AltWeeklies Wire
The John Birch Society: Preserving America -- and a Few Secretsnew
The nonpartisan, in-the-background, slightly secretive organization wants to indoctrinate you in its cause: making America jibe with the Constitution. They've been at it for 50 years. Are they making converts? Hard to say. Membership numbers, and the number of chapters nationwide, are kept tightly under wraps
Las Vegas Weekly |
Ken Miller |
11-13-2009 |
Politics
Jerry Springer, American Dreamernew
Profiles of Springer tend to follow a similar pattern; they contrast the raucous TV show full of bleeped-out curses and sexual betrayals with the intelligent adult who talks knowledgeably about politics with a passion that would be incendiary in the debate room. But there's nothing so unthinkable about the two going together.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Sarah Feldberg |
11-13-2009 |
Culture
Why 'High Fidelity' Fans Will Hate Nick Hornby's Latest Booknew
Hornby's sixth fictional offering, Juliet, Naked, features another developmentally arrested male who's trapped in a codependent relationship with his record collection. Chances are Fidelity fiends are not amused. Here's why.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Smith Galtney |
10-29-2009 |
Fiction
Most Guys at a Pickup Artists' 'Super-Conference' Are Just Trying to Fit Innew
Admitting that you need help with women is embarrassing and emasculating. In most cases, the decision to attend a LoveSystems boot camp is not motivated by libido; it's motivated by loneliness.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
10-29-2009 |
Culture
The New Vegas Identity: Unemployednew
Unemployment isn't just a noun anymore. In Las Vegas, it's a perpetual state of being. I should know: I was laid off from my Las Vegas newspaper job while I was writing a series about unemployed Nevadans. The irony is so sick it's funny -- even six months later.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Becky Bosshart |
10-09-2009 |
Economy
The Ups and Downs of Caffeinated Boozenew
Even though these products are legal, as many as 30 state attorneys general have been waging a campaign to remove them from store shelves. Not every caffeinated alcohol brand is under fire, however. Instead, the campaign focuses on that subset of the market designed to look and taste like traditional, fruit-flavored energy drinks.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Greg Beato |
10-02-2009 |
Food+Drink
Kennedy Memoir 'True Compass' Recaps the Life of a Dynasty's Last Lionnew
We've heard the word "epic" summoned so often to describe Ted Kennedy’s life, it's no surprise he starts his autobiography with a device out of Homer.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Chuck Twardy |
10-02-2009 |
Nonfiction
The Genre Identifier of Indie Supergroup Monsters of Folk Isn't Exactly Accuratenew
There are windswept harmonies and hushed confessions aplenty, but there's also a palpable sense of trying really, really hard to achieve something that's more than just the sum of its parts.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Julie Seabaugh |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
As More Companies Shoot for LEED Certification, More Ask What it Really Meansnew
An environmentally friendly casino has to be a contradiction in terms. Giant buildings that welcome and encourage the extravagant, wasteful behavior of thousands of guests at the same time hardly seem like a recipe for saving Mother Earth. But on the Strip, even sustainability can be made into a virtue, provided the example is sufficiently large.
Las Vegas Weekly |
T.R. Witcher |
09-24-2009 |
Housing & Development
Dan Brown's Latest Saga Thrills Until it Drops the Threadnew
The ending sucked. Sorry to be so abrupt, but I appreciate that this is a long review, and I appreciate that you might not finish it, and unlike some other book reviewers, I can't in good conscience discuss The Lost Symbol without bringing up the ending.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
09-24-2009 |
Fiction
Go Directly to Jail: The Latest Victim of the Economy Appears to be Bailnew
In Las Vegas, where bond is 15 percent of bail (most states are 10 percent), more are having to make tough choices when faced with having a loved one spend the night in jail. As a result, jails are staying occupied a little longer than they used to.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Ken Miller |
09-18-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Five Books That Have Helped Make This a Great Year for Short-Story Collectionsnew
They may be small, but short stories have been getting a lot of ink lately. It has been a banner year for new short-story collections, with impressive efforts from first-time authors and veterans alike. Here's the cream of this year's crop.
Las Vegas Weekly |
David Berke |
09-18-2009 |
Books
'Bored to Death' is Full of Listless Ironynew
Since HBO's genuinely funny Flight of the Conchords is likely gone for good, the network could really use some original programming with a goofy sense of humor. Unfortunately Bored is far too smug and weak-willed to actually be funny, but at least it's sometimes light on its feet and has few pretensions to profundity.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
09-18-2009 |
TV
Chaplain Bonnie Polley, Doing God's Work in Jailnew
Although her title is chaplain, a lot of what Polley does is remarkably not so preachy. She spends most days helping inmates and their families with the smaller dignities of jail life -- expediting visits, making phone calls, connecting people with resources.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Stacy J. Willis |
09-10-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Polvo Returns With All the Answers on 'In Prism'new
If you only ever hear one Polvo song, make it eight-minute In Prism centerpiece "Lucia." Haunting and elegant at the start, it takes a hair-pin tempo turn around the 2:20 mark and -- voilà -- it's damn near the best foot-to-the-pedal drive song ever.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Spencer Patterson |
09-10-2009 |
Reviews
