IUSA

Records: Behrman jury drank while off-duty

By Sarah Core · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 10:03 p.m.

Wednesday the Morgan Superior Court released transcripts from the final day of the John R. Myers II trial. The transcripts outlined a detailed question and answer session with jurors and security officers about their after-hours activities. The records showed that defense attorney Patrick Baker called for a mistrial after hearing the jurors' answers, but Judge Christopher Burnham denied the request. Myers, 31, of Ellettsville, was found guilty for the 2000 murder of IU student Jill Behrman later that day, Oct. 30. His sentencing hearing, during which he could receive 45 to 65 years in prison, is Friday.

Al-Sadr loyalists protest leader's meeting with Bush in Jordan

By Alyson Brodsy and Hamza Hendawi · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 10 p.m.

Lawmakers and Cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr suspended participation in parliament and the government Wednesday to protest Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's planned meeting with President George W. Bush. The leaders had been scheduled to hold talks in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday, but the session was abruptly postponed a day shortly after Bush arrived. A statement from the 30 lawmakers and six Cabinet ministers said the meeting constituted a "provocation to the feelings of the Iraqi people and a violation of their constitutional rights." The statement did not explain that claim.

Authorities find traces of radiation on 2 British Airways jets in London

By Alyson Brodsy and Tariq Panja · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 9:59 p.m.

Authorities found traces of radiation on two British Airways jets, and the airline appealed Wednesday to tens of thousands of passengers who flew the aircraft to or from Moscow to come forward as investigators widened the search for clues into the poisoning death of a former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. The airline said the "risk to public health is low," adding that it was in the process of contacting tens of thousands of passengers who flew on the jets. Two planes at London's Heathrow Airport tested positive for traces of radiation, and a third plane has been taken out of service in Moscow awaiting examination, British Airways said in a statement.

Rock Showdown

By C. Warner Sills and Amanda Lowry · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:09 p.m.

A few years ago, publicizing a concert meant posting a million fliers to telephone poles, getting ads in local newspapers and telling your friends to come via word of mouth. Today, it also means posting MySpace with messages, getting videos on YouTube and spreading the word via E-mail mailing lists. Telecommunications professor Mark Deuze is thrilled about this shift in advertising, and he wants his students to see its potential for innovative marketing strategies.

Kramer v. Kramer:

By C. Warner Sills and Associated Press · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:07 p.m.

Comedian Michael Richards said Sunday he did not consider himself a racist, and that he was "shattered" by the comments he made to two young black men during a tirade at a Los Angeles comedy club. Richards appeared on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio program, "Keep Hope Alive," as part of a series of apologies for the incident. He said he knew his comments hurt the black community, and hoped to meet with the two men. He told Jackson that he had not used the language before.

No observatory? No problem!

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Reschke · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:04 p.m.

The streets were quiet, the parking lots were empty and there was hardly a soul in sight at Kirkwood and Indiana avenues. It was early evening the day before Thanksgiving. Inside the Kirkwood Observatory, IU Astronomy department chairperson Catherine Pilachowski and graduate student Christian Johnson adjusted the 12-inch telescope. Twelve inches refers to the diameter of the telescope that won't be available to the eyes of the public again until spring break 2007. The Kirkwood Observatory will be closed for the winter, but that does not necessarily mean you are cut off from the heavens for the rest of the season. The skies are always open, and if you know what tools to use and where to go, you can enjoy the universe all winter long.

Love 'Love?' Can you match it?

By C. Warner Sills and Zack Teibloom · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 6:01 p.m.

I've always found "Octopus' Garden" to be a pretty average song. I mean, as far as Abbey Road goes. Then I heard the version on Love. Slowed down and mashed up with "Good Night," all of a sudden, Ringo sounds majestic. And perfect. It's moments like this and the seamless transition from Rubber Soul classics "Drive My Car" to "What You're Doing" to "The Word," all in one track that make this the most important Beatles release in over 30 years. Love is the perfect word for this compilation album. George Martin -- "the fifth Beatle" -- has done it again. It's not a best-of Beatles love songs collection or a re-hash of old songs like the Beatles 1 album. It's a mash-up, similar to what Danger Mouse tried to do when he created the Gray Album, which combined Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album, only ... this one is good. Really good. And who better to take on the imposing task of messing with the master tapes of all-time classic Beatles songs than Martin, with help from his son Giles?

The truth hurts but the film doesn't

By C. Warner Sills and Stuart McWhirter · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:59 p.m.

"An Inconvenient Truth" is one of the scariest films ever made. That said, it's not a slasher movie... it's a documentary. The film takes the viewer through former Vice President Al Gore's slide show on the effects of global warming on Earth. The slide show is inter-spliced with different montages of events in Gore's life that led him to become so adamant about this issue. He also provides examples of his time at college, and a certain professor that introduced the concept of global warming to him, which led to his lifetime commitment to it. He says in the film that he's probably shown slide shows regarding global warming "at least a thousand times."

Popcorn and JC

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:58 p.m.

Perhaps the best thing about going into the theater to see "The Da Vinci Code" this past May was the fact that I had never read the novel. I simply couldn't buy into the hype; a book that was seemingly being read by one out of every five people, and an even scarier ratio, that one of out of every 50 probably thought the damn thing was real, despite its place on fiction shelves in bookstores worldwide. I also knew walking into the film that I just wanted to be entertained and have some fun, the likes of which can be provided by the "Indiana Jones" series.

So...pretty good

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:56 p.m.

Perhaps it's due to the extensive marketing for their (supposedly disappointing) compilation, Stop The Clocks, but with every listen to ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead's So Divided, I can't help but think of Oasis. It's not that the two sound similar per se. Rather, with So Divided, Trail Of Dead seem to have taken Oasis' road to success (for better or worse): forget originality, artistic merit or profound lyrics; just crank out visceral, well-crafted, satisfying rock that the listeners will like. Thus, before purchasing So Divided, you should consider where you fall in this dichotomy (don't worry -- there's no right answer).

Rice delivers masterpiece in sophomore album

By C. Warner Sills and Patrick Hurley · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:54 p.m.

Like many music fans, I was curious to check out Damien Rice's debut, O, back in 2003, having heard some good things about it. After giving Rice a chance and understanding what type of music he is attempting to create, I liked what I was hearing.

The 'Doctor' is in

By Eamonn Brennan · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:52 p.m.

On 2005's The Documentary, The Game became known for a few simple things: (1), a fantastic understanding of what made a rap song viscerally enjoyable; (2), the backing of OG Dr. Dre and New G 50 Cent, and (3), a tireless desire to name-drop anybody and everybody related to the rap game. Those combinations made The Documentary listenable, but not legendary; The Game, even in his first album, seemed far too comfortable in the clutches of Dre and 50 to produce anything serious or exciting. It was an entire album of by-the-numbers gangsta rap in desperate need of rebellion.

A king's reign ends with a whimper

By C. Warner Sills and Josh Millrod · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:50 p.m.

Jay-Z is the Michael Jordan of rap. After a long reign on top, Michael Jordan retired, tried his hand at playing baseball and being an executive and returned, slightly shamed and not quite as skilled to the game. After Def-Jam's crushing failure with Rick Ross' ill-conceived "Port of Miami," Jay-Z, the self-proclaimed MJ of rap, was forced out of retirement and Kingdom Come is his slightly shamed, not-quite-cutting-it attempt to breathe life into his talent-starved record label.

'Happy Feet' doesn't foot the bill

By C. Warner Sills and Sean Abbott · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:48 p.m.

I won't lie. I'm a sucker for anything cute. Once a critter's eye-size-to-face ratio reaches a certain point, I'll follow it anywhere, giggling contentedly as I go. I'm like a Catholic schoolgirl. Or I was, until I saw "Happy Feet." Do not be taken in by the lies, my friends. Do not be swept away by the singing and the dancing and the pretty penguins, or even by the Robin Williams, for the sad truth of the matter is that this movie has little going for it besides fancy computer animation and bouncy, flightless waterfowl.

You'll want to give up McDonald's... again

By C. Warner Sills and Michael Mellini · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:45 p.m.

Anyone who swore off fast food after seeing "Super Size Me" two years ago is probably hooked on the stuff once again. Now it's up to "Fast Food Nation" to scare the crap out of us all over again.

New Bond at home in blonde

By C. Warner Sills and Chris Freiberg · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:43 p.m.

When I first saw the trailer for the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale," I was more than a little bit skeptical. The generic action scenes and Chris Cornell theme didn't exactly fill me with confidence. And Bond was blonde. I mean, they could blow $150 million on another Bond movie but somehow couldn't squeeze $10 into the budget for a bottle of black hair dye?

Cinema is the road to awe

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 5:41 p.m.

The critics are divided, people are screaming out words like "pretentious" and "too ambitious," and despite all of this, I think people missed the point of director Darren Aronofsky's third outing, "The Fountain." I am not one of these Aronofsky-philes; those who have seen "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" and continue to shout praises. I enjoyed "Pi" quite thoroughly, and while I recognize the importance of a film such as "Requiem," I cannot ignore the fact that I find much of it grotesque and desire to take a dozen showers after watching it. But in the realm of the aforementioned works, "The Fountain" is a film that completely stands alone with no resemblance to Aronofsky's previous exploits other than his usage of obsession.

Doomed to nostalgia

By Alyson Brodsy and Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 12:47 p.m.

A sizeable chunk of my Thanksgiving break was spent in the family minivan, traveling with my parents to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Columbia, Mo.

Who killed Michael Plume?

By Molly Brush · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

In 1960, a father lost his son. He’s spent the past 46 years searching for answers.

The Web That Binds Us

By Paul Coover · Wednesday, Nov. 29,2006 11 a.m.

Fifty years from now, historians will look back on the ’90s as the dawning of the Internet era – a period that shaped the future in every way imaginable. That same stretch of time just happens to be our childhood. We are the products of the Internet age. But what does that mean? The Internet has grown up right along side us, but how has that shaped who we are? Sure, the Web has changed us – made things easier – but has it all been for the better?