Remember the saying, "If a tree falls in the woods and there is no living creature to hear it, does it make a sound?" That is the most perplexing question in history. This week I went into the firing squad of mind-boggling questions when I joined NIU’s...

Law student Nate Himert is just one of many major league baseball fans counting down the 14 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Himert, a Chicago White Sox fan, said he has certain criteria for a player to crack his top ten all-time...

For most people, having good taste is a plus. For Rebecca Smith, having good taste is a necessity. Smith, assistant director of Residential Dining, runs NIU’s test kitchen, which tests foods for eventual placement on residential dining hall menus. Smith...

On Thursday, the front page of this very newspaper trumpeted the arrival of thefacebook.com, the free online directory that connects students through social networks at colleges nationwide. However, the article failed to touch on the seedy underbelly...

It’s 3:30 a.m., and I hate Greg Feltes. My not-so-illustrious editor sent me out to see why people head to America’s favorite retail store at all sorts of odd hours. That’s why I found myself standing before the glow of DeKalb’s fabulous 24-hour...

It’s hard to believe family movies are still being made, and it’s even harder to believe they can be entertaining too. Take the "family road trip" movie. The "road trip" gives way to a host of gags and giggles as adventures are on the open road as...

Brit-pop band, Placebo, hits the shelves with a new singles collection, "Once More With Feeling, Singles 1996-2004." The album has already been on the UK Top Ten Album Chart, as high as NO. 8, since its first release. Placebo is re-releasing the singles...

oel Schumacher is probably among the worst-regarded movie directors alive today. Purveyor of such cheese as "Batman and Robin" and "The Lost Boys," it’s tough to imagine Schumacher at the top of any list to direct a big-screen version of Andrew Lloyd...

"Assault on Precinct 13" is the best B-movie of the year. But that’s not saying much considering how rare the traditional B-movie has become. Also, it’s January. Ethan Hawke plays Sgt. Jake Roenick, a down-and-out cop stuck at a rundown precinct in...

Digital is everywhere. Digital watches. Digital Video Discs. Digital cameras. Digital libraries. Digital classrooms. Digital dating services. Digital postcards. Digital recording. Digital landmarks on the digital highway of digital life. There is even...

There's not much to be said for an album whose strongest track is a cover song. "Prayer & Pretend," The Atari Star's third full-length on Johann's Face Records, unremarkably showcases the band’s influences in 10 hit-or-miss songs. Traces of Sunny...

Duluth, Minn., must be a pretty boring town if a band focuses on nothing but melodic tones and layers of vocals, like Low does. The trio never seems to get past the vocal combination of percussionist Mimi Parker and guitarist Alan Sparhawk. Harmonies...