Demolition and Destruction on Westminster

There's been some amazing changes on Westminster (site of the former Traveller's Aid Building. They are tearing down the whole block, and going to put up a huge parking lot with retail on the sides. It's a NY style parking garage, I think, and desperately needed in the area. I believe the owners of the lot are Cornish associates

http://www.woneffe.com/ has some great demolition shots, one of which is below.

Visit http://www.woneffe.com/

My 104 year old Grandmother's Multimillion dollar idea

What kind of multi-million dollar idea can a centenarian hatch? Read and learn. It's a slightly long story,a tale of love, family, and the spunk of one very sharp old lady.

My 104 year old grandmother (who passed away in December 2004) was a really sharp lady. She had an eighth grade education, but was smart and funny and educated and ... she had moxie. She basically owned her own pearl stringing business for over 50 years, and as a single mother raised her three children in poverty during the 1930's 40's, and 50's.


She was a woman with a curious mind, who was always wondering about the world. In 2003, she came up with the idea for a new kind of men's dress-shirt - one that didn't have buttons ("Men don't want to fiddle around with the buttons in the morning," Granny would remark). She talked to one of my brothers (the one that went to the Harvard Business School) about this as a business idea. After lots of work by seamstresses in three countries, a prototype of the shirt was made and ultimately approved by Granny. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could see the shirt in production. (There's more to the story, and you can read the whole thing on the website www.grannyshirt.com)

The shirts are now ready, and are being sold as an entrepreneurial memorial to Granny.

Why would you want to purchase a Grannyshirt?

The Grannyshirt has style- its kind of a cross between a Cuban "Guayabera" and an Indian "Kurta" - you could wear it out for a nice evening on the town or for business casual.

The Grannyshirt is custom-made - our own professional tailor in Thailand will make one just for you, in your size and in various colors. You just pick what you want and we'll have it custom-made, then shipped to your door.

The Grannyshirt is made of a light fabric, perfect for any season and, although designed for men, it is a loose-fitted shirt, so women can wear it too (order one size smaller).

The Grannyshirt has an amazing story - it will be a great conversation starter when somebody asks you "Hey, where did you get that cool shirt?"

10% of every Grannyshirt purchase will be donated to a charity in Providence, RI (the city where Granny was born, lived and died) The charity will help people fight their way out of poverty-- which is exactly what Granny did.

The shirts are reasonably priced at $60 each (this price is a family and friends holiday price-- orders must be made by November 25 to get them in time for the holidays.

If you'd like to find out more about the shirt, visit the website www.grannyshirt.com

Blood From A Turnip

Blood From a Turnip, Rhode Island's oldest late night puppet salon, starts its
NINTH season on Friday November 18th at 10pm at its customary home at Perishable Theatre, 95 Empire Street, downtown Providence.

Join hostesses Vanessa Gilbert and Marsian as they present the widest range in puppetry for adult style people, ranging from the video ventriloquism of BfaT
favorite Evan O'Television to the puppet pastie moves of burlesque artist Lady Miss Iris. Physical theatre performer Marya Errin Jones and reluctant puppeteer,
BfaT founder Vanessa Gilbert, will show object works in progress. Fall River native and sock puppeteer Dan Goldrick, will provide charming and personable musical interludes. An eclectic program for eclectic times.

All seats are $5-10pm show, doors at 9:30pm-no reservations taken.

Visit perishable.org for slightly more information, but more importantly, just show up! You'll have loads of fun

Denny Crane to attack Rhode Island

At the end of last night's episode of Boston Legal, Denny Crane, the often bizarre attorney that has a penchant for cigars, women, and rightwing political causes (not to mention an alleged case of Mad Cow Disease) is asked what he would do if he were Mayor of Boston. Crane, played by William Shatner (in a turn totally unlike his Star Trek days), replies "Oh... I don't know.... attack Rhode Island. It's small."

If you don't watch the show, I suggest you do. It's quite good. The combination of TV veterans Candice Bergen, Shatner, and film eccentric James Spader, makes for a funny and interesting evening of television.

WorkHouse Theatre Presents New Work

A new physical theatre company started by Dell'arte Grad (my alma mater) Stephen Buescher, is presenting a new work at the Carriage House Theatre this week. It's based on the myth of Jekyll and Hyde. I haven't seen the work, but if it's anything like a Dell'arte show, it will feature bold physical choices, innovative use of language and set, and great intensity. I'm looking forward to it!

November 10 - 13, 2005 8:30pm
The Carriage House Stage
7 Duncan Road, Providence
Tickets are $15 General Admission and $10 Student/Senior
For reservations please call 401-215-0990.



[FROM THE PRESS RELEASE]
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are characters as familiar to us as any in a fairly tale, referenced so often in the English language the pair have become metaphor, cliché, cartoon—a well-meaning experiment gone terribly wrong. But Sawbones is not your grandma’s Jekyll and Hyde, sprinkled with the genteel delight of Victorian fainting. Sawbones is a return to the mysterious, sensational, and gruesome, true nature of the story. Workhorse’s piece of physical theatre abandons the typical notion of forcing Stevenson’s disordered tale into a sequential narrative. The ensemble invents a whirling incarnation more aligned with the ideas found in Stevenson’s original novella— as if Stevenson feverishly dreamt the story before writing it down. Like the warped neural fabric of the dreaming mind, Workhorse presents a story that leaps out of sequence, crosses the time line, and rips open the hidden corners of Dr. Jekyll’s thoughts. Using song and sound scape, original and found text, and movement, Workhorse transforms a pedestrian world of seemingly everyday events, exposing Jekyll’s deliciously vainglorious stumble toward oblivion.

The Ship Street Canal

Paul Pawlowski, Rhode Island based architect, has a bold and exciting concept for what to do about the area that will be "reclaimed" when I -195 finally gets moved (and no, his concept is not to leave it up as a Providence version of the Jamestown Bridge).

He wants to build a canal to be called the Ship Street Canal-- to create more waterfront in our city. It will stimulate business, it will encourage tourism, and it will continue to re-create Providence as a city of the 21st century with 19nth century roots. He's created an entire proposal/presentation, and it's a proposal worth viewing. (The proposal won a merit award from the AIA/RI)

You'll have an opportunity to view the proposal/presentation yourself on November 15th at 5:30 pm, when the Jewelry District Association's Canal Committee hosts Paul and his presentation at 116 Chestnut Street, Unit L.

If you are interested in attending, you should contact Peter McClure or Phoebe Blake at 401-454-3699.

Hope to see you there!

Trinity Rep names new artistic director

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE

Trinity Repertory Company's next artistic director will be Curt Columbus, board chair Buff Chace announced today. The board of trustees unanimously ratified the search committee's recommendation in a special meeting on October 30th. Columbus, 40, is the associate artistic director of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, and artistic director of Chicago's summer Theater on the Lake. A Yale graduate, he teaches at the University of Chicago and DePaul University. He is a respected director, writer, dramaturg, and translator/adaptor of major Russian works such as Crime and Punishment. (which recently ended a run at The Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket.)


Columbus will choose the plays for Trinity's 2006-2007 season, which will be announced this winter. Columbus' appointment is a dual one: Trinity Rep's artistic director is chair of the Brown/Trinity Consortium's graduate programs in acting and directing. He will begin work in January.

READ THE REST OF THE PRESS RELEASE. (PDF)

Trinity Rep Website.