December 03, 2014 by justin
in Locker Room
Every year it is the same: The cold is somehow unexpected, families who haven’t seen each other all year get together twice in as many weeks, and the pre-Christmas season keeps sticking its nose in months that end in “-ber.” Happy freakin’ holidays! Along with the Christmas season comes a
Read More →Cultural diversity Various cogs in South Korea’s national machinery paused briefly on Nov. 13 so as not to distract the nation’s high-school-age kids, as 650,000 of them were sitting for the decisive university entrance exams (which are several levels more important than the SATs or ACTs for American students). Large
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December 03, 2014 by justin
in Joe's Neighborhood
The fast train from Madrid, Spain, to Avignon, France, departing Monday afternoon. Train 9724, Car 1. Seats 71 and 76. Shoulder to shoulder, the men stood. Hundreds of men. Singing, yelling, chanting. Deafening. Frightening. Empowering. Solidifying. Their roar began in the highest seats of the stadium, floated across the mass
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December 03, 2014 by justin
in Civic Skinny
The city fathers got together. The population of Des Moines had nearly doubled in just 20 years, to about 120,000, and the city needed a great hotel, they said. Des Moines already had 30 hotels, with 4,000 rooms, but most were down near the Rock Island and Union depots around
Read More →CivicSkinny’s afterthought — “If Chuck Grassley were a lawyer, Joni Ernst would not be a senator” got me thinking… If Washington had sons, he might have accepted that whole “monarchy in America” thing to keep them employed. If Lincoln had Netflix, he might have served two full terms. If Spiro Agnew wasn’t a tax-dodger, then
Read More →After suffering major smoke damage when the pizza oven burned a few nearby pizza boxes in June, the Cozy Café located at 5405 Douglas Ave. has reopened. Owner Mark Linebach had to replace a significant portion of the café, including new booths, electrical, HVAC and a state-of-the-art hood exhaust system
Read More →Weird patriotism November is tax-publicizing season in Finland, where, starkly unlike America, the government releases all individuals’ tax records to help build public support for the country’s vast welfare state. Thus, reported Foreign Policy magazine, Finnish society gets a “yearly dose of schadenfreude” … “opening the door for a media
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November 26, 2014 by justin
in Film Review
“Mockingjay, Part I” Rated PG-13 130 minutes Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore and Liam Hemsworth This is the world we live in. When movie franchises now make billions of dollars — rather than just hundreds of millions — studios look for every possible way to extend them. That is how
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November 26, 2014 by justin
in Locker Room
Building up an appetite isn’t particularly difficult this time of year. Warm food season brings the wonderful aromas that entice people to have just one more scoop, one more bowl — just one more. This year, why not try something new with your family and friends and join 400-600 other
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November 26, 2014 by justin
in Cover Story
We’ve learned from the last five years of Des Moines’ Sexiest People candidates that sexy is more than just a description of one’s appearance (although that certainly helps). This year’s nominees take sexy even further with their impressive resumes, outstanding skills and charming personalities. Most of our nominees say their
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