October 30, 2013 by justin
in Game Day
Gophers taking off ‘like a house on fire’
FIRST DOWN The front-runner for Big Ten Coach of the Year? A guy from Clay Center, Kansas. A guy who coached under Glen Mason at the University of Kansas but never actually played for him. A guy who had to leave Lawrence and move back home because he couldn’t afford
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Film Review
Fighting fate
“All is Lost” 5 stars Rated PG-13 105 minutes Action Starring: Robert Redford Robert Redford gives the finest performance of his career in writer-director J.C. Chandor’s literal and metaphorical tale of one man’s attempts to survive on the high seas. Redford carries Chandor’s one-man showcase with a depth of character
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Your Money
Paid for by taxpayers in… Des Moines.
Amount: $510 To: Competitive Edge For: Purchase of 500 polyester lanyards for Des Moines Parks and Recreation, including $16 in freight fees. Amount: $382.50 To: Graffiti Graffics Inc. (sic) For: Purchase of 15 two-sided “Walk In the Park” graphics for Parks and Rec. Amount: $210 To: Hy-Vee Hickory
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Sound Notes
I met Lou Reed once. It was in a hotel bar in San Francisco in the early ’00s. We didn’t say much. I offered to buy him a drink. He politely declined. After a bit, someone else approached Reed as he sat there drinking his whiskey and attempted to engage
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Cover Story
Tales of Iowa hauntings
Ever been called crazy? I mean, truly experienced the self shrink against the cold sincerity of someone’s towering accusation, the helplessness of possessing a powerless conviction that fails to move a doubter to your corner regardless of your disparity, your logic, your unwavering argument, your repeated swearing to God that
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in The Sound
Steve Vai: guitar’s mad genius
The phrase “make it talk” was seemingly coined with Steve Vai in mind. Forged in the fires of Joe Satriani’s tutelage, shaped by the mind of Frank Zappa, Vai is one of those “guitarist’s guitarist” guys: someone who may not always be first in the mainstream line — he was
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Job stats for Branstad, Culver, Vilsack. Steve King’s payroll: All in the family
The fact-checker: No. 1. “More Iowans are working now than at any point in our state’s history,” Tim Albrecht, Gov. Terry Branstad’s communications director, said the other day. Not really. At latest report, nonfarm employment in Iowa was 1,518,200. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May of
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October 30, 2013 by justin
in Sound Check
The Saturdays “Living for the Weekend” Fascination/Polydor/Mercury You can blame Phil Spector for The Saturdays. When Spector put Darlene Love in a studio to record “He’s a Rebel” so The Crystals could then lip sync over it and score a No. 1 hit, he opened the world’s eyes to the
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