AltWeeklies Wire
This One-Man Crime Wave is Going a Hundred Miles Down a Dead-End Streetnew
Victor Arnold Gabler talks fast. Sitting behind a grille at the Adams County jail, he's asked to explain himself; two hours later, the story of his life has sprouted more subplots than the JFK assassination.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
12-21-2009 |
Crime & Justice
In 1959, Edmund Bacon Imagined in 50 Years, "No Part of Philadelphia is Depressed."new
The problem was not that Edmund Bacon cared only about design: it was that he believed far too deeply in its power. He relied on a model of physical determinism: the idea that manipulation and improvement of the built environment could strongly influence, or even control, social and economic outcomes.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Nathaniel Popkin |
12-21-2009 |
Housing & Development
In 'Precious,' Quite Possibly the Most Abusive Upbringing in Motion Picture Historynew
While there are certainly things about Precious one can’t help but admire, I’m not so sure about the picture overall. I don’t quite see, for example, the point of conjuring this vision of a girl in hell; of creating a character just to put her through it.
Seven Days |
Rick Kisonak |
12-18-2009 |
Reviews
Fruitcake, That Traditional Holiday Brick, Need Not Be Inedible: Try This Onenew
There's only one fruitcake in the entire world, right? Wrong. Here’s a recipe for an entirely edible fruitcake, made more delicious with a side serving of creole whiskey sauce, and some egg nogg to wash it down.
Artvoice |
Katherine O'Day |
12-18-2009 |
Food+Drink
Murky Waters: Memphis is Dumping Sewage into the Mississippinew
A city plant is discharging sewage into local rivers and streams, and the Tennessee Clean Water Network, an independent environmental advocacy group based in Knoxville, has filed notice of its intent to sue the city over violations of the Clean Water Act.
The Memphis Flyer |
Bianca Phillips |
12-18-2009 |
Environment
Penelope Cruz on Almodovar and 'Broken Embraces'new
“The first time I worked with him, I was a whore giving birth in a bus. Then, a nun that gets pregnant from a transvestite. Every time I have my moment of ‘Really, isn’t this going to be too much? How are we going to make this believable?’ And then, he does it. Every single time.”
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
12-18-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Is it Possible 'The Road' Isn't Grim Enough?new
Wanting the movie version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road to be even more bleak may sound like the ultimate in moviegoer masochism—thank you, sir, may I have another cannibal holocaust?
Nashville Scene |
Jim Ridley |
12-18-2009 |
Reviews
Crossing Over: When a Calligrapher Meets a Graffiti Artistnew
One afternoon, Lisa Engelbrecht invited Jose Martinez and his crew to her house, on the east side of Long Beach. They spray-painted a fence in her backyard. When two street artists collaborate, she saw, they don’t speak. They just paint, in a kind of dance.
L.A. Weekly |
Gendy Alimurung |
12-18-2009 |
Art
'Nine': Rob Marshall Tries to Connect the Dance Numbersnew
An assault on the senses from every conceivable direction—smash zooms, the earsplitting eruption of something like music, the spectacle of a creature called Kate Hudson—Nine thrashes about in search of “cinema” the way a child thrown into the deep end of a pool flails for a flotation device.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
12-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Avatar': On Top of a Distant Worldnew
As we sit in the darkened cinema (or, increasingly, in our living rooms), so much of what is clearly meant to dazzle us feels like a demonstration more than an application, an elaborate demo reel in search of meaning and purpose. James Cameron returns to bridge the gap.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
12-18-2009 |
Reviews
LAPD Audit: New Chief Releases a Report Showing Broad Mismanagementnew
The city may not be as safe as the 1950s like Bill Bratton often boasted, but apparently the bookkeeping by the Los Angeles Police Department is “stuck” in that decade, and a new and embarrassing audit is roiling City Hall—by explaining how bad things really are.
L.A. Weekly |
Patrick Range McDonald and Christine Pelisek |
12-18-2009 |
Economy
The New Gay Romance, By and For Straight Womennew
One evening, a small crowd gathers at the Hustler Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard for a reading of James Buchanan’s new romance novel, Personal Demons. In the book, a gay FBI agent is about to make love to his boyfriend, an LAPD officer.
L.A. Weekly |
Gendy Alimurung |
12-18-2009 |
Books
A Reporter Uncovered a Scandal at the City Jail: How Nothing (Almost) Happenednew
Complaints languished about the city jail until last fall, when the city and the court finally asked the police department’s Internal Affairs to take them over. What made the city do the right thing? A story that never saw the light of day.
San Antonio Current |
Elaine Wolff |
12-17-2009 |
Media
Foreclose on the Banks
It was widely understood at the time that the federal government expected looser credit markets in exchange for the bailout. Obviously Obama should have gotten it in writing. But oral contracts are just as legally binding as written ones.
FDA Late to Fight Rampant Abuse of OxyContinnew
An estimated 70 percent of Central Coast heroin addicts start out on pharmaceuticals like OxyContin. Now, after widespread abuse, the FDA is looking to clamp down on drug makers. For Stefan R., a recovering addict, the efforts are too little, too late.
Good Times Santa Cruz |
Curtis Cartier |
12-17-2009 |
Drugs
