Words and Music: Savannah Singer/Songwriters
Lauren Lapointe, Bill DeYoung, Jan Spillane and Jason Bible perform March 6 at the Indigo Arts Center
Don’t slash university budgets
Editor, As a student in the University System of Georgia at Armstrong Atlantic State University, I am incredibly distraught over the proposed budget cuts for the fiscal year 2011. It is not only appalling to think that cutting the educational funding of this state is a possibility but is also an absolute embarrassment to those…
Get on your Tricycle
Remember terroir, that magical combination of climate, soil type and topography that make little grapes into bottles of delicious wine? But taken one step further, assuming all the above elements are in place, making great wine is about three things:Vineyards, barrels and winemaking technique. Of those, most wine enthusiasts don’t hear much about barrels. The…
Alice in Wonderland, Brooklyn’s Finest
ALICE IN WONDERLAND **1/2 Here’s the problem with the vast majority of movies based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass: They’re too tame, too hesitant and too conventional to really tap into the more unsettling aspects of an immortal fantasy that provides as much satisfaction for adults as…
Exhibits & openings
Africanology Realities in American Worlds – An exhibition of large-scaled, multi-media paintings and installations by Amiri Geuka Farris. Artist talk and opening reception: 2/12, 6-8pm. SSU Social Sciences Building Gallery Aldwyth: Work v./Work n. – Collage and assemblage 1991-2009 by this reclusive Hilton Head artist, now in her 70s. Jepson Center for the Arts through…
Coconut juice and space heaters!
I’ve heard coconut juice is almost identical to human blood plasma, and has been used as a plasma substitute during wartime. I asked a friend from Vietnam who lived there during the war about this, and she was very matter-of-fact about the use of coconut juice as a substitute for blood plasma during the war…
Can’t tap out Jesus!
Lead Story Pastor John Renken’s Xtreme Ministries of Memphis, Tenn., is one of a supposedly growing number of churches that use “mixed martial arts” events to recruit wayward young men to the Christian gospel. Typically, after leading his flock in solemn prayer to a loving God, Pastor Renken adjourns the session to the back room,…
Obama visits Savannah
The President of the United States Barack Obama visited Savannah today as part of his “White House to Main Street Tour.” Included on his itinerary was a tour of several local businesses, meetings with several business owners, a tour of Savannah Tech facilities and an announcement of a new job creation program, known as Home…
President Obama Visits Savannah
The President of the United States stops in Savannah. 03/02/10 [slideshow-1]
Beautiful dreamers
Two lovely, bright and talented local women are up to great things this weekend. JinHi Soucy Rand and Grace Diaz Tootle, two of Savannah’s key figures in the performing arts, are each involved in their own fun and important events that are guaranteed to be great entertainment. JinHi’s new labor of love, the Indigo Arts…
What’s Next: ‘The Last Song’ and Tybee Island
The big media machine that is Walt Disney Pictures is gearing up for The Last Song, which now has an official opening date – March 31, the Wednesday before the all-important Easter Weekend. Efforts are being made to hold a local premiere, either in Savannah, or on Tybee Island where the film was shot. Nothing…
Money is power
Last week representatives from Georgia Power met with members of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) in a hearing to decide whether the utility company’s customers would pay almost seven dollars per month extra to help offset rising fuel costs. This past December’s unusually cold weather cost the company an additional $22 million beyond their…
People & ‘Pirates’
Author Jonathan Raab has published four works of historical fiction, including Rosa and Shadow and Light. It’s a tough row to hoe, combining real people and events (successfully) with elements of suspense, classic crime noir and the fertile prose of one’s own imagination. But Raab, who moved to Savannah with his wife and young children…
Random bites: Firefly Cafe, Vic’s wine dinner
Firefly Cafe During the brief respite from cold weather last week, I went al fresco and stopped by Troup Square’s Firefly Cafe for a quick, quiet lunch. I was tempted by the restaurant’s signature corn chowder, but opted for the Blackened Chicken Breast sandwich. The huge mound of potato salad dusted with paprika caught may…
Founders keepers
I’m as happy as a little boy on Christmas morning when a new beer brand hits town. One of the newest, Founders Brewing Co. of Grand Rapids, Mich., brings to market a line–up that generally offers bigger flavors, bigger body and bigger character. Like so many of today’s craft breweries, Founders began as a dream…
Odd man in
Keller Williams is a hell of a guitar player. Like the late, great Michael Hedges — one of his idols — Williams handles his acoustic like the frets are on fire, and he has to snuff the flames as fast as he can, one fingertip at a time. But Williams, who plays the Live Wire…
If you could read his mind
Most of the world doubtless knows Gordon Lightfoot through his run of hit singles in the 1970s: “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Carefree Highway” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Fair enough. But this native Canadian with the world–weary voice is considered a living legend for his early folk material (“For Lovin’…
From Shirley with luv
In order to become the title character in Shirley Valentine, Grace Diaz Tootle had to memorize 55 pages of dialogue.That’s because it’s a one–woman show. She’s the only person onstage, the whole time. It was a daunting prospect. “I would rather go to a rock fight than sit and listen to somebody talk for two…
What part of ‘Put your hands behind your head’ didn’t you understand?
Police were called in reference to an intoxicated white male with a gun holding a baby outside a restaurant with a breakfast buffet. As the officer arrived, the subject was attempting to leave the premises in a pickup truck. The officer followed him and turned on the sirens. The truck slowed, but did not pull…
Esperanza Spalding
ESPERANZA SPALDING The Spanish word for “hope” is esperanza, and 26-year-old jazz musician Esperanza Spalding is all about giving hope to young people with a passion for music. Most recently, Spalding was invited to perform at President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize reception; she also played at his inauguration in January of 2009. She has released…
The joy of shorts
For all his business acumen and professional savvy, Black Maria Film & Video Festival founder John Columbus thinks like an artist. “Films are like dreams,” he says. I kind of felt that with films, we could re–create dreams. We can’t make films like people can make music with their voices, for instance — we can’t…
New Kids on the Block
Since January, an ambitious group of young artists has created a new kind of space for art in Savannah. Part gallery, part studio, their goal is open up the art community through the spirit of collaboration. Fittingly, the new space is called the Co–Laboratory. “At first it was ABC Gallery, and some other names, but…
Supreme Court ruling, Holly Days
Editor’s Note: Due to a glitch in an email program, the following letters to the editor were not received in a timely fashion, through no fault of the letter writers themselves. We publish them here in full because these issues are still very relevant. Ruling not so bad Editor, Regarding your article “We the Corporations,”…
A world of Hurt
The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be held this Sunday, March 7, meaning we only have a few more days to mull over the possible outcome. Will James Cameron’s Avatar repeat the success of his Titanic, with a Best Picture Oscar coming hot on the heels of its designation as the top-grossing movie of all…
