Community Arts

Going Higher

By Holly Johnson and Holy Johnson · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

Six years ago, Josh Thurston was a 21-year-old repo man working for American Rental in rural Washington, Ind. His father, an employee at the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center near Bloomington, was a seasoned rock climber with nowhere nearby to hone his skills scaling rocks.

'Nightmare on Friday the 13th'

By Doug Evans · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

Beware. Your worst childhood nightmare has come true: Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) and Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, stepping in for Kane Hodder) have finally teamed up.

Fear of a Phantom Planet

By Greg O'Neill · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

Phantom Planet is back, and you hardly knew they were here; that is, unless you watch "The O.C.," for which they provide the nauseatingly catchy theme song. If you dig deeper, you would find a band that relies on little more than a near-celebrity drummer (Jason Schwartzman), the already risen tide of new rock and a chorus consisting of an endlessly repeated warning to California (namely, "Here we come," which is odd because they're from L.A.). This, their third album, improves on the weaknesses while still retaining that anonymous flavor just like Candlebox and Seven Mary Three did in times of grunge.

Biker flick between moped and Ducati

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

Torque is a tough movie to review. By calling it a movie I'm already giving this rubbish too much credit. Though, it's certainly entertaining rubbish. As directed by Joseph Kahn, who cut his teeth lensing videos for acts as diverse as U2 and Eminem, Torque plays out as an hour and a half exercise in MTV-style quick cutting and crass commercialism. Product placement has never been this blatant -- biker chicks fight before Mountain Dew and Pepsi banners and every character drinks beer, that is, so long as it's Budweiser.

Different city, same nothing

By Ben Warden · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

Over the course of the first 10 episodes of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David manages to offend everyone from Ted Danson to an Incest survivors group. In his first major project since being co-creator of the '90s best sitcom, "Seinfeld," Larry David again revels in the minutia of daily life. David plays himself on the show, living in Los Angeles, presumably off his "Seinfeld" money. He does occasional work as a writer and stand-up comic, but more or less this is the diary of a permanent pessimist with too much time and money on his hands.

'Indiana Toombs and the Temple of Boom'

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, Jan. 22,2004 12 a.m.

The Crystal Method came onto the electronica scene in the mid-to-late '90s as America's response to England's infinitely superior the Chemical Brothers. Seven years have passed since the duo, comprised of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, dropped its debut, Vegas (the city from which they both hail) -- nothing has changed.

Around The Campus

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:56 p.m.

IU scientists honored for work The National Academy of Sciences recognized three IU faculty members with its annual awards. It selects scientists throughout the world who have made outstanding contributions in their field. Political scientist Elinor Ostrom, biologist Rudolf Raff and psychologist Robert Goldstone each received recognition.

Legacy admissions reviewed, IU's policy remains intact

By Holly Johnson and Holy Johnson · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:48 p.m.

As major universities nationwide debate the validity of legacy admissions, IU's policy of merit-based admission will remain intact. The University currently operates on a system in which out-of-state applicants must meet slightly higher requirements than their in-state counterparts. Whether an applicant has blood ties to IU alums does not ultimately affect the Office of Admissions' decision. "We encourage and welcome students to apply for admission who have family ties, but those students still need to meet the same admissions standards as all other applicants," Associate Director of Admissions Terry Knaus said. "No real preference is given."

Warmups prepare team for race

By Rob DeWitte and Rob eWitte · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:47 p.m.

The Hoosier trackmen continued early-season success in fine form Saturday. In their first full-squad effort, the men scored a convincing win as their 117.5 points beat Kent State (98.5) and Indiana State (98.5). Several athletes notched individual wins. In the sprints, sophomore David Neville, a top youngster in international ranks, took a second-straight 400m victory in 48.82, and sophomore Andre Grimes took the 200m in 22.62. Neville also anchored the Hoosiers' winning 4x400 relay. The field events offered more points in the form of senior Mike Minton, who won the shot put with a heave of 16.42. Despite the win, Minton left the competition with improvements in mind. "It was just another warm-up meet," he said, "I'm going to keep building-up through the early meets to be ready to throw my best at the close of the year.

Jack gets political

By Alyson Brodsy and Jack Silverstein · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:47 p.m.

As a lifelong sports fan, I've absorbed mountains of useless information without ever really trying. Want to know how many points Michael Jordan averaged in the '93 Finals? 41. Wonder who led the Bears in rushing in 1998? Edgar Bennett. Can't quite recall the name of the outfielder who hit three opening-day home runs for the Cubs in 1994? Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes.

Asian center to celebrate 'year of the monkey'

By Kourtney Schepman · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:46 p.m.

The Asian Culture Center will host a celebration of the Lunar New Year today in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Cultural Center. Each year, the Chinese Cultural Center invites IU students and Bloomington residents to sample the Asian culture through Chinese performances and cuisine. Theresa Chen, organizer of the Lunar New Year event, said she is excited about the chance to spread Asian culture throughout the IU campus.

Learning how to live

By Alyson Brodsy and Paul Musgrave · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:46 p.m.

The family at the table next to mine at Wendy's were almost like a television ad -- Three perfect children, quietly nibbling at their fries and their harried mother enjoying a break from cooking and other wifely duties.

Super-Tenor shines on Bloomington

By Eric Anderson · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:45 p.m.

The events of Jose Cura's still-blossoming opera career have already become the stuff of legend: He learned the role of Ruggero for Puccini's 'La Rondine' while performing in Verdi's 'La Forza del Destino' by attending 'Rondine' staging rehearsals in the basement of the opera house during the second act of 'Forza,' when his character was not present on stage. In 1999, he made history at the Metropolitan Opera as only the second tenor in the company's history to debut on opening night (the first being the grandest of all tenors, Enrico Caruso, in 1902).

Homeless Greeks

By Alyson Brodsy and Melanie Sims · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:44 p.m.

Black Greeks at IU are homeless. Okay, not all of them are homeless - just the ones in historically-black fraternities and sororities, such as National Panhellenic Council members Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, Iota Phi Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Sigma Gamma Rho, Phi Beta Sigma and Omega Psi Phi.

Stimulating sex research

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:43 p.m.

There are countless grants and funds poured into studies about cancer, heart disease and depression. And ever since a guy named Kinsey decided to study sex, here in Bloomington, the amount of money given to those following in his footsteps has increased substantially, raising awareness and sending the message that sexual research is just as important as other forms of study in the realm of public health.

"Bringing Down the House" is truth stranger than fiction

By Britany Ausmus and Brittany Ausmus · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:43 p.m.

Bringing Down the House," the first foray into non-fiction by novelist Ben Mezrich, has all the trappings of a delightful adventure caper; however, the twists and turns this tale takes are too bizarre to be merely cooked up in an author's imagination. "Bringing Down the House" is the true story of how several Massachusetts Institute of Technology students created a way to play the Blackjack tables in Las Vegas and win astronomical sums of money along the way.

Hollywood's 'erotic' new tourist attraction

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:39 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- One of Hollywood's newest tourist attractions is easy to mistake for adult shops along the popular Walk of Fame. The nude pictures, sex toys and stag films aren't meant to arouse, but to edify at the Erotic Museum, which pays tribute to all things sexual, from the tame to the tawdry. It chronicles sex through the ages with nude abstracts by Pablo Picasso, erotic jade figurines from ancient China, vintage sex toys and sultry computer-animated dancers.

Auditorium rings with 'The Sound of Music"

By Meredith Hahn · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:37 p.m.

When seeing a musical performance upon which a popular film has been based, it is difficult to put aside one's expectations in order to remain objective. This was certainly the case at the IU Auditorium last night for "The Sound of Music". Like most people who have seen the movie on television or video many times over the years, I found it difficult to imagine anyone other than Julie Andrews in the role of the singing governess, Maria. As the night went on, however, it became easier to see clearly what worked and what did not in this show.

Court indicts real estate developer on bribe charges

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:36 p.m.

TEL AVIV, Israel -- An Israeli businessman was indicted Wednesday on charges of bribing Ariel Sharon with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Justice Ministry officials said they were considering indicting Sharon as well. The indictment against real estate developer David Appel complicates the prime minister's clouded legal situation. The Supreme Court has ruled that an indictment would compel Sharon to leave office pending the outcome of a trial.

Crews attempt to contain Norwegian oil spill

By Alyson Brodsy and Doug Mellgren · Wednesday, Jan. 21,2004 11:35 p.m.

OSLO, Norway -- Salvage crews worked Wednesday to limit the environmental damage from a freighter that capsized in an inlet along the west coast of Norway, killing 18 people aboard. Crews sought to contain oil and fuel leaking from the 544-foot MS Rocknes, which overturned Monday with 30 people on board. Only 12 were rescued. Ole Arvesen, spokesman for the Norwegian coastal service, said air was being pumped into the wreck to keep it afloat in their search for the bodies of the 15 who remain missing and presumed dead.