A&E

Is it l33t or is it Shakespeare?

Fan fiction, I condemn thee to hell! That was the fire and brimstone message of last week's column. But surely there must be some soothing balm of sweet salvation for aspiring writers desperate to waste the sum of their waking hours on the Internet.

New film series explores nationality, race

Lovers of unique and controversial cinema will be happily surprised if they wander into The Cinemat any Thursday night in April, as they will find the first-ever German and Turkish series in Bloomington.

POLKA

Artifacts

SoFA Gallery features, celebrates student artwork

There are few places where student art can hang next to the work of famous artists. The School of Fine Arts Gallery is one of them. "SoFA has high standards," said Galo Moncayo, an IU professor of sculpture. "Every time students go, they get to see their peers' art alongside internationally known artists."

Slave era, struggle for freedom explored at dance performance this weekend

Academic-based dances sandwiched student collaborations at the African American Dance Company spring concert, "Moving the Movement: Dancing Liberation," Saturday evening at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Interim Director Deadra Nelson-Mason said she based the first and last pieces of the performance on research conducted for her thesis in African diaspora studies and dance at New York University.

Technical glitches fail to stop production's spring concert

Rows of black tights shook with laughter under the glare of lights, and the chorus of Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted" played again and again, but Gary Wohlafka, listed in InMotion Dance Company's "Fusion" program as the lighting designer and audio technician, just couldn't seem to get it right. Several times, co-director and junior Justine Menter's blonde hair would flip up while she yelled, "Music? Music now, please," up to the sound booth.

Free dance show features hip-hop, jazz

InMotion Dance Company co-director and junior Justine Menter said style, dance experience and creativity from all over the country will fuse this Saturday evening for a great performance.

Go jump in a lake (and take a clock, too)

Prepare to reset your clocks. At 2 a.m. Sunday, Indiana will conform with the majority of the country and begin observing daylight-saving time for the first time since 1970. All political arguments aside, let's get down to the heart of this concept from a cultural level.

Yoga allows art lovers to work out in museums

UTICA, N.Y. -- It may seem like an ordinary art lecture for the visitors viewing a watercolor titled "Moon and Cumulus Cloud." But the listeners are sitting on exercise mats and wearing sweats. It's a yoga art session, an effort to soothe the soul and tone the body in the inspirational setting of an art museum. After the art lesson on how the painter captured the effect of nocturnal light on the landscape, the visitors will get an hourlong yoga session.

IU fashion shows fill weekend

IU/NYC performers collaborate for performance

In a small rehearsal room in the Musical Arts Center Tuesday night, a group of seven strangely-clad people met to practice their arias and dance steps for their upcoming performance. They wore a mixture of street clothes, dance shoes and bits of fancy petticoats and headdresses. The elaborate costumes, lilting melodies and fluid motions are all parts of baroque period culture. This Sunday, thanks to a grant from IU's New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities program, the Early Music Institute will be sponsoring a performance featuring the IU Baroque Orchestra and the New York Baroque Dance Company. The production will be at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and admission is free. The first half of the program will showcase the New York Baroque Dance Company with two dance numbers, and the second half will feature several IU students in the baroque opera "Pygmalion." The IU Baroque Orchestra will provide the music for the entire show, said Catherine Turocy, co-founder and artistic director of the NYBDC.

Rockin' in the NCAA: John Mellencamp to put on free Final Four concert

INDIANAPOLIS -- Growing up near Indiana University, John Mellencamp couldn't help but become a big college basketball fan. So big, in fact, that as part of the NCAA's Final Four weekend here he's headlining a free outdoor concert Sunday -- one expected to draw up to 100,000 people. Mellencamp, whose "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." is featured in commercials promoting this year's NCAA tournament, agreed to perform largely because of his relationship with former IU president Myles Brand, who now heads the NCAA.

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

Bloomington...and all that jazz

The lights dim and a sea of colored luminescent lights flood the busied café. The musicians take stage -- rhythm in the back and horns, trumpet and saxophone up front. The ensemble rustles its music then turns to the sax player who begins to snap his fingers. The room is silent save the uniform tapping of the feet to the recognized beat. The foot is understood. After the count off, the horns blare and the players begin to craft their musical art. For the players in The Mike Epstein Quintet, a local IU student jazz combo, this musical ritual embodies their typical Friday night.

TREASURE!

TREASURE! -- Dora the Explorer (right, kneeling) and her friends investigate the treasure chest that holds all of their party supplies. But just around the corner are the Pirate Piggies with a plan to steal the treasure chest. Dora's Pirate Adventure is showing at the IU Auditorium through tonight.

How the Internet jumped the shark

Do you remember the television show "Punky Brewster?" Have you ever wondered what it would be like if good ol' Punky grew up and became a doctor, only to be forced to come to terms with the death of her old neighbor Betty Johnson?

BEATBOXING

Drag pageant draws crowd

During the first round question-and-answer session of the 15th annual Miss Gay IU drag pageant, contestant Naomi Divine answered with, "We're here, we're queer, we're proud and we're gonna live for it." Her response captured the mood of the event, which was hosted by OUT, IU's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Union, Friday at the IU Auditorium.

Buck Owens, country music star famed for 'Act Naturally,' dies

LOS ANGELES - Singer Buck Owens, the flashy rhinestone cowboy who shaped the sound of country music with hits like "Act Naturally" and brought the genre to TV on the long-running "Hee Haw," died Saturday at the age of 76. Owens died at his home in Bakersfield, Calif., said family spokesman Jim Shaw. The cause of death was not immediately known. Owens had undergone throat cancer surgery in 1993 and was hospitalized with pneumonia in 1997.