Arts & Entertainment

From fraternity parties to presidential decision making in the White House, director Oliver Stone’s new movie “W.” follows George W. Bush’s journey from boyhood to adulthood – from a sporting goods store clerk to the United States president.

While many viewers in the audience expected Stone to create a hate fest for the president, they were surprised to see a depiction of a very human person with a big ego, needing to be maintained at all times. With “46 days [and a] tiny $30 million budget,” according to TIME magazine, Stone has created a touching story that strips W. down to a boy trying to fill his father’s expectations and shoes.

“It’s great being able to come here and read my work to people who enjoy the written arts as well as I do,” said poet Matthew Thorburn.

On Friday, October 24, the New York State Writers Institute showcased two young poets at the State Museum in Albany: Monica Youn and Matthew Thorburn. This event was sponsored by the New York Center for the Book and the New York State Library.

The poems read were uniquely chosen. Both authors were relaxed and eager for the listeners to enjoy their writings. According to Youn, she never knew what she was going to read until she got up to read so as to get a sense of the mood of the audience. Matthew read a few for his wife, who was present, and one was a homage to friend and fellow author, Tom Andrews.

A night of film critique turned into one of movie histories and fond memories from best selling film writers and scholars Steven Bach and David Thomas. Offering insight and joy with not only words, but their gestures and laughs as well. While some audience members were lulled to sleep by the seemingly private conversation between the film scholars and host, Donald W. Faulkner, director of the New York State Writers Institute, the affair as a whole teemed with informative goodies contracted by those who appreciated the post-film commentary.

“I’ve seen this film a long time ago in France. It’s a gem. There was really something in the film that made me think of his father,” stated viewer Jean-Francois Briere.

Oasis's lead guitarist, main songwriter and occasional singer, Noel Gallagher, described their newest album, “Dig Out Your Soul” on the music blog BritMusicScene as, "Not Britpop, let's put it that way. It's not our usual thing." Unfortunately for Noel Gallagher, other words to describe what the album is do not include unique, interesting or listenable.

In an interview with Blender Magazine, Noel Gallagher said the peculiar album title is "a metaphor for DJ'ing, when you get out a soul record. The double meaning is, you can also try and find yourself." Consider this half-hearted faux profundity a metaphor for the entire album.

How does having a new car in your driveway sound? Well, you may not be in the market for a new car, but with some used cars out there it may very well feel like you have a new car. You just might find the used Chevrolet Cobalt to be the right car for you. The model I tested was a 2007 Cobalt coupe with 27,500 miles on it.

David Render, a local musician will be the opening act at Traders Ed, a Seafood Pub in Troy on September 20 from 8-11pm. Admission is free.

Render has been playing music since the age of twelve when he started a small soul/rock band called “The Epics”. The band gained a lot of success for the five years they were together, playing many events in their home town of Chicago. Render gained a lot of knowledge about playing the guitar during the time The Epics were together; so much that when the band went their separate ways he continued learning to play.

Crossing many musical genres, Render learned to play a variety of different styles and was greatly influenced by the music of the early 60’s. It was the late 80’s when Render decided to follow his talent and establish himself a dedicated solo career.

Troy Night Out is attempting to reach out to the needier members of the community while bringing the community as a whole together this month.

Held Friday September 26th, 2008 between 5-9pm, Troy Night Out describes itself on its website (troynightout.org) as a “monthly arts and cultural event.” Metroland and Times Union have declared it the Capital District’s “best local arts scene.”

This month, Troy Night Out is hosting a food drive to benefit local food pantries. Participants are encouraged to bring canned goods, non-perishable food items, cleaning supplies, toiletries and other house hold items. Karen Schlesinger, who co-chairs Troy Night Out with Elizabeth Young, told the Hudsonian that they’re doing it because “there has been a lot of need that we’ve learned about in our community.” Donations can be dropped off at numerous places, a list of which may be found on Troy Night Out’s website.

The theatre club will present “And Then There Were None”, a murder mystery based on Agatha Christie’s novel, as well as “Life Under 30”, a story about life’s lessons. According to Theatre Club Advisor Ian LaChance, “turnout [for the auditions] has been really good,” with a show of 30 to 40 people.

The first play of the year will be “And Then There Were None”, based on Dame Agatha Christi’s novel of the same title. Theatre Club Advisor Mat Cantore stated, “Christie is considered one of the classic authors. Her work is appreciated and well respected. It is a very good draw for an audience.”

On September 25, the Maureen Stapleton Theater will be showing the documentary movie “Daughters of Wisdom” at noon. The movie was directed by Manhattan-based director Bari Pearlman and was shot on location in Nangchen. It includes exclusive in-depth interviews with Tibetan nuns as well as a glimpse into their daily lives. “Documentary filmmaker Bari Pearlman has taken her cameras to a harshly beautiful corner of rural Tibet, where an unlikely movement toward female empowerment is taking place,” says Maureen M Hart of the Chicago Tribune.

For the women in rural Tibet, daily life is focused on survival. Tibetan women often do not have enough time to pray or pursue their religion or education because of the twin trials of labor and starvation. They lived in horrible conditions for thousands of years. Additionally, the concept of educating women was considered to be a foolish waste of time and money until recently. Only men had opportunities to advance themselves.

Born on October 10, 1963 in Princeton, New Jersey and raised in Encino California, Daniel Pearl was the son of UCLA Professor Judea Pearl. Pearl attended Stanford University as a communications major and graduated with honors in 1985. During his time at Stanford, he co-founded a new student newspaper, The Stanford Commentary and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society for outstanding academic achievement.

After Stanford, Pearl spent the summer abroad traveling to the former Soviet Union, China and Europe, returning to America to reside in Western Massachusetts. While there, he held positions at the North Adams Transcript and then the Berkshire Eagle as a writer.