AltWeeklies Wire
Ken Burns Worships America's Spiritual Resource in His Latest Docnew
His PBS 12-hour epic The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a selective chronicle of the evolution of the National Parks system and the changing roles protected lands have played in American culture since Congress validated Yosemite in 1864.
Boston Phoenix |
Clif Garboden |
09-24-2009 |
TV
Bookstores Fight Back With Instant Paperbacksnew
Battered booksellers have a secret weapon that they hope will continue to lure customers into their stores. Would you believe it's a machine that can print up a fresh new paperback copy from a menu of 3.6 million books?
Boston Phoenix |
Ethan Gilsdorf |
09-24-2009 |
Books
Drivers Sabotage Traffic Cameras With Post-its, Bullets and Monkey Masksnew
Across America, law enforcement agencies use camera technology to catch motorists speeding and running red lights, and ordinary people are responding.
Colorado Springs Independent |
J. Adrian Stanley |
09-24-2009 |
Transportation
Afghanistan War Promises Victory So Glorious We Never Shall Winnew
The old joke says that since 2003, U.S. soldiers have been between Iraq and a hard place. With a sanctioned Iraqi withdrawal underway at last, our troops are now in the hard place. It's no joke.
Birmingham Weekly |
Courtney Haden |
09-24-2009 |
Commentary
When Switching Sexes, It's Easy to Get Stuck in the Middlenew
There are clear signs of greater understanding that gender identity doesn't always parallel outward biology. But the transgender community still faces harsh treatment and incomprehension from those who prefer the rigid familiarity of society's gender boxes.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Anthony Lane |
09-24-2009 |
Sex
Tucker Max Wants You to Like Him for Being an Unapologetic Dickheadnew
The film adaptation of Max's notoriously infantile and incredibly popular tell-all memoir about his fratboy sexcapades is not immediately repugnant. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell only becomes truly insipid when it makes a cloying, half-hearted attempt to show that Max and his buddies have learned the error of their ways and now have greater respect for women and themselves.
New York Press |
Simon Abrams |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
Literary Icon Margaret Atwood Discusses Imminent and Avoidable Apocalypsenew
For Atwood, the world of Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood isn't a wild flight of fancy, it's a future extrapolated directly from our present. While her books are not science fiction in the familiar sense they are undeniably fictions informed by science.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Brendan Harrison |
09-24-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
New Mexico's Laws and GPS Technology Keep Sex Offenders Under Lock and Signalnew
In orbit 13,000 miles above earth, 24 US military satellites with atomic-clock hearts cycle the earth twice a day. The Corrections Department relies on this Big Brother-style satellite technology to track the 80 sex offenders currently under real-time electronic supervision.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
09-24-2009 |
Crime & Justice
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
Why Jerusalem Mattersnew
It is not a stretch to say that much, perhaps most, of the vague distemper that arose and exploded around health care this summer can be traced pretty directly to the failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Arkansas Times |
Ernest Dumas |
09-24-2009 |
Commentary
Michael Moore Sells the Same Old Shtick in 'Capitalism'new
I wish that more of the contradictions of late capitalism had made it into this scattershot, lazy slice of agitprop, which recycles Moore's usual slice-and-dice job on corporations, while bobbing a curtsey to the current crisis.
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
New Push for Labor Rights for Domestic Workers Gives Nannies Hopenew
Domestic workers are guaranteed the federal minimum wage, but there are no guidelines for working conditions and rights, and few avenues to complain.
New York Press |
Dan Rivoli |
09-24-2009 |
Business & Labor
After Mentally Ill Prisoner Dies in Illinois 'Supermax' Prison, Reforms Are Promisednew
As human rights organizations stepped forward to speak for Robert Foor, a 33-year-old who died in June after nearly 11 years in isolation at the Tamms Closed Maximum Security Unit, the Illinois Department of Corrections announced its plans to reform the southern Illinois “supermax” prison.
Illinois Times |
Amanda Robert |
09-24-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Pearl Jam's 'Backspacer' is Most Impressive for Not Making Concessionsnew
With Pearl Jam experiencing a renaissance of late -- aided by 2006's eponymous return to form and a well-deserved live reputation -- the group is moving forward with its loosest album to date.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Backspacer, Pearl Jam
You Should Be Hoping That The U.S. Doesn't Win The Bid To Host The 2016 Olympicsnew
As the International Olympic Committee prepares to unveil next Friday the name of the host city for the 2016 Olympics -- and as Americans root for Chicago to win -- some experts note that hosting the games can actually devastate local economies.
Boston Phoenix |
Anne Elizabeth Moore |
09-23-2009 |
Sports
