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Cover Story

Crossing the Line

by Geoff Kelly

Last week, after the arrest of 17 suspected terrorists in Ontario, Indiana Congressman John Hostettler, chair of the House subcommittee on immigration and border security, claimed that Toronto is a breeding ground for Islamist terrorism.

Letters to Artvoice

American popular culture, as Bruce Jackson, the SUNY’s distinguished professor at the University at Buffalo, surely knows, has always been fascinated with American Indians.

News of the Weird

by Chuck Shepherd

■ In a May dispatch from Atlanta on Southerners’ notoriously unnutritious, fat-laden cuisine, a Chicago Tribune reporter watered readers’ mouths with descriptions of the “hamdog” and the “Luther” (prized dishes of Mulligan’s restaurant in Decatur, Ga.), which are, respectively, “a half-pound of hamburger meat wrapped around a hot dog, which is deep-fried and served on a hoagie topped with chili, bacon and a fried egg,” and “a half-pound burger served with bacon and cheese on a Krispy Kreme doughnut.” The 11 states from Washington, DC to Florida, west to Texas, have the nation’s highest mortality rate from strokes, but, said a University of Mississippi professor, “Food is a strong emblem of identity for Southerners,” uniquely shared across racial lines.

Free Will Astrology

by Rob Brezsny

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Every year the National Grocers Association stages its own version of the Oscars. Among the honors it bestows is an award for Best Bagger. It goes to the person who displays the most élan while efficiently and speedily filling grocery bags with buyers’ purchases. The social status accorded the winner may pale in comparison to, say, Hollywood’s best film actress or baseball’s most valuable player, but personally I’m just as impressed with it. In fact, I think everyone in the world should be the recipient of a prize that commemorates the one thing they do better than anyone else. It happens to be an excellent time for you to go after the unique trophy you deserve, Gemini. If no organization gives it to you, make it or buy it yourself.

The News, Briefly

Peace Has No Borders

by Peter Koch

The Silence of the Politicians

by Bruce Jackson

Getting a Grip

Anti-Casino or Anti-Indian?

by Michael I. Niman

Those of us in Western New York who oppose war need to start paying attention to our own backyard. where community activists and developers are fanning the flames in the US and Canada’s ceaselessly rekindling war against the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Six Nations) Confederacy. Flareups are now occurring throughout Haudenosaunee territory. In the north, armed Ontario government forces are engaged in a standoff with residents and supporters of the Six Nations Grand River Reserve on contested land where a local developer is attempting to build a subdivision in the municipality of Caledonia. The three-month-old standoff is moving toward a violent climax as Ontario officials, responding to complaints from non-native residents, are threatening force to remove native protestors.

Artshorts

“Open” Minded

by Eric Jackson-Forsberg

In 1921, psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach published a graphically based system of psychological analysis still in use today, popularly known as the “inkblot test.” You know, those symmetrical but subjectively ambiguous blobs that are meant to draw out one’s unconscious impulses. Rorschach’s system may be an ingeniously simple diagnostic tool, but it really draws on an age-old childhood pastime: finding shapes—and perhaps meaning—in random, natural objects (clouds, stones, driftwood, etc). This visual/cognitive human tendency persists for many adults; witness the recent claims of religious icons appearing on everything from drywall stains to grilled cheese sandwiches. eBay has been replete with these mundane revelations, which Rorschach might find a curious, populist infusion of his technique.

Theaterweek

The Tony Awards

by Anthony Chase

If the Tony Awards provide a good indication of the future direction of Broadway, at least in the short term, expect more shallow musicals and British imports. The British phenomenon, fueled by the fact that Britain supports theaters in a way that allows them to take risks, and their shows roll onto Broadway after months or years of fine-tuning, serves to distort the proceedings. How can a new play like David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole, produced and rehearsed specifically for its limited Broadway run, hope to compete with The History Boys, a solid but flashy import that had been playing for a year?

Poetry

Rest, Peace

by Jennifer Campbell

Untitled #161

by Eric Evans

Book Reviews

Anansi Boys: A Novel by Neil Gaiman

by Matthew Miranda

Neil Gaiman’s latest novel, Anansi Boys, was originally conceived as a screenplay. This may explain the derivative feel of the work: the plot is uninspired, the twists are visible from a mile away, and the appealing performances of a few characters fail to salvage what is easily his most disappointing work to date.

Film Reviews

Tween Tragedies

by George Sax

Timeless Love

by M. Faust

Left of the Dial

Patrick Sweany: C'mon C'mere

by Buck Quigley

DangerDoom: Occult Hymn

by Joe Sweeney

Bandwidth

Hooks and Halos

Anything else you would like our readers to know about the band…Hooks and Halos bridges the gap between a variety of music listeners, reaching diverse crowds of all ages. Soulful and heartfelt lyrics accompanied with powerful musicianship hit home in a way that we can all relate to.

See You There

Art Alive

by Peter Koch

Rotary Club of Buffalo 2nd Annual Jazz Festival

by Buck Quigley

Naïm Amor, Marianne Dissard, Eux Autres

by Greg Gannon

Fairport Convention

by Sarah Taylor

Music

Newer Wave

by Buck Quigley

Return of the Living Dead

by Jennifer Behrens

Calendar Spotlight

Chiodos

by Michael A. Colucci

Leah Randazzo

by K. O'Day

Big Brother and the Holding Company

by Buck Quigley

The Octopus Project

by K. O'Day

Jello Biafra

by K. O'Day

Stuck Mojo

by Kat Brady