In this day and age, examples of win-win situations are rare. It seems there is always a winner or a loser, or at least someone claiming to be one or the other. So when an idea clicks, and people are happy, it’s worth talking about. When Sam Knutson attended a
Read More →FLASH NEWS! From the Associated Press: “The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, the Ankeny-based agency that operates the state’s wholesale liquor monopoly, says the winter storm is delaying deliveries to alcoholic beverage licensees.” Yes, you read that right: Iowa, the most Puritan state in the North, has a state monopoly on
Read More →
Posted January 02, 2013in Recent Posts, Sound Notes
To drink or not to drink: On Dec. 17, KCCI and the Des Moines Register both reported that The Marquee — the former Ingersoll Dinner Theater — was losing its liquor license after a unanimous vote by the city council. The theater space is a landmark and one of the
Read More →
Posted January 02, 2013in Recent Posts, Sound Check
Rage Against the Machine ‘XX’ Epic There is probably no album that more perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the early ’90s better than Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 debut. Zach de la Rocha’s seething, intellectually Marxist lyrics and Tom Morello’s six string wizardry combined to create a sound that still
Read More →As some of you might be aware, I had a birthday over the weekend. It was actually Dec. 30, but since nobody likes to party on a Sunday, I threw together a show at Gas Lamp on Dec. 29. The White Elephant, Viva Montesa, Christopher the Conquered and Mumfords all
Read More →‘BLACK KNIGHT SWORD’ (M) **1/2 D3 Publisher PlayStation Network “Black Knight Sword” begins with closed red curtains and the murmur of an audience anxious for the show to begin. Then the curtains are drawn to reveal the stage, across which the titular knight will sidescroll for the duration of the
Read More →Here’s something that may be more technical than usual, but it’s a way to start the New Year. There are no good statistics, but it’s safe to say that most people will never reinstall their computer’s operating system. If anything, they’ll use it as an excuse to buy a new
Read More →
Posted January 02, 2013in Book Review, Recent Posts
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Reviewed by Fay Jones St. Martin’s Press February 2013 $24.99 336 pp. Julie Kibler’s debut novel tells the story of two women as they embark on a unique road trip. While traveling from Texas to Northern Kentucky, a compelling narrative unfolds, and the reader has the
Read More →
Posted January 02, 2013in On The Tube, Recent Posts
Shirley MacLaine gives the Brits a run for their money in ‘Downton Abbey’ “Downton Abbey,” Masterpiece Classic’s period soap opera, returns amid post-World War I turmoil (Sunday, 8 p.m., PBS). Money troubles and personal crises abound in the grand country estate, requiring a stiff upper lip from both the aristocrats
Read More →
Of the NRA, Welch, Bonhoeffer and Dilbert
In the decade of the 1920s, journalist and muckraker Lincoln Steffens was much impressed by the Communist revolution in Russia. So much so that — until he soured on Russia in the early 1930s — he often said, “I have seen the future, and it works.” Now almost 100 years
Read More →