Region

No observatory? No problem!

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Reschke · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:04 p.m.

The streets were quiet, the parking lots were empty and there was hardly a soul in sight at Kirkwood and Indiana avenues. It was early evening the day before Thanksgiving. Inside the Kirkwood Observatory, IU Astronomy department chairperson Catherine Pilachowski and graduate student Christian Johnson adjusted the 12-inch telescope. Twelve inches refers to the diameter of the telescope that won't be available to the eyes of the public again until spring break 2007. The Kirkwood Observatory will be closed for the winter, but that does not necessarily mean you are cut off from the heavens for the rest of the season. The skies are always open, and if you know what tools to use and where to go, you can enjoy the universe all winter long.

Love 'Love?' Can you match it?

By C. Warner Sills and Zack Teibloom · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:01 p.m.

I've always found "Octopus' Garden" to be a pretty average song. I mean, as far as Abbey Road goes. Then I heard the version on Love. Slowed down and mashed up with "Good Night," all of a sudden, Ringo sounds majestic. And perfect. It's moments like this and the seamless transition from Rubber Soul classics "Drive My Car" to "What You're Doing" to "The Word," all in one track that make this the most important Beatles release in over 30 years. Love is the perfect word for this compilation album. George Martin -- "the fifth Beatle" -- has done it again. It's not a best-of Beatles love songs collection or a re-hash of old songs like the Beatles 1 album. It's a mash-up, similar to what Danger Mouse tried to do when he created the Gray Album, which combined Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album, only ... this one is good. Really good. And who better to take on the imposing task of messing with the master tapes of all-time classic Beatles songs than Martin, with help from his son Giles?

The truth hurts but the film doesn't

By C. Warner Sills and Stuart McWhirter · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:59 p.m.

"An Inconvenient Truth" is one of the scariest films ever made. That said, it's not a slasher movie... it's a documentary. The film takes the viewer through former Vice President Al Gore's slide show on the effects of global warming on Earth. The slide show is inter-spliced with different montages of events in Gore's life that led him to become so adamant about this issue. He also provides examples of his time at college, and a certain professor that introduced the concept of global warming to him, which led to his lifetime commitment to it. He says in the film that he's probably shown slide shows regarding global warming "at least a thousand times."

Popcorn and JC

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:58 p.m.

Perhaps the best thing about going into the theater to see "The Da Vinci Code" this past May was the fact that I had never read the novel. I simply couldn't buy into the hype; a book that was seemingly being read by one out of every five people, and an even scarier ratio, that one of out of every 50 probably thought the damn thing was real, despite its place on fiction shelves in bookstores worldwide. I also knew walking into the film that I just wanted to be entertained and have some fun, the likes of which can be provided by the "Indiana Jones" series.

So...pretty good

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:56 p.m.

Perhaps it's due to the extensive marketing for their (supposedly disappointing) compilation, Stop The Clocks, but with every listen to ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead's So Divided, I can't help but think of Oasis. It's not that the two sound similar per se. Rather, with So Divided, Trail Of Dead seem to have taken Oasis' road to success (for better or worse): forget originality, artistic merit or profound lyrics; just crank out visceral, well-crafted, satisfying rock that the listeners will like. Thus, before purchasing So Divided, you should consider where you fall in this dichotomy (don't worry -- there's no right answer).

Rice delivers masterpiece in sophomore album

By C. Warner Sills and Patrick Hurley · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:54 p.m.

Like many music fans, I was curious to check out Damien Rice's debut, O, back in 2003, having heard some good things about it. After giving Rice a chance and understanding what type of music he is attempting to create, I liked what I was hearing.

The 'Doctor' is in

By Eamonn Brennan · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:52 p.m.

On 2005's The Documentary, The Game became known for a few simple things: (1), a fantastic understanding of what made a rap song viscerally enjoyable; (2), the backing of OG Dr. Dre and New G 50 Cent, and (3), a tireless desire to name-drop anybody and everybody related to the rap game. Those combinations made The Documentary listenable, but not legendary; The Game, even in his first album, seemed far too comfortable in the clutches of Dre and 50 to produce anything serious or exciting. It was an entire album of by-the-numbers gangsta rap in desperate need of rebellion.

A king's reign ends with a whimper

By C. Warner Sills and Josh Millrod · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:50 p.m.

Jay-Z is the Michael Jordan of rap. After a long reign on top, Michael Jordan retired, tried his hand at playing baseball and being an executive and returned, slightly shamed and not quite as skilled to the game. After Def-Jam's crushing failure with Rick Ross' ill-conceived "Port of Miami," Jay-Z, the self-proclaimed MJ of rap, was forced out of retirement and Kingdom Come is his slightly shamed, not-quite-cutting-it attempt to breathe life into his talent-starved record label.

'Happy Feet' doesn't foot the bill

By C. Warner Sills and Sean Abbott · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:48 p.m.

I won't lie. I'm a sucker for anything cute. Once a critter's eye-size-to-face ratio reaches a certain point, I'll follow it anywhere, giggling contentedly as I go. I'm like a Catholic schoolgirl. Or I was, until I saw "Happy Feet." Do not be taken in by the lies, my friends. Do not be swept away by the singing and the dancing and the pretty penguins, or even by the Robin Williams, for the sad truth of the matter is that this movie has little going for it besides fancy computer animation and bouncy, flightless waterfowl.

You'll want to give up McDonald's... again

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:45 p.m.

Anyone who swore off fast food after seeing "Super Size Me" two years ago is probably hooked on the stuff once again. Now it's up to "Fast Food Nation" to scare the crap out of us all over again.

New Bond at home in blonde

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Freiberg · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:43 p.m.

When I first saw the trailer for the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale," I was more than a little bit skeptical. The generic action scenes and Chris Cornell theme didn't exactly fill me with confidence. And Bond was blonde. I mean, they could blow $150 million on another Bond movie but somehow couldn't squeeze $10 into the budget for a bottle of black hair dye?

Cinema is the road to awe

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:41 p.m.

The critics are divided, people are screaming out words like "pretentious" and "too ambitious," and despite all of this, I think people missed the point of director Darren Aronofsky's third outing, "The Fountain." I am not one of these Aronofsky-philes; those who have seen "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" and continue to shout praises. I enjoyed "Pi" quite thoroughly, and while I recognize the importance of a film such as "Requiem," I cannot ignore the fact that I find much of it grotesque and desire to take a dozen showers after watching it. But in the realm of the aforementioned works, "The Fountain" is a film that completely stands alone with no resemblance to Aronofsky's previous exploits other than his usage of obsession.

Doomed to nostalgia

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 12:47 p.m.

A sizeable chunk of my Thanksgiving break was spent in the family minivan, traveling with my parents to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Columbia, Mo.

Who killed Michael Plume?

By Molly Brush · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

In 1960, a father lost his son. He’s spent the past 46 years searching for answers.

The Web That Binds Us

By Paul Coover · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

Fifty years from now, historians will look back on the ’90s as the dawning of the Internet era – a period that shaped the future in every way imaginable. That same stretch of time just happens to be our childhood. We are the products of the Internet age. But what does that mean? The Internet has grown up right along side us, but how has that shaped who we are? Sure, the Web has changed us – made things easier – but has it all been for the better?

Blisters & Big Dreams

By Joanna Borns · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

In a department where simply being accepted is an accomplishment, IU’s ballet students share the ugly side of a beautiful dance

Doin’ it all night long

By Colin Dugdale · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

For The Wired Issue, we thought we’d find the most wired students on campus. There was only one man for the job.

ALMOST

By Eamonn Brennan · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 1:36 a.m.

DURHAM, N.C. -- If anything, the IU men's basketball team can be classified as pesky. Down 33-21 at halftime of Tuesday's 54-51 loss to Duke University at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Hoosiers struck back with a lightning-quick 12-2 run to put them back into contention. And they refused to go away.

Agency orders fines in Wal-Mart accident

By Sarah Core · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 1:03 a.m.

Lawyers for two of the men severely burned in an electrical fire in August at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bloomington said they are uncertain how recent fines leveled against their clients' employer will affect their cases.

FBI won't charge student for boarding pass site

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 1:03 a.m.

The FBI is no longer investigating an IU doctoral student who raised security concerns last month when he created a Web site that could generate fake Northwest Airlines boarding passes. After interviews and a search of his property, the FBI has concluded Chris Soghoian didn't have malicious intent when he set up the site in October, said Indianapolis-based FBI Special Agent Wendy Osborne.