IPFW communication major Sara Tavassol—also known as “Alpaca Punch” when skating for the Fort Wayne Derby Girls—said, “I wasn’t as scared because I felt like I could find my place within roller derby rather than basketball or volleyball … I never felt like I fit in with those girls.”

“People always ask me to play basketball and volleyball ‘cause I’m six feet tall. And I learned to resent those sports. The great thing about roller derby is it’s for everybody,” commented Kellie Adkins, “The Adkins Riot.” Adkins is a biology major at IPFW, who recently competed in her first bout of the season on the “Bombsquad,” FWDG’s nationally ranked A-team.

And it’s not just in Fort Wayne that roller derby has increased in popularity. FM Spotlight Magazine stated last fall, “the number of roller derby leagues in the U.S. has increased from 50 leagues in 2005 to 500 leagues in 2011.”

First time hearing about this roller derby resurgence? Former FWDG Amber Recker described it on ABC 21 Alive as “rough-and-tumble like football. It’s not like the old-school roller derby that’s on a banked track with all this choreographed staged stuff. It’s a flat track. It’s real athletics.”

“So it’s very different in a sense of companionship and camaraderie…the sisterhood all over the nation and—at this point—all over the world is so strong,” added Adkins.

She explained that “having people to depend on and having your teammates depend on you is part of my motivation to skate as hard as I can. They are just like family, and I never want to let my family down.”

“It’s my derby family! Full of derby sisters! Wouldn’t have been able to make it through my ankle recovery without all of them,” mentioned Tavassol, referring to a broken ankle she received last fall during one of their skate practices.

“When you join derby you join a whole new family,” said Adkins in Free and Young Indiana’s spotlight of the month interview.

Having worked as a professor in UNL’s department of theater from 1993 to 2003, O’connor said he still has a very close attachment to the university and couldn’t turn down the offer to go back to the college that he helped to develop.

“When a person gets a chance for advancement, they deserve to take it,” said Chancellor Michael Wartell.
Although O’Connor did not ask IPFW to match any of the offers made to him by UNL, Wartell said that attempts were made to keep him here at the university.

“I would have if I could have [kept O'Connor]. … We said to him is there anything we can do to keep you here. When you get an offer from the institution where you started in originally, it’s really hard not to want to go there,” said Wartell.

“I really appreciate that. I think it’s indicative of the kind of support that I‘ve had here from the beginning. If it wasn’t for this unique opportunity that I‘ve found, I really wouldn’t ever leave IPFW. I couldn’t speak more highly of the university. So it is a sad farewell,” said O’Connor.

According to Wartell, the position that O’Connor has taken will not be very different, if at all, from the one he still currently holds at IPFW.

“It’ll just be, to put it in theater terms, on a bigger stage. A more prominent stage. The University of Nebraska is a Research One institution and gives doctorates and M.F.A.s and it’s just a bigger, more prestigious institution,” said Wartell.

With the university’s loss of such a high-ranking professional, for any reason, the question of whether or not Fort Wayne is suitable for artists to make a living in the arts lingers.

While the city has a distinct art community, there will be an influx of VPA as well as Visual Communication and Design (VCD) students graduating in the coming years, and if Fort Wayne cannot accommodate such professionals, they may just be learning to leave in search of employment.

The College of VPA at IPFW has seen growth in student registration every year.

“We’ve had a greater number in the community who are continuing to support us,” said Susan Domer, marketing and publication specialist for VPA. More support means more money for scholarships, even some that cover full tuition. “Because of that, our requirement efforts have grown.”

IPFW also offers many chances for students to begin making art right away. This is helped because undergraduate students don’t have to compete with graduate students for stage time. VPA does not have graduate programs.

“They get onstage almost immediately … it’s an opportunity to start right away in making art,” said Domer.

Certain programs even require that students participate in ensembles from the first day of freshman year. Others, like VCD, have mandatory internships and music and art education majors have to have experience teaching in an actual classroom.

“You have to have that practical application along with the classroom experience,” Domer said. In addition, “The mass majority of our students get jobs,” she said.

“It’s one of the reasons we continue to grow and grow,” Domer added.

For many graduates, finding a job means going to the big cities on the east and west coasts, a reality many theatre majors may face. As for programs such as art and music education and music therapy, jobs can be found throughout the United States and some even in Northeast Indiana. Domer said many positions exist in these fields, making job prospects high.

Jes Farris, of Consipracy, a men’s clothing and shoe store that also works as an art gallery, said that about 75 percent of the art showcased there last year was from local artists, and it typically sells more. He expects the numbers to turn out about the same for 2012.

“It’s definitely good” to hang up the work of local artists, he said. When they showcase local art, people “are more likely to walk in our door.”

However, Farris said most of the local artists end up only being able to utilize their skill as a part-time or second job.

While he wouldn’t call the work from residents products of passion or hobbies, Farris said that making a living off art “is hard.”

Calls to Arts United and the Continuum Art Gallery, which was created through VPA, went unanswered.

Image from http://edgeofsanity-itomb.blogspot.com

That was in 1978.

Not much has changed in the way of regulation of broadcast radio and television, but it’s back to the court room for television indecency.

Fox Television Stations is offering the argument that the broadcast industry be able to regulate itself, much like the motion picture industry with its voluntary rating system.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in the argument transcript, said “What the government is asking for, is a few channels were you can say … they are not going to hear the s-word, the f-word. They are not going to see nudity.”

IPFW senior Kelli Jones said she appreciates regulations on television mainly for “the children’s sake.”

“I can’t imagine watching tv and having ‘f-this’ be every other word,” she said, adding that she’d be worried that sort of language would become commonplace.

In an age where what may be restricted on a television show is readily available online, many feel regulation of broadcast is futile.

The FCC has its argument ground in that broadcast operates on public airwaves and users agree to regulations when they get a license to use those airwaves. The content regulations don’t apply to cable, satellite or Internet mainly because users have to pay for the service and are therefore choosing to have access to the content. Now, those who want broadcast need to have a converter box which varies in price.

The whole argument spurred humor in many ways. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemingly argued against the FCC in that their regulation was inconsistent: “NYPD Blue” was punished for nudity but not “Schindler’s List” or the profanity in broadcast of “Saving Private Ryan.”

“And I do think that that is the major objection, that we have a … government agency that is going to make decisions about when nudity is okay and when it isn’t,” Ginsburg said.

“It’s like nobody can use dirty words or nudity except for Steven Spielberg,” said Justice Elena Kagan. “… There’s a lot of room here for FCC enforcement on the basis of what speech they think is kind of nice and proper and good.”

America is in a digital age though, and according to Nielsen Wire, 290 million Americans own at least one television, while 211 million are online—116 million ages 13 and up also access the mobile Web. Alongside those statistics, Nielsen announced streaming on game consoles is more popular than before.

“Streaming now represents a reported 14 percent of Xbox 360 time, 15 percent of PS3 time and 33 percent of Wii time,” according to a December 2011 announcement by Nielsen. “This growth is fueled by the availability of services like Netflix, Hulu, MLB Network and ESPN 3.”

As of yet, the Supreme Court hasn’t made a decision.

“Horrible things happen to her. And she wanders home. And she sits there. She lights a cigarette, and she fumes. And you don’t know what’s going on in her head. The next time you see her, she’s got a Taser and a 30-pound chrome dildo, and she’s got a plan,” said David Fincher in an interview with Louise Roug from “The Daily Beast.”

Salander is a small, pale, computer-hacking, motorcycle-riding, gothish/punkish young woman with facial piercings, tattoos and an attitude that screams ‘Stay away!’ and yet her character is uncannily charismatic as she sucks in her viewers.

It is this “charisma of the Salander character [which] is ultimately the reason for the extraordinary success of ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ and its two sequels. Worldwide, the novel has sold more than 65 million copies, making it one of the most popular books of all time,” stated Roug.

In this film Salander (Mara) teams up with Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), an investigative journalist who has recently suffered the humiliation of losing in a libel suit brought against him. Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) is an elderly wealthy industrialist who hires Blomkvist to investigate a 40-year-old unsolved crime: the disappearance of his niece Harriet.
Although, for a large portion of the movie Salander and Blomkvist are kept separate, eventually their paths are woven together as only the methodical Fincher could do.

Before Salander and Blomkvist become a sort of Holmes and Watson team, as dubbed by Ignatiy and Christy in their review of the movie, Salander has to face her despotic legal guardian Nils Bjurman in a grizzling stomach-churning rape scene as earlier alluded to by Fincher.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is not for the queasy. Fincher, director of equally raw films such as “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “Zodiac,” teamed up with screenplay writer Steven Zaillian—Academy Award winner for his screenplay for “Schindler’s List” —effectively and circumspectly portraying both Salander’s vulnerability and indomitable spirit, which is exactly what made this film so successful.

Explained by Andrew McMahon, lead singer, the album is essentially about the ups and downs found early in a marriage.

“Everybody wants to say it’s all sunshine and roses, but when you start living with someone and you get married there’s a whole growing pains stage,” McMahon said in a press release.

Kicking off with “My Racing Thoughts,” the album is reminiscent of pop rock circa 2004, flowing much like former local band, Color By Numbers, mainly because of the ample amount of keyboard. Each with their own unique sound, McMahon plays piano and keyboard along with Jamie Muhoberac and Patrick Warren. Count ‘em: three.

The very upbeat sound follows closely with some pretty stark lyrics, however. Described by McMahon as being primarily about fighting, the song goes through very vague scenarios, leaving the listener to fill it in with heartbreak: “It was midnight, I was mixed up, when she found me on the beach. I think I’m running low on inspiration, she’s running long on borrowed time.”

Following suit with “My Racing Thoughts,” No. 2 on the album, “Release Me,” begins with pulsing keys in the background, engulfs the 2004 pop rock beat, sounding much like the beginnings of Maroon 5 hits.

Song after song, Jack’s Mannequin mixes up the sound subtly, but just enough to keep listening without it getting stale. Overall, the album produces what can only be described as only marital unbliss that it’s perfectly acceptable to dance to.

Naifeh and Smith’s biography of this world-famous Dutch painter is a truly rewarding read. Van Gogh’s life unravels like a mystery, which entices the reader to keep turning the page. Even the very process of writing this book unfolded like a mystery.

“Well, we didn’t know exactly what we were getting into when we started,” commented Smith during a PBS interview.

Naifeh and Smith wanted to get at the very essence of why van Gogh’s art—according to Smith—had “become such an indelible part of the human imagination that almost everyone knows,” which, as a result, is what makes this book both unique and engaging.

In order to accomplish this Naifeh and Smith spent 10 years investigating the life and death of van Gogh, along with a team of researchers and translators to, as Smith put it, “get at the real person behind the myth.”

Smith believed that people had become “in love with the myth” that van Gogh’s life consequently inherited: a madman who cut off his own ear, whose art was unappreciated, and, after a highly romanticized manner of taking his own life, became an immortal legend for paintings such as “Starry Night” and “Sunflowers.”

“Van Gogh: The Life,” released Oct. 17, 2011, boldly challenged this mythological notion of his life.

Naifeh, in an interview on 60 minutes, asserted that “these are not just crazy works of art by a crazy painter; these are intentional masterpieces by somebody who knows exactly what they’re doing.”

Reading more like prose than a typical biography, “Van Gogh: The Life” effectively reveals van Gogh’s perspective: that for him, art was a universal language in which he could communicate his vision.

As the book so eloquently put it, art shared the “power of Vincent’s imagination, the power to console—the power to ‘bring light into darkness,’ to transform suffering into solace, sorrow into rejoicing.”

Art not only was a place of solace for van Gogh but a triumph in spite of the rejection he faced from his art peers and family.

“I do not say that my work is good, but it’s the least bad that I can do. All the rest, relations with people, is very secondary, because I have no talent for that. I can’t help it,” proclaimed the estranged artist.

Van Gogh was harshly alienated by nearly everyone in his life for his eccentricities, partly due to his bouts with temporal lobe epilepsy—which Naifeh and Smith claimed, in their book, was an accurate diagnosis given to van Gogh after he mutilated his own ear.

“He couldn’t find [his] niche anywhere. Even when he was working for an evangelical church, they found his behavior too weird, and so they just kicked him out,” commented Smith on 60 Minutes. “He basically was a man who lived to be 37 years old and never really had a friend,” further asserted Smith, painting a deeply sympathetic portrayal of our artist.

Not only was van Gogh not a madman but he, to the discovery of Naifeh and Smith, possessed a treasure house of knowledge. Sifting through over 900 pages of correspondence letters provided to Naifeh and Smith by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, uncovered “a remarkable mind, an insatiable reader: Shakespeare, Zola, Dickens, Walt Whitman…[and] an incurable letter writer…fluent in Dutch, French, German, and English,” stated Morley Safer in an interview with Naifeh and Smith.

“Van Gogh: The Life” is a fresh revelation rich with detail into the very familiar but largely misrepresented life of Vincent van Gogh, a saddening yet enjoyable discovery of a dark and tormented soul responsible for the bright and swirling paintings the world is so familiar with: his vision of the beauty he saw all around himself.

Michael Royal scrapped his dress clothes, dyed a patch of his hair blue and on Dec. 1, 2011, officially announced that he purchased the former National City Bank branch at 1130 E. State Blvd. His vision: an all-ages, multi-genre music venue and recording studio.

Named The Yellow Bird, which Royal said means “a persons true love, the one they can not live without,” a definition that he has connected to his general love for music, the venue stands a good chance of being highly populated by students.

According to Royal, he has high hopes for success based on the location, since The Yellow Bird sits on one of the busier intersections in the city and is also in close proximity to IPFW and its student housing.

“I think it’s really cool, being so close to a growing university,” he said.

Since December, things have moved along quickly—everything was torn out of the main room, Royal’s blue hair turned red, faded orange, and the suit went back on.

“I spent my whole life dressing up for other people,” he said. “Now, I can dress up for myself.”

That he does, and Royal looks like … well, royalty, sitting in his office behind the drive-thru glass, stainless steel mug in his hand, assistant beside him and a signed photo of Kurt Cobain in a broken picture frame above.

That picture, however, is the only artifact in the place that bares any resemblance to a music venue.

Many things need to change before The Yellow Bird can open its doors to the public: Floors need redone, bathrooms and lighting need installed and Royal needs to decide on what to do with that pesky giant safety deposit vault and the drive-thru area.

“I could tear out the drive-thru and get eight more parking spots,” he said, though he’s thinking of perhaps making it into a smoking area instead.

There are also legalities standing in the way of its grand opening—he would like the ability to serve alcohol but still be all-ages, wants to know the official maximum capacity, among other things.

Despite all the work that needs to be done, Royal said he’s trying to book bands for as early as April, and sounds confident that he’ll be able to pull everything together by then.

At the moment, The Yellow Bird relies mainly on word-of-mouth, but those interested can follow occasional updates through its Facebook page.

“J. Edgar” (now playing) – This is one of Leonard di Caprio’s best roles. Portraying America’s founder of the FBI, di Caprio plays a young and old man—thanks to believable makeup—who is working among a changing political scene and his challenging personal life. Di Caprio deserves the Oscar for this one.

“The Muppets” (now playing) – A guilty pleasure for long-time Muppets fans and casual fans alike, this film is worth it for everyone. Jason Segal, Amy Adams and a bunch of celeb cameos co-star in a sing-along with America’s favorite frog, pig, bear and other nondescript animal-like creatures.

“The Sitter” (Out Dec. 9) – The director of “Pineapple Express” provides another raunchy adventure where Jonah Hill attempts to look after three kids during a series of misadventures. Though reminiscent of 1980s family flicks such as “Adventures in Babysitting,” this film is for adults only.

“The Adventures of Tin Tin” (Out Dec. 21) - Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson resurrect the Belgian cartoon “Tin Tin” in motion-capture. In this swashbuckling hybrid between Indiana Jones and Pirates, Tin Tin and his dog Snowy must uncover the secrets of a mysterious ship, the Unicorn.

“Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” (Out Dec. 21) – Tom Cruise’s reprise as Ethan Hunt. He delivers a new mission that will clear his good name—or he’s busted (cue theme music).

The Shop Local movement has been a prominent response to the economic recession. As such, many have heralded the benefits of keeping revenue within the community. In developing strong bonds between consumers and shop owners, adding flavor to the cultural landscape and creating jobs, shopping local has become a popular means of investing in commonwealth while encouraging civic prosperity.

Michelle Merritt is Vice President of Member Relations and Communications for The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce. For a how-to guide on shopping local as a regular practice, she recommends logging onto the Chamber Business Directory at fwchamber.org. The directory is designed to search for a variety of goods and services by selecting a specific category for desired items to purchase. From there,
the directory will provide names and locations of businesses that carry those specific items.

Merritt said this method for tracking down locally owned shops rather than heading to a big box store requires only a little more time and effort.

“If every person made a conscious effort to buy just one item from a local business, you would support
your community tremendously,” she said.

Another way to support the community and avoid the dreaded mall rush is by venturing to one
of the many art shows or gift markets that are taking place Saturday, Dec. 10 at various downtown and
surrounding locations.

The Holiday Boutique from 12-4 p.m. at Zianos, 5907 Covington Rd., will feature holiday portrait sittings, Avon products, jewelry, pottery and other gifts.

“Foxy Ladies Art Posse Presents: The Holiday Gift Market” will be at Calhoun Street Soups, Salads and Spirits, 1915 S. Calhoun St. from 12-4 p.m. Showcasing several reputable artists and artisans, the event will display for-purchase items such as artwork, knitwear, stoneware, baked goods, foliage, soaps and other handmade wearables and jewelry.

For the more macabre gift-giver, Conspiracy Boutique and Gallery, 1934 S. Calhoun St., will be hosting “The Dead of Winter Art Show & Silent Auction” from 7-9 p.m. Up for bid are numerous little 6×3 inch coffins decorated by local and regional artists.

With all proceeds going to benefit Toys for Tots, the coffins will start at $10 and increase by increments of $5 until a winner for each piece is announced at 9 p.m.

To give shoppers ease of access, The Downtown Improvement District will be providing free transportation with “Holly Trolley Shopping Downtown.” As part of the holiday festivities scheduled for the evening of Dec. 10, trolleys will run between more than 30 downtown merchants including shops, galleries, eateries and other attractions. Riders are encouraged to park and ride by boarding at one of the various locations or by flagging a trolley down.

The service will be provided from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. To see a detailed list of participating organizations, visit holidayfestdowntown.com.

“Thrifting,” as it is commonly referred to, has an allure for a variety of audiences. Originally intended
to offer gently used goods at affordable prices to those with little economic means, thrifting has seen an emergent audience among more frugal shoppers. Other reasons people choose secondhand include environmental consciousness, supporting charity, significant savings, finding one-of-a-kind items and having access to a variety of goods from different eras and trends.

While The Salvation Army and Goodwill are not necessarily locally owned, they do provide services that benefit the communities in which they serve by contracting with local business and government entities that provide employment placement, rehabilitation programs and donation services for the needy. Their inventory is also largely supported by self-sustaining in-kind donations of funds and secondhand goods made possible by the community itself.

Thrifting can be a viable option for scoring unique gifts at reasonable prices: “Last year I bought my
nieces and nephew clothes from the thrift store for their gifts,” said IPFW student Kayla Miller. “[I spent] less than $20 and that was for four kids and quite a few articles of clothing apiece. The stuff I found was
just as good as anything I would have bought new.”

“Most of my friends love thrift stores,” said IPFW graduate Nichola Sobota. Finding unique and
interesting items for her friends is something of a hobby: “There are so many things at thrift stores that
you just can’t find anymore … so thrift away,” said Sobota.

Thrifting does have its downside if you aren’t willing to do a significant amount of searching and
digging. According to IPFW graduate Cate Deventer, “I love the idea of thrift stores, in terms of reusing perfectly good items in order to reduce … etc. But I find the general lack of organization in thrift stores extremely frustrating. I am not a ‘look through the racks’ type of shopper. I want clear displays, organized
racks and good store flow. Overall, I feel like most thrift stores don’t have that.”

Also, the fact that items are secondhand increases the possibility for finding defects, stains, damages and sometimes unsavory smells. It often requires practice, patience and repeat visits to find really
amazing merchandise. But with prices that can’t be beat, giving a thrift store a try can lead to a rewarding
gift-giving experience.

Shopping locally means avoiding the potentially angry Glenbrook and strip mall mobs. It also means
doing something good for the community and presenting your family and friends with unique items other than run-of-the-mill consumer goods. They say it’s all about the giving—and shopping locally makes this statement true in more ways than one.

In going through the list of movies that are currently playing at a theater such as Coldwater Crossing, one would find that nine of the 13 movies now showing are based off of former media properties or sequels.

Recycled feature films are taken from adaptations of other movies, novels, theatre, television, radio, comic books, video games, documentaries, lectures, photographs and works of poetry. Even Greek mythology and the Bible have been sources for a remake.

In all cases of adapting media property, the appeal for producers is that the audience already knows the story, so the adaptation can instead focus on details such as special effects or other elements of cinematography and renovated plot lines.

For example, the famous tale of Romeo and Juliet has been remade 1,306 times in nearly every language, according to the Library of Congress.

Other popular remakes that have been adapted several times over include the “Bond” series, “Planet of the Apes,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Frankenstein” and “A Christmas Carol.” This is, of course, the short list.

Let’s not forget the superhero bubble wherein re-imagined Batmen, Spidermen and Supermen have graced the silver screen in various incarnations with seemingly rapid succession.

Batman has been portrayed by different actors in five remakes; the Spiderman franchise has plans in the works for six films including sequels with two different directors; and Superman has been remade seven times since the first film was produced in 1978 with yet another reboot of the series scheduled for 2013. These figures are limited to major motion pictures and do not even reflect the various animated series and television productions depicting the characters.

It is possible that Hollywood is playing it safe by recycling previous works because they are afraid of original ideas, though more probable is the concern with the almighty dollar.

Of the top 20 grossing films of 2010, 14 of those films were based on former properties, meaning that they were recycled from previously published work.

This figure suggests that as a nation of theatergoers, many prefer movies without an original plot. It could be that audiences don’t want to risk paying over $10 for a movie they won’t understand. Or perhaps the “based off of…” tagline displayed on posters and during trailers acts as a safety net for viewers.

“I think it has to do with the American audience afraid of taking risks when going to see a movie,” said a former IPFW theatre arts major, who wished to remain nameless. “To me it seems like we as a nation are afraid to see something that is foreign to us and it is not worth it to pay that kind of money to take that risk.”

Spencer Crilow, a student at IPFW and self-proclaimed movie buff believes remakes are okay, “as long as the thought is there … if you can feel the director and screenwriter actually say ‘what made this movie good so we can make it better?’”

Hollywood remakes are not a new phenomenon. Since the advent of major motion pictures, screenwriters and producers have been adapting scenes from popular plays.

Yet, somehow we’ve gotten to a fourth “Shrek” movie and “The Smurfs” movie which was based off of a franchise popular almost 30 years ago.

As an audience of theatregoers, demanding better entertainment is a must.

According to Mark Hughes of moviebusiness.com, “We get angry at studios for relying a lot on outside sources of inspiration for films, but that’s what audiences have always most endorsed and rewarded with money and viewership, so it’s hard to blame Hollywood too much for it.”

Americans are voting for movies with their ticket stubs and Hollywood will continue to produce what they know is going to sell. Isn’t it time to ask “am I really going to pay for another ‘Alvin and The Chipmunks’ sequel?”

“Meanwhile,” Hughes went on in his recent moviebusiness.com article, “plenty of good and original content still gets made.”
Fortunately, there exists quality media available for consumption and being fearful of original ideas doesn’t have to be the American film legacy.