Op-Ed: Ruth Ann Dailey explains why you can’t have nice things
One of the quirky things about Americans, especially those on the right of the political spectrum, is this: While we live in fear of government oppression, we accept the tyranny of our employers with a shrug. When a Pennsylvania school district, mindful of the childhood obesity epidemic, suggested that it might be better for parents…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/14/12
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; Bill Miller in the London Times literary supplement; Whitney’s death; Martha Stewart’s dog; Westminster Dog Show & Pedigree parting ways; child beaten for 9 hours to his death by mom’s boyfriend; drugs: you make the decision to start, you have to make the decision to stop; a woman can’t get…
Lookee! Slices on Brooklyn Vegan
Slices tunes stream on Brooklyn Vegan.
Review: Cassadee Pope at Altar Bar
Cassadee Pope rocks the Altar Bar with Call to Attraction, Darling Parade and Stephen Jerzak.
Lynn Cullen Live 02/13/12
Video Archive Middle class gets most of safety net money, not the poor; health care billing; Pgh spends more on hospital / healthcare charges than any other city in the US; Pgh doctors don’t care about preventative health care because they only get paid when they do a procedure, no financial benefits for them if…
Do you have to go to Washington state to find a compassionate Republican? Maybe
As Pennsylvanians know, when it comes to to gay marriage, Republicans are often the ones standing in the way. But as Washington state prepares for its governor to sign a gay marriage bill into law on Monday, one Republican representative deserves some credit: Rep. Maureen Walsh. Walsh, one of two Republicans who voted for the…
Redistricting claims first victim (joke content)
Thought this was amusing. By now, you’ve heard about how proposed legislative redistricting, prompted by the 2010 Census, would move legislative districts from Pittsburgh to the east? The courts have tossed out a Republican-crafted redistricting map already … but for a brief period today, state Democrats moved one of our legislators, state Rep. Dom Costa,…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/10/12
Video Archive Rick Santorum’s Hannukah card promoting Jesus; who would ever have thought that Santorum is the only thing between Romney & the GOP nomination?; birth control & White House vs. Catholic Church; the end of Occupy Pgh; Louis CK’s rant on gay marriage; the effectiveness of anti-abortion photos / posters; group up to bat…
Warhol spring Sound Series brings Kimya Dawson, Flock of Dimes, Psychedelic Furs, more
Kimya Dawson Info on a few of the Warhol’s spring Sound Series shows has been trickling out for the past few weeks, but a pretty comprehensive schedule is now available. Things I’m most stoked on: the return of Bear In Heaven, Damien Jurado, my chance to finally see Sharon Van Etten despite having liked her…
Marine, Young Iraqi Refugee continue War Dialogues Project
War makes it all look so simple, as if we could divide civilizations and countries into good and bad, prey and predator. But if these assumptions save us time and effort, they also make us blind. As part of the ongoing Windows and Mirrors exhibition, sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the War Dialogues…
Quick video post: Silencio
Video montage from the first show by Silencio, a project that plays music from and inspired by David Lynch films and programs.
Lynn Cullen Live 02/09/12
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; 69 year old woman comes out as one of JFK’s mistresses, liaison started 4 days into her internship; the Kennedy’s & their foibles; women like men w/ power; Monica Lewinsky’s trip to the Warhol; the FDR Monument isn’t a good representation – no cigarette, covered wheelchair; Alan Turing: still not…
Occupy Pittsburgh declares victory, departs the field
Declaring a victory, members of Occupy Pittsburgh left Mellon Green where they had been camping for nearly four months. Occupiers had been camping in the space since Oct. 15 and were evicted by an Allegheny County judge on Feb. 2. The fact they remained nearly two days after a judge ruled Monday for the Sheriff’s…
Author and Philanthropist Le Ly Hayslip at Chatham
Tomorrow, Chatham University hosts a discussion by author, humanitarian and activist Le Ly Hayslip, author of the 1989 memoir When Heaven and Earth Changed Places. The book, which Oliver Stone adapted into the 1993 film Heaven & Earth, offers a unique perspective on the Vietnam War, that of a peasant woman. The free event will…
Big weekend for hip-hop shows
Varsity Squad and WuLords hold release shows this weekend.
The Gammage Project revisits an infamous case.
THE GAMMAGE PROJECT Feb. 9-19 (Henry Heymann Theatre, Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue at Bigelow, Oakland) and March 2-4 (August Wilson Center, Downtown). $12-25.412-624-7529 or play.pitt.edu On Oct. 12, 1995, black businessman Jonny Gammage died at the hands of five white policemen at a routine traffic stop just inside Pittsburgh’s city limits. Shortly thereafter, Mark…
On the Record with Cassadee Pope
CASSADEE POPE With STEPHEN JERZAK, JUSTIN YOUNG, DARLING PARADE, CALL TO ATTRACTION. 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 12. Altar Bar 1620 Penn Ave. Strip District. $12. All ages. 412-263-2877 or thealtarbar.com When pop-punk band Hey Monday announced its hiatus last December, lead singer Cassadee Pope chose not to sit idle, but to use the time preparing…
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Uncommon
UNCOMMON Through Sun., Feb. 12. August Wilson Center 980 Liberty Ave. Downtown. 412-456-6666 or pbt.org For Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s first production at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, PBT artistic director Terrence Orr looked to his past to choose two familiar ballet gems, and added a third from frequent guest choreographer Dwight Rhoden.…
Lesson Plan: SEIU educating about ‘dangers’ of for-profit colleges
A new informational campaign from the Service Employees International Union is taking aim at the for-profit education sector, and specifically, Pittsburgh’s own Education Management Corp. The new project is called For-Profit U and highlights what it calls the pitfalls of attending some for-profit schools, particularly those owed by large public corporations. SEIU spokesman Kevin O’Donnell…
Mid-Strut
MID-STRUT Through Feb. 19. Pittsburgh Playhouse 222 Craft Ave., Oakland. 412-392-8000 or pittsburghplayhouse.com Imagine a John Updike novel as a glass of scotch. It’s sharp. It’s masculine. It’s brooding. After some nips of this Updike novel, you will feel eloquent and cultured. You’ll feel self-involved, though not always self-assured, and as intoxication takes hold, you’ll…
Money Shot: State gun law could cost local municipalities
A bill floating around the state legislature would punish municipalities that have passed laws regulating firearms, including controversial lost-or-stolen handgun ordinances. The bill would require them to pay legal fees and damages to people who sue local governments for enacting measures that supersede state law. Gun-rights activists hail the bill as a way to thwart…
Billy Elliot
BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL Through Sun., Feb. 12. Benedum Center 719 Liberty Ave. Downtown. 412-456-6666 or pgharts.org I might be the wrong person to review Billy Elliot: The Musical, brought to town by PNC Broadway Across America, since I spent most of it sobbing into my coat. The show is based on the 2000 (non-musical)…
On the Record with Pittsburgh City Councilor Bill Peduto
Last week, Pittsburgh began converting the streetlights in 32 business districts from high-pressure sodium lights to more sustainable LED ones — a $2.5 million project with $865,000 in grant funding. The city estimates it will reduce electricity usage for those lights by 60 percent. The project’s announcement also sparked some competition between City Councilor Bill…
Why I’m Scared of Dance
WHY I’M SCARED OF DANCE Through Feb. 12. Lester Hamburg Studio City Theatre 1300 Bingham St.South Side. 412-431-2489 or citytheatrecompany.org The title of Jennifer Childs’ 2010 one-woman performance piece at City Theatre could more accurately be Why I’m Using a Love-Hate Relationship With Dance as a Metaphor for Life. But that doesn’t have quite the same…
Lynn Cullen Live 02/08/12
Video Archive Guest: Potter; Occupy updates; Marty Griffin’s BS reporting; Santorum wins Minnesota & Missouri; Santorum talking nasty against Obama; Corbett’s cuts; Shippensburg University vending machine dispensing morning after pill, condoms, decongestants; big brother = big business; Santorum on record as saying Western Europe has more income mobility that the US; Chrysler did a better…
With a new exhibit at the Carnegie, famed architect Maya Lin keeps pushing boundaries
MAYA LIN Speaks at 6 p.m. Fri., Feb. 10 (Reception follows) Carnegie Music Hall 4400 Forbes Ave. Oakland. Free. 412-622-3131 or cmoa.org As the Heinz Architectural Center focuses increasingly on landscape design, few figures could be more suitable to mark the change than Maya Lin. She ascended to fame in the early 1980s with her…
Oscar-Nominated Short Films
The Academy Awards are presented Sun., Feb. 26, and here’s your chance to see the 10 short films nominated. The shorts screen in two programs — live action and animated. “Pentecost,” set in Ireland, is a thin riff on Catholic sanctimony and sports fandom. When an altar boy accidentally whacks a priest in the face…
Short List: February 9 – 15
Thu., Feb. 9 — Stage After a 20-month hiatus, New Horizon Theater returns with Hi-Hat Hattie, Larry Parr’s 1990 one-woman “musical biography” of one of Hollywood’s earliest African-American stars. Hattie McDaniel, “Mammy” in Gone With the Wind, broke color lines as a singer and actor in the 1920s and ’30s. But the first African American…
Film Kitchen
At the next Film Kitchen, you could ask Andrew Kelemen about the craft with which he edits, and sometimes shoots, campaign ads. After all, some ads are lensed one day, edited the next and aired on the third — and he’ll discuss how after 14 examples screen. Viewers might also wonder whether his politics square…
Verde
Verde 5491 Penn Ave. Garfield. 412-404-8487 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 5-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m. Sun. 5-9 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soups and salads $4-8; entrees $14-23 Liquor: Full bar We’ve had our eyes on Verde since its impending opening was announced last spring. Granted, it’s hard not to keep an eye on Verde, located as it is…
The Innkeepers
Curl up and spend the final weekend at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, a faded hotel that may or may not be haunted. The two bored slackers manning the night desk — Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) — hope it is; they’ve been trying to catch paranormal activity on tape. With only a couple…
99 Bottles opens new possibilities in an overlooked beer market
99 Bottles 1001 Washington Ave. Carnegie. 412-279-1299 Originally, Dustin Jones and his wife, Melissa, had planned to open a Carnegie convenience store that sold six-packs to go. But that was before they saw a niche opening in the market: Carnegie was lacking an establishment that had a diverse offering of beer. So Jones expanded the…
Sing Your Song
There’s no doubt that Harry Belafonte has had an interesting and productive life. He came to fame in the 1950s as a calypso singer, and moved deftly between stage, screen and television. Beyond his work as an entertainer, he was a social and political activist, committed to racial equality, the civil-rights struggle and African independence,…
Savage Love
I’m a 21-year-old gay male. My friend “Marcelo” is friends with “Chad.” Everyone who meets Chad assumes he’s gay. Never had a girlfriend, a dance major, got up at 2 a.m. to watch Kate marry William — I could go on. Over four years at college, this situation has gone from funny to sad as…
The Woman in Black
In the early 20th century, a young London lawyer named Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) journeys to a small town to sort out a tricky estate. But Kipps is not welcome in town — a morose place where an unusual number of children seem to come to harm. To sort out the will and to avoid the…
Crested Duck Charcuterie
Crested Duck Charcuterie patrons have been buying the artisanal market’s specialty meats and cheeses at the Strip District’s Public Market for the last two years. Now, they can order them between two slices of bread. Last month, Crested Duck opened a deli in Beechview. The cozy storefront shop, located on Beechview’s main drag, sells meats…
Victor Villarreal, guitar whisperer
VICTOR VILLARREAL with MERYLL, LEGS LIKE TREE TRUNKS, DAVID BERNABO. 8 p.m. Sun., Feb 12. Garfield Artworks 4931 Penn Ave., Garfield. $8. All ages. 412-361-2262 or garfieldartworks.com In the midst of the early-’90s Chicago indie-rock storm were a few special seedlings that sprouted from a suburban basement to form the band Cap’n Jazz. In the…
These Things I See in the Windshield
The man walks the brown dog. Man walks dog. Man the dog. Brown walks the man. Brown is a dog. A boxer. A boxer named Brown. And he walks a frail man up and down the neighborhood street. The walks are short, the relationship simple. They like it that way. I see them every day,…
Allen Stone brings contemporary blue-eyed soul to Stage AE
ALLEN STONE with TOMMY & THE HIGH PILOTS. 7 p.m. Mon., Feb. 13. The Club at Stage AE 400 North Shore Drive North Side. $10-12. 412-229-5483 or stageae.com In the age-old debate between style and substance, 24-year-old soul singer Allen Stone stands as an anomaly. He manages to woo audiences with his powerhouse vocal range…
The Long Goodbye: Holdouts remain at Occupy Camp long past eviction deadline
As you read this, there might or might not still be an encampment at Occupy Pittsburgh. Despite being given, on Feb. 3, three days to vacate the site, Occupiers still remained on Feb. 6. Even after Judge Christine Ward signed an eviction notice ordering their removal from BNY Mellon’s Downtown parklet, a handful of tents…
FAWM challenges songwriters to up their output in February
On Day One of February Album Writing Month, Burr Settles is wearing his FAWM T-shirt. He insists he won’t wear it for the entire month, but Settles is an enthusiastic, if understated, guy. It’s easy to see him getting carried away. The premise of the project is this: You sign up and create a profile…
Critics’ Picks: February 10 – 15
[INDIE POP] + FRI., FEB. 10 Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski fetched their bicycles and took to the West Coast to promote their music in 2007. The duo has since developed into six-piece Blind Pilot. The Oregon ensemble delivers exquisite indie-pop tunes with carefully planned instrumentation. Its latest album, We Are the Tide, features an…
