Lynn Cullen Live 01/21/14
Video Archive Phone Guest: Susan. The Flu, H1N1. Strong flu in 1918 killed many 20 somethings because their strong immune system overreacted. Mellon-Scathe trial, Dog kidnapped ‘reward for dog.’ Why dogs circle before they poop is due to them wanting to align with earth’s magnetic poles. School on lock-down after news reporter wanted to test…
FLIGHT: A Crane’s Story Mixes Great Visuals With Not-As-Great Writing
Heather Henson’s FLIGHT: A Crane’s Story has some delightful visuals, but the writing could use some patching up
Award-winning local doc Blood Brother on TV tonight
Pittsburgh-produced, award-winning doc Blood Brother screens tonight on PBS
New Hazlett looking for artists for 2014-15 CSA series
Technical designers will join performers as part of the subscription-based arts series this year.
Lynn Cullen Live 01/17/14
Video Archive Guest: Chris Potter; PA judge strikes down voter ID law!; a good time to join / support the ACLU; Peduto removing Ravenstahl’s name from city trash cans, no plans to add his name; Obits: Hiroo Onoda, Japanese soldier who refused to surrender / Russell Johnson, professor on Gilligan’s Island / Dave Madden, agent…
Lynn Cullen Live 01/16/14
Video Archive No Tom for two weeks; Westminster Dog Show allowing agility competitions & mixed breeds; why some birds fly in a V-shape; Oscar nominations; don’t think people know what a good movie is these days; Russell Crowe returning to Pgh, bringing Aaron Paul with him; lumosity.com; Air Force officers being investigated; Caller: Clarence, Canonsburg.…
Vermicomposting benefits the soil — and our food supply
These days, what goes onto your plate is an issue of growing importance. But what about what’s left over? Nancy Martin, an environmental educator at the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), says that “winter is a great time to start vermicomposting” — composting with worms. Vermicomposting is done in indoor bins with the help of worms…
Pittsburgh stays connected at Jazz Connect conference
Last week, the Jazz Connect Conference drew a plethora of jazz artists, journalists and industry leaders to New York City. Presented by JazzTimes magazine and the Jazz Forward Coalition, the two-day event paid homage to those who helped promote the music while pondering its future. (Full disclosure: I contribute to JazzTimes.) The latter subject came in tones…
Bartender John White a storehouse of single-malt knowledge
Bridge Ten Brasserie 20 S. 10th St., South Side. 412-586-5033 or bridgeten.com John White’s pale eyes twinkle when he talks about single-malt scotch. The 59-year-old holds a snifter of Glenfiddich 12-year to his nose, his eyes closed. “You get vanilla and honey, but also … can you smell the apples?” he asks. “Taste and smell…
Critics’ Picks: January 15 – 21
[ALT-COUNTRY] + THU., JAN. 16 For years now, The Old 97s have represented that spot where alt-country and well-written indie rock meet — and Rhett Miller, the band’s singer and main songwriter, is the reason. He’s also a bit of a Renaissance man, appearing as an actor in movies and on TV, and writing (fiction,…
A new executive chef at Café Phipps brings a firm commitment to eating local and seasonal
In 2012, Amy Tyner’s spouse was diagnosed with cancer. “We’re all clean right now,” says Tyner. But, as a chef, Tyner grew interested in healthy eating, and “what these processed foods and engineered seeds are doing.” Her new job echoes that concern. In November, Tyner became executive chef at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens’ Café…
New Releases
Paint 31 Hot Dogs on Tuesday (Self-released) Over an hour of music spread over 20(!) tracks from the local trio. Nicely produced power-pop and ’90s style pop-punk; think Weezer and Superdrag meet The La’s and The Nerves. Superior, catchy songwriting and great vocal harmonies. My only complaint would be that a lot of the tracks…
Winter Guide 2014
Look out, it’s winter! And it’s been challenging for man and monsters alike. We’ve learned new words like “polar vortex” and how to rock a scarf wrapped around our heads. But there’s plenty more to learn — and do — locally. Below, we’ve compiled a selection of local happenings through March that should provide entertainment,…
Lynn Cullen Live 01/15/14
Video Archive Hard to keep up with the “news” these days; net neutrality — the end of the internet?; Peduto’s Open Data Ordinance; school shooting in Roswell, NM; Oklahoma strikes down same-sex marriage ban; drosophila ( latin for fruit flies ); unemployment benefits extension not passed; homosexuality illegal in Nigeria; Obit: Madeline Arakawa Gins, visionary;…
At the Society for Contemporary Craft, ENOUGH Violence hits hard
ENOUGH VIOLENCE: ARTISTS SPEAK OUT continues through March 22. Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-261-7003 or contemporarycraft.org ENOUGH Violence: Artists Speak Out Public Programs All free and open to the public. 412-261-7003 or contemporarycraft.org Mon., Jan. 20: Violence in the Media Community Call to Action. Talk by professor Steve Gorelick, of…
Kristofer Collins’ new poetry book sings of simple pleasures
Perhaps the New York school of poetry (think O’Hara, Ashbery and Koch) was onto something, with its conversational style infused with irreverence and gossip. Kristofer Collins might agree: His latest work, the chapbook-y, 30-plus pages of Pennsylvania Welcomes You (Coleridge Street Books), relies on an optimistic tone from a less-than-confessional speaker. Collins, once editor of…
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre’s Poe’s Last Night brings author to life
POE’S LAST NIGHT continues through Jan. 19. Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, 937 Liberty Ave., Downtown. 412-687-4686 or pghplaywrights.com/poe What with one thing or another, I’ve spent my life around writers. So I can say with authority that if you’re looking for the most screwed-up, self-destructive people around, your search can begin and end with them. And…
Process Questions: Why are some city charter schools approved over others?
As Pittsburgh Public Schools considers closing another school to help avert a million-dollar budget deficit in 2016, three new charter schools are clamoring for their own share of students … and of public tax dollars. But getting approval for a charter school — a school run by an outside group that nevertheless gets public money…
City Theatre’s South Side Stories steeped in Pittsburgh flavor
SOUTH SIDE STORIES continues through Jan. 26. City Theatre, 1300 Bingham St., South Side. $15-$55. 412-431-2489 or citytheatrecompany.org I was excited to see South Side Stories with my roommate, a recent transplant to Pittsburgh, so I could show her something about her new town’s character and history. South Side Stories, written by and starring Tami…
Molchany vs. Readshaw: Redistricting sets up big primary battle for local progressives
Bill Peduto may still be looking for the key to the mayor’s washroom, and Pittsburgh City Council President Bruce Kraus may still be practicing with his gavel … but local progressives already have another political fight ahead. First-term state Rep. Erin Molchany, a Peduto ally, is taking on veteran legislator Harry Readshaw in the 2014…
Fiesta Flamenca takes a big step forward
Flamenco Pittsburgh presents FIESTA FLAMENCA 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.); Thu., Jan. 23. New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side. $15 advance, $20 at door. 412-320-4610 or newhazletttheater.org Flamenco dance, the most famous export of Spain’s Andalusia region, will take center stage Thu., Jan. 23, at North Side’s New Hazlett Theater —…
Tommy Rot
With Gov. Tom Corbett’s re-election fight about to begin, it will be no surprise when rivals accuse him of acting as a lackey for the gas industry, and a toady of the far right. The surprise is that he’s not doing a very good job at it. At least so far. Corbett’s latest setback came…
The Punk Singer
The Punk Singer Directed by: Sini Anderson Fri., Jan. 17, through Tue., Jan. 21. Melwood. “I’m a girl who you can’t shut up!” Thus chants a young Kathleen Hanna, captured on video at a 1991 spoken-word event. Prophetic words from the woman who went on to form the punk group Bikini Kill and help found…
Savage Love
My friend is married, and she has two little kids. Her husband had a rough childhood and has some issues. Since their most recent child was conceived, they have not had sex. He says there is a difference between a lover and a mother, and he refuses to have sex with his wife now because…
The Legend of Hercules
In the new BBC series Atlantis, an affable-cum-portly actor portrays Hercules. In the new Hollywood movie The Legend of Hercules, he’s portrayed by Kellan Lutz, one of a recent crop of young slabs of meat having a go at stardom. This story of the half-mortal son of Zeus pits Herc against his earthly father, a…
Short List: January 8 – 16
SPOTLIGHT: Sat., Jan. 18 — Stage “I grew up in a puppet family,” says Heather Henson. Understatement alert: Henson is the youngest daughter of the late Jim Henson, the guy who created the Muppets. As a kid, she learned about every kind of puppetry there is. After art school, she returned to the family profession,…
Broken Circle Breakdown
Take a hanky to this heart-wrenching tale of a Belgian couple, whose carefree relationship and differing life philosophies are tested when their young daughter gets sick. The pair also plays in a bluegrass band — their girl is named Maybelle after the Carter Family singer — and that genre’s sorrowful songs of enduring life underscore…
The Art of Paper Folding
The world falls in on itself like stacks of dominos on your uncle’s table as he slaps a black-and-white down; folds out its limbs like a green maple on the side of the highway, black bark pockmarked with eyes; the world breathes in like a slow-growing stomach, the rising of coppery magma from the cracks…
The Stepkids’ Jeff Gitelman talks about growing up in Moldova and playing with Lauryn Hill
THE STEPKIDS. 8 p.m. Sun., Jan. 26. Thunderbird Café, 4023 Butler St., Lawrenceville. $10-12. 412-682-0177 or thunderbirdcafe.net Connecticut-based neo-soul trio The Stepkids has a good bit of Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire in its sonic DNA and Thom Yorke among its fans. The band is now touring behind its second album, Troubadour. Lead…
Tsuki Japanese Restaurant
Tsuki Japanese Restaurant 11655 Frankstown Road, Penn Hills. 412-242-0188 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. noon-9:30 p.m. Prices: Hot entrees $10-23; sushi and sashimi, pieces and rolls $4.50-$9, special rolls $8-13; entrees (with miso soup and salad) $13-24 Liquor: BYOB On a hilltop above Frankstown Road in Penn Hills, there sits a former fast-food joint…
Nox Boys present teenage garage rock on their first LP
NOX BOYS LP RELEASE with MEETING OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE. 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 18. The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St., North Side. $8-10. 412-237-8300 or warhol.org Garage rock has long dealt in teenage concerns; for Nox Boys, those concerns just happen to be in the present tense. Or, as 16-year-old frontman Zack Keim explains…
