AltWeeklies Wire
'Death with Interruptions' Looks at the Cost of Immortalitynew
Descriptions of Jose Saramago's literary voice might sound dull and heavy-handed, and his pages might look more like a chore than a pleasure. Yet when you sit to read Death with Interruptions, you feel you are cutting through all the unnecessary formalities, and getting to the real meat of the story.
Charleston City Paper |
Michael Lucero |
12-21-2008 |
Fiction
Is Clay Middleton the Future of the S.C. Democratic Party?new
Clay Middleton and Barack Obama have a number of things in common. They have each lost elections — Obama in a race for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Middleton in a bid for S.C. House of Representatives this past June. Both men are policy wonks, comfortable with the nuts and bolts of organizing and campaigning.
Charleston City Paper |
Will Moredock |
12-10-2008 |
Commentary
The Georgia Blues of Mudcat's Music Go Deepnew
Singer, guitarist, and bandleader Danny "Mudcat" Dudeck is revered for his raw and edgy guitar playing and singing in his hometown of Atlanta. He's a man comfortable with playing complicated slide guitar and belting out a few rhymes about bad love, booze, and life's hard experiences.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
12-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Don't Believe the Hype: Clean Coal Still Pollutesnew
To call today's coal "clean" requires a handful of mind-erasing psycho-somethings and a magic carpet ride to Fairyland. It's true -- the potential to burn coal far cleaner than in decades past is now here. But the best devices are expensive and only in use at a few power plants across the country.
Charleston City Paper |
Stratton Lawrence |
12-10-2008 |
Environment
If Only 'Mirror's Edge' Played to its Many First-Person-Player Strengthsnew
The bulk of the experience works very well and is fun. The combat sections are laborious and can become frustrating, but you are motivated to push through them, so that you can get back to the excellent running and acrobatic portions.
Charleston City Paper |
Kyle Hilliard |
12-10-2008 |
Video Games
'Digging for Dirt' is a Testament to Ol' Dirty Bastard's Whole Beingnew
Pharrell Williams put it best when he said Ol' Dirty Bastard was "insanely genius, geniusly insane." But Jaime Lowe's new biography offers a more complete history of a man spiraling down a rabbit hole of drug addiction and fame.
Charleston City Paper |
Mark Glenn |
12-10-2008 |
Nonfiction
Charleston Designers Move Forward After 'Project Runway' Bidnew
While the battle rages on over the show's future in the Big Apple, Charleston fans are buzzing about whether or not they'll recognize any familiar faces on Season 6 -- whenever it does air.
Charleston City Paper |
Erica Jackson |
11-13-2008 |
TV
Democrats Get Their Reagan in Obamanew
Not since John F. Kennedy has a Democratic figure energized his party to such a degree. No doubt, Democrats favored Obama's policies over the Republicans, but for most supporters, their choice for president was primarily a matter of the heart.
Charleston City Paper |
Jack Hunter |
11-13-2008 |
Commentary
Obama's Historic Victory and What Kulture Klash 3 Really Meansnew
Is it more than an arts party? Does it have anything to say to arts organizations struggling to attract younger audiences? What does it suggest about 21st-century attitudes about our experience of the arts?
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
11-12-2008 |
Performance
Photographer Jerry Siegel Reveals the New in Familiar Southern Scenesnew
There's no human life in any of Jerry Siegel's photos, just the suggestion that it's still there. Humanity seems to be waiting silently on the edge of the frame, never in a rush to get back. Life has slowed down, slower than the usual Southern way.
Charleston City Paper |
Laura Stokes |
11-12-2008 |
Art
'Degrees of Latitude' Breaks Laurel Blossom's Pain into Piecesnew
Laurel Blossom's collection transcends self-pity by shattering the image of the author's bad childhood and even worse adulthood. Blossom mixes shards of memory with other shards: overheard conversation, punchlines, newspaper headlines, family expressions, and music.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
11-12-2008 |
Poetry
'The Wasted Vigil' Offers a Hopeful Tragedynew
Wasted Vigil is not a book about Afghanistan, but of love. Author Nadeem Aslam creates a romantic and hopeful tragedy, where the odds more often than not overcome his characters. And yet, no amount of tragedy and suffering can eradicate the hope that continues to persist.
Charleston City Paper |
Augustine Kim |
11-05-2008 |
Fiction
'Scratch Beginnings' is Kind, Compassionate, and Naivenew
Instead of challenging his beliefs, Shepard's descent into poverty only adds to the already vexing verisimilitudes of poverty. Instead of offering insight into what he experienced and what that means to others like him, Shepard offers a book dazed by reality and confused by how to respond to it.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
11-05-2008 |
Nonfiction
Exploring the Philanthropic Potential of Social Networkingnew
Against a backdrop of a Wall Street meltdown, ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the most expensive presidential campaign in history, reaching out has become much more than a process of tapping tried-and-true donors. So nonprofits around Charleston are increasingly tapping the philanthropic potential of social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Charleston City Paper |
Dan McCue |
11-05-2008 |
Tech
Clint Eastwood's Changeling is All Tell, No Shownew
Eastwood may be aiming for a more restrained and dignified sort of period drama with Changeling, but here he's all surface, preferring the familiar scheme of evil and good, crime and punishment, over delving deeply into character or meaning.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
11-05-2008 |
Reviews
