A&E

ARTIFACTS

What:Head of Pharaoh with Junior Blue Crown by an Egyptian, probable Dynasty 21 (1045-945 B.C.) Where to find it: The IU Art Museum, Ancient Collection

Irish pubs offer rich cultural experience to student

The night starts slow. People steadily pour through the old wooden doors of McDonagh's Pub. Soccer plays on the television in the background. A group of old men laugh as they play a game of darts, arguing now and then about the score. It is a normal Wednesday night in Dalkey, Ireland. A man strolls in quietly, singing to himself, "When Irish eyes are smiling, sure 'tis like the morn in spring. In the lilt of Irish laughter, you can hear the angels sing ..."

Magazine accepting student submissions

Student artists and writers looking to have their work published have the opportunity in Canvas, the Union Board-sponsored fine arts magazine. Photography, paintings, poetry and short fiction pieces are typical submissions to the magazine, which comes out once a semester, but the publication isn't limited to that type of work, said senior Karolyn Steffens, assistant director of Canvas. "We'll consider any kind of visual art that people want to send in," she said. The magazine is completely student-run and a selections committee comprised of several students, not just art students, decides which submitted pieces will run.

Chronicler of American feminism dies of cancer

NEW YORK -- Playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who celebrated women confronting feminism, careers, love and motherhood in such works as "The Heidi Chronicles" and "The Sisters Rosensweig," died Monday. She was 55. Wasserstein, who had been battling cancer in recent months, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Andre Bishop, head of Lincoln Center Theater and Wasserstein's close friend and mentor, said the cause of death was lymphoma. "She was an extraordinary human being whose work and whose life were extremely intertwined," Bishop said. "She was not unlike the heroines of most of her plays -- a strong-minded, independent, serious good person." Wasserstein's writing was known for its sharp, often wry observations about what women had to do to succeed in a world dominated by men.

CHOCOLATE

The Pride Film Festival's dance party included movies on blowing tapestries, a chocolate covered man and several hours of dance music for festival attendees.

The art of chocolate

A chiseled statue inspired by the greek god Atlas stood covered in chocolate. Without warning, he moved. Dave Naze, an assistant instructor in the IU Department of Communication and Culture, said he'd never before been covered in chocolate, but described playing Atlas as an exciting, liberating experience.

ARTiculate

Frank Stella (1936-present) is an American abstract painter, sculptor and printmaker with work on display in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minnesota. His work is listed as some of the most expensive among living artists, according to an article on the Art News Online Web site. His "Black Paintings" series sold for more than $5 million at auction.

Winfrey's reprimand of Frey novel questioned

CHICAGO -- When Oprah Winfrey confronted disgraced author James Frey on a recent live taping of her talk show, analysts say her motive wasn't only about bringing the truth to light, it was about protecting her brand.

Broadway show debuts at IU Auditorium

"Chicago," known to many as the star-filled musical that made it to the Hollywood big-screen, is coming to the IU Auditorium Tuesday and Wednesday. But what you'll see is not what you got from the Academy Award-winning film. In fact, the film originated from the Broadway revival that is coming to Bloomington.

Fashion major reaches others through job, classwork

Every day, senior Bailey Redick gets up by 8 a.m. "I always have something to do," she said. Redick is a runner who has competed in a 26-mile marathon. She wants to join the Air Force and she is a resident assistant in McNutt Quad.

Take a peek at 'Beauty and the Geek'

The battle between book smarts and social skills goes head-to-head every Thursday night at 9 p.m. If you're busy then, just check back the following Wednesday evening for a replay.

IU student is 'the biggest loser'

In her thin fingers, Susan Eley holds up a snapshot of herself in college, taken just before she filled an auditorium with her dramatic soprano voice. Her large body was draped in a crimson gown and a powdered beehive wig sat atop her head. She points the image toward her husband, Ben, and asks if he would have noticed her then.

Professors' musical art based on birds' flocking

Science and music combine to make an experimental form of art in A(rt) Life 2.0, an exhibit on display at the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts until Feb. 4. A reception at the gallery will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today. Larry Yaeger, a professor in the School of Informatics, and Norbert Herber, a professor in the Department of Telecommunications, collaborated on the project, which uses complicated algorithms of flocking behavior similar to that of birds. The "birds" in the exhibit, which appear as three-dimensional geometric shapes, use Yaeger's algorithm to flock in random ways, though they do follow certain rules to guarantee that they remain as a flock, Yaeger said. Their actions are tied in with musical noises, such that different behaviors result in different sounds.

Ecuadorean exhibit shows daily life

A vivid array of paintings from Ecuador is on display now through May 7 at the IU Mathers Museum of World Culture. The exhibit, titled "Emerald, Ruby, and Gold: Contemporary Paintings of an Andean Indigenous Culture," also offers visitors explanations and maps as to the paintings' cultural origins. Terra Fuller, a graduate student and curator for the exhibit, explains that these paintings are a relatively recent development.

Fayard Nicholas of famed brothers dancing duo dies at 91

LOS ANGELES - Fayard Nicholas, who with his brother Harold wowed the tap dancing world with their astonishing athleticism and inspired generations of dancers, from Fred Astaire to Savion Glover, has died. He was 91. Nicholas died Tuesday at his home from pneumonia and other complications of a stroke, his son Tony Nicholas said. "My dad put heaven on hold and now they can begin the show," the younger Nicholas said Wednesday. The Nicholas brothers were still boys when they were featured at New York's Cotton Club in 1932. Though young, they were billed as "The Show Stoppers" and despite the racial hurdles facing black performers, they went on to Broadway, then Hollywood.

Britney's man debuts rap album

NEW YORK - The rap debut of Kevin Federline -- known as K-Fed to some but to most as Mr. Britney Spears -- features only a snippet of his lyrical prowess. Given the response to it, even less might have been better. "PopoZao,"a Brazilian-inspired groove which features Federline rapping about large posteriors in-between a few yelps and a gruff-voiced chorus, made its debut on the Internet earlier this month. Though the track is three minutes long and Federline's rap lasts for less than a minute, it has already become a popular music track circulating on the Web.

Being fashionable is being logical

Pride films breakthrough onto the big screen

Keith Romaine, a Bloomington resident since 1991, attended last year's PRIDE Film Festival party and decided that, while it was nice, he could do better. With improvement in mind, he went to work, taking on the position of party coordinator for this year's festival. Romaine has hand-sewn more than 60 banners and silks, which he will use during the after-party to decorate the auditorium of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, located at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., the site of this year's festival. Using fabric, food, drinks, music, dancing, and a man covered in chocolate Romaine hopes to "generate a queer celebratory space where creativity, play, acceptance, vitality and the carnivalesque are available to everyone."

'Idol' develops mean streak in season 5

LOS ANGELES -- Considering it's the biggest kid on the block, "American Idol" is becoming quite the bully. Fox's talent contest has regularly made an art of mocking the untalented who expose their dreams of stardom on TV, but the show's fifth year has the stench of a mean season.

Keeping it weird on eBay

Maybe the hookah you bought your freshman year doesn't spark the same interest that it once did, or perhaps the steadily growing pyramid of bottles in your living room has turned from prodigious feat to passable yawn.