Longform

Soundtrack both sweet and sour

I don't know Cameron Crowe. Therefore it's hard for me to say a whole lot about him, but I do know that the man sure does know how to direct a movie, and additionally, he knows how to pick songs to assemble one hell of a soundtrack for these movies. Recent examples, such as "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous," simply stand as examples to prove my point. You can add "Vanilla Sky" to this list.

One film to rule them all

If you haven't read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, you'll be furious when you see the movie. Not because you're confused, as many who haven't read the books worry -- but because the movie leaves you in such suspense you're left wondering how you can wait another year for the next movie.

Save this for a boring Friday

In the spirit of Cheech and Chong comes "How High," a new comedy about two stoners who smoke some magical pot before taking their college entrance exams. They ace the tests, earn scholarships to Harvard and proceed to turn the prestigious school upside-down.

Go see a psycho Cameron Diaz

There are some movies that confuse for the sake of surprise. The filmmakers want you to scratch your head and ask yourself, "What the hell is going on?" Well, "Vanilla Sky" will, without a doubt, cause some confusion in the audience's mind throughout the screening.

De La Soul ends set with solid effort

Self-styled and trend defiant, De La Soul continues to maintain diversity in the hip-hop landscape. It's latest album, AOI: Bionix, is the second of three Art Official Intelligence discs. Triple disc sets are ambitious attempts for any group, but by releasing each CD separately, De La Soul lets them have souls of their own.

No more than a decent cover band

Smash Mouth might be destined for the used CD rack, but at least it's putting up a fight. Despite their predictable and often formulaic sound, this album shows they've matured a little along the way. After all, it's not easy rewriting the same song 10 times an album. But at least it's their song and not another faceless band whose sound depends on the rest of the industry.

Recruitment flawed, but necessary

Ground Zero: A new frontier

Retailers feel holiday cheer

Musharraf acts to ease tension with India

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Pervez Musharraf is close to unveiling a "bold and principled" initiative aimed at easing the threat of war with India, U.S. senators said Tuesday.

Bush looks to lower pollution standards

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is considering relaxing clean-air standards for power plants, which environmentalists and Northeastern states strongly oppose and the energy industry favors.

Sharon: Iranian-Palestinian ties threaten Israel

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Iran the "center of world terror" and said Tuesday a recently captured arms shipment showed that Iran and the Palestinians were collaborating to strike at Israel.

U.S. troops capture two al Qaeda fighters

WASHINGTON -- U.S. troops captured two senior al Qaeda fighters and confiscated their computers and cell phones near a huge underground cave complex used by Osama bin Laden\'s terrorist network, the nation\'s top general said Tuesday.

Burmese Gems a rarity

When in Indianapolis, a favorite pastime of mine is to seek out new and exciting culinary experiences around the city that are either very unknown (hole-in-the-wall) or under appreciated. In Bloomington, it is a rare occasion for a new restaurant to open in such a supremely competitive and uniquely varied market.

DiNardo expected to be new football coach

The vacant head football coaching position at IU is expected to be filled by Gerry DiNardo. Sources close to the team indicate that DiNardo will be the person introduced at a press conference at 5:30 p.m. today. After a lengthy waiting period for a decision about a coach, IU had the position narrowed down to four names, including DiNardo.

Free trade improves economy

While most Americans have been watching the War on Terrorism unfold on CNN, Congress has been quietly debating an important piece of trade legislation. The issue at hand is whether to grant President Bush Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). Without question, TPA is essential for the president to eliminate costly barriers to trade that hurt U.S. consumers and stunt economic growth. When Indiana\'s Senators consider the Trade Promotion Authority Act later this year, they should support TPA. Despite the claims of organized labor, agricultural interests and a handful of other producing industries in the U.S.; freer global trade is good for consumers. In the absence of trade restrictions, consumers will have access to a wider variety of products at lower prices. Competition will ensure that firms in trade-sensitive industries will no longer be able to charge high prices for goods that can be produced and sold for less by foreign competitors.

Emeritus leaves legacy

The language science community of IU suffered the loss of a world class scholar, writer, researcher and teacher over winter break. Distinguished professor Emeritus Thomas Sebeok passed away due to undisclosed causes Dec. 21 in his Bloomington home. He was 81 years old.

Beating all the odds

Graduate student Hanna Kolodziejski is not a gambler by nature. But one warm evening last July she went out with her boyfriend to purchase a lottery ticket. As luck would have it, Kolodziejski didn't win the lottery. Today, the tremendous odds against winning the lottery do not seem as unlikely as she had once thought. On that warm night in July, an event that had once seemed just as improbable changed her life forever.

Conserve energy, fight terrorism

Although al Qaeda and the Taliban are not yet finished, the new year suggests that we look ahead to the next "phase" of the war. Speculation is rampant inside the Beltway. Some, conspicuously including Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, argue for dislodging Iraq\'s Saddam Hussein, while others say Somalia should be next. While such action may be necessary at some point, it is clear that the sine qua non of long-term security is the reduction of America\'s gluttonous appetite for oil. The United States (5 percent of the world\'s population) consumes one-quarter of the world\'s oil. Half of America\'s oil diet is imported -- 2.5 million barrels of oil per day from the Persian Gulf alone. To the extent that our need for oil dictates policy, America is held hostage by our need for foreign oil. As long as we are vulnerable to OPEC price spikes and supply disruptions, we shall remain in a weak position in relation to our strange Middle Eastern bedfellows. Liberating ourselves from the grip of oil-rich nations whose people may or may not wish us well means becoming energy independent. To this end, we must develop renewable energies and undertake a rigorous campaign of conservation. This should be the next phase of this war.

IU to take on Michigan St.

John Treloar knows what IU has to do if it hopes to upend Michigan State at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall. About 45 minutes into IU's practice Monday, the assistant coach barked this mind-boggling statistic: Michigan State has out-rebounded its opponent in 115 of its last 122 games. With that, the Hoosiers went to work, blocking out and crashing the glass in preparation for coach Tom Izzo's physical, hard-working Spartans.