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More laughs in 4th volume

With the explosion of TV series sold on DVD, overlooked gems like Fox's shrewd cartoon "Futurama" have found a new fan base. With its fourth and last season now on DVD, this animated wonder keeps showing us why it should have never been canceled by Fox (the same geniuses who dumped "Family Guy").

Cashing in on 'The Passion'

Released to counterprogram against Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," South Park's "The Passion of the Jew" offers three funny episodes, and that's about it.

No love for G. Love

One might wonder where the justice is for G. Love and his band, the Special Sauce. The Philadelphia trio certainly has talent, but no luck. They debuted in the same year as Beck, but never garnered the cultish following. Then they highlighted breakout Jack Johnson, who is now selling records by the truckload, and ended up climbing onto Johnson's label, Brushfire Records, to survive.

VMAs showcase prevalence of studio magic

Watching this year's MTV Video Music Awards, I couldn't help but notice the large discrepancy between studio artists and true musicians, whose live performances measure up to their album releases.

'Vanity' a fair of imagery

Christ resurrected on DVD

"The Passion of the Christ" opened to an onslaught of controversy upon its debut this past winter. Some claim the film is anti-Semitic (the notion of which is ridiculous); others demonized the excessive, graphic depiction of violence perpetrated against Jesus.

No ordinary walk in the 'Park'

As a psychological and romantic thiller, "Wicker Park," starring Josh Hartnett, Matthew Lillard, Rose Byrne and Diane Kruger, is surprisingly good.

LL still saying 'I'm gonna knock you out'

Some things never die, and James Todd Smith, aka LL Cool J, is proving that with his new release The DEFinition. The heavyweight champion of rap puts his rhyming skills to the test once again and dares anyone to challenge him on this album.

Getting away with a tired genre

Papa Roach seems to have come a long way since its 2000 debut Infest, and yes, I'm saying that with a straight face. They might get pigeonholed as being one of the late-in-the-game nü-metal nobodies, but the fact of the matter is that nothing about them is egregious.

Jilly from Philly shines on new album

Four years after her debut album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1, Jill Scott returns to the music scene with the beautifully-written album, Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2.

Busting the blockbusters

On most nights of the week, especially on weekends, addicts meet at clubs and bars in Bloomington for their "fix." At all hours of the night, these junkies wait in lines, red-eyed and anxious, to fork over their cash for what they crave.

Overblown thriller so bad it's fun

Poor, poor celebrities. They really have it rough, you know: big, beautiful houses; millions of dollars; zippy new cars …

'CHARIOT' rides into Axis

Last Wednesday night, singer Gavin DeGraw rocked the crowd at Axis Nightclub. His stop in Bloomington was one of many on his college tour, and it was his first show with a 21 and over crowd.

Music Wonderland

Bloomington city councilman and volunteer WFHB radio programmer Steve Volan doesn't know where to begin when he talks about the Lotus Festival. "It's overstimulating," the festival veteran finally says. "It's like Bloomington needs a giant dose of Ritalin to deal with the overstimulation Lotus festival causes."

Alpha Phi holds memorial to remember sorority sister

More than 300 students gathered on the front lawn of the Alpha Phi sorority Tuesday to say goodbye to Brynn Bergin. Bergin, a 20-year-old IU student entering her sophomore year, was killed in a car accident Aug. 7. She was on her way home from visiting friends in Michigan when she lost control of her car and struck two trees. She died at the scene.

Streakers may face punishment from IU

A week after eight freshmen were arrested near Bill Armstrong Stadium for public indecency, the Office of Student Ethics will look over the case and decide whether to pursue the incident as possible hazing. Six of the eight arrested were freshmen on the IU men's cross country team. In fact, they were the only freshmen on the team, raising suspicions about the stunt.

Trustees to attend retreat, meeting

The IU board of trustees will meet this week for the first time in the school year to discuss new construction and appointments and to revisit old business. Vice President of Trustees Stephen Ferguson said he plans for a smooth first gathering. "I don't anticipate this being a very controversial meeting," Ferguson said. The meeting will begin Wednesday in Nashville, Ind., with two "retreat sessions," when trustees will be updated on the status of the athletics budget and enrollment.

BAC reports on '04 budget

The budgetary woes for IU and the question of whether or not they will continue was the topic of discussion Tuesday at the first Bloomington Faculty Council meeting of the academic year. The Budgetary Affairs Committee reported its findings for the 2003-2004 fiscal year budget, and in its memo to the rest of the BFC members described its goals in planning the 2004-2005 budget.

Field of dreams

He sits inside the glass-enclosed press box donning his newly issued crimson adidas golf shirt, complete with the stripes over the shoulders and a sixth star added to the arc over the IU trident logo, black dress pants and his trademark yellow-tinted glasses. He sits alone in the front row of the box and speaks positive words that only those near him can hear when the team he formerly coached does something well on the pitch below.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq pass 1,000

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. military deaths in the Iraq campaign passed 1,000 Tuesday, an Associated Press tally showed, as a spike in fighting with both Sunni and Shiite insurgents killed seven Americans in scattered clashes in the Baghdad area.