Topic: Culture

Vincent Visits Drive-In Saturday Night

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 13, 2007 |

Vincent Price. His face and the concept of the black and white horror story were synonymous;  his name and that of author Edgar Allen Poe irrevocable intertwined in the minds of movie-goers in the 50s and 60s. Price = Horror.

In Fall of the House of Usher,Vincent Price as Roderick, the head of the Usher house, who believes his family to be cursed. He and his sister Madeline are the end of their bloodline, and ERRoderick wants to keep it that way. Hypersensitive, he requires quiet, soft lights, bland food — otherwise he feels pain intensely. But Madeline has a lover, a fiancee would take her away for all of this madness. Usher crosses the line away from sanity and decides that everyone must die and the house burned to the ground, destroying the curse forever. It’s a spine-tingling race to the and one of the faithful adaptations of a Poe novel for the screen. It’s a movie and a role Price was born to do. (1960) «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Trench Art Gallery Tour

By Debbie Boen | July 10, 2007 |

Trench Art: From War to Remembrance. Decorated Shell Casings: The Raymond White Collection - Bruner and Orgain Galleries through August 24.

On Tuesday July 10th at 7 pm at the Customs House Museum, Raymond D. White will be on hand for the The Trench Art Gallery Tour. It is free & open to the public. He will lead visitors on a tour of the exhibit “Trench Art: From War to Remembrance” to discuss his personal interest in the artwork and to explain the historical significance of the inscribed dates, places and symbols. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Events | No Comments

The End of the World on Drive-In Saturday Night

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 6, 2007 |

The Apocalypse. Nuclear Holocaust. We cold-war babies grew up with the concept. In fourth grade it was “duck and cover” and survival skills that included wiping nuclear fallout off canned good before opening and consuming them. Right. Okay. Got it. Then there was the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when teachers had us write our names in our clothes so that if we were nuked while walking home from school our bodies could be identified (we lived at the bottom of a hill, less than a mile from a strategic site). Yup. Got that too.

It all seems so silly now. But those times spawned a generation of classic films, some a lot better than others, but all eminently entertaining (and some still downright scary)!

At the top of my list is Testament. It didn’t get wide play, so I am continually surprised at how many people know this film.

Testament is understated. It doesn’t have the huge explosions, the mushroom clouds and the flattening of buildings. It’s much subtler. Ordinary people, ordinary families, going about their lives. It all changes in a flash. Literally. A quick burst of emergency warnings, a brilliant light, and the world changes forever.

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Architecture as functional art: new life for old terminals

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 28, 2007 |

I came alive again on the road in America, especially as I entered New England. It was an easy resuscitation: just wave restored buildings, green space and intelligent, environmentally conscious urban planning before my eyes and I’m yours.

As the bus pulled into the New Haven, Connecticut, station, I was able to linger a bit, using this rest stop as a place to pause and remember how much I enjoy this terminal. On the shoreline of Long Island Sound, the New Haven station serves both bus and rail from a large turn-of-the-century terminal now fully restored, its old wood sanded, polished and primed to perfection, marble floors gleaming in the filtered morning light and marble-tiled walls reaching high overhead. Not a splatter of graffiti anywhere. No litter. Neat rows of visitor information tucked in a hallway stood next to a small old-fashioned office where train schedules and tickets were dispensed. Walking into the station is not unlike walking into a museum where curators have restored a piece of architectural history with the most minute attention to detail. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Issues | 2 Comments

The Little Foxes

By Debbie Boen | June 22, 2007 |

Just how many forms of slavery can you count in this LIVE performance of The Little Foxes?  Even the really bad guys are slaves to their own desires.  A deliciously evil story which makes my own family history look sweet.  John McDonald, Leslie Greene and Jay Doolittle are just three of my favorite reasons to go.  The acting by all is superb!

THE LITTLE FOXES

by Lillian Hellman

In a male dominated society, can a woman dare to rule?  Turmoil disturbs a charming Southern home as wickedly clever Regina vies with her scheming brothers, possessive Ben and crully arrognt Oscar, for $75,000.00 in securities and countrol of the family business. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Ladies Night on Drive-In Saturday Night

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 22, 2007 |

Queue up for romance. Yes, sappy, sentimental, romantic. Loves stories. Guys, if you don’t want to watch us cry (for love or loss), snivel and reach for Kleenex all night long, you might want to head back to the Cineplex this weekend.

I’m starting with Roman Holiday: Audrey Hepburn (her first starring role) and Gregory Peck co-star in this Roman romp as an enchanting runaway princess and a struggling reporter steal a day together and fall in love. Apart from the typical touristy Roman landscape, there’s a hint of subterfuge, a case of hidden identities and agendas that tease and taunt. But class, power and personal responsibility temper what should have been, and the ending is bittersweet. Director William Wyler used a lighter hand here and his touch was impeccable. Beautiful locations. And that Hepburn fashion designed by Edith Head … How can you not love this picture? (1953) «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | 1 Comment »

Heroes for Drive-In Saturday Night

By Christine Anne Piesyk | June 15, 2007 |

Lord Jim is one Peter O’Toole’s lesser known films, one that doesn’t turn up anywhere with any kind of honor or fanfare. It is one of his best, though, based on Joseph Conrad’s book (circa 1900). It is the story of a seaman, James Burke, a British Merchant Marine, proud, respected, who, after an injury is re-assigned to the Patna, a rustbucket boat with a rustier crew. Their cargo: Moslem pilgrims en route to Mecca. The storm-tossed ship begins to flounder, and Jim abandons ship with his crew without ever lowering a lifeboat for their passengers.

The Patna is unexpectedly salvaged, the passengers saved, and Burke and crew disgraced. Branded a coward, Jim becomes a guilt-laden drifter, unable to completely escape his past. His chance at redemption comes in form of gun-running — delivering arms to an indigenous tribe oppressed by a warlord.

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

“The State of Black America Report” Forward by: Senator Barack Obama

By Terry McMoore | June 9, 2007 |

The NAACP has spent the past 98 years advocating for civil rights and equity. While the NAACP is know for its political battles over policy barriers and issues of discrimination, there is another lesser known organization that focuses its energies on primarily education and economic empowerment. The National Urban League , with it’s rich 88-year history, publishes an annual report  that focuses on some of the problems that face Black Americans, as well as looking at solutions to those problems. This yearly report, titled “The State of Black America,” is broken down into six principal categories: Total Equality, Economics, Health, Education, Social Justice and Civic Engagement. This year’s report features the Portrait of the Black Male. Here are some of the noteworthy facts:

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | No Comments