Cache Magazine

See how one local company is helping homeowners sell their property by making it more attractive to potential buyers The Herald Journal

April 17-23, 2009

Page 2 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Cache The Herald Journal’s

Arts & Entertainment Calendar

What’s inside this week Hinkamp says: Give me socialism or give me death

Magazine

Marci Pratt carries a chair into a Nibley home she is working to stage for sale. Pratt is part of a Cache Valley company called Staged Elements that specializes in home staging, which can improve the appearance of a home and make it more attractive to potential buyers. Read more about the company and get some home improvement tips on Page 8. Photo

by Alan Murray/Herald Journal

Ceramics Guild gears up for spring pottery sale at USU

On the cover:

From the editor

A

LL THROUGH HIGH school and college I wanted to volunteer somewhere, but I never felt like I “had the time” or for other assorted reasons never got around to it.

But a few weeks ago I decided I was going for it and I must say, it’s a great feeling!

Right now I’m volunteering at the hospital once a week and on Friday I start at the Cache Humane Society shelter, which I’m very excited about.

In these tough economic times, it might be difficult to imagine yourself “working for free,” but the feeling it gives you is well worth it. Everyone is always so nice and happy to have me around to help out and I’m happy to be there. I’m especially excited for my Friday gig — that’s my regular day off from work and I generally find myself being lazy all day, watching chick flicks or lounging around in my

Slow Wave

jbaer@hjnews.com

pjs until my husband gets home from work (usually with that look in his eyes that says, “You’ve been home all day yet you can’t manage to load the dishwasher?!”).

OK, so it’s never really that bad and I’m never really that lazy, but I’m still excited to spend my days helping out at the shelter.

If you want to help out, too, I know they’re looking for lots of people — they need some construction work done, cleaning help, front desk help, bunny care and more.

You can contact volunteer coordinator Tiffany Thomas at tif@cachehumane.org.

If you don’t want to volunteer at any established business, just help your neighbors out once in awhile. There’s nothing better than making somebody’s day whether it’s by shoveling their driveway, pitching in on the yard work or helping an elderly person out to their car at the grocery store. Besides, we could use a few more smiles during this day and age.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

— Jamie Baer Nielson Cache Magazine editor

(Page 4)

(Page 10)

Screening Room.......... p.7 Regional Reads......... p.12

The future of the Wassermann Festival is still up in the air

(Page 13)

Cute

(Page 5) It’s time for the springtime Gallery Walk!

pet photo of the week

This dog is available for adoption!

Pet: Bob From: Four Paws Rescue Why he’s so lovable: “Bob is a yellow lab mix; he is much smaller than a traditional lab (only about 40 pounds) and has a docked tail. We think he is around 10 years old. He is house trained! He is very cute and gets along well with most dogs.

He is mellow and really just likes to hang out. We don’t think he would work well with cats. If you would like a dog that is very mellow and can be found napping most of the time, Bob is the dog for you!” Bob’s adoption fee is $125, which includes his neuter surgery and vaccinations. If you would like to meet Bob, e-mail scfourpaws@hotmail.com or leave a message at 752-3534.

Slow Wave is created from real people’s dreams as drawn by Jesse Reklaw. Ask Jesse to draw your dream! Visit www.slowwave.com to find out how.

7 M W f i m t p a b b

b c p t o a b

e c a d E m

USU guitar ensemble.

“One acoustic ensemble has 16 members,” Christiansen said. “We affectionately call it ‘guitarmageddon’ — good guitar players will prevail.”

The program for the evening includes a variety of music from Flamenco to swing to funk, including “Cuban Landscape With Rain” by Leo Brouwer.

The piece is for acoustic ensemble that, through the use of special effects, imitates the sound of a storm in a rainforest. Also on the program is “The Pounce,” an up-tempo jazz-rock fusion piece for electric ensemble.

ponsored by the guitar program in USU department of music and Caine School of Arts, “An Evening in Brazil” will take place at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 23, at USU’s Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the CSA Box Office by calling 797-8022, online at http:// boxoffice.usu.edu or at the door.

Several years ago, Utah State University professor Mike Christiansen spent some time during a sabbatical leave in Brazil. Now Christiansen, with the help of two native Brazilian musicians, is bringing a touch of Brazil to Logan.

Providing the authentic Brazilian feel for “An Evening in Brazil” are musicians Christopher Neale, guitar and vocals, and vocalist Linda Ferreira, joined by the Lightwood Duo with Christiansen on guitar and Eric Nelson on clarinet.

Rounding out the group are bassist Lars Yorgason and drummer Jed Keipp.

Neale is a professor of engineering at USU and Ferreira is a voice major at USU. The two bring the authentic Brazilian musical understanding and style

From left: Eric Nelson, Christopher Neale, Linda Ferreira and Mike Christiansen.

to the concert, Christiansen said.

The program will include many traditional Brazilian bossa novas and sambas by Antonio Carlos Jobim and other well-known Brazilian composers. Favorites, including “Corcovado,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” “A Felicidade,” “Tristeza,” “How Insensitive,” “Aguas de Marco,” “Desafinado,” “Chega de Saudade” and many more will be performed.

Page 3 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

ultiple guitar ensembles will be featured in a spring concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at USU’s Manon Caine Russell-Kathryn Caine Wanlass Performance Hall. The concert follows a long performance tradition in the guitar program in USU’s department of music and the Caine School of the Arts. Tickets are $5 for the general public and free to USU students with ID and are available at the CSA Box Office by calling 797-8022, online at http:// boxoffice.usu.edu or at the door.

“This is the 32nd year guitar ensembles have performed on the Utah State campus,” said Mike Christiansen, guitar program head. “Much has changed over the years, but the program has developed a loyal following and the concerts are always popular with audience members, regardless of their musical taste.”

Two acoustic and two electric guitar ensembles will be featured in the spring concert. Mike Christiansen directs the acoustic groups and Corey Christiansen directs the electric ensembles.

Ensemble members are mostly guitar majors.

‘Drowsy Chaperone’ playing this weekend

“T Chaperone” will

Photo by Joan Marcus, 2008: Elizabeth Pawlowski in the national tour of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

HE DROWSY

play as part of the Cache Valley Center for the Arts’ 2009 season at 7:30 p.m. April 22 and 23 at the Ellen Eccles Theatre. Tickets are $22, $29, $31 and $36 and can be purchased at the CVCA Ticket Office; online at www.CenterForTheArts.us; or by calling 752-0026.

A world where the critics are in awe, the audiences are in heaven and the neighborhood is buzzing with excitement — welcome to “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the new musical comedy that is swooping into town with tons of laughs and the most 2006 Tony awards of any musical on Broadway. It all begins when a die-hard musical fan plays his favorite

cast album, a 1928 smash hit called “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and the show magically bursts to life. Audiences are instantly immersed in the glamorous, hilarious tale of a celebrity bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the rafters.

Although the show’s 12 original numbers are not well-known, they won the 2006 Tony award for Best Original Score. Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison make creative hits like “Toledo Surprise” and the toetapping ditty “Show Off” memorable. The book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar also bagged the Tony for Best Book. This show takes what’s lovable about the outdated musical genre and gives it a refreshing contemporary perspective.

John West stars as the narrator of the show and is known simply as

Photo by Peter Coombs Photography

John West in the national tour of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”

“Man in Chair.” He is a modern-day musical theater addict that lives alone in a drab apartment. In an effort to chase his blues away he dusts off his favorite LP — the 1928 musical comedy “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Man in Chair invites audience members into a world where an old Broadway musical can “help you escape the horrors of the real world.” From the crackle of his turntable, the stage

comes alive with a variety of zany characters that tell the tale of a brazen Broadway starlet who wants to give up show business to get married, her producer who sets out to sabotage the nuptials, her chaperone, the debonair groom, the dizzy chorine, the Latin lover and a pair of gangsters who double as pastry chefs. The Man in Chair’s love of “The Drowsy Chaperone” speaks to anyone who has ever been transported by the theater.

A play within a play, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a musical farce that incorporates over-the-top stereotypes, unlikely twists and colorful characters. The cast includes Roberto Carrasco (as Aldolpho the dimwitted Latin Lothario), Patti McClure (as the Drowsy Chaperone), Elizabeth Pawlowsky (as Janet Van De Graaff, the up-and-coming showgirl) and Robert Micheli (as George).

For more information, visit www. drowsychaperoneontour.com.

Page 4 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Ceramics Guild gears up for spring pottery sale

U

TAH STATE University’s Student Ceramics Guild host its annual Spring Sale and Open House from 5 to 9 p.m.

Thursday, April 23, in the USU ceramics studio, FAV 121. The sale will continue from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25. Free after-hours parking is available in the lot northeast of the USU fine arts building.

Work by approximately 20 students will be exhibited and

for sale, including a broad selection of functional and non-functional ceramics. Sale organizers said there are items for every budget, with some pots starting at $8. Many mid-priced items are also available. Previous guild sales have included bowls of every size and description, mugs, casserole dishes, vases, various pouring vessels, plates, planters, lanterns and more.

Examples of USU’s woodfire pots will be well represented,

as will pots from the salt, soda and gas kilns.

The annual spring pottery sale is one of several fundraising events the USU Student Ceramics Guild conducts each year. Proceeds from the Holiday Sale, Fall Chili Bowl Sale and the spring event help fund ceramics workshops at USU that have brought many distinguished artists to Utah State from around the world to conduct workshops for students.

Sky View Players to present annual Three-Act Plays to being a slob: “I leave a mess • The next show on slate is several times, flustered over the and scandals freely discussed in HE SKY VIEW HIGH when I read a book.” Late to “The Curious Savage” by fact that she took all the money front of him by the other visiT School Players will presand hid it in a bundle of halftors. These include the spoiled ent their annual Three-Act Plays arrive is Florence Unger (Maris- John Patrick. The show mainly — “The Odd Couple” (April 18, 22), “The Curious Savage” (April 20, 23) and “The Foreigner” (April 17, 21, 24) at 7:30 p.m. in Sky View’s Little Theater. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased at the door. For ticket reservations or more information, contact Nan Wharton at 757-9591 or 563-6273 ext. 1111.

• Neil Simon’s famous update of his contemporary classic, “The Odd Couple,” now in a female version, starts with a group of women friends playing their weekly game of Trivial Pursuit. This week the coterie is meeting at the apartment of Olive Madison (Erin Roberts), a divorcee who freely admits

sa Olson), a stickler for detail who would try the patience of a saint and who has unfortunately just become separated from her husband. As life would have it, the slob and the fuss-budget decide to room together — with hilarious results. Within days, Florence’s obsessive habits start taking their toll on Olive and their friends. The only remedy Olive can think of is to place a pair of brothers from Barcelona (A.J. Martin and Brennan Downs) into their lives, which disastrously backfires and the two women are forced to agree on one thing — even the best of friends sometimes make the worst of roommates.

1. “The Curious Savage”: From left, Karissa Maughan, Megan Dent, Kim Petersen, Alexa Winn, Kristy Kozlowski, Kelbie Partridge, Steven Freestone, Skylar Little and

focuses on an older woman, Ethel Savage (Kristy Kozlowski), and her three stepchildren, Tonya (Megan Dent), Lily Belle (Karissa Maughan) and Samantha Savage (Kim Peterson), who are shocked to find out their mother plans to set up a memorial fund with the money inherited from her husband’s death to fund the ridiculous dreams of people. They arrange to have her put into a sanitarium called The Cloisters where she meets Dr. Emmett (Kensie Migliori), Miss Willie (Alexa Winn) and several inmates, none of whom are completely insane but each having one minor problem.

Meanwhile, her children visit

million-dollar negotiable bonds.

By the end of the play, the viewer wonders who the crazy ones really are.

• The final show is “The Foreigner” by Larry Shue. Set in a resort-style fishing lodge in rural Georgia, the comedy revolves around two of its guests, Charlie Baker (Todd Partridge) and Englishman Staff Sgt. Froggy LeSueur (Joseph Wall). Charlie is so pathologically shy that he is unable to speak. As way of explanation, Froggy claims his companion is the native of an exotic country who does not understand a word of English.

Before long, Charlie finds himself privy to assorted secrets

Kensie Migliori. 2. “The Foreigner”: From left, Todd Partridge, Spencer Larsen, Stuart Olsen, McKinzie Moore, Ace Savage and Joseph Wall. 3. “The Odd

but introspective heiress and Southern belle, Catherine Simms (McKinzie Moore), and the man to whom she is somewhat reluctantly engaged, the Rev. David Lee (Jason Baldwin), a seemingly humble preacher with a dark underside. Her younger brother, Ellard (Stuart Olsen), a somewhat “slow” boy (often thought of as a young Forrest Gump), is a simpleton who tries to teach Charlie how to speak English. Owen Musser (Spencer Larsen), the racist county property inspector, plans to oust property owner Betty Meeks (Ace Savage) and convert the lodge into a meeting place for the Ku Klux Klan.

Couple”: From left, A.J. Martin, Erin Roberts, Brennan Downs, Marissa Olson, Ann Mather, Jamille Parks, Melissa Rawlins and Braidee Drake.

A The AVA Gallery

DOWNTOWN GALLERY WALK will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 17. Participating locations include:

300 North

The Loft

S.E. Needham Jewelers

Federal Avenue

The Mountain Place Gallery

Italian Place

Caffe Ibis

Winborg Masterpieces Gallery

Main Street

100 North Summerfest Office & Gallery

Center Street

Utah Public Radio

The Alliance for the Varied Arts will present “Transcending Borders” by USU ceramist student Tony Clennell and “Longing for Honeybees” by local poet/artist Tara Hawkins through May 9, with an opening reception during the Gallery Walk. Regular gallery business hours are Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting May 2.

Caffe Ibis

(52 Federal Ave.)

Stokes Nature Center and the Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway Organization will display the best photos from the Logan Canyon Photography Contest. There will also be light refreshments and live jazz. For more information, call 755-3239 or visit www.logannature.org.

St. John’s Episcopal Church

The Art Center

100 East

Why Sound

Global Village Gifts

200 North

The Loft (155 Church St.)

Like many artists, Eric K. Wallis sells his work far from his native Cache Valley, but he’s bringing the art home for a silent auction so Northern Utah residents can own an original masterpiece without traveling to a gallery.

Wallis’ drive, curiosity and independence have helped him carve his own style, influenced by but separate from the artists he has learned from.

Wallis has honed his skills through focused, creative discipline, quietly building an impressive and varied body of work that has been featured in 27 one-man exhibitions and sold in 25 galleries over the past 19 years. His paintings are held in many private and corporate collections.

For more information about Eric Wallis and publications cataloguing his recent work, visit www.wallisart.com.

St. John’s Church

AVA Gallery

100 South

(35 W. 100 South)

(85 E. 100 North)

The second-graders of Mrs. Wallin’s class at Edith Bowen Laboratory School recently tied the finishing knots on their story quilt soon to be hung at St. John’s Episcopal Church. For the past 10 weeks, the students have delved deep into fairy tales and folktales from around the world.

With the guiding vision of USU ArtsBridge scholar Jeannine Huenemann, students took this inspiration and created their own class tale, which they then illustrated onto quilt squares.

The students’ finished quilt, along with several other USU ArtsBridge student projects, will be featured alongside oil paintings by professional artist Deborah Banerjee.

St. John’s will also host a display of clay tiles created as part of Hillcrest Elementary’s fourthgraders’ exploration into early indigenous Utah cultures. They’ve learned about the Fremont culture, cave paintings and petroglyphs in Southern Utah and have created their own versions of rock

art, with the theme of “Then and Now.” From Summit Elementary in Smithfield, Dave Nagata’s fourth-graders will display their culminating project, a 3-D rendering of the complex ecosystem of Cache Valley. The project was led

by ArtsBridge scholar and USU physics graduate student Greg Perry.

Each student was given a blank “field guide” for their project, which they filled over the winter with definitions, drawings, tracings and their own ideas. Perry led them through the creation of origami trees and mountainscapes, representation of water droplets through shading techniques and conifer branch replication.

For more information about participating in USU ArtsBridge, call 760-4889 or visit www. usu.edu/artmuseum/artsbridge.html.

More locations include:

★★ The Cache Valley Gallery at The Art Center (25 W. 100 North): Featuring local artists ★★ Global Village Gifts (146 N. 100 East): Featuring USU students, “Other Worlds: Other Art, Earth Tales” ★★ Summerfest Office and Gallery (69 E. 100 North): Featuring Connie Morgan, “Nature’s Gifts” ★★ S.E. Needham Jewelers (141 N. Main): Featuring Colleen K. Howe, “Coming Home” ★★ Why Sound (30 Federal Ave.): Featuring Dallas Ford, “The Beginning” ★★ Utah Public Radio Downtown Studio (43 S. Main): Featuring Matt Larson, “Classical Painting in Figurative Work” ★★ Winborg Masterpieces (55 N. Main, Ste. 208): Featuring Larry Winborg and Jeremy Winborg, “Minatures Oil Studies” ★★ The Mountain Place Gallery (123 N. Main, upstairs): Featuring paintings of the Southwest, Santa Fe, Taos and Navajo weavings ★★ The Italian Place (48 Federal Ave.): Featuring Logan High School art department students and teachers, “Art Education: Results!”

Page 5 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

The springtime Gallery Walk is back!

Page 6 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Film Still playing “Observe and Report” Rated R ★1⁄2 The most charitable thing we can say about this otherwise insufferable comedy is that it shows Seth Rogen has some range. He’s not just the self-deprecating cutup, the stoner teddy bear we’ve come to know and love in movies like “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express.” Apparently, he also has some pent-up rage in him, which he unleashes in spectacularly wild fashion as the head of security at a suburban shopping center. (Don’t call him a mall cop, though the superficial similarities to the PG-rated Paul Blart are unmistakable. Later, though, as Rogen’s character sinks into his self-appointed role as vigilante, he will also resemble Travis Bickle. It’s an odd combination.)

Rogen’s Ronnie Barnhardt takes his job far too seriously, of course, but he’s forced to spring into actual action when a flasher starts antagonizing the shoppers — and, more importantly, blond bimbo Brandi (Anna Faris), the cosmetics clerk he secretly adores. But there’s nothing about Ronnie that makes you root for him to succeed personally or professionally; writerdirector Jody Hill has created yet another singularly unlikable character, as he did in his debut last summer, “The Foot Fist Way.” On the one hand, you have to admire Hill for just going for it, for recklessly abandoning all semblance of what would be considered appropriate for a mainstream audience. And yet, the road he drags us down isn’t all that funny. R for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use, sexual content and violence. 86 min.

“Hannah Montana: The Movie” Rated G ★★ There’s no way to analyze this movie as an adult.

The big-screen version of the Disney TV series is not made for us — it’s made for tween girls and no one else — and so we must consider how they’re going to respond to it. Now, this will come as no surprise at all, but they’re gonna love it.

If you were a 10-year-old girl,

“17 Again” Rated PG-13 ★★ This is one of those movies that requires you to suspend all disbelief and assume that someone who looks like Zac Efron could, in 20 years, turn into someone who looks like Matthew Perry. Can’t do it, you say? Well, that detail is just about as implausible as the film’s premise itself: Mike O’Donnell (Perry), a miserable father of two on the brink of divorce, gets a chance to relive his high-school days and improve his future by becoming 17 in the present day, all thanks to the magical powers of a mystical janitor.

It’s always some odd figure on the fringe who brings about this kind of fantastic transformation, isn’t it? Well yes, you’d also want to be smalltown sweetheart Miley Stewart and/or her secret pop-star alter ego, Hannah Montana. Singer/ songwriter/dancer/trendsetter Miley Cyrus makes both characters so likably harmless, so attractively accessible, it’s hard not to be charmed. Just you try to resist her endless supply of energy and moxie! Even when she gets a little carried away with her celebrity lifestyle in Los Angeles — which prompts a return to Tennessee for some hometown reprogramming — she still has a magnetism about her. Nevertheless, “Hannah Montana: The Movie” drags us all back to the fictional Crowley Corners to bang us over the head with the message that big cities are bad and small towns are good. And there’s plenty of down-home singin’ and cuttin’ up to emphasize that point. The predictable (though beautifully photographed) film from director Peter Chelsom finds Miley’s dad, Robby Ray (Cyrus’ real-life father, Billy Ray), taking her home to reconnect with her roots. There she bonds with Grandma (Margo Martindale) and finds her first boyfriend (Lucas Till), a non-threatening farmhand she’s known since childhood. But a British tabloid reporter (Peter Gunn) has followed her there, trying to dig up some dirt. G. 106 min.

New this week!

there are a lot of elements of “17 Again” that feel awfully familiar. Director Burr Steers, a long way from his darkly comic, coming-of-age debut “Igby Goes Down,” takes you “Fast & Furious” Rated PG-13 ★1⁄2 Noise, noise, noise.

Crunched metal and shattered glass. More noise. Revving engines. Vin Diesel’s giant head.

Hot chicks in tight miniskirts.

Even more noise. The end.

That’s pretty all much there is to “Fast & Furious,” essentially a remake of the 2001 hit “The Fast and the Furious” with the same cast, except it seems to exist in some parallel universe where the word “the” no longer exists. It also seems to function outside of logic, cohesive plot structure and the laws of gravity, but hey — this being the fourth film in the

places you’ve been before in more charming movies like “Big,” “13 Going on 30,” “Freaky Friday,” “Never Been Kissed” and even “Back to the Future.” (Jason Filardi wrote street racing series, such niceties have long since been tossed out the widow and run over repeatedly. Justin Lin, who also directed part three, 2006’s “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” piles on the mind-bogglingly elaborate chase scenes and set pieces. But you’ve seen a lot of these sorts of stunts in the previous movies — and heard the same cheesy dialogue — so it’s strange to witness how seriously “Fast & Furious” takes itself, like it’s reinventing the wheel or something. Snarling bad guys, women who pout beautifully and, of course, a wide array of brightly hued, souped-

the script.) But rather than changing his decision to abandon his dreams of basketball stardom and marry the highschool girlfriend he knocked up, Mike realizes his true purpose is to reconnect with his wife (played as an adult

by Leslie Mann) and teenage kids (Michelle Trachtenberg and Sterling Knight). Efron maintains the dreamy presence that made the tweens scream in the “High School Musical” series, and he gets a couple of amusing scenes as a grown-up delivering uptight diatribes in a boy’s body, but he still seems too pretty and lightweight to be a persuasive leading man capable of carrying a film. PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying. 98 min. up cars — but not an ounce of creativity or grace. Diesel’s fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto is back in L.A. and out for revenge. He reluctantly re-teams with former undercover cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) to take down a drug dealer who’s behind a murder. Their strategy leads them to a series of ridiculously illegal races, which make the streets of Los Angeles more dangerous to drive on than usual. PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references. 107 min.

— All reviews by The Associated Press

“S

TATE OF PLAY” is an intelligent, seamlessly paced political thriller that will most likely be overlooked and even steamrolled this weekend by the Zac Efron Love Train. Who wants to watch a chubby Russell Crowe and a graying Ben Affleck attack D.C. corruption when Efron’s rippled abs can be had for the better part of two hours? You might, but I’ll take the former “Gladiator” star and his acting chops any day over Capt. High School Musical.

Love him or hate him, Russell Crowe proves in “State of Play” that which moviegoers have known for more than a decade: He is one of the best leading actors working today.

There is absolutely no debate — Crowe is the real deal. From “L.A. Confidential” to “The Insider” to “Gladiator,” “A Beautiful Mind” and “Cinderella Man,” Crowe has the ability to morph into the character he is portraying on the big screen. He lends emotion and believability to his roles, something very rare in Hollywood these days.

But he’s not alone in “State of Play.” The cast, including Ben Affleck (“He’s Just Not That Into You”), Rachel McAdams (“Married Life”), Helen Mirren (“The Queen”), Robin WrightPenn (“What Just Happened”), Jason Bateman (“Juno”) and Jeff Daniels (”The Lookout”), rounds out a crew of actors whose talents are matched perfectly to their characters. Director Kevin Macdonald also shows that his last two ventures, “Touching the Void” and “The Last King of Scotland,” were not flukes.

Without a doubt, “State of Play” is one of the best films of 2009 so far. It has some genuine twists and turns I didn’t see coming, which, I’m afraid to admit, might make me a total idiot. And, as I noted before, the acting in this film is fantastic. I just don’t understand why Universal Studios scheduled this movie for April when, in fact, it’s more like an October release — something to wet the whistle of the Academy Awards voters. I can’t help but think Russell Crowe would see some Oscar love if this movie was released next fall.

Screening Room

By Andy Morgan

★★★★ “State of Play” Rated PG-13

While this film is set in Washington, D.C., “State of Play,” is actually adapted from a six-part British television series of the same name. The film follows a journalist, Cal McAffrey (Crowe), who eats, sleeps and drinks hard, investigative news.

He’s old-school, isn’t a big fan of blogs or their writers and spends the majority of his time in his messy, beat-up Saab or his cluttered cubical at the Washington Globe. The film brings the dilemma of modern-day newspapers to light via the Globe’s editor, Cameron Lynne (Mirren).

She’s caught between pushing the paper to make money for its corporate owners and maintaining the paper’s long-established objective of reporting more on the side of investigation instead of sensationalism.

Cal is looking into a double homicide when news breaks that his college roommate and friend, Congressman Stephen Collins (Affleck), is having a romantic affair with a research assistant on his staff (Maria Thayer). This would seem like any other day in D.C., except she was killed on the way to the PointCorp hearings, of which she was the lead researcher for Collins, who is chairing the hearings. With his politician friend’s revelation, Cal soon finds himself in over his head. He’s got a Washington Globe cub reporter/gossip blog-

ger, Della Frye (McAdams), following him around and questioning his methods of motivation, a double homicide that all of the sudden seems related to the death of the senator’s mistress, and both Stephen and Anne Collins (Wright-Penn) looking to him for support and guidance. And despite all of the drama, Cal only wants one thing: the truth. It’s what he believes the people deserve.

Andy Morgan is a lifelong Cache Valley resident and a member of the Utah Film Critics Association. He is among a number of freelance writers whose columns appear in The Herald Journal as part of an effort to expose readers to a variety of community voices.

Send comments or questions to andrewamorgan@gmail.com or discuss movies online at www.

AndyAtTheMovies.com.

Page 7 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Russell Crowe shines in ‘State of Play’

See how one local company is helping homeowners sell their property by making it more attractive to potential buyers

W

ith the state of the housing market these days, homeowners looking to sell are looking for any edge they can get. To that end, there’s a business in Cache Valley that might be able to help.

Staged Elements specializes in home staging, which can improve the appearance of a home and make it more attractive to potential buyers. Chelsey Sanders and Marci Pratt, both of Providence, and Kristi Hartman, who operates out of Ogden, provide a variety of services that range from consultation on color and interior design to improving the curb appeal of a house to doing the actual interior staging themselves.

Sanders has been working in home staging and interior design for five years, four in Colorado. Although she graduated college with a degree in biology, her mother was an interior designer and her grandmother actually started the interior design program at Ricks College, now BYU-Idaho.

After moving to Providence, Sanders started the company a year ago with Pratt coming on board, staging homes primarily for Salt Lake City-based Keller Williams Realty. Pratt also has a strong interior design background, although she switched from formal training in the discipline as a sophomore in college to study health occupations.

“I just started helping them out,” Pratt said. “And I’ve just always had a really strong passion for design and loved doing it for family and friends.”

Consultation packages start at $150, where the designers will take an hour or two to inspect and evaluate the home for problem areas and any paint recommendations.

“A lot of times what we’ll do, even on our basic package, is a simple walkthrough,” Sanders said. “It’s us pretending like we’re the buyers, looking at problem areas, saying hey, if you were to change this paint, if it’s an obnoxious red — it might be OK to have in your home to live in but an eyesore for the buyer — to go with a

Story by Chuck Nunn

neutral palette. We encourage a lot of our clients to neutralize your home and then accent with colors so it will have undertones of emotion.”

The client receives a written analysis within 24 to 48 hours. Starting at $250, a client gets everything involved in the basic package plus advice on repositioning of furniture and accessories and curb appeal.

Staging packages begin at $650, a do-it-yourself program which includes a written staging plan, recommendations on additional purchases the client may need to make and a follow-up visit once the changes are implemented.

Staged Elements also offers a home makeover package where the designers do all the staging at $650 plus an hourly rate.

Sanders and Pratt reiterate that while home sellers might be initially put off by what they perceive to be the expenses of home staging, their service is

r o F

usually cost-effective and pays for itself.

“I think that’s really important,” Sanders said. “Some people are thinking that staging is going to be $1,000 per month, you have to completely re-gut your house, bring in furniture, when really it’s just making what you have look its best.”

Having a home staged can be an effective benefit, especially for people

who may be selling their home themselves.

“It’s their marketing cost,” Pratt said.

“You’re paying a realtor thousands, or you’re paying a stager a couple of hundred and getting the same results.”

For sellers who are working with realtors, Sanders said stagers can still be effective in helping them get more for their homes.

“This is how it works: A realtor will give them an idea of what the value of the home is,” she said. “And sometimes we’ll look at the neighborhood to see what they’ve been selling for. But in many cases you can ask more just by changing a few things, making a few updates. We like to work with the realtor on the

e l a S price and say, ‘Hey, you can actually get more out by making a few changes to the house.’ It might cost you $1,000 to do some yard work or something.

But adding lighting to your front yard is going to draw the buyer in, and you make that back on the back end.”

The challenges in staging a home for sale can be varied. Sometimes, for instance, Sanders and Pratt encounter clients who may have a large piece of furniture that could interfere with how a potential buyer visualizes the house, which may require the purchase of some different pieces to replace or accentuate what the buyer has.

Chelsey Sanders, left, and Marci Pratt move a couch from a dining area to the living room of a Nibley home they are staging.

“If it was completely consuming the room, where you couldn’t see the house — because that’s the whole thing, you’re trying to sell the house, stage it in a way that people feel, ‘My furniture can fit in here,’” Sanders said.

“It feels livable, it’s cozy, just tying in that emotion, so people will buy. That’s what selling is all about.”

At other times, buyers may just have too many belongings and decorations in a room to make it as attractive to buyers, which can be resolved simply by packing those items and storing them away.

“I think most of the time we run into people having too much in their home,” Pratt said. “So it’s easy to say, ‘Let’s just take these things out and get back to the basics of the room, what’s really necessary for the room.’ A lot of times it’s more just about helping them de-clutter and decide what benefits their room the most.”

And quite often, Sanders said, their consultations don’t’ result in buyers having to make drastic or expensive changes at all.

“There’s been a lot of homes where they’ve said, ‘We can’t afford staging,’” she said. “And we’ve come in and said, ‘You don’t need this and this an this.’ And they’ve sold it on KSL, they’ve sold it through garage sales, and they’ve put that money toward either paying for our services or just small accessories that they need.”

Of course, if you’re not looking to sell your house but just want to update the design of your home, Staged Elements can help there, too, they say, for an affordable hourly rate “I know a lot of interior designers around here,” Pratt said. “We’re about $35 an hour, which some of them are hundreds. We’re a bit on the lower end on the cost, but the talent ... we’re giving them quality work.”

“We know people are out looking for a bargain,” Sanders added. “And we’re giving it to them.”

Interested parties in Cache Valley can reach Sanders by phone at 7641586 and can reach Pratt at 770-5548.

The company also has a Web site at www.stagedelements.com.

Photos by Alan Murray

Before S

Nibley

During S

Marci Prat

After S

Nibley

Staging ...

y home: Kitchen/dining room

Helpful Staging Tips

Nibley home: Living room

Providence home: Family room

Staging ...

tt, left, and Chelsey Sanders unravel a rug to place in the dining area of a home in Nibley.

Marci Pratt carries a rug into the Nibley home.

Staging ...

y home: Kitchen/dining room

Nibley home: Living room

Providence home: Family room

• Curb Appeal: First impressions are everything; if you can’t get them in the door you surely won’t sell them. Make sure your yard is in good condition. Check problem areas, electrical, exterior paint, potted plants, grease stains, chipped cement, dead grass and trim trees so you can see your house from the street. Exterior and ground lighting is a must. Many buyers use the evening to find homes; light can create warmth and attachment.

• Foyer/Front Area: Make sure your front area is de-cluttered and open; don’t have obstacles or things that inhibit the view of the house.

Tile, wood or carpet that is excessively worn should be taken care of.

Chem-Dry is a great carpet cleaner for deep cleans. Create a non-floral smell that is inviting and warm, like sugar cookies, cinnamon or pumpkin spice during holidays.

• Family/Living Rooms: Furniture positioning is everything. You want to create the illusion of space and highlight the best features. Make sure wall hangings are hung properly so the human eye isn’t distracted.

Symmetry and lighting will help to create order and function. Depersonalize by taking down excessive family pictures, religious portraits and anything that dates the home.

• Dining/Kitchen: This is the gathering place and should feel as such. Focus on entertaining; set the table as if guests are soon to arrive. Fresh flowers are wonderful and holidays are the optimal time to display this. If your cabinets need luster and shine, services like NHance Wood Renewal are cheap and effective. Hardware and light fixtures are also affordable and quick remedies to modernize the home.

• Master Bedroom: Relaxing, calm, soothing colors and bedding — artwork that has horizontal lines will create this effect. Bedding that has different textures will define elegance. You want this room to feel private and secluded.

• Other Areas: Paint colors that are tacky can be offensive. It is hard for most people to look past the color or labor involved to fix it.

Replace all light bulbs, open windows where necessary, clean out the garage, sell unwanted furniture or place it in a storage unit until the move. Hide pets and give your home a deep clean.

— Source: Staged Elements

Page 10 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Give me socialism or give me death

I

KNOW THERE ARE some crazy radio show psychics out there who claim to have predicted everything going on in the world right now. The trouble is, they never document it until after the fact. Predicting the past isn’t that hard to do.

To be fair, who could have predicted the biggest news story on Easter weekend 2009 was going to be real pirates trying to capture a U.S. ship rather than a third installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean” with Johnny Depp? Who could have predicted a Portuguese water dog in the same White House that was last year defending water boarding? Or that capitalism would be the new communism?

OK, maybe I’m the only one predicting hunting down and imprisoning capitalists will become the next fad. That’s why I want to put it in writing so that I get due credit.

I know it is getting to be old, old history but to just quickly refresh how this works in our country — in the 1940s Joseph McCarthy wanted rid the country of citizens who were secretly communist sympathizers. This fear-fueled fad became known as McCarthyism.

We can learn from this.

When we eventually become

Slightly Off Center

By Dennis Hinkamp

the socialist nation that President Obama wants us to be, we are going to have to uncover the remaining capitalists. Sure, the reckless ones will try to hide in first-class airline seats and Mercedes Benz dealerships, but we will find them and send them to the United Arab Emirates where they belong. Of course, nearly all of Hollywood and professional sports will be blacklisted and we’ll be stuck having to make do with nothing but real-

ity TV and women’s basketball for entertainment.

Those will be the easy ones to capture and deport — the low-hanging fruit if you will.

The stealth capitalists living secret lives in the middle class, or even below the poverty line, will be much more difficult to smoke out. Just think what life will be like when we ask everyone to sign an oath of non-capitalism before they are hired.

Can we find and imprison them? Yes we can; and the hearings and interrogations will be great sport.

“Have you ever been involved in speculative spending?” the interrogators will ask. “According to our sources, when you were in college you actually spent your student loans on cars and liquor instead of tuition. Isn’t that

Second Chance 5K raises organ donation awareness HE SIXTH ANNUAL T Second Chance 5K Fun Run will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 18, at Utah State University’s Romney Stadium parking lot, 800 E. 1200 North. Registration is $15 and will take place from 8 to 8:45 a.m. the day of the event.

Registration includes a Tshirt, drinks, snacks and a goodie bag. All proceeds go to support individuals and families going through the organ transplant or donation process and to increase awareness.

The Second Chance Fun Run was started by Irene Elbert in 2003 in an effort to raise awareness in Cache Valley about the need for organ

donors. The group that plans the Second Chance 5K has grown over the years to include a variety of people from the valley who have had some personal experience with the need for more organ donors.

About 100,000 people currently need a life-saving organ, and every 12 minutes anther name is added to the national registry.

It’s free, quick and easy to sign up to be a donor. Visit www.yesutah.org or www. donatelife.net and click on your state of residency to begin the process.

These sites also provide more statistics and answer questions people have about becoming registered.

right, you capitalist pig?”

“Sure you are wearing a Sierra Club T-shirt and you drive a Prius, but you wouldn’t you like a little bling bling piggy?” they’ll ask as they probe deeper.

On a larger scale, we’ll give everyone a $500 stimulus check and track how people spend it. True socialists will save the money or give it to charities while the capitalists will spend it on designer dog clothes and iPods. It will be easy to round them up and send them off to re-education camps.

What happens if we go down that road of affordable health care, safe roads and diminished poverty? Will we ever be able to regain our place in the world? Our presidents will start bowing to world leaders and have more exotic dogs running around the White House just

to appease their children. Who will run the world?

I think we’re ready to make the same transition as England.

Remember when it used to be Great Britain? We can go from being the United States of America to Americana. The more lovable, socialist Americana really won’t care about ruling the world and we’ll let countries such as Norway and Switzerland run things for awhile.

Dennis Hinkamp doesn’t really want to lock up capitalists — just their money. He is among a number of freelance writers whose columns appear in The Herald Journal as part of an effort to expose readers to a variety of community voices. He is not an employee of the newspaper. Feedback at dhinkamp@msn.com.

petting and interacting with them.

The event will take place mostly on the Jensen Historical Farm, one of the Heritage Center’s interpretive sites.

Wagon rides, pony rides and several other activities will be offered. Animals will include chicks, ducklings, piglets, goats, lambs, calves and baby horses.

For more information, call 2456050 or visit www.awhc.org.

* This week’s New York Times Bestseller List * HARDCOVER FICTION 1. “Long Lost” by Harlan Coben 2. “The Host” by Stephenie Meyer 3. “Handle With Care” by Jodi Picoult 4. “The Associate” by John Grisham 5. “True Detectives” by Jonathan Kellerman HARDCOVER NONFICTION 1. “Liberty and Tyranny” by Mark R. Levin 2. “Always Looking Up” by Michael J. Fox 3. “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell 4. “House of Cards” by William D. Cohan 5. “The Yankee Years” by Joe Torre PAPERBACK (MASS-MARKET) FICTION 1. “From Dead to Worse” by Charlaine Harris 2. “Montana Creeds: Tyler” by Linda Lael Miller 3. “Where Are You Now?” by Mary Higgins Clark 4. “Tribute” by Nora Roberts 5. “Nothing to Lose” by Lee Child PAPERBACK (TRADE) FICTION 1. “The Shack” by William P. Young 2. “Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah 3. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”

by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith 4. “City of Thieves” by David Benioff 5. “The Reader” by Bernhard Schlink

Keep your reading list updated at www.nytimes.com/pages/books/

Page 11 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

he American West Heritage Center in Wellsville will host two Animals Only Days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 18 and 25.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children. Baby Animal Days coupons and passes do not apply to this event.

Unlike the last weekend’s big festival, these days will simply feature baby animals with a focus on seeing,

Page 12 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Books

A novel that will take your breath away “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford (Ballentine Books, 2009, $24)

Regional Reads

M

ONTANA WRITER Jamie Ford has produced a first novel that takes my breath away. The depth and layers of this novel are beyond my meager abilities to describe them.

On the surface, this is a book about the Japanese internment — and could stand on its historical significance alone. But Ford’s understanding of the human condition and foibles makes this novel stand out from most. He explores the depths of human passion and compassion, loyalty, friendship and love. Beyond that, there are the cultural and generational conflicts and writing that is so fine and touched me on such a deep and personal level, I read several chapters through teary eyes and with a lump the size of a grapefruit in my throat.

Henry Lee and Keiko Okabe are “scholarship” children — the only Asian children in an all-white school in Seattle, Wash., in the 1942 time warp of World War II. They are immediately drawn to each other because of their common isolation in a world where they are the brunt and target of the resentments against their ethnicity, standing out in a sea of white faces. However, for all they have in common, there is one huge difference that ultimately keeps them apart: Henry is Chinese — in fact, his father makes him wear a button that declares to the world “I AM CHINESE” — and Keiko is Japanese, although she adamantly defines herself as “American.”

Their friendship is strictly forbidden by Henry’s traditional Chinese father and it is his prejudice and the evacuation of the Japanese people that ultimately shape the outcome of this friendship.

By Charlene Hirschi

When Keiko is taken away, 12-year-old Henry vows he will wait for her. But the war and intervening events force them apart. Henry marries and has a son, Marty, and in many ways Henry has created the same kind of estrangement between himself and Marty that existed in his own youth with his father. It is now 44 years later and Henry’s wife, Edith, has died. Never having forgotten Keiko, he finds it remarkable the cultural changes that have taken place in the intervening years: “Henry thought about his Chinese son, engaged to his Caucasian girlfriend, driving around in a Japanese car. Henry’s own father must be spinning in his grave. The thought made him smile. A little.”

Keiko was the only bright spot in Henry’s lonely and isolated young life. Henry was required by his father to speak only English at home, although neither of his parents spoke anything but Cantonese.

Therefore, Henry’s home was one of silence. His school and social life was no better — and perhaps even worse: “Anxiety about Monday mornings was nothing new. In fact, it normally began on Sunday afternoons. Even though he was used to his routine at Rainier Elementary, his stomach would knot up as the hours passed, each minute bringing him closer to his return to the all-white

“

Jamie Ford has produced a first novel that takes my breath away. The depth and layers of this novel are beyond my meager abilities to describe them.

’’

school — the bullies, the heckling and his lunch duties in the cafeteria with Mrs. Beatty.

This Monday morning, though, his ritual of serving the other kids seemed downright exciting. Those 40 precious minutes in the kitchen had become time well spent, since he’d get to see Keiko. Silver lining?

Indeed.”

On the historical level, the reader will learn more about “Executive Order 9102, which creates the War Relocation Authority. ... the entire West Coast has been designated a military area. ... Half of Washington, half of Oregon and most of California are now under military supervision.”

As Americans we are aware that Japanese-Americans were rounded up en masse, leaving

their homes and possessions behind for looters and vandals.

Ford’s careful research has exposed this injustice without rancor or judgment — except as seen through the bewildered eyes of a young Chinese boy who sees his whole world crumble as thousands of his neighbors are swooped up by the government, to whom they have pledged their allegiance, and imprisoned on the sole evidence of their ethnicity.

America was at war on three fronts: Japan, Italy and Germany. But as Henry’s older, black, saxophone-playing friend Sheldon observes, at the first signs of what is to come — the military evacuation of the entire Japanese population on Bainbridge Island — “... said it was for their own safety. Can you believe that nonsense? ... I heard they build some kind of prisoner of war camp down there near Nevada.

They pass some order saying they can round up all the Japanese, Germans and Italians — but do you see any Germans in that crowd? You see them rounding up Joe DiMaggio?”

The saga of Henry and Keiko takes us inside Camp Harmony in Washington and the Minidoka internment camp just outside Jerome, Idaho. We experience the sparse living conditions, the barbed-wire fences, the towers with machine gun-toting guards and the spirit and resilience of the Japanese people. This book

reminds us once again of the consequences of fear and distrust during times of war. The imprisonment of an entire population not because of anything they have done, but because of their ancestry alone.

One can only think of the parallel between that time and our own — when, in our fear of “the other,” the United States government and its people make sweeping judgments based on what the most radical few of a particular religion or ethnicity have done. A time when our core beliefs are swept aside for the expediency of the moment. One need only substitute Guantanamo Bay for Minidoka and Muslim for Japanese to see that some lessons have not been learned in the intervening 67 years. Henry’s black jazz hero, Oscar Holden, “was on a police watch list now, for speaking out against the treatment of the (Japanese) residents, and had a hard time getting gigs. The price you pay for speaking your mind — you lose the ability to have your singing voice heard. A tragedy, Henry thought. No, more than a tragedy, it was a crime, having that ability stolen from him.”

The title of this book says it all: A story so sweet, yet so bitter, the reader will long remember the tender story of Henry and Keiko. It seems to this reviewer that Ford has ended this story right where another could begin. Could we possibly hope for a sequel?

Only time will tell, but I, for one, have my fingers crossed.

Book critic Charlene Hirschi holds her master’s in English from Utah State University. She is among a number of freelance writers whose columns appear in The Herald Journal as part of an effort to expose readers to a variety of community voices.

Authors, readers and editors are invited to visit www.char lenehirschi.com.

By Jenni Whiteley for Cache Magazine

I

RVING WASSERMANN,

former head of the music department at Utah State University, established the first “Music West Festival” in 1980 to expose USU students and community members to artists who excel in the field of music with piano being the focus.

Today this event is known as the “Wassermann Festival” in his honor. Past guest artists have included world-renowned conductors, arrangers, composers, writers, historians, instrument collaborators, teachers and, of course, piano performers of the highest caliber.

The 2009 festival season, which ended April 7, was no exception. It consisted of four concerts and two master classes presented by award-winning pianists Spencer Myer, Roberto Plano, Kevin Kenner and Stephen Beus.

Professor Dennis Hirst, current director of the Wassermann Festival, said, “It was absolutely fantastic. I can’t think of a single season that was as enjoyable.

Every performer was extraordinary and a gift and treasure to the community.” Each performer received at least one standing ovation and performed encores.

But after 30 years of existence, possible cancellation looms ahead for the festival.

The 2009 season itself was put on to help raise funds to secure the contracts made with artists for 2010. All the 2009 artists, piano tuner, director and others involved donated their talents to this cause. The budget cuts affecting USU have affected the music department as well and decisions on what to cut are being made. The Wassermann Festival is at risk because the majority of its funding still depends upon the university.

When asked if the 2009 festival raised the money needed to guarantee the contracts made with artists for the 2010 season, Hirst said, “I wish I could say that we raised more than we needed and everything is secure. We have put in a good foundation, though.”

Proceeds from ticket sales raised more than 25 percent of the 2010 operating costs. Some

Celebrate America

A

UDITIONS FOR SINGERS AND dancers to perform in the Broadway-style big-band production of the 10th annual Celebrate America Show, “Yankee Doodle Dazzle,” will take place at 5:30 p.m. April 21; 8 p.m.

April 23; and 11 a.m. April 25 at Thomas Edison School, 200 E. 2600 North, North Logan. Cast members receive three hours class credit and a cash scholarship.

For auditions, dancers should wear a leotard and tights and bring dance shoes, including tap (if you have them). Singers should come prepared to sing both a Broadway and ballad-style song. Wear clothing you can dance in. Callbacks will be at 2 p.m. April 25. Singers should contact Michael Dubois at 801-746-9011 to schedule an audition time; to download an audition packet visit www.celebrateamericashow.com; and for more information, call 753-1551.

Irving Wassermann

Photo by Jen Pulham

additional private donations brought the sum up to 30 percent.

Added with a grant Hirst received from the Comstock-Clayton Foundation in 2008, the grand total raised is now more than 38.

Hirst says this is the highest percentage of outside donations he’s ever received to support the Wassermann Festival.

“My goal was to reduce dependence upon university funds as much as possible and

we are doing that,” he said.

On April 13, when Hirst again approached the head of the music department, Dr. Craig Jessop, about the Wassermann Festival’s standing. Jessop said, “The Wassermann Festival has our full support and I will do everything in my power to ensure its continuance.” Yet, no promises.

“But the door is still open and as long as it is open I can go ahead with the 2010 season as

scheduled,” Hirst said.

In the meantime, he plans to continue to recruit as much financial support as possible.

“I had no intention to end my work when the 2009 Wassermann Festival was done,” he said. “I believe we can raise what we need to make next year happen, either through private donations or business donations.”

Hirst, though, does feel an ethical responsibility to give contracted artists enough time to find other venues should funding for the 2010 Wassermann Festival discontinue.

“Performers run on a schedule much like a university — with summer, fall and winter seasons. Many performers are booked years in advance. If in the fall I have reason to believe that the festival just will not happen, I will make contact with the contracted performers and ask what they would like me to do. They would all understand and I’m sure do all they could to try to make it work.”

When asked how cancellation of the Wassermann Festival

Page 13 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

The 2009 Wassermann Festival was a great success, but its plight is still unknown

See PLIGHT on p.14

Figure Skating Club to put on spring show HE CACHE T Valley Figure Skating Club will present its sixth

annual spring show, “Once Upon a Time in 2009,” at 8 p.m. April 24 and 25 at the Eccles Ice Center. The performance will showcase fairy tales with a modern twist. Performers include award-winning club skaters along with special guests from the Eccles Ice Center’s Learnto-Skate and Hot Chocolate Club programs, as well as students from the USU

figure skating class. They will also be joined by Scott Smith, a nationally ranked skater. General admission is $5 and reserved seating is $8. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Ice Center or at the door the nights of the shows.

The Cache Valley Figure Skating Club consists of skaters of all ages dedicated to the sport of figure skating.

Members of the club compete at various events throughout the state of Utah and the western U.S.

Page 14 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Crossword

www.ThemeCrosswords.com

“Fun & Games” by Myles Mellor and Sally York 1.

6.

11.

14.

18.

19.

20.

21.

23.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

33.

35.

36.

38.

39.

42.

45.

47.

48.

50.

51.

53.

56.

57.

58.

62.

63.

64.

65.

68.

69.

73.

75.

77.

Across Santa Claus feature Cartoon Viking Fairy queen Yemen gulf Magical Florida city?

“South Pacific” hero Nothing’s opposite “Sixteen ___” Go it alone, musically “The Gondoliers” girl “20,000 Leagues” harpooner ___ Land By ___ (eventually) Conflicting doctrine Automobile sticker fig.

Grant’s hubby Animation frame Exigencies Always, to bards Commit a double diss? “___ Believer” “Sanford ___” Cracker Jack bonus Query before “Here goes!”

Burden Diminutive suffixes Net “Fancy that!”

Website abbreviation Showcase for the queen Afflict Carbamide Auto brands Did more than walk Corp. exec.

Cognac and calvados, e.g.

Hang or hand follower Final words?

“Ol’ Rockin’ ___” (bin-mate of the 1957

Plight Continued from p.13 would affect his own future, Hirst said, “I honestly hadn’t given much thought to that until you asked because I’m committed that that’s not going to be the outcome.

I’m sure my time would be redirected, but I look for opportunities to grow professionally through

album “Ford Favorites”) 78. Attack one’s provider 89. Id ___ 90. Bill of Rights subj.

91. “Good Morning, ___” 92. Antipasto morsel 93. Wore away 94. Flintstone “word” 96. Old French

musical tones 97. Billfold fillers 98. “We’ve been ___!”

99. Why one might

study an enigma 105. Pituitary, e.g.

106. Exclamations of relief 108. Ashes holder 109. Go word-to word with 110. Cousin of -trix 111. Pulverized 114. ___ bono 115. “Give it ___!”

116. More regal 117. Marked as a criminal 126. Modern workout system 127. This can be white 128. Take forcibly 129. Certain sorority member 130. First place?

131. Toni Morrison’s “___ Baby” 132. Graf rival 133. Squalid Down 1. Clobber 2. Schubert’s

“The ___-King” 3. ___ grecque 4. Travis or Newman 5. Actions 6. Coastal area

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

22.

24.

25.

29.

30.

31.

32.

34.

35.

36.

37.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

46.

49.

52.

53.

54.

55.

59.

60.

61.

65.

66.

67.

68.

70.

things like the Wassermann. It was a significant part of why I made my career here (in Logan).”

Hirst said the Wassermann Festival provides lots of “essential opportunities” for students and the community.

“I will and must do everything in my power to keep the festival going and honor Dr. Wassermann as well,” Hirst said.

He said his own educational philosophy helps

him through times like this. He believes that as long as there is hope, a will and doors are open, circumstances can always get better.

“It’s no different in my own life or as an educator,” he said. “I understand the power of this positive approach. I couldn’t prepare my students any other way. If I told my piano students, ‘Oh, you’ll never get that!’ then I would be a complete fail-

“Yo te ___” Pink lady ingredient A pint, maybe Sent back to lower court A bunch of Priestly garb Tasteless Didn’t dawdle Allergy enemies “... or ___!”

1987 Costner role Express aloud Pooch in TV’s “Topper” ___-bodied One who takes advice Move aimlessly Basil-based sauce Disgusting “___ In,” Wings single Children’s board game Dumfries denial Nigerian city Be itinerant “___ Jacques” (children’s song) Music downloader Pool word Wheel turners Class-conscious org.?

Ancient Vietnamese garment Smeltery refuse Lady Macbeth, e.g.

“Where did ___ keys?”

Tolerance level Butt Marvelous, in slang “Act your ___!”

Traveled quickly Bauxite, e.g.

“Stupid me!”

Bank in the news Unicorn, in King

71.

72.

73.

74.

76.

79.

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

James Version Agassi ___-European West Indian folk magic Peace Corps cousin Gear hauler for garage musicians Grate on one’s nerves Like some discussions Bend Took ___ for the worse Explosives Religious diets? ___-mo

86. Door part 87. Daredevil and

namesakes 88. Makes even smoother 95. Greyhound, e.g.

100. Harsh 101. Wears away 102. Shirt ___ 103. “Otello” baritone 104. Food fishes 106. Newbie, of sorts 107. Graceful bird 111. Corp. leadership 112. “Dies ___” (hymn)

113. Alit 114. Play to the crowd 117. Short order, for short 118. River inlet 119. Can 120. “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner 121. Trick taker, often 122. Not just “a” 123. Grassland 124. Store convenience, for short 125. “No ___!”

Answers from last week ure as a teacher.”

Regardless of its future outcome, Hirst feels all the effort put into the 2009 Wassermann Festival was completely worthwhile.

“The festival was full of outstanding performances by people who gave of themselves and of great value to the students and the community,” he said.

“As long as there is hope, in the end I know it has all mattered because of what the response has been.”

Friday The Hyrum City Queen Contest will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Hyrum Civic Center.

Admission is free.

SaddleStrings will perform at 7:30 p.m.

Friday at the Allinger Community Theatre in Montpelier. Show-only tickets are $10 and dinner-and-show tickets are $27. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. For more information, call 208-847-3800.

“The Madwoman of Chaillot” will play Friday and Saturday at USU’s Morgan Theatre. Tickets are $13 for the public and free to students, and are available by calling the Caine School of the Arts Box Office (7978022), visiting the box office online (http://boxoffice.usu.edu) or at the door.

The Hyrum Senior Center will have lunch at noon and play bingo at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

All seniors are invited. Please call 245-3570 before 10 a.m. to reserve your spot for lunch.

from the sale will go to U.S. Cpl. Micheal Boyd Alleman’s family. Alleman will killed Feb. 23 in Iraq, after being attacked by insurgents.

Learn how to take proper care of your horse at a 4-H America’s Healthy Horse program from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the east end of the Cache County Indoor Arena. Admission is free and everyone is invited — bring your horse. For more information, call 752-2151, 258-2190 or 563-3666.

There will be an AARP driving class from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cache County Sheriff’s Complex. Cost is $12 for members and $14 for non-members. Please be early to fill out paperwork. For more information and to register, call 764-0834.

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) will host an open house from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Saturday at 310 N. 800 East in Hyrum. There will be guest speakers from around the state, door prizes and Utah’s Queen runner-up. For more information, visit www.tops.org or contact area captain Hope Hansen at 245-6311.

An Ogden singles dance for ages 25 and older will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Friday at Weber State University, Shepherd Student Union Building, 3750 Harrison Blvd.

Admission is $7 ($5 for students) and includes profession ballroom dance lessons from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. There will be food. For more information, call 801-773-7464.

The Unicorn Children’s Theatre will present “Half a King Is Better than None” at 2 p.m.

Saturday at the Bullen Center. Admission is $2.

Avenue will perform with Kid Theodore and Matt Ben Jackson (indie rock/ska) at 8 p.m. Friday at Why Sound, 30 Federal Ave., Logan. Cover charge is $5. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/whysound.

The Traveling Band of Wild Untamed Mystical Magic Gypsies will present a Chautauqua for Four Paws Rescue from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday at Why Sound.

Admission is $3 and includes music, poetry, storytelling, art and treats. All proceeds will benefit Four Paws.

Jacob Davidson will perform live music at 7 p.m. and Jan Summerhays will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Pier 49 San Francisco Style Sourdough Pizza, 115 E. 1200 South, Logan. For more information, call 713-4949.

Kids ages 4-14 are invited to attend a Macey’s “behind-the-scenes” store tour at 4 or 4:30 p.m. Friday. For more information, call 753-3301.

Saturday A benefit yard sale for the Whittier Community Center’s Adventure Playground will take place at 10 a.m.

Saturday in the Providence Macey’s parking lot. There will be deals on clothing, shoes, kitchen and household goods, toys and games, books, movies, electronics and more.

A Community Resource and Information Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday at Bridgerland Applied Technology College’s west campus, 1301 N. 600 West.

There will be more than 35 non-profit and service agencies in attendance. Admission is free. For more information, call 753-5353.

The Western singing duo Tumbleweeds will perform at from 6 p.m. to closing Saturday at LD’s Cafe in Richmond. Everyone is invited.

A garage sale will take place in conjunction with a benefit 5K, 1-mile benefit run from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Nibley’s Elk Horn Park, 750 W. 2600 South. All proceeds

Utah Home Depot will host a home protection clinic at noon Saturday. Led by local law enforcement, this free workshop is open to everyone. Please call 787-2657 to sign up.

Auditions for “Whoopee!” will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse in Ogden. All roles are open.

Prepare a one-minute monologue and 16 bars of an upbeat Broadway-style song. There are roles open for men and women ages 16 to 60. For an audition form or more information, visit www.terraceplayhouse.com.

Julia Mecham will perform live music at 7 p.m. and Krista Mitton will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Pier 49 San Francisco Style Sourdough Pizza.

Paul Munsun of Sun Oven International will visit from Illinois to talk about the Sun Oven, which uses no electricity and can cook, bake or steam anything. This is a 45-minute demonstration and will be held outside (weather permitting) at the Providence Macey’s and will start at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.sunoven.com or www.ksl.com; to reserve a spot, call 753-3301.

The Logan Kiwanis Club will host a foodbank “Kiwanis Baby Cupboard” supply project on Saturday. Members will be collecting baby supplies at the entrance of all nine local supermarkets. For more information, contact Curtis Roberts at 563-0618.

Sunday Eric “Bear Heart” Hash will play the Native American flute from noon to 2 p.m.

Sunday at Caffe Ibis, 52 Federal Ave., Logan.

Monday The Wm B. Preston DUP camp will meet at 2 p.m. Monday at the home of Blanche Astle. The history will be given by Judy Moser, lesson by LuAnn Burnside and hostesses are Beverly Gancheff and Virginia Parker.

Elizabeth Mathews DUP will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday at The Copper Mill. Hostess will be Mary Ann Berry; history and artifacts will be given by DeVonna Bagley; and the lesson will be given by Vera and Bonnie O’Brien.

Art students representing the Class of 2009 at USU will exhibit their work in a culminating exhibition that opens Monday and continues through April 30 in the Tippetts Exhibition Hall of the Fine Arts Center. A free opening reception will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. April 24. For information, call 797-3460.

The DUP Cynthia Benson camp will meet at 1 p.m. Monday at the Hyrum Civic Center.

The lesson will be given by Christine Johnson and the history by Carol Nielsen.

Providence will celebrate its 150-year anniversary Monday at the Old Rock Church.

Doors will open at 1 p.m. for the viewing of locally handmade quilts and other local historical artifacts. The program will begin at 7 p.m. with light refreshments afterwards.

Tuesday The Alpha Chi Omega sorority will host a “Charity Denim” philanthropy event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday in the TSC International Lounge at USU. Charity Denim is a program that sells designer jeans at a 40 to 60 percent discount. A portion of every sale will go to help build the Whittier Center’s Adventure Playground. For more information, contact Kari Selin at 801-557-3948.

A Depression and Disabilities Support Group will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday at OPTIONS for Independence, 1095 N. Main, Logan. For more information, call 753-5353.

A Caregiver Support and Activity Group will take place from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the Cache County Senior Center, 249 N. 100 East, Logan. For more information or to sign up, contact Deborah at 713-1462.

Trina Thomas will share her crock-pot sloppy joes and baked beans at a free cooking and community class from 7 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday in the Providence Macey’s Little Theater. Seating is limited; call 753-3301.

Wednesday Scott N. Bradley will lead a Constitution class, “The Preserve the Nation,” at 7 p.m.

Wednesday at The Book Table (upstairs). For more information, call 753-2930 or 753-8844.

Everyone is invited to celebrate Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday on the USU Quad. There will be exhibits, games and fun. Hands-on displays will feature sustainable living ideas including recycling and alternative transportation. For more information, e-mail c.m.hansen@aggiemail.usu.edu.

The Cache Interagency Council will meet at noon Wednesday at The Bluebird Restaurant. All service and non-profit agencies are invited. The mission of Cache Interagency is to unite service organizations in sharing ideas, upcoming events and ongoing services, thus producing a spirit of unity and cooperation among the participating organizations. For more information, call 753-9008.

The Towne Singers will present their 43rd annual spring concert, “Come, Let Us Sing,” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Dansante, 59 S. 100 West. Special guest for the evening will be Erica Nelson, flutist and recent winner of the Young Artist Cup at Mountain Crest.

Admission is free and everyone is invited.

Outstanding USU students will be featured at the Logan Kiwanis Club meeting at noon Wednesday at The Copper Mill Restaurant.

Bridgerland Cruise Nights will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the south Arby’s.

Bring your street rod, classic car or specialty vehicle, or just come check out the cars and trucks. Everyone is invited. For more information, contact Jerry at 563-6488.

Armorie will perform with The Castanettes and Jacob Davidson (electronic/rock/acoustic) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Why Sound Cover charge is $5.

Casper Berry will share recipes using his popular “Casper’s Dressing” at a free cooking and community class from 7 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday in the Providence Macey’s Little Theater. Seating is limited; call 753-3301.

The Bridgerland Audubon Society’s Spring Banquet will be held Wednesday at The Copper Mill. Social hour with cash bar will begin at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and a presentation by Jen Hajj of Hawkwatch International. Tickets are $25 and available at Caffe Ibis, Fuhrimans Framing and Fine Art and Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread, or from any Bridgerland Audubon Board member. For more information, call 938-0203.

Thursday After a short hiatus, HASS Hour, a social and intellectual gathering sponsored by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at USU, will return at 5:15 p.m.

Thursday in the Sage Room at the Logan Golf and Country Club and will feature John Seiter, professor of speech communication. A soup and salad bar and beverages will be available for $6.95. For more information, call 797-4072.

The USU Guitar Club will sponsor a concert for the upcoming release of Libbie Linton’s new album, “Bird Wings in the Bleak,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the TSC auditorium at USU. Admission is $3. The show will feature Linton, a local folk artist, and performances by local band Grafted (folk) and Provo-based band Fictionist (rock/pop). For more information, e-mail libbielintonmusic@ gmail.com; to listen to the new album, visit www.myspace.com/libbielinton.

Down for the Count will perform with love it or leave it and The Elephant Gun (rock/pop/alternative) at 8 p.m. Thursday at Why Sound. Cover charge is $6.

Page 15 - The Herald Journal - Cache Magazine - Friday, April 17, 2009

Calendar