There are too many games with constantly slipping release dates. In fact, it's starting to get ridiculous. In the Online RPG world, "Warhammer Online" was supposed to come out in 2006, and the new "World of Warcraft" expansion - "Wrath of the Lich King" - is still loitering around at Blizzard's headquarters, with nary a release date in site.
Nob Hill Bar and Grill owners Matthew Ludeman and Sam Etheridge want their establishment to be casual. "It's a place where everyone can be comfortable," Ludeman said. "You can come dressed up; you can come in a T-shirt." The bar opened April 7. The backs of the bussers' black T-shirts read, "This shirt meets dress code.
In "Harriet's Return," Harriet Tubman learns freedom isn't free. "It has a universal theme of finding your own personal freedom and courage to live the life that you have always envisioned," actress Karen Jones Meadows said. The one-woman show, written by and starring Jones Meadows, an award-winning actress and playwright, portrays the legendary life of Tubman.
Meet the Stanleys - the One Night Stanleys, that is. Nando Fresquez, Alex Knight, Steve Lucero and Joe Carney make up the quartet of improv comedians. The group's name represents the style of improv it has become famous for throughout Albuquerque. "Like, it is here for one night, and then the show is gone," Fresquez said.
UNM Alumna Susan Colvin fell into the adult novelty business by chance, and her sex-toy shop is now the biggest in the world. She helped revolutionize toys, coming up with new colors and designs. "(Fourteen years ago), the toys were in boring packaging," said Colvin, owner and founder of California Exotic Novelties.
Art students are making a splash with their final exhibition of the semester. "Splash," a juried art show, is at UNM Art Museum's lower gallery through May 4. It features works by artists in UNM's MFA graduate art program. Three of the artists were given special awards for their pieces.
Holly Buehler Environmental science Sophomore "I got this when I was like 10. It still fits." Buehler, from Carlsbad, said she doesn't shop too much. She got her jeans for free from Buffaloe Exchange when it was giving away old clothes. Her favorite items are hand-me-downs. Jonathan Orner Chemistry ...
David Barton was a theater teacher in Tennessee when his wife encouraged him to try out for "Annie." "I thought it would be a neat experience - something I could pass on to my students," Barton said. "Annie," the little redheaded orphan with a big heart and a bigger voice, has been warming the hearts of theatergoers for 30 years.
Yoda's House is an experiment. "It's very much about the process of the whole thing and writing as you go," member Hannah Frasier said. The group will perform Saturday at q-Staff theatre. Joe Annabi is the only member who has been in every show. He sings, plays accordion, musical saw, cello, violin and harmonica.
You can see the entire universe at a planetarium's dome theater in Old Town. The planetarium at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science hosts a number of daily programs. Technician and show presenter Jason Zermeno said his favorite program is "Enchanted Skies.
Switches Lay Down the Law 3/5 Available Now Indie pop is starting to become a bit of misnomer. There's nothing particularly independent about it these days. Switches is no exception, and it's hard to see anything in its music that sets it apart from run-of-the-mill pop rock.
Songwriting is an arbitrary process for Brian Jonkman. "What I used to do was go out, and in random-ass parts of my day, something would happen," he said. "It would be like these kind of epiphanies. I'd get, like, this line. I'd get, like, this phrase. So, I'm more into lyrics in a lot of ways.
UNM is hosting the Collegiate National Poetry Slam for the first time. Twenty-four college slam teams will compete individually and in groups for a gold medal between today and Saturday. This year's UNM slam team includes Damien Flores, Aaron Cuffee, Lee Francis and Jessica Lopez.
The Blue Dragon Coffeehouse has reopened. Beth and Brian Rosen bought the coffee shop, which closed in July, and have had it up and running since March 1. Longtime Dragon patron Holly Buehler is glad that one of her favorite hangouts is back. "I used to go to open-mic nights to enjoy tasty beverages and musical entertainment," she said.
"Turning Point: Fall of Liberty" should have been an excellent game. It has a great premise - an alternate reality where the Allies lost World War II and Germany is invading the United States in the mid-fifties. The player controls a resistance fighter whose fight starts the very moment New York City is invaded, and later helps to blow up the occupied White House.
For playwright Leonard Madrid, there's nothing like watching his story come to life. "Last year, one of my plays was produced at UNM, and eight months later, it was produced at Eastern (New Mexico University) with a completely different cast, completely different set," he said.
"Snake Oil for the Lovelorn" is not a play. "It's more like kind of a world," artistic director and actor Richard van Schouwen said. "And the experience is kind of like visiting a foreign town." The performance is presented by q-Staff Theater. Van Schouwen, co-founder of the company, said the performance is physical theater - an evolving performance of multiple live art forms such as poetry, music, acting and dance with no script or characters.
Indie-rock band Minmae began as Sean Brooks' solo project, but it has evolved into something bigger. Brooks started the band in 1998. Since then, Minmae has seen members come and go. But Brooks said it now seems pretty sound. "We've had a revolving cast of members over the last 10 years," he said.
Rosalinda Rojas trains people to join the circus and make it a career. "I come from the era where, if you're not born in the circus, it's really hard to break in," Rojas said. She founded the Albuquerque School for Circus Arts, at 1001 Yale Blvd. S.E., in 1999 to train her daughter, Gabi, who is in the UNM Dance Department.
There's a bona fide vaudevillian freak show coming to town. Co-creator Samantha X said there hasn't been a show like this in 45 years. "I was using pictures of freaks to teach anatomy and physiology," she said. "Then I met (accordionist) Dylan, and he asked me if I wanted to put together a show to highlight freak-show history.
Solutions by The State News
