Region

The future of music downloading

By Adam Van Osdol and Adam VanOsdol · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

To the record industry, John Seroff is something of a criminal. For music fans, he's a budding revolutionary. Seroff is the publisher of http://tofuhut.blogspot.com, better known as Tofu Hut, a genre-blending MP3 blog that treats its readers to free downloads of obscure music and well-written ruminations on little-known artists. Seroff's recently posted the music of Malicorne, a '70s French folk band, and Riko, a female MC from Britain. But by allowing people to download free music, Seroff and the other bloggerati have caught the attention of the record industry.

You'll have a 'Grudge' against this DVD

By John Barnett · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Japanese filmmaker Takashi Shimizu has built somewhat of a franchise out of the concept of cursed homes and ghosts who, once you've entered their domain, won't leave you alone and want nothing more than to see you dead as disco.

The hype is burning out of control

By -Nate Bethea · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

There's a reason we here at Weekend have waited so long to review Funeral. Since its release in September, it's become the biggest hype balloon since the Strokes' Is This It?. One side is going to tell you that it's a landmark achievement, the best album of 2004, of the decade even. Another side is going to tell you that it's an overwrought ham-fest filled with blatant rip-offs and affected flourishes. I've been listening to this album since the week it came out, and by now I think it's been long enough to draw some conclusions.

Bring on the 'Blessed' beast

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

If their previous two releases, Art of Self Defense and Surrounded by Thieves, didn't catch listener's ears, then High on Fire's newest stoner rock opus Blessed Black Wings will definitely put them on the map. With a sound reminiscent of an Ace of Spades-era Motörhead mixed with the sludge of classic Black Sabbath and Slayer thrash masterpieces, High on Fire belt out nine tracks of old school rock fury in under an hour.

Please don't embarrass yourself, De Niro

By Adam Aasen · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Ben Affleck wants you to forget about "Gigli." He wants that entry to be erased on www.imdb.com. He wants you to remember him for "Good Will Hunting," "Chasing Amy" and "Dogma."

Kirkwood Avenue as we know it today serves as a cultural and social melting pot for Bloomington.

Bloomington's Eclectic avenue

By Tony Sams · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Daniel Kirkwood was the last guy you'd expect to run into at a bar. Yet ironically enough, Kirkwood -- a world-class astronomer once described as the "(Johannes) Kepler of America" by one admirer, and the "dean of American astronomers" by another -- is now the name synonymous with Bloomington's hot spots, wild weekends and seemingly endless taps of beer.

Jamie Foxx shines as 'Ray'

By Tony Sams · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Here's the lesson to be learned from "Ray": great performances alone don't necessarily make great movies. In fact, I can't imagine where "Ray," Taylor Hackford's Oscar-nominated biopic of the late rock and soul singer Ray Charles, would be without its star, Jamie Foxx, in what amounts to basically a perfect performance. His acting alone doesn't carry the movie; but there wouldn't be much of a reason to see the movie if it weren't for his acting.

Filmmakers blunder the 'Boogeyman'

By Matt Waters and Matthew Waters · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Leaving the character development of villains a mystery sometimes works in Hollywood. Unfortunately, it doesn't pan out too well with "Boogeyman." The script is oh-too-familiar and the only thing that "Boogeyman" has going for it is its ability to build suspense.

Just “Messing” with you: Debra and Dermot dance.

'Date' is lackluster and unbelievable

By Amanda Trost · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Romantic comedies -- they're a difficult subject to tackle. They're formulaic and predictable, but sometimes they're the perfect pick-me-up on a lonely Saturday night. With that in mind, if you hate romantic comedies, you'll hate "The Wedding Date." If you like romantic comedies, this movie is far from the classic level of "When Harry Met Sally."

Floral Infatuation

By Christina Galoozis · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Everyone has dreaded February 14 at some point in their lives. In elementary school, wondering which boy or girl would give you the "I love you" instead of "I like you" valentine created butterflies in the stomach for days.

Hidden Gems

By Laura Haynes · Thursday, Feb. 10,2005 12 a.m.

Bloomington's eclectic community is home to fine dining from all corners of the world, a variety of musical and theatrical entertainment, quirky boutiques and a distinct artistic culture.

NCAA committee recommends replay

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:58 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- An NCAA committee Wednesday recommended that permission to use a video replay system tested last season in the Big Ten be expanded to all schools and conferences for further study during the 2005 football season. The recommendation by the Football Rules Committee will be considered by an oversight panel Feb. 24 and, if approved, will be put in place for the regular season this fall. "The response to video replay nationally and in the Big Ten was overwhelmingly positive," said Chuck Broyles, the coach at Pittsburg State and chairman of the rules committee.

Selig responds to renewed steroid talk

By Alyson Brodsy and Josh Dubow · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:57 p.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Commissioner Bud Selig is confident that baseball's new steroid policy will be in place when spring training opens next week and dismissed criticism that it does not go far enough to rid the game of performance-enhancing drugs. "As a sport we have done everything that we could at this point," Selig said Wednesday. "There are immediate penalties, random testing, a player gets publicly named if heaven forbid he does test positively. I'm very sensitive about this whole subject but I think the sport has addressed it.

Kelley School ranked for publishing prowess

By Haley Beck · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:57 p.m.

IU's Kelley School of Business proved itself again to be a leader in the business community, ranking in the top 25 business schools in the and the world for the amount of research published by faculty in 22 leading business journals.

Fred Ex, T.O. and praising the good Lord

By Alyson Brodsy and Ryan Corazza · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:51 p.m.

Every NFL team has one. The player who runs his mouth more than George Costanza loses his job. He finds it necessary to call out members of the other team or guarantee victory. These players are loud-mouthed, arrogant, brash and cocky end zone dancers who most of the time can't back up their talk with their walk on the playing field. And if they can back up their antics, then by all means they should continue with them.

Bacardi cuts calories with new rum

By Ryne Shadday · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:50 p.m.

One of the most popular alcoholic beverages on college campuses is slimming down a little. Bacardi Rum is now cutting the calories in its newest addition to its family, introducing Bacardi Island Breeze, which is due out in April.

Hoosiers hoping to end mid-season funk

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:49 p.m.

For IU women's basketball coach Kathi Bennett and the Hoosiers, it seems as if everyone is ranked these days. In their last 10 contests, six have been against the nation's top 25 programs -- all of which have been against Big Ten schools. The Hoosiers can add one more ranked team to the list as they get ready to take on conference foe No. 25 Penn State tonight at Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. IU (9-12, Big Ten 2-9) is coming off a 78-46 loss to No. 2 Ohio State Sunday.

Business in Brief

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:49 p.m.

The Kelley School of Business' 59th annual business conference March 9 in Indianapolis will feature four people who understand the forces driving corporate America toward dramatic change.

Hewlett-Packard ousts CEO

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:47 p.m.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Carly Fiorina's nearly six-year reign at Hewlett-Packard Co. ended abruptly Wednesday as board members forced her out, disappointed by her inability to transform a plodding technology giant dominated by printer sales into a more nimble innovator.

Munich ignores dark history

By Alyson Brodsy and Charlie Szrom · Wednesday, Feb. 9,2005 11:44 p.m.

MUNICH, Germany -- Walk downtown to Bloomington's Courthouse, and you'll find war memorials that commemorate local soldiers who have fallen in the most prominent of our country's wars.