New collections from local poets Ed Ochester and Philip Terman suggest poetry as autobiography.
New collections find established area poets Philip Terman and Ed Ochester in fine form, in distinctive ways taking stock of life and admitting, even celebrating, what they don’t know.
Amanda Nygard
Name: Amanda NygardAge: 24Day job: None at presentVenues: South Side and Squirrel HillInstrument/medium: Fiddle, accordion, clarinet, voice, washtub bassMost requested song: “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”Favorite song: “Sail Away Ladies”Average daily take: “That’s for me to know”Weirdest tip: Burger King burger with Bible verses To Amanda Nygard, busking is like a giant sociology project:…
We get lost in Efflorescence: The Sea After Time, at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
The sweeping expanse of blue paint on the wall behind us in the reflections made it appear as though we were trapped in the installation.
Pittsburgh n’@
Yoko Ono blamed for breaking up Pittsburgh’s fab two!
The new movie On Every Corner documents Pittsburgh’s busking scene, or lack thereof.
The scruffily charming documentary introduces some two dozen of the city’s street performers and attempts to unite them for a climactic concert in Market Square.
Steve Goldberg’s senior project an orchestral-pop gem
For those not clued in to indie rock, I’ll make it easy for you: The Beatles and XTC.
Going through the motions
This is it: the last time that cat licensing will be written about in this column. (That is, until the next time one of your city councilors needs a hot-button issue to score some ink and TV time.) Seriously, cat licensing is a very serious issue — at least that’s how many councilors have tried…
Local supergroup The Shanks release the jangly Esse
Two archetypes of SUV-driving boomers give Pittsburgh its distinctively aged, smoked-beef flavor.
A Conversation with Katie Bulger
Katie Bulger’s got an eye for fashion. The 27-year-old proprietor of SUGAR— a former customer, she bought the Lawrenceville store in February — stocks the shop with unique and mostly locally created women’s fashions. She’s also an optician at Eyetique, and eyeglasses are her favorite accessory. What kinds of things do you keep in stock?It’s…
Sunshine
In the near future, a spaceship travels to the dying sun, hoping to re-ignite it and save Earth. But Danny Boyle’s film isn’t a bombastic space-chase and alien-gore actioner; it’s a relatively compact drama, equal parts psychological brooder and morality play, with a splash of the spiritual added. Sunshine has some tense outer-space action scenes…
Power Surge
Women’s football team creates yet another Pittsburgh sports legend
Tribute bands Lez Zeppelin, Dark Star Orchestra get a whole lotta love
Jamie Foxx pretends to be Ray Charles, and we give him an Oscar.
Hart Attack
Looking forward to an ousted Republican’s comeback attempt
Some Girl(s)
Hotshot playwright LaBute probes relationships like a dentist doing root canals without anesthetic.
Picket Fences
Where does free speech run afoul of the right to privacy? In recent months, protests in recent months have moved from the street and the courthouse to local churches and homes, and have many asking that exact question. Some call the tactic “offensive,” while others say it’s protected speech, and the only solace activists can…
Hay Fever
Despite how overbearing they all are, it’s impossible not to love the Blisses, because they are so sincere in their seeming insincerity.
Too Hot to Handle
Pennsylvania had its second-warmest year ever in 2006, and the same is true for the other 47 contiguous states, according to data compiled by the NCDC. The American Lung Association also rated Pittsburgh the second-worst metropolitan area in terms of airborne pollutants. PennEnvironmental, a statewide advocacy and research organization that uses scientific data to reveal…
Chantecler
Kids can enjoy the cleverly, albeit simply costumed creatures and the fun; adults can appreciate the amusing characters and the actors’ cartoon-like credibility.
Making a Point
County council, upset about its lack of involvement with the region’s sole needle-exchange program, rejected earlier this month a health-department bill that would put stricter regulations on the program, further lengthening a debate that started more than a year ago. The program in question is managed by Prevention Point Pittsburgh, a small, privately funded organization…
Talk to Me
Don Cheadle is riveting in Talk to Me as Petey Greene, the ex-con who became an influential radio DJ in Washington, D.C., during the 1960s and ’70s. Cheadle’s able foil is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who helps run the R&B station where Greene finds a berth. Their volatile partnership forms the heart of Kasi Lemmons’ funny and…
One Hill lines up CBA priorities
As the One Hill coalition gears up to take the community’s demands to the negotiation table, coalition leadership made one last attempt, on Sat., July 28, to garner input from the people it is fighting for. One Hill is a grassroots conglomerate of nearly 100 community groups banding together to negotiate a community benefits agreement…
Black Family Reunion features local music, community activities
“We need to get reacquainted with each other, get some wisdom and show some respect to one another.” — Lee Davis
Goddess
Spanish colonial doorstep reworked from Aztec stone sculpture Mexico City, 1350-1521National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Make yourself useful, they said,slapping you down for eternity.You were the perfect size,the foot that fit the slipper. Your large-eyed look of the divinemet the earth in an unbroken kiss.Mexican dust veiled your headdress,seagreen stone as precious as…
Mr. Small’s ups the ante with TV on the Radio and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
BRMC’s Baby 81 racks up the body count with a rebellious sneer and arena hooks.
This Just In
A look at the week that was in local TV news.
Restless! northern soul night to be filmed for
You’ll want to dress to impress … though, naturally, not in anything you don’t want soaked in sweat and draft beer.
Facing the Music
Pittsburgh may be a tough town for buskers, but that doesn’t dissuade determined local musicians and performers from taking their talents to the streets.
Savage Love
I’m an 18-year-old guy with an awesome kinky girlfriend. She likes getting tied up, blindfolded, spanked, and just about anything else we can think of. My question is this: We were watching some BDSM porn and they used these awesome contact lenses that worked as blindfolds because they were completely opaque. I’ve searched high and…
Bruce Miller
Name: Bruce MillerAge: 40Day job: College writing instructorVenues: Strip District and Squirrel HillInstrument: Banjo, fiddleBest day’s take: $65 in two-and-half hours. “There was a $20 and $5 involved.”Weird tips: Pizza, biscotti, Christian literature For Bruce Miller, a self-taught musician from Swissvale, the biggest hurdle of busking in Pittsburgh isn’t proficiency, or tapping his admittedly esoteric…
King Tut
Location: 200 Rodi Road, Penn Hills. 412-241-2269Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.Prices: Salads and appetizers $2.50-4; entrées $7-13Fare: Traditional Egyptian, with some American munchiesAtmosphere: Eat like an EgyptianLiquor: BYOBSmoking: Designated areas While our smoking ban languishes in legislative limbo, one small coterie of the local dining trade is surely exhaling a hazy…
Marion Mays
Name: Marion MaysAge: 53Day job: Disabled, “a few little things”Venues: South Side and Mount WashingtonInstrument/medium: Acoustic guitar and vocals; balloon artFavorite musician: Todd RundgrenFavorite song: The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You”Average daily take: $50Weirdest tip: A Seiko watch For those new to the busking scene, Marion Mays has some words of advice. “The rules of busking…
Local teens are among the artists painting murals along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.
“We work in at-risk-neighborhoods where kids need something to do,” Holbrook says
Steve Rusch, Zak Kane
Names: Steve Rusch, Zak KaneAges: 21, 23Day jobs: NoneVenue: South SideFavorite musicians: Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Beach BoysInstruments: Mandolin, guitarMost requested songs: “American Girl,” by Tom Petty and “Santeria,” by SublimeFavorite songs: “Range Life,” by Pavement and “Wagon Wheel,” by Old Crow Medicine Show Pittsburgh natives Steve Rusch and Zak Kane began busking with a…
