Community Arts

A long way to legendary

By C. Warner Sills and Patrick Hurley · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 11 p.m.

I'll start with the positives because there's only one: John Legend can carry one hell of a tune. Now, to the negatives. The first: song-writing. The first song, "Save Room," is repetitive to say the least (the word "save" is sung over 25 times. I mean come on, grab a thesaurus). It's also his inability to mask his themes, even just slightly, behind metaphors that are detrimental to his lyrics. He named a song "P.D.A." for God's sake. Along with his repetition, he seems to love writing the cliché love songs full of obvious rhyme schemes. While good song-writing can sometimes go unnoticed; oftentimes, the bad will glare at you and smack you in the face.

The Noise? Zzzzzz...

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 10:58 p.m.

Noise Floor is a collection of non-album singles, B-sides and covers -- conveniently gathered up for you Conor Oberst completists out there. And that is, indeed, who should get it -- folks who adore Mr. Bright Eyes and can't get enough. Folks who have not only embraced all the things that divide music fans over Oberst -- the quavering, slightly nasal voice; the sincere (or contrived) lyrics; the minimalism -- but who are content to listen to him unleash one very similar-sounding song after another. Because, for a collection of odds and sods, Noise Floor gets surprisingly repetitive -- formulaic, even.

Building a theater of the morbid

By C. Warner Sills and Ryan Corazza · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 10:56 p.m.

My Chemical Romance's newest effort, The Black Parade, oozes with theatrics. From its loose concept theme about a cancer patient -- effectively named "The Patient" -- in a hospital to its rock opera-esque sound reminiscent of Queen and David Bowie, lead singer Gerard Way directs his band mates through the 14-track disc like a modern day Music Man. Although some cuts such as "The Sharpest Lives" and "House of Wolves" harken back to MCR's in-your-face screamo roots prevalent on 2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, or 2002's I Brought You Bullets My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, The Black Parade jumps around the musical spectrum, splicing in different styles and genres. Sometimes, it's acoustic guitar and piano. Other times, its vaudeville, with the aforementioned hint of Queen and Bowie. In the album's

Idle hands, boring movie

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 10:54 p.m.

By the third time around, you're going to know whether you'll like "Saw III," based on your opinions of the previous two. You'll be able to look past the implausibility of a near-death old man (Tobin Bell) and his sole assistant's (Shawnee Smith) miraculous ability to kidnap so many people and create such elaborate torture devices within a horror warehouse. And how this man happens to know everything that has happened to his victims in the past few years... and how he can somehow plan out every action that will unfold over the next weeks... because damnit, who cares -- you just want to see some good old-fashioned torture scenes. You sick bastard, you.

Tidying up the mess for the sake of convention

By Olivia Morales · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 10:53 p.m.

At one point in Augusten Burroughs' life, he went to see a Lina Wertmüller film festival and commented on how odd it was that in French films, a clown shows up crying while an erstwhile heroine lays in the foreground. "I don't get it," he says, "Not yet, anyway." The genius of Burroughs' book is that there always seems to be something semi-normal going on in the foreground, while an odd and out-of-place clown seems to be crying the whole time in the background.

'Catch' some Zs

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 10:51 p.m.

As I sat down to watch "Catch a Fire," I quickly realized as the opening credits began to roll, I would be flying this mission solo. Not a single person ever walked in, save for the occasional theater employee, and even they didn't want to stay for long. So as I watched the movie and struggled to stay awake during a film that is supposed to be so powerful and exciting, I wondered to myself why nobody would want to see it.

Student's Web site receives national attention

By Sonia Rana · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:30 a.m.

Garnering widespread national media coverage, campus reaction has been deeply split on IU Ph.D. student Chris Soghoian's decision to develop a Web site that produces fake Northwest Airlines boarding passes. As a result of creating the site, which has since been taken down, the FBI and Transportation Security Administration have been investigating Soghoian, and Saturday his apartment was raided by FBI agents, who secured a search warrant beforehand.

'Bug' in new UITS Webmail filter causes some to miss e-mails

By Sonia Rana · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:30 a.m.

Senior Ben Atkinson expected to receive two e-mails last week from professors at the University of British Columbia who said they would revise his honors thesis. However, the messages never made it to his IU Webmail inbox. After two days of waiting, Atkinson heard from a friend that the new spam filter University Information Technology Services implemented Oct. 17 was sending legitimate e-mails to spam folders. Atkinson discovered that the messages he was waiting for had been automatically sent to his spam folder earlier that week.

Downtown Turnaround

By Alyson Brodsy and Kasey Hawrysz · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:30 a.m.

Dana Reynolds has worked at Ladyman's Cafe for 17 years. She has owned it for five. But now she has five months to make a "life-changing decision" regarding the future of the restaurant, which has been an institution of downtown Bloomington for nearly 50 years. • "Our downtown is changing, and it is going to grow and be more corporate," Reynolds said. "I thought nothing would come through and change that homey, old-fashioned atmosphere of downtown." • Long-time downtown establishments, including Ladyman's Cafe, Jiffy Treet and the Den are leaving the locations they inhabited for decades.

2006 Hoosiers lowest scoring in history of program at 1.6 goals netted per game

By Michael Sanserino · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:22 a.m.

As far as IU men's soccer coach Mike Freitag is concerned, scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in soccer. Apparently, this year it's a little tougher than others. The 2006 IU men's soccer team is the lowest scoring team in the 34 years of the Hoosier program. In the 18 games played thus far, IU has averaged 1.61 goals per game. At the same point last season, the team averaged 2.72 goals per game.

Hoosiers remain unbeaten with sweep of DePaul U.

By Mike Abrams · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:11 a.m.

The IU men's hockey team remained unbeaten last weekend with two wins against DePaul University. The Hoosiers improved their record to 4-0-2 with the wins in Chicago last Friday and Saturday. "Both games showed some challenges for the team, and I'm happy to see we overcame those challenges," senior forward Reed Schafer said. "We had all four lines play hard, and that is something we look for early in the season. In general, I'm happy about how the team played as a whole this weekend."

Club defeat of ranked opponent highlights 8-3 fall record

By Dallas Frey · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:10 a.m.

The IU club baseball team shut out regional powerhouse Illinois on Oct. 21, capturing not just its biggest win of the season but arguably the most important in the young club's brief history, club baseball founder and president Matt Ostrega said. Though it was an exhibition matchup, the 4-0 defeat of No. 11 Illinois marks the club's second victory over a National Club Baseball Association top-20 team in club baseball's two-year existence at IU. Team leaders said the win boosted the 8-3 club's confidence entering the winter training period before games resume in the spring.

Light a cigar for Red

By Alyson Brodsy and Evan Harris · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12:05 a.m.

How do we define "the sports world?" When pundits say, "The sports world was shocked by today's events," who comprises such a body? The sports world is a fraternity of players, coaches and devoted, empty-pocketed fans who all share the same misery and jubilation at a season's end. And when one of the brothers of this hallowed fraternity abruptly departs, the sports world as a collective whole mourns the loss and celebrates the past. It so happens that over the weekend, a quintessential member of the sports world passed on, leaving an astonishing legacy behind. It is only right that I, as a fan and admirer of the greats who play each sport, pay homage to the greatest basketball coach in the history of the National Basketball Association, Red Auerbach.

Manning's play no longer wows Colts' coach Dungy

By Steve Herman · Wednesday, Nov. 1,2006 12 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Peyton Manning's wizardry is becoming so commonplace his coach no longer considers it especially noteworthy. Manning, the NFL's top-rated passer, has led Indianapolis to 21 victories in the past 23 regular-season games. The two losses came after the Colts had already clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs and coach Tony Dungy used mainly reserves late last season.

State representative's new book answers question, 'What is a Hoosier?'

By Cal Condon · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:54 p.m.

"What is a Hoosier?" is an age-old question that always seems to go unanswered. But Indiana state Rep. Luke Messer has tried to address it in his new children's book, "Hoosier Heart." Many theories try to explain what a Hoosier is.

Toll road funds are for transportation only, Mourdock says

By Audrie Garrison · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:46 p.m.

An undergraduate science degree is an unusual educational background for an aspiring politician, but state treasurer Republican candidate Richard Mourdock said it's been helpful. Mourdock said if he is elected, he hopes to work to provide incentives for technology entrepreneurs. For example, he said entrepreneurs researching ethanol could receive help from the state with paying back interest on loans.

Griffin touts plan to re-invest funds to triple amount made

By Audrie Garrison · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:39 p.m.

As an IU alumnus, Democratic state treasurer candidate Michael Griffin said he knows what students need. One of Griffin's seven main plans for the office of treasurer involves an option in which future college students, or parents of future college students, could begin a pre-pay plan when the prospective students are young that would go toward funding an education at any state university. Those who participate in the program would then lock in the tuition rates and protect themselves from rising costs.

Democrat has Lake Monroe, tourism at top of proposed agenda

By Don Kaczorowski · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:36 p.m.

A feeling of strong dedication to public service is what is motivating Democratic candidate Patrick Stoffers to run for the District 1 county commissioner seat. Stoffers, who is president of the Ellettsville town council, said protecting Lake Monroe and increasing tourism are among his biggest concerns.

Republican hopeful promises big changes, common sense

By Don Kaczorowski · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:35 p.m.

Republican candidate Jeff Ellington is promising big changes and common sense in his campaign for District 1 county commissioner. Diversifying business, leveling property taxes and improving public facilities are priorities on his agenda, he said. Ellington said basic services, such as water, sanitation and roads, is one area that needs to be changed.

Kinsey Confidential

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 31,2006 11:20 p.m.

Q: Recently I had an abnormal Pap test result and my doctor diagnosed me with HPV. Since then, I've done my own research on HPV and consider myself to be pretty well versed in the virus. I was quite shocked to learn that smoking can lead to HPV fl aring up in someone that might have had the virus but had not known it. Even before my research, I knew what HPV was and how it was transmitted, but never did I read anything about the smoking thing. Why is this fact not more widely known? I ask this because I was a non-smoker until about a year ago when I started smoking for several months and, I believe, this is why my test results came back HPV positive. If I had known about this link I never would have smoked at all. Since my diagnosis, I have stopped smoking. However most of my friends smoke and sometimes it is hard to endure without having a drag off of one of their cigarettes. Could this small amount of smoking have an effect on my HPV?