American Idol
Three by Three
Surviving a Hart Attack
The big election news today, I guess, is the fact that our cousins in West Virginia gave Hillary Clinton the huge victory she expected in that state’s primary. But beneath the headlines — or, more specifically, on page A-6 of my morning paper — was a story that bodes well for Barack Obama. And for…
The other trash TV
So coming soon to a cable line-up near you in June is Planet Green, the latest player in eco-entertainment (see also: special “green” issues of Vanity Fair; hand-wringing but feel-good docs about global warming; recent car and gasoline commercials (for real!); Al Gore anywhere; and so on). Planet Green is under the Discovery umbrella and…
Survivor: Hug it out, bitch.
So I went to the Survivor finale and a Lifetime special broke out. While it was sorta interesting that four women made it to the end, the final two-hour episode of Survivor delivered all the ersatz female bonding and phony drama of run-of-the-mill night of Lifetime programming. Four gals variously shrieking in delight, giggling, hugging,…
Ben Hardt and His Symphony celebrate a fruitful first year
It’s hard to believe it’s only been about a year since Ben Hardt first squeezed onto local stages with his chamber-pop ensemble, usually comprised of a four-piece rock band plus a quartet of rotating string players. In that time, he’s gradually refined one of the more original stage shows on the local scene — mixing…
Track Meet
Over the label’s 22 releases to date, Sort Of Records covers a fairly wide swath of music — from the jangly guitar-pop of The Shrinking Islands to the acoustic fingerpicking of KG Fields and the saxophone skronk of avant-rock sextet The Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Many of the releases by acts with Pittsburgh affiliations have been…
Record Breaking
Amid fliers for new releases and underground rock shows in the window of Paul’s CDs sits a small box of faded 8-tracks, a nostalgic ode to obsolete media and those who cherish it. Inside the Bloomfield music store, that nostalgia is everywhere. There’s a prominently displayed copy of Shadow Music of Thailand — new limited…
TV Kitchens: Turning Up the Heat
It was already written out in my head — my rant about how dull Top Chef has been this season. Then last night, with the “Wedding Wars” episode, they heard my pleas for more drama and — I love how low-rent this tactic is! — kept the remaining eight chefs up all night. Seriously. Needless…
Speed Racer
Andy and Larry Wachowski unleash their box of digital tricks on this live-action adaptation of the 1960s Japanese cartoon about the young auto racer. As expected, the Matrix brothers bring a lot of visual flair, though there’s nothing you haven’t seen before: kooky screen wipes, hyper-color and dense, fantastic, digitally produced sets. The highly stylized…
Priceless
The real star of this French piffle from Pierre Salvadori is actress Audrey Tatou’s back, loving displayed in a seemingly endless series of adorable backless chemises. As wispy as any of her dresses is the plot, a lightly scripted farce about a golddigger (Tatou), working the best hotels of the Riviera. After mistaking a bartender…
Made of Honor
It’s bad enough that a lothario won’t make a commitment to the girl he loves — now he’s agreed to be the maid of honor at her hastily arranged wedding to Mr. Perfect. Here, Patrick Dempsey plays the male fool to his lost lady-love Michelle Monaghan, and the middle section of Paul Weiland’s romantic comedy…
Visiting filmmaker Eric Cheevers’ “Las Historias Mas Sexy Del Mundo” spice up Film Kitchen.
The girl in the go-go dress talks quantum physics.
Iron Man
Jon Favreau’s film looks and feels less like a comic book than do some other movies, in part because the actors play it so soberly. The charming Robert Downey Jr. delivers the script’s copious quips with all the punch they require, and his watery eyes ably make us feel his pain. Where other comics-hero stories…
Silk Screen Film Festival
The festival of films highlighting Asian and Asian-American experiences returns for its third year.
Harvey
Aren’t rabbits supposed to do things quickly?
Laughing Stock
It’s the perfect vehicle for Little Lake to open its 60th season of continuous production.
Going Through the Motions
City officials are hoping that more jobs for youngsters and more cops on the beat will make Pittsburgh a little safer this summer. “Safe Summer Pittsburgh” is a two-pronged approach featuring a 250-position summer-jobs program combined with an increased beat-cop program in all six police zones throughout the season. The cost of the jobs program…
This Just In: May 8 – 15
Highlights from the local TV news: Yet another attempt to prevent the young people from leaving.
Pittsburgh n’@
Dispatches from the blogosphere: An outsider’s take on Pittsburgh
Shady Grove
Sandwiches, wraps, salads and pizzas, in a comfortable atmosphere
Education: District’s new University Partnership school still not finalized
Despite the new school slated to open in the fall, Pittsburgh Public Schools and the University of Pittsburgh still haven’t inked a deal.
Television: WQED to screen Gammage film and panel discussion
It’s been 13 years since two motorists were killed by local police officers, but how much has changed?
Flying the Coup
An unprecedented number of residents want a seat on a North Side nonprofit, so what’s the motivation?
Toronto hardcore heroes Fucked Up hit Belvedere’s
Fans of classic hardcore and punk like Black Flag or the Stiff Little Fingers can appreciate that there’s a band like this around in 2008.
Voting’s for suckers, says Circa Survive’s Anthony Green
“It’s like the Mob disguised as democracy.”
Experimental collective Arco Flute Foundation reunites for Gooksi’s show
Get sufficiently into an Arco song and you feel like you’re enveloped inside the sound.
Artist Craig McPherson exhibits heavy mettle in Steel: Pittsburgh Drawings.
In “Oven #1” (1998), the velvety black areas of the mezzotint are supplemented with exquisite minutiae in pastel: Cracks and textures on the exterior of the oven are contrasted with a fiery red glow from inside.
In Wood Street’s Text Memory, technology pulses with emotion.
As long as his heart beats and he breaths, they will be remembered; when he dies, their memories will be obscured.
The History Center’s new compilation of Pittsburgh biographies amuses, informs … and leaves out too many scalawags.
It’s a birthday gift from the Heinz History Center — a picture of how things would be if the jagoffs had never been born.
Savage Love
I’m 16 and gay. I recently argued with my parents over whether HIV is spread by saliva or if you can be infected during oral sex. I thought that you were safe kissing and that it’s OK to have oral sex, but that you need to use condoms for anal sex. My parents disagree and…
Same Sex, Different Day
Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Just because Harrisburg Republicans want to prevent gay marriage, that doesn’t mean they want to take away anyone’s rights. Domestic-partner benefits? Same-sex couples adopting children? To the GOP, it’s all A-OK. Or so it would seem from a May 5 hearing of the state Senate’s Appropriations Committee. The committee…
Like the proverbial phoenix, the Harris Grill rises from the ashes.
Harris Grill: Back, and With Bacon
A sneak peek at WYEP’s Pittsburgh Performance Project
Most of the venues on the list do not represent the kind of music played on WYEP since its switch to the Adult Album Alternative format in the late 1980s.
