AltWeeklies Wire
For All its Flaws, 'Mirrors' Offers Insight into an Intriguing Directornew
Director Alexandre Aja's films have been so mired in controversy that no one seems to notice how personal they are.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Steve Palopoli |
08-21-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Alexandre Aja, Mirrors
Tomato Time is Here: Take Advantage of the Freshnessnew
Eat 'em like crazy while they're fresh, and then freeze or can the rest. You'll feel smug as you take tomatoes from your freezer in December and make a marinara worth remembering. You'll never, ever consume a shipped, out-of-season tomato again.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Christina Waters |
08-21-2008 |
Food+Drink
Ehrenreich's Latest Essays on Social and Economic Justice Are Truly Galvanizingnew
Erudite yet accessible and scathingly sardonic, the author of Nickel and Dimed has again written a book that seeks to stir the radical, class-conscious spirit of the American left -- and leave them both outraged and rolling in laughter.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Molly Zapp |
08-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
A New Album and Opening for Coldplay Help Picture Atlantic Set Sailnew
Kleos is 14 tracks of beautiful rock music, coasting seamlessly from songs such as "Circe" and "Dove in the Clefts of Rock," reminiscent of Muse, Coldplay and the Velvet Teen, to "That's Just Me" and "Slip Into the Sea," which evoke the sounds of Hot Hot Heat, the Bravery and All American Rejects.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Claire Young |
08-21-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Kleos, Picture Atlantic
Obama's Silicon Valley Volunteers Play Key Role in Battleground Statesnew
With California locked up, the national Obama campaign decided not to let the smoothly functioning, highly responsive high-tech organization go to waste. Now, they want the Palo Alto group to turn their energy toward Nevada, a shifty swing state with five electoral votes at stake.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Erin Sherbert |
08-21-2008 |
Politics
Monterey Bay Wildlife Has Come Back This Year, but Will the Resurgence Last?new
Cooling currents have sparked a huge comeback for life in the Bay this year. But scientists say global warming could put an end to the extraordinary conditions that breathe new life into local waters.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Steve Hahn |
07-24-2008 |
Animal Issues
The Blasters' Phil Alvin Sorts Through the Unholy Mess They've Made of American Musicnew
Frankly, between his rapid delivery of music history, his mind that seems to operate faster than his mouth and his penchant for breaking into 19th-century songs, the passer-by would think Phil Alvin is a certified loon. But really, he has built himself into a musicologist through playing and mastering America's early styles and now exists at a level of musical awareness that seems baffling to the lay ear.
Metro Silicon Valley |
John Gentile |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Blasters
Five Things to Love About Summer Foodnew
The summer eating season is in full swing. Here's what I eat to make the most of it.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Stett Holbrook |
07-24-2008 |
Food+Drink
Bill Ivey Agruse that Copyright Holders are Hoarding Our Cultural Legacy in 'Arts, Inc.'new
Ivey, the former head of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998 to 2001, passionately believes that the public's right to know--to experience--its cultural heritage is severely threatened by monopolistic corporations, overzealous copyright laws and the erosion of the concept of "fair use."
Metro Silicon Valley |
Michael S. Gant |
07-17-2008 |
Nonfiction
A Big Fat Greek Wedding Features the Songs of ABBAnew
Whatever else you think of ABBA, you have to respect great cross-programming. Mamma Mia! opens just as the world's boyfriends and husbands are going off to see their secret boyfriend Batman.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
07-17-2008 |
Reviews
As 'The Dark Knight' Approaches, Some Clues on the Origins of the Jokernew
Me, I always figured that the Joker came from New Orleans.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
07-17-2008 |
Movies
Summer Blazes Reveal the Real Cost of California's Money Problemsnew
As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger explained how he's get a handle on the fires, a man-made disaster erupted, as the annual financial crisis that paralyzes the state every budget season reeled out of control.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Eric Johnson |
07-17-2008 |
Disasters
How Gilroy Turned a Garlic into the Country's Biggest Food Festivalnew
Today, garlic is as common in food as salt and pepper, but it wasn't always that way. Includes a recipe for babaghanouj.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Stett Holbrook |
07-17-2008 |
Food+Drink
Good Intentions Can't Save 'The Children of Huang Shi' from a Bad Scriptnew
One gets the sense of the Chinese government looking over the script with a magnifying lens. The commissars are less likely to be embarrassed by the way this film scrubs up the murderous politics of the war era than they ought to be embarrassed by the script.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
05-29-2008 |
Reviews
Your Home is Your Castle? Tell it to 'The Strangers'new
If The Strangers is merely a home invasion movie, it is a home-invasion movie in the sense that The Birds is -- what happens is punishment for humans who have lost faith in each other.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
05-29-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Bryan Bentino, The Strangers
