A&E

Lecture offers insight about 'The Da Vinci Code'

An archeologist who excavates castles built during the Crusades will offer his commentary on Dan Brown's best-selling and controversial book "The Da Vinci Code." Michael Fuller, professor of archaeology at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, is scheduled to discuss his perspective at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures in a free lecture titled "'The Da Vinci Code,' Templars and Archaeology." The event is sponsored by the Central Indiana Society of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Therapeutic appeal of outsider art

Ever buy a painting from a wild-eyed bum in a Chicago alleyway? If you have, then chances are you've purchased a piece of outsider art. In its truest sense, the term "outsider art" is reserved for art produced by mental patients, social deviants and gorillas. The artistic expression of a troubled mind, such as that of Alexandre Lobanov, can be simultaneously striking and beautiful.

Sudoku puzzles go from geek to chic

Senior Anna Grimm awoke Christmas morning to find a book of Sudoku puzzles nestled in her stocking.

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

ARTIFACTS

What: Danzante (1947) by Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886-1957) Where to find it: IU Art Museum, Post-1800 Western Collection

Resonating the Renaissance

Strength, power and beauty could be heard at the top of the Music Addition. Resonance filled room 454 as 26 voices beautifully blended harmonies over a small orchestra. At the center of the two ensembles is one man. He captivates the attention of every person in the room. His long fingers were like the paintbrush that guides a masterpiece across a canvas, and his animated body and expressions dictate the music heard.

IU music students to perform in D.C.

Eight Jacobs School of Music students will perform for the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage Conservatory Project tonight at 6 p.m.. The event will be held in the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. Pianist Ayako Toba, baritone Christopher Bolduc, soprano Jing Zhang, violinist Frederieke Saeijs and the Kuttner quartet, which includes violinists Sarah Kim and Robin Scott, violist Yoo-jin Cho and cellist Ana Kim, will showcase their skills. The event is an initiative of the Performing Arts for Everyone project that schedules 365 free performances, one for every day of the year, for the Millennium Stage. The Conservatory Project gives college students a chance to perform in front of a large audience. The audience mostly comprises middle- and high school-aged students who are interested in pursuing music in college.

Ballet major describes physical challenges of his art

For about six hours every day, 44 determined and dedicated students plié and relevé at the Musical Arts Center. These students, majors in ballet in the IU Jacobs School of Music, most likely have been working their whole lives toward a dream of dancing with a major ballet company. Freshman Tony Flannigan is one of three male freshmen in the ballet department. He has been dancing since he was 3 years old, because his mom loved ballet, but wasn't able to do it professionally.

'Pink Panther' strikes again

LOS ANGELES -- Inspector Clouseau bumbled his way to the top of the box office as Steve Martin's "The Pink Panther" debuted with $21.7 million to lead a rush of new releases.

Sometimes artists' greatest tools are their words.

"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love." - Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)

Purdue revives work of Indiana-born playwright

KENTLAND, Ind. -- A century ago, Indiana-born playwright George Ade was the toast of Broadway, where his amusing plays packed theaters and made him a fortune.

'Jaws' author Peter Benchley dies

NEW YORK -- Peter Benchley, whose novel "Jaws" terrorized millions of swimmers even as the author himself became an advocate for the conservation of sharks, has died at age 65, his widow said Sunday.

Youth exposed to jazz with local program

Jazz from Bloomington board member Monika Herzig is teaching elementary students about improvisation. However, IU music students might be surprised at Herzig's playful technique.

Student dancers further skill, talent with kinesiology degree

Even when they're not dancing, their poised and limber bodies show the strength built up from long practices just like these. Despite having an important performance in just a few months, the rehearsal is light-hearted, with students laughing and joking as they try out new moves. They respond quickly to junior student choreographer Abigail Rich as she helps them learn the contemporary dance routine.

Campus groups collaborate to celebrate Mozart's birthday

He was vulgar. He was a womanizer. He struggled to make his financial ends meet. He was eccentric. He was extravagant. He was a genius. This weekend several IU programs will celebrate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday, who was born Jan. 27, 1756. Various conferences and concerts will be held around campus, and the Lilly Library has prepared a special display in his honor.

Sidewalk runway

"My style is influenced by punk and ballet." -- Lynn Perry, senior

Earthly expressions

Bryan Boyd can do pull-ups while hanging from the door frame of an open doorway. That's probably about a half an inch of wood to grasp onto, and he can do it using only the two middle fingers of each hand. The senior didn't gain that kind of strength accidentally -- Boyd spends weeks at a time in Kentucky's Red River Gorge, climbing the park's sheer rock cliffs during the day and sleeping in a tent pitched behind a local pizza shop at night.

Housewives unite when husbands go off to war

Many American women embraced one another for comfort and support while their husbands were fighting fascism abroad during World War II. "The Housewives of Mannheim," written by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Alan Brody and guest directed by Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh Artistic Director Jonathan Rest, confronts the themes of racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and gender roles during a time more than 50 years past: 1944.

Stones: Super Bowl censorship 'ridiculous'

NEW YORK - Nobody turns off the microphone on Mick Jagger without a fight. Censorship of their songs during the Super Bowl halftime show was "absolutely ridiculous and completely unnecessary," said the Rolling Stones through a spokeswoman Tuesday.

IMP student writes, acts in films

Ultra-potent marijuana, vampires, the Roman Catholic church and divine cheese: these are just a few of the central ideas that junior John Druska's screenplays revolve around.