Richard Florida watch: Dim prospects for the creative class
Ooof. That’s about all I’ve got to say after reading this takedown of “creative class” guru Richard Florida in the American Prospect. The title of the piece is “The Ruse of the Creative Class,” which tells you all you need to know. And from the first sentence — which refers to “the Richard Florida show”…
First Night
Though I’m still waiting on final attendance figures from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, I feel pretty confident that the latest iteration of the community New Year’s Eve celebration drew well. For one thing, the big, multi-venue Downtown party didn’t officially begun until 6 p.m. — but when I went to the box office at 5:45…
MP3 Monday: Brown Angel
In last week’s Short List section, if you did your homework, you saw my brief on the return of Brown Angel, the doomy noisy slow metal band that features some local heavy hitters. If you read particularly closely, you saw that this week’s MP3 Monday would be a track from them. Congratulations! Here it is:…
As expected, the unexpected happens in council presidency pick
By now you’ve heard the news that Darlene Harris has been selected as city council’s new president, by a vote of 5-4. She won with the support of the Bill Peduto faction: Bruce Kraus, Peduto, former President Doug Shields and newcomer Natalia Rudiak. Harris, who has voted with the mayor far more often than not,…
Dowd tweets tweak diversity issue
I’ll make a small confession here: No matter what my position on an issue, I’m a sucker for a well-crafted political position. Especially if it’s laden with the kind of irony that is sure to make the other side’s head explode. Some people watch cage-fights; I do this. Patrick Dowd’s weekend Twitter posts certainly qualify.…
Taking council the night before presidency vote
Last week, I made two predictions. The first was that if Bill Peduto couldn’t wrangle enough votes to be city council president tomorrow, the choice would be Theresa Kail-Smith. That was before Mayor Luke Ravenstahl pulled his New Year’s Eve surprise, vetoing a prevailing wage bill so late that council couldn’t override it. I then…
More thoughts on the New Year’s Eve Massacre
A few more thoughts about the New Year’s Eve Massacre … and an attempt to clarify some of the more overheated rhetoric. Including my own. I see that — just as I predicted yesterday morning — city councilor Patrick Dowd is trying to say that council got what it deserves when Luke Ravenstahl vetoed a…
Mayor Cravenstahl does it again
We should have known. We should have realized that it wasn’t going to be this easy to pass a prevailing wage bill. We should have known Luke Ravenstahl would pull something like this. In case you’re joining us late and/or hungover … late yesterday, Ravenstahl vetoed a measure to require prevailing wages be paid to…
Don’t be shut out of pointless council presidency speculation
Lots of chatter surrounding the upcoming council presidency vote. Part of that’s the result of Rich Lord’s story about the political battle ensuing. But folks like Infinonymous (and yours truly) have been dwelling on it for awhile. Most of this stuff is idle speculation and horse-race nonsense. But what the hell, ’tis the season. I’ll…
2009: The year our 15 minutes lasted all 12 months
Between sports championships, global summits and a recession-resistant economy, Pittsburgh got a lifetime’s worth of media coverage this past year. One way or the other, we kept finding ourselves in the national — and even international — spotlight. How did we handle the media attention? Were we ready for our close-up? We decided to take…
Short List: Week of December 31 – January 7
Thu., Dec. 31 — Hip Hop It’s been quite a while since we heard from The Impossebulls. The online hip-hop crew with Pittsburgh connections originally formed in the late 1990s through Public Enemy’s message board, and was signed to Chuck D.’s SLAMjamz label. Starting in 2006, Impossebulls members Tirade and C-Doc the Warhammer put out…
This Just In: December 31 – January 7
Highlights from the local TV news: Ice Hassles
35 Shots of Rum
Claire Denis’ film is a deceptively lean look at a handful of contemporary Parisians, whose ordinary lives nonetheless reveal much. Lionel (Alex Descas), who operates a suburban light-rail train, and his college-age daughter, Joséphine (Mati Diop), share an apartment on the outskirts of town. Their routines are intimate, and familiar without explanation. Both are engaged…
Sherlock Holmes
Guy Ritchie, who has made his name directing flashy thriller-comedies about fast-talking geezers up to no good, now puts his spin on England’s most famous private eye. This isn’t a film for purists; on the other hand, you don’t need to have any background on Holmes to get what kicks there are out of this…
Nine
Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the stage musical, itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8½, is an enjoyable piece of not very much. Nine revolves around Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis), a revered Italian director, who is suffering various creative and personal crises. He holes up in a resort town with his mistress (Penélope Cruz), lies to…
Up in the Air
Jason Reitman’s film about a for-hire corporate hatchet man is as thin as the atmosphere where its protagonist Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), spends so much of his time. The best I can say about Up in the Air is that it doesn’t go totally soft in the end by compromising the essence of Bingham: He’s…
Calli’s
A contemporary menu offers an ambitious array of breakfasts, sandwiches, bar food and entrees
Verde Good Beans
Thinking local is the key to this Downtown café’s success
Annual Review
Looking at how the events of 2009 could affect the coming year
Our critics highlight some of 2009’s notable theater, dance and visual art.
Most Impressive Small Casts (According to CP theater critic Robert Isenberg) When people think about theater, they tend to think big: huge sets, lavish costumes and scores of actors. If there isn’t a giant chandelier falling from the ceiling or an army of French revolutionaries, what’s the point of Broadway? But this year, Pittsburgh theaters…
Standout works make The Exchange a good deal.
Indeed, as one stands before the black shape, its size alone makes the drawing both strangely appealing and ominous.
A low-key new music venue fosters community in Polish Hill
“People ask us what we do and we say, ‘Different stuff — we don’t really know. We’ll see.'”
The New Familiars put a rock ‘n’ roll spin on old-time country and folk
“We drew from the roots here in the Carolinas, in terms of acoustic things — we all have families that have pickers, as they like to call them.”
How have Pittsburgh’s indie record stores retained their niche in an economic downturn?
“Eventually, we’ll be relegated to being an antique curio shop.”
Savage Love
Set me straight. I married my wife several months ago after dating for three years. Things are generally excellent, except for one problem: When my wife gets drunk, she gets crazy flirtatious. She’ll dance close to people, touch them, hold hands. A couple of times, I thought it went too far. She claims it is…
