Diagnosing the brouhaha over hospitalized absentee voters
One of the emerging stories this election, at least in Pittsburgh, is the last-minute arrival of 300 applications for emergency absentee ballots, all sought by patients in local hospitals. As we reported earlier today, lawyers have already been squabbling over the applications. While the ballots will be collected, that may only be to provide fodder…
UPDATE: Code Blue! Emergency absentee ballot applications causing legal turmoil (UPDATE)
(SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR UPDATES) Over at Elections Court, our AmyJo Brown is following what is the biggest local Election Day battle thus far — a dispute about allowing people in hospitals to vote. This afternoon, county officials began receiving applications for emergency ballots from a number of area hospitals. 56 such applications have…
At Pitt, provisional ballots frustrate students, poll monitors
According to activists with Pittsburgh United, there have been an estimated 70 cases (so far) in which voters using a polling place at the University of Pittsburgh had to file provisional ballots, or complained to organizers about confusion surrounding where they were supposed to vote. One of those voters was Ernestina Gambrah, a Pitt freshman…
Still Time to Vote
There’s still time to vote!
Election Day Update: So Far, So Good
The polls opened across the state about five hours ago. Here are some of the story lines that emerged this morning. (We’ll have updates later in the day; for news as it comes in, follow us on Twitter over at @pghcitypaper.) Voter ID causing headaches. Whether it’s innocent confusion or something more nefarious isn’t clear.…
Call for Artists in Downtown Bike-Rack Contest
Designs sought for Cultural District
Election Day: And so we come to it at last
Your City Paper staff is straggling in to the office this morning, after having waited in line at the polls between 20 and 90 minutes. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald too is reporting the longest lines he’s seen in years. Right now, we’re waiting to see how a story we first anticipated a couple weeks ago…
Lynn Cullen Live 11/06/12
Video Archive Guest: David DeAngelo, 2 Political Junkies blogger; Election Day; lines @ polling places; Obama ahead in the polls; political tensions in the Jewish community; Josh Mandel looks like he’s 12; how does a Jew become a right wing Republican?; Obama & racism in America; Bishop in Green Bay sends letter to Catholics insinuating…
Clinton stumps for Obama in Market Square
Clinton campaigns for Obama and PA Democrats
Free “44 Plays for 44 Presidents” Reading Tonight
Bricolage program of mini-plays depicts each commander-in-chief
Lynn Cullen Live 11/05/12
Video Archive Election day is TOMORROW; child mauled, killed at the Pgh Zoo; climate change; canvassing for Obama; Nate Silver’s election algorithm & predictions; the electoral college is idiotic; 2/3 campaign appearances have been in Ohio, Virginia, & Florida; voting turnout in spectator states; why you can’t vote early in PA; Green Party debate tonight;…
Buy records at Mind Cure this weekend, help hurricane-stricken WFMU-FM
As many fans of New Jersey-based WFMU-FM already know, the independent, listener supported station — which has a lot of internet-listening fans in Pittsburgh— suffered considerable electrical and water damage at the cruel hand of Sandy. To make matters worse, the hurricane also forced the cancellation of WFMU’s 2012 Record Fair, scheduled to take place…
Head’s Up: Three Rivers Film Festival
We reviewed six films playing during the first week of the Three Rivers Film Festival. Additionally, here are some playing over the weekend that, while we haven’t seen them, look like interesting picks. More info at www.3rff.com. The Adventures of Robin Hood. OK, I’ve seen this 1938 Technicolor swash-buckler starring Errol Flynn, and it’s a…
Screenwriting contest launched
A local initiative to grow the region’s entertainment industry launches its latest contest on Monday. As part of the Three Rivers Film Festival, the Steeltown Entertainment Project presents the fourth annual Steeltown Film Factory, a screenwriting and filmmaking competition. The 7 p.m. event includes a screening of this year’s winning Film Factory short, “The Perils…
State GOP refuses to get the picture
Say what you will about Republicans, but you can always count on them to be of strong moral fiber, and to stand up for the rights of small business. Unless, of course, they really need a picture of a Democratic opponent for an attack ad. On Tuesday, we told you about how the state Republican…
Ellen Goodman lecture canceled
Writer’s talk postponed
On the Waterfront, at the Byham
Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, in On the Waterfront Be a contender! Here’s your chance to see Elia Kazan’s 1954 drama, On the Waterfront , on the big screen — for free. The Academy-Award-winning film is screening in Pittsburgh, on Tue., Nov. 13, as part of cable-channel TCM’s Road to Hollywood Classic Film Festival.…
The Dead Can Vote
To celebrate Day of the Dead, we offer these two partisans, posing in a Strip District window.
Lynn Cullen Live 11/02/12
Video Archive VIDEO OF PART 1 UNAVAILABLE DUE TO A COMPUTER ERROR. Audio Only Archive
Stream This Ish: October 31 issue
Stream some tunes from the bands we wrote about in this week’s City Paper!
Go for the Greens
Braddock hosts its second annual Collard Greens Cook-Off this Sunday
Chinese Opera Star’s Cross-cultural Diplomacy
Hao Jiang Tian launched opera program for young singers
Lynn Cullen Live 11/01/12
Video Archive VIDEO PART 1 CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. Audio Only Archive
Indie theater production by returning Pittsburgh native
Point Park grad producing and starring in musical
Point Park grad returns with inventive musical
John Allen Biles produces, stars in “The Last Five Years”
Extended Q&A: CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin
Social justice and anti-war advocate Medea Benjamin talks about drone warfare, mobilizing a movement
No Trick-or-Treat tonight, make your own Candy Corn
Since most Halloween celebrations have been postponed due to bad weather, why not spend tonight converting sugar into candy corn?
Bayard Rustin festival postponed
Travel problems force rescheduling
Animal Rescue League needs to be “Liked” in a big way
Animal Rescue League in running for $25K in Rachael Ray ASPCA contest
Majeure developments
MAJEURE with MASERATI and CASUAL MALE. 8 p.m. Thu., Nov. 8. The Shop 4314 Main St. Bloomfield. $8. All ages. 412-951-0622 A few weeks back, Majeure — the solo project of Squirrel Hill’s A.E. Paterra — posted a SoundCloud track called “Total Drum Workout.” It’s a 10-minute, utterly mind-melting drum solo recorded by Paterra, which…
From “Super Mario Clouds” to cats playing Schoenberg, the singular digital art of Cory Arcangel
CORY ARCANGEL: MASTERS Opening reception and performance: 6:30 p.m. Fri., Nov. 2 (free). Exhibit continues through Jan. 27. Carnegie Museum of Art 4400 Forbes Ave. Oakland. 412-622-3212 or cmoa.org A decade ago, Cory Arcangel began making his name with modified video games. “Super Mario Clouds,” for instance, was Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers, hacked to create…
DJ ChaChee helps bolster Pittsburgh hip hop at WPTS
Corey Mizell likes to think of all DJs as “emotion controllers.” “That’s the mark of a good DJ,” he says. “You know how to control the mood. If you’re at a party or a club and you want everyone to have a good time, you play something fast to get people dancing. If it’s the end…
Theatre Factory’s The Glass Menagerie
THE GLASS MENAGERIE continues through Sun., Nov. 4. 235 Cavitt Ave. Trafford. $13-16. 412-374-9200 or thetheatrefactory.com Whatever else might or might not have been done right in the Theatre Factory’s version of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, the company has met the most essential requirement. This production is a clear and uncluttered opportunity to experience…
Critics’ Picks: October 31 – November 6
[PUNK AND MORE] + SAT., NOV. 3 It’s a tradition nearly as old as some of its attendees: ADD Fest is now in its 15th iteration (the 13th at the Mr. Roboto Project). Each year around this time, the show takes 10 local bands and allows them 10 minutes each to show what they’ve got.…
Little Lake’s Time Stands Still
TIME STANDS STILL continues through Sat., Nov. 3. Little Lake Theatre 500 Lakeside Drive (off Route 19) Canonsburg. $12-18. 724-745-6300 or littlelake.org Life does not go on, and will soon be joined by Newsweek, at least as far as dead-tree publication is concerned. Sorry, that’s what stuck in my head while watching Little Lake Theatre’s…
On the Record with Josh Weaver of Royal Thunder
ROYAL THUNDER with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, ZOROASTER, VEGA, AFTERTHEFALL. 6 p.m. Tue., Nov. 6. 1620 Penn Ave. Strip District. $17-19. 412-206-9791 or thealtarbar.com Swampy Savannah sludge has many variations — see Kylesa, Baroness or Black Tusk for some examples — but Royal Thunder takes a classic-rock route. With big, heavy riffs and bassist Mlny Parsonz’…
Midnight Radio’s Pittsburgh Ghost Stories
MIDNIGHT RADIO: PITTSBURGH GHOST STORIES continues through Sat., Nov. 3. 937 Liberty Ave. Downtown. $15-25. 412-381-6999 or bricolagepgh.org Bricolage Production Co. has created an alternative universe with its Midnight Radio series. For one thing, the clock’s all wrong: “Midnight” is actually 9 p.m. More importantly, this is a universe in which live radio drama still…
A Conversation with Medea Benjamin
Medea Benjamin co-founded the social justice/anti-war organization CODEPINK in 2002. Today, she is still rallying against military conflicts — specifically the use of armed drones to attack alleged terrorists. She recently published Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, and returned from a trip to Pakistan, where her delegation participated in an anti-drone rally. Benjamin will…
Conservative Networking
Richard Mellon Scaife, take note: Elections are so inundated with cash that even you — the billionaire publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — may have trouble keeping up. Your past support of conservative causes has made you famous, but a small-town Pennsylvania family may represent the future of big-league politics. Few Pittsburghers have probably ever…
Grain of Truth
Characteristically, food blogger Quelcy Kogel first appears in an email — easier to reach her there, or at her With the Grains blog. “You’ll arrive at a yellow brick building,” she writes of her Polish Hill digs. “The address is printed on the step to the left of the corrugated metal garage door. Follow that…
Short List: October 31 – November 6
Main Event: Mon., Nov. 5 — Words In September 2011, retired Pulitzer-winning columnist Ellen Goodman was scheduled to give a talk at St. Francis University. But after a Catholic advocacy group complained that Goodman is pro-choice, the Cambria County-based school canceled the lecture. The irony wasn’t lost on Goodman, who was booked to talk not…
Savage Love
I was innocently browsing the personal ads on Craigslist and saw one from a dude who was looking to try “saline balls.” Having no idea what this was, I Googled it. Even worse, I Google-imaged it. I pride myself on being unshockable, but I was utterly mortified at what I saw. And my copious Internet…
Gia Visto
Gia Visto 4366 Old William Penn Highway Monroeville. 412-374-1800 Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soup and salad $4-10; pasta and entrees $13-25 Liquor: BYOB If Monroeville has become synonymous with shopping malls and national chains, that’s partly because its main drag is all that most of us ever see.…
John Moran’s American Idols takes an irreverent look at U.S. presidents.
AMERICAN IDOLS continues through Jan. 21. Pittsburgh Glass Center 5472 Penn Ave. Friendship. 412-365-2145 or pittsburghglasscenter.org American Idols is well timed: The exhibit consists of 43 glass busts, each depicting a different U.S. president. This is election season, and the theme should suffice. But Idols is provocative on many levels. The figures stand in the…
Lynn Cullen Live 10/31/12
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; adults shouldn’t celebrate Halloween; climate change; Romney’s “relief effort” to the Red Cross; Carl Sagan’s Cosmos; red states get more gov’t funding than blue states; the Civil War wasn’t the end game; Coke Bros. spending $ on anti-Obama ads in PA; new CP out today; Armstrong Cable giving free ad…
Three Rivers Film Festival
The 31st annual Three Rivers Film Festival, presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, runs from Fri., Nov. 2, through Nov. 17. The program of more than 50 films includes foreign-language works, independents, documentaries, shorts and local works. Of note this year are a sidebar of films by women directors; five coming-of-age films; a slate of Polish films;…
Higher Ground
Photo caption: Highland Park residents celebrate the redevelopment of Bryant Street during a recent “Bite of Bryant” festival. {Photo by AmyJo Brown} Just outside the Park Place Pub and Restaurant in Highland Park, along the tree-lined five-block stretch of Bryant Street, a trombone player and bassist serenaded dog walkers and friends huddling around baby strollers. …
Cloud Atlas
The big Cloud Atlas is comprised of six little stories that span the ages (1849 to 2144) and the universe (five take place on Earth), with the same actors playing parts in each, all just to proclaim that we’re interconnected through time, and that one person can make a difference. Those notions (I hesitate to…
Wigle offers Dutch-inspired variation of traditional gin
Nearly all the gin consumed in the United States is produced in what’s known as the “London Dry” style, in which a neutral spirit (vodka) is distilled with a mix of botanicals. Juniper — the berry of a cyprus tree, and a required component of all gins — is the primary flavoring, and crisp citrus…
Nobody Walks
In this ensemble indie drama, the arrival of a young female guest gradually discombobulates a funky but well-to-do Los Angeles family. Martine (Olivia Thirlby) is a flirty filmmaker from New York who, through a loose social connection, moves into Julie and Peter’s home. Peter (John Krasinski), a sound designer, offers to help Martine score her…
Parents can benefit from tricks used to get reluctant kids to eat healthier
Among insecure parents, few topics drive more web traffic than debates about eating habits. What to do, for example, if your kid refuses to eat healthy foods? Pushing too hard can backfire, turning mealtime into a conflict. “Hiding” healthy ingredients inside food your kid likes has been popularized in a book, Deceptively Delicious, by Jessica…
The Other Son
When 18-year-old Joseph, of Tel Aviv, signs up for his Israeli army service, he’s given a blood test — and some shocking news: He’s not his parents’ biological child. In the chaos of being born the night in 1991 when the Iraqis lobbed Scud missiles at Israel, baby Joseph was accidentally switched with baby Yacine,…
Thinking Outside the Box
Consider the humble newspaper box: a dispenser of information, a piece of street-furniture to lean against, a refuge for very short people hiding from the bitter winds of a Frankenstorm. And now: a work of art. This summer, City Paper invited artists to submit designs for turning our newspaper boxes into aesthetic objects. We received…
Wreck-It Ralph
Rich Moore’s digitally animated comedy about arcade video games is a mash-up of Toy Story and Tron (both now in the Disney stable, as is this film). When the arcade is closed, the game characters “come to life,” free from the confines of their narratives to move around and socialize. But off-work time is tougher…
Philadanco, August Wilson Center dance ensemble and more at the second annual Black Dance Festival.
BLACK DANCE FESTIVAL II Fri., Nov. 2, through Sun., Nov. 4 August Wilson Center 980 Liberty Ave. Downtown. $25. 412-456-6666 or CulturalDistrict.org In ancient civilizations they were called “keepers of the flame”: those entrusted with tending the sacred fires. In a sense, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble artistic director Greer Reed has taken up that mantle…
Festival honors civil-rights icon’s centennial
Bayard Rustin’s life celebrated with performances, screenings, talks
