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Jordan River Forum

Art should not be overlooked In response to Colin Dugdale's column ("Wolfgang snoozefest," Monday), I don't expect everyone to like opera. However it is rude and childish to state that what others like and you do not is "not currently palatable" and has "expired." I might achieve the same conclusions should I attend a concert or performance by a group that appeals to Master Dugdale yet doesn't appeal to my taste. If he was so appalled by people in tuxedos, let him not wander near the penguin exhibit at the zoo for everyone's safety. IU has a marvelous arts community. Students have the opportunity to attend a wide variety of performance and visual arts at a fraction of the costs that professional companies require. That young Master Dugdale noticed that the student performers at the School of Music had "phenomenal pipes" states that he can appreciate the work that an artist does. If it wasn't visually stirring for him, might I suggest that he close his eyes and listen? The beauty just might overwhelm him. College is a time to expand your horizons. The opportunities to do that artistically on this campus are remarkable, even for a large research institution. Let us not discourage people from opening their minds to new art, whatever form they choose. The staff of the School of Music, Department of Theater and Drama and the IU Art Museum work tirelessly to bring the students of this campus to offer them something to which they may never have as ready access in the future. To allow the work of these departments to be so recklessly dismissed is disheartening, and the support of the editorial staff that published such denigration is distressing. I urge the campus community to look beyond the observations of a youth with a bully pulpit and explore for themselves the cultural opportunities that abound on this campus. Most of them have an intermission. David Grindle Production manager, Department of Theater and Drama

From chokers to champs

On Aug. 1, the Chicago White Sox assumed the role of the rabbit in the fable of the tortoise and the hare. Fifteen games ahead of the Cleveland Indians (the tortoise), most thought they would be the first team to clinch its division. But just as the story goes, the Sox took a nap on a park bench, and let the tortoise make up its 13 1/2 game deficit. People called them chokers, said their luck had run out and they were about to become the first team in MLB history to squander a 15-game division lead this late in the season.

Sweatshop cutie

Hoosiers go for All-American title

California's state motto, "Eureka" is Greek for "I have found it." Three Hoosiers are attempting to find their games as they travel westward to Pacific Palisades, Calif., to compete in the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American. "All the girls going to the All-American played a lot of matches," said IU head coach Lin Loring, referring to the past weekend's Hoosier Classic. "They played well and should be prepared."

Worker dies after being burned in Marion factory

Worker dies after being burned in Marion factory MARION -- The owner of a salvage company died a day after he was seriously burned in an explosion at a closed Thomson television picture tube plant. Marvin Tinsley, 48, of Shelbyville, Ind., died Wednesday at the St. Joseph Regional Burn Center in Fort Wayne, where he was taken by helicopter after the Tuesday morning explosion, said hospital spokesman Geoff Thomas. Marion Deputy Fire Chief Brian Cowgill said Tinsley suffered second-degree burns to 75 percent of his body.

No love, just loneliness for 'Bicentennial Babies'

Who do you judge: The person you think your partner is, or the person he or she wants to become? "Bicentennial Babies," written by Paul Shoulberg and the first Bloomington Playwrights Project production of the 2005-06 Dark Alley Series, raised that question Saturday at the Lora Shiner Studio, even while reminding the audience again and again the play is not a love story. The dramatic action, instead, focused on the

Man hospitalized after armed standoff

Bloomington Police Department officers talked a man armed with a pair of hand guns into giving up his weapons after a 2 1/2 hour standoff Monday afternoon.

Students protest keg-free Muncie

MUNCIE -- Two men with ties to Ball State University are hoping their marketing effort will prompt liquor store owners to resume selling beer kegs in the city.

Electrical fire fills students' home with smoke, damages basement

An electrical fire damaged the basement of a student residence south of campus. Fire and smoke filled the basement of a house on Second and Henderson streets where five students lived. None of the students were injured, but major wiring damage was done to the basement area, said Terry Williams, battalion chief for the Bloomington Fire Department. According to various reports, either three or four people were in the house when the breaker box overloaded and burnt the connected wiring.

On cell phones and (unnatural) love for cheeseburgers

It finally happened the other day. After days (possibly even a week) of eagle-like observation, I found that my theory was true. Note that I am not a scientist, and my "eagle-like observation" basically amounted to me walking to class and occasionally sitting on a campus bench and smoking a cigarette. But still, through my hard work I have found something that will shake the university to its very core: A large portion of the student population has been replaced with marketing robots. Androids. Foul, mechanical things created only to steal our money and pollute our minds with their capitalist gospel.

Welcome to filmmaking purgatory

It's funny. I didn't know that "Serenity" was really just fancy Hollywood jargon for "purgatory." You know, that place where everything's not quite good, not quite bad, but just kind of there? That's kind of how it is with this movie, which picks up sometime after the extremely short-lived 2002 television series "Firefly." "Serenity" is almost a sci-fi movie that's almost an action/adventure movie that's almost a western that's almost a comedy.

Trapt in nu-metal hell

There must be some sort of infernal machine that produces filler band for modern rock radio. First, start with poorly tattooed, pierced-lipped white teenagers from California. Then, add some radio-friendly angst and chugga-chugga guitar riffs. Next comes a dash of "agro-EXTREME" culture right off a Mountain Dew commercial. The final product, after being cooked for a little under 15 minutes, is a bland cookie-cutter nu-metal band. The customer's primary reaction, if said customer is over 14, is to promptly change the station to something else.

These guys have a delicious 'gift'

Every time I listen to Blackalicious, one thing always catches my attention: the blazing speed at which Gift of Gab raps. There are a lot of performers out there who rap quickly, but Gift of Gab leaves them in the dust. He is like a hip-hop version of that guy who used to do Micro Machine commercials. Also, he doesn't seem to require oxygen like us mortal humans. That is the only way to explain his ability to rap for such long stretches without taking a breath; either that or between takes on The Craft he must have frequently collapsed in an asphyxiated heap.

May I please have some more, Polanski?

Sure there are a handful of "Oliver Twist" films already in existence, and this recent version merely serves to demonstrate Hollywood's present obsession with remakes of other remakes. But this version of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" has something that puts it over the top that the others did not have: director Roman Polanski.

A movie about Stewie.... Muahaha!

If you're like me and watch 12-16 hours of television a day, you've probably seen many an advertisement for the new "Family Guy" DVD "Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story." If you're really like me and have a DVR that records "Family Guy" on every channel (because it's on at every time of day), then you're probably drooling over this DVD (and probably have already bought it).

A lesson in French filmmaking

Jean-Luc Godard's "Masculin féminin" and I have a bit of history together. Long ago in a film class I took, when it came time to study the French new wave, we didn't screen Godard's "Breathless" or Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" -- two of the top films associated with the period. No, instead "Masculin féminin" was shown and for a brief period that night, my idea of cinema was completely altered.

'Flowers' anything but broken

"Broken Flowers" seems like it would make a good metaphor for a lot of director Jim Jarmusch's films. They all seem to be very beautiful and interesting but after time, much like a flower, by the end they've wilted up and died. Going into "Broken Flowers" there were a lot of doubts in my head, mainly since all previous experiences with Jarmusch led to disappointment, but when you've got the genius of Bill Murray in your film, what could possibly be broken is easily fixed.

Sex, sex, sex!

As a young adult in today's society, I can hardly imagine a time when talking about sex was taboo. But when our parents were our age, a sexual revolution was exploding all around them. "Inside Deep Throat: Theatrical NC-17 Edition" gives our generation the opportunity to catch a glimpse of what a volatile time this was in America. Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato made an extraordinary documentary that focuses on how and why "Deep Throat" became the touted "most profitable film of all time."

'Wildflower' too flowery, not wild enough

Adventures in music work in one of two ways: pass or fail. Sometimes they pass, like when Bob Dylan went electric or when Green Day made a rock opera. But most of the time they fail, which is the verdict that must be delivered for Sheryl Crow's latest album, Wildflower; a disappointedly ballad-laden effort that is too flowery and simply not wild enough.

On cell phones and (unnatural) love for cheeseburgers

It finally happened the other day. After days (possibly even a week) of eagle-like observation, I found that my theory was true. Note that I am not a scientist, and my "eagle-like observation" basically amounted to me walking to class and occasionally sitting on a campus bench and smoking a cigarette. But still, through my hard work I have found something that will shake the university to its very core: A large portion of the student population has been replaced with marketing robots. Androids. Foul, mechanical things created only to steal our money and pollute our minds with their capitalist gospel.