Midway through our conversation, Kyle Brantzel started speaking in tongues. First he used a birdlike falsetto, then a gravelly basso, switching off without a hitch. “That’s how you’ve got to do it,” he explained, dropping back into his natural voice (with a hint of a Chicago accent). “After all, you’re 50 percent of the show.” […]
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I admit: I have a beard because I am lazy. Some people do it because it makes them feel more masculine or gives their face more definition. I just hate to shave. The current hip term for good-looking guys with beards is “Lumbersexual.” I am not a Lumbersexual. What I am is lucky I have […]
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Despite the name, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is just three people: The Reverend himself, Washboard Breezy Peyton and drummer Ben Bussell. But what the band lacks in actual size, it makes up for in sound. Self described as “high energy country blues” Reverend Peyton’s musical output is a potent combination of old fashioned delta […]
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I did not realize “Focus” was bad until I realized I had spent an hour wondering what side of the road Brazilians drive on. There is frequently a more than semantic difference between a film that is “good” and one that is “entertaining.” Good films are usually entertaining (though in extremely rare cases, this is […]
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Most bars have a whiskey sour, and some have their versions of a Moscow Mule. Going out with friends and family is fun, but things start getting static and boring when you frequent the same places that offer the same beer, the same cocktails, the same wine — the same everything. Sometimes we need to […]
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Newly installed U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Red Oak Republican, breaks with many conservatives in agreeing with President Barack Obama on a highly controversial element of White House-directed immigration reform. Ernst says she doesn’t think undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children should be ...
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Cultural criticism is elitist by necessity. If critics praised that which was popular, they would be redundant. Academy Awards do not go to popular movies so much as to esoteric films. Only a brave critic would praise fast food before it becomes obsolete. Consider the original fast food genre — the automat — c ...
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The question is simple: Is it a sport or isn’t it? This month’s Mixology Night at the Science Center of Iowa will play host to 21st Century Gaming on Friday, March 6. “Mixology events are the first Friday of the month and are focused on engaging ‘lifelong learnings’ and bringing in the 21-plus crowd to [ ...
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The Utah Court of Appeals ruled in February that Barbara Bagley has a legal right to sue herself for her own negligent driving that caused the death of her husband. Typically, in U.S. courts, a party cannot profit from its own negligence, but Bagley is the official “representative” administering her hu ...
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Just a goodbye is what she asked. Write a farewell. Nothing more. Certainly nothing rude. Nothing getting even. Nothing to settle old scores. Just goodbye to old friends, old enemies, and all the in-between. And, most importantly, goodbye to the neighborhood. To the East Village, a simple goodbye. The past few we ...
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Johnston Community School District Paid in the month of February Amount: $115 To: Ankeny Community Schools For: Wrestling entry fee Amount: $47.50 To: Ardick Equipment Co. Inc. For: “No skateboarding” sign Amount: $462.18 To: Big Athletics For: Hoover women’s cheer shoes Amount: $ ...
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