A&E

Amethyst House raises thousands at benefit

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Monday, Sept. 27,2004 12:19 a.m.

A full crowd packed into the studio of the John Waldron Arts Center Saturday for an evening of dancing, food and dessert, with not a drop of alcohol served. The Amethyst House, a non-profit organization for recovering addicts, held its fifth annual benefit titled Hope Café; Dance Performance & Celebrity Art Auction. In honor of September being National Recovery Month, Amethyst House decided to make the focus of the benefit hope for recovery from addictions.

Authors increasingly publishing online blogs

By Alyson Brodsy and Hillel Italie · Friday, Sept. 24,2004 1:20 a.m.

NEW YORK -- Jennifer Weiner, author of the best-selling novels "Good in Bed" and "In Her Shoes," likes to spend three to four hours a day working on fiction. When she's done, time and family permitting, she updates her online journal. "When I went on my first book tour (in 2001), I began keeping a Web diary, and every day I would write about the latest indignity I suffered," she says. "And I found I really enjoyed doing it. It's a way for me to keep in touch with my readers."

Woman damages Nazi art

By Alyson Brodsy and David Rising · Friday, Sept. 24,2004 1:19 a.m.

BERLIN -- A woman doing handsprings hurled herself into two art installations at the controversial exhibition of a collection belonging to the billionaire heir of a Nazi-era arms supplier, damaging both pieces, organizers said Thursday. The bizarre attack came late Wednesday on the top floor of the Hamburger Bahnhof museum, where Friedrich Christian Flick's collection was opened to the public earlier in the day.

MIME program teaches students new media

By Lyndsay Gilman · Friday, Sept. 24,2004 1:18 a.m.

In a culture where computer animated films like "Shrek" and "Finding Nemo" earn top spots at the box office, the demand for an education in new media has grown tremendously. Eight years ago, Professor Thom Gillespie decided to meet students' needs and created the master's in immersive mediated environments program, or MIME, through IU's Department of Telecommunications as a way for students to apply their innate creative talents to computer animation.

Event to benefit recovering addicts

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Friday, Sept. 24,2004 1:16 a.m.

The local Amethyst House, 645 N. Walnut St., will host a benefit for substance abuse programs at 8 p.m. Saturday in the John Waldron Arts Center, with doors opening at 7 p.m. The evening will provide a beam of hope for those struggling with substance abuse through dance, public speaking and fund-raising.

Around The Arts

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Sept. 23,2004 1:06 a.m.

Labor play comes to the Waldron Claudia Shear's Obie-award winning play "Blown Sideways through Life" is coming to Bloomington for one performance only 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St. The bawdy play is a tribute to working women and men rooted in real life. Shear wrote the play after spending years working odd jobs to make ends meet.

National American Indian museum opens

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Sept. 23,2004 1:02 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- As a child, William Walker was sent off to boarding school and forbidden to speak his native Mono Indian tribe language. So it was with a sense of vindication that Walker watched colorful pageantry of Indian culture mark Tuesday's opening of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, located at the foot of the Capitol.

Exhibition questions function of fashion

By Jaime Cohen and Jamie Cohen · Thursday, Sept. 23,2004 12:56 a.m.

For most, clothing serves as fashion and function. But can fashion be purely sexual? "The Allure of Clothing: Function, Fashion, Fantasy and Fetish," a new exhibit at the Mathers Museum, takes the question of fashion, clothing and function one step further.

Open air theater gives graduate student professional experience

By Kathlyn Von Rohr · Thursday, Sept. 23,2004 12:52 a.m.

It was 8:30 on a summer evening, and once more James Neff stood ready on the stage. The late sun illuminated the crowd, making it impossible for the young lead to ignore his audience. Nearly 1,500 faces waited in expectation for the opening number.

Creating A Diva

By Adam Sedia · Thursday, Sept. 23,2004 12:51 a.m.

The coming of an opera's opening night evokes all the wonders of another world manufactured for the stage. When most of us go to the opera, we are so busy appreciating the final product that the efforts made to bring it from the score to the stage are often overlooked. The fact is, an enormous amount of time, money and labor are put into transforming an idea into an impressive reality.

Emmy winner to film documentary on BPP

By Jennifer Griffin · Wednesday, Sept. 22,2004 12:08 a.m.

Although it is celebrating its 25th year of theater magic, the Bloomington Playwrights Project isn't throwing itself a party or buying itself presents. It isn't wearing a pointed birthday hat or eating cake and ice cream. Instead, the BPP will be the subject of a documentary created by two-time Emmy winner Bob Risher.

Baseball fund-raiser to benefit play group

By Jennifer Griffin · Wednesday, Sept. 22,2004 12:01 a.m.

While Major League Baseball players have months to prepare for the playoff series, Bloomington Playwrights Project teams get only 24 hours. This weekend the BPP proudly presents its Playoff Series, a baseball-themed fund-raiser. "We needed an idea for a profitable fund-raiser," said Sonja Johnson, BPP development director. "(Our artistic director) had done something similar to this with another group, and it was very successful, so we decided to try it."

Students finding flair for personal decorating, style at local stores

By Jaime Cohen and Jaimie Cohen · Tuesday, Sept. 21,2004 11:59 p.m.

From contemporary clean to classic country, students arrive at their new residences ready to fill the space with personality. For many students, decorating their living space is an opportunity to settle into their surroundings while finding their own personal living style. Empty apartments, houses and dorms become an eclectic mix of flair and comfort.

Cross the street the Spanish Way

By Andrea Opperman · Tuesday, Sept. 21,2004 1:42 a.m.

So my pressure has mounted as I have discovered that more than three people actually read this thing. You know when you're sitting in your 10 a.m. lecture and the person sitting next to you reeks of beer, bad B.O. and is in desperate need of a shower? You think to yourself, "Damn, someone had a good night last night!" They probably went out, got belligerent the night before, passed out for a few hours and rolled out of bed in time to get to class. It then gets to a point where you almost want to get up because it is unbearable (Those of you who don't have lecture classes can't partake in this exercise).

IU Festival Latino brings live music to Dunn Meadow

By Stacey Laskin · Tuesday, Sept. 21,2004 1:40 a.m.

Latin beats drifted across Dunn Meadow's grassy field Saturday as IU's seventh annual Festival Latino showcased free live music, food and cultural activities as part of the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The event was organized not only to provide entertainment, but also to educate the public about cultural diversity.

Eva Ayllon performs at Buskirk-Chumley

By Rose Mary Forte · Tuesday, Sept. 21,2004 1:39 a.m.

As the streets of Bloomington were buzzing with people, music, dancing and artwork this weekend, so were all the concert venues during Lotus Fest. At 8 p.m. Saturday evening a line of fans waiting to see Afro-Peruvian singer Eva Ayllon formed at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

lotus festival 2004

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, Sept. 20,2004 12:04 a.m.

This weekend, Bloomington's downtown area came alive with the unique international sounds of Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. The 11th annual multicultural event featured more than 30 artists from around the world, playing their own cultural tunes.

Whirling Dervishes demonstrate Turkish tradition

By Melissa Harrold · Monday, Sept. 20,2004 12:02 a.m.

Saturday night, the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi performed the revolving Sema ritual to a packed house at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater as part of the Lotus Festival, the international music festival that drew a numerous spectators and world renowned artists to Bloomington this weekend.

Whirling Dervishes: A spin on spirituality

By Melissa Harrold · Friday, Sept. 17,2004 1:18 a.m.

This weekend the Lotus Festival will present a mix of entertainment and spirituality. The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi will whirl Bloomington at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Perlman opens IU concert season

By Tony Sams · Friday, Sept. 17,2004 12:49 a.m.

London music critic Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker that experiencing violinist Itzhak Perlman in performance is experiencing "everything one wants a violin sound to be." The late veteran musician Isaac Stern once described Perlman's talent as "utterly limitless." In 2003, upon granting the Kennedy Center Honor to Perlman, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said "the world falls in love with music when Itzhak Perlman takes up his violin" It's no surprise then that Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, anxiously awaits Perlman's 8 p.m. performance Saturday at the IU Auditorium.