AltWeeklies Wire
The Black Angels and the Warlocks Carry a Distorted Torchnew
The inky pall of their music--so unabashedly Velveteen--burned so hot upon arrival that it tore through the indie music world, leaving a smoldering trail of hype in its path.
Orlando Weekly |
Bao Le-Huu |
07-14-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Who Polices the Orlando Police? They do.new

In April, Fernando Trinidad did something that would get most of us thrown in jail: He pushed a woman down the stairs at a downtown nightclub, injuring her ankle, and then lied to the cops about it. But luckily for Trinidad, he is an Orlando police officer.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
07-14-2008 |
Crime & Justice
David Berman Finds Comfort in the Twangnew
If Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea is any indication, David Berman's fortunes are improving. Compared to 2005's knotty, uneven Tanglewood Numbers – which arrived on the heels of an extended period wherein the poet and Silver Jews frontman grappled with medical and substance-abuse problems – it's relatively frisky and oblique.
Orlando Weekly |
Raymond Cummings |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Orlando Indie Giants Mumpsy Sing Canary's Songnew
It's possible that no other indie band in Orlando packs as much potential as Mumpsy. Named after a cat in a children's book, they're the union of industriousness and talent, a recipe that's recently been paying off.
Orlando Weekly |
Bao Le-Huu |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Mumpsy, Cat & Canary
Rapper Vast Aire Relaxes, But Only Slightly, on New Albumnew
Cannibal Ox's 2001 opus, The Cold Vein, doesn't translate universally. In a climate like Central Florida – where cold means covered shins and shoulders, not bitter blasts of wind that leave exposed skin frostbitten – the translation can be even further out of reach.
Orlando Weekly |
Brandon Perkins |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Vast Aire, Dueces Wild
How Accurate is Our Voting System?new
You don’t need to be told that we need serious election reform in this country. What you might need, though, is a refresher on how badly our voting system is damaged. For that, turn to Election Day, a documentary made for the P.O.V. series on PBS.
Orlando Weekly |
Marc D. Allan |
06-26-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: election day, Katy Chevigny
Live Active Culturesnew
Sometimes, words are justworthless. That’s a tough truth for a writer to admit: If it weren’t for words, I’d be out of a job, and you’d be picking up this paper just to ogle the massage ads (maybe you already are). But even the most loquacious lexis lover must concede that images can speak louder than a thousand words.
Orlando Weekly |
Seth Kubersky |
06-26-2008 |
Recreation
Tags: recreation
First Shotnew
So far, even this summer’s biggest box-office hits have appealed to specific viewer demos. Iron Man got the men. Sex and the City got the women. And Kung Fu Panda got the … plushies.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: first shot, Steve Schneider
Happytown Deals with Legal Weed and a Giant Ferris Wheelnew
In an online video explaining the Orlando Sentinel’s new redesign, editor Charlotte Hall insisted that they weren’t dumbing the paper down; rather, they were telling stories “more smartly.” And we totally believed her, until we saw the ludicrously vacuous “news” that filled the new Sentinel’s first few editions.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman | Billy Manes | Deanna Morey | Bob Whitby |
06-26-2008 |
Media
Tags: media
Blisternew
It wasn’t always this way. A hot-ticket night out used to be just that – a whirligig of wide-eyed spontaneity laced with the pixie dust of giggle fits and carefree crescendos – and it usually ended with something said, forgotten and buried facedown in the blackout pillow next to a broken-toothed smile.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
06-26-2008 |
Comedy
Tags: humor & satire
The Orlando Police Beatnew
(2008-255783) 12:53 p.m.: Sucks to be this guy. Two guys walked up to him on the street, forced him into his car at gunpoint, and made him drive to the bank and withdraw a bunch of money. The police report lists him as a missing person, which may well mean his day went from shitty to FUBAR, fast.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
06-26-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: crime & justice
This Little Undergroundnew
In this new reality, the Middle East is in the global spotlight like never before. Although American awareness of the region is at a zenith, our view of it continues to be slanted, narrow and impersonal. All the more reason to thank whoever it is you worship for a film like Heavy Metal in Baghdad, the provocative new Vice Films documentary.
Orlando Weekly |
Bao Le-Huu |
06-26-2008 |
Music
Orlando City Council Watchnew
Paying attention to Orlando's government so you don't have to.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
06-26-2008 |
Commentary
Tags: Orlando
The Battle for an Anti-Growth Constitutional Amendment Heads to Federal Court.new

Florida Hometown Democracy was launched in 2003 to promote a state constitutional amendment that would restrict growth by forcing local comprehensive land-use changes to go to referenda. The group came close to getting on the ballot, but didn't quite make it. So they've sued.
Orlando Weekly |
Billy Manes |
06-26-2008 |
Politics
Is That Beef You're Eating Really Safe?new

The Sunshine State sits squarely in the middle of the controversy over the safety of the meat supply. A growing number of people -- many of them doctors and scientists -- question whether American beef is safe from bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as BSE or mad cow disease. Little testing and lenient feed regulations mean no one can answer the question for sure.
Orlando Weekly |
Deanna Morey |
06-26-2008 |
Food+Drink