Makers

life instead of art

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:13:00 CST

you may have noticed a shocking lack of blogging activity here this summer. Why? because in Duluth the temptation to just live instead of make stuff is overwhelming when the sun shines.

Instead of making art or taking it in, I've been sailing and swimming and walking and running and biking. And though I could blog about that til the cows come home, it doesn't seem to quite fit the mandate.

Politics, however, are fair game for all bloggers during convention season, right? So here's a political sailing story:

Last evening I was sailing on the harbor, dusk began to fall, so I fired up the outboard to head for the dock. I had to pick up my daughter after her play practice, so I was in a little bit of a hurry. The wind had quit, and what little breezes there were were contrary. Suddenly my motor quit, and I couldn't get it to start again. Then I realized I didn't have my radio with me. And that I'd left my cell phone in the car. Oops.

So I got out the headlamp and started waving it at a passing sailboat, who loaned me a cellphone and also radioed for a tow. Bless them!

A little while later, a powerboat crewed by kindly souls responded to the tow request, and pulled up. But after I handed them my bowline, they said, "Before we give you a tow, we have to know who you're voting for."

It was a moment of truth. I mean, powerboaters and sailboaters are sorta like red states and blue states. My father, a devoted ChrisCraft owner, was a Goldwater Republican all his life.

But I thought, now's the time to live your convictions. So I told the truth. Obama, I said, hoping they'd forgive me. But to my surprise, they cheered!

When powerboaters cheer for the skinny black guy, things are definitely looking up.

Film is the Medium of the Moment, part 2: Italians!

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:47:00 CST

Italian Cinema at St. Scholastica, October 17 -18

3 MOVIES! 2 DAYS!! 1 COUNTRY!!!

Three masterworks of Italian cinema by three of the greatest directors in film history will be screened over two days in the CSS Science Auditorium. Timeless and relevant, these three films represent a small sampling of one of the most important national film industries outside Hollywood. Admission is free and catering is provided. Each film will be introduced by CSS faculty. All movies will be digitally projected.

Friday, October 17, 6:30pm: Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957, 118m). Fellini’s classic character study involves the emotional life of a Roman prostitute named Cabiria, played by the incomparable Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s on-screen muse and off-screen spouse. In a performance for the ages, Masina empathetically evokes both Charlie Chaplin’s lovable tramp and the inner life of a defiant figure in tragic times who refuses to let life destroy her innocent worldview as she looks for love.

Saturday, October 18, 2:30pm: The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950, 87m) Sponsored by CSS Catholic Studies, Rossellini’s masterpiece is a study in minimalist understatement. Composed of nine morally instructive episodes from the life of St. Francis, in true neorealist style this film notably features non-professional actors, indeed actual monks, in its starring roles. Meditative and finally transcendent, this lesser known title strikingly reflects Italy’s cultural relationship with Catholic principles.

Saturday, October 18, 6:30pm: Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948, 89m) Few films in the entire history of cinema have enjoyed both the critical and popular response of De Sica’s neorealist triumph. With De Sica’s signature pathos for his characters on full display, this towering monument to the virtues of elegant simplicity depicts in moving detail the relationship between a father and his son in economically deprived post-War Italy. It is a film about family, country, and ultimately the human condition. Celebrating the 60^th anniversary of its release, Bicycle Thieves is an appropriately poignant conclusion to this Italian film festival.

Film is the Medium of the Moment, part 1: Hip Hop at Scholastica

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:38:00 CST

from "Hustle and Flow"

Chris Godsey is doing a hip-hop film series at the College of Saint Scholastica this fall--be sure to put it on your calendar. It oughta be fun. See below:

professor guttergrit productions and The Supreme Dignitas Rockers present The College of St. Scholastica Fall Hip-Hop Film Series, Wednesday nights at 8:00 sharp in Science Auditorium 2122 (15 October's showing is in Science 3211). Admission is $1 benefitting the Damiano Center.

10 September
Wild Style

17 September
80 Blocks from Tiffany's

24 September
Beat Street

1 October
The Freshest Kids

8 October
Infamy

15 October
(in Science 3211)
Breakin'
and
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

22 October
Scratch

29 October
8 Mile

5 November
The Show

12 November
Krush Groove

19 November
Deep Crates and Deep Crates 2

3 December
Hustle & Flow

10 December
Bomb It

For more information contact Chris Godsey at cgodsey@css.edu or 218.310.8048

Call for . . . Actors!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:41:00 CST

scene from The Pillowman-- you need dentures to chew scenery like this--carpe diem!

Says Katy Helbacka of Renegade Comedy Theater:

'The Pillowman' holds auditions on Monday, August 25 at 7:00 at the Teatro Zuccone.
Actors should prepare a storytelling monologue, and be prepared to do some cold readings.
We are looking for 5 men, 1 woman, and a young looking girl and boy.

'The True Story of the Three Little Pigs' is also still looking for two women who can sing! If you are interested in auditioning, please call 722-6775 to set up a time.

Blues on Friday Night: Big Voices, Big Ships

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:14:00 CST

shemekia copeland

The blues on Friday was lovely in ways totally distinctive to the site: a summer evening with a half-moon and no mosquitos--where else in Minnesota can you find that? And in the middle of Shemekia Copeland's showstopping version of her dad's song "Ghetto Child", a thousand-foot ore boat moved like a ghost under the bridge and behind the stage, slipping its interminable length through the music and letting loose a deep, dark whistle blast: the only possible competition for Copeland's big voice.

The bluesfest is just gearing up, getting the momentum that'll carry it through the weekend with flags flying--literally. All those chair flags are popping up, from the muscleman doll holding a little American flag to the red-lit black-lace bra to the windsocks and colored spinners and the pinata and the pink pig.

Next year, Friday will be the new Thursday, in a way--the Blues Festival organizers are dropping acoustic Thursday in favor of a bigger commitment to acoustic music throughout the remaining three days. And I'm thinking that Friday will take over that beginning feeling that used to be Thursday's aura. There was still some of that today, especially toward the end of the day, when people were drifting back to the little blue city of RVs that springs up in the DECC parking lot, the hum of nomadic life going on like it has for thousands of years not so differently from this era.

Saturday will be a big day, and the weather is making a lot of promises. Every stage has got good acts coming up. The Jack Daniels stage will host Brandon Scott Sellner, a young Minnesota musician who's been making Duluth a second home lately, it seems, and the main stage Hoopsnakes reunion show (2:40) should be great fun. The Bob Bingham / Gordon Thorne set in the Acoustic Tent at 3:45 ought to be of special interest--these two collaborators are not typical touring pros. Bingham's a co-founder of the Cranstons and a convert to acoustic country blues. Thorne's from the north, a carpenter who plays ragtime. Their collaborations are something to look forward to. And of course there's those Fabulous Thunderbirds, headliners on the main stage at 8.