Philip Amdal's worldly life brings the Himalayas home With the exception of Queen Anne Avenue, where Queen Anne Frame and Avenue Arts is located, Philip Amdal treads off the beaten path. When he is not making the short commute between home and work, he is mountaineering in the Cascades or traveling in rural Asia, leaving the tourist guidebooks behind. Thoughout his life, Amdal has seen the world by boat, aircraft carrier, train, VW bus and plane. And the photographer in him keeps him moving, looking for the next great picture. Last October he and a friend traveled to the Himalayas in India, Amdal's favorite destination.
From left, Seth Numrich as Neoptolemus and Boris McGiver as Philoctetes in Seamus Heaney's The Cure at Troy, directed by Tina Landau, now playing at Seattle Repertory Theatre's Bagley Wright stage. The Cure at Troy plays through May 3, 2008. For Public Relations inquires please contact Ilana Balint at 206-443-2231 or ilanab@seattlerep.org
'Smart People' is smart and funny A caustic comedy in the vein of Michael Douglas' rich and rewarding "Wonder Boys," "Smart People" stars Dennis Quaid as a literature professor every bit as disoriented as Douglas' meandering academic and would-be author. Quaid's Lawrence Wetherhold is a frosty intellectual who can't remember his students' names. He sets his office clock forward so he can prematurely turn undergraduates away, and parks his old Volvo anywhere and anyway he pleases. He isn't so much mean as self-absorbed and miles from his full humanity.
Northwest Focus words of the month: "concert" and "concerto" What's the deal with Italian terminology and classical music? Consider my friend - a nurse by training and profession, a hardworking wage-earner and community volunteer - who approaches me for suggestions of concerts to attend. She's perused some Web sites and decided to try one of this month's Seattle Symphony concerts, where she'll hear, she says, a "con-serr-toh." Do I correct her? It's one of those delicate balances we often strike: Fix it or forget it? Some wise teachers showed me by example how to give back a word, correctly pronounced, in a casual response, without saying it's an actual correction. I usually got the hint.
The Seattle branch of the English Speaking Union held its21st annual Shakespeare competition on March 2 at the Frye Art Museum. Thirteen local high schools participated by each sending a contestant who recited a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays and a sonnet of their choice. The first-place winner was Chelsea Poppe of Issaquah High School. The second place winner was Anneka Gerhardt of Roosevelt High School. The third-place winner was Leah Russell of Skyline High School. Poppe will represent the branch at the finals in New York April 26 to 29. She received a $500 prize, plus an all-expenses-paid trip to New York. Second and third places received $300 and $150, respectively. The teachers received the same amount. Local judges were professors George Scranton and Andrew Ryder from Seattle Pacific University, Hal Ryder (no relation) from Cornish and yours truly. The Shakespeare competition is the highlight of the local branch's education program.
The following is the menu for Seattle Public Schools' elementary students. All breakfasts include toast, fruit, juice and milk. Lunches include vegetables, fruit and milk. The menu is subject to change. MONDAY, APRIL 14Breakfast: Hot or cold cereal.Lunch: Turkey corndog, French-bread cheese pizza or Yogurt and bagel Munchable.TUESDAY, APRIL 15Breakfast: Egg-and-cheese breakfast biscuit, and whole-wheat cinnamon toast.Lunch: Beef ravioli with meat sauce, Vegetarian chili-and-cheese wrap or Mini-bagel Munchable with string cheese.WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16Breakfast: Grilled French toast sticks with or without maple syrup.Lunch: Chicken teriyaki bites, Vegetable egg roll with or without sweet-and-sour sauce or Mini-bagel Munchable with string cheese.THURSDAY, APRIL 17Breakfast: Egg-and-cheese burrito with or without salsa.Lunch: Soft taco with seasoned beef, beans, cheddar cheese, lettuce and salsa; Bean-and-cheese burrito with or without salsa; or Mini-bagel Munchable.FRIDAY, APRIL 18Breakfast: Lightly iced cinnamon roll and cheddar cheese square.Lunch: Breaded-fish sandwich on multigrain roll, Cheese-stuffed pasta shells with marinara sauce or Yogurt and bagel Munchable.
WRITERS PROGRAM: Jack Straw Productions, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., has selected 12 literary artists for its 2008 Writers Program: Wendy Call, Janna Cawrse, Kevin Craft, Sharon Cumberland, Waverly Fitzgerald, Merna Ann Hecht, Rebecca Hoogs, Brian McGuigan, Jennifer D. Munro, Ghida Sinno, Judith Skillman and Michael Spence.Each of the writers will participate in voice and presentation training, in-studio interviews, the annual "Jack Straw Writers Anthology" and the Literary Podcast series.The writers also will take part in a reading series, which Jack Straw Productions will record for future production as pod casts, radio features and other noncommercial new-media content. The readings will take place at the Jack Straw Productions on May 15, 21 and 29; each will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $15, and each guest will receive a free copy of the anthology.
■ Dozens of people turn out on April 3 at Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford Center to watch store owner Jennifer Shea make her signature cupcakes on 'The Martha Stewart Show.' The store offered free mini-cupcakes and drinks to celebrate the event. photo/Bradley Enghaus
My mom (otherwise known as The Woman Who Would Be Grandma) has taken to announcing to anyone who will listen that I am "too picky."As the burlesque comedian would have said, "I resemble that remark." I may be selective, a little choosy and perhaps give my opinion too freely, but picky? Me? I don't think so, but I'll let you be the judge.
This Saturday, April 12, Third Eye Cinema and Lake City independent filmmaker Janice Findley are scheduled to present Findley's entire body of work at the Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill.Findley said her movies could be placed in the category of "American trance," which explains why Maya Deren's trance film "Meshes of the Afternoon" will also be shown. Findley considers Deren as the "mother, or grandmother, of experimental film.""They're these films where the characters seem to be sleepwalking." Findley said. "People are driven to do things, but you don't know why."Findley's films are comical, said film reviewer and friend Richard Jameson: "It's like watching a very deadpan comedian at work."
Imagine, teachers, you get up, sad to be awake so early, and come to school. Wouldn't it be nice if you did not have to worry about giving kids the hard enough homework, or homework they have done before? Therefore, homework should be discontinued!
The Fountainhead Gallery is showing the unique work of Karen Reiger through May 25. Reiger is influenced by the works of Klimpt, Matisse, Modigliani and Gauguin. Additional inspiration comes from Japanese prints and Persian motifs. Fountainhead is at 625 W. McGraw St. 206-285-4467 or www.fountainheadgallery.com.
It's about time the Emerald City got a starring role. After so many movies set in Seattle filmed in Vancouver, too many people think the Space Needle looks like Harbour Centre Tower. Vague opening night gala film, "The Battle in Seattle," recreates the street conflicts during the 1999 WTO Ministerial Conference. But while this star-studded drama offers our town a sprinkling of Hollywood glamour, there are other films that capture our character on a smaller scale.
Adapted from Richard Scarry's timeless children's books, "What Do People Do All Day?" and "Busy, Busy, World", Seattle Children's Theatre showing of "Busytown" is easily loved by all age groups. Seattle is lucky to feature Busytown's world premiere, directed by well-known Linda Hartzell and written by Kevin Kling and Michael Koerner. Hartzell's past plays include other adaptations of literary greats such as "The Red Badge of Courage" and "The Grapes of Wrath".
"Bigger Stronger Faster" is the provocative title of a documentary scheduled to screen during the second week of the 34th Seattle International Film Festival (May 22-June 15). The doc's about "body perception, performance enhancement and competition in America," but its title and tagline's a funhouse mirror of the film festival that annually consumes Seattle.