The NIU Jazz Lab Band and University Jazz Band will perform their first concert of the 2008-2009 year tonight at Boutell Memorial Concert Hall. Under the direction of Rodrigo Villanueva, Pat Terbrack and Larry Brown, the concert will be filled with an...

In honor of Phish getting back together, I thought that I would come up with a list of other great bands that I feel should also reunite. The chances that these bands will get back together are slim to none, but if Phish got back together, then maybe...

We've put a professional wrestler, "Law & Order" actor and bodybuilder in political office the last few years, so why not a comedic sketch writer? Al Franken, former "SNL" writer, political pundit and author, is leading the race for a seat in the...

Rapper Kanye West's long-rumored HBO show doesn't look like it will be seen anytime soon. The project, which is headed by "Curb Your Enthusiasm" writer Larry Charles, was recently said to be shelved by execs that felt the show might have been a little...

Trying to discover who you are? Look someplace else, this is "Better Know a Character." Today's character is animated rapper and entrepreneur Gangstalicious from Adult Swim's "The Boondocks." Voiced by Mod Def, the clenched-teeth speaking gangsta made...

Clint Eastwood's latest film "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, has true ties to NIU's hometown of DeKalb. The film tells the true story of Christine Collins of Los Angeles who, in 1928, reported her 9-year-old son Walter as missing....

The NIU Philharmonic is back for another performance season with a new conductor at the helm. The new NIU Philharmonic Director, Lucia Matos, was the orchestra director at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh from 2003 to 2008. Matos is also the music director...

While watching "What Happens in Vegas" for the first time this weekend, I had a sort of epiphany. "Vegas" is the first movie that I have heard of that has a special digital format so that the owner can watch the movie on a DVD player, and also download...

"Saturday Night Live" stuck with its ratings-drawing formula Thursday and successfully continued to lampoon the presidential race. "SNL: Weekend Update Thursday," the first of three half-hour specials to air before the Nov. 4 election, spoofed the second...

The new NBC comedy "Kath & Kim" premiered Thursday, supplying few laughs and poor acting. The sitcom, originally from Australia, looked as though it held promise of bringing enough oddball laughs to air for at least a couple of seasons. But it seems...

Flavors of the Week gives out scoops of ice cream proportionate to candidates' deeds during the past seven days. This week, the flavors are dictated by good will. Look at it like a scoop of Neopolitan ice cream. The niftiest person or group is honored...

After gaining popularity â€" and making a bundle of money â€" Marvel, publisher of "X-Men," "Spider-Man" and the like, are conquering TV land. Again. I'm sure many cartoon-ized superhero fans remember the mind-bogglingly great "X-Men: The Animated...