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Around The Arts

Cartoonist finds fame in NYC

Your fingers turn the pages of a crisp, hot-off-the-presses issue of the Bloomington Independent.

'Nutcracker' ballet to open tonight

It's that time of the year again. Holiday festivities fill the hours and the Christmas spirit pervades the air.

'Indepedence' production features all-female cast

"Independence," an all-female play by Lee Blessing, opens this Friday and plays through next Saturday in the T300 Studio Theatre. The production is the first of many for the ensemble.

Band young, but determined

With its enthusiastic and youthful atmosphere, Bloomington has long held the tradition of being a breeding ground for original music.

Youth issues discussed at meeting

Local Bloomington youth leaders, IU students and staff members met with a common goal Thursday.

Scheduled federal execution debated

The first federal execution in 37 years is scheduled for Dec. 12 at the penitentiary in Terre Haute. Juan Raul Garza, 43, could become the first civilian to die by lethal injection at the U.S. government's lone federal death chamber.

Hoosiers come up short

TERRE HAUTE -- Interim head coach Mike Davis said he's been putting too much pressure on freshman forward Jared Jeffries and that he had unfair expectations for the former Bloomington North Star. But the entire game against Indiana State Wednesday fell on Jeffries' shoulders. He heaved a shot from half court at the buzzer and it bounced off the backboard and rim before IU lost 59-58 to Indiana State

Group donates to Scouts

Local Boy Scout troops that lost funding for failing to comply with the United Way's nondiscrimination policy have found a new source of money. Advance America, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit lobbying group, sponsored a fundraiser to supplement about $17,000 that was lost when United Way dropped Bloomington's Hoosier Trails Council of the Boys Scouts of America from their annual campaign.

Bad memories and a backwards cap

Have you ever had one of those moments where something reminds you of something dumb you did? Like the time you were six, got drunk at your cousin's wedding and tried to breakdance?

'Grinch' soundtrack a grab bag

The soundtrack to Theodor Geisel's classic holiday yarn turned hit motion picture unfolds much like the reviews to the live action incarnation have: rather mixed.

Hitchcock masterpiece double feature hits City Lights

To finish out the semester, City Lights is offering up quite a cinematic treat. It will screen two of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest works -- "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and "Notorious."

\'The 6th Day\' not worth two hours

The previews for "The 6th Day" give a good case for wanting to like this movie. It shows a likeable star (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and a great plot concept, but what a horrible disaster.

\'Bounce\' a good, cheesy date movie

The true test of love is how you deal with the truth. This is the premise behind "Bounce," the latest film starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. While a cheesy script bogs down the movie, the performances make this film worth seeing.

\'Unbreakable\' deep but shocking

Hollywood's infatuation with comic books is only natural from a profit standpoint -- make a movie about a superhero whose existence knows no age barriers and rake in the dough. But only a handful of filmmakers have ever capably translated the visual "pow" and narrative compactness of comics to the big screen. Among them are George Lucas, Sam Raimi and now M. Night Shyamalan, whose "Unbreakable" is among the finest contemporary sprocket-holed comic books, but not without some disturbing scruples.

\'Grinch\' a steal

\"How the Grinch Stole Christmas," by Dr. Seuss;(Or Theodore Geisel, if one must know the ruse)Was published in the year of the Sputnik launch;A time when America had not yet discovered raunch.

The Makings of Merriment

It is the classic shower scene in your standard slasher film. The killer approaches two beautiful women, who, of course, don't know he's there. He raises his knife to strike. Stop action. Reverse.

From Fire to Farce

In the mid-1970s, the Royal Library of the Netherlands sent a delegation to the United States with a goal to witness "one of the five most distinguished libraries in the world." They were here to see the IU Main Library.

In memory of Cadmium Orange

Jason Groth lay awake, staring at the ceiling. "What could I have done better?" he asked himself. "What could I have done to make this band stay together?"

Offspring tries too hard on new album

Since the band broke into the pop music market with its smash single "Self Esteem," The Offspring has struggled to overcome the "sell-out" label that has overshadowed its career. The band's latest release, Conspiracy of One, will do nothing to aid that struggle.