AltWeeklies Wire
Chicago Dispatch: Obama's Indie Uprisingnew
As I stood in Grant Park with hundreds of thousands of fervent Obama supporters, it was hard not to wonder if all the rhetoric might be true. Was I, a Canadian interloper in Obama-land, about to witness the birth of a new America? Was a younger, more vital force taking over the country?
NOW Magazine |
Ben Spurr |
11-10-2008 |
Commentary
Kaufman Conquers: 'Synecdoche, New York' is a Surreal Surprisenew
Kaufman's directorial debut is as conceptually daring and narratively complex as his screenplays for Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Elements of all three films can be spotted in this one, but with his own hand on the joystick Kaufman burrows further into his idiosyncratic world than ever before.
NOW Magazine |
Norman Wilner |
11-10-2008 |
Reviews
Ecoholic: Boiling the Greenest Teanew

"My roommate wants to get an electric kettle, but I prefer stovetop models. Which is greener?"
NOW Magazine |
Adria Vasil |
11-10-2008 |
Advice
Brit Cult Fave Holly Golightly Tries it Twangynew
By her own admission, Holly Golightly isn't overly familiar with country music. But that hasn't kept her from affecting a twang and recording Dirt Don't Hurt, a rootsy album of hayseed duets with her partner in musical crime, Lawyer Dave.
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
11-10-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Red Dog' is Truly a Poet's Novelnew
I love it when poets take on a sprawling narrative, plumping up sentences with images so striking you feel like taking out your highlighter.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
11-03-2008 |
Fiction
'Through Black Spruce' is a Muscular Novel Worthy of All the Hypenew
Joseph Boyden's second novel is stunning at being a million things at once, but at heart it's a page-turning campfire story told by one person to another in hushed tones, heartbeat to heartbeat.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
11-03-2008 |
Fiction
'Filth and Wisdom' is Surprisingly Chastenew
If Alex Rodriguez is Exhibit A in Guy Ritchie's pending divorce from Madonna, then Exhibit B must surely be Madge's immaterial and unambitious directorial debut.
NOW Magazine |
Barrett Hooper |
11-03-2008 |
Reviews
Elizabeth Banks Has the Balls to Play the First Lady and a Porn Novicenew

The self-professed "guy's girl" swears like a trucker and can talk about her vagina.
NOW Magazine |
Radheyan Simonpillai |
11-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Alt.Health: When the Situation's Gravenew
Death and fear. Halloween is the day we honor them both. How far can it go in soothing our deep-seated angst?
NOW Magazine |
Elizabeth Bromstein |
11-03-2008 |
Advice
Election '08: Backwards Bizarro Landnew
Welcome to Bizarro World, where the single-mother-raised working-class black guy is decried as an "elitist," while the lock-step well-branded military man is a "maverick."
NOW Magazine |
Robert Priest |
11-03-2008 |
Commentary
Waging a PR War at Guantanamonew

U.S. officials are working hard to convince journalists that the military commission trial of Canadian Omar Khadr is fair. This is quite a feat given that Khadr is heading into a courtroom without a full investigation of charges that he was interrogated without access to legal counsel and under torture.
NOW Magazine |
Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine |
11-03-2008 |
War
E-Books Get Some Tractionnew

I've been slamming the e-book concept for years, but I decided to give e-books another crack, this time with a loaner copy of Sony's brand new PRS-700 touch-screen Reader under my arm. I've been using it for the past couple of weeks and am impressed by its readability.
NOW Magazine |
Joseph Wilson |
10-27-2008 |
Books
Frankie Venom, 1957-2008new
When Frankie Venom succumbed to throat cancer last week at the age of 51, the Toronto punk scene didn't just lose a gobbing godfather -- Canada lost one of the most engaging entertainers ever to stalk a stage in a rubber-legged frenzy.
NOW Magazine |
Tim Perlich |
10-27-2008 |
Music
Pram is Defiantly Differentnew
Don't even think about calling these Birmingham bashers post-rock.
NOW Magazine |
Jason Keller |
10-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Pram, Prisoner Of The Seven Pines
'The Tiger's Tail' is a Tepid Talenew
I saw John Boorman's film in January 2007, when it closed the Palm Springs Film Festival. At the time, it felt like a casual disappointment from a once-great director, destined for DVD obscurity. I'm not entirely sure why it merits theatrical release now, almost two years later.
NOW Magazine |
Norman Wilner |
10-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: John Boorman, The Tiger's Tail