AltWeeklies Wire
Virginia Organizing Project Fights for Ex-Con Voting Rightsnew
A recent speeding ticket set back Harold Folley's efforts to regain his voting rights, 15 years after he was released from prison. He's trying to help other ex-cons navigate Virginia's byzantine restoration process.
C-Ville Weekly |
Chiara Canzi |
01-14-2009 |
Politics
Biopic 'Notorious' Has Biggie-Sized Moral Lessonsnew

It's not acting that makes Notorious a miss. It's that the plot lines are convoluted, the genre's cliches are in full effect (from audio flashbacks to magazine-cover montages), and the whole thing screams both "Too soon!" and "Too innocent!"
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
01-14-2009 |
Reviews
Is Nonalcoholic Wine For Real?new
The problem with wine is that if you heat it to remove the alcohol, you end up damaging all of the stuff that isn't alcohol, precisely the stuff you want to keep.
C-Ville Weekly |
J. Tobias Beard |
01-14-2009 |
Food+Drink
How a Mother of Two Ended Up in a Plot to Smuggle High-Tech Gear to Irannew

Shahrzad Mir Gholikhan maintains that she became accidentally caught up in her shady ex-husband's international plot. The feds have a different theory: That she was an operative of the Iranian government working to put U.S. security at risk.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Deirdra Funcheon |
01-13-2009 |
International
Hollywood Heartthrob: How a Lucky Break and a Lot of Cash Made the Bandnew
The day he won a huge raffle, Ted Myers called his bandmates and told them not to worry about money anymore. He had an investor who would pay for everything.
Phoenix New Times |
Niki D'Andrea |
01-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Ask a Mexican: Cursing Kiddies, Dancing Gabachos, y Mucho Mas!new
A special four-pregunta edition.
Tags: language, humor & satire
The Best Tribute Bands to Never Existnew
What of the many acts that, for one reason or another, will never merit the tribute-band treatment? Let's travel to a thoroughly unhip parallel universe and check out the greatest tribute bands to (hopefully) never exist.
What Obama's Secretary of Agriculture Pick Means for the Future of U.S. Farmingnew

Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is a fan of biotech and ethanol. But he also palled around with Monsanto executives, and he may be pro-cow cloning.
Weekly Alibi |
Ari LeVaux |
01-13-2009 |
Food+Drink
'The Grocer's Son' is a Pastoral Respite from the Larger Conflicts of the Worldnew
The real stars of the movie are the crusty rustics in the background. Writer-director Eric Guirado reportedly spent months observing a passing way of life in this region before turning the locals into actors, and the effect is less predictable than is the central story.
The Georgia Straight |
Ken Eisner |
01-13-2009 |
Reviews
Why Philly Needs to Appropriate the Legacy of Edgar Allan Poenew
Goodbye Ben Franklin, goodbye Rocky. It's time for a new figure to represent everything good and bad about our city. One in whom we can see both our dreams and nightmares. It's time for Philly to embrace its inner-Gothic self and celebrate Edgar Allan Poe.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Edward Pettit |
01-13-2009 |
History
There's Nothing Redeeming About 'The Unborn'new
As soon as The Unborn's end credits started to roll, a guy seated two rows down from me at the promotional screening declared: "That sucked!" I couldn't have said it better myself.
The Georgia Straight |
Steve Newton |
01-13-2009 |
Reviews
'Prince of Persia' Looks Handsome but Proves Uninspiringnew
First and foremost, if you're a fan of the previous Prince of Persia titles, stay clear of the latest one. Not only does this new game start its plot from "the beginning," but things aren't explained very well.
The Georgia Straight |
Wyatt Fossett |
01-13-2009 |
Video Games
Tags: video games, Prince of Persia
Snowstorms Don't Mean Climate Change Threat Has Passednew
Andrew Weaver, a lead author with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, explained that whenever a cold streak hits, some people question accepted theories of climate change and grow skeptical about global warming. But a few days of snow does not mean that the Earth is not getting warmer. "People mix up weather and climate," Weaver says.
The Georgia Straight |
Travis Lupick |
01-13-2009 |
Environment
How Slot Machines Are Secretly Designed to Seduce and Destroy Younew

Slots-only gambling parlors located in highly populated areas are precisely the model that Foxwoods and SugarHouse casinos hope to replicate in Philadelphia. Gov. Ed Rendell and others have portrayed slots as a safe medium. The opposite is true.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
01-13-2009 |
Economy
Family-Owned Farms Get Creative When Winter Comesnew
In the winter, the frenetic pace of summer and fall on a family-owned fruit farm winds down. Gone are the lengthy days of pruning and picking and the tiring drives from central Pennsylvania to Philly and back, bringing fruit to market.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Dan Packel |
01-13-2009 |
Food+Drink