From jewelry that leaks to utensils that play music to cookware that’s dangerous, there’s cutting edge, local artwork on display now at METALS!08. METALS!08 is a collection of jewelry and metalwork made by some of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s most creative and talented art and metals students. The show’s juror, Graeme Reid of the Museum of Wisconsin Art selected the finest works from 180 submitted pieces.

METALS!08 encompasses works of all levels of undergraduate studies here at UWM and were judged without regard to the identity of the artists. Reid admits in his juror’s statement that he is a “fan of the UWM Metals Department” and selected three works to award Juror’s Choice. “The Man’s Rolling Pin” by Christopher Stoecker is no standard rolling pin. On the end of a black, textured roller are two spiked brass knuckles for handles. Catherine Eller’s “Stone Necklace” radiates grace, elegance, and style. “Wedding Rings” by Lucy Derickson is exemplary of quality craftsmanship and is a lavishly stylized take on the everyday wedding ring.

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I rarely leave a concert thinking ill of the majority of bands that played, but “The Alternative Press tour” last Friday at The Rave’s Eagles Ballroom was definitely an exception.

The tour featured opening acts, Forever the Sickest Kids, Sonny, and The Matches, coupled with co-headliners, The Rocket Summer and All Time Low. By the end, I was less than impressed with the bands chosen, save one.

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Colour Revolt, a band that in 2007 went on their first full length tour as the opening act for Brand New, has released a full length studio album with the provocative title, “Plunder, Beg and Curse,” Fat Possum Records 2008.

With this follow up to their 2007 debut, “Colour Revolt EP,” these five college students have taken what you thought you knew about music, chopped it up into a thousand pieces and arranged them in a sonic recipe that is as grizzly as it is majestic.

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Agatha Christie’s novels have been prime material for film and TV adaptations and interpretations. Her novel “And Then There Were None” has been remade a dozen or so times, her famous sleuth Hercule Poirot is the star of his own British TV series entitled Poirot.

Her other famous character, Miss Marple, was the inspiration for the Angela Lansbury show “Murder, She Wrote.” But no adaptation is quite as successful or compelling as Sidney Lumet’s 1974 film “Murder on the Orient Express.”

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Yeah, there are a lot of funny things out on the Internet. Pictures of LolCats (icanhascheezburger.com), web comics (xkcd.com) and articles (collegehumor.com) spam your screen every day.

But sometimes that one funny video flies under your viral video radar. Here is a handful that you may have missed. But no worries, you can still find them on YouTube

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It’s never a good sign when you go to see a movie on opening day, and the only other person in the theater is a sixty-year-old man who falls asleep twenty minutes in and begins to snore—so went my experience with the shoe-in for least entertaining movie of the year, “Deception.”

On paper, “Deception” has all the necessary elements to make a compelling film. The story of an introverted number-crunching accountant who befriends a charismatic socialite could be the launching point for dozens of compelling narratives. Too bad the film stumbles through its entirety, linking poorly written scenes with terrible pacing and jaw-droppingly inane decisions.

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Kung fu movies haven’t changed much in the past couple of decades or so. They typically use practical effects real actors instead of CGI characters.

Western kung fu movies like “The Matrix” trilogy go the other way, replacing full fights with CGI characters (the Smith fight in “The Matrix Reloaded”). However, the practical, traditional kung fu movies are the ones that actually make you go, “Whoa.”

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While some may spend July sweating the heat and singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the other sane bunch of us will be seeking refuge inside the recycled air of our local theaters. Although the quality of some of these movies is still up in the air, there’s no doubt in my mind that “The Dark Knight” will be the orgasmic film that the trailers make it out to be. The seventh month of the year should go down a little like this.

July 2- “Hancock”

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June is approaching and everyone knows what that means…the start of the summer wedding season! Hopefully you’ve been planning ahead in between pop quizzes and working your two part-time jobs. But if you’re running a bit behind, maybe you have a few loose ends to deal with – you know, picking rice or bubbles, scheduling your final dress fitting or deciding who your groom will be.

Favors usually fall towards the bottom of the list, but they can be a really fun way to convey your personality and provide a small thank you to all of your guests. Here are a few favor ideas that are not only fun to make, but relatively simple as well.

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We only have a couple more weeks of class left until summer and I can already smell the brats and sauerkraut of June’s Locust Street Days, the beignets of July’s Bastille Days and my favorite corn dogs slathered with yellow mustard at August’s Wisconsin State Fair.

Although not my usual healthy picks, these Wisconsin summertime delicacies have been willingly shoved down my throat since the days of being pushed around in a stroller and I am not about to give them up now. If you think the absence of eight page papers and scantron sheets make you jump for joy when thinking about summer, what about all the great food? Milwaukee is known for its festivals and I have all of my favorite foods at these events listed below.

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