Blues for the Men in Blue
“This was in his private life. It has nothing to do with his professional life.” So said FOP president Dan O’Hara of Eugene Hlavac, the sergeant recently accused of dislocating the jaw of his child’s mother, in the Post-Gazette. Hlavac, who Mayor Luke Ravenstahl promoted to sergeant in 2007 despite previous domestic-abuse allegations, has been…
Should old acquaintance be forgot … just look at your county government
Maybe it’s the season, or perhaps its this look back at the county’s home rule charter by the Post-Gazette’s Karamagi Rujumba. But I find myself waxing nostalgic for the political hacks of yesteryear. A decade ago, voters remade county government by replacing the old county government — led by a three-headed panel of county commissioners…
MP3 Monday: A Look Back at 2009
Since the debut of MP3 Monday in February, we’ve managed to post a new mp3 by a local band every week.* There are some real gems in here, and in the time since the tracks were posted, several of the bands have had changes of fortune and fame — both good and bad — which…
Present-Minded
Gonna wind down the blog for the holiday here, but before I do, I want to note a couple gifts that Pittsburgh bloggers have given me … and that Pittsburgh has given the world. Personal thanks go out to Sue Kerr, of the ever-instructive Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents blog, for introducing me to Daylin Leach’s Twitter…
Short List: Week of December 24 – 31
In its 15th year of putting on First Night Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is working hard to keep Downtown’s community New Year’s Eve celebration fresh. Some things, of course, won’t change: The family-friendly festival of performances, spectacles, exhibits and hands-on stuff will still all take place at dozens of venues between Liberty Avenue and…
Classroom Discussion
What has the tuition-tax debate told us about the city’s future?
It’s Complicated
I’m not a big fan of Nancy Meyer’s domestic piffles, where seemingly perfect middle-aged people, with gorgeous homes, flounder and fret for over two hours about manufactured “crises” with perfectly obvious solutions. This time out, we find the gorgeous, wealthy, successful fifty-something Jane (Meryl Streep) dabbling in an “affair,” with her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin).…
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
After witnessing a murder, a feuding New York City power couple (Sarah Jessica Parker, Hugh Grant) get sent to a Western ranch for protection. Twenty minutes into Marc D. Lawrence’s shrill escapade, you’ll be wondering what you gotta do to get relocated away from this strenuously unfunny romantic comedy. Parker is all high-maintenance, uptight pointy…
Bronson
Michael Peterson, first sent to prison in 1974 for a seven-year term, has since spent his life behind bars, with all but four of those years served in solitary. During that time, he rechristened himself “Charles Bronson” and, through various acts of violence, became a tabloid fixture.
Now the infamous Bronson is the subject of…
The Young Victoria
Jean-Marc Vallée’s comely costumer depicts the teen-age ascension and first few years of Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign, and her courtship and subsequent über-fertile marriage to Prince Albert. There’s no suspense in watching the political intrigue that ambles through the plot of this serviceable drama, nor do we wonder if Victoria (Emily Blunt) will get her…
Avatar
After all the hype, James Cameron’s life-on-a-strange-planet sci-fi adventure delivers its trump card: the computer-animated film in 3-D looks freakin’ amazing, at times exhilaratingly so. Which is good, because the plot is fairly straightforward — a warmed-over Star Trek episode about a human who discovers the aliens he was meant to undermine are actually better…
Las Velas
Authentic “family favorite” dishes are the standout at this new Mexican restaurant
With a new bound retrospective of his 25 years in the field, the Post-Gazette‘s Rob Rogers talks editorial cartooning.
“I’m always trying to find ways to look at these people and say, ‘Well, where’s the hypocrisy?’ And it’s usually pretty blatant.”
This Just In: December 24 – 31
Highlights from the local TV news: It’s a Nice Day for a White Christmas
Weeding through the Process
First state hearing held on medical-marijuana bill
Vision Quest
Hill community assembling a vision for neighborhood development around new arena
Recent Matador signing Kurt Vile plays Howlers with Centipede
“He borders on ’90s guitar rock, but there are no big solos,” says Caulen Kress of Centipede.
Dutch classical guitar prodigy Bram Stadhouders plays Garfield Artworks
The music he’s creating now, at age 22, combines classical themes, improvisational freedom and ambient beauty.
Nearly 20 years later, Latrobe’s Direct Action reunites for some hardcore nostalgia
“There was nothing in Latrobe — no shows, no zines. Everything came by word of mouth, or on tapes dubbed by friends.”
If you liked the Wecht trial, you’ll LOVE the sequel
Christmas came early for some of us this morning, thanks to this story in the Post-Gazette. Looks like state Sen. Jane Orie (R-North Suburban Wastelands) is the target of allegations that — like so many other state legislators these days — she may have used her state office for political purposes. Orie has hired Jerry…
The Punk Rock Facebook Quiz
A poem by Kelly Scarff
Savage Love
I’m a woman who wants to be spanked. But I’m overweight and self-conscious. Men who like to spank women like to spank petite women. Sometimes I’ll search kinky personal sites or other online forums and find someone who might want to spank me. But I get scared and I back out. Most recently, I’ve been…
Root Cocktails
A new liqueur has roots in old Pennsylvania.
Ball of Flame Shoot Fire returns to Pittsburgh for EP release show this Saturday
The EP includes a track entitled “The Joy of Dane Cooking,” comprised entirely of manipulated samples from Dane Cook’s 2005 comedy album Retaliation.
At ModernFormations, Jeremy Beightol and Jesse Best search for Satan.
“Deth Kvlt” depicts a broken-toothed, gray-faced high priest whose god clearly couldn’t save him — it’s Francis Bacon by way of Metalocalypse.
