Take on Takeover
More to come soon in these parts, but as a quick little ping to your brain-parts: last month, the New Yorker’s Sasha Frere-Jones had this to say about Pittsburgh’s Takeover UK. SFJ, whom I like as a writer but disagree with often enough, has pretty much the opposite take on them as compared with mine;…
Dan Onorato: a tale of two fundraising efforts
The big question for Dan Onorato’s gubernatorial aspirations these days is: Can his strength as a politician outweigh his star-crossed record as an official? As we all know, last week Onorato was dealt a setback in his efforts to use drink-tax revenue to pay for county public-works projects. Bar owners and other critics pointed out…
First Night
First Night is always part recap, part scouting session: stuff you missed all year plus early versions of what’s to come. Some of the performers are predictably booked — we seem likely to get Amish Monkeys and Pure Gold until that last, eternal ball drops on us — but the First Night cross-section I saw…
Taking the “Dailey” out of my daily newspaper
Post-Gazette columnist Ruth Ann Dailey has taken a buyout deal offered by management of the cash-strapped paper. Dailey’s fans need not despair entirely. For now, at least, she will continue to file her column on a freelance basis. (UPDATE: I’m told this assertion is a “bit premature.”) But she has already cut down on her…
Hello 2009!
Deliciously bad TV broke out of the gate early in 2009, literally as the ball was dropping in Times Square. Inexplicably, CNN booked its increasingly shape-shifting pretty boy Anderson Cooper (who went from fluff to hard news and seems to be cycling back to fluff again, recently taking swims with Michael Phelps) for a special…
Those Halcyon Days
More than those masters he draws from, Friday recognizes that the more one tries to impose clarity on history, the more the facts seem to slip out of line.
Counting Out
Your guide to 2008 in handy list form — just in time to make yourself sound clever at New Year’s Eve gatherings.
Kretzler’s Tavern
Munchies and appetizers are what Kretzler’s Tavern does best.
2008 Rewind
A look back at the year’s theatrical releases: plenty of hits, plus a few entertaining misses
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International bring Afropop and more to Club Café
“In Africa, these guys would play for six hours straight, with several singers.”
Fireflies
A poem by Cay Hamilton
LGBT issues: Rally planned to support county’s anti-discrimination ordinance
Some Allegheny County councilors are wavering in their support for a countywide anti-discrimination ordinance — but local gay rights activists are hoping to rally for the cause. Capitalizing on a 500-person Schenley Plaza protest held in November against California’s anti-gay marriage referendum (Proposition 8), a recently convened group plans a Jan. 10 demonstration in the…
This Just In: January 1 – 8
Highlights from the local TV news: Tomorrow’s news today!
A Pennsylvania poet’s debut collection explores earth and spirit, life and murder.
It’s often powerfully lyrical, able to summon beauty and cruelty at once.
Pittsburgh n’@
Dispatches from the blogosphere: A message for Bill Cowher.
Lovebettie releases its bipolar debut, … And We’re Never Coming Back.
Seriously, they should sell it to Taylor Swift and get big and rich.
The Mahler Box EP showcases, but can’t contain David Bernabo’s breadth
Bernabo veers from pole to pole in a veritable sonic smorgasbord.
Enrico’s Tazza D’Oro
Amy Enrico traveled the country searching for a cup of gold. It took almost two years, but she found her perfect coffee in Olympia, Wash., and brought it back to Highland Park. You can taste it at Enrico’s Tazza D’Oro, the coffee shop and community hub she’s run for almost 10 years that’s become an…
A suggested New Year’s resolution for local musicians: Take a class
Circuit Building 1 teaches you what’s under the hood in synthesizers and effects pedals.
Stopping Malls
Is it really wear and tear on roads that are getting buses booted from local shopping malls?
Savage Love
I am a woman in my late 60s, and my “boyfriend” is five years older. We were lovers long ago. He came looking for me a few years ago and we reunited. We live on opposite sides of the country, so we only see each other for a few weeks every year. For various reasons,…
