Posted February 05, 2014in Duffy
Posted February 05, 2014in Center Stage
Dunderhead Noir, done with brio
At Ankeny Community Theater, a late rehearsal of the mystery-farce “Death by Chocolate” proved swift, professional and, at times, delightful. Yet I kept wondering whether any company could bloom under the long shadow of Garrison Keillor. Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” regularly features Guy Noir, private detective, bumbling through cases that
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Posted February 05, 2014in Locker Room
Rather be fishing?
For every sport you see on mainstream television, there is another version of it that is deemed a little too dangerous to be highly publicized. For a long time, mixed martial arts existed only among those who trained and participated in the matches, while the rest of the world got
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Posted February 05, 2014in News of the Weird
Going Postal America’s returning warriors continue to experience inexplicable difficulty after putting their lives at risk for their country. It took 13 years for Army Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson to get his job back from his civilian employer after he took leave in 2000 to serve in the National Guard
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Posted February 05, 2014in Joe's Neighborhood
Somebody had to
Des Moines really is the center of the universe. I know, I know, there are a few doubters out there. If you are cosmopolitan, or worldly, or perhaps a model for Abercrombie & Fitch standing shirtless outside the store at Jordan Creek, the center of the universe is wherever your
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Posted February 05, 2014in The Sound
Andrew Ripp’s uncomfortable confession
Andrew Ripp has three albums under his belt since debuting in 2008 with “Fifty Miles to Chicago,” but the industry vet first cut his teeth helping write winners for other performers, including Ryan Cabrera’s 2005 Top 40 hit “Shine On.” But as is often the case, Ripp could only watch
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Posted February 05, 2014in Tech Talk
Behind the lens: Digital replaces analog
The last couple years have been a nonstop thrill-ride for Hollywood. While box office revenues have broken records, the real suspense-filled adventure is not happening on the screen but inside the theater projector. Fewer terms are more analog than film, a physical medium that stores single frame pictures in sequence.
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Posted February 05, 2014in Sound Circuit
20 years of Nadas
In 2001, Playboy Magazine named The Nadas “the best band you’ve never heard of.” Now, in 2014, The Nadas are officially “the best 20-year-old band you’ve never heard of.” Twenty years. That’s a lot of time logged on the road, a lot of opening gigs for national touring acts, and
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Posted February 05, 2014in Sound Notes
It was a sad week in music, as folk hero and tireless civil rights champion Pete Seeger died at the age of 94 on Jan. 27, two days preceded by local Twelve Canons songwriter Jim Durocher. This space is unequal to the task of eulogizing either, but both will be
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Stop the presses! Des Moines Register column makes sense!
The Des Moines Register had quite a scary headline for Iowa Republicans the other day — over a Rekha Basu column: GOP’s lack of diversity could make it obsolete. But if you want an even scarier headline, consider this one: GOP’s lack of diversity won’t make it obsolete. As a
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