AltWeeklies Wire
Israel Must Make Peace with Neighborsnew
The war against Hamas in Gaza looks more and more like the three-week Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, which could hardly be called a success. It will last about as long. It will kill about as many Arabs, probably a thousand or so. And it will end with Hamas, like Hezbollah, still able to fire rockets at Israel.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
01-13-2009 |
International
Sam Mendes Takes Aim at the Suburbs Again and Gratingly Misses the Marknew
Screenwriter Justin Haythe and director Sam Mendes are so intent on hammering home the bleak message of Richard Yates' source novel about an unhappy couple caught in the conformist suburbs that they make even Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet blank, bland, and blobby.
Baltimore City Paper |
Geoffrey Himes |
01-13-2009 |
Reviews
In Defense of Tuna Casserolenew

I really love tuna casserole, not just as a food but as a concept, and that apparently relegates me to a very cozy minority. The stigma attached to it still puzzles me, especially considering most people I know don't remember what it tastes like, or have ever actually eaten it. With recipe for Salmon Casserole.
Baltimore City Paper |
Henry Hong |
01-13-2009 |
Food+Drink
Can Jim MacMillan's iPhone Save Journalism?new
MacMillan, who left the Daily News in September after 17 years, has transformed himself into a oneāman band of Philadelphia journalism.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Joel Mathis |
01-13-2009 |
Media
With Domestic Violence on the Rise, Baltimore Finds New Ways to Help its Victimsnew
This year, a new Family Crimes Unit was created in the Baltimore Police Department to investigate domestic-violence cases. And Mercy Medical Center has new technology that is helping to document abuse. Both aim to help women (and men) get out of abusive relationships before they become deadly. It's not an easy goal to meet.
Baltimore City Paper |
Anna Ditkoff |
01-13-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Tasherre D'Enajetic's Committed, If Not Possessednew
The Detroit emcee made plans last year to record 52 songs -- roughly four complete albums in CD terms -- in as many weeks, or a year. At press time, he's halfway toward his goal.
Metro Times |
William E. Ketchum III |
01-13-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: hip-hop, Tasherre D'Enajetic
On American Campuses, Esperanto is an Extracurricular Languagenew

A recent Tuesday night meeting of the MIT Esperanto Club attracted four bookish-looking guys, chatting confidently in a language that sounds not unlike some weird mashed-up version of the Romances, with a dash of something possibly Slavic.
Boston Phoenix |
Eva Wolchover |
01-12-2009 |
Education
Oprah's Book Club is Dumbing Down Readers and Rewarding Mediocrity

Readers who rely on popular hype to choose books often come away disappointed. A few may decide to deep deeper, but most won't. Burned readers become non-readers.
Marty Finkel is Chasing the Melodiesnew
Finkel's new album The Good Life is a collection of 14 alt-country and rock songs that establishes him as one of the best new music artists in Madison.
Isthmus |
Rich Albertoni |
01-12-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Good Life, Marty Finkel
Winter Brews to Take the Chill Awaynew
The beers of winter are lush and vivid in appearance, aroma and flavor. Special wintertime brews can be traced well beyond the advent of the Christian calendar. During the celebrations of Winter Solstice special drinks, including beer, coincided with merrymaking and the change in season.
Isthmus |
Robin Shepard |
01-12-2009 |
Food+Drink
Galveston and the Texas Gulf Coast Struggle After Hurricane Ikenew

While Katrina's destruction of New Orleans monopolized the eyes of the country and the world for weeks in 2005, Galveston was not as fortunate.
Dallas Observer |
John Nova Lomax |
01-12-2009 |
Disasters
'Don't Stop' Looks at Karaoke's Democratization of Musicnew
Despite his book's limitations, it's hard to disagree with Brian Raftery's basic proposition: Skill is overrated, and the music stars or publishing houses who own the big hits tend to be overpaid.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
01-12-2009 |
Nonfiction
It's Hard to Assign Blame in Seattle Club Shootingsnew
Whether blame was being aimed at Chop Suey, Big Kountry Entertainment, the city's lack of attention to a purportedly growing gang-activity problem, or the music itself, grief quickly manifested itself as cries for culpability. Few viewed it as a failure of club security, but many theories abound when looking closer at the root of the tragedy.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
01-12-2009 |
Music
If Parkour Ever Takes Off, Michael 'Frosti' Zernow Could be One of its First Starsnew
Thousands of people are believed to practice parkour in the US, and Frosti is one of the most widely recognized. At five-foot-eight with a sinewy build, multiethnic features, and short black hair that's often pushed into a fauxhawk, he has a distinctive look.
Chicago Reader |
Rich Knight |
01-12-2009 |
Sports
In Life and Death, Tattoo Artist Kauri Tiyme Made Her Marknew
Kauri was an artist. She put ink under people's skin and transformed them. In many ways, she was her own finest achievement. Not just the tattoos; she had made her own body a canvas for others, but anyone can do that. What she did was much edgier, more daring. She changed her name, her identity, her ideas as she saw fit.
Westword |
Alan Prendergast |
01-12-2009 |
Crime & Justice