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(04/26/19 3:29pm)
Back in 2008, Marvel released both “IronMan” and “The Incredible Hulk”-- not knowing how much of an impact the movies would leave 11 years later. There are plenty of people out there who just see this as a film, but there are those who see the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a part of their life.
With “Avengers: Endgame” being one of the most anticipated movies of the year it did not disappoint. There were parts where you were clapping, cheering, laughing, then crying your eyes out. Overall, it was one huge emotional rollercoaster so bring some tissues.
There are many who are anticipating deaths of some of the major characters. Which is no surprise since there have been rumors about prominent character deaths since “Captain America: Civil War.” However, with “Infinity War” basically wiping out half the population, we really don’t know who’s gone or what’s left really.
Within the film we see new character perspectives with a sprinkle of nostalgia. With that being said, the film felt like a complete 180 of everything that we know about the current MCU. It was like the Russo brothers have been painting and painting on one side of a canvas and then decided to flip it and paint “Endgame” on the back.
Every single movie within the MCU has helped build towards this one final destination. I recommend that before seeing “Endgame” refresh your memory of some of the movies from the beginning. It makes the experience almost chilling.
“Avengers: Endgame” was one of the best films within the MCU so far. It tops every single Marvel movie hands down. This is where you get to see the true heart of the Avengers. The way the structured the film, it wasn’t jumping around from place to place too much, and it keeps you on the edge.
Who knew that after 11 years people would still be so connected to these characters? They have helped build this arch, and I honestly don’t know if they will continue to make more MCU movies after “Endgame”, other than “Spider-Man: Far from Home”. Since we have really no idea whether “Far From Home” is a prequel to Infinity War or not, we have no clue what Marvel’s next move is.
By the end of the movie I had so many things going through my head and yet I was speechless. What’s next for Marvel, we don’t quite know because there are no end credit scenes. Yes, the infamous mid and post credit scenes were not included therefore it’s a complete mystery where we go from here.
Overall, even if you are not a Marvel fan you could go into this movie and be glued. However, to all the Marvel fans out there, you are going to be flabbergasted and stricken with multiple emotions. “Endgame” was phenomenal, and was worth the 10 year wait.
(04/12/19 4:10pm)
There are many students who join the cadet program with the Indiana University Police Department (IUPD) and one cadet stands out above all the rest. With his brown fur and wagging tail he’s ready to serve and protect.
Indy is the newest member to join the IUPD within recent months. His K-9 handler, Patrol Officer Robert Botts, fills us in on Indy’s backstory.
“He was bred at Mackinaw Valley,” Officer Botts said, “They had a litter of pups, they only do one every other year or so it’s not like a puppy mill or anything like that, they’re very responsible breeders.”
Even Indy’s parents are one of a kind, “His mom and dad both are field trial champions, so they’re bred for their smelling capabilities.”
Before the department found Indy, they knew they had to find the perfect dog. “Our Bloomington handler and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent that we used as a consultant for training me and Indy they spent quite a bit of time looking for the right dog, and he fit.”
Since this was the department’s first ever K-9, they wanted to make sure they paired Indy with the right handler, they actually picked him before the handler was selected.
Officer Botts has been a part of the IUPD family since 2000 and has always wanted to work with K-9s. “It’s totally a dream job,” he states, “I wanted to work with a dog, and we didn’t have a dog and I’ve been working a long time on getting a dog here.”
He even went the extra mile to have the opportunity to obtain a dog, “I went out and did some fundraising and things of that nature, brought some money into the program to help pay for the equipment, pay for the training, to pay for him,”
Officer Botts describes the first time meeting Indy as “love at first sight.”
While Indy isn’t the only K-9 that IU has on their team, Officer Botts sees more room to grow. “We have one other dog in the system, K-9 Zeus, and he works out of the Bloomington campus with handler Ryan Skaggs, he is a 3-year-old chocolate lab and he’s been on the job for two years.”
“They’ve had a K-9 down in Bloomington for six or seven years now, the first dog they had was a retired military dog, his name was Terry, and then when he was retired they got a new handler and a new dog, they had a process similar to how we did it,” Botts said.
After they acquired Indy, they also acquired all of his information, “We know everything about this dog, what he’s done, what he’s been exposed too, what he has yet to be exposed to, we know that today [this past Wednesday] I imprinted the 13th odor.”
“We’re taking a little bit different approach with him [Indy] where we’re doing everything by hand,”
While Indy is stationed here at IUPUI, Officer Botts stated that IU athletics in Bloomington paid $15,000 for his acquisition and training. So, Officer Botts started to explain what Indy’s day to day training is like.
“We were training with state police and we were in a building not too similar than this [Ball Hall] with a great big long hallway and he actually pulled me all the way down the hallway into the room and he caught the odor from seven or eight rooms away, and pulled me directly into the room and all he needed to do when we got into the room was locate the actual source of the odor,” Botts said.
“We train every single day, I have had the luxury of being detailed to train him every day, I’ve been taking off shift work for that so we’ve been training every single day for the last, almost 10 weeks and so that began as imprint training which is we would put odor in a small can, a sniffer can, we present it to him, he’d smell it, and I would feed him a couple of kibbles of food. We do that for 180 reps a day, we did one odor a day for the first couple weeks, then we went back through the list.
“We would hide it in various locations throughout the room and make him actually work for it and try to find it. At first, he was doing it with his eyes, and then he figured out that if he used his nose he could find it a lot faster. I was learning right alongside him to watch for changes in his behavior and so he throws really good clues when he gets into odor, he’ll be just kind of walking along, kind of at a normal pace and when gets an odor his nose will come up in the air and his head will go side to side, his pace will pick up, his tail will go up in the air, his ears will go forward like he’s heard something. All of his senses become a little more heightened.”
Already he’s proven that he will be an excellent addition to the IUPD family, “What we’ve done as a department by acquiring him is we’ve put ourselves in a better position to be more functional as an independent fully functional law enforcement agency, so it’s just another tool in our toolbox,”
Not only is Indy being trained to find explosives, but he’s also doing a little bit of evidentiary work as well, “We’re doing explosives and firearm-related evidence, so spent shell casings, magazines and firearms.”
Officer Botts even provided an example of what kind of situations Indy would be called in for, “We actually had a shooting right outside of Eskenazi Hospital, right up there at that second stop sign, a couple of years ago and we spent a long time searching for shell casings, and he could’ve covered that entire area in a matter of a couple of minutes.”
Indy has gained a huge following on Instagram, with over 520 followers in a little over a week. As Indy grows in popularity, Officer Botts hopes that other campuses will follow suit. “The plan is moving forward is for us to add dogs both here and in Bloomington and then for the regional campuses to come on board with whatever they may need, we’ll be asked at some point I’m sure to work other campuses.” If you would like to keep up with Indy and possibly find out where he will be on campus you can follow him on Instagram @iupdk9indy.
While Indy will be helping out at other campuses Officer Botts informs that, “He’ll be here all the time but he’ll be down there [Bloomington] quite a bit too.”
Officer Botts also educated us on what Indy could be doing in the future, “he’s also expected to go to IU basketball and football games and then other large sporting events, so we’ll be working in Bloomington quite a bit but our main responsibility is here, so all through the summer and the spring we’ll be here but obviously basketball and football will take up a lot of our fall and winter time.”
He also informed us on certain situations Indy would not be deployed for, “we wouldn’t deploy him on a suspicious package,” Officer Botts states, “but backpacks sitting in a room that’s unattended, unless it’s a situation where there’s no earthly reason for a backpack to be there that would be something we would use him for, specifically here on campus things we would do sweeps with him with like pre event sweeps, like the Olympic Swimming and Diving trials.”
In the future, Indy will also go up for several different certifications. “There are two types of certification, that we’re going to send him through one of which is the ATF NORT, National Odor Recognition Test, so once he’s certified on that he can work large scale security events, and then dignitary protection details for secret service events,” soon not only will Indy be able to help on campus, he can help all of Indianapolis as well.
While Indy may not be completely done with his training, he’s well on his way to becoming an excellent member of the team. “If he maintains the current trajectory that he’s on now he’ll be NORT certified in June, but that’s not the goal, the ultimate goal is getting him certified in October through another certification that is associated with the state police, so that one he’ll definitely be ready for, so basically October is when he’ll be deployed as a solo working dog.”
Throughout the semester and many more semesters to come Indy will be around campus. Before you consider to approach Indy, Officer Botts politely asks for you to ask him before you pet Indy. “What we are trying to advise everybody is to ‘ask before you pet’,” Officer Botts ensures that 99 percent of the time he will say it’s okay to pet Indy and states that Indy loves to get pets. However, he would like for you to ask him first because he may be training or on call at the time.
Officer Botts later discusses the future goals that the department has for future K-9’s, “We want to become a K-9 training center, the IU police department has its own training academy it’s the only program like it in the entire country.” He also states that he wants to be “the best explosive detection K-9 team in the state and I think we are well on our way,”
He even goes as far as to compare to the cadet program, “with that mindset of us being a training forward department, state-wide, we want to build a program to a point where people will bring their dogs to us to train so he’s been an experiment that has worked really well.’
Overall Officer Botts thinks that this something that the campus has needed for a long time, “it’s a need that I don’t think folks understand that we’ve needed it and now that we have it it will justify itself pretty quickly, so not to mention the community outreach has been phenomenal, I’ve met more folks in the last couple of months than in the last 18 years that I’ve worked here.”
When thinking about police dogs in general Officer Botts does identify the stigma that many K-9’s have. “He’s literally here to help make everything more safe, so I think there is some misconceptions about what a police K-9 does, there’s lots of different police K-9’s and as you see Indy is calm, he’s very pettable, he’s very approachable, he’s very friendly and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”
Even in Indy’s home life, he’s just like any other dog, “he lives with me [Officer Botts], I have another lab who is 8 or 9, he’s a rescue dog, with him being 8 or 9 he was kind of moping around the house,” even when he interacts with other dogs he brightens their day, “once Indy came home it’s totally re-energized him he almost acts like a puppy again, so it’s been great,”
“He’s a phenomenal house dog, he’s a great pet but he’s very very good at what he does, he is like the perfect dog because he earns his keep and once we go home he’s just like any other dog. He’s loveable, he’s cuddly he gets on the couch and watches TV with you, so he's my pet that I get to bring to work and work with me.”
At the end of the day, Officer Botts hopes that, “we never find anything that’s not in a training scenario, but we’ll be ready to if we ever have the opportunity.”
So far Indy’s successful training exercises has allowed Officer Botts to gain his trust for any future situations, “I trust him [Indy] one hundred percent, we’ve been working ten weeks he hasn’t thrown a negative or false indication on me yet.”
Officer Botts states that Indy will be certified by October and the main goal is to get him ready by football season.
(04/05/19 4:04pm)
DC is hopping on superhero comedy train, and it’s heading to the “wizard” himself, Shazam!. We all know what DC is trying to do here, but let’s put down the comparison to Marvel for a second and think about it.
With their two most prized characters out of the ring, DC is left with little to almost nothing left to keep up with other franchises. We’ve seen them attempt at a group mashup, first solo female superhero, and a guy that can talk to fish. Now we have the new kid on the block, and his name is Billy. A 14-year-old kid who has been bouncing from foster home to foster home, and we can see that he was lost and will always take care of himself first.
He’s able to get his powers from the “wizard” and gains the powers of Shazam!. I won’t give away any spoilers, but you can see where I’m going with it. He’s struggled trying to find a family
To be a good superhero, he or she has to have more than just the muscles. The hero has to connect to the audience in some way and show that he or she is exactly like us by making mistakes or misjudgments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oD7B7oiBtw
Was it the best superhero movie? No, however, it did keep me engaged. That’s one of the things that I struggle when watching DC films. I haven’t felt connected, or even interested in a DC film after “The Dark Knight.” Let’s face it, after repeating the same thing so many times and all that work trying to accomplish the same outcome was getting really dull.
“Shazam!” was a fresh, new look on what DC could accomplish. We can tell from the past that DC likes to play it safe when it comes to their heroes. They like the mainstream, huge muscles, curly q, type of look. They still have strayed from that stereotype, in fact that’s what Shazam! is. A stereotypical superhero that’s bulletproof, can fly, has a cape, and has super strength. Hello, Superman is that you?
For “Shazam!” being a whole new storyline was actually a huge step forward for DC. They have many different heroes and villains within their arsenal. Which raises the question as to why they weren’t doing this earlier, there is so much you could do with it. Finally, DC is starting to realize they needed to calm down on the Superman and Batman scene for a minute and take a look at what they have.
While DC’s main super power is losing actors, there’s a good possibility of getting a sequel. Now, when and with who are totally different questions. Can Zachary Levi commit to staying Shazam!?
In the age of superhero films, we are over the standard caped crusader. It’s over done, and there needs to be more variety, and something we haven’t seen before. Overall, I think it’s safe to say that it was fun to watch. It may not have been some of DC’s best work, but I would watch "Shazam!" over "Superman" any day.
(03/29/19 4:02pm)
Dumbo has flown in as one of many live action Disney films that are set to come out this year, and Disney spared no expense.
There are many who expected the movie to be just like the original, but surprisingly, there is a lot more human interaction than in the 1941 version. There are still many, many reference scenes that stick to the original like the Pink Elephants and Baby Mine. However, the focus was spread out to other’s emotions and storylines that added a whole other side to the film.
There are some new characters, old characters, and a reference to a few originals. One in particular being the mouse, Timothy. While we do see a mouse that is dressed and acts like Timothy, we don’t see the connectivity from the mouse to Dumbo. However, Danny Devito’s character, Max Medici, reflects much of the personality of Timothy. We were also introduced to many new characters, including some of the members of the Medici Brothers Circus.
Colin Farrell plays a brand new character named Holt, and was one of the most prominent characters within the film. As the father of two kids who grew up in the circus scene, he and his wife were the stars of the show before he lost his arm in the first World War.before the war hit. When Holt comes back however nothing is the way it was. He’s faced with a whole new challenge with one arm and two kids to take care of. Holt’s kids, Millie and Joe, are also playing a prominent role in Dumbo’s story. Millie, striving to be the next Madame Curie, conducts experiments with Dumbo to see what makes him fly. By the end of the film both Joe and Millie help Dumbo build his confidence in flying and help him reunite with his mother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NiYVoqBt-8
With many new characters with their own stories Disney reflected some of today’s challenges as well. Animal cruelty within the circus being the most prominent was a highlight of the original story and was not forgotten. Within the reboot, Disney amplified the problem with subtle hints that would make anyone’s stomach churn. While there were more obvious hints than others we can see how the mistreatment of exotic animals was the most important message of all.
With the live action Disney film wave coming to life Dumbo was a rather surprising choice to lead the way for future live action films set to come out this year. There are many questions as to why they chose Dumbo to release before Lion King or Aladdin, but there are many aspects with the process of making the film that were out of this world.
The animation quality was fantastic. Disney did not forget about the little details from Dumbo’s eyelashes to the tiny wrinkles in his trunk. Even down to the symbolism of soft colors, it all added to the ambiance of this rather sad story. Again, sparing no expense Disney showed us a brief preview of what’s to come.
Dumbo was beautifully crafted and was showcased in a brand new spotlight. Overall, Tim Burton still pulls at our heartstrings that will make you drop a few tears all the while still being able to include aspects of classic Disney. Since Dumbo isn’t exactly the happiest story of the originals, Dumbo’s new makeover has certainly been beautified for kids of all ages.
(03/08/19 4:05pm)
Warning: there are spoilers within this review.
Captain Marvel has been anticipated ever since it was announced. With countless theories on the internet to almost just as many leaks, we can finally see how Captain Marvel debuts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With this movie being one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Captain Marvel is the first female superhero in the Marvel Universe to have her own solo movie. Boy, she did not disappoint. There are some Marvel fans, including myself, that were quite skeptical with the fact that we are jumping into Captain Marvel without even a glimpse of Ms. Marvel. However, I think Marvel handled to story line quite well.
They sprinkled in quite a few key points of Captain Marvel's original story. With that being said, there is a lot that is steered away from Carol’s backstory itself. They show a good amount of her life on earth, but they don’t focus as much on Carol’s upbringing on Vers. With many twists and turns along the way, she’s able to fight back and be who she really is.
Brie Larson has done an excellent job of playing Carol Danvers. Carol is a very sarcastic type of person and Brie was able to encapsulate that very, very well. (Which will be interesting when Carol and Tony Stark interact.)
The main plot of the movie is that the Skrulls are infiltrating Earth and the Kree are here to stop them. Now, from the trailers, we already know that Captain Marvel is running with the wrong crowd. We see her with Minn-Erva, Att-Las, Yon-Rog, Bron-Char, Korath and Ronan. Just by hearing the name Ronan we can assume that this crowd is bad news from the start.
Further along in the movie we are introduced to Nick Fury, Coulson, Rambeau and most importantly Goose. Goose (or Chewbacca) is seen within the government compound and travels alongside Fury and Danvers and actually helps a few times along the way. With that, we get to see a whole new side of Fury, which I have to say, makes you wonder what else made Fury into who he is in the previous films. (Those of you who know the comics will understand the Chewbacca reference, which is a huge spoiler.)
With two credit scenes at the end of the film, we are able to see a new perspective on where the Avengers go from here, as well as where Captain Marvel fits into all of this. We’re able to fill in some of the blanks we have within the franchise itself.
Let’s get real for a second here, this movie is about more than just a superhero. Captain Marvel has already become a hero that many young girls can look up to. When people think of a superhero they think of their favorite one like Batman, Superman, Iron Man, Captain America, etc. which proves that this superhero franchise is very heavily male dominated. Sure, the comic books reflect that too, but this isn’t about the comic books.
Captain Marvel is meant to represent more than just a flying superhero. She is here to prove that you don’t have to be a man to have powers or any kind of power.
Thanos better look out, because now there’s a new sheriff in town. Not only is she able to prove herself, but she was able to fight for the fact that she doesn’t need anyone to fight for her, all the while kicking some butts and spaceships out of this galaxy along the way. She is in charge of her own life. This film really reflected on the fact that there are going to be people, like the Kree, who are trying to hold you back just because they are scared of you at full power. Carol was a lot stronger than she thought she was, all because the Kree put something in her head to make her think she was weak. After realizing who she really was she was able to fight and use her power to the fullest.
Not only does Captain Marvel kick butt, she kicks the stereotypes into another solar system.
(02/15/19 5:03pm)
While there are many breweries around Indiana there are many that take center stage. When we look at a brewery we think only one thing, beer! While beer is great, there are many breweries within the circle city that take the idea of beer in a new, fresh direction.
Here are the top five breweries that we believe deserves the title most unique.
5.) Deviate Brewing
It’s in the name, they “deviate” from the norm! Deviate Brewing believes in straying away from the normal brewery, which landed them the Number 5 on this unique brewery list. Their brewing styles stray away from the normal craft beer with relations to different kinds of food pairings. Not only that, they name their beers after pop culture references such as “She Wore a Raspberry Puree” and “Waffle Horse” that has a maple syrup twist
4.) Sun King
This one is the most popular out of the rest of these breweries on this list. Sun King is able to provide various brews for various taste buds. If you like light, they have the “Sunlight Cream Ale,” if you like darker brews they have “Wee-Mac.” Sun King has a brew for almost everyone!
But, what makes them unique? Well, they’re able to provide a wide variety, provide across Indiana and the Midwest and they are family friendly. Not many breweries can say that 20-year olds are allowed in, but Sun King can! They are all about community through beer with a wide variety of merchandise.
3.)Books and Brews
Prefer mellow entertainment paired with your beer? Books and Brews combines the relaxing feeling of reading a book and pairing it with their cutely named brews. Not only do they sell books for $3 they also have fun and creative brews named after some of your favorite books, including Nancy Drew and Clifford.
If you can’t reach the one in the circle city you can visit one of their multiple locations nearest to you!
2.) Tappers
This brewery is every gamers dream, with a dash of nostalgia. The entire brewery is covered wall to wall with arcade games. From Ms. Pacman to Walking Dead Pinball they have almost every arcade game you can think of. If you achieve a high score your name is displayed on the high score board for everyone to see.
Of course, we can’t forget about the beer and cocktails, that are each named cleverly after famous video games. Even when you take a break you can sit at one of their tables and order a snack that can take you back to your childhood.
Tappers is designed for you to enjoy everything you loved as a kid, while being old enough to drink their special beer and cocktails.
1.) Metazoa
Taking number one on our chart Metazoa truly embodies the idea of one of a kind. Not only are you encouraged to bring your furry companions, they are allowed to stick by your side while you drink these smooth brews. Your furry friends are seen all around sniffing, playing, and chilling with their owners and other neighborhood dogs.
Each beer they brew has a well thought out title that correlates to the flavor. On our visit, we tried “Puppy Slumber Party” a peanut butter infused stout that would make you drool. Not to confuse this with it’s sister brew “Kitten Slumber Party,” a chocolate milk stout. This and many more brews have a connection back to a mention of animals.
Not only do they have special names for their brews, but they also donate 5% of their proceeds to various wildlife foundations. Who knew that drinking beer could help animals in need!
All in all, Indiana is a brewing state and there are many to choose from. If you’re tired of going to the same old brewery ordering the same old thing, give one of these a try! Whether you’re a gamer or foody, you can find a brewery right here in Indiana that fits your style.
(01/25/19 5:20pm)
When you think of IUPUI, what is the first thing you think of? Diversity? Academic Success? The Natatorium? Parking, oh the parking!
Those and many other of those aspects helped create IUPUI into what it is today. Since the downtown satellite campuses for Indiana University and Purdue University merged in 1969, IUPUI has grown from a small commuter school to a large urban university with a diverse student body. For the past 50 years, IUPUI has dedicated itself to help future generations grow with an open mind and superior knowledge.
To celebrate this milestone anniversary, IUPUI threw a 50th anniversary Birthday Bash in the Campus Center from noon to 10 p.m. The celebration helped students reflect on the history of the campus and what lays in store.
At the entrance, volunteers handed out passports with a list of all sorts events students, staff and faculty could attend. As you walked through the row of cupcakes and beverages you could see the towering birthday cake fit for the entire university.
At the end of the cupcake line the dance floor was lighting up with a DJ playing tunes all throughout the day. A crowd of onlookers stood outside the Barnes & Noble to watch People many students and faculty dancing and celebrating IUPUI. The dance floor was shaking while people were dancing their hearts out after class.
One of the most popular activities was Stuff-A-Jag, held by SAPB!, where everyone could stuff a small plush jaguar. Attendees were told to arrive a half hour early if they wanted to be one of the 500 people to receive a plush. Everyone was given a bag of cotton, an IUPUI t-shirt for the plush and a small jaguar. When they were done, they had a jaguar to take home.
There were events you could attend on almost every floor of the Campus Center. The basement held some cool tech that attendees could interact with, such as 360 TimeZone and Exploring IUPUI: 3D Virtual Reality Tour where everyone could experience the university in a whole new way.
Party-goers could also get a 3D photo taken, complete with fun props to pose with.
The cool technology wasn’t only in the basement. If you traveled up to the 3rd floor you could get your face scanned and emailed to you so you can 3D print a bust of your face if you wanted to!
Chantelle Huebner, senior American Sign Language major, attended the 3D scanning. “I thought it was really, really, cool!” Huebner gave us the inside scoop on the process and interesting facts about the 3D scan. “The light was super, super bright and like I wasn’t supposed to blink very much,” she went on and stated they rendered the scan and would later send it back. “They will send me the file where if I were to go to a 3D printer, like the one in the library, that I could go there for like 20 cents per ounce… I could print out that scan.”
Throughout the day, lectures on campus history were held throughout the Campus Center, as well as a human library. Students had the opportunity to share their thoughts on the campus on the Democracy Plaza whiteboards and to sign their name on the timeline banners that adorned the basement walls. All the events could lead the main prize that symbolizes IUPUI as a whole: 3D printed golden jaguars. If you attended three or more events you had the opportunity to get one for yourself.
Whether you celebrated IUPUI’s 50th birthday with dancing, free cupcakes, learning about the school’s history or even just high-fiving one of our mascots, the 50th anniversary Birthday Bash was filled to the brim with IUPUI spirit and celebration.
Here’s to 50 more