Region

Art, music and horse-racing

By Kelly Phillips · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:49 p.m.

If the need for a change of location has you pulling out your dusty, poorly folded road maps to search for a new place to explore, then a road trip to Louisville, Ky., can provide a stimulating alternative to the familiarity of Bloomington. Barely an hour and a half away, Louisville is home to hundreds of attractions as well as a wide range of theatrical performances.

Book on squirrels "really super"

By Joe Grace · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:45 p.m.

I saw a squirrel the other day. It made me happy to see it. I chirped in hopes it would come say hello. It did! I think it thought I had a peanut. But I didn't. So it scampered away. And I was sad.

Play portrays failings of activism chic

Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:41 p.m.

Slow Boat to China" is about stereotypes, the intricacies of love and people trying to be accepted. A cultured activist white girl meets a free-spirited black artist from the streets. She falls in love with him, he with her... but not really.

'Forest Tales' full of food, stories

By Jacquelyn Janowski · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:39 p.m.

The daily lives of those who live in the Amazon basin are being explored by the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, located at 416 N. Indiana Ave. "Forest Farmers of the Amazon Estuary," a temporary exhibit, was installed recently in the museum. It will be at IU for at least another three years, giving everybody ample time to see the new exhibit, which celebrates the daily lives of the farmers who live in this exotic locale.

Getting the run around

Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:34 p.m.

The Herald Times ran a peculiar article June 15. An IU student was dropped off at home after a night of drinking and partying and woke up to find her male acquaintance raping her. She insisted he stop, but he didn't. After he was gone, she called the Bloomington Police Department and he was arrested within a few hours. He admitted to the crime -- in a videotaped confession -- and a short time later, the Office of the Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann dismissed the case, citing a lack of evidence.

Rain makes banner year for strawberries

Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:33 p.m.

Strawberry growers in northern Indiana say this year has been one of the best for berries.

Indiana soldier killed by sniper in Iraq

Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:32 p.m.

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- A U.S. soldier from Indiana who was killed by a sniper while patrolling in Baghdad was fulfilling his lifelong dream to serve in the military, his family said Tuesday.

Too much of a good thing drowns farm fields

Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:30 p.m.

An overabundance of spring rain has drowned the hopes of many southern Indiana farmers for a good crop year. Mike Thomas has planted corn on just 58 of the 300 acres he farms outside Evansville. He's left most of his fields fallow, though still hopes to plant soybeans this month if the weather cooperates and the soil dries. Low spots on his farm have standing water.

Bookstores gear up for fifth Harry Potter book

By Lindsay Kaplan · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:29 p.m.

Hogwarts and wizards and frogs, oh my! It is no surprise that the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth and latest edition in the Harry Potter series, will be a celebratory occasion for many adoring fans.

Gilliam's truly 'Lost in La Mancha'

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:19 p.m.

Perry Gilliam is a director of immense skill. Churning out works of sheer brilliance ("Brazil," "The Fisher King" and "12 Monkeys"), or at the very least flawed yet fascinating filmmaking i.e. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" -- the man's a master (albeit a strange one) of his field. That's part of what's so disheartening about "Lost in La Mancha," the documentary chronicling the rise and fall of Gilliam's Don Quixote-themed dream project.

'Go Wild' someplace else

By -Paul Straw · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:18 p.m.

While some may wonder why "Rugrats Go Wild" was made, one must look at the roots. The movie is a combination of both "Rugrats" and "The Wild Thornberry's," which have each had their own movies prior. "Rugrats" actually has two, which have made money. "The Wild Thornberry's" movie was even nominated for a Best Song Oscar.

Festival tours too bloated

By -Val Tsoutsouris · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:18 p.m.

I cannot believe it, but I have something nice to say about the Aerosmith-Kiss tour taking place later this summer.

Choose wisely, grasshopper

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:17 p.m.

Life is about choices. Life is about decisions. Life is about selecting our preferences, about identifying our preferences, about defining our opinions.

Even the ten-year-olds didn't laugh

By Jessica Halverson · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:17 p.m.

I'm sorry if you saw this movie. In fact, I apologize to my younger brother, who I convinced to accompany me. I apologize on behalf of Kerasotes for bringing this dumbfest to town. I apologize to the two ten-year-old boys and their fathers -- the only others at the showing I went to.

'Thief' purebred Radiohead

By by Isaac Edwards and Isaac Edwards · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:17 p.m.

When the beautiful people breed, their offspring are either endowed with an otherworldly genetic code of perfection, inheriting all of the best qualities, or they become Frank Stallone. With its sixth studio album officially out, Hail to the Thief is purebred Radiohead and a swaggering culmination of the band's best features. The Oxford-based rockers have delivered an album that draws from its critically acclaimed past and leaves us wondering where it'll go next.

'Talk to Her' takes the big sleep

By Brian Eliott Johnson · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:16 p.m.

"Talk to Her," Pedro Almodóvar's latest Spanish flick, explores the lives and emotional turbulence of two men, whose respective love interests are in a coma. While acted and directed well, the actual plot of the film is about as interesting as their brain-dead women.

Cop flick guilty of mediocrity

By Michelle Ruth · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:16 p.m.

This is another action flick for Harrison Ford, and yet it dulls in comparison to his previous works such as "The Fugitive" or the "Indiana Jones" series. "Hollywood Homicide" attempts to deviate from the usual suspenseful action film by being an action comedy that delves more into the personal lives of two detectives. But it ends up being less than suspenseful and lacking in focus due to an overload of subplots.

'Old School' goes new school on DVD

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:16 p.m.

"Old School" desperately wants to be "National Lampoon's Animal House," and it will go to any lengths to elicit a full-on, piss-your-pants laugh attack to prove it. Rightfully, it was a big hit in theaters. With a new unrated DVD, it's that much better. Well mostly, viewers are "treated" to additional helpings of Will Ferrell's bare ass.

Folking with the electronic formula in 'Rounds'

By Mia Partlow · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:13 p.m.

Four Tet's Rounds, the brainchild of Fridge musician Kieran Hebden, isn't just any electronic record. He has inspired the genre of trip hop, previously explored by only a few musicians (Portishead for one), to expand its boundaries. Warp Records is home to many talented electronic musicians who are freeing themselves from techno and house music with avant-garde electronica, Autechre and Aphex Twin being Four Tet's most illustrious label mates.

Metheny leaves them wanting less

By Seth Forster · Wednesday, June 18,2003 8:12 p.m.

Yet another argument for bringing back vinyl would be that few people, even the geniuses, aren't as interesting to the rest of the world as they are to themselves. Records rarely exceeded 45 minutes because they physically couldn't (according to RIAA standards).