Gallup Sun

Part 3 of 3 of Series on Art

Art, of and by itself, is a form of many and varied disciplines. Artists are vigorously independent, combining their talents and needs rarely with artists of other talents and needs. Any approach mentioning art must be aware of these divergencies, recognizing all without disrespecting others.

Attempts to form coalitions of artists almost always bump into what another artist might deem to be their territory. These usually fail at an alarming rate simply because of these differences.

A thought had occurred initially to this writer that a series of interviews – hopefully with direct and meaningful responses – would be a fitting conclusion to this series...

National Farmers Market Week this week got me thinking about the economic and cultural importance of not just the state’s 75 farmers markets, but of New Mexico agriculture more broadly.

On the economics side, New Mexico agriculture is a $4 billion-a-year sector.  But the true financial impact of agriculture in the state is much bigger.  Four billion is a measure of the value of agricultural commodities at the farm or ranch: things like live cattle, raw milk, and unprocessed wheat.  Turning those commodities into the products that most people no longer make for themselves – such as when milk gets turned into cheese, and when wheat gets turned into flour – adds several billion...

Rating: ««« out of 4

Running Time: 108 min.

While horror flicks and thriller pics from Blumhouse Productions often follow  supernatural tales along the lines of Insidious, Ouija and The Gallows, it appears that every now and then, the company does attempt some variations on their low-budget genre formula. The Gift certainly falls into this category. There aren’t any vengeful apparitions or undead axe murderers chopping teenagers to pieces. Instead, this is a mood piece, focusing entirely on its characters and attempting to create a general sense of unease.

Co-star Joel Edgerton also serves as writer and director of this effort, and it’s clear that as a performer, he’s far...

Rating: ««« 1/2 out of 4

Running Time: 85 minutes

Shaun the Sheep made his first appearance in the Walla ce & Gromit short A Close Shave, but in the years since the young buck has become the star of a very popular children’s “claymation” series. By now, tykes may be more familiar with the animal than the characters who introduced him. The 10 minute segment format of the television show might make one wonder whether the sheep can carry a feature. While it is certainly aimed at a younger audience, Shaun the Sheep Movie should entrance all members of the family - it makes for a pretty darn warm and woolly big screen debut.

The story is simple enough. Bored by the repetition of...