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(04/28/09 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two clerks were chatting behind the cooking store counter over soft rock music when a gruff, gray-bearded man burst through the doorway.“Cooking oils?” he asked.One clerk jumped off his stool and led him to the baking display at Goods for Cooks, a cookware store located downtown.This man was one of eight people who browsed the cooking store in one hour. Five were men.Surprising? Not to cooking experts.A recent study by British food company PurAsia found that a growing number of men are taking up cooking as a hobby and using their skill in the kitchen to impress friends and potential partners. Though it can’t be found in Webster’s Dictonary yet, there’s a term for this group of 25- to 44-year-old men: gastrosexual. Incidentally, Dr. Paul Levy, the same mastermind behind the term “foodie,” coined this label, too.Andrew Appel, owner of Goods for Cooks, acknowledged the increasing number of male cooks and attributed much of the change to the popularity of food television.“The common thread is, ‘I saw Alton Brown do this,’” Appel said. According to the study, the time men spend in the kitchen has increased to more than five times the amount spent in 1961, from an average of five minutes to 27 minutes per day. Just more than half of men surveyed said they consider cooking to be a hobby rather than a chore, while only 40 percent of women agreed.While it is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the tables have started to turn. Twenty-three percent of 18- to 34-year-old men said they cook to seduce a partner.Marissa Minelli, 28, said she knows the feeling. An employee at Restaurant Tallent, she met her husband of six months, Bobby Minelli, at the dining spot three and a half years ago.Bobby Minelli heated up the romance by cooking for her.“He invited me over every Sunday and cooked an elaborate meal,” Marissa Minelli said. “He knew he’d have me around the whole day, because we’d start eating around two and wouldn’t get done until midnight.”David Wade, owner of the Inner Chef, a cooking store in downtown Bloomington, estimated about half of his customers are men who fit the demographic of a gastrosexual. To ease the minds of those males less open in their love for cooking, Wade has a subtle strategy.“The first thing you see when you walk through the doors is a Craftsman toolkit, and it’s filled with knives,” Wade said. “I put that there as a comfort.”Wade, like Appel, called on the emergence of cooking shows with men behind the counter as a key contributor. In addition, the altering of traditional male and female roles plays a part.“Women in the workforce probably started the whole thing,” Wade said. “I think there is that partnership.”But for Mark Jennings, a 33-year-old employee of Bloomingfoods Market and Deli, cooking was simply more sensible.“I started cooking because of the practical side – saving money,” Jennings said.However, don’t think this gastrosexual hasn’t impressed any special someones with his skills.“I’m sure I’ve used it to my advantage before,” Jennings said with a laugh. “From what I’ve heard, women like men who cook.”
(05/24/08 12:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Meeting new friends. Surviving college classes. Sharing a room with a complete stranger. College life is a scary endeavor. Many of these common freshman fears must be overcome on one’s own, but luckily for IU students, the University plays a big hand in helping students avoid the dreaded Freshman 15. IU Campus Recreational Sports offers students a wide variety of ways to exercise their bodies. A student ID card allows free access to both campus recreational facilities, tennis courts, Woodlawn Field, Evan Williams Field and the North Fee Lane Outdoor Recreation Complex. Students flock daily to the building with the largest amount of recreational options available, the Student Recreational Sports Center. This 204,000 square-foot center includes nine racquetball/squash courts, six outdoor tennis courts, five basketball/volleyball courts, three multi-purpose gyms and more than 400 pieces of cardiovascular, strength and conditioning equipment, according to the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation’s Web site. The center is also home to the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatic Center, which features an Olympic-sized pool and diving well and is open to students. Kim Cullman, IU senior and publicity assistant for RS, said if a student is looking to “get in and out, and not have to wait,” it is best to try out the facilities at the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Building. This older facility located in the middle of campus is often less crowded than the SRSC, which was built in 1995. It features 10 basketball/volleyball courts, 12 racquetball/squash courts, three multi-purpose gyms and two swimming pools.Although the SRSC is newer and air-conditioned, junior Spencer Lee visits the HPER about once or twice a week to play basketball. “There are more courts and better competition here than there are at the SRSC,” Lee said.While the HPER is perhaps more popular among the basketball players at IU, others prefer the SRSC. “I feel like the SRSC is cleaner and it’s an easy location to come to after class,” said sophomore Emily Dauenhauer, who lived at Foster Quad her freshman year. Whatever option students choose, RS statistics show that most are taking advantage of the RS membership that is paid for through their activity fee. Almost 88 percent of IUB students use RS programs and services at least once a week.Students who want to become more involved can choose from 80 different free group-exercise sessions, from hip-hop dance classes to deep water exercise. For those who miss the high school sports team atmosphere, intramural sports are a great option, Cullman said. RS sponsors 30 different intramural sports, including everything from basketball to capture the flag. Students yearning for even more competition can try out one of the 40 club teams available, most of which compete against other colleges and universities around the country. In addition, more options abound for students willing to spend the extra cash. Mind Body sessions can be bought at the beginning of each semester and include seven weeks of belly dance, pilates or yoga sessions. Personal training is also offered for students wanting guidance with their physical wellness.“There’s something for every kind of interest,” Cullman said. “Since you’re paying for it already out of your student activity fee, you may as well use it.”
(03/27/08 4:55am)
The arts in Indiana are on the rise. \nArts-related businesses and employment dramatically increased in 2007, according to a study announced Feb. 25 by the Indiana Coalition for the Arts and the Indiana Arts Commission. The nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts, ‘the’ Americans for the Arts, prepared the Creative Industries report, which states that between 2006 and 2007 there was an increase of 986 arts-related businesses and 4,650 full-time jobs in Indiana.\n“These numbers reflect businesses who are involved with the creation and distribution of the arts: museums, performing art organizations, design, architecture, visual arts, publishing, advertising,” INCA president Sally Gaskill said. “We see the creative industries growing nationwide, and Indiana is no different.”\nAccording to the report, a total of 53,924 Hoosiers were employed by 8,905 businesses involved with the arts in the state this past year. \nIAC Director of Marketing and Communications, Rex Van Zant, said the findings of the study did not come as a surprise to him, as the increase in arts businesses has been steady over the past few years. However, the amount of increase drew his attention. \n“From 2005 to 2006, there was around a 7 percent increase. There’s a 12 percent increase from 2006 to 2007,” Van Zant said. “That’s a significant increase in one year’s time.”\nNationally, arts-related businesses experienced a 4.3 percent increase since 2006. The total increase from the amount in 2004 is 19.6 percent.\nVan Zant attributes this influx to a number of possible reasons. Local arts businesses around the state are likely prospering due to high gas prices, which make driving an hour for entertainment less appealing. \nAlso, he said smaller towns are realizing the economic advantages to be gained by focusing on the arts.\n“Towns that don’t have a heavy industry or are not in a metropolitan area are looking at other ways to attract businesses,” Van Zant said. “Having a really thriving arts community attracts other kinds of businesses. People will start to think things like ‘It might be a good time to open a restaurant downtown.’”\nBloomington, which Gaskill described as “one of the most art-centric communities in Indiana,” is attracting more than businesses. The town’s involvement with the arts drew grad student Anna Walker to IU to earn her master’s in A rts Administration. Walker received her bachelor’s degree at Otterbein College in Ohio.\nThe Arts Administration program Walker is in allows students to participate in projects and do internships to gain work experience. Walker spends much of her time at the John Waldron Arts Center downtown as the gallery director, thanks to the program. \n“There’s a lot of involvement with the community and students because they value the arts,” Walker said. “Compared to other places I’ve been, the community is really supportive and involved with the arts.”\nBloomington boasts several performance venues, museums and seven art galleries in the downtown area alone. From poetry readings to rock concerts, on any given night, options abound for those yearning for a taste of the arts. \nOne man involved with catering to the town’s creativity is Marc Tschida. As the performance and technical director for the John Waldron Arts Center, his duties consist of booking the center with events and running them. Tschida prides the center on its diversity of events. As an example, he said entertainment available in one week in late February included a Cuban jazz band, a transgender New York street performer and a one-woman theater production explaining the role of gender.\n“It’s really kind of fun. I have a different job every day,” he said. \nWhile Tschida acknowledges the avid arts following in Bloomington, he does not believe the town is in line with the Indiana study. \n“I don’t necessarily think there’s more activity than there has been,” he said. “Bloomington has always been a healthy space for the arts.”\nMiah Michaelsen, assistant economic development director for the arts in Bloomington, testified to the strength of the cultural community. She said the interplay between the community and the University is a great thing and it often draws alumni back. \n“I have encountered many, many people who have gone away for 15 years, or two or three years, and come back. I call it the ‘Bloomington boomerang,’” Michaelsen said. “People go away and can’t stay away.”
(03/18/08 2:51am)
The plea is a common one: “Stop cracking your knuckles!” \nWhether it be from a parent concerned the habit might cause arthritis or simply from an annoyed friend, those who frequently crack have most likely been asked to stop. \nHowever, knuckle crackers of the world can relax. Although the popping sound might annoy neighbors, experts say the effects stop there. \n“It does not cause arthritis,” said Dr. Narcisa German, who practices internal medicine and rheumatology at Internal Medicine Associates in Bloomington. “It can be detrimental in patients with hypermobility syndrome (double jointedness) because it can make the joints get too loose, but that is all.”\nGerman said she has no idea how the idea that cracking one’s knuckles leads to arthritis originated. \n“It’s just a legend,” she said. \nIU Health Center Medical Director, Dr. Diana Ebling, also said no scientific evidence to backs up the myth.\n“Some studies have shown it can lower grip strength, but that’s inconclusive,” Ebling said. \nInstead, she offered the true factors that may contribute to arthritis. Osteoarthritis, the most common form, can be caused by genetics, joint injury and overuse.\n“Stress over the years causes joints to wear out,” Ebling said.\nA less common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis, which is an immune disease, Ebling said. \nSo what causes that popping sound emitted when one cracks a knuckle?\nDr. Brian Murer, a chiropractic doctor at Orthopedics of Southern Indiana in Bloomington, explained that around every joint there is a capsule, and when one moves the knuckle front to back, the space of the capsule is expanded. The capsule is like a container that holds fluid, which contains nitrogen gas. \n“The noise you’re hearing is gas expanding to fill the space that’s gotten bigger,” Murer said. “Why you can’t hear the noise back-to-back is because it takes about 20 minutes for the gas to go back into the fluid.”\nThat noise could be the motivation for people to denounce knuckle cracking, Ebling said.\n“I think mothers like to put fear in their children and tell them ‘don’t do that’ because they don’t like the way it sounds,” Ebling said.\nWhile there is no evidence backing up the long-standing myth, it still holds strong for many. Freshman Miriam Nelson said it is still difficult for her to disregard what she long believed.\n“I saw (that it didn’t cause arthritis) on MTV News one time, but in the back of my mind I still kind of think it does,” she said. \nThose who allow themselves to believe the experts, however, can keep cracking without concern.