A&E

Matt Nathanson performs for IU students at Alumni Hall

A man with stiff hair, held in place by what seems to be pounds of styling gel, sits at a table with a blank sheet of paper and a black permanent marker scratching his eyebrow. He's scheduled to take the stage in 15 minutes, and the task of putting 18 songs on paper seems insurmountable. "I have to go to a computer to see what I've been playing," singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson said.

Malaysian belly dancers shake up controversy

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- To the hypnotic strains of Middle Eastern drums and flutes, Nancy Bakhshy shouts instructions to nine students who shimmy, shake and undulate in fluid movements.

New SoFA Gallery exhibit explores human bodies

Visitors will find something a bit familiar lined along the walls of the School of Fine Arts Gallery this month. The newest gallery exhibit is not of landscapes or abstract thoughts. Instead, the pieces that fill the gallery explore our very bodies. "Human Measures" is a look at eight contemporary American painters who work primarily with the human figure. "These are some of the best figurative painters in the painting field," said public relations coordinator Erin Devine.

Tibetan Cultural Center provides meditation courses

Meditation has been seen in movies and on television shows as a way to work out problems. It has also become increasingly popular in today's fast-paced world as a way to calm the mind and re-energize -- if something is particularly perplexing, meditate on it and the solution will come more easily.

Matt Nathanson in concert tonight

Not many touring acts plan to celebrate their first trip to Bloomington by "Googling" John Mellencamp's private recording studio so they know where to break and enter. Singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson did. "I don't want to steal anything," Nathanson said. "I just want to walk around and play some 'Jack and Diane.' It might be kind of hard to get in though. Do you know any ninjas?"

Flamenco show electrifies audience

Lead dancer and artistic director José Porcel used his troupe of four women and four men -- including himself -- to present the percussive multicultural spectacle of flamenco dance Saturday at the IU Auditorium. Dancers performed 10 pieces, stomping their thick-heeled shoes while twisting and spinning their arms, legs and torsos. This created an overall interesting visual interpretation of the music played by a line of musicians behind them.

Stevie Jay to focus on sex, religion and life

Performer Stevie Jay will perform "Life, Love, Sex, Death ... And Other Works in Progress" at 8 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. The show, which is free for IU students, faculty and staff, has been in development for five years.

'Mar Adentro' screening a cultural experience

The intimacy of a small group of four people gathered to watch a movie is not just something for friends to organize -- the University also sponsors events like these. Such a gathering occurred Wednesday at La Casa Latino Cultural Center in a viewing of "Mar Adentro" ("The Sea Inside").

French opera elevates Shakespeare to new level

Everyone knows the story behind William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Now take that story, have it sung in French, intensify the fight scenes and parties and add an orchestra to underline and heighten every emotion onstage. That, in a nutshell, is the opera "Roméo et Juliette," by Charles Gounod.

FOUND finds Bloomington

Trash on the ground might not seem that interesting, but some think a man's garbage can give a glimpse at who they are. Ali Haimson, general coordinator of Boxcar Books, said that's why people love FOUND magazine, which publishes trash -- discarded letters, fliers, cards, doodles and more.

The antique search

'Calvin and Hobbes' creator as absent as beloved characters

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Maybe someday, officials will put up a statue marking this quaint village as the birthplace of "Calvin and Hobbes." Just don't expect cartoonist Bill Watterson to attend the unveiling ceremony. It's been nearly 10 years since he abruptly quit drawing one of the most popular comic strips of all time. Since then, he's been as absent as the precocious Calvin and his pet tiger, err, stuffed animal, Hobbes. Some call Watterson reclusive. Others say he just likes his privacy.

NY plans Sept. 11 museum to remember experience

NEW YORK -- Visitors to the Sept. 11 memorial museum could relive the 2001 terrorist attacks in an "immersive" area that surrounds them with pictures of the falling towers, the sounds of police sirens and the last words of some of those who died at the World Trade Center.

New York TV festival seeks to boost industry

NEW YORK -- You don't have to look far to find a reason for the New York Television Festival. Look no further than, say, NBC's dead-on-arrival drama "Inconceivable." ABC's long-running but torturously humdrum sitcom "According to Jim." Or enough other examples to fill the rest of this column.

Artist draws Lewis Carroll society to Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa -- In his day, Lewis Carroll was a writer, a mathematician, a photographer and a story teller. Today, the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" is an industry. Alice books are still printed 140 years later, artists keep drawing the Mad Hatter and Carroll's other fanciful characters and scholars continue producing books and papers on Carroll and his works.

Louisiana loses French flavor after hurricanes

Southern Louisiana endures, and New Orleans is champing to rebuild, but their unique flavor is bound to fade if the French Louisianans don't return. That community faces "probably the greatest catastrophe" in its history, said David Cheramie, who directs the state's Council for the Development of French.

Kinsey Institute gallery displays animal imagery in erotic art

The Kinsey Institute invites all to view its current gallery show, "Passionate Creatures," which focuses on animal imagery in art. The gallery is filled with paintings, sculptures, drawings and artifacts spanning more than 2,000 years, all encompassing this specific imagery and displaying its many different interpretations.

Class features Tibetan religious songs, texts

In a quiet part of Bloomington, set far back from Snoddy Road, is the Tibetan Cultural Center. Though the location is almost hidden and one could easily miss the turn, the surrounding land and exotic architecture make the setting quite peaceful.

Local troupe offers free puppet theater

A little boy almost 3 years old eagerly claps as he sits on top of a book his mother just checked out of the library. His light-up shoes beam flashes of red in the dark theater as he kicks his feet together in excitement. Saturday, the Puck Players Public Theatre puppet troupe performed "The Little Red Hen" and "Chicken Little" free of charge to a large audience at the Monroe County Public Library.

Looking through Ira Glass

From restroom fiascos to kids dropping the "F-bomb," Ira Glass has heard it all. National Public Radio host Ira Glass spoke to an audience Saturday at the IU Auditorium about the importance of personal narrative and story-telling in the most candid way he could: by telling the story of his own radio show.