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(01/19/06 5:38am)
This spring break, Steven Sowell is planning a trip to a place that will be sure to broil his skin in a more than \n90-degree swelter. \nBut for a full week, Sowell, assistant director of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, will not be working on his tan. Instead, he'll be assisting several El Salvadoran families building places for them to call "casa."\nHabitat is a non-profit organization devoted to constructing "simple, decent, affordable housing" for the indigent around the world. The local chapter has traveled to its sister affiliate in San Vicente, El Salvador, twice on previous building projects, and this year the group will return with what it hopes will be its largest turnout yet. \nSowell said the group scheduled the trip during spring break to encourage IU students to participate. \n"We're looking for people who are sympathetic with the mission to eliminate poverty and homelessness," he said, "even people who have never built houses before or had lots of experience." \nThe deadline to sign up for the trip is Jan. 31. A fee of $1,250 covers all airfare, food, lodging and transportation expenses, including travel medical insurance. Sowell said some participants have asked family and friends to help sponsor them to cover the costs. \n"The trips have been life-changing experiences," he said. "They've put things in perspective on how we live in abundance here." \nEl Salvador is both the smallest and most-populated country in Central America. Because of recent volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and earthquakes, many residents have lost their crops, houses and belongings. A survey found that 450,000 families live in substandard conditions, according to Habitat. \nRandy Arnold, an assistant scientist in the chemistry department, said he did not speak a word of Spanish when he traveled with Habitat to El Salvador two years ago, but that didn't stop him from rolling up his sleeves and hammering out metal sheet roofs. \n"It was neat to hear how grateful the families were of us helping them build their houses," he said. \nArnold has already cleared his spring break schedule for the upcoming trip. Although Habitat brings interpreters, he's learning some Spanish so he can better communicate with the local families, he said. \n"The people are very hospitable and welcoming," Arnold said. "They kind of took us in as part of their family while we were there." \nBut to participate, Sowell said speaking Spanish isn't a requirement. All one needs is a passport and immunizations to prepare for the experience. \nArnold recommends others get involved, but not just for the construction aspect.\n"It's always good to take yourself out of the culture you live in," he said. "This is a great way to do that." \nTo sign up, e-mail Steven Sowell at sowell@monroecountyhabitat.org.
(01/18/06 5:48am)
What you wore on Walnut Street used to say a lot about where you were going.\nThose who moseyed down the sidewalk in hooded sweatshirts and jeans would most likely scale the steps of the Video Saloon or hover at the door of The Bluebird. The cavalries of black pants and flashy tops often marched their way to the nightclub formerly known as "Axis." \nBut the dress code of one Walnut Street venue is blurring. Since the new year, Axis Nightclub has not only changed its name to The Walnut Street Tap, but has also changed its concept to encompass both the dance club and neighborhood tavern feel.\nAside from the new name lettered on the marquee, the club looks no different on the outside. Inside, the only renovation is a room divider, but Dave Kubiak, owner of The Bluebird and Tap, said more ideas are in the works. \n"Walnut Street was kind of slow in 2005," Kubiak said. "We wanted to do something new that would kind of create a stir." \nKubiak explained the new concept as more "user-friendly," appealing to a larger scope of demographics. \nHe installed a partition to split the one-room venue into a front and back. The rear will remain a dance club with a DJ spinning popular music, while the entrance will play host to a social lounging area. \n"So you'll still feel welcome coming in, even if you aren't dressed in full club attire," he said. \nBut some say patrons have always understood the "split personality" of the club.\n"Everybody has always been chilling up front and dancing in back," said Saad Saigol, a junior. "They're going to have to come up with something better than that."\nSaigol said he used to go to the club frequently "before it got busted by police and was like dead every night," he said. \nOn March 4, 2005, police raided Axis for allowing underage patrons inside the club. The IU and Bloomington Police Departments issued a total of 68 citations that night, according to a March 7, 2005 Indiana Daily Student article. \n"As a freshman, I used to go there a lot -- pretty much every weekend," said senior Samantha Brooks. "I've kind of grown out of that scene now. I'd rather sit and talk with friends than get wasted and dance with people I don't know." \nBut Brooks said the change could be good for Kubiak's business, drawing in crowds that might otherwise go elsewhere. She, for one, would be curious to check it out, she said. \nKubiak has already begun to attract those crowds by booking acoustic musical performers for the front of the club. He plans to test market more changes to the menu and ambience as the year progresses. \nIn spite of the changes, Kubiak said The Bluebird and Tap will remain distinct. The Bluebird, a live performance venue, does not impose a specific music genre, but the Tap will consistently feature pop. \nKubiak is also experimenting with the idea of allowing the rear of the Tap to be rented for private parties. He said the Tap would cater these events. \n"We're just in the process now of feeling things out -- seeing what's going to work," he said. "And what's not"
(01/12/06 5:01am)
At the commencement of the State of the State address Wednesday, Governor Mitch Daniels described his first year with initiatives aimed at pleasing partisan interests.\nWith help from the General Assembly, he has won tax benefits for businesses, begun to decentralize government and pushed through the daylight-saving bill.\n"Indiana is no longer on its heels, waiting while our problems bounce past us or through our legs," he said in the televised address. "Even though the inning is still an early one, we are moving forward against our challenges."\nDaniels reminded Indiana residents that not long ago, the state had a $2 billion surplus. With less attention paid to special interests, the state passed the tightest budget in 50 years, he said.\nThe governor has confidence his administration will balance the budget by June 30.\n"Congratulations to all who helped," he said.\nDaniels also underscored his administration's efforts to end sweetheart deals, perks for people who have high positions within the government. Indiana has auctioned many state-owned items, he said, such as eight aircraft and 10 rocking chairs originally purchased for $2,000 each.\nDaniels emphasized his appointment of an inspector general as one of the most effective methods of reducing misuses of tax dollars.\n"There is now a place for the whistles of the whistleblowers to be heard," he said. "Now that people know wrongdoing will be acted on, whistles are blowing, 10 times as often as a year ago."\nAmong his future endeavors, Daniels proposed a drastic highway plan, new fundraising strategies and a 25 cent increase on cigarette taxes to discourage nicotine addiction. A comment that Indiana residents "weigh, drink and smoke too much" roused an unexpected applause and several sporadic chuckles from the \naudience.\nThe cigarette tax increase is not unexpected, coming from the governor who attempted to initiate a one year tax increase on the wealthiest bracket of residents last year. Daniels also said he would allocate $156 million from a tax amnesty period to pay off half of back-payments owed to schools.\nOne of Daniels' fundraising ideas is his proposal to raise fees on the Indiana Toll Road and possibly lease it to a private ownership, but many Democrats are wary of the plan, concerned it will only lead to a slippery slope of fee increases.\nDaniels does not seem fazed by his opponents.\n"Balancing the people's books is a solemn duty, but it is not the whole business, or the true purpose of government," he said. "That highest purpose is to provide excellent public service to citizens at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers"
(01/09/06 4:54am)
After minutes of deafening silence, Monroe County Circuit Judge Marc Kellams announced to the attorneys, defendant and parents of former student Ashley Crouse in court that he needed more time to mull over the sentencing for Meliton Praxedis. \nPraxedis, 21, pleaded guilty to class C felony charges Dec. 14 for fleeing the scene of an accident resulting in the death of Crouse. He could face a maximum of eight years in prison. \n"It would be easy to assign the maximum sentence because of the loss of life," Kellams said. "But even that can do nothing to bring back this person's life to her family." \nKellams rescheduled the sentencing for Jan. 26.\nBoth of Crouse's parents testified to express their wishes for the maximum sentence. \n"My daughter was an exemplary student, a pillar in the community," said Kim Crouse, father of the victim. \nHe made a point to explain his daughter's aspirations to become a lawyer and public servant for the Hispanic population in Indiana. \n"But being the fact that the defendant watched her lay on the street dying and was only concerned with himself, I have no compassion for this person," he said.\nAs the victim's mother, Mary Beth Crouse, took the stand, she passed around photographs of her daughter to the judge and defendant. She also showed a picture of Crouse taken with a digital camera just hours before the accident. \n"I hate talking about her in the past tense," she said. "She was my only daughter -- the best of the best." \nPraxedis then made his own statement, apologizing to the victim's family. He mentioned that he, too, has children and asked for their forgiveness.\nCrouse's tearful mother and father clasped hands during the testimony. \n"The truth is, I didn't understand the extent of what happened. I didn't even know where I was after it happened," Praxedis said.\nBecause he is an illegal immigrant, the state will deport Praxedis to Mexico after he serves his term in prison, Kellams said. \n"Every time I have a case like this, I try to imagine myself standing in a courtroom in Mexico and not understanding the language or legal system," Kellams said. "It's not mitigating, but it does complicate the circumstances for everyone."\nPraxedis first appeared before a judge in May after an incarceration transfer from New Castle County, Del., where he fled April 12 -- one day after the fatal accident. \nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxedis in Delaware three days after the accident. Officials had struggled to identify the suspect because he did not possess a valid driver's license or form of identification, police said.\nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle police were able to match a photograph with the IUPD composite image. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse and two other students, Christopher Carlson and Julie Greenbaum, entered the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11 when a gray Honda station wagon, allegedly driven by Praxedis, struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the lawn of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, the sorority where Crouse had lived and was a member. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep approached a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a flashing yellow light, according to the reports. \nPraxedis allegedly fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state that Crouse, who was in the back seat of the Jeep, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the report. \nBloomington Hospital medics pronounced Crouse dead at 12:09 a.m. April 12.
(12/05/05 4:34pm)
GULFPORT, Miss. -- Melvin Barkum is, in one respect, a lucky man. After his Gulfport home was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, he got a trailer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. \nBut all in his FEMA trailer is not as well as it could be.\nAfter he switched on his trailer's thermostat, he lifted the lid of a storage bench and illuminated a water pipe with a flashlight. Within a moment, the visibly leaking water was pattering onto the high-pitched smoke alarm. \n"I can't turn the heat on without the alarm going off." \nHe demonstrated. A piercing shriek filled the trailer.\nAfter living in the trailer parked in his yard for a month, Barkum said FEMA has not been very responsive to his maintenance issues.\n"They give us this 800-number here," he said, holding up a flier given to him with the trailer, "but I've had to call several times, just waiting on the other end, to get somebody out here. And when somebody did finally come out here, he needed to get a special part. After all that, it leaked again anyway." \nThe last thing Barkum needs is more water damage. On the day of the hurricane, Barkum was alone in his house, dodging from one room to the next as the ceiling began to buckle and collapse under the pressure of the seeping rain. \n"I used a screwdriver to punch holes in the ceiling," he said, gesturing to some of the punctures in the spots overhead that didn't founder. "I was trying to drain the water out before the whole ceiling caved." \nBarkum will do most of the repair work on his home himself. \n"I'll probably need the trailer for about a year," he said. "I think FEMA -- they're nice people -- if they would just finish what they're supposed to." \nFEMA spokesman Eugene Brezany in Jackson, Miss., said the agency is trying to accommodate everyone's needs. When asked if placing hurricane victims in trailers was a wise solution, Brezany said: "We're not putting people in fruit crates." \n"(The trailers) do meet standards," Brezany asserted. "They're a lot more agreeable than living on the streets."\nBrezany said the program was not designed to be long-term. \n"We're just a bridge to their future well-being," Brezany said.\nAlthough many evacuees were under the impression they were guaranteed a trailer for 18 months from the time they received them, Brezany said that was a misconception. He said the 18 months began Aug. 29 when President Bush declared the area a national disaster.\nFEMA has rounded up some 15,000 trailers from around the country -- including Indiana -- but still needs 19,000 more. So while the Gulf region has a deficit of thousands of trailers, the deadline for the trailer phase puts pressure on FEMA to move people into more substantial housing. \nFor Kassie Dwyer, an 18-year-old mother of three in Diamondhead, Miss., the deadline will only mark a transfer from one trailer to another. The home she shared with her boyfriend for the past two years was decimated by Katrina. They can't afford another home, she said. \n"They gotta bulldoze that off my property," she said over the squeaks and squeals of toddlers at her feet. "I'm gonna try and buy a trailer and put it on that property." \nIn the same FEMA trailer park, Johnny Sullivan has similar plans for him and his wife after the program ends.\n"I'm gonna try to get a little place out in the country -- maybe a trailer," he said. "If I could get in a house today, I'd leave right now. I don't like living like this. You got to go outside just to turn around." \nBut he feels fortunate to have the trailer when so many other evacuees are still waiting. \n"There are a lot of people who haven't gotten (trailers) yet, living on the beach," Sullivan said. "And yet there are people with good livable houses, and right in the back of them they got FEMA trailers. I'd like to know how that happens"
(11/02/05 5:29am)
The man accused of fleeing the scene of a car crash involving three IU students and killing one of them, 21-year-old Ashley Crouse, will plead guilty to a class C felony charge. \nMeliton Praxidis signed a plea agreement Tuesday, which could result in a sentence of two to eight years in prison. His sentencing hearing will convene Dec. 14. \nBecause Praxidis does not speak English, a court-appointed interpreter assisted him in court. \n"Today is the day we have to tell the judge whether we go to trial or plead guilty," said Public Defender David Collins to an interpreter for his client. "What do you want to do?"\n"Declare myself guilty," Praxidis' interpreter said. \nThe state of Indiana agreed not to make any recommendations on the sentence -- either by increasing or alleviating the charge -- although the family of Crouse might testify in court, according to the plea and sentencing agreement. \nMary Beth Crouse, Ashley's mother, declined to comment on the case and whether the family intended to testify at the sentencing. \nMonroe County Public Defense Attorney David Collins and Monroe County Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Kehr also declined to comment on the case.\nPraxidis made his first appearance before a judge in May after an incarceration transfer from New Castle County, Del., where he fled April 12 -- one day after the fatal accident. \nU.S. marshals arrested Praxidis in Delaware three days after the accident. Officials had struggled to identify the suspect because he did not possess a valid driver's license or form of identification, police said.\nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle police were able to match a photograph with the IUPD composite image. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse, student Christopher Carlson and student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11 when a gray Honda station wagon, allegedly driven by Praxidis, struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the Kappa Kappa Gamma house lawn, the sorority where Crouse had lived and was a member. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep received a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a flashing yellow light, according to the reports. \nPraxidis allegedly fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state that Crouse, who was in the back seat of the Jeep, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the report. \nBloomington Hospital medics pronounced Crouse dead at 12:09 a.m. April 12.
(10/27/05 5:10am)
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday against the manufacturer of TASER guns -- the high-voltage stun guns used for police compliance. \nJames L. Borden, a Bedford man, died in police custody Nov. 6, 2003. His family received $500,000 from Monroe and Lawrence counties in a civil suit Jan. 19 but did not recover a settlement from TASER International, Inc. \nThis is the fifth wrongful death or injury lawsuit filed against TASER International that has been dismissed in the past 18 months. Vice President Steve Tuttle said the suits never come to fruition because TASER International is not responsible for long-term suffering of victims. \n"Being in the business we are, (having cases filed against us) is fairly normal," Tuttle said. "I can't think of many pepper spray, handgun or other weapon industries that don't go through the same thing, and I would guess that we receive fewer of those complaints than the others." \nTuttle said TASER International is not comparable to other police weapons. \n"TASER technology is not risk-free," Tuttle conceded, "but in terms of comparisons to any other use of force, it is clearly the safer alternative." \nBut Dr. Roland M. Kohr, the coroner who performed the autopsy on Borden, said TASER International lacks the test results to back up its claim.\nIn Kohr's report, he concluded Borden's death resulted from cardiac arrest, caused by "pharmacologic intoxication and electrical shock." \nKohr said Borden had traces of two drugs in his body at the time of the stun gun incident -- pseudoephedrine, a mild stimulant, and an antihistamine, a depressant. \n"TASER (International) has used drugs as an explanation of how they think Borden died, but he was conscious all the way to Bedford," Kohr said. \nKohr believes the electrical shock from the stun gun was "the straw that broke the camel's back." \nWhen asked if Tuttle thought the excessive use of a stun gun could cause bodily harm, he explained it was conceivable but sometimes necessary. \n"Multiple applications of electrical shock are sometimes not only necessary but crucial to the resolving of a use-of-force situation," Tuttle said. \nKohr said TASER International can't have it both ways. \n"(The company) says (TASER guns) are very powerful, but when it comes to hurting someone, it's harmless," Kohr said. \nTuttle claims the effect of electrical shock lasts only the duration of the firing. Kohr is skeptical. \nTASER stun guns temporarily cause a disruption in the nervous system, causing all of the muscles to go limp. \n"They've never explained why it doesn't affect the heart," Kohr said. "They just say, 'We've said it doesn't, so it doesn't.'" \nBut Tuttle insists the "low power" of the stun gun's electric shock cannot damage cardiac tissue. \nKohr said that still doesn't clarify what happens when the heart's electrical cycle is interrupted by stun gun electrical impulses. While some shocks like defibrillators can jumpstart a heart, at the wrong stage of the heart's electrical cycle, a shock can just as easily stop a beating heart, he explains. \nIn a press release titled "Coroner Admits Comments Were Reckless in Deposition" issued by TASER International, the company heavily criticized the method of Kohr's autopsy, blaming him for not taking enough time with his analysis, not knowing the effects of TASER stun guns and not considering the surrounding events leading up to Borden's death. \nThe press release also insinuated Kohr regretted claiming an electrical shock contributed to the victim's death.\n"I never said that," Kohr said. \nHe went on to say he was thorough in his analysis and had considered many implications. \n"It's very complicated," Kohr said. "First I say, 'I've got an enlarged heart here, but (the victim has) had it for years and didn't die until that day. I've got drugs on board, but he was still functioning. At some point he was shocked and stopped breathing. One moment he's conscious, one moment he's not. Now, is that pure coincidence?" \nKohr said in his field, he has to assume there is a relationship. He provided an example of something he called "homicide by heart attack." \n"A little old lady, like your grandma, goes to the bank, and a robber in a mask threatens to shoot her," he said. "All the sudden, she collapses. Even a layman would have the common sense to see that there was a relationship between being scared by the robber and dying. You have to acknowledge the contributing factors." \nBorden's death occurred in 2003, when the Monroe County Correctional Center was booking him for violating his probation issued in Lawrence County. \nEmergency Medical Services reports said Borden was incoherent and disoriented when he was arrested, yet he did not receive medical attention -- against the advice of paramedics on the scene. \nMonroe County Officer David Shaw shocked Borden three times with a stun gun for "uncooperative" behavior, according to police reports. \nBorden's family has mourned his death for the past two years. \n"TASERs have cost our family a member," said Troy Borden, the brother of James Borden, in a March 10, 2004 Indiana Daily Student article. "(They) need to be put away until (they're) looked into"
(10/27/05 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU student driver accused of striking another student walking across a street on campus Sept. 25 could face as much as one year in prison for fleeing the scene, then denying his involvement in the accident. The charges leveled against sophomore Eliot Delunas are Class A and Class B misdemeanors for fleeing and false informing. He will appear in court Dec. 7 for pre-trial conference, possibly resulting in a plea bargain. Junior Todd Wantz was crossing the intersection of 10th Street and Woodlawn Avenue Sept. 25 after attending services at St. Paul Catholic Center when a silver Dodge Caravan hit him, "forcing" him to fly over the hood and fall back onto the road, according to an IU Police Department report. Wantz claimed the vehicle that hit him made a right turn onto Tenth Street at a red traffic light from Woodlawn Avenue while he had walked well into the middle of the crosswalk. "He actually accelerated through the process (of turning)," Wantz said.Delunas maintained his innocence and said Wantz incorrectly identified the vehicle that hit him. "I wasn't even going in the direction (Wantz) said I was going in," Delunas said. "My house is in the opposite direction. It was dark. It was raining. He saw the wrong person." Delunas added that he did feel compassion for Wantz's situation. Wantz suffered several cuts to his chin and knees. One month later, Wantz still has a mound of brittle scab underneath his chin. A witness to the accident transcribed the license plate number of the minivan and provided the information to the police, the report states. IUPD was then able to locate Delunas at his home, finding his vehicle parked nearby. After a period of questioning, police said Delunas admitted to giving false information about his identity and residence, having claimed his name was "Tim Allen" and denying that he lived at that house, although he rebuffed any accusations of his involvement in a hit-and-run. Delunas said he won't consider a plea an option. "I'm not guilty, I didn't do it and I won't take punishment for something I didn't do," Delunas said. "No matter how much it costs." Monroe County Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Bradley said the attorneys have, so far, not discussed any motions or pleas. "I'll end up talking to the victim again to find out what interest he has," Bradley said. "I don't think (Delunas) has a snowball's chance in court," Wantz said. "He'd do well to make a plea." Wantz said he is currently in the process of seeking legal advice on whether to pursue a civil case against Delunas. "I want to drive this home that he could have hurt somebody," Wantz said, "(or else) he's not going to get the picture." Delunas' defense attorney, Phyllis Emerick, declined to comment on the case.Editor’s Note (April 27, 2010): On May 10, 2006, the defendant, Eliot Delunas, pleaded guilty to the False Informing charge, but the State dismissed the charge of Leaving the Scene of an Accident. The Court sentenced Delunas to two days in jail with credit for one day served.
(10/26/05 4:50am)
A pool of the jurors were seated and ready to be selected for the trial. \nAfter a weekend of late night counsel meetings, deputy prosecutors Jeff Kehr and Amy Travis and defense attorney Stuart Baggerly arrived at the Monroe County Court on Monday, braced for the trial of a man accused of crashing his car head-on into another car driven by 24-year-old IU alumna Kate Comiskey, killing her. But before any lawyers could utter opening statements, defendant Bryan "Mitch" Gooldy halted the proceedings. Just two hours after the court convened for trial, the day was done. Gooldy signed a plea and sentencing agreement under which he could serve up to 40 years in prison.\n"We all assumed this was going to be a trial," Baggerly said. \nHe claims his client, Gooldy, was responsible for the idea to make another plea because he did not want to put Comiskey's family through a lengthy ordeal. \n"(Gooldy) asked me if we could put the (plea) offer back on the table," Baggerly said. "He has always felt remorse for this and wanted to serve a sentence. He is a very spiritual and conscientious person."\nGooldy had originally rejected an identical plea deal from the Monroe County Prosecutor's office in June, hoping for an \nacquittal by jury.\nAlthough the defense requested Friday that Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Marc Kellams toss out the blood and urine substance test results evaluated three hours after the accident, Kellams denied the motion. \nTests revealed traces of opiates, cocaine and benzodiazepines, according to court documents. Benzodiazepines commonly come in the forms of sedatives or muscle relaxants. \nGooldy will plead guilty to a Class B felony of operating a vehicle with drugs, which resulted in Comiskey's death. The plea agreement will dismiss a second charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, which is a Class C felony. \nGooldy agreed to 20 years for the felony charge, followed by 20 more years for a habitual offender enhancement. With Indiana prison credit time -- a state code that allows prisoners one day off their sentences for every one day served with good behavior -- the actual total sentence would be 20 years in jail.\nThe agreement also consists of a suspension of Gooldy's driver's license for an additional five years after prison release. Gooldy will not be able to drive again until he is 72 years old. \nMonroe County Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Kehr said this specific plea prevents Gooldy from modifying his sentence. \n"Sometimes after a sentence, (the defendant will) try to petition the judge to get out early, halfway through the sentence," Kehr said. "This plea means he cannot do that."\nGooldy returns to court Nov. 22 for official sentencing. \nThe defense claimed Oct. 17 that the police did not handle the chemical testing of Gooldy's blood and urine samples legally, according to the defendant's motion to suppress. \nThe complaints filed by the defense alleged that Bloomington Police Department Officer Dana Runnebohm "lacked probable cause to request that the hospital obtain a blood sample" and failed to comply with an existing state code for the proper "requesting and seizure of the fluids." \nRunnebohm stated she had requested Gooldy's samples from the hospital because her discussions with the paramedics led her to believe Comiskey was critically or fatally injured, according to court documents. She claimed she suspected substance abuse because Gooldy had "glassy eyes" and "multiple track marks on his arms." \nKehr said the observation of dangerous driving is reason enough to suspect substance abuse. \n"These are classic, telltale signs of impairment due to intoxication," Kehr argued in the state's response to the motion. "If the odor of alcohol on a driver's breath after an accident is itself sufficient for probable cause, then observed 'bad driving' must be as well." \nKehr asserted "bad driving" demonstrates actual impairment, while the smell of alcohol merely implies it. He insisted that not only did Runnebohm have probable cause, but had even more reason to request blood and urine testing than in many other cases. \nOn Nov. 9, 2004, two 911 phone calls from State Road 37 South commuters alerted authorities that a vehicle ahead of them had been veering across the centerline "since Martinsville, Ind.," according to court documents. \nJust a few minutes after receiving the complaints, the reports said Gooldy crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and collided with Comiskey's vehicle. \nAmbulances transported both Gooldy and Comiskey to Bloomington Hospital. Physicians pronounced Comiskey dead after suffering severe injuries from the crash. \nGooldy apologized to Comiskey's parents in court Monday. \n"He has expressed several times that he wished he had been the one killed in the accident," Baggerly said.
(10/17/05 4:26am)
Standing in the pet supplies aisle of Target, I became conscious of a teenage boy staring at me as I held up a spiked dog collar to my neck. \nYes, I was going to wear it."What would my father think?" ran through my head. \nDavid Nosko, a fellow Indiana Daily Student reporter, and I dressed in fetish garb Saturday night as we imbedded ourselves as guests at Axis' Eroticon event. Eroticon is a festival celebrating the Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadomasochist community. \nIt sounded like a fun, kinky-good time. I thought of it as a "journalistic experiment" or a Halloween party a couple weeks early. \nI zipped myself into a strapless leather dress, slid on my fishnet tights and high heel leather boots, cuffed my neck in canine jewels and slathered my lips with the glossiest red lipstick I could find. I was amused by my transformation and actually couldn't stop staring at my reflection in the mirror. \nWho would have thought this 4-foot-10-inch lady could look so "tough"? \n"Rule No. 1," I demanded of Nosko, "if anyone tries to hit on me or touch me, you have to do something about it. I'm little. Protect me."\nIt wasn't difficult for me to fall into the submissive role. By BDSM definition, because a dominant controls every action of the submissive, I was entitled to set all boundaries and rules of our "relationship" before the role-playing began. \n"I know, I know," Nosko assured. "We're a team." \nBut as soon as we stepped out of the vehicle and strolled from the downtown square to Axis, men were whistling, mumbling indecipherable things in other languages and laughing. Much of it was sleazy and offensive. \nNosko "let them have it" by ignoring the plethora of crude remarks. \nWere the men judging me or Nosko? I hoped they were looking at Nosko. \nWe were greeted at the door, not by a bouncer, but a petite, zaftig woman with a bountiful bosom. Her bounty over-flowed and was adorned with nothing but white and yellow paint, like eggs sunny-side up. Nosko, aka the bounty hunter, had a smile, also sunny-side up. \nSuddenly, I felt overdressed, and in a way, that comforted me. I was no longer nervous. I felt like the daunting eyes from men on Walnut Street wouldn't threaten me inside what Front of House Manager Rick deemed a "safe place." "My job is to make sure people don't get out of control," he said, while donning a white lab coat with a "Sex Instructor" patch on the pocket, "but we generally have very few problems. I mean, people may be wearing g-strings, but no intimate contact is allowed." \n"It's all about respect," he added. \nCharlie horses were cramping up the arches of my booted feet, when a woman -- like a voice from heaven -- said, "Would you like a foot rub?" \n"Uh," I said inarticulately. "Hm." \nWith a nudge from Nosko, I peeled my boots away from the fishnets. The woman used a refreshing mint mist to knead my muscles. \n"You have such cute, tiny feet," Renee, a foot masseuse, complimented. \nWhen Nosko inquired why Renee enjoyed rubbing feet, she said, "Well, I have a service fetish. Plus, hot chicks come and put their feet in my lap." \nIt was another compliment, but neither sleazy nor offensive. \n"The thing about foot massages is no one will turn one down," she said. "They may not like your food if you cook them a meal, but they won't complain about a massage." \nThe apparatuses were a slanted cross, a pole, a saddle horse and a kneeling bench. \nSubmissives with their bodies clenched in leather bodices, bustiers and bodysuits strapped in while the dominatrices worked on them with switches, paddles and scourges. \nMistress Phaedra flailed her instruments to the music like a kid at a rave with glow sticks. Goddess Carol whispered nothings into the ears of her client. Mistress Sonya rubbed the shoulders of her personal male slave while she waited for her next submissive. \nI questioned Head Mistress Moth about her lifestyle. She explained she was once a president of her sorority but ended up choosing a life "outside the mainstream." \nMistress Moth has several slaves -- some of them sexual partners, some girlfriends, some strictly servants, some a combination of several roles. \n"There's no reason to join a subculture, then start living by a bunch of rules," she said. \nAfter a whipping, Dee, a 28-year-old in a high ponytail, commented on the sensation. \n"For me, it's a spiritual thing," she said. \nDee explained that she used to have an eating disorder. She struggled with perceptions of her own body, but taking up sadomasochism helped her cope, she said. \n"I like (being spanked) because it forces me to stay inside my own body," she said. "Before, I used to always want to escape it, but this is a celebratory thing." \nUntil this moment, it never occurred to me that sadomasochism -- something that one person could perceive as mentally and physically abusive -- could improve another person's body image. \nLooking around the room, I saw that the Eroticon guests came in all ages and sizes, and no one seemed self-conscious. Perhaps the most attractive quality of such an event is it's willingness to accept people as they are. \nNosko and I hung up our press passes and stepped out of the warm club onto the sidewalk. \nI crossed my arms in front of my chest and tucked my chin. I wasn't just trying to conserve body heat; I was trying to cover my bare skin. \nA man stood in front of me and wolf-whistled. As the man grabbed my elbow, he said, "Do you want to date?"\nI ignored the man and continued walking. When I felt we were out of the man's earshot, I turned to Nosko. \n"What happened to rule No. 1?" I asked.
(10/13/05 5:37am)
CD players and subwoofer speakers aren't the only commodities in students' cars being stolen. \nIn the last month, the IU Police Department has documented 30 cases of stolen parking decals. That's more than half the total number of permits stolen in the entire fall semester last year. \nSince moving into the Foster Quad dorm this semester, freshman Robert Hellmann has had his dorm parking permit stolen. \n"I just ran into my dorm for, like, five, 10 minutes," Hellmann said. "When I came back out, it was gone."\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said it's typical to see more reports of permit thefts than usual at the beginning of the semester. \n"It's a cyclical thing that happens," Minger said.\nIn October 2004, IUPD received 28 reports of stolen decals. But the 2004 and 2005 statisics are a sharp spike from the three reports received in October 2003. \nTwo decals were reported stolen to IUPD Tuesday alone. \n"Realize that not everybody can get a decal," Minger said. \nNot only are permits in high demand because a limited number of parking spaces exist in the lots, but they're also valuable. Prices for a permit range from $15 to $207. \nHellmann said his permit was worth more than $100. \n"The guy from Parking Operations was pretty nice," Hellmann said. "He replaced it for me for free." \nDoug Porter, manager of IU Parking Operations, said each "hangtag" is encoded in a computer system. When someone reports a stolen tag, Parking Operations replaces it without a charge but invalidates the missing permit in case someone should try to use it illegally. \nThe price of getting caught, however, is much higher than the money saved on a stolen permit, he said. \n"E-permits cost $84," Porter explained, "but the ticket for using a lost or stolen permit is $200 and to tow is probably another $75." \nPorter said those trying to use invalid permits are usually caught because they have violated parking regulations in some way. People can get away with using a stolen permit, but it's a big risk, he said. \n"These are crimes of opportunity," Minger said. "If a door is unlocked, a window, sunroof or convertible top is open -- it's a temptation." \nHellmann said in the few minutes he was in his dorm, his permit was stolen because he left his window rolled down. \nAs obvious as it sounds, lock your doors and never leave windows open, Minger said, especially in the large athletic facility lots that don't have any supervision.
(10/12/05 5:52am)
The supposed last pre-trial conference for Meliton Praxidis, who is accused of fleeing the scene of an accident killing student Ashley Crouse April 11, convened Tuesday morning after an earlier delay last month. But a Monroe County Circuit Court judge scheduled another final meeting -- for the second time -- to Nov. 11 because of a pre-trial, pre-sentence investigation.\nA pre-sentence investigation occurs before a trial when one or both counsels believe a possible criminal record could have mitigating factors. Investigators research whether the suspect has had previous convictions in other counties and states. \nDelays allow counsels the time to recover information needed before they make any final decisions. Praxidis' criminal conviction record, if he has one, would be withheld by the court as confidential. \nThe court decided Tuesday to remand Praxidis to the Monroe County Sheriff on a $50,000 surety bond, said a Monroe County clerk. \nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxidis April 15 in New Castle County, Del., on Class C felony charges for fleeing the scene of a vehicular accident. \nBecause Praxidis did not have a driver's license or valid form of identification, it took the marshals several days to locate the suspect because he had assumed multiple aliases. \nAfter the IU Police Department obtained an eyewitness sketch of the suspect, New Castle police matched a photograph with the IUPD artist's rendering. \nPraxidis could now face two to eight years in prison if convicted of the charges. \nAccording to police reports, Crouse, student Christopher Carlson and student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection at Hawthorne Drive and Third Street the night of April 11 when a gray Honda station wagon, allegedly driven by Praxidis, struck their red Jeep. The vehicles both skidded into the Kappa Kappa Gamma house lawn, the sorority where Crouse was a member. \nAt the intersection, the students' Jeep had a flashing red traffic light while the station wagon had a yellow flashing light. \nPraxidis allegedly fled on foot before police arrived at the scene. \nPolice reports state Crouse, who was in the back seat of the vehicle, landed five feet from the vehicle after the impact. She was the only passenger not wearing a seat belt, according to the reports.
(10/11/05 5:21am)
In the swelter of a mid-August morning heat, a New Orleans teacher entered his high school classroom, only to observe that the door was off its hinges, the air-conditioning unit was a hunk of unusable metal, the solitary window was fused in an open position, and in place of what should have been walls, two temporary partitions stood with gaps in between them. \nThat was what the classroom looked like a week and a half before the ravages of Hurricane Katrina -- before the rest of the already dilapidated Reed High School was devoured by the flood and wind. \nBrett Warnke was that teacher. He graduated from IU in May but found himself returning to school the following semester -- this time, as a Teach For America teacher in an underprivileged high school. TFA is a nationwide nonprofit organization that selects college graduates to commit two years to teaching in urban and rural public school districts. \nWarnke was one of among 3,500 from across the country to participate in the program. He never imagined that just a handful of days after school was back in session, he would return to Bloomington displaced and out of work.\n"I chose New Orleans (TFA placement) because it has consistently been America's lowest performing school system," said Warnke, a former columnist for the Indiana Daily Student. "I knew they needed the most help." \nWhen Warnke arrived in New Orleans, the school system was already millions of dollars in debt, teachers were in danger of not being compensated for their work and many of his students were three or four years behind the national learning curve, he said. With such a weak foundation, Reed High School wasn't prepared for any more losses, particularly a natural disaster, but many New Orleans residents doubted Aug. 28 would be anything more than a windy day. \n"Strangely, the day of the hurricane was the most beautiful day of the summer," Warnke said. "A soft breeze was blowing, and I had finished a run in the park. I was stocking up on Chinese food when my roommate called frantically saying, 'Get out of New Orleans now!'"
(10/04/05 5:29am)
The backstage of Auer Hall looks like a mechanic's shop. \nRows of soldered metal pipes, wooden freights full of tools and two-story-high scaffolding hide behind the façade of an instrument so large, it soars from the balcony to the rafters in height. \nThe pipe organ, with its unassembled parts amounting to more than $750,000, has never fired a single note from the barrels of its flutes. \nIts maker won't be finishing it either. \nIn 1992, the IU School of Music hired Los Angeles organ designer Manuel Rosales to create the first and only performance pipe organ on campus. \n"In the late 1980s, when my colleagues and I were looking for an artist, we were looking for someone uniquely talented," said professor Larry Smith, chairman of the organ department. "At the time, Rosales was the premier craftsman of organs in the country, so he was the builder of choice." \nAn organ becomes an extension of the auditorium in which it lives. Rosales was responsible for tailoring the instrument to the specifics of the Auer Hall venue in the Simon Music Center and the faculty's preferences. \n"We had a consultation with the builder back in the beginning," Smith said. "We discussed the flavor of the instrument -- the kind of sound we wanted and the way we wanted the keys attached to the pipes." \nRosales was in charge of crafting those preferences to the hall's size and acoustics. \n"It's kind of like when you're buying a car," Smith explained. "It's like saying, 'I want power windows, but I don't want the electric seats.' You decide how the money is spent." \nThe contract negotiated between IU and Rosales stated the job was supposed to be completed in 1997, Smith said.
(10/04/05 4:47am)
The word "organ" derives from the Latin word "organum," the earliest instrument ancestor of the pipe organ. The organum was used in ancient Roman circus games. \nThe major parts of a pipe organ are the pipes, console and blower. The blower supplies the air to the instrument. \nThe Auer Hall organ has four keyboards: three controlled by the hands and one controlled by the feet. \nThe three manual keyboards are identified as the "swell," the "great" and the "choir" in descending order. \nIn its completion, the Auer Hall organ would have 3,489 pipes and 52 total stops.
(09/28/05 5:09am)
Four Bloomington residents involved in a stabbing near Lake Griffy appeared in court Tuesday for bond review. \nThe Bloomington Police Department arrested Amy Boyce, Katharine Lewis, Brandon Sloan and Jessica Stanger Sept. 17, the night the incident occurred. \nBoyce, 29, faces Class A felony charges for attempted murder, 18-year-old Sloan faces a Class C felony for battery causing serious bodily injury, and both Lewis and Stanger are charged with Class C felonies for conspiracy to commit battery and cause serious bodily injury.\nMonroe County Judge Kenneth Todd set Boyce's surety bail at $55,000, Lewis' and Sloan's surety bails at $10,000 each and Stanger's surety bail at $5,000 with parental supervision. \nA surety bail allows the accused to pay a professional bail bondsman one-tenth of the total bail. The bondsman then ensures the court will collect the amount in full if the accused does not return for his or her next court date. \nBoyce's attorney was unable to negotiate a lower bail for his client, despite the grounds of a purported mental disorder for which she claimed she was not currently medicated.\nLewis, Sloan and Stanger all had parents approach the bench during their reviews. \nLewis' mother, Lonnie Lewis, answered Prosecutor Carl Salzmann's questions regarding why her daughter was currently unemployed and if Lewis had a previous record of offenses. \n"She has disabilities that make it difficult for her to get and hold down a job," Lewis' mother said. "She (also) has a charge in Martinsville for a misdemeanor." \nSalzmann argued those were reasons to increase the bond, not excuse her from it. \n"Her outstanding charge in Morgan County makes her a flight risk," Salzmann said. "She's a danger to the community ... She understands what conspiracy is all about." \nSloan's father, Michael Garrison, tried to obtain custody of his son while he awaits trial. \n"If he's able to go back to school, that's what I want for him," Garrison said. "He wants to graduate. This is his senior year." \nIn the last four months, Sloan moved from his mother's house to his girlfriend's house. Because Sloan's mother moved to Noblesville, Ind., Garrison said he assumed his son went with her. \n"He hasn't been in contact with his son in the last four months," Salzmann said, "and (Sloan) hasn't been taking his medicine for bipolar disorder since July. He has a health problem which could be a danger to the community. \n"Three out of the four of them claim some sort of a mental illness or disability," Salzmann added after the reviews, "but we haven't gotten to that yet." \nStanger will be going home while she awaits her next court appearance. Rick Stanger, the defendant's father, said his daughter will finish her general education degree while she lives at home. \nJudge Todd scheduled all four defendants to return to court for pre-trial conferences Nov. 10. \nOn Sept. 17, Boyce, Lewis, Sloan, Stanger and a 36-year-old Bloomington man engaged in a hostile dispute at People's Park, according to police documents. BPD Sgt. David Drake said the victim allegedly incited the confrontation by making offensive comments about the suspects' deceased friend. \nPolice said the victim traveled with the suspects to Lake Griffy without being coerced. According to the police reports, Sloan, Lewis and Stanger intended to hurt the victim but not stab him. Boyce was responsible for the stabbing, police said. \nAfter the suspects fled, the victim dialed 911 from a boathouse. \nBPD found Boyce, Lewis, Sloan and Stanger at Bloomington Hospital, where Boyce and Sloan were treated for injuries they sustained from the fight. \nBoyce admitted stabbing the victim during an interview with police that same night, according to reports. \nPolice said the victim suffered two stab wounds, partially collapsing a lung. Bloomington Hospital admitted the victim Sept. 17 as a critical care patient.
(09/13/05 5:08am)
The student who recanted a report of being raped at the IU-Purdue men's basketball game in February avoided charges for false informing of a crime. \nSophomore Mary Bray pleaded guilty Thursday to a class C misdemeanor for illegal consumption of alcohol. The charges cited for false informing were dropped as a result of the plea agreement. \nMonroe County Circuit Judge Marc Kellams sentenced Bray with one year of probation and 35 hours of public restitution with a 60-day suspension, according to court documents. \n"We felt that (dropping the false reporting charge) was the appropriate thing for us to do," said Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann. "Additional facts (were) brought to bear to us from the defense." \nSalzmann would not comment on the specifics of those facts. \nPolice apprehended Bray Feb. 22 after witnesses reported that a female spectator had vomited on a young boy seated in the row below her, on her own clothing and on the aisle steps as she staggered toward the restroom, according to police reports. \nWitnesses claimed the student was noticeably intoxicated and needed the assistance of a male friend to get down the stairs. \nAn IU Police Department cadet and an EMT found Bray in an Assembly Hall bathroom stall and immediately took her to Bloomington Hospital. Police say she told a nurse she had been drugged and raped while she was in the restroom. When the hospital administered a rape kit test, the results came back negative, according to the report. \nPolice cited Bray with illegal consumption and added a charge of false informing when she confessed the rape claim was erroneous during a later interview. \n"The timeline just seemed off," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger told the Indiana Daily Student in March. "Between the various accounts of people who spotted her, we realized that it was virtually impossible for this incident to have occurred"
(09/02/05 5:13am)
The man accused of fleeing the scene of an accident that killed IU student Ashley Crouse April 11 will have one final chance Oct. 11 to accept a plea deal from the prosecution. \nThe pre-trial conference for Meliton Praxidis was postponed Thursday to a date exactly six months after the incident occurred. If the defense does not accept the State's offer, the case will move to a jury trial.\nU.S. Marshals arrested Praxidis April 15 in New Castle County, Del., on class C felony charges for fleeing the scene of a vehicular accident four days after the crash. \nBecause the suspect did not possess a valid driver's license or form of identification, it took U.S. Marshals several days to locate Praxidis, as he assumed multiple aliases. Police reports in both Monroe County and New Castle County had identified the defendant as "Meliton Praxidis," "Meliton Espinoza," "Meliton Espinoza Praxidis" and "Alberto DeJesus." \nAfter obtaining an IU Police Department eyewitness sketch, the New Castle Police Department used a photograph to identify the suspect. \nPraxidis could now face two to eight years in prison. \nAccording to police, Crouse, her boyfriend, student Christopher Carlson, and student Julie Greenbaum entered the intersection of Hawthorne and Third streets the night of April 11 when a gray Honda station wagon allegedly driven by Praxidis struck their red Jeep. Both vehicles skidded into the front lawn of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house, of which Crouse was a member. \nAt the time of the accident, the Jeep had a flashing red traffic light at the intersection, while the station wagon received a yellow flashing light.\nPraxidis' roommates claimed he drank "a lot of beer" prior to leaving in the station wagon, according to the probable cause affidavit. IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger could not confirm their statements because Praxidis fled on foot before police could apprehend him with a Breathalyzer test. \nOn impact, according to police reports, Crouse, who was seated in the rear of the Jeep, was launched five feet from the vehicle. Police said she was the only passenger not strapped with a safety belt. \nCrouse was pronounced dead at 12:09 a.m. April 12 at Bloomington Hospital. Doctors treated and released Carlson and Greenbaum that day.
(06/16/05 4:00am)
Art isn't just appreciated for its aesthetic beauty but for its originality. \nSalvador Dali was unique with his representation of dripping clocks. Picasso was unique with his two-eyed profiles, and Van Gogh was known for his swirling brush strokes in "Starry Night." \nAnd there's a reason why people stare intently at these art works in the galleries rather than the vinyl placemats and canvas diaper bags resembling them in the museum gift shops. Although replicas can be just as appealing to the eye, without the innovation the masterpiece demanded in its conception, a replica can never compare to its original. \nThat's why I still, to this day, have not seen the 1990's remake of "Psycho," and that's why I'd like to throw rotten tomatoes at every "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" movie poster I see. I'm not a Brad Pitt gusher, and I'm definitely not pro-Hitchcock knock-off even if they're taking an idea, a couple who isn't really married, and turning into something completely different. \nAny movie critic who dares to commend directors for remaking the genius of Alfred Hitchcock wouldn't know the difference between Michelangelo's "David" and my refrigerator magnet of the sculpture wearing board shorts and sunglasses. \nAlfred Hitchcock, the director of the real "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and the real "Psycho," was a cinematic artist. His work has been lauded as the pinnacle of the suspense genre of films. \nBut somehow, his talent and last name has entered movie junkie lingo in the form of the term "Hitchcockian." Reviewers spit it out in their columns like popcorn kernels at the movie theater. \n"The Sixth Sense" has the kind of shocking ending found only in a Hitchcockian film. \n"Swimming Pool", a Hitchcockian thriller, will render you spellbound upon leaving the theater. \n"What Lies Beneath"'s play with human fears is the closest thing to a Hitchcockian film today. \nAccording to my World Wide Web search, anything from "Jaws" to "To Kill a Mockingbird" can fetch the return of the Hitchcockian label. \nReviewers, don't flatter yourselves. Any use of the term "Hitchcockian" is an absolute misuse. It seems any time there is a movie that has a shocking ending, a hint of paranoia, a plot twist, a spooky atmosphere or an element of surprise that works with audiences, reviewers automatically want to place it in the league with Hitchcock's films. What they obviously don't get is the distinction between surprise and suspense. \n"The Sixth Sense" is not like Hitchcock because it is not reality-based. It's simply a horror film, and though there was a definite twist to its ending, it hardly demonstrates the suspense of a Hitchcock film. For example, in the film "Vertigo," "spirits" from another realm are part of the great hoax, not the story motivator. Never once does one have to "suspend his belief" while watching a Hitchcock movie. Hitchcock made movies that scared people because they were grounded in real things -- swarms, murder, assumption of identities, phobias, mental illnesses and stalking -- not aliens, ghosts and paranormal fantasies. \nAlthough "Swimming Pool" earns its suspense stripes for creativity, why would anyone define it as Hitchcockian? The ending is elusive, leaving the audience perplexed as to what just happened, but Hitchcock was always more resolute than that. In his film "Psycho," we know the true identity of Mother and Norman Bates when we leave the screening. \nHitchcock was victorious in his attempts to force the audience to sympathize with the bad guys (the party hosts of "Rope") and feel submerged in the stories (the murderer Lars Thorwald in "Rear Window" appears to be looking back at you from his window and not at leading character L.B. Jeffries). \nWhat is clear is that Hitchcock constantly reinvented fear. With every film, he was a pioneer in some technique or concept, so to actually create a genre called "Hitchcockian" is contradictory of everything Hitchcock stood for in his career -- to be a one-of-a-kind, to be innovative. \nI say bring on the rotten tomatoes to any director so bold as to remake one of his films. \nThey may have the Hitchcock, but do they have the balls to be original?
(06/16/05 1:51am)
Art isn't just appreciated for its aesthetic beauty but for its originality. \nSalvador Dali was unique with his representation of dripping clocks. Picasso was unique with his two-eyed profiles, and Van Gogh was known for his swirling brush strokes in "Starry Night." \nAnd there's a reason why people stare intently at these art works in the galleries rather than the vinyl placemats and canvas diaper bags resembling them in the museum gift shops. Although replicas can be just as appealing to the eye, without the innovation the masterpiece demanded in its conception, a replica can never compare to its original. \nThat's why I still, to this day, have not seen the 1990's remake of "Psycho," and that's why I'd like to throw rotten tomatoes at every "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" movie poster I see. I'm not a Brad Pitt gusher, and I'm definitely not pro-Hitchcock knock-off even if they're taking an idea, a couple who isn't really married, and turning into something completely different. \nAny movie critic who dares to commend directors for remaking the genius of Alfred Hitchcock wouldn't know the difference between Michelangelo's "David" and my refrigerator magnet of the sculpture wearing board shorts and sunglasses. \nAlfred Hitchcock, the director of the real "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and the real "Psycho," was a cinematic artist. His work has been lauded as the pinnacle of the suspense genre of films. \nBut somehow, his talent and last name has entered movie junkie lingo in the form of the term "Hitchcockian." Reviewers spit it out in their columns like popcorn kernels at the movie theater. \n"The Sixth Sense" has the kind of shocking ending found only in a Hitchcockian film. \n"Swimming Pool", a Hitchcockian thriller, will render you spellbound upon leaving the theater. \n"What Lies Beneath"'s play with human fears is the closest thing to a Hitchcockian film today. \nAccording to my World Wide Web search, anything from "Jaws" to "To Kill a Mockingbird" can fetch the return of the Hitchcockian label. \nReviewers, don't flatter yourselves. Any use of the term "Hitchcockian" is an absolute misuse. It seems any time there is a movie that has a shocking ending, a hint of paranoia, a plot twist, a spooky atmosphere or an element of surprise that works with audiences, reviewers automatically want to place it in the league with Hitchcock's films. What they obviously don't get is the distinction between surprise and suspense. \n"The Sixth Sense" is not like Hitchcock because it is not reality-based. It's simply a horror film, and though there was a definite twist to its ending, it hardly demonstrates the suspense of a Hitchcock film. For example, in the film "Vertigo," "spirits" from another realm are part of the great hoax, not the story motivator. Never once does one have to "suspend his belief" while watching a Hitchcock movie. Hitchcock made movies that scared people because they were grounded in real things -- swarms, murder, assumption of identities, phobias, mental illnesses and stalking -- not aliens, ghosts and paranormal fantasies. \nAlthough "Swimming Pool" earns its suspense stripes for creativity, why would anyone define it as Hitchcockian? The ending is elusive, leaving the audience perplexed as to what just happened, but Hitchcock was always more resolute than that. In his film "Psycho," we know the true identity of Mother and Norman Bates when we leave the screening. \nHitchcock was victorious in his attempts to force the audience to sympathize with the bad guys (the party hosts of "Rope") and feel submerged in the stories (the murderer Lars Thorwald in "Rear Window" appears to be looking back at you from his window and not at leading character L.B. Jeffries). \nWhat is clear is that Hitchcock constantly reinvented fear. With every film, he was a pioneer in some technique or concept, so to actually create a genre called "Hitchcockian" is contradictory of everything Hitchcock stood for in his career -- to be a one-of-a-kind, to be innovative. \nI say bring on the rotten tomatoes to any director so bold as to remake one of his films. \nThey may have the Hitchcock, but do they have the balls to be original?
