IUSA

Arson suspect in deadly California wildfire denies setting blaze, gives reason for being caught at site

By Alyson Brodsy and Gillian Flaccus · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:17 a.m.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- The suspect in a massive arson wildfire that killed five firefighters told prosecutors he drove to a spot near where it started on the night it was set to watch the flames, according to a police report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. Raymond Lee Oyler, 36, denied having anything to do with the crime when he spoke to investigators Oct. 27, the day after the fire began. He told investigators he had been gambling at the Morongo Indian Casino & Spa and then stopped at a Shell gas station before "traveling toward the Esperanza fire to watch it," according to the document that summarizes Oyler's interviews with police.

The Hoosiers' hearts beat on

By Alyson Brodsy and Jonathan Hines · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:08 a.m.

Facing a penalty kick in the first half of IU's first-round NCAA Tournament game Wednesday night, IU sophomore goalkeeper Chay Cain was shivering in the box, but not because of the pressure.

Hoosiers defeat Valpo 85-51, move to 3-0

By Lee Hurwitz · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:07 a.m.

Coming off an upset win against then-No. 15 Kentucky, the IU women's basketball team extended its record to 3-0 with an 85-51 win against Valparaiso University Wednesday.

Brand: NCAA's purpose is educational, deserves tax-exempt status

By Alyson Brodsy and Associated Press · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:06 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- NCAA President Myles Brand aggressively defended the organization's tax-exempt status in a 25-page letter to Congress, arguing the primary goal of the NCAA is education. Brand pointed to recent academic reforms that increased eligibility standards and studies showing the average SAT scores of athletes are higher than those of the general student body as examples that the NCAA is committed first to educating athletes.

IU advances in NCAA Tournament

By Michael Sanserino · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:03 a.m.

On a rain-soaked, mud-covered playing field, the IU men's soccer team slugged its way to a fourth-consecutive shutout Wednesday night and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Courbet exhibit in Maryland spotlights painter's innovations

By Alyson Brodsy and Ben Nuckols · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:02 a.m.

BALTIMORE -- When Gustave Courbet painted "The Stream of the Puits Noir," or black well, he emphasized the noir. The picture is drenched in black to the point of near-abstraction. It offers a primordial view of nature, yet it's more seductive than foreboding. "Courbet and the Modern Landscape," an exhibition on display at the Walters Art Museum, makes the case for Courbet (1819-1877) as a radical. Best known for his realist, figural pictures such as "Burial at Ornans," Courbet churned out countless landscapes in his late career, but many of them were painted by assistants with only a brief touchup by the master.

Famed conductor will join Jacobs faculty in fall 2007

By Eric Anderson · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12:02 a.m.

The IU Jacobs School of Music recently confirmed the appointment of renowned conductor Leonard Slatkin to the School of Music faculty, continuing its long tradition of attracting the music world's greatest talent to teach its students. Though the announcement was made last month, the excitement has yet to die down. "We're overjoyed," conducting professor David Effron said. "He's done so much for American repertoire, and he's a terrific teacher."

In it for kicks

By Rorye O'Connor and Rorye O'Conner · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

Iuri Santos pulled back his long dreadlocks and wordlessly chose a partner from the row of performers playing a lively beat on several instruments. He silently delegated the switching of instruments from the chosen opponent to another member still playing music, then, along with his partner, knelt in front of the others and performed a set of synchronized prayer-like movements. Santos and his partner faced each other and touched palms before breaking away and beginning their competition.

Nerds, crosswords and an IU grad

By C. Warner Sills and Jake Brown · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

If you're looking for an exciting way to spend a weekend night, I suggest watching a documentary about crossword puzzles. Seriously. Directed by Patrick Creadon, "Wordplay" is a behind-the-scenes look at the masterminds of The New York Times' crossword puzzle and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Creadon does the best thing he can to actually make this movie interesting: He tells the stories of the people involved. Creadon focuses on the editor of the Times crossword Will Shortz, who is originally from Crawfordsville, Ind. and graduated from IU with a degree in enigmatology (the study of puzzles).

'Queen' of the castle

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

When Princess Diana was fatally killed in a car accident in 1997, I was an eighth grader. It was a time when I was young and had more important things on my mind -- I really didn't know much about her at all. After seeing "The Queen," I felt as if I was given a most rewarding history lesson.

Tower of Iñárritu

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

As the story goes in the Bible, long ago all people spoke the same language and lived in a giant tower that pushed toward the Heavens. God, who feared what his own creations might accomplish -- and seeking to punish mankind for its blind ambition -- struck down the structure and made everyone speak different languages so they would be unable to communicate with one another.

It ain't much, but we call it 'Thanksgiving'

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Zennie · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

Cooking Thanksgiving dinner is a daunting prospect. Most of my friends' mothers didn't even attempt to on Thanksgiving. Their families packed their things, drove over the hills and through the woods to grandmother's house and let her do all the work. This has left me to wonder if when this generation of grandmothers dies, Thanksgiving dinner as we know it will fade away, only to be replaced by TV dinners and Hamburger Helper. My mother, who began her day in the kitchen at 9 a.m. and didn't end it until the last dish was on the table at 5 p.m., quite literally waged war against the meal. Between balancing squash, corn, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sherbet, pumpkin pie, two kinds of stuffing, gravy and of course the damned turkey, she looked physically drained by the time the family sat down to dinner. At the annual Thanksgiving get-together of Indiana Daily Student staffers, the job of cooking the turkey always falls, to much complaining and protest, on the most mature and oldest staffers, in the hopes that along with the ability to hold their tongues and manage their time well, these people have also somehow picked up the ability to effectively cook a 25-pound monstrosity of a turkey in a dinky college apartment oven.

Protest music for a new era

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

In the years since the invasion of Iraq, critics have occasionally complained about the dearth of protest music today. But it's out there -- it just doesn't sell well or get much mainstream airplay (you can decide which leads to which). And after digging around a little, you'll find modern music that could easily hold its own against what your boomer parents listened to -- including the two albums by The Evens.

An unfitting legacy for the late ODB

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Green · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

This posthumous release tactic seems oddly familiar...does the name 2-Pac ring a bell? Ol' Dirty Bastard, the spastic but loveable member of the world-famous Wu-Tang Clan, has a new record out, two years after his untimely death in the Wu-Tang studio. This is the third proper release from Dirty, and unfortunately, by far his weakest effort.

Make the 'Pain' stop

By C. Warner Sills and Dan Hopmann · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

I hope Keith Urban cracks open a fortune cookie soon and reads the following message: "Give up on your music, and just be happy with your lovely wife." Nicole Kidman could undoubtedly support her husband if he decided to call it quits. My wish won't come true, though, which is a travesty; Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing digs Urban deeper into the hole that is his career.

Nothing new about this race

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Freiberg · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

Let me start my review of "Need for Speed Carbon" by saying there is nothing particularly bad about it. Yes, the FMV cutscenes are ridiculously cheesy and completely unnecessary, but they're also easily skipped over and don't really get in the way of things. The tuning and street racing is solid, but that is also my biggest complaint: There's very little difference between the racing in this game and that of "Need for Speed Underground" which came out three years ago.

Pixar pulls off another winner

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

There's something about "Cars" that I just can't put my finger on. It has nowhere near as an original concept as some past Pixar films. The story's nothing new; a hot shot egocentric rookie learns the errors of his ways through small town values and the guidance of a crotchety old wise-man, who used to be a hot shot egocentric rookie himself. The humor isn't quite as razor sharp. Yet "Cars" is so pleasant and at ease with itself, it's just as enjoyable as its Pixar siblings.

America's greatest rock 'n' roll band

By C. Warner Sills and Dan Hopmann · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

Throughout an epic career, people have labeled The Rolling Stones "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band" or to a lesser extent "England's Greatest Rock and Roll Band." Indeed, Mick and the boys have proven themselves time and again by outlasting their peers for the last four decades. And they don't show any signs of weakness from indulging in the rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

Scott/Crowe melodrama slightly overripe

By C. Warner Sills and John Barnett · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe's second project together has none of the same energy or vitality of their last project, "Gladiator," and the pair's upcoming "American Gangster" looks to pack serious heat. For now, though, we have a relatively lighthearted melodrama in "A Good Year," a movie with a concept worthy of a Lifetime Original, but with a unique performance by Crowe that nearly transcends the simple, standard formula.

Pucker up

By C. Warner Sills and Amanda Lowry · Thursday, Nov. 16,2006 12 a.m.

The Electric Kiss. The Music Kiss. The Perfume Kiss. The Underwater Kiss. The Prostitute and Customer Kiss. Michael Christian has done them all. Now he wants to kiss and tell. Christian, who is giving a presentation on kissing at 7 p.m. today in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union, is a full-time writer and speaker on the topic of kissing. He has authored several books on the subject, including "The Art of Kissing," which has been published in 19 countries and 17 languages, according to his Web site, www.kissing.com.