Stations of the Cross Exhibit Extended at Workhouse Museum

They're up until the end of the month

A display of several of the wooden hand-carved Stations of the Cross, that was the center-piece of Lorton's Workhouse Prison Museum's seasonal Easter attraction, has been extended until the end of May. On loan from Fairfax County, the Stations once hung in the prison chapel at the Reformatory. Each Station is depicted on a single slab of pine wood approximately 24 inches in height, 18 inches in width and 2 inches in depth. Intricately carved in relief, the unknown inmate artist skillfully sculpted such features as individual fingers, spears and a ladder that seems suspended in space. Visitors seem amazed at the artistry of the carvings and the exhibit has been well received overall, according to museum docents. It is thought that the wood…

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Movie Reviews by Cinema Siren

'Dark Shadows': A Mere Shadow of What It Could Be

PG-13 Johnny Depp film opens in theaters this weekend.

Tim Burton, as the stylized director of such glorious oddities as "Edward Scissorhands," "Beetlejuice," and "Ed Wood," is the pied piper to the inner goth in all of us. So it is with a heavy heart Cinema Siren has to report "Dark Shadows," while it might have moments of loopy greatness and top-notch production and costume design, it is on the whole the most tragic of cinematic sins: A bore.   The greatness is in some particularly exciting and fast-paced scenes, that are strangely intermittent in its 116 minutes, and so at odds with the soap opera ploddings of the rest of the film. The first minutes of "Dark Shadows" show great promise. Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp, in his eighth partnership with director Burton) is the rakish son of a …

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Weekend Planner: Mother's Day, Boat Cruises and English Tea (and More!)

Friday, May 11 through Sunday, May 13

Making special plans with mom this weekend? Patch has found lots of ways to help you celebrate Mother’s Day with events in our local area.   Studio 3 Theatre for Young Audiences presents: Rapunzel   2012 Car Show at George Mason University   Fairfax Jubil-Aires “A Salute to the Troops and Moms” Concert Clifton Caboose Twilight Run Fairfax Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Concert Rhythms Around the World Concert Mother’s Day Tea Mother’s Day Cruise Toccatas! Organ Recital American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras presents: Suite Meditations Virginia Chamber Orchestra “Sunday in the Woods” Concert Cello Recital Library Highlights: Nature Highlights:  

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Susan Larson

9:46 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012

Drove by today and noticed this weekend is the Lorton VFD's Ladies' Auxiliary Yard Sale! Saturday, May 12, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Details here: http://www.lortonvfd-auxiliary.com/5-12-2012-YARD-SALE.html   more ›

The Gamer

Review: Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

Worse than a room full of raccoons.

Pre-rant clarification: I am not a Resident Evil fan. I’ve actually never played one before this because I never owned an original Playstation and even when I had a PS2 I quickly traded it in for an Xbox at the persuasion of a friend.  The first one to become available on the 360 was Resident Evil IV, and I didn’t see the point of playing the fourth installment (or rather something like the fifteenth if you count all the remakes and spinoffs and side stories and crap).  So anyway, yeah, I’m not a fan or even a vet. It probably stands to reason, then, that I have no right to critique the latest installment in the series without knowing anything about the previous titles. But, I’m going to do it anyway.  ­Plot and Characters Like I said, I …

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Lorton Photos of the Day

Photos: West Side Story at South County Secondary School

Tonight is opening night!

South County Secondary School students will be presenting West Side Story, the classic take on Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York. Performances are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on May 4, 5, 11 and 12 in the school’s Dale S. Rumberger Auditorium. General admission is $10, and $9 for senior citizens and students. "West Side Story is not often produced in area high schools due to the challenging music of the play, but I am grateful that South County is up for the challenge,” said South County Secondary drama teacher and the show’s director, Kathie McCormally. The cast and crew is made up of more then 58 high school students. The show includes the talents of Dean Maldonato as Tony, Whitney Turner and Katie Murray as Maria, Kathryn Moore and …

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Opening This Weekend in Kingstowne: 'The Avengers'

The Avengers and other movies playing at the Kingstowne Regal 16 this weekend.

This weekend, a team of superheroes comes to Kingstowne. The Avengers A group of superheroes, including The Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man, must fight a menace to humanity--if they can stop fighting each other.  www.marvel.com/Avengers Avenging Marvels (Metro Weekly) See the trailers for this movie in the media box to the right. -----------  Also playing in Kingstowne this weekend: 3 Stooges A comedy starring the nyuk-able Larry, Curly and Moe. www.threestooges.com Review: ‘Soitanly’ and Stinker (San Francisco Chronicle) The Cabin in the Woods Five friends go to... (wait for it)... a cabin in the woods in this horror flick. www.discoverthecabininthewoods.com Reviews: A Genre-Busting, Blood-Soaked Must-See (Patch) Joss Whedon’s Inside …

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Tech Trends

Apps for Drawing

Find your creative spark.

Blue and yellow and red. That’s where it all begins. There’s something about the trees, flowers and grass greening up for the season that calls to me to pick up a crayon, pencil or marker and attempt to create their likeness. Technology has moved forward from the box of eight Crayola crayons that delighted us in pre–school to offering apps for our SmartPhones and Tablets.  Three that span the basics to a social network are: Crayons 4 Kids, Drawing Pad and Draw Something. Crayons 4 Kids (copyright by stuartjmoore 2012) This app for Apple devices is simplicity itself. It’s just right for the basics. Seven colors are available. You can draw, erase, and clear the screen. If your masterpiece is too appealing to erase, you can save it to your …

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