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Northern Star

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Show me the anime

By Gary Schaefer | April 18, 2002

What: NIU's Anime Association Why: Free showings of different types of Japanese animation, including movies, TV series and direct-to-video series When: 7 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday Where: Cole Hall's Preview Room, located in the southeast corner of...

Good comes in all genres

By Nichole Hetrick | April 18, 2002

Last week I saw a flier in Cole Hall that said, "68 percent of NIU students listen to music from different genres - do you?" While I can't vouch for the statistic (I don't remember being asked), I do agree with the message: Don't judge a book by its cover....

Film-sharing fears

By Marcus Leshock | April 18, 2002

The digitalization of Hollywood is an issue that leaves many in the industry rushing to stop it while others can't cease salivating at the profits to be reaped from it. Many believe that one day the general public will be able to download first-run movies...

M.O.O.S.E.

By Gary Schaefer | April 18, 2002

Dry your eyes, weary Bears fans. The playoffs must go on and a great way to put a smile on your face is to dust off that old electronic football game with the vibrating metal board and plastic men who run in circles.

Before John Madden and his never-ending string of football video games stole our time and money, there was electronic football. This weekend it's time to be the coach, but try not to pull a John Shoop and run a dump pass on third-and-long.

It probably has been a long time since you've had the privilege of playing the game. Have the newer models improved since your youth? Nope. There's still a stiff-legged kicker for the kickoff - just make sure he doesn't pull a Bill Gramatica and hurt his knee during any field goal celebrations.

The game still has the tall quarterback with the rigor mortis arm and the accuracy of an infant with a lazy eye. The defenders still stick their hands in and their elbows out with the desperate hopes of stopping the amazing blitz by the defenders who bumble and stumble way before it's time to rumble.

The game is chock full of twists, if you want to have a football martini that is certainly shaken, not stirred. This original design has not come very far since 1949, but that could be a sign of just how great the invention was. As kids, it was a blast meticulously lining up your pass blockers, runners and defenders. You made sure every player was in the right spot and then you switched on the board.

Naturally, the runner went in circles and pass blockers fell over or turned and ran after the quarterback. But there might have been one receiver who went out for a pass and the quarterback lobbed the chunk of foam into the air and hit his man. The receiver tucked the ball under his arm and, without a defender in sight, ran for the end zone.

But come this weekend, where football and booze go hand in hand, this game certainly will add to the football festivities.

Believe it or not, electronic football can be enjoyed by the college student as a drinking game. Rules for the drinking game have every right to change to accommodate the number of people and the potency of the alcohol being consumed.

Pair off into teams and get a big drink ready. After the ensuing kickoff, start a play and after it's over, you and your teammate have to take a drink for every player on your team that fell over. If you throw an interception, you drink. If you score a touchdown, your opponent drinks. If the defense sacks the quarterback, the offensive team drinks.

Chances are that one to three plastic players will fall on each play. By the end of the game, you will beg in a deeply slurred voice for him to stay on his feet just that one time. Remember, the Weekender urges you to drink responsibly.

It's a fun way to pass the time during halftime, just hope that the final score doesn't turn out to be 50 to 47.

Movie Briefs

April 18, 2002

"Murder By Numbers" (Warner Bros.) - A tenacious homicide detective (Sandra Bullock) and her new partner (Ben Chaplin) uncover a trail of shrewdly concealed evidence that links two brilliant young men to a murder. Starring Bullock, Chaplin, Agnes Bruckner,...

Donnie Darko

By Hank Brockett | April 18, 2002

Few movies overtly avert classification, creating problems for the catchphrasers and marketing experts charged with boiling a film down to its essence. It's bad business, some say, to forget genres so completely as to alienate all sorts of target audiences....

The Sweetest Thing

By Gary Schaefer | April 18, 2002

Can Hollywood please produce a comedy that doesn't involve vomit and human excrement? This movie era is defined by sick jokes that are drawn out and recycled like water bottles. "There's Something About Mary" perfected it, while films like "Tomcats" and...

Mer

By John Tillotson | April 11, 2002

When Dave Matthews Band released its major label debut in 1994, it created a previously unheard acoustic rock sound, with saxophone and violins wrapping melodies around unconventional percussion and guitar lines. Continuing that tradition, Mer's latest...

Ultimate Fights From the Movies

By Hank Brockett | April 11, 2002

When popping in a disc accurately titled "Ultimate Fights From the Movies," (Flixmix, not rated) the first reaction for a critic is one of smug contempt. "Hah, I bet there's no New Wave homages in this drek," a critic would say in between "Citizen Kane"...

Big Trouble

By Marcus Leshock | April 11, 2002

Finally, I'm laughing with a movie instead of laughing at it. "Big Trouble"(Touchstone, PG-13) is the perfect B-movie with an A-level cast. The film moves along at blinding speeds and wraps up in a short-but-sweet 82 minutes. This is a key factor of the...

You know where you are…Starbusters

By Nichole Hetrick | April 11, 2002

Starbusters' patrons rode the wild Nightrain Saturday night. Elgin-based Guns N' Roses tribute band Nightrain packed Starbusters, 930 Pappas Drive, with a crowd thirsty for GN'R but willing to settle for the next best thing. After being pumped and primed...

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

By P.J. Osborne | April 11, 2002

New York City's finest, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, returns after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus and attempts to release the animal within. While taking cues from a number of genres (punk, R&B, blues and hip-hop), the task at hand for the Blues...