A&E

Web guides set scene for perfect stays on cross-country trips

By Alyson Brodsy and Roger Petterson · Monday, Oct. 31,2005 11:29 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sometimes it's not so much where you go as the character of the place you stay in when you get there that makes a trip a success. The Internet makes it much easier to find one of those perfect spots for your weekend or longer vacation. One of the handiest resources for finding a room with character is Historic Hotels of America -- http://www.historichotels.org/ -- started by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It only lists quality hotels that are least 50 years old and have historic significance.

Contemporary art museum in Chicago features 'Tropicalia'

By Alyson Brodsy and Tara Burghart · Monday, Oct. 31,2005 11:28 p.m.

CHICAGO -- Visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art's newest exhibit will leave with sand in their shoes. "Tropicalia: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture" is the first major exhibit to examine a nearly 40-year-old cultural movement that affected Brazilian theater, film, architecture, music, fashion, advertising, television and the visual arts.

Getty Museum accused of purchasing stolen goods

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Oct. 30,2005 11:05 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- The board of the J. Paul Getty Trust has formed a special committee to investigate claims that its world-renowned museum purchased looted art and its chief executive spent lavishly with tax-exempt funds. The committee announced Saturday will include five members of the board but not the trust's chief executive, Barry Munitz, who pledged "full support for this effort," the Getty said in a statement.

'Frankenstein' to be brought alive at pub

By Meghan Lucas · Sunday, Oct. 30,2005 11:04 p.m.

The days of trick-or-treating might have come and gone for most IU students, but this Halloween season, there's more than scantily clad nurses and candy corn in Bloomington. Out of the eerie shadows of the Irish Lion comes a play of monstrous proportions, filled with murder, intrigue, rage and maybe even a misunderstood creature or two. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," performed by the Monroe County Civic Theater, takes the stage at 8 p.m. tonight and Tuesday at the Irish Lion. Adapted from Mary Shelley's classic novel, the script of "Frankenstein" is a close adaptation of the literary work. The play closely follows the novel's plotline, veering from the book only in instances where director and playwright Russell McGeesaid he feels the casting and dramatic action need a jolt.

Rocky Horror comes to Bloomington

By Jamie Ward · Sunday, Oct. 30,2005 11:01 p.m.

Halloween arrived early and hundreds lost their "virginity" Saturday night at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater's screening of the 1970s cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Not having appeared on the big screen in Bloomington in many years, the film's return offered patrons the chance to don their costumes for Halloween while also honoring the traditions of "Rocky Horror" screenings. The event also was a fund-raiser for event sponsor Cardinal Stage Company, a new Bloomington theater group. The group will make its stage debut in January with four performances of Thornton Wilder's classic play, "Our Town," also to be performed at the Buskirk-Chumley. Randy White, a Bloomington resident originally from Canada, acts as the producing artistic director of the company. Having successfully launched a professional theater group in Canada 15 years ago that still continues today, White wants exactly that in Bloomington.

Miss Gay Bloomington gets face-lift

By David A. Nosko · Friday, Oct. 28,2005 12:28 a.m.

Despite a new venue, a new scoring system, an increased purse and the first out-of-state winner in the event's history, one thing remained constant during the 2005 Miss Gay Bloomington pageant Wednesday night at Axis Night Club: the crowning of a citywide champion.

Bluegrass family attains early success

By Alyson Brodsy and John Gerome · Thursday, Oct. 27,2005 12:22 a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The family bluegrass group Cherryholmes was tearing through a song last summer at the Ryman Auditorium when a guitar string snapped. The lanky young picker in a white cowboy hat began working furiously to replace it on the fly. In just a few moments, the new string was in place and the group never missed a beat. Things happen fast for the Cherryholmes clan of Los Angeles.

Directors get creepy on Showtime's 'Masters of Horror' anthology series

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 27,2005 12:22 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- In Don Coscarelli's "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road," a seemingly defenseless woman gets to practice her survival skills against a serial killer. In Mick Garris' "Chocolate," a man experiences life through the eyes of a mysterious lady. And in Joe Dante's "Homecoming," deceased U.S. soldiers in Iraq rise from the grave to vote out the politicians who sent them there.

Historical Society focuses on death

By Sarah Neely · Thursday, Oct. 27,2005 12:20 a.m.

Death is an inescapable part of life for all, regardless of sex, age, race or religion, but the practices of grieving and properly honoring a body after death differ greatly throughout the world. The Monroe County Historical Society explores these different practices in one of its newest exhibits, "Facing the Inevitable: Mourning and Mortuary Practices in Monroe County."

Destruction of art

By Alyson Brodsy and Allison Richie · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 11:59 p.m.

When it comes to reports of vandalism on the IU campuses, University officials agree it's been a quiet year -- so far -- and they'd like to keep it that way. Sherry Rouse, IU's curator of campus art, hesitantly admitted it has been "a very good year so far" in regard to the defacement of art on all eight IU campuses. Rouse said in the grand scheme of things, IU students have been generally been respectful of the art and sculptures on the IUB campus. "Historically, we're pretty lucky," Rouse said.

Scary books, movies leave mark on children

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 10:47 p.m.

SOUTH BEND -- When she was a little kid, Kimberly Wheaton, now 11, swore she'd never set foot in Texas. After seeing the horror film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Kimberly wanted to hide. "I'm never going to Texas because they never caught (the killer)," she said. Though Daniel Contreras, 12, loves reading "Goosebumps" books now, he remembers being scared of them at age 6 when older kids told him about a man who cuts off people's heads in one book. With Halloween just a scream away, experts remind us that what might be fun for older children and adults can be a long-term nightmare for young children.

Retro nights come to Axis Nightclub

By Jimmy Rae · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 10:45 p.m.

Retro Night at Axis Nightclub in Bloomington has been a big hit for more than five years. The idea started with deejay Pam Thrash's Retro Lunch Hour on local radio station B97 in 1999. Thrash, was approached by Dave Kubiak, owner of Bluebird and Axis nightclubs, to recreate Retro Lunch Hour in front of a live audience at Axis. Kubiak and Thrash haven't looked back since. "I really never expected it to be this popular for this long," Thrash said. "I figured when I started Retro Lunch Hour and then Retro Dance Night in 1999 that it would go strong for about a year and then I'd need to come up with another lunch-hour idea. I had no idea how successful it would become and how long it would last; it's still going strong."

Southern Indiana theater to reopen after fire

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 10:45 p.m.

WASHINGTON, Ind. -- A theater standing since 1881 was expected to reopen in a little more than two weeks after an electrical fire damaged sections of it. The Sept. 18 electrical fire was mostly contained in the attic of the 124-year-old Indiana Theatre, although there was some smoke and water damage, and firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to access the fire.

Illinois professor turns molecules into artwork

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 10:44 p.m.

URBANA, Ill. -- Emad Tajkhorshid's wife probably wouldn't let him pick the paint for the living room; he admits he's bad with colors. But that didn't stop organizers of an art exhibit in New York from inquiring about visual handiwork by Tajkhorshid and his colleagues at the University of Illinois' Beckman Institute.

Matt Nathanson performs for IU students at Alumni Hall

By Pat Giese and Patrick Giese · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 10:42 p.m.

A man with stiff hair, held in place by what seems to be pounds of styling gel, sits at a table with a blank sheet of paper and a black permanent marker scratching his eyebrow. He's scheduled to take the stage in 15 minutes, and the task of putting 18 songs on paper seems insurmountable. "I have to go to a computer to see what I've been playing," singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson said.

Malaysian belly dancers shake up controversy

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 12:24 a.m.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- To the hypnotic strains of Middle Eastern drums and flutes, Nancy Bakhshy shouts instructions to nine students who shimmy, shake and undulate in fluid movements.

New SoFA Gallery exhibit explores human bodies

By Mary P. Hansell · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 12:24 a.m.

Visitors will find something a bit familiar lined along the walls of the School of Fine Arts Gallery this month. The newest gallery exhibit is not of landscapes or abstract thoughts. Instead, the pieces that fill the gallery explore our very bodies. "Human Measures" is a look at eight contemporary American painters who work primarily with the human figure. "These are some of the best figurative painters in the painting field," said public relations coordinator Erin Devine.

Tibetan Cultural Center provides meditation courses

By Katie Peck · Tuesday, Oct. 25,2005 12:23 a.m.

Meditation has been seen in movies and on television shows as a way to work out problems. It has also become increasingly popular in today's fast-paced world as a way to calm the mind and re-energize -- if something is particularly perplexing, meditate on it and the solution will come more easily.

Matt Nathanson in concert tonight

By Pat Giese and Patrick Giese · Monday, Oct. 24,2005 12:10 a.m.

Not many touring acts plan to celebrate their first trip to Bloomington by "Googling" John Mellencamp's private recording studio so they know where to break and enter. Singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson did. "I don't want to steal anything," Nathanson said. "I just want to walk around and play some 'Jack and Diane.' It might be kind of hard to get in though. Do you know any ninjas?"

Flamenco show electrifies audience

Monday, Oct. 24,2005 12:10 a.m.

Lead dancer and artistic director José Porcel used his troupe of four women and four men -- including himself -- to present the percussive multicultural spectacle of flamenco dance Saturday at the IU Auditorium. Dancers performed 10 pieces, stomping their thick-heeled shoes while twisting and spinning their arms, legs and torsos. This created an overall interesting visual interpretation of the music played by a line of musicians behind them.