http://www.annearundelcountynow.com Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:26:48 EST http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/28/24/big-fish.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/28/24/big-fish.html The Biggest Fish in Every Pond was Edward Bloom

Or, so he would have us believe. In fact, Tim Burton directed his masterpiece and John August adapted the screenplay from the great Daniel Wallace story just so Edward Bloom could recount his larger that life stories to us, the audience, simply so we could gain a sense of the enormity of one man’s life, irrespective of whether we could swallow the scale of his tales. His son, Will, eventually found his tall tales to be tad too large to fi... Read More]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:38:44 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/27/23/coraline.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/27/23/coraline.html Narrative Pushes “Coraline” to the Head of the Pack

Director Henry Selick, who is best known for the animated features: “Nightmare Before Christmas,” “James and the Giant Peach” and “Monkeybone,” combined the flexibility of digital animation with stop motion animation to produce the characters that provided a rich, revealing picture upon the foundation of a fine story in “Coraline.” Henry Selick also wrote the screenplay of the Ne... Read More]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:25:43 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/26/24/the-last-waltz.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/26/24/the-last-waltz.html “I Got a Tombstone Head and a Graveyard Mind, I Turned 41, I Don’t Mind Dying: Who do you Love?”

Ronnie Hawkins, one of The Band’s earliest front-men when they were known as The Hawks, in the early 1960’s film.before they were known as The Band, sang these words, as a visiting artist, in the rhythm and blues anthem, “Who Do You Love?”, in Martin Scorsese’s epic documentary, “The Last Waltz.” The film celebrates the music and the art... Read More]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:23:41 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/25/19/andrew-wyeth-s-helga-series.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/25/19/andrew-wyeth-s-helga-series.html Andrew Wyeth’s Helga: a Compulsive Fetish or his Best Work

Probably somewhere in between is the best answer. For all who are not familiar with Wyeth and his Helga Series, I shall endeavor to explain it simply as 240 pieces of work (mostly water color studies, some spontaneous sketch studies in monochromatic mediums and a smaller number of finished egg tempera canvases) of one woman, Helga Testorf, that were made between 1971 and 1985.

Andrew Wyeth had met Helga as a young 32 year old... Read More]]> Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:21:32 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/17/26/national-parks-part-iii-the-cape-hatteras-light-station.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/17/26/national-parks-part-iii-the-cape-hatteras-light-station.html North Carolina's Outer Banks Again: Destination - Cape Hatteras Light Station

Living less than an hour and fifty minutes from Nags Head, my staging area to the National Seashore, I am regularly drawn to the beauty of one of the most beautiful and unspoiled seashores on eastern coast of the United States of America. On this quick trip to the seashore, my wife would not accompany me. I was alone, but I would be undeterred.

On that fine spring morning, after a beautiful sunrise and with th... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:53:47 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/16/9/the-local-gallery-and-its-show-part-i.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/16/9/the-local-gallery-and-its-show-part-i.html Lone Leaf Gallery Unveils the Showing of a New Artisan and Bids Goodbye to the Last

In Washington, North Carolina, on the southwest corner of Market and West Main Streets, is the recently opened Lone Leaf Gallery, featuring an eclectic collection of work by local, regional and national artists and artisans. The gallery, studio and shop, within this small, quaint and most efficient space, is owned by local residents Neil and Meredith Loughlin. Both owners are artisans / artists themselves, ha... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:50:05 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/15/9/the-rachel-getting-married-syndrome.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/15/9/the-rachel-getting-married-syndrome.html What is Normal? And Where Do I Run To It?

Yes, it is a Syndrome, and it influences what passes for art in our world growing smaller. You might ask: What is the "Rachel Getting Married" Syndrome? Well it is complicated, and it will need more time than I have at this sitting to develop what will be an ongoing thesis. I will, however, find the time to expound on the subject, but I honestly believe it may be deeper than the “Rabbit Hole” from “Alice’s Adventu... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:46:58 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/14/12/the-off-year-election-turnover-in-washington-status-quo-in-belhaven.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/14/12/the-off-year-election-turnover-in-washington-status-quo-in-belhaven.html Elections can be Transformational

Washington City Government fixture and photo-op specialist Judy Jennette has lost the Washington mayoral race to City Councilman Archie Jennings 801 votes for Jennings to 607 for Jennette.

In the Washington City Council Election: Challenger Bobby Roberson was the top vote getter with 1,084 votes, Incumbent Doug Mercer was second with 1,036 votes, and Incumbent Gil Davis was third with 924 votes, Challengers Ed Moultrie and William Pitt were fourth and fifth ... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:44:50 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/12/21/in-concert-bearfoot.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/12/21/in-concert-bearfoot.html Bearfoot are a Breath of Fresh Air as they Breezed through Town

The bluegrass / traditional country band Bearfoot came to Washington’s Turnage Theater and gave a near perfect performance of the music that steels my will to consider the talent that could stir my soul. And what a resounding success it was?

Bearfoot is a group of five young folks, ranging in ages of 22 to 26 years of age, who have grown preciously wise in their approach to an American genre of music that is becoming some o... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:28:09 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/10/20/museums-in-review-part-i.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/10/20/museums-in-review-part-i.html The North Carolina Museum of Art may Metamorphous into a Fabulous Museum of Art.

As a long term resident, of the “Old North State,” who has paid more than his share of state income taxes, I can only ask: Why has it taken so long? Up until the point of the museum’s probable and miraculous metamorphous, the museum is deficient in two critical areas: exhibition space, variety and quality of art exhibited.

The first museum, the Edward Durrell Stone building, was constructed in... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:15:01 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/9/1/sunshine-cleaning.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/9/1/sunshine-cleaning.html In All Legal Endeavors There is Honor

“Sunshine Cleaning,” the low budget drama about the human condition, is a robust success as a small film that showcases the best within beaten down people, who struggle to clench a measure of dignity, as they grasp for a crumb from the table of the American Dream. This thoughtful, well paced and wonderfully acted film told a real story of regular people, by giving the audience a glimpse into their work lives, as it peeled back the layers of th... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:12:03 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/8/24/once-upon-a-time-in-america.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/8/24/once-upon-a-time-in-america.html Sergio Leone’s Classic Film Almost Died on the Cutting Room Floor

As I mentioned in my forgotten review, Spring, 2009, of one of Sergio Leone’s best films: “Once Upon a Time in the West,” I wrote that I would eventually take a look at his next, even better film, “Once Upon a Time in America” in that same Forgotten Classics section of our Better Angels Now. And yes, as strange as it may seem, this film almost died a classic death on the cutting room floor, ... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:08:01 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/7/11/gone-fishing.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/7/11/gone-fishing.html Since 1937, the Foster family of Hatteras Island has been helping would-be anglers find their sea legs aboard daily charter boat fishing excursions.

It’s 6:05 a.m. at Hatteras Island, and the sky has brightened to a canvas gray. Captain Ernie Foster has had the diesel engine of the Albatross III warming for 15 minutes. He glances down at the glowing instrument cluster for his last-minute check of engine pressures and temperatures. His mate, Clyde, has stowed all gear from the charter part... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:04:51 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/6/8/the-burning-plain.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/6/8/the-burning-plain.html Families Succeed or Fail in the Mirror of the Mistakes they Make

The film, "The Burning Plain," predominately speaks to this issue in Director Guillermo Ariagga's morality play as it reveals how deep the loss can be, once a family, led by the respective maternal and paternal figure heads, slide precariously down that slippery slope. That slope afforded plenty of space, with the downward force of gravity upon its slick surface, to all family members and other ancillary interactive humans of ... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:01:51 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/3/10/washington-dc-part-i-arlington-cemetery.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/3/10/washington-dc-part-i-arlington-cemetery.html Arlington Cemetery

Washington, District of Columbia is one of the most important cities in the world. It is a young city, even by The United States of America's standards; but considering the legislation and executive decisions that have been made within its limits over the last 70 years, it is unarguably, the most important city in the world over that period. The southern, across from Virginia, side of Washington, D.C. is the most significant: architecturally and in regards to the city plann... Read More]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:33:06 EDT http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/2/28/seeking-the-savage-truth-while-sifting-through-the-wreckage-of-governing-california.html http://www.annearundelcountynow.com/post/2/28/seeking-the-savage-truth-while-sifting-through-the-wreckage-of-governing-california.html From Thursday, August 27th to Sunday, August 30th, 2009, I attended the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ (NCACC) annual conference in Hickory, North Carolina. I try to attend these conferences, whenever possible, for a variety of reasons, most notable of which is: The networking with other commissioners to gain a wider perspective on how to accomplish a more proficient governing process. I know it sounds like an oxymoron to include the words proficient and governing in... Read More]]> Wed, 7 Jul 2010 17:09:43 EDT