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The essentials for your Independence Day playlist

WEEKEND compiles the best patriotic and rebellious tunes for the upcoming holiday

If you build it, they will protest

On Wednesday, June 19, a county judge in California placed a moratorium on the construction of a new university gymnasium, the Student Athlete High Performance Center at Berkley University in Cal, for its incompatibility with state seismic law.

Practical patriotism

The last few days have brought with them an onslaught of criticism directed towards both Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., regarding their level of patriotism. Retired general and former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley K. Clark suggested Sunday that McCain wasn’t adequately tested as a wartime commander. Obama has been generating heat over his background, religion and lack of American flag lapel pin.

Policy solutions on wheels

Where I come from, people don’t ride bikes. Unless you’re the rare health nut trying to get a workout or someone who can’t afford the costs of driving, you wouldn’t be caught dead pedaling around town. However, cycling can jeopardize more than social standing. Motorists’ lack of respect for two-wheeled, carbon-neutral transportation is so great that ending up flattened on the pavement is a risk not to be taken lightly. My father epitomizes our town’s attitude when he says he’d like to ride more, but he’s afraid his old-school refusal to don biking shorts and a helmet will lead everyone to think he’s homeless. So he, and the vast majority of residents, rely on their automobiles even when they’re headed somewhere only a few blocks away.

The final frontier

Last night I turned 21. I went out, I took immense pride and satisfaction in pointing out to the bouncer who so rudely and ignorantly proclaimed, “This is an under-21 license” that I was indeed 21 and drank a whole lot of free booze. I even got a free T-shirt that reads “Hey! It’s my birthday!” It was, in a word, awesome. This was the final frontier, the last coming-of-age birthday that’s really any fun. All I have left to look forward to now is cheaper car insurance and the senior citizen’s discount.

Founding facts

In honor of our upcoming Independence Day, WEEKEND has assembled a list of facts about the founding of the US

Poetry reading tradition continues at the Spoon

People sit outside strumming guitars, and the restaurant’s atmosphere is created by the decor of older distinct wooden furniture and a multitude of books. The Runcible Spoon is a place where artists and writers are always welcome to share their work with each other.

Summer concert series features local artists

It’s summertime in Bloomington again and that means it’s time for the Parks and Recreation department’s Performing Arts Series. Among other thing

Work it: the rulebook to firing it up

WEEKEND investigates the laws, regulations behind a holiday favorite

Something to write home about

IU junior endures poverty and 'piropos' while studying in the Dominican Republic

Law restricting sale of "sexually explicit" material overturned

A new state law that would have gone into effect Tuesday was overturned by a federal judge on Tuesday because of its unconstitutionality. Read the summary judgment of the case

New administrators in School of Education start today

Four faculty members on the IU-Bloomington campus are starting new administrative positions in the School of Education today.

Longtime Bloomington restaurant closing

After 38 years in Bloomington, MCL Restaurant and Bakery will be closing July 14.

Come on get happy: the American pursuit

Less Than Jake stays loyal

Although the songs seem to sound a little too similar at times, they have a strong enough sound that prevents GNV FLA from getting old. Some long-time fans of the band might think they are meddling too much in pop/punk, but there should be plenty of fan favorites on this album to appease them.

Almost ready for radio

Welcome To Life features sounds that any fans of Lancaster’s previous work would expect. The guy truly has one of the most unique voices in the scene today, and that definitely hasn’t changed. The EP is full of solid pop/rock tunes that might not quite have the sheen of Mayday Parade, but still satisfy just the same.

Roation? Where?

Cute Is What We Aim For, or as MySpace junkies like to say “CIWWAF,” has transcended into the image and sadly one of the poster cuts of the new-aged boy band. Rotation is just another disc that is meant to drive 13-year-olds crazy as they sing lyrics that explain a night of dirty sex.

You go, Ghengis

“Mongol” is an epic. It combines barren scenes of the Mongolian steppe with a powerful score and truly excellent acting to convey to even unfamiliar viewers the magnificence of this story. Whatever Genghis Khan ultimately becomes, viewers come to sympathize with him, as the movie presents its version of what is often skeletal history with an unapologetic honesty.

10,000 I hate about this movie

This movie was boring, with a few moments of slightly interesting action and graphics that failed to redeem it.

More than a maybe

What seems at first to be just another romantic comedy turns out, at its heart, to be a movie about a little girl and her dad.