Twenty-one years ago, Bruce Springsteen’s “Human Touch” album featured the song “57 Channels (and Nothin’ On).” If Bruce had saved this song for 2013, the title would be somewhere closer to “1,557 Channels (and Nothin’ On).” Even worse, all those wasted channels cost cable and satellite subscriptions far more than
Read More →The good Students of Des Moines’ first ever professional improvisational comedy school, Anything Improv, will graduate on March 24 at 5 p.m. at the Gas Lamp, but the ceremony is sure to be more colorful than the Gettysburg Address often recited by valedictorians at high school graduations. The graduates will
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Posted March 20, 2013in Featured Story, Political Mercury
Oh, for the 1970s — were it not for those wildly ridiculous pants. Those of us in older generations remember a time when K-12 educators were asked to teach reading and writing and arithmetic, with a field trip to the zoo or some such place thrown in maybe once or
Read More →Amount: $1,255 To: 21st Century Rehab For: Workman’s compensation insurance payment for Robbie Joiner. Amount: $3,846.48 To: Acme Tools For: The purchase of items such as power anchors, a hand-held leaf blower and a weed eater. Amount: $39 To: Anderson-Erickson Farms Inc. For: Purchase of ice cream for
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Posted March 20, 2013in Film Review
“No” 2 stars Rated R 110 mins. Drama Starring: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers Gael Garcia Bernal’s television adman-turned-political-commercial-creator Rene Saavedra is such an ethically ambiguous and passive protagonist that “No” falls flat as a piece of wannabe agitprop cinema. Director Pablo Larrain continues his ongoing study of
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Posted March 20, 2013in The Sound
When Roman generals returned home from military victories, they were welcomed back to Rome with great parades. But in the midst of the triumph, the conquering heroes were accompanied in their chariots by slaves, who would whisper in the generals’ ears the caveat that all glory is fleeting. Max Wellman’s
Read More →Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ‘Specter at the Feast’ Abstract Dragon This is barely the same band as the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club that released 2005 high water mark, “Howl.” Gone is dummer Nick Jago — enter Leah Shapiro — and the band is also clearly still deeply affected by the
Read More →Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Fay Jones Knopf Publishing Group 2/26/13 $25.95 257 pp. With his new release, “Benediction,” best-selling author Kent Haruf delivers another poignant, elegant portrait of life in Holt, Colo. As the novel opens, Dad Lewis and his wife Mary learn that Dad’s cancer has worsened
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Posted March 20, 2013in Featured Story, Food Dude
The old fashioned bar and grill has become an endangered species in Iowa. After industrialized farming changed the state’s demographics (most Iowa counties peaked in population more than 100 years ago), towns became too small to support stand-alone restaurants. So taverns added flat-top grills, deep fryers and sometimes full kitchens
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Posted March 20, 2013in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
Maybe Iowa Public Radio should do a special report on organizations that abuse and misuse the Iowa Open Meetings and Open Records laws. The reporter wouldn’t have to leave the office. As Cityview pointed out two weeks ago, the closed meeting in February in which the IPR board decided to
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