Arts & Entertainment

Studio Stress

Many fine art, design majors struggle to balance courseload with personal life

By Alicia Nierenstein

For junior Alisa Castagna, her workload as a fine arts major consumes most of her time.

“Anything I see can turn into an idea or can be used for something else,” she said. “A single painting can take four to 10 hours to complete.”

Students majoring in art have their work cut out for them when they enter the program, but design instructor Donald Martin says it’s not too much to handle.


The beach gets a little green

By Jennifer Ware

Those of you who are fans of McKnight’s Irish Pub on Cathedral Place downtown should check out owner Roy Lumke’s newest restaurant, McKnight’s Little Ireland that just opened on the island a few weeks ago.

It is a very charming and casual restaurant just off Anastasia Boulevard right after you cross the Bridge of Lions. They serve Irish-American cuisine and have a full-service dinner theater which makes dining a fun experience to enjoy with the crowd.


Here lies your Eulogy

By Carmen Richter

Given that I go to the Southeast Branch of the St. Johns County Public Library for my movie supply, sometimes I end up watching some pretty obscure movies.


A Taste of Chaos

Photo by Robin Muller
Bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas expresses his thoughts on the band’s first headlining tour.

Sitting down with the members of MUTEMATH

By Nick Massie

For those of you who don’t know, there is a new phenomenon crossing the music scene. Releasing their first album in September, MUTEMATH has stormed onto the mainstream. Headlining their own 40-city tour, the band stopped in Jacksonville on Nov. 14. During their stop, I had a chance to sit with the band on their tour bus and chat.

Talking about topics that range from websites like Myspace.com to what it’s like traveling on the road as the headline of a nationwide tour, the band had some pretty funny and insightful outlooks on life and the music business.

Photo Gallery by Nick Massie
Photo Gallery by Robin Muller
MUTEMATH CD Review


Traveler’s guide to Bourbon Street

By Alison McCauslin

If you haven’t been to Jacksonville lately, or if you’re not terribly informed on clubs, you may not know what exactly the deal is with Bourbon Street Station. Generally just called Bourbon Street, this popular club is just south of Atlantic Boulevard and has a plethora of entertainment. A flea market of clubs, if you will. Inside, club goers will find many rooms with various themes and different nightly specials in each.


It’s not your average laundry pile

Aspiring fashion designers can sell their wares online at threadless.com

By Megan Dassuncao

“Nude no more” is the motto for Threadless.com, and this inventive saying seems to be just like their T-shirts. Each shirt for sale has a strange picture or statement and is given a name that is printed where a tag would be on the back of the shirt. One of their most popular shirts, “The Communist Party,” has political figures such as Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin and Fidel Castro wearing party hats.


Bacardi commissions Martin

By Cari Holland

All passengers whose flights have just touched down at Jacksonville International Airport will take a walk through the terminal with their necks tilted back.

The sight that will keep their attention and their eyes close to the ceiling is a mural by Donald Martin, a Flagler College art professor of 25 years. Seven feet tall and 500 feet in length, it took two years to create. This massive painting beautifully depicts the history of northeast Florida and showcases our region’s ecological diversity.


Movie Review: The Squid and the Whale

A dysfunctional family comedy

By Megan Dassuncao

An independent film by Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale, will have you laughing throughout the whole movie. This strange story, now on video and DVD, takes place in Brooklyn, New York in 1986 where two boys are struggling to deal with their parents’ divorce. This is not a typical “family” movie. The dad, played by Jeff Daniels, is a writer and professor who is slowly losing his ability to produce quality books. While the mother, played by Laura Linney, is finally taking off in the literary world. This is just one piece to the separation.


Poet draws on personal experience

Family stories were the inspiration for Matt Bains’ creative writing skills

By Ashley Emert

Inspiration for a poem can sometimes come from the strangest of places. For Matt Bains, this interesting muse came in the form of a stable worker shoveling horse manure.


The opposite of Friday art walks

By Lisa Dalrymple

Interested in antiques? Always been intrigued by the stores on San Marco but have never been able to explore them during open hours? The Uptown Saturday Nights art and antique walk is held on the last Saturday of every month. It offers the chance to explore many of the stores and galleries in the uptown San Marco area.
The event is sponsored by the Uptown San Marco Avenue Merchant’s Association (SMAMA).