AltWeeklies Wire
Place Value: All that separates The Rocker and is star powernew
Hamlet 2 works better than The Rocker, because it actually takes star power to play a guy who doesn't have any.
Charleston City Paper |
Scott Renshaw |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Madden Match: Brett the Jet is the New Curse of the Gamenew
Electronic Arts surely thought they had finally found a can't-miss dodge to the legendary Madden Curse — you know, the maybe-it's-really-true phenomenon that holds that any athlete who appears on the cover of videogaming's most-hyped annual franchise is sure to suffer a career-altering injury (Daunte Culpepper, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb) criminal ignominy (Ray Lewis, Michael Vick again), or a stinkbomb season (Vince Young).
Charleston City Paper |
Aaron R. Conklin |
08-20-2008 |
Video Games
Tags: video games
Blackface vs. Black Faces: It's the claim of authenticity that's truly offensivenew
It isn't the act of painting the hands and face black that's offensive and harmful. It's the claim of authenticity that goes along with that act, the assumption that something real and true is being represented when someone darkens his face, paints on a huge red mouth, and shucks and jives on a stage. So Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer is offensive, as is C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man. But so is Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan, Terence Howard in Hustle & Flow, and 50 Cent on any given day.
Charleston City Paper |
Conseula Francis |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Ben Stiller, Tropic Thunder
The Bollywood Connection: Local company ReelSports, like Sylvester Stallone and Snoop Dogg, is on the vangaurd of India's global ascentnew
What's fueling this fusion of East and West? Partly the desire of Westerners to seize the opportunity to work in an interesting and hospitable environment. Far more important, though, has been the desire of Bollywood to impress Western audiences and to make larger forays into savvy and lucrative Western markets.
Charleston City Paper |
Dan McCue |
08-20-2008 |
Movies
Tags: Chakde! India, Shimit Amin
Food Plays a Starring Role in Russian Emigre's New Short Story Collectionnew
Food, like music, can bring you back to a moment in time. For the cast of Broccoli, the smell and taste of spinach or memories of puffed rice help them relive their Russian past and hold on to a piece of their heritage.
Charleston City Paper |
Alison Sher |
08-20-2008 |
Fiction
How an Englishman Became America's Most Fearsome Book Criticnew
Normally a literary assassin, New Yorker book critic James Wood proves he's a softie at heart in his new book How Fiction Works.
Charleston City Paper |
John Freeman |
08-20-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Funny Munnys: What is It About Vinyl Toys That Gets Everyone So Excited?new
Just about any artist can take the Munny, a chubby doll with an oversized head and cartoonish ears, and turn it into a unique character, a diminutive reflection of his tastes and sensibilities. What is surprising is the childhood glee that burns in the eyes of someone who has just opened a box containing one of these three-dimensional canvases.
Charleston City Paper |
Kevin Murphy |
08-20-2008 |
Art
Tags: visual arts
Some Things are Rotten in 'Hamlet 2,' but Not Steve Coogannew
Coogan is the master of center-stage asshattery. In place of an arrogant blowhard, Coogan is reduced to the drama teacher who cares a little too much and is painfully oblivious to the way his effeminate enthusiasm alienates his students.
Willamette Week |
Saundra Sorenson |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Andrew Fleming, Hamlet 2
Doubledutch Aims for Psychedelic Soulnew
While things never get too creepy, the mostly slow- to mid-tempo pace of the songs and warmth of the recordings definitely take Alicia Keys' catalog to heart.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
The Valiant Arms Sound Like Old-school Portlandnew
One can find traces of legendary Portland outfits like Hazel and the Crabs in the Arms' (whose first release was, unsurprisingly, a Crabs tribute) new disc, Blue Skies and a Clean Getaway--from the punk-paced snare hits to the rumbling, pumped-up low end and cleanly enunciated vocals.
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Why Can't Khadija Go to Mosque?new
Khadija could be a star spokeswoman for Muslims if they wanted to show off Islam's teachings of peace and acceptance. Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, the imam of Masjed As-Saber, won't let Khadija back in his Southwest Portland mosque because Khadija is transgendered.
Willamette Week |
Byron Beck |
08-20-2008 |
LGBT
The Walkmen Perfect Their Own Stripped-down Post-bender-rocknew
The bare-bones drone that defined previous albums’ least accessible tracks still forms the basis for many of the songs on their latest release, but the edges have been smoothed with a warm and fuzzy vintage sound.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Fast Furious Free Downloadable Book Series Delivers Sketchy Materialnew
Jury: Welcome to the Special Power and Lil' Craze Going on in South America, the first two books released in the Magic Propaganda Mill's new series, are "written, researched, illustrated, designed and published" in less than two weeks.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
08-20-2008 |
Original Work
How to ChaChanew
How to make a little cash on the side by answering random questions on the internet.
Seven Days |
Bridget M. Burns |
08-20-2008 |
Tech
Jeff Hanson Moves Forward with Third Albumnew
The low-profile Minnesotan is prepared to make a splash nationally.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Myers |
08-20-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
