AltWeeklies Wire
Daniel Johnston Returns with a Clear Head and a Big Soundnew
Jason Falkner, a self-described "one-man house band" producer, has turned Johnston's typically crude but sweetly personal demos into full-blown pop productions on Is and Always Was.
San Diego CityBeat |
Will K. Shilling |
10-21-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Manhattan Goes Meta in Jonathan Lethem's 'Chronic City'new
Unlike Pynchon in The Crying of Lot 49, which this book at first resembles, Lethem keeps his readers (and his narrator) at too critical a distance, and explains far too much, and thus leaves me still waiting for that novel where Lethem finally knocks one all the way into the bleachers.
Willamette Week |
Matthew Korfhage |
10-21-2009 |
Fiction
Still Staying Up Late: Dave Attell Without the Camerasnew
"I don't mind talking about [Insomniac]," Attell said. "It's the thing most people know me from. I was like the Gilligan of drunks."
Boise Weekly |
Amy Atkins |
10-21-2009 |
Performance
Idaho Donations Couldn't Support Local ACORN Worknew
When ACORN came to Idaho in 2007, its first act was bringing a traffic engineer to Latah and Nez Perce streets and getting the city to turn the intersection into a four-way stop. After growing a small membership, the operation closed unexpectedly in the fall of 2008.
Boise Weekly |
Gavin Dahl |
10-21-2009 |
Politics
San Diego Sues Navy, Shipbuilders and Port District to Pay for Bay Cleanupnew
For nearly 30 years after the end of World War II, Naval personnel hosed down trucks and heavy machinery with diesel fuel, then dunked them in a tributary of San Diego Bay. It was all done in the name of "decontamination" -- ironic, because a new suit alleges this is one of dozens of practices cited as primary causes of sediment contamination in the bay.
San Diego CityBeat |
Dave Maass |
10-21-2009 |
Environment
Drop the Drones: Remote Attacks Inflame Afghan Anti-Americanism
To Afghans on the ground, drones symbolize American callousness and project a smug sense of superiority -- because they protect us at the Afghans' expense.
Birth of a Blowhard: Glenn Beck in Connecticutnew
When Beck arrived at KC 101 in early 1992, he was a semi-failed, drug-and-alcohol addicted, Top-40s radio jock desperately looking for a route to stardom. By the time he left seven years later, he had figured out that talk radio was the future and conservative shtick could be revamped to serve as his escalator to fame and fortune.
Hartford Advocate |
Gregory B. Hladky |
10-21-2009 |
Media
'A Rebel Life' Remembers Molly Ivinsnew
In First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family, Bill Minutaglio deciphered Dubya's career as a campaign of filial devotion and rebellion. Turning now to Bush's spunkiest critic, Minutaglio interprets Ivins as similarly driven by resentment toward her overbearing, overachieving father.
San Antonio Current |
Steven G. Kellman |
10-21-2009 |
Nonfiction
Curling? Bedbugs? Daniel Johnston? There's an App for Thatnew
Some weeks are just not great for new movies, and it makes us crazy. What the hell are we going to do tonight if we don't have a screen to stare at? That's where the ol' iPhone comes in. But which iPhone games should you buy?
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
10-21-2009 |
Tech
The Americanized 'Astro Boy' is an Illogical Messnew
Actually it's all pretty lame, and not helped at all by the ridiculous dialogue and voice work, featuring several name actors (Sutherland, Bell, Theron) delivering their lines with the sort of single-take disinterest generally reserved for rushed bargain-bin-anime overdubs.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
10-21-2009 |
Reviews
Vivid-Alt's Vin Vericose Transforms from Minnesota Boy to Porn Starnew
Chad Fjerstad and his pornstar girlfriend are moving to L.A. to make a go in porn at one of the worst times for adult entertainment, when even the most prominent stars are seeing a dent in their paychecks and a deficit of work.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Emily Kaiser |
10-21-2009 |
Culture
Lessons from California's Political and Economic Disasternew
The tax revolts that started here under Gov. Ronald Reagan and continued to sweep the country and the world under President Reagan never abated. But now that California is showing signs of being the country's first failed state, it has become a cautionary tale for that anti-government ideology.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Steven T. Jones and Tim Redmond |
10-21-2009 |
Politics
Keystone United: Kinder, Gentler Skinheads?new
The eight-year-old group wants to "break the stereotypes of skinheads being alcoholic thugs and violent, drug-addicted criminals," according to its website. It simply believes that the white race is superior to all others, and that white people should not mingle with people of color -- and really, what's so wrong about that?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Julia Harte |
10-20-2009 |
Race & Class
Mumiy Troll, One of Russia's Biggest Bands, Looks to Make Comrades in the U.S.A.new
Earlier this year, the group released its latest Russian-language work, Comrade Ambassador, via American distributive channels. Mumiy plans to release an English album before long; in the meantime, the band hopes to win over a new audience with its U.S. shows.
The Pitch |
Ben Westhoff |
10-20-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Paranormal Activity' Offers a Surprisingly Taut Storynew
Thanks to steady word of mouth, writer-director Oren Peli's debut feature has received a major-studio release after years of bouncing around the festival circuit.
The Georgia Straight |
John Lekich |
10-20-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Oren Peli, Paranormal Activity
