‘Lab Girl’ My definition of good popular science writing is that which even the reader who eschewed high school chemistry and physics can understand. Outstanding popular science writing will captivate the same reader from the first page on. “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren falls into the second category. Growing up
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Book Review
July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Belly Up To...
Mixing it up downtown
The secret is officially out Mixology Night was CITYVIEW’s 2017 winner of “Best Kept Secret on the Local Nightlife Scene” and has become a favorite of those in the know. The Science Center of Iowa (SCI) first began Mixology Night in 2011, six years after its new 110,000-square-foot downtown location
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Art News
Environmental collapse
Jordan Weber is a chronicler of environmental degradation and its effects on communities, particularly African-American communities. He has made quite a name, too, having been invited to big shows on both coasts and being paired with some of the biggest names in African-American art. Most recently he did an exhibition
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Sound Circuit
No pressure: Iowa greats Whitmore and Zollo unite for 80/35 set
William Elliott Whitmore and David Zollo first met while Whitmore was still a teenager. Whitmore gave Zollo a demo tape, a recording that Zollo said left him “stunned.” They became friends, and as their careers progressed, worked together occasionally, with Zollo performing on Whitmore’s “Animals in the Dark.” “For the
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Fashion
July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Sound Check
Sound Check
“Pure Torture” Green Death EMP Label Group Two years after “Manufacturing Evil,” and a year after the departure of founding guitarist Erich Tran, Des Moines metal band Green Death returns with the short EP “Pure Torture.” It’s a little amuse-bouche to set the stage for the band’s future. “Pure Torture”
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Rants & Reason
Terrifying Trump thought: UFO pilot says, ‘Take me to your leader’
With all that’s going on in the world, the media can be forgiven if they overlook the 70th anniversary of the onset of the flying saucer phenomenon — a date linked to sightings of June 24, 1947, and then an increase of reports and press coverage over the July Fourth
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Your View
July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in People & Pets
Why did the chickens cross the road?
Nine chickens and counting Backyard chickens may be a trend of urban hipsters, but for Des Moines resident Nicole James and her family, they are beloved backyard pets. The James family has kept chickens since 2013, and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing in the poultry department. “We started with
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July 05, 2017 by Brent Antisdel
in Collections & Hobbies
The sound of music
A one-of-a-kind cello As a 6 year old, Ashley Sidon’s cello was bigger than she was. The youngster despised practicing, and she resented her instrument. She often daydreamed of destroying her big wooden burden. In her mind, she would carry it to the highest point of her childhood home and
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