Perverse Outcome

County's proposed limits on sex-offender residency would make dozens of communities off-limits

• by Melissa Meinzer

A Jones for Music

Trumpet player Sean Jones honors Pittsburgh's jazz past -- and tries to solidify the city's claim on the future

• by Mike Shanley

A Conversation with Charlie Kernaghan

• by Charlie Deitch

Master Plan

City looking for company to help plan Hill District's future

• by Chris Young

Canvas Reports

Activists say county must test more voting machines

• by Marty Levine

A Super Bowl: Oatmeal

A South Side coffee shop wants you to eat your porridge.

• by Chris Young

What's Cookin' at Casey's

Casual, comfortable dining in the heart of Oakmont.

• by Angelique Bamberg and Jason Roth

U.K. dubstep star Stenchman spins at the Subdivision party this weekend

"We started doing parties because there were so many acts we really wanted to see, and nobody was throwing anything exclusively bass-oriented."

• by Manny Theiner

Ian Svenonius' new band Chain and The Gang offers satire and soul

"It's called Chain and The Gang because it's inspired by work gangs and the kind of compulsory service that musicians feel, making music."

• by Mike Shanley

Singer-songwriter Sarazin Blake has studied at the foot of the masters

"I'm immersed in the folk tradition, the ballads and such," Blake says, "but I mix that with the punk-rock essence that surrounded me as I grew musically."

• by Manny Theiner

Americana's rising stars The Felice Brothers play Mr. Small's

Raw, ragged music delivered with wheezy, seasick accordions, twangy electric guitar, and an atmosphere both oppressive and freeing.

• by Aaron Jentzen

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Shot here in 2006, this Pittsburgh-set story finally returns home

• by Al Hoff

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

I'm not much for football. To pretend I care (and to be annoying), when a team is waaaay down and out of time, I'll often declare: "There's a lot of football left to play." Every now and then, I'm brilliantly prescient. I sure would have been at the 1968 Harvard-Yale match-up, when the game's final minute gave one team 16 points, shifting it from the rout column to an official tie and informal victory. Kevin Rafferty's documentary revisits that game -- literally. Footage from the game -- from kick-off to final play -- is intercut with contemporary talking-head interviews with the players: the reputedly snobby, sheltered Yalies and the more politically active Harvard crew. Dissent raged on campus, and beyond the ivy-covered walls, less privileged young men slogged in Vietnam. (The odd player was a vet.) But as Western PA knows too well, football, and its storied rivalries, matter most of all. The players offer the occasional off-field nugget or observation that's mildly interesting. For instance, the "Doonesbury" cartoon was essentially born that year, spurred by Yale's preoccupation with football and its star quarterback, "B.D." And coincidentally, each team had a player who roomed with the stars of that other nightmare tie, Bush v. Gore 2000. But the scope of this film is pretty much limited to the game. For these guys, it was epic; for the rest of us, well, the last reel is an entertaining textbook example of that old truism: There's a lot of football left to play. Starts Fri., April 17. Harris (AH) [2 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

Observe and Report

The latest, from Jody Hill and starring Seth Rogen as a bipolar security guard with a variety of "issues," is strenuously obnoxious. Undoubtedly, some folks will find this "edginess" funny, but while I'm open to button-pushing laughs, Observe missed the mark. The film's clunkiness doesn't help: If you can see the cast working, the jokes are gonna fall flat. Trendy meta techniques aside, a successful comedy requires a certain seamlessness: Within its context, its absurdities should feel natural and familiar. This doesn't preclude outrageousness (think of Borat), but Hill aims first for shock value, and second for laughs. Then there's the lazy writing, covered up simply by spewing profanity. Seriously, one scene in this film is just two guys saying "fuck you" repeatedly; funny when I was 8, maybe. Observe lies within that new strata of humor whose hallmark is belligerent attitude: A hapless, self-deluded, unlikable protagonist trumps his inadequacies with misdirected anger and obnoxious behavior. (See also: Hill's debut, The Foot Fist Way; his HBO series Eastbound and Down; and 2007's Hot Rod.) But Rogen is better than this, and suppressing his amiable likability to play this witless jerk doesn't net him many laughs. Indeed, Celia Weston, as his alcoholic mom, and Anna Faris, as his no-way crush, easily steal their scenes from Rogen. When a film grabs its biggest laughs by depicting a middle-aged man running around naked, why even bother hiring a star? (AH) [1.5 out of 4 stars]

• by Al Hoff

The Warhol's new curator, Eric Shiner, debuts with The End.

For those who find solace in ironic overtures, however, The End might actually inspire hope.

• by Sharmila Venkatasubban

Letters to the Editor: April 15 - 22

Feedback from readers: Taking a shot at the Culture War.

This Just In: April 16 - 23

Highlights from the local TV news: Pizza shop gets new drive-through window.

• by Frances Sansig Monahan

Grocery Shopping in America

A poem by Gerry Rosella Boccella

Acclaimed short-story writer Charles D'Ambrosio visits.

These are superb stories -- snappy, lean, and they can take a turn.

• by John Stoehr

Human Error

All three seem to be very aware that they are characters in a play.

• by Ted Hoover

"Reachings" and "Pain in My Heart"

Both plays illustrate Penny's talent for bringing abstract political and social issues down to a concrete level.

• by John Fantin

Short List: Week of April 16 - 23

Highlights from the week's calendar of events.