Nintendo has dominated the portable gaming market ever since the Game Boy was released in 1989. For the past two decades, the company has consistently upgraded its handheld systems — Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and DSi — with each proving to be wildly popular. Last March, Nintendo announced the next generation, the Nintendo 3DS, and this week, confirmed an American release date: March 25.
Consumers all over the world are sure to ask questions. Let’s answer a few of them.
What is it?
It’s a portable gaming system that takes advantage of the current three-dimensional craze — except you don’t need glasses. Using “autostereoscopic” technology, the effect is generated on the screen with no eyewear necessary.
What does it look like? How do you play it?
At first glance, it looks almost identical to the current DS, with a slightly wider screen. It has similar controls to the current version, as well, right down to the touch screen at the bottom. (The 3DS will be backwards compatible and allow you to play all the older DS and DSi games.) One major addition is a second, analog controller pad.
What can it do besides play games?
Nintendo is making much of the fact that you can watch 3-D movies on the device, and have the ability to take 3-D pictures. It can also connect to the Nintendo eShop, browse the Net and more.
3-D makes my eyes hurt. Why can’t I just play regular 2-D games?
You can. The 3-D effect is easily turned off, so you can play the system’s games in 2-D.
What’s this about the 3-D effect and problems with your eyes?
Nintendo is recommending that children under 6 not play the system, and that everyone else should take breaks every 30 minutes while playing. Recent studies on the effect of the device have led to an abundance of caution, especially with children whose eyes haven’t fully developed. The American Optometric Association, though, recently stated that 3-D gaming in moderation wouldn’t harm a child’s vision.
What’s the price?
$249.99.
Whoa! Isn’t that high?
Depends on who you ask. It certainly seems steep when you consider that the Wii, Nintendo’s popular home console, is selling for $199. But $250 is actually about what consumer experts expected the 3DS to cost. Whether it’s too high for the general public is yet to be seen.
It’s portable, so what’s the battery life like?
According to Nintendo’s own specs, if you’re playing 3DS games and using the 3-D effect, you can expect to get about 3-5 hours of game play out of a full battery.
Um, what? That doesn’t seem like a lot.
No, it doesn’t. And that’s right out of the box, brand new. Give it a year of regular usage and that number will probably drop some more.
How long does it take to charge?
According to Nintendo, three-and-a-half hours.
Yowsa! So, it’s charge for three, play for three, lather-rinse-repeat?
No, it comes with an AC adapter so you will presumably be able to play while connected to an outlet, as well as a “charging dock” so you can download games and so forth while it’s still powering up.
What games are coming out for it?
Nintendo boasts some of the most beloved first-party franchises in gaming, and most will be strongly represented on the new handheld. They’ve already announced that new “Kid Icarus,” “Mario Karrt” and “Paper Mario” games will be released, as well as remakes of classic Nintendo 64 games like “Legend of Zelda” and “Starfox.”
Nice! So, those’ll be available when I buy the 3DS in March?
Uh, no. No release dates on any of those titles have been confirmed yet. So far, Nintendo’s only releasing three first-party titles between the 3DS launch date and June: “Pilotwings Resort,” “Nintendogs + Cats” and something called “Steel Diver.”
What about third-party titles?
There are a lot more of those (“Super Street Fighter” and “Madden” being two of the main eveners), but still, in the first three months of release, only 23 games have been confirmed — and, as noted, only three of them from Nintendo itself.
It’s still Nintendo! King of the gaming roost! There’s no reason to be worried, right?
Two words: “Virtual Boy.” This is not the first time Nintendo has released an experimental console with 3-D effects and a limited launch library. Now, given its pre-sale numbers, there’s no way that 3DS will flop as badly as the Virtual Boy did (few things could). But that one blot on gaming history may encourage some to wait a bit before committing $250 to the Big N’s latest gaming venture.

E-mail Jeff at PopGoesJeff@gmail.com.

One thing you can say about our poetry community is that things are never boring. In fact, this past week I was flooded with so much poetry news, both good and bad, that it was hard to know what to write about. I had originally planned to talk about my recent reading tour in California and how to travel on a shoestring budget, but now I think I’ll save that for later. I’ve always been a glass is half empty sort of guy, so let’s start with the bad news.

It’s Monday morning and I’m sitting here speechless, having recently found out about the closing of Brooklyn’s Daily Grind. More than just a café or wine bar, in recent months ‘The Grind’ had become a dependable venue for artists of all mediums, poets included. Owner Larry Humphries, always made everyone feel at home. Don’t let me give you the wrong idea, this column isn’t meant to serve as an obituary for another beloved local business, but a reminder to enjoy things while they last. ‘The Grind’ had been the home of Mikki Williams’ popular Wednesday night event ‘Simply Poetry’ and had also hosted the debut art exhibition of local poet Craig Firsdon. Both of whom, I was proud to cover right here in the pages of the TFP Star.

On a much lighter note, I recently opened my mailbox and found out that I’m a very important person. At least that’s what the invitation to Mike Hackney’s latest event said anyway. Truly one of the most colorful characters in our literary community, Hackney has always approached poetry with an honesty and passion that at times seems in short supply. Even better yet, he does so without an ounce of pretension. Why is this event such good news? Because it isn’t a standard reading, but more of a relaxed get together with like minded people to discuss the craft of writing itself, which is refreshing news to me anyway. This social gathering of literary minds is being held at the Chandler Café in Sylvania, on Feb. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

On the spicier side of things, we also have WEPAwebtv’S BARRIO SETV launch event in Bowling Green on Feb. 4, at Sam B’s Restaurant. This highly anticipated arts spectacle will include poetry, music, DJ’s, dancers, burlesque comedians and surprise guests. BARRIO SETV is produced by noted poet and journalist Luis Chaluisan and Maria Rodriguez-Winter, co-founder of the Sofia Quintero Center. BARRIO SETV is broadcast through Winter’s independent arts space LA GALERIA. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $3 for students with ID. Pre-sale tickets are also available for $10 and include two complimentary drinks. Doors open at 8 p.m.

February will also mark the return of Poetry Speaks@your library. The series, organized by Lucas County Poet Laureate Joel Lipman, will soon be coming back to the McMaster Center, located in the downtown branch of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library. Reading dates are currently set for February 5 and 12. For more information, visit www.toledolibrary.org.

Other upcoming events include an appearance by the poets from the Original Sub Shop & Deli at the Toledo Museum of Art, which will also be hosting a Frank O’ Hara reader’s theatre. Also look for an appearance by National Poetry Slam Champion Buddy Wakefield at the Collingwood Arts Center; I will be opening this one myself, along with Michael Grover and his Imaginary Band. All of these events are set for April and I’ll be sure to provide more information as we get a little closer to the show dates.

So Toledo, this time out it was mostly good news. Remember things change with the seasons, it certainly feels like we may be headed toward an upswing; let’s ride this wave of positive energy into the spring.

Until next time…keep your pencil sharp.

John Dorsey resides in Toledo’s Old West End. His work is widely published and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

WIN A CAST-SIGNED POSTER: See our Facebook page for details on how to win an “Archer” poster signed by H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer and other cast members.

In his first 10-episode season, secret agent Sterling Archer was beaten, shot with a spear gun, thrown through the windshield of his car, stabbed, flung from an exploding yacht and had a microchip inserted in his brain via electric drill.
But he’s in for an even rougher journey through Season Two, according to show creator and principal writer Adam Reed.
“A lot more bad things happen; the brain chip, a devastating illness, gunshots, throwing stars, samurai swords, a lot of impacts to the head; we just keep smashing him,” Reed told Toledo Free Press Star.
“Archer’s” DNA consists of James Bond movies spiked with Penthouse Forum letters, a scale for physical punishment adopted from Warner Bros. cartoons and an “Arrested Development”-style wit. The series begins its second season on the FX network on Jan. 27.
Archer, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin, is a spy for the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), which is run by his mother, Malory (Jessica Walter). He works with his ex-girlfriend, the impossibly sexy Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) and a colorful group of office mates and adversaries that includes characters voiced by Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Jeffrey Tambor and George Coe.
Reed, whose background includes such adult-aimed animated fare as “Sealab 2012” and “Frisky Dingo,” said the second season will run 13 episodes.
“We’re currently editing episode 11, storyboarding episode 12 and I’m a week behind turning in the script for episode 13,” he said.
“Archer” has earned fans with its audacious mix of high-brow humor and gutter wisecracks, pushing the limits of raunchy language and themes.
“It’s pretty easy working with FX; we get a lot of leeway,” Reed said. “I just turned in a script in which someone calls Archer a ‘cockbrain’ and they asked me to change it to ‘dickbrain.’ It’s a subtle difference in language.”

Adam Reed (FX)

Reed said he feels lucky to work with a cast that can see the humor in the R-rated scripts.
“They are all really good sports,” he said. “At times I have been embarrassed to ask Jessica Walter to do a scene, and I’ll say, ‘I’ll just go ahead and apologize in advance for this’ and she’ll say, ‘No it’s fine, I get it.’ There have been times when she’d say, ‘I don’t understand this joke,’ and we’d explain it and she’d say, ‘Oh, Adam — all right, let’s do it’.”
The series is noted for its seamless dialogue and rapid-fire vocal energy, but Reed said the cast never records together.
“We tried a long time ago to put six actors in a booth together, but it just doesn’t work,” he said. “The actors are all over the country and we direct them over the phone; Jessica and Jon are usually in New York City, Aisha and Judy are in LA, Parnell is in LA or New York.
“Our editors make it sound like they were in the room together. It’s a standing rule on our show: Nobody ever listens to anybody, they’re just waiting for the other person to stop talking so they can talk.”
One of the show’s signatures is that its rotating series of weekly villains almost always get away, but fans expecting any reprises will have to hope for a Season Three.
“We have new villains, none of the first season villains made it into the scripts,” Reed said. “Maybe if we do another season we can start a Legion of Doom for Archer villains, so they can join forces.”
Reed recognizes that he has created a spy who inspires complicated feelings even among his fans.
“Jon has been amazing in creating the voice. People ask, ‘How come I’m rooting for this guy when he’s such a jerk?’ and I think a lot of it is Jon’s delivery,” Reed said. “There’s a lot packed in the dialogue, and he says a lot of terrible things but he doesn’t come off as hateable, or as hateable as you’d think.
“Jon does a lot of interesting things with his voice. He uses pauses in sentences where people wouldn’t normally pause, and it makes his voice just super interesting to listen to.”
The scripts also provide the audience with some insight into why Archer is who he is.
“The flashbacks to his horrible childhood make him more sympathetic than his actions and words would let you believe he could be,” Reed said. “He’s a walking id; all of us would like to tell off the person at the grocery store or bank or DMV, but society doesn’t allow that. Archer does it to everybody, all the time. He drinks as much as he wants and has sex with whoever he wants and has all this money and great stuff. There’s a lot to envy on the surface, but not very far beneath it.”
Reed emphasizes the work of his cast in making “Archer” special.
“Parnell as [comptroller Cyril Figgis, who has an affair with Lana] is amazing — as I am writing the words, I am hearing the voices in my head — and he comes in and reads it exactly, every syllable, as I heard it when I wrote it,” Reed said. “Cyril goes to some dark places this season, including some time in a mental institution.”
Reed also gives credit to his strong female cast.
“Jessica Walter as Malory is the anchor of the show; it revolves around her manipulations,” he said. “Once I got over being intimidated by working with her, it has been excellent. In every script, she brings such experience; in one episode this season they are at the Grand Prix, and Jessica says, ‘You know, I know a little bit about Monte Carlo,’ and someone will whisper to me, ‘she was in the movie “Grand Prix” with James Garner!’ All these places we do in ‘Archer,’ she’s been there, done that.
“This season, Judy Greer’s Cheryl starts experimenting with inhalants; her personal relationships with the men in the office have fallen by the wayside. I think they have smelled the crazy.
“In one episode, Pam (Amber Nash) comes back from Jamaica and is being obnoxious about how great it is. The network is using the picture of her in dreadlocks in all the press materials, trying to solidify her base among Rastafarians and Crystal Bowersox fans.”
The breakout character on the show is Lana Kane, voiced by Aisha Tyler. Her signature use of “Yup!” to end a conversation and “asshole” to describe Archer punctuates her tough-as-nails spy persona.
“‘Yup’ is one of Aisha’s actual things she does, and we started using it,” Reed said. “I may overuse it, but it just cracks me up. Aisha is very, very funny, and not to sound sexist, but she has a very male sense of humor. She can out frat boy a whole house full of frat boys. She is a great ad-libber, so it’s fun to hear her read what is written, and then say, ‘let’s try this’; her ideas are always solid to excellent.”
Aisha unleashed
The heat Tyler imbues her character with transcends the limits of animation; just talking with her on the phone is enough to make a married man feel like he is cheating.
Speaking to Toledo Free Press Star from the Toronto set of her new spy series “XIII,” based on the French graphic novels, Tyler is open and funny and speaks with a honey-coated politeness she does not employ when voicing Lana. Tyler’s career has included stints on “Talk Soup,” “Friends,” “CSI” and “24,” but there is nothing on her acting resume that suggests the raw sexuality of her “Archer” character.
“I have done a voice on ‘The Boondocks’ on Adult Swim, but ‘Archer’ is a unique show on television, unique in its comedic voice,” she said.
Tyler added that the remarkable resemblance between her and Lana was a fluke.
“The illustration predated my casting; Lana’s look was clearly defined,” she said. “They didn’t have me in mind when they created her but through cosmic coincidence she looks very much like me.”
Tyler said she draws upon her stand-up comedy background when voicing the character.

Aisha Tyler (FX)

“The scripts are so well-written and funny, and as a stand-up comedian, my background is to find a way to make a line sound the funniest it can be — how do I make these three words or this phrase sound as funny as I can?” she said. “I jump around, get physical, use the space; we just did an episode where we’re racing cars, and you have to create that energy; you just accept that you’re going to look ridiculous in that tiny room.”
Tyler said her writing background helps her appreciate the careful balance “Archer” walks between ambitious references and sex jokes.
“From my creating stand-up and from my time on ‘Talk Soup,’ we would sit around trying to figure out how to make words sound as funny as possible, arguing over things like, which sounds funnier, chest or torso?” she said. “I really love Lana, and at my gigs I am often the only woman in the room, so you can’t shock me. This show is funny, and it’s for grown-ups; there’s no apology for that. It’s smart and sophisticated but also shocking. It’s literary and very obscure and then there are these filthy and sophomoric jokes. When I read the first scripts, I thought, ‘I’ve just died and gone to comedy heaven’.”
Tyler said she and Reed collaborate on the readings of the lines.
“We have a complementary creative sense; he is so funny, and hopefully he thinks I’m funny; we play a lot,” she said. “We once had a 15-minute discussion over which sounds funnier, ‘ball-slappiest’ or ‘ball-slappin’est’; you can call it crude or bawdy, but a lot of thought goes into everything we do and it pays off because fans say, ‘I’ve seen this episode seven times and every time I find something new and hear a joke I didn’t hear before.’ Adam layers a lot of gems into the show.”
Tyler said she is pleased with the second season arc.
“I am really proud of the show, reaching farther with the characters, and it’s sexy, it’s a spy show; there’s this Bondian element to it. It was a little more office-driven in the first season, and the relationships are still there, but you see us get out more and do a little more espionage in Season Two,” she said.
The famous “Yup!” is also a source of pride.
“I get a lot of requests for ‘Yup’ as a ring tone; one website compiled all the clips of Lana saying ‘Yup’,” she said. “Adam is convinced that was something I said, so I am happy to contribute; it’s like my version of ‘The Larry Sanders Show’s’ ‘Hey now!’”
Tyler is an avid video gamer who recorded a voice for the most recent “Halo” game.
“I love video games, it’s cool to hear your voice in a game,” she said. “I can imagine an ‘Archer’ videogame with Lana and Archer running around shooting terrorists, her calling him ‘asshole’ and him yelling ‘Danger Zone!’ It’s a no-brainer; I’m sure FX is on it.”
Tyler said she hopes the series continues and wants to remain a part of it.
“I’d love for it to go on; it’s a joy to make,” she said. “We could go as long as ‘The Simpsons,’ 20 years, make some feature films; we’d love it.”

The man: Questions, answers and laughs with Archer’s alter ego

H. Jon Benjamin has many live action credits, but his true calling is apparently breathing life into animated characters. He has performed on “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist,” “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Family Guy” and the PBS children’s show “Word Girl,” and now voices two title characters, Sterling Archer on “Archer” and Bob Belcher on “Bob’s Burgers.” During a telephone interview with Toledo Free Press Star from his New York City home, Benjamin ducked some questions, took some head-on and treated all of them as part of the absurd theater of his line of work. His delivery is slow, deliberate and funny in a way cold words on the page cannot convey.
Star: There is a lot of adult content in “Archer,” but you have quite a few adult shows in your background.
Benjamin: I started in porn, so I’m working my way slowly toward more mainstream stuff.
Star: Even with different characters on completely different shows, your cadence is distinct. I told my wife, “That voice on ‘Word Girl,’ that’s Archer!”
Benjamin: Just you and your wife watch “Word Girl?”
Star: We have a 4-year-old who watches.
Benjamin: I was going to say, if it’s just you and your wife, you know, that’s cool, if you’re like, “I work all day, then go home to the wife and watch “Word Girl.” We learn three new words a week; what do you do?”

H. Jon Benjamin (FX)

Star: Talk about working on the tone and pace of the dialogue when you’re recording separate from the cast.
Benjamin: You make it sound hard, but it’s really in the editing and scripts. I am as surprised when I see it as you were. If you were surprised. I don’t know if you were.
Star: I was surprised that as much as the show depends on the back and forth in the delivery of lines, that none of you ever work together.
Benjamin: It is surprising. I didn’t meet the cast until the second season.
Star: I knew you weren’t together, gathered around a microphone like on “Prairie Home Companion,” but even crediting the technology, if the performances weren’t special there’d be nothing there.
Benjamin: Well, you know how terrible “Prairie Home Companion” is, but it is interesting how well it comes out.
Star: Do you have a favorite line from the first season?
Benjamin: Every time I say “mother.” It makes me feel like, oh, my mother. I love her.
Star: There are websites devoted to the quotable lines, like “Danger Zone!” The one that gets repeated a lot is from when you described one woman as the “Pelé of anal.”
Benjamin: I definitely remember that one. That could have been anything but Pelé made that line. It could have been Baryshnikov or Nureyev, but no, they had to go way back to the New York Cosmos; that only appeals to so many people; the kids had to go look that up, you know, “What’s a Pelé?”
Star: Are you happy with the quality of Season Two?
Benjamin: The stories are great; there are lots of surprises. I have one storyline that covers three episodes; no one’s getting lazy yet.
Star: Have any of your employers, like the PBS “Word Girl” crew, ever expressed concern about you also being the voice behind lines like “Pelé of anal?”
Benjamin: I keep trying to slip “anal” into “Word Girl,” but they keep cutting it out. There’s nothing wrong with kids learning about it. I’m not saying go do it. Knowing about something means knowing what not to do, too.
Star: Do you have any voice-over actors that you consider inspirations?
Benjamin: There aren’t that many famous for just voice-overs. Can you think of any?
Star: Dan Castellaneta from “The Simpsons.”
Benjamin: Yeah, but he’s my age, so I should probably resent him. Under duress, I would say Jonathan Katz is an influence. I worked with him on “Dr. Katz,” the first animated show I did. I never planned this path, I just got in the back door. That’s an anal reference. See what I do? I can’t get away from it.
Star: You back doored your way to an Emmy nomination for best voice-over work for “Archer.”
Benjamin: I had never been nominated for anything.
Star: That had to be cool to wake up to.
Benjamin: It’s never cool waking up for me, no matter what happens, but I was excited; I’m a big fan of the show.
Star: You lost to Anne Hathaway for her guest spot on “The Simpsons.”
Benjamin: I didn’t know that.
Star: Sorry to break that news.
Benjamin: No, I knew I lost (laughing). You didn’t break that to me. That would be funny though, if I had still been waiting: “Hey, when are they going to decide on that?”
Star: Looking forward to more seasons?
Benjamin: That would be great. Great for me, great for you, great for everybody. I was just checking “The Simpsons,” they’re past 20 years. I’d like to see Archer that old.
Star: I can’t imagine they can keep him alive that long, the way they punish him.
Benjamin: That’s true, but James Bond’s still kicking.
Star: Yeah, but they have to go through different actors. You don’t want that.
Benjamin: I would actually vote for a different actor every four seasons so Archer could directly follow the Bond reference. So after me they have to find a Roger Moore.
Star: He’s probably available.
Benjamin: (Laughing) A Roger Moore type, not Roger Moore. But that would be great if they replaced me with Roger Moore.
Star: They’d have to get George Lazenby first, for just one show.
Benjamin: Right!
Star: You’re also the lead voice on “Bob’s Burgers;” any difficulty in switching back and forth between Archer, Bob and the other voices you do?
Benjamin: They’re stuck with what they get, unfortunately, but it seems to be working. One day I did both on the same day, and “Bob’s Burgers” does six-hour recording sessions, with a lot of improv. I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but that was one rough day; I worked, like, seven hours. I guess I do sound like an asshole.

The first club I went to when I moved to Toledo was the Drop Zone; it was there I decided Toledo was a cool place to live. I was underage and a young aspiring DJ in total awe of the big DJ, up high, in a booth, who could only be accessed from an unstable ladder. I was unaware at the time, but I was witnessing a moment in Toledo’s Hip-Hop history. You can walk into the barbershop and ask anyone about their fondest party memories and I can almost guarantee it has to do with Roderick King, aka DJ Lyte N Rod. He is a known staple in Toledo’s urban community and one of our beloved legends. He has produced more than 30 mixtapes, some of which are responsible for the birth of his younger audience.

DJ Lyte N Rod

DJ Lyte N Rod’s history spans 25 years, from the time he carried dozens of crates to his current days of Serato. Knowing he can battle Old School with Technics 1200s or New School with CDJs and MP3s should give you an idea of how instrumental he has been in the evolution of Hip-Hop in Toledo. A DJ is responsible for introducing new music to a mass amount of people. Whether the DJ commands the airwaves at a radio station or a party, his/her introduction of a new song is a pivotal moment in an artist’s career. A true master at his craft, Lyte N Rod has done radio and has been responsible for breaking “street records.” A street record may not make the airwaves, but if you attend any of Rod’s parties, the crowd’s reaction to a song you have never heard could be overwhelming.
At the age of 14, King witnessed something that forever changed his life.
“Grandmaster Flash was on MTV, he was flashing two Michael Jackson records, a ‘Billie Jean’ and a ‘Beat It’ record back and forth and I was blown away,” King said.
He didn’t waste any time finding equipment. He rigged two old turntables, put them in sawed-down crates, bought a Radio Shack mixer and started practicing. He secured his first gig at the South Toledo Boys Club where his first mentor, Dave Dean, allowed him access to an empty office for practice. In 1990, Rod landed his first club night at Lodeanna’s and there he met his MC, Wardell Chandler, the late DJ Mixx. DJ Mixx was, and still is, widely known as the best party MC to ever grab the microphone.  From the moment the two met, until Mixx’s untimely death in 2005, the two were synonymous with one another.
After the devastating loss of his partner and friend compounded by a tough divorce and fatigue, Lyte N Rod needed a change. King packed his clothes and equipment and decided to drive until he got tired. He ended up in Tennessee where he bumped into an old friend from high school. They went out for drinks, the friend mentioned to the owner that King was a well-known Ohio DJ and the rest is history.
DJ Lyte N Rod is in high demand from here to Tennessee. He successfully balances gigs like the official parties for the Tennessee Titans, club dates in Toledo and being the DJ for the Toledo-based rock group Sleeper Cell. Lyte N Rod will be the guest DJ on BET’s “106th and Park” at 6 p.m. on Feb. 28. He is also looking forward to his eighth annual birthday party with his friends and fellow March birthday DJs, DJ OneTyme and DJ Jay Roc. They have decided on the theme, “Back to the Hotel,” revisiting the theme of their infamous fifth year party. This year it will be at the Ramada on Secor Road March 5, and he promises it will be an event to remember.
But who could ever forget a night with a Legend? As we continue on …

t took just three hours of focused energy by a small team of visiting artists at The Toledo Museum of Art to find great success. In the Glass Pavilion a few months ago, I watched a team of artists working in the studio at one of the Friday night demonstrations and was absolutely taken away by what they were doing; using the glass as a form of expression. Michael Angelo Menconi and Charles Lowrie had worked with glass independently for more than a decade before their paths crossed, but when they did, it must have been like the world stopped — they are both masters of glass and combining their shared passion has allowed them to take lead of the American Contemporary Glass Movement.
“We like to work together with a team of the best professionals in the glass studio that Mike and I have hand-picked from across the USA, because glass is ‘being’ in the state of the fluidity and with this team the possibilities are absolutely endless,” Lowrie said.
When I was watching, I was excited to see what they were going to make with such a talented  team. “What was it going to be?” I asked myself. “A vase, a bowl, a chandelier?” I came to the conclusion that these guys were real artists because not only were they doing some of the most technical moves I have ever seen, but they were going in a direction that I had never seen. At first Lowrie was on one side of the studio and Menconi was on the other; it appeared to me as though they were just working with their own teams on their own projects.
About two hours into the project they assembled into one large team like Optimus Prime from  “Transformers” to put the pieces together as one; it was the true definition of collaboration.
At one end of the studio one piece looked like a comet blasting through space, and at the other side was a very detailed human figure about to ride the comet. The figure was made out of Dichroic glass, ironically a material developed by NASA for the shields on the space suits.
It was becoming clear why the title of the piece was “Harnessing the Dream,” with the comet as a metaphor of the dream and the figure the one harnessing it. The crowd was blown away.
“We are all living our dream right now by being here in the museum doing this demonstration,” Menconi said.
I have never seen such an amazing display of skill and true expressionism happen right before my eyes; the question was, how much is something of this caliber worth?
Lowrie and Menconi chose to donate the piece to The National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia for its annual fundraiser to promote nonviolence and acceptance of others by showing visitors that freedom is “fragile,” like glass.
At the live auction, after numerous people bid on this piece, the final price maxed at $14,500 and sold to a private art collector. I know what you’re thinking: “$14,500 for three hours’ work? Sign me up!” It’s actually more than three hours’ work because there are hours of polishing followed by the custom production of an aesthetically pleasing steel frame. With almost 20 years of experience, they both attribute their success to a great team with a great attitude.
This piece is one of 99 in a series called “Transcensions” created by Lowrie and Menconi. Thirty-three of these masterpieces will not be available for purchase and are slated for an international museum exhibition in 2012, while the others will be available for purchase by museums and private collections.
I sometimes go down into the quiet studio and think how awesome it was to have the opportunity to watch what Lowrie and Menconi did that evening. I truly believe they captured the energy that building was intended to facilitate, to push the limits of what can be done in making world-class art. It makes me excited for the future of my own work, the future of the glass pavilion and the future of Toledo.
If you want to see more on the “Transcensions” series, visit www.transcensions.com where you can find links to Lowrie’s and Menconi’s personal websites, but I also recommend a YouTube and Web search for Lowrie and Menconi’s videos — they are incredible. Also, during the week, the Toledo Museum of Art has glass demonstrations and some Fridays it hosts a national artist — and it’s always free.

Kc Saint John is a glass artist and fire-breather who enjoys teaching and creating with a focus in glass. He works to develop talent and promote unity and information within the community. Kc owns Lost Peninsula Arts & Glass; a music/art school and gallery and manages The Glass Dojo, a collaborating artists’ group. Visit www.kcsaintjohn.com.

The City of Toledo has announced investors from China are interested in acquiring the property known as “The Docks.”

Dashing Pacific Group Ltd., an Ohio LLC established by the real-estate investors from China, has offered the city $2.15 million for The Docks.

“When you talk about economic development and being able to turn Toledo around you’ve got to have people who want to come to your city,” said Mayor Mike Bell during a press conference.

“We’re very, very happy about this particular initiative here.”

The mayor said the interest in the property is a direct result of relationships built during his administration’s trip to China.

City Council members have been given information about the agreement and will have their first reading of the proposed sale Feb. 1.

If City Council approves the sale, this will be the Dashing Pacific’s first investment in the United States, said Scott Prephan a representative for the group.

“I feel and the group feels, that this is just the start of what may prove to be a long term relationship well beyond The Docks, which will be of great benefit to Toledo and the region as a whole,” he said.

Prephan said depending on how the sale acquisition goes, Dashing Pacific could also be interested in other investment opportunities in Toledo.

With its purchase of The Docks, Dashing Pacific is interested in keeping the area a place with restaurants, but also plan to make improvements to the building’s structure and lighting, Prephan said. While rumors of a Chinese restaurant at The Docks have been floating around, the investors are not restaurateurs and will most likely fill the vacant spaces with local restaurants, he said.

It is most likely the property will be managed by someone local, Prephan said.

The sale only includes the property known as The Docks, but the city continues to market other properties it owns to both foreign and domestic investors, Bell said.

For about four years, Rebecca Facey (co-founder and co-director of Independent Advocates) and I have spent much of most workweeks and beyond with an imaginary string connecting us. We’re a team. There’s no doubt about it. We’ve grown accustomed to certain responses when people see us coming. One of our favorites is the “(groan) uh oh … here come the partners in crime …” To which we always answer in unison and probably a little sing-songy (because we’re obnoxious like that), “We’re not partners in crime. We’re partners in peace.”
It’s habit now, but if I remember correctly, the first time we ever said it, it was in spontaneous unison. We share a brain.  We also share the closest thing to a child either one of us is going to have anytime soon. We recently took this analogy all the way and traced back to what month in 2007 we began to “decorate the nursery,” which was when Rebecca was doing all of the difficult stuff like managing our 501(c) (3) application while I was schmoozing and trying to get meetings with people who might be able to give us advice about how to raise this thing.
Not a whole lot has changed. I still do the schmoozing and Rebecca still does the hard stuff, but Independent Advocates is a strong and healthy toddler by now and if it weren’t for the both of us feeding and parenting it, it couldn’t grow. Yep, you heard me right. “Independent” Advocates could not possibly operate “independently” of one another.  We each bring something that the other one doesn’t have but that the agency needs to progress.
I’ll guess that Jacob David and Joel Washing (the “Js” as us “Rs”  call them)  hadn’t considered the “having a baby” analogy in 1993 when they started making movies together — because how uncool would that be for a couple of guys in high school?
But, the outcome is the same. Above the Shop Studios is a fixture in video and film in Toledo. Not only is it the resident videographer for Toledo City Council, but it is very connected to the art community through the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo (ACGT) and seems to always be working with a mind toward documenting and respecting the history and importance of artists and their work in Toledo. I don’t know what the inside of the J’s partnership looks like as far as division of labor goes, but I assume that Jacob’s talents complement Joel’s and vice-versa in ways that only serve to make really solid work and a really solid reputation.
Toledo’s creative class is a bunch of Fertile Myrtles. We recently received word of a new addition to the family.  Proud mamas Jules Webster and Dana Winfield-Syrek have announced the impending arrival of a bouncing baby art supply store on South St. Clair Street in Downtown Toledo due in July. The Art Supply Depo floor plans were spread across my dining room table one evening last week when Jules looked up at me with the most precious mixture of fear, weight and hopeful anxiety in her just-short-of-tearful eyes.
“Dana said we just had a baby,” she said.
“You better believe it,” I said. Then, I went on and on about how amazing it will be and how Toledo will support the effort and that she has nothing to worry about and that the time is now while we have the momentum to revitalize Downtown and to add more layers to the artist-friendly atmosphere, poised for the Great Toledo Brain Gain of the 2010s.
These partnerships are so powerful to think about. Jules said to me once (and I immediately relayed to Rebecca) that, “You should only go into business with someone who you respect more than you do yourself, because you’ll never want to let them down.”
That’s some pretty intense motivation, but absolutely necessary when the level of responsibility is so high.
Thank goodness for the biological clocks of artist and activist teams in Toledo. What I think may be the moral of this story is that you don’t always have to make a human when you hear the ticking.
You can make action instead.

Rachel Richardson is an activist, musician, co-founder and co-director of Independent Advocates, and a product of Toledo, Ohio. E-mail her at star@toledofreepress.com.

River House Arts is about to put its ZIP code on the map, or at least front and center on its latest galley card with ART 43551. The aptly titled group exhibition featuring works by some of Perrysburg’s finest visual artists is on display through Feb. 25. There will be a free public reception on Jan. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m.
The show offers original works by Brian Heller, Mania Dajnak, Sandra Jane Heard, William Jordan, Scot MacPherson and Jennifer Solon. River House was co-founded by William Jordan and Paula Baldoni.

‘Unraveling her Blue Square’ by Mania Dajnak

“We haven’t done an entire show of hyper-local work like this and it is the first of what we hope will be an annual event. It’s also probably one of our most beautiful shows to date,” Baldoni said. “The exhibit was designed by Sandra Jane Heard, who is also a participating artist. She has managed to invoke a playful, yet thoughtfully energetic rhythm in this show with juxtaposing 2-D/3-D works, large/small scale, color/form in a way that  pulls patrons through the gallery’s several rooms.”
Baldoni said the ART 43551 exhibit has many striking pieces.
“There are lots of works here that have that wow factor,” she said. “Mania Dajnak’s works are definitely the kind that jump out at you, and Sandra Heard’s 3-D pieces are sublime and truly original, but there is one piece that has had something of a slow burn effect on me, one of Scot MacPherson’s black-and-white pastels. The light in this quiet piece is just extraordinary and for me it evokes an almost immediate, positive emotional response.”
River House Arts is located at 115 W. Front St. For more information, call (419) 874-8900 or visit www.river-house-arts.com.

“Star Wars” trivia time: Did you know that “Star Wars” comic books predate the 1977 blockbuster film? The long legacy of “Star Wars” four-color fantasies launched at Marvel Comics in April of 1977 and continues today with Dark Horse’s release of “Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command” No. 1. If you’re a Sith supporter, this is one five-issue bounty you need to bag.

Marvel cranked out “Star Wars” comics from 1977 to 1986, but after “Return of the Jedi” interest dropped into a black hole until the “Star Wars” renaissance of the early 1990s. Dark Horse snared the license in 1993 and hit hyperspace with its “Dark Empire” series; since that time the company has continued to produce a galaxy of “Star Wars” comics that have touched on just about every era of George Lucas’ brainchild — and even created a few of its own. Now, with “Lost Command,” Dark Horse is about to get in bad with the Dark Lord.
What is it about Darth Vader that sends fans’ imaginations into lightspeed? Despite the recent success of Lucas’ “Clone Wars” franchise, people just can’t seem to get enough of the Sith’s greatest salesman.
“Darth Vader and the Lost Command” picks up shortly after the events of “Revenge of the Sith” and tells a new tale of a Vader who’s still a bit wobbly in his new armor and still pining for Padme.
To sweeten the deal, the series promises lots of lightsaber action, loads of stormtroopers and an old-school baddie, future Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin.
This is what “Star Wars” fans really want. After a steady diet of clone troopers, Separatists and whatever, a few familiar faces from that Galaxy Far, Far Away will go down real smooth.
It seems as if the long-promised live-action TV series set between Episodes III and IV ain’t happenin’ anytime soon — if at all — so this new comic series is the next best thing.

Get ready to kick off your Sunday shoes and tap your toes all the way to Adrian because “Footloose” is coming to the Croswell.
The second annual All-Area High School Musical will feature 35 students from nine regional high schools, including Springfield and St. Francis de Sales.

The Croswell cast rehearses the opening number of “Footloose.” Photo Courtesy Chantelle Jenkins

The show will feature innovative scenery consisting of projections onto a frame built around the stage, said Jere Righter, artistic director at the Croswell Opera House.
“It’s a pretty amazing effect unlike anything we’ve ever done before and probably other theaters in the area have not seen something like this. I can’t think of anywhere I’ve seen where they use projections in this kind of a way,” Righter said. “Our lighting designer is a recent college grad who grew up in Bedford, spent the past summer interning in New York City and said ‘I think this would really step it up and be something really unique.’”
Similar to travel sports teams, the All-Area High School Musical brings some of the best singers, dancers and actors in the area together, where they have been rehearsing since December, Righter said. Students from almost 20 schools auditioned for the show, with auditions based solely on talent, not seniority.
“It raises the bar for the students,” Righter said. “We want this high school show to be just as good as any other show. It gives them the opportunity to step up their game.”
Righter said audiences will love the music and dancing in “Footloose.”
“It’s an audience pleaser,” Righter said. “There’s a couple of times those kids are dancing in unison and it’s amazing. They absolutely nail it. The music is so catchy and it’s a story that’s relatable — being the new kid in town, rubbing people the wrong way, helping people see things in a different way.”
The story takes place in a small Texas town where local leaders banned dancing after several kids were killed in a car accident while coming home from a school dance, Righter said. When Ren McCormack and his mother move there from Chicago, Ren makes waves by disagreeing with the ban and, when the reverend’s rebellious daughter sets her sights on him, her boyfriend tries to sabotage Ren’s reputation.
“As the outsider he’s immediately tagged with a whole lot of labels, and he kind of pushes the community to look at the decisions they made and why they made them,” Righter said. “So it’s all of that and, stirred into that, this great rock music and this super-fun dancing.”
The musical features hit songs like “Footloose,” “Holding Out For A Hero,” “Almost Paradise” and “Let’s Hear It For The Boy.”
The show will be directed and choreographed by Erin and Michael Yuen under the musical direction of Michael Williams.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. Jan. 28; 3 and 8 p.m. Jan. 29; and 3 p.m. Jan. 30. Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for ages 12 and under. For more information, visit www.croswell.org.