Category: Arts & Culture

Some people left when it all started. Some people stayed. Some people got upset, and some just went away. This semester, the Portland Events Board aggressively hunted artists and bands to play at USM for the new “Weekly Wednesdays” mini-concert series. The most unusual part about these events is that the PEB has concerts during peak school hours.

Snippet about Nov. 15 Toby Keith concert at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s hot off Broadway musical revue, “Songs for a New World” will be performed on Nov. 23 and 24 at Corthell Hall.

The great thing about “8 Mile,” the new film loosely based on the life of rapper Eminem, is the absence of incredible success. In a movie full of malcontent characters idling in the muck of life while their dreams escape them every day, a sudden attainment of their fantasies would seem false.

The soft glow of hot pepper lights strewn across the top of the bar, brightly colored wallpaper typically associated with Mexican culture and a Fiesta-Ware dinner set is exactly what you will have at Tortilla Flat. This out-of-the-way restaurant is located on outer Forest Avenue. While it may be somewhat hidden away, once found, it captures a fantastic Mexican flare.

“Don’t read my diary when I’m gone. OK, I’m going to work now. When you wake up this morning, please read my diary. Look through my things and figure me out.” So begins Kurt Cobain’s private journals.

The strange thing about Adam Sandler’s great performance in “Punch-Drunk Love” is not that it’s Oscar caliber, but that it’s the same performance he has always given. Sandler’s Barry Egan would easily fit in with Happy Gilmore or The Wedding Singer, but instead finds himself amidst a wonderful love story told with bizarre panache by writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Not far from the ever-busy streets of the Old Port lies 47 Middle St., or as the locals like to call it, Norm’s East-End Grill. This tiny little building is actually quite spacious. If you are trying to avoid someone, this is not the place you want to go because they will more than likely be there.

These are just some of the details in the costume shop in Russell Hall.

The shop and its many workers are in a flurry of activity getting finishing touches done on the latest production, “Camino Real” by Tennessee Williams. Costume designer Frederica Jepson designed all 66 costumes for this production. Kris Hall, costume shop supervisor, called this production the biggest she’s worked on since starting in 2000.

Let’s get to the best part of “The Truth About Charlie:” Thandie Newton. Now that that is over, let’s get to the worst part of the movie: everything else.

The Sebago Brewing Company’s chain locations are the jewels of Cumberland County’s dining experience. The most recent addition to the Sebago family is the Gorham restaurant. Now USM students travelling between campuses can stop in and enjoy a great meal, guaranteed.

What makes a person interesting or unique? Is it that hidden talent that only comes out after hours, once the clock is punched? The talents of the faculty and staff came out during “After Hours,” A faculty art and talent show.

Employees throughout the university put away their suits and syllabi in return for jazz shoes and sequins.

What happens when you are seated at a table and don’t know how to use any of the utensils? You quickly learn how to use what you get, whether it is the chopsticks provided or even your hands in a really quick emergency (although this is, of course, your last option in a crowded restaurant). What if you don’t know what anything on the menu is? That’s easy to solve: pick something with at least one word you can recognize, for example, chicken.

The Hong Kong action film has been imitated so much in the past 10 years that the novelty of its beautiful choreography and stylish storytelling has now become clich?. Action filmmakers have found themselves in a creative rut after utilizing (and then exhausting) the techniques of John Woo, Ringo Lam and Woo-Ping Yuen; and must now find new ways to thrill audiences.

A couple dozen wild and crazy USM students, including myself, recently spent a Saturday jumping out of an airplane and slicing through the crisp autumn air at speeds of up to 120mph-before our parachutes opened up. Our death-defying fun was sponsored by the Southern Maine Outing Club.

Director Kellsy MacKilligan begins rehearsal with quick warm up exercises for her actors. The actors are rehearsing for the Student Performing Artists (SPA) show, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” by Steve Martin. The actors gather round in a circle to start a multitude of tongue twisters and breathing exercises.

A short 15-minute drive from Portland lies the Snell Family Farm. The Snell Farm has an abundance of trees, plants and a whole lot of nature. There are mums, lambs ears of corn, potatoes and pretty much anything else one could ever want from a farm. From apples to sunflowers, butternut squash to gourds, all grow on this beautifully manicured farm.

Hannibal Lecter is the perfect villain because we will never understand him. He will always be smarter, more cultured and more sinister than our mortal minds can comprehend. He is the superman, existing on a level beyond us. But as his motivations are unimaginable to us, we are still fascinated by him.

The Portland Events Board is carrying on the tradition of bringing entertainment to campus. Joe Frechette, PEB chair announces the kickoff of “Weekly Wednesdays”, a program which brings live music and entertainment to the Portland Campus.

Local reggae band Stream will play on Wednesday Oct.

The Attorney General of Maine Steven Rowe has one plea for the Maine community: “Quit hating one another. There’s no time for it.”

The School of Music began its concert series with the Faculty Music Show, “Prime Numbers for Strings.”

When I first found out that I was going to review Cafe Uffa I was very excited! For the longest time I had wanted to eat there because of its convenient location at Longfellow Square. And I had heard nothing but good things from people who had dined there. My experience, unfortunately, was not so good.

Witherspoon is the major attraction of “Sweet Home Alabama.” She is so damn cute, you can’t help but to like her or any movie she appears in.

Every Saturday morning the Royer family commutes to Portland. They pass the time by quizzing one another in the car, but not with minor trivia questions. Instead they are translating and discussing culture in something a little more difficult: the Japanese language.