ENTHEAD

TV PICKS: 'The Borgias' ... 'The Client List' ... 'Smash' ... 'Glee'

“The Borgias,” a grandiose costume drama that returns tonight for its second season on Showtime, is definitely at a “time of reckoning.” In Season 1, Rodrigo Borgia, aka Pope Alexander (Jeremy Irons), and his less than saintly family lied, cheated, fornicated and murdered their way to power. Now, will they be able to stave off their enemies without turning on each other? Or will there be hell to pay? Whatever the case, it’s painfully obvious that more decadence — and bloodshed — is in the offing.

By Chuck Barney , April 08, 2012

Popular painter Thomas Kinkade dies in California

Artist Thomas Kinkade once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy. The self-described "Painter of Light," who died Friday at age 54, produced sentimental scenes of country gardens and pastoral landscapes in dewy morning light that were beloved by many but criticized by the art establishment.

By John S. Marshall , April 07, 2012

THE LIST: Mollie Douthit ... Antique to Chic ... Hawley Art Show

Mollie Douthit is the featured artist at Local Harvest Gallery at Amazing Grains in downtown Grand Forks with a show that will run through May 2. Douthit, born and raised in Grand Forks, earned a BFA in painting from the UND Department of Art and Design in 2009 and a post baccalaureate certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011.

By Herald Staff Report , April 07, 2012

Military children describe their sacrifices in ‘Deployed’

One-act play written Grand Forks Air Force Base students will be on stage April 13-14 at Fire Hall
If someone asked you how long American troops have been in Afghanistan, would you know? There are children in our community whose parents are in the military who can answer this question more quickly than can many adults. “Deployed,” a one-act play written by students from Grand Forks Air Force Base Twining Middle School, will be on stage at 7 pm. April 13-14 at Grand Forks Fire Hall Theatre.

By Herald Staff Report , April 06, 2012

THE LIST: Sand mandala ... 'Who done it?' ... 'Memory work'

Opening ceremony today in Crookston: Wongdue Sangbo Gurung, a Buddhist monk from Nepal, will spend several days creating a sand mandala at University of Minnesota, Crookston, leading up to the final dinner April 11 in the International Dinner Series at UMC. An opening ceremony will be at 11 this morning in the Prairie Room of the Sargeant Student Center in Crookston. The campus and the community are welcome to visit often to view the work in progress, a news release said. A sand mandala is an elaborate geometric design created by using colored sand and working in intricate detail from the design’s center to the outer edges. In Buddhist belief, the sand mandala reflects the fleeting nature of the material world. When it is finished, the sand mandala is destroyed and its materials released back into nature.

By Herald Staff Report , April 04, 2012

Jeremy Irons is back Sunday as ‘Borgias’ bad guy Rodrigo

British performer Jeremy Irons didn’t enter acting to become an actor. He joined to become a gypsy, he says. He considered three options: life in the circus, the carnival or the theater. The actor, who has illuminated the screen in films like “Reversal of Fortune,” “The Iron Mask” and “Die Hard: with a Vengeance,” returns Sunday as the evil Rodrigo in Showtime’s “The Borgias.”

By Luaine Lee , April 03, 2012

Warming up to the role of ice queen on ‘Game of Thrones’

The Queen is not herself. The most feared woman in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros is usually an empress of ice-cold calculation and as still as a snowbank, but the Cersei Lannister who arrives at the HBO offices in Santa Monica is a swirl of charismatic chaos. Well, more precisely, Lena Headey, the willowy actress who plays Cersei on “Game of Thrones,” is not in royal menace mode.

By Geoff Boucher , April 01, 2012

WWE star John Cena takes a stand against bullying

Most people wouldn’t dare call chiseled WWE superstar John Cena any names, let alone “a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.” But in the lead up to their WrestleMania 28 “Once in a Lifetime” match Sunday in Miami, that’s exactly what The Rock told Cena he looked like. Instead of getting upset, Cena said he turned the situation around by contacting the cereal maker, now he’s on “three million boxes of the stuff.”

By John Carucci , April 01, 2012

Bieber, Berry slimed at Kids Choice Awards

At the 25th annual Kids’ Choice Awards, the slime runneth over. Host Will Smith opened the 25th annual Kids’ Choice Awards promising a record amount of the show’s trademark green gunk. Halle Berry was the first to be covered, but she was far from alone. She was joined by “Twilight” star Taylor Lautner (who won favorite “buttkicker”), “Glee” star Chris Colfer and male singer winner Justin Bieber, who was utterly drenched along with Smith at the end of the show.

By Jake Coyle , March 31, 2012

How horses feel and dogs conspire

Pulitzer Prize-winning author discusses work
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley believes horses have feelings and a point of view. Smiley was the guest, at the UND Chester Fritz Auditorium, during “A Great Conversation” that was one of the final events at this year’s UND Writers Conference. Smiley, who won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for her novel “A Thousand Acres,” read from a couple of her books and answered questions about her books and the writing process from the audience and from Sally Pyle, UND associate professor of biology and director of the honors program at UND.

March 30, 2012

Pulitzer winning reporters speak tonight at Herald

Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman will talk about their work at the Philadelphia Daily News exposing a corrupt police narcotics squad in 2010.

By Herald Staff Report , March 29, 2012

Target Center show June 16 kicks off Aerosmith summer tour

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Aerosmith return to the road this summer, and will kick off their tour June 16 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Tickets are $149.50, $79.50 and $39.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through Ticketmaster. Cheap Trick opens.

By Ross Raihala , March 27, 2012

Former Jamestown man a part of 'Simpsons' success

One former Jamestown man has been providing the music that has kept Springfield running for decades. Springfield, of course, is home to one of TV's most beloved families — “The Simpsons.”

By Ben Rodgers , March 26, 2012

TV PICKS: ‘Mad Men’ ... ‘Leave It to Niecy’ ... ‘Pauly D’

“What is wrong with you people?” a bewildered woman asks tonight on AMC during the two-hour Season 5 opener of the acclaimed drama “Mad Men.” “You’re all so cynical. You don’t smile. You smirk.” She’s referring to the hustlers and con artists who populate Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) 1960s-era ad agency, and, of course, she’s right, but that’s exactly how we prefer them.

By Chuck Barney , March 25, 2012

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: Kinky romance is a hit

Sexy or sick? That’s the big debate over the indie book “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James that’s taken over the Internet and suburban reading circles. The book, the first in a trilogy, has been described as, err, well, “mommy porn.” It follows the story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. She’s a graduating college senior, an innocent virgin. He’s a young billionaire humanitarian who enjoys domination and bondage.

By Jenee Osterheldt , March 24, 2012