Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette Blogs

Plus-sized dating show, 'More to Love,' means less to like about reality television

Posted by elizfarrell at 12:23 pm, Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
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Blame it on all those years of playing with Barbies for 12 hours at a time, but I don’t want to see Kim Kardashian’s or any other model’s cellulite on the cover of a magazine.

Like all good, willfully deluded consumers, I want to be fooled by the magic of Photoshop so I can pretend for just one second that there’s such a thing as attainable perfection — and that articles like “5 Ways To Be The Thinnest, Richest Thing In Town” are my only hope of ever reaching it.

'Idol' Insight: A Joyous Departure

Posted by scook at 10:03 am, Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
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By SHANDA COOK • 843-706-8126

Well, well, well — it looks as though Megan Joy's "fans" didn't come through for her the way she had hoped. After a well-deserved trip over to bottom-three land (along with Anoop Desai and Allison Iraheta (why?!?!)), Joy found out that she had received the lowest number of votes and would be going home. As payback for a snarky little exchange with Simon earlier in the night, the Brit got revenge by telling Joy that the judges had no interest in saving her. Ouch.

I think America and the judges made the right decision. Joy's arrogance and annoying antics were getting to be too much to handle.

What do you think? Why does Iraheta keeps ending up in the bottom three after solid performances?

Beethoven's Seventh heralds spring for the HHSO

Posted by jvrabel at 6:00 am, Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
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Called the “Apotheosis of the Dance” by Richard Wagner, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major is the focus of the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra’s next Master series concert, which will be performed twice this weekend, once on Hilton Head Island and once in Bluffton.

“It has been said that there’s the classical style, there’s the romantic style and then there’s Beethoven,” said maestra Mary Woodmansee Green. “His Seventh Symphony expanded the scope of symphonic tone structure with rhythm as its core. It was popular in his day and remains a favorite today.”

Red-headed woman: A love letter to Neko Case

Posted by jvrabel at 6:01 am, Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
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By Tim Donnelly • Special to the Guide

In describing Neko Case, her soulful twang-tinged tunes, her rise to the top of the modern world of alt-country and her membership in the Canadian ultra-supergroup the New Pornographers, I’m drawn, of course, to Greek mythology. A friend and devoted Neko fan describes it like this: “Neko is Circe, or maybe one of the Sirens. We’re all Odysseus tied to the mast of the ship while Neko stands on the shore, singing lovely, gentle songs to lure us back to her island, where we will all be shipwrecked and die. But what a great death it would be.”

You can judge for yourself tonight when Case stops at Savannah’s Trustees Theater as part of the Savannah Music Festival.

Pat Godwin: Jokes, guitars and, of course, gangsta folk

Posted by jvrabel at 2:41 pm, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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There was a time when Pat Godwin thought comedy songs were beneath him.

His first work with a guitar was at age 21, when he was a semi-successful serious singer-songwriter in the Philadelphia area writing tunes that were “downright sad and moody,” he said. But before long, Godwin discovered his funny between-song banter was capturing the room better than his original songs.

The Great Cupcake Debate

Posted by puhles at 2:47 pm, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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Desserts are no joke in my family.

I always knew that.

But I didn’t think my parents would take it so seriously when I announced that instead of a cake, my fiance, Daniel, and I would prefer cupcakes at our wedding.

This batter battle has been going on for months now, with little resolution.

I realized the severity of the situation when my dad — who is usually the mild-mannered mediator between his (slightly) opinionated wife and (somewhat) stubborn daughter — snapped and declared that we were having a traditional wedding cake.

Sister Hazel returning to Shoreline

Posted by jvrabel at 2:37 pm, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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The pop-rockers return at 8 p.m. April 25 at the Shoreline Ballroom, Ocean Center, 40 Folly Field Road, Hilton Head Island. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 day of show and available by calling 843-842-0358 or going to shorelineballroom.com

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Telfair shares artwork with Arts Center

Posted by jvrabel at 2:31 pm, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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The new exhibit “Treasures from the Telfair: Modern and Contemporary Prints from the Collection of the Telfair Museum of Art” will be on view at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina through April 26.

More Gullah cooking

Posted by jpaprocki at 11:27 am, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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Sallie Ann Robinson returns to the Coastal Discovery Museum for another cooking demonstration 3 p.m. April 15.

The menu is fried ribs and walnut apple salad. She'll provide samples and will be selling her cookbooks.

Tickets are $20 per person. Reservations are required. To book your spot, call 843-689-6767 ext 223.

'Idol' Insight: Kris Allen continues creative momentum

Posted by scook at 11:57 am, Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
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By SHANDA COOK • 843-706-8126

This week's theme: Most popular downloaded songs.

Top performers:

Kris Allen: “Ain't No Sunshine” by Bill Withers
This guy just keeps getting more impressive each week. Not only does he have a great voice, but he's also creative with his song arrangements and can play guitar AND piano, as we learned this week. In other words, he's a true musician. His take on “Ain't No Sunshine” was completely fresh and full of feeling. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the song didn't last long enough. After this week's performance, I think it might be time to start envisioning a finale that includes Allen.