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Volume VIII Number 26 December 28, 2005 |
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Awards provided the fireworks at the annual Fourth of July Association brunch in November. New Public Art Honors Firefighters Book Review - "Pigs Aren't Dirty, Bears Aren't Slow, and Other Truths about Misunderstood Animals" Book Review - "A Wedding in December" Awards provided the fireworks at the annual Fourth of July Association brunch in November. Film Review- "Chronicles of Narnia " New Public Art Honors Firefighters.
The program began with a welcome from
Cultural Arts/Arts Council Director Jeffrey Cory, followed by speeches
from Geraldine Macsai, co-chair of the Public Arts Committee, Mayor
Lorraine Morton, Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky and panel artists Adelheid
Mers and Patrick McGee. Mayor Morton then cut the ribbon in front
of the three panels that face Central Street. The eight-panel display features
images selected from historical portraits, digital images, action
shots and fire scenes. Awards provided the fireworks at the annual Fourth of July Association brunch in November. The association honored several supporters of the Independence Day parade. In photo above, Dorothy Laudati of the North End Mothers Club receives an award from Dave Sniader, Association president. (Mrs. Laudati is also a Sales Associate for the Evanston RoundTable.) Others honored were the Rotary Club of Evanston, the Lighthouse Rotary Club, Mr. Kipley, Hillary Bean, chair of parade marshalls. In addition, Alan Soell, president of Evanston Community Tennis Association presented a donation check for $500 to the Association. Eye on Evanston In architecture, as in painting or music, most laymen rely on the judgment of the recognized authorities, the critics. The problem is that architecture is more complex than all other arts. In addition to being beautiful, a building must function well, hold up well and meet a budget. A building must comply with zoning ordinances and building codes, be energy efficient, fit well into the adjoining context, and, in the cases of apartment and office spaces that are usually built as investments, they must also make good sense economically. The list does not stop there. The architect must rely on the competence of engineering consultants and, finally, depend on 20-odd trades to interpret the drawings during construction. For the laymen the entire process can be outright bewildering. But it is possible to improve the understanding of the complex world of architecture by reading about it. There is a rich literature I would recommend. I will limit my list to five books, all historical, non-technical and easy to enjoy. All the books are paperbacks, not only for economy, but also for comfort. They can be read on the train or in a lounge chair, holding the book in one hand and leaving the other free for roasted peanuts. They are as follows: "Modern Architecture Since 1910," William I.M. Curtis (Prentice Hall 1988); "A Concise History Of American Architecture," Leland M. Roth (Harper & Row 1979); "The Master Builders," Peter Blake (W. W. Norton 1976); "Modern Architecture, A Critical History," Kenneth Frampton (Oxford University Press 1980); and "Architecture After Modernism," Diane Ghirardo (Thames & Hudson 1996). Obviously, this reading list is incomplete and idiosyncratic, but once a person starts he or she will be referred to many other books. Since some on my list might be out of print, readers may need to visit the public library. Whatever the list of books, remember that architecture, like painting or music, must be experienced. In Evanston we do not lack buildings of interest, old or new. Look at them, compare them, walk inside, and discuss them with friends. And think about what your readings emphasized. For more current architecture we are fortunate to have an outstanding architectural critic, Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune. The New York Times has many reliable critics, and the New Yorker has quality criticism by Paul Goldberger. In the Wall Street Journal, Ada Luis Huxtable is excellent and on our public radio station, WBEZ, Ed Keegan should not be overlooked. Other sources that can help to develop a sense of architectural judgment are the annual awards by the American Institute of Architects, tours by the Chicago Architectural Foundation and, closer to home, the awards handed out every year by Design Evanston. LIBRARY NOTES Children’s Library Program Open for
Registration Parent and Child Workshop Library Closings South Branch Storytime Chess Night Marilyn Price Puppets
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Book
Review A love of nature has propelled Evanston resident Joanna Boutilier to write a book about animals, entitled "Pigs Aren't Dirty, Bears Aren't Slow, and Other Truths about Misunderstood Animals."
Ms. Boutilier's research led her to collect and highlight the many myths, misconceptions and superstitions surrounding these creatures. When people examine their misinformation, they become less fearful and more aware of the value of these animals, she says. Many species are threatened, "some to the point of critical endangerment and extinction," says the author. Through the book, Ms. Boutilier aims to share important facts about animals and their place in nature with children, parents and teachers. No one disputes the fact that youngsters are fascinated with animals. Some of the cultural traditions surrounding Halloween have to do with two animals that appear in the book, bats and spiders. Many people worry that bats might carry rabies. The book says it is more likely that humans would get rabies from "dogs, cats, skunks, and raccoons." Ms. Boutilier discusses the saying "blind as a bat," as well as the various colors and sizes of bats and their skill of echolocation. After reading about their ability to devour mosquitoes, it would be tempting to build the pictured bat box to help in the struggle with West Nile Virus. Spiders also receive Ms. Boutilier's attention. The text highlights the arachnid's two body parts, comparing them with the three in insects. Often boys and girls mislabel the spider as an insect, and this concept is refined in the book. Helpful illustrations by Ben Hodson allow identification of different types of arachnids, and a cute cartoon features a spider with what looks like a straw in its mouth, drawing liquid from the prey's body. Since spiders cannot eat solids, the caption reads "Mmm. Liquid Lunch." Another cartoon in the introduction shows all the animals pictured in the book beside a blue ribbon commending their "Service to the Earth," further promoting the benefits of these animals to humans. Although the book has humor, it is scholarly as well. The journal "Nature" recently published an article on a discovery about sharks that is included in this book in terms a young mind can comprehend. Sharks do not hang around beaches waiting for swimmers and do not have a particular interest in humans, Ms. Boutilier says. They travel long distances and can be found in arctic waters. And, says the book, "most sharks are smaller than your arm and quite harmless to humans." The dangerous ones, it says, are the great white, bull and oceanic whitetip sharks, and "on the rare occasions when these sharks attack people, it is usually because they have mistaken a person for a seal, sea-lion, or other normal prey." Those students who are interested in a predatory animal that lives in Evanston can turn to the chapter on owls. Ms. Boutilier explains that "even compared with other birds, owls are not especially smart" – so "wise as an owl" is not accurate. Because rodents are their prey and they are active at night, owls hunt then. One pair of barn owls, says the author, amounts to a catch of "over a thousand mice for each brood of baby owls they raise." Among the sounds that owls make (besides their hoots) are hisses, moans and laughing sounds. Ms. Boutilier's boys, Misha and Sasha, have been able to accompany their mom as she researches in places like Cochrane, Can., 10 hours north of Toronto. There they observed polar bears in their habitat and, protected by plexiglass, swam with them. The duo likes to observe the birds that come to their yard. They are members of Project FeederWatch, run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and have a list of some thirty birds. The book has chapters on lions, wolves, toads, pigs and pandas. The last few pages include a bibliography and miniature illustrations of those animals in the book. Ms. Boutilier is available to speak to school, library, and scout groups. Contact her at Joanna.b@comcast.net. FILM REVIEW"Wolf Creek" by Brian Murphy When I left "Wolf Creek," the Australian horror/torture film that hit American theaters on Christmas day, I knew what filmgoers must have felt in 1974 after witnessing "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" — shocked, repulsed and unnerved. Writer/director/producer Greg McLean's stunningly effective slasher flick owes as much to "Deliverance" as it does to "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," as the villain is a small-town local who enacts his revenge upon tourists and big city folk. Mr. McLean loosely based his story on the "Backpacker Murders" in Australia's outback from 1989-1992, and, like "Texas Chain Saw Massacre," opens the film with the preface "[T]he following is based on actual events." The film's relation to history is probably distant, but this is better than none at all – as was the case with "The Blair Witch Project," which caused a stir by disseminating its own "true" legend on the internet before the film's release. "Wolf Creek" has an advantage over its predecessors, not only through advances in make-up and visual effects, but because Mr. McLean has had an entire generation of horror films to study. Tobe Hooper's "Chain Saw" was the first of its kind, with low-budget actors giving low-budget performances (with the exception of Marilyn Burns and Gunnar Hansen). Here, Mr. McLean not only has the talent and money to make a more convincing film, he also has thirty years of filmmaking to build upon. Our protagonists, as usual, are young adults, attractive, and out of their native environments. Liz Hunter (Cassandra McGrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) are English tourists who have come to Australia to party on the beaches and to take a road trip with Sydney native Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips). Their destination is Wolf Creek (the real landmark is spelled "Wolfe" Creek), one of the biggest meteor craters in the world, located in the desolate outskirts of Western Australia. Mr. McLean spends nearly half the movie setting up his characters, occasionally allowing us a vision of impending doom – for example, when Liz takes one last swim in the ocean, looking out at the horizon, to Frank Tetaz's eerie soundtrack. Cinematographer Brandon Trost juxtaposes vibrant sunsets and brilliant moonlight with stark images and pitch-black darkness as the three travel further from civilization. By the time our tourists have left the last filling station before Wolf Creek, a decrepit building containing a foul bathroom brimming with flies and drunken local yokels who offer to gang rape Ben's girlfriends, we know their fate is set. All good horror films need an unforgettable villain, and this film's ace of spades is a sadistic winner. Mick Taylor (John Jarratt in a sickening, outstanding performance) is not Crocodile ‘Mick' Dundee, and anyone with such a stereotype of Australian outback men is in for a rude awakening. It is no accident that his name is Mick, the name of the character portrayed by Paul Hogan. The most famous line in "Crocodile Dundee" – "Now, that's a knife!" – and other aspects of that film are satirized to show Taylor's disdain for those who snicker with condescension at country folk who talk funny and live away from society. Mick Taylor is not a disfigured, mute psychopath wandering aimlessly and grunting, he is a wisecracking, story-telling rapist and torturer taking his revenge upon civilized society. "Wolf Creek" strikes a violently resonant chord with its uncanny
emulation of a trend in horror films, while remaining the best of the bunch. The
focus of horror films is switching from death to torture, as evidenced
by the "Saw" flicks and the upcoming "Hostel," produced
by Quentin Tarantino, which is also "based on a true story."
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Book Review Seven old friends who attended high school together at Kidd Academy are reunited after 27 years, at the marriage of Bridget and Bill. At Kidd Bridget and Bill were always together. Everyone believed they would be together forever, but after high school they went to different colleges and married others. Bridget divorced when her son was very young. Bill left his wife after he met up with Bridget at a high school reunion. The hostess of the wedding is Nora, a recent widow who now runs a bed and breakfast. Harrison had a crush on her back at Kidd, but she had "belonged" to his roommate Stephen. Jerry, quite rich now, has brought his gorgeous wife, but they do not seem happy together. Agnes has never married but has been having an affair with a married man. Rob shows up at the wedding with his life partner, Josh. No one knew he was gay in high school. They all wonder how much any of them had really known about each other then. They were close – much closer than they are with any of their current friends. Life at Kidd was a unique and happy time of their lives. In their final year, however, one of the group, Stephen, died. Stephen had been the funniest, the most likeable, the best-looking and the best athlete of the group. All the guys had played baseball together, but Stephen was the star. Then one night, at one of their parties at which everyone was drinking too much, Stephen walked into the frigid waters of Massachusetts and drowned. In the course of their weekend together, these seven friends get reacquainted and reveal things that they had hidden at Kidd. In telling their story, Anita Shreve looks at infidelity and the choices one might have to make if, after many years of a happy or at least complacent marriage, a person is reunited with the one he or she wanted to marry in the first place – that first love from when they were young and filled with hope for all that the future would bring. Can one recapture that feeling and, if so, at what expense? This novel will prompt a lot of discussion. FILM REVIEW "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is based on the first novel in the beloved children's series by C.S. Lewis. "Lord of the Rings" it is not. "LWT" is geared more toward children, although it grows darker and more stale as the imaginative story takes a back seat to ramped-up Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) effects. During the bombing raids on London, the four Pevensie children are evacuated to the English countryside to wait out World War II in the vast mansion of Professor Digory Kirke (Jim Broadbent). A game of hide-and-seek draws Lucy (Georgie Henley), the youngest, into a magical wardrobe. Pushing her way through a forest of fur coats, Lucy stumbles into a forest of snow-covered trees. While frolicking, she meets a faun named Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), a half-goat, half-human creature who explains to her that she is in Narnia. When she returns to tell her siblings about it, they do not believe her at first, but before long, Edmund, Susan, and Peter join Lucy in the wardrobe. Little do the children know that their innocent discovery fulfills a prophecy that "two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve" will save Narnia from the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and end 100 years of winter. Lured with Turkish delight and promises of becoming king, Edmund (Skandar Keynes), the black sheep of the family, is kidnapped by the White Witch. With the help of two talking beavers, a fox, and a majestic lion named Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy set out to get their brother back and save Narnia from the White Witch and her army of minotaurs, Cyclopes and snarling wolves. The acting is lukewarm, with most of the heat coming from Tilda Swinton, who oozes malevolence from her pores as the evil ruler of Narnia. The children, on the other hand, are less convincing, and at times their wooden performances, especially those of William Moseley and Skandar Keynes, are distracting. Director Andrew Adamson's ("Shrek," "Shrek II") experience with CGI special effects is obvious. The talking animals, especially Aslan, come to life, and the beautiful landscape of Mr. Lewis' Narnia is captured in detail. But the film becomes overly reliant on the technology. As the story builds to Aslan's climactic sacrifice and the battle against the White Witch and her army, the film devolves into a light imitation of "Lord of the Rings" that is too dark for younger children and yet too glossy and sanitized for adults. In the wake of the tremendous success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" suffers from an identity crisis. Though this movie has a lackluster beginning, it will still be interesting to see if the next six novels in Lewis' Narnia series develop cinematic lives of their own. Runs 2 hrs., 19 min. Rated PG for fantasy violence. ---------------------- see our film reviews...
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