Arts

Truffles are among the many foods infused with THC – the chemical in marijuana that gives you a high — already for sale in Colorado.

Marijuana-Laced Treats Leave Colorado Jonesing For Food-Safety Rules

12:00pm February 04, 2014

by Luke Runyon

From sodas to truffles to butter, foods infused with THC — the chemical in marijuana that gives you a high — are already for sale in Colorado. But the federal government still considers pot illegal, so the state has to create from scratch its own system to regulate these foods.

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Arts

North Carolina A&T State University Presents Breath, Boom

8:47am February 04, 2014

by David Ford

The North Carolina A&T State University Department of Visual & Performing Arts presents Breath, Boom by Kia Corthron. The hard-hitting, in-your-face play chronicles the cycle of violence, and abuse that leads girls in the mean streets of the Bronx to join gangs. Prix, played by A&T actor Brittany Timmons, struggles to come to terms with her own inner demons during her 14 years as girl gang leader. In the powerful scene from Breath, Boom that we're about to hear, Brittany is joined by A&T actor Mia Sims who plays Cat—a young girl vying to join Prix's gang—and rapper/actor Allison Wilson who narrates with an original rap written for the play by A&T's Kirk Hill. Warning: the following scene and music depict acts of gang violence.

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Linda Emond, Hoffman and Andrew Garfield take their opening night curtain call in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at The Barrymore Theatre in New York City in 2012.

Arts

Philip Seymour Hoffman On Acting: An 'Exhausting' And 'Satisfying' Art

8:21pm February 03, 2014

We listen back to interviews with Hoffman from 1999 and 2008, when he told Fresh Air's Terry Gross that carrying the emotional life of a character could be "burdensome." He was found dead on Sunday at age 46.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman at a screening of The Master, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, during the 2012 Venice Film Festival.

Arts

On Philip Seymour Hoffman, And His Many Appearances

8:16pm February 03, 2014

by Bob Mondello

So many of the actor's roles dealt in appearances and self-doubt. Perhaps you don't get that good at communicating insecurity without knowing a little something about those things.

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Arts

Philip Seymour Hoffman: An 'Uncanny' Actor Of Stage And Screen

2:53pm February 03, 2014

by Elizabeth Blair

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that Hoffman's award-winning performance in Capote wasn't so much an imitation as it was a channeling of "a man whose peculiarities mask great intelligence and deep wounds." Hoffman, 46, was found dead Sunday.

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Following Oil Boom In N. Dakota: A Cultural Blooming?

2:25pm February 03, 2014

by Dan Boyce

The oil fields of western North Dakota are bringing vast economic opportunity to a region that just 10 years ago was in decline. Yet, this vitality is rough around the edges and high art and culture are rare commodities. One organization is trying to change that by sending two professional writers into towns most impacted by the boom to conduct creative writing workshops.

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Arts

Stained Glass Playhouse Presents "North Star"

8:24am February 03, 2014

by David Ford

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Silent-film icon Charlie Chaplin, in character as the Little Tramp, takes aim with his walking stick circa 1925.

Arts

A Century Ago Today, Chaplin Made His Film Debut — In A Dud

6:42pm February 02, 2014

by Bob Mondello

The silent-film comic was a flop in the 13-minute Making a Living. But only a few days later, he'd introduce his iconic Little Tramp character — and take the first step toward immortality.

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Arts

Comedian's Career Is Central To 'Quality Balls'

12:00am February 02, 2014

Legendary comedian David Steinberg is the subject of a new Showtime documentary called Quality Balls. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Steinberg, whose controversial routine was responsible for the cancellation of the Smothers Brothers' TV show in the 1960s.

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Books
Arts

Midwestern Memoir Tracks 'Flyover Lives' Of Author's Forebears

4:08pm January 31, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Diane Johnson often writes about American heroines living in France, but when she began her memoir, she found herself drawn back to her native ground in America's heartland. Critic Maureen Corrigan says Flyover Lives "lets scenes and conversations speak for themselves, accruing power as they lodge in readers' minds."

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