Movies are made of moments, and after some consideration, I can't think of a single Best Picture lineup that has provided more memorable moments than the one competing at this year's Academy Awards ceremony, airing on ABC affiliate WQAD on February 27.

Music

Cuban Essence

Augustana College

Saturday, February 19, 7 p.m.

The latest performers in Quad City Arts' Visiting Artists Series are the members of the Latin-American music ensemble Cuban Essence, and as I write this - two days after the crazy blizzard of '11 - I'm looking out the window at a snowdrift that's literally twice as tall as the car parked beside it. Any chance we could get a little Cuban Essence in our temperatures right now?

For his first directorial effort at St. Ambrose University, Daniel Rairdin-Hale in April staged the ancient-Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. This month, however, finds the school's assistant professor of theatre tackling a tragedy that hits much closer to home.

"I remember where I was when Columbine happened," says Rairdin-Hale, referring, of course, to the April 1999 massacre at Colorado's Columbine High School. "It was right between my junior and senior year [at Pleasant Valley High School]. So I got to experience how everything changed. My first three years of high school were one way, and then this happened, and in senior year, everything was different. You couldn't have backpacks, doors were locked, you couldn't leave the building, we had bomb drills ... . It was very strange to be there during that transition.

"I mean, I'm sure there are things that high schools do now," he continues, "where students just assume, 'This is how it's always been.' You know, cameras, metal detectors - whatever. But there was a time before that."

Theatre

Independence

Richmond Hill Barn Theatre

Thursday, February 10, through Sunday, February 20

Steve Schmidt, a well-known Republican campaign strategist, was once quoted as saying, "The price for independence is often isolation and solitude." Silly man. The price for Independence is actually only 10 bucks.

Uh ... he was talking about the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's new play, right?