Region

107 morons

By Alyson Brodsy and Jacob Stewart · Monday, Jan. 15,2007 2:13 p.m.

After last week's attempt to climb back into the Princeton Review's unscientifically calculated top spot for nation's best party school with 107 arrests following the arrival of the 2010 freshman class, many students were scared. Mostly scared that they were going to jail after being covered in delousing powder and beginning a lifelong love affair with a 300-pound arsonist named Bubba. Needless to say, they felt compelled to contact IU Student Legal Services.

A call to stand

By Jacob Stewart · Monday, Jan. 15,2007 2:13 p.m.

No jokes this week. Only pure disgust. It's easy to sit and read about far off wars and death and move on. It's easy to hear about genocide the globe over and not break our daily pace. It's easy to hear of rapes millions of miles away and shed no tears. It's easy to know of violence, despair and hate in the world, and do nothing. It's easy because it's not on our turf, not in Bloomington. That kind of malicious behavior only occurs elsewhere, far from our cushy lives and humble apartment buildings.

Why I'm so great

By Jacob Stewart · Monday, Jan. 15,2007 2:12 p.m.

On Tuesday night, Peggy Klaus, communications specialist and author of the recently published book "Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It," presented an interactive program called "Bragging Rights." During the program, Klaus explained that everyone must brag about themselves to get somewhere in life. My heart skipped a beat as I read the Indiana Daily Student article covering the event. (I admit that I did not attend the program, which, in retrospect, I highly regret). Finally, someone has given me fuel to add to my fire.

Knight still at the heart of Hoosier fans

By Jacob Stewart and Jake Stewart · Monday, Jan. 15,2007 2:10 p.m.

When New Mexico guard J.R. Giddens' 3-point attempt at the buzzer clanged against metal and fell to the hardwood on Jan. 1, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight finally overtook former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for the most wins in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball history. It was a grand achievement for a man of unwaveringly stony character and high basketball intellect. While the IU community recognizes the achievement as evidence of Knight's importance to the game, the Hoosier nation no doubt feels it is partly responsible for this record.

UPDATE: No. 1 Indiana football recruit verbally commits to IU

Sunday, Jan. 14,2007 11:10 p.m.

IU football coach Terry Hoeppner landed the No. 1 high-school football recruit in Indiana this weekend, Warren Central High School safety Jerimy Finch, after Finch made an official visit to the IU campus, according to recruiting Web site Rivals.com.

Gibson crafts near perfect action movie

By C. Warner Sills and John Barnett · Saturday, Jan. 13,2007 12:21 a.m.

Say what you will about Mel Gibson's drunken anti-Semitic ravings and positively batty television news-magazine interviews. The man is a born filmmaker. Even my own professed secularism won't prevent me from praising "The Passion of the Christ" as a blood-soaked masterstroke, and no overcooked media circus could've kept me from seeing "Apocalypto" on opening night.

UPDATE: Former IU soccer standout drafted

Friday, Jan. 12,2007 4:15 p.m.

English superstar David Beckham won't be the only newcomer to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Former IU standout and 2006 Big Ten Player of the Year Josh Tudela was drafted by the Galaxy in the second round of the MLS draft on Friday afternoon. That means Tudela will be teammates with Beckham, a former English captain who led Manchester United to six league titles, two FA Cups and a Champions League title. Beckham signed a five-year, $250 million contract with the Galaxy on Thursday.

Winter warmth

By C. Warner Sills and Joanna Borns · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 4:05 p.m.

As I peered over the rim of my paper Dixie cup, steam swirled playfully into my face as if I had charmed it from the cup. My drink was chocolate. Hot chocolate. The only thing between me and the door was a large, stuffed camel. Behind me was a model boat. I was sitting at my first stop on the great hot chocolate crawl: Café et Crepe on Fourth Street. They make their hot chocolate with milk, Ghirardelli chocolate sauce and sometimes a shot of vanilla if it gets too dark.

The first big snow

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Reschke · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 4:03 p.m.

While many people were happy to see El Niño keep the weather warm enough to stop all the precipitation Bloomington has had this winter from turning to snow, not everyone feels that way. This year's unseasonably warm weather has put many of Bloomington's best winter activities on hold. One person who has missed out on one of his favorite winter activities -- icefishing -- is Bloomington resident Aaron Barrow. Griffy Lake is a hot spot for winter activities when the weather has been cold enough to freeze the water on the lake, Barrow said.

New Year's resolution

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 4 p.m.

It's January and as Hollywood looks toward the upcoming year ahead, we offer some New Year's resolutions. Britney Spears: Come on Brit, at least try. You keep complaining about the media misrepresenting your life. I feel for you. If the paparazzi ever were to come down to Kirkwood and see the drunkenness of half our school, we'd be all over the headlines of Us Weekly, too. Try to look alive for the cameras. Regularly wearing underwear might be a good start. Zach Braff: Don't aspire too high. "The Last Kiss" proved you're not the huge box-office draw people expected after "Garden State." Don't leave "Scrubs" after this season to pursue a movie career. It's been one of the few shows that improves every season and you won't realize how great a job you had until it's gone.

Everybody's working for the Weekend

By C. Warner Sills and Zack Teibloom · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 4 p.m.

Remember that shitty '80s song by Loverboy? It sucked, didn't it? Well, if you could give me 400 words about why it sucked, I'd pay you $8. I'll up the ante. If you give me reviews like that every week, then you can get free discs, movie passes, concert tickets and get your picture in the paper. I'm running reviews this semester, and I need your help. Everyone has an opinion, and I want yours. Consider this my Coach Hep "I want you campaign."

The art of stupidity

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Wisner · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:59 p.m.

The Jackass guys -- you either love them or hate them. After the first flick made mad money at the box office while garnering terrible reviews from critics nationwide, it was only a matter of time until a sequel came around. Johnny Knoxville swears it wasn't for the money -- the only way another Jackass movie would be made were if enough absurd, death-defying stunts went from paper to successful performance on camera -- and damn, were they successful.

Shining star

By C. Warner Sills and Greg Schoenbaechler · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:57 p.m.

One of the more original movies of 2006 has finally come to DVD shining as bright as its yellow cover. After receiving great acclaim for its character-driven plot, "Little Miss Sunshine" has lived up to all of the hype and is worthy of its two Golden Globe nominations, Best Musical or Comedy of the Year and Best Performance by a Female in a Musical or Comedy (Toni Collette).

'Snakes' on a DVD

By C. Warner Sills and Greg Schoenbaechler · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:55 p.m.

I was very skeptical when I saw the trailer for "Snakes On a Plane" because it had Samuel L. Jackson in it, but didn't look that great. A couple words came to mind: stupid, idiotic, far-fetched. It's funny because I was exactly right. Those are just a few demeaning words that perfectly describe "Snakes On a Plane" one of the biggest pieces of trash in the past year.

Bloomington to host MLK Day events

By Shannon McEnerney · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:53 p.m.

Peace. Justice. Equality. All the words are associated with civil-rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. But when freshman Elia Nikitas thinks of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, she remembers the man, then also that she has a day off from school. "It's nice to have no class," she said, "but I don't think of the day unless it is mentioned."

Montreal is the 'Destroyer'

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:53 p.m.

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? isn't due out until Jan. 23, but thanks to the generosity of the band and Polyvinyl Records, it's already available for listening on the Polyvinyl Web site, so, how about a preview? (And after reading this review, you don't have to just take my word on it, check it out yourself at www.polyvinylrecords.com/hissing.)

Big Bang slipped through cracks

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:51 p.m.

These weeks immediately after the holiday shopping season are a wasteland for new releases. So why not dig up something that slipped through 2006's cracks? And, indeed, what I'm recommending slipped so deep that seemingly only mp3 bloggers and mole men know about it.

No resurrection here

By C. Warner Sills and Brian Hettmansperger · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:48 p.m.

With his new album, Hip-Hop is Dead, Nas' flow is as gritty and raw as ever. His trademark interior rhyme scheme is here as well. With production by Will.i.am., Kanye West and Scott Storch, and guest appearances by Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and The Game, how could this album not be an instant classic? For starters, there are way too many mediocre tracks on the album -- recycled gansta' rhetoric that has plagued all this new hip-hop since the drrty South went mainstream. "Play on Playa" with Snoop Dogg is nothing more than an excuse to get Snoop on the album.

Oh! Gravity only OK

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:33 p.m.

Switchfoot's Oh! Gravity is a frustrating album. Beyond being wildly uneven, it seems like the product of a Bizarro World in which experimental is mainstream and mainstream experimental. Just as the complaint against some of the more "out-there" indie acts (say, the Fiery Furnaces or Animal Collective) is that they alternate between pop perfection and artsy hooey, in Oh! Gravity, Switchfoot alternates between tracks of shockingly good garage rock/pop-punk and bland, by-the-numbers post-grunge dross.

'More Fish' is delish

By C. Warner Sills and Benny Goldman · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 3:30 p.m.

While many figured March's excellent Fishscale would keep Ghostface fans full for the current standard of two years, it turns out it was just an appetizer. Less than nine months later, Ghost is back serving up seconds on More Fish, an album that lives up to the expectations of its title. The album kicks off with "Ghost Is Back," an update of Rakim's classic "Know the Ledge." It's a bold move by Ghostface, attempting to compete with the lyrical mastery of someone who uses the last name "Allah." He sets the tone by boasting: "With more blubber than a Ruben Studdard, I grease the pan with rhymes and y'all can't believe it's not butter." From there, it's best to take Ghost's advice: "Chill and stretch all out like franks on the grill."