The Wire http://www.wirenh.com Fri, 09 May 2008 21:19:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.wirenh.com/images/M_images/wire_rss.gif http://www.wirenh.com The Wire http://www.wirenh.com/Outside/Outside_-_general/butts_on_the_beach%3B_grant_allows_Portsmouth_to_map_vernal_pools_200805022894.html butts on the beach More than 11,000 pounds of garbage were collected from New Hampshire’s 18 miles of coastline in 2006, and Marine Debris research results recently released by the University of New Hampshire revealed that between April 2005 and September 2006, more than 52,000 cigarette butts were found at Hampton Beach alone. Since 2006, UNH has been working in conjunction with the Blue Ocean Society and New Hampshire Sea Grant to identify and target sources of beach pollution in the state. Using data collected by Blue Ocean in its Adopt-a-Beach program, UNH researchers examined pollution trends on 14 local beaches. Outside - Outside - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:56:57 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Stage/Stage_-_general/whipping_the_horse%92s_eyes_200805022893.html ‘Equus’ at The Players’ Ring Having grown up with horses, I learned early on not to trust those unpredictable beasts. While they are impressive and majestic creatures, they embody an earthy power that is both enchanting and terrifying. In fact, horses have always scared the shit out of me. And this is the mindset I took with me to see “Equus,” the new play at The Players’ Ring in Portsmouth. Peter Schaffer’s story is set in a children’s mental health ward in England. The lead psychiatrist, Martin Dysart (Chris Walters), has been given a new case. It seems a teenage boy named Alan Strang (Dylan Schwartz-Wallach) stabbed out the eyes of several horses under his care. The boy is at first reluctant to share the reasons behind his disturbing act, but the truth eventually comes out. Produced by Todd Hunter and directed by Joi Smith, the set for “Equus” is simple but effective. The use of unfinished wood creates a rustic, countrified setting. Scattered around the stage are hand tools, a few pieces of antique furniture and the doctor’s desk, which is simply a painted black box. The only things that interrupt the aged, grainy set are five metallic horse heads, designed and sculpted by Ron Ames and Dane Leeman. These masks fit over the heads of the actors, creating a sharp contrast with their modern, industrial construction. Like a skeleton, the masks appear empty of anima, their eyes hollow. Stage - Stage - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:55:06 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Art/Art_-_general/polishing_up_a_gem_200805022892.html remodeled Currier shows NH artists Out of an almost two-year remodeling project emerges a little gem of a museum—the new Currier Museum of Art. The improved museum in Manchester has some bright facets to show off. It has expanded its footprint by more than a third, adding 33,000 feet of gallery space and ancillaries. The renovations now enable the museum to host larger, nationally prominent shows, such as “Andy Warhol: Pop Politics,” which is coming in late September. The introduction of five new galleries also means Currier will be able to exhibit 50 percent more of its collection. The current exhibit, “Celebrating New Hampshire Artists,” contains just about every medium: painting, glass, sculpture, tableware, crafts, ceramics, fine art furniture, wood engraving, prints, silver gelatin and giclée photography. The work of New Hampshire artists will rotate through a gallery dedicated to this concept for the next six months. A large part of the Currier mission has been to collect and display the work of New Hampshire artists, so this is a wonderful opportunity to view comprehensive collections that have long been mothballed. Currier is being generous with admission deals, allowing kids under 18 to enter for free and offering free entry for everyone on Saturday mornings. Art - Art - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:53:02 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Literary/Tome_Raider/Love_is_a_Dog_from_Hell%3A_Poems_1974-1977_200805022891.html by Charles Bukowski 307 pages, 1977, Black Sparrow Press Charles Bukowski was an ugly man. Every-branch-of-the-ugly-tree ugly. His lifestyle didn’t help matters for his face. He was a boxer and was often involved in bar fights. He drank and womanized in equally excessive quantities. But writers aren’t actors or singers, and good looks aren’t necessary to advance your career. Bukowski’s talent lay in his ability to take all the grime, seediness, ugliness and realism of his day-to-day life and transform it into beautiful works. Literary - Tome Raider Fri, 02 May 2008 09:51:37 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Literary/Literary_-_general/Free_Comic_Book_Day_takes_on_epic_proportions_200805022890.html On Saturday, May 3, downtown Rochester will be overrun with Star Wars Storm Troopers. They won’t be there to extend the empire, but to participate in Free Comic Book Day, a national event organized locally by Jetpack Comics on Portland Street. The event, held on the first Saturday of May for the past seven years, is meant to get people excited about comics and introduce a wider audience to the craft by giving away free books. The event started in California, where store- owner Joe Fields organized the first Free Comic Book Day. At Jetpack, doors will open at 9 a.m. on Saturday. A number of artists and writers will be on hand to sign comics and discuss their work. In addition to free comics, Jetpack will also give away posters, pins, buttons, bookmarks and other comic book swag. “A lot of people don’t realize that comic books are still around and they’ve changed. Comic books have grown up,” said Jetpack owner Ralph DiBernardo. He believes that there is a comic book out there for every age and interest. He sees Free Comic Book Day as a way to bring new enthusiasts into the fold. “Every year, I’ve tried to do something bigger and better,” he said. Literary - Literary - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:50:05 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Film/Tales_from_the_Video_Vault/Ghoulies_200805022889.html Empire Pictures, 1985 starring: Peter Liapis, Lisa Pelikan, Michael Des Barres and Jack Nance written and directed by: Luca Bercovici the plot: After a distant relative dies, Jonathan Graves (Liapis) returns to his ancestral home with his girlfriend, Rebecca (Pelikan) in tow. Jonathan and Rebecca roam about the sprawling mansion and ponder just how Jonathan’s family, whom he never really knew, kept up with such a place. As Jonathan explores the basement, he finds boxes full of bizarre artifacts, texts on magical rites and other strange items. Meanwhile, the mansion’s caretaker, Wolfgang (Nance), keeps a watchful eye on the pair. Jonathan becomes increasingly obsessed with the strange items in the basement, intently studying the spell books and grimoires. And, when Rebecca is gone, he actually attempts to cast spells. His first few feats are small—he summons a few rat-like creatures and, during one incantation, conjures up two little people, Grizzel and Greedigut. But as Jonathan becomes more adept at using magic, his ambitions grow. He casts a spell on Rebecca to keep her from leaving him and, during a dinner party, uses his powers to force his friends to perform a horrible ritual. Film - Tales from the Video Vault Fri, 02 May 2008 09:48:40 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Film/Film_reviews/Harold_and_Kumar_Escape_from_Guantanamo_Bay_200805022888.html rated R Once you’ve gotten high and gone on a mind-bending odyssey to White Castle, the only place left to go for some extreme strangeness is Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. military prison camp that’s physically in Cuba but exists in a legal no-man’s-land, where the rules of the real world don’t apply. Throwing two high-strung stoners into the mix sounds like a recipe for some off-the-wall comedy, but “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” never really gets as weird as it should. There’s some pointed jabs at the war on terror and snipes at racial stereotypes amid all the dick and fart jokes, but the movie never gets as subversive as you might expect. Hours after their fateful trip to White Castle, Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) are onboard a plane bound for Amsterdam, where Kumar plans to enjoy all the legal weed he can handle and Harold plans to woo his dream girl, Maria (Paula Garces). When a paranoid old lady on the plane, already suspicious of Kumar because of his dark skin, spots him lighting up a homemade smokeless bong, she cries terrorism, and it’s not long before the hapless duo is locked up in Gitmo. Film - Film reviews Fri, 02 May 2008 09:47:14 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Film/Film_-_general/Emerging_Cinema_brings_independent_film_to_Exeter_200805022887.html Ioka will woo the Seacoast indie-film crowd “It is a great way to bring in a new demographic,” said Roger Detzler, owner of Exeter’s Ioka Theatre. He’s excited about a new arrangement between the Ioka and Emerging Pictures, an independent film distribution company. Over the past couple of years, Detzler had noticed increasing public demand for a venue dedicated to independent films. He saw the trend as a steady source of revenue, but couldn’t conjure up an appropriate business solution. When Emerging Pictures contacted him two years ago, he was at first reluctant to adopt such a “quirky business model.” The two sides conversed sporadically, but Detzler remained uninterested until he was certain that Emerging Pictures would steadily progress into “a more marketable product.” The deal was finalized a few months ago, and the Ioka began renovating its smaller downstairs screening room to accomodate a new entertainment system by early May. In all, the upgrades will cost over $20,000, as the room’s old 35-millimeter projection system is converted into a digital, high-definition system. Film - Film - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:45:55 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Music/Alan_Chase%27s_Jazz_Universe/Brooke_Sofferman%3B_David_Thorne_Scott_and_Mark_Shilansky%3B_Larry_Braggs%3B_Nuttree_Quartet%3B_Eliane_Elias_200805022886.html It’s time for a roundup of recent CDs that have crossed my desk over the past few months, starting with a couple of discs from Boston-area artists who play locally with some frequency. Brooke Sofferman’s “Fine Whines,” on Summit Records (www.summitrecords.com), is a very good outing that showcases Sofferman’s solid approach to drumming in a variety of settings, from solo to trio to full quintet. The drummer is ably assisted by Norm Zocher on guitar, Phil Grenadier on trumpet, Bruno Raberg on bass and Jerry Bergonzi on saxophone. Sofferman arranged or composed all the music on the disc, and, as one would expect from a drummer’s recording, the album is full of provocative and intricate rhythms and meters. The music primarily has an open modal sound that can start to seem redundant after a while, especially with 13 tunes on the disc. But Sofferman keeps things interesting with his propulsive drum work and his fine sense of interaction with the other musicians, especially Bergonzi’s inside/outside playing, which is a highlight throughout. There is an underlying sense of humor in the music that gives the recording an upbeat vibe, most notably on an outrageous version of “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars,” and an inventive arrangement titled “All Kashmir,” which combines elements of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” and Led Zep’s “Kashmir.” Music - Alan Chase's Jazz Universe Fri, 02 May 2008 09:43:40 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Music/Music_-_general/hillbilly_rock_200805022885.html The Molenes pack bluegrass and twang into new disc The album begins with an instrumental bluegrass jam titled “Redemption.” The introductory track weaves strains of banjo and mandolin into a driving, rockabilly drumbeat, knitting together a timeless sound that follows the roots of American music. As the tune begins to fade, amplified feedback drowns out the jam, making way for the country-rock guitar riff of “There’s a Sufferin’.” It’s a striking transition, and one that might surprise fans of The Molenes’ first album, “This Car Is Big.” Emerging more than 18 months after the debut disc, “Songs of Sin and Redemption” wraps together all the rootsy elements that define The Molenes’ style, from blues to bluegrass, rock to rockabilly. The band will unveil its new effort with a CD release show at The Press Room on Saturday, May 3. “We feel like this is kind of more representative of what we’re like as a band now,” said front man Dave Hunter. “It really kind of says who we are more and it speaks to the kind of music we want to play.” Music - Music - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:39:35 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/Features/Cover_Stories/400_years_of_shipping_200805022884.html UNH’s Jeffrey Bolster rethinks our shamed maritime history From the days when Native Americans paddled along the Piscataqua River and out to the Isles of Shoals on birch bark canoes, up through World War II, when the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was churning out submarines faster than any other shipyard in the world, the Seacoast has enjoyed a rich culture around the construction of sea vessels. To this day, Portsmouth’s working seaport remains a vital part of the regional economy and identity. But American maritime history, which has its roots in northern New England, has long been rife with inaccuracies. That’s according to Portsmouth resident Jeffrey Bolster, who co-authored the recent book, “The Way of the Ship: America’s Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000.” According to Bolster, an associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, the canonical view of the nation’s maritime history has focused almost exclusively on oceanic ships, and not enough on the domestic ships that have crisscrossed the country’s lakes, rivers and coastlines for centuries. The historical focus on deep water ships and the U.S. Merchant Marine belies the fact that America’s shipping trade has thrived for centuries in the country’s interior. “In other words, the real story of waterborne commerce in America is a story of Americans trading with each other, of Americans using ships and tugs and barges to trade with each other,” Bolster said. Features - Cover Stories Fri, 02 May 2008 09:34:50 +0100 http://www.wirenh.com/News/News_-_general/Skyhaven_debate_takes_flight_200805022883.html issue of airport ownership sparks turbulence in Rochester A couple of months ago, it appeared that Skyhaven Airport was about to land in the hands of the Pease Development Authority. The Rochester City Council had deadlocked on a vote in February to take over ownership of the small airport on Route 108, failing to reach a consensus by its March 1 deadline. With the idea of city ownership apparently sunk, the state was poised to hand over Skyhaven operations to the PDA on July 1. But then the Council changed its mind. On April 15, the Council voted to undo its February vote and reconsider ownership of the airport. State Sen. Jackie Cilley (D-Barrington) quickly amended a bill before the N.H. House to extend the deadline for a city decision on Skyhaven. If approved, House Bill 1168 would give the Council until May 30 to commit to owning the airport. If the Council fails to make that commitment, the N.H. Department of Transportation will negotiate a lease for the PDA to take over airport operations on July 1. So … what caused the Council to reconsider? News - News - general Fri, 02 May 2008 09:32:24 +0100