AltWeeklies Wire
Should Portland Mayor Sam Adams Stay or Should He Go?new
Are any big-name Portlanders besides Tom Potter's wife signing the recall petition? We ask Beau Breedlove and many others.
Willamette Week |
Henry Stern |
08-12-2009 |
Politics
The YouTube-ification of Public-Access TV in San Francisco is About to Beginnew
California has joined some 20 states in largely letting cable companies off the hook for funding public-access TV. Dozens of cities have lost their stations altogether, and in San Francisco, the operating budget has been hacked to a fifth of its former level. And the old cast of kooky cable programmers doesn't like it one bit.
The Aliens in 'District 9' Aren't Very Sharp ... the Director Thinks You Aren't, Eithernew
I have faith that Neill Blomkamp will one day make a film that's a marvel from beginning to end. The question is whether he can muster the necessary faith in us. We're smart enough for you, Blomkamp. Take your best shot.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: District 9, Neill Blomkamp
Is the Hutto Decision Really a Victory for Immigration-Rights Advocates?new
The government announced earlier this month that no more undocumented-immigrant families (especially families with small children) will be imprisoned at the for-profit T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. How big -- or small -- a victory this is for immigration-reform advocates is still a matter of debate.
San Antonio Current |
Enrique Lopetegui |
08-12-2009 |
Crime & Justice
The Ancient Sorcery in 'Ponyo' is Exceptionally Suited to the Very Youngnew
For the first time since early Hayao Miyazaki works like My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, it is possible to bring your preschoolers to the theater without fear of frightening them.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
For Slayer, 30 is the New 666new
It's hard to imagine, but Slayer -- hailed as one of the greatest metal bands of all time -- is quickly approaching 30.
San Antonio Current |
Josh Fernandez |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'In the Loop' is a Dark Satire for Dark Daysnew
Taking his cue from The Office, Armando Iannucci delivers a deliciously corrosive backstage view of the Iraq War years, as Brits and Yanks danced around what they knew was a foregone conclusion of their own making.
San Antonio Current |
Jeff Meyers |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
The Biggest Problem With 'Funny Books' is Also the Hardest to Criticizenew
Complaining that this film, which follows the lives of three comic-book-store employees, makes too many geek references is like griping about the gratuitous hardcore sex in Deep Throat.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Funny Books, James Christopher
Radio Nowhere Trades Physical Dollars for Digital Dimesnew
After his band's popularity waned, Mike Baker began using social networking to write his music and build a buzz.
East Bay Express |
Eric Rubin |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Is Economic Recovery Money Helping San Diego Businesses?new
The combination of tax cuts and direct government spending is supposed make consumers spend and businesses invest, creating a multiplier effect that would boost the economy. Using a database of stimulus spending compiled by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, we called businesses receiving stimulus dollars and asked them what they were doing with their money.
San Diego CityBeat |
Eric Wolff |
08-12-2009 |
Economy
'Soul Power': Papa's Got a Brand-New Documentarynew
The footage assembled for Soul Power was shot by four cameramen, and it reflects Albert Maysles' "direct cinema" movement, that philosophy of keeping documentaries immersed in the moment. But when that moment has been excavated from the stratum of 35 years, it attains an immense poignancy.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
John Bassett McCleary's 'Hippie Dictionary' Captures Peace & Love for Posteritynew
At first, McCleary says, "The Hippie Dictionary sounded almost like an oxymoron." Yet the more he thought about it, the more he realized that "many new and exciting words and emotions were developed during this profound period of time."
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
08-12-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Pissed Jeans Shed Office Life With Controlled Aggressionnew
Some people relieve 9-to-5 desperation by smashing the office printer with a baseball bat or, say, blowing up the corporate headquarters of credit-card companies with homemade dynamite. Pissed Jeans plays music -- delirious, fast and loud.
San Diego CityBeat |
Nathan Dinsdale |
08-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: King of Jeans, Pissed Jeans
The Founder of Bitch Magazine Brings Her Feminist Sensibility to a New Cookbooknew
For Lisa Jervis' first single-author book -- recently released on PM Press -- she took a surprising turn: She published a cooking manual. Or, to put it more accurately, Jervis published a "manualfesto."
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-12-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Will the Border Patrol Use Hurricane Evacuations to Snag Undocumented Immigrants?new
If a violent hurricane hits South Texas, 150,000 undocumented immigrants will want to flee the Rio Grande Valley. But U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints might keep them from evacuating.
The Texas Observer |
Kevin Sieff |
08-12-2009 |
Disasters
