Community Arts

Taking the high road to hell

By Alyson Brodsy and Tristan Mathews · Thursday, March 9,2006 12 a.m.

With the release of the double disc Straight to Hell, Hank Williams III has finally begun to realize some of the promise he showed with his first album Risin' Outlaw. The growth between that and his exponentially better second album Lovesick, Broke, and Driftin' is seen again as this newest release is a major leap ahead for the artist. This is the first of Williams' albums to have a cohesive feel. The attention to the album's song list and overall arc has a strong affect, particularly with the album's opening track "Satan is Real, Straight to Hell," which is full of rich musical energy.

Lecture addresses Tibetan Freedom

By Katrina Babin · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:59 p.m.

A lecture on Tibetan dissidents garnered an audience of more than 30 people in Woodburn Hall Wednesday night. Students for a Free Tibet invited author and photographer Mikel Dunham to speak on the nature of Tibetan resistance to Chinese invasion in 1950 and the CIA's involvement in training resistance fighters. Among the attendees was the director of the Tibetan Cultural Center, whose presence was welcomed by audience members who rose to their feet upon his entrance. Students for a Free Tibet member Mary-Kathryn Oreovicz said in an e-mail interview that Dunham is a respected author.

Cartoonist to receive cancer treatment in Bloomington

By Alyson Brodsy and Matt Sedensky · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:55 p.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A cartoonist with a rare tumor threatening his vision is getting some help from artists who draw rival strips.

Union Board: 'Show Me the Funny'

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:54 p.m.

Friday is the deadline for submitting entries to the Union Board's "Show Me the Funny" contest. Competitors must submit a five- to seven-minute stand-up routine, sketch or improvisational bit containing either one or two performers. This competition is open to all IU students. The Union Board expects a very diverse group of entrants, ranging from amateur comedians to those who have acting experience or are already performing in a group.

JOHN HANCOCK

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:54 p.m.

JOHN HANCOCK -- GZA "the Genius" signs a pair of chucks brought in by a fan. The owner of the shoes, actually named Charles, or Chuck, Taylor prompted laughter among the veteran |rappers.

Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett offer insight in Van Zandt documentary

By C. Warner Sills · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:52 p.m.

Besides being prominent musicians in their respective fields, what do artists Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Sonic Youth, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson have in common? They all make up the growing cult fan base of singer songwriter Townes Van Zandt and play a part in a new documentary based on the late artist's music and life.

African-American art on display at Art Museum

By Molly Peters · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:50 p.m.

This month, the IU Art Museum will feature works depicting 60 years of "Black Spirit" conceptualized by one person, displayed in one place and portrayed in many ways.

Writing through the trenches

By Sarah Core · Wednesday, March 8,2006 11:48 p.m.

It was June 6, 1944, a date that would soon be known as D-Day. War reporter Ernie Pyle walked across the blood-soaked beach in Normandy, France, watching as the waves from the English Channel brushed against the cheeks of dead men gently floating in the shallow waters. His fingers weren't itching for his pad of paper or a pen to write down the details quickly, to help him remember the images later when he sat in front of his typewriter. There was no way he could forget.

ONLINE ONLY: Which Spring Break option is best?

By Alyson Brodsy and Drew Smith · Wednesday, March 8,2006 8:03 p.m.

Yes! Spring Break has finally arrived. The time is ripe for drunken buffoonery, hanging out on the beaches of the Bahamas, Cancun or southern Florida and becoming intimate with the closest of friends of the opposite gender. Are these "typical" spring break trips the only ones available to IU students? I say no. Lets all explore…

A hip-hop film extravaganza

By Alyson Brodsy and Matt McMullan · Wednesday, March 8,2006 7:06 p.m.

Dave Chappelle is worth a lot of money. Or he was. I don't know what happens when you renege on a massive television contract. Maybe it all goes away. Maybe that's what he wanted. Fifty million dollars is a lot of cash, and maybe that changes a man. It seems that Chappelle was wrestling with this when he left his highly successful Comedy Central show halfway through filming its third season and did whatever it is that he did. Some say he went nuts. Others say he went nuts and ran off to South Africa. Oh, how people will gossip.

Looking Through the Lens

By Alyson Brodsy and Anne Rebeck · Wednesday, March 8,2006 6:29 p.m.

Spring break is almost here and whether you're going somewhere warm like Florida or have an alternative vacation in mind like volunteering in Louisiana with Habitat for Humanity, you'll want to bring a camera and take plenty of pictures. "The camera is my tool to capture wonderful and unexplainable moments," says amature photographer Mandi Renslow of Collins LLC. Years from now these photos will bring back happy memories of your good old college days, but how can you make sure you'll have these tangible memories years down the road?

Luck of the Irish

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Sanserino · Wednesday, March 8,2006 5:56 p.m.

Whether students stay in town, in state, in the country or travel abroad, come March 17, they'll be sure to find green beer wherever they go. Since St. Patrick's Day falls during spring break, students will have the ability to go anywhere throughout the Midwest or the world to celebrate the Irish holiday. But no matter what a student's travel plans or economic situation, St. Patrick's Day celebrations will be easy to come by. It's convenient for students that one of the America's most popular St. Patrick's Day destinations sits only a four-hour drive away. Chicago may be the "Second City," but it parties harder than any in the middle of March.

True erotic thrills lie elsewhere

By Alyson Brodsy and Rob O'Connor · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:16 p.m.

Have you ever yearned to see gratuitous shots of Kevin Bacon's ass? Have you ever desired to witness the Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit" acted out by children in wheelchairs? Have you ever wondered what it would be like if there were an English guy in the Rat Pack? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then "Where the Truth Lies" is for you. "Where the Truth Lies" is the story of a comedy duo, in the same vein as Martin and Lewis, consisting of Lanny Morris (Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth). A dead woman is found in Lanny and Vince's hotel room as they check in, the scandal causes the team to break up.

Costello hardly less than zero

By Alyson Brodsy and Jeff O'Reilly · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:15 p.m.

Elvis Costello's multi-decade career, simply put, has been an impulsive one. Governed by the moment, Costello has continuously reinvented his sound, from the anti-corporate anthems of 1978's punk classic This Years Model, to collaborations with jazz guitarist Bill Frisell on 1995's Deep Dead Blue. Costello's latest release, My Flame Burns Blue, captures the artist's continuing maturation live at the 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival. Backed by the dynamic 52-piece jazz orchestra Metropole Orkest, Costello delivers energetic renditions of works by jazz heavyweights such as Charles Mingus, as well as inspired re-arrangements of his own catalogue.

All About Me:

By Alyson Brodsy and IDS WEEKEND reports · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:15 p.m.

Anne Elaine Rebeck, a senior, is currently studying photography and is the photo editor for the Weekend magazine. "With photography, I didn't know there was anything that could evoke such emotion out of me, and I want to be able to create that for other people. "Photography is extremely important because you can document time. The right photography is priceless. It's worth more than any amount of words." When Rebeck isn't out shooting with a Canon digital camera, here's what this Indiana native gets into:

We'll always love B.I.G. Papa

By Alyson Brodsy and Cordell Eddings · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:13 p.m.

Nine years ago today outside the Vibe Awards in Los Angeles, Christopher Wallace (aka the Notorious B.I.G) was gunned down, ending the promising and still budding career of yet another revered musician whose life ended before it really got a chance to get started. Still in his mid-20s, the chubby Brooklyn-born rapper had the rap industry in a chokehold, almost single-handedly reviving East Coast Rap and contributing to hip-hop's now international appeal. His life was like lightening flashing across the dark sky: maddeningly short, but lighting up the music industry around him before his exit.

Hardly to the extreme

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:11 p.m.

There is a current cinematic furor in East Asia known as New Asian Horror. The trend is not unlike previous thriller film fads of the past (Italian splatter and American slasher films come to mind) in the sense that these films set out to go to extremes in blood, guts and mayhem. It's only fitting that the new short horror film compilation by three of the genre's finest directors is called "Three Extremes." "Extremes" is not unlike horror collections such as "Creepshow," HBO's "Tales from the Crypt" and most recently Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series, which all teamed talented filmmakers in the thriller genre to make short films.

Brit classic gets proper treatment

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Wisner · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:07 p.m.

In the long careers of screen legend Alec Guinness and Ealing Studios, one could proclaim with little debate that Robert Hamer's "Kind Hearts and Coronets" was one of the crowning achievements of the British film industry. Pitch black in its approach and entertaining on all levels, I can think of no other movie that has made the art of murder so humorous. A mischievously sophisticated Dennis Price stars as the young Louis Mazzini, a man whose royal inheritance is unjustly denied to him due to his mother's marriage outside of aristocracy.

An Ultimate DVD

By Alyson Brodsy and Tristan Mathews · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:05 p.m.

Excelsior! The release of the straight-to-video "Ultimate Avengers" DVD marks an exciting time to be a comic book fan. With "Ultimate Avengers II" already in production, this release will hopefully start a trend of animated comic properties skipping the big screen and heading straight to stores. The storyline is taken from the Marvel Comics mini-series "The Ultimate" written by Mark Millar ("Spider-Man" comics) and drawn by Bryan Hitch ("Superman" comics).

A fairly fit film

By Alyson Brodsy and Ash Cartwright · Wednesday, March 8,2006 4:01 p.m.

Joe Wright's "Pride and Prejudice" is a gorgeous film, but it fails to do justice to Jane Austen's classic novel. It is a well-crafted and sunlit love story, however. Sadly, it reduces Austen's layered and witty work to a merely pretty and rather empty story. I am upset when I think of all the people who may watch this film and think they have experienced the depths of Austen's work, when really they are only wading in the shallows, barely being exposed to her excellence.