A&E

Fans mourn Lennon anniversary

NEW YORK -- More than two decades after John Lennon was gunned down by a deranged fan, devoted fans of the ex-Beatle gathered Saturday to mourn on the anniversary of his death. Hundreds of people surrounded the Imagine mosaic in Strawberry Fields, an area of Central Park dedicated to Lennon after he was shot in 1980 by Mark David Chapman in front of the nearby Dakota, the luxury apartment building where he lived. They sang Beatles tunes, bobbed their heads to the beat of a band, burned candles and remembered the singer who meant so much to them. "It's a weird thing. It's been your whole life, the Beatles," said Larry Martin, a professional guitarist. "I had older brothers, so from the time I was three or four my earliest memories are of the Beatles." Martin said his decision to attend this year was influenced by the death of George Harrison, who succumbed to lung cancer Nov. 29.

Jazz ensemble to play Buskirk-Chumley

Nationally recognized jazz ensemble The Greg Osby Four will play the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., at 7:30 p.m today. The quartet features Greg Osby on alto and soprano saxophones, Jason Moran on piano, drummer Derrick Phillips and bassist Calvin Jones. The band is touring with songs from Symbols of Light (A Solution), Osby's 11th. album, which is being heralded as his most adventurous release on the Blue Note label.

Artists Row Showcases Local Talent

Dedicated to providing support for local artists, the two-month-old Artists Row art gallery has experienced a great deal of traffic since its June 22nd opening. Local patrons have already exceeded proprietor Mark Stoops' expectations. The infant art gallery, located at 1300 S. Walnut St., has adopted an open-door policy and has vowed to represent local artists, both academics and professionals.

This Weekend's Calendar events

Kids see magic in 'Potter'

LONDON -- Director Chris Columbus got rave reviews from the kids who saw "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which is a change from the reaction he's gotten in the past from adult film critics. "The critics have never been kind to me," said Columbus, whose past films include "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Bicentennial Man," as well as more successful movies like "Home Alone." But "this film feels different," he said. "I do know that I love the picture, and that's really important -- though in the end, who knows?" After attending the premiere in London on Sunday, 12-year-old Alex Roberts wrote in Monday's Guardian newspaper, "I don't think I'll watch it nine times, but it will certainly be one of my favorite films."

Saba - 'Breeze of the East' comes to Bloomington

A musical journey that has taken thousands of years is continuing this Sunday at IU. That music has followed the Silk Road, the ancient trade route linking China and Rome in an exchange of goods and cultures that has had an impact on the shape of Eurasia to this day. Now Sabá, a Bloomington-based ensemble featuring musicians from Turkey to New Jersey, are bringing the ancient folk music of the East to the modern-day Midwest. This Sunday IU's 2001 Summer Workshop in Slavic, East European and Central Eurasian Languages will present the Ninth Annual Central Eurasian Concert: "Silk Road: A Cultural and Musical Journey by Sabá, Breeze of the East."

Soothe the soul with pudding

January is here: hooray for it! In January, you do not need to charm or entertain. You do not need to put on a performance. All you have to do is appear, sit in your required seat, listen or not listen, smile or not smile. The sheer relief of January quiet is enough to make anyone turn to pudding. And turn to pudding is exactly what I do: bread pudding and stirred pudding most often, but even a ready-made cup of pudding when time is short.

A new spin on a classic play

The students and faculty of the Department of Theatre and Drama have been waiting a long time for the opening of the new Theatre/Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. Since the ground breaking ceremony Oct. 16, 1998, department members have been tantalized by the prospect of new classrooms, offices, scene shops, costume shops and most importantly, two beautiful new theaters. They have waited patiently as the chaotic bangs, crashes and pops of construction have interrupted their classes and rehearsals.

Sisters' artwork part of exhibit at Waldron Arts Center

The two sets of artwork currently on exhibit in the Rosemary P. Miller Gallery at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., don't appear to have much in common. One artist paints tranquil scenes of natural places around Bloomington. The other paints mystical, energetic scenes of angels and animals.

Studio and garden tour to showcase Brown Co. artists

For years, people who enjoy artists and crafts have known that Brown County deserves the title "The Art Colony of the Midwest." And each year, for one weekend in June, the public has a chance to see for themselves.

Around The Arts

62nd IU Writer's Conference begins Sunday

Manson pleads no contests to charges

CLARKSTON, Mich. -- Shock rocker Marilyn Manson, who was charged with sexual misconduct for allegedly gyrating against a security guard at a concert, pleaded no contest Wednesday to being a disorderly person and assault and battery.

Hit-Making Neptunes Become N.E.R.D.s

NEW YORK -- Bass vibrates through the wood-paneled studio, and the green monitor lights jump with the playback of a rapper named Jade spitting out a verse about guns and money. But what stands out in the mix is the trebly, metallic voice in the background, punctuating the verses: "Yea-uh! Uggghhhh-ah!"

'Scooby-Doo' debuts at the top

LOS ANGELES -- "Scooby-Doo,'' where are you? Well on top of the weekend box office. The big-screen update of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, starring Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini and a computer-animated Great Dane, took in $56.4 million to debut as the No. 1 film, according to industry estimates Sunday.

Concert to honor and showcase retired professor

A comment about his teeth when he was in seventh grade spurred retired IU Professor Emeritus Dominic Spera to take up playing the trumpet. Now, years later, the accomplished professor is being honored with a concert for his 70th birthday with the Jazz Fables concert series at Bear's Place tonight at 5:30 where he will be among the performers.

'Cole' hopes to inspire

An evening of laughter, entertainment and music promises to fill the Brown County Playhouse as "Cole," the story of one of America's greatest song writers, Cole Porter, opens the 2002 show season at the theatre. The show opens on June 13 and will run until July 7 every Wednesday through Sunday.

'Writers of Color' featured in latest Indiana Review

In its twenty-fifth year of existence, Indiana Review has come out with its Spring 2002 edition, titled "Writers of Color." As the only special issue devoted to writers of various ethnic backgrounds in the literary magazine's history, the spring publication features fiction, nonfiction, art, poetry and book reviews from writers around the world.

New local play promises lots of laughs, pop culture influence in story of 'Faust'

Once again, the comedic skills of playwright Eric Pfeffinger and the talent of director Scot Greenwell are put together as "Life in the Faust Lane" comes to the Bloomington Playwrights Project theatre next week. The play opens June 14th and will run until June 30th.

Around The Arts

AFI to give Hanks lifetime award Wyclef arrested in N.Y. schools protest Ice cream company benefits from star's preference

Diversity still lags on network television

LOS ANGELES -- Black characters get more television time than other minorities but they tend to be relegated to sitcoms, a study released Tuesday found.