| TRIPS, TIPS & DEALS
"Belly Dancing in Tunisia" offers workshops in Tunisian and other Middle Eastern dance forms at Dar el Naouar, a resort in Gammarth on the Mediterranean coast. Classes cover the "Tunisian Bounawara and Scarf Dance," the "Drum Solo" and "Arab/Andalous Choreography," just for starters.
Sightseeing in Tunis and Carthage, shopping, a henna and tea party, and visits to a Turkish bath and "water-pipe cafe" round out the June 24-July 2 schedule. For a finale, participants have the option of performing in a gala at the resort.
The Tunisian trip is priced at $1,800, including accommodations, all meals, workshops, sightseeing and ground transportation. Non-dancers are welcome to come along at the same price, with some special sightseeing opportunities planned for them.
From Woyzeck to Virginia
In 1836, the dying young German playwright left behind the script of a play, "Woyzeck", that even in its unfinished state went on to become a classic of western theatre. A modern production of the play by the Vesturport Theatre in Iceland has just made it to Amsterdam after scoring a big success on the London stage. Nick Cave has composed music specially for this production, adding a great deal of Brechtian energy to what is already a vigorously physical performance of a very prophetic play.
"Woyzeck" is based on the true-life story of an ordinary unemployed man who was executed for murdering his unfaithful mistress. When Büchner wrote the drama, a debate was raging about whether the medical establishment had been right to declare Woyzeck sane and therefore morally accountable for murder, even though there were questions about his mental competence.
California State University, Fullerton to Offer Intensive Persian ...
FULLERTON, Calif., April 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- California State University, Fullerton is offering individuals the chance to learn Persian through an intensive, six-week program that is funded by the Department of Defense. The summer institute is offered as part of the California State University Strategic Language Initiative, which is designed to teach Persian, Arabic, Korean and Chinese so that Americans can work more effectively with the citizens of countries where those languages are spoken. Cal State Fullerton is taking the lead in teaching Persian. The summer institute is scheduled for June 25 through Aug. 3, with two tracks offered: one for beginners and one for "heritage" speakers, or students who already speak some Persian but are not considered fluent and may not read and write at an advanced level.
Taiko drums up spring festival
When Seiichi Tanaka came to America to attend the first Cherry Blossom Festival held in San Francisco 40 years ago, he was distressed there were no taiko drummers. The next year, he made sure the traditional Japanese drummers had a starring role in the annual event that celebrates the coming of spring. He started the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which has been part of the festival every year since. Tanaka's son, Ryuma Tanaka, said it was the first time the taiko drummers performed outside of Japan. Ryuma Tanaka is now the general manager of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo and a member of the Cherry Blossom Festival executive committee. He's been busy getting ready for this year's festival, which began Saturday, runs through Sunday and continues next weekend in San Francisco's Japantown.
Guitar Hero II can be riff riot
In publishing the Guitar Hero series, Activision has legitimized faux jamming and made it about a hojillion times more fun than strumming air. The series has finally made its way to the powerful Xbox 360 with a slew of new songs, a fancy-schmancy new X-Plorer guitar controller and the promise of much more downloadable content to come via the online Xbox Live service. I've heard these phrases muttered recently in reference to Guitar Hero II (muttered by folks who didn't get past Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box" on Easy mode, by the way): "Why not get a real guitar and learn to play for real?" "Every skill can be trivialized." But I submit that mastering GHII can improve your guitar skills. In fact, learning some of the more complex riffs possible on a real guitar might actually be easier than flowing through the rapid successions of notes thrown at you in GHII's Expert mode.
Local boys to play in Russian hockey tournament
Two 13-year-old Squamish boys have been invited to be a part of the first North American hockey team to be invited to a prestigious Russian tournament. Dalton Thrower and Brodyn Nielson, who attend the David Roy Pursuit of Excellence program in Kelowna, were invited to the team by coach Mark Vershinin. The boys came to know Vershinin through Josh Dickman who also goes to the hockey school. "It's a fantastic opportunity. It's quite an honour," said Murray Thrower, Dalton's father. The tournament will be held in St Petersburg, from April 28 to May 4, will involve 12 games in 20 days. The Nikolai Puchkov Memorial Tournament – named after the legendary Russian national player who passed away last August – will feature three of Russia's top hockey teams from the 1993 age group as well as teams from Belarus Finland and Latvia.
18:55 Wii Guitar Hero III to feature online content (0)
At one point it looked as if arguably the best rhythm-based videogame of all time was going to bypass Nintendo Wii owners. After the success of the original and its sequel on the PlayStation 2, Guitar Hero leapt straight over to the Microsoft Xbox 360 and thrashed out a successful gig there. Finally, in February this year, publisher Activision announced it would be stepping up its support for the Wii, including a version of Guitar Hero III – and now we learn today, with added online functionality! In an interview with IGN, RedOctane's (co-publisher of Guitar Hero with Activision) co-founder and president Kai Huang confirmed that Guitar Hero III on Wii uses a guitar peripheral and will include online elements: We are really excited about the Wii game because there are so many options for the Wii remote.
PhatWare releases PhatPad 4.2 for Windows Vista and Windows Mobile
PhatWare Corporation, a leading provider of software products and professional services for mobile and desktop computers, announces the release of PhatPad 4.2, the next generation of the company's award-winning notes organizer for Microsoft Windows-based Tablet, Desktop and Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs and Smartphones, which is "Certified For" Windows Vista. Mountain View, CA (MobilityNewswire/PRWEB ) April 23, 2007 -- PhatWare Corporation, a leading provider of software products and professional services for mobile and desktop computers, announces the release of PhatPad 4.2, the next generation of the company's award-winning notes organizer for Microsoft Windows-based Tablet, Desktop and Windows Mobile powered Pocket PCs and Smartphones, which is "Certified For" Windows Vista.
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