Few things thrill us half as much as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing cheek to cheek. That’s why Top Hat, the dashing couple’s fourth pairing, has lasted the test of time, influencing film, dance and music, from its creation in Depression-era 1935 to the present. Irving Berlin provided the music, introducing classics like “Cheek […]
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Them!
Ants! Giant ants! Giant, mutant ants! Giant, mutant ants terrorize the Southwest! Few films inspire the use of so many exclamation points, but Them!, along with many of its fine ’50s sci-fi counterparts, demands the self-conscious placement of such insistent punctuation. Reflecting the Cold War hysteria felt by the 1950s American populace, Them! tells the […]
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In one-stop cultural shopping
Clever folks know that your goal of becoming a true renaissance man or woman could be realized through regular weekend attendance at one cultural venue: the State Fairgrounds. Not everyone can appreciate the sheer variety of events that occupy the outbuildings of the fairgrounds on a week-to-week basis, so to be sure that you get […]
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Bestsellers
Hardcover 1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K Rowling (Scholastic, $25.95). Book four of the Harry Potter series. 2. Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris (Little Brown, $22.95). Sedaris shares stories about his experiences living in France. 3. Jim the Boy, by Tony Earley (Little Brown, $23.95). A young boy […]
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Flicker
FLICKER Intimidated by the idea of making your own film? Think that the world of cinema is beyond you, out of your grasp? Jim Haverkamp begs to differ. Haverkamp takes over Flicker on the sixth anniversary of its inception. What is Flicker, you ask? Founded by Norwood Cheek, legendary music videographer to the local alternative […]
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In feeling America´s pulse
Wrestling gets better television ratings than just about anything. The stars of the World Wrestling Federation make million dollar salaries. The WWF can charge as much as $300 per ticket to their upcoming Raleigh Summerslam–and get it. So why aren´t you hep to this flashy, trashy musclefest? You can be, live and in person, at […]
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Vines, Venom, Veracity
We are pleased to congratulate our long-time opinions columnist, Hal Crowther, on the publication of his new book, Cathedrals of Kudzu, published by Louisiana State University Press. Crowther and his wife, novelist Lee Smith, are currently vacationing in Maine. By way of introducing some excerpts from the book, and with toungue planted firmly in cheek, […]
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In wining, dining and grooving
Fowler´s–Durham´s specialty “fine food and wines” shop located in the historic tobacco district–kicks off a series of special events/music showcases Saturday, August 26, with the 2nd annual Big Fat Funky Red Tomato Ball. Fowler´s Special Events Coordinator Lora Brooker decided downtown Durham could use some cool rock shows, so she´s combined her love of fine […]
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In Shakespeare
When local drama teacher Carl Martin found himself in hot demand among his friends to organize “Shakespeare parties,” in which the participants would put on condensed versions of the bard’s plays, he wondered about trying out the same idea with strangers. So he designed the Home Shakespeare Festival, a parlor game that includes a shortened […]
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In love affairs
“A half century after he found love nibbling pig knuckles down at the end of Clinton Street, Orlo Pound’s ashes lay in a candy tin the scavenger had rescued from the mud room of a Holy Land rowhouse,” begins Rafael Alvarez‘s collection of stories Orlo and Leini. That Alvarez’s lyrical style can unite such disparate […]