What: A cover illustration from the June 1904 issue of Ladies Home Journal.
Seldom do I feel compelled to write the IDS about its opinion columns, as very few warrant any response at all. However I was struck by the extremely misinformed opinion of columnist Grace Low about the current hostage crisis between Iran and Britain (“Water, water everywhere,” April 2). Firstly and most importantly, it is far from certain that the British troops were in Iranian waters. When asked to provide the coordinates at which the Iranians picked up the British sailors, Iranian diplomats provided coordinates clearly within Iraqi waters. When this was pointed out to them, the Iranians quickly back-stepped and provided a “new and more accurate” set of data. Clearly the Iranians are hiding something. Further, this is an issue between Britain and Iran, yet Ms. Low somehow manages to find a way to blame President Bush. I am no great fan of our current executive, but he is not entirely connected to this. Britsh Prime Minister Tony Blair and the European Union have issued equally harsh statements. In fact, the EU seems to be waking up to the threat that Iran presents. Ms. Low also makes reference to the statements of the British sailors, saying they confessed. Listen to their statements; they sound incredibly rehearsed and are recognized for the mockery they are. Iran is using these servicemen and women as tools for propaganda. In the future I would think that Ms. Low would give her topics the research they are due. Elliott Dees Senior
After almost a year of deliberation and negotiation, IU President Adam Herbert announced IU Alumnus and media personality Tavis Smiley will present the commencement address during graduation ceremonies on May 5.
When Kathie Lee Gifford and Regis Philbin split, there was one underlying question. It was a given that Regis would move on and continue his undoubtedly infamous career, but everyone wanted to know how Kathie Lee would do without Regis.
The Indiana Public Interest Research Group is a student-run, student-funded nonprofit organization at IU. We are currently working on two student-activist campaigns: Hunger and Homelessness and the Campus Climate Challenge. Last spring, we raised nearly $10,000 to combat poverty on the local and global levels during our Hunger Cleanup event and have reprised that effort this year, while bringing such events as last fall’s Global Warming Awareness Week and the upcoming Earth Day Extravaganza to campus. We are able to make a difference because of the support of thousands of students, who become members by pledging just $10 per semester to the organization through the bursar’s office. Membership pledges allow INPIRG to hire professional staff to work on our campaigns, provide students with on-campus volunteer and internship opportunities, and act as socially responsible and effective advocates of the IU student body. During the week of April 9, INPIRG members will be stationed at various locations around campus asking students to pledge their support. We ask the students of IU to consider pledging so we can continue to advocate their interests and to make a difference in the global community. Sara Moore INPIRG president
Shaffer’s column uninformed, makes him a hypocrite I am appalled at Andrew Shaffer’s sports column on April 3, titled “Go to hell, NASCAR (and stay there).” I am an avid NASCAR fan and was really angered that the IDS would allow this to be published. It is solely the opinion of someone who does not know anything about NASCAR. I have numerous discussions with people about NASCAR and they all sound like Mr. Shaffer. The lack of knowledge is evident. I wonder if Mr. Shaffer has ever been to a race or been in a stock car while driving 185 mph. NASCAR drivers are some of the most conditioned athletes around because their bodies have to withstand G’s and the force of breaking and accelerating at 185 to 200 mph. NASCAR will always have a future in the U.S. Stock-car racing was popular well before the NFL was, and it certainly had been around decades before there was the NIT and NCAA tournaments. The reference to Billy Bob and Mary Ann really angered me because I am from the Southern U.S. and NASCAR is real big back home. It is unethical in published media to take cracks at a stereotype that is very wrong and demoralizing to a whole section of the United States. And it’s not just the South that loves NASCAR. There are NASCAR tracks in Las Vegas, Chicago, Vermont and California. To associate NASCAR with a negative stereotype about a certain section of the country shows strongly the ignorance of Mr. Shaffer. He is also contradictory to himself. The Little 500 is based off a car race. I bet come April 21, Mr. Shaffer will be partaking in the events that we all take in and may not remember what bike finished first because of alcohol consumption. I guess Mr. Shaffer was never told as a kid, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Steven Jeffers Junior
If Justin Timberlake had a 1920s counterpart at IU, Hoagy Carmichael would be it. “It’s like if Justin Timberlake was among you and he was one of the students and was going to your classes and eating in the cafeteria,” said Daniel Reed, director of the The IU Archives of Traditional Music and an assistant professor of ethnomusicology. The Archives of Traditional Music, as part of a monthly lecture series, is holding a rock ‘n’ roll storytelling of Hoagy Carmichael’s life this Friday. It will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in the Hoagy Carmichael Room, Morrison Hall 006, which holds memorabilia from his life and career.
Every few years, I read an article in the IDS featuring students involved in some form of dangerous behavior on campus. Several years ago there was an article about a student climbing up the side of a building. Before that it was a student who forced open an elevator hatchway door to get off an elevator. This year it is students gaining unauthorized access to steam tunnels (“IU’s underground,” March 28). In this most recent article, Jeff Kaden clearly outlined the dangers of the steam tunnels and the University’s stance on unauthorized entry to restricted spaces. I have talked with Vice President for Student Affairs Dick McKaig and he reinforced to me that this conduct is a violation of the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct. The actions of the students described in Whitney Mitchell’s article are clear violations of the Student Responsibilities. In particular, Article H7: Actions that endanger one’s self or others, Article H9: Unauthorized entry of University facilities and Article H11: Damage to or destruction of University property. There has been a terrible tragedy in this state that has focused attention on these types of spaces. I hope that most students recognize the danger of trespassing in these areas of campus. Hank Hewetson Assistant vice president for facility operations
One of the biggest criticisms of Xbox Live Arcade has been that much of the content is either repackaged shareware games or half-assed ports of 20-year-old games at ridiculous prices. Those are valid criticisms, too. My ass still hurts from the realization I plopped down five bucks apiece for the whiz-bang high-definition versions of "Frogger" and "Pac-Man," especially in light of the proper remake treatment given to Rare's "Jetpac Refueled." Released on home computers in the '80s, the original "Jetpac" was a simple one-screen game where an astronaut dodged aliens to gather the pieces of his spaceship and then fuel for it to blast off to another planet (that looked exactly the same) and repeat the process.
This young Canadian bunch produced some of this year's most advanced music to date. They fly through hollow synth solos and wade through boastful bass with vocals switching between dramatic sing-alongs and melancholy wanderings, with lyrics telling stories of robots and blogs, as well as the mundane life of us twentysomethings.
Had you asked me two years ago who'd produce the better third album, Kings of Leon or The Strokes, I'd have undoubtedly chosen the latter. Julian Casablancas and company had released one of the decade's defining records and (in my opinion, at least) an underrated follow-up. KoL's debut, on the other hand, Youth and Young Manhood, was catchy and promising but a bit undercooked, and owed too much of a debt to the garage-punk of -- yup, you guessed it -- The Strokes. Meanwhile, their Aha Shake Heartbreak was a standard "more-sophisticated-but-less-exciting" sophomore slump (and still borrowed too heavily from The Strokes). But then album No. 3 came and both bands sought to reinvent themselves. And The Strokes' First Impressions of Earth…? All I can say is "ouch."
Aside from an IU tennis ball that one Ohio State player pocketed as a souvenir, the Buckeyes had nothing to show for their hard-fought, 1-6 loss against the IU women’s tennis team Wednesday night.
If there's one Bloomington tradition that I've grown to enjoy as much as any, it might have to be Live from Bloomington's yearly compilation album and Club Night. Each year, songs from the best artists that Bloomington's music scene has to offer are compiled on an album and they perform at events that benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. This year a staggering 19 tracks fill this CD to the brim and provide a way for fans of Bloomington music to flex their charitable muscles while purchasing a quality compilation.
The Downtown Gallery Walk will display exhibits from eight local galleries Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. The free Gallery Walk, open to IU students and the public, celebrates the beauty and diversity of visual arts in Bloomington. Those attending can walk through the new exhibits while meeting the featured artists. All the galleries are within walking distance of one another in downtown Bloomington.
A church has become a haven for evil. I know that sounds harsh, but those who read my column regularly know that I do not mince words. I call situations as I see them.
On Macy Gray's fourth album and first album in four years, she finds herself trying to make herself a career artist and not just the girl with the unique voice. She has changed record labels, has Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas as the executive producer, a slew of guest singers and a more sophisticated sound. Gray continues to try to change herself to create something special, like her debut smash, On How Life Is. Even though she gets a lot of help from Justin Timberlake, all the changes don't equal greatness.
God knows how many hours I spent as a kid playing through "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game" on the NES. Sure, the graphics and sound sucked compared to the actual arcade game, but in the early '90s it was a damn fine port of an arcade game. Now, the arcade game has come to Xbox Live, and without having to be squeezed onto an 8-bit system it's an absolutely perfect translation … at least offline. It's hard to call yourself a real gamer if you haven't played "TMNT" in the arcades before. It's a basic yet extremely enjoyable game. Pick a turtle, and go through a series of sidescrolling levels taking out hundreds of Foot Clan soldiers --and eventually Shredder himself -- to rescue April O'Neill and Master Splinter. One button jumps, one button attacks. It's almost Zen-like in its simplicity, and it's an absolute blast with three other friends … offline.
Klaxons is the latest "soon-to-be-bigger-than-Jesus" band from across the pond -- but an experienced hipster knows that Britannia falls for seemingly any young, skinny, scruffy guitar-and-drum outfit that gets more than 10 people gyrating in the greater London area. Call it "Fab Four Syndrome," a perennial desire to find the next … you know who. Or perhaps launching a national marketing push behind a new band every six months helps Britain maintain a favorable (that is, "favourable") trade balance with America. Whatever the case -- despite the country's deservedly high rock cred, you just can't trust the covers of U.K. music mags to steer you right (not that you can trust Rolling Stone, either). So, now that the band's debut album, Myths of the Near Future, has arrived on these shores, we get to find out: Does Klaxons' bite live up to its buzz?
I have been a huge fan of the "Worms" games since playing the original on the ill-fated Sega Saturn. For those of you who haven't played one of the dozens of incarnations out there, "Worms" is, at its heart, the perfect blend of strategy and humor. Up to four teams of four worms face off on a randomly generated battlefield with everything from conventional weapons like bazookas to not-so-conventional weapons like exploding sheep, all the while mocking each other in high-pitched voices or funny stereotypical accents.
The Indiana House of Representative’s Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee voted April 3 and defeated Senate Joint Resolution 7, an attempt to enshrine discrimination into the state constitution. If ratified, it would have meant the loss of domestic-partner benefits, a loss of protections for victims of domestic violence, and a loss of child and elder-care rights for thousands of Hoosiers. It would have also seriously affected Hoosier families by damaging the state’s economy. Likewise, it would have crippled corporate recruitment efforts and would have accelerated the already problematic Indiana “brain drain.” Thanks go out to the thousands and thousands of fellow Hoosiers who stood up for equality under the law. Thanks too, to the numerous organizations and companies who voiced their opposition to SJR-7. They include the IU Faculty Council and major employers, such as Emmis Communications, Cummins, Dow AgroScience, WellPoint and Eli Lilly and Company. And of course, thanks go out to the brave committee members who stood for liberty and equality by defeating SJR-7. Thank you for doing the right thing! Charles Rondot IU staff member and alumnus
