Articles by Diana Beechener

Culture in a Flash

The Annapolis Chorale takes Messiah to the masses

In the middle of the shopping rush on the last Saturday before Christmas, one Nordstrom customer stopped browsing and started singing. Another 100 voices joined in, singing a seemingly impromptu but suspiciously professional “Hallalujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. The reason for the effortless harmony: The Annapolis Chorale was adding an enticing fourth performance to the usual three nights of singing the Messiah. That’s right, Nordstrom Annapolis was Flash Mobbed....

Article - News; by Diana Beechener; 12/23/10

Black Swan

Natalie Portman pirouettes to the dark side in this ballet thriller

When watching ballet dancers leap and spin across a stage, it’s hard to remember that these dedicated athletes punish their bodies to create such grace. Director Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) is happy to remind you. His psychological dance thriller (which may be the best new genre in years) — Black Swan is awash with close-ups of battered toes, bony arms and raw bloody flesh — and that’s just the normal ballerinas. The real gore starts when timid, emotionally...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 12/23/10

What Are You Doing Next Year?

12 calendars to spruce up the march of time

In the pages of this illustrious paper, I get credited only as staff writer occasionally. For the most part, I’m Bay Weekly’s Calendar Editor. I’m the one who tells you what’s happening in Bay Country every day of every week. It’s my job to rely on calendars, to get the dates right and to plan ahead. I look at a calendar every day. Every. Single. Day. To do my job, you really need a good calendar. John Wayne watches over my desk, a strong black-and-white image to...

Article - Good Living; by Diana Beechener; 12/9/10

Debut of a Dream

December 5, Andrew Greene’s Peacherine Ragtime Orchestra plays Buster Keaton

In his right hand, Andrew Greene lofts a conductor’s baton. In his left, a DVD remote. The 19-year-old University of Maryland civil engineering major lives in the 21st century, but he longs for the 20th. Compressing time, he is conducting the Peacherine Ragtime Orchestra in rehearsal of its original score to Cops, Buster Keaton’s silent 1922 classic. The orchestra is Greene’s tribute to an entertainment form that died away nearly seven decades before he was born. “Back...

Article - People; by Diana Beechener; 12/2/10

Illuminations 2010

Near and far, small towns and big cities are aglow with the magic of twinkling holiday lights.

Winterfest Lights up Ocean City Nov. 18 thru Jan. 2 See shining lights by the seashore as Ocean City is first to turn on its holiday lights. Start your tour at the inlet lot, traveling through the Tunnel of Lights, a gleaming archway of 800,000 tiny bulbs. Take a turn down Baltimore Ave., from 15th to 32nd streets, through the Avenue of Trees, featuring elaborate illuminated wreaths and old-fashioned decorations. Arrive at Northside Park, off 127th St. and Isle of Wight Bay, where...

Article - Local Bounty; by Diana Beechener; 11/28/10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Wizards and muggles will find fun and suspense as Harry’s magical world collapses around him

When the screen faded to black at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows there was an audible protest from the audience. The fact that a packed house sat still for 146 minutes and begged for more when the credits rolled is probably the best recommendation I can give. But they pay me to write more than a paragraph. Director David Yates hits his stride with his third entry in the Harry Potter film saga. The story finds our beloved witches and wizards at their darkest hour — Lord...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 11/25/10

Art with a Bite

A soda can alligator takes top honors at the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Rethink Recycling contest

Josh Tichinel’s alligator may not be able to swim the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. But the soda-can reptile is a reminder that we can all help save the Bay through creative repurposing. The Northern Garrett High School student won the Maryland Department of the Environment’s Rethink Recycling art contest. “The contest is important “because it raises awareness about the importance of recycling and reuse,” says department spokesman Jay Apperson, who also notes that...

Article - Creature Feature; by Diana Beechener; 11/25/10

Marine Most Wanted: Middle Branch Manatee

The National Aquarium is looking for a manatee with a bad sense of direction

If there is a manatee swimming in the Middle Branch of the Upper Patapsco, it must be cold. The sub-tropical marine mammal was reported in mid-October. Since then, nothing — despite a plea to boaters for updates. “With this one we haven’t been able to confirm an actual sighting ourselves with photographic evidence,” says Baltimore National Aquarium’s media/public relations director Jen Bloomer. This could be good news: The wayward swimmer could have fled the cold...

Article - Creature Feature; by Diana Beechener; 11/11/10

Paranormal Activity 2

A bigger budget means louder, not scarier, thrills in this horror prequel

I don’t think of myself as a horror wimp. I’ve seen it all, and I’ll watch the sequels. That said, the first Paranormal Activity creeped me out. Days later an unexplained noise or a movement in my peripheral vision would cause me to tense and search for its demonic origins. Paranormal Activity 2 is a worthy step in the series, but it nowhere nears the original’s scare-power. Part of this is the budget. In the original, a tiny budget necessitated small-scale practical...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 10/28/10

The Potomac Gives up Its Trash

There’s a lot of weird stuff in 117.65 tons of waste

Over 7,055 volunteers waded into the murky depths of the Potomac River and its tributaries at the 22nd annual Potomac River Watershed Clean-Up. They emerged with over 117.65 tons of waste and litter. Those numbers are still climbing: The cleanup continues thru May 1. After all these years, there’s still plenty to clean up, according to Potomac River Watershed Cleanup Coordinator Becky Horner of the Alice Ferguson Foundation. The environmental education non-profit, based in Accokeek...

Article - Green Living; by Diana Beechener; 4/29/10