Lynn Cullen Live 07/30/13
Video Archive Phone guest: Susan; aging without Botox; Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals in consequential series; HUGE baby born in Germany, 13.5 lbs; tmw is Christian night at PNC Park; jewelry heist in Cannes; uptalking will soon be the norm; Obit: William Scranton, former PA governor; Zealot, biography of Jesus, written by a Muslim;…
Review: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down; July 27
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down play Mr. Smalls.
MP3 Monday: Shaky Shrines
Shaky Shrines with “Corner Store” for MP3 Monday
Mon Incline to close during the day Wednesday
The Port Authority of Allegheny County has announced that the Monongahela Incline will be closed for a few hours on Wednesday for state inspections. The incline will be closed from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. During the closure, bus shuttles will operate between the incline’s upper and lower stations.
Lynn Cullen Live 07/29/13
Video Archive Gender classifications; homophobia & violence in Russia; what will happen come the Winter Olympics?; PA is the only state in the NE who doesn’t protect homosexuals from discrimination; Pope Francis: Who am I to judge homosexuals?; Jane Austen to appear on new 10 pound bank notes; United States needs some currency diversity; local…
Here is a Yelp review for Belvedere’s.
Every once in a while I run into something on The Internet that could probably use a larger audience than it’s had thus far. That is true of this Yelp review of Belvedere’s, the Lawrenceville “Ultradive” known for its roller-skating parties and ’80s night. It’s 600 words long and begins, “David went to Louis’s house,…
Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO departing
Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO Kathryn Klaber Kathryn Klaber, CEO of pro natural-gas industry group the Marcellus Shale Coalition, will be departing the organization in the next few months, according to announcement from the group. Klaber has led the organization since it formed in 2009. And in a press release issued today, the MSC says it…
Chelsea Baratz plays James Street tonight
If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out my interview with Chelsea Baratz in this week’s paper: The Upper St. Clair-raised jazz saxophonist is a bandleader and session player in New York, and is doing her hometown’s jazz scene proud. By way of a quick update, I wanted to note that in addition to…
Culinary Historian Explores Slavery through Food
Michael Twitty cooks a meal while lecturing on folkways
Lynn Cullen Live 07/26/13
Video Archive UPMC researcher murdered, husband arrested; Obit: Virginia Johnson, sex researcher; all smiles in the obituaries; what would be said if Huma & Hillary were emailing each other; Republicans can’t move forward — they destruct or obstruct; Ariel Castro accepts life without parole + 1,000 years; bad parenting today; text message etiquette; Callers: Unknown.…
Deb Gross, Allegheny County Democrats respond to Ceoffe lawsuit
As we were sharpening up the deathless prose of this post about craziness in the District 7 special election, we received press statements from the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and Deb Gross about the lawsuit filed by Gross’ rival, Tony Ceoffe. Rather than add even more verbage to that earlier post — and rather than…
Controversy continues in District 7
This news will probably come as no surprise to readers of this space, but the special election to replace Patrick Dowd in City Council district 7 is getting kind of weird. Tony Ceoffe, who lost a Democratic Party endorsement vote to Deb Gross this past weekend, has now sued to overturn that result. Fair warning:…
Final Week for Quantum’s Mnemonic
The troupe’s Pittsburgh-premiere production of a show about memory, a lost father and a 5,000-year-old Alpine mummy has four more performances. Details in Program Notes.
Final Week for Quantum’s Mnemonic
Show about memory has four more performances
Classic Bikes to be Appraised at Science Center
Bike Heaven owner to examine vintage two-wheelers
Lynn Cullen Live 07/25/13
Video Archive Guest: Tom Sokolowski; mob of nuns rush Pope Francis; what’s happening in Brazil; squishy fetus toys at state fairs; new abortion law; patriotism of African Americans; selling off Detroit’s art could do more harm than good; “friend” has been used as a verb since the 1400s; Anthony Weiner re-cap; Caller: Joe. Audio Only…
Pennsylvania county clerk issuing same-sex marriage licenses
Two couples claim licenses in Montgomery County
Meet some of the folks behind Rustbelt Radio
As we noted in today’s edition, independent news program Rustbelt Radio is currently off the air while it assesses its future. The group is collecting feedback from its listeners and community as to what they want to see in the program, if it should continue. Feedback can be submitted online via Facebook, or email at…
Pittsburgh Playwrights’ Acting Out
ACTING OUT! continues through Sat., July 27. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. $15-20. 412-256-8109 or pghplaywrights.com After five years of dormancy, the Pittsburgh Pride Theater Festival has awoken for two weeks of “best of” revivals. The festival showcases local playwrights and LGBT themes, and despite its brevity (four one-acts in total), it couldn’t…
Singled Out: Trayvon Martin case raises issues of local racial profiling again
Freddy Jones says he has been the victim of racial profiling his whole life. “The police are extremely aggressive to African Americans. They approach us or pull us over, and when we ask why, we have to worry if it will get us beat up.” Jones, 33, of the North Side, says that he has…
Throughline’s Oedipus Rex
OEDIPUS REX continues through Sat., July 27. Throughline Theatre Company at Grey Box Theatre, 3595 Butler St. Lawrenceville. $12-15. 888-718-4287 or throughlinetheatre.org One thing can be said for Throughline Theatre Company’s production of Oedipus Rex: It sure is LOUD! Did director Liam Macik instruct his actors to re-create the oratorical style of classic Greek theater?…
Rusted Out: Rustbelt Radio goes off the air
Indigenous struggles in Mexico; the beating of Homewood teenager Jordan Miles; the closing of Braddock Hospital; election fraud; from the War in Iraq to the 2009 G-20 conference — Rustbelt Radio has always prided itself on covering “news from the grassroots that the corporate media overlook,” in Pittsburgh and beyond. But after nine years and…
The Summer Company’s A Slight Case of Murder
A SLIGHT CASE OF MURDER continues through Sat., July 27. The Summer Company at Duquesne University Duquesne campus Uptown. $10-15. 412-243-6464 Damon Runyon specialized in writing sentimental tales of lovable mugs, gamblers and gangsters — as perhaps best seen in Guys and Dolls, the musical based on several of his short stories. His style even…
Hitting Home
Very often the best police work is the kind in which nobody gets arrested. The kind where a situation is resolved with everybody going home. And sometimes, perhaps, that outcome is more likely if everyone’s homes aren’t so far apart. Take the night of July 14, when demonstrators voiced outrage at George Zimmerman’s acquittal in…
Lori Jakiela’s new memoir is as much coming-of-age story as it is mid-life crisis.
The title of local author Lori Jakiela’s latest memoir is a wryly veiled suicide reference, about a bridge people have leapt from. But honestly, things never get quite that bad in The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious (C&R Press). In this darkly comic, sort-of coming-of-age book, set when Jakiela is in her 30s,…
Savage Love
I’ve been mostly happily married for 15 years. I’m a straight man. I love my wife. But after many years, our sex life is unsatisfying. While my wife was barely GGG at the beginning, now she will not go down on me ever. We do have sex four to 10 times a month, but it…
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt Directed by: Margarethe von Trotta Starring: Barbara Sukowa, Janet McTeer In English, and German, with subtitles. Start Fri., July 26. Regent Square. As a rule, journalists are never as interesting as what they write about, and if they are, they should find a better story. Perhaps that’s true of Hannah Arendt, German director…
Short List: July 24 – 30
SPOTLIGHT: Sat., July 27 — Outdoors A group of 25 will hike through McConnells Mill State Park this Saturday on Venture Outdoors’ day-long Waterfall Hike. The group will tackle the 6.2 rocky miles of the Slippery Rock Gorge trail that tracks Slippery Rock Creek. Dramatic sloping mountainsides frame the trail and descend to the creek,…
Fruitvale Station
Ryan Coogler’s docudrama Fruitvale Station recounts Dec. 31, 2008, the last day of Oscar Grant’s life. By the next day, the 22-year-old Oakland resident would be dead, an unarmed black man shot by a transit cop. Community outrage followed, but Coogler’s film focuses on the hours prior, when Grant (Michael B. Jordan) is simply going…
Lucca
Lucca 317 S. Craig St. Oakland. 412-682-3310 Hours: Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Sat. 5-9:15 p.m.; Sun. 4:30-9:15 p.m. Prices: Antipasti and salads $5-12; pasta $18; entrees $24-36 Liquor: Full bar For a city whose dining scene was once distinguished principally by an over-stuffed sandwich, Pittsburgh has come a long way. Chefs have filled…
A Band Called Death
If you dug last year’s Searching for Sugarman, be sure to check out this similarly themed doc, from Mark Christopher Covino, about another “lost” and re-discovered musical act from 1970s Detroit. In 1975, three young African-American brothers, calling their group Death, recorded an album of driving, garage-y rock (a.k.a. proto-punk). Black and white audiences alike…
Flower Devour: Annual feast features edible flowers
“Dessert is — of course — rose-petal ice cream,” Denise Schreiber announced. She was speaking to a room of 176 people, who had joined her at the Buffalo Inn at South Park one recent weekday evening, for a meal that incorporated edible flowers into every dish. Such an undertaking makes it easy to conjure images…
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt
Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori’s documentary recounts the highs and lows of Memphis cult band Big Star. The highs are obvious: The band, fronted by Boxtops star Alex Chilton, released a trio of mid-1970s LPs, brimming with forward-thinking rock and pop, which influenced scores of bands to come. (Few 1980s and ’90s indie band failed…
Pittsburgh Party Pedaler allows patrons to work up a thirst
The Pittsburgh Party Pedaler — a bicycle-mounted barroom pedalled by its own patrons — came to Pittsburgh the long way around: from a Steelers bar in Minneapolis. That’s where Susan Joseph saw a similar contraption. “My husband was working there and I was up for the weekend,” she recalls. “I heard all this party music,…
The Conjuring
If I were a ghost who worked in horror films, I might be frustrated that I always got cast in the same role: creaking doors, stopping clocks, tossing china, whispering to kids and appearing in mirrors. James Wan’s spooker about a haunted house certainly doesn’t break any new ground for spectral performances, nor does it…
The South American sweet staple, dulce de leche, is now freshly made in Pittsburgh at La Dorita
Josephine Oria’s grandmother, Dorita, never let her write down recipes. So when it came time to replicate Dorita’s dulce de leche, it took a year and half to get the recipe right. “She’d always say, ‘Just be patient. Once you get it, you know,'” says Oria, of O’Hara Township. “I can’t tell you how many…
RED 2
The retired spies are back, and in pursuit of a Cold War-era WMD. The first Red had the novelty of seeing older, name-brand actors wield lethal weapons. But this sequel, directed by Dean Parisot, has all the hallmarks of a lazy sequel. The stars are back — John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise…
Lynn Cullen Live 07/24/13
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; Chief Kessler of Gilberton, PA rants w/ an assault rifle; militarization of police; Prince of Cambridge doll out already; UPMC building medical school in Kazakhstan; Anthony Weiner sexting again; menthol cigarette ban on the way?; marriage licences now granted in Montgomery Co.; what Darlene Harris can bring to the table;…
R.I.P.D.
Um, Robert Schwentke’s sci-fi action comedy is bad. Bad in ways too numerous to recount here, but here’s a few thoughts. (1) Not every comic book makes a convincing leap to the big screen. This tale of dead cops chasing down other dead people (who appear to be living) in order to prevent lots of…
Pittsburgh native Chelsea Baratz returns to town with her own band, and some ideas about what jazz can be
CHELSEA BARATZ 7 p.m. Sat., July 27. Riverview Park Riverview Avenue Observatory Hill. Free. All ages. 412-255-2493 or pittsburghpa.gov/citiparks Chelsea Baratz grew up in Upper St. Clair, and as a teenager played with some of Pittsburgh’s greats at the city’s jazz venues in the early 2000s. The saxophonist lives in New York City now, where…
What’s in a name? Ask Josh Tillman
FATHER JOHN MISTY with NIGHT MOVES. 8 p.m. Tue., July 30. Mr. Small’s Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. $17. All ages. 412-821-4447 or mrsmalls.com There isn’t much that’s Shakespearean about Josh Tillman’s 2012 album Fear Fun, released under the moniker Father John Misty, but questioning the importance of a namesake is certainly a theme. In…
Artist, musician and provocateur Genesis P-Orridge scores with gender-blending and more at The Warhol.
GENESIS BREYER P-ORRIDGE: S/HE IS HER/E continues through Sept. 15. The Andy Warhol Museum 117 Sandusky St. North Side. 412-237-8300 or warhol.org Think you’ve seen all museums have to offer? Well, maybe not. The artist, musician and provocateur known as Genesis P-Orridge (it probably sounds better in Britain) and Lady Jaye Breyer, reacting against perceived…
Modular synths find a home in Pittsburgh
When Richard Nicol started building modular synthesizers in his basement about two years ago, his plan was to sell two or three a month, to offset the cost of equipment he wanted to build for himself. From there, he says with a chuckle, “it started spinning out of control.” In the first month, he sold…
The area’s lone import video-game outlet finds it footing
The Penn Hills Game Exchange is a labor of love: The staff are all volunteers who can talk your ear off about your favorite games, and close a sale as well. The unassuming store inhabits the first floor of a former house on Rodi Road. Lending nerd-legitimacy are walls covered with everything from Japanese Sega…
Critics’ Picks: July 24 -August 1
[INDIE POP] + SAT., JULY 27 Get down tonight to none other than Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, on tour in support of its new album, We the Common: The self-reflective album hits a sweet spot with thoughtful lyrics and catchy, folky beats. Indie darling Lady Lamb the Beekeeper and local folk-rock band Gypsy and…
Stage 62’s Avenue Q
AVENUE Q continues through Sun., July 28. Andrew Carnegie Free Library Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave. Carnegie. $15-18. 412-429-6262 or stage62.com The great news about Stage 62’s Avenue Q is that I left the theater thinking, “I’m so old.” Avenue Q is the 2004 Best Musical Tony winner (with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez…
New Releases
Demon Queen Exorcise Tape Rad Cult Exorcise Tape, a collaboration between Tobacco (of Pittsburgh’s Black Moth Super Rainbow) and Tucson hip-hop artist Zackey Force Funk, recorded under the moniker Demon Queen, is the natural result of what seems like a wholly unnatural union. The chemistry between the two, coupled with the behind-the-scenes chemistry employed by Tobacco in the…
