In the movie "The Relic", based on a novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the filmmakers replaced the SWAT team of the book’s climax with a couple of armed men running around in khakis. For years, this decision perplexed me as a weird choice...

Singer/songwriter Toothpick will play Saturday at 9 p.m. at Fatty’s Pub and Grille, 1312 W. Lincoln Highway. Toothpick, aka Doug Ray, opened for O.A.R at the Convocation Center last February. Ray wrote the song "Supersize Me" featured in the 2005 Academy...

In a little more than 36 days, college (and unfortunately some high school) students will embark on one of the most exciting times of the semester: Spring Break. Like the average NIU student, you’re probably scurrying like a hungry alley cat just to...

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...

DeKalb will host three concerts this weekend featuring Chicagoland natives. In addition to Bobby Conn, who will play The Rodeo, 249 Palmer Court, on Saturday evening, two other shows have garnered the attention of the concert-going public. Brian Moss,...

It’s the three-year-and-10-month anniversary of "Menopause the Musical," written and produced by NIU alumna Jeanie Linders. The musical about four women going through "the change," is set to parody ’60s and ’70s pop songs, such as "Help Me, Rhonda"...

I went to a Dance Dance Revolution party and an anime club broke out. From the moment the Jack’s weekly expedition to NIU’s Anime Club started, an interesting experience was bound to happen. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening at about 6 p.m. at Cole...

What separates a great songsmith from every fool with a guitar on his back and a heart on his sleeve is a knack for subtlety. John Mayer doesn’t seem honest while singing, "Your body is a wonderland." Instead, he sounds like a guy in a bar with cheesy...

Bobby Conn will bring his rock stylings and energetic stage presence to The Rodeo, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, Saturday to support his latest record, "The Homeland," and promote a soon-to-be-released live album. Weekender interviewed Conn via telephone and...