Region

'Snakes' on a DVD

By C. Warner Sills and Greg Schoenbaechler · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.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.

Everybody's working for the Weekend

By C. Warner Sills and Zack Teibloom · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.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."

No resurrection here

By C. Warner Sills and Brian Hettmansperger · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.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.

'More Fish' is delish

By C. Warner Sills and Benny Goldman · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.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."

Go to a real museum instead

By C. Warner Sills and Phil McLaughlin · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.m.

Had I been born in the late-'90s, wallowing in the boredom of an extended recess from the trials and tribulations of my third-grade workload, I might have found something more in Shawn Levy's "Night at the Museum." Something beyond the countless underdeveloped B stories, a virtually unused Ricky Gervais and plot hole after plot hole The film is far from the best of the year, yet I can't help but realize that it served its purpose: entertaining an audience that doesn't keep tabs of how many dead ends a story can create within itself and possess a supporting cast that leaves their parents almost triumphantly exclaiming: "I bet the kids don't even know who that is."

Big Bang slipped through cracks

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Friday, Jan. 12,2007 12 a.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.

Student-led chant draws criticism

By Eamonn Brennan · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:59 p.m.

As Georgette Billings sat in Section J of Assembly Hall on Wednesday night, it wasn't the play on the court that was displeasing her. After all, the Hoosiers she has been devoted to since 1942 were in the middle of demolishing in-state rival Purdue 85-58. Instead, it was what the 88-year-old later found out the IU students were chanting -- a thundering chorus of "stand up, old people" -- that caused her to call the Indiana Daily Student offices Thursday morning and politely lodge a complaint. "I just thought it was a little bit rude," said Billings, who said she's owned season tickets to IU football and basketball games for 38 years. "I stand, I cheer. I'm not mad about it at all -- I guess it just sort of hit me in the wrong way this morning." Billings' comments were just part of the reaction to a series of student chants at Assembly Hall on Wednesday night. IU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan was among those who reacted to the chants immediately after the game, saying he hoped to convey a message to students that the department appreciated their support but hoped they would cheer with "class" in the future.

IU primed to finally notch road win

By Ryan Corazza · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:59 p.m.

If you've been following this column at any sort of frequency this season (thanks, all three of you), you've surely noticed I've shone particular praise upon IU's defense.

ONLINE ONLY:Hoosiers ready to begin spring season

By Jordan Cohen · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:58 p.m.

After a three-week winter vacation, the men's tennis team has to shake off the rust.

Iowa surges late, steals win

By Lee Hurwitz · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:57 p.m.

It was a game the Hoosiers were supposed to win and a game they had all but wrapped up. The IU women's basketball team (13-5, 2-3) lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-7, 3-2) 71-67 on Thursday night at Assembly Hall, in a game in which the Hoosiers dominated until the seven-minute mark in the second half.

Campus to celebrate 'the power of one'

By Kaitlin Shawgo and Kailtin Shawgo · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:57 p.m.

Many students are probably planning on relaxing Monday, but there will be plenty to do around campus and in the community on the day off from class. A range of events will celebrate the life and ideas of the man responsible for the holiday, Martin Luther King Jr.

Dorm selection goes digital

By Shannon McEnerney · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:57 p.m.

Freshman Caroline Mathis thought she had it all figured out. She knew she wanted to live in a dorm room on the same floor in Read Center that she lives on this year. And she wanted to stay in the performing-arts living community that she is currently a part of.

Faculty member says secrecy could bring flawed president

By Brian Spegele · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:57 p.m.

At least one IU professor said he believes that by keeping the presidential search hushed, the University's next leader could possess what he sees as some of current President Adam Herbert's same flaws. The complaints, voiced by law professor J. Alexander Tanford and others over the past several months come as the Presidential Search Committee finishes interviewing candidates Friday in Chicago.

Undefeated No. 21 Hoosiers set to face Eastern Illinois in dual meet

By DeAntae Prince · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:57 p.m.

As the IU wrestling team practiced on the court level of Assembly Hall, the giant arena filled with intensity. Coach Duane Goldman paced back and forth, yelling "dig deep" to his wrestlers who tussled with one another in an attempt to put their opponents against the padded wrestling-room walls.

IU looks to reassert itself on the road in Big Ten

By Matt Mattucci · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:55 p.m.

Big Ten road games have not been kind to the IU men's basketball team. Since 1992 -- a year when the Hoosiers went 8-1 on the road en route to a conference title -- the Hoosiers are a combined 38-61 away from Assembly Hall.

Hoosiers return to action

By Kevin Kane · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:53 p.m.

It's been about 10 weeks since the IU women's tennis team's last event. With Sunday marking the beginning of the team's dual-match portion of the season, the Hoosiers will be as concerned with playing up to their capabilities as they will be about their two opponents on Sunday, Western Michigan and Miami of Ohio.

Men's and women's swimming and diving set for stern road test

By Brian Buckey · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:52 p.m.

The IU men's swimming and diving team on Saturday will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a pivotal meet against Michigan at Canham Natatorium. No. 15 IU stands at 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten. Michigan is ranked No. 12 and is 4-4 on the season and 1-1 in the Big Ten.

Back in Gold and Black

By John Wustrow · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 11:52 p.m.

All week long, IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack avoided questions about Sharon Versyp. She was trying to keep her team focused on Iowa, not Versyp, the former IU and current Purdue head coach. After Thursday's 71-67 loss against the Hawkeyes, Legette-Jack still wasn't ready to look ahead to the Boilermakers. "It's a 24-hour window," Legette-Jack said. "(Friday) we're going to get back to work. We'll start working on ourselves for a day, and then we'll start thinking about Purdue maybe Saturday." The Hoosiers (13-5, 2-3 ) travel to West Lafayette on Sunday to take on the No. 13 Boilermakers (15-3, 4-1) and their former coach, who left IU after one season to take the coaching job with her alma mater.

Man shoots 4 in Indianapolis workplace

By Alexandra R. Moses and Rick Callahan · Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 10:11 p.m.

A man who faces attempted murder charges in the Thursday morning shootings of four co-workers at a plant that employs mostly disabled people told police he fired at them over issues of "respect."

Around the World

Thursday, Jan. 11,2007 9:53 p.m.

Six Flags Inc., will sell seven of its 30 North American parks for $312 million. The company said the sale is part of its strategy to reduce debt and enhance its operational and financial flexibility.