Purdue Doctoral Student Missing

Authorities announced this afternoon that Eric M. Williams, a 33 year old doctoral student at Purdue, is missing. The case is not related to the case of Wade Steffey. The link is to the thread on Purdue Online that includes links to two stories of a body found near campus.

Wade Steffey links

Help Find Wade Steffey MySpace Page

Missing Purdue student's parents returning homeFort Wayne News Sentinel, IN - 16 minutes agoThe decision by 19-year-old Wade Steffey's parents came after investigators questioned two suspects in a Missouri killing who were believed to have been in ...

Ex-FBI Agent, Profiler Join Search For Missing StudentINDYchannel.com, IN - 26 minutes agoThe two will be working on the case of Wade Steffey through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Information on the missing student also

Wade Steffey info on a blog

The True Crime Blog has an informative and thought out post with many links about Wade Steffey. Even though there is nothing to indicate a crime, they still wanted to cover it to get word out on what is going on. They also have links to his MySpace and his blog, which I'm not going to bother to repeat here.

On a side note, I found myself looking all around for any possible clue- or any place his phone could be. I noticed over by Physics that there are some pretty sizable grates in the curb where a cell phone could easily have fallen to.

Is this campus safe?

SO, with the disappearance of Wade Steffey (Purdue updates) and the two reported assaults all on the same night, everyone is now wondering if campus is safe. I don't think so. With the recent happenings, you would think that it's not safe to be walking around on campus on a "party night": Thursday, Friday or Saturday. But, just look back to the Kyle Williams case and you can see that it isn't safe on any night of the week. And, as we are seeing, it isn't safe for men or women. I know we don't know what happened with Wade Steffey- he could have been a victim of something, he could have just taken off (let's hope that is the case!) but I do know that many people are thinking twice before walking anywhere at night. I hope there is a much larger police presence on campus at night from now on. I hope that people start going places in groups. There are a lot of people that are out "having fun" during the weekends but I hope that they start making safety plans before they head out for the evening. It may seem drastic but it needs to be done. If people are going out partying, they need to make sure there is a decent size group and that they all stick together. Designated drivers can now help save people from more than just DUI- they can save them from having to walk on dark and dangerous streets while being at less than full faculties. And, here is a big tip- a designated driver doesn't have to go to the party if they don't want to- if you know someone who will pick you up- then don't force them to go. Let them stay home and then you can call them when you and your friends are ready to be picked up (I know this for a fact because I can not go to a party or club where I have to be the designated driver and have to watch people acting like they do when they are partying- but will happily be a free taxi for friends if they ask me ahead of time) I know I've never thought much about campus safety, but maybe it is now time? If you are going anywhere on campus at night- please be safe!!

Ship of Fools Callout!

Hello Boilers! Sometimes I hear people saying that there's not much to do on campus besides get drunk and party. If that's you, I have a suggestion of something to do. If that's not you, none of the good parties start before 9 anyway!

This Friday, everyone's welcome at a free show by the Purdue Improv Club. You might also know the performing members of this group as the Ship of Fools! I'd like to invite you- and anyone- to come check out the SoF this Friday at their callout. Like almost every Friday, they're meeting in BRNG 2280 from 7-9pm.

For those of you who don't know much about the Ship, let me explain. The Ship of Fools performs improv comedy, much like the show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, at various events on the Purdue campus and around the state. 'Improv' just means that SoF's short-form comedy is all made up on the spot. Most of the time, the emcee of the night will explain a game and ask for audience suggestions to supplement the scene (this way you can be sure they haven't practiced ahead of time!). The performers will then try to play the game, often using guessing skills, mime, and gibberish... and, of course, they'll try to make you laugh, too.

So, if you come to the improv club callout on Friday, what can you expect? The Ship of Fools will start the evening off with a performance of some sample games to show you what improv is all about. Afterwards, the audience will be invited to participate in some games with the Fools. Don't worry-- if you don't want to come up and try a game, no one will force you to. I've been going to the Ship of Fools meetings regularly for over a year, and I almost always just sit in the audience. If you'd like to try a little improv, the opportunity is there-- but don't let fear of performing scare you off from a free improv show! I can't promise anything, but I'm almost certain that there's no way you can sit through a show and not laugh at least once. :)

One last thing I feel compelled to add is that I am a little biased writing this. I love the Ship of Fools- most of them are my close friends, and one of them is my boyfriend. This doesn't at all change the fact that I think the SoF is hilarious, and I know that even if I didn't have such a close connection to the group, I'd still recommend them. Anyway, I know the group really well, so if you have any questions at all, feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to get back to you!

To sum things up:
-Purdue Improv Club/Ship of Fools Callout
-Friday, January 19 from 7-9
-Beering Hall (BRNG) Room 2280
-Free show, and an opportunity to try some improv yourself (but only if you'd like)!

Mute Math/The Fray: my two cents before I pass out tonight

There were multiple reasons why I decided to go to the show and none of them were because I'm in love with The Fray. Frankly, the only songs of theirs I am familiar with are the two earbugs on constant replay on Top 40 station (actually, I didn't even know those were Fray songs until my little brother told me). However, I went hoping for a fun time if not great music.

But there was great music; it was from the opener, Mute Math. I have previously listened to 5 songs from their Reset EP that somehow found their way onto my iPod over the summer and figured them to be pretty decent. Their live show tonight completely exceeded my expectations and was entirely amazing. The passion they radiated when they sang and performed (particularly the percussion sequences) was infinitely more engaging than that of lead singer Isaac Slade of The Fray who seemed almost bored to be there. And from listening to those around me, I am not the only new fan that Mute Math rightfully earned tonight.

And The Fray? The whole time, I was half-convinced I was at a Panic! At the Disco concert and expected them to break into "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" at any moment. Since I didn't know any of their songs, they all seemed to blend together and there were multiple times when I just stood there with my eyes closed (not out of catharsis but of slight boredom and sleepiness as I had a 7:30 class that morning). That they started and ended their show with their two mega-hits, Over My Head and How to Save a Life, respectively, seemed to encompass how I feel their careers are heading (or not heading). Still, I admit the suspended-light-bulbs spectacle during that last song was very pretty and alluring.

Then again, I'm more than slightly fueled by bias against The Fray because I've heard stories of them being major divas since reaching mainstream success and that ain't cool. They didn't even comply with audience requests for an encore, hmph. I'm not exactly complaining about this, but shouldn't their number one concern be the contentment of their fans?!

Hi, everyone. :)

I'm Jenny, and I'm new to this blog, so I thought I'd kind of introduce myself. I'm a sophomore from Kokomo (about an hour away) studying elementary education. I love music, drama, dance, animals, movies, reading, taking pictures, and watching football (especially the Packers, and Purdue of course!). Most of the time I hang out with the Ship of Fools (the Purdue Improv Club), and I'll probably blog about them at some point. If you want to know anything more about me, I'm linked on the right as "luckeyfrog." :)

In the meantime, I just wanted to say hi and share a few pictures I took last year!

Important Upcoming Purdue Dates

Jan 7 - Women's Bball at Texas on ESPN 2
Jan 8 - First Day of Spring Semester
Jan 10-Men's Bball at IU
Jan 11-The Fray
Jan 15-Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - No Classes
Jan 18-21-Purdue Jazz Festival
Jan 19-20- Flicks at Fowler
Jan 26-27- Flicks at Fowler
Jan 26- Save the Union
Jan 27- Pink Floyd Experience
Jan 29-Women's Bball vs Ohio State - Pack Mackey
Jan 31- The Producers

Am I missing anything?

Dennis J. and Mary Lou Schwartz Tennis Center

Happy new years everybody!

The new indoor tennis facility is finally open! I played there on Dec. 31 for a while and the place is pretty nice. The glass structure is modern and sleek but not too out of the ordinary compared to other new buildings of this era. There are 6 indoor courts under an extensive continuous balcony where you can walk and observe all the players and matches. As of when I went, there was no clock so you'll have to bring your own; the same goes with balls. I'm not sure whether the scoreboards will ever be turned on for public use.

You can visit the official website for more information. During Winter Break, they are offering special hours and rates to celebrate their opening. However, I'm entirely against charging students excessive monies (and making the rates dependent on differing periods of the day, for shame!) to play during the semester. That's kind of janked up to me, but I guess they have to recuperate their building costs for a while.

The Schwartz Tennis Center will offer a special pre-opening rate of $8.00 per court hour from December 30 through January 12. It is located near the intersection of McCormick Road and Cherry Lane.

Sidenote: The adult tennis coaches and affliates in this town are so pretentious, but whatev, I'm over it.

Bling Bling

Just in time... well, OK, not in time but pretty close to "the holidays", I present you the whole line of Blogging Boilers stuff that you can't live without!

Here is a women's t-shirt with the first design on it- there's a whole bunch more over there on CafePress.

NOTE: If anyone happens to order anything off of there, I will end up getting like $1.50 or so off of my shirt, when I'm able to afford one.

Bling Bling

Here's a whole slew of stuff with printing on both sides...

Bling Bling

Here is a whole slew of stuff with the Logo on the front.