AltWeeklies Wire
1960s Period Piece 'An Education' Gets Good Marks, as Does Star Carey Mulligannew
Danish director Lone Scherfig's movie is something of a deceptively packaged Oscar-season bonbon -- a seemingly benign, classily directed year-I-became-a-woman nostalgia trip that conceals a surprisingly tart, morally ambiguous center.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
10-09-2009 |
Reviews
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 Secret Lives of Queer Leading Mennew
How Howard Bragman, Hollywood's coming-out guru, helps gay actors tell the truth. Bragman's parents were "tolerant and accepting" when he came out in his 20s; Proposition 8 was "extremely painful"; gays and lesbians need to "call people on their shit."
L.A. Weekly |
Patrick Range McDonald |
10-09-2009 |
Movies
Sunny Day Real Estate's Dan Hoerner Leaves a Quiet Life to Play Rock Star Againnew
For Hoerner, a Spokane resident and native, this isn't just a reunion tour. It's a visit to a past life -- a life buried under births and deaths, under 9-to-5 jobs, long-gone fame and quiet anonymity.
The Inlander |
Leah Sottile |
10-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Nick Cave's New Novel is All Sex, Drugs and Hand Creamnew
When I interviewed Nick Cave for the Phoenix three years ago and he told me -- drolly, languidly, literarily -- that his next writing project was about "a sexually incontinent hand-cream salesman" on the south coast of England, I assumed he was taking the piss.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
10-08-2009 |
Fiction
Lying Liars, and the End of Accountabilitynew
When up is down, and down is out, who even knows what to believe anymore? The Zeitgeist is now cloudy with the din of dishonesty that it is difficult to determine what is truth and what is fiction. In other words, a perfect time for the new film The Invention of Lying.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
10-08-2009 |
Commentary
Fetish Fun: Kinky Out of the Closetnew
They might spank; they might wear black masks, be turned on by vinyl clothes or think guys in gas masks are way hot. But all of them would like you to know that it's OK to be kinky.
Eugene Weekly |
Camilla Mortensen |
10-08-2009 |
Culture
Pakistani Cartoonist Nigar Nazar Spreads a Female-Focused Messagenew
Nazar's cartoons focus on women's and children's rights, but are heavy on humor, which makes them approachable. Much like her protagonist, Gogi, a perky 20-something.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Kirsten Akens |
10-08-2009 |
Cartoons
What Has D.C. Gotten for the $10 Million it's Paid Ron Moten's Peaceoholics?new
Since 2005, Peaceoholics has received more than $10 million in grants and loans from the D.C. government and agencies that work closely with the city on youth social services. Most of that money, about $500,000 per month, goes toward salaries, expenses and rent for the group’s office in Southeast D.C. Yet just what Peaceoholics does with its grants has surfaced as a public issue twice in 2009.
Washington City Paper |
Jeffrey Anderson |
10-08-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Chris Rock Never Embraces the Nap in His Doc About African-American Hairnew
Good Hair is a mockumentary by accident because Rock pretends to explore the cultural phenomenon of how black women truly feel about their hair. Yet he relentlessly falls back on easy jokes and juvenile asides that mock the subject.
New York Press |
Armond White |
10-08-2009 |
Reviews
Toubab Krewe Branches Out with New Instruments and Geographic Influencesnew
In some ways, Toubab Krewe may actually come closer to giving us a sense of West African music than any Putumayo production. In fact, you could say they're the real deal, were it not for what some ethnology snobs might consider a cultural-appropriation problem: The band hails from Asheville, N.C.
Tucson Weekly |
Linda Ray |
10-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
In His Biofuels-Promoting Doc 'Fuel,' Joshua Tickell Tries to Do Too Muchnew
Joshua Tickell is very serious about biodiesel. Also, he just married a folk singer; he hates pollution; and he has a video camera. In short: Watch out, America, because there's a documentary full of sincerity coming your way.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-07-2009 |
Reviews
A Border Project Faces Accusations of Lobbying Pressure and Wasted Moneynew
According to some critics, the push for consolidating services at the Nogales port comes from the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, a powerful trade group representing 125 produce dealers, brokers and distributors who import Mexican fruits and vegetables. Big money is at stake: In Nogales, produce has grown into a $2 billion industry.
Tucson Weekly |
Tim Vanderpool |
10-07-2009 |
Immigration
Russell Freeland Gave Up Everything in Pursuit of His Risky Art Projectnew
Abstract artist Russell Freeland gave up everything -- that's everything -- to go from Boston to Austin and see if he could survive solely on his art. His homeless and hungry saga is told in the Absolute Zero Project.
Boston Phoenix |
Ian Sands |
10-07-2009 |
Art
How Glenn Beck is Driven by Mormonismnew
A case can be made that Beck is to Mormonism what Father Charles Coughlin was to Catholicism in the 1930s, when the "radio priest" peddled nasty, faith-based opposition to another ambitious Democratic president.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
10-07-2009 |
Media
