Longform

Kingsley breaks the mold in 'Sexy Beast'

In the opening scene of Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast," Gary (or "Gal"), the movie's ad hoc hero, is almost flattened by a boulder that comes rolling down from the hills surrounding his Spanish villa and into his swimming pool. Understandably jarred by this occurrence, the paunchy retired gangster has no idea that a far more lethal boulder is simultaneously barreling towards him, in the form of Don Logan.

IUPD Blotter

Will you choose freedom?

Imagine an I.V. going from one arm to the other, with some blood spilling out in between, and you have the basics of Social Security. Essentially, you pay taxes your entire life to the government in hopes that at the end of your career the government will give it back to you (or transfer blood from one arm to another). Unfortunately, as the government holds on to this massive amount of cash, we actually lose out on money because of inflation and missed opportunities to invest (blood spillage in between).

Olympic outcry

The International Olympic Committee announced July 13 that the 2008 Olympic Games would be held in Beijing. Thousands gathered as Tiananmen Square erupted into celebration following the announcement, which the Chinese government views as an international endorsement of recent reforms. But human rights groups still contend that China has a long way to go on the issue of human rights reform and are unsure whether or not China can uphold the principles of the Olympic Charter. "Considering the escalation in serious and widespread human rights violations over the past three years, the Chinese authorities have a long way to go to demonstrate a healthy and basic respect for human rights," Amnesty International said in a press release. "The Chinese government must prove it is worthy of staging the Games by upholding the Olympic spirit of 'fair play' and extending 'respect for universal, fundamental, ethical principles' to the people of China."

'Madama Butterfly' opens this weekend

"Madama Butterfly" is one of the best known operas today and is performed regularly in opera houses around the world. This classic, which was adapted by Italian maestro Giacomo Puccini from the play of the same name, comes to Bloomington this week as part of the Summer Music Festival. The performances will take place on July 28, 29, Aug. 3 and 4. The orchestra will be conducted by Imre Palló and directed by Mark Clark.

It's all in the crust

I have come to believe that any good home cook should know how to make a pie crust. I am a fool for anything wrapped in pie crust and view it as the little black dress of the culinary world: It serves well at breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack-time, and all manner of special occasions dishes. You can fill it with silky custard or savory quiche, pile it high with summer fruit, cut and press it into tiny appetizer tart molds, or fold it over and pinch it closed around spicy meat fillings. Once mastered, there is nothing in this world as useful or satisfying. Of course you can always buy a frozen or refrigerated pie crust, or add water to a mix to cut corners. All are fine in a pinch, but none can compare to the real thing. Homemade pie crust is worth the effort. Best of all, its flaky, delicate, melt-in-your-mouth goodness is composed of almost nothing at all. Everything it is made of is commonly found around the kitchen.

County hires planning department director

A planner from Michigan has accepted the position of director at the Monroe County Planning Department, which has been vacant for 15 months. The directorship has been plagued by high turnover in the past few years. Robert Cowell, who's been working in the private sector, will officially start work Aug. 6. Former plan director Leo Sims left for a higher-paying private job in May last year. Since then, Chief Deputy Planner Mary Myers Ogle and Planner Gregg Zody have taken turns filling in.

Yeagley: More than 25 years of success

Every single freshman class in the 28 years of the IU men's soccer team has been to the Final Four. Five times the Hoosiers have come back to Bloomington with the national title. Since the soccer program began, IU has played more than 600 games, winning 85 percent of them. It's all happened with head coach Jerry Yeagley patrolling the sidelines. Yeagley sat down for an interview to talk about the past success of the Hoosiers and the success he feels is to come. But he said it all starts with the right attitude.

Singing the song of quality

As a high school senior, Nora Colwell was lured to IU by the prestige of the School of Music. Colwell, now a senior studying music education, wanted a place where she could receive comprehensive, competitive musical training without sacrificing experience on a large Big Ten campus. She wanted to meet new people, students with interests and majors different from her own. But she wanted personal attention. And Colwell found it within the 1,650-student School of Music, where she said individualized instruction has been instrumental in developing her skills as both performer and teacher. Her drill sections range between 15 and 20 students.

Mills Pool to stay open

The city's parks department put a rest to talk of closing Mills Pool Tuesday. In June, city officials floated the idea of shutting down the westside pool and replacing it with a sprayground facility. But the suggestion rankled many community members and city councilmen, who just approved a $6 million allocation to the parks department in the city's 2002 budget. Many even see it as a class issue. Some have suggested the city would never dream of closing the popular Bryan Park Pool on the wealthy south side of town.

IUPD Blotter

Summer brings needed renovations for some greek houses

With the late 1970's and early 1980's uprising of Hollywood's coverage of college greek life came a certain stereotype of an endless nightlife and an everlasting party. Bluto Blutarski, one of the main characters from "Animal House," could always be found working on a new scam or buried beneath a mountain of empty beer cans. And who could forget Steve Sanders of the Kappa Epsilon Gamma house, who was also portrayed as a party hearty frat guy that hosted some of the best parties "Beverly Hills 90210" had ever seen?

Sabá thrills audience with taste of Central Eurasia

Sabá, a Bloomington based Central Eurasian music group, performed at the Indiana Memorial Union's Whittenberger Auditorium Sunday afternoon. The concert was free and open to the public. The concert, which was co-sponsored by several different departments within the university along with the Echo World Music Institute, was entitled "Breeze of the East."

GLBT a 'safe haven' for students

It stands quietly on Seventh Street, mere feet from the Union, unassuming and modest. To a passersby, it seems like any other administration building. Yet a quick glance at the sign welcoming visitors to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender offices belies that assumption. This is no ordinary campus office. It's a place where men and women can go, regardless of their sexuality, to find a safe haven from the pressures of the University -- and from real life. The group's director, Doug Bauder, has emerged as a priceless resource for countless men and women struggling with their sexuality.

Reparations debate raises bigger issue

I've wanted for a while to hold forth on race relations in America, knowing that it's not a wise thing to do. If there is anything that pushes people's buttons, it's race. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone thinks they're right. As a foreigner (I'm from Jamaica), it took forever for me to understand why. Race, as Americans see it, exists nowhere else in the world. It's a uniquely American concept that color defines character. Most people would say I'm misrepresenting, but I'll clarify. It is not that people of different races don't think there can be nice individuals of other races; it is simply that they believe that people of other races, but most especially blacks and whites, have a very different process going on in their heads from one another.

IRS: Internal Revenue Screw-up

I feared the worst and hoped for the best out of President Bush's tax relief package. With the IRS in charge of distribution, you can't expect much. A study released earlier this year reported that IRS employees spend 51 percent of their online time doing personal business. Even worse, 37 percent of taxpayers didn't get their calls to the IRS answered, and those that got a response were given wrong answers 47 percent of the time. Could they handle the task of carrying out the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001"? An old joke says that things are getting so bad in Washington, D. C. that people are tracing the meaning of "politics" to its Latin roots: Poli is for many, and tics is for blood-sucking parasites.

Malibu Grill offers drinks, food and relaxation

For weeks now I\'ve been using the grill, cooking my own hamburgers, chicken and kabobs and enjoying the nice weather while cooking outdoors. But on a day when my time is filled with going from class to class, getting last-minute homework done and craving a burger, I decided to leave it to the professionals. At Malibu Grill you can sit back, relax and take a break from your running around and enjoy the atmosphere.

'Jurassic Park 3' lots of hype, not much else

When the summer is about to begin, I always have a few movies in mind that must be seen in the theaters, no questions asked. And, with the summer mostly passed, the time has come and gone for many of those. "Pearl Harbor" and "The Fast and the Furious" have been long gone, seen months before in pure movie-going greatness. And while the always unexpected movie sneaks in the line of must-see summer fare -- "Shrek" comes to mind this summer -- there still remain one or two more that must be seen. The other night, I took care of one of those movies: "Jurassic Park 3."

Alumna gets her shot with Regis

IU alumna Becky Wallihan made her television debut Tuesday night, schmoozing with Regis Philbin as a contestant on the ABC primetime quiz show "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire." And while she didn't walk away a million dollars richer, the 22-year-old Wallihan was awarded $64,000 in cash prizes. She had used all her lifelines by the $64,000 question and quit the game when she declined to answer a question about the book "Naked Lunch."

All fun and no play

First off, Detroit is not a pretty city by any means. I'm sure they have good people and nice attractions, but the last thought in my mind as I drove into the city was, "Boy, this looks like a nice place to raise some kids." The suburbs may be a different story, but my adventure didn't sidetrack out into that part of the city. No, my excursion was simply focused on the new home for the Detroit Tigers -- Comerica Park. On the way to the park my friends and I passed the old Tiger stadium and wondered what might have been visiting that historic park, but we made our way a couple miles north up I-75 to see one of the newest meccas for the national pastime. From the outside of the stadium, it's a beautiful park. The outside design of the stadium is remarkably detailed with concrete Tigers heads with baseballs in their mouths protruding from the walls, and the huge Tigers greeting you as you make your way inside. Once you make it inside the park, you're greeted with a flurry of activity, ranging from hot dog/beer/souvenir vendors and e-mail stations to a carrousel and a Ferris wheel. My friend Matt said this park is a social activity surrounded by a baseball game. He saw this as a positive attribute, but I did not. All of the rides and activities should come secondary to the baseball game, but at Comerica, they forgot that people SHOULD come to see the Tigers play, not the Ferris wheel -- which 50 people got stuck on a few weeks ago, might I add. I guess when your team is so bad, you'll do anything to bring them into the stands.