2006 - Page 225 of 269 - The Santa Barbara Independent

Uncategorized By Indy Staff

A Soul Transformed

Tsotsi

Presley Chweneyagae and Terry Pheto star in a film written by Gavin Hood, based on the novel by Athol Fugard, and directed by Hood.

“Tsotsi” translates into “thug,” a blunt, one-syllable word which best describes the central character in this powerfully moving-and now Academy Award-winning-South African film. And yet the film Tsotsi-based on the novel by noted South African playwright Athol Fugard-gains much of its fairly unique power from its ability to balance thuggish tensions with matters of a heart in transition. Throughout the course of the story, Tsotsi believably metamorphoses from being an amoral dispenser of violence to someone who discovers a surprising compassion for a human baby-whom he accidentally acquires after stealing a car, and then struggles to care for. By extension, Tsotsi learns to care for the species to which the baby belongs, or so we’re left to imagine.

By Stanley Naftaly

Jazz Singer

Brazilian Chanteuse/Pianist Eliane Elias Plays the Lobero

Eliane Elias’s latest release, Dreamer, is so in demand that even her management company can’t get copies. It’s gone through a second pressing and her label still can’t keep up with the orders. Luckily, the artist herself is a little more available than her disc. I recently spoke with the Brazilian pianist and singer by phone at her home in New York City.

By Felicia M. Tomasko

Debut Ballet

Ballet Santa Barbara

At the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Sunday, March 12.

Starting a new dance company is an arduous undertaking. Ballet Santa Barbara Artistic Director Carrie Diamond took on the task to realize her vision: original and diverse contemporary ballet performed by a combination of talented professional community dancers, students, and guest artists. Ballet Santa Barbara’s first performance delivered diversity and creativity, and enjoyable dancers, although with some overall inconsistency in the program and a few growing pains.

Uncategorized By Darren Smoot

A Mad, Mad, Mad World

The Mad Caddies and Ulysses S. Jasz Join Forces

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us again, and as we prepare to drink and pay tribute to Irish culture, an important question must be asked: How important is St. Patrick’s Day to the Mad Caddies? “We have a pretty good Scotch-Irish contingent in this band,” muses trumpeter Keith Douglas. “It’s my dad’s birthday,” exclaims guitarist Sascha Lazor. “It’s really just another excuse for us to get wasted,” vocalist Chuck Robertson declares, “and you can quote on me that.” But tomorrow night promises to be more than just an “excuse” to have a good time, as the Mad Caddies will be joining forces with James Joyce house band, Ulysses S. Jasz, to put on a special concert at SOhO.

By Nick Welsh

Enough Is Enough

Mother of Slain Guardsman Says Bring Troops Home

Nadia McCaffrey’s son was shot and killed in Iraq two years ago, by Iraqis posing as American support troops; even so, McCaffrey says she bears the Iraqis no vengeful feelings. Instead, her anger is focused at her own government, which she contends has prosecuted the war with a disastrous cocktail of deceit and incompetence.

By Indy Staff

SBCC BENEFACTOR DIES:

Eli Luria, once one of Santa Barbara’s major developers and a longtime supporter of Santa Barbara City College, died over the weekend at age 86 after a long struggle with cancer. In the 1970s, Luria spearheaded the successful bond campaign to acquire what is now City College’s West Campus. Since then, Luria served 27 years as a college trustee, championing numerous fundraising efforts on behalf of the school. Luria first became involved with the college when his wife, an adult education pottery student, asked him to donate a new kiln to the program.

By Indy Staff

SURFERS BEWARE:

Eerily empty surf breaks were standard order last weekend along the coast of Carpinteria after two mama seals were attacked and killed by a great white shark Thursday afternoon. The attackswhich were observed and photographed by visitors to the bluff-top Seal Watch area above the Harbor Seal Sanctuaryprompted city officials to immediately close the beaches adjacent to the oil and gas plant pier and extend an official word of caution to beachgoers. The great white shark has been a long-rumoredthough rarely confirmedvisitor to typically tranquil channel waters, but last week’s sighting is not entirely unexpected given the current seal breeding season and unusually cold water temperatures, according to experts at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Living By Virginia Hayes

Botanical Wonder

What do you get when you cross a cow with a lemon? Sour cream.
Bad joke, but funny because it just couldn’t happen. In the
botanical world, hybrids happen occasionally in nature, usually
between closely related species within a single genus. Once humans
started fiddling around with growing plants, though, they
contributed to a vast and growing number of hybrid plants.

Bottles & Barrels By Sao Anash

Magical Merlot

While Sarah Gott attended UC Davis, she had every intention of becoming a veterinarian. But, once she caught the wine bug, while exploring the viticulture and enology programs there, she changed her major to winemaking. “I’d spent a lot of time in the wine country with family friends when I was growing up. Food and wine had always been a part of my life, so becoming a winemaker seemed like a natural progression.”

Uncategorized By Gerald Carpenter

Meet the New Boss

CAMA/London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conducted by Osmo V¥nsk¥, with Sergey Khachatryan, violin. At the Arlington Theatre, Wednesday, March 8.

A day before this concert, I got word from CAMA that the man scheduled to conduct it, Kurt Masur, had fallen ill and was to be replaced by Osmo V¥nsk¥. CAMA was understandably anxious about this, but once I had been told that V¥nsk¥ would conduct the same program, I was not. When the scheduled soloist drops out, that usually means a considerable adjustment in expectations.

Year: 2006