Every two weeks, Sweeps will take a look back at NIU decade by decade. This is in no way a rip-off of that VH1 series we’ve never seen and certainly never bought the DVDs of. The 1980s at NIU were all about "Star Trek" nerds, "Star Trek" nerds attending...

A priest, a rabbi and a dead music teacher walk into a bar ... But seriously, folks, a friend of mine recently died and death is not all that funny. Rufus Stennis Brown was a music instructor at Kishwaukee College, and he died Feb. 8 at the age of 32....

Ah, the glamorous life of being in a band. Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Trashing hotel rooms night after night and waking up next to someone you’ve never met before. Climbing on your private jet to bounce from one corner of the globe to the next....

A heffalump is a visualization of our innermost nightmares and the tendency we all have to fear what we don’t know. In "Pooh’s Heffalump Movie," we meet a heffalump face-to-face and, instead of Pooh-ing our pants with fear, we end up with a new friend...

We have a Portillo’s now and I comb my hair down instead of up, but other than that, things haven’t changed much since I came to DeKalb three and a half years ago. Thursday nights are either always spent at bars or doing laundry - with both activities...

Every character of the black comedy "Eulogy" can be described in two words: cliche or annoying. The story of an oddball cast of cliche or annoying family members arriving at the funeral of its enigmatic patriarch, "Eulogy" builds and builds upon a punch-line...

Calling all extras: An independent movie is looking for local extras in DeKalb. NIU alumnus Nathan Stein, NIU student Adam Perly and Eerie, Ind., resident Jason Schaever will be shooting a few scenes of a yet-to-be titled movie in DeKalb the weekend of...

Oh, the live album. Do you remember the last time you heard about your favorite band releasing one and thought, "Hey, this will do just fine until they release their new material?" Generally, the live album wears out its welcome within a couple of weeks...

If there was a one-line pitch for "Shark Tale," it would probably be "Finding Nemo meets Dragonheart with a touch of Goodfellas." Although "Shark Tale" isn’t as inspiring as any of these, it is by large a fun and fast-paced family flick. The film follows...

On the second floor of the Skulls (Phi Kappa Sigma) fraternity house resides Errol Janusz, who truly made a 15’ by 12’ space his own, infusing it with a sense of graphic color and classic taste. The small but stylish space features a built-in bar,...

The story of four young women struggling to come to terms with their traditional Italian parents, "Kiss The Bride" quickly loses the theme of cultural identity and soon becomes the story of four young women struggling against the omnipresent Los Angeles...

When family members put aside personal differences and collaborate to make an album, it’s either hit or miss. Hit: Liam and Noel Gallagher and Oasis. Miss: The Osmonds. Hit: Jonny and Colin Greenwood and Radiohead. Miss: The Partridge Family. When four...