Category: Arts & Culture

I walked through the beaded curtain that hung in front of the entrance and discovered the gaudiest dining room I had ever seen. I loved it immediately. Underneath all the bright patterns, lights, and decorations was what looked like a ’50s style diner. Laminated metal tables and chairs filled the dining room and the soda…

For those students living on the Gorham campus, reading this may help spice up your hectic school week. One of the few restaurants the town has to offer, Sierra’s, located on the corner of Routes 25 and 114 is a place where you can take a load off, fill the emptiness in your stomach and…

That the lab theater in the basement of Russell Hall is called the Black Box is a fine example of truth in advertising. The black-walled room is roughly the size of a regular classroom, divided into performance and seating spaces by support posts that maddeningly interrupt sight lines. It’s a bare-bones space that’s intimate, to…

The United States is classical musically challenged. Long a nation that prefers the rock ballad to the sonata, classical musicians, regardless of talent, generally fall under the radar. Thankfully, Europeans are paying attention and they’re saying that Laura Kargul is a fantastic pianist. Kargul, who is currently the Director of Keyboard Studies at USM, is…

Monday October 15. Chai R. Feldblum, a legal expert in the areas of disability rights, lesbian and gay rights, and health and social welfare legislation, will give the 10th annual Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Lawand Public Service. The lecture is titled, “Reasonable Accommodation — Equality, Not Equality Plus: Lessons from Religion, Disability and Sexual…

Maine is seldom a state that draws attention from the national and international community, but Moviemaker Magazine and Filmmaine have teamed up to make the state a film mecca in October. From Oct. 10-14, Maine will host the Portland Festival of World Cinema. Moviemaker Magazine was started by Maine native Timothy Rhys as a vehicle…

You may not be aware Portland’s heart is being poisoned. You may not be aware Portland’s heart has shrunk to 2/5 its original size. According to a group of local artists, Portland’s heart is Back Cove and they are trying to make you aware. Now through Oct.12, the Area Gallery in the Woodbury Campus Center…

Wednesday, October 10 Lion’s Club on Peaks Island, One Eyed King (USA, 2001, 90 minutes), 7 p.m. Thursday, October 11 The Movies, 10 Exchange St. The Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq. Cure (Japan, 1997, 115 minutes) 2 p.m. Out of the Black (USA, 2000, 106 minutes) 7:30 p.m. Gimme Shelter (USA, 1970, 91…

I’m sure you’ve passed it a million times walking down Fore Street in search of some grub after endless hours of shopping. But just because Rosie’s Restaurant and Pub doesn’t look like much more than any old bar you may come across on the streets of the Old Port, don’t let the green awning and…

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but poets aren’t. With the advent of slam poetry, verse is leaping off the page and mixing it up in venues across the country. This Friday, Sept. 28, WMPG and the USM Portland Campus will bring slam poetry to the University in an event called Slamarama…

Readers are the picky eaters of the academic world. Some prefer a salty first person account, some have a sweet tooth for the romance novel, some want a juicy slab of mystery novel, and some prefer a light magazine salad. That said, Arthur Bradford’s debut story collection, “Dogwalker,” is pure Tabasco sauce: If you have…

Moviegoers are becoming more savvy when it comes to the “surprise” film. We’ve seen the likes of “The Sixth Sense,” “Memento” and “The Crying Game” enough to know there’s a shocking twist we’ll have to hide from friends who haven’t seen the movie, and we can see it coming a mile away. The obvious approach…

Even the insular world of entertainment has been touched by the events of the past week. The industry, which has reassessed upcoming releases for sensitivity, has been forced to cancel shows, rework schedules and postpone some films indefinitely. Both Warner Bros. Pictures and Touchstone Pictures announced postponements of upcoming films on Wednesday. Barry Sonnenfeld’s “Big…

In the first hours following Tuesday’s tragedy, most people remained in their homes and offices, transfixed by televisions and radios. When the initial shock wore off, many migrated to entertainment centers such as restaurants and bars to find comfort in a crowd. Bleachers, a sports bar and restaurant adjacent to USM’s Portland campus, became a…

In Portland, you know you’re a big time rock star when the mayor gives you a key to the city. Godsmack, a band whose single “Voodoo” was played by local alternative rock radio stations to the point of exhaustion, was scheduled to play a concert in Portland last Tuesday. When they arrived on Monday, Mayor…

Is there really such a thing as healthy food that tastes good? When I think of healthy food I come up with things like bean sprouts and tofu or broccoli and lima beans. Can you imagine things like macaroni and cheese, chili or chowder being healthy? At Little Lad’s Bakery, a vegetarian/vegan eatery on Exchange…

By Meghan Conley Arts and Entertainment Editor It’s a golden age for arts and music in Southern Maine with national acts passing through practically nightly and more local music than you can shake a stick at. Clubs are opening, changing hands, upgrading, and growing to provide for this entertainment explosion. It’s a night owl’s dream.unless…

By Katie Gallagher Contributing Writer “Sammy Sosa” was the only thing I could understand on the television. If it wasn’t the Spanish-language news, it was Spanish bullfighting and if it wasn’t the television, it was Spanish music. Tu Casa, a seven-month-old Salvadorian restaurant on Washington Avenue, was an interesting experience. Despite the language barrier, ordering…

Early this summer, the Department of Music announced that it will now be known as the University of Southern Maine School of Music. Although the new moniker will require a change in stationery, it won’t necessarily change day-to-day operations. Despite the minimal short-term impact, the school hopes the upgrade will highlight the achievements of a…

Immersed in worn, dog-eared papyrus, Jonathan Lethem worked in a used bookstore for10 years. As a writer, he considered his workplace to be the ground level in the world of publishing. “I know a lot about the real life of books,” he said in a phone interview from his Manhattan home. “What it means to…

Maybe some of you are too young to remember Yo! MTV Raps. Maybe for some of you, hip-hop and house music just aren’t your thing. But I’m guessing the reason many of you USM students did not attend last weekend’s “Hip-Hop House Party” thrown by Student Activities and the Student Senate was because you left…

Professor Dennis Brutus is a beloved figure among South African grassroots activists and an imposing force against racist government actions around the world. Having lived much of his life in prison or exile for political activism against apartheid, his perspective now captivates audiences. Brutus visited USM last week to recite his poetry and talk about…

Between the mud and the rain, April is that in-between month. Things are just beginning to grow again, and suddenly, everyone is smiling. While it’s not very warm yet, April is the first step to curing spring fever. So it’s no wonder that the USM Department of Music chose this confused, transitional time of year…

With its elegant fireplaces, hardwood floors sweeping views of Casco Bay and antique d?cor, it’s hard to believe that R?-R?’s (Irish Gaelic for fun and merriment), Portland’s new Irish pub, was once a fish packing plant gutted by fire. “I came to see it last year,” said Angela Grogan, a manager at R?-R?. “There was…