The public is invited to join in a traditional vespers memorial rite at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, July 5, at Battle of Carthage State Park on east Chestnut at the railroad near the east city limits.

Sometimes an organization has special members that stand out in ways that are not always noticed.

This editorial takes a look at what we celebrate on the Fourth of July.

Bad or blockbuster, movies opening on July 4 are some of the most unforgettable films of all time.

A holiday weekend plus warm weather plus lawn work adds up to me not focusing on a new movie for this week’s column. So here are some short takes and quick observations:

This Week in Weird

“How to Win A Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and The End of the War on Terror,” by Reza Aslan. Random House. $26. Hardcover.

Reza Aslan is a Los Angeles-based writer, commentator and Islamic scholar. His new book is, “How to Win A Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and The End of Terror.”

"Jerichow" is the story of two men and one woman with lots of secrets among them, mostly about things in their various pasts that they would rather remain hidden.

Ronnie Brust’s vision for a self-sufficient desert camp includes a kitchen, a living room and a giant projector screen hanging between scaffolding towers. At the center of the camp will be a 32-foot geodesic dome, the frame of which Brust spent Wednesday building in his mother’s yard at Sixth and Miller streets. He will transport the structure to Burning Man, the annual arts festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, later this summer.

The first time Dave Alvin performed with the Guilty Women, last year at a bluegrass festival in San Francisco, the musicians did not rehearse until an hour before they went on stage. But with this particular group of pros, Alvin didn’t have any fears.

I laughed at some of the gags in Mel Brooks' "The Producers," but I also felt uncomfortable with many of the portrayals. I wrote this in my notebook: “Gay minstrel show.”

Road trip nets memorable brews in the Steel City.

As a bank robber, John Dillinger  demonstrated some style. Unfortunately, these scenes don't appear in "Public Enemies." Director Michael Mann focuses instead on Dillinger's physicality as a bank purloiner, leaping on top of counters, threatening bank employees and blasting his way out of jams.