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Let them eat DVD

By Michael Mellini , Abdullah AlShihri and Noor Khan · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the most underappreciated film of 2006: "Marie Antoinette." Those supposed people who booed the film during its Cannes premiere are idiots. "Marie Antoinette" (played by Kirsten Dunst) is a great relief from the overdramatic crop of biopics that come along these days. It's even hard to call it a biopic. "Antoinette" doesn't focus on the political ups and downs of France's most notorious queen, rather it uses the character as a device to tell the story of an imprisoned young girl struggling to live in her trapped world (cough, a young Sofia Coppola in Hollywood after being slammed for "The Godfather: Part III," cough). This technique does something most biopics fail to achieve. Because there aren't constant meltdowns, it feels as if we're actually peering into a day in the life of Antoinette. And what an interesting life it is. At age 14, young Marie is married off to Louis XVI (a perfectly awkward Jason Schwartzman) and expected to immediately produce an heir. When she constantly feels out of place and is ignored by her husband, Marie does the smart thing by going numb and becoming France's biggest socialite. This is the best issue of US Weekly you'll ever read.

Live from the Beehive

By Zach Pollakoff and Teri Rosenbaum · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

As drum machines replace drum sets, keyboards replace voices and my new laptop replaces my old Tascam 4-track, electronic music is in full swing. Whether it's an '80s revival or a Web 2.0 reflex, WIUX DJs have come to embrace the vocoder and love the robots. More and more electronic music has been filling 100.3 FM recently. Promoters have been sending us new electronic bands and our DJs have been finding many themselves. What is the new fascination with electronic music? I'm not entirely sure, but I've jumped on the bandwagon and have been enjoying the ride.

More Van 'At the Movies'

By Wes Jakacki · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

At the Movies is a collection of Van Morrison songs that have been put on to movie soundtracks. So how does a musician find his way onto 19 different soundtracks throughout his career? Well, it may be Van Morrison's timeless voice or the various emotions that are on display in his songs, but no matter the case, Van Morrison's music is fit for movies. The collection spans Van's entire career, from the early Them classic "Gloria" (from 1983's "The Outsiders") to his biggest hit, "Brown-Eyed Girl" (from "Born on the Fourth of July") to the recent rendition of "Comfortably Numb" that can be found on "The Departed." The collection starts with his early work, opening with the high-energy "Gloria" followed by the rockabilly of "Baby Please Don't Go," and then sliding into the charming "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)."

Givin’ us Pell

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Congress has really done it this time. Its recently proposed government spending bill for the rest of the 2007 fiscal year is nothing short of disturbing. These new budget allocations will affect students across the nation and have strong implications for government funding of higher education.

Disgusted by Dow

By Aparna Venkatraman and Harini Gopalakrishnan · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

It is nothing but ironic that a conference hosted in the name of energy and environment has one of the invitees to be a person who has many allegations against mistreating the same. Dow Chemical, one of the largest chemical companies in the world has a strong repute for being notorious against the environment by its reckless negligent activities. Right from the days of Vietnam war, when the American population rose against the corporate giant for their aid in manufacturing napalm, to the failure to rise up to the occasion and clean up the still contaminated site at Bhopal where one of the worst industrial disasters of the century happened 23 years ago, or to the polluting of the river in Midland Michigan – Dow has continued to unleash its toxic emitants on the environment without respite. Their failure to clean up the mess and havoc created by them on the surroundings where fellow humans live have given rise to numerous cases of activism and strong show of dissent in many locations across the globe. In spite of the fact, that they be called upon to grace a conference hosted by IU would be nothing but an insult added to the already mental agony suffered by the millions of victims across the world and those who continue to suffer so, in the name of growing economy and corporate culpability.

Williams gets gritty out 'West'

By Grace Low · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Lucinda Williams' 2003 release World Without Tears, with its jaw-dropping, bitter musings of a scorned woman, is a hard album to follow, but the old-soul, rode-hard lyricist's newest album succeeds in punching the listener in the gut and leaving very little to be desired. The gritty, honest and raw sounds that die-hard fans have come to expect play out in spades in her latest album, West. From the first track crying out from the vantage point of a concerned best friend to the last track of nonreciprocal long-distance longing, the master wordsmith weaves the stories of an intelligent, passionate human being carrying on under the weight of universal truths.

Young drivers with cell phones might cause harm

By Aparna Venkatraman and Emily Vincent · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

I’d like to comment on the dissenting opinion given in the “Dropped call collision” editorial in the Feb. 21 issue. If irresponsible drivers only caused themselves harm for their bad choices, perhaps the “formative power of trial and error” would be more acceptable.

Poet, you know it

By Brian Hettmansperger · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

In the first round of the poetry slam, Indianapolis resident Tasha Jones brought the house down with the performance of her first poem. The poem was so intimidating that the next man competing forfeited his time and a chance to win $100. “Man, I am not a poet,” he muttered before wandering off the stage, looking like a toddler lost at the supermarket.

Late run leads to Hoosier victory

By Matt Mattucci · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

The IU men’s basketball needed something to go its way during Wednesday night’s game against Minnesota. Shots fell and rebounds bounced their way, but the Hoosiers clung to a small lead that they could not increase.

Oncourse and sex machines

By Colin Dugdale · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Pimples, tumors and testicle sweat: These are now the only attributes that distinguish human beings from robots. Our imperfections.

Radio host, humorist Garrison Keillor tells Lake Wobegon stories

By Whitney Wyckoff · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Garrison Keillor, host of the live variety radio show “A Prairie Home Companion,” walked on stage wearing red shoes with matching socks and a tie Wednesday evening at the IU Auditorium for a sold-out show that kicked off Arts Week.

Student presents play about coping with heroin addiction

By Annysa LaMantia and Anyssa LaMantia · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Garlia Jones never got to say goodbye to a close friend who died of a heroin overdose last year. Jones, finishing her master’s degree in African American and African Diaspora Studies, is the writer and director of the play “Against the Grain,” which debuts at 8 p.m. today at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St. “When he died, the best thing for me to do was to write,” said Jones, who wrote the play for her master’s thesis production.

Event to promote Asian culture

By Rorye O'Connor and Rorye O'Conner · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

The Asian American Association is putting a spin on MTV’s “Diary” TV series this Friday at its annual fashion show. The IU show, titled “The Diary of an Asian American,” will feature several types of dancing and runway modeling from different Asian organizations on campus.

Energy efficiency would save IU money

By Aparna Venkatraman and Lucy Frick · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

The Feb. 14 piece “Money talks” was a particularly important one as students should be aware of how budget spending has the potential to greatly affect their experience at IU. While the author correctly raised the possibility of directing funding toward sustainability, the author’s arguments against it were unsound.

Illinois’ mascot Chief Illiniwek to perform for final time on Wednesday

By Aaron Beard and David Mercer · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After 81 years of war paint and feathered headdresses, the University of Illinois’ controversial American Indian mascot is performing his last dance, but Chief Illiniwek’s image and regalia will continue to be a subject of negotiations.

STAND against genocide in Darfur

By Aparna Venkatraman and Emily Roberts · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Is our state helping to fund the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan? Indiana is one of almost 20 states considering legislation that would require removal of money from companies that operate in Sudan and are complicit in the genocide. This presents an exciting new angle from which to pursue advocacy on behalf of Darfur.

IU looks to upset No. 33 Kentucky Wildcats on road

By Jordan Cohen · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

When the No. 63 IU men’s tennis team (8-1) takes the court today at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Ky., history will not be on its side.

Rom--com a bit off--key

By Mike McElroy · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

I went into this movie with high hopes. Since both stars had a good run in romantic comedies, I thought the combination of the two would play well together, but I was very wrong because they both lacked chemistry. Through the whole movie, everything felt very predictable and formulaic. There was the sudden-realization-they-like-each-other-after-working-together scene, the fight scene that drives them apart and makes them question their feelings and the fight-gets-worse-will-they-make-up scene that was immediately followed by the typical guy-redeems-himself-and-wins-the-girl scene.

IU's own Oscar winners

By Michael Reschke and Aaron Beard · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Sunday night, several students will be relaxing in front of the television at 8 p.m. watching the 79th annual Academy Awards. A few might even dream of being on the red carpet, either because of their own accomplishments or because of their aspirations to date one of Hollywood's hottest. While these people might just fantasize, some IU students have turned their red carpet dreams into reality later in life, and others got to their five minutes of fame standing in as extras in an Oscar-winning film shot on campus.

New city Web site tracks environmental statistics

By Elizabeth Dilts · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

More than two-thirds of Bloomington workers commute to work alone everyday, according to the 2000 Census. 10 percent of workers walk and 10 percent carpool. Two percent ride bicycles to work and, believe it or not, that’s up 19 percent since 1990.