Sculpture garden sprouts strange flowers

By Allison Reitz

Ryan Collins’ sculpture 'Eyesore' is a response to the Cape Wind controversy.

Sophomores in FIA 292 collaborated on the sculpture, 'Spring Tree,' which features various fruit forms and a bat with light-up eyes.

'Back at the Ranch (noise boy of the noise farm)' by Bill O’Donnell explores the love of music.

Take a look outside and you’ll see all the signs that spring is here — especially if you take a walk by Group VI.

Despite the cold and rainy weather at the beginning of last week, students in the fine arts program were outside for hours at a time, busy setting up for the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ springtime staple: the Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition. For many students, this meant digging through muddy ground to plant their sculptures’ supporting framework.

Those April showers couldn’t hinder the unveiling of the students’ wide variety of works. In fact, Thursday, April 26, marks the opening of the exhibition’s 19th year with a barbeque and live music. The reception, which begins at 3 p.m., is free and open to the university campus and community.

The exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to see the grounds around Group VI transformed from a grass-and-concrete palette into a “sculpture garden,” as the CVPA calls it. This garden has sprouted some strange flowers, though.

Of all the installments in the exhibition, one of the most interesting — and conspicuous — is certainly the hillside covered with metallic pinwheels, a work called “Eyesore” by Ryan Collins. Made out of aluminum, steel and PVC, the work is Collins’ response to the controversial offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket.

Regardless of whether the wheels live up to their name, at least they add some audio interest to a walk across campus and inspire curious glances from passersby. From far away, the pinwheels create a sound akin to rushing water or breeze through the trees. The closer one gets to the work, the collective clattering sounds more like shopping carts being pushed over uneven pavement.

Robin Galligan also makes an environmental statement with the sculpture “Convergence.” The work incorporates plastic tubing coated with copper paint and a dead tree stump. The tubing runs up from the ground, through the tree and back down into the ground, as though the tree’s roots were made from copper wiring.

In her statement, Galligan writes, “Ever since the beginning of the industrial age, man and nature have always found themselves at odds, competing for resilience in a world they both share.”

She continues, “My piece suggests man’s last attempt at forcing two completely different elements together, in a scale that is as ridiculous as the idea itself.”

Also standing out from the usual North Dartmouth scenery is Tiffany Plante’s “Spectrum.” Made out of house paint and foam spray, among other things, Plante’s sculpture resembles a bunch of balloons that have become entangled in a cluster of trees.

To explain her work, Plante quotes Desdiderius Erasmus: “There are some people who live in a dream world; and there are some who face reality; and there are those who turn one into the other.”

She relates this to her sculpture, saying, “Immerse yourself in the joy that is color and enjoy the dream.”

Certainly, when surrounded by concrete, it is easy to appreciate the color Plante’s sculpture brings to campus and the message it communicates.

Brooke Mullins also hopes to inspire some introspection with her plastic-and-wire sculpture, “Surrogate.” Painted a cross between pink and orange, the work is affixed between the branches of a tree and a nearby rock.

“Suggestive of the process of sublimation, ‘Surrogate’ contains aspects of each of the four states of matter (solids, liquids, gases and plasma),” Mullins writes.

She continues in her statement, “Speaking to the transient nature of life and beauty, ‘Surrogate’ also raises dichotomous issues such as natural versus synthetic, durable versus vulnerable, and animate versus inanimate. The result is a possible unification of the dualities it embodies as well as of humans and the natural world.”

On a lighter note, “A Journey Into a Child’s Imagination,” by art education major Becky Louison, incorporates the artwork of grade school children into the outdoor exhibition. Painted rocks form a pathway that leads to a boulder, which serves as a natural bulletin board for children’s artwork.

A student teacher at the Rochester Memorial School, Louison hopes that her work creates “a landscape that brings the students’ inspirational artwork to life.”

An interesting point is how this exhibition shows campus members how much they take the local scenery for granted. A fair number of students and faculty were observed doing double takes as they passed an otherwise unnoticed spot. Others would stop completely and veer off their routine course to tromp through mushy, rain-saturated ground for a closer look.

Certainly, this yearly exhibition is a great chance for students to veer off the paved course and explore what wonders the CVPA has hidden among the trees and unnoticed spots of campus.

Hopefully the conditions will be nicer for the 3 p.m. barbeque. But even if the weather turns sour for the Thursday afternoon event, the Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition has already proven to be an art event that even the rain can’t cast a cloud over.

The 19th Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition will be on display outside Group VI through May 10. The opening reception is Thursday, April 26, at 3 p.m., on the back patio of Group VI. The reception is free and open to the public. Parking is available in Lots 8 and 9.

Brooke Mullins merges the natural and manufactured in 'Surrogate.'

Color is the focus of 'Spectrum' by Tiffany Plante.

Kelli Smith gets political with a larger-than-life grenade, titled 'Slight of Hand.'

Drawings and then some in new CVPA exhibition

By Allison Reitz

A multi-panelled painting by Dan Hanafin catches the eye.

Side-by-side, four student works show the variance in individual styles.

The Student Drawing Exhibition has a misleading title. From the sound of it, one would expect the CVPA Campus Gallery in Group VI to be filled exclusively with drawings. However, the show includes paintings and mixed media works, which gives a good sense of the featured students’ range of talent.

The show features the works of junior and senior undergraduate students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ fine arts department. Two graduate students, Brandon Strathmann and Honglei Li, also have works on display. The gallery borrows sketches from Li’s graduate project, which is currently on display in the Star Store’s MFA exhibition. Strathmann’s work is more along the lines of pen-and-ink over watercolor, giving his two pieces a fun, comic book feeling.

For the most part, though, the gallery space is dedicated to this year’s graduating class and next year’s seniors.

This exhibition doesn’t fall in to any of the typical categories, since it is neither a senior exhibition nor the culmination of a large project. If anything, the Drawing Exhibition is a good chance for members of the UMass Dartmouth campus and community to check in on students’ progress and get an eyeful of the various styles employed by students in their works.

Certainly, the contents of the show are not as limited as the name suggests. While a large portion of the exhibition is comprised of works from various figure drawing courses, many other works depart from the typical pencil-and-paper sketch.

Dan Hanafin, a senior illustration major, has the largest work on display — a painting of a black rooster (or is it a chicken?) that almost stretches from floor to ceiling. The painting is so large that it takes up four canvasses, which are carefully aligned on the wall or complete the image in its entirety.

Another student who experiments beyond a strictly “drawing” medium is Eric Grab. A senior painting major, Grab actually uses a collage-and-drawing combination method in one of the figure studies he has on display. His other work in the gallery is a more traditional figure sketch.

On the drawing end of things, likewise, there is no shortage of talent.

Kate Jorgenson, a senior painting major, has two beautiful figure drawings in the gallery. One of the works has a rougher, sketchy feel to it, while the other has finer gradation and fewer visible lines. Both, however, show a sensitive understanding of the human form and lighting.

Junior painting major Gage Delprete has some incredible drawings on display, as well. His works show a great understanding of the human face and expressions. Though most of his sketches are figure studies, the intricacy and delicacy with which he draws faces shows his expertise.

During the opening reception on Thursday, April 19, a fair number of students and faculty walked through the gallery to inspect the latest exhibition. The faculty members seemed especially impressed with the student work, often vocalizing to one another how well a student executed a particular work. At other times, they exclaimed how expertly the students completed work in a specific style.

The general consensus was extremely positive. Even as students walked through the exhibition, they would point out works and talk among themselves about how they admired a student’s work. They demonstrated such great support for their friends and peers that it was impossible not to look at the works in a different light, after having heard other students praise the art and artists so genuinely.

The Student Drawing Exhibition is on display in the CVPA Campus Gallery on the main campus of UMass Dartmouth. Gallery hours run Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition is on display through Wednesday, May 16. The show is free and open to the public, with parking available in Lot 8 and 9.

‘Moby Dick’: A riotous (musical) romp with T-Co!

By Melanie Correia

Pierre (Matthew Bernardo) scrubs the deck while Ishmael (Courtney Bradley) sings the narration for a scene in 'Moby Dick: The Musical.'

The headmistress of St. Godley’s School for Girls (James Wheeler) portrays Captain Ahab in an attempt to save her school from bankruptcy, all the while giving the seafaring maniac a fabulous flair.

Herman Melville would have been shocked at this drag rendition of his most well-known novel, “Moby Dick.” The audience certainly didn’t mind at all. To end their 40th anniversary season, the UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company put on a fantastic musical version of this classical “whale of a tale.”

The story started out at an all-girls catholic school that was about to be closed down. The girls decided to put on a musical production of “Moby Dick” to raise money and save their school. But as a predominately male tale, the girls of the school had to transform and become the boys of the story. As a play within a play, the actors did very well portraying these multiple characters at the same time.

James Wheeler appeared as both the Headmistress and Captain Ahab and never once seemed to falter in his very high heels. He kept the Headmistress’ dramatic poise instilled in the revenge-seeking captain.

Aubrey Ramsdell, a freshman in her first Theatre Company production, kept her school girl character’s sultry persona exuding throughout her entire song, “A Man Happens,” and through to her tragic death.

Martin Pasquill, who played Pip in the musical, lost the scrawny, shy-guy character he has established in the beginning, but maintained his character’s obsession with power-pop stardom and kept the audience roaring with his allusions to N*Sync and Michael Jackson.

Ishmael, portrayed by freshman Courtney Bradley, kept a strong and very confident performance. She stumbled only in her opening monologue, which went so fast the audience had little time to catch up.

Upon entering, every member of the audience seemed surprised to receive a pair of 3D-glasses inside the playbill. Surely, this was something they had never experienced in a theatrical production.

During the intense whale-catching scene that featured the song “Storm Instrumental,” the audience was told (very indiscreetly — but with hilarious emphasis) to put on their glasses. Gasps and giggles began coming from the audience when objects seemed to start flying into the seats. It was an ingenious idea to keep the audience focused and make light of the serious nature of the scene’s events.

At least the 3-D effect was only an illusion, until a later scene, when the audience experienced the splash of ocean water, as cast members lined up on the edge of the stage and shot water guns in the audience’s direction. It definitely gave viewers the feeling of being on a real boat.

Nothing was as effective in reaching the audience as the pop culture references scattered throughout the show. There was a Burger King reference, with the appearance of a number of infamous BK crowns. A possible “wardrobe malfunction” happened off stage, requiring Ishmael to stall during the opening narrative. Celine Dion’s infamous song “My Heart Will Go On,” from the blockbuster movie “Titanic,” certainly gave the audience something to laugh about.

Congratulations to the entire cast for such a witty performance. Congratulations to the orchestra, directed by Tony Monte, for a wonderful score and congratulations to the Tech Crew for being able to work around the Main Auditorium’s lighting problems and still have an amazingly illuminated stage. Finally, congratulations to the entire UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company for their 40 years of productions. Here’s to the next 40 years — and break a leg!

EAT A DUCK I MUST

This truth I speak: Good. Go.

By Wan Yan Ling

This time last year, I was in a car with my favorite “makan khaki” (Singlish for nosh buddy) on a thirteen-hour drive along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. To our mates from school, we were ostensibly marveling at the splendid coastline views, making the required pilgrimage to the Twelve Apostles, getting a wee bit too involved in Sydney’s underground stencil bombing scene, and singing and strumming acoustic guitar by the salt-licked harbor till the wee hours.

It was a pretty, idyll story, but it was only half the truth (guess which half). Exactly one month before, I made reservations at Tetsuya’s, one of the top-five restaurants in the world, so that the two of us fearless (some say crazy) chowhounds could spend an obscene amount of money on Chef Wakuda’s ten-course degustation menu.

On arrival, the valet slid gingerly into our battered Mitsubishi — caked in red dust from the road and shabbily out of place next to the Jaguars, MGs and Beemers — and took care to park it a good way from the main entrance.

“Oh dear, we’re the declasse cousins thrice removed, “ said I.

“Yeah, but how many of those Jag-drivers got to dine here when they were in college?” was my khaki’s reply.

I told you he’s my favorite.

Dinner that night was the stuff of dreams (if you, like me, regularly dream of sinking your teeth into fatty tuna belly and savoring the crisp, briny bounty of pearls of roe). So what happened post-prandial was a surprise: My makan khaki, who had been growing increasingly agitated as the meal passed the three-hour mark, literally hightailed out of the restaurant once the check was signed and put the car in fourth gear for...Chinatown.

“Oh, you Chinese — can’t live without rice,” I hear you thinking.

Not untrue, but not the case. My khaki, it seems, after a drawn out, ten-course presentation of daintily plated mouthfuls, was hungry. Ravenous. He marched into the first crowded joint, set down and proceeded to order a super-sized bowl of roasted pork noodles and “house soup.”

“What’s house soup?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” he said grimly, his attention fully focused on the task ahead: must get real food!

And soon enough, I did. House soup was a huge, torso-sized bowl of broth, rich with marrow and swimming with bones, assorted mystery meat, dice of radish, carrots, potatoes and plentiful other unidentifiables.

“Erm...it looks like a leftover graveyard,” I ventured suspiciously. I had visions of patrons’ uneaten scraps being pushed from greasy, saliva-grimed plates into a huge vat of ever-simmering house soup.

“Where legends go to die!” my khaki boomed and proceeded to slurp down the entire bowl, spitting out bones as he scraped the meat off them, cat-like, before signaling the waiter for another.

Gentle reader, I have to admit: it smelled wonderful. And the glorious wafts of peppery steam I fought before caving probably made it taste even better. It had a hefty umami kick, with all the pleasing “mouthfeel” of a painstakingly prepared double-boiled chicken soup.

Just 15 minutes ago we were dining on bone china and air-flown sashimi. Now, we were surrounded by college kids chattering away in Cantonese and digging into roast duck. Even our favorite people have their flaws, and mine obviously didn’t believe in fairytale fantasies.

There is a lesson there.

Back in the present, I’m ashamed to admit it took me months of bemoaning Dartmouth’s non-existent foodie culture (“a barren wasteland” I wailed to my khakis in Melbourne, Australia) before I ventured to “dangerous” Downtown New Bedford (“11 homicides in the past six months!”) to check out the hole-in-the-wall eateries that have been mushrooming recently.

Spicy Lime does a happy rendition of street Thai, with $6.95 lunch specials they could easily charge double for. While The Green Bean serves kick-ass coffee, rib-sticking smoothies (not a typo) and baked goodies in a lovely, light-filled space with high ceilings. Free wireless!

This truth I speak: Good. Go.

Spicy Lime
522 Pleasant St., New Bedford
508-992-3330
Open seven days a week: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Green Bean
740 Purchase St., New Bedford
508-984-3300
Saturday hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Light bulbs, roses or brickbats? E-mail: eataduckimust@gmail.com.

THE BEER BARON

On the trail again: Long Trail Ale

By Gary Albert

It can be said that beer is an acquired taste. I’ve been fascinated with beer ever since I became old enough to buy it.

People who know me well know that I usually try to taste a different beer every week. Over the past year, I’ve tasted nearly 75 different brews. Every beer is unique in their flavors, and if you train yourself to notice them, a good beer can be discerned from a bad one very easily.

The same beer may even be different on draught or from the bottle, from the bottle instead of a can. A seasonal brew from a microbrewery may change from year to year. The glassware used when drinking a beer can even alter how you taste it.

I figured I’d start of with a beer that’s fairly simple, but has some complexity to it that is very noticeable, which comes from the roots of its style. This beer is Long Trail Ale.

From the Long Trail Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners, Vermont, this is their standard offering and first beer brewed by the company, which was started in 1989. The style that this beer is based on is German “Altbier” style, a type of pale ale.

Altbiers are usually crisper and less hoppy (plant-like in flavor) than your typical pale ale, but this beer has a distinct flowery taste and a nutty and malty (sweet flavor) overtone that isn’t too overpowering.

Lagers and ales are the two main classifications for beer. The difference between them is the type of yeast used to ferment the beer and the temperature that they are fermented at. Lagers usually have more of a crisp refreshing taste to them, while ales are usually more complex and robust.

This beer is surprisingly lager-like for ale, which makes it a very good transition beer. If you’re a fan of Sam Adams or Harp, this would be an excellent beer to try, in a very similar price range. If you’re used to drinking cheap American lagers, Long Trail Ale might be the beer that turns you from a beer drinker to a beer enthusiast.

Long Trail Ale definitely feels of early spring. It would be excellent to just sit out on the lawn with on a cool sunny day. For this tasting, I poured my 12 ounce bottle into an American pint glass. It pours a rich honey color, with a small head (foam) that dissipates within a minute or so. The smell is very much a much lighter variant of the taste, but the intensity of the actual flavor makes up for the lack of aroma.

It has a light crisp feeling on the mouth, but you know it’s a beer when drinking it. This beer has a crisp aftertaste that isn’t overpowering. There really is a great balance of flavor and refreshingness to it.

Although from my reaction it may seem like I’m amazed, overall this beer really has nothing spectacular to it. I’d definitely choose it over a lot of imports or big name domestics, but that’s a given. Of course, one good thing is it would be easy to forget how many of these you’ve had over the course of a night.

According to the Long Trail website, the Long Trail Ale has a 4.6 percent alcohol by volume, which is quite normal for standard brews.

Appearance: 3.25

Smell: 3

Mouthfeel: 3.75

Drinkability: 4.5

Overall I’d give this beer a 3.5 out of 5, and recommend that you at least try it once. Long Trail is a company that I’ll definitely return to in the future.

If you have a recommendation for a beer for me to review (anything goes), want to comment on or criticize my review, or just have questions regarding beer, send me an e-mail at u_galbert@umassd.edu.

The WRC hosts Gail Dines: Sex, love and intimacy in a pornographic world

By Anna Lisa Vust

On Wednesday, April 18, Dr. Gail Dines gave an eye opening presenation on media and popular culture, how it has become highly sexualized and its effects on the average individual.

Gail Dines is a sociology and women’s studies professor at Wheelock College and specializes in popular culture. She started her presentation saying that current 18- to 22-year-olds live in an “MTV” age generation. We live in an image culture and believe in stereotypes. The media constructs and deconstructs in terms of the way we think about women, and women who are highly publized in the media are eventually laughed at.

The female body is publicized as highly sexual, blonde, toned and slim. It is this specific body type that all women are looking at on an everyday basis on television and on magazine covers.

Dines talked about the pornographic industry and how it has made a profound impact on the way women think about their bodies and how men think about women’s bodies. There is a built-in cattiness within this culture.

However, the feminist movement is what has brought women together and taught them how to love and respect other women. Women believe in being valued as humans.

Dines implied that, without feminism, “we” as women would not be alive and feel important. Women who are in the pornographic world and the modeling world become obsessed with body image. That leads to eating disorders—worrying about calories and what they eat.

The modeling world is just as troubling as the pornographic industry. Dines mentioned a recent “America’s Next Top Model” epidsode where female contestants were photographed as dead. It sends out a horrific and disturbing message that it is okay to model as a dead person.

Dines mentioned that we live in a “Slut Culture” where the perfect women are Britney Spears, Christina Aquilera, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohen because they are skinny and wear inappropiate clothing.

A prime example of the fact that a lot of these females are severely troubled is Anna Nicole Smith, who died of a broken heart from her son’s death and drug related complications. She was highy scrutinzed in the media for many years and never had a real chance at a normal life.

The porno world is shocking because 12- and 13-year-olds are downloading porn. Women are engaging in unsafe sexual practices and are being subjected to humility.

Dines did offer advice for the audience in attendance, saying that women need to start being picky about the men they date, so they do not full into the trap that they have to look or act a certain way because media and culture puts out a stereotypical woman. Men need to start organizing for their humanity.

Gail Dines was an engaging speaker who provided a harsh reality of what media and culture puts out there. This event was sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, Student Senate and CAB. If anyone would like futher info, they can visit the National Feminist Anti-Pornography Movement website, www.feministantipornographymovement.org. This movement is setting up a program for anyone to receive training in Boston to give presentations to individuals on this disturbing industry.

Individuals can also e-mail Gail Dines at gdines@wheelock.edu for more info. She is also the co-editor of the best selling textbook “Gender, Race and Class in Media” and co-author of “Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality.”

RECOMMENDING RHONDA

Rhonda says: Spark your spring romance at Candleworks!

By Recommending Rhonda

By Recommending Rhonda

It’s finally spring, and there are a lot of things floating in the air: allergies, senioritis, rain showers and romance.

Allergies aside, I have a recommendation for those of you who are looking to add a little excitement to your bland dinner dates — which currently consist of Res, Taco Bell or Wendy’s — as well as for you dapper young fellows who are looking to impress the ladies of your dreams.

It comes in the form of a five-star restaurant called Candleworks, located in a cozy little nook in New Bedford. It was voted “Most Elegant Restaurant” by the Standard Times’ South Coast favorites. Southcoastdining.com gave it a rating of 95 forks out of 100, gushing, “The service was impeccable, the food was excellent and the atmosphere was both romantic and comfortable.”

Now, I personally have been to this restaurant about six times, and I believe this gives me a bit of authority when I say that this place is delicious. You can view their full menu at www.thecandleworksrestaurant.com, but allow me to highlight some of my favorite items on this extensive collection of YUM.

First, we’ll start with Antipasti (appetizers). My personal favorite is the Pettine E Pancetta, which in English means fresh sea scallops wrapped with hickory smoked bacon. I’ve also taken a liking to the Vongole Candleworks, which is clam baked with spinach, roasted red peppers, pepperocini, bread crumbs and pancetta.

If you’re looking for a smaller appetizer, I would recommend the Seafood Chowder. It was probably one of the best soups I’ve ever had in my life. It was perfectly spiced, and every spoonful was bursting full of chunks of tender seafood.

For entrees, there are many different categories: Pasta, Frutti Dimare (seafood), Pollo (chicken), Vitello (veal) and Carne (meat). Each entrée is served with a dinner salad and your choice of dressing.

In the pasta section, the Pasta Modena really sparked my interest. It consists of fresh lobster meat, scallops and shrimp; is sautéed with mushrooms, scallions and feta cheese; and finished with a sherry cream sauce over angel hair pasta.

I also fell in love with the Sogliola Ravioli Meuniere, which is baked stuffed sole with a blue crab stuffing served with lobster and shrimp raviolis in a sundried tomato pesto sauce. Absolutely delicious, and probably my favorite entrée on the menu.

Now, for those of you who group up in the South Coast, I’m sure you’ve had your fair share of fresh and fancy seafood. I grew up in Western Massachusetts, and since moving to this area, I feel like I was gypped in the seafood department and need to make up for lost time.

Candleworks supplies me with a ready assortment of wonderful seafood: fresh scrod, scallops, swordfish, lobster and salmon. My favorite seafood entrée has to be the Pesce Spada, a 12 oz. center cut swordfish grilled and topped with your choice of an artichoke pesto sauce, lemon butter or Chef’s own sweet and sour plum tomato sauce. Magnifico!

The chicken entrees proved to be both interesting and elegant, and include two duck entrees. A friend of mine ordered the Pollo Bracciolotini and throughout the meal continued to rave about the chicken breast rolled and stuffed with prosciutto, roasted red peppers and smoked mozzarella cheese and finished with a pesto cream sauce. These entrees are also served with the vegetable of the day (a summer squash medley, when I went) and rice.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of veal, so I’ve never ventured over to that side of the menu, but there are six veal entrees which sound rather intoxicating for any veal lover, including Vitello Chop Casarece. This entrée consists of grilled marinated veal chop accompanied by sauteed portobello mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and baby spinach in a balsamic demi glaze.

The meat section provides a variety of sirloin, steak tenderloins, pork chops and a rack of lamb. All of the sirloins are out of this world and melt in your mouth. I would highly recommend the Filetto Al Pepe — two tenderloin medallions, pan-seared with green peppercorns in a brandy sauce.

The Filetto Al Chef is also extremely appetizing, consisting of a petite grilled tenderloin accompanied by Maryland crab filled ravioli in a beurre blanc with artichoke hearts and roasted peppers.

I would next recommend taking a few minutes to digest all of the gluttonous and delicious food you have just inhaled before moving on to my favorite part of any meal: dessert and coffee (the cappuccino is delightful!).

For dessert, I would highly recommend the Missippi Mud Pie or the other triple chocolate cake mentioned on the menu. They are both heavenly — but isn’t every dessert?

Candleworks is open for lunch Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dinner hours run Sunday through Wednesday, from 5 to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, from 5 to 10 p.m.

Dinner entrees range from $15 to $28, which may seem pricey to you college students who have not yet experienced the world of fine dining, and who are currently figuring out that one steak may cost you the same as 25 sides of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes at Taco Bell. But I assure you, the cost is worth it. The food is delicious and decadent, and the atmosphere is dark and quiet.

Candleworks is less than a ten minute drive from campus. To get there, merge onto 195 East and take Exit 15 toward Downtown Fall River (onto Route 88). Take a right at the first set of lights, and a private drive to Candleworks is located on your right. The parking lot is on the right-hand side.

So, start saving your pennies (or spending your tax refunds), and take your lady (or man) out for a little romance at Candleworks Restaurant.

MOVIE REVIEW

'Disturbia': Entertaining, not disturbing

By Shara Sarnelli

“Disturbia” (2007)
Rated PG-13 for sequences of terror and violence, and some sensuality
Runtime: 104 min.

On April 13, “Disturbia,” the movie that would define Shia LaBeouf’s transition as a comical star of the Disney channel to a rising star on the big screen, was released worldwide. The film quickly landed the spot as number one on the box office chart, grossing well over $222 million.

Kale, played by LaBeouf, hits rock bottom after losing his father to a terrible car accident that he continually blames on himself. Nearly a year later, the troubled Kale causes problems leading him to a court-ordered sentence of three months house arrest. What do you do when you are cooped up in a house for such a seemingly eternal period of time?

After his mother, who works both day and night, cancels his television and X-Box 360 system, Kale turns to the outside world for daily entertainment. Intently observing his neighbors through the many windows of his house, Kale soon suspects one of his neighbors to be a cold-blooded, serial killer. Perhaps his imagination has run wilder than he can handle after being locked up with forlorn feelings for so long?

Kale lets his best friend Ronnie and new crush Ashley know exactly what he suspects and why. The two of them begin to observe the suspicious neighbor as well, neither of them realizing that they were plunging into a dangerous adventure.

Labeouf puts on an excellent performance playing the role of a seventeen-year-old. He makes his character believable by acting just how most teenagers do on a regular basis. From the use of an XBox 360 to the latest cell phones and iPods, the teen characters in this film help viewers relate to what is happening regardless of how rare the case of a serial killer neighbor may be.

The movie definitely is better than one might expect when going into it. The suspense is nearly non-stop in “Disturbia,” keeping viewers on the edges of their seats the entire time. The continuous jumps do not come to much of a surprise, but are timed perfectly, making the film more entertaining than disturbing.

With the needed comic relief of LaBeouf along with co-stars Aaron Yoo, playing the role of his best friend, and Sarah Roemer as the new neighbor, the movie turns into a rather fun thriller, which is great to see with a group of friends.