Buzz Magazine: Jan. 27, 2005

y l k e e w

z buz FREE

s

o

u

n

d

s

f

r

o

m

t

h

11 01 | 27 | 05 . 02 | 02 | 05 champaign . urbana

e

s

19

c

e

n

e

25

2 •

buzz weekly

HYPER COLOR PANTS. IT’S THE FASHION OF THE FUTURE.

|1-5| 3 3 4 4 5 5

PHOTOS • ADRIANA D'ONOFRIO

| 6 - 9| 6

6 7

| 10 - 13| 10

Penny Dreadful Players

p. 19

11 12

To the Campus Community:

12 13

| 14 - 18 |

Life changed significantly for many of our fellow Illini during the winter break. Some of our colleagues return to campus heartbroken at the loss of family and friends in a devastating Southeast Asian tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands and left more than a million people with nothing. People around the world have struggled to cope with the enormity of this disaster and to understand ways in which we might better prepare for future natural disasters.

As an institution which gathers great minds from around the world, and one which prides itself on its service to the world, the University of Illinois is well qualified to lead a search for the lessons to be found in this catastrophic natural disaster and the world’s response to it. I invite you to join your colleagues and neighbors in a forum on Tuesday, February 1st, to examine how the world can reduce the terrible consequences of future disasters.

Interim Chancellor Richard Herman

16 17 17

| 19 - 22 | 19 20 20

22 22

| 23 | 19

| 24- 26 | 24 25 25 25

Tuesday, February 1, 2005 3:30pm - 5:00pm Illini Union A & B More information at: www.cgs.uiuc.edu/about/Events/Globalr.html

25 26 22

| 27 |

t he

!"#$%&'($&)*+$%

INTRO

editor’s note This Modern World • Tom Tomorrow Sh!ts and giggles News of the weird • Chuck Shephard The Local Sniff • Seth Fein First things first • Michael Coulter

AROUND TOWN

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

DOGS ARE LIKE PEOPLE ONLY HAIRIER.

PHONE: 217/337-8337 DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Tuesday for the next Thursday’s edition.

C OV E R

under

JA N . 27

Developing an urban Champaign • Emily Wahlheim Life in Hell • Matt Groening q + a with Jeff Brandt

LISTEN, HEAR Green Street Records releases • compiled by Kyle Gorman American Minor returns • Elisabeth Lim The Hurly-Burly • Logan Moore Sound Ground #60 • Todd J. Hunter Bright Eyes reviews • Gavin Paul Giovagnoli, Imran Siddiquee

MAIN EVENT Free Will Astrology Bob ’n Dave • David King Jonesin’ Crosswords • Matt Gaffney

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Theatre in Hell • Patrick Galvin Artist Corner with Cindy Westfall Confessions of an Heiress review • Katie Richardson Th(ink) • Keef Knight Chicago theater • Jeff Nelson

602 E. Stoughton Unique 1 & 2 bedroom apartments.

All furnished, laundry, internet, and parking available. Must see!! www.ugroup96.com 352-3182

INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Wine and Food A to Z • Amanda Kolling

RATES:

THE SILVER SCREEN

420

Furnished

DEADLINE:

WINE + DINE

APARTMENTS

Transportation 300 AUTOMOBILES

310

www.lookatusedcars.com

Apartments

400

APARTMENTS

410

Furnished/Unfurnished 1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $545 3 bedrooms $650 4 bedrooms $1000 Campus, parking.

Fall 04, 367-6626

420

Furnished 1006 S. 3RD, C. Aug 2005. 1 bedroom. Location, location. Covered parking & laundry, furnished & patios, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 203 S. Sixth. C. For August 2005. Large 3, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. Balconies, laundry, covered parking. Phone 352-3182.

Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 207- 211 JOHN Fall 2005 Prime Campus Location 2, 3 Bedrooms Phone 352-3182 THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com

1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $585 3 bedrooms $750 4 bedrooms $1000 Campus, parking.

Fall ‘05, 367-6626

307 & 310 E. White 307 & 309 Clark

One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com Available Jan 05 1 bedroom $385 Campus. 367-6626 Available Now. 2 bedroom on campus. $550 per month. 367-6626.

BEST VALUE 1 BR. loft from $480.

1 Br. $370 2 BR. $470 3 BR. $750 4 BR $755 Campus. 367-6626.

One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com

APARTMENTS

APARTMENTS

420

Furnished 1005 S. SECOND, C Efficiencies. Available now and Fall 2005. Secured building. Private parking. Laundry on site, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 105 E. John Available Fall 2005. 1 bedroom furnished, great location. Includes parking. www.ugroup96.com 352-3182

Fall 2005. Large studio, double closet, well furnished. Secured building.

Available January. www.ugroup96.com 352-3182 503-505-508 E. White Now & Fall 2005 2 and 3 bedrooms. Furnished with internet. Parking and laundry available. On-site resident manager. Call Kenny at 352-3182. www.ugroup96.com 506 E. Stoughton, C For August 2005. Extra large efficiency apartments. Security building entry, complete furniture, laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Champaign.

THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 509 E. White, C. Aug. 2005. Large 1 bedrooms. Security entry, balconies, patios, furnished. Laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182.

Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 604 E. White, C. Security Entrance For Fall 2005, Large 1 bedroom furnished, balconies, patios, laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, C. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 605 S. Fifth, C. Fall 2005 5th and Green location Outdoor activity area. 1 bedrooms available. Garage off-street parking.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Champaign.

THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com

Awesome Duplex with Loft & Skylight! Newer 3+ Bedrooms freshly painted w/ new furniture. Fully furnished with free laundry and parking.

801A Stoughton, Urbana. $1325/mo. Call 202-6412 for showings: Tue/ Thurs 9-1pm or 4-6pm.

HEALEY COURT APARTMENTS 307- 309 Healey Court.

Fall 2005. Behind Gully’s. 2 bedrooms. Ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, C. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com JOHN STREET APARTMENTS 58 E. John August 2005. Two and three bedrooms, fully furnished. Dishwashers, center courtyard, on-site laundry, central air, ethernet available.

352-3182 University Group Call Chad at 344-9157 www.ugroup96.com OLD TOWN CHAMPAIGN 510 S. Elm Available Fall 2005. 2 BR close to campus, hardwood floors, dishwasher, W/D, central air/heat, off street parking, 24 hr. maintenance. $525/mo. 352-3182 or 841-1996. www.ugroup96.com

APARTMENTS

430

Unfurnished

800 W. CHURCH, C.

Now available, 2 BR. Centrally located near shopping/transportation.

Onsite laundry, parking included. $425/mo.

217-352-8540 217-355-4608 pm/wknd www.faronproperties.com

CONVENIENT ONE BEDROOMS

Conveniently located near downtown Champaign, 1 BR apartments available February 1. From $360/mo. 352-8540.

355-4608 pm/wknds www.faronproperties.com

SUBLETS

440

2 bedroom, unfurnished. 701 W. Indiana, U. Pets possible. $550/mo. til August. 333-7784, 337-5590.

Furnished studio for summer. Fourth and White. Water paid. $330/mo.

309-825-1165.

Other Rentals 500 HOUSES

510

2 bedroom and 7 bedroom house on campus for Fall 2004. 367-6626.

Billed rate: 35¢/word

A Deadline not to miss • Andrew Vecelas Million Dollar Baby review • Matt Pais Assault on Precinct 13 review • Paul Prikazsky C-U Views • Compiled by Sarah Krohn Movie time listings Drive Thru Reviews Slowpoke • Jen Sorenson

Eight to Nine Bedroom Fall, Campus, $2850 367-6626

Paid-in-Advance: 28¢/word Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue

Eight to Nine Bedroom Fall, Campus, $2850 367-6626

Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

ROOM & BOARD

Want community? Homemade vegetarian meals? Affordable private rooms? www.couch.coop

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

CLASSIFIEDS

540

this is real news

,-

buzz weekly •

27

except lighter

DIET: Beagle study shows value of diet, exercise and stimulation in forestalling mental decline MATT CRENSON • AP NATIONAL WRITER

(AP) - Perhaps people can learn some new tricks from old dogs in warding off the mental decline that comes with aging.

Those tricks include good diet, exercise and plenty of mental stimulation.

A study, in which old beagles learn to win a shell game, suggests that aging humans might benefit from improved diets and habits too, because dogs and people experience remarkably similar cognitive declines as they get older. Dogs even develop plaque deposits in their brains similar to the ones that can eventually lead to Alzheimer's disease in humans.

In this experiment, researchers taught old beagles to find treats under different colored boxes. The dogs that ate an enriched diet, got more exercise and had the benefit of toys and playmates were far more likely to figure it out.

Some studies have suggested that people can ward off or at least delay the mental effects of aging by eating a diet rich in antioxidants and other compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Other studies have found that exercise and mental stimulation may also have a protective effect.

But the beagle study is unique in looking at diet and behavior together.

"What I think is interesting about this study and somewhat different is the combination," said Molly Wagster, a program director at the National Institute on Aging. "The combination effect is better than either thing alone."

The study divided 48 beagles between the ages of eight and 11 into four groups. One group got a twice-weekly workout, a regular rotation of toys, lived in a kennel with a roommate and "went to school" to learn how to find hidden treats. Another group ate a diet rich in antioxidants, but enjoyed none of the lifestyle benefits of the first group. A third group got both the antioxidant diet and the lifestyle benefits. And the last group got no special treatment.

The experiment is described in the January issue of Neurobiology

of Aging. It involved researchers from the University of Toronto, the University of California Irvine, the Hill's Pet Nutrition Science and Technology Center and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute.

After two years of living in their different groups, all of the dogs were taught a trick that required them to find a treat under either a black or white box. For each it was always the same color, and all 48 dogs eventually learned that black (or white) meant a treat.

But that was just the old trick.

The researchers then switched boxes. If a dog had found its treat under the white box before, the morsel was hidden under the black one, and vice versa. Now the dogs had to figure out that they were playing the same game with the colors reversed.

All 12 of the dogs in the group with an enriched diet and highstimulation environment learned the new trick.

"We were surprised to see that," said Elizabeth Head, one of eight collaborators on the experiment.

From previous experience, she said, "we would have expected at least two to three of them not to be able to do this."

The other three groups did not perform as well. Eight out of 12 dogs that ate an enriched diet alone figured it out, and eight out of 10 in the high-stimulation group solved the puzzle.

In the group that got neither a special diet nor a stimulating environment, only two out of eight dogs picked up on the color reversal.

Though the experiment was small, said Head, a professor of neurology at the University of California Irvine, "these results are relatively striking."

And because the treatments began when the dogs were already middle-aged, the study suggests that similar lifestyle change can improve the cognitive abilities of humans even when adopted fairly late in life.

"There's the indication that it's never too late," said Wagster.

"Which I think is a very important implication."

ROOMMATE WANTED 550 1 bedroom, near campus $300 per month 367-6626

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

S

26 •

buzz weekly

I’M IN A GLASS BOX OF EMOTION!

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27 that sometimes there is no more romantic act than saving a life. And as the need for action stains the purity of love, House of Flying Daggers cuts right through you. (Matt Pais)

uperbowl!

February 6th

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

EDITOR’S NOTE

IN GOOD COMPANY 3 stars Topher Grace & Scarlett Johansson In Good Company succeeds thanks to a solid, character-driven concept and three wonderful lead performances. It’s not a movie that makes you stand up and cheer, yet you can’t seem to get it out of your head or your heart. (Matt Pais)

Party All Day!

Watch The SuperBowl & The Illini On Our HDTVs FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS Miller Lite & Coors Light

$2.00 Pints

Miller Lite & Coors Light Giveaways

Buses available to all Home Big Ten Games

2 East Main, Champaign 359≠ 3148 11am≠ 2am Mon≠ Sat 12pm≠ 2am Sunday

THE AVIATOR 3.5 STARS

Leonardo DiCaprio & Alec Baldwin The Aviator is a fantastic journey that cashes in on one of the greatest casting jobs with a little help from a savvy director. Scorsese has a great film that will maintain his legacy among Hollywood’s finest directors. It won’t surprise anyone when it pulls in an Oscar nomination or two. (Andrew Crewell) COACH CARTER

3.5 stars Samuel L. Jackson & Ashanti It is predictable, a tad cliche, and it relies on some familiar techniques seen over and over again in sports films. But Coach Carter achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It is a magical story with a surprising and all too perfect ending. (David Just) ELEKTRA 1.5 stars Jennifer Garner & Terence Stamp One of the worst things a film can do is cause the audience to sit in the theater and realize how much better the movie could have been while they are watching it. This is precisely what Elektra does.

(Randy Ma) HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS 3 .5 STARS Andy Lau & Takeshi Kaneshiro This is a ceaselessly thrilling story about the ways that love, sex and violence become wrapped into one and

WHITE NOISE 2 stars 2 stars Michael Keaton & Chandra West As a result of the production values, White Noise is better than the screenplay had any right to be.

The factual background of EVP elevates the fear in the stor y and the creepy tone does provide great buildup for the scares when they finally come.

(Randy Ma)

!"#$%&'()*+$ opening this weekend

ALONE IN THE DARK Christian Slater & Tara Reid From the director of House of the Dead comes this long-awaited adaptation of the classic PC game series. Slater plays a paranormal investigator solving a mystery on the unfortunatelynamed Shadow Island. My, Oscar season is starting early this year. (Andrew Vecelas) HIDE AND SEEK Robert DeNiro & Dakota Fanning Hollywood’s latest fixation is horror movies featuring disturbing little girls. Following in this grand tradition comes Hide and Seek, with DeNiro as a man whose life is thrown into hell when his wife has committed suicide and his daughter starts talking to a strange imaginary friend. (Andrew Vecelas)

PIZZERIA . BILLIARDS

Serving CUí s Best Pizza, Soups, Salads, & Desserts

PAUL WAGNER • EDITOR IN CHIEF

I

woke up Saturday, and it was snowing. Hard.And it was cold and windy. Really windy. And it sucked. I’m not trying to say that I don’t like snow. I know what you’re thinking: who doesn’t like snow? Trust me, there are people out there who don’t like snow, and that boggles my mind. It sucked because I had to walk back to my apartment in the morning. And six blocks isn’t even that far.

But as I braved the cold—OK, not braved so much as survived—I decided that it was an inside kinda day. I didn’t want to wait in line at a bar, and I didn’t want to walk anywhere farther away than the parking garage underneath my building. And I did go there. I brought some friends with me and made a life-changing purchase: Xbox.Yes, I know, this makes me a giant nerd, but it was an inside kinda day and there’s no better way to spend inside days than with friends eatin’ pizza and playing games.

So we played Halo 2 for a good part of the day or at least until the other people that came over told us to stop, and it was great.

And to finish off the night we played Catch Phrase and knocked back some beer. All in all, it was a fantastic night. My clothes didn’t smell like bar afterwards. We didn’t have to yell over the music to be heard … it was just an intimate gathering of friends around a fun board game.And of course, we modified the game to involve drinking and sex (each clue had to have some kind of sexual story attached to it), but it was still a night of games and friends, and it was awesome.

So I guess this editor’s note is to those of you who thinking that the only way to have a good time is to drink more than you can handle and go to the bars or some random frat party. To you people I leave you with this: as dorky as it sounds, get some friends together and play some board games on some weekend night. You just may find a great night waiting for you.

-PW

CarryOut Available

Celebrate Woodchuck Day

Wednesday February 2nd

Includes 3 new releases Monday-Thursday

Woodchuck Pints only $3.00 Woodchuck Giveaways!! www.jupiterpizza.com Mon≠ Sat 11am≠ 2am, Sun 12pm≠ 2am 39 E. Main St., Downtown Champaign 398≠ 5988

jus t

Buses Available To All Illini Big 10 Home Games

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

0 $2.5

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

1901 S . Philo 344-0507

f r o m

t h e

1101 N . Mattis 352-2172

s c e n e

3

BUZZ STAFF v o l u m e

3

n o . 4

Cover Design • Sue Janna Truscott Editor in chief • Paul Wagner Art Directors • Carol Mudra Copy Chief • Stacey Ivanic Music • Kyle Gorman Arts • Brian Warmoth Film • Andrew Vecelas Community • Susie An Calendar • Erin Scottberg Photography Editor • David Solana Designers • Adam Obendorf, Jordan Herron, Sue Janna Truscott, Glenn Cochon, Pat Pasquini, Claire Napier Calendar Coordinators • Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography • Sarah Krohn Copy Editors • Jen Hubert, Nellie Waddell Staff Writers • Matt Pais, Susie An, Paul Prikazsky Kyle Gorman, Elizabeth Lim, Todd J Hunter,Imran Siddiquee Gavin Paul Giovagnoli, Emily Walheim Contributing Writers • Michael Coulter, Amanda Kolling, Seth Fein, Logan Moore, Jeff Nelson Production Manager • Theon Smith Sales Manager • Jon Maly Marketing/Distribution • Rory Darnay, Louis Reeves III Publisher • Mary Cory

TALK TO BUZZ e-mail:

buzz@readbuzz.com write:

57 E. Green St. Champaign, IL 61820 call:

217.337.3801 We reserve the right to edit submissions. Buzz will not publish a letter without the verbal consent of the writer prior to publication date.

Buzz magazine is a student-run publication of Illini Media Company and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

First copy of Buzz is FREE, each additional copy is $.50

daily

ays 15 d t s 1 of f D’s 50% f DV o s ’ 1000

805 N . Lincoln 344-0130

buzz weekly •

ONLY FINE ARTISTS STARVE...

© Illini Media Company 2004

letter to the editor

,")-#&.$

The reason I'm writing to you is to discuss your

article about the Art East Annex at the University.

Apparently, the art students are upset about the fumes, rodents and general overall conditions of the studio work spaces available to them.There was also mention of the engineering department and their state of the art facilities.

This is a wake-up call to all aspiring young artists from one who has been at it for many years: Get used to it. When you graduate from college, unless you choose to teach, work in a museum or pursue any other art career other than your own work, this is real life for 99 percent of you.

Read between the lines in your art history books and realize that most famous artists didn't become wealthy until they were comatose or dead. They didn't have fancy studios with state-of-the-art lighting and proper ventilation. They lived, and still do, in cramped one room dumps in large cities, usually in dangerous neighborhoods, with one window and inhale the fumes of the city., i.e. city buses, garbage trucks, industrial waste, etc ...This is a real life artist's life. Also, how many art students smoke anyway?

Many do. We're known to stay up all night, drink lots of coffee, liquor, eat junk food or not at all. It’s all part of our make up.

My point is this, if you don't think you can tolerate the fumes and the crappy conditions at the swanky University now, get out now; get into something else like accounting or social work because you'll never make it as an artist.You'll never

survive if you're a whiner. Artists have to be tough, very tough and make do with what they have and be very resourceful. Because you'll dig through garbage dumps for new ideas and supplies and even furniture for yourself and be excited with your new found treasures, honest. Your mom and dad won't take you to Dick Blick and buy you the finest supplies.You'll have to beg, borrow and yes, the other sometimes to make do, but if it’s in your soul, you'll be a shining star, a great artist and just maybe, have a funky little studio of your own someday!

Imagine the possibilities, the great fun you'll have.You'll be able to invite your traditional friends you went to school with that chose to go into engineering and law to your studio/home in the big city. Of course you'll have to assure them that they won't get mugged or maimed coming into the city.

They'll think you're brave, bold, courageous, and will be envious too. They'll talk about it amongst themselves and all of your old friends whenever they get together, always. It will be a great adventure for them to leave their boring, traditional, mundane suburban bungalows to see your slice of life, humble as it might be.They'll want to buy some of your work too; don't sell it too cheap, because they've got money and your work IS very valuable. It will be an emotional investment too, for them. It’s a win-win sale for all. You'll make it if it’s in your heart and soul, so please, don't sweat the fumes at this stage!, Some things really never do change, honest.

- Carli Bailey

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

weekly

YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS TRYING TO SANDWICH MEAT.

n e w s n o t

j u s t

oF thE

LEAD STORY Nonlethal war tactics suggested by an Air Force research team in the 1990s were made public in December by the military watchdog organization Sunshine Project and included a recommendation to expose enemy troops to powerful aphrodisiacs in order to distract them into lustful hookups with each other (irrespective of gender). (The Pentagon said the idea was dropped almost immediately, but the Sunshine Project said it was discussed as recently as 2001.) Other ideas: giving the enemy severe halitosis (so they could be detected within a civilian population), overrunning enemy positions with rats or wasps, and creating waves of fecal gas.

SCENES OF THE SURREAL (1) In a December demonstration against the opening of a McDonald's in the Mediterranean town of Sete, France, about 500 protesters, using a homemade catapult, bombarded the restaurant with fresh catches of the area's renowned delica-

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

wEiRd

chuck shepherd

cy, octopus. (2) NASA announced in October it was retiring the KC-135 plane it had long been using to train astronauts for weightlessness in flight; an official told reporters that the air crews had kept track of the amount of astronaut vomit cleaned up over the years and that the total was at least 285 gallons.

THINNING THE HERD A 70-year-old woman was fatally struck by two cars as she, wielding a knife, chased her husband into the street during an argument (Springfield Township, Pa., November). And a 43-year-old passenger was fatally injured, after he, sitting in the back seat, began beating up the driver, causing him to lose control and smash into a tree.

(The driver survived.) (Newport News, Va., November) And a 54-year-old man was killed after a road rage duel with another driver when he got out of his car, lunged after the other car while it was moving, missed, and hit his head (Jacksonville, Fla., August).

RECURRING THEMES Latest From the Class-Action Lawyers' Money Tree: (1) The six lawyers who helped 83 WalMart workers win about $2,500 each (for being improperly denied overtime pay) asked the Portland, Ore., judge in December for fees totaling $2.57 million, about 12 times the clients' total winnings (citing the difficult work, WalMart's contentiousness and the case's implications beyond their 83 clients). (2) And when phone company customers won $25 refunds in a September class-action settlement with Ameritech in Madison County, Ill., lawyers got $1.9 million in legal fees; a local watchdog group said (based on experience) only about 10 percent of eligible customers would bother to apply for refunds, meaning that lawyers' fees would ultimately account for about 60 percent of the amount Ameritech pays out.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Chuck Shepherd Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

S H !t S

[

a Nd

Gi g gLEs

An informed and opinionated look at this week’s events

]

COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

President Bush emphasized "free-

dom" in his inauguration speech this week. A portion of the speech read, "We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom." Here we thought he was taking his cues from Cheney, apparently it's the crew of the starship Enterprise.

The inauguration included some of

the most elaborate security measures in the history of the ceremony including the use of over 7,000 law enforcement agents and the stationing of anti-aircraft missiles near the Capitol.

Protesters could be overheard saying, "They've got fucking missiles, shit man maybe we should get out of here."

Peer Larson, 17, of Milwaukee, Wis., is suing to put an end to

S E N I O R S Meet & Interview With Outstanding Employers Allianz Life Archer Daniels Midland Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve C.H. Robinson Worldwide Defense Information Systems Discover Financial Services E&J Gallo Winery Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Gallup Organization Honda MooreWallace National Security Agency Stryker Medical TAP Pharmaceutical Products U. S. Department of State U. S. Patent & Trademark Office U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission

AND MANY OTHERS For more information and to register for an invitation visit

www.careerconferences.com/register There is no charge of any kind to register or, if invited, to attend.

Careers 2005 Chicago Career Fair Monday, January 31, 2005

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

summer homework after his summer plans were spoiled by honors pre-calculus homework. The case will enter exciting new terms into the legal lexicon such as "kind of a drag" and "ruined my buzz."

The world's four biggest consumer

electronics companies, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Philips, have agreed to begin using a common method to protect against piracy and illegal copying of digital music and video.

Plans to publicly cane individuals who would dare make mix tapes from old vinyls have yet to be announced.

The Illinois unemployment rate fell

to a three year low of 5.8 percent last month, according to state officials. Apparently people are having trouble finding jobs because there just too damn busy celebrating freedom.

A recent New Yorker profile of un-

elected Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi claims that he personally executed six Iraqi prisoners by shooting them to death a week before he took office.Apparently Allawi has been reading from "Martin Scorcese's Guide to Establishing Democracy."

s o u n d s

f r o m

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

t h e

s c e n e

MATT PAIS • LEAD REVIEWER

M

organ Freeman’s voice is soothing in the same way that hot chocolate is comforting on a cold winter’s day.And just as the actor supplied the wistful, pained voice-over for The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman’s smooth, leathery bass provides the weathered and wise narration for Million Dollar Baby, a generally conventional movie about conventional characters that is dignified by a grade-A cast.

Clint Eastwood (who also directed) plays Frankie Dunn, a hard-as-nails gym owner who’s been working as a trainer ever since hanging up his gloves years ago. Estranged from his daughter and disconnected from the contemporary big-bucks boxing world, Frankie is all about self-protection, a maxim he shares with his fighters and one that hasn’t escaped the eye of his assistant and oldest friend, Scrap (Freeman). But Frankie’s closeminded, closed-off ways are tested when he’s hired by Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a spunky yet defiant greenhorn just dying to

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 PAUL PRIKAZSKY • STAFF WRITER

I“creativity� n recent years, Hollywood’s futile grasp at has spawned innumerable remakes, each less ingenious than the last.

Calling Assault on Precinct 13—a remake of the 1976 John Carpenter cult film—an ordinary roller coaster ride does the film no justice. A more accurate description would be a lastsecond free fall down a treacherous cliff. The film offers a genuinely pleasant surprise in its relentless action and thrilling story.

The plot itself is relatively simplistic.

During the imminent closure of a defunct Detroit precinct on a wintry New Year’s Eve, a motley crew of derelicts, burnouts and criminals are temporarily delayed at Precinct 13. A notorious mobster and cop killer named Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) is brought in with the group, much to the dismay of the demoted desk jockey, Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke). After the New Year’s countdown, the building is seized by a pack of crooked cops determined to bring down Bishop before he testifies against them. Completely cut off from the outside world with limited resources, the remaining police must join forces with the nefarious criminals in an effort to survive the night.

The nonstop blitzkrieg that follows transforms into an ultra-violent version of Night of the Living Dead. s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

buzz weekly

IT’S LIKE A KOALA BEAR CRAPPED A RAINBOW IN MY BRAIN.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY

It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to SPELL A WORD. [Andrew Jackson]

y o u r e v e r y d a y n e w s but hell, we’re weekly

nEwS

JA N . 27

s c e n e

get her fists in the ring.

Based on short stories by F.X.Toole and written by Paul Haggis, Million Dollar Baby always feels familiar, though it is rarely predictable. From the rugged old-timer, to the girl from the wrong side of the tracks just looking to follow her one true love, the characters appear carved from prototypes that are probably less often explored than they seem.

But despite fierce, noble perMILLION DOLLAR BABY • HILARY SWANK formances by Eastwood, Eastwood traces outlines of religious Swank and Freeman, the film’s power is immediately limited by the narrow construc- inquiry, past trauma and social inequality but tions of its leads. Swank helps transform never truly dives into any of the deeper themes Maggie from an underprivileged, undersized bubbling beneath Million Dollar Baby. Rather, he idealist to a driven dreamer worth rooting for, sticks mostly to the premise of the seasoned vetbut her aw-shucks, welfare-saddled family just eran and the wide-eyed newcomer who teach each other new ways to embrace the sport that seems compulsory.

That’s why it’s such a triumph of acting occupies both of their lives. It’s a shame the and storytelling for Million Dollar Baby to movie doesn’t go farther into the inner-workremain so compelling and watchable for its ings of boxing, though, because it prevents any slightly over-long two hours and 12 minutes commentary on the hazards of the sport from of run time. Even the scenes that you have really landing.

It does take an unexpectedly dark twist seen before (the boxer in training, the trainer revising his old ways) are revitalized by toward the end that should knock most viewEastwood’s old-school, rough-and-tumble ers back a few steps. Yet Million Dollar Baby decorum. He gives Frankie a wounded, well- never swings hard enough to send you reeling. buried tenderness, and the actor slowly con- It’s enough to win a judge’s decision, but it’s verts his gruff growl into a gentle whisper no knockout. full of vulnerability and understanding.

Both films pack high-voltage suspense in the confined precinct, producing a claustrophobic effect trapping the audience in the same predicament as the heroes.The corruption runs thick throughout Assault.The danger seems more immediate in the remake than it did in the original, where hordes of anonymous gang members laid siege to the overwhelmed police. It has a more terrifying effect on the audience when the bad guys are people we are supposed to trust. And a professionally trained band of corrupt cops armed to the teeth and led by the unflinchingly malevolent Gabriel Byrne is enough to terrify anyone.

But the real treat of this film are the performances of Hawke and Fishburne. Hawke pours his heart and soul into each one of his scenes. Roenick’s fall from grace and subsequent pain killer addiction following a botched drug raid makes him a tragic character. However, his sheer intensity and moral code allow him to gain hero status. Fishburne portrays Bishop as a calm and collected madman, evoking another classic villain, Dr. Hannibal Lector. The exchanges between the characters are sometimes comic but strictly business. Roenick and Bishop’s unspoken respect for one another acts as a symbiotic relationship whereupon the focal point is their survival.

Assault succeeds where typical action movies fail. There are constant action setpieces that keep the film moving at a hyperkinetic pace and enough emotionally charged characters to keep the audience interested. Aside from the far-fetched plot and a few poorly developed characters, Assault on Precinct 13 is an intense thrill ride that shouldn’t be missed.

C - U

WARNER BROTHERS

4 • buzz

Million Dollar Baby always feels familiar, though it is rarely predictable.

v i e w s COMPILED BY SARAH KROHN

Assault on Precinct 13

ALONE IN THE DARK (R) Fri. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 11:20 Sat. 11:00 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 11:20 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 HIDE AND SEEK (NR) Fri. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sat. 11:00 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 MILLION DOLLAR BABY (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 12:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 SIDEWAYS (R) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:40 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:40 ◆ ARE WE THERE YET? (PG) Fri. 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 11:40 Sat. 11:05 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 11:40 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 PRECINCT 13 (R) Fri. 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 12:10 Sat. 11:05 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 COACH CARTER (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:10 4:00 7:00 9:50 ELEKTRA (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 3:30 7:10 9:20 11:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 3:30 7:10 9:20 NEVERLAND (PG) Fri. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sat. 11:00 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00

• 25

IN GOOD COMPANY (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:15 4:10 7:15 9:40 12:00 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:15 4:10 7:15 9:40 MEET THE FOCKERS (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:30 12:00 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:30 NATIONAL TREASURE (PG) Fri. & Sun. ≠Thu. 1:45 7:10 Sat. 11:00 1:45 7:10 OCEAN'S TWELVE (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:30 4:00 7:30 10:00 RACING STRIPES (PG) Fri. 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 12:15 Sat. 11:05 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 THE AVIATOR (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:30 7:50 11:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 4:30 7:50 LIFE AQUATIC (R) Fri. & Sat. 4:30 9:50 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 4:30 9:50 PHANTOM OF OPERA (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:10 4:00 7:00 10:00 WHITE NOISE (PGù 13) Fri. 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 11:55 Sat. 11:00 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 11:55 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 FLYING DAGGERS (PGù 13) Fri. 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40 12:05 Sat. 11:10 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40 12:05 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40

Showtimes for 1/28 thru 2/3

3!6/9 2OUTE "URWASH !VE

& ) , +IDS ALL SHOWS 3ENIORS ,ATE 3HOWS &RI 3AT 3TUDENTS $!),9 -ATINEES TIL PM .O PASSES !,, $)')4!, 34%2%/

5NLIMITED &REE $RINK 2EFILLS ` #ORN 2EFILLS

Luke Consoer

Bloomingdale, Ill. “Full of violent language and graphic images.�

Greg Gartland

Lombard, Ill. “Laurence Fishburne’s best movie since Biker Boyz.�

Robby Moore

Bloomingdale, Ill.

34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3(/74)-%3 3(/73 !.$ 4)-%3 35"*%#4 4/ #(!.'%

()$% !.$ 3%%+ 2 02).43 3#2%%.3

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 34!$)5- 3%!4).' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !,/.% ). 4(% $!2+ 2 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 -),,)/. $/,,!2 "!"9 0' 3!4 35.

(/4%, 27!.$! 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !2% 7% 4(%2% 9%4 0' 02).43 3#2%%.3 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 34!$)5- 3%!4).' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !33!5,4 /. 02%#).#4 2 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 #/!#( #!24%2 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

%,%+42! 0' &2) 3!4 ,3 2!#).' 342)0%3 0' 3!4 35.

). '//$ #/-0!.9 0' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 ! 6%29 ,/.' %.'!'%-%.4 2 3!4 35.

0(!.4/- /& 4(% /0%2! 0' ,)-)4%$ %.'!'%-%.4

7()4% ./)3% 0'

&2) 3!4 ,3 4(% !6)!4/2 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

3)$%7!93 2 3!4 35.

#/50/.

&2) 3!4 ,3

-%%4 4(% &/#+%23

“It was all right but unrealistic.�

0' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3

/: $2).+

WITH PURCHASE OF OZ BAG OF BUTTERY POPCORN

ONE PER AD 3AVOY %XP &%" $)

"%34 $%!, IN H.EWSLETTER AT WWW SAVOY COM

WWW SAVOY COM

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

JA N . 27 “ In San Diego one man was more man then the rest.

His name was Ron Burgundy.

He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo.

In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls.”

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

(&%)*+&,-

the local sniff

SETH FEIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The following is the sole opinion of the author.

It does not represent BUZZ as a whole.

!"!"#!$%&" #$% %$"&'((

It was two years ago this month that former Gov. George H. Ryan made his historic decision to grant blanket clemency to all 167 inmates on Death Row in Illinois, the first time in U.S. history that a governor had granted clemency to such a large group.

ANDREW VECELAS • STAFF WRITER

T

he decision was neither easy nor widely popular, but after a number of inmates had been exonerated of their crimes and investigations into the state’s judicial system turned up a number of repeated flaws, Ryan made what he thought was the wisest choice.

This event, and the investigations that led up to it, serve as the backdrop for the documentary Deadline, which is being shown at a special event at 4:30 p.m. this Sunday at Boardman’s Art Theatre in Champaign.

George Ryan and the filmmakers will be on hand to take questions from the audience after the screening.

Ryan’s decision came on the heels of an investigation by the Chicago Tribune that found repeated abuses of power that sometimes led to wrongful convictions in cases involving capital punishment. Then, a Northwestern University law class managed to exonerate 13 Death Row inmates of their crimes—when only 12 people have been executed in the state since 1976. Ryan had to take action. He established special clemency hearings for every inmate on Death Row, whether they claimed innocence or not. Each case was brought before a panel, and attorneys and families of convicts and victims alike argued whether the accused individual deserved to live or die.

Politically charged documentaries have often been in the spotlight in the last year, especially Michael Moore’s skillfully crafted muckraker, Fahrenheit 9/11. Like Moore’s films, Deadline is made with a specific goal in mind: to expose a series of judicial and moral

flaws created by the d e a t h p e n a l t y.

Capital punishment and Ryan’s moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois are both hotly contested issues, meaning that Deadline is likely to be a politically divisive film because of its stance on those issues.

Part of what makes Ryan’s decision so remarkable is that politicians often are hesitant to do anything about the death penalty, for fear of being seen as soft on crime. Ryan himself came into office as a tough-on-crime governor from a small town, and one of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the moral argument that Ryan faces on both sides before taking action. Either way, his decision was going to be unpopular.“I just got a call not long ago from someone who was angry at the film because he said all those murderers were set free by the decision,” says Rachael E. Dietkus, who is organizing the screening at Boardman’s. “Under the clemency though, the sentences were commuted to life in prison.The inmates weren’t pardoned of their crimes.”

Whereas Deadline and documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 are similar in their quest to explore a contentious issue, Deadline at least gives some screen time to the opposing point of view. Scott Turow, the lawyer and novelist who was appointed to Ryan’s clemency committee, gives some insightful remarks on both sides of the issue. He initially is in favor of the death penalty, saying that he felt more than

comfortable with executing cr iminals such as serial killer John Wayne Gacy. But after the committee’s investigations,Turow voices doubts that a capital punishment system could ever be constructed that only punishes the people like Gacy and doesn’t risk ending the life of an innocent person. The film does not really decide (though it certainly does have an opinion) whether capital punishment is just; however, it does know that the system does not always function justly.

Besides Turow, other people featured in the film seem to have their opinions changed by the mere experience of dealing with the death penalty. Ryan himself admits to going from a small town mentality of extracting just revenge on murderers to opposing the system he describes in the film as “racist, classist, arbitrary, unjust and riddled with inconsistencies.” A former warden of a Mississippi prison who performed executions for years comes out against the punishment in the film and says that many other wardens who have to deal with the exper ience face-t o - f a c e are

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

often changed by it. “The film is educat i o n a l ,” Dietkus says, “and you can say that it leans one way. But most people, when they get the information on the issue, tend to lean the same way.”

Perhaps the most dramatic moments in Deadline come during the clemency hearings.

Some of them reveal the unfortunate abuses of power that led to Ryan’s final decision, including one man who was beaten by police and dangled out a window by his handcuffs, and another who was forced to sign a confession in English, when he spoke only Spanish. Not all of the inmates argue for their innocence, however, and one scene in the film involves a hearing for a convict that freely admits to a horrific double murder.The details of the case are appalling, and Ryan’s decision means that the killer will not receive the death penalty that the victim’s family feels they need for closure.

Scenes like this test the moral strength of Deadline’s argument, and, thankfully, the film does not have a clear answer to the dilemma.

Deadline is a striking and powerful documentary, one that might be able to change a few minds on the issue of the death penalty. It’s an emotional critique of a difficult issue that has both moral and political implications, but unlike Moore’s more popular documentaries, Deadline doesn’t usually resort to mocking or throwing cheap shots to make its point.Anyone who has ever given serious thought to the sometimes fine line between vengeance and justice should give it a look. buzz s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

first things first

Open letter to Mayor Tod Satterthwaite of Urbana pt. 2

-Anchorman

s c e n e

Dear Tod, What up, dawg? No response? That's cool, I understand. The pressures of being the mayor of a town like this, especially with the upcoming election, must really wear you down. I mean, with all the businesses you have coming into town, you must be on some kinda regimen, yes?

Well, I don't want to get to deep into it or anything, but now that you've had a chance to think about our downtown, what the shit is up with the Philo Road East Urbana Business District? It looks like it got hit by a tornado. Wait, it did get hit by a tornado. March of 1996, right?

When I was growing up, that was the spot to go to in my neighborhood. My friends and I would ride our bikes down McHenry, turn north on Philo and would be greeted by a booming IGA and a Golden Goat where we could recycle cans for Seth Fein is from 4.3 cents a pound. Up Urbana. Seriously, further, there were many he doesn't want to things to do, including talk to ANYONE who two other groceries honestly thinks that stores to raid, a White Incubus rocks. He Hen Pantry and a Kcan be reached at Mart. I could spend a sethfein@readbuzz.com whole day down there, hopping from store to store (remember Upper Deck Card Shop?), hanging out with my friends, eating too much pizza at the Godfather's Buffet, bothering the employees at Carnival Video ,and eating ice cream at Baskin Robbins. By the time we were done stealing baseball cards from K-Mart, you could say that we had an all-out bash, in a nine-year-old’s eyes.

Now, County Market is the only grocery left standing. Great. Their produce section looks like it belongs in Sri Lanka.

Where the Jewel was, is a storage space that looks like it rents to geriatrics and vagabonds. The Southgate Plaza, where IGA once ruled, appears to have been transplanted from Fallujah and is now collecting spiderwebs and mice as a way to keep itself busy. The Payless Shoes is closed, the Carnival Video is now a Dollar Store, and most importantly, out local K-Mart succumbed to the impending arrival of Wal-Mart, which I believe, you are championing?

Come on, Tod. What's the deal? Stone

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

buzz weekly •

EWW. I JUST BURPED AND IT TASTES LIKE PAUL’S FUNERAL...

s c e n e

Creek, where the richest of the rich in Urbana dwell, is just a stone's throw away from there and those uppity bitches and their wino housewives are spending their money in Champaign!

My brother and his wife bought a home in the new 'Build Urbana' development down the road from there, east on Florida. His question is simple:What is the Mayor going to do about this? He's curious. Not mad but curious. They figured, "Hey, with all these new houses, with all these new people, there has got to be enough money coming through to make this little business district work." But up until now, he has been wrong. And so, they travel, like everyone else, to Champaign for the majority of their household and recreational needs. These are the people that you should be trying to appeal to, snoop!

Now, in regards to the Northside.Yeah, I know, the dreaded Northside. The deep stain on Urbana, yes? The Watergate to Nixon. The Lewinsky to Clinton. The brain to Reagan. It's a problem.

Dilapidated is the word that comes to mind without thinking. I know, I know. I 've heard about Farm n' Fleet and according to the News-Gazette, O'Brien AutoPark is being renovated to open up a shopping district. Good job on that! For real! But what about the way that Cunningham Avenue looks. What does it look like? It looks like Prostitution Row. Come on! Plant some trees, plant some flowers! Find the money. Reach into that 'ol slush fund from the Police Station and spruce it up a bit. If it looks nice, then people may want to start opening even more businesses on that road leading into our downtown. Cunningham Avenue could give Neil and Prospect a run for their money on the battle for exit on I-74!

I know that there are things that you can do. My question is simple: What is it that you actually do? I am not saying you don't do things. But I am curious. Shoot me an email and tell me what your daily schedule is like. I mean, my taxes pay your salary, yes? Hit me up, and we can chat. At least, we can I, right?

Next week, I'll be wrapping it all up and hopefully, I will have turned your head far enough to the left to start thinking about some of these things for real. After that, I'll be sure to ask your opponents some below belt questions as well.

Word.

5

!"#$%&'

Sickness seriously sucks...

Almost as bad as alliteration MICHAEL COULTER • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

aking up Sunday morning was a bastard. It felt as though there was an intense swelling around my brain that caused it to bang against the side of my head if I moved in the least. My legs ached, my back was sore; I was coughing, dizzy. This is not an unfamiliar feeling for someone like me, but it's usually self-induced from a bout of drinking that drifts well into the next day. But holy crap, I'd stayed in for two days. This was something far worse than any hangover.

I, of course, couldn't accept that I was actually about to get sick, one of those sicknesses where the doctor tells you it's not going to get better for three or four days. Using a sick day from work when you're actually sick is sort of like using all of your prescribed painkillers when you need them. It' s much more fun to wait and use them for recreation rather than necessity. I was going to deny anything was wrong until the illness actually kicked in.

We had some doubles tennis scheduled for that afternoon, so I figured what the hell, I'll still play. I had read something once on WebMD that had said exercise didn't hurt you if you had the flu and might actually help fight the disease. Of course, the last time I went on WebMD, I thought I had leprosy since I had one of the symptoms so that site may do more harm than good.

Regardless, I played some tennis and it went pretty well. I felt like crap, but it made me concentrate more on what I was doing and forced me to avoid any extraneous movement. Sadly, I might actually be more functional in my daily life if I was sick all the time. When you're sick, you don't screw around much.You know what you have to do, you do it and go the hell back to bed. I was in this productive mode.

After tennis, I laid on the couch, and I could feel the malaise creeping up on me.

Raising up to change the channel on the TV became an out-of-body experience, and I began to cough up separate life forms from my throat. I drank an orange soda because it seems healthier than a Coke, but let's face it, it really isn't. After that, I was exhausted beyond belief, so I went to bed.

I really felt okay laying there for awhile, so long as I didn't move in the least.

The dog jumped up on the bed with me. I know they say canines can sense danger and sadness and illness, but they

must be talking about dogs other than mine. Instincts such as that seem to escape him and in his mind, this seemed like a perfect time to rub a squeaky toy into my face. Still, it was sort of cute. I may have even laughed if it weren't for the imminent vomiting.

Eventually, I fell asleep for an hour or so until the phone rang. It was my mom and dad taking full advantage of the "free calling weekends" offered by their cell phone company. As soon as I mentioned I was ill, my father Michael Coulter insisted I hang up the is a videographphone, cover my entire er, comedian body with VicksVaporRub, and can be put on thermal underwear heard on WPGU and a stocking cap, and lay 107.1 Thursdays in bed under five or six at 5 with Ricker blankets. His plan is always workin’ it. to sweat out the virus, and he feels nothing is quite as effective. Still, it's the same man who told me to "shake it off" when I was hit in the neck with a baseball during Little League.

Mom got on the phone and told me to drink some 7 Up and have someone bring me some lime sherbet. Sure, ma, something like that made it better when I was six, but now...um, lime sherbet doesn't sound all that bad though. She then reminded me that my medicine cabinet was packed full of medicine her and dad had picked up in Mexico: codeine, penicillin, you name it. I was too tired and distressed to explain to her that I actually have health insurance and can have a qualified person tell me what drugs to take. I instead said I was going to get the sherbet before I felt worse. I didn't, but it enabled me to get off the phone.

I aimlessly wandered around the house for a few minutes, disoriented and in pain.

I always think about sickness in a nostalgic sort of way. I remember the times I got to stay home from school as a little kid, watching TV and having my mom kiss my ass until I was better. Even now, I tend to long for sickness, just to lay around and catch up one some movies I haven't seen.

Then, I actually get sick and it becomes apparent how much it really sucks. It's just miserable.

I wrote this column and fell back into bed. The dog licked my face, snuggled up next to me and fell asleep. Maybe he's realizing that I'm sick, but I'm betting he's just tired. Either way, the joy of sickness never really comes to be. It sucks until it's over, and I only hope it's sooner than later.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

6

“MORE AND MORE, PEOPLE ARE COMING DOWNTOWN. BEFORE IT WAS ONLY CAMPUS

In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of per petual delight.

THAT COULD PROVIDE THE TYPE OF

AMENITIES WE HAVE.

NOW PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO THE DOWNTOWN TOO.”

~Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

- CYNTHIA FAULLIN, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT FOR

A

ONE MAIN

food

&

wine

Z

DEVELOPING AN URBAN CHAMPAIGN EMILY WAHLHEIM • STAFF WRITER

T

office spaces, including Volition, on the second and third floors. The first floor is retail space, with T. Kelly Jewelers, Exile and Merry Ann’s diner already open.

Jim Gould’s and KoKusion are set to open in the spring.

Faullin hopes that the restaurants and retailers will attract more attention to downtown Champaign. Before, she s a i d , d ow n t ow n C h a m paign was lacking the sophistication that the facility brings.

“More and more, people are coming downtown,” she said. “Before, it was only campus that could provide the type of amenities we have. Now, people are looking to the downtown too.”

And, the upscale amenities, including a plaza with a large courtyard for outdoor mingling in warmer weather do draw more sophisticated business. Timothy

Twedt, the owner of T. Kelly Jewelers, which moved into One Main in August, says One Main is the perfect fit for his business.

“I am one of the higher end jewelers,” he said.“I fill a niche in the community and being on One Main fits in perfectly with my niche. Look at the building, it is just beautiful” Twedt also thinks the mix of retail stores will benefit from each other, with each bringing something different to offer customers.

“Customers can go next store and get a nice meal at the two restaurants opening in the spring and then, when they are full and happy do some shopping. It’s a great mix for everyone,” he said.

Faullin sees the One Main facility as an integral part of downtown Champaign. The facility’s central location will help draw more people downtown helping other local businesses as well.

“One Main is a stepping stone in the renovation of downtown Champaign,” she said.

“The city population in Champaign is pretty sophisticated and I think people expect that type of sophistication. The One Main development has that type of sophistication.” buzz

PHOTOS • DAVID SOLANA

he vintage photographs lining the walls in the lobby of the One Main development are a glimpse of downtown Champaign in a simpler time—back when the building at the corner of Main and Neil Streets was a drug store. Now, the vintage photographs are the only things giving the development an antique feel.

The rest of the facility is home to residential, retail and office spaces that bring an urban feel to downtown Champaign.

The idea behind the One Main development began when Mike Kulas wanted a more creative space for his software company,Volition, to work in. Kulas teamed up with friend and commercial real estate developer Jon Sokolski and began to work out plans for a facility that could bring together retail, commercial and residential living.

In March 2003, ground was broken on the One Main development, which was formerly a municipal parking lot. Less than two years later, the building is almost completely full.

“It’s a very popular idea to combine retail, commercial and residences,” said Cynthia Faullin, director of development for the project.“It is becoming the trend across the nation.”

Currently, the building houses residential space on the fourth and fifth floors and

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I know what you’re thinking.You’re thinking, “What

water? Crystal Lake? Are you crazy?” I mean, being in landlocked Illinois, eating seafood doesn’t seem like such a good idea.There are obvious freshness issues that have to be addressed, and yet, I realize I’m being silly because there are these things called planes, and they can bring seafood in from the coasts in tip-top shape.

In fact, Champaign-Urbana is blessed with two very good seafood stores, Great American Seafood (1711 W. Kirby Ave., Champaign) and Trout 45 (2006 S. Neil St., Champaign). Both offer a nice selection of fresh fish and seafood, flown in on a regular basis.

Great American Seafood also offers soups and premade foods (great for a quick dinner or for a dinner party), along with the usual assortment of seafood sauces, crackers and such. The staff there is happy to help you select something appropriate, and they can provide party trays with advance notice.

At Trout 45, a relative newcomer to Champaign, the selection is a bit more varied. Owner Nancy Hartman carries a ton of hot sauces and salsas, fun kitchen accessories and a very nicely edited wine and beer selection, in addition to her fresh fish and seafood offerings.When I went, the processed filets in the case looked nice and plump, the rainbow trout in particular had a lovely sheen, and the scallops were moist and fresh.These are the things you want to see when you buy fish! The fish should smell fresh and not bleachy or fishy, and the flesh should be firm and moist. If you’re buying a whole fish, look at the scales (they should be shiny and not flaked off) and the eyes (they should be clear and protruding, not cloudy). If you start with good fish, most of the work is already done for you.

Once you select your fish or seafood, the staff can help you with tips on preparation. Fish come in so many different packages and can be prepared in so many different ways (seared, broiled, baked, steamed, fried, blackened, grilled, to name a few), it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options. Hartman has installed a demonstration kitchen, where she and her staff show customers different ways of preparing their products. Demonstrations are made every Wednesday, at 3 p.m. and at 6 p.m. For those of you leery of preparing fish at home, this is a great opportunity to learn from a pro.

If you don’t want to make it yourself, however, the staff there will prepare your fish for you for a minimal fee. In addition,Trout 45 will smoke your fish for you

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

!"#$"%&'"!()*'+,-*'

AMANDA KOLLING • CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST

(you can pick it up the next day). Like Great American Seafood, Trout 45 also offers party platters and premade foods, such as crab cakes and seafood salad.

Now if you can’t handle the thought of even seeing a fish unless it’s cooked and on a plate, then you need to head over to Kennedy’s (2560 S. Stone Creek Blvd., Urbana), where they offer a different fish special every day based on what’s freshest. At any given time, you might see Atlantic salmon, red snapper, swordfish, Pacific white sea bass, or yellow fin tuna on the menu.

Kennedy’s is a wonderful spot for a nice dinner in elegant surroundings, but sometimes you just want something good and on the double. Head over to the Seaboat (1114 N. Market St., Champaign), where they make yummy fish sandwiches. (I mean, can you go wrong eating fish from a place called the Seaboat? I think not!)

Finish your meal off with a slice of their sweet potato pie, and now you’re speaking my language.

Amanda Kolling is always fishing for recipes and story ideas. E-mail her at amandakolling@readbuzz.com.

AUTO INJURIES? Chiropractic Honors the Body’s Ability to Heal Itself, Naturally FREE EXAM & X-RAY

(IF NEEDED) NEW PATIENTS ONLY

Dr. Joseph Snell

24 Hour Answering Service Covered by Student Insurance

E C N A H C T S LA for the April MCAT! to prep

Still want to take a class?

It’s not too late!

LAST CLASS STARTS FEBRUARY 5!

Call or visit us online today to enroll!

Your First Choice in Health Care

SNELL CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

Test Prep and Admissions

1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com/mcat

1802 Woodfield Dr.

217-352-9899

*MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

2 blocks north of Savoy 16 I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

buzz weekly

LANCE HENRIKSEN SKIN TREATMENT FLIES OFF SHELVES.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

coming early 2005

Jeff Brandt, manager and co-owner of Exile on Main Street, is 29-years-old and has been living in the community for 25 years. Exile, “the one stop pop-culture stop,” recently opened in the One Main complex.

What made you decide to open Exile on Main Street?

For some strange reason, I’m just one of those people who loves working in retail.

I have a great deal of experience now at this point in my life, and I was lucky enough to have this business opportunity arise. Running a small business is really what I’ve always wanted to do, and I couldn’t be luckier with the group of investors I found and with the type of store I’m actually able to run.

ultralounge

taking nightlife to another level -table reservations recommended -proper attire required

320 n. neil street, downtown champaign www.somaultralounge.com

7

q+a

soma

now accepting applications for bartenders, waitstaff, doorstaff, hosts, barbacks/busboys and djs. please apply at 6 taylor street, downtown champaign, (upstairs from cowboy-monkey), monday thru friday from 9am to 5pm, download application at www.somaultralounge.com and drop off or mail to central office c/o soma, 6 taylor street, champaign, illinois 61820

buzz weekly •

GIRLS ONLY WANT BOYFRIENDS WHO HAVE GREAT SKILLS - YOU KNOW, LIKE NUNCHUCK SKILLS, BOWHUNTING SKILLS, COMPUTER HACKING SKILLS.

What products and services are offered at Exile on Main Street?

Winter theatre in Chicago JEFF NELSON • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

C

hicago theatergoers have frequently found January a difficult travel month and a time of limited offerings. While the weather is in the hands of forces beyond the scope of any journalist, the recent bounty of offerings on the Chicago theater scene is reason to celebrate after the holidays.

The highly regarded Broadway in Chicago series is composed of pre-Broadway runs and national tours of established Broadway hit musicals. Currently on the boards in Chicago is “All Shook Up”, the new Elvis musical, and “Spamalot,” the new stage version of the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

“All Shook Up,” in the tradition of “Momma Mia” and “Movin’ Out,” takes established hit songs and writes a show around them. So far, audiences seem to love this new genre of musical as “All Shook Up” is headed for the Big Apple.Watch for more in this musical category in future months that may revive John Lennon,The Beach Boys and others. Remaining performances will continue at the Cadillac Palace Theater until Jan. 23.

“Spamalot”— at the Shubert Theater until Jan. 23 — manages to skew everything from its wonderful source film to every other genre of Broadway musical. Director Mike Nichols never lets the action or the laughs lag, and the songs of Eric Idle and John Du Prez are wonderful. Even

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

diehards who know every line of the film are in for a few surprises.The only sour note is the early closing of these shows and the demand that says they must open on Broadway Feb. 14—so if you are traveling farther, you can bet these shows will be around for a while.

Not traveling so far? Watch for Cathy Rigby in “Peter Pan” (Feb. 1-13) and Christina Applegate in “Sweet Charity” (Feb. 24—Mar. 13). The Broadway in Chicago series can be reached at: 312-902-1400 or www.broadwayinchicago.com.

This year’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner is the true story of one Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite and homosexual, who survived both Nazism and Communism to become one of Germany’s great historic preservationists. This is a story of Doug Wright’s brilliant play, “I Am My Own Wife.” Jefferson Mays’ Tony Award performance, in which he performs over 40 characters, in addition to Charlotte, is as amazing as this extraordinary story.

Chicago’s Goodman Theater always gives a goodly share of theatrical riches every season, but here we have a downright masterpiece with its original New York cast.You have until Feb. 20 to catch this one and I urge you to do so.You can reach the Goodman at 170 N. Dearborn and contact them at: 312-443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org. buzz

We offer a wide variety of items at Exile on Main Street.We carry new and used CDs, DVDs, video games (PS2, Xbox, PC as well as classic old system games), vinyl, magazines, candy, soda etc. We also do PC repair and upgrades here in the store at prices well below what many big chains charge. Drop off your PC, tell us your problem, and we’ll see what we can do for you. In addition, we have several old-school arcade games in the store free to play. At the moment they are Time Pilot and 1943:The Battle of Midway.You can also try many games on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC before you buy them, right in the back of our store.We also have a local music section that gets bigger every week. If you are a local artist and want us to

carry your CD, we are happy to take just about anything on consignment.There are plans to start rental of DVDs and video games as well in the upcoming month.

There are a lot of reasons why downtown seemed like the best fit for Exile.The first and most obvious one being it isn’t North Prospect. Much of the reason was simply because of my love for downtown Champaign specifically. Ever since I was a kid running around the old Robeson department store, I’ve really liked coming downtown. It just has a different feel than the rest of Champaign. I really like the small local business feel of this area.There are lots of great shops (Lix, G-Mart Comics, Basket Case, Circles), bars for every personality (Mike and Molly’s, the Blind Pig, Bentley’s, Barfly, Guido’s) and great food (Radio Maria, the Esquire, the Great Impasta, Merry Ann’s, Ferren’s).

When did you first become interested in the video game, music and movie industry?

I’m not sure I can pinpoint it specifically but certainly longer than my memory goes back. I probably had 200 Atari 2600 games when I was growing up and spent thousands of my parents’ quarters in the local arcades.As for music, I remember spending my own allowance for an LP version of Queen’s Greatest Hits when I was about six. I’d have to say going to theaters when I was young had a huge effect on me too. There’s nothing quite like seeing a great movie on the big screen when you are just a kid.

Your slogan is "the one stop pop-culture shop.” What market do you hope Exile on Main Street attracts?

We hope that just about anyone feels comfortable in our store.We certainly cater to those who really, really get into the various

We stock over 1200 unique items that are specifically for upgrading, building, repairing and accessorizing your desktop computer systems.

See our selection at www.computerdeli.com.

Intel & AMD CPU’s • Motherboards • Memory • Cases • Power Supplies • Video Cards • Other Cards • Hard Drives • CD, DVD, CD-RW, DVD-RW • Modems • Fans • Keyboards • Mice • Case Mods • Network Cards, Switches, Routers • Security CCTV Cameras • Processor Fans • Floppy Drives • Sound Cards • Speakers • Security Digital Video Recorder Cards • Wireless Networking • Removable Drive Bays • External Drive Enclosures • Media Card Readers • KVM Electronic Switches • Monitors • USB Hubs • Fasteners • Parallel Cards • Serial Cards • USB Cards • Tool Kits • Light Kits • Ethernet Cables • Monitor Cables • USB Cables • Hundreds of Cables • Gift Certificates • Ask about our $10 Assembly Option!

•

Great Prices!

•

Helpful Staff!

•

Worth the Trip!

Champaign: 39 E. Marketview Dr. (217) 398-4000 Located between TJ Maxx and Barnes&Noble in Market View Shopping Center • Mon-Sat 10-7, Sun 12-5 s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

Not surprisingly I mostly like to listen to music, watch movies (especially old B&W films at the moment) and play video games.

This is of course only when Illinois isn’t playing. I probably spend entirely too much time watching Illinois basketball, football, Cubs and Bears games. I must admit I also like to frequent all the downtown local pubs and eateries. I would love to tell you I read as well, but I probably have Champaign’s largest half-finished book collection.

Why did you choose downtown Champaign for the location of your store?

Computer Deli

Amazing Variety!

What do you do for fun in your spare time?

PHOTO • DAVID SOLANA

22 •

media we carry, but that doesn’t mean someone just passing by shouldn’t feel just as welcome. Basically though, we are looking for those customers who still love to shop in a small business that is willing to go above and beyond what every big corporate competitor can in terms of eclectic selection and customer service. Not everybody likes to shop at small business killers like Wal-Mart. I certainly don’t and won’t shop there.At Exile, we just want to sell you things you’ll not only like, but you’ll feel the need to come back and tell us about it.

What do you think will be the Exile on Main Street’s most popular feature?

It’s really hard to say at this point since everything seems to be selling pretty well so far. Our customers are quite obsessive about the things they buy from us, whether it’s video games, movies or music. There is an overall feeling though that we are starting to fill a void that’s been downtown since Periscope closed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already heard people tell me how nice it is to come downtown and buy music again. There really are fewer and fewer locally-owned businesses that sell music, especially now that Record Service closed.

It’s sad that a town this size, with such a great university, can’t keep a music-only store in business anymore. Sign of the times I suppose.

YOGA

INSTITUTE OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA

Do you have a favorite video game?

I’m not sure I have enough space to name my all-time favorites so I’ll stick with what I probably played for most of 2004. Katamari Damacy, Tiger Woods 2005, The Atari Anthology (a collection of 85 old-school Atari arcade and 2600 games), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2, and Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

It was a very good year for video games in general with lots of high quality titles to fit anyone’s tastes.

Any recommendations for buyers?

Volition, Inc., located right here in downtown Champaign, just released The Punisher, which is based on the popular Marvel Comics character. It is a very violent game and not for the faint of heart, but very entertaining. There have been quite a few great games released in the last month or so also: Resident Evil 4, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II are just a few.As far as music and movies go there are several big new releases this week actually. New albums from the Chemical Brothers, two albums by Bright Eyes, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (yes that’s their name) come out on Tuesday in addition to a documentary everyone must see to believe, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

Ja St nu ar ar ts y Daytime and evening classes.

31

Special classes for beginners, women’s health, men’s flexibility, plus size, seniors, teens, healthy heart, knees, lower back, and neck and shoulders.

Classes are progressive to facilitate learning 407 W. Springfield, Urbana

344-YOGA (9642) • www.yoga–cu.com

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

8 • buzz weekly

SHUT THE [EXPLETIVE DELETED] UP! OR I’LL THROW YOU BACK IN THE TRUNK, YOU KNOW?

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

•

buzz weekly

ARE THERE CHEESEBURGER ANGELS IN HEAVEN?

• 21

January 29 through April 3, 2005

OVER + PA S S I O N F O R P R O C E S S

OVER

708 S. Goodwin 18+ Urbana, IL 344≠BAND Every Monday! prese nts: $1 Drink s!

Ev ery Tu esd ay !

O PE N M IC /J AM $2 Lon g Isla nds ! $1 PBR Dra fts!

Every Wednesday!

4HURSDAY *ANUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

4HURSDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

-USICIANS %DGAR -EYER THE BASSIST FOR THE #HAMBER -USIC 3OCIETY OF ,INCOLN #ENTER AND #HRIS 4HILE THE MANDOLIN PLAYER WHO FRONTS THE BLUEGRASS BAND .ICKEL #REEK JOYFULLY EXPLORE MUSICAL GENRES RANGING FROM CLASSICAL AND ROCK TO JAZZ BLUEGRASS AND FREE IMPROVISATION 4OGETHER THEY PRESENT A HIGH ENERGY VIRTUOSO EVENING OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC CROSSING AND BLENDING GENRES WITH IMAGINATION AND INTEGRITY

3TYLISTICALLY WIDE RANGING PREMIERES BY #HAMECKI,ERNER 3ARA (OOK AND 2ENĂ?E 7ADLEIGH AND RECONSTRUCTED WORKS BY #YNTHIA 0IPKIN $OYLE 2EBECCA .ETTL &IOL AND 0HILIP *OHNSTON MAKE UP THIS $EPARTMENT OF $ANCE EVENT 4HE SIX WORKS WERE INSPIRED BY IDEAS OF LOVE AND SENSUALITY 7INNIE THE 0OOH AND %DGAR !LLEN 0OE SOCIAL INTERACTION AND WAR !LWAYS A FEAST FOR THE EYES &ESTIVAL $ANCE OFFERS A FEAST FOR THE EARS TOO WITH MUSICAL SELECTIONS BY "ACH +ANCHELLI $IDKOVSKY

2EICH AND 'LASS

#ORPORATE 3ILVER 3PONSOR 7ARD !SSOCIATES 2EALTORSš )NC $EBORA - !UBLE

4ALKBACK &EB AFTER THE PERFORMANCE FREE 0RE PERFORMANCE $ISCUSSION &EB AT PM &ESTIVAL 4HEATRE &OYER FREE 3UPPORTED IN PART BY THE &RANCES 0 2OHLEN 6ISITING !RTISTS &UND #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS

3HE IS A PIANIST IN THE GRAND STYLE ,ET ME TAKE OFF MY HAT FOR ) CAN HARDLY lND WORDS !MSTERDAM

2OSARIO !NDINO PIANO

$1.50 HBĂ­ s

ds 21+ 21+ NO COVER Mon ≠We 21! er only $2 if und

Thursday, Jan 27

Quality Used Books Bought• Sold• Traded All Subjects

All Fiction

50% Off

Sponsored in part by Donald and Alice Dodds, Fox Development Corporation, Krannert Art Museum Council, and Hampton Inn

January 28 ∑ 5:30 Ăą 7:30 p.m.

Opening Reception Featuring DJ Bozak

Now Through January 31st

217.344.4037 priceles@advancenet.net

3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

Friday, Jan 28

#UBAN BORN 2OSARIO !NDINO S VIRTUOSO STYLE REmECTS THE hGRAND MANNERv OF GREAT PIANISTS FROM HISTORY !NTON AND .ICHOLAS 2UBINSTEIN

%MIL 3AUER ,EOPOLD 'ODOWSKY AND OTHERS 9OU LL FEEL HER GIFT FOR COMMUNICATING HER ART TO PEOPLE OF ALL LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE AS SHE PRESENTS A RECITAL OF GREAT ROMANTIC WORKS "EETHOVEN S # -INOR 6ARIATIONS 3CHUMANN S ' -INOR 3ONATA A GROUP OF ETUDES WALTZES AND BALLADES BY #HOPIN 3IX #UBAN $ANCES BY THE COMPOSERS 3AUMELL

#ERVANTES AND ,ECUONA AND ,ISZT S #ONCERT 0ARAPHRASE ON 4HEMES FROM 6ERDI S 2IGOLETTO +EYBOARD 3ERIES 3PONSORS *AMES 2USSELL 6AKY *UDITH AND *ON ,IEBMAN

5IF (SFFEZ -PWFT

108A W. Main St. Downtown Urbana, IL

Jennifer Maestre Spine, 2000

PHOTO: DEAN POWELL

%DGAR -EYER AND #HRIS 4HILE

&ESTIVAL

OVER + OVER brings together the remarkable work of artists who take traditional crafts to unimaginable extremes, enhancing and subverting their origins as they explore obsession in their content and process.

Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion University of Illinois at Urbana≠Champaign College of Fine and Applied Arts 500 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois www.kam.uiuc.edu ∑ [217] 333≠1861

Saturday, Jan 29 CU's favorite drinkin'est, RAWKin'est, shake your bootyin'est PARTY band!

The Rock Presents:

7:30 pm early show!

Wednesday, Feb. 2

0ATRON #O 3PONSORS !NONYMOUS

Friday, Feb. 11

Saturday, Feb. 26

Friday, 2/25: THE BIG WU Sunday, 2/27: LOCAL OCAL H Thurs, 3/3: GRAHAM COLT OLTON Friday, 3/4: THE STARTIN G LINE ARTING Sunday, 3/6: KELLER WILIAMS Tickets for advance shows on sale now at: The Canopy Club, Family Pride, and Bacca Cigar, or call 1≠800≠514≠ETIX. Or print tickets at home on JayTV.com!

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

20 •

buzz weekly

LET’S GO FISHING IN LOVE’S CANAL.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

buzz weekly •

YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, MAN! HEY SMOKE A [EXPLETIVE DELETED]-ING PEACE-PIPE.

THIS WEEK AT KRANNERT

ar tist’s corner

!"#$%&'()*+,--

4H *AN

3U *AN

+RANNERT 5NCORKED PM FREE

#HAMPAIGN 5RBANA 3YMPHONY /RCHESTRA PM

5) 3YMPHONY /RCHESTRA PM

%DGAR -EYER BASS AND #HRIS 4HILE MANDOLIN PM

#ORPORATE 3ILVER 3PONSOR

•

STAFF WRITER

Cindy Westfall is a Champaign artist with a passion for the icons of dreams and for humanity’s relationship to the world around her— especially subconsciously. An impressive selection of her acrylic works is currently on display at CafĂŠ Kopi in downtown Champaign. Her pieces weave the natural world together with personal mythology and iconic imagery with beautiful results, and though the natural world is her primary inspiration, which viewers will notice at first glance, her exploration centers more around the unseen and “inner landscapesâ€? of the individual.

How do you go about depicting a subject when you sit down to do a piece of work?

I usually begin by painting the base background color and doing a rough-in of the basic shapes. I sometimes do a sketch that shows the basic lines and composition that I want, but I never work from finished initial studies. In the case of drawings, I do a rough sketch first, although I occasionally just set pencil to page and let the image come forth fully formed. I work from basic forms and colors down to fine detail, always striving to keep the finished picture refined but not fussy, a balance between abstraction and detail. I don’t usually work from photographs, either, but from memory of observation of texture and form.

What themes do you most enjoy exploring in your work?

Of course, my favorite themes are drawn from the natural world. I like to depict the dream side of things—that which lies behind the mundane. I have always been drawn to the idea that what we can see of the day-to-day world might not be the whole story, that there is an unseen or magical side to things. It is this juxtaposition or overlay of the material and magical that I try to bring out in my work.

What are your favorite media to create with and why?

I can’t say I have just one favorite medium, as I regularly work in several. My paintings are in acrylic, which I believe is often looked upon as an “amateurish� medium, but I find it perfectly workable. The prints I am showing are among my first exploration of that medium, which I found very satisfying and would like to explore further if I get the chance in the future. I also have a background in metalsmithing, and in my professional life I am a jeweler. I work at Robert’s, a store in downtown

PHOTOS • SARAH KROHN

BRIAN WARMOTH

“I am Wyrm of the earth.�

Champaign that specializes in custom and one-of-a-kind jewelry. I get to use my creative energy in my day-to-day work, which is wonderful. I think it is all too rare for creative people to get to channel their creativity as much as they would like, especially in the “nine-to-five� workday world.

Where do you look to draw inspiration?

I have many sources of inspiration, woods and trees especially.

I love Allerton Park, and I like to be in the woods no matter the time of year. Dreams and other artifacts of my inner landscape are also important in my work. My images tend to be stylized or iconic, the way things often are in dreams. I believe that everyone has their own inner mythos or set of personal symbols but that not everyone recognizes this within themselves. I find it similar to the way that individuals may come into contact, however small, with the natural world every day and pay no attention to it other than as a convenient background.With the imagery in my work, I try to give the viewer a glimpse of the “enchanted,� dreamlike side of nature, the kind of things that we see every day but might otherwise not notice.

How have you seen yourself evolve as an artist? And how would you like to see your work evolve in the future?

With my two-dimensional work, I see myself evolving toward a slightly looser style. My work has always been in the vein of “magical realism,� and it will continue to be so, but I must fight the habit of obsessing over every detail and making things too fussy. I would like to do more work with intaglio printing in the future if I have the opportunity. I have several themes or ideas that I want to explore, some based on myth and folklore, some on deeper exploration of personal symbolism. I basically plan on not slowing down, not letting myself atrophy. I feel that in the past several years my creative flow has been quite good, and I would like to keep that going.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

9

Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-inchic Peek behind the Pose By Paris Hilton KATIE RICHARDSON

•

STAFF WRITER

For many the sentence, “Most of the supermodels are small

(chested), except for a few, who probably won’t age well,� is hardly a profound realization; except for a few, who are most likely blond heiresses who’ve made their name on, well, the fact that their a blond heiress.

What is Paris Hilton’s talent exactly? Some say she is an ‘actress,’ but aside from a few guest appearances on the O.C. and Sex in the City, her only long-running gig has been her three season stint on FOX’s reality TV show, The Simple Life. If we are calling reality TV stars actors now, then Puck’s work on The Real World San Francisco was the most outstanding performance to come out of shows that are based on the premise that the participants are not performing.

As for displaying other possible talents, Hilton certainly is not a writer. A few chapters are aptly titled,“�How to be an Heiress,� “I’m with Paris,� as well as “My best accessories.� The contents are mostly picture based, with several sidebars that list ways in which young, hip, rich, tan females can further emulate Paris’ “unique� sense of style; such as, “My all-time favorite parties,� which details, well, Paris’ favorite parties.

The sentence structure in these chapters is poor, ideas are unclear and there are even a few questionable spellings, but the book does not pretend to be anything but a superficial exploitation of the woman who has taken exploitation to the level of becoming a post-modern phenomenon. Paris is famous because she goes to events, because she has her photo taken everywhere, and she is pretty. Essentially, she is the result of a culture that has been submerged in the fame of everyone from local heroes to movie stars to presidents so much so that it can no longer decipher who “deserves� to be famous and who is simply hanging out.

The book pretends to be nothing but a glossy collage detailing Paris’ rise to such fame, and it accomplishes that quite well.

Everything you want to know about Paris is right there, and admittedly, she does make some very good natured small shots at herself. She, or her publicist, seems to at least realize that such a book should not take its subject too seriously. The bottom line: if you find Paris to be a cute, harmless, modern celebrity then “Confessions�might make for a nice easy read, but if she already makes you ill, then stay away. buzz

7E &EB

4HURSDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM 7EDNESDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM 3UNDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH )N THE (OUSE 5N !MERICAN !CTIVITIES #OMMITTEE CALLED THE EXILED 'ERMAN DRAMATIST "ERTOLT "RECHT TO TESTIFY BECAUSE OF HIS SOCIALIST VIEWS 'EORGE 4ABORI S "RECHT ON "RECHT REPRODUCES SOME OF "RECHT S WRY TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE INTERSPERSING IT WITH EXCERPTS FROM HIS PLAYS POEMS AND SONGS /NE OF THE MOST INmUENTIAL AND CONTRO VERSIAL THEATRE ARTISTS OF THE LAST CENTURY "RECHT EMERGES AS A PROVOCATIVE THEORIST WITTY RACONTEUR AND DEEPLY ENGAGED POLITICAL ARTIST SEEKING TO CHANGE THE PURPOSE OF THEATRE 3TRIVING TO EXPOSE THE ARTIlCE OF THE THEATRE TO DIRECT THE FOCUS OF THE PERFORMANCE TOWARD "RECHT S WORDS AND IDEAS THE SIX MEMBER CAST OF $EPARTMENT OF 4HEATRE STUDENTS AND DIRECTOR *AMES :AGER OFFER AN MINUTE PRODUCTION THAT WILL BE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE EACH NIGHT

&R *AN 0ACIlCA 1UARTET PM

)NTERVAL 3ERIES 3PONSOR !NONYMOUS

*UILLIARD 3TRING 1UARTET PM

0ATRON #O SPONSORS %LIZABETH AND %DWIN 'OLDWASSER "ETTY AND $AVID ,AZARUS *EAN AND (OWARD /SBORN

+RANNERT 5NCORKED PM FREE &ESTIVAL $ANCE PM 4ALKBACK AFTER THE PERFORMANCE FREE

3A *AN

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

AM PM -ONDAY 3ATURDAY /NE HOUR BEFORE TO MINUTES AFTER PERFORMANCES

%RIC (OY 4UCKER

BASSO CANTANTE PM 3MITH -EMORIAL 2ECITAL (ALL FREE 3MITH -EMORIAL (ALL

3 -ATTHEWS 5RBANA

!FTERGLOW *OAN (ICKEY 4RIO PM FREE #REATIVE )NTERSECTIONS 3PONSOR

-ARQUEE PERFORMANCES ARE SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE )LLINOIS !RTS #OUNCILˆ A STATE AGENCY WHICH RECOGNIZES +RANNERT #ENTER IN ITS 0ARTNERS IN %XCELLENCE 0ROGRAM &ESTIVAL $ANCE IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE &RANCES 0 2OHLEN 6ISITING !RTISTS &UND #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS #HAMPAIGN 5RBANA 3YMPHONY CONCERTS ARE SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE )LLINOIS !RTS #OUNCIL A STATE AGENCY

.ORTH AND #HAMPAIGN 5RBANA

WORKING TOGETHER TO PUT #HAMPAIGN #OUNTY S CULTURE ON THE MAP

4HERE IS NO LATE SEATING IN THE 3TUDIO 4HEATRE

#ORPORATE 3EASON 5NDERWRITER

BEING MATTERS #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS 5NIVERSITY OF )LLINOIS AT 5RBANA #HAMPAIGN 3OUTH 'OODWIN !VENUE 5RBANA

s o u n d s

4HE 0ROMENADE 'IFTS CARDS CANDY AND MORE

-ORE 3CHOOL OF -USIC

#ORPORATE 'OLD 3PONSOR

)NTERLUDE #OCKTAILS AND CONVERSATION MINUTES BEFORE THROUGH PERFORMANCES

3A *AN 0RELUDE *UILLIARD 3TRING 1UARTET PM FREE

AM PM NON PERFORMANCE WEEKDAYS AM THROUGH PERFORMANCE ON WEEKDAYS MINUTES BEFORE THROUGH PERFORMANCES ON WEEKENDS

$ENNIS 3TROUGHMATT AND #REOLE 3TOMP .OON FREE

4H &EB "RECHT ON "RECHT

)NTERMEZZO "REAKFAST LUNCH SUPPER DESSERT

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

0ATRON 3EASON 3PONSOR 4HE FAMILY OF 2AYMOND 4IMPONE 3R

+RANNERT#ENTER COM OR +#0!4)8

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

10

“It’s what’s on the record, not what label is on it.

“He Knew Everything about Literature except how to enjoy it.”

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

You know, that’s like getting a box of cornflakes and eating the cardboard.”

- Elvis Costello

Theatre in Hell and Hotel

GREEN ST. RECORDS RELEASES PLAYLISTED [ DJ FARSHEED HAMIDI-TOOSI ]

Shipwreck’s effect-laden sound leads some to compare this shoe-gazer group to Radiohead or Interpol, but the four friends have trouble finding words for their spacey sound. Originally from small Illinois towns, the group has lived and worked in Champaign for years and are kept here by music and friends. “Champaign is an encouraging place to play,” says vocalist Harman Jordan.

Shipwreck has plans for a ten-track album due out in April. Jordan describes the album as a collection of “hypnotic spells and charged dark lullabies.”

Shipwreck will record “Alias,” one of their first collectively written songs, for GSR’s Playlisted, which Jordan calls their most musically complex and energetic tunes.

His hypnotic grooves on DJ Spinnerty’s track on Emergence made Farsheed a local favorite. This year’s track will prove to be a step up in DJ work and will please all lovers of hip hop.

[ THE ENDING ] Tempo, rhythm, beat, pulse. These words describe the fundamentals of music, since these concepts “are relevant to all aspects” of a song, explains Louie Golden, lead singer of The Ending. Throughout the year that the band has been together, they have been able to combine the skills they each picked up through participating in their university drum-line.The end result: highly percussive rock music with a metal edge.After touring this past summer, the band has been working on their new album, which should be released in March.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREEN ST. RECORDS

[ THE LIFELINE ]

Local band, The Elanors as seen in their latest press photo from Green St. Records.

The Lifeline is a unique band made up of two friends from New York.This guitar and violin duo wrote several songs together and made their first concert debut in Long Island, N.Y., during the summer of 2003.

In 2004, the band independently released their first EP to critical acclaim (and radio airplay) in upstate New York. After acquiring an astounding new rhythm section, the duo was given the opportunity to record their latest group of songs in their entirety, producing the album Where There is Life, There is Hope…. The Lifeline put their musical style somewhere in a complicated

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

“It’s supposed to be as real as possible in these comedic circumstances where you’ve got these people with these huge wants, and they’re just doing whatever they can to get it. But Bobby isn’t really doing everything he can. He’s a little insane.”

Patrick Galvin, director

RI OF ON D' A AN RI

Omniscient Presence, a conscious hiphop group, is made up of two members from the Chicagoland area. Edward Moses and Victor Carreon get their name from a line in the Company Flow song “Patriotism.” Moses describes the music he produces as lyrically complicated and slightly arrogant, while demonstrating strong pride in craftsmanship. Primary musical influences include Company Flow, Aesop Rock, Binary Star and several local MCs. According to band member Moses, “hip hop is something you live”.

O

[ OMNISCIENT PRESENCE ]

AD

Elsinore blends acoustic guitar and fourpart harmony to create a sound they describe as acoustic folk/rock/alt-country.

Led by Ryan Groff on guitar and vocals, their influences range from bluegrass to rock and Latin, earning comparisons to Crosby Stills & Nash. Originally a softer acoustic trio, the group has expanded into a quintet featuring congas, piano and additional vocals and is beginning to blend in electric guitar at live shows.

Elsinore has been named house band at

[ SHIPWRECK ]

•

Noah M.S. Harris, Adriel Harris and Joshua Lucas are known as The Elanors.

Their debut, A Year to Demonstrate, is available directly from Champaign label Isidore Records. The Elanors share personal, reflective, heartfelt music with lyrics that touch upon the many aspects of living, loving and knowing in ways that truly engage the listener.

[ ELSINORE ]

mix of A.F.I. and Pink Floyd but delivered with their distinct violin melodies and edgy vocals.

O

[ THE ELANORS ]

Bullet Called Life brings a refreshing variety of sound to the local music scene.

This rock and roll band brings back oldschool guitar solo classic rock.The four met in high school in their hometown of Oak Lawn, forming The Wheel, which later evolved into Bullet Called Life. Inspirations for their style came from bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, which can be heard in their newly released EP (available at bulletcalledlife.com).

Champaign’s White Horse Inn, and the group will release their six-song EP on Jan. 29 at Jackson Ave. Coffee in Charleston.

Patrick Galvin, director of Bobby Gold Goes to Hell, takes notes during a rehearsal.

OT

G

reen St. Records, the only studentrun record label in the Big Ten, has announced the bands appearing on this year’s compilation album, titled Playlisted.

As in the past, each of the 13 bands will record a track at Champaign’s Pogo Studios with producer Mark Rubel, but this year things are bigger. Each band will receive eight hours of studio time, twice as much as last year, and the label will distribute an additional thousand copies of the upcoming compilation. Following is a short profile of what to expect from Playlisted.

[ BULLET CALLED LIFE ]

PH

COMPILED BY KYLE GORMAN

[ TRIPLE WHIP ] Lacing unpredictable funk, indie rock and hip hop laced with a jazzy edge, Triple Whip creates texture out of minimalism. Bass-riffs, clean and sparse guitar, and Santanu Rahman’s eclectic vocals, which draw from various genres of film, lead to Triple Whip’s branding as “Cinema Art Rock.” The group’s debut full-length, Slapshot (Innocent Words), was recorded by Matt Talbott (Hum) with help from Rick Valentin (Poster Children). The band has played as part of the Asians in Rock tour and GrrrlFest, appeared on local TV and radio, and played with The Unicorns and Salaryman. [ SINCERELY CALVIN ] Sincerely Calvin is a pop-rock band with a punk-ish groove. During the past two years, they’ve become a favorite for house parties, striking up a dedicated following.

After taking a short break last semester to study abroad, the band is back this year with new songs and a new attitude.The group is led by vocalist Jack McCabe (also of Irish group Spiral Seisiun). s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

BRIAN WARMOTH • ARTS EDITOR

U

niversity of Illinois student theatre group, The Penny Dreadful Players, kicks off their spring semester season this weekend with a two-play program showcasing what the group does best—provides a stage and resources to ambitious students with extracurricular theatrical projects. Room 112 in Greg Hall will act as backdrop for the double feature, which includes Eugene O’Neill’s one-act Hughie and David Mamet’s comedy Bobby Gould in Hell.

Hughie is a two-man show put together by PDP board members Dan McArdle and Ryan Hurth, who are acting, directing and producing the 3 a.m. hotel tale of a gambler and a night clerk pondering the life of the last clerk to work the desk—the deceased title character Hughie. The two have been rehearsing for the last month, since submitting their show and getting it approved by the theatre troupe’s board.

“I had seen a Goodman production of it last year.And I knew we had sort of a throw-away space in January,” says McArdle.

PDP usually gets at least one large campus space per month.

Since their January space fell so early in the semester, pairing the two shorter plays made practical sense due to time and production demands.

Hughie was first staged on Broadway in 1964 and starred legend Jason Robards. Recent revivals have been seen over the last decade featuring Al Pacino and the Goodman Theatre’s production with Brian Dennehy. s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

The set will be fairly sparse, but indicative of the bleak and shabby atmosphere.“Sort of the dank 1928 hotel, long desk, key box in back and a couple of chairs, a pitcher of water and a bottle of whiskey up on the desk,” McArdle explains.

Rounding out the bill will be the significantly more lighthearted comedy Bobby Gould in Hell.The show takes a different tone than the Mamet dramas many are familiar with, such as Glengary Glenross and Oleanna. University of Illinois acting sophomore Partick Galvin is directing the show, an absurd exploration of the technicalities of Hell, which he also submitted to PDP. “It’s my favorite play,” says Galvin. “I’ve read it a million times, and every time I read it, it just got better to me.”

Looking for a means to produce the show, Galvin answered PDP’s semesterly email calling for directors and writers to submit their proposals for the upcoming season. Since students do not have to be members of the troupe to submit projects, the troupe operates as a great resource to students like Galvin, who would like to have support for their visions.

“We met with him and really liked the idea,” Hurth says.

“And Rachael, our managing director, really wanted to see the show done, so we decided to do it.”

The director’s plans for the show are simple.“It’s a fairly minimal set. Just everyday stuff. And the acting is fairly minimal itself.The acting’s simple. It’s supposed to be as real as possible in these comedic circumstances where you’ve got these people with these huge wants, and they’re just doing whatever they can

to get it. But Bobby isn’t really doing everything he can. He’s a little insane.”

McArdle nods that these shows are not typical partners one would see on stage.“It’s not so much that they couple each other well,” he states,“but they offer a good amount of contrast and variety to give someone who might not enjoy one of them as much certainly something else.” And variety is what PDP strives for.

“The Penny Dreadful Players, established in 1992, is quite a fine organization on this campus,” McArdle says. “We’re working on building full seasons.This is a nice opportunity for us to not only showcase some our in-house acting talent with our board members, but to be able to perform such well-established works by well-known authors such as David Mamet and Eugene O’Neill; whereas our main focus is always going to be for student writers.” Student-written plays are probably what PDP prides itself most on, and their current season—set to be finalized at the end of January—may include as many as three original productions.

“I heard about this great student-written show called Beneath the Trees,” he smiles. “Then, we have the very well-known Death of a Salesman going up March 10, 11 and 12.We likely have some other student-written shows in the works.” buzz

Hughie and Bobby Gould in Hell will be performed together Jan. 28 and 29 in room 112 of Greg Hall. Tickets will be $5 at the door.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

18

•

buzz weekly

E-MAIL CALENDAR@READBUZZ.COM TO LIST EVENTS.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

[ I:SCINTILLA ] i:scintilla is a quartet truly made for the electronic age. Influenced primarily by the likes of Garbage and Evanescence, the band craftily fuses vocals, grinding guitar and throbbing bass to create a slice of electroindustrial space-rock over sequenced drums and effects.

The group’s sound is immersed in electronic ambience and the dystopia imag ined by the lyr ics of Br ittany Bindwell. Already an established live act on the Champaign-Urbana music scene, i:scintilla recently released their debut full-length LP, The Approach, on Chicago-based industrial label Positron! Records.

DANCING LESSONS GOD

Missing The Point is a pop-rock band hailing from Champaign-Urbana.The first task of the group was to create a name that represented each member of the band; after much contemplation, the word “miss” was formed from their names and they decided that Missing The Point was the best inclusion of that word. The band marked the release of their first self-titled album on Mar. 16, 2002 and have since produced several other albums and have been touring for a few years. Influences for their music include selections from reggae/breakdown as well as pop bands such as 311, Blink 182, Lucky Boys Confusion, and Plain White T’s.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.ISCINTILLA.COM

[ AMBITIOUS PIE PARTY ]

buzz pick

This week, as you’re walking through campus past Flagg Hall (located at 1207 S. Fourth St.), check out the south wall of the building where “Dancing Lessons from God” is on display in the building’s windows. The exhibit is a collection of 65 travel sketches done by professor emeritus James Warfield during his travels between 1963 and 2004. The sketches come from exotic architectural sites around the world, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Namibia, Mali, Nepal, Tibet, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Greece, Turkey and China. The exhibit will be on view through February 11.

-Erin Scottberg

i:scintilla mixes industrial and electronic textures to create an invigorating sound.

American Minor returns to C/U

Formed from the ashes of Synesthesia, who appeared on last year’s compilation,Ambitious Pie Party channels their own groovy vibe to make big, danceable music. buzz

Playlisted will be released free of charge to students on Apr. 23. Pay attention for upcoming shows featuring Green St. bands. More information about the label and the artists can be found at www.greenstrecords.com

Members of Champaign rock band American Minor are slowly making their way back into town.The band brings their PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICANMINORMUSIC.COM

Join

Come out to Kam’s Saturday, January 29th from 11:30 AM- 1:30 PM for another PGU Basketball PreGame. Get pumped for the Illini to take on Minnesota! You can even take a free shuttle from Kam’s straight to Assembly Hall so you don’t miss any of the action!

There’ll be great drink specials, Illini basketball trivia, prizes and giveaways, plus fun and games with PGU’s

IlliniDRIVE@5 s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

1. Low • The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) 2. M83 • Before the Dawn Heals Us (Mute) 3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney • Superwolf (Drag City) 4. Fiery Furnaces • EP (Rough Trade) 5. Bright Eyes • I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (Saddle Creek) 6. Akmomo • Return to N.Y. (Hidden Agenda) 7. Outrageous Cherry • Our Love Will Change the World (Rainbow Quartz) 8. Bright Eyes • Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (Saddle Creek) 9. Lou Barlow • EMOH (Merge) 10. Magnolia Electric Co. • Trials & Errors (Secretly Canadian)

brand of West Virginia-bred alt-country to The Canopy Club tomorrow night, before they’re off to mix and master their debut CD, which they’ve just spent three months working on in the City of Angels.The show begins at 9 p.m. and also features other heavy-hitters in the form of The Greedy Loves, Adam Wolfe and Jess Greenlee.

BUY

CDs

SELL

LPs TAPES

110 S. Race St. Urbana 367-7927 www.recordswap.com s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

De La Soul Shopping Bags

PARASOL RECORDS TOP 10 SELLERS

TRADE

Get properly prepared to cheer on the Illini this week and all season at PGU Basketball PreGame!

Annie Chewing Gum

c h a r t s

ELISABETH LIM • STAFF WRITER

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

11

[ MISSING THE POINT ]

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” -Kurt Vonnegut

FROM

buzz weekly •

THE DJ ON WPGU SAID THAT CORPORATE ROCK WAS ON ITS WAY OUT...

the

Red Herring

Delicious, hearty vegan cuisine Soup, Sandwiches, Entrees, Baked Goods

mon - fri: 8:30 - 3 fri: 6:30 - 9pm 1209 W. Oregon Urbana 367-2340

Death Cab for Cutie Title and Registration

Unkle Safe in Mind

Stellastar* Jenny

Top 5 Most Requested Songs Last Week

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

The Fiery Furnaces have released details of two upcoming release, neither of which have set release dates.The first, tentatively titled Garfield L, is reportedly already finished and features contributions from the Freidberger’s 82-year-old grandmother Olga Sarantos. Another release of "short poppy songs" is currently being recorded in Benton Harbor, Mich., under the working title of Singing to Speak Chinese, according to Billboard.com.

Beck's new album, Guero, will see the light of day M a r .

2 9 v i a DGC. First single, "EPro," will hit radio sometime next month. The album features production by the Dust Brothers.

TODD J. HUNTER • STAFF WRITER

w H at tH e He L L? MOMENT OF THE WEEK Geared toward adolescents who enjoy popular music but despise the term "prepositional," Kaplan Test Prep and Defined Mind have created a CD of vocabulary-filled rock, hip hop and R&B as an SAT study aid. Remember kids, "Ludacris" is t o "references to Krystal" as "Korn" is to "disturbing acapella solo."

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.DAVEYD.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.BECK.COM

Feb. 22 will see the release of M. Ward's latest album for merge, Transistor Radio.

This will be followed by a brief tour including a Feb. 25 date at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago.

Indie-rock trio Triple Whip

again needs a drummer.

Wunderkind Josh Birky (exSolips) replaced Brett Sanderson last summer and merrily remade every song into a highspeed chase. His exit is untimely, yet for an unimpeachable reason: school. He still will record with Triple Whip for the second annual Green St. Records compilation, Playlisted; his last show with Triple Whip is Feb. 11 at Nargile, with The Beauty Shop and The Living Blue. Besides Brett Sanderson (now drummer for The Beauty Shop) and Josh Birky, Triple Whip has had three guest drummers: Jonathan Sarmiento, Luke Hensleigh and Scott Kimble.

Electro-industrial quartet i:scintilla has recorded “Starman” for a David Bowie tribute album due this spring. In addition, the i:scintilla music video for “Capsella Bursa Pastoris” [Toxin Mix] became available Jan. 10 at iscintilla.com in Quicktime format, and Positron! Records in Chicago now offers debut album The Approach. i:scintilla will perform with Shipwreck Feb. 4 at Nargile and solo Mar. 14 on WEFT Sessions.

Every Thursday at 8 p.m., Arôma presents a free, usually acoustic, all-ages concert, and Larry Gates is the artist tonight. He and his eponymous rock group Lorenzo Goetz then play Saturday at Cowboy Monkey with Treologic. Show time is 10 p.m., and cover is $5. Lorenzo Goetz has a new song, “Slumber Jaw,” an advance single off the Innocent Words Records compilation More Ways than Three due Mar. 1. The release show on Feb. 26 will be smoke-free and feature Lorenzo Goetz,Terminus Victor and Cameron McGill.

Tomorrow marks the convergence of three major shows. Cowboy Monkey bundles The Beauty Shop and Emotional Rec Club with The Coke Dares, a Bloomington (Indiana) “supergroup power trio” with dual membership in Magnolia Electric Company. Show time is 10 p.m., and cover is $5.The Canopy Club and WPGU host a

(stock#S05011)

Due to customer demand – we have moved Worden-Martin Subaru – across the street to the former used car building Certified Subaru Specialists Kelly Wetherell and Paul Moser *Prices do not include tax, title, license.

All rebates applied.

In Front of Savoy 16 352-8910

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

homecoming for American Minor with coheadliner The Greedy Loves and openers Adam Wolfe and Jesse Greenlee. Showtime is 9 p.m., and cover is $5 for those who do not win tickets. Last, Nargile hosts the album release party for The Brain Housing Group with Ron Cooper. Show time is 8 p.m., and although cover is $15, it includes the new album and food from Jackson’s Ribs-N-Tips Restaurant & Lounge.

Folk-rock quartet Elsinore resumed its residency Jan. 21 at White Horse Inn and thus performs for patrons every Friday this semester from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The rescheduled release party for the six-song EP, Harmonic Implosion, is Saturday at Jackson Ave. Coffee in Charleston. This is another free, all-ages concert, and Harmonic Implosion will go on sale for $10. It was recorded last autumn with studio engineer Bryan Chesi.

Pop quintet Green Light Go issued their four-song, self-titled EP with pomp and circumstance Friday at Nargile. Anyone who missed out has another chance when Green Light Go opens for Bottle of Justus Feb. 4 at Cowboy Monkey. Showtime is 10 p.m., and cover is $5. An East Peoria show will follow Feb. 18.

With no apparent relation to the lunar cycle, a combined 12 punk bands will play two shows in Urbana in the week ahead.

Saturday at 7 p.m., Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant hosts The Insolents, The Tards, Les Incroyables, System Rejects, Useless Hero, Placenta Garden, Substance Abuse and Alleyway Sex. There is no age requirement, and cover is $5.

Next Thursday at 10 p.m., The Canopy Club presents Johnny Fallout and the Radiation, Boots and Bracelets, XXX Smut, The Insolents again, and The Supermen; cover is $4.

Correction: Phyllis is not an Ohio band, as reported last time, but an Indiana band, from Indianapolis. In August 2004, they issued a self-titled, ten-track album.

Todd J. Hunter hosts “WEFT Sessions” and “Champaign Local 901,” two hours of local music every Monday night at 10 p.m. on 90.1 FM. Send news to soundground@excite.com.

Across 1 Homemade single-shot pistol 7 Saw eye to eye 12 Commentator Clift 14 Provided the entertainment for 16 In a specific order 18 Gloomy 19 Scotsman's topper 20 Item pressed in a bad situation 22 Reason for purchasing tickets 24 When etoiles come out 25 Peyton Manning's bro 26 Note on some failed tests 27 Congressional assistant 29 "Sabre Dance" composer Khachaturian

b o b

’n

30 Fast food sandwich that debuted in 1981 32 Ends 34 Song with the line "Oh, baby, that's what I like!"

37 Everett of "Citizen Kane" 38 Titan, formerly 39 Meaney in "The Road to Wellville" 40 Affectedly dainty 41 Measuring cup marks, for short 45 Kind of tour Robin Williams did in Iraq in 2003: abbr.

46 Letters in an early 1990s financial scandal 48 Word after pie or eye 49 Yield 53 Cigarette pack word

54 1970s rock concert sites 55 "The answer's right in front of you!"

57 Mazatlan miss 58 "Let's do this thing" 59 Ninja Turtle's hangout 60 "No you didn't!"

Down 1 Lemon tool 2 Phrase used in wills 3 Made really curly 4 Moo goo ___ pan 5 Hardly suitable 6 "Sorry, ___ winner" 7 "Pee-wee's Playhouse" character 8 Folding phrase 9 Reynolds who renamed himself "Turd Ferguson" on SNL's

d a v e

b y

d a v i d

"Celebrity Jeopardy!"

10 Odd, as a range of knowledge 11 Like ghost towns 13 ___ Tin Tin 15 Bib overalls materials 17 Too cool to fathom 21 It gets chalked 23 Polite refusal 27 Commedia dell'___ 28 Jr.'s jr.

29 Al ___ (city in Iraq war news) 31 Anderson Cooper's employer 32 Erik Menendez's brother 33 Island: Fr. 34 Crawl info during winter weather 35 Epic epoch 36 Detector detection 37 Cancun tanks 40 Sch. home to the Horned Frogs 42 Best Actress winner at age 21 43 Heavy emotional baggage 44 Carrey's "Lemony Snicket" costar 46 Play real loud 47 Labor leader Chavez 48 Go to bed 50 Have the 411 51 Agnus ___ 52 Suffix for palm or amor 56 Dollar divs.

k i n g

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW “People in Motion” Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, 805 W Pennsylvania Ave. Through Feb 25, opening reception Feb 1, 7-9pm [will include remarks by Kevin Hamilton and artist Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko] Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm, free, www.iprh.uiuc.edu “Dancing Lessons from God” [65 exploded travel sketches by professor emeritus James Warfield] Flag Hall, UIUC through Feb 11 Undiscovered Tablets [Paintings by Hua Nian and Ceramics by John Dodero] Verde Gallery through Feb 26 Tue-Sat 10am-10pm "Out and Away" [featuring an installation by Katherine Bartel, paintings by Jacqueline Elliot, and by David Prinsen] Springer Cultural Center through Feb 20 Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm.

Crayon Drawings [by Retired U of I Professor Kenneth Lansing] Cinema Gallery through Feb 19 Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm Photographs by Swagatam Mukhopadhyay [photographs from Eastern Himalayan Mountains in North Bengal and Nepal] Café Kopi Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm

“Of Books and Tales: Salavador Dalí and the World of Imagination” [A celebration of the centennial of the controversial artist’s birth] Krannert Art Museum through Feb 13 Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Apocalypse Then: Images of Destruction, Prophecy, and Judgment from Dürer to the Twentieth Century” Krannert Art Museum through April 3, Opening reception Jan 28, 5:30-7:30pm Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Laws of Abstraction” [challenges the assumptions, hierarchies, and reactions associated with the museum experience] Krannert Art Museum through March 27 Tue, Thru-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Over + Over: Passion for Process” [art inspired by the arts and crafts movement, including meticulous hand-beading, sewing, quilting, silhouette cutting, collaging, and collecting] Krannert Art Museum, Jan 29 through April 3.

Opening Reception featuring DJ Bozak Jan 28, 5:30-7:30pm Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $9

University of Illinois Central Black Student Union Presents

COTTON CLUB 2005 “Escape to Harlem on the Soul Train” Hosted by J.J. Williamson of Johnson Family Vacation Saturday March 5, 2005, 7pm Foellinger Auditorium

Tickets on Sale Soon Students: $10 in Advance $12 @ the door Non-Students: $12 in advance $15 @ the door Available @ Illini Union Ticket Central & Assembly Hall Ticket Master 333-5000 For more information contact: Latrina Denson: ldenson@uiuc.edu Markea Haywood: mhaywood@uiuc.edu University of Illinois Residential Life: 333-0770

• 75 Beers •

Open Daily 4PM - 2AM

WINE TASTINGS Every Friday 6-8pm & Every Saturday 2-6pm 203 North Vine Street Urbana

105 N. Market St. Downtown Champaign 355-1236

www.thecorkscrew.com

www.wordenmartin.subaru.com email: subaru@wordenmartin.com

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

%&'##('&)

jonesin crossword puzzle this week in music

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

• 17

buzz weekly

MOISTURE IS THE ESSENCE OF WETNESS. WETNESS IS THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY.

Single Malt Scotch • Wine • Irish Whiskeys •

New or used, buying or leasing, parts or service, a Stellar Performer Certified Dealership sets a new standard in Customer Service! When you visit a Stellar Performer Certified dealership, like Worden-Martin Subaru, you 2005 Subaru Forester X – can be assured you’ll receive * the best customer care possible! Sale Price $19,661

!"#$%

•

Main Neil

HURLY-BURLY

sound ground #60

JA N . 27

Che

ste

Market

...I CAN ONLY HOPE HE WAS RIGHT.

Walnut

THE

buzz weekly

#60

12 •

r University

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

16

•

f r e e

buzz weekly

w i l l

ARIES

E-MAIL CALENDAR@READBUZZ.COM TO LIST EVENTS.

a s t r o l o g y

!"#$ %&'()*+'&,-./

(March 21-April 19)

It'll be a bumper car kind of week, Aries. As long as you stick to the designated course, you can expect lots of thuds, jolts, and caroms that won't hurt a bit. In fact, most of them will actually be fun even as they knock some sense into you. That's why you have cosmic permission to raise your normal quotas of raucous laughter, boisterous horseplay, and madcap adventures. For extra credit, sprinkle wacky accents and silly voices into your conversations.

TAU RU S

(April 20-May 20)

For two years running, Little Yellow Jacket has been voted Bull of the Year by the rodeo circuit's top bull riders. During a five-year career, the 1,750-pound beast has bucked off 85 percent of his riders in an average of 2.8 seconds. No one has stayed on for longer than 8 seconds. I've selected him to be your power animal in the coming weeks, Taurus. You have a mandate to avoid being rounded up, roped, or ridden by anyone, even if you have to snort and foam at the mouth as Little Yellow Jacket does during his performances. "He has the kind of heart, desire, and athletic ability that true champions in any walk of life possess," says his owner. All you need to succeed at your assignment are the first two of those qualities.

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20)

Before the controversial comic Bill Hicks died, Jack Boulware asked him what he thought was funny. "The best kind of comedy to me is when you make people laugh at things they've never laughed at," said Hicks, according to Boulware's piece in the San Francisco Chronicle. That thought should be your inspiration in the coming weeks, Gemini. I don't care how you do it, but you've got to crack up about subjects that you have always taken very seriously. You might want to rent DVDs of comedians who are famous for their taboobusting rants. Surf the Web hunting down jokes about your sacred cows. Sneak up on yourself and tickle your own ribs while in the throes of a fantasy about what you're scared of.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22)

Global warming makes me sad. I'm opposed to it, and I wish we humans would take more drastic measures to minimize our role in it. But I also have to admit that part of me enjoys some of its consequences. The growing season is getting longer: I can eat the first green beans from my garden before the first day of spring. The weather is more consistently finer: My wintertime bike trips to the top of the mountain rarely freeze my eyelashes, as they once did.

Sometimes I can even stroll on the beach in shorts in January. Your assignment in the coming week, Cancerian, is to do what I've done: Find something redemptive about an aspect of our rapidly changing world that normally makes you crazy.

LEO

(July 23-Aug. 22)

"Boobs: I wish I had them. Not enough to buy them, though." So testified skinny actress Lara Flynn Boyle in the Globe, rejecting the idea of getting silicone implants. Take your inspiration from her clarity in the coming week, Leo. Identify one of your half-assed desires--a vague wish that chronically floats around the back of your mind--and renounce it forever. If necessary, have a no-nonsense conversation with yourself in which you discuss all the reasons why the satisfaction of that longing is not at all crucial to your happiness or wellbeing, and why, therefore, you will never again indulge in a serious fantasy about it.

VIRGO

2 7

-

f e b

0 2

weave metaphorical webs; fantasize that every day in every way you are building a silky network designed to help you get what you want; visualize yourself as being light and strong, like a spider.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

The world's highest bridge recently opened for traffic in France. The Millau Viaduct soars over the Tarn River, reducing the driving distance between Paris and Barcelona by 60 miles. I hope to see a comparable innovation in your future, Scorpio. You need a monumental short cut that will let you cross safely and conveniently over a yawning abyss. Don't try to create it all by yourself. Enlist the help of the most soulful bridge-builders you can find.

S AG I T TA R I U S

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Movie actress Kate Winslet is your role model this week, Sagittarius.

In her 17 movies, she has played a staggeringly wide variety of characters, from an innocent romantic in Sense and Sensibility, to a spontaneity-loving free spirit in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to a street-wise sewer rat for an upcoming claymation comedy called Flushed Away. Come to think of it, those are three of the many personas you might consider adapting in the coming days.

Like Winslet, you should avoid typecasting as you keep yourself highly entertained in a dazzling array of colorful milieus.

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

"Believing" in God is like "believing" in the taste of a peach without ever having tasted an actual peach. But what if I told you that you could actually commune with the Divine Wow through up-close, personal encounters that are as vivid and palpable as eating a peach?

It's a distinct possibility for you in the coming weeks, Capricorn. The best way to increase your chances of having this heart-to-heart intimacy with Supreme Magic is, first, to want it very badly, and second, to unleash generous expressions of love as often as possible.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Emily, Madison, and Kaitlyn were among the most popular names for new baby girls last year, whereas Jacob, Ryan, and Nicholas were top choices for boys. Thevoiceofreason.com website notes that on the other hand, Condescensia, Crumpet, and Bucket were some of the least popular girl names, and Beelzebub, Humpty, and Scratch were the least favorite for boys. I hope you will ignore both extremes, Aquarius, as you select an additional new nickname or tag for yourself in the coming days. While the astrological omens suggest it's a good time to expand your self-concept, it's a bad time to be overly influenced either by the trends or by knee-jerk rebellions against the trends.

PISCES

(Feb. 19-March 20)

The Weekly World News reports that hell has a special pain-free section for masochists. The evidence comes from an S & M aficionado who traveled to this anomalous part of the nether realm during a near death experience. "There was no beating, no torture, no poking with blazing pitchforks--not even a decent smack in the face," testified Melissa Surkovsky. While I am definitely not predicting you will visit this place, Pisces, I must warn you that you may soon have a semi-comparable experience here on earth. As much as you might be tempted, you simply won't be able to indulge in any of your own masochistic tendencies. You may even have to endure something like what Surkovsky did: "I was taken to a well-lit chamber and placed in a comfortable reclining chair, then waited on hand and foot by demons who were so polite, it was annoying."

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Michigan is a major importer of trash, accepting more than five million tons per year in return for big payments. A landfill in the small town of Rockwood alone takes in a thousand tons of New Jersey's demolition debris every day. I know it might be tempting for you to get all Rockwood-like in the coming days, Virgo; you may imagine you can reap some long-lasting benefits from getting dumped on. But I say unto you: It ain't worth it. Whatever you think you can gain is meager compared to what you could lose.

LIBRA

j a n

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Science writer David Bodanis says there are always so many fragments of spider legs floating in the air that you are constantly inhaling them wherever you go. I encourage you to think of this now and then in the coming week, Libra. Whenever you do, engage in the following meditation: Imagine that you are bolstering your power to

Homework: Which actor or actress would be the best choice to play you in a film about your life? Testify at http://www.freewillastrology.com.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

|

U R B A N A

ASSEMBLY HALL | First & Florida, Champaign 333-5000 AMERICAN LEGION POST 24 | 705 W Bloomington, Champaign 356-5144 AMERICAN LEGION POST 71 | 107 N Broadway, Urbana 367-3121 BARFLY | 120 N Neil, Champaign 352-9756 BOLTINI LOUNGE | 211 N Neil, Champaign 378-8001 BOARDMAN’S ART THEATER | 126 W Church, Champaign 351-0068 THE BRASS RAIL | 15 E University, Champaign 352-7512 THE CANOPY CLUB (GARDEN GRILL) | 708 S Goodwin, Urbana 367-3140 CHANNING-MURRAY FOUNDATION | 1209 W Oregon, Urbana COSMOPOLITAN CLUB | 307 E John, Champaign 367-3079 COURTYARD CAFE | Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana 333-4666 COWBOY MONKEY | 6 Taylor, Champaign 398-2688 CURTIS ORCHARD | 3902 S Duncan, Champaign 359-5565 D.R. DIGGERS | 604 S Country Fair, Champaign 356-0888 ELMER’S CLUB 45 | 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana 344-3101 EMBASSY TAVERN & GRILL | 114 S Race, Urbana 384-9526 ESQUIRE LOUNGE | 106 N Walnut, Champaign 398-5858 FALLON’S ICE HOUSE | 703 N Prospect, Champaign 398-5760 FAT CITY SALOON | 505 S Chestnut, Champaign 356-7100 THE GREAT IMPASTA | 114 W Church, Champaign 359-7377 G.T.’S WESTERN BOWL | Francis, Champaign 359-1678 THE HIGHDIVE | 51 Main, Champaign 359-4444 HUBER’S | 1312 W Church, Champaign 352-0606 ILLINOIS DISCIPLES FOUNDATION | 610 E Springfield, Champaign 352-8721 INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER | 218 W Main, Urbana 344-8820 THE IRON POST | 120 S Race, Urbana 337-7678 JOE’S BREWERY | 706 S Fifth, Champaign 384-1790 KRANNERT ART MUSEUM | 500 E Peabody, Champaign 333-1861 KRANNERT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS | 500 S Goodwin, Urbana Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

•

BRIGHT EYES: BIGGER THAN JESUS?

••• CD REVIEWS •••

v e n u e s C H A M P A I G N

JA N . 27

LA CASA CULTURAL LATINA | 1203 W Nevada, Urbana 333-4950 LAVA | 1906 W Bradley, Champaign 352-8714 LES’S LOUNGE | 403 N Coler, Urbana 328-4000 LINCOLN CASTLE | 209 S Broadway, Urbana 344-7720 MALIBU BAY LOUNGE | North Route 45, Urbana 328-7415 MIKE ‘N’ MOLLY’S | 105 N Market, Champaign 355-1236 NARGILE | 207 W Clark, Champaign NEIL STREET PUB | 1505 N Neil, Champaign 359-1601 THE OFFICE | 214 W Main, Urbana 344-7608 PARKLAND COLLEGE | 2400 W Bradley, Champaign 351-2528 PHOENIX | 215 S Neil, Champaign 355-7866 PIA’S OF RANTOUL | Route 136 E, Rantoul 893-8244 RED HERRING/CHANNING-MURRAY FOUNDATION | 1209 W Oregon, Urbana 344-1176 ROSE BOWL TAVERN | 106 N Race, Urbana 367-7031 SPRINGER CULTURAL CENTER | 301 N Randolph, Champaign 355-1406 SPURLOCK MUSEUM | 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 THE STATION THEATRE | 223 N Broadway, Urbana 384-4000 STRAWBERRY FIELDS CAFE | 306 W Springfield, Urbana 328-1655 TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES | 105 N Walnut, Champaign 352-8938 TK WENDL’S | 1901 S Highcross, Urbana 255-5328 TOMMY G’S | 123 S Mattis, Country Fair Shopping Center 359-2177 TONIC | 619 S Wright, Champaign 356-6768 UNIVERSITY YMCA | 1001 S Wright, Champaign 344-0721 VERDE/VERDANT | 17 E Taylor, Champaign 366-3204 VIRGINIA THEATRE | 203 W Park Ave, Champaign 356-9053 WHITE HORSE INN | 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign 352-5945 ZORBA’S | 627 E Green, Champaign

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

BRIGHTVSEYES BRIGHT EYES B AT T L E

OF

THE

1.

Bright Eyes I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning Saddle Creek

BY GAVIN PAUL GIOVAGNOLI

Twenty-four-year-old Omaha songster Conor Oberst seems to never lay down his guitar.

Since his debut at the unadulterated age of 13, he’s been self-proprietarily quivering his way up the indie-rock charts, providing fans with over 15 bodies of work. His last full-length album, Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002), dubbed him as “rock’s boy genius” and solidified a position as one of the guiding poetic voices of our generation.

Shortly after Lifted, he re-released his first five albums with five bonus tracks in a seven-LP box set and collaborated with a fellow Nebraska heavy-hearted group Neva Dinova on a six-track EP. There hasn’t been more than a year to confide without the vocal temper tantrums of Mr. Oberst and his ever-growing traveling musical army.

Now in 2005, keeping it real on Saddle Creek records, Conor has gone into overdrive with the double release of two new full-length albums, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The former, more experimentally studio produced, contrasts the

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

ALBUMS

s c e n e

traditional alt-country twang of the latter for a dynamic saturation of new material.

I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, purely continues the Bright Eyes stylistic, vindicated, suffering lyrics and Midwest folksy melodies of the past. As if distilled, the record reveals a tamed version of that quaky angst, producing intensely tight and focused melodic fits. Harmonies are light-hearted and uplifting on the tails of fresh quizzical poems as one of the album’s most intimate country ballads reminisces, “I’m a single cell on a serpent’s tongue, there is a muddy field where a garden was, and I’m glad you got away, but I’m still stuck out here, my clothes are soaking wet from your brother’s tears.” He seems to be in his finest element on this record.And with guest appearances from Jim James of My Morning Jacket and the country sweetheart Emmylou Harris, the album glows with talent.

From the opening track Oberst sits us down, orating a one-on-one narration of two characters casually talking to each other in the midst of a crashing plane. Setting up a storybook presence, the rest of the album grasps your ears with an infectious verse. Even if the acoustics don’t please your soul, the poetry will draw you right back in, proving its durability. Bright Eyes aficionados will emphatically embrace the album, but even if you’re not attuned to Oberst’s delicate instability you’ll find satisfaction in his hushed, yet wild sincerity.

2.

Bright Eyes Digital Ash in a Digital Urn Saddle Creek

BY IMRAN SIDDIQUEE

For the casual listener, it would be far too easy to label Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes as depressing. For all his desolation, his music indicates that he’s a guy on the verge of being happy.

Unlike Elliott Smith, who almost always seemed ready to breakdown, Oberst has continually sought salvation.Whether through music, love or life, his goal is to be lifted.

With Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Oberst tackles his most morbid topic to date,death, and comes away with one of the most beautiful records he’s ever created. He mixes in lines like “to the deepest part/of the human heart/the fear of death expands” with hopeful lines like “we will soon be born again” all in the same song, and it works because everything is backed by a gorgeous new sound.

With the help of multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service, Dntel), Bright Eyes concocts a magical and melodic sound that draws from the increasingly mainstream electronic movement along with spacey garage-rock.

Having one of the great lyricists of our generation backed by music that is almost as eyecatching as his words is something all Bright Eyes fans have been waiting for.While this may not be

[1]

buzz weekly •

13

his masterpiece or even in his arena (I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning might fit that description), the songs here gel quite nicely and produce some of his best work yet.

The previously quoted “Arc of Time” is a meditation on death and the hope that religion provides, as well as a philosophical look at the idea of cloning or digitally re-creating ourselves (hence the title of the album). Lyrically Oberst has continued to improve, and on “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)” (the first single from the record), he reaches a lyrical and musical peak. As Tamborello programs pretty little bells and whistles with a miniature guitar riff, the song soars over lines like “if you stay too long in my memory/I will trap you in a song tied to a melody/And I’ll keep you there so you can’t bother me.”

The album moves into “Hit the Switch,” which is a classic Bright Eyes visionary song. He describes the beauty he sees in a girl quite disturbingly,“Each morning she wakes with a dream to describe/Something lovely that bloomed in her beautiful mind. I say ‘I’ll trade you one, for two nightmares of mine/I have some where I die/I have some where we all die.’”

All his musings on life end with the final track,“Easy/Lucky/Free” which is among Bright Eyes’ greatest tracks. He punctuates a tuneful ballad about the way in which death affects the world with the line “Don’t you weep (don’t you weep for them)/There is nothing as lucky, as easy, or free.”

Death becomes yet another way in which we can be “lifted.” See - I told you it wasn’t all depressing.

[2]

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

play on.

>

!"#$%$&'()

>

*+),$-.$/)0$12#/ buzz pick

The D.A.I.S.Y Age may have ended 10 years ago, but beautiful beats and positive flow are alive and well in Chicago. Treologic, a group who mixes live instruments, soul music, a DJ, and a party vibe to create an uplifting experience, will be appearing at Cowboy Monkey in Champaign this Saturday.

Cover is $5. Local favorites Lorenzo Goetz open. The band guarantees euphoria after every show.

-Kyle Gorman

[bluegrass, punk] The Highdive, 7:30pm, $5 Brain Housing Group Nargile, 8pm-2am, $15 WPGU 107.1 Presents: American Minor, The Greedy Loves, Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee The Canopy Club, 9pm, $5 IPAN [steel drum calypso] The Iron Post, 9pm Chambana [jazz] Cowboy Monkey, 5-7pm, $2 The Beauty Shop, Emotional Rec Club, The Coke Dares Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, The Reverend Robert Friends & Co., 10pm, $3 8-up [rock covers] Tommy G's, 10pm Elsinore White Horse Inn, 10pm, free Country Connection Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm-1am, free Pacifica Quartet [Schubert & Ligeti] Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $10-$18 DJ DJ Bozak [hip hop, downtempo] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Lil Big Bass Boltini, 10pm, free DJ Tim Williams [hip hop, house, top 40 dance] The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Dancing Tango Lesson Verde Gallery, 7-9pm, $5 Theater “Bobby Gould Goes to Hell” & “Hughie” [one act double feature] Gregory Hall Theater, 8pm, $5

!"#$%&'( January 27

Live Music U of I Big Band The Iron Post, 7-10pm Larry Gates [acoustic] Aroma, 8pm, free Kayla Brown Boltini, 8-10pm, free Groovatron, Beat Kitchen The Canopy Club, 9pm, $4 The Ike Reilly Assassination and Rakes Courtyard Cafe, 9pm, $4 students/$5 non

Plain White T's, The Reputation Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $7 Jim Bean Tommy G's, 9pm, free Caleb Rose Bowl Pub, 9pm-1am, free UI Symphony Orchestra Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $2-$6 An Evening with Edgar Meyer and Christ Thile Tryon Theater 7:30pm, $23-$33 DJ DJ J-Phlip [house] Barfly, 10pm, free Back To School Party The Highdive, 10pm, $5

DJ Bozak [hip hop & soulful beats] Boltini, 10:30pm, free Dancing UIUC Swing Society McKinley Foundation 9:30pm-midnight, free Fitness Belly Dance for Fitness The Fitness Center Champaign, 8pm, $7-$9 Belly Dance for Fitness Gold’s Gym, Champaign, 7:30pm, $7-$9 Wine Tasting Krannert Uncorked Krannert Art Center Lobby, 5pm, free

)$*&'( January 28

Live Music Chambana [jazz] Cowboy Monkey, 5pm, $2 Jeff Helgesen Quintet The Iron Post, 5-7pm The Prairie Dogs Tommy G's, 5-7pm, free Open Mic Night: Jim Reed, Children of the Corn Crib [jazz, blues] Wake the Dead Cafe, 6pm, free Split Lip Rayfield, jigGsaw

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Useless Hero, Placenta Garden, Substance Abuse, Alleyway Sex] Red Herring, 7pm, $5 Spitalfield, Divide by Zero, Blame Twilight, Faultlines Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, $5 X-Krus The Canopy Club, 9pm, $5 Blues Deacons Tommy G's, 9pm, $3 Treologic, Lorenzo Goetz [hip hop, rock] Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 The Pink Spiders, Sadaharu Friends & Co., 10pm, $2 Hot Club d'Urbana The Iron Post, 10pm Juilliard String Quartet [chamber music] Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $19-$35 Afterglow [jazz from Joel Smirnoff of Juilliard String Quartet and local musicians] Krannert Art Center Lobby, 10pm, free DJ DJ Resonate [hip hop] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Limbs [hip hop, soul, dance] Boltini, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [old school, retro, hip hop] Nargile, 10pm, free DJ Tim Williams [hip hop, house, top 40 dance] The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Dancing Mardi Gras Party [music by the Noisy Gators, cajun food and beer will be served] Verde Gallery, 8pm lesson/ 9pm dance, $5 Karaoke "G" Force Karaoke Sappy's on Devenshire, 9pm-12am, free

%'!#$&'( %#+&'( January 29

January 30

Live Music Fotomana The Iron Post, 6-9pm Open Mic Night: Children of the Corn Crib [jazz, blues] Wake the Dead Cafe, 6pm, free Epitaph for an Enemy, The Difference, Made McKinley Foundation, 7pm, $4 Grass Roots Revival Page for All Ages, 7pm, free CU Punk Showcase [The Insolents, The Tards, Les Incroyables, System Rejects,

Live Music Ricky Baldwin Fund-raiser with The Noisy Gators The Iron Post, 6-9pm Sunday Mass: Jaded Kayne, Lidlifter, Heavy Handed [hard rock & metal] Tommy G's, 9pm, free Sick Day, Quadremedy The Iron Post, 10pm Civilian Nargile, 10pm Crystal River

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

•

s o u n d s

Rose Bowl Pub, 9:00pm-1:00am, free Open Stage Espresso Royale on Goodwin & Oregon 8pm, free

DJ DJ Wesjile [hip hop] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [80's rewind] Boltini, 10pm, free

DJ DJ Sophisto [house] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ PBR [Wilco, Blues Explosion, Shins etc.]

Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free DJ Lil Big Bass Boltini, 10:30pm, free

Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Sunday Zen Meditation Prairie Zen Center 9am-noon, free Theater “Bobby Gould Goes to Hell” & “Hughie” [one act double feature] Gregory Hall Theater, 8pm, $5

,-+&'(

January 31 Live Music Jazz Jam with ParaDocs The Iron Post, 7-10pm Alter Bridge, Silvertide, Submersed The Canopy Club, 7:30pm, $20 advance/$23 door Quadremedy Tommy G's, 10pm, free DJ DJ Delayney [hip hop, sou] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Resonate [hip hop, R&B, lounge] Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free House Music Night Nargile, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [hip hop and soulful beats] Boltini, 10pm, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Other-Wordly and This-Wordly Piety and the Islamic Revival [lecture by Francis Robinson, Prof.of History of South Asia, Royal Holloway, University of London] 3rd Floor, Levis Faculty Center, 4pm, free

!#.%'&'(

Karaoke "G" Force Karaoke Neil St. Pub, 8pm-12am, free Liquid Courage Karaoke Geo's Chill and Grill 9pm, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Global Fundamentalism Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, UIUC, 3-5pm, Free WYSE Regional HS Academic Challenge Parkland College, rm D244, 9am-2pm World Response to Tsunami Disaster Forum Illini Union Rooms A & B, 3:30pm, Free Progress Toward Global Food Security: UN Development Goals for the Millennium [lecture by Catherine Bertini, Under-Secretary General for Management, UN] Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 4pm, free Fitness Belly Dance for Fitness The Fitness Center Champaign, 8pm, $7-$9

Puzzle

/.&+.%&'(

15

14

If music be the food of love,

Rose Bowl Pub, 8:30pm-12:30am, free Animal Tales [C-U Symphony Orchestra] Foellinger Great Hall, 3pm, $6-$11

February 2

Live Music The Jazz Mandolin Project The Canopy Club, 9pm, $10 advance/$12 door Green Mountain Grass [bluegrass] The Iron Post, 9pm Kilborn Alley Tommy G's, 10pm, free Apollo Project, Green Mountain Grass [jam] Nargile, TBA, free Ed O'Hara and Friends Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm-1am, free DJ Chef Ra [roots, reggae] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Limbs [hip hop, soul, dance] Boltini, 10:30pm, free

Dancing Tango Dancing Cowboy Monkey, 7:30pm, free Salsa Dancing Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 Karaoke Liquid Courage Karaoke Geovanti's, 10pm-2am, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings WYSE Regional HS Academic Challenge Parkland College, rm D244,

9am-2pm Kids Around the World Wednesdays [crafts and games from around the world for families] Spurlock Museum, 9:30am-12pm, $1 donation

pg.17

February 1

f r o m

Live Music Final Drive, Omnipresent, Jaded Kayne, Alchymist The Canopy Club [main stage], 7-11pm, $5 Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Mike Armintrout The Canopy Club [acoustic stage], 9pm, $5 Adam Wolfe's Acoustic Night with Jess Greenlee Tommy G's, 10pm, free Crystal River

t h e

s c e n e •

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

play on.

>

!"#$%$&'()

>

*+),$-.$/)0$12#/ buzz pick

The D.A.I.S.Y Age may have ended 10 years ago, but beautiful beats and positive flow are alive and well in Chicago. Treologic, a group who mixes live instruments, soul music, a DJ, and a party vibe to create an uplifting experience, will be appearing at Cowboy Monkey in Champaign this Saturday.

Cover is $5. Local favorites Lorenzo Goetz open. The band guarantees euphoria after every show.

-Kyle Gorman

[bluegrass, punk] The Highdive, 7:30pm, $5 Brain Housing Group Nargile, 8pm-2am, $15 WPGU 107.1 Presents: American Minor, The Greedy Loves, Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee The Canopy Club, 9pm, $5 IPAN [steel drum calypso] The Iron Post, 9pm Chambana [jazz] Cowboy Monkey, 5-7pm, $2 The Beauty Shop, Emotional Rec Club, The Coke Dares Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, The Reverend Robert Friends & Co., 10pm, $3 8-up [rock covers] Tommy G's, 10pm Elsinore White Horse Inn, 10pm, free Country Connection Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm-1am, free Pacifica Quartet [Schubert & Ligeti] Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $10-$18 DJ DJ Bozak [hip hop, downtempo] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Lil Big Bass Boltini, 10pm, free DJ Tim Williams [hip hop, house, top 40 dance] The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Dancing Tango Lesson Verde Gallery, 7-9pm, $5 Theater “Bobby Gould Goes to Hell” & “Hughie” [one act double feature] Gregory Hall Theater, 8pm, $5

!"#$%&'( January 27

Live Music U of I Big Band The Iron Post, 7-10pm Larry Gates [acoustic] Aroma, 8pm, free Kayla Brown Boltini, 8-10pm, free Groovatron, Beat Kitchen The Canopy Club, 9pm, $4 The Ike Reilly Assassination and Rakes Courtyard Cafe, 9pm, $4 students/$5 non

Plain White T's, The Reputation Cowboy Monkey, 9pm, $7 Jim Bean Tommy G's, 9pm, free Caleb Rose Bowl Pub, 9pm-1am, free UI Symphony Orchestra Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $2-$6 An Evening with Edgar Meyer and Christ Thile Tryon Theater 7:30pm, $23-$33 DJ DJ J-Phlip [house] Barfly, 10pm, free Back To School Party The Highdive, 10pm, $5

DJ Bozak [hip hop & soulful beats] Boltini, 10:30pm, free Dancing UIUC Swing Society McKinley Foundation 9:30pm-midnight, free Fitness Belly Dance for Fitness The Fitness Center Champaign, 8pm, $7-$9 Belly Dance for Fitness Gold’s Gym, Champaign, 7:30pm, $7-$9 Wine Tasting Krannert Uncorked Krannert Art Center Lobby, 5pm, free

)$*&'( January 28

Live Music Chambana [jazz] Cowboy Monkey, 5pm, $2 Jeff Helgesen Quintet The Iron Post, 5-7pm The Prairie Dogs Tommy G's, 5-7pm, free Open Mic Night: Jim Reed, Children of the Corn Crib [jazz, blues] Wake the Dead Cafe, 6pm, free Split Lip Rayfield, jigGsaw

Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Useless Hero, Placenta Garden, Substance Abuse, Alleyway Sex] Red Herring, 7pm, $5 Spitalfield, Divide by Zero, Blame Twilight, Faultlines Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, $5 X-Krus The Canopy Club, 9pm, $5 Blues Deacons Tommy G's, 9pm, $3 Treologic, Lorenzo Goetz [hip hop, rock] Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5 The Pink Spiders, Sadaharu Friends & Co., 10pm, $2 Hot Club d'Urbana The Iron Post, 10pm Juilliard String Quartet [chamber music] Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $19-$35 Afterglow [jazz from Joel Smirnoff of Juilliard String Quartet and local musicians] Krannert Art Center Lobby, 10pm, free DJ DJ Resonate [hip hop] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Limbs [hip hop, soul, dance] Boltini, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [old school, retro, hip hop] Nargile, 10pm, free DJ Tim Williams [hip hop, house, top 40 dance] The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Dancing Mardi Gras Party [music by the Noisy Gators, cajun food and beer will be served] Verde Gallery, 8pm lesson/ 9pm dance, $5 Karaoke "G" Force Karaoke Sappy's on Devenshire, 9pm-12am, free

%'!#$&'( %#+&'( January 29

January 30

Live Music Fotomana The Iron Post, 6-9pm Open Mic Night: Children of the Corn Crib [jazz, blues] Wake the Dead Cafe, 6pm, free Epitaph for an Enemy, The Difference, Made McKinley Foundation, 7pm, $4 Grass Roots Revival Page for All Ages, 7pm, free CU Punk Showcase [The Insolents, The Tards, Les Incroyables, System Rejects,

Live Music Ricky Baldwin Fund-raiser with The Noisy Gators The Iron Post, 6-9pm Sunday Mass: Jaded Kayne, Lidlifter, Heavy Handed [hard rock & metal] Tommy G's, 9pm, free Sick Day, Quadremedy The Iron Post, 10pm Civilian Nargile, 10pm Crystal River

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

•

s o u n d s

Rose Bowl Pub, 9:00pm-1:00am, free Open Stage Espresso Royale on Goodwin & Oregon 8pm, free

DJ DJ Wesjile [hip hop] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [80's rewind] Boltini, 10pm, free

DJ DJ Sophisto [house] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ PBR [Wilco, Blues Explosion, Shins etc.]

Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free DJ Lil Big Bass Boltini, 10:30pm, free

Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Sunday Zen Meditation Prairie Zen Center 9am-noon, free Theater “Bobby Gould Goes to Hell” & “Hughie” [one act double feature] Gregory Hall Theater, 8pm, $5

,-+&'(

January 31 Live Music Jazz Jam with ParaDocs The Iron Post, 7-10pm Alter Bridge, Silvertide, Submersed The Canopy Club, 7:30pm, $20 advance/$23 door Quadremedy Tommy G's, 10pm, free DJ DJ Delayney [hip hop, sou] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Resonate [hip hop, R&B, lounge] Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free House Music Night Nargile, 10pm, free DJ Bozak [hip hop and soulful beats] Boltini, 10pm, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Other-Wordly and This-Wordly Piety and the Islamic Revival [lecture by Francis Robinson, Prof.of History of South Asia, Royal Holloway, University of London] 3rd Floor, Levis Faculty Center, 4pm, free

!#.%'&'(

Karaoke "G" Force Karaoke Neil St. Pub, 8pm-12am, free Liquid Courage Karaoke Geo's Chill and Grill 9pm, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings Global Fundamentalism Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, UIUC, 3-5pm, Free WYSE Regional HS Academic Challenge Parkland College, rm D244, 9am-2pm World Response to Tsunami Disaster Forum Illini Union Rooms A & B, 3:30pm, Free Progress Toward Global Food Security: UN Development Goals for the Millennium [lecture by Catherine Bertini, Under-Secretary General for Management, UN] Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 4pm, free Fitness Belly Dance for Fitness The Fitness Center Champaign, 8pm, $7-$9

Puzzle

/.&+.%&'(

15

14

If music be the food of love,

Rose Bowl Pub, 8:30pm-12:30am, free Animal Tales [C-U Symphony Orchestra] Foellinger Great Hall, 3pm, $6-$11

February 2

Live Music The Jazz Mandolin Project The Canopy Club, 9pm, $10 advance/$12 door Green Mountain Grass [bluegrass] The Iron Post, 9pm Kilborn Alley Tommy G's, 10pm, free Apollo Project, Green Mountain Grass [jam] Nargile, TBA, free Ed O'Hara and Friends Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm-1am, free DJ Chef Ra [roots, reggae] Barfly, 10pm, free DJ Limbs [hip hop, soul, dance] Boltini, 10:30pm, free

Dancing Tango Dancing Cowboy Monkey, 7:30pm, free Salsa Dancing Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 Karaoke Liquid Courage Karaoke Geovanti's, 10pm-2am, free Lecture, Discussions, Meetings WYSE Regional HS Academic Challenge Parkland College, rm D244,

9am-2pm Kids Around the World Wednesdays [crafts and games from around the world for families] Spurlock Museum, 9:30am-12pm, $1 donation

pg.17

February 1

f r o m

Live Music Final Drive, Omnipresent, Jaded Kayne, Alchymist The Canopy Club [main stage], 7-11pm, $5 Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Mike Armintrout The Canopy Club [acoustic stage], 9pm, $5 Adam Wolfe's Acoustic Night with Jess Greenlee Tommy G's, 10pm, free Crystal River

t h e

s c e n e •

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

16

•

f r e e

buzz weekly

w i l l

ARIES

E-MAIL CALENDAR@READBUZZ.COM TO LIST EVENTS.

a s t r o l o g y

!"#$ %&'()*+'&,-./

(March 21-April 19)

It'll be a bumper car kind of week, Aries. As long as you stick to the designated course, you can expect lots of thuds, jolts, and caroms that won't hurt a bit. In fact, most of them will actually be fun even as they knock some sense into you. That's why you have cosmic permission to raise your normal quotas of raucous laughter, boisterous horseplay, and madcap adventures. For extra credit, sprinkle wacky accents and silly voices into your conversations.

TAU RU S

(April 20-May 20)

For two years running, Little Yellow Jacket has been voted Bull of the Year by the rodeo circuit's top bull riders. During a five-year career, the 1,750-pound beast has bucked off 85 percent of his riders in an average of 2.8 seconds. No one has stayed on for longer than 8 seconds. I've selected him to be your power animal in the coming weeks, Taurus. You have a mandate to avoid being rounded up, roped, or ridden by anyone, even if you have to snort and foam at the mouth as Little Yellow Jacket does during his performances. "He has the kind of heart, desire, and athletic ability that true champions in any walk of life possess," says his owner. All you need to succeed at your assignment are the first two of those qualities.

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20)

Before the controversial comic Bill Hicks died, Jack Boulware asked him what he thought was funny. "The best kind of comedy to me is when you make people laugh at things they've never laughed at," said Hicks, according to Boulware's piece in the San Francisco Chronicle. That thought should be your inspiration in the coming weeks, Gemini. I don't care how you do it, but you've got to crack up about subjects that you have always taken very seriously. You might want to rent DVDs of comedians who are famous for their taboobusting rants. Surf the Web hunting down jokes about your sacred cows. Sneak up on yourself and tickle your own ribs while in the throes of a fantasy about what you're scared of.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22)

Global warming makes me sad. I'm opposed to it, and I wish we humans would take more drastic measures to minimize our role in it. But I also have to admit that part of me enjoys some of its consequences. The growing season is getting longer: I can eat the first green beans from my garden before the first day of spring. The weather is more consistently finer: My wintertime bike trips to the top of the mountain rarely freeze my eyelashes, as they once did.

Sometimes I can even stroll on the beach in shorts in January. Your assignment in the coming week, Cancerian, is to do what I've done: Find something redemptive about an aspect of our rapidly changing world that normally makes you crazy.

LEO

(July 23-Aug. 22)

"Boobs: I wish I had them. Not enough to buy them, though." So testified skinny actress Lara Flynn Boyle in the Globe, rejecting the idea of getting silicone implants. Take your inspiration from her clarity in the coming week, Leo. Identify one of your half-assed desires--a vague wish that chronically floats around the back of your mind--and renounce it forever. If necessary, have a no-nonsense conversation with yourself in which you discuss all the reasons why the satisfaction of that longing is not at all crucial to your happiness or wellbeing, and why, therefore, you will never again indulge in a serious fantasy about it.

VIRGO

2 7

-

f e b

0 2

weave metaphorical webs; fantasize that every day in every way you are building a silky network designed to help you get what you want; visualize yourself as being light and strong, like a spider.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

The world's highest bridge recently opened for traffic in France. The Millau Viaduct soars over the Tarn River, reducing the driving distance between Paris and Barcelona by 60 miles. I hope to see a comparable innovation in your future, Scorpio. You need a monumental short cut that will let you cross safely and conveniently over a yawning abyss. Don't try to create it all by yourself. Enlist the help of the most soulful bridge-builders you can find.

S AG I T TA R I U S

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Movie actress Kate Winslet is your role model this week, Sagittarius.

In her 17 movies, she has played a staggeringly wide variety of characters, from an innocent romantic in Sense and Sensibility, to a spontaneity-loving free spirit in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to a street-wise sewer rat for an upcoming claymation comedy called Flushed Away. Come to think of it, those are three of the many personas you might consider adapting in the coming days.

Like Winslet, you should avoid typecasting as you keep yourself highly entertained in a dazzling array of colorful milieus.

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

"Believing" in God is like "believing" in the taste of a peach without ever having tasted an actual peach. But what if I told you that you could actually commune with the Divine Wow through up-close, personal encounters that are as vivid and palpable as eating a peach?

It's a distinct possibility for you in the coming weeks, Capricorn. The best way to increase your chances of having this heart-to-heart intimacy with Supreme Magic is, first, to want it very badly, and second, to unleash generous expressions of love as often as possible.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

Emily, Madison, and Kaitlyn were among the most popular names for new baby girls last year, whereas Jacob, Ryan, and Nicholas were top choices for boys. Thevoiceofreason.com website notes that on the other hand, Condescensia, Crumpet, and Bucket were some of the least popular girl names, and Beelzebub, Humpty, and Scratch were the least favorite for boys. I hope you will ignore both extremes, Aquarius, as you select an additional new nickname or tag for yourself in the coming days. While the astrological omens suggest it's a good time to expand your self-concept, it's a bad time to be overly influenced either by the trends or by knee-jerk rebellions against the trends.

PISCES

(Feb. 19-March 20)

The Weekly World News reports that hell has a special pain-free section for masochists. The evidence comes from an S & M aficionado who traveled to this anomalous part of the nether realm during a near death experience. "There was no beating, no torture, no poking with blazing pitchforks--not even a decent smack in the face," testified Melissa Surkovsky. While I am definitely not predicting you will visit this place, Pisces, I must warn you that you may soon have a semi-comparable experience here on earth. As much as you might be tempted, you simply won't be able to indulge in any of your own masochistic tendencies. You may even have to endure something like what Surkovsky did: "I was taken to a well-lit chamber and placed in a comfortable reclining chair, then waited on hand and foot by demons who were so polite, it was annoying."

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Michigan is a major importer of trash, accepting more than five million tons per year in return for big payments. A landfill in the small town of Rockwood alone takes in a thousand tons of New Jersey's demolition debris every day. I know it might be tempting for you to get all Rockwood-like in the coming days, Virgo; you may imagine you can reap some long-lasting benefits from getting dumped on. But I say unto you: It ain't worth it. Whatever you think you can gain is meager compared to what you could lose.

LIBRA

j a n

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Science writer David Bodanis says there are always so many fragments of spider legs floating in the air that you are constantly inhaling them wherever you go. I encourage you to think of this now and then in the coming week, Libra. Whenever you do, engage in the following meditation: Imagine that you are bolstering your power to

Homework: Which actor or actress would be the best choice to play you in a film about your life? Testify at http://www.freewillastrology.com.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

|

U R B A N A

ASSEMBLY HALL | First & Florida, Champaign 333-5000 AMERICAN LEGION POST 24 | 705 W Bloomington, Champaign 356-5144 AMERICAN LEGION POST 71 | 107 N Broadway, Urbana 367-3121 BARFLY | 120 N Neil, Champaign 352-9756 BOLTINI LOUNGE | 211 N Neil, Champaign 378-8001 BOARDMAN’S ART THEATER | 126 W Church, Champaign 351-0068 THE BRASS RAIL | 15 E University, Champaign 352-7512 THE CANOPY CLUB (GARDEN GRILL) | 708 S Goodwin, Urbana 367-3140 CHANNING-MURRAY FOUNDATION | 1209 W Oregon, Urbana COSMOPOLITAN CLUB | 307 E John, Champaign 367-3079 COURTYARD CAFE | Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana 333-4666 COWBOY MONKEY | 6 Taylor, Champaign 398-2688 CURTIS ORCHARD | 3902 S Duncan, Champaign 359-5565 D.R. DIGGERS | 604 S Country Fair, Champaign 356-0888 ELMER’S CLUB 45 | 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana 344-3101 EMBASSY TAVERN & GRILL | 114 S Race, Urbana 384-9526 ESQUIRE LOUNGE | 106 N Walnut, Champaign 398-5858 FALLON’S ICE HOUSE | 703 N Prospect, Champaign 398-5760 FAT CITY SALOON | 505 S Chestnut, Champaign 356-7100 THE GREAT IMPASTA | 114 W Church, Champaign 359-7377 G.T.’S WESTERN BOWL | Francis, Champaign 359-1678 THE HIGHDIVE | 51 Main, Champaign 359-4444 HUBER’S | 1312 W Church, Champaign 352-0606 ILLINOIS DISCIPLES FOUNDATION | 610 E Springfield, Champaign 352-8721 INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER | 218 W Main, Urbana 344-8820 THE IRON POST | 120 S Race, Urbana 337-7678 JOE’S BREWERY | 706 S Fifth, Champaign 384-1790 KRANNERT ART MUSEUM | 500 E Peabody, Champaign 333-1861 KRANNERT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS | 500 S Goodwin, Urbana Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

•

BRIGHT EYES: BIGGER THAN JESUS?

••• CD REVIEWS •••

v e n u e s C H A M P A I G N

JA N . 27

LA CASA CULTURAL LATINA | 1203 W Nevada, Urbana 333-4950 LAVA | 1906 W Bradley, Champaign 352-8714 LES’S LOUNGE | 403 N Coler, Urbana 328-4000 LINCOLN CASTLE | 209 S Broadway, Urbana 344-7720 MALIBU BAY LOUNGE | North Route 45, Urbana 328-7415 MIKE ‘N’ MOLLY’S | 105 N Market, Champaign 355-1236 NARGILE | 207 W Clark, Champaign NEIL STREET PUB | 1505 N Neil, Champaign 359-1601 THE OFFICE | 214 W Main, Urbana 344-7608 PARKLAND COLLEGE | 2400 W Bradley, Champaign 351-2528 PHOENIX | 215 S Neil, Champaign 355-7866 PIA’S OF RANTOUL | Route 136 E, Rantoul 893-8244 RED HERRING/CHANNING-MURRAY FOUNDATION | 1209 W Oregon, Urbana 344-1176 ROSE BOWL TAVERN | 106 N Race, Urbana 367-7031 SPRINGER CULTURAL CENTER | 301 N Randolph, Champaign 355-1406 SPURLOCK MUSEUM | 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 THE STATION THEATRE | 223 N Broadway, Urbana 384-4000 STRAWBERRY FIELDS CAFE | 306 W Springfield, Urbana 328-1655 TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES | 105 N Walnut, Champaign 352-8938 TK WENDL’S | 1901 S Highcross, Urbana 255-5328 TOMMY G’S | 123 S Mattis, Country Fair Shopping Center 359-2177 TONIC | 619 S Wright, Champaign 356-6768 UNIVERSITY YMCA | 1001 S Wright, Champaign 344-0721 VERDE/VERDANT | 17 E Taylor, Champaign 366-3204 VIRGINIA THEATRE | 203 W Park Ave, Champaign 356-9053 WHITE HORSE INN | 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign 352-5945 ZORBA’S | 627 E Green, Champaign

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

BRIGHTVSEYES BRIGHT EYES B AT T L E

OF

THE

1.

Bright Eyes I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning Saddle Creek

BY GAVIN PAUL GIOVAGNOLI

Twenty-four-year-old Omaha songster Conor Oberst seems to never lay down his guitar.

Since his debut at the unadulterated age of 13, he’s been self-proprietarily quivering his way up the indie-rock charts, providing fans with over 15 bodies of work. His last full-length album, Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002), dubbed him as “rock’s boy genius” and solidified a position as one of the guiding poetic voices of our generation.

Shortly after Lifted, he re-released his first five albums with five bonus tracks in a seven-LP box set and collaborated with a fellow Nebraska heavy-hearted group Neva Dinova on a six-track EP. There hasn’t been more than a year to confide without the vocal temper tantrums of Mr. Oberst and his ever-growing traveling musical army.

Now in 2005, keeping it real on Saddle Creek records, Conor has gone into overdrive with the double release of two new full-length albums, Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, and I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The former, more experimentally studio produced, contrasts the

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

ALBUMS

s c e n e

traditional alt-country twang of the latter for a dynamic saturation of new material.

I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, purely continues the Bright Eyes stylistic, vindicated, suffering lyrics and Midwest folksy melodies of the past. As if distilled, the record reveals a tamed version of that quaky angst, producing intensely tight and focused melodic fits. Harmonies are light-hearted and uplifting on the tails of fresh quizzical poems as one of the album’s most intimate country ballads reminisces, “I’m a single cell on a serpent’s tongue, there is a muddy field where a garden was, and I’m glad you got away, but I’m still stuck out here, my clothes are soaking wet from your brother’s tears.” He seems to be in his finest element on this record.And with guest appearances from Jim James of My Morning Jacket and the country sweetheart Emmylou Harris, the album glows with talent.

From the opening track Oberst sits us down, orating a one-on-one narration of two characters casually talking to each other in the midst of a crashing plane. Setting up a storybook presence, the rest of the album grasps your ears with an infectious verse. Even if the acoustics don’t please your soul, the poetry will draw you right back in, proving its durability. Bright Eyes aficionados will emphatically embrace the album, but even if you’re not attuned to Oberst’s delicate instability you’ll find satisfaction in his hushed, yet wild sincerity.

2.

Bright Eyes Digital Ash in a Digital Urn Saddle Creek

BY IMRAN SIDDIQUEE

For the casual listener, it would be far too easy to label Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes as depressing. For all his desolation, his music indicates that he’s a guy on the verge of being happy.

Unlike Elliott Smith, who almost always seemed ready to breakdown, Oberst has continually sought salvation.Whether through music, love or life, his goal is to be lifted.

With Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Oberst tackles his most morbid topic to date,death, and comes away with one of the most beautiful records he’s ever created. He mixes in lines like “to the deepest part/of the human heart/the fear of death expands” with hopeful lines like “we will soon be born again” all in the same song, and it works because everything is backed by a gorgeous new sound.

With the help of multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Jimmy Tamborello (Postal Service, Dntel), Bright Eyes concocts a magical and melodic sound that draws from the increasingly mainstream electronic movement along with spacey garage-rock.

Having one of the great lyricists of our generation backed by music that is almost as eyecatching as his words is something all Bright Eyes fans have been waiting for.While this may not be

[1]

buzz weekly •

13

his masterpiece or even in his arena (I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning might fit that description), the songs here gel quite nicely and produce some of his best work yet.

The previously quoted “Arc of Time” is a meditation on death and the hope that religion provides, as well as a philosophical look at the idea of cloning or digitally re-creating ourselves (hence the title of the album). Lyrically Oberst has continued to improve, and on “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)” (the first single from the record), he reaches a lyrical and musical peak. As Tamborello programs pretty little bells and whistles with a miniature guitar riff, the song soars over lines like “if you stay too long in my memory/I will trap you in a song tied to a melody/And I’ll keep you there so you can’t bother me.”

The album moves into “Hit the Switch,” which is a classic Bright Eyes visionary song. He describes the beauty he sees in a girl quite disturbingly,“Each morning she wakes with a dream to describe/Something lovely that bloomed in her beautiful mind. I say ‘I’ll trade you one, for two nightmares of mine/I have some where I die/I have some where we all die.’”

All his musings on life end with the final track,“Easy/Lucky/Free” which is among Bright Eyes’ greatest tracks. He punctuates a tuneful ballad about the way in which death affects the world with the line “Don’t you weep (don’t you weep for them)/There is nothing as lucky, as easy, or free.”

Death becomes yet another way in which we can be “lifted.” See - I told you it wasn’t all depressing.

[2]

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

The Fiery Furnaces have released details of two upcoming release, neither of which have set release dates.The first, tentatively titled Garfield L, is reportedly already finished and features contributions from the Freidberger’s 82-year-old grandmother Olga Sarantos. Another release of "short poppy songs" is currently being recorded in Benton Harbor, Mich., under the working title of Singing to Speak Chinese, according to Billboard.com.

Beck's new album, Guero, will see the light of day M a r .

2 9 v i a DGC. First single, "EPro," will hit radio sometime next month. The album features production by the Dust Brothers.

TODD J. HUNTER • STAFF WRITER

w H at tH e He L L? MOMENT OF THE WEEK Geared toward adolescents who enjoy popular music but despise the term "prepositional," Kaplan Test Prep and Defined Mind have created a CD of vocabulary-filled rock, hip hop and R&B as an SAT study aid. Remember kids, "Ludacris" is t o "references to Krystal" as "Korn" is to "disturbing acapella solo."

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.DAVEYD.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.BECK.COM

Feb. 22 will see the release of M. Ward's latest album for merge, Transistor Radio.

This will be followed by a brief tour including a Feb. 25 date at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago.

Indie-rock trio Triple Whip

again needs a drummer.

Wunderkind Josh Birky (exSolips) replaced Brett Sanderson last summer and merrily remade every song into a highspeed chase. His exit is untimely, yet for an unimpeachable reason: school. He still will record with Triple Whip for the second annual Green St. Records compilation, Playlisted; his last show with Triple Whip is Feb. 11 at Nargile, with The Beauty Shop and The Living Blue. Besides Brett Sanderson (now drummer for The Beauty Shop) and Josh Birky, Triple Whip has had three guest drummers: Jonathan Sarmiento, Luke Hensleigh and Scott Kimble.

Electro-industrial quartet i:scintilla has recorded “Starman” for a David Bowie tribute album due this spring. In addition, the i:scintilla music video for “Capsella Bursa Pastoris” [Toxin Mix] became available Jan. 10 at iscintilla.com in Quicktime format, and Positron! Records in Chicago now offers debut album The Approach. i:scintilla will perform with Shipwreck Feb. 4 at Nargile and solo Mar. 14 on WEFT Sessions.

Every Thursday at 8 p.m., Arôma presents a free, usually acoustic, all-ages concert, and Larry Gates is the artist tonight. He and his eponymous rock group Lorenzo Goetz then play Saturday at Cowboy Monkey with Treologic. Show time is 10 p.m., and cover is $5. Lorenzo Goetz has a new song, “Slumber Jaw,” an advance single off the Innocent Words Records compilation More Ways than Three due Mar. 1. The release show on Feb. 26 will be smoke-free and feature Lorenzo Goetz,Terminus Victor and Cameron McGill.

Tomorrow marks the convergence of three major shows. Cowboy Monkey bundles The Beauty Shop and Emotional Rec Club with The Coke Dares, a Bloomington (Indiana) “supergroup power trio” with dual membership in Magnolia Electric Company. Show time is 10 p.m., and cover is $5.The Canopy Club and WPGU host a

(stock#S05011)

Due to customer demand – we have moved Worden-Martin Subaru – across the street to the former used car building Certified Subaru Specialists Kelly Wetherell and Paul Moser *Prices do not include tax, title, license.

All rebates applied.

In Front of Savoy 16 352-8910

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

homecoming for American Minor with coheadliner The Greedy Loves and openers Adam Wolfe and Jesse Greenlee. Showtime is 9 p.m., and cover is $5 for those who do not win tickets. Last, Nargile hosts the album release party for The Brain Housing Group with Ron Cooper. Show time is 8 p.m., and although cover is $15, it includes the new album and food from Jackson’s Ribs-N-Tips Restaurant & Lounge.

Folk-rock quartet Elsinore resumed its residency Jan. 21 at White Horse Inn and thus performs for patrons every Friday this semester from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The rescheduled release party for the six-song EP, Harmonic Implosion, is Saturday at Jackson Ave. Coffee in Charleston. This is another free, all-ages concert, and Harmonic Implosion will go on sale for $10. It was recorded last autumn with studio engineer Bryan Chesi.

Pop quintet Green Light Go issued their four-song, self-titled EP with pomp and circumstance Friday at Nargile. Anyone who missed out has another chance when Green Light Go opens for Bottle of Justus Feb. 4 at Cowboy Monkey. Showtime is 10 p.m., and cover is $5. An East Peoria show will follow Feb. 18.

With no apparent relation to the lunar cycle, a combined 12 punk bands will play two shows in Urbana in the week ahead.

Saturday at 7 p.m., Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant hosts The Insolents, The Tards, Les Incroyables, System Rejects, Useless Hero, Placenta Garden, Substance Abuse and Alleyway Sex. There is no age requirement, and cover is $5.

Next Thursday at 10 p.m., The Canopy Club presents Johnny Fallout and the Radiation, Boots and Bracelets, XXX Smut, The Insolents again, and The Supermen; cover is $4.

Correction: Phyllis is not an Ohio band, as reported last time, but an Indiana band, from Indianapolis. In August 2004, they issued a self-titled, ten-track album.

Todd J. Hunter hosts “WEFT Sessions” and “Champaign Local 901,” two hours of local music every Monday night at 10 p.m. on 90.1 FM. Send news to soundground@excite.com.

Across 1 Homemade single-shot pistol 7 Saw eye to eye 12 Commentator Clift 14 Provided the entertainment for 16 In a specific order 18 Gloomy 19 Scotsman's topper 20 Item pressed in a bad situation 22 Reason for purchasing tickets 24 When etoiles come out 25 Peyton Manning's bro 26 Note on some failed tests 27 Congressional assistant 29 "Sabre Dance" composer Khachaturian

b o b

’n

30 Fast food sandwich that debuted in 1981 32 Ends 34 Song with the line "Oh, baby, that's what I like!"

37 Everett of "Citizen Kane" 38 Titan, formerly 39 Meaney in "The Road to Wellville" 40 Affectedly dainty 41 Measuring cup marks, for short 45 Kind of tour Robin Williams did in Iraq in 2003: abbr.

46 Letters in an early 1990s financial scandal 48 Word after pie or eye 49 Yield 53 Cigarette pack word

54 1970s rock concert sites 55 "The answer's right in front of you!"

57 Mazatlan miss 58 "Let's do this thing" 59 Ninja Turtle's hangout 60 "No you didn't!"

Down 1 Lemon tool 2 Phrase used in wills 3 Made really curly 4 Moo goo ___ pan 5 Hardly suitable 6 "Sorry, ___ winner" 7 "Pee-wee's Playhouse" character 8 Folding phrase 9 Reynolds who renamed himself "Turd Ferguson" on SNL's

d a v e

b y

d a v i d

"Celebrity Jeopardy!"

10 Odd, as a range of knowledge 11 Like ghost towns 13 ___ Tin Tin 15 Bib overalls materials 17 Too cool to fathom 21 It gets chalked 23 Polite refusal 27 Commedia dell'___ 28 Jr.'s jr.

29 Al ___ (city in Iraq war news) 31 Anderson Cooper's employer 32 Erik Menendez's brother 33 Island: Fr. 34 Crawl info during winter weather 35 Epic epoch 36 Detector detection 37 Cancun tanks 40 Sch. home to the Horned Frogs 42 Best Actress winner at age 21 43 Heavy emotional baggage 44 Carrey's "Lemony Snicket" costar 46 Play real loud 47 Labor leader Chavez 48 Go to bed 50 Have the 411 51 Agnus ___ 52 Suffix for palm or amor 56 Dollar divs.

k i n g

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW “People in Motion” Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, 805 W Pennsylvania Ave. Through Feb 25, opening reception Feb 1, 7-9pm [will include remarks by Kevin Hamilton and artist Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko] Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm, free, www.iprh.uiuc.edu “Dancing Lessons from God” [65 exploded travel sketches by professor emeritus James Warfield] Flag Hall, UIUC through Feb 11 Undiscovered Tablets [Paintings by Hua Nian and Ceramics by John Dodero] Verde Gallery through Feb 26 Tue-Sat 10am-10pm "Out and Away" [featuring an installation by Katherine Bartel, paintings by Jacqueline Elliot, and by David Prinsen] Springer Cultural Center through Feb 20 Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm.

Crayon Drawings [by Retired U of I Professor Kenneth Lansing] Cinema Gallery through Feb 19 Tues-Sat, 10am-4pm Photographs by Swagatam Mukhopadhyay [photographs from Eastern Himalayan Mountains in North Bengal and Nepal] Café Kopi Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm

“Of Books and Tales: Salavador Dalí and the World of Imagination” [A celebration of the centennial of the controversial artist’s birth] Krannert Art Museum through Feb 13 Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Apocalypse Then: Images of Destruction, Prophecy, and Judgment from Dürer to the Twentieth Century” Krannert Art Museum through April 3, Opening reception Jan 28, 5:30-7:30pm Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Laws of Abstraction” [challenges the assumptions, hierarchies, and reactions associated with the museum experience] Krannert Art Museum through March 27 Tue, Thru-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $3 “Over + Over: Passion for Process” [art inspired by the arts and crafts movement, including meticulous hand-beading, sewing, quilting, silhouette cutting, collaging, and collecting] Krannert Art Museum, Jan 29 through April 3.

Opening Reception featuring DJ Bozak Jan 28, 5:30-7:30pm Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm Suggested Donation: $9

University of Illinois Central Black Student Union Presents

COTTON CLUB 2005 “Escape to Harlem on the Soul Train” Hosted by J.J. Williamson of Johnson Family Vacation Saturday March 5, 2005, 7pm Foellinger Auditorium

Tickets on Sale Soon Students: $10 in Advance $12 @ the door Non-Students: $12 in advance $15 @ the door Available @ Illini Union Ticket Central & Assembly Hall Ticket Master 333-5000 For more information contact: Latrina Denson: ldenson@uiuc.edu Markea Haywood: mhaywood@uiuc.edu University of Illinois Residential Life: 333-0770

• 75 Beers •

Open Daily 4PM - 2AM

WINE TASTINGS Every Friday 6-8pm & Every Saturday 2-6pm 203 North Vine Street Urbana

105 N. Market St. Downtown Champaign 355-1236

www.thecorkscrew.com

www.wordenmartin.subaru.com email: subaru@wordenmartin.com

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

%&'##('&)

jonesin crossword puzzle this week in music

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

• 17

buzz weekly

MOISTURE IS THE ESSENCE OF WETNESS. WETNESS IS THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY.

Single Malt Scotch • Wine • Irish Whiskeys •

New or used, buying or leasing, parts or service, a Stellar Performer Certified Dealership sets a new standard in Customer Service! When you visit a Stellar Performer Certified dealership, like Worden-Martin Subaru, you 2005 Subaru Forester X – can be assured you’ll receive * the best customer care possible! Sale Price $19,661

!"#$%

•

Main Neil

HURLY-BURLY

sound ground #60

JA N . 27

Che

ste

Market

...I CAN ONLY HOPE HE WAS RIGHT.

Walnut

THE

buzz weekly

#60

12 •

r University

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

18

•

buzz weekly

E-MAIL CALENDAR@READBUZZ.COM TO LIST EVENTS.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

[ I:SCINTILLA ] i:scintilla is a quartet truly made for the electronic age. Influenced primarily by the likes of Garbage and Evanescence, the band craftily fuses vocals, grinding guitar and throbbing bass to create a slice of electroindustrial space-rock over sequenced drums and effects.

The group’s sound is immersed in electronic ambience and the dystopia imag ined by the lyr ics of Br ittany Bindwell. Already an established live act on the Champaign-Urbana music scene, i:scintilla recently released their debut full-length LP, The Approach, on Chicago-based industrial label Positron! Records.

DANCING LESSONS GOD

Missing The Point is a pop-rock band hailing from Champaign-Urbana.The first task of the group was to create a name that represented each member of the band; after much contemplation, the word “miss” was formed from their names and they decided that Missing The Point was the best inclusion of that word. The band marked the release of their first self-titled album on Mar. 16, 2002 and have since produced several other albums and have been touring for a few years. Influences for their music include selections from reggae/breakdown as well as pop bands such as 311, Blink 182, Lucky Boys Confusion, and Plain White T’s.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.ISCINTILLA.COM

[ AMBITIOUS PIE PARTY ]

buzz pick

This week, as you’re walking through campus past Flagg Hall (located at 1207 S. Fourth St.), check out the south wall of the building where “Dancing Lessons from God” is on display in the building’s windows. The exhibit is a collection of 65 travel sketches done by professor emeritus James Warfield during his travels between 1963 and 2004. The sketches come from exotic architectural sites around the world, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Namibia, Mali, Nepal, Tibet, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Greece, Turkey and China. The exhibit will be on view through February 11.

-Erin Scottberg

i:scintilla mixes industrial and electronic textures to create an invigorating sound.

American Minor returns to C/U

Formed from the ashes of Synesthesia, who appeared on last year’s compilation,Ambitious Pie Party channels their own groovy vibe to make big, danceable music. buzz

Playlisted will be released free of charge to students on Apr. 23. Pay attention for upcoming shows featuring Green St. bands. More information about the label and the artists can be found at www.greenstrecords.com

Members of Champaign rock band American Minor are slowly making their way back into town.The band brings their PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICANMINORMUSIC.COM

Join

Come out to Kam’s Saturday, January 29th from 11:30 AM- 1:30 PM for another PGU Basketball PreGame. Get pumped for the Illini to take on Minnesota! You can even take a free shuttle from Kam’s straight to Assembly Hall so you don’t miss any of the action!

There’ll be great drink specials, Illini basketball trivia, prizes and giveaways, plus fun and games with PGU’s

IlliniDRIVE@5 s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

1. Low • The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop) 2. M83 • Before the Dawn Heals Us (Mute) 3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Matt Sweeney • Superwolf (Drag City) 4. Fiery Furnaces • EP (Rough Trade) 5. Bright Eyes • I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (Saddle Creek) 6. Akmomo • Return to N.Y. (Hidden Agenda) 7. Outrageous Cherry • Our Love Will Change the World (Rainbow Quartz) 8. Bright Eyes • Digital Ash in a Digital Urn (Saddle Creek) 9. Lou Barlow • EMOH (Merge) 10. Magnolia Electric Co. • Trials & Errors (Secretly Canadian)

brand of West Virginia-bred alt-country to The Canopy Club tomorrow night, before they’re off to mix and master their debut CD, which they’ve just spent three months working on in the City of Angels.The show begins at 9 p.m. and also features other heavy-hitters in the form of The Greedy Loves, Adam Wolfe and Jess Greenlee.

BUY

CDs

SELL

LPs TAPES

110 S. Race St. Urbana 367-7927 www.recordswap.com s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

De La Soul Shopping Bags

PARASOL RECORDS TOP 10 SELLERS

TRADE

Get properly prepared to cheer on the Illini this week and all season at PGU Basketball PreGame!

Annie Chewing Gum

c h a r t s

ELISABETH LIM • STAFF WRITER

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

11

[ MISSING THE POINT ]

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” -Kurt Vonnegut

FROM

buzz weekly •

THE DJ ON WPGU SAID THAT CORPORATE ROCK WAS ON ITS WAY OUT...

the

Red Herring

Delicious, hearty vegan cuisine Soup, Sandwiches, Entrees, Baked Goods

mon - fri: 8:30 - 3 fri: 6:30 - 9pm 1209 W. Oregon Urbana 367-2340

Death Cab for Cutie Title and Registration

Unkle Safe in Mind

Stellastar* Jenny

Top 5 Most Requested Songs Last Week

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

10

“It’s what’s on the record, not what label is on it.

“He Knew Everything about Literature except how to enjoy it.”

Joseph Heller, Catch-22

You know, that’s like getting a box of cornflakes and eating the cardboard.”

- Elvis Costello

Theatre in Hell and Hotel

GREEN ST. RECORDS RELEASES PLAYLISTED [ DJ FARSHEED HAMIDI-TOOSI ]

Shipwreck’s effect-laden sound leads some to compare this shoe-gazer group to Radiohead or Interpol, but the four friends have trouble finding words for their spacey sound. Originally from small Illinois towns, the group has lived and worked in Champaign for years and are kept here by music and friends. “Champaign is an encouraging place to play,” says vocalist Harman Jordan.

Shipwreck has plans for a ten-track album due out in April. Jordan describes the album as a collection of “hypnotic spells and charged dark lullabies.”

Shipwreck will record “Alias,” one of their first collectively written songs, for GSR’s Playlisted, which Jordan calls their most musically complex and energetic tunes.

His hypnotic grooves on DJ Spinnerty’s track on Emergence made Farsheed a local favorite. This year’s track will prove to be a step up in DJ work and will please all lovers of hip hop.

[ THE ENDING ] Tempo, rhythm, beat, pulse. These words describe the fundamentals of music, since these concepts “are relevant to all aspects” of a song, explains Louie Golden, lead singer of The Ending. Throughout the year that the band has been together, they have been able to combine the skills they each picked up through participating in their university drum-line.The end result: highly percussive rock music with a metal edge.After touring this past summer, the band has been working on their new album, which should be released in March.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GREEN ST. RECORDS

[ THE LIFELINE ]

Local band, The Elanors as seen in their latest press photo from Green St. Records.

The Lifeline is a unique band made up of two friends from New York.This guitar and violin duo wrote several songs together and made their first concert debut in Long Island, N.Y., during the summer of 2003.

In 2004, the band independently released their first EP to critical acclaim (and radio airplay) in upstate New York. After acquiring an astounding new rhythm section, the duo was given the opportunity to record their latest group of songs in their entirety, producing the album Where There is Life, There is Hope…. The Lifeline put their musical style somewhere in a complicated

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

“It’s supposed to be as real as possible in these comedic circumstances where you’ve got these people with these huge wants, and they’re just doing whatever they can to get it. But Bobby isn’t really doing everything he can. He’s a little insane.”

Patrick Galvin, director

RI OF ON D' A AN RI

Omniscient Presence, a conscious hiphop group, is made up of two members from the Chicagoland area. Edward Moses and Victor Carreon get their name from a line in the Company Flow song “Patriotism.” Moses describes the music he produces as lyrically complicated and slightly arrogant, while demonstrating strong pride in craftsmanship. Primary musical influences include Company Flow, Aesop Rock, Binary Star and several local MCs. According to band member Moses, “hip hop is something you live”.

O

[ OMNISCIENT PRESENCE ]

AD

Elsinore blends acoustic guitar and fourpart harmony to create a sound they describe as acoustic folk/rock/alt-country.

Led by Ryan Groff on guitar and vocals, their influences range from bluegrass to rock and Latin, earning comparisons to Crosby Stills & Nash. Originally a softer acoustic trio, the group has expanded into a quintet featuring congas, piano and additional vocals and is beginning to blend in electric guitar at live shows.

Elsinore has been named house band at

[ SHIPWRECK ]

•

Noah M.S. Harris, Adriel Harris and Joshua Lucas are known as The Elanors.

Their debut, A Year to Demonstrate, is available directly from Champaign label Isidore Records. The Elanors share personal, reflective, heartfelt music with lyrics that touch upon the many aspects of living, loving and knowing in ways that truly engage the listener.

[ ELSINORE ]

mix of A.F.I. and Pink Floyd but delivered with their distinct violin melodies and edgy vocals.

O

[ THE ELANORS ]

Bullet Called Life brings a refreshing variety of sound to the local music scene.

This rock and roll band brings back oldschool guitar solo classic rock.The four met in high school in their hometown of Oak Lawn, forming The Wheel, which later evolved into Bullet Called Life. Inspirations for their style came from bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, which can be heard in their newly released EP (available at bulletcalledlife.com).

Champaign’s White Horse Inn, and the group will release their six-song EP on Jan. 29 at Jackson Ave. Coffee in Charleston.

Patrick Galvin, director of Bobby Gold Goes to Hell, takes notes during a rehearsal.

OT

G

reen St. Records, the only studentrun record label in the Big Ten, has announced the bands appearing on this year’s compilation album, titled Playlisted.

As in the past, each of the 13 bands will record a track at Champaign’s Pogo Studios with producer Mark Rubel, but this year things are bigger. Each band will receive eight hours of studio time, twice as much as last year, and the label will distribute an additional thousand copies of the upcoming compilation. Following is a short profile of what to expect from Playlisted.

[ BULLET CALLED LIFE ]

PH

COMPILED BY KYLE GORMAN

[ TRIPLE WHIP ] Lacing unpredictable funk, indie rock and hip hop laced with a jazzy edge, Triple Whip creates texture out of minimalism. Bass-riffs, clean and sparse guitar, and Santanu Rahman’s eclectic vocals, which draw from various genres of film, lead to Triple Whip’s branding as “Cinema Art Rock.” The group’s debut full-length, Slapshot (Innocent Words), was recorded by Matt Talbott (Hum) with help from Rick Valentin (Poster Children). The band has played as part of the Asians in Rock tour and GrrrlFest, appeared on local TV and radio, and played with The Unicorns and Salaryman. [ SINCERELY CALVIN ] Sincerely Calvin is a pop-rock band with a punk-ish groove. During the past two years, they’ve become a favorite for house parties, striking up a dedicated following.

After taking a short break last semester to study abroad, the band is back this year with new songs and a new attitude.The group is led by vocalist Jack McCabe (also of Irish group Spiral Seisiun). s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

BRIAN WARMOTH • ARTS EDITOR

U

niversity of Illinois student theatre group, The Penny Dreadful Players, kicks off their spring semester season this weekend with a two-play program showcasing what the group does best—provides a stage and resources to ambitious students with extracurricular theatrical projects. Room 112 in Greg Hall will act as backdrop for the double feature, which includes Eugene O’Neill’s one-act Hughie and David Mamet’s comedy Bobby Gould in Hell.

Hughie is a two-man show put together by PDP board members Dan McArdle and Ryan Hurth, who are acting, directing and producing the 3 a.m. hotel tale of a gambler and a night clerk pondering the life of the last clerk to work the desk—the deceased title character Hughie. The two have been rehearsing for the last month, since submitting their show and getting it approved by the theatre troupe’s board.

“I had seen a Goodman production of it last year.And I knew we had sort of a throw-away space in January,” says McArdle.

PDP usually gets at least one large campus space per month.

Since their January space fell so early in the semester, pairing the two shorter plays made practical sense due to time and production demands.

Hughie was first staged on Broadway in 1964 and starred legend Jason Robards. Recent revivals have been seen over the last decade featuring Al Pacino and the Goodman Theatre’s production with Brian Dennehy. s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

The set will be fairly sparse, but indicative of the bleak and shabby atmosphere.“Sort of the dank 1928 hotel, long desk, key box in back and a couple of chairs, a pitcher of water and a bottle of whiskey up on the desk,” McArdle explains.

Rounding out the bill will be the significantly more lighthearted comedy Bobby Gould in Hell.The show takes a different tone than the Mamet dramas many are familiar with, such as Glengary Glenross and Oleanna. University of Illinois acting sophomore Partick Galvin is directing the show, an absurd exploration of the technicalities of Hell, which he also submitted to PDP. “It’s my favorite play,” says Galvin. “I’ve read it a million times, and every time I read it, it just got better to me.”

Looking for a means to produce the show, Galvin answered PDP’s semesterly email calling for directors and writers to submit their proposals for the upcoming season. Since students do not have to be members of the troupe to submit projects, the troupe operates as a great resource to students like Galvin, who would like to have support for their visions.

“We met with him and really liked the idea,” Hurth says.

“And Rachael, our managing director, really wanted to see the show done, so we decided to do it.”

The director’s plans for the show are simple.“It’s a fairly minimal set. Just everyday stuff. And the acting is fairly minimal itself.The acting’s simple. It’s supposed to be as real as possible in these comedic circumstances where you’ve got these people with these huge wants, and they’re just doing whatever they can

to get it. But Bobby isn’t really doing everything he can. He’s a little insane.”

McArdle nods that these shows are not typical partners one would see on stage.“It’s not so much that they couple each other well,” he states,“but they offer a good amount of contrast and variety to give someone who might not enjoy one of them as much certainly something else.” And variety is what PDP strives for.

“The Penny Dreadful Players, established in 1992, is quite a fine organization on this campus,” McArdle says. “We’re working on building full seasons.This is a nice opportunity for us to not only showcase some our in-house acting talent with our board members, but to be able to perform such well-established works by well-known authors such as David Mamet and Eugene O’Neill; whereas our main focus is always going to be for student writers.” Student-written plays are probably what PDP prides itself most on, and their current season—set to be finalized at the end of January—may include as many as three original productions.

“I heard about this great student-written show called Beneath the Trees,” he smiles. “Then, we have the very well-known Death of a Salesman going up March 10, 11 and 12.We likely have some other student-written shows in the works.” buzz

Hughie and Bobby Gould in Hell will be performed together Jan. 28 and 29 in room 112 of Greg Hall. Tickets will be $5 at the door.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

20 •

buzz weekly

LET’S GO FISHING IN LOVE’S CANAL.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

buzz weekly •

YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, MAN! HEY SMOKE A [EXPLETIVE DELETED]-ING PEACE-PIPE.

THIS WEEK AT KRANNERT

ar tist’s corner

!"#$%&'()*+,--

4H *AN

3U *AN

+RANNERT 5NCORKED PM FREE

#HAMPAIGN 5RBANA 3YMPHONY /RCHESTRA PM

5) 3YMPHONY /RCHESTRA PM

%DGAR -EYER BASS AND #HRIS 4HILE MANDOLIN PM

#ORPORATE 3ILVER 3PONSOR

•

STAFF WRITER

Cindy Westfall is a Champaign artist with a passion for the icons of dreams and for humanity’s relationship to the world around her— especially subconsciously. An impressive selection of her acrylic works is currently on display at CafĂŠ Kopi in downtown Champaign. Her pieces weave the natural world together with personal mythology and iconic imagery with beautiful results, and though the natural world is her primary inspiration, which viewers will notice at first glance, her exploration centers more around the unseen and “inner landscapesâ€? of the individual.

How do you go about depicting a subject when you sit down to do a piece of work?

I usually begin by painting the base background color and doing a rough-in of the basic shapes. I sometimes do a sketch that shows the basic lines and composition that I want, but I never work from finished initial studies. In the case of drawings, I do a rough sketch first, although I occasionally just set pencil to page and let the image come forth fully formed. I work from basic forms and colors down to fine detail, always striving to keep the finished picture refined but not fussy, a balance between abstraction and detail. I don’t usually work from photographs, either, but from memory of observation of texture and form.

What themes do you most enjoy exploring in your work?

Of course, my favorite themes are drawn from the natural world. I like to depict the dream side of things—that which lies behind the mundane. I have always been drawn to the idea that what we can see of the day-to-day world might not be the whole story, that there is an unseen or magical side to things. It is this juxtaposition or overlay of the material and magical that I try to bring out in my work.

What are your favorite media to create with and why?

I can’t say I have just one favorite medium, as I regularly work in several. My paintings are in acrylic, which I believe is often looked upon as an “amateurish� medium, but I find it perfectly workable. The prints I am showing are among my first exploration of that medium, which I found very satisfying and would like to explore further if I get the chance in the future. I also have a background in metalsmithing, and in my professional life I am a jeweler. I work at Robert’s, a store in downtown

PHOTOS • SARAH KROHN

BRIAN WARMOTH

“I am Wyrm of the earth.�

Champaign that specializes in custom and one-of-a-kind jewelry. I get to use my creative energy in my day-to-day work, which is wonderful. I think it is all too rare for creative people to get to channel their creativity as much as they would like, especially in the “nine-to-five� workday world.

Where do you look to draw inspiration?

I have many sources of inspiration, woods and trees especially.

I love Allerton Park, and I like to be in the woods no matter the time of year. Dreams and other artifacts of my inner landscape are also important in my work. My images tend to be stylized or iconic, the way things often are in dreams. I believe that everyone has their own inner mythos or set of personal symbols but that not everyone recognizes this within themselves. I find it similar to the way that individuals may come into contact, however small, with the natural world every day and pay no attention to it other than as a convenient background.With the imagery in my work, I try to give the viewer a glimpse of the “enchanted,� dreamlike side of nature, the kind of things that we see every day but might otherwise not notice.

How have you seen yourself evolve as an artist? And how would you like to see your work evolve in the future?

With my two-dimensional work, I see myself evolving toward a slightly looser style. My work has always been in the vein of “magical realism,� and it will continue to be so, but I must fight the habit of obsessing over every detail and making things too fussy. I would like to do more work with intaglio printing in the future if I have the opportunity. I have several themes or ideas that I want to explore, some based on myth and folklore, some on deeper exploration of personal symbolism. I basically plan on not slowing down, not letting myself atrophy. I feel that in the past several years my creative flow has been quite good, and I would like to keep that going.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

9

Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-inchic Peek behind the Pose By Paris Hilton KATIE RICHARDSON

•

STAFF WRITER

For many the sentence, “Most of the supermodels are small

(chested), except for a few, who probably won’t age well,� is hardly a profound realization; except for a few, who are most likely blond heiresses who’ve made their name on, well, the fact that their a blond heiress.

What is Paris Hilton’s talent exactly? Some say she is an ‘actress,’ but aside from a few guest appearances on the O.C. and Sex in the City, her only long-running gig has been her three season stint on FOX’s reality TV show, The Simple Life. If we are calling reality TV stars actors now, then Puck’s work on The Real World San Francisco was the most outstanding performance to come out of shows that are based on the premise that the participants are not performing.

As for displaying other possible talents, Hilton certainly is not a writer. A few chapters are aptly titled,“�How to be an Heiress,� “I’m with Paris,� as well as “My best accessories.� The contents are mostly picture based, with several sidebars that list ways in which young, hip, rich, tan females can further emulate Paris’ “unique� sense of style; such as, “My all-time favorite parties,� which details, well, Paris’ favorite parties.

The sentence structure in these chapters is poor, ideas are unclear and there are even a few questionable spellings, but the book does not pretend to be anything but a superficial exploitation of the woman who has taken exploitation to the level of becoming a post-modern phenomenon. Paris is famous because she goes to events, because she has her photo taken everywhere, and she is pretty. Essentially, she is the result of a culture that has been submerged in the fame of everyone from local heroes to movie stars to presidents so much so that it can no longer decipher who “deserves� to be famous and who is simply hanging out.

The book pretends to be nothing but a glossy collage detailing Paris’ rise to such fame, and it accomplishes that quite well.

Everything you want to know about Paris is right there, and admittedly, she does make some very good natured small shots at herself. She, or her publicist, seems to at least realize that such a book should not take its subject too seriously. The bottom line: if you find Paris to be a cute, harmless, modern celebrity then “Confessions�might make for a nice easy read, but if she already makes you ill, then stay away. buzz

7E &EB

4HURSDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM 7EDNESDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM 3UNDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH )N THE (OUSE 5N !MERICAN !CTIVITIES #OMMITTEE CALLED THE EXILED 'ERMAN DRAMATIST "ERTOLT "RECHT TO TESTIFY BECAUSE OF HIS SOCIALIST VIEWS 'EORGE 4ABORI S "RECHT ON "RECHT REPRODUCES SOME OF "RECHT S WRY TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE INTERSPERSING IT WITH EXCERPTS FROM HIS PLAYS POEMS AND SONGS /NE OF THE MOST INmUENTIAL AND CONTRO VERSIAL THEATRE ARTISTS OF THE LAST CENTURY "RECHT EMERGES AS A PROVOCATIVE THEORIST WITTY RACONTEUR AND DEEPLY ENGAGED POLITICAL ARTIST SEEKING TO CHANGE THE PURPOSE OF THEATRE 3TRIVING TO EXPOSE THE ARTIlCE OF THE THEATRE TO DIRECT THE FOCUS OF THE PERFORMANCE TOWARD "RECHT S WORDS AND IDEAS THE SIX MEMBER CAST OF $EPARTMENT OF 4HEATRE STUDENTS AND DIRECTOR *AMES :AGER OFFER AN MINUTE PRODUCTION THAT WILL BE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE EACH NIGHT

&R *AN 0ACIlCA 1UARTET PM

)NTERVAL 3ERIES 3PONSOR !NONYMOUS

*UILLIARD 3TRING 1UARTET PM

0ATRON #O SPONSORS %LIZABETH AND %DWIN 'OLDWASSER "ETTY AND $AVID ,AZARUS *EAN AND (OWARD /SBORN

+RANNERT 5NCORKED PM FREE &ESTIVAL $ANCE PM 4ALKBACK AFTER THE PERFORMANCE FREE

3A *AN

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

AM PM -ONDAY 3ATURDAY /NE HOUR BEFORE TO MINUTES AFTER PERFORMANCES

%RIC (OY 4UCKER

BASSO CANTANTE PM 3MITH -EMORIAL 2ECITAL (ALL FREE 3MITH -EMORIAL (ALL

3 -ATTHEWS 5RBANA

!FTERGLOW *OAN (ICKEY 4RIO PM FREE #REATIVE )NTERSECTIONS 3PONSOR

-ARQUEE PERFORMANCES ARE SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE )LLINOIS !RTS #OUNCILˆ A STATE AGENCY WHICH RECOGNIZES +RANNERT #ENTER IN ITS 0ARTNERS IN %XCELLENCE 0ROGRAM &ESTIVAL $ANCE IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE &RANCES 0 2OHLEN 6ISITING !RTISTS &UND #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS #HAMPAIGN 5RBANA 3YMPHONY CONCERTS ARE SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE )LLINOIS !RTS #OUNCIL A STATE AGENCY

.ORTH AND #HAMPAIGN 5RBANA

WORKING TOGETHER TO PUT #HAMPAIGN #OUNTY S CULTURE ON THE MAP

4HERE IS NO LATE SEATING IN THE 3TUDIO 4HEATRE

#ORPORATE 3EASON 5NDERWRITER

BEING MATTERS #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS 5NIVERSITY OF )LLINOIS AT 5RBANA #HAMPAIGN 3OUTH 'OODWIN !VENUE 5RBANA

s o u n d s

4HE 0ROMENADE 'IFTS CARDS CANDY AND MORE

-ORE 3CHOOL OF -USIC

#ORPORATE 'OLD 3PONSOR

)NTERLUDE #OCKTAILS AND CONVERSATION MINUTES BEFORE THROUGH PERFORMANCES

3A *AN 0RELUDE *UILLIARD 3TRING 1UARTET PM FREE

AM PM NON PERFORMANCE WEEKDAYS AM THROUGH PERFORMANCE ON WEEKDAYS MINUTES BEFORE THROUGH PERFORMANCES ON WEEKENDS

$ENNIS 3TROUGHMATT AND #REOLE 3TOMP .OON FREE

4H &EB "RECHT ON "RECHT

)NTERMEZZO "REAKFAST LUNCH SUPPER DESSERT

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

0ATRON 3EASON 3PONSOR 4HE FAMILY OF 2AYMOND 4IMPONE 3R

+RANNERT#ENTER COM OR +#0!4)8

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

8 • buzz weekly

SHUT THE [EXPLETIVE DELETED] UP! OR I’LL THROW YOU BACK IN THE TRUNK, YOU KNOW?

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

•

buzz weekly

ARE THERE CHEESEBURGER ANGELS IN HEAVEN?

• 21

January 29 through April 3, 2005

OVER + PA S S I O N F O R P R O C E S S

OVER

708 S. Goodwin 18+ Urbana, IL 344≠BAND Every Monday! prese nts: $1 Drink s!

Ev ery Tu esd ay !

O PE N M IC /J AM $2 Lon g Isla nds ! $1 PBR Dra fts!

Every Wednesday!

4HURSDAY *ANUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

4HURSDAY 3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

-USICIANS %DGAR -EYER THE BASSIST FOR THE #HAMBER -USIC 3OCIETY OF ,INCOLN #ENTER AND #HRIS 4HILE THE MANDOLIN PLAYER WHO FRONTS THE BLUEGRASS BAND .ICKEL #REEK JOYFULLY EXPLORE MUSICAL GENRES RANGING FROM CLASSICAL AND ROCK TO JAZZ BLUEGRASS AND FREE IMPROVISATION 4OGETHER THEY PRESENT A HIGH ENERGY VIRTUOSO EVENING OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC CROSSING AND BLENDING GENRES WITH IMAGINATION AND INTEGRITY

3TYLISTICALLY WIDE RANGING PREMIERES BY #HAMECKI,ERNER 3ARA (OOK AND 2ENĂ?E 7ADLEIGH AND RECONSTRUCTED WORKS BY #YNTHIA 0IPKIN $OYLE 2EBECCA .ETTL &IOL AND 0HILIP *OHNSTON MAKE UP THIS $EPARTMENT OF $ANCE EVENT 4HE SIX WORKS WERE INSPIRED BY IDEAS OF LOVE AND SENSUALITY 7INNIE THE 0OOH AND %DGAR !LLEN 0OE SOCIAL INTERACTION AND WAR !LWAYS A FEAST FOR THE EYES &ESTIVAL $ANCE OFFERS A FEAST FOR THE EARS TOO WITH MUSICAL SELECTIONS BY "ACH +ANCHELLI $IDKOVSKY

2EICH AND 'LASS

#ORPORATE 3ILVER 3PONSOR 7ARD !SSOCIATES 2EALTORSš )NC $EBORA - !UBLE

4ALKBACK &EB AFTER THE PERFORMANCE FREE 0RE PERFORMANCE $ISCUSSION &EB AT PM &ESTIVAL 4HEATRE &OYER FREE 3UPPORTED IN PART BY THE &RANCES 0 2OHLEN 6ISITING !RTISTS &UND #OLLEGE OF &INE AND !PPLIED !RTS

3HE IS A PIANIST IN THE GRAND STYLE ,ET ME TAKE OFF MY HAT FOR ) CAN HARDLY lND WORDS !MSTERDAM

2OSARIO !NDINO PIANO

$1.50 HBĂ­ s

ds 21+ 21+ NO COVER Mon ≠We 21! er only $2 if und

Thursday, Jan 27

Quality Used Books Bought• Sold• Traded All Subjects

All Fiction

50% Off

Sponsored in part by Donald and Alice Dodds, Fox Development Corporation, Krannert Art Museum Council, and Hampton Inn

January 28 ∑ 5:30 Ăą 7:30 p.m.

Opening Reception Featuring DJ Bozak

Now Through January 31st

217.344.4037 priceles@advancenet.net

3ATURDAY &EBRUARY AT PM &LEX 3# 3TU 5) 9TH 3INGLE 3# 3TU 5) 9TH

Friday, Jan 28

#UBAN BORN 2OSARIO !NDINO S VIRTUOSO STYLE REmECTS THE hGRAND MANNERv OF GREAT PIANISTS FROM HISTORY !NTON AND .ICHOLAS 2UBINSTEIN

%MIL 3AUER ,EOPOLD 'ODOWSKY AND OTHERS 9OU LL FEEL HER GIFT FOR COMMUNICATING HER ART TO PEOPLE OF ALL LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE AS SHE PRESENTS A RECITAL OF GREAT ROMANTIC WORKS "EETHOVEN S # -INOR 6ARIATIONS 3CHUMANN S ' -INOR 3ONATA A GROUP OF ETUDES WALTZES AND BALLADES BY #HOPIN 3IX #UBAN $ANCES BY THE COMPOSERS 3AUMELL

#ERVANTES AND ,ECUONA AND ,ISZT S #ONCERT 0ARAPHRASE ON 4HEMES FROM 6ERDI S 2IGOLETTO +EYBOARD 3ERIES 3PONSORS *AMES 2USSELL 6AKY *UDITH AND *ON ,IEBMAN

5IF (SFFEZ -PWFT

108A W. Main St. Downtown Urbana, IL

Jennifer Maestre Spine, 2000

PHOTO: DEAN POWELL

%DGAR -EYER AND #HRIS 4HILE

&ESTIVAL

OVER + OVER brings together the remarkable work of artists who take traditional crafts to unimaginable extremes, enhancing and subverting their origins as they explore obsession in their content and process.

Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion University of Illinois at Urbana≠Champaign College of Fine and Applied Arts 500 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois www.kam.uiuc.edu ∑ [217] 333≠1861

Saturday, Jan 29 CU's favorite drinkin'est, RAWKin'est, shake your bootyin'est PARTY band!

The Rock Presents:

7:30 pm early show!

Wednesday, Feb. 2

0ATRON #O 3PONSORS !NONYMOUS

Friday, Feb. 11

Saturday, Feb. 26

Friday, 2/25: THE BIG WU Sunday, 2/27: LOCAL OCAL H Thurs, 3/3: GRAHAM COLT OLTON Friday, 3/4: THE STARTIN G LINE ARTING Sunday, 3/6: KELLER WILIAMS Tickets for advance shows on sale now at: The Canopy Club, Family Pride, and Bacca Cigar, or call 1≠800≠514≠ETIX. Or print tickets at home on JayTV.com!

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

buzz weekly

LANCE HENRIKSEN SKIN TREATMENT FLIES OFF SHELVES.

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

coming early 2005

Jeff Brandt, manager and co-owner of Exile on Main Street, is 29-years-old and has been living in the community for 25 years. Exile, “the one stop pop-culture stop,” recently opened in the One Main complex.

What made you decide to open Exile on Main Street?

For some strange reason, I’m just one of those people who loves working in retail.

I have a great deal of experience now at this point in my life, and I was lucky enough to have this business opportunity arise. Running a small business is really what I’ve always wanted to do, and I couldn’t be luckier with the group of investors I found and with the type of store I’m actually able to run.

ultralounge

taking nightlife to another level -table reservations recommended -proper attire required

320 n. neil street, downtown champaign www.somaultralounge.com

7

q+a

soma

now accepting applications for bartenders, waitstaff, doorstaff, hosts, barbacks/busboys and djs. please apply at 6 taylor street, downtown champaign, (upstairs from cowboy-monkey), monday thru friday from 9am to 5pm, download application at www.somaultralounge.com and drop off or mail to central office c/o soma, 6 taylor street, champaign, illinois 61820

buzz weekly •

GIRLS ONLY WANT BOYFRIENDS WHO HAVE GREAT SKILLS - YOU KNOW, LIKE NUNCHUCK SKILLS, BOWHUNTING SKILLS, COMPUTER HACKING SKILLS.

What products and services are offered at Exile on Main Street?

Winter theatre in Chicago JEFF NELSON • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

C

hicago theatergoers have frequently found January a difficult travel month and a time of limited offerings. While the weather is in the hands of forces beyond the scope of any journalist, the recent bounty of offerings on the Chicago theater scene is reason to celebrate after the holidays.

The highly regarded Broadway in Chicago series is composed of pre-Broadway runs and national tours of established Broadway hit musicals. Currently on the boards in Chicago is “All Shook Up”, the new Elvis musical, and “Spamalot,” the new stage version of the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

“All Shook Up,” in the tradition of “Momma Mia” and “Movin’ Out,” takes established hit songs and writes a show around them. So far, audiences seem to love this new genre of musical as “All Shook Up” is headed for the Big Apple.Watch for more in this musical category in future months that may revive John Lennon,The Beach Boys and others. Remaining performances will continue at the Cadillac Palace Theater until Jan. 23.

“Spamalot”— at the Shubert Theater until Jan. 23 — manages to skew everything from its wonderful source film to every other genre of Broadway musical. Director Mike Nichols never lets the action or the laughs lag, and the songs of Eric Idle and John Du Prez are wonderful. Even

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

diehards who know every line of the film are in for a few surprises.The only sour note is the early closing of these shows and the demand that says they must open on Broadway Feb. 14—so if you are traveling farther, you can bet these shows will be around for a while.

Not traveling so far? Watch for Cathy Rigby in “Peter Pan” (Feb. 1-13) and Christina Applegate in “Sweet Charity” (Feb. 24—Mar. 13). The Broadway in Chicago series can be reached at: 312-902-1400 or www.broadwayinchicago.com.

This year’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner is the true story of one Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite and homosexual, who survived both Nazism and Communism to become one of Germany’s great historic preservationists. This is a story of Doug Wright’s brilliant play, “I Am My Own Wife.” Jefferson Mays’ Tony Award performance, in which he performs over 40 characters, in addition to Charlotte, is as amazing as this extraordinary story.

Chicago’s Goodman Theater always gives a goodly share of theatrical riches every season, but here we have a downright masterpiece with its original New York cast.You have until Feb. 20 to catch this one and I urge you to do so.You can reach the Goodman at 170 N. Dearborn and contact them at: 312-443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org. buzz

We offer a wide variety of items at Exile on Main Street.We carry new and used CDs, DVDs, video games (PS2, Xbox, PC as well as classic old system games), vinyl, magazines, candy, soda etc. We also do PC repair and upgrades here in the store at prices well below what many big chains charge. Drop off your PC, tell us your problem, and we’ll see what we can do for you. In addition, we have several old-school arcade games in the store free to play. At the moment they are Time Pilot and 1943:The Battle of Midway.You can also try many games on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC before you buy them, right in the back of our store.We also have a local music section that gets bigger every week. If you are a local artist and want us to

carry your CD, we are happy to take just about anything on consignment.There are plans to start rental of DVDs and video games as well in the upcoming month.

There are a lot of reasons why downtown seemed like the best fit for Exile.The first and most obvious one being it isn’t North Prospect. Much of the reason was simply because of my love for downtown Champaign specifically. Ever since I was a kid running around the old Robeson department store, I’ve really liked coming downtown. It just has a different feel than the rest of Champaign. I really like the small local business feel of this area.There are lots of great shops (Lix, G-Mart Comics, Basket Case, Circles), bars for every personality (Mike and Molly’s, the Blind Pig, Bentley’s, Barfly, Guido’s) and great food (Radio Maria, the Esquire, the Great Impasta, Merry Ann’s, Ferren’s).

When did you first become interested in the video game, music and movie industry?

I’m not sure I can pinpoint it specifically but certainly longer than my memory goes back. I probably had 200 Atari 2600 games when I was growing up and spent thousands of my parents’ quarters in the local arcades.As for music, I remember spending my own allowance for an LP version of Queen’s Greatest Hits when I was about six. I’d have to say going to theaters when I was young had a huge effect on me too. There’s nothing quite like seeing a great movie on the big screen when you are just a kid.

Your slogan is "the one stop pop-culture shop.” What market do you hope Exile on Main Street attracts?

We hope that just about anyone feels comfortable in our store.We certainly cater to those who really, really get into the various

We stock over 1200 unique items that are specifically for upgrading, building, repairing and accessorizing your desktop computer systems.

See our selection at www.computerdeli.com.

Intel & AMD CPU’s • Motherboards • Memory • Cases • Power Supplies • Video Cards • Other Cards • Hard Drives • CD, DVD, CD-RW, DVD-RW • Modems • Fans • Keyboards • Mice • Case Mods • Network Cards, Switches, Routers • Security CCTV Cameras • Processor Fans • Floppy Drives • Sound Cards • Speakers • Security Digital Video Recorder Cards • Wireless Networking • Removable Drive Bays • External Drive Enclosures • Media Card Readers • KVM Electronic Switches • Monitors • USB Hubs • Fasteners • Parallel Cards • Serial Cards • USB Cards • Tool Kits • Light Kits • Ethernet Cables • Monitor Cables • USB Cables • Hundreds of Cables • Gift Certificates • Ask about our $10 Assembly Option!

•

Great Prices!

•

Helpful Staff!

•

Worth the Trip!

Champaign: 39 E. Marketview Dr. (217) 398-4000 Located between TJ Maxx and Barnes&Noble in Market View Shopping Center • Mon-Sat 10-7, Sun 12-5 s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

Not surprisingly I mostly like to listen to music, watch movies (especially old B&W films at the moment) and play video games.

This is of course only when Illinois isn’t playing. I probably spend entirely too much time watching Illinois basketball, football, Cubs and Bears games. I must admit I also like to frequent all the downtown local pubs and eateries. I would love to tell you I read as well, but I probably have Champaign’s largest half-finished book collection.

Why did you choose downtown Champaign for the location of your store?

Computer Deli

Amazing Variety!

What do you do for fun in your spare time?

PHOTO • DAVID SOLANA

22 •

media we carry, but that doesn’t mean someone just passing by shouldn’t feel just as welcome. Basically though, we are looking for those customers who still love to shop in a small business that is willing to go above and beyond what every big corporate competitor can in terms of eclectic selection and customer service. Not everybody likes to shop at small business killers like Wal-Mart. I certainly don’t and won’t shop there.At Exile, we just want to sell you things you’ll not only like, but you’ll feel the need to come back and tell us about it.

What do you think will be the Exile on Main Street’s most popular feature?

It’s really hard to say at this point since everything seems to be selling pretty well so far. Our customers are quite obsessive about the things they buy from us, whether it’s video games, movies or music. There is an overall feeling though that we are starting to fill a void that’s been downtown since Periscope closed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already heard people tell me how nice it is to come downtown and buy music again. There really are fewer and fewer locally-owned businesses that sell music, especially now that Record Service closed.

It’s sad that a town this size, with such a great university, can’t keep a music-only store in business anymore. Sign of the times I suppose.

YOGA

INSTITUTE OF CHAMPAIGN-URBANA

Do you have a favorite video game?

I’m not sure I have enough space to name my all-time favorites so I’ll stick with what I probably played for most of 2004. Katamari Damacy, Tiger Woods 2005, The Atari Anthology (a collection of 85 old-school Atari arcade and 2600 games), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2, and Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

It was a very good year for video games in general with lots of high quality titles to fit anyone’s tastes.

Any recommendations for buyers?

Volition, Inc., located right here in downtown Champaign, just released The Punisher, which is based on the popular Marvel Comics character. It is a very violent game and not for the faint of heart, but very entertaining. There have been quite a few great games released in the last month or so also: Resident Evil 4, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II are just a few.As far as music and movies go there are several big new releases this week actually. New albums from the Chemical Brothers, two albums by Bright Eyes, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (yes that’s their name) come out on Tuesday in addition to a documentary everyone must see to believe, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

Ja St nu ar ar ts y Daytime and evening classes.

31

Special classes for beginners, women’s health, men’s flexibility, plus size, seniors, teens, healthy heart, knees, lower back, and neck and shoulders.

Classes are progressive to facilitate learning 407 W. Springfield, Urbana

344-YOGA (9642) • www.yoga–cu.com

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

6

“MORE AND MORE, PEOPLE ARE COMING DOWNTOWN. BEFORE IT WAS ONLY CAMPUS

In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of per petual delight.

THAT COULD PROVIDE THE TYPE OF

AMENITIES WE HAVE.

NOW PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO THE DOWNTOWN TOO.”

~Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

- CYNTHIA FAULLIN, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT FOR

A

ONE MAIN

food

&

wine

Z

DEVELOPING AN URBAN CHAMPAIGN EMILY WAHLHEIM • STAFF WRITER

T

office spaces, including Volition, on the second and third floors. The first floor is retail space, with T. Kelly Jewelers, Exile and Merry Ann’s diner already open.

Jim Gould’s and KoKusion are set to open in the spring.

Faullin hopes that the restaurants and retailers will attract more attention to downtown Champaign. Before, she s a i d , d ow n t ow n C h a m paign was lacking the sophistication that the facility brings.

“More and more, people are coming downtown,” she said. “Before, it was only campus that could provide the type of amenities we have. Now, people are looking to the downtown too.”

And, the upscale amenities, including a plaza with a large courtyard for outdoor mingling in warmer weather do draw more sophisticated business. Timothy

Twedt, the owner of T. Kelly Jewelers, which moved into One Main in August, says One Main is the perfect fit for his business.

“I am one of the higher end jewelers,” he said.“I fill a niche in the community and being on One Main fits in perfectly with my niche. Look at the building, it is just beautiful” Twedt also thinks the mix of retail stores will benefit from each other, with each bringing something different to offer customers.

“Customers can go next store and get a nice meal at the two restaurants opening in the spring and then, when they are full and happy do some shopping. It’s a great mix for everyone,” he said.

Faullin sees the One Main facility as an integral part of downtown Champaign. The facility’s central location will help draw more people downtown helping other local businesses as well.

“One Main is a stepping stone in the renovation of downtown Champaign,” she said.

“The city population in Champaign is pretty sophisticated and I think people expect that type of sophistication. The One Main development has that type of sophistication.” buzz

PHOTOS • DAVID SOLANA

he vintage photographs lining the walls in the lobby of the One Main development are a glimpse of downtown Champaign in a simpler time—back when the building at the corner of Main and Neil Streets was a drug store. Now, the vintage photographs are the only things giving the development an antique feel.

The rest of the facility is home to residential, retail and office spaces that bring an urban feel to downtown Champaign.

The idea behind the One Main development began when Mike Kulas wanted a more creative space for his software company,Volition, to work in. Kulas teamed up with friend and commercial real estate developer Jon Sokolski and began to work out plans for a facility that could bring together retail, commercial and residential living.

In March 2003, ground was broken on the One Main development, which was formerly a municipal parking lot. Less than two years later, the building is almost completely full.

“It’s a very popular idea to combine retail, commercial and residences,” said Cynthia Faullin, director of development for the project.“It is becoming the trend across the nation.”

Currently, the building houses residential space on the fourth and fifth floors and

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I know what you’re thinking.You’re thinking, “What

water? Crystal Lake? Are you crazy?” I mean, being in landlocked Illinois, eating seafood doesn’t seem like such a good idea.There are obvious freshness issues that have to be addressed, and yet, I realize I’m being silly because there are these things called planes, and they can bring seafood in from the coasts in tip-top shape.

In fact, Champaign-Urbana is blessed with two very good seafood stores, Great American Seafood (1711 W. Kirby Ave., Champaign) and Trout 45 (2006 S. Neil St., Champaign). Both offer a nice selection of fresh fish and seafood, flown in on a regular basis.

Great American Seafood also offers soups and premade foods (great for a quick dinner or for a dinner party), along with the usual assortment of seafood sauces, crackers and such. The staff there is happy to help you select something appropriate, and they can provide party trays with advance notice.

At Trout 45, a relative newcomer to Champaign, the selection is a bit more varied. Owner Nancy Hartman carries a ton of hot sauces and salsas, fun kitchen accessories and a very nicely edited wine and beer selection, in addition to her fresh fish and seafood offerings.When I went, the processed filets in the case looked nice and plump, the rainbow trout in particular had a lovely sheen, and the scallops were moist and fresh.These are the things you want to see when you buy fish! The fish should smell fresh and not bleachy or fishy, and the flesh should be firm and moist. If you’re buying a whole fish, look at the scales (they should be shiny and not flaked off) and the eyes (they should be clear and protruding, not cloudy). If you start with good fish, most of the work is already done for you.

Once you select your fish or seafood, the staff can help you with tips on preparation. Fish come in so many different packages and can be prepared in so many different ways (seared, broiled, baked, steamed, fried, blackened, grilled, to name a few), it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the options. Hartman has installed a demonstration kitchen, where she and her staff show customers different ways of preparing their products. Demonstrations are made every Wednesday, at 3 p.m. and at 6 p.m. For those of you leery of preparing fish at home, this is a great opportunity to learn from a pro.

If you don’t want to make it yourself, however, the staff there will prepare your fish for you for a minimal fee. In addition,Trout 45 will smoke your fish for you

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

!"#$"%&'"!()*'+,-*'

AMANDA KOLLING • CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST

(you can pick it up the next day). Like Great American Seafood, Trout 45 also offers party platters and premade foods, such as crab cakes and seafood salad.

Now if you can’t handle the thought of even seeing a fish unless it’s cooked and on a plate, then you need to head over to Kennedy’s (2560 S. Stone Creek Blvd., Urbana), where they offer a different fish special every day based on what’s freshest. At any given time, you might see Atlantic salmon, red snapper, swordfish, Pacific white sea bass, or yellow fin tuna on the menu.

Kennedy’s is a wonderful spot for a nice dinner in elegant surroundings, but sometimes you just want something good and on the double. Head over to the Seaboat (1114 N. Market St., Champaign), where they make yummy fish sandwiches. (I mean, can you go wrong eating fish from a place called the Seaboat? I think not!)

Finish your meal off with a slice of their sweet potato pie, and now you’re speaking my language.

Amanda Kolling is always fishing for recipes and story ideas. E-mail her at amandakolling@readbuzz.com.

AUTO INJURIES? Chiropractic Honors the Body’s Ability to Heal Itself, Naturally FREE EXAM & X-RAY

(IF NEEDED) NEW PATIENTS ONLY

Dr. Joseph Snell

24 Hour Answering Service Covered by Student Insurance

E C N A H C T S LA for the April MCAT! to prep

Still want to take a class?

It’s not too late!

LAST CLASS STARTS FEBRUARY 5!

Call or visit us online today to enroll!

Your First Choice in Health Care

SNELL CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC

Test Prep and Admissions

1-800-KAP-TEST kaptest.com/mcat

1802 Woodfield Dr.

217-352-9899

*MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

2 blocks north of Savoy 16 I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

JA N . 27 “ In San Diego one man was more man then the rest.

His name was Ron Burgundy.

He had a voice that could make a wolverine purr and suits so fine they made Sinatra look like a hobo.

In other words, Ron Burgundy was the balls.”

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

(&%)*+&,-

the local sniff

SETH FEIN • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The following is the sole opinion of the author.

It does not represent BUZZ as a whole.

!"!"#!$%&" #$% %$"&'((

It was two years ago this month that former Gov. George H. Ryan made his historic decision to grant blanket clemency to all 167 inmates on Death Row in Illinois, the first time in U.S. history that a governor had granted clemency to such a large group.

ANDREW VECELAS • STAFF WRITER

T

he decision was neither easy nor widely popular, but after a number of inmates had been exonerated of their crimes and investigations into the state’s judicial system turned up a number of repeated flaws, Ryan made what he thought was the wisest choice.

This event, and the investigations that led up to it, serve as the backdrop for the documentary Deadline, which is being shown at a special event at 4:30 p.m. this Sunday at Boardman’s Art Theatre in Champaign.

George Ryan and the filmmakers will be on hand to take questions from the audience after the screening.

Ryan’s decision came on the heels of an investigation by the Chicago Tribune that found repeated abuses of power that sometimes led to wrongful convictions in cases involving capital punishment. Then, a Northwestern University law class managed to exonerate 13 Death Row inmates of their crimes—when only 12 people have been executed in the state since 1976. Ryan had to take action. He established special clemency hearings for every inmate on Death Row, whether they claimed innocence or not. Each case was brought before a panel, and attorneys and families of convicts and victims alike argued whether the accused individual deserved to live or die.

Politically charged documentaries have often been in the spotlight in the last year, especially Michael Moore’s skillfully crafted muckraker, Fahrenheit 9/11. Like Moore’s films, Deadline is made with a specific goal in mind: to expose a series of judicial and moral

flaws created by the d e a t h p e n a l t y.

Capital punishment and Ryan’s moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois are both hotly contested issues, meaning that Deadline is likely to be a politically divisive film because of its stance on those issues.

Part of what makes Ryan’s decision so remarkable is that politicians often are hesitant to do anything about the death penalty, for fear of being seen as soft on crime. Ryan himself came into office as a tough-on-crime governor from a small town, and one of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the moral argument that Ryan faces on both sides before taking action. Either way, his decision was going to be unpopular.“I just got a call not long ago from someone who was angry at the film because he said all those murderers were set free by the decision,” says Rachael E. Dietkus, who is organizing the screening at Boardman’s. “Under the clemency though, the sentences were commuted to life in prison.The inmates weren’t pardoned of their crimes.”

Whereas Deadline and documentaries like Fahrenheit 9/11 are similar in their quest to explore a contentious issue, Deadline at least gives some screen time to the opposing point of view. Scott Turow, the lawyer and novelist who was appointed to Ryan’s clemency committee, gives some insightful remarks on both sides of the issue. He initially is in favor of the death penalty, saying that he felt more than

comfortable with executing cr iminals such as serial killer John Wayne Gacy. But after the committee’s investigations,Turow voices doubts that a capital punishment system could ever be constructed that only punishes the people like Gacy and doesn’t risk ending the life of an innocent person. The film does not really decide (though it certainly does have an opinion) whether capital punishment is just; however, it does know that the system does not always function justly.

Besides Turow, other people featured in the film seem to have their opinions changed by the mere experience of dealing with the death penalty. Ryan himself admits to going from a small town mentality of extracting just revenge on murderers to opposing the system he describes in the film as “racist, classist, arbitrary, unjust and riddled with inconsistencies.” A former warden of a Mississippi prison who performed executions for years comes out against the punishment in the film and says that many other wardens who have to deal with the exper ience face-t o - f a c e are

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

often changed by it. “The film is educat i o n a l ,” Dietkus says, “and you can say that it leans one way. But most people, when they get the information on the issue, tend to lean the same way.”

Perhaps the most dramatic moments in Deadline come during the clemency hearings.

Some of them reveal the unfortunate abuses of power that led to Ryan’s final decision, including one man who was beaten by police and dangled out a window by his handcuffs, and another who was forced to sign a confession in English, when he spoke only Spanish. Not all of the inmates argue for their innocence, however, and one scene in the film involves a hearing for a convict that freely admits to a horrific double murder.The details of the case are appalling, and Ryan’s decision means that the killer will not receive the death penalty that the victim’s family feels they need for closure.

Scenes like this test the moral strength of Deadline’s argument, and, thankfully, the film does not have a clear answer to the dilemma.

Deadline is a striking and powerful documentary, one that might be able to change a few minds on the issue of the death penalty. It’s an emotional critique of a difficult issue that has both moral and political implications, but unlike Moore’s more popular documentaries, Deadline doesn’t usually resort to mocking or throwing cheap shots to make its point.Anyone who has ever given serious thought to the sometimes fine line between vengeance and justice should give it a look. buzz s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

first things first

Open letter to Mayor Tod Satterthwaite of Urbana pt. 2

-Anchorman

s c e n e

Dear Tod, What up, dawg? No response? That's cool, I understand. The pressures of being the mayor of a town like this, especially with the upcoming election, must really wear you down. I mean, with all the businesses you have coming into town, you must be on some kinda regimen, yes?

Well, I don't want to get to deep into it or anything, but now that you've had a chance to think about our downtown, what the shit is up with the Philo Road East Urbana Business District? It looks like it got hit by a tornado. Wait, it did get hit by a tornado. March of 1996, right?

When I was growing up, that was the spot to go to in my neighborhood. My friends and I would ride our bikes down McHenry, turn north on Philo and would be greeted by a booming IGA and a Golden Goat where we could recycle cans for Seth Fein is from 4.3 cents a pound. Up Urbana. Seriously, further, there were many he doesn't want to things to do, including talk to ANYONE who two other groceries honestly thinks that stores to raid, a White Incubus rocks. He Hen Pantry and a Kcan be reached at Mart. I could spend a sethfein@readbuzz.com whole day down there, hopping from store to store (remember Upper Deck Card Shop?), hanging out with my friends, eating too much pizza at the Godfather's Buffet, bothering the employees at Carnival Video ,and eating ice cream at Baskin Robbins. By the time we were done stealing baseball cards from K-Mart, you could say that we had an all-out bash, in a nine-year-old’s eyes.

Now, County Market is the only grocery left standing. Great. Their produce section looks like it belongs in Sri Lanka.

Where the Jewel was, is a storage space that looks like it rents to geriatrics and vagabonds. The Southgate Plaza, where IGA once ruled, appears to have been transplanted from Fallujah and is now collecting spiderwebs and mice as a way to keep itself busy. The Payless Shoes is closed, the Carnival Video is now a Dollar Store, and most importantly, out local K-Mart succumbed to the impending arrival of Wal-Mart, which I believe, you are championing?

Come on, Tod. What's the deal? Stone

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

buzz weekly •

EWW. I JUST BURPED AND IT TASTES LIKE PAUL’S FUNERAL...

s c e n e

Creek, where the richest of the rich in Urbana dwell, is just a stone's throw away from there and those uppity bitches and their wino housewives are spending their money in Champaign!

My brother and his wife bought a home in the new 'Build Urbana' development down the road from there, east on Florida. His question is simple:What is the Mayor going to do about this? He's curious. Not mad but curious. They figured, "Hey, with all these new houses, with all these new people, there has got to be enough money coming through to make this little business district work." But up until now, he has been wrong. And so, they travel, like everyone else, to Champaign for the majority of their household and recreational needs. These are the people that you should be trying to appeal to, snoop!

Now, in regards to the Northside.Yeah, I know, the dreaded Northside. The deep stain on Urbana, yes? The Watergate to Nixon. The Lewinsky to Clinton. The brain to Reagan. It's a problem.

Dilapidated is the word that comes to mind without thinking. I know, I know. I 've heard about Farm n' Fleet and according to the News-Gazette, O'Brien AutoPark is being renovated to open up a shopping district. Good job on that! For real! But what about the way that Cunningham Avenue looks. What does it look like? It looks like Prostitution Row. Come on! Plant some trees, plant some flowers! Find the money. Reach into that 'ol slush fund from the Police Station and spruce it up a bit. If it looks nice, then people may want to start opening even more businesses on that road leading into our downtown. Cunningham Avenue could give Neil and Prospect a run for their money on the battle for exit on I-74!

I know that there are things that you can do. My question is simple: What is it that you actually do? I am not saying you don't do things. But I am curious. Shoot me an email and tell me what your daily schedule is like. I mean, my taxes pay your salary, yes? Hit me up, and we can chat. At least, we can I, right?

Next week, I'll be wrapping it all up and hopefully, I will have turned your head far enough to the left to start thinking about some of these things for real. After that, I'll be sure to ask your opponents some below belt questions as well.

Word.

5

!"#$%&'

Sickness seriously sucks...

Almost as bad as alliteration MICHAEL COULTER • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

W

aking up Sunday morning was a bastard. It felt as though there was an intense swelling around my brain that caused it to bang against the side of my head if I moved in the least. My legs ached, my back was sore; I was coughing, dizzy. This is not an unfamiliar feeling for someone like me, but it's usually self-induced from a bout of drinking that drifts well into the next day. But holy crap, I'd stayed in for two days. This was something far worse than any hangover.

I, of course, couldn't accept that I was actually about to get sick, one of those sicknesses where the doctor tells you it's not going to get better for three or four days. Using a sick day from work when you're actually sick is sort of like using all of your prescribed painkillers when you need them. It' s much more fun to wait and use them for recreation rather than necessity. I was going to deny anything was wrong until the illness actually kicked in.

We had some doubles tennis scheduled for that afternoon, so I figured what the hell, I'll still play. I had read something once on WebMD that had said exercise didn't hurt you if you had the flu and might actually help fight the disease. Of course, the last time I went on WebMD, I thought I had leprosy since I had one of the symptoms so that site may do more harm than good.

Regardless, I played some tennis and it went pretty well. I felt like crap, but it made me concentrate more on what I was doing and forced me to avoid any extraneous movement. Sadly, I might actually be more functional in my daily life if I was sick all the time. When you're sick, you don't screw around much.You know what you have to do, you do it and go the hell back to bed. I was in this productive mode.

After tennis, I laid on the couch, and I could feel the malaise creeping up on me.

Raising up to change the channel on the TV became an out-of-body experience, and I began to cough up separate life forms from my throat. I drank an orange soda because it seems healthier than a Coke, but let's face it, it really isn't. After that, I was exhausted beyond belief, so I went to bed.

I really felt okay laying there for awhile, so long as I didn't move in the least.

The dog jumped up on the bed with me. I know they say canines can sense danger and sadness and illness, but they

must be talking about dogs other than mine. Instincts such as that seem to escape him and in his mind, this seemed like a perfect time to rub a squeaky toy into my face. Still, it was sort of cute. I may have even laughed if it weren't for the imminent vomiting.

Eventually, I fell asleep for an hour or so until the phone rang. It was my mom and dad taking full advantage of the "free calling weekends" offered by their cell phone company. As soon as I mentioned I was ill, my father Michael Coulter insisted I hang up the is a videographphone, cover my entire er, comedian body with VicksVaporRub, and can be put on thermal underwear heard on WPGU and a stocking cap, and lay 107.1 Thursdays in bed under five or six at 5 with Ricker blankets. His plan is always workin’ it. to sweat out the virus, and he feels nothing is quite as effective. Still, it's the same man who told me to "shake it off" when I was hit in the neck with a baseball during Little League.

Mom got on the phone and told me to drink some 7 Up and have someone bring me some lime sherbet. Sure, ma, something like that made it better when I was six, but now...um, lime sherbet doesn't sound all that bad though. She then reminded me that my medicine cabinet was packed full of medicine her and dad had picked up in Mexico: codeine, penicillin, you name it. I was too tired and distressed to explain to her that I actually have health insurance and can have a qualified person tell me what drugs to take. I instead said I was going to get the sherbet before I felt worse. I didn't, but it enabled me to get off the phone.

I aimlessly wandered around the house for a few minutes, disoriented and in pain.

I always think about sickness in a nostalgic sort of way. I remember the times I got to stay home from school as a little kid, watching TV and having my mom kiss my ass until I was better. Even now, I tend to long for sickness, just to lay around and catch up one some movies I haven't seen.

Then, I actually get sick and it becomes apparent how much it really sucks. It's just miserable.

I wrote this column and fell back into bed. The dog licked my face, snuggled up next to me and fell asleep. Maybe he's realizing that I'm sick, but I'm betting he's just tired. Either way, the joy of sickness never really comes to be. It sucks until it's over, and I only hope it's sooner than later.

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

weekly

YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS TRYING TO SANDWICH MEAT.

n e w s n o t

j u s t

oF thE

LEAD STORY Nonlethal war tactics suggested by an Air Force research team in the 1990s were made public in December by the military watchdog organization Sunshine Project and included a recommendation to expose enemy troops to powerful aphrodisiacs in order to distract them into lustful hookups with each other (irrespective of gender). (The Pentagon said the idea was dropped almost immediately, but the Sunshine Project said it was discussed as recently as 2001.) Other ideas: giving the enemy severe halitosis (so they could be detected within a civilian population), overrunning enemy positions with rats or wasps, and creating waves of fecal gas.

SCENES OF THE SURREAL (1) In a December demonstration against the opening of a McDonald's in the Mediterranean town of Sete, France, about 500 protesters, using a homemade catapult, bombarded the restaurant with fresh catches of the area's renowned delica-

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

wEiRd

chuck shepherd

cy, octopus. (2) NASA announced in October it was retiring the KC-135 plane it had long been using to train astronauts for weightlessness in flight; an official told reporters that the air crews had kept track of the amount of astronaut vomit cleaned up over the years and that the total was at least 285 gallons.

THINNING THE HERD A 70-year-old woman was fatally struck by two cars as she, wielding a knife, chased her husband into the street during an argument (Springfield Township, Pa., November). And a 43-year-old passenger was fatally injured, after he, sitting in the back seat, began beating up the driver, causing him to lose control and smash into a tree.

(The driver survived.) (Newport News, Va., November) And a 54-year-old man was killed after a road rage duel with another driver when he got out of his car, lunged after the other car while it was moving, missed, and hit his head (Jacksonville, Fla., August).

RECURRING THEMES Latest From the Class-Action Lawyers' Money Tree: (1) The six lawyers who helped 83 WalMart workers win about $2,500 each (for being improperly denied overtime pay) asked the Portland, Ore., judge in December for fees totaling $2.57 million, about 12 times the clients' total winnings (citing the difficult work, WalMart's contentiousness and the case's implications beyond their 83 clients). (2) And when phone company customers won $25 refunds in a September class-action settlement with Ameritech in Madison County, Ill., lawyers got $1.9 million in legal fees; a local watchdog group said (based on experience) only about 10 percent of eligible customers would bother to apply for refunds, meaning that lawyers' fees would ultimately account for about 60 percent of the amount Ameritech pays out.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Chuck Shepherd Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

S H !t S

[

a Nd

Gi g gLEs

An informed and opinionated look at this week’s events

]

COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

President Bush emphasized "free-

dom" in his inauguration speech this week. A portion of the speech read, "We have a calling from beyond the stars to stand for freedom." Here we thought he was taking his cues from Cheney, apparently it's the crew of the starship Enterprise.

The inauguration included some of

the most elaborate security measures in the history of the ceremony including the use of over 7,000 law enforcement agents and the stationing of anti-aircraft missiles near the Capitol.

Protesters could be overheard saying, "They've got fucking missiles, shit man maybe we should get out of here."

Peer Larson, 17, of Milwaukee, Wis., is suing to put an end to

S E N I O R S Meet & Interview With Outstanding Employers Allianz Life Archer Daniels Midland Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve C.H. Robinson Worldwide Defense Information Systems Discover Financial Services E&J Gallo Winery Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Gallup Organization Honda MooreWallace National Security Agency Stryker Medical TAP Pharmaceutical Products U. S. Department of State U. S. Patent & Trademark Office U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission

AND MANY OTHERS For more information and to register for an invitation visit

www.careerconferences.com/register There is no charge of any kind to register or, if invited, to attend.

Careers 2005 Chicago Career Fair Monday, January 31, 2005

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

summer homework after his summer plans were spoiled by honors pre-calculus homework. The case will enter exciting new terms into the legal lexicon such as "kind of a drag" and "ruined my buzz."

The world's four biggest consumer

electronics companies, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Philips, have agreed to begin using a common method to protect against piracy and illegal copying of digital music and video.

Plans to publicly cane individuals who would dare make mix tapes from old vinyls have yet to be announced.

The Illinois unemployment rate fell

to a three year low of 5.8 percent last month, according to state officials. Apparently people are having trouble finding jobs because there just too damn busy celebrating freedom.

A recent New Yorker profile of un-

elected Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi claims that he personally executed six Iraqi prisoners by shooting them to death a week before he took office.Apparently Allawi has been reading from "Martin Scorcese's Guide to Establishing Democracy."

s o u n d s

f r o m

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

t h e

s c e n e

MATT PAIS • LEAD REVIEWER

M

organ Freeman’s voice is soothing in the same way that hot chocolate is comforting on a cold winter’s day.And just as the actor supplied the wistful, pained voice-over for The Shawshank Redemption, Freeman’s smooth, leathery bass provides the weathered and wise narration for Million Dollar Baby, a generally conventional movie about conventional characters that is dignified by a grade-A cast.

Clint Eastwood (who also directed) plays Frankie Dunn, a hard-as-nails gym owner who’s been working as a trainer ever since hanging up his gloves years ago. Estranged from his daughter and disconnected from the contemporary big-bucks boxing world, Frankie is all about self-protection, a maxim he shares with his fighters and one that hasn’t escaped the eye of his assistant and oldest friend, Scrap (Freeman). But Frankie’s closeminded, closed-off ways are tested when he’s hired by Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), a spunky yet defiant greenhorn just dying to

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 PAUL PRIKAZSKY • STAFF WRITER

I“creativity� n recent years, Hollywood’s futile grasp at has spawned innumerable remakes, each less ingenious than the last.

Calling Assault on Precinct 13—a remake of the 1976 John Carpenter cult film—an ordinary roller coaster ride does the film no justice. A more accurate description would be a lastsecond free fall down a treacherous cliff. The film offers a genuinely pleasant surprise in its relentless action and thrilling story.

The plot itself is relatively simplistic.

During the imminent closure of a defunct Detroit precinct on a wintry New Year’s Eve, a motley crew of derelicts, burnouts and criminals are temporarily delayed at Precinct 13. A notorious mobster and cop killer named Marion Bishop (Laurence Fishburne) is brought in with the group, much to the dismay of the demoted desk jockey, Jake Roenick (Ethan Hawke). After the New Year’s countdown, the building is seized by a pack of crooked cops determined to bring down Bishop before he testifies against them. Completely cut off from the outside world with limited resources, the remaining police must join forces with the nefarious criminals in an effort to survive the night.

The nonstop blitzkrieg that follows transforms into an ultra-violent version of Night of the Living Dead. s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

buzz weekly

IT’S LIKE A KOALA BEAR CRAPPED A RAINBOW IN MY BRAIN.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY

It's a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to SPELL A WORD. [Andrew Jackson]

y o u r e v e r y d a y n e w s but hell, we’re weekly

nEwS

JA N . 27

s c e n e

get her fists in the ring.

Based on short stories by F.X.Toole and written by Paul Haggis, Million Dollar Baby always feels familiar, though it is rarely predictable. From the rugged old-timer, to the girl from the wrong side of the tracks just looking to follow her one true love, the characters appear carved from prototypes that are probably less often explored than they seem.

But despite fierce, noble perMILLION DOLLAR BABY • HILARY SWANK formances by Eastwood, Eastwood traces outlines of religious Swank and Freeman, the film’s power is immediately limited by the narrow construc- inquiry, past trauma and social inequality but tions of its leads. Swank helps transform never truly dives into any of the deeper themes Maggie from an underprivileged, undersized bubbling beneath Million Dollar Baby. Rather, he idealist to a driven dreamer worth rooting for, sticks mostly to the premise of the seasoned vetbut her aw-shucks, welfare-saddled family just eran and the wide-eyed newcomer who teach each other new ways to embrace the sport that seems compulsory.

That’s why it’s such a triumph of acting occupies both of their lives. It’s a shame the and storytelling for Million Dollar Baby to movie doesn’t go farther into the inner-workremain so compelling and watchable for its ings of boxing, though, because it prevents any slightly over-long two hours and 12 minutes commentary on the hazards of the sport from of run time. Even the scenes that you have really landing.

It does take an unexpectedly dark twist seen before (the boxer in training, the trainer revising his old ways) are revitalized by toward the end that should knock most viewEastwood’s old-school, rough-and-tumble ers back a few steps. Yet Million Dollar Baby decorum. He gives Frankie a wounded, well- never swings hard enough to send you reeling. buried tenderness, and the actor slowly con- It’s enough to win a judge’s decision, but it’s verts his gruff growl into a gentle whisper no knockout. full of vulnerability and understanding.

Both films pack high-voltage suspense in the confined precinct, producing a claustrophobic effect trapping the audience in the same predicament as the heroes.The corruption runs thick throughout Assault.The danger seems more immediate in the remake than it did in the original, where hordes of anonymous gang members laid siege to the overwhelmed police. It has a more terrifying effect on the audience when the bad guys are people we are supposed to trust. And a professionally trained band of corrupt cops armed to the teeth and led by the unflinchingly malevolent Gabriel Byrne is enough to terrify anyone.

But the real treat of this film are the performances of Hawke and Fishburne. Hawke pours his heart and soul into each one of his scenes. Roenick’s fall from grace and subsequent pain killer addiction following a botched drug raid makes him a tragic character. However, his sheer intensity and moral code allow him to gain hero status. Fishburne portrays Bishop as a calm and collected madman, evoking another classic villain, Dr. Hannibal Lector. The exchanges between the characters are sometimes comic but strictly business. Roenick and Bishop’s unspoken respect for one another acts as a symbiotic relationship whereupon the focal point is their survival.

Assault succeeds where typical action movies fail. There are constant action setpieces that keep the film moving at a hyperkinetic pace and enough emotionally charged characters to keep the audience interested. Aside from the far-fetched plot and a few poorly developed characters, Assault on Precinct 13 is an intense thrill ride that shouldn’t be missed.

C - U

WARNER BROTHERS

4 • buzz

Million Dollar Baby always feels familiar, though it is rarely predictable.

v i e w s COMPILED BY SARAH KROHN

Assault on Precinct 13

ALONE IN THE DARK (R) Fri. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 11:20 Sat. 11:00 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 11:20 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:00 9:10 HIDE AND SEEK (NR) Fri. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sat. 11:00 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 MILLION DOLLAR BABY (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 12:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50 SIDEWAYS (R) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:40 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:40 ◆ ARE WE THERE YET? (PG) Fri. 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 11:40 Sat. 11:05 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 11:40 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:15 5:20 7:25 9:30 PRECINCT 13 (R) Fri. 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 12:10 Sat. 11:05 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:30 4:00 7:15 9:45 COACH CARTER (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:10 4:00 7:00 9:50 ELEKTRA (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 3:30 7:10 9:20 11:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 3:30 7:10 9:20 NEVERLAND (PG) Fri. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sat. 11:00 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00 12:10 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 10:00

• 25

IN GOOD COMPANY (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:15 4:10 7:15 9:40 12:00 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:15 4:10 7:15 9:40 MEET THE FOCKERS (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:30 12:00 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:20 4:00 7:00 9:30 NATIONAL TREASURE (PG) Fri. & Sun. ≠Thu. 1:45 7:10 Sat. 11:00 1:45 7:10 OCEAN'S TWELVE (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:30 4:00 7:30 10:00 RACING STRIPES (PG) Fri. 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 12:15 Sat. 11:05 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:15 5:30 7:45 10:00 THE AVIATOR (PGù 13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:30 7:50 11:30 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 4:30 7:50 LIFE AQUATIC (R) Fri. & Sat. 4:30 9:50 12:15 Sun. ≠Thu. 4:30 9:50 PHANTOM OF OPERA (PGù 13) Fri. ≠Thu. 1:10 4:00 7:00 10:00 WHITE NOISE (PGù 13) Fri. 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 11:55 Sat. 11:00 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 11:55 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:45 FLYING DAGGERS (PGù 13) Fri. 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40 12:05 Sat. 11:10 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40 12:05 Sun. ≠Thu. 1:35 4:15 7:10 9:40

Showtimes for 1/28 thru 2/3

3!6/9 2OUTE "URWASH !VE

& ) , +IDS ALL SHOWS 3ENIORS ,ATE 3HOWS &RI 3AT 3TUDENTS $!),9 -ATINEES TIL PM .O PASSES !,, $)')4!, 34%2%/

5NLIMITED &REE $RINK 2EFILLS ` #ORN 2EFILLS

Luke Consoer

Bloomingdale, Ill. “Full of violent language and graphic images.�

Greg Gartland

Lombard, Ill. “Laurence Fishburne’s best movie since Biker Boyz.�

Robby Moore

Bloomingdale, Ill.

34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3(/74)-%3 3(/73 !.$ 4)-%3 35"*%#4 4/ #(!.'%

()$% !.$ 3%%+ 2 02).43 3#2%%.3

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 34!$)5- 3%!4).' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !,/.% ). 4(% $!2+ 2 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 -),,)/. $/,,!2 "!"9 0' 3!4 35.

(/4%, 27!.$! 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !2% 7% 4(%2% 9%4 0' 02).43 3#2%%.3 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 34!$)5- 3%!4).' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 !33!5,4 /. 02%#).#4 2 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 #/!#( #!24%2 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

%,%+42! 0' &2) 3!4 ,3 2!#).' 342)0%3 0' 3!4 35.

). '//$ #/-0!.9 0' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3 ! 6%29 ,/.' %.'!'%-%.4 2 3!4 35.

0(!.4/- /& 4(% /0%2! 0' ,)-)4%$ %.'!'%-%.4

7()4% ./)3% 0'

&2) 3!4 ,3 4(% !6)!4/2 0' 34!$)5- 3%!4).'

3!4 35.

3)$%7!93 2 3!4 35.

#/50/.

&2) 3!4 ,3

-%%4 4(% &/#+%23

“It was all right but unrealistic.�

0' 3!4 35.

&2) 3!4 ,3

/: $2).+

WITH PURCHASE OF OZ BAG OF BUTTERY POPCORN

ONE PER AD 3AVOY %XP &%" $)

"%34 $%!, IN H.EWSLETTER AT WWW SAVOY COM

WWW SAVOY COM

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

S

26 •

buzz weekly

I’M IN A GLASS BOX OF EMOTION!

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27 that sometimes there is no more romantic act than saving a life. And as the need for action stains the purity of love, House of Flying Daggers cuts right through you. (Matt Pais)

uperbowl!

February 6th

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

EDITOR’S NOTE

IN GOOD COMPANY 3 stars Topher Grace & Scarlett Johansson In Good Company succeeds thanks to a solid, character-driven concept and three wonderful lead performances. It’s not a movie that makes you stand up and cheer, yet you can’t seem to get it out of your head or your heart. (Matt Pais)

Party All Day!

Watch The SuperBowl & The Illini On Our HDTVs FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS Miller Lite & Coors Light

$2.00 Pints

Miller Lite & Coors Light Giveaways

Buses available to all Home Big Ten Games

2 East Main, Champaign 359≠ 3148 11am≠ 2am Mon≠ Sat 12pm≠ 2am Sunday

THE AVIATOR 3.5 STARS

Leonardo DiCaprio & Alec Baldwin The Aviator is a fantastic journey that cashes in on one of the greatest casting jobs with a little help from a savvy director. Scorsese has a great film that will maintain his legacy among Hollywood’s finest directors. It won’t surprise anyone when it pulls in an Oscar nomination or two. (Andrew Crewell) COACH CARTER

3.5 stars Samuel L. Jackson & Ashanti It is predictable, a tad cliche, and it relies on some familiar techniques seen over and over again in sports films. But Coach Carter achieves exactly what it sets out to do. It is a magical story with a surprising and all too perfect ending. (David Just) ELEKTRA 1.5 stars Jennifer Garner & Terence Stamp One of the worst things a film can do is cause the audience to sit in the theater and realize how much better the movie could have been while they are watching it. This is precisely what Elektra does.

(Randy Ma) HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS 3 .5 STARS Andy Lau & Takeshi Kaneshiro This is a ceaselessly thrilling story about the ways that love, sex and violence become wrapped into one and

WHITE NOISE 2 stars 2 stars Michael Keaton & Chandra West As a result of the production values, White Noise is better than the screenplay had any right to be.

The factual background of EVP elevates the fear in the stor y and the creepy tone does provide great buildup for the scares when they finally come.

(Randy Ma)

!"#$%&'()*+$ opening this weekend

ALONE IN THE DARK Christian Slater & Tara Reid From the director of House of the Dead comes this long-awaited adaptation of the classic PC game series. Slater plays a paranormal investigator solving a mystery on the unfortunatelynamed Shadow Island. My, Oscar season is starting early this year. (Andrew Vecelas) HIDE AND SEEK Robert DeNiro & Dakota Fanning Hollywood’s latest fixation is horror movies featuring disturbing little girls. Following in this grand tradition comes Hide and Seek, with DeNiro as a man whose life is thrown into hell when his wife has committed suicide and his daughter starts talking to a strange imaginary friend. (Andrew Vecelas)

PIZZERIA . BILLIARDS

Serving CUí s Best Pizza, Soups, Salads, & Desserts

PAUL WAGNER • EDITOR IN CHIEF

I

woke up Saturday, and it was snowing. Hard.And it was cold and windy. Really windy. And it sucked. I’m not trying to say that I don’t like snow. I know what you’re thinking: who doesn’t like snow? Trust me, there are people out there who don’t like snow, and that boggles my mind. It sucked because I had to walk back to my apartment in the morning. And six blocks isn’t even that far.

But as I braved the cold—OK, not braved so much as survived—I decided that it was an inside kinda day. I didn’t want to wait in line at a bar, and I didn’t want to walk anywhere farther away than the parking garage underneath my building. And I did go there. I brought some friends with me and made a life-changing purchase: Xbox.Yes, I know, this makes me a giant nerd, but it was an inside kinda day and there’s no better way to spend inside days than with friends eatin’ pizza and playing games.

So we played Halo 2 for a good part of the day or at least until the other people that came over told us to stop, and it was great.

And to finish off the night we played Catch Phrase and knocked back some beer. All in all, it was a fantastic night. My clothes didn’t smell like bar afterwards. We didn’t have to yell over the music to be heard … it was just an intimate gathering of friends around a fun board game.And of course, we modified the game to involve drinking and sex (each clue had to have some kind of sexual story attached to it), but it was still a night of games and friends, and it was awesome.

So I guess this editor’s note is to those of you who thinking that the only way to have a good time is to drink more than you can handle and go to the bars or some random frat party. To you people I leave you with this: as dorky as it sounds, get some friends together and play some board games on some weekend night. You just may find a great night waiting for you.

-PW

CarryOut Available

Celebrate Woodchuck Day

Wednesday February 2nd

Includes 3 new releases Monday-Thursday

Woodchuck Pints only $3.00 Woodchuck Giveaways!! www.jupiterpizza.com Mon≠ Sat 11am≠ 2am, Sun 12pm≠ 2am 39 E. Main St., Downtown Champaign 398≠ 5988

jus t

Buses Available To All Illini Big 10 Home Games

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

0 $2.5

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

1901 S . Philo 344-0507

f r o m

t h e

1101 N . Mattis 352-2172

s c e n e

3

BUZZ STAFF v o l u m e

3

n o . 4

Cover Design • Sue Janna Truscott Editor in chief • Paul Wagner Art Directors • Carol Mudra Copy Chief • Stacey Ivanic Music • Kyle Gorman Arts • Brian Warmoth Film • Andrew Vecelas Community • Susie An Calendar • Erin Scottberg Photography Editor • David Solana Designers • Adam Obendorf, Jordan Herron, Sue Janna Truscott, Glenn Cochon, Pat Pasquini, Claire Napier Calendar Coordinators • Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography • Sarah Krohn Copy Editors • Jen Hubert, Nellie Waddell Staff Writers • Matt Pais, Susie An, Paul Prikazsky Kyle Gorman, Elizabeth Lim, Todd J Hunter,Imran Siddiquee Gavin Paul Giovagnoli, Emily Walheim Contributing Writers • Michael Coulter, Amanda Kolling, Seth Fein, Logan Moore, Jeff Nelson Production Manager • Theon Smith Sales Manager • Jon Maly Marketing/Distribution • Rory Darnay, Louis Reeves III Publisher • Mary Cory

TALK TO BUZZ e-mail:

buzz@readbuzz.com write:

57 E. Green St. Champaign, IL 61820 call:

217.337.3801 We reserve the right to edit submissions. Buzz will not publish a letter without the verbal consent of the writer prior to publication date.

Buzz magazine is a student-run publication of Illini Media Company and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

First copy of Buzz is FREE, each additional copy is $.50

daily

ays 15 d t s 1 of f D’s 50% f DV o s ’ 1000

805 N . Lincoln 344-0130

buzz weekly •

ONLY FINE ARTISTS STARVE...

© Illini Media Company 2004

letter to the editor

,")-#&.$

The reason I'm writing to you is to discuss your

article about the Art East Annex at the University.

Apparently, the art students are upset about the fumes, rodents and general overall conditions of the studio work spaces available to them.There was also mention of the engineering department and their state of the art facilities.

This is a wake-up call to all aspiring young artists from one who has been at it for many years: Get used to it. When you graduate from college, unless you choose to teach, work in a museum or pursue any other art career other than your own work, this is real life for 99 percent of you.

Read between the lines in your art history books and realize that most famous artists didn't become wealthy until they were comatose or dead. They didn't have fancy studios with state-of-the-art lighting and proper ventilation. They lived, and still do, in cramped one room dumps in large cities, usually in dangerous neighborhoods, with one window and inhale the fumes of the city., i.e. city buses, garbage trucks, industrial waste, etc ...This is a real life artist's life. Also, how many art students smoke anyway?

Many do. We're known to stay up all night, drink lots of coffee, liquor, eat junk food or not at all. It’s all part of our make up.

My point is this, if you don't think you can tolerate the fumes and the crappy conditions at the swanky University now, get out now; get into something else like accounting or social work because you'll never make it as an artist.You'll never

survive if you're a whiner. Artists have to be tough, very tough and make do with what they have and be very resourceful. Because you'll dig through garbage dumps for new ideas and supplies and even furniture for yourself and be excited with your new found treasures, honest. Your mom and dad won't take you to Dick Blick and buy you the finest supplies.You'll have to beg, borrow and yes, the other sometimes to make do, but if it’s in your soul, you'll be a shining star, a great artist and just maybe, have a funky little studio of your own someday!

Imagine the possibilities, the great fun you'll have.You'll be able to invite your traditional friends you went to school with that chose to go into engineering and law to your studio/home in the big city. Of course you'll have to assure them that they won't get mugged or maimed coming into the city.

They'll think you're brave, bold, courageous, and will be envious too. They'll talk about it amongst themselves and all of your old friends whenever they get together, always. It will be a great adventure for them to leave their boring, traditional, mundane suburban bungalows to see your slice of life, humble as it might be.They'll want to buy some of your work too; don't sell it too cheap, because they've got money and your work IS very valuable. It will be an emotional investment too, for them. It’s a win-win sale for all. You'll make it if it’s in your heart and soul, so please, don't sweat the fumes at this stage!, Some things really never do change, honest.

- Carli Bailey

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

2 •

buzz weekly

HYPER COLOR PANTS. IT’S THE FASHION OF THE FUTURE.

|1-5| 3 3 4 4 5 5

PHOTOS • ADRIANA D'ONOFRIO

| 6 - 9| 6

6 7

| 10 - 13| 10

Penny Dreadful Players

p. 19

11 12

To the Campus Community:

12 13

| 14 - 18 |

Life changed significantly for many of our fellow Illini during the winter break. Some of our colleagues return to campus heartbroken at the loss of family and friends in a devastating Southeast Asian tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands and left more than a million people with nothing. People around the world have struggled to cope with the enormity of this disaster and to understand ways in which we might better prepare for future natural disasters.

As an institution which gathers great minds from around the world, and one which prides itself on its service to the world, the University of Illinois is well qualified to lead a search for the lessons to be found in this catastrophic natural disaster and the world’s response to it. I invite you to join your colleagues and neighbors in a forum on Tuesday, February 1st, to examine how the world can reduce the terrible consequences of future disasters.

Interim Chancellor Richard Herman

16 17 17

| 19 - 22 | 19 20 20

22 22

| 23 | 19

| 24- 26 | 24 25 25 25

Tuesday, February 1, 2005 3:30pm - 5:00pm Illini Union A & B More information at: www.cgs.uiuc.edu/about/Events/Globalr.html

25 26 22

| 27 |

t he

!"#$%&'($&)*+$%

INTRO

editor’s note This Modern World • Tom Tomorrow Sh!ts and giggles News of the weird • Chuck Shephard The Local Sniff • Seth Fein First things first • Michael Coulter

AROUND TOWN

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

JA N . 27

•

F E B . 2 , 2 OO5

DOGS ARE LIKE PEOPLE ONLY HAIRIER.

PHONE: 217/337-8337 DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Tuesday for the next Thursday’s edition.

C OV E R

under

JA N . 27

Developing an urban Champaign • Emily Wahlheim Life in Hell • Matt Groening q + a with Jeff Brandt

LISTEN, HEAR Green Street Records releases • compiled by Kyle Gorman American Minor returns • Elisabeth Lim The Hurly-Burly • Logan Moore Sound Ground #60 • Todd J. Hunter Bright Eyes reviews • Gavin Paul Giovagnoli, Imran Siddiquee

MAIN EVENT Free Will Astrology Bob ’n Dave • David King Jonesin’ Crosswords • Matt Gaffney

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Theatre in Hell • Patrick Galvin Artist Corner with Cindy Westfall Confessions of an Heiress review • Katie Richardson Th(ink) • Keef Knight Chicago theater • Jeff Nelson

602 E. Stoughton Unique 1 & 2 bedroom apartments.

All furnished, laundry, internet, and parking available. Must see!! www.ugroup96.com 352-3182

INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Wine and Food A to Z • Amanda Kolling

RATES:

THE SILVER SCREEN

420

Furnished

DEADLINE:

WINE + DINE

APARTMENTS

Transportation 300 AUTOMOBILES

310

www.lookatusedcars.com

Apartments

400

APARTMENTS

410

Furnished/Unfurnished 1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $545 3 bedrooms $650 4 bedrooms $1000 Campus, parking.

Fall 04, 367-6626

420

Furnished 1006 S. 3RD, C. Aug 2005. 1 bedroom. Location, location. Covered parking & laundry, furnished & patios, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 203 S. Sixth. C. For August 2005. Large 3, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. Balconies, laundry, covered parking. Phone 352-3182.

Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 207- 211 JOHN Fall 2005 Prime Campus Location 2, 3 Bedrooms Phone 352-3182 THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com

1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $585 3 bedrooms $750 4 bedrooms $1000 Campus, parking.

Fall ‘05, 367-6626

307 & 310 E. White 307 & 309 Clark

One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com Available Jan 05 1 bedroom $385 Campus. 367-6626 Available Now. 2 bedroom on campus. $550 per month. 367-6626.

BEST VALUE 1 BR. loft from $480.

1 Br. $370 2 BR. $470 3 BR. $750 4 BR $755 Campus. 367-6626.

One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com One and Two Bedrooms “Great Rates!!” Jan 1 2005. Go to CU-LIVING.com for details or inquire at info@cu-living.com

APARTMENTS

APARTMENTS

420

Furnished 1005 S. SECOND, C Efficiencies. Available now and Fall 2005. Secured building. Private parking. Laundry on site, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 105 E. John Available Fall 2005. 1 bedroom furnished, great location. Includes parking. www.ugroup96.com 352-3182

Fall 2005. Large studio, double closet, well furnished. Secured building.

Available January. www.ugroup96.com 352-3182 503-505-508 E. White Now & Fall 2005 2 and 3 bedrooms. Furnished with internet. Parking and laundry available. On-site resident manager. Call Kenny at 352-3182. www.ugroup96.com 506 E. Stoughton, C For August 2005. Extra large efficiency apartments. Security building entry, complete furniture, laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Champaign.

THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 509 E. White, C. Aug. 2005. Large 1 bedrooms. Security entry, balconies, patios, furnished. Laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available. Phone 352-3182.

Office at 309 S. First, Ch. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 604 E. White, C. Security Entrance For Fall 2005, Large 1 bedroom furnished, balconies, patios, laundry, off-street parking, ethernet available.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, C. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com 605 S. Fifth, C. Fall 2005 5th and Green location Outdoor activity area. 1 bedrooms available. Garage off-street parking.

Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, Champaign.

THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com

Awesome Duplex with Loft & Skylight! Newer 3+ Bedrooms freshly painted w/ new furniture. Fully furnished with free laundry and parking.

801A Stoughton, Urbana. $1325/mo. Call 202-6412 for showings: Tue/ Thurs 9-1pm or 4-6pm.

HEALEY COURT APARTMENTS 307- 309 Healey Court.

Fall 2005. Behind Gully’s. 2 bedrooms. Ethernet available. Phone 352-3182. Office at 309 S. First, C. THE UNIVERSITY GROUP www.ugroup96.com JOHN STREET APARTMENTS 58 E. John August 2005. Two and three bedrooms, fully furnished. Dishwashers, center courtyard, on-site laundry, central air, ethernet available.

352-3182 University Group Call Chad at 344-9157 www.ugroup96.com OLD TOWN CHAMPAIGN 510 S. Elm Available Fall 2005. 2 BR close to campus, hardwood floors, dishwasher, W/D, central air/heat, off street parking, 24 hr. maintenance. $525/mo. 352-3182 or 841-1996. www.ugroup96.com

APARTMENTS

430

Unfurnished

800 W. CHURCH, C.

Now available, 2 BR. Centrally located near shopping/transportation.

Onsite laundry, parking included. $425/mo.

217-352-8540 217-355-4608 pm/wknd www.faronproperties.com

CONVENIENT ONE BEDROOMS

Conveniently located near downtown Champaign, 1 BR apartments available February 1. From $360/mo. 352-8540.

355-4608 pm/wknds www.faronproperties.com

SUBLETS

440

2 bedroom, unfurnished. 701 W. Indiana, U. Pets possible. $550/mo. til August. 333-7784, 337-5590.

Furnished studio for summer. Fourth and White. Water paid. $330/mo.

309-825-1165.

Other Rentals 500 HOUSES

510

2 bedroom and 7 bedroom house on campus for Fall 2004. 367-6626.

Billed rate: 35¢/word

A Deadline not to miss • Andrew Vecelas Million Dollar Baby review • Matt Pais Assault on Precinct 13 review • Paul Prikazsky C-U Views • Compiled by Sarah Krohn Movie time listings Drive Thru Reviews Slowpoke • Jen Sorenson

Eight to Nine Bedroom Fall, Campus, $2850 367-6626

Paid-in-Advance: 28¢/word Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue

Eight to Nine Bedroom Fall, Campus, $2850 367-6626

Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

ROOM & BOARD

Want community? Homemade vegetarian meals? Affordable private rooms? www.couch.coop

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

CLASSIFIEDS

540

this is real news

,-

buzz weekly •

27

except lighter

DIET: Beagle study shows value of diet, exercise and stimulation in forestalling mental decline MATT CRENSON • AP NATIONAL WRITER

(AP) - Perhaps people can learn some new tricks from old dogs in warding off the mental decline that comes with aging.

Those tricks include good diet, exercise and plenty of mental stimulation.

A study, in which old beagles learn to win a shell game, suggests that aging humans might benefit from improved diets and habits too, because dogs and people experience remarkably similar cognitive declines as they get older. Dogs even develop plaque deposits in their brains similar to the ones that can eventually lead to Alzheimer's disease in humans.

In this experiment, researchers taught old beagles to find treats under different colored boxes. The dogs that ate an enriched diet, got more exercise and had the benefit of toys and playmates were far more likely to figure it out.

Some studies have suggested that people can ward off or at least delay the mental effects of aging by eating a diet rich in antioxidants and other compounds found in fruits and vegetables. Other studies have found that exercise and mental stimulation may also have a protective effect.

But the beagle study is unique in looking at diet and behavior together.

"What I think is interesting about this study and somewhat different is the combination," said Molly Wagster, a program director at the National Institute on Aging. "The combination effect is better than either thing alone."

The study divided 48 beagles between the ages of eight and 11 into four groups. One group got a twice-weekly workout, a regular rotation of toys, lived in a kennel with a roommate and "went to school" to learn how to find hidden treats. Another group ate a diet rich in antioxidants, but enjoyed none of the lifestyle benefits of the first group. A third group got both the antioxidant diet and the lifestyle benefits. And the last group got no special treatment.

The experiment is described in the January issue of Neurobiology

of Aging. It involved researchers from the University of Toronto, the University of California Irvine, the Hill's Pet Nutrition Science and Technology Center and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute.

After two years of living in their different groups, all of the dogs were taught a trick that required them to find a treat under either a black or white box. For each it was always the same color, and all 48 dogs eventually learned that black (or white) meant a treat.

But that was just the old trick.

The researchers then switched boxes. If a dog had found its treat under the white box before, the morsel was hidden under the black one, and vice versa. Now the dogs had to figure out that they were playing the same game with the colors reversed.

All 12 of the dogs in the group with an enriched diet and highstimulation environment learned the new trick.

"We were surprised to see that," said Elizabeth Head, one of eight collaborators on the experiment.

From previous experience, she said, "we would have expected at least two to three of them not to be able to do this."

The other three groups did not perform as well. Eight out of 12 dogs that ate an enriched diet alone figured it out, and eight out of 10 in the high-stimulation group solved the puzzle.

In the group that got neither a special diet nor a stimulating environment, only two out of eight dogs picked up on the color reversal.

Though the experiment was small, said Head, a professor of neurology at the University of California Irvine, "these results are relatively striking."

And because the treatments began when the dogs were already middle-aged, the study suggests that similar lifestyle change can improve the cognitive abilities of humans even when adopted fairly late in life.

"There's the indication that it's never too late," said Wagster.

"Which I think is a very important implication."

ROOMMATE WANTED 550 1 bedroom, near campus $300 per month 367-6626

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

s o u n d s

f r o m

t h e

s c e n e

I N T R O | A R O U N D T O W N | L I S T E N , H E A R | M A I N E V E N T | A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T | W I N E & D I N E | T H E S I LV E R S C R E E N | C L A S S I F I E D S

y l k e e w

z buz FREE

s

o

u

n

d

s

f

r

o

m

t

h

11 01 | 27 | 05 . 02 | 02 | 05 champaign . urbana

e

s

19

c

e

n

e

25