News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Saturday December 20th 2025
Silence, Please
By MARTI MALTBY
I’ve recently been reminded of the value of silence, or at least having a break from all the noise that assaults us each day. With so much negativity in the air, it can be difficult not to get infected, not to become judgmental, not to lash out or over-react, not to get overwhelmed, and not to break down. Silence, having the space to think and regroup and nurture oneself, is an antidote to everything that comes at us.
I use the word “antidote” because the hostile attitudes that are becoming more common pass from person to person and infect each individual, causing damage that is sometimes irreversible. We don’t just need a break, we need something that can heal the infection and inoculate us against it in the future.
I rediscovered silence by accident. I was driving home from work and couldn’t find anything on the radio I liked, so I turned the noise off. When I arrived home and found I was calmer than I had been for several days, I wondered what had happened. When I didn’t listen to music the next day while riding my bike and found I enjoyed just looking at the passing scenery, I realized I was on to something.… Read the rest “Silence, Please”
Begin the New Year with the Phoenix of Phillips
The Phoenix of Phillips is our neighborhood literary magazine, for and by people who love this community! This issue, whose theme is “Seeding a New Community,” was co-edited by a group of wonderful youth artists and produced by the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts. Look for it in the January 2023 issue of the alley.
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Keep citizen journalism alive!
Something I Said: ‘Charmed’ Revisited
By DWIGHT HOBBES
If something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. So goes the truism. Not always the case. Constance M. Burge’s Charmed (CBS/1998 – 2006) was state of the art pop. Solid scripts, strong cast about three white women waxing supernatural against the forces of evil. Charmed (2018 – 2022) reinvents that wheel, doing a fascinating job of it. Starting with casting Latinas as the leads, something nobody could’ve seen coming. Added to which, one sister is lesbian. And there’s a womanist bent. Talk about pushing the envelope, which isn’t all that surprising, considering Canada’s track record for quality commercial fare, including the supernatural hit Lost Girl.
This time around for Charmed, there’s feisty firebrand social protester Mel (Melonie Diaz), sexy nerd cum genius biochemist Macy (Madeleine Mantock) and sardonically easy going college kid Maggie (Sarah Jeffrey). Ace ringer Rupert Evans (Hellboy) is glib, debonair spiritual guide Harry. Valerie Cruz (Dexter, Homeland) lands a fine showcase as Marisol the sisters’ tragically slain mom whose ghost holds the key to their lives.
The pilot engages, intrigues throughout, Marisol’s murder setting in motion cataclysmic forces of evil versus good. Whereupon daughters are called on to save the world against overwhelming odds. … Read the rest “Something I Said: ‘Charmed’ Revisited”