IUSA

Company gives chance to fake your own horrific death

By Alicia Spateo · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

CHARLESTON, Ill. – What’s your favorite scary movie? For roommates Derek Clem and Scott Aigner, the answer was written in the fake blood and man-made intestines staining their clothes – their movie. Clem and Aigner, both Eastern Illinois University graduate students, received the chance to star in their own personally designed horror-slasher scene, making fake death a reality at Eastern’s Tarble Arts Center in Charleston.

African Languages Club to host daylong festival with food, music, dance

By Chelsea Merta · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

After only one semester, the IU African Languages Club boasts 71 members. Students and faculty members holding an interest in African languages responded enthusiastically to the formation of the club, which on Feb. 27 will hold its first event, the Africana Festival. The Africana Festival – a daylong festival featuring dancing, music and food from Africa at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. – will be held Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The Monroe County Historical Center Museum exhibit features tons of cinematic artifacts from the silent era to modern times. Photo by Ronni Moore

Monroe County boasts its Hollywood connections

By Kristi Oloffson · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

The Oscars might feature movie stars who seem to live in a distant world, but Bloomington and Monroe County have so many connections to Hollywood that a local history museum decided to feature them in an exhibit.

DOW CEO should be prohibited from speaking

By Aparna Venkatraman and Suresh Marru · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

When I was looking at the Kelley Business Conference, I have seen that Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical Co., is being invited to talk on Energy and Environment. While I got enthusiastic about the conference outcome, as many leading industrialists will be speaking on their perspectives of energy and environment, I was also annoyed to see that CEO of Dow Chemical will also speak on issues the company never really cared to account for. You might be well aware that Union Carbide (now fully owned by Dow Chemical) was responsible for the world’s worst chemical disaster and killed 22,000 humans, and still many thousands of people are struggling with the aftermath of chemical poisoning in ground water.

Offensive humor can be found at IU

By Aparna Venkatraman and JP Summerlot · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

After reading the editorial titled “No joke” (Feb. 15) about a not-so-funny editorial piece on rape at Central Connecticut State University, I wanted to let you know you don’t have to go that far away to find inappropriate humor. Just turn on IUSTV (or be forced to watch it while waiting for movies to come on Hoosier Cinema on one of the televisions stationed around campus). Tasteless jokes and vague attempts at humor abound on shows such as “F’N Democracy.” I don’t think they’ve tried to be humourous about rape victims, but they have covered victims of molestation. Other topics that are fair game include jokes about people selling their family to play the stock market, making enough money to own slaves and things being “blacker than Flava Flav.” You really should force yourself to watch an episode sometime. I’m sure you’ll find it to be equally lowbrow and to be the bane of those forced to watch it.

WEEKEND gears you up for Hollywood's big night with its OSCAR PREDICTIONS

By weekend staff and Matt Mattucci · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Who will win and who should win? WEEKEND is here to tell you.

Hess column fails to notice poor straight relationships

By Aparna Venkatraman and Christine McGinley · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

In response to Abram Hess’ “Fathers and mothers” (Feb. 1), I can tell you that I, along with my two siblings, am the proud child of my two fathers: one biological and the other not. They are, in my mind, equal to one another in terms of the meaning of “father.” I do not know what bad things you think may occur toward a child of gay parents, but let me tell you this: I am a happy, well-adjusted graduate student here at IU, and I can say basically the same about both of my siblings. We all three adore our dads, and within their household we were brought up in a loving and caring environment that focused on family togetherness. If you were, in fact, to look for any problems in my past they would be the product of my birth mother’s second husband and his abuse, and my birth mother’s third husband and his suicide. These heterosexual relationships have caused much turmoil in my life, and the one place I had to run was the loving home of my two fathers. I have in fact started a group on Facebook for children of gays and lesbians in support of gay rights. Many people within this forum can give you a similar account.

Another master class from the master

By John Barnett , Abdullah AlShihri and Brian Murphy · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Based on the 2002 Hong Kong cops n' robbers caper, "Infernal Affairs," Martin Scorsese's taut, unnerving "The Departed" is not only his best work since "Goodfellas" (count me among the hundreds to toss off that little nugget), it's the best American film in years. On the surface, there's the story of two men living their lives undercover -- one in the Boston mob and another in the city's police department. Dig even half an inch deeper, though, and it's a parable of modern manhood rooted firmly in the haywire society in which we live. Transcending the source material with an assurance and level of craftsmanship rarely gifted to audiences, Scorsese, screenwriter William Monahan and an impressive stable of actors create a film that, despite an overly symbolic parting shot, is as near to perfection as modern cinema gets.

Asian Culture Center program responds to instances of harassment

By Natalie Avon · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

A group of female students waits on the curb for a campus bus to pick them up. A car drives past and the passengers yell embarrassing and demeaning remarks at the women. Before they have a chance to respond and refute “How much do you ladies cost?,” the car is long gone, as is the group’s hope of an explanation. The women are Asian and therefore prime targets of ridicule and degradation that many minority students face.

Smoking crack in the girls bathroom

By Chris Wisner · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

When Oscar nominations were handed out a few weeks ago, I was surprised to see Ryan Gosling come out with a nomination for "Half Nelson," a film many friends had praised and recommended to me but I'd still not seen. Thankfully, the DVD release fixed all that. Gosling is junior high teacher Dan Dunne, a man with his own methods of teaching history outside the school's policies and when outside of the school, faces a mean addiction to cocaine. When Dunne finally decides to hit the crack pipe in the bathroom of the girl's basketball team he coaches, one of his players, Drey (Shareeka Epps), misses her ride home and just happens to find Dunne strung-out in the stall. From that day on, the line between teacher and student are blurred by this no-longer-secret addiction Dunne has been hiding for who knows how long.

Darker side of Dow

By Aparna Venkatraman · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Browsing through the pages of the Kelley school Web site, the conference on energy and environment evoked my interest and I was shocked to see that the panel of distinguished speakers included a person from Dow chemicals. I am sure that people at IU (thanks to protests by the Association for India’s Development) know about the “dark side” of Dow and all the trouble they have caused at places like Michigan, Vietnam and India. I strongly feel that a company with such utter disregard for the environment has no role to play in a conference that would discuss the possibilities of a healthy future! Also, the school should ensure that they do a thorough background check on the company before inviting them to conferences/career fairs etc. Let the credibility and reputation of the school not get affected due to association with companies with a tainted past!

Habitat for Humanity relocates downtown

By Alberto D. Morales · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County is renovating the Campbell House, 213 E. Kirkwood Ave., to be used as its new relocated offices. First Christian Church is leasing the Campbell House next door.

Lennon doc goes beyond the music

By Zack Teibloom and Abdullah AlShihri · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

I really wish John was still alive. Not only because he's one of the best songwriters of all time but also for all the love and peace he would be spreading in the world. After acing the Beatles class, watching the seven-disc Beatles anthology and reading a Lennon biography, I thought I knew the full story of John's life, but I learned lots of new information from this well-put together documentary that puts music on the backburner and focuses on his drive for peace in the '70s. A quote from Yoko on the back of the DVD reads, "Of all the documentaries that have been made about John, this is the one he would have loved." She's right. The documentary focuses on the part of John's life that he was most proud of: his post-Beatles years, where he spent his time obsessed with Yoko and writing protest songs for peace.

Gore’s invitation a step backward in diversity

By Aparna Venkatraman and David White · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

The past few years’ students on the IU Union Board have worked hard to bring political diversity to campus. 2006 saw Ann Coulter and 2005 brought Gen. Wesley Clark, David Horowitz and Al Sharpton. However, this year diversity at IU may be in jeopardy.

No 'Letdown' from Swift

By Craig Shank and Whitney Biber · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Bloomington's own Secretly Canadian has released yet another gem. Having found countless needles in the haystack of the vast musical landscape, the label has managed to procure a collection of artists who are capable of piercing your perceptions and altering the way you understand music. Richard Swift's latest effort, Dressed up for the Letdown, is the label's latest release that is destined to make its way from 2nd Street and into your iPod.

ARTiFACT

Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

What: Virgin Adoring the Christ Child with Infant John the Baptist, circa 1475-1500 Lippi-Pesellino Follower

Premiere documentary festival coming to Mathers Museum

By Katie Ingmire · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Widely considered the foremost anthropologist of the 20th century, Margaret Mead devoted her life to studying culture and its interaction with personality. Now, with the Margaret Mead Traveling Film and Video Festival, her commitment to cultural anthropology is coming to Bloomington.

Education about transgender issues necessary at IU

By Aparna Venkatraman and Kim Ruggles · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

As someone who is in the GLBT community and has been active in OUT GLBT Student Union throughout my college career, one of the issues I advocate the most is the inclusion of transgender people, issues and stories into the GLBT community. This has been a much lengthier battle than most would realize, because there are very few people who are properly educated on the transgender community. Such people include Dave Dawson, who last week wrote a letter to the editor against gender-neutral bathrooms (“Gender-neutral bathrooms serve little purpose,” Jordan River Forum, Feb. 15).

'Rider' gets the whip

By Chris Wisner , Jacob Stewart and Jake Stewart · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Growing up reading comic books, almost every kid loved Ghost Rider. How could you not find a man who became a fiery skeleton at night, rode a badass chopper and used a chain whip to fight the evil servants of the devil to be the coolest thing ever? The trailer to "Ghost Rider" said it all to me: Another of one my favorite comic book heroes just got pissed on. Good job writer/director Mark Steven Johnson! First you make "Daredevil" into an utter piece of crap, so why not ruin yet another Marvel property by completely bastardizing it -- filling it with shitty one-liners and enough God-awful CG that it makes those commercials you see on television for community colleges that offer computer design degrees look like WETA renderings for "The Lord of the Rings" films?

The cast of “The OC” looks into the future in hopes of finding more work.

R.I.P. OC

By Eamonn Brennan and Michael Mellini · Thursday, Feb. 22,2007 12 a.m.

Tonight I will be doing something I didn't expect would happen for several years to come. It will be the last time I get to sit down with Seth, Ryan, Summer, Marissa, Taylor and the rest of the Newport residents of "The OC." Do you have your Death Cab For Cutie playing in the background? OK, we can begin the farewell. Let's think back 3 1/2 short years ago to the summer of 2003. Nick and Jessica were still together, Ashton Kutcher was still cool, and in the far off magical land of Chino, (cue gritty cinematography) 16-year-old Ryan Atwood was stealing his first car. Yes, it was this illegal act that brought our mute rebel to the home of his affluent defense attorney Sandy Cohen. And it was this crime that started one of the best series of the past few years (hey, don't laugh). The show was an instant success thanks to its appeal as both a fun, trashy soap opera but one that was smart enough to make you feel guilty for watching it. Ahh, the irony of Seth, the sarcasm of Sandy, the many husbands of Julie Cooper.