Next week’s photo: This week’s winner: “Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike we’re ready for your closeup!” -Jerry Stoner Runners-up: “Google Maps Street View — North African Division.” -Scott Ingvaldson “All they have to do now is figure out how to make him walk backwards.” -Jim McCool Think you’re
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Posted January 14, 2015in What the?
Posted January 14, 2015in On The Tube
Monkey Business
“Portlandia” Thursdays (IFC) One of the selling points of “Portlandia” has always been, if you don’t like one sketch, there’s another coming along in a minute. In Season 5, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are going a different route and spending a whole episode with one pair of characters (last
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Posted January 14, 2015in Joe's Neighborhood
One good person, well-done
It’s the voice that grabs your attention. “Booming” seems too violent of a description. And “piercing” seems too irritating. But “arresting”? Ah, the voice does make you stop and look and check out who is making that noise. Of course, there’s also his size. A big man by any standards. Bright-eyed and
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Posted January 07, 2015in Belly Up To...
Denny Arthur’s: something old, something new
Going out for drinks, hitting the dance floor and chatting up some good-looking people is a standard activity for the 21 to 30 age group. It’s still relevant to the 30 to 50 age group, although probably not a weekly endeavor. What about the 50 to 80 group? Are
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Posted January 07, 2015in Rap Sheet
Two of a Kind?
Former Major League Baseball player Wladimir Balentien, then 29, was arrested in Florida last January on domestic violence and false imprisonment charges. He and his wife of six years, Karla, were going through a divorce when Balentien forced his way into the couple’s home. He grabbed his wife’s arm
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Posted January 07, 2015in On The Tube
New Year’s Noise
“Archer” Thursday, Jan. 8 (FX) Season Premiere: After last season’s cocaine ’n’ country detour, Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and crew are back in the spy game — but no longer as ISIS, since that name’s been, uh, compromised. After he’s done wallowing in “cobra whiskey and lady-boy hookers,”
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Posted January 07, 2015in The Sound
Roots music
Rusted Root has the feel of your hippie neighbor’s campfire drum circle that got a record deal and made it kind of big. They have a kind of amorphous lineup, the overall sound is jammy and loose, and the songs make it feel like the journey is more important than
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Posted January 07, 2015in Political Mercury
A forceful Iowa icon
Arthur A. Neu, a son of Carroll’s longest-serving mayor who went on to a career in public service himself that included election as lieutenant governor of Iowa, died Jan. 2 from complications of pneumonia. He was 81. Neu’s oldest son and law partner, A. Eric Neu, a Carroll County
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Posted January 07, 2015in Tech Talk
Let the Internet worry about what you wear
If there is one thing brick and mortar retail has over online shopping it is the hands-on, trial-run experience of being able to try something out before making a purchase. You can try on an outfit, listen to a whole album and rent a film or videogame before you purchase
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Posted January 07, 2015in Your View
Disappointed with Best Of
I just got done voting for some of the Des Moines “Best” venues, items, people, etc. in the Des Moines area. What a great way to honor local businesses; however, I was very disappointed to see “Best-Looking Media Personality (Female and Male)” as two of the categories. I could have
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