Three musicians sit in a garden, faces solemn because they are being filmed and are explaining how their drummers keep mysteriously dying. One drummer expired in “a bizarre gardening accident,” and that’s all that is said. Of the subsequent drummer, as Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) says, with some delicacy, “The official explanation was, he choked […]
Alison Osius
‘For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday’ mines playwright’s family history
Children at Crystal River Elementary School have been reading “Peter Pan,” the story first published as a play 122 years ago. They like the book (an abridged version), know all about Peter’s lost shadow, Tinkerbell, flying and the dog, Nana. Across town, and up the age spectrum, a team of veterans is acting in “For […]
JC Food Truck y Crystal Theatre organizarán un concurso de silbidos
Trino Camacho nunca ha organizado un concurso de silbidos. Ni siquiera ha asistido a uno.“Es la primera vez”, dice. Su motivación es simple y a la vez significativa.“A la gente simplemente le gusta silbar”, dice desde su puesto en el JC Food Truck, estacionado junto a la autopista 133 en Carbondale. “Es universal. Todos pueden […]
JC Food Truck and Crystal Theatre to hold a whistling contest
Trino Camacho has never run a whistling contest before. He’s never even been to one. “First time,” he says. His motivation is both simple and resonant. “People just like to whistle,” he says from his perch in the JC Food Truck, parked off Highway 133 in Carbondale. “It’s universal. Everyone can whistle. You don’t have […]
Puzzle and Pie Night: How fast can you go? Or how long can you last?
Headlamp, all charged up. Spatula. Baking sheet. Those in the throng arriving early to Sunday’s annual Puzzle and Pie Night clasped the items under their arms. None of which I’d used, despite duly bringing them, last year, but still I arrived thus armed for the fifth annual Puzzle and Pie Night at the Carbondale Recreation […]
The Buddy Program: Hitting marks and other fortunate events
Rafael, 11, tipped his head, stared at a spot on a massive elk target, its rack curving skyward, in a stand of trees. He drew his bow, intent, and released an arrow. Thwack. “That was a perfect shot,” Mike said. My husband, Mike Benge, and his friend Franz Froelicher were walking courses with Rafael Gonzalez, […]
In a world of streaming services, you still can’t beat the big screen
The Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia. Searing, shimmering heat. In “Lawrence of Arabia,” T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole in his first major role) and Sharif Ali (world, meet Omar Sharif) lead their soldier band at night through the “Devil’s Anvil.” One man, exhausted, falls off his camel. I saw this film probably in the ‘80s, but still […]
My little holiday miracle
Get a rental car, don’t get a rental car, yes, get one. Who will be in which car, who is picking up whom from trains or the nursing home, who can go to the store again? We were traveling to a relative’s house for Thanksgiving, in two cars packed with boxes and food, a wheelchair, […]
5 Point spins a highlights reel —and asks you not to eat ice cream
In film, as in rock and roll, some things age poorly and some resonate. Old songs by the Rolling Stones still sound great. Last week I was reminded that the 40-minute “A Line Across the Sky,” from 2015, is one of the best climbing films ever. On Dec. 11, the Crystal Theatre in downtown Carbondale […]
One Night Only: Gripping “Girl Climber” to air at Crystal Theatre benefitting GSHS Climbing Club
Thunk. Emily Harrington throws her foot — her heel — up beside her fingers, straining to traverse a two-inch granite edge high on El Capitan, in the wind and weather, where the trees 2,500 feet below look like sprigs. She is trying to climb, as the film “Girl Climber” documents, the demanding Golden Gate route […]
