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If you play with fire

If you play with fire, you are bound to get burned. Lisabeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) returns ablaze with fury and vengeance in The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second installment of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. The film picks up exactly where the first one ended, with Lisabeth enjoying the spoils of her acquired riches abroad. However, any sort of easy living is short-lived, as she begins to access her computer hacking skills in order to aid her old friend/lover Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) in his investigation of a sex trafficking ring. However, the tables quickly turn when Blomkvist's primary sources-the research assistant he hired and his girlfriend that authored the sex trafficking expose- are brutally murdered. Their deaths seem to perfectly timed with the demise of Lisabeth's sadistic guardian. Naturally, Lisabeth becomes the prime suspect in their murders. Soon she is on the run and in a race to clear her name. Lisabeth can run, but she cannot hide from the secrets of her past that shed light on her abusive childhood, her disturbing psychiatric history, and her subsequent inability to fully give her heart to a man — or a woman.

A better Footloose

About the musical itself

If you have seen a 1984 film Footloose, starring Kevin Bacon, then you are probably familiar with all the clichés that surround this motion-picture: teenage rebellion, repression, democratic constipation and fluffy dialogue.

It's all fun and 80's... that's pretty much it actually. That is, plenty of Spandex and those humongous shoulder pads that make you look like someone out of a Stanley Kubrick film.

(Ed. Note: Jeez. Louise.)

ARTS

Commemorating tradition in And I Remember

Its 8 p.m. August 6th. A sudden laughter pierces the silent air of Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. It emanates through every crack, door, every small opening of the building. It is a warm, loud, whole-hearty kind of laughter that fills the room and makes one feel comfortable and welcome. The remainder of the people (including me) are bustling around trying to find a comfortable seat in a dimly lit room. Everyone seems to be ready.  

ARTS

Karen Vaccaro performs “And I Remember”

From 40 North's website: "Karen Vacarro transforms herself into three radically different real women — a poet, a pianist and an actress — in this hilarious and poignant one-woman play about the lives of artists and the art of living as a woman in America," which is interesting all by itself.  Performances will take place at the Independent Media Center, 202 South Broadway in Urbana on Friday August 6 (8PM), Saturday August 7 (8PM), and Sunday August 8 (7PM). Tickets …

ARTS

The Little Dog Laughed a strange summer delight

The Little Dog Laughed | July 29 - Aug 1; Aug 4 - Aug 7 | Station Theater$8: Wed | $10: Thursday & Sunday, $15 on Friday & SaturdayAll shows at 8 p.m. After 112 performances on Broadway and a Tony Award nomination for Best Play, Douglas Carter Beane's, "The Little Dog Laughed" finally made its way to Urbana's Station Theater. Choosing to perform a play with such notable history, it need not be stated that The Celebration Theater Company …

ARTS

The Little Dog Laughed, but not for long...

The Little Dog Laughed | July 29 – Aug 1; Aug 4 – Aug 7 | Station Theater All shows at 8p.m. $8: Wed | $10: Thursday & Sunday, $15 on Friday & Saturday Premiering this Thursday, July 29 at the Station Theater in Urbana is "The Little Dog Laughed." This play, written by American playwright, Douglas Carter Beane, explores the homosexual relationship between Mitchell, an up-and-coming Hollywood actor, and his lover, Alex. Mitchell's agent, Diane, does everything in her …

ARTS

The man who taught us to hear

Jon Schoenoff, head of Audio at Krannert Center, passed away last week, and to commemorate his impactful and important life here in Champaign-Urbana, we asked a few of his colleagues to give us their best. Here they are: Jon Schoenoff was subtle, often hard to read, quite funny in an oblique manner, wry and deprecating [to himself and others he was comfortable with], extremely knowledgeable, and very dedicated to KCPA. A mutual friend [a former assistant of mine, and former …

ARTS

Book review: Keyhole Factory by William Gillespie

Keyhole Factory by William Gillespie, 405 pages, Spineless Books, $28. The story of the End of the World in Keyhole Factory begins, innocently enough, at a poetry conference. And that's appropriate, because despite its format as a novel (and also its novel format, but more on that in a minute), Keyhole Factory is poetry at its heart. It suggests, nudges, and paints blurry, horribly beautiful word pictures more than it tells, and it never uses straightforward prose where an allusive …

ARTS

Be Okay: Author Jennifer Weiner in town on Sunday

I just want to be OK todayOpen me up and you will seeI'm a gallery of broken heartsI'm beyond repair, let me beAnd give me back my broken parts

ARTS

In dreams: Inception

It must be any director’s dream (pun unapologetically intended) to work with dreams as subject matter. Their unique and subjective nature allows for a near limitless canvas of ideas and designs to be explored in fascinating ways. The only limits of course being the imagination… and nowadays the CGI budget. Furthermore, any typical film convention can be shed, as the rules that apply to normal behavior or flow of logic do not necessarily follow in the dreamscape. There are some …

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Most Recent Arts Comments

{username}

The main character’s name is actually Lisbeth, in case you want to correct.

{username}

Karen Vaccaro is a remarkable person as well as a dedicated performer. I couldn’t imagine a better night at theater!

Kelly Innes avatar

The director should’ve added the wrinkle that the ban on dancing’s the only thing keeping Bomont from attracting the green/tech/jobs of the future!

Tracy Nectoux avatar

Now that’s Class!

emma reaux avatar

I have read several of her books and liked them. I guess because I’m not an overweight, lesbian, intersexed Jewish amputee with divorced parents I can’t comment on the offensiveness of some of her jokes.

{username}

You forgot to mention fat people.  She made fun of obesity.  And divorce.  Children of divorce were lampooned, too.  Jewish people.  She hit on a lot of “groups.“  I fit into a number of them.  If you didn’t like her speech you won’t like her books.  If…

emma reaux avatar

Lesbians: Anecdote about her mom being a lesbian, and getting her mom introduced to Rosie O’Donnell, and mom and Rosie talking about oral sex, and Weiner acting disgusted. She probably meant the disgust in a “don’t wanna hear about my mom’s vag” kind of way, but all…

Tracy Nectoux avatar

Oh. Wow.   What exactly did she say, Emma? Do you remember?

emma reaux avatar

I went to this. In the first 5 minutes of her talk, she made fun of lesbians, intersexed children, and amputees. I was honestly surprised at how offensve she was—it was like she thought the Champaign Public Library was a venue for Last Comic Standing.   I…

emma reaux avatar

Theresa—are you speaking generally about that monologue, or did you attend the Friday night showing at UIUC?

Most Recent Comments

{username}

Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win. 

Dan Schreiber avatar

Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is.  But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…

{username}

Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…

{username}

I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get.  I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library.  None of those activities…

{username}

These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…

{username}

(speaking as a Savoy resident)  By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc.  This is how library systems work.  The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…

Rob McColley avatar

I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“

{username}

I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?

{username}

Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.

emma reaux avatar

I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…

Dan Schreiber avatar

And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.

Dan Schreiber avatar

The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.

Timbo avatar

Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.

Timbo avatar

What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…

{username}

Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.

{username}

Thanks for the article, Ben.  I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar.  A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…

{username}

Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…

Joel Gillespie avatar

@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.

Tracy Nectoux avatar

Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.

Ben Valocchi avatar

good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…

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