Longform

'Drake' breaks hearts, opens minds

By -Kehla West · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

"Vera Drake" ostensibly tells the story of a London woman who "helps out young girls" in the 1950s. (That translates to "back-alley abortions" for the euphemistically challenged.) But the true story, the one that sticks, is of a poor family struggling in post-war London. They work hard, they fall in love slowly and they always, no matter what, try to do the right thing. And Vera herself teaches us that whatever the matter, there's no problem so insurmountable that it can't be fixed with a nice cup of tea and a word of comfort. This is a quiet little movie, but it speaks loudly.

Syndicating 'The Sopranos' to help TV

By Tony Sams · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

The three questions that zipped through my mind when I heard that A&E -- the basic cable channel most widely known for its somniferous series "Biography" -- had acquired HBO's hit mob drama "The Sopranos," were: 1) When will it start? 2) How much did they pay? And 3) Is it going to be shown unedited?

Escaping into the '90s

By Karen Green · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

Let me start this by saying that I truly love the '90s. When the first installment of the series, appropriately titled "I Love the '90s," premiered on VH1 last summer, I ate it up. Through the extensive reruns aired daily, I'm pretty sure I prematurely reminisced about every year in the glorious decade with the well selected panel of comedians.

Comic Relief

By Tristan Mathews · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

Over the past half-decade the popular masses have discovered that comic books are not exclusively for kids. There has been a general misunderstanding that this is a change from years past, but comics' main audience has always been more adult in nature.

Peels offer up a refined debut

By Mike Ley · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

Rock 'n' roll came back with the Strokes and has been stuck in a Stooges rut ever since. This is only acceptable since I can't have that signature Ron Asheton crunch outside of their catalog. Meanwhile, new rock bands have been keeping the hipsters happy with repetitive riffs and slurred speech. In picking up this record, the Peels looked like another '70s throwback, but it turns out that's not all they've been listening to.

File Photo
The team enters the field to touch the rock during a home football game.

Smith gets 'Jiggy With It' in romantic comedy

By Sean Abbott · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

The funny thing about love is how different people like to experience it. Some people want it to happen fast, and others try to make it slow way down. Still other poor souls don't know how they like it, and by the time they've discovered their strategy isn't working, it's too late to fix the problem.

'Seventeen Days' not enough to write album

By John Barnett · Thursday, Feb. 17,2005 12 a.m.

With three hit songs and multiple music award nominations under their belt thanks to their last two radio-friendly LPs, Escatawpa, Miss. quartet 3 Doors Down continues to record rock for the working man on their latest release, Seventeen Days; an album as pedestrian as it is superficially earnest.

Educators ditching chalkboards for mousepads

By Jessica Levco · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:58 p.m.

When Professor Kalynn Brower teaches in the Telecommunications building, her classroom is equipped with a projector, Internet access, an audio system and a DVD and VHS player. Though she has faced technology problems before, the only thing she's worried about this semester is tripping over a wire.

Forecasting 'personal security'

By Scott Shackelford and Scott Shackleford · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:54 p.m.

If a meteorologist said it would snow Feb. 17, 2052, would you put on your winter jacket today just in case?

Around the state

Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:39 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A bill that would mandate that all of Indiana observe daylight-saving time advanced to the full House on a party-line committee vote Wednesday, but some Republican supporters said Democrats were making it a partisan issue and could kill its chances of clearing that chamber.

Budget deficit could afford Hoosier cigarette tax increase

By Alyson Brodsy and Mike Smith · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:36 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Republican leader of the state Senate said Wednesday that an increase in cigarette taxes is an option lawmakers could turn to this session in trying to erase the state's deficit and pass a balanced budget.

IT fair helps students with computer woes

By Megan George · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:31 p.m.

Bold signs and bright balloons attracted students and faculty Wednesday to browse the Indiana Memorial Union's Frangipani Room for University Information Technology Services' fifth annual Making IT Happen! event.

Visions Of Hardcore's Future

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:30 p.m.

Orange County's Eighteen Visions is no stranger to the hardcore scene; in fact, they've been working hard for almost a decade. Eighteen Visions is a band whose members have never been afraid to be themselves and it shows in their music and image.

Business in brief

Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:19 p.m.

CHICAGO -- A bankruptcy judge approved a deal Tuesday, dramatically reducing how much of O'Hare International Airport's debt United Airlines must pay.

Possible increase in interest rates looming

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:17 p.m.

NEW YORK -- Stocks staggered to a mixed finish Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a congressional committee the economy is strong, a sign that the central bank is likely to continue raising interest rates.

Cut me some slack

By Alyson Brodsy and Joanna Borns · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:06 p.m.

The act of "slacking" is generally done by the species Lazy-us Slackimus, otherwise known as the "slacker." In the past, slacking was viewed as a noble lifestyle where the slacker lived at home in his parents' basement.

Blueprint for democracy

By Alyson Brodsy and Charlie Szrom · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:05 p.m.

If you try to enter the Radio Free Europe building in central Prague without official business, the guard posted outside will turn you away. Cement roadblocks surrounding the facility emphasize the work being done inside needs protection.

My funny VAL-EN-TINE

By Alyson Brodsy and Colin Dugdale · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:04 p.m.

Valentine's Day, like venereal diseases, Vin Diesel and various other VD-initialed words, makes me irrationally angry.

Thinking's OK, but don't talk

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 11:03 p.m.

Lawmakers should be concerned with giving Indiana students the finest education possible, and the "Academic Bill of Rights," House Bill 1531 in the Indiana General Assembly, does reinforce basic principles of a sound education. But details in the bill worry us that the legislature is overstepping its bounds by dictating what is and is not acceptable in the classroom.

Secret ballot could reveal new Iraq PM

By Alyson Brodsy and Maggie Michael · Wednesday, Feb. 16,2005 10:58 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Leaders of the Shiite political alliance that won Iraq's election failed to agree on a single nominee for prime minister Wednesday, with the two candidates insisting on a vote by the alliance's 140 parliamentarians, officials said.