AltWeeklies Wire
Ricky Jay's Sleight of Handnew

To call Ricky Jay a "magician" is like calling Leonardo a portrait painter. Esteemed among his peers as one of the finest sleight-of-hand artists in the world, Jay is also a recognized scholar in the motley history of illusionists, cardsharps, and con men.
Boston Phoenix |
Jon Garelick |
04-02-2009 |
Performance
Questioning Post-Roid Baseballnew

Steroids continue to plague the sport's image. The economy, too, has been as kind to the game as a screaming Big Papi foul ball is to a slow-reacting fan's unprotected mug. Here are nine questions worth mulling over for the game we love.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
04-02-2009 |
Sports
The 100 Unsexiest Men of 2009new
The Boston Phoenix's fourth annual losers list, this year topped by the biggest blowhard in America. Here at Phoenix Unsexy Headquarters, unsexiness is defined by gypping jillions out of charities or punching your girlfriend or yelling at your cinematographer.
Boston Phoenix |
Phoenix Staff |
03-26-2009 |
Comedy
Tags: Unsexiest Men of 2009, commentary
Latkes vs. Hamantash at MITnew
An annual debate pits six MIT academics in a battle to determine the superior Jewish treat — the three-cornered pastry made with a variety of fillings or the fried potato pancake.
Boston Phoenix |
Ian Sands |
03-12-2009 |
Food+Drink
Richard Goodwin's Universal Stage Shownew
JFK speechwriter and Renaissance man Richard Goodwin explores the roots of today's religious wars by channeling 17th-century anti-hero Galileo in a play called Two Men of Florence.
Boston Phoenix |
Sara Faith Alterman |
03-05-2009 |
Theater
How Weird Is Stephon Marbury?new

Brace yourselves, Boston, for the Starbury show, starring Stephon Marbury -- perhaps the strangest pro-athlete ever to suit up in a Celtics uniform.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
03-05-2009 |
Sports
Paul Proulx: Banned from YouTubenew
The Boston-based video editor has built a following by paying homage to Hollywood's coolest directors online. So why is YouTube all up in his grill?
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
02-19-2009 |
Tech
Robert Crumb's Return to the Undergroundnew
Rembrandt and Durer explored faith; Crumb, with the help of some psychedelics, opens the doors of perception to the infinite. Same difference.
Boston Phoenix |
Greg Cook |
02-05-2009 |
Art
Tags: Robert Crumb, comic art
Shepard Fairey Talks Imaging, Obama, and Handcuffsnew
For the past 20 years, Shepard Fairey has stickered, wheatpasted, and postered the streets of cities all over the world.
Boston Phoenix |
Evan J. Garza |
01-30-2009 |
Art
Tags: street art, Shepard Fairey
Hip-Hop Mamas from the Suburbsnew
These ladies aren't rapping, scratching records, or writing graffiti (not yet, at least), but they are preserving the art of — no shit, really — breakdancing.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
01-30-2009 |
Performance
Stacy Keach Finds Sympathy for the Devilnew
“He was Satan personified,” says Stacy Keach, who has signed on to play our second-worst commander in chief in the national tour of Frost/Nixon.
Boston Phoenix |
Jim Sullivan |
01-22-2009 |
Theater
Busting Balls: 20 Ways To Improve Sportsnew
We blow the whistle on the ridiculous rules and quirks that make the games lame.
Boston Phoenix |
Lance Gould |
01-09-2009 |
Sports
2008: The Year of the Nerdnew

Barack Obama collects Spider-Man comics and knows how to communicate with Vulcans. But in a year when many a dashing high-school quarterback and perfect prom queen got wedgies from the freaks and geeks, its really no surprise he was elected.
Boston Phoenix |
Ryan Stewart |
12-29-2008 |
Commentary
The Return of 'The Slutcracker'new
The Boston-based burlesque troupe's Nutcracker send-up was more amazing than anybody expected. So they're back for more shows. (Video included.)
Boston Phoenix |
Sara Faith Alterman |
12-18-2008 |
Theater
Two Boston Architects Launch an Effort to Immortalize the Wristwatchnew
Keith Moskow and Robert Linn, principals of the Boston architectural firm Moskow Linn, have launched the Thousand Watch Project in hope of creating a monument that will prove -- wait for it -- timeless.
Boston Phoenix |
Georgiana Cohen |
12-18-2008 |
Culture