With a stage name like Patricia Holly, a Christmas album seems to be a no-brainer. Name synergy aside, the Des Moines-based jazz and Americana artist is wholly up to the task of a new holiday effort; her signature vintage sound glides effortlessly between dazzling big-band-style orchestrations and a jazzy, moody piano bar, guided by a […]
christmas
Posted inStatewide
“The Caretaker”: A Christmas story by Tom Gingerich
Story by Tom Gingerich, Kalona The old man was on his knees busily mulching one of Oakland’s expansive flower beds when he noticed the SUV approaching in the brisk, early November air. Slowly negotiating the narrow, winding roads traversing the hillside, it pulled up near him. A young man emerged, a leather-bound notebook in his […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Rockin’ around the Christmas trash: A guide to recycling your holiday waste
Perhaps the worst part of Christmas is the inevitable clean-up afterwards: the mountain of empty boxes, shredded wrapping paper, string lights with burnt-out bulbs and the tree slowly going from beloved holiday symbol to fire hazard. But before you toss it all into the dumpster or stuff it into a garbage can, consider these ways […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Experience community for Christmas
Christmas has a mixed reputation. Sure, it’s the season of love and of giving, of stepping outside yourself, of the world becoming a little bit brighter. But for those who feel alienated for any reason — whether they’ve stepped away from their religious faith; or they’re separated from family, by circumstance or choice; or they simply find themselves alone in a strange place with no way to reach out — it can go from being the most wonderful time of year to the darkest.
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: Chuck Henderson — Christmas
Chuck Henderson Christmas Dear readers: For the purposes of this review, I broke one of my personal cardinal rules. I listened to Christmas music before Dec. 1. And then I listened again, and again, and again. And I liked it. Chuck Henderson’s Christmas, despite the name of the holiday gracing the title of the disc […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: This holiday season, I’m giving back to the planet
To the future generation, I wish you peace and joy. Yes, it is that time of year to start preparing for the madness of the holidays. This year will be different. I am going to change, to help give you clean air and water.
Posted inCommunity/News
Holiday traditions out of eastern Iowa, from conventional to crab legs
No matter our family or personal tradition, we look at the holidays through the lens we choose. We celebrate, we mourn, we do a little of both. I asked four eastern Iowa residents what this holiday season means to them, how they celebrate, what home means. This is what they said.
Posted inUR Here
UR Here: Finding the nativity in your own community
Whether one believes in the literal or religious truth of the Christmas story or not, it remains a powerful and influential tale, obviously for Christians, but even for many non-Christians. Over the years, as the Yuletide celebration commences, I have often discovered new ideas in this simple yet profound tale. This year, the story of the nativity has helped me understand something about what is important for community.
Posted inCommunity/News, UR Here
UR Here: Home is where the hygge is
Hygge (roughly pronounced hö-geh, though with a little more “oo” on that umlauted o) is a Danish word that defies English translation. Its closest Anglo analogue is probably cozy, but that doesn’t fully capture what hygge is all about. Hygge is a feeling, a condition, but Danes tend to define it more by action and situation than abstractions.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: December 15-17
Hello, and welcome to the Weekender! As the semester begins to wrap up for the university, the town starts to shift into slight hibernation for a week until it pops back into full form for the coming new year. This weekend will be your last chance to get out before the hibernation begins, so make […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
Prairie Pop: 12 Days…To Drown Out Holiday Muzak with Twisted X-mas Rock.
Organized religion is responsible for more bloodshed than any institution in human history, but Christmas music is its biggest sin. I hate those songs—and the hegemony they hold over the airwaves, public spaces and every nook and cranny of our subconscious in the weeks leading up to Jesus’s birthday. Nevertheless, I make an exception for […]
