IUSA

What happened to the dark comedy?

Quake toll expected to rise

GUNUNG SITOLI, Indonesia -- Indonesians searched through smoldering rubble for survivors on Nias island Tuesday and relatives wept over the bodies of the dead after an 8.7-magnitude earthquake hammered the region, triggering a tsunami scare and killing at least 330 people. Some officials said the death toll could rise as high as 2,000.

A 'Congenial' sequel

If you liked the original "Miss Congeniality" and you like Sandra Bullock, you will want to see "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous." On the flip-side, if you hated the first, then chances are you will hate the second. Again, the movie focuses on friendship -- congeniality.

Race relations stacked with schtick

Proud to be an Internet dork

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. This is my first confession. I have only one sin to confess, but it's less socially acceptable than admitting to watching "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour."

'Kagemusha' a moving masterpiece

In 1980 Japanese film-directing legend Akira Kurosawa found himself in a rut. Coming off a successful Academy Award win for his film "Dersu Uzala," Kurosawa was unable to attain financing for his samurai war epic "Kagemusha." After being turned down, Kurosawa began painting storyboards for his film although he felt it would never see the light of day. This all would change, however, once film directors Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas learned of Kurosawa's lack of funding and made the decision to finance the Japanese auteur. This same decision allowed Kurosawa to bring about one of the finest films in his cinematic career.

Around The Campus

Lectures aim to inform students about Islam Awareness As a part of the Muslim Student Union's Islam Awareness Week 2005, lectures will be held to discuss emerging topics of importance as they relate to Islam.

Colleges consider video gaming majors

CHICAGO -- Promising it as a way into the future -- and maybe stoking the worst fears of college parents -- Chicago's Columbia College will decide this spring whether to let students major in video games.

Debut will lead to future 'Employment'

Surfing the new wave of New Wave -- think: Franz Ferdinand and the Killers -- comes Leeds, England-based band the Kaiser Chiefs (named after the South African football club). Cribbing off rock luminaries from the '60s (the Kinks), '70s (the Jam and the Clash), '80s (Adam Ant ... when he still mattered) and '90s (Blur), the Chiefs do chiefly what Kasabian -- the British band whose debut I reviewed last week -- didn't. They've taken their influences and run freely with them.

Moby's 'Hotel' is musically vacant

Moby's newest album didn't change my life. Moby likely didn't change his life recording the two-disc release either. It doesn't deliver mind-altering riffs or weighty lyrics nor redefine Moby as an artist or break any molds. The record does have plenty of Moby's familiar beats and melodies. All of the tracks flow together well and all are pleasing to the ear, and yet none of the songs are terribly innovative and most have an unremarkable feel. This isn't a CD I would listen to if I was looking to find myself through music. Hotel would be great background music for a low-key, intimate party where no one is paying too much attention to the stereo.

'Lullabies' doesn't really 'Paralyze'

It's no secret that Josh Homme, guitarist, singer and songwriter for Queens of the Stone Age, sacked longtime bassist Nick Oliveri last year. As a result, some fans have speculated that the absence of Oliveri would leave the Queens' new album without its essential rock 'n' roll sprit, but Lullabies to Paralyze, the first Queens' album since 2002's Songs for the Deaf, illustrates that those fears are, by and large, unfounded.

Beck back with 'Guero'

While most everyone has a tale of heartbreak, few have articulated it as Beck did on 2002's Sea Change. Presented in breezy acoustic arrangements and worn-out vocals, Beck's look at his breakup with a longtime girlfriend saw the eternally-choirboy-looking recording artist extremely bummed, bringing about such melancholic triumphs of abandonment and failure as "The Golden Age" and "Lost Cause."

Cinema pubs drawing crowds with movies, food, drink

WESTERLY, R.I. -- When Emily Steffian and Daniel Kamil moved from California with thoughts of opening their own movie theater, they wanted to show films that were off the beaten path, but they didn't expect to land there themselves.

Dedication fuels motivation for crew

Adam Carroll and David Mickler grew up across the Ohio River from each other on the border of Indiana and Kentucky. They both came to IU in 2001, and they lived on the same hall in Wright Quad as freshmen.

'The Scarlet Letter' comes alive

Teen arrested in Minnesota shooting

RED LAKE, Minn. -- The chairman of the Red Lake band of Chippewa confirmed Monday that his son was arrested in connection with last week's deadly school shootings but maintained that the teen is innocent.

Iraqi parliament breaks down

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's fledgling parliament failed Tuesday to agree on who would be its speaker, with the interim prime minister and president storming out of the chaotic session that exposed deep divides among the National Assembly's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish members.

Annan cleared in oil-for-food inquiry

NEW YORK -- Investigators of the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq said Tuesday there was not enough evidence to show that Secretary-General Kofi Annan knew of a contract bid by his son's Swiss employer. However, they criticized the U.N. chief for not properly investigating possible conflicts of interest in the matter.

Johnnie Cochran dies at age 67 from brain tumor

LOS ANGELES -- Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., who became a legal superstar after helping clear O.J. Simpson during a sensational murder trial in which he uttered the famous quote, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit," died Tuesday. He was 67.

Around The State

Court rules parents can't sue for death of fetus INDIANAPOLIS -- Parents cannot recover damages in the death of an unborn child under Indiana case law even if the fetus might have been able to survive outside the womb, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.