Women's Golf

('Phone Booth' -- R)

By Jessica Smith · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

It had potential. "Phone Booth" could have been a good movie, possibly. The basic premise is a snotty, small-time publicist with a big head and basic disrespect for humanity is trapped inside a phone booth by a sniper wanting to either kill him or change his life forever. Kiefer Sutherland plays the "voice" on the phone -- the sniper -- and successfully comes across as a psychopath. Colin Farrell's performance is very intense and he displays his acting chops very well.

'Space-cowboy' pretenders

By Michael Tapscott and Mike Tapscott · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Seriously, so much for the city. These guys sound so sick of the California stock that they feel the need to sonically reference old school retreatists the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. It's kind of perplexing to find out that The Thrills are actually from Dublin.

Califone makes some movie music

By Jessica Halverson and Jesscia Halverson · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Fith Deceleration Two, Chicago band Califone takes the "concept album" to a new level. This album has three concepts and was partially recorded live (at Columbia College, a music school in Chicago).

Apparently Oklahoma folks are a little different

By Jessica Halverson and Jesscia Halverson · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Let's call this Pavement-based, weirdo rock by kids who listen to hip hop. The Starlight Mints second album, Built on Squares, is a transmission of desert space alien rock, with lyrics about girls and stories that give them a touch of earthiness. Even when they are ripping licks off the Kinks, this seven-person unit sounds tight in a cello, triangle, sound effects sort of way.

Less 'Mary' is actually 'More'

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

"There's Something About Mary" was an undeniably special film upon its release some five years ago. It hearkened back to the gross-out genre established by such classics as "Animal House" and "Caddyshack," which had gone ignored by major Hollywood studios for the better part of two decades. Replete with potshots at the mentally handicapped, long, lingering shots of breasts (albeit sagging, wrinkly ones) and a variety of jokes revolving around Ben Stiller's penis, "Mary" was and still is a revelation. There really is something about "Mary" -- hence, the new DVD treatment.

Luke Wilson, what the hell happened?

Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Luke Wilson comes across as a generally nice fellow onscreen. Usually, he portrays the affable everyman, and that's most assuredly part of his appeal. Dudes relate to him and chicks want to have relations with him.

It's kind of like dinner with your mother

By Michael Tapscott and Mike Tapscott · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

With a haze that recalls Yo La Tengo, hooks that resemble Pavement, song structures and vocals that evoke Elliott Smith and a producer who is duck-call player Jason Lytle from Grandaddy, Earlimart has the attention of the indie crowd which isn't obsessed with originality. And since the album title makes a statement for solidarity, Earlimart sounds like the house band for its forefathers.

Farrar's turn to experiment

By Brian Eliott Johnson and Brian Elliott Johnson · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Jay Farrar, founding member of Uncle Tupelo, has been around long enough to know his stuff. Whether or not you agree that Uncle Tupelo was the pioneering alternative country act, the power behind Farrar and co-founder Jeff Tweedy was undeniable.

Guster musters to 'Keep It Together'

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Boston-based rockers Guster have returned following a four-year hiatus with the intermittently entertaining and ultimately unchallenging Keep It Together. The trio, best known for its simplistic acoustic guitar and bongo-driven sound, has diversified by integrating pianos, banjos and the occasional flirtation with all instruments electric into the mix. This broader sonic palette makes Keep It Together a moderately more interesting listen than its predecessors, and yet, Guster seems unable to lift itself into the higher echelons of the pop pantheon.

Streetball comes to Indy

By Micah Sturr · Thursday, July 17,2003 12 a.m.

Conseco Field House in Indianapolis throbbed with bass and hip-hop showmanship. Dizzying combinations of white spotlights and erratically swerving blue and amber lights punctuated a pair of rap artists on the basketball court exhorting the crowd to "bounce -- everybody bounce, bounce." The act was prelude to a game between the AND 1 company's traveling team of streetballers plus the "home" team, which consists of more AND 1 players as well as three young men from Indianapolis. The "home" team qualified to be a part of the spectacle by beating out 97 other players in an open run tournament in the parking lot of the Field House earlier in the day. The play was an extravagantly flashy modification of Harlem Globetrotters style tricks and entertainment, stripped of the comedic camp and infused with an over-the-top playground style. Players are christened with colorful superhero-esque names like Flash, Headache and Chisel for their streetball alter-egos.

Funding will remain intact after attempts to block grants for Kinsey study, other sex research

By Bonnie Real · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:54 p.m.

The Kinsey Institute will retain funding for a study of mood and sexual behavior despite conservative efforts to block federal grants for the research. Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 212-210 to defeat an amendment proposed by Rep. Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa., that would have prevented the National Institutes of Health from funding the Kinsey study and three other sex research projects.

Berlin draws techno fans

By Stephen Graham · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:44 p.m.

BERLIN -- Hundreds of thousands of techno music fans -- many in costume, others in not much at all -- jammed into the German capital Saturday for the annual Love Parade.

'Bangkok 8' a great read

By Brittany Ausmus · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:42 p.m.

Life with sex, innuendo and Buddhist sensibilities, "Bangkok 8," the latest novel from established writer John Burdett, is a gripping mystery set in the pulsating city of Krung Thep -- more commonly known as Bangkok to us. While focusing on the seedy underbelly of the city, Burdett is careful to note that the sex trade in Bangkok, while world famous, is actually smaller than that of Taiwan, the Phillipines or the United States.

'Angels' is worth seeing

By Nathan Brown · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:41 p.m.

At first glance, "My Three Angels" might appear to have a less-than-ideal situation for comedy. It is set in French Guiana in 1910, the South American country was then a penal colony of the French government.

Suspected pro-Hussein Iraqis target US plane

Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:40 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Suspected pro-Saddam Hussein insurgents fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. military C-130 transport plane as it landed at Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday, but missed the target, a coalition military spokesman said.

U.N. prosecutor to present 'crucial' evidence against Milosevic

By Arthur Max · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:39 p.m.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- With time running out to conclude her case, the chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor said Wednesday she will begin focusing on the genocide charges against Slobodan Milosevic, and the next few months will be critical.

Pro-Hussein Iraqis target U.S. plane in Baghdad

Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:37 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Suspected pro-Saddam Hussein insurgents fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. military C-130 transport plane as it landed at Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday, but missed the target, a coalition military spokesman said.

Beat the heat

By Nicholas J. Schmidt · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:29 p.m.

IU students and Bloomington residents alike have found themselves surrounded by high humidity and high temperatures during the past few weeks. Is there any escape from this heat? Are there any places in Bloomington that allow residents to relax and cool off?

IU's Kinsey Institute at center of sex research in week's conference

By Bonnie Real · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:26 p.m.

This week, the Kinsey Institute will play host to the 29th annual conference for the International Academy of Sex Research. Lectures and seminars in the Indiana Memorial Union will cover a broad range of topics in the field of sex research, and a poster session will allow researchers to share their knowledge with each other. Participants also will have access to the Kinsey art gallery and library.

West Nile discovered in Monroe County

By Dan Lines and Daniel Lines · Wednesday, July 16,2003 9:26 p.m.

The return of the West Nile virus to Monroe County was announced Monday by local health officials. The Indiana State Department of Health confirmed that a dead blue jay found in Monroe County tested positive for the virus. There have been nine counties with confirmed cases of West Nile virus this year. No human cases have occurred thus far in the state of Indiana, but the first human case in the nation was confirmed in South Carolina at the beginning of June.