by Chuck Shepherd

■ Jennalee Ryan of San Antonio last year began selling choice human embryos, ready for prospective mothers to implant after having chosen from Ryan’s catalog describing the contributors’ education, attractiveness and medical history. “We’re just trying to help people have babies,” she told the Washington Post in January, and at less cost than full in-vitro procedures (since she has eliminated the risk of failed fertilizations). But, said a bioethicist, “It’s like you’re ordering a computer from Dell.” (Ryan said she does not take custom orders.) Of her emphasis on well-educated, good-looking contributors of sperm and eggs, she said, “Who wants an ugly, stupid kid?”

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In solidarity with eternal flux and in the name of all that’s both rowdy and holy, I hereby declare change to be a good thing. Furthermore, in accordance with the astrological omens, I announce that change is especially healthy for you right now. I mean it, Aquarius. Change is not only not a bad thing. It’s downright wonderful. So let’s rise up bravely, you and I, and proclaim that change is the essential nature of the universe—that it’s one of the most prominent and resplendent qualities of God Herself. From now until forevermore, let’s agree to celebrate change, to welcome it, to revere it—starting this week. Amen, namasté, blessed be, shalom and hallelujah!

Imagine!

by Michael I. Niman

Imagine that we had a different president on September 11, 2001. Let’s revisit that pivotal moment in history right before the endless war against everyone everywhere began.

This time Pano’s left no room for further delay.

State of the City

by Geoff Kelly

Here’s the question Byron Brown will try to answer next Tuesday at the Buffalo Convention Center: What’s the state of the city we live in?

Sage Advice for a Green Future

by Jay Burney

Wangari Maathai came to town the first week in February to speak at the State University of New York at Buffalo’s Distinguished Speaker Series. This was part of UB’s 31st annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Event. Most people in Buffalo didn’t seem to make much of a big deal of her visit. But make no mistake, Dr. Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, is a very big deal. And we have to thank the UB MLK committee organizers, including Ruth Byrant and Mary Gresham, for hosting this thoughtful and earth-shaking provocateur.

Where the Eating's Big Easy

by Bridget Kelly

There was nothing on Shango’s menu I wouldn’t have loved to eat, and it was heartbreaking to have to make a choice. Pan-fried lump crabcakes ($8 appetizer), a fried oyster po-boy ($12), blackened ahi tuna steak ($19), “mac and cheese” penne with smoked gouda and goat cheese ($16)—everything sounded so good we just wanted to sit and savor the menu for a minute.

by Javier

The great Dick Van Dyke (pictured above) was on hand at the Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the end of January to present Julie Andrews with the Life Achievement Award. Andrews and Van Dyke co-starred in the classic movie Mary Poppins, which is now a (very long) Broadway musical. Van Dyke (who turned 81 last December) made a guest appearance on Broadway a year ago in January in Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life to celebrate Chita’s birthday. Both Rivera and Van Dyke starred in the Broadway hit Bye, Bye, Birdie back in 1960. Van Dyke’s return to Broadway in 1980 was not as successful; the revival of The Music Man, in which he starred as Harold Hill, closed after 21 performances.

Informalities

by Tom Dooney

Bobby Previte, an artist Buffalo can boast as one of its own, returned last week to debut a new collaborative work, titled The Separation, under the Hallwalls aegis. A brief stay, but one that prompts targeting Previte as an artist most wished to resettle in this region—or to at least visit more often—to invigorate cultural life here.

I Think of You: Stories by Ahdaf Soueif

by Jill Froebel

In her sumptuous new collection of stories, I Think of You, Ahdaf Soueif details the lives of a series of Arab women as they traverse the cultural line that divides East from West. The heroines of Soueif’s fiction range from young girls to mature women, each one linked by the difficulties of moving between two very different cultural environments. Additionally, each must deal with daily confrontations between the known and the unknown, modernity and tradition, and youthful freedom and parental rule. Wandering through various locales across continents and oceans, from Egypt to London to Japan and back again, the stories in Soueif’s collection merge into one cohesive unit, grounded by cultural juxtapositions. These interesting, down-to-earth tales benefit from an appealing, sometimes exotic backdrop and realistic touches, indicating an author, who, despite her adeptness at writing about the problems of living in two worlds, is comfortable in a variety of surroundings.

Mr. Muzzy

by Lou Rera

“I see you’ve got a couple of complaints filed against you, Bean,” Mr. Thompson said.

Fluorescence and Decay

by Albert Chao

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center currently hosts two artists who explore two different senses: Paul Dickinson’s Music for Worms and Compost amplifies the sounds of worms, critters and decomposing compost, while Eric Brown captures light with fluorescent sculpture pieces.

What Would Elvis Think?

by Jim Corbran

What do you think of when someone says, “Elvis”? Okay, besides “overweight rock-and-roll singer found dead on his toilet.” Sheesh, I’m writin’ about cars here, people, not pop icons.

Are These Guys Still "Scary Good?"

by Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell

That October winning streak seems so long ago. The occasional loss, here or there, gave Sabres fans no real concerns at first. After all, no team can win every game, right?

Nietzsche's

Nietzsche’s is one of Buffalo’s truly legendary venues—not only because it is a linchpin in the local scene but because of its welcoming reputation among national and regional touring acts. And because of its history as the jumping-off point for many local musicians who have moved on to bigger things; Ani DiFranco is the most famous, but by no means the only of these. Nietzsche’s is a fixture in Allentown, host to parties, benefits, local characters, and night after night after night of live music.The club’s owner, Joe Rubino, opened his doors nearly 25 years ago. He was a partner in a long-gone West Seneca club called Frodo’s but was looking for a new venture. His accountant, a high school friend, told him about a cavernous joint in Allentown that was up for sale. The rest is local music history:

by Donny Kutzbach