Community Arts

RIAA president defends lawsuits

By Michael Zennie · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:56 a.m.

The president of the Recording Industry Association of America, Cary Sherman, held an online press conference with college newspaper reporters Wednesday evening, declaring lawsuits filed Tuesday against 89 college students at 21 universities served to send a message that file-sharing is illegal and has serious consequences. Sherman said the RIAA decided to pursue college students for illegal file-sharing because they are "obviously" a big part of the problem.

IU group surveys transgenders

By Nellie Summerfield · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:41 a.m.

The IU community is working toward better acceptance for transgender students with a new survey aimed at accommodating their needs. The survey was conducted by the IU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Alumni Association.

ECP focuses on children

By Angela Graves · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:40 a.m.

When sophomore Amelia Reiling witnessed friends being bullied and harassed, she didn't just stand by and watch -- she decided to do something about it. That's when she learned about Educating Children for Parenting.

Indianapolis' Eastgate Mall to close June 30

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:33 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Eastgate Consumer Mall, an Indianapolis retail fixture for nearly 50 years, will close June 30. Mall tenants received notice of the closing this week in a letter from an attorney representing owner Haywood Whichard, The Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday. "We've seen it coming for a long time, but we didn't think it would come this quick and in this manner," said John Duncan, who works at Kinda Kountry, a craft and gift shop at the mall. Eastgate was built in 1957 as an open-air shopping center on what was then the city's outskirts and once boasted retailers such as Sears and JC Penney. But it fell victim to encroaching competition from newer malls and big-box retailers as the area developed. Eastgate was remodeled and reinvented as a discount mall more than 20 years ago, but business continued to slide throughout the 1990s. Whichard, a North Carolina investor who also owns Fort Wayne's mostly vacant Southtown Mall, bought Eastgate from Simon Property Group in 2002.

Around The State

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:32 a.m.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- A body found by a LaPorte County judge has been identified as an Illinois man, Indiana State Police said. The body of Miguel Angel Ayala, 27, of Chicago Heights, Ill., was identified through fingerprints in a federal database, detective Dave Kirkham said Tuesday. Ayala's fingerprints were on record because of a drunk driving charge, he said. Investigators declined to comment on the cause of Ayala's death. LaPorte Superior Court Judge Walter Chapala found the body March 6 while walking in a State Department of Natural Resources fishing site along Trail Creek near the city about 30 miles west of South Bend. The body was wrapped in plastic and covered with yard debris and tree limbs about 6 feet off the edge of a road, police said. Ayala's body has been kept at a morgue in Fort Wayne since an autopsy. Family members are working with the LaPorte County coroner's office to return his remains to Illinois for burial, Kirkham said.

11th annual beer festival kicks off tonight

By Lyndsay Gilman · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:28 a.m.

Big Red Liquors will host the party tonight and tomorrow night at the Monroe County Convention Center with its 11th annual Beer Festival. Midwest beer drinkers will assemble at the event from 6 to 9 p.m. Patrons can taste over 200 different domestic, import and micro-brew beers while strolling along the vendors' tables and chatting with various company representatives and brewmasters. "The beer festival is an opportunity for people to taste more expensive beers for less money," said Rob Williamson, promotions director for Big Red Liquors.

College Republicans rally to re-elect Bush, Cheney

By Greg Ingram · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:26 a.m.

Attracting students with free food and presidential signs and stickers, the IU College Republicans spread the word about the upcoming election Wednesday afternoon in Dunn Meadow. Next to the hot dogs and ketchup bottles were voter registration forms, Bush/Cheney stickers and other literature about the Bush campaign.

Around The Arts

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:23 a.m.

Boxcar Books presents poetry readings Bloomington's Boxcar Books will host a weekend of poetry kicking off at 7 p.m. Friday with an Acoustic Women Showcase, presenting local singer/songwriters. The showcase features Denise Dill, Sara Downey, Sarah Graub, Serene Peterson, Morgan Stewart and Allison Williams. Poetry readings continue at 7 p.m. Saturday (admission with donation requested) with poets from Lexington, Ky., Brooklyn, N.Y. and Bloomington.

Flipping through fairytales

By Jamie Lusk · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:19 a.m.

Once upon a time, children's alphabet books were filled with magpies and bullfinches while adventure books starred pincushions living their lives one escapade at a time. That time was the 18th century and children's books and their place in society have come a long way since then. IU's Lilly Library proudly stores a sprawling treasure of 14,000 children's books from the 18th and 19th centuries, donated by the Ball family of Muncie.

The dumb fashionista

By Patrice Worthy and Patricia Worthy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:17 a.m.

I have realized the fashion industry is very exclusive. The most people get to see of the industry is on television and through magazines. This limited view of the industry tends to create stereotypes concerning fashion and the people who love it. Although some of the stereotypes can be scathing, others are quite comical.

Buskirk-Chumley switches from cultured to countercultured for a night

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:15 a.m.

The Thursday before students headed out of town for spring break, Bloomington experienced a shockwave of heavy metal at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a place usually reserved for more traditional art forms. "I wanted to give the Bloomington metal scene some recognition. I wanted to have it here (Buskirk -Chumley) because it has a big stage and a concert atmosphere," said event coordinator Mark Reeves, founder and owner of Reeves Entertainment, the main supervisor of the event.

Harmony unites East and West

By Claire Blaustein · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:14 a.m.

The International Vocal Ensemble specializes in bringing music of diverse cultures to IU's campus. This weekend, however, cultures will cross further as the IVE hosts the Fukushima Kodály Choir. The Fukushima Kodály Choir is an ensemble made up mostly of primary school teachers from the northern provinces of Japan.

IU students take talk show stage

By Holly Johnson and Holy Johnson · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:13 a.m.

When junior Amanda Fick hit the highway for a cross-country road trip with her two roommates over spring break last week, she hardly expected to find herself rubbing elbows with a daytime talk show host or cooking chili with a reality TV star. Covering thousands of miles in 30 hours left Fick and her friends exhausted, and sunning in Santa Monica.

A 'SWELL' PROJECT

By Doug Smith · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

The times roll, but they can also rock. With the eclectic sounds and ever-evolving musicians which make up the Bloomington music scene, another band has emerged. In half compliance with the status quo of collegiate bands -- rock 'n' rollers with energizing intentions of producing their own sound -- The Swell diverge substantially when it comes to the process of conception.

Take my life away

By Neal Taflinger · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

Horror remake avoids 'Dead' end

By John Barnett · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

Known primarily for his television commercials featuring sleek foreign cars, director Zack Snyder tries his hand at feature filmmaking with a bold remake of a '70s horror classic. That's some balls for a rookie, but amazingly, he succeeds far beyond expectations. Never before (not even in "28 Days Later") have the living dead seemed so unstoppable and menacing.

'Spartan' proves sword mightier than pen

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

Say what you will about David Mamet: the man can write. I can think of few stage or screenwriters who use the immensely versatile word "fuck" with such aplomb (okay, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith come close). In giving the coarse class, Mamet has turned obscenity into art. I respect this. You should too.

Spielberg's 'List' a drama for the ages

By Tony Sams · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

If you have never seen Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," easily and undoubtedly one of the best movies of the '90s, there will probably never be a better time now that the film is new to DVD. This is probably my fourth or fifth time seeing the film, and it still amazes me and it still makes me cry.

Arena rock band becomes musical joke

By Ryan Whirty and Ryan Wirty · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

In one episode of "The Simpsons," we see a shirtless Apu washing his Trans Am. As he hoses the car down, he sings along to Cheap Trick's "Dream Police." There's something inherently hilarious about a cartoon guy with a faux Indian accent crooning, "The dream police, they live inside of my head / the dream police, they come to me in my bed."

The 'Secret' is out: Depp rocks

By Jennifer Whalen · Thursday, March 25,2004 12 a.m.

Writer/director David Koepp adapts Stephen King's novella "Secret Window, Secret Garden," which concerns a writer, Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), who secludes himself in a cabin after discovering his wife cheating on him after 10 years of marriage.