AltWeeklies Wire
Jimmy On the Edge of Townnew
A homeless Christian-Muslim from Palestine pitches a tent behind Bed Bath & Beyond in Northridge. Then come the railroad men and feral cat activists.
L.A. Weekly |
Patrick Range McDonald |
07-31-2009 |
Culture
'Thirst' is Out to Impress Somebody With its Perverse Outragenew

Bad boy Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook gives himself away in the birthday party orgy of Thirst when Tae-ju, a tantrummy young housewife, gets her wish:The undead priest Sang-hyun punctures Taeju's arteries and makes her one of the unholy. It's a brat's dream come true.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
The Early Birds: New Mexico Pols Build Momentum for 2010new
With nearly 1.2 million registered voters in the state of New Mexico, it would take a statewide candidate 833 days working around the clock to spend a personal minute with each one of them. And you wonder why candidates are announcing more than a year ahead of the 2010 election.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Dave Maass |
07-31-2009 |
Politics
Environmentalists and Landowners Argue Over Who Owns New York's Riversnew
The public's right to navigate the more than 50,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 7500 ponds, lakes and reservoirs in New York state is hidden deep within a thicket of legalese, in the form of two state court opinions.
Seven Days |
Kirk Kardashian |
07-31-2009 |
Environment
State Budget Debacle: California Descendingnew
Some experts predict the state budget will quickly become unbalanced again, thanks to a persistently bad economy. But that didn't stop self-congratulations and posturing by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic majority leaders Karen Bass and Darrell Steinberg, and Republican minority leaders Dennis Hollingsworth and Sam Blakeslee, the so-called "big five" who worked out this latest budget.
L.A. Weekly |
Jill Stewart |
07-31-2009 |
Politics
'The Collector': A Nail in the Torture Porn Coffinnew
From the writer and director of Saw 4-6 comes this horror film about a handyman who tries to rob his employers' home but finds it rigged with a lethal maze.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
07-30-2009 |
Reviews
In 'Funny People,' A Master of Giggles Goes for Real Laughsnew
With this story about comedians, filmmaker Judd Apatow rewrites his own songbook in the key of James L. Brooks, a tricky mix of humor and heartfelt.
Austin Chronicle |
Kimberley Jones |
07-30-2009 |
Reviews
Syracuse New Times Founder Ken Simon Looks Backnew
It isn't a reach to boast that Simon helped invent the alternative press. When he started the paper as a brash 21-year-old senior at Syracuse University, it wasn't because similar tabloids were fledgling in Greenwich Village and San Francisco. It was because he could.
Syracuse New Times |
Molly English |
07-30-2009 |
Media
'The East, the West, and Sex': Orientalism Unleashednew
The East, the West, and Sex, which is organized both by time period and by country, examines the idea of masculine Western colonization creating an idealistic portrayal of Asian culture, particularly those aspects dealing with heterosexual eroticism.
Sacramento News & Review |
Kathleen Jercich |
07-30-2009 |
Nonfiction
Carleen Brice Challenges Readers to Stretch Their 'Must-Read' Listsnew

From her blog, "White Readers Meet Black Authors," to her genre-bending novels, Brice's writing is gaining momentum.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Jill Thomas |
07-30-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Down in the Dumps With the Trashcan Sinatrasnew

Scotland also has a more pastoral pop tradition. From '80s bands to more recent groups, these ambassadors can, in fact, be a pretty mopey bunch. And the Trashcan Sinatras are really no exception.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
07-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Orlando City Commissioners Get an Open Line of Credit ... Taxpayers Get the Billnew
If you had a $30,000 annual slush fund courtesy of someone else, what would you do? If you were Orlando city commissioner Daisy Lynum, you'd travel. A lot.
Orlando Weekly |
Jeffrey C. Billman and Billy Manes |
07-30-2009 |
Economy
Admit It: You Hate the Cops, Too
The Gates incident has illuminated some basic, strange assumptions about our society. Cops think they have a constitutional right to be treated deferentially. And black people think cops are nice to white people. Yeah, well, take it from a white guy: we don't like cops either.
Maui Time |
Ted Rall |
07-29-2009 |
Race & Class
Lawrence Summers is Googling While America Burnsnew
This animated cartoon mocks Lawrence Summers' remark that we can tell the economy is doing better because fewer people are Googling "economic collapse."
The English Beat Continues to Hone its Reggae/Punk Blendnew

The English Beat may have become a beloved footnote in the history of college music if a funny thing hadn't happened in the United States in the '90s: An entirely new generation of kids became enamored with the 2 Tone sound and started forming bands of their own.
Tucson Weekly |
Stephen Seigel |
07-29-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews