A&E

High Holy Days put stress on cantors

It's an overwhelming annual challenge, both musically and spiritually. For Jewish cantors, the High Holy Days are a tense time. "It is, first of all, an awesome responsibility to be a messenger of prayer," said one of the Reform branch's most prominent cantors, Jay Frailich of University Synagogue in Los Angeles. "It is the one time of the year you have everybody there. The singing load is quadruple any other time."

'Identity Crisis' remakes DC comics universe

LOS ANGELES -- Superheroes die all the time. Superman kicked the bucket a few years ago but was back in no time soaring through the skies. Batman's sidekick Robin also bit the dust once. Capes fall and refill again, a new story begins and crime-fighting goes on ... So after that, what's the worst thing that could happen to a fantastical crusader?

Fashion Week descends upon New York

NEW YORK CITY -- Fashionistas descended on New York City this past Wednesday for the Spring 2005 Olympus Fashion Week. This is the second year Olympus has hosted the event, and with it, they have brought many changes. The week started off buzzing as Olympus along with coordinator Jacque Kelleher set aside room for the Olympus NCCRA auction press conference. Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended the conference. He warmly greeted visitors, thanking everyone for coming to Fashion Week.

Customizing the Basics

Friday marked the launch of WEDGE, a new furniture, home furnishing, accessories and decorative arts store. WEDGE replaced the All Ears record store at 401 E. 10th St. The opening of the store was a dream come true for WEDGE co-owner Marc Cornett.

Illinois woman pursues passion by manufacturing her own harps

BETHANY, Ill. -- Christina Marshall's dictionary may lack the word "impossible." But the 23-year-old Bethany, Ill., resident's picture could appear next to "tenacious."

Filmmaker Kevin Smith plans second 'Clerks' movie

LOS ANGELES -- Ten years ago, Kevin Smith became the patron saint of the slothful. The aspiring New Jersey filmmaker proved that if a guy worked hard enough, he could still make his dreams come true while spending a lot of time collecting comic books, debating the merits of peculiar sex, and selling cigarettes and candy to dead-eyed consumers.

Hello Kitty featured in touring art show

TOKYO ­-- Quintessentially cute and incredibly lucrative, Hello Kitty is turning 30, and what better place to celebrate than atop Venus de Milo? The playful character with the yellow nose and ribbon in her hair, as seen through the eyes of about 60 artists, is celebrating on the road in traveling exhibitions taking her into new territory -- to the excitment of fans.

IU Art Museum displays still lifes

The IU Art Museum recently put up a three-painting installation titled "Late Twentieth Century Still Life." The international exhibit consists of paintings created during the 1970s and '80s.

Farmers' Market to feature artwork

There is more to peruse than fresh produce at the Bloomington Farmer's Market. The second Saturday of every month, the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department invites local and regional artists to display, demonstrate and sell their arts at A Fair of the Arts, held in the Showers Civic Plaza next to the Farmers' Market.

Rhino's offers creative outlet

Bloomington's nonprofit, all-age music venue, Rhino's, offers more than music to local teenagers and IU students. With afternoon programming, Rhino's, located at 325 ½ S. Walnut St., is a place where teens can hang out with their friends and role models. The club puts out a weekly radio show and organizes weekly live music events.

Local artists use postcards for expression

For three straight years, Jan Ley entered the Bloomington Area Arts Council's annual postcard competition. The first two times, nothing happened. After two years of waiting and anticipating, this year, for the first time, she was selected among the top 10 in the competition with her photograph titled "Farmers' Market: August 5, 2000."

A nightmare or a trip to Spain?

I'm leaving for Spain soon and all I can think is disaster. A friend that was in the program with me just backed out, leaving me with a two-room reservation in a hostel and five days to roam Seville by myself.

Record crowds at Burning Man festival

BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. -- As jugglers danced with hoops and spirals of fire, vehicles belched flames and hypnotic drums echoed through the night, more than 35,000 costumed revelers ritually burned a 40-foot neon-and-wooden icon of a man deep in the Nevada desert.

Local playwright's work opens at Rose Firebay Theater

Local playwright Thomas Kristopher originally wrote his two one-act plays for a competition connected with the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. In addition to winning the competition's $1000 cash prize and having his work performed in New Orleans next spring, Kristopher recently was able to have his play performed in Bloomington. Kristopher's plays, "Loose Hog in the House of God" and "On How to Accommodate Marlo's Frying Pan," opened this past weekend at the John Waldron Arts Center.

Two exhibits open at Waldron Arts Center

Queen Elizabeth's ancient adornments and the newest cutting-edge photographic technologies inspired two local artists to pursue the enigma of personal space. Friday night, the dance photography of Tom Stio and copper accessories created by Jesse Mathes opened to the public in the Rosemary P. Miller Gallery at the John Waldron Arts Center. The Bloomington Area Arts Commission also presented the 2004 Monroe County Postcard Competition Award Winners Exhibition at the center.

Artists sell masterpieces on Fourth Street

Underneath the beating sun, hundreds of Bloomington residents and IU students guzzled lemonade and fanned themselves as they sweltered in the heat. They were not tailgating before IU's football victory in the home opener -- they were browsing the booths of artists and community groups at the Fourth Street Festival of Arts and Crafts. The Fourth Street Festival, a Bloomington staple since its inception in 1976, celebrated its 28th year of displaying the arts Saturday and Sunday on Grant and Fourth Streets.

HipHopera adds rap, pop to familiar art

LONDON -- Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" tackled interracial love and U.S. imperialism in Asia; Verdi's "La Traviata" put a tubercular prostitute center stage. Odd to think that opera has a stuffy reputation. Now a new batch of contemporary operas rangingfrom rappers rhyming about Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to an experimental musical about Microsoft boss Bill Gates sets out to change that image.

Graffiti event hits Indy

Aerosol cans will click-clack and the fizzing spray of paint might induce light-headedness or contact highs this weekend as Broad Ripple, one of Indianapolis' most vibrant and unique neighborhoods, holds its second Midwest graffiti expo. Subsurface, sponsored by the Indianapolis Arts Center in conjunction with the Broad Ripple Village Association, will publicly showcase 40 Midwest artists creating a graffiti mural 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. both Sept. 4 and 5.

The right time

'Black Woodstock' documentary to hold broadcast premiere on PBS

LOS ANGELES -- On Aug. 20, 1972, seven years after the urban upheaval in Watts, some 112,000 people came together for a daylong concert that would become known as the "Black Woodstock." They filled Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to hear performances by Isaac Hayes, Albert King, the Staple Singers, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Bar-Kays, and more.