360 December 27 2012

Here’s where to ring in the new year PAGE 3

Skagit Valley Herald Thursday December 27, 2012

The Best of 2012

Reviews

At the Movies

These past year’s films that remain imprinted on our minds

Music: T.I., Chief Keef, Sam McClain Video Games: “Scribblenauts ...”

“Django” sometimes crackles, and sometimes merely cracks

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Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E2 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

NEW ON DVD THIS WEEK “Premium Rush”: The film would have been nothing more than a salute to Xtreme sports if director David Koepp hadn’t turned the idea into a whiteknuckle thrill ride that’s a lean, mean biking machine. The vastly underappreciated Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Wilee, a law school grad who has traded a life of gray suits for the challenges of being a New York bike messenger. He’s the kind of guy who lives life at such a breakneck speed, his bike doesn’t have brakes.

“Arbitrage”: Richard Gere’s Robert Miller is a charismatic money maker who needs a big deal to go through to cover up some of his financial and sexual indiscretions. The driving theme of director/writer Nicholas Jarecki’s movie is that the rich and powerful can get away with murder. There are times when the movie leaps on a glass-and-steel soap box. Despite some good performances, Jarecki’s film falls apart because it just feeds into the theme it pretends to protest. That leaves it with no one worth rooting for and that always creates a down and depressing product.

“The Words”: A writer’s drive to find success leads him to a dark decision.

Bradley Cooper stars. This is a literary nesting doll where each hidden layer is another author’s story. The problem is that the further the script by directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal moves from the center, the weaker the plot and characters get. What starts out as a poignant cautionary tale of the power and obsession that comes with the creative process slowly reveals itself to be little more than a so-so mystery with an unsatisfactory ending.

“Resident Evil: Retribution”: Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues to be the only hope for the human race.

“Killer Joe”: A man hires Joe (Matthew McConaughey) to kill his mother so he can collect her life insurance.

Following is a partial schedule of coming movies on DVD. Release dates are subject to change: DEC. 31 Looper - Sony

The Week Ahead / Page 5

JAN. 1 Cosmopolis - eOne The Trouble With Bliss - Anchor Bay

Celebrate the new year at the Camano Center’s annual New Year’s Black and White Ball on Monday on Camano Island

JAN. 8 Dredd - Lionsgate Frankenweenie - Disney House at the End of Street - Fox The Inbetweeners Movie - Lionsgate Samsara - MPI JAN. 15 Branded - Lionsgate The Other Dream Team - Lionsgate The Possession - Lionsgate 17 Girls - Strand Taken 2 - Fox To Rome With Love - Sony Won’t Back Down - Fox JAN. 22 End of Watch - Universal Searching for Sugar Man - Sony

Inside

JAN. 29 The Cold Light of Day - Lionsgate/ Summit Hotel Transylvania - Sony n McClatchy-Tribune News Service

“Gabriel Iglesias Presents: StandUp Revolution Season 2”: Includes extended episodes with new material from Gabriel Iglesias, plus 12 other comedians.

“Tosh.0: Deep V’s”: Includes 16 episodes hosted by Daniel Tosh.

“Kurozuka: Season 1”: Anime series based on the writings of Baku Yumemakura.

“Cinderella”: Modern take on the fairy tale that’s set against the backdrop of the Wild West. n Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee

Serpico: Pacino played me better than I did The 76-year-old retiree spoke weeks after the death of fellow whistle-blowing NEW YORK — New York City police ex-detective David Durk. whistle-blower Frank Serpico says Al PaciSerpico smiled as an interviewer noted no played him better than he did himself. he is ranked No. 41, just behind Lassie, on Pacino played the detective who exposed the American Film Institute’s list of movie widespread police corruption in the 1973 heroes. He says that’s “good company.” movie “Serpico.” The Daily News interSerpico and Durk’s efforts resulted in viewed the real-life Serpico in Ghent, in front-page newspaper stories and a city New York’s Hudson Valley, for a story pub- panel that recommended reforms to prelished Sunday. vent police corruption.

The Associated Press

YOUR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN SKAGIT COUNTY AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS

Upcoming movie releases

SUBMISSIONS Email features@skagitpublishing.com vrichardson@skagitpublishing. com (recreation items) Phone 360-416-2135 Hand-deliver 1215 Anderson Road Mount Vernon, WA 98274 Mailing address P.O. Box 578 Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Music, Game Reviews..................6-7 Travel............................................8-9 On Stage........................................ 10 Tuning Up..................................... 11 Get Involved.................................. 12 Hot Tickets.................................... 13 At the Lincoln Theatre.................. 17 Movie Listings............................... 17 Movie Mini-Reviews..................... 17 Out & About.............................18-19

Online events calendar To list your event on our website, visit goskagit.com and look for the Events Calendar on the home page HAVE A STORY IDEA? w For arts and entertainment, contact Features Editor Craig Parrish at 360-416-2135 or features@skagitpublishing.com w For recreation, contact staff writer Vince Richardson at 360-416-2181 or vrichardson@ skagitpublishing.com TO ADVERTISE 360-424-3251

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E3

ENTERTAINMENT

HERE’S WHERE TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR Gertrude’s Hearse

Numerous New Year’s Eve celebrations are planned for Monday, Dec. 31, including the area events below. Whether your taste runs from sharing the evening with thousands of friends, avoiding the crowds altogether or anything in between, we urge you to celebrate heartily and responsibly.

Gala New Year’s Eve Party: featuring the Mark Dufresne Band, Matney Cook and the Mudflat Walkers, Sky Colony.

7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $25 cover. Dinner buffet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $25, reservations required. 360-445-3000.

The Clouds: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. 360-766-6266.

Gertrude’s Hearse: 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. 360-588-1720.

Scratch Daddy: 8:30 p.m. to midnight, Eaglemont Golf Course, 4800 Eaglemont Drive, Mount Vernon. 360-424-0800.

New Year’s Eve in Stanwood: Ring in the new year with country music by the Tequila Rose Band at Cyndi’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $30, includes three-course dinner: choice of prime rib, chicken or vegetarian entree with a champagne toast. $10 without dinner. Reservations: 360-629-4800. www.cyndysbroiler.com.

Black and White Ball: The Camano Center’s annual New Year’s Eve Black and White Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island.

Camano Junction will play big band music to dance to or just enjoy. $15, includes Scary Monster and the Super Creeps: hors d’oeuvres. Beverages, including beer 9 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., and wine, available for purchase. Call 360Bellingham. $10. 360-778-1067.

387-0222 for reservations.

Falling Upstairs, Squints Palledorous, Ship to Ship: 9 p.m., Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. $5. www.redlight bellingham.com.

Mark Dufresne Band

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E4 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

THE YEAR IN MOVIES

The best of 2012 were the ones that moved us a film about a slacker (Jason Segel) who finds meaning and purpose to his years-long obsesThey’re called “moving picsion with M. Night Shyamalan’s tures” for a reason.

“Signs” over the course of one Moving pictures are the ones fateful, hilarious day. Ed Helms that endure, that stick in our is the brother who no longer memory after the credits fade. lives at home, Susan Sarandon is “State of the art” changes, vis- the mom realizing what a disapceral “popcorn” entertainments pointment both her maladjusted entertain — until they’re over. sons are. Jason Segel, if this is But a movie that touches, your future, run run run from that’s one worthy of being called “How I Met Your Mother.” one of the best pictures of the “Zero Dark Thirty”: Rivetyear. ing, painful to watch at times, This year had advances in controversial in its treatment technology and technical exerof torture, this is heroic in its cises that advanced the art form. celebration of the dogged intelGenre films improved on their ligence work that, in the end, genres, popcorn pictures sold a brought justice down on Osama lot of popcorn. bin Laden. There are touching Movies that transcended digi- moments, mostly in a montage tal IMAX 3D 48 frames per sec- of 9-11 phone messages in the ond image reproduction? Rare. opening credits. Performances Here are the best films of 2012 are secondary in this, another painstakingly detailed military — my picks. movie from the “Hurt Locker” “The Impossible”: Naomi team of Mark Boal and Kathryn Watts, as a perhaps mortally injured mom, hanging on to pro- Bigelow. A movie you want to or need to see twice? No. tect and teach one or two more “Beasts of the Southern life lessons to her son in the chaWild”: A minor miracle, here’s otic days after the horrific 2004 the best argument for “regional” tsunami, gives the year’s most filmmaking ever — a vivid, posttouching performance in a film Katrina bayou setting where that recreates that disaster and how one vacationing family, and unforgettable, impoverished poor local people who have lost characters battling the rising tide of climate change and history. everything, survive. It restores Benh Zeitlin’s film is a great new your faith in humanity, but if Southern Gothic novella, magiyou’re too cool for tears —go cal realism made for the screen play a video game. and starring that pint-sized force “Jeff, Who Lives at Home”: of nature, Quvenzhane Wallis.

Funny, dark and wise, here’s

By ROGER MOORE McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Logan Lerman (from left), Ezra Miller and Emma Watson are shown in a scene from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

Summit Entertainment via AP

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”: Not high school as it really was, but high school as it should have been. Sympathetic friends, including a wonderful Emma Watson, help a morose freshman cope with a new school and the dark secret in his past, by talking about the dark secrets in their pasts. Do kids still dress up and go see “Rocky Horror”?

Maybe not, but they should.

“Les Miserables”: You can know the book and know the play and still be surprised and moved by this epic tale of misery, poverty, unjust “justice,” compassion and redemption. Anne Hathaway, as the tragic prostitute Fantine, has been moving us to tears for a year, thanks to the trailers. In the film, she will all over again, as will Samantha Barks, Hugh Jackman and little Daniel Huddlestone. A lovely film that have you whispering thanks that they didn’t screw it up.

“The Dark Knight Rises”: “The Avengers” was more fun,

but “The Dark Knight” has gravitas, weight, timely themes and genuine lump-in-your-throat moments. The darkness is what the fanboys insist on, the hope comes courtesy of Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine, who give heart and political relevance to a franchise taking its final bow.

“Smashed”: It doesn’t reinvent the alcoholism drama, it just gives it youth and heartbreak.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead gives the performance of her career as a young teacher who struggles to grow up, get sober and start over. Standing in her way? Her adoring husband (Aaron Paul), the love of her life, but her codependent enabler. This is what the downward spiral is like, and this is how rough recovery can be.

“Skyfall”: Yes, it was fun, thrilling and entertaining, but so was “Argo.” Yes, it’s a throwback, a worthy entry in the series that stands with the best Bond films.

But you can count on one finger the preceding James Bond movies that gave us a hint of pathos — “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” This one had high stakes, loss and consequences.

“Lincoln”: I still don’t think this is one of Steven Spielberg’s very best. But the tone he set here sticks with you long after Daniel Day-Lewis has cracked his last Lincoln joke. It’s an elegy, a funeral poem of images, of a kind man coping with the darkest hours in the nation’s history with humor, forgiveness, and steely resolve.

Other “bests”: Best animated film: “Frankenweenie.” This is why we love stop-motion animation, wiener dogs and Tim Burton.

Best foreign film: “Amour,” but despite the end-of-life subject matter, not as moving as you might think.

Best documentary: “The Imposter,” because even con artists can have a conscience.

Eventually.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E5

THE WEEK AHEAD in the area

Black and White Ball The Camano Center’s annual New Year’s Eve Black and White Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday, Dec. 31, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island.

Camano Junction will play big band music to dance to or just enjoy. $15, includes hors d’oeuvres. Beverages, including beer and wine, available for purchase. Call 360-387-0222 for reservations.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Enjoy the musical talents of others or share your own at 7:30 p.m. today, Dec. 27, at the Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. 360-445-3000 or www.theconwaymuse.com.

FULL MOON ECSTATIC Tap into the incredible reservoir of peace and joy tucked away inside you with Debbie DuPey at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29, at the Anacortes Center for Happiness, 619 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. All ages. $5. 360-464-2229 or www.anacor tescenterforhappiness.org.

CAMANO WINTER BREAK ART CAMPS John and Jenna Delzell will offer a series of two-day art camps for kids ages 7 to 17 during winter break, at the Delzell Studio, 2177 Highland Drive, Camano Island. Sessions will meet from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 28-29, and Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Camps will feature a variety of art projects such as 3-D snowflakes, holiday decals, kaleidoscopes, clay sculptures and acrylic painting. $75 per child per two-day camp. 360-387-2251 or www. camanoartcamp.com.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E6 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

REVIEWS MUSIC CDS Compiled from news services

Chief Keef

I.D., T-Minus and DJ Toomp, and guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Pink, Andre “Finally Rich” 3000 and CeeLo Green.

The 16-track album, which was inspired Rapper Chief

by Marvin Gaye’s 1972 album “Trouble Keef made Man,” details T.I.’s struggles to overcome major noise with his continuous missteps. On three interhis omnipresent ludes, he reenacts some of those moments, song, “I Don’t including his arrest before the 2008 BET Like,” but those Hip-Hop Awards and when his best three words also describe my thoughts on friend, Philant Johnson, was killed in a his major label debut.

2006 shootout in Cincinnati.

Unfortunately, the Chicago native fails But despite his mishaps, T.I. is unapoloto follow up on his great single in so many getic to his critics. He’s certainly that way ways on “Finally Rich.” He has several on the Jazze Pha-produced “Sorry,” feagood guest appearances with Rick Ross, turing Andre 3000, who blesses the track 50 Cent, Young Jeezy and Wiz Khalifa, with his superb rhymes. and the production is solid with Young On the top-notch “Can You Learn,” Chop helming most of the 12-track set. with R. Kelly, T.I. asks his woman if she But it’s not enough to save this woeful could support her mate who often finds album. himself in trouble. Pink’s vocals soar on The 17-year-old rapper’s simple rhymes the melancholy “Guns and Roses,” while lack creativity and it’s a struggle to under- “Trap Back Jumpin’” and “Go Get It” are stand his words. The album, with topics definite street anthems. The easy-riding including his menacing character and “Hello” and “Hallelujah” are standouts as large stash of cash, is borderline unbearwell. able.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: On “Wonder “Laughin’ to the Bank” is laughable Life,” with Akon, T.I. has a conversation — and not in a good way. He raps about with two people close to him who have spending money and using ecstasy on died — his father and best friend — who “Ballin’” and on “3Hunna,” he raps about impart their thoughts on how well life has his gunplay mentality. treated the rapper, who is married with six Keef shows some promise on “Kay children.

Kay,” but overall, “Finally Rich” is that n Jonathan Landrum Jr., Associated Press album I don’t like.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: “Love Sosa” is hard-hitting, catchy and addictive.

Wiz Khalifa n Jonathan Landrum Jr., Associated Press

T.I.

“O.N.I.F.C.”

There’s much to love about “Trouble Man: Wiz Khalifa. His Heavy is the stoner soliloHead” quies are works of art, to say After a lacknothing of his cocky, loping flow. Yet for luster response all his communal weed-screeds, there’s to 2010’s “No something lazily exclusionary about “Only Mercy,” some N — In First Class” (“O.N.I.F.C.,” for questioned whether T.I.’s rap presence short.) Set against a groggily hypnotic wall was still strong. But the Grammy winner of sound, his raps seem half-baked, his shows he hasn’t lost a step, delivering an clever wordplay on vacation. assortment of quality songs on his eighth Money and all it buys is hip-hop’s album, “Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head.” princely province. Here, it’s tedious curThe self-proclaimed “King of the rency. The sentiment of “Work Hard South” lives up to his billing with one Play Hard” is solid but its lyrics (“I got of his best pieces of work, featuring so much money/I should start a bank”) stellar production from Pharrell, No are dull. “The Plan” is so lyrically inert, it

almost moves backwards. And Wiz, don’t call a song “Fall Asleep” unless you’re waking us up.

Problems aside, “O.N.I.F.C.’s” winning moments are so stunning they nearly override its sloth. Wiz’s duet with the Weeknd, “Remember You,” is moody, subtle, and teasingly romantic. “It’s Nothin’” (with 2Chainz) is vibrantly violent.

Cash and weed made Wiz apathetic, but those songs prove that artful aggression makes good bank. n A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale

chestnuts.

Nothing underscores the duo’s compatibility quite like their vocal harmonies, which are showcased throughout the album but perhaps to no better effect than on the penultimate number, a strutting take on Joe Tex’s “I Want to Do Everything for You.” n Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Vince Guaraldi “The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi”

In the modern history of jazz, it’s rare for a “Buddy player to enter the national consciousness. and Jim” The late Bay Area pianist Vince Guaraldi succeeded where few have gone, embedBased on ding his music into Christmas via the their respective bodies of work, you’d Charlie Brown TV specials. have to think this was a dream pairing Guaraldi, who often described himself even before you heard a note. And that’s as a reformed boogie-woogie player, was indeed what it turns out to be. far from a technical wizard. But he knew Buddy Miller is an in-demand guitarist the way into wistfulness, and he achieved and producer who’s perhaps best known the highest level of jazz, which is to comfor his work with Emmylou Harris, Robpose memorable songs and be a recognizert Plant, and others, while Jim Lauderable soloist. dale is an exceedingly prolific songwriter The joy of these 14 sides is that they who excels at country and bluegrass. They release him from the elevator and capbegin in a country and folk vein, with ture him in more unbridled, improvised Lauderdale taking the lead on their own moments. The Christmas chestnuts are “I Lost My Job of Loving You” and a included, like the famed “Linus and recharged version of the traditional “The Lucy” and “Christmas Time is Here.”

Train That Took My Gal From Town.” But But Guaraldi is working the bandstand they don’t stay there. Miller steps up on here, stretching tunes from the film Black the sublime, soul-tinged ballad “That’s Orpheus and veering wildly from Latin to Not Even Why I Love You,” co-written by a rockish New Orleans thing on “Treat.” the duo and Miller’s wife, Julie, and LauThe recording is tinny at times, but there’s derdale charges through the rock-fueled no doubting the heart. atmospherics of “Vampire Girl” before n Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer the set concludes with a couple of R&B

CONTINUE THE CYCLE – PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E7

REVIEWS VIDEO GAMES Chris Campbell, Scripps Howard News Service

The Rosebuds

— “Jesus is the only way,” Mighty Sam declares.

That same mix of gritty, preacherly “Love Deluxe: fervor and unvarnished funk also infuses The Rosebuds other numbers, notably the calls for jusPerform Sade” tice and peace in “Can You Feel It?” and “Stand Up!” But the 69-year-old McClain, Sade’s sexy who co-wrote all 14 songs, can also play quiet-storm clasthe silky-smooth love man with seductive sic “Love Deluxe” might seem an unlikely charm. Even here, though, he can find candidate for an indie-rock makeover, but reason to invoke the divine: “I believe that’s what the Rosebuds’ Ivan Howard God planned it this way,” he purrs on the has done, in part to commemorate the strings-kissed “So Into You.” “He put us album’s 20th anniversary. It’s one of two together.” new Rosebuds albums released at the n Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer end of this year, the other being “Christmas Tree Island,” a charming, breezily poppy collection of original Christmas Detour tunes. “Love Deluxe,” on the other hand, “A Better Place” concentrates on slow jams and seductive textures, and Howard recorded it without I don’t know his bandmate and former wife, Kelly Crisp about you, but (although she helped mix the album). it’s been years Howard wisely does not try to ape since I’ve been too closely the original’s cool-jazz able to think arrangements or Sade Adu’s masterfully about Jackie restrained vocals. Instead, he drenches DeShannon’s “Put A Little Love In Your guitars and keyboards in reverb and sings Heart” without hearing Bill Murray’s verwith thoughtful sincerity. The result is an sion in “Scrooged,” which has become a impressive, if occasionally soporific, reiChristmas staple on cable. magining, especially when Matt Douglas Detour does a good job of grassing up contributes soft-rock saxophone solos to the 1968 pop hit, but I’m still hearing the tracks such as “No Ordinary Love.” Like “Scrooged” cast in the background. The Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (with whom Michigan-based band features mostly origiHoward partners in Gayngs) and Dan nals in “A Better Place” with eight of the 14 Bejar of Destroyer on last year’s Kaputt, tracks written by mandolin player Jeff Rose Howard is making soft rock cool. And and one— “Lovin’ Liza Jane” —written by cheap: “Love Deluxe” is available as a free download at http://bit.ly/Sxt8by or via lead singer Melissa “Missy” Armstrong.

The first single, “Quarterline Road,” is a http://bandcamp.com. nostalgic song about home. “Homeless of n Steve Klinge, The Philadelphia Inquirer the Brave” is a ballad about veterans who can’t find jobs in the country they fought for — “the richest land on earth.”

Mighty Sam “A Better Place” is a ballad about McClain searching for a place where pain is gone “Too Much and the sun always shines. Loretta Lynn’s Jesus (Not “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven” is a Enough bluesy gospel number.

Whiskey” On “Everything Is Nothing As It Seems,” Armstrong sings about always falling for “Too much someone who is falling for someone else.

Jesus, not “I’ve Just Seen The Rock Of Ages” is an enough whiskey” is not the kind of senuptempo gospel number about a dying timent you expect to hear from a claswoman. Good album. Can’t find it in sic, gospel-rooted soul man. And that’s stores? Try www.cdbaby.com. what Mighty Sam McClain is. The song, however, really seems to be a nuanced n Keith Lawrence, Owensboro Messengercautionary tale that takes a different view Inquirer

‘PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’

Platform: PlayStation 3 Genre: Fighting Publisher: Sony ESRB Rating: T for Teen Grade: 2.5 stars (out of five) “Battle Royale” arrives as Sony’s entree into the realm of “take popular characters from a beloved franchise and have them fight it out in a playful manner.”

Fun and spectacle come in bunches (or punches, if you prefer), but it fails to deliver a consistent experience.

The game’s goal to be a catchall for every fighting game type impedes its success. Sometimes you get the feeling the aim for the game is to make it a PG version of “Mortal Kombat” sans the gore and over-the-top violence. Other times when you play, you’ll believe the game is trying to separate itself from basic fighters like “Soul Calibur” or “Super Smash Bros.”

The controls are difficult to learn.

Once you master how one character (Sackboy, for instance) plays, you run into a problem, because the other characters (like Nathan Drake or Kratos) don’t play similarly.

You spend too much time learning each character’s intricacies. It might also force you to end up specializing in one character, and ignore the joys of seeing how the others play.

The level design for the fights impresses on multiple levels. Whether you do battle in a “Patapon”-inspired level of flat 2D flowers and blocks, or fend off opponents along the open door of a flying cargo plane, the levels make the battlefield visually diverse and always fascinating.

The wealth of playable characters should interest fight-game fans. Just beware the sometimes unforgiving gameplay limitations that can hinder an otherwise good time.

‘Scribblenauts Unlimited’

Platform: Wii U Genre: Puzzle Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Grade: 2.5 stars The challenge of solving a puzzle using your imagination and vocabulary has delighted fans of the “Scribblenaut” series, which makes its debut on the Wii U with “Unlimited” after being a DS title for its first two iterations. Sadly, an expanded world does not equate to a 100 percent winning experience.

For those unfamiliar, this game works in a simple way: As you guide Maxwell along on his roundabout journey, you encounter puzzles that need solving.

A boulder needs removing, a dragon impedes your path, or you get hungry and require a meal.

The solutions come from you — not from choices in a menu screen, but from your imagination. Move that boulder by writing in “bomb” to blow it up, or get creative and write in “train” to bowl it over. Don’t write “sword” to fight that dragon, write in “bazooka” and show that scaly beast who is the boss. Chances are the solutions you come up with will work, and you’ll always get the most enjoyment by going for the more creative option.

“Unlimited” falters, however, because you rarely have to be unlimited in your thinking. Most often, the puzzles are simple enough that unless you challenge yourself, the game isn’t going to test your mental strength. As time passes, you yearn for a few puzzles that really test you, instead of just letting you throw out oddball word combinations to see if they work.

The DS versions of the game typically featured fast and enjoyable puzzles that you could consume and appreciate for their whimsy. For a console release, a bigger scope is needed. “Unlimited” just doesn’t reach high enough, which makes this a weekend rental.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E8 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

TRAVEL

Quiet beaches beckon on Florida’s Sanibel Island

Sanibel & Captiva Chamber of Commerce / David Meardon Photography via AP

Visitors enjoy West Gulf Beach on Sanibel Island in Florida. height of spring break revelry. What we didn’t find was nightlife, high rises, chain Sanibel Island: LocatSANIBEL, Fla. — Visit stores, fast-food burger ed on the Gulf Coast of the beaches on this Gulf joints, traffic lights or insects.

Florida. Nearest airport, Coast barrier island and Even travel guru Arthur Fort Myers. Sanibel you’re likely to see people Chamber of Commerce: Frommer, who’s seen more www.sanibel-captiva.org. doing the Sanibel Stoop. than a few beaches, has Shelling: Tips to That’s the term for the bentnamed it a favorite destinamaximize your shelling: at-the-waist posture used to tion, calling it an “idyllic www.iloveshelling.com collect seashells on Sanibel haven of white-sand beach Birding: J. N. “Ding” Island, which bills itself as es” with “thousands of birds Darling National Wildlife Refuge: www.fws.gov/ one of the best shelling locaof every species.” dingdarling tions in the world.

The first sign that we’d hit The island also offers 15 on something special came miles of beach, 22 miles of soon after we landed at the bike paths, and the largest partying spring breakers or Fort Myers airport, where undeveloped mangrove glamorous fashionistas, Sani- tourism kiosks handed out ecosystem in the country. bel proved to be the perfect free pocket-sized Lonely While other beach destinaspot for a family looking for Planet travel guides to the area. tions in Florida might attract a quiet beach retreat at the

By KAREN SCHWARTZ Associated Press

If you go

The drive from the airport west to Sanibel generally takes less than an hour, but timing is everything. A toll bridge connects Sanibel to the mainland, and the morning rush hour heading on-island and evening rush hour heading off-island can add another 45 minutes onto the trip during high season, which begins mid-January and peaks mid-March through mid-April.

We stopped en route at one of the several Publix markets to stock up on groceries for our rented condo. But it turned out that two markets on the island, Jerry’s Foods and Bailey’s

General Store, will deliver items ordered online to your rental for $25.

Groceries also proved largely unnecessary once we discovered the caliber of local restaurants and opted to eat out most evenings.

Traders Cafe and Mad Hatter, both innovative and outstanding, took reservations.

Others had “call-ahead seating” that put our name on a waiting list ahead of walkins. The rest generally had a wait of up to 30 minutes.

With as many as 30,000 people on the island during high season, biking is the easiest way to get around.

But here’s a tip: Friends

don’t let friends ride at night without lights.

Knowing that we’d be biking, we brought our helmets (required by law for children under 16), along with small headlights and taillights for our bikes. Even so, with no streetlights on the island and plenty of pedestrians and cyclists on the paths after dark, the trip home proved hairy.

Some hotels provide bikes for their guests and the bike rental shops on the island will deliver and pickup for a fee. It pays to shop around as prices vary.

Beach equipment can also be rented.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E9

TRAVEL Local travel DAY TRIPS: Camano Center offers trips for seniors and others, departing from and returning to Camano Center, 606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island. 360387-0222 or www.camanocenter.org.

Seattle Boat Show: Tuesday, Jan. 29.

Check out the latest boats and boating gear. $15-$20, transportation only. Buy tickets at the door for $12. Pay by Jan. 15.

Frye Museum and Volunteer Park Conservatory Tour: Tuesday, Feb. 12: Enjoy a docent tour of the 60-year-old Frye Museum, lunch in the cafe, and then tour the 100-year-old conservatory. $21-$26, includes tour and transportation. Lunch on your own. Pay by Jan. 29.

SENIOR CENTER TRIPS: Skagit County Senior Centers offer short escorted trips departing from and returning to local senior centers. For information, call the Anacortes Senior Center at 360-2937473 or sign up at your local senior center.

White pelicans are shown on Sanibel Island.

Golf, tennis and fishing are also popular options on the island, but no trip here would be complete without two things: the beaches and the J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

Over two-thirds of Sanibel is a nature reserve, with the refuge making much of it wonderfully accessible by car or bike. We opted for a 90-minute kayak tour through the mangrove, and almost immediately caught a brief glimpse of a river otter.

An assortment of the 230 species of birds on the island from anhingas to woodpeckers kept us busy taking pictures, while our knowledgeable guide pointed out horseshoe crabs, flying mullet and a water snake.

We so enjoyed the trip through the mangrove that we returned later for a pontoon boat tour, where we saw manatees and more birds, but unfortunately, no dolphins.

The beaches themselves were lovely. The one we frequented was far from crowded, with room to play Frisbee or fly a kite without

SHORT TRIPS: Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation offers travel opportunities for participants ages 12 and older (adult

supervision required for ages 18 and younger). 360-336-6215.

ESCORTED TOURS: The Whatcom County Tour Program offers a variety of day trips and longer tours, with most trips departing from and returning to the Bellingham Senior Activity Center, 315 Halleck St., Bellingham. 360-733-4030, press #, ext. 47015, or wccoa.org/index. php/Tours.

STANWOOD SENIOR CENTER TRIPS: The Stanwood Senior Center offers occasional trips around the Puget Sound area and beyond, departing from and returning to the Center, 7430 276th St. NW, Stanwood. For information or reservations, contact Sandy Kitchens at 360-6297403.

PASSPORT APPLICATIONS: The Anacortes Public Library accepts U.S. passport applications from noon to 6:30 p.m.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays at 1220 10th St., Anacortes. Passport forms and information on fees and how to apply are available at http://travel.state.gov, or pick up an application and passport guide at the library.

SVH_4.949x4.75_ December Week 2-4

DECEMBER AT TULALIP BINGO Paying Out Up To $7.1 MillionPaying Out Up To $7.1 Million

A junonia shell is shown amid an array of seashells found on the beaches of Sanibel Island. bumping into anyone. The waves were gentle and it was shallow for a long way out, making it ideal for children. Other beaches, like Blind Pass, have stronger currents and aren’t suitable for swimming.

A small disappointment for us ironically was the shelling. The 10-mile-long island is situated east-west, making the south side the place to scoop for shells being carried on the current from the Caribbean and other southern seas.

The beaches we explored had an infinite number of shells, but they were run-ofthe mill cockles and clam.

We didn’t find any of the whelks, conchs, tulips and ceriths that feature prominently in the marketing brochures. Then again, we weren’t beach-combing at dawn like the true devotees, nor did we follow the recommendations to check the tide tables, snorkel for shells or search after dark.

But there are plenty who do take the shell hunt quite seriously. Among Sanibel’s claim to fame is a Guinness World Record for the largest treasure hunt, set last February when 478 people simultaneously did the Sanibel Stoop, searching for seashells.

9AM SPECIAL BREAKFAST BINGO

NEW YEARS EVE COSTUME CONTEST

$3,000

December 9, 16, 23 & 30

DECEMBER 31 7PM SESSION

HOT SEAT DRAWING

8 Regular Games Paying:

$250 ea.

“Father Time, Mother Nature, & Baby New Year”

2 Blackout Games Paying:

(costumes may not be over revealing)

Cost: $15/9-on

1st Prize: $700 2nd Prize: $500 3rd Prize: $300

MONDAY

SUNDAYS

$500 ea.

(pack includes 2 Blackout Games)

A Free Breakfast is available with a valid bingo receipt buy-in.

Contest winners will be announced prior to the start of the Lotto Blackout.

Breakfast will be available from 8am to 9am

All participating bingo contestants must be present and playing with a valid receipt to claim prize.

$5 OFF BINGO Any 11AM or 7PM Session

Bring in this ad and receive $5 Off

1 coupon per guest • Redeem at cashier window - Not valid with any other offer. No cash value. Only original ad will be honored for special offers - no copies.

Management reserves the right to cancel or amend promotion at any time.

MYSTERY GIFT FRIDAYS

December 7, 14, 21 & 28 (1) Winner drawn at all session halftimes. Each winner will pick a “Gift” from the prize board to determine cash prize.

Winners must be actively playing a bingo slot machine to claim prize.

No seat hopping allowed.

Valid 12/01/12 - 12/30/12 MG BNG01212

1-800-631-3313

E10 Thursday, December 27, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012 E11

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

ON STAGE in the Skagit Valley and surrounding area December 27-January 5

TUNING UP Playing at area venues December 27-31 FRIDAYSATURDAY.28-29

Thursday.27 No events submitted

MUSIC

SATURDAY.5 DANA LYONS “Power Past Coal” concert and workshop: 7 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $10 suggested donation, free for children. 360-445-3000.

THURSDAY.27

Saturday-Wednesday.29-2 No events submitted

Thursday.3 COMEDY

Justin Hayes: 7 p.m., Concrete Theatre, 45920 Main St., Concrete. $15. 360-941-0403 or www.concretetheatre.com.

JOE SNEVA AND THE SWEET DOMINIQUES 10 p.m., Draft Pics, 516 S First.

St., Mount Vernon. No cover.

360-336-3626.

TRAINWRECK 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave NW, Stanwood. $5 cover.

360-629-4800 or www.cyndysbroiler.com.

Friday.28 Jazzin’ with the Classics: “Yuletide Baroque & Beyond”: 7 p.m., Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood.

Live music by Linda Tsatsanis, soprano; Martin Lund, flute, clarinet and piano; Jeffrey Cohan, flute; and Gene Nery, guitar. $15 suggested donation, free for ages 18 and younger. Includes holiday refreshments. 360-629-6110.

SATURDAY.29

Rattletrap Ruckus: 8 p.m., Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. Free. www.redlight bellingham. com.

FRIDAY.28 Nick Moyer (one-man gypsy band): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway.

No cover.

360-445-3000.

Band Showdown: 9 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $1. 360778-1067.

The Sardines: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360-4226411.

Steve Meyer and Ben Starner (piano): 7:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. No cover. 360-7666266.

Trainwreck (country rock): 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave NW, Stanwood. $5 cover. 360-6294800 or www. cyndysbroiler. com.

Freddy Pink (classic rock, soul): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877-2752448.

The Bow Diddlers: 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

Holiday Jam with Wayne Hayton: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. No cover. 360-4453000.

Bar Tabac, Belly Dancers: 9 p.m. to midnight, Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. $5. www.redlight bellingham. com.

The Comettes, Christopher Nunn Band, Slacks: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

SATURDAY.29

Friday.4 No events submitted

Saturday.5

Chris Eger Band: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison.

360-766-6266.

The Sardines: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360-4226411.

MUSIC

Dana Lyons: “Power Past Coal” concert and workshop: 7 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $10 suggested donation, free for children. 360-445-3000.

Trainwreck (country rock): 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $5 cover. 360-6294800.

Freddy Pink (classic rock, soul): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877275-2448 or www. theskagit.com.

SUNDAY.30 Ron Bailey, with Caela & The Dangerous Flares: 5:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. 360766-6266.

Joe Sneva and the Sweet Dominiques (surf, reggae, folk): 10 p.m., Draft Pics, 516 S First. St., Mount Vernon.

No cover. 360-3363626.

The Fonkeys: 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

The Offshoots: 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., H2O, 314 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. No cover. 360-7553956.

Nick Moyer (one-man band): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. 360-445-3000.

Kodiak, Forteana, Eternal Bad: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

MONDAY.31 Gary B’s Church of the Blues (blues, classic rock): 6 to 10 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf.

St., SedroWoolley.

360-855-2263.

Sean Denton, Richard Williams, Terry Nelson & Friends: 4 to 8 p.m., The Station House, 315 Morris St., La Conner. No cover. 360-4664488.

The Supersuckers, Cutlass Supreme, Lonebird: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10.

360-778-1067.

Tequila Rose Band (country): New Year’s Eve Party, Cyndi’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. Threecourse dinner and champagne toast. $30, $10 without dinner.

Reservations: 360-629-4800.

Gala New Year’s Eve Party: Mark Dufresne Band, Matney Cook and the Mudflat Walkers, Sky Colony, 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $25 cover. Dinner from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $25, reservations required.

360-445-3000.

The Clouds: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. 360766-6266.

Gertrude’s Hearse: 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

Falling Upstairs, Squints Palledorous, Ship to Ship: 9 p.m., Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. $5. www.redlight bellingham. com.

Scary Monster and the Super Creeps: 9 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10.

360-778-1067.

Scratch Daddy: 8:30 p.m. to midnight, Eaglemont Golf Course, 4800 Eaglemont Drive, Mount Vernon.

360-424-0800.

E10 Thursday, December 27, 2012

Thursday, December 27, 2012 E11

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

ON STAGE in the Skagit Valley and surrounding area December 27-January 5

TUNING UP Playing at area venues December 27-31 FRIDAYSATURDAY.28-29

Thursday.27 No events submitted

MUSIC

SATURDAY.5 DANA LYONS “Power Past Coal” concert and workshop: 7 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $10 suggested donation, free for children. 360-445-3000.

THURSDAY.27

Saturday-Wednesday.29-2 No events submitted

Thursday.3 COMEDY

Justin Hayes: 7 p.m., Concrete Theatre, 45920 Main St., Concrete. $15. 360-941-0403 or www.concretetheatre.com.

JOE SNEVA AND THE SWEET DOMINIQUES 10 p.m., Draft Pics, 516 S First.

St., Mount Vernon. No cover.

360-336-3626.

TRAINWRECK 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave NW, Stanwood. $5 cover.

360-629-4800 or www.cyndysbroiler.com.

Friday.28 Jazzin’ with the Classics: “Yuletide Baroque & Beyond”: 7 p.m., Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center, 27130 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood.

Live music by Linda Tsatsanis, soprano; Martin Lund, flute, clarinet and piano; Jeffrey Cohan, flute; and Gene Nery, guitar. $15 suggested donation, free for ages 18 and younger. Includes holiday refreshments. 360-629-6110.

SATURDAY.29

Rattletrap Ruckus: 8 p.m., Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. Free. www.redlight bellingham. com.

FRIDAY.28 Nick Moyer (one-man gypsy band): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway.

No cover.

360-445-3000.

Band Showdown: 9 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $1. 360778-1067.

The Sardines: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360-4226411.

Steve Meyer and Ben Starner (piano): 7:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. No cover. 360-7666266.

Trainwreck (country rock): 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave NW, Stanwood. $5 cover. 360-6294800 or www. cyndysbroiler. com.

Freddy Pink (classic rock, soul): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877-2752448.

The Bow Diddlers: 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

Holiday Jam with Wayne Hayton: 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. No cover. 360-4453000.

Bar Tabac, Belly Dancers: 9 p.m. to midnight, Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. $5. www.redlight bellingham. com.

The Comettes, Christopher Nunn Band, Slacks: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

SATURDAY.29

Friday.4 No events submitted

Saturday.5

Chris Eger Band: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison.

360-766-6266.

The Sardines: 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Big Lake Bar & Grill, 18247 Highway 9, Mount Vernon. 360-4226411.

MUSIC

Dana Lyons: “Power Past Coal” concert and workshop: 7 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. $10 suggested donation, free for children. 360-445-3000.

Trainwreck (country rock): 9 p.m. to midnight, Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. $5 cover. 360-6294800.

Freddy Pink (classic rock, soul): 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Skagit Valley Casino Resort, Winners Lounge, 5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow. No cover. 877275-2448 or www. theskagit.com.

SUNDAY.30 Ron Bailey, with Caela & The Dangerous Flares: 5:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. 360766-6266.

Joe Sneva and the Sweet Dominiques (surf, reggae, folk): 10 p.m., Draft Pics, 516 S First. St., Mount Vernon.

No cover. 360-3363626.

The Fonkeys: 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

The Offshoots: 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., H2O, 314 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. No cover. 360-7553956.

Nick Moyer (one-man band): 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/Main, Conway. 360-445-3000.

Kodiak, Forteana, Eternal Bad: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $5.

360-778-1067.

MONDAY.31 Gary B’s Church of the Blues (blues, classic rock): 6 to 10 p.m., Castle Tavern, 708 Metcalf.

St., SedroWoolley.

360-855-2263.

Sean Denton, Richard Williams, Terry Nelson & Friends: 4 to 8 p.m., The Station House, 315 Morris St., La Conner. No cover. 360-4664488.

The Supersuckers, Cutlass Supreme, Lonebird: 10 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10.

360-778-1067.

Tequila Rose Band (country): New Year’s Eve Party, Cyndi’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave. NW, Stanwood. Threecourse dinner and champagne toast. $30, $10 without dinner.

Reservations: 360-629-4800.

Gala New Year’s Eve Party: Mark Dufresne Band, Matney Cook and the Mudflat Walkers, Sky Colony, 7:30 p.m., Conway Muse, 18444 Spruce/ Main, Conway. $25 cover. Dinner from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., $25, reservations required.

360-445-3000.

The Clouds: 8:30 p.m., Edison Inn, 5829 Cains Court, Edison. 360766-6266.

Gertrude’s Hearse: 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Rockfish Grill, 320 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

360-588-1720.

Falling Upstairs, Squints Palledorous, Ship to Ship: 9 p.m., Redlight, 1017 N. State St., Bellingham. $5. www.redlight bellingham. com.

Scary Monster and the Super Creeps: 9 p.m., The Shakedown, 1212 N. State St., Bellingham. $10.

360-778-1067.

Scratch Daddy: 8:30 p.m. to midnight, Eaglemont Golf Course, 4800 Eaglemont Drive, Mount Vernon.

360-424-0800.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E12 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

GET INVOLVED ART

and ages 11 and younger.

Next up: Mixed Media Self Portraits: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26. Explore a variety of media and put together a dimensional collage that reflects your individualism.

Line Wash Drawing: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23. Try this fun way to draw with india ink and a twig as a drawing tool, then add color with a watercolor wash.

CALL FOR VINTAGE PHOTOS: The city of Sedro-Woolley needs some help from the public to finish a collection of photos of former mayors to mount on the walls at City Hall. Quality photos are still needed for six of the town’s 17 former mayors. Their names and the dates they served: Norris Ormsby, 1898-1899; William Curry, 1915; Frank Douglass, 1916-1918; Paul Rhodius, 19191920; L. Britchford, 1931-1932; and Gus Gilbertson, 1939-1944. The WATERCOLOR FOR KIDS!: 4:30 photos will be scanned to create to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 9-30, prints, then returned to their ownat the Burlington Community ers. Contact City Supervisor Eron Center craft room, 1011 Greenleaf Berg at 360-855-9922.

Ave., Burlington. Kids ages 7 to 13 will learn brush handling, color CALL TO ARTISTS: United mixing and more. $40 plus $20 General Hospital’s Fine Art Com- one-time supply fee payable to mittee seeks uplifting, healing art instructor. Register by Jan. 3 with by local artists for display in the Burlington Parks and Recreation: hospital’s “Gallery Hall.” Artwork, 360-755-9649. in any medium, can be for sale, with a portion of the proceeds INTRO TO ILLUSTRATION ART going toward the purchase of a CLASSES: Burlington Parks and permanent art collection. Contact Recreation will offer a series of Patsy Prutzman by email: patsy art classes for ages 8 to 14. Instrucprutzman@gmail.com. tor Max Elam will introduce young artists to a variety of styles CALL FOR ARTISANS: The and art mediums. Each fourMount Vernon Downtown Assosession class costs $45. Supplies ciation is accepting new artisan included. To register, call 360-755applications through Jan. 15 for 9649. the 29th annual Tulip Festival Epic illustrations and creature Street Fair, set for April 19-21 in creations: 10 a.m. to noon Saturdowntown Mount Vernon. Pardays, Jan. 12-Feb. 2. Art students ticipant selections will be made will draw and create four masby March 1. For information or terworks, with a different focus an application prospectus, visit each week: Star Wars/black & www.mountvernondowntown.org/ white, fantasy anime/mixed media, events.html or email mvstreetfair avengers assemble/intro to color coordinator@gmail.com. theory, and cartoon comic strip/ intro to writing and sequential art.

ART CLASSES Register by Jan 9.

Mixed media: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

FAMILY ART DAYS AT MoNA: Saturdays, Jan 12-Feb. 2. Students The Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St., La Conner, offers will experiment with five mediums other than pencil. They’ll use color Family Art Days each month.

Sessions are open to all ages and partnered with drawings in markers, chalk, ink, watercolor and colskill levels and include guided ored pencil as they complete two walk-throughs of exhibitions. pieces of art. Register by Jan. 9.

Limited to 15 participants per session. To register: 360-466-4446, PAPER PLAYSHOPS: Join Kari ext. 108, or FAD@museumofBishay to get creative and “play nwart.org. Information: www. museumofnwart.org. Workshops with stuff” at the Anacortes Cenare free with museum admission. ter for Happiness, 619 Commercial Admission: $8 adults, $5 seniors, Ave., Anacortes. Workshops are held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. All $3 students, free for members

materials are provided. $18 each class. Preregistration required: 360-464-2229 or www.anacortes centerfor happiness.org.

Next up: Greeting card extravaganza: Jan. 13. Learn strategies for creating unique birthday and thank you cards, then stamp, emboss, cut, punch, layer and build enough for your entire year of card-giving occasions.

making from 5:45 to 6:25 p.m.

Wednesdays, Jan. 9-30, at the Anacortes Center for Happiness, 619 Commercial St., Anacortes. Class includes easy improvisations, no music reading. $48. Registration required. 360-464-2229 or www. anacortescenterforhappiness.org.

RECREATION

LAST-CHANCE MARATHON: Join the Skagit Runners for an end-of-year marathon and halfTODDLER ART: Ages 2 to 4, marathon Monday, Dec. 31, at with an adult, 10 to 11 a.m. Fridays, Fairhaven Park in Bellingham.

Jan. 4-25, Whatcom Museum FamCheck-in begins at 8 a.m. followed ily Interactive Gallery, 250 Flora by a 9 a.m. start. The route starts St., Bellingham. With help from at the Fairhaven Park Pavilion, instructors and participating adults, follows the Interurban Trail in young artists will create their own the mountains around Larrabee masterpieces as they experiment State Park and ends at the Claywith materials, enhance their creton Beach parking area within the ativity and acquire skills in twoand three dimensional art. Admis- park. Finishers will receive a Last Chance coin. Registration: $40. sion and tuition: $4, $2 members. www.skagitrunners.org.

360-778-8985 or www.whatcom museum.org.

FIRST-DAY HIKES: Washington CARTOONING FOR KIDS: 4 to 6 State Parks will kick off a yearlong celebration of the parks’ cenp.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 8-29, Burlingtennial year by offering First Day ton Parks and Recreation Center, Hikes on Tuesday, Jan. 1, at parks 900 E. Fairhaven Ave., Burlington. around the state. Most hikes are Kids ages 7 to 12 will learn basic suitable for all ages. Participants drawing skills and leave with a are advised to bring water and portfolio of their favorite cartoon snacks, and wear sturdy boots and characters. $40, includes supplies. appropriate clothing.

Register by Jan. 3: 360-755-9649.

SENIOR HIKE: Join Friends of the Forest from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Jan. 11, for a gentle 1.5SOUL MOTION GRATITUDE mile hike through forest and wetDANCE: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, Anacortes Center for Hap- land habitats in Anacortes. Meet piness, 619 Commercial Ave., Ana- at the end of 32nd Street, off of D cortes. This dance has no steps and Avenue. Learn about the beaver that maintain the wetlands, and you already have all the experience necessary. Free. 360-464-2229 the winter waterfowl that visit there. Free. 360-293-3725 or or www.anacortescenterforhappi www.friendsoftheacfl.org. ness.org.

DANCE

CONTRA DANCE: 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 5, Depot Arts Center, 611 R Ave., Anacortes. Learn the fundamentals of contra dance and practice dancing to live music.

No partner needed. $8 at the door.

360-755-3969 or www.skagitcon tra.org.

MUSIC MUSIC-MAKING SESSIONS: Join Sally Kirk for fun music-

FLY-FISHING COURSE: The Fidalgo Fly Fishers will teach “Introduction to Fly Fishing” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 2-March 13, at Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon. Beginning fly fishers will learn the skills required to start catching trout in area lakes and streams. Topics include lines, rods and reels; casting; trout foods and related flies; basic fly tying; trout habitat and behavior; and fly fishing methods.

About half the classes will be hands-on, and there will also be a couple of optional Saturday classes. $120, includes course materials.

Class is limited to 16 students. To register, call 360-416-7638, stop by the registration office on the SVC Mount Vernon campus or visit www.skagit.edu and print and submit the mail-in “Non-Degree seeking Registration Form.”

THEATER THEATER CLASSES: Anacortes Community Theatre’s Class Act School for the Performing Arts is enrolling kids from preschool through 12th grade for winter classes on acting and theater arts.

Classes are held at ACT, 918 M Ave., Anacortes. 360-293-6829 or www.acttheatre.com/classact.

Imagination Explorers (preschool age): 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 29-March 5, or Wednesdays, Jan. 30-March 6. Students will take part in creative dramatic games designed to use their imagination, improve self-confidence and provide social interaction as they create crazy characters, sing and dance. $50.

Superhero Stories (kindergarten through second grade): 4 to 5:15 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 1-March 8. Students will create their own superhero as they play fun theatre games and work on their acting skills. Class will culminate in a performance March 8, on ACT’s Second Stage. $50.

Alice in Wonderland (grades 3-6): 4 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, Jan. 28-March 6. Students will stage a retelling of the classic tale of Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole, starting with auditioning, creation of a character, memorization of lines and culminating with a full public performance complete with costumes and makeup March 8-9 on ACT’s Second Stage. $100.

Are We There Yet? (grades 7-12: 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jan. 22-Feb. 28. This class starts with auditioning for a part and continues with creation of a character, memorization of lines and a full public performance with costumes and makeup March 1-2 on ACT’s Second Stage. $100.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E13

HOT TICKETS DIGABLE PLANETS: Dec. 29, Neptune Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.live nation.com.

PICKWICK: Dec. 31, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showbox online.com.

TWO STORY ZORI: Dec. 31, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.show boxonline.com.

RESOLUTION 2013: featuring DOCTOR P, MORD FUSTANG, RUSKO, W&W: Dec. 31, WaMu Theater, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.

NEUROSIS: Jan. 5, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxon line.com.

LADY GAGA: Jan. 14, 2013, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma. 800-745-3000 or www.livenation. com.

CIRQUE ZIVA: Jan. 17, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds. 425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

QUICKSAND: Jan. 18, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.show boxonline.com.

JACKSON BROWNE: Jan. 20, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 206-215-4747 or www.livenation.com.

MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL ON TOUR: Jan. 22, Benaroya Hall, Seattle. 866-833-4747.

DOWN: Jan. 22, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxon line.com.

PINBACK: Jan. 23, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxon line.com.

THE WALKMEN: Jan. 27, Neptune Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.livebation.com.

“AMALUNA”: Cirque du Soleil: Jan. 31-Feb. 24, 2013, Marymoor Park, Redmond. 800450-1480 or www.cirquedusoleil.com.

LEWIS BLACK: Feb. 1, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.livenation.com.

MUSE: Feb. 1, KeyArena, Seattle. 800745-3000 or www.livenation.com.

THE SONICS, MUDHONEY: Feb. 2, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

EXCISION: Feb. 2, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.livenation.com.

ELLIE GOULDING: Feb. 4, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxon line.com.

INTERNATIONAL GUITAR NIGHT: Feb. 6, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds. 425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

BENJAMIN FRANCIS LEFTWICH: Feb. 7, Columbia City Theater, Seattle. 800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.

SOUNDGARDEN: Feb. 7-8, The Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.live nation.com.

RA RA RIOT: Feb. 8, Neptune Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.livenation.com.

LED ZEPAGAIN: Feb. 8, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www. showboxonline.com.

SUPER DIAMOND (Tribute to Neil Diamond): Feb. 9, Showbox at the Market, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

TOMAHAWK: Feb. 12, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showbox online.com.

MARILYN MANSON: Feb. 12, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.show boxonline.com.

LEFTOVER SALMON: Feb. 15, Neptune Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.live nation.com.

PILOBOLUS: Feb. 16, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds. 425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Feb. 16-17, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS: Feb. 17, Comcast Arena at Everett. 866-332-8499 or www.comcastarenaeverett.com.

COHEED AND CAMBRIA, BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME: Feb. 19, Showbox SoDo, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showbox online.com.

EELS: Feb. 19, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxon line.com.

FEED ME, TEETH: Feb. 20-21, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www. showboxonline.com.

GALACTIC: FEATURING COREY GLOVER: Feb. 22, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

MICHAEL KAESHAMMER: Feb. 22, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds. 425275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

STS9: Feb. 22, Showbox SoDo, Seattle.

800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

AARON NEVILLE: Feb. 23, Mount Baker Theatre, Bellingham. 360-734-6080 or www.mountbakertheatre.com.

IVAN & ALYOSHA: Feb. 23, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

HEY MARSEILLES: March 1, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE!: March 1-2, The Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.livenation.com.

MOE: March 2, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

ANBERLIN: March 3, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.show boxonline.com.

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE: March 6, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-7453000 or www.showboxonline.com.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT: March 8, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA: March 9, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds.

425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

MAROON 5, WITH NEON TREES & OWL CITY: March 11, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-7453000 or www.livenation.com.

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO: March 13, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds.

425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

VOLBEAT: March 22, Showbox at the Market, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.showboxonline.com.

BRIAN REGAN: March 13, Paramount Theatre, Seattle. 877-784-4849 or www.live nation.com.

RIHANNA: with A$AP Rocky: April 3, KeyArena, Seattle. 800-745-3000 or www.livenation.com.

NANCI GRIFFITH: April 5, Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds. 425-275-9595 or www.ec4arts.org.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E14 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

THE YEAR IN TV

‘Girls,’ ‘Homeland,’ ‘Smash’ among the year’s best

By FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer

What was TV like in 2012?

As with every year, it was a mix of the ridiculous and the sublime, the sacred and the profane.

A TV-centric political season provided many memorable moments (President Barack Obama’s missing-in-action debate performance; Clint Eastwood’s empty-chair duet). Excellence persevered with series such as HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and “Treme,” AMC’s “Mad Men,” History’s surprisingly splendid “Hatfields & McCoys,” ABC’s promising new “Nashville,” CBS’ “The Good Wife” and, of course, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” with its icky charm.

Then there were stinkers like the best-forgotten ABC sitcom “Work It,” which, focusing on two guys who dress as women to get jobs, was mercifully axed after just two airings. ABC’s “Good Morning America” finally managed to outfluff NBC’s “Today” and stole the ratings crown.

Bottom line: It’s not easy to narrow down a Top 10 anything for TV. Still, once this year’s thousands of hours are assessed, 10 notable achievements emerge.

“Breaking Bad” (AMC): It’s notable not only for how twisted, funny and shocking it is, but also for how it keeps on upping the ante.

This summer’s satisfying miniseason ended in a most unlikely fashion, hinting that Walter White (series star Bryan Cranston) might actually break free from his life of spiraling disaster and resurrect his happy home. But then, in the last scene, Walter’s drug-enforcementagent brother-in-law made the connection that had always eluded him: the drug lord he’s been chasing all this time is Walter! Once again, the series’ never-broken promise was upheld.

“Fox & Friends” (Fox News Channel): We could easily salute shows that keep us laughing like “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” “The Colbert Report,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.” But maybe we

ABOVE: The FX series “Sons of Anarchy.”

FX via AP

RIGHT: Lena Dunham is shown in a scene from the series “Girls.”

HBO via AP

could more appropriately single out one obvious wellspring for those shows’ humor. I’m referring, of course, to “Fox & Friends.” With their three-part harmony, co-hosts Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson and Brian Kilmeade offer up a unique brand of jovially partisan delivery.

Theirs is a seamless, finish-oneanother’s-sentence knack for issuing the network-designated messages as news. Contrary viewpoints are admissible only to be mocked.

But mostly cheerful unity prevails, a tidy single-minded package of riffs as predictable as the tides — but as amusing as any deliberate caricature. Let’s give credit where it’s due: These Friends cry out to be spoofed.

“Girls” (HBO): Lena Dunham, in her mid-20s, created, wrote, directed, produced and starred in a halfhour comedy series about 20-something adulthood, femininity and sexuality. She sparked adulation, conversation, arguments and greeneyed envy of her talent. “Girls” was a series that couldn’t be ignored — at least, by pop-culture cognoscenti.

It will surely be welcomed back in

January with even more attention, if possible (with always the threat of a backlash), as viewers resume arguing: Does the series measure up to all the hype? Nuff said. Up to now, indisputably, “Girls” has been monumental. And a gas.

“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” (TLC) and “Killer Karaoke” (truTV): Two new reality shows blazed new trails of idiocy. One capitalized on redneck stereotypes and a 6-year-old beauty pageant veteran. The other invited contestants to sing their hearts out while being zapped with electricity or dunked in a vat of snakes. In a TV universe swamped with reality shows, these two stood apart as groundbreaking, inspired and dismaying — if for no other reason than they served as a reminder that each is merely a way station en route to the next extreme in outrageous crassness.

“Homeland” (Showtime): In its second season, this series remained suspenseful, disturbing and riddled with surprises. It mined drama from

possibly the most damaged pair of protagonists, opponents and starcrossed lovers in TV history. Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) was a prisoner of war in Afghanistan who had returned home a national hero and soonto-be-elected U.S. congressman — and, covertly, a terrorist turncoat.

Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) was a former CIA agent suffering from a bipolar disorder as well as emotional ties to the man she was obsessed with bringing down.

“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central): The biracial status of comedy partners Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele (black fathers, white mothers) is notable only because it gives them unique insight sizing up the human condition. And they made the most of that insight on their sketch-and-standup half-hour series. In particular, they scored with Peele in an unsurpassed impersonation of Obama where the unflappable president is joined by Key as “anger translator” Luther, who demonstrates, comically unfiltered, what Obama really thinks.

But whatever they did, the humor of Key and Peele proved fresh and smart. And without ever preaching, they illustrated how the issue of race (in their words) “always boomerangs back to culture” and ultimately “is an absurd thing.”

Doggone funny, too.

“Luck” (HBO): This drama set at a California racetrack boasted the rich density of David Milch’s writing and a king’s ransom of a cast: Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Jill Hennessy and Richard Kind for starters. It explored a strange and fascinating world while capturing the horse races with breathtaking footage. But three horses died during production of the series. That sad fact, and another — the show wasn’t exactly a ratings blockbuster — led to HBO canceling “Luck” after its first season, in a bow to bad publicity led by animal-rights activists. Amid the hubbub about the horses’ welfare, there was a question no one seemed inclined to ask: Assuming every reasonable precaution had

been taken, was risking the lives of a few horses an excessive price to pay to keep an excellent drama series on the air?

“Smash” (NBC): This NBC musical drama put a bright, sexy sheen on one of filmdom’s most timeless tropes: Hey, kids, let’s put on a show! Which “Smash” did, embedding songs and dance into the story of how a Broadway musical comes to life. Sure, “Smash” took knocks for unbelievable plotlines, cardboard characters and trite show tunes. It gave new life to the term “hate-watch” (that act of watching something solely to delight in its awfulness). So what?

With a show-must-go-on defiance emblematic of Broadway, “Smash” never flagged in its unique charm and meticulous artistry.

“Sons of Anarchy” (FX): Tough guys on motorcycles selling guns and drugs. Tough women keeping them in line, or trying. Rival gangs, corrupt cops and a club membership in turmoil. Jax (Charlie Hunnam), his mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal), and her husband, Clay (Ron Perlman), were the core of a series that, in its fifth season, raged wilder than ever. A family drama set in a hard-hitting workplace, “Sons” was bloodthirsty and brilliant like nothing else on TV. Its audience knew what its characters found out: there was no escaping its excitement.

Donald Trump (all over the place): Never before has this list bestowed a personal commendation. But then, The Donald is an exceptional TV presence. Whether a game-show host (NBC’s “The Apprentice”), a commentatorat-large (Fox News Channel and elsewhere), a beauty contest impresario (his Miss USA pageant, which is broadcast on NBC), a former almost-candidate for president, or a free-floating billionaire attention junkie, Trump leverages the media with enviable shrewdness. Exactly the nature of Trump’s TV appeal has yet to be identified. Equally unexplained is why he always gets a pass from his media gatekeepers, no matter what he says or does. But why sweat the vagaries of stardom?

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E15

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E16 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

MOVIES

Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio star in “Django Unchained.”

The Weinstein Company via AP

‘Django Unchained,’ pre-Civil War cousin of ‘Inglourious Basterds’

By STEVEN REA The Philadelphia Inquirer

Neck-deep into Quentin Tarantino’s antebellum western “Django Unchained,” I had this mental image of the uber-geek genre filmmaker tapping furiously on his laptop, beaming at the brilliance of every new piece of dialogue he’s writ.

For all I know, Tarantino works on a typewriter, or longhand on a legal pad, but in any event, as the banter ping-ponged across the dining table in the plantation mansion of slave-master Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio, twirling his mustache), with Jamie Foxx (in the title role), Christoph Waltz (as a winking bounty hunter), Kerry Washington (the slave girl Django has come to rescue), and Samuel L.

‘DJANGO UNCHAINED’ HH1⁄2

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Don Johnson.

Running time: 2 hours, 45 mins.

MPAA rating: R (violence, profanity, adult themes)

Jackson (Candie’s slave majordomo) all taking their turns, the endless, over-the-top badinage really started to bug me.

Tarantino has done this before (Sydney Tamiia Poitier and her gal pals gabbing away in “Death Proof,” the lengthy bar scene in “Inglourious Basterds”), and it really doesn’t make for great cinema, despite what Tarantino may

think. Less is more, dude.

But then again, if you’re going to pay homage to “Mandingo” and pre-Eastwood spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation pics and Sam Peckinpah, and maybe a little John Ford, too, economy is not going to be the driving concern.

“Django Unchained” tells the tale of a stoic slave, his back crosshatched with whip scars, who is offered his freedom if he helps a German-born bounty hunter track down an infamous band of brothers with whom Django has had firsthand experience.

“I kill white people and get paid for it?” Django says, listening to this proposition. “What’s not to like?”

Foxx is the straight man in all this, bringing dignity and dash to the proceedings, while Waltz, who nabbed a supporting-actor Oscar

for his portrayal of a zealous SS officer in “Inglourious Basterds,” gets to steal another show with his gentlemanly elocution and dangerous panache. Like “Inglourious Basterds,” too, “Django Unchained” is big on the N-word.

Not “Nazi, but the other one, which, befitting a narrative set in the preCivil War South, is uttered often, with contempt.

Tonally, like “Inglourious Basterds” again, “Django Unchained” is all over the place.

It’s a fight to convey genuine emotion, or genuine “anything, when every scene smacks of archness, tipping its Stetson to other movies, other eras. Tarantino lines up a parade of his B-movie icons to show their faces: Don Johnson, Bruce Dern, Michael Parks, Franco Nero, Russ Tamblyn, Lee Horsley,

Robert Carradine, and it’s impossible not to get into some of the cameos, some of the stunts.

And when Foxx’s Django shows up dressed like Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy,” in the guise of a “black slaver” advising Waltz’s Dr. Schultz on his purchases, it’s fine and dandy stuff. Ditto some of the jokes (DiCaprio’s Candie is an avowed Francophile, but he doesn’t speak French; Waltz’s bounty hunter is also a dentist, and his wagon is topped with a giant molar).

Is “Django Unchained” about race and power and the ugly side of history? Only as much as “Inglourious Basterds” was about race and power and the ugly side of history.

It’s a live-action, heads-exploding, shoot-’em-up cartoon. Sometimes it crackles, and sometimes it merely cracks.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E17

MOVIES MINI-REVIEWS Compiled from news services.

Ratings are one to four stars.

“Flight” — After opening with one of the most terrifying flying scenes I’ve witnessed, in which an airplane is saved by being flown upside-down, Robert Zemeckis’ “Flight” segues into a brave and tortured performance by Denzel Washington -one of his very best. Not often does a movie character make such a harrowing personal journey that keeps us in deep sympathy all of the way. Washington plays a veteran commercial pilot who has built up a tolerance for quantities of alcohol and cocaine that would be lethal for most people. Drama, R, 138 minutes. HHHH “Hyde Park on Hudson” — Bill Murray plays Franklin Roosevelt as a sometimes lonely and sad man whose vacation getaway is his mother’s family mansion, Springwood, near Hyde Park in upstate New York. Here in June 1939, he receives guests whose visit could change the course of world history: England’s King George V (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Colman).

Witnessing from backstage is his sixth cousin, Daisy (Laura Linney), with whom FDR has a sweet and secret affair. Murray finds the exact tone, gentle and confiding, for this view of Roosevelt. Biography, R, 94 minutes.

HHH1⁄2 “Life of Pi”: A miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery.

Inspired by a worldwide bestseller that seemed unfilmable, it is a triumph over its difficulties. It is also a moving spiritual achievement, a movie whose title could have been shortened to “Life.” The story involves the 227 days that its teenage hero (Suraj Sharma) spends drifting across the Pacific in the same lifeboat as a Bengal tiger. The movie quietly combines various religious traditions to enfold its story in the wonder of life.

How remarkable that these two mammals, and the fish beneath them and birds above them, are all here. One of the year’s best. Fantasy, PG, 125 minutes. HHHH “Lincoln” — Steven Spielberg’s new film focuses on only a few months of Lincoln’s life, including the passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the surrender of the Confederacy and his assassination. Rarely has a film attended more carefully to the details of politics. Daniel Day-Lewis creates a Lincoln who is calmly self-confident, patient and will-

AT AREA THEATERS ANACORTES CINEMAS Dec. 27-Jan. 3 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG13): 1:00, 4:15, 7:30 Parental Guidance (PG): 1:30, 4:05, 6:30, 8:55 Les Miserables (PG-13): 1:15, 4:30, 7:45 360-293-7000 BLUE FOX DRIVE-IN Oak Harbor 360-675-5667 CASCADE MALL THEATRES Burlington For listings: 888-AMC-4FUN (888-2624386).

CONCRETE THEATRE Dec. 27-30 Life of Pi: Thursday: 6 p.m.; Friday: 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: 5 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 4 p.m.

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ing to play politics in a realistic way. Not about an icon of history, but about a president who was scorned by some of his opponents as a hayseed from the backwoods. He understood them better than they did him.

Sure to win many Academy Award nominations. Drama, PG-13, 149 minutes. HHHH “Playing for Keeps” — Tells the story of George (Gerard Butler), a has-been soccer star whose career is foundering but who is a completely nice man with none of the character flaws that soccer stars have been known to possess. Moving to Virginia to be near his ex-wife (wonderful Jessica Biel) and young son (Noah Lomax, a natural), he finds himself a seduction target for all the trophy wives and divorced moms in the grandstands. Unreels pretty predictably. Romantic comedy, PG-13, 105 minutes. HH “Red Dawn” — Opens with a hard-fought high school football game, before the next day in Spokane is interrupted by the thud of bombs. The young gridiron stars of the Wolverines race outside to see enemy aircraft flying overhead in formation, dropping paratroopers from the skies. Light on dialogue, heavy on mindless action.

Action, PG-13, 93 minutes. H1⁄2 “Rise of the Guardians” — Hyperactive 3D animated fantasy regarding the plight of Jack Frost, who nobody seems able to see. Called upon in a crisis to help the Guardians (Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc.), he saves the day.

Younger children like the breakneck action, magical ability to

OAK HARBOR CINEMAS Dec. 27–Jan. 3 Parental Guidance (PG): 1:25, 3:55, 6:40, 8:50 Jack Reacher (PG-13): 1:05, 3:45, 6:30, 9:10 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG13): 1:15, 4:30, 7:45 360-279-2226

AT THE LINCOLN THEATRE 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon 360-336-8955 n www.lincolntheatre.org

STANWOOD CINEMAS Dec. 27-Jan. 3 Les Miserables (PG-13): 1:20, 4:30, 7:45 Parental Guidance (PG): 1:30, 4:00, 6:50, 9:00 Jack Reacher (PG-13): 1:10, 3:50, 6:40, 9:20 This Is 40 (R): 12:50, 3:40, 6:30, 9:10 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (PG13): 1:00, 4:15, 7:30 360-629-0514

fly, and the young hero who has tired of being overlooked. Their parents and older siblings may find the 89-minute running time quite long enough. Animated adventure, PG, 89 minutes.

HHH “Skyfall” — “Skyfall” triumphantly reinvents 007 in one of the best Bonds ever made. This is a full-blooded, joyous, intelligent celebration of a beloved cultural icon, with Daniel Craig taking full possession of a role he earlier played unconvincingly. The film at last provides a role worthy of Judi Dench, returning as M, who is one of the best actors of her generation. She is all but the co-star, with a lot of screen time, poignant dialogue, and a character who is far more complex and sympathetic than we expect. In this 50th year of the James Bond series, with the dismal “Quantum of Solace” (2008) still in our minds, I don’t know what I expected in Bond No. 23, but certainly not an experience this invigorating.

If you haven’t seen a 007 for years, this is the time to jump back in. Action, PG-13, 143 minutes. HHHH “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” — “The Hobbit” is stuffed with Hollywood’s latest technology — 3-D, high-speed projection and Dolby’s Atmos surround sound system. The result is some eye candy that truly dazzles and some that utterly distracts, at least in its test-run of 48 frames a second, double the projection rate that has been standard since silentfilm days. It’s also overstuffed with, well, stuff. Prologues and

sidestepping backstory. Long, boring councils among dwarves, wizards and elves. A shallow blood feud extrapolated from sketchy appendices to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” to give the film a bad guy. Fantasy-action, PG-13, 169 minutes. HH1⁄2 “The Impossible” — The tsunami that devastated the Pacific Basin in the winter of 2004 remains one of the worst natural disasters in history. We were in Europe when it struck, and we sat mesmerized, watching the news on TV -- again and again, that towering wall of water looming from the sea, tossing trucks, buses and its helpless victims aside. In this terrifying triumph of special effects, Juan Antonio Bayona’s film becomes a powerful story of a family’s cohesive strength. With Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland. One of the best films of 2012. Drama, PG-13, 114 minutes. HHHH “Wreck-It Ralph” — The new Disney animated feature for families takes place inside several arcade-style video games, providing an excuse for the backgrounds, ground rules and characters to constantly reinvent themselves. Its hero is one of those clumsy, misunderstood big guys who dream only of being loved. Ralph (voice by John C. Reilly) spends every day knocking down an apartment building, which is constantly repaired by Fix-It Felix Jr. (Jack McBrayer). Lively, endlessly colorful nonstop action, also with Jane Lynch and Sarah Silverman. Animated comedy, PG, 101 minutes. HHH

‘Samsara’

7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 28-29 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30 Expanding on the themes developed in “Baraka” (1992) and “Chronos” (1985), “Samsara” explores the wonders of our world from the mundane to the miraculous, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man’s spirituality and the human experience. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation. Through powerful images, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.

Rated PG-13. $10 general, $9 seniors, students and active military; $8 members; $7 children 12 and under.

Bargain matinee prices (all shows before 6 p.m.): $8 general, $6 members, $5 children 12 and under.

The Met Live in HD: ‘Aida’ 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30

The Met’s production of Verdi’s ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radamès, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina. Fabio Luisi conducts.

In Italian with English subtitles. $23 adults; $19 seniors; $16 students and children with $2 off for Lincoln members.

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

E18 - Thursday, December 27, 2012

OUT & ABOUT ART

“Black and White Color Study from the Permanent FIRST FRIDAY GALLERY Collection”: Presenting WALK: Check out a variety black, a symbol for sophisof art on display during a tication and authority, and reception from 6 to 9 p.m. white, which suggests purity Friday, Jan. 4, at several and neutrality, the exhibigalleries and other venues tion offers an atypical look in downtown Anacortes. at the Northwest palette.

Featured artworks include Plus, excerpts from studies paintings and prints, basthat tackle the question, kets, sculptures, pastels, “Are black and white colfiber arts, glass, ceramics, ors?” as well as the science wood, photography, jewelry and history behind black and more. 360-293-6938. and white.

Museum hours are noon MEMBER SHOW: Allied to 5 p.m. Sundays and Arts of Whatcom County’s Mondays, and 10 a.m. to annual Members Show will 5 p.m. Tuesdays through open with a reception from Saturdays. $8, $5 seniors, $3 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, students, free for members and continue through Jan. and ages 11 and younger.

26 at the Allied Arts Gal360-466-4446 or www. lery, 1418 Cornwall Ave., museumofnwart.org.

Bellingham. The show will These two exhibits confeature work from nearly clude Jan. 1: 100 Allied Arts members, “CIRCULAR: From The including professional art- Permanent Collection”: ists, students and new or Artworks selected from emerging artists. Gallery the museum’s collection hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. explore the meaning and Monday through Friday, influence of the circular and noon to 5 p.m. Saturform. The show features day. 360-676-8548 or www. works by Maria Frank alliedarts.org.

Abrams, Guy Anderson, Marc Boutté, Kenneth CalNEW MoNA EXHIBIlahan, Doris Chase, ClayTIONS: Two new exhibits ton James, Leo Kenney, will open with a reception John-Franklin Koenig, Loufrom 2 to 5 p.m. Saturise Kikuchi, James Minson, day, Jan. 12, and continue Viola Patterson and Mark through March 13 at the Tobey.

Museum of Northwest Art, Pilchuck: IDEAS”: Cel121 S. First St., La Conner. ebrating 50 years of Studio “Eduardo Calderón: Glass, the show features Portraits of 20 Northwest work from the Pilchuck Artists”: Calderón interpermanent collection rareviewed a cross section of ly seen off the famous glass Northwest artists rangschool’s campus. These ing in age, background pieces from the early days and mediums each uses of the revolution in stuto make art, and photodio glass were created by graphed the artists in their some of the most imporhomes. The exhibition tant artists working in the includes Calderón’s audio medium, including Dale and transcribed interviews Chihuly, William Morris, with the artists about influ- Joey Kirkpatrick, Flora ences, backgrounds and Mace, Ben Moore, Lino what brought them to the Tagliapietra, Italo Scanga Northwest (if the artist was and more. not already a native). The The works on display show also includes works are especially significant by each artist. because they show these

Native and Native-inspired art. A special presentation Saturday evening will feature “Neqáx Kwélengsen” from the Samish Nation.

Visitors are invited to watch and learn as the artists carve, weave, make baskets or hats, knit and create. Visitors can also participate in a silent auction of the artists’ works.

Admission: $5, $4 seniors, $10 families. 360-466-3365 or www.skagitcounty.net/ museum.

SMALL PAINTINGS

A show featuring small paintings on canvas and paper

by Anne Martin McCool will open with a reception during the First Friday Gallery Walk from 6 to 9 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 4, and continue through Jan. 31, at Anne Martin McCool Gallery, 711 Commercial Ave., Anacortes.

The show will also include paintings and prints by Cathy Schoenberg, sculptures by Tracy Powell, glass art by Bob Metke, ceramics by Patsy Thola Chamberlain, jewelry by Carole Cunningham and Debbie Aldrich, turned wood by George Way, baskets by Jane Hyde and handwoven scarves by Martha Tottenham. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday or by appointment. 360-293-3577 or www.annemartin mccool.com. Pictured: “Egret Moon,” acrylic on canvas,

by Anne Martin McCool. artists in the process of teaching, experimenting and in some cases searching for iconic forms and expressions for which they have become famous.

Groupings of early glass are shown next to mature examples of the artists’ work from private collections.

“RICHARD MORHOUS: LINE PAINTINGS”: The show continues through Dec. 30 at Lisa Harris Gallery, 1922 Pike Place, Seattle. Morhous presents urban scenes from New York, San Francisco and Seattle, landscapes and floral subjects in an innovative style of linear abstraction. Gallery hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. 206-443-3315 or www. lisaharrisgallery.com.

SMALL CANVAS: Anne Martin McCool Gallery is featuring a Holiday Special Small Paintings Show through the end of December at 711 Commercial Ave., Anacortes. The event includes small paintings on canvas and paper by Anne Martin McCool, and other gallery artists will be featured as well. 360-293-3577.

6938 or www.scottmilo. com.

“FIRST SNOW”: Works

by Aleut artist Thomas Stream are featured in a new show at Arctic Raven Gallery, 130 S. First St., Friday Harbor. Stream uses geometric designs embodied in his creatures to reflect the importance of Aleut spiritual beliefs. 888378-3222 or www.arctic raven.com.

“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”: The show continues through Jan. 1 at Rob Schouten Gallery, 765 Wonn Road, Greenbank.

Twenty-four of the region’s finest artists have created a variety of affordable gifts — handblown glass, silk scarves, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, paintings and prints and more. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends (closed Tuesdays). 360-222-3070 or www.robschoutengallery. com.

FALL ART SHOW: The Salish Sea Plein Air Art Group’s fall show continues from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through December at the Rexville Grocery, 19271 Best Road, Mount Vernon.

360-466-5522 or www.rex villegrocery.com.

“GLACIAL SPEED”: A show of recent artwork by Cynthia Camlin continACRYLIC PAINTINGS: A ues through Jan. 13 at the Skagit Valley College Art show of new paintings by Gallery in the Gary KnutJennifer Bowman continues through Jan. 29 at Scott zen Cardinal Center on the Milo Gallery, 420 Commer- SVC campus, 2405 E. ColNATIVE ARTISTS: lege Way, Mount Vernon. cial Ave., Anacortes. Also Award-winning Pacific The exhibit interprets envishowing are photographs Northwest artists will be featured at “A Gathering of by Randy Dana, Dick Gar- ronmental change through vey and Lewis Jones; fused visual metaphors, depicting Native Artists 2013” from glass by Robin Larson; pas- the phases of melting gla11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday tels by Amanda Houston; ciers through abstracted and Sunday, Jan. 19-20, at the Skagit County Histori- and acrylics by Joel Brock. forms. Gallery hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday cal Museum, 501 S. Fourth Gallery hours are 10:30 through Friday. 360-416St., La Conner. Artists will a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 360-293- 7812. show and sell a variety of

Skagit Valley Herald / goskagit.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012 - E19

OUT & ABOUT “HONEY, I SHRUNK THE ART”: The 22nd annual show of small artworks continues through Jan. 27 at Matzke Fine Art Gallery & Sculpture Park, 2345 Blanche Way, Camano Island. The show features small format paintings, sculptures, glass and more by 40 artists. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday or by appointment. 360-387-2759 or www.matzkefineart.com.

703 Second St., La Conner.

“Material Men: Innovation & The Art Of Quiltmaking”: The exhibit showcases the work of 16 male quilters and the many innovations in design, technique and materials these men have brought to the traditionally “women’s work” of quilting.

“Best of the Festival”: Check out the quilts that were juried and judged to be the best at the 2012 Quilt Festival. In addition to the Best of Show, the exhibit includes the top entries in the traditional and nontraditional pieced quilts, wearable arts, ecogreen and embellished categories.

Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Regular admission: $7, $5 students and military, free for members and ages 11 and younger. 360-466-4288 or www.laconnerquilts.com.

museum’s Carnegie Gallery, 1305 Eighth St., Anacortes. As the Washington territory’s first governor and superintendent of Indian affairs, Stevens pushed through treaties with tribes that set off the region’s Indian Wars and still create controversy today.

Designed for the lobby of the office of the Secretary of State, the exhibit covers Stevens’ actions as governor and their impacts, his subsequent appointment as territorial delegate to Congress, his service as a general in the Civil War and other Washington connections to that conflict.

The exhibit also includes information on Stevens’ local impact and the city’s own Civil War veterans.

Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday (closed Wednesday) and 1 to 4 p.m.

Sunday. Free admission.

360-293-1915 or museum. cityofanacortes.org.

the Children’s Museum of Skagit County. $15 buys a family pass good at both museums: the Historical Museum, 501 S. Fourth St., La Conner; and the Children’s Museum, located inside the Cascade Mall in Burlington. Passes are available at either location.

For information, contact the Historical Museum at 360-466-3365 or www. skagitcounty.net/museum, or the Children’s Museum at 360-757-8888 or www. skagitchildrensmuseum.net.

share insights about each selection. Free. 360-2931910, ext. 21, or library. cityofanacortes.org.

Next up: Friday, Jan. 4: “My Fair Lady.” Audrey Hepburn stars as Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower seller who learns to speak impeccable upper-class English under the tutelage of Prof. Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), who then passes her off as a high society lady. Directed by George Cukor, this film adaptation of Lerner and Loewe’s stage musical, which was based on the original play “Pygmalion”

by George Bernard Shaw, won eight Oscars.

Friday, Jan. 11: “Mr. Roberts” Friday, Jan. 18: “Contact”

the parent organization for The Bradford House and Gentry House, is designed to serve individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Tickets: $50, available at www. skagitadultdaycare.org.

Information or tickets: 360428-5972.

SPAGHETTI FEED AND PROGRAM: The Skagit, Whatcom, Island Trail Maintaining Organization (SWITMO) will present a spaghetti feed fundraiser “CALIFORNIA IMPRESfrom 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, SIONISM, SELECTIONS Jan. 12, at the Sedro-WoolFROM THE IRVINE MUSEFISH HATCHERY ley Community Center, 703 UM”: The exhibit continues TOURS: Skagit Fisheries Pacific St., Sedro-Woolley. through Feb. 17, 2013, at Enhancement Group will Enjoy food provided by the Whatcom Museum, 250 offer free guided tours Joy’s Bakery of SedroFlora St., Bellingham. The of the Marblemount Fish Woolley, along with a proshow features 50 paintings Hatchery facility from 10 gram featuring the Alaskan from the Impressionist a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays adventures of two local Period (1890-1930) showand Sundays, through Jan. motorcyclists. $10, $5 ages casing an array of Califor27, at 8319 Fish Hatchery EMPTY BOWL PROJECT: 12 and younger. Tickets are nia landscapes, from coastal Road, Marblemount. Learn La Conner High School available at Joy’s Bakery or beaches to vast deserts. about the enhancement Also called California plein group, hatchery operations, students will hold the third call the SWITMO office at air painting, California salmon and their life cycle annual Empty Bowl Dinner 360-424-0407. from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. FriImpressionism focused on and other visitors to the “WILD EAST MEETS day, Jan. 11, in the La ConCRAB FEST: The annual capturing the special light area, such as bald eagles.

WILD WEST”: A show of ner High School culinary event will take place from and color of the state’s Tours start inside the visiFESTIVALS photographs from Nakhodlandscape and helped to tors’ center. The hatchery is arts room, 502 N. Sixth St., 3:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. SKAGIT EAGLE FESTIka, Russia, by Georgy La Conner. Enjoy a meal 19, at Camano Center, 606 define modern landscape open daily for self-guided VAL: The 2013 event will painting.

Pakin continues through of homemade soup, bread, Arrowhead Road, Camano tours. 360-336-0172, ext. take place every weekend Museum hours are noon Jan. 6, 2013, at the Whatcoffee and cookies. $5. Add Island. Enjoy a whole 304, or education@skagit to 5 p.m. Tuesday through com Museum Lightcatcher during January, in and a hand-painted bowl (yours Dungeness crab, with side fisheries.org. around Concrete, RockSunday. $10, $8 student/ Building, 250 Flora St., to keep) for $10 more. Pro- dishes, dessert and more. senior/military, $4.50 chilBellingham. Pakin’s photos port and Marblemount. ceeds will be donated to Swingnuts Jazz will provide EAGLE WATCHING: Enjoy indoor and outdoor dren ages 5 and younger, vividly portray daily life live entertainment. A cash View bald eagles wintering Friendship House to help activities including eagle free for museum members. in and around Nakhodka it build a new kitchen. For bar will be available. 360on the Skagit River from watching, free tours, walks 360-778-8933 or www.what during Soviet and post10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays information, contact Mela- 387-0222 or www.camano and educational programs, commuseum.org.

Soviet times, including the nie Graham at 360-466center.org. and Sundays, through Jan. arts and crafts, wine tasting, presence of Americans in 3173 or email mgraham@ 27, at three eagle watcher river rafting, music, dance VALLEY SCENES: Local Nakhodka, its large fishlc.k12.wa.us. stations on Highway 20: and more. Bring your camartist Roger Small is show- ing operations and other Howard Miller Steelhead era and dress for unprecasing acrylic paintings of activities. Museum hours “MUSIC AND MEMOPark in Rockport, Sutter dictable January weather.

Skagit Valley scenes from are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday Creek rest area at milepost RIES”: The inaugural For the latest information, noon to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sunday. $10; $8 Music and Memories Auc100 and the Marblemount contact the Concrete through Sundays during Fish Hatchery, 8319 Fish students, military, seniors tion to benefit The BradChamber of Commerce at December at J’s Gallery, Hatchery Road. Volunteers ford House and Gentry ages 62 and older, $4.50 360-853-8784 or visit www. will provide spotting scopes House will be held at 5 101 N. First St., La Conner. ages 5 and younger. 360skagiteaglefestival.com. and binoculars. Free. 360Also featured: work by Ed 778-8930 or www.whatcom p.m. Saturday, Jan. 12, at St. 856-5700.

Kamuda, Jay Bowen, Tom museum.org.

Joseph Center, 215 N. 15th MORE FUN Pickett, Chuck Bankuti and St., Mount Vernon. Hans WINTER FILM SERIES: TWO-MUSEUM PASS: Dan Soler. & Phil, Trish Hatley and AT THE ANACORTES 7 p.m. Fridays at the AnaJoan Penney will perform MUSEUM: “Young Man in Take your family to visit QUILTED ART: Two quilt a Hurry: The Life of Isaac two local museums for one cortes Public Library, 1220 live music. The event will 10th St., Anacortes. Acadshows continue through price with a two-museum feature a buffet dinner and Stevens and the 150th Dec. 30 at the La Conner pass from the Skagit Coun- emy Award nominee Nick live and silent auctions.

Anniversary of the Civil Alphin will introduce and Quilt & Textile Museum, ty Historical Museum and Skagit Adult Day Program, War” is on display at the

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