating efforts with the Bloomington Police Department. Brand said Patrick O'Meara, dean of international programs, had personally gone to all the international student centers to talk to student groups about safety and security concerns. The University scheduled six forums on and off campus for student discussion and made free long distance calling to areas affected by the attacks available to students until midnight Tuesday.\nThe IU Health Center will be open to provide counseling to students who request it and Brand said students who cannot attend class this week in the wake of the crisis should contact the Dean of Students Office. The University also made phone lines available free until midnight Wednesday for students trying to call friends and relatives on the East Coast. \nBrehm said it was important that students know faculty and administration are there to help.\n"What's important is that students feel we are a community," Brehm said. "This is a frightening moment for everyone."\nStaff reporters Holly Johnson and Stacey Palevsky contributed to this story.
(08/31/01 5:16am)
In each of his most recent movies, Freddie Prinze Jr. plays a successful yet confused guy who falls in love with a girl whose free-spirited and unique personality is shoved down movie-goers' throats. The couple always falls in love, cavorts, breaks up over something stupid and ultimately gets back together because of Prinze's character proclaiming his undying affection in some public or embarrassing way.\nWell, in the brand-new "Summer Catch," Prinze attempts to become a three-dimensional actor, to prove his talents and hopefully, to score a hit he hasn't had since "She's All That." To do this, he makes a daring decision: he plays the same character as described above -- but this time he does it with an exaggerated Boston accent. Said accent is, as you might have guessed, less than authentic, but the unintentional laughs it provides at least compensate for the unachieved "humor" and "romance" the film is advertised to provide.\nSet in scenic Chatham, Mass., Prinze plays Ryan Dunne, a blue-collar college dropout who spends most of his time drinking beer and mowing lawns as part of his father's landscaping business. His last chance to play Major League Baseball comes when he is called up to play in the Cape Cod summer baseball league, where, as the movie tells us, all the big league scouts come to recruit top college players.\nThe biggest conflict for a viewer watching this film is deciding what parts are more painful to watch. It could be the scenes depicting Ryan and his lecherous teammates bonding. Not only are most of the actors playing the baseball players even worse actors than Prinze, but the script saddles them with subplots ranging from ridiculous to downright offensive. For example, one of the players on Ryan's team has a thing for voluptuous women, providing the whole movie with fat jokes.\nMaybe that's because the so-called "fat girlfriend" character exhibits a lot more acting skill than skinny Jessica Biel, who plays Prinze's rich-girl love interest, the absurdly named Tenley Parrish. In fact, the only two bright spots in the movie are Matthew Lillard (who must purposely take parts in awful movies in order to be called the "bright spot" of any movie) as one of the ballplayers and Zena Gray as Tenley's little sister, who spends the movie trying to find a mascot for Ryan's fictional ball team.\nAs you can probably guess, the appropriate mascot for "Summer Catch," the film is this big ticking bomb.
(08/31/01 4:00am)
In each of his most recent movies, Freddie Prinze Jr. plays a successful yet confused guy who falls in love with a girl whose free-spirited and unique personality is shoved down movie-goers' throats. The couple always falls in love, cavorts, breaks up over something stupid and ultimately gets back together because of Prinze's character proclaiming his undying affection in some public or embarrassing way.\nWell, in the brand-new "Summer Catch," Prinze attempts to become a three-dimensional actor, to prove his talents and hopefully, to score a hit he hasn't had since "She's All That." To do this, he makes a daring decision: he plays the same character as described above -- but this time he does it with an exaggerated Boston accent. Said accent is, as you might have guessed, less than authentic, but the unintentional laughs it provides at least compensate for the unachieved "humor" and "romance" the film is advertised to provide.\nSet in scenic Chatham, Mass., Prinze plays Ryan Dunne, a blue-collar college dropout who spends most of his time drinking beer and mowing lawns as part of his father's landscaping business. His last chance to play Major League Baseball comes when he is called up to play in the Cape Cod summer baseball league, where, as the movie tells us, all the big league scouts come to recruit top college players.\nThe biggest conflict for a viewer watching this film is deciding what parts are more painful to watch. It could be the scenes depicting Ryan and his lecherous teammates bonding. Not only are most of the actors playing the baseball players even worse actors than Prinze, but the script saddles them with subplots ranging from ridiculous to downright offensive. For example, one of the players on Ryan's team has a thing for voluptuous women, providing the whole movie with fat jokes.\nMaybe that's because the so-called "fat girlfriend" character exhibits a lot more acting skill than skinny Jessica Biel, who plays Prinze's rich-girl love interest, the absurdly named Tenley Parrish. In fact, the only two bright spots in the movie are Matthew Lillard (who must purposely take parts in awful movies in order to be called the "bright spot" of any movie) as one of the ballplayers and Zena Gray as Tenley's little sister, who spends the movie trying to find a mascot for Ryan's fictional ball team.\nAs you can probably guess, the appropriate mascot for "Summer Catch," the film is this big ticking bomb.
(08/30/01 5:31am)
The majority of the students at IU's campuses, according to latest IU admissions statistics, are undergraduates from the state of Indiana.\nOriginally from Switzerland and a graduate student, Sacha Willsey, the newly appointed student representative to the IU Board of Trustees, is by these standards not the typical IU student. \nBut for the next two years, Willsey -- who is also the wife of Bloomington City Council member Jeff Willsey (D-4) -- will be called on to represent all IU students, statistically typical or not, to the University's nine-person governing body.\nIU Student Association president Jake Oakman, a senior, said he was a little surprised when he learned of Willsey's background.\n"When I first heard about it I had reservations given the circumstances," he said. "When you're reading that a 32-year old graduate student is the wife of a Democratic councilman, it kind of makes you look again and see if there is anything between the lines. But I met her and I like to give everyone a chance. I hope she'll do a good job."\nWhile being a graduate student puts her in the minority among all students on IU campuses, Willsey said the wealth of experience she has from being a non-traditional student, including being married, being a parent and spending time in the work force, puts her closer to many of the students at the regional campuses. It also gives her an advantage when dealing with the other board members, she said.\n"I can bring what I consider a unique perspective to the board," Willsey said. "...I have more experience, more life experience about bringing force to your ideas or your concerns."\nThe process of selecting a student trustee takes one year, said Robin Gress, secretary to the trustees. Indiana State Law requires that a search and screen committee made of students from all campuses and a representative of the governor's office, choose 10 finalists from all applicants and forward a list to the governor, who appoints the final candidate. \nA total of 28 candidates, including Willsey, applied for student trustee last year. At the time of application two were freshman, five were sophomores, three were juniors, eight were seniors and 10 were graduate students. Twenty-three of these students were from the Bloomington campus and five were students at IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis. All the finalists sent on to Gov. Frank O'Bannon were candidates who would be graduate students at the time of appointment, Gress said.\nJean Farison, special assistant for boards and commissions in the governor's office, said the applications from the 10 finalists are then reviewed and interviewed. A recommendation is then made to the governor. Farison said the governor doesn't have to take the recommendation, but in the case of this year's selection, O'Bannon did -- appointing Willsey.\nAlthough graduate students are an overall minority among all IU students, former trustee Ray Richardson, who served for nine years ending this summer, said older students are often better able to speak out in the presence of the older members of the board, a quality which Richardson feels is most important for a student trustee.\n"Age and experience gives a student the courage to speak out," he said. "When you're really young, it takes a rare person to stand up to the older trustees. If a student trustee is not able to do that, the purpose of having a student trustee is defeated no matter how old they are."\nOakman said he thinks its important that Willsey makes an effort to speak with students on "all IU campuses "so she can personally dispel any problems individual students have." \n"It's hard in her situation to represent all the students, but I think she can work on that and I think she will," he said.\nWillsey, who was awarded an undergraduate degree in May, said her experience as an undergraduate on the Bloomington campus will help in completing her duties as trustee. Her connection to city issues through her husband, a city councilman, is also something she considers an advantage.\n"I'm very aware of what's going on in the city," she said. "I do think IU and the city already work a lot together and I think there can be more"
(08/23/01 5:57am)
As the sounds of Dave Matthews Band blared loudly from a window on an upper floor of Read Center, cars and vans loaded with clothes, cleaning supplies, storage boxes and posters pulled into the circle drive around the side of the building.\nBeginning early Wednesday, the majority of IU's new freshman class arrived on campus, moved into residence halls and said goodbye to parents, grandparents and friends.\nAt Read and all throughout campus, cars parked bumper to bumper on the street and in parking lots, students and parents became sweaty and red-faced from moving heavy boxes in the blazing heat and orientation assistants attempted to answer questions and maintain a welcoming atmosphere.\nAs orientation assistants and parents loaded luggage onto the sidewalk, freshmen entered the residence hall to check-in, where they received their keys and water bottles filled with free goodies.\nAlthough freshman Katie Renze and her father Paul Renze got lost searching for a place at Read to get started unpacking, Renze said she is excited to begin her first year at IU.\n"I wanted a big school," said Renze, who is originally from Barrington, Ill. "And this was the best one I looked at. It was my favorite all around."\nRenze's move into a room on Read's 5th floor was her father's first college move-in experience since his own.\n"I'm focusing on practical things like what she's going to need and what she should leave home, but also on emotional things like growing up too fast and an empty house," he said.\nFreshman Mara Filler and her mother Leslie Berman were going to leave their home in Skokie, Ill. at 4 a.m. Wednesday to arrive bright and early at Forest Quad. But because they thought others would also arrive early, they scrapped their plans and left later. The pair began unloading suitcases, posters and cleaning supplies onto the sidewalk at about 4 p.m.\nFiller dragged a large olive green suitcase inside and waited with other incoming freshman and their parents for an elevator to take her to her new home on the 11th floor. Her mother stayed downstairs and searched for a cart to wheel her daughter's belongings upstairs.\n"I'm so excited about living up high," Filler said. "I'm not looking forward to unpacking. I just packed."\nFiller was also excited to meet her new roommate whom she talked to on the phone before arriving to campus. The elevator stopped several times to let others out, revealing boxes and packing materials covering the carpet on each floor. When the elevator reached the top, Filler began searching for her new room.\n"Wow this is great," Filler said as she stepped inside and greeted her roommate, freshman Leslie Coss, who was flipping through cable stations on her television.\nAfter exploring her closet and storage space, Filler went downstairs for more belongings and Coss excitedly discovered Cartoon Network on the TV. \n"I'm not worried about missing my parents but I'm missing my puppy already," joked Coss as she went over and gave her dad a hug. She is originally from Carmel, Ind.\nBack at Read Center, sophomore Brooke Donaldson, working behind the check-in table, sat back and enjoyed a break from helping newcomers.\n"It hasn't been crazy," she said. "It seems like everyone likes to come at the same time. There's a lull and then lots of people come in."\nHaving gone through her own freshmen move-in day, Donaldson said she learned the importance of bringing along a cart to carry things from floor to floor, packing lots of fans and not being afraid to ask questions.\n"It's a long day," she said.
(04/30/01 5:51am)
Breaking up is hard to do. But the members of the Bloomington band Danagas realized it's time to go their separate ways. The band will play its last show May 3 at Second Story Nightclub, 201 S. College Ave.\nDavid Barajas, bass and vocals, said all the band members knew the band's breakup was inevitable. \n"There was too much thirst in Danagas," Barajas said. "We all wanted to do different things and go different places."\nThe band formed in the fall of 1998 when Ryan Lott, now a senior and the band's keyboardist/songwriter, met saxophonist Glen Cavanagh in a jazz improvisation class. Cavanagh asked Lott to jam with him, high school friend Barajas and roommates Ryan Fitch and Bill Hauser, who were in the process of forming what became Danagas. In the middle of the group's first recording project vocalist Iam Beck, also now a senior, joined the band.\nAfter graduation May 5, all six members will be finished with school, something drummer Ryan Fitch said contributed to the group's parting ways. Fitch also said the big break that would have formed a fan base outside of Bloomington never came through for the band. \n"Bloomington only has so much it can offer, and I think we milked it for all it's worth," Fitch said. "It's more or less like if some kind of miracle happened then it would keep the band together, but if nothing huge happened then we would go our merry ways. Unfortunately, it was like putting us against odds of winning the lottery. So nothing has happened, and we're throwing in the towel."\nTo grow musically, Lott said the group realized it had to part ways.\n"Each of us has abilities that cannot be brought into full fruition if we remain together," Lott said. "However, there is no question that those very abilities which pull us each onto other things were cultivated and nourished by this experience… I have learned more than I can summarize from these people and the experience of this band."\nChemistry between the six band members and their audiences is the thing Barajas will miss most about Danagas.\n"When we play live, it's like this telepathic, psychopathic, a coat not a jacket, infiltrating, misbehaving, nastiness that not even we can explain, and, yes, we super size it every time," Barajas said. "And right up there with all that nonsense, I'll miss the guys and girls that came out to dance and smile with us."\nRelationships between the band members are also coming full circle as the group nears the end, Hauser said.\n"When this band first started, nobody really knew each other as well as we do now," Hauser said. "The acquaintance process was really something of trial and error; a couple people in the group were so complex that it took a lot of time to get it."\nHauser said his interactions with individual band members have been complex and sometimes difficult. \n"I will miss my roommate Fitch, who I have lived, played, worked and run this band with for the last three years," he said. "He was the glue of this group, and his selflessness made up for much of the selfishness and unprofessionalism displayed by a few of the other members. Fitch is 100 percent heart, and he will go a long ways in this business."\nDespite any problems the band has experienced, Hauser said he would miss playing with a group that possesses the "uncanny sense of power" Danagas has when together.\n"It's not like there's any one standout from gig to gig in this band," he said. "Each member stands out equally in their own personal way, and that is what I love so much -- having the freedom to express yourself comfortably while appreciating what others have to say in their own ways."\nSecond Story was the choice for the group's last show because of the sound and the atmosphere, Barajas said. Although he said he is nervous for the first time in seven years, he has faith the show will be a success.\n"I want to make sure, like always, that people get 100 percent of what they expected," Barajas said. "This being our last show, it's going to take every little bit of energy in my tiny bones to do that." \nPeople coming to Second Story Tuesday will see a "P-Funk style blowout," with several guests sitting in with the band, Hauser said. After what he hopes will be a long show, Hauser expects to feel emotionally and physically spent.\n"This show will be like being involved in a long night of hot, sadistic and emotionally charged sex," he said. "You'll be sore from the whole thing afterwards, but strangely satisfied, until that next hungering for the funk arises."\nAll of the emotion involved will make for a bittersweet evening for the members of Danagas, Hauser said.\n"But more bitter than sweet for those of us who have to spend eternity all over again hoping to find another musical experience as satisfying as this," he said.
(04/30/01 5:10am)
Spending more than three and a half hours playing music and meeting and greeting audience members, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, featuring Musical Director Wynton Marsalis, performed a long, thoughtful and dazzling show Thursday night at the IU Auditorium. The group took the stage just after 7:30 and spent about two hours onstage playing as a group. After a standing ovation from the audience, Marsalis and three others came back for an encore, which earned them yet another standing ovation.\nAlthough Marsalis received top billing on tickets, the showcasing of each talented member of the Orchestra was the most impressive part of the show. Each man had a chance to perform either a solo or a part in a smaller group, allowing the audience to see and hear the unique sound each instrument and each musician brought to every piece. \nThe opening number, "Back to Basics," is a perfect example of this, as Marsalis introduced the Orchestra and each instrument had a chance to shine. \nFor the non-musically educated, this was the perfect number to begin with because it showed how all pieces of the Jazz Orchestra come together to create a whole. Next up was "Asia Minor," which sounded exactly like you might expect from hearing the title. A highlight of the piece was the use of a flute, an instrument not usually associated with jazz, but a perfect fit for "Asia Minor," nonetheless. Next up was "Has Anyone Seen Basie?" to which Marsalis added: "If you have, let us know because its going to be time for us to leave if you've seen him."\nAnother highlight of the show was saxophonist Walter Blanding Jr. and trumpeter Marcus Printup performing "The Olive Tree," an original composition written by Blanding to commemorate the time he spent in Israel. After performing "The Olive Tree," Marsalis announced the group would then play two songs in honor of Gwen Paulk, the director of the African American Cultural Center who died April 10. "Free as a Bird to the Mountain" and "Didn't He Ramble" are pieces traditionally played at a funeral in New Orleans. \nAlthough the orchestra engaged the audience the entire night, these two pieces brought performers and onlooker together in experiencing the intense sadness and joy each song represented. After the show, Marsalis explained "Free as a Bird…" is the dirge played while going out to the grave site and the more upbeat "Didn't He Ramble," is played after the burial. Together, the two songs represent death and rebirth.\nNext, baritone sax player Joe Temperley, an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, played Duke Ellington's "Sunset and the Mocking Bird," the first movement from Ellington's "The Queen's Suite." \n"It wasn't originally written for baritone, but Joe likes it," Marsalis explained to the audience.\nRegardless, Temperley made the piece seem like a perfect fit for him; his playing was so expressive the audience could visualize the scene of that sunset.\nAfter the encore, about 30 audience members who waited in one of the auditorium's green rooms got the chance to meet and talk to Marsalis and several of the other orchestra members. The men signed autographs, took pictures and conversed with everyone present. They were still doing this at 11 p.m. \nThe Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra gave the kind of performance and acted like the kind of performers every audience deserves to see at least once in a lifetime. Not only do they give a great show, but they also showed their audience exactly how much their attendance was appreciated by playing long and staying late. See this group perform live; if you weren't a jazz fan beforehand, you will be before it's time to leave.