Performing Arts
Armstrong Masquers
July 10-13: AASU Department of Art, Music & Theatre presents Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin at 7:30 p.m. (3 p.m. only on July 13) in the Masquers Chinese Theater (MCT), located in Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn Street. Limited Seating; advance ticketing is highly recommended. General admission: Only $10. Audience discretion is advised. Not recommended for children. Call 344.2801 for information.
July 17-20: AASU Department of Art, Music & Theatre presents Anton in Show Business by Jane Martin at 7:30 p.m. (3 p.m. only on July 20) in the Masquers Chinese Theater (MCT), located in Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn Street. Limited Seating; advance ticketing is highly recommended. General admission: Only $10. Audience discretion is advised. Not recommended for children. Call 344.2801 for information.
July 24-27: AASU Department of Art, Music & Theatre presents Proof by David Auburn at 7:30 p.m. (3 p.m. only on July 27) in the Masquers Chinese Theater (MCT), located in Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn Street. Limited Seating; advance ticketing is highly recommended. General admission: Only $10. Call 344.2801 for information.
Tickets are available online at
www.savannahactorstheatre.org and through the Box Office (912.660.0795). For more information or directions, please contact 912.660.0795 or
mail@cardinalrep.org
Dimensions Gallery
412 MLK Jr Blvd
www.DimensionsArtGallery
Dimensions Gallery recently celebrated its One Year Anniversary!
Dimensions Gallery proudly announced that they have crossed the one year mark! They started with an idea to work with local artists and SCAD students and the ball has just kept rolling!! Since opening Dimensions they have continued to work with local artist, while expanding to supply organizations with a venue to hold exquisite receptions, as well as participating in community activities, and allowing creators of all ages a place to express their voice through art.
Dimensions Gallery provides local and developing artists with a place to showcase their visual works of art. This is important to developing artists who often lack the opportunity to display their work in a professional environment. Dimensions provide the artist with access to the public and provide the public with the opportunity to view and purchase works of art by emerging talent. The gallery specializes in displaying paintings, photography, three-dimensional pieces and other works of art by undiscovered artists, students at SCAD and local schools. Dimensions Gallery is pleased to be located within the historic MLK/Montgomery Street Corridor. Representatives from SDRA, DBA, MMBA, WMBE, SCAD and some of our elected officials have been invited to attend this event. We are extremely excited to be a part of the revitalization of Downtown Savannah and invite you to join us at this event.
The Art of Writing
Pet Stories
My best pals Herman and Melinda are crowned royalty in the kingdom of spontaneity, the kind of folks who take life right by the horns, wrestle it down, laugh the whole time and then make sure to turn every event into the source of a story for later on. So when they called me up at 8 in the morning on a Sunday (day before memorial day), I knew I was in a great ride. Some people get a kick of out an amusement park. I say yes when H and M ask me along for an adventure.
This day the plan was simple. We take their seven-year-old daughter Arden down to Jellico Landing on the Edisto River, rent a canoe and kayak and row on upstream to the a huge sandbar, reveled in the last years as the Edisto River has dropped down some.
We made it upriver just a little ways and the down home South Carolinians were already staking out their places on the sandbar for a day of sunshine and river water.
Naturally enough, there was a dog running around, a black English Lab. No one seemed to know who he belonged to or where he was from, but he just a sweetheart of an animal, galloping with the children, swimming like mad after sticks we cast into the river, begin for his fare share of hot dogs.
It was one of those days that makes you know God himself is running the whole show, from the weather to the crowd assembled, to the kooky details, like a bright yellow bi-plane that flew over the trees and dipped and dove. I'd like to say the kids got the biggest kick out of the show, but in truth me and H and M were laughing the loudest, shaking our heads in amazement at how good the day was turning out.
The dog had a collar on and he was just too good an animal not to have an owner so we assumed he belonged to some folks who lived along the river. But as the day went by no one seemed to know a thing about him.
But he was edgy about the children swimming in the river and seemed to get carried away, almost too rough if they ventured further than a few feet. "Is he trying to hurt them kids," asked one of the parents.
Melinda turned and said, "No way. Look at him. He's trying to herd them back to shore. He's taking care."
And it was true.
The afternoon passed and shadows got a little long and we started to think about drifting back downriver to the landing when a couple of middle school aged kids came up. We asked them about the dog. One of them looked up and said, "That there is the dead guy's dog."
Well, it turns out the dog belonged to a fellow who'd capsized maybe three weeks before and managed to drown in the river. And the kicker: the dog was in the boat when it went under. We were just shocked, a detail that seemed to turn the day in a different way. But Herman and Melinda, guided always by the Life Principal, wanted to know more. Who owned him now? Who feeds him? The kids didn't know.
So we decided to take him.
We just took him home. We rode down to the landing to see what the locals had to say. Melinda and Arden rode on the kayak and Herman and I somehow got the dog into the canoe. I hadn't tipped a canoe in 20 years, but we tipped not once but twice getting out float started.
Down at the landing I went into the shop (the sign says Live Bait, Tackle, Boats and Beer). The old boys were lined up at the bar and I asked about the dog.
A tough looking woman looked and me and said, "He's the dead guy's dog. He’s been running amuck for bout three weeks."
So we said, well, he's coming home with us.
I rode up front, Melinda drove and Herman and Arden sat in the back of their Ford Escape (I call it the Great Escape, but that's another story.)
No sooner did we start down Highway 61 back to town, then our new pal, put his paws and head into Arden's laps and feel asleep.
I never did have a fight with Melinda in my whole life, but when I put forth the idea I might take that dog, she was not hearing anything about it.
"He's going to y Mom's. She has two more and this dog needd a pack. He's going to live there.
Well, Herman and I wanted to name him Nutsey Fagin (Google it and see that story yourself), but cooler heads prevailed. Melinda's mom said, “I live in a nice neighborhood. I'm calling out the word Nutsey in front of all my neighbors when I need to come in and eat.”
So they named him Jack, Black Jack and he runs with the pack at Melinda's mom's where he can be loaned out any time we want to go the Boat Club or hit the river.
Somewhere in God's big old universe there's a guy who died too young, but wherever he is, he can know that his dog (and it's a great dog), is living well, an affirmation to friendship, rivers and the beginning of summer.
Untangling a Web
By David Gignilliot
I have never seen as many spiders in my life as I have in the last two years since I moved to Savannah. Specifically, the banana spider. Golden silk orb weavers, as they are also known. Or
Nephila clavipes, for the arachnophiles out there.
They are as ubiquitous in downtown Savannah as the moss that hangs over our cobblestone streets. Walk around for a few minutes and you’ll see them. Around the periphery of run-down homes and buildings. Near constructions sites for a new square and underground parking garage. On busy Savannah streets. In front of my house. Probably in my head too.
Now, I’m not necessarily afraid of these spiders, but I continue to be impressed (read: slightly afraid) by the size of these creatures and the breadth and complexity of their webs. Having nearly walked into a banana spider’s web recently on a quiet residential section of Liberty Street, I decided to investigate their biology further, with the help of the World Wide Web (pun intended). Maybe I’d learn something about the behavior of these creatures, or even my own.
These non-poisonous arthropods gets their name from the color of their spider silk, purported to be the strongest silk in the world. Their golden-hued spiral webs alternately shine gloriously bright when in the sunlight (to attract bees) and lurk ominously in the shade (acting as a camouflage to trap unsuspecting insects or humans).
Chameleons by biology, necessity and disposition.
Duly noted.
Banana spiders demonstrate vibrational motion when approached by a predator, oscillating at approximately 40 Hz when its web is plucked. If a predator persists in an attack, the spider will either run to a web-support strand and thus to nearby vegetation, or bail out of the web on a silk line that remains connected to the web.
Shaking like a cell phone on vibrate, they are the ultimate survivors, experienced in both fight and flight. Thank goodness I didn’t walk into that web.
The webs of banana spiders are tremendously complex, with a densely-spiraled orb levitating in an array of non-sticky barrier webs. The orbs are renewed nearly daily to maintain stickiness. The female banana spider, the menacing centerpiece of the orb, eats the portion to be replaced and builds new spirals. Positioned adjacent to one face of the main orb is usually a haphazard-looking network of guard-strands suspended a few inches distant across a free-space. This "barrier web" may serve several purposes – an early-warning system for prey or predators, a shield against leaves and twigs, a relics of a previous web, or even as a cue for birds to avoid flying into the web.
Their environment might be larger than you think. And if you tear down their web or accidentally saunter through it, the female spider will build it back up within a few days. Well-connected, you may be able to win the battle against the female banana spider, but not the war.
Typically, the male banana spider 1/5 the size of the female spider and is frequently oriented above and perpendicular to the female who hangs upside down. In some species, the female will often eat the male, but this is by no means a common occurrence. In fact, it is often the same males that court the female spider that are eaten. In the species that have been studied, mating occurs while the female is fresh from her last molt; this mating generally involves the dominant male which has been with the female for several days prior to the final molt. Later matings may occur while the female is eating (something else).
Hmmmm. The female spider is always the center of attention and is always more ornate and elaborate in its appearance than its male counterpart. Behind (or actually above and perpendicular) every good female spider is a good male spider. Or it could be the other way around. I guess it depends on the perspective. Sometimes she will eat the male, and for really no good reason. Usually, it’s the same male she’s been dating. I wonder if she listens to Hall & Oates. “Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up.” She is an effortless multi-tasker, capable of eating and mating at the same time. George Costanza would be proud.
Small male banana spiders are capable of copulating longer than the larger males and are more prodigious in the effectiveness of their fertilization. Both large and small males employ different mating techniques. The large ones cut a hole through the web and mate through that. The small ones visit the female directly. Empirical evidence suggests that small males usually mate at the first attempt, while large males struggle and often need several attempts for successful mating. Often, the presence and stimulation of a second copulating male spider promotes the release of sperm from the first copulating male spider. All copulation does not involve the release of sperm for the male banana spider. Either way, the female spider exhibits no outward preference for either large or small spiders.
Stay in school. Say no to drugs. Don’t talk to strangers. Pay attention in biology class. I have nothing of value to add here. Really. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
The mortal enemy of banana spiders in Savannah (in addition to unsuspecting humans and inanimate objects) are Argyrodes, a genus of very small black-and-silver spiders that are known as kleptoparasitic, or parasites via theft. Essentially, they steal the banana spiders’ prey and starve it to death. According to a few websites, banana spiders have been known to have an almost manic (and irrational, if you ask me) fear of another one of Savannah’s favorite sons, the palmetto. The cockroach's fast movements and large, dark shape cause some of these spiders to run from or ignore a perfectly delectable meal.
Finally, the banana spider reveals a weakness. A bug that doesn’t like bugs. That doesn’t make any sense. Of course it doesn’t. Of course, things are not always what they seem, …especially when the scenery is moving fast.
Point is, I’ll be sure to carry a palmetto in my messenger bag at all times.
Capitalists have tried to use banana spiders for business purposes, attempting to make clothing and fishing lines from their silken threads. Ultimately, however, the thread-harvesting techniques have never been commercially sustainable (read:profitable).
The banana spider wins again.
Moral of the story. Lay off the threads man. Don’t get eaten. If you’re not the lead spider, the web never changes. Stay away from cockroaches.
Pick your mates wisely.
Or just keep it simple and try to enjoy the tangled web they/we weave.
Barnes & Noble - July Calendar of Events
Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 10 AM
Children’s Storytime – “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Swim” by Deb Lucke
Saturday, July 19, 2008, 1-3 PM
Book Signing – Bess Chappas, children’s author of “Kiki And The Red Shoes.”
Sunday, July 20, 2008, 2-4 PM
Book Signing – Darren Miller, author of “Web of Conspiracy: A Guide to Conspiracy Theories Sites on the Internet.”
Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 10 AM
Children’s Storytime – “I Will Make Miracles” by Susie Morgenstern
Saturday, July 26, 2008, 1-3 PM
Book Signing – SA Riley, teen Fiction author of “The Chosen.”
Sunday, July 27, 2008, 1-3 PM
Book Signing – Keith Donnelly, author of “Three Deuces Down.”
Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 10 AM
Children’s Storytime – “The Pout-Pout Fish” by Deborah Diesen
The Movies!
Art Gallery
on River St
