Author: Alex V. Cipolle

Not the Nerd Table

The dapper literary humorist and comedian reflects on writing, the biology of laughter and high school

Comedy

Mustachioed Renaissance man John Hodgman has accomplished pretty much everything a nerd-dandy could ever want: doling out advice for McSweeney’s, serving as humor editor for The New York Times Magazine, contributing to This American Life, appearing on The Daily Show, Battlestar Gallactica and Community, and writing a trilogy of deliciously fictional almanacs. Now, he takes on stand-up comedy, or his own esoteric, foppish version of it. Continue reading →

Bridging Design and Community

The UO student organization designBridge offers low-cost, sustainable design in Eugene

Culture

Everyone crowded around the new “playscape” at the Co-op Family Center on Patterson Street, not far from the UO campus, on a crisp February morning; hugs were exchanged, parents, teachers and college students chatted, kids were zooming around the new sustainable gravel bike path and bellies filled with pancakes and orange juice kept everyone warm. It was the Family Center’s 18th Annual Pancake Breakfast, but it was also the playground dedication — a playground designed and constructed by the UO student organization designBridge. Continue reading →

A Tale of Two Women

Local author Barbara Corrado Pope explores Belle Epoque Paris in an elegant murder mystery

Books

The opening chapter of The Missing Italian Girl plays out like a scene from a Merchant Ivory film; the year is 1897, the city is Paris and three shrouded figures dodge the ghoulish cast of gas lamps near the Gare de l’Est as they bring a special (and posthumous) delivery to one of the city’s dumping waters, the Basin de La Villette. In the city of lights, on a warm summer night at the turn of the century, the trio is taking a great risk. Continue reading →

Collaging the Contradictions

Local artist Violet Ray to speak at JSMA about his jarring Vietnam-era photo collages

Visual Arts

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is delving deeper into the belly of ’60s and ’70s counterculture art with Advertising the Contradictions, an exhibit that explores the collision of art, culture and politics through the eyes of local artist Violet Ray. While not part of the official West of Center: Art and the Counterculture Experiment in America exhibit that opened Feb 8., the JSMA added the local artist’s work because of its role in Vietnam anti-war protests — his photo collages were reprinted on fliers and widely distributed. Continue reading →

The Beat Don’t Stop

ELAN’s Beats & Brushstrokes silent auction of vinyl art is the biggest yet

Visual Arts

Most people listen to vinyl; some go as far as to frame their favorite record sleeves and display them proudly on their walls while others use them as a blank canvas. On Feb. 23 you can see and purchase repurposed record art at the 4th annual Beats & Brushstrokes silent auction hosted by the UO Emerging Leaders in the Arts Network (ELAN). But make sure to get there early; last year’s event quickly reached capacity, and there was a line out the door. Continue reading →

No Horsing Around

With the help of the community, South Eugene takes a production of Carousel to new heights

Theater

Near Amazon and 19th is a theater that seats 1,000 people — it is the second largest theater in Eugene. Its cavernous room glows warmly from the theater lights hitting the sea of red velvet seats. The elegant curve of the stage leads the eye to a custom-welded circular light piece, twinkling as it hangs above four candy-colored carousel horses — the quartet is hand-carved and painted, and worth $60,000. The theater director and his leading cast gather in the aisle, chattering about the opening night of their production, Carousel, on Feb. 21. Continue reading →

Flawed Beauty

Music

If you want to know what Robin Bacior sounds like, and I mean really sounds like, listen to her 2013 EP I Left You, Still In Love (available for free until Feb. 25 at robinbacior.bandcamp.com). The album was recorded in a one-day session at Headgear Studios in Brooklyn, New York. If you listen closely to “Women Speak,” you will hear a guitar string snapping. At first, Bacior thought she had ruined the track, but the recording grew on her, the flaws creating a sense of intimacy. “It’s a direct reflection of our live show,” Bacior says. Continue reading →