January 16, 2013 by justin
in Locker Room
All right ya’ll, stop ducking around and let’s get serious about the races — duck races, that is. It’s that time of year again when the Des Moines Boat, Sports and Travel Show invades central Iowa and transforms what would be another mundane winter weekend into the place to be
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Belly Up To...
If Maddy’s Again was the weird stoner who got shoved into lockers in high school, Mavericks is the star football quarterback who did it. Maddy’s Again might have been the only somewhat dive bar of the western suburbs. It was dark and dingy, and the only real, “high-energy” nights came
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Cover Story
Dec. 15, 1944: The morning train paused in the winter-quiet resort town of Spirit Lake just long enough to allow a scrawny pair of shabbily-dressed men to step off. They carried no luggage. The middle-aged man and his father were strangers to the town’s 2,200 off-season residents. They hung around
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Civic Skinny, Featured Story
Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz, who is turning over every rock and checking every driver’s license and database in his search for persons who are voting illegally, is on his website advising tens of thousands of disenfranchised Iowans that it’s OK if they vote. Huh? Let’s say you are
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Joe's Neighborhood, Recent Posts
Truth is hard to come by it seems. What we see is shaped by so many factors that have nothing to do with what is actually in front of us. The problem ranges from an actual blind spot in our eye to the mind’s technique of filling in what we
Read More →The good Bravo Greater Des Moines recently awarded a total of $274,083 to 18 central Iowa arts and cultural organizations as part of its FY2013 Capital Campaign and Projects (CCP) Grant allocation process. The award amount and number of applicants are record-breaking for the regional arts council. Through 28E agreements
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Recent Posts, Sound Check
Holopaw ‘Academy Songs, Volume 1’ Misra “Acdemy Songs” is, I guess, a concept album. Whether it aims too high, or whether front man John Orth’s songwriting isn’t up to the task, is ultimately immaterial. Either way, it’s not a very good concept album. The Gainesville, Fla., indie outfit has produced
Read More →Referencing your Jan. 10 issue about The Des Moines Register numbers (Civic Skinny), another thing they have changed regarding vacation is that you used to be able to donate your issues to Newspapers in Education. Now that is no longer an option, which is even more disappointing now that you
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January 16, 2013 by justin
in Film Review
“Hyde Park on Hudson” 2 stars Rated R 94 mins. Comedy Starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams If only we could see Bill Murray’s FDR hanging out with Daniel Day-Lewis’ Abraham Lincoln, then there might be…well, another mediocre life-slice movie about dead presidents. Like Day-Lewis, Murray builds his character
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