Candidate Match Game

I haven't written an article for The Northern Star in a little while, so my blog has been neglected as of late. I apologize, but I have a little treat for you today.

I took a little time out of my busy writing schedule today to take a little test created by USA Today called the "Candidate Match Game." It asks you multiple choice questions and then compares your answers with the ones they think the various candidates would have given. It was fun to do, and, honestly, was probably the first time I've given more than a fleeting thought to some of the biggest issues involved in the elections.

The test covers the main areas of 1)The Iraq War 2)Immigration 3)Health Care. It also includes a smattering of questions on topics like gay marriage and more general questions about what you look for in a candidate.

The trouble was that oftentimes I agreed with more than one of the multiple choice answers. It tells me I "match" with one candidate more than another, but I also dig what the other candidate is saying.

Anyway, it was interesting to take, and very informative because you can see the positions for every candidate, not just the ones you are "matched" with.

For those of you dying to know, I was ultimately matched with Chris Dodd, John Edwards and Hilary Clinton, matching with all three of them on 7 of the 11 questions. I thought Obama was my man, but we only hooked up on 5 of 'em, though, as I mentioned earlier, I still agreed with his answers on some of the other questions, even though we didn't pick exactly the same one.

I was least matchy with Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo, only answering one question the same with each. Guess I'll stay away from those guys.

Another Art Review

Who do they think I am, Robert Hughes? I wrote this story about the current faculty exhibition at NIU.

Again, I didn't really know how to approach it, and I probably should have taken a "newsy" angle and researched how the reception to the exhibition has been thus far (it has been running for a few weeks already). This might have included interviews from faculty with their art on display, quotes from students checking out the exhibition, and maybe input from the university's president about what an exhibition like this does to further the school's positive image and get people out to DeKalb.

Instead I took an hour to check out the exhibit myself, take notes silently, and pretend like I really am an art critic.

Track of the Day 5

TOTD 5. I felt like I had to return to jazz after my foray into popland with Rufus on TOTD 4. I took my brother Cooper's suggestion and went with "Cherokee" by Clifford Brown and Max Roach from their "Study in Brown" album. The song features, I think, one of the best bebop trumpet solos on record.

Latin Jazz and Percussion Ensemble Story

I wrote a story about the Latin Jazz and Percussion Ensemble concerts taking place this week. I wasn't quite sure what to focus on with the story, because there a lot of elements: two different concerts, two different sets of music and different sets of students, and, most importantly, a big, important guest artist, Valerie Naranjo, percussionist with the Saturday Night Live band.

So anyway, I just wrote the story kind of plain and newsy, inserting little tidbits of info I deemed notable. Hopefully it'll do the job and get some folks out to the concerts. I'll be there.

Jazz Ensemble Story

Here's a story I wrote about this fall's incarnation of the NIU Jazz Ensemble. The story could have been more newsy, telling folks to come out to the concert to hear some great jazz, etc. but I decided to go a feature route, focusing on the new director and the new aesthetic he brought to the band. Of course, to do this issue justice the article would have been about five times as long, but whatcha gonna do?

I also didn't have room to include info about the news aspect that most people probably thought was most prescient: the guest artist on the Jazz Ensemble's tour is renowned drummer Peter Erskine. So instead, I included a little "sidebar" article about Erskine that's only in the online edition of the newspaper.

Hope you like it.

Track of The Day 4

I finally ventured away from jazz for this TOTD, talking about Rufus Wainwright's wonderful tune, "I Don't Know What It Is."

I know it would have been classier to go further back for my first-non jazz TOTD, but I just felt like writing about Rufus.

Chicago Afrobeat Story

My editor contacted me at the last minute to write a little blurbish story about the Chicago Afrobeat Project, who is currently maintaining a once-monthly residency at the DeKalb club Otto's.

I interviewed the group's drummer, Marshall Greenhouse, which was fun. He gave me the scoop on how the band manages (or mismanages) its budget, and the band's hopes for the future. For the most part I left these juicy details out of the article.

He also said they are very much in need of a trombone player, so, if you are one or know one, give 'em a call or go to the show tonight and sit in.

Eli Jones Article

Here's an article I wrote about Eli Jones, a Chicago pop/soul band that utilizes a lot of NIU talent (including me, but don't tell my editor that). I wanted to make the article more in-depth to cover the many areas of the band's sound and history as well as its NIU connection and comments about their CD release party to take place on Thursday, Nov. 8.

However, much of the article ended up on the cutting room floor, and it now reads kind of clumsily and doesn't even make much of a case for the whole aspect of the NIU connection, which is supposed to be the focus of the whole story.

I especially like how we find out that an NIU trombone player met the Eli Jones bassist in a grocery store just before an abrupt ending. The fact that the trombone player is now part of an all-NIU horn section that has had a big impact on the band's overall sound got left out. But, he ran in to the bassist at the grocery store, which, I guess, is important.

Track of the Day 3

Third track of the day. It's for "I'm an Old Cowhand" from Sonny Rollins' "Way Out West." I still remember the first time I heard this tune, and thought it was the baddest thing I'd ever heard.