IUPD

Hoosiers take to the road in Miami, Texas invitationals

By Lisa Kates and Lisa Marie Kates · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:16 a.m.

After resting for a couple days over the Thanksgiving break, the IU men's swimming and diving team is back in the pool preparing for the Texas Invitational and the Miami (OH) Invitational this weekend Dec. 5-7. The top 11 Hoosiers will be heading to Texas while the remainder of the squad and the diving team will be heading to Miami (OH).

Delta Chi loses charter, suspended for 1 year

By Jamie Lusk · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:15 a.m.

IU's chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity will soon disappear from campus. The fraternity's international headquarters revoked the chapter's charter Wednesday as a result of an incident that occurred early this fall.

Winter Blunderland

By Adam Aasen · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:15 a.m.

It's that time again; time for winter to officially introduce itself and get everyone acquainted with its quiet, dangerous beauty. It's also time for drivers to battle it out on the roadways, dealing with backups and icy roads. Flakes began floating into Bloomington at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and blanketed the ground in less than 10 minutes. Some students ducked their heads to avoid them, walking home quickly but carefully, with the occasional slip of a heel. Others tilted their pink-tinged noses and cheeks to the sky while trying to catch the ever-elusive snowflakes on their tongues. Still others watched the snow out of their car windows as they sat in traffic or an accident.

'Night Walk' explores IU's safety

By Laura Lacci · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:15 a.m.

Walking from the Jordan Avenue parking lot to Eigenmann to Willkie Quad and then back again, a group of students, administrators and employees braved the brisk December air for nearly an hour and-a-half Tuesday night. They left with red noses, frozen hands and a sense of satisfaction that they had made the campus a safer place for everyone.

O'Bannon proposes major economic development plan

By Alexandra R. Moses and Mike Smith · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:15 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Frank O'Bannon proposed a sweeping economic development and education plan Wednesday that would spend up to $1.25 billion over 10 years in hopes of creating jobs and boosting Indiana's lagging economy. The proposal will be the centerpiece of the Democratic administration's legislative package, but passing most or even parts of it could prove daunting.

Trustees build tech center in Indy

By Adam Van Osdol and Adam VanOsdol · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:15 a.m.

IU's student entrepreneurs have a new friend. Along the banks of the White River Canal in Indianapolis stands IU's $4 million dollar Emerging Technology Center, a building that will house IU students and faculty working in the biotechnology industry. The ETC tenants will be specially selected by IU and will pay low rent and benefit from networking opportunities and access to IU resources.

A Playoff implications in Tennessee game

By Aaron Beard · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:12 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis knows a victory Sunday over Tennessee makes postseason play a greater possibility. A loss and it might prove tough for the Colts to even make the postseason. The Colts are in first place in the AFC South with an 8-4 record. They have the No. 1 seed in the conference and could control home-field advantage throughout the playoffs if they remain in that position over the final four games of the season.

United Airlines plea for federal loan rejected

By Alexandra R. Moses and Jeannine Aversa · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:10 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- United Airlines lost its bid for $1.8 billion in federal loan guarantees Wednesday, a major setback to the nation's second-largest air carrier in its efforts to avoid bankruptcy. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board said that despite efforts to pare costs, "the business plan submitted by the company is not financially sound."

We Love Cov, and other observations

By Alex Hickey · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:10 a.m.

Admit it. You were scared. For the first few seconds after Maryland senior Steve Blake hit his improbable half-court shot as time ran out in Tuesday night's game, you were petrified. Perhaps your jaw dropped. Maybe you spilled your drink. Or you possibly echoed Chris Farley's "Super Fans" character and said, "I think I'm 'havin a 'heart attack."

Dempsey hopes NCAA ties postseason eligibility to academics

By Aaron Beard and Michael Marot · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:08 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Outgoing NCAA president Cedric Dempsey hopes university leaders will take another step toward academic reform next October by voting on a proposal that would make postseason eligibility contingent on academic success.

Sophomore steps up scoring, team leadership

By Zack Eldridge · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:06 a.m.

Every team needs a player it counts on. They rely on the player when times are tough. For IU women's basketball team, that player is sophomore Jenny DeMuth. Early this season, DeMuth has been playing with a purpose and is determined to lead the Hoosiers back to the NCAA Tournament.

Hoosiers split up, travel to Ohio, Minneapolis

By Jeff Fuldauer · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12:02 a.m.

The IU women's swim team heads into the month of December looking to improve on their undefeated season as the split squad swims in two meets this weekend. IU will swim in both the U.S. Open and the Miami (OH) Invitational.

Better Than Ezra thrives

By Jason Gaddis · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

"Aha, it was good living with you." That's all it took, a man impersonating a guitar's wah pedal and a catchy phrase, to propel three guys from Louisiana from indie-rock status to No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts. Even now, Better Than Ezra"s "Good" stands as one of the most memorable tracks from the mid-'90s alternative rock-scene. Tonight, BTE will bring its sound to Axis for a Toys For Tots benefit show.

More than one 'King of the Blues'

By Seth Forster · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

If rock music has proven that dying young offers fame, then blues has proven the opposite for many of its great performers. Your best hope for post-mortem fame is to have a slightly androgynous English band from the '60s or '70s cover some of your songs and hope that they are around well after most people retire. But since the Stones didn't really do a lot for the two lesser known Kings of the blues, I figured it couldn't hurt to get out my scarf, grab a beat up Gibson and see where it takes me...or maybe I'll just write about them.

Metroid prequel lives up to hype

By Mattew Seremet and Matthew Seremet · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

The naysayers and skeptics can grab a controller and shut up -- "Metroid Prime" lives up to the hype. This brilliant mix of next-gen, first-person-shooter and the old-school, platforming "Metroid" games is an amazing triumph. This is the best reason to own a Gamecube, and even the most hardcore "Metroid" fans will be impressed by the series's evolution. "Metroid Prime" puts players in the role of bounty hunter Samus Aran in a prequel to "Super Metroid." The game begins with Samus responding to a distress beacon on a ship, where she fights an old enemy and crash lands on nearby planet Tallon IV. The story unfolds slowly as Samus explores the planet. The game is not driven by the plot, and much of the details in the storyline depends on how involved you become in the gameplay.

U2 produces the ideal best-of

By Seth Forster · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

U2 may not have aged that gracefully, but looking back on the '90s, who can blame the band? As one of the most consistent and somehow experimental bands of the '80s, U2 made some of the greatest, freshest-sounding rock albums in history. But in the '90s, aside from Achtung Baby (which is overrated anyway), the guys essentially became a singles band that used its albums to find out just how much the group's fans would be willing to accept.

Animation can't save Sandler

By Sam Shahrani · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

I'm going to make this short and sweet. Chances are, if you're an Adam Sandler fan, you'll have already seen this film by the time this review hits the page; for you, I'm so sorry. Yet, through the magic of newsprint, I can spread this warning far and wide to those that have not seen "8 Crazy Nights": DO NOT SEE THIS FETID PILE OF GARBAGE. Got it? Great. Go rent "Billy Madison" instead. The basic "plot" is that Davey Stone (Sandler) is running around his small town creating "mischief" that involves an ungodly amount of agonizing unfunny bodily function jokes. Sandler also pulls an Eddie Murphy and plays two additional characters in addition to Davey, the aged Whitey and Whitey's clueless sister, Eleanore. The trick is, you can completely tell it's Sandler voicing the characters, since altering his unique voice is about as easy as getting IU to a bowl game.

Dream cast shines on soundtrack

By -Daniel Minchella · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

Whether you like him or not, it's safe to say that few artists on the planet are as hot as Eminem right now. The Eminem Show has been met with critical praise while also establishing itself as one of the top-selling albums this year. And now, Eminem is taking on Hollywood with "8 Mile," a film roughly based on his life. The soundtrack for the heavily anticipated film has been equally awaited. The CD features 16 cuts, and Eminem takes executive-production credits for everything. The disc features an all-star cast of hip-hop acts, including Eminem (of course), Xzibit, D-12, Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent, Gang Starr, Rakim and more. With such talented emcees on the bill, this soundtrack has the potential to be one of the best hip-hop soundtracks ever. The album wastes no time, delivering the hit "Lose Yourself" as the first track. The song is as close to a ballad as Eminem will ever get. With the adrenaline-laced lyrics, "Lose Yourself" could be the hip hop equivalent of "Eye of the Tiger."

Kick it with 'FIFA 2003'

By C. Warner Sills and Mike D’Avria · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

Every updated EA Sports game in 2002 made huge leaps from its 2001 predecessor. Now, with a new onslaught of 2003 versions, EA has improved on its formula, but just by tweaking an almost perfect model anyway. This is no different with "FIFA 2003." EA did not create a new game, and the game is played almost exactly like "FIFA 2002," but there are some little extras that make it worth owning. There is the always-impressive season mode, playable with more than 350 teams, and even more impressive are the 8,000 real players on these teams. There are also a bunch of different tournaments that can be played with the 16 different leagues, and an international tournament that is pretty much the World Cup without the licensing.

Louis Stevenson meets Disney

By Parker Witman and Parker Wittman · Thursday, Dec. 5,2002 12 a.m.

I find it pretty hard to know what to expect out of Disney these days. While I'm not sure that the company has completely switched its attitude toward what kinds of movies to make, there does seem to be a push toward a new style of storytelling and a new approach to crafting the animated feature. Maybe this has all been brought on by the success of animated films from Pixar and Dreamworks, but like "Atlantis" before it, "Treasure Planet" represents a new form of Disney, one that trades the spontaneous musical numbers for a more kinetic action-adventure pace.