AltWeeklies Wire
How Arnold Schwarzenegger Is Using the Budget Crisis to Wreck California's Futurenew
Schwarzenegger sees himself as a man with bold, sometimes even liberal ideas who is forced to propose massive budget cuts as a result of a broken government and a deadlocked legislature. The reality the governor is attempting to hide is much different.
Random Lengths News |
Robert Cruickshank |
07-18-2009 |
Commentary
My Beef With The Editor Of The L.A. Times Book Reviewnew
Writer, thinker, and cultural critic Lionel Rolfe reflects on L.A.'s literary scene and the slow death of the Los Angeles Times.
Random Lengths News |
Lionel Rolfe |
07-17-2009 |
Books
Grotesqueries In Our Groceriesnew
Food, Inc. may not uncover any new information, but it's a stomach-turning indictment of the unnatural American diet.
SEE Magazine |
Luke De Smet |
07-17-2009 |
Reviews
The Teacher Who Became A Dominatrixnew
A few years into her Ph.D., Madalyn White (not her real name) became disenchanted with the academic life -- largely because she hated making $1,200 a month as a sessional instructor and was tired of the publish-or-perish grind. So White made a career change. After more than 10 years in academics, White became a dominatrix.
SEE Magazine |
Marliss Weber |
07-17-2009 |
Culture
That Old Black Potter Magic Continues to Beguile in 'Half-Blood Prince'new
Going a few shades blacker than 2007's already funereal Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this penultimate Potterpicture includes the firebombing of a series regular's home, an episode of demonic possession that wouldn't look out of place in an Exorcist movie, and multiple attempts on the life of Harry himself. The greater threat, however, is those unseen forces that compete for the hearts and minds of impressionable boy wizards.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
07-17-2009 |
Reviews
Buddyhead Redux: L.A.'s Most Loved and Feared Music Website is Backnew
Travis Keller describes the origins of Buddyhead's notorious "take no prisoners" gossip column, his record label, and why it went quiet in 2005. He then digs into the details of his latest project, creating Buddyhead 2.0.
L.A. Weekly |
Erin Broadley |
07-17-2009 |
Music
The Economy of Las Vegas' Dining Scene Remains Strongnew
Only the stodgiest observer will hesitate to call Vegas a great restaurant city. It is a food destination, one constructed in unique haste without the strongest foundation. Could it all come crumbling down in this economic free fall? Nope.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Brock Radke |
07-17-2009 |
Food+Drink
L.A.'s Yawning Loophole for Pot Dispensaries Spawns a Woodstock Economynew
In 2005, every city in California was busy adopting ordinances to allow for medical-marijuana storefronts while keeping out the bad actors and illegal peddlers. But the Los Angeles City Council couldn't get it done.
L.A. Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
07-17-2009 |
Drugs
Life And Death on the Pajaro River Leveenew
Hidden along the banks of the Pajaro River in the brush and high grass, you'll find the casitas -- little houses -- built from tarps, bungee cords, tree limbs and blankets, constructed and tended to by a chronically homeless population of monolingual Spanish speakers.
Good Times Santa Cruz |
Jessica Lussenhop |
07-17-2009 |
Housing & Development
New Book Looks at How Billy Graham Shook Up the Solid Southnew
Billy Graham played a key role in shaping the American political landscape of the second half of the 20th century, as confidante to presidents and adviser on domestic issues (particularly civil rights) and foreign policy (Communism and the Cold War).
INDY Week |
John Sinclair |
07-17-2009 |
Nonfiction
'70s Commune Band YaHoWha 13 Opens the Fold With a Drag City Collectionnew
Magnificence offers nine vital tracks that touch on garagey psych-pop, ritualized jamming, improvised noise and frantic chanting. The band may follow its own logic, but it's a committed one, roughly like a spiritualized version of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band.
INDY Week |
Marc Masters |
07-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Why the Health Care Lobby Opposes the Public Optionnew
As a caravan rolled to Washington, Health Care for America Now's message about the incredibly complicated legislation had been reduced to one simple message: Whatever emerged, the bill must contain the strong public insurance option that Obama proposed -- and the private insurers, in league with the Republicans, were trying to kill.
Jenny Owen Youngs' Latest Album is a Charming 'Failure'new
Transmitter Failure is richly layered, confessional ballads snuggling up to wry admissions, strings that sweep sharing space with ukuleles that chirp, but Jenny Owen Youngs' voice is the eye of the lush, poppy hurricane.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
'Harry Potter': There's No Place Like Hogwartsnew
Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves occasionally coast on fans' intense familiarity with J.K. Rowling's novel, but for the most part they do well with Prince, a satisfying, somber yet funny story which carefully sets the stage for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
The Surprising Disappointment of 'Bruno'new
Borat offended us with an ignorance so profound the ignorant found it sympathetic, inspiring them to reveal their prejudice. Bruno, on the other hand, is an archly superior fashionista nearly equal in stupidity to Borat but nowhere near as sweet.
Eugene Weekly |
Jason Blair |
07-16-2009 |
Reviews
