September 11, 2013 by justin
in Food Dude
Twenty three years ago, civic leaders asked Mario Gandelsonas to visualize future development of the city. That architectural theorist, a devout French Post Structuralist, made drawings of Des Moines inspired by his plane ride over town. Those convinced him that the Des Moines River could be transformed into a Seine-like
Read More →Last week Steve Ballmer surprised the tech world by announcing that in 12 months he will be stepping down as CEO of Microsoft. According to the rumor mill, Ballmer is not so much retiring as being gracefully shown the door due to the failure of Microsoft’s Surface line of tablets.
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September 04, 2013 by justin
in Belly Up To...
Two occurrences exist in life that cause my dad emotions of disappointment: death and the Hawkeyes. I’ve watched him yell, cheer and roll his eyes at the TV screen during regular season games, bowl games and the various arrest warrants issued to many unlucky players on the team, but throughout
Read More →Queen of the night The conflicted double life of Israeli Orthodox Jew Shadar Hadar, 34, might be as formidable to manage as that of an international spy. Though deeply and defiantly religious, around midnight he typically “trades his knitted white yarmulke” for a “wavy blond wig and pink velvet dress”
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September 04, 2013 by justin
in Film Review
“Closed Circuit” 3 stars Rated R 96 minutes Drama Starring: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent Gaping plot holes don’t prevent this nearly current espionage thriller from grabbing its audience and keeping them hooked all the way to its socially volatile ending. As the title hints, England’s CCTV (Closed Circuit
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September 04, 2013 by justin
in Food Dude
Mexican restaurants cluster in Des Moines. In the early to mid 20th century, Valley Junction was synonymous with Mexican food. Around the end of the last century, a six-block stretch of East Grand and Hubble avenues housed more superb Latino cafés than the rest of the metro combined. Before the
Read More →“Sons of Anarchy” returns for another dose of brutality and tenderness. Season five of “Sons of Anarchy” ended in a blaze of betrayal and violence. Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any more intense for the California motorcycle club, here comes season six (Tuesday, 9 p.m., FX). Club leader
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September 04, 2013 by justin
in The Sound
Bonne Finken and Sharika Soal sat in a booth at Raccoon River Brewery and, like just about everyone else last week, talked about Miley Cyrus. The pair have a slew of things happening in their respective worlds: Soal, who auditioned earlier in the year for both “America’s Got Talent” and
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September 04, 2013 by justin
in Joe's Neighborhood
Here’s a novel thought — people make mistakes. Usually not big mistakes. But mistakes, nonetheless. Frankly, I’ve made one mistake already this morning. (Was I really just rude to a hard-working guy downtown trying to do a survey at the market?) Heck, it’s not even 10 a.m., and I’m off
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