The Town, Easy A
THE TOWN ***1/2 Is it safe to assume the Gigli wisecracks are permanently behind us? Granted, Ben Affleck’s professional dalliances with Jennifer Lopez — specifically, Gigli and Jersey Girl — didn’t exactly aid a career lull further bogged down by the likes of Surviving Christmas and Paycheck. But a better selection of roles as well…
Mark your calendar: ‘The Conspirator’
Well, we won’t be getting The Conspirator for Christmas this year. No use putting it on your list. As rumors circulate that the currently-filming-in-London X-Men prequel will be visiting us soon, let’s remember that it was precisely a year ago that Robert Redford was in Savannah, directing a drama set in the dark days after…
Exhibits & openings this week
2D*2.5D*3D – Work from three artists: Amanda Hanlon (linoleum block relief prints ironwork), Carol Williams (assemblage of found objects), and Dicky Stone (turned wood sculptures). Kobo Gallery, 33 Barnard St. 2nd Annual FAAA Fine Arts Exhibition – Artwork created members of the Friends of African American Arts, featuring work in a variety of media from…
Is obesity all in the mind?
People diagnosed as clinically obese are sometimes said to have a hormonal condition that makes them unable to lose weight even if they cut calorie intake to a minimum. Surely if you forced them to exercise while making certain their dietary intake and vital signs were healthy, they’d be slim and trim in a couple…
Legos stamped with ‘Risperdal’
Lead Story More than a half-million children in the U.S. take antipsychotic medicines and (reported The New York Times in September) “(e)ven the most reluctant (doctors) encounter a marketing juggernaut that has made antipsychotics the nation’s top-selling class of drugs by revenue, $14.6 billion last year, with prominent promotions aimed at treating children.” In one…
OMG LNG
City Council workshop are usually low-key affairs held in the morning prior to the regularly scheduled council meeting every other Thursday. Last week’s was different, and not just because it was held a day early. Things got heated, and city officials seem to poised to take on Southeastern Natural Gas over the company’s proposal to…
Mixing oil and water
In southern Louisiana, where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico, pollutants from many generations of farming and industry have pooled and collected into what’s been dubbed the Dead Zone – 8,000 square miles of sludgy, toxic water in which nothing can live. That’s roughly the size of New Jersey. And, says Jon Bowermaster,…
College guide: Eight to Watch
MAGIC PLACES Paul Goerner is an electronic composer, mixmaster and performer, and his sights are set squarely on the future. He wants to artistically strengthen what he thinks of as “Savannah’s weakness.” To wit: “Everybody knows it’s a great place to come and see a lot of great forms of music and art preserved and…
College Guide: Pedal power
The popularity of bicycling has skyrocketed locally, as a result of both the increasing number of students in town as well as the increasing price of gas. We spoke to several local experts to pass on the best bicycling practices and survival tips for getting around town. Frank McIntosh is Executive Director of the Savannah…
Vinyl Appreciation is all in how you spin it
It’s a simple idea. One night a month, open the doors of Muse Arts Warehouse from 5–10 p.m., for anyone who wants to play a set of recorded music, or listen to sets spun with great aforethought (or occasionally none at all) by a dozen or so different DJ’s. It’s called Vinyl Appreciation Night. Musical…
Bites & Pieces: Sol
Sol Honestly, this Habersham Street eatery had struggled to live up to the reputation of it older, albeit more diminutive sister, Eos. But barely two months ago, owner Shelley Smith threw the pretty older sibling under the bus and announced she was focusing on two things: making art and molding Sol into a force to…
Que Syrah, Syrah
As one of the world’s most popular red grapes, Syrah has evolved into the grape we love to hate. American wine makers struggle to sell it, perhaps in part to Aussie wine makers to used it as a loss leader to establish – and then undermine – their own wine market. The French wisely bottle…
Habitat Noise, Chupacabra, Dope Sandwich
HABITAT NOISE At 11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 The Jinx, 127 W. Congress St. The A through Z of this grungy hard-rock quartet is Donald Moats, a local guy who played drums in a lot of Savannah bands – The Reply being the best-known – before deciding to take the guitar, and songwriting, seriously. (Yeah,…
College Guide: Running out of HOPE
This year awards through the state’s lottery funded HOPE program will help more than 580,000 students with tuition, books and fees. Over nearly two decades, the program has been a valuable tool to make higher education more accessible and to retain talented students at in–state colleges and universities. But it may have become too successful…
Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood
There was a time when native Texan Kenny Rogers’ salt-and-pepper visage was ubiquitous – in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, his country-slash-pop music was topping charts left and right, he was on TV all the time, his concerts were instant sellouts from sea to shining sea. That’s all water under the proverbial bridge now,…
College Guide: The ‘other’ screens
If you’re tired of shelling out the big bucks for movie tickets at the multiplex – and why wouldn’t you be? – consider that Savannah, which is quickly becoming something of a cultural epicenter, gives you more than one option. Here, you can share the room with films drawn from every corner of the cinematic…
Mark your calendar: Step Afrika!
Step dancing has become a cultural phenomenon over the last 25 years; among African American fraternities and sororities, the combination of whip-snap percussion, body movement and group choreography – with spoken word – draws large crowds from city to city. It began in this country’s colleges, as a declaration of community allegiance, more than 100…
College Guide: Beating the ‘freshman 15’
We’ve heard that college freshmen tend to put on a lot of weight soon after starting school. So we talked to Betsy Dietsch, a very nice dietician with the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, about that phenomenon and what can be done about it. Don’t worry — she doesn’t just talk about milk the whole…
Treat your taste buds — and your wallet
Keeping your body fueled for all–nighters (and your social life) can sometimes grow monotonous. You’ve hit the fast food joints so many times that you’re a regular, the thought of another pack of ramen noodles is disgusting and you’re down to your last 10–spot. What to do? Try the local cuisine… and I don’t just…
Review: City Lights’ ‘Open House’
The inaugural production from the “new” City Lights Theatre walks a razor’s edge between over–the–top comedy, romantic drama and social commentary. It’s a frustrating experience — sometimes uproariously funny and sometimes perilously close to sinking under the weight of its pretentions. Writer/director Jim Holt’s Open House wants to be all things to all people, and…
College Guide: #FollowFriday (Savannah Edition)
If the evening news is right, then most of you college kids get your information from an Attention-Deficit-Disorder-inducing social media platform called Twitter. If that’s the case, here’s a little help getting plugged into Savannah in 140 characters or less. Arts and Culture @BwayInSavannah – Stay up to date on productions of Stomp, Beauty and…
College Guide: Extra credit
A list of interesting lectures coming up this Fall, covering everything from climate change to geo-politics, just in case you aren’t learning enough during the school day. Unwinding the Doomsday Clock. September 16, 8 p.m. Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St. Free for members, $10/non-members. William Tobey, formerly with the Dept. of Energy’s Nuclear Security…
College Guide: What’s the frequency, Savannah?
Streaming music on the Internet can be gratifying, especially since there are a half–dozen programmable services out there, letting you pick your own tunes for free and even making suggestions based on the music you enjoy. It’s not really radio, though, in the old–fashioned sense. With radio, there are people on the other side, not…
College Guide: All Ages venues
Back in “the good old days,” there was an exemption allowing 18-20 year olds into bars to see live music, but that changed in early 2006 and hasn’t been up for discussion since; leaving a noticeable dearth of activities for underclassmen. Savannah might be a great drinking town, but what good is that if you’re…
College Guide: Rules of the Party
Whether you’re new to town, or you’ve been gone all summer, there are a few unique aspects to Savannah’s nightlife that you should know about… To–Go Cups Yes, it’s true, if you’re over 21 you can walk around downtown with your libation of choice, but that doesn’t mean you can pour a bottle of vodka…
Study this!
If you haven’t already figured it out, this is our annual College Issue. While mainly intended for entering freshmen or for students transferring to a Savannah college or university for the first time, we like to think there’s plenty of enjoyable and informative content in here for any active person in town. In any case,…
Nothing funny about this week
The PTA at Schuman Middle School called police to report that more than $7,000 had been stolen by a member of the group. The suspect, Thomasina Smith, was supposed to deposit the funds, which were the sum of dues, fundraisers and other activities. The theft was unknown to the group until the principal received a…
