posted by WBNQ Blog # 10:19 AM

posted by WBNQ Blog # 10:00 AM

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are "wired" and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.
Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
There have always been gay rabbis.
Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
IBM has never made typewriters.
Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
There has always been Pearl Jam.
The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
Personal privacy has always been threatened.
Caller ID has always been available on phones.
Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
Soft drink refills have always been free.
They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
Michael Millken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
There have always been charter schools.
Students always had Goosebumps.

posted by WBNQ Blog # 7:39 AM

Here is the video of my trip to Decatur. It is long, but there is a Matt-worthy payoff at the end.

Here are some of the great photos that have arrived in the last few days
of Matt in Decatur.I hope I can get down there again
because watching the work that goes into
making a movie is almost as cool
as watching Matt Damon.

My favorite photo is not of Matt,
but of Tim Cain(Herald &Review Guru) on the set.
He got a speaking line in the film! Lucky guy.

First off, this is not George Clooney. This is Matt's body guard Mark. He normally works for Will Smith. Really nice guy--who smells really good.

THE INFORMANT director is Stephen Soderburgh
He is the genius behind films like Crash,
Ocean's 11-13, and more. We love you too!

posted by WBNQ Blog # 9:51 AM

Try this link for Marcy's photos from the Informant movie set. http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8Aasmzlw0Zs2kH

posted by WBNQ Blog # 7:09 AM

MATT DAMON WATCH 2008!
Scroll down to see the origins of this site.

Some of the classis cars used in the parking lot scenes.

An outdoor scene at the mall with Matt

Creating snow in Illinois?
Now that is movie magic!

The mall made to look like Christmas for the movie.

In Forsyth Mall, these two store fronts were
created from scratch to appear time appropriate for the movie.
Those set folks are accurate!

Matt getting ready for short scene outside.

But he is so sweet to sign autographs!

Follow the crew to find the star!

posted by WBNQ Blog # 10:02 AM

May-2008: In Decatur, a movie is being shot called "THE INFORMANT"
Matt Damon is the star of the film and he will be working in this area for the next month.

This site is dedicated to the sightings, encounters, pictures and rumors of Matt (or George Clooney) in our neighborhoods. Send your Matt Damon watch details to Susan@wbnq.com

We love you Matt!

This movie is the screen adaptation of ‘The Informant,’ a book by New York Times investigative reporter Kurt Eichenwald. The book was published in 2001, and it tells the story of how in 1992, the FBI had Archer Daniels Midland Co. executive Mark Whitacre wear a wire, and record hundreds of hours of ADM executives conspiring to fix the price of food additive lysine. ADM was
ultimately fined $100 million for the conspiracy.

But really, the most important part of the story is that Matt Damon is currently living less than 40 miles away and recieving visits from George Clooney who is rumored to be a co-producer on the film. OMG George could be here too?! Life is good.

The best site on the web for all things Informant related is:

http://www.herald-review.com/informant

Check out Tim Cain's columns about the movie shoot and his live updates on the air in the morning with me on WBNQ. He is a gem! But don't tell anybody, he wants to keep his serious reporter persona alive.

Now on to the latest photos!

This is Matt in costume for the movie.

No, the mustache is not a fashion choice.

Julie writes:

Hi Susan – it’s been cracking me up to follow your Matt Damon sightings on the radio. I live in Bloomington but work in Decatur so I am totally into the whole Informant thing. I got to work this morning and had the following e-mail from my friend (standing to the right of Matt). She saw him at the Beach House restaurant last night when he was arriving for the party that was held there.

Maren writes:

I thought this was pretty cool for the Matt Damon watch.

If you go to wandtv.com, they have a quick video for today's top stories and he's driving a red porsche and has a few pictures up with a couple people. Have a nice day!!

More stuff will be added to this site as it is sent, but here are a few other names in the film you should look for during filming.

Playing Brian Shepard, Whitacre’s principal FBI contact, will be Scott Bakula. Joel McHale, host of the E! Network show “The Soup,” is playing another FBI agent. Among the others mentioned are Mike O'Malley (CBS' "Yes, Dear"), Andrew Daly ("MAD-TV"), Adam Paul (Starz cable series "Hollywood Residential") and Melanie Lynskey (CBS' "Two and a Half Men"). Tom Wilson (Biff in the “Back to the Future” films), Rick Overton and Tom Papa will round out the cast.

Kim stopped by the Forsyth Mall and met Matt!
While driving home, I hem hawed about whether I shouldtry to get a glimpse and thought oh well, might as well. I lucked out.I drove to Bergner's and saw the Trailers were out back, and there was abunch of people standing around with cameras.I gave it 10 minutes, if he was not out by then I was going home. Itdid not even take 10 minutes - less than 5 minutes. He came out incharacter and signed autographs and posed for pictures. While he wascoming down the line, I thought, "What do I really have to say to MattDamon?" I got sort of embarrassed for being there at that point. Ijust raised my hand like an idiot and said hello. He was very humbleand gracious to everyone. That is until he got mobbed by fans andsecurity yanked him out.I happened to have my bb on me and snapped a couple of pictures.

Jessica had good luck during the mall shoot too!
They were just leaving the mall when we got there at about 5pm. we didnt see him but supposedly matt was signing autographs in this little store. we or i should say i (adelle=) thought it was just the extras in line getting assignments for tomorrow or something. there definately was any hysterics like i would think there would be if he were in that room... anyways... the mall was all decked out for xmas, there were old cars in the parking lot, there were trailers in the back of mall. when we were leaving the mall we saw a yellow sign that said base camp with an arrow... so we followed it to the highway then to the old holiday inn conference center in decatur... we saw a fancy red car with california plates, ice maker truck/semi things and a ton of trailers including the wardrobe trailer. there were 2 ladies watching in the lot also and we stopped to chat when a "security" guy came hauling ass over to us and very friendly said they had paid for the entire back side of the parking lot and we had to go. as he was saying that we looked straight ahead of us and saw the machine spraying the fake snow on the parking lot. thats all of my movie news for today. hopefully i'm heading back tomorrow. we'll have to see about that. hopefully you can tell what all the pics are of... the girls with JP and Adison are adelles daughters, Sammie (the oldest) and Trinity the youngest. oh by the way... the walden books and radio shack are fake stores for the movie... actually there is already a walden book further down in the mall.

posted by WBNQ Blog # 9:48 AM

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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More Ixtapa photos..Come with us in January!

Past Ixtapa trip photos..I can't wait to go back!

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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The 2008- You are OLD list from Beloit College

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Matt Damon is Everywhere!!!!!

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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Huge collection of Matt Damon set photos

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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More Set photo and Matt Meetings

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Monday, May 05, 2008
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MATT DAMON WATCH 2008

Archives

......................................... Wednesday, August 20, 2008 .............................................................................