AltWeeklies Wire
'Sita Sings the Blues' is a Rare Jewelnew
This adult-oriented animation rarely feels like a gimmick and never appears cheap. It would be a tragedy if this bold retelling of the Ramayana were to disappear into the deep and fragmented history of its innumerable ancestors.
Boise Weekly |
Jeremiah Wierenga |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Deer Tick Channels Country & Classic Rock Rootsnew
For a relatively new band, ass-kicking expectations are high. Recently, Deer Tick was named the No. 1 act to claw through the chaos at SXSW 2009 by Rolling Stone, and NBC newscaster Brian Williams selected them to appear on his Web-only show, BriTunes.
Boise Weekly |
Tara Morgan |
06-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Marriage: Turning a Tradition into a Rightnew
Same-sex couples in Idaho take a road trip to say "We do." If and when Idaho will recognize same-sex marriage is anyone's guess, although one statistician predicts that it could happen as soon as 2011. Local LGBT activists and lawmakers think that may be a bit ambitious.
Boise Weekly |
Rachael Daigle |
06-17-2009 |
LGBT
How the Energy Industry is Moving Out of the Dark Agesnew
The energy revolution doesn't hinge on technological discovery. Indeed, the vast majority of technology it will draw on has existed for years, if not decades. The energy revolution is about something much more difficult to change: our own human behavior.
Metro Spirit |
Matt Spaur |
06-17-2009 |
Environment
Cary Cronenwett's 'Maggots and Men' (Re)stages a Revolutionnew
Set in a mythologized postrevolutionary Russia but based on actual historical events, Maggots marshals early Soviet cinema, the gutter erotics of Jean Genet, and what at times seems like a transgender cast of thousands to build its case for the necessity of queer utopias.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Matt Sussman |
06-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Schoo's Out Forever At Two Oregon Jailsnew
Mount Hood Community College -- the community partner that has led GED classes at Inverness Jail and the Multnomah County Detention Center for nearly 10 years -- is ending its GED program as it grapples with a tight budget.
Willamette Week |
Beth Slovic |
06-17-2009 |
Crime & Justice
How Oregon's Largest Teachers Union Helped Shape Charter Schools Billnew
Online charter school supporters have obtained emails between a lobbyist for the state's teachers union and an Oregon Department of Education staff attorney. Those emails, they say, show that the lawyer for the ostensibly neutral state agency tinkered with a bill to serve the union's interests and contradicted written instructions from Oregon State Board of Education chairman Duncan Wyse.
Willamette Week |
Nigel Jaquiss |
06-17-2009 |
Education
Is West Texas' Water Supply at Risk of Radioactive Contamination?new
For years, Waste Control has touted its 1,300-acre dump site as nearly geologically perfect for containing radioactive waste for tens of thousands of years. The company’s primary selling point has been what it calls the "almost impenetrable red bed clay" in which the waste will be buried. But the red bed is leaking.
The Texas Observer |
Forrest Wilder |
06-17-2009 |
Environment
'Treeless Mountain' is an Exception to the Sentimental Rulenew
Korean-American director So Yong Kim's semi-autobiographical film has a premise especially ripe for mawkishness. But it evades schmaltz, in no small part because the Korean actresses themselves are so resolutely dry-eyed.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: So Yong Kim, Treeless Mountain
Toshio Hirano, the Tokyo Yodelernew
Hirano is a poorly kept secret who nonetheless provokes the protective nature of his followers. The night I was at Amnesia, one young fan showed concern that I would increase Hirano's exposure, shaking his head and saying, "But he's our local treasure."
SF Weekly |
Jennifer Maerz |
06-17-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Toshio Hirano
Have San Francisco's Service Animal Laws Gone to the Dogs?new
In San Francisco, snakes, lizards, pit bulls, chickens, pigeons, and rodents have all been declared service animals, hauled onto public transportation, housed legally in city apartments, and, essentially, given the full run of the city.
SF Weekly |
Joe Eskenazi |
06-17-2009 |
Animal Issues
Post-'Multiplicity' Michael Keaton: Sadder, Wisernew
The Merry Gentleman is nearly an excellent three-way character study of isolation and regret within the confines of a muted crime plot. But Keaton, as superb as he is with actors (most likely owing to his being an underrated actor himself), doesn't have the directorial delicacy to balance it.
Willamette Week |
Alex Peterson |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Matt Gone Hated His Ailing Body ... Then He Drew On Itnew
Gone says 98 percent of him is tattooed, the only exception being his palms and gums because it would be painful and difficult to tattoo both areas. So, is he just an attention whore? Decide for yourself, but realize that without his tattoos, Gone says his life would be lonely.
Willamette Week |
Katie Litvin |
06-17-2009 |
Culture
Ali Sethi's Debut Novel is a Hitnew
For anyone wishing to write about Pakistan, a well-developed perspective is essential. Auspiciously, the perspective in The Wish Maker is its great victory.
Willamette Week |
John Minervini |
06-17-2009 |
Fiction
Rachel Greenwald Lays Out Common Reasons 'He Didn't Call You Back'new
I was prepared to dislike Rachel Greenwald's book Why He Didn't Call You Back, which outlines the results of 1,000 "exit interviews" she conducted with men who never initiated second dates. Surprisingly, I'll recommend this book to all of my clients.
C-Ville Weekly |
Marya Choby |
06-17-2009 |
Nonfiction
