Enter to (dis)enchantment
Detroit’s old and new lobbies roll out contrasting red carpets….
Central Station
Central Station harks back to the type of old movie which often starred Wallace Beery with Jackie Cooper or Margaret O’Brien — the kind where a cranky but essentially lovable cynic’s frozen heart is thawed by a hapless and, not incidentally, cute little kid. It’s the sort of sentimental claptrap which many otherwise sophisticated people…
A Handel on Brahms
George Bulanda explores the controversery behind “early music” – classical performances played on authentic period instrumen…
The Theory of Flight
For reasons known only to himself, Richard (Kenneth Branagh) has decided that, because he doesn’t fully grasp how things fly, he must construct his own small airplane sans instruction manual and test it out above the rolling green hills of England. But as Jane (Helena Bonham Carter), a young woman dying of ALS — aka…
Slaying the dragon
Detroit’s Asian hip-hop community is adding a new flavor to the chocolate soul of D-town and the vanilla suburbs north of Eig…
Waiting for justice
Ernestine Campbell rises graciously from a bare metal chair to say hello, as if welcoming guests to her home for Sunday tea. It is her home, but there isn’t any tea. Not for visitors to the Scott Regional Facility in Plymouth. The 59-year-old grandmother — otherwise known as prisoner No. 117436 —is rail thin, her…
Women who read too much
The Lizard of Fun looks out from under its beer-funnel baseball hat and party shades, and says derisively, "You’re looking glum. I don’t like that." I shrug. "It’s just that since I’ve been reading this book, I’m not sure if I’m having fun or not." "Well, no wonder," says the Lizard, popping open another Guinness.…
In One Ear
ONWARD TO THE FUTURE You’ve just gotta love the free flow of information that’s at our fingertips nearly 24-7. All I was doing was innocently poking around on the Internet, not looking to bother nobody, just trying to find some musical adventure. That’s when I stumbled upon the Web site for downtown coffeehouse/all-ages music venue…
The Thin Red Line
Though it must inevitably be compared to Saving Private Ryan, writer-director Terrence Malick’s long-awaited adaptation of James Jones’ Pacific war novel has much less in common with Spielberg’s apotheosis of the ripping combat yarn than it does with such eccentric and misshapen battle epics as Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Like those…
Oz without the Wizard
"No matter how cynical you get, you can’t keep up." — Lily Tomlin Consider, for just a moment, the much-ballyhooed and little-watched stupendous and historic impeachment trial now under way before the United States Senate. Have your attention? So why are you not vomiting? Two centuries down history’s long and winding road, this is the…
Pitch’d
TEMPLE OF BOOM It says a lot about the Detroit scene that even though New York headliner Odi had to cancel last Friday night at the Labyrinth’s "Step" party that the basement club below the City Club was packed with jungle scene neophytes supporting the sound that at last seems ready to root in Detroit.…
Horse Tales
Against all protocols of good judgment and good taste, I found myself propped up in front of the telly at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m., watching something called "Life of Crime" on HBO. Don’t ask why, but there it was in all its tawdry glory. The show fronts itself as a documentary about various…
Food fighters
The table was laden with healthful food, sporting labels such as: "High Protein, Low Fat Noodle Pudding," "Golden Carrot Soup — lots of antioxidants!" "Veggie Chopped Liver," "Smoked Tofu Salad," "Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread — lots of fiber." The food got good reviews, and lots of recipes were tucked into purses and pockets. It…
Fire and ice
While Marisela Rodriguez watched flames destroy her sister’s home, Detroit firefighters frantically searched for a functioning hydrant. "They had to go all the way to Livernois," she says, before finding one that worked. Water was shut off to at least two hydrants on Military near Michigan, where a family’s home burned January 9. Firefighters were…
Ruth Slenczynska in Concert
Slenczynska, a child prodigy born in 1925, was cruelly exploited by her father, who pocketed the money from her recitals, the sad story of which was told in her autobiography, Forbidden Childhood. After retiring in her teens, Slenczynska rebuilt her career in the 1950s. This 1984 live recital reveals a pianist with a keen mind…
None of their business
When Natalie Krasnuik and Jim Elkins first rented an apartment together, they pretended they had been very good buddies for a very long time, although they were really romantically linked. Now that they are engaged, the two feel no obligation to put up a front. "Before, though, we could tell people were looking at us…
Airwaves agenda
News that the Federal Communications Commission has put the issue of "microbroadcasting" on its agenda for the coming year is being greeted with both hope and wariness by free speech advocates. The FCC currently prohibits most radio stations from broadcasting with less than 100 watts of power. Critics of that policy contend that advances in…
Slamnation
If you liked Slam, you’ll love Slamnation, Paul Devlin’s accelerated, brisk and affectionate documentary which chronicles the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. Some of the verses will sound familiar; some of the players you’ll recognize: Saul Williams, Slam’s protagonist, Beau Sia, Taylor Mali. Slamnation tells the story of slam from its beginnings, 12 years…
Food Stuff
PHILOSOPHICAL EATING A Chinese proverb says: "The only things with four feet which we don’t eat are tables; the only things with two feet which we don’t eat are our parents." It’s only a joke, but it shows that the Chinese could cook and eat almost everything. But no matter what was served, there used…
Hilary and Jackie
Hilary and Jackie is a dual biography of two real-life sisters who, although not twins, shared that kind of intense, mysterious bond. The du Pré sisters were both musical; and, as children, Hilary — the eldest who took their mother’s instruction and discipline to heart — won awards and recognition as a flutist while Jackie…
