A Conversation with Josh Caplan
Josh Caplan, of Shadyside, a master’s candidate at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Public Policy & Management, founded a chapter of Optimist International last fall. The club welcomes anyone who lives around the CMU campus — even pessimists. Optimists are born, not made. So what is the point of joining the club? The name…
Olive Press
We found a surprising emphasis on seafood dishes, representing more than half the entrées, and only a couple of nods to that expense-account staple, steak. We sat up. We took note.
Julia
I clutch the wringer washer in our cellar on Wayne Street. Unable to stop the rusty agitator, it thrusts my blue sun dress from side to side while you fill both laundry tubs with cold water. “Be careful of your fingers,” you warn, as I untangle my dress from the machine and squeeze it between…
This Just In: Feb 14 – 21
Local TV News Highlights
Let Cooler Heads Prevail
For athletes, a burst of emotion can be the perfect fuel for a competitive fire. But outside the arena — particularly in the boardroom — emotions are less useful. On ice, Penguins owner Mario Lemieux was certainly driven by a perfect mixture of pride and controlled rage. He may have purchased the Penguins at least…
Oscar-Nominated Shorts
Their status as “nominated for an Academy Award” ensures these shorts get bundled up and screened in movie theaters.
Live review: Ishtar and Mandrake Project
Mandrake Project has to be the only band in Club Café’s history to cram seven members and two full drum kits onto the tiny stage. Which meant last Saturday’s show was something I had to see. Mandrake’s long, late-night set started with a bang and ended with a final, crushing crescendo as Rick Nelson shredded…
Music and Lyrics
It’s a familiar romantic-comedy journey — from meet-cute to foregone conclusion, but at least for a while, Lawrence makes the film fresh and enjoyable.
Savage Love
While 99.9 percent of wannabe ex-gays struggle to overcome their homosexuality for decades, Ted Haggard was pronounced “completely heterosexual” after just 21 days of counseling! Don’t you just love a happy ending?
Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder speaks in Pittsburgh.
But while McGruder is a provocateur, to say he’s irresponsible about it is to prove you’re not paying attention.
Symptom of the Problem
Let’s say you go to the doctor with a splitting headache. He does a complete work-up and, after the results come back, tells you you’ve got an aneurysm. “Can you do anything about it?” you ask. “Weeeeellll, it’s tricky to get at,” he says. “There’s really nothing that can be done. But on the bright…
Hannibal Rising
By my count, this is this fifth cinematic iteration of Hannibal Lecter, everybody’s favorite serial killer and cannibal. Most of us had have our fill, but if you must have one more course … Peter Webber directs this prequel, an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel, that purports to uncover the very moment young Hannibal, tragically…
Crisis of Faith
Brent Dugan was a man of God whose earthly flock adored him. The 60-year-old minister had served the Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon for 18 years. The first child he’d baptized in the congregation was headed for college. Prayer meetings, an early Sunday church service, and children’s groups flourished under his leadership. The church…
Norbit
The slightly dim but sweet Norbit (Eddie Murphy) gets trapped in a bad marriage to Rasputia (also Murphy), while still pining for his childhood sweetheart (Thandie Newton). That storyline resolves as expected. The gist of Brian Robbins’ comedy, co-written by Murphy, is simply this: Grossly overweight black women in inappropriate clothing exist for our hilarity,…
Premium avant-jazz from Chicago’s Vandermark 5
“All the musicians I know are passionately interested in other art forms, and I’ve made it a habit to acknowledge people who’ve inspired my own creative work.”
Gothic over-achievers Crüxshadows performing at Pegasus
Rogue gallivants through the crowd wearing his Madonna-style headset mic, even climbing the venue walls like a gothic Peter Parker.
Charles Burchfield: Path to Solitude explores one regional artist’s attempts to capture the essence of nature.
A shaft of light from the sky cuts through the scene, a familiar trope utilized by Burchfield to represent the idea of God’s presence in nature and the artist’s own pantheistic leanings.
Lou Reed takes a walk on the mild side
“You know, if you went to a regular studio, you would never be able to stay there that long.”
John Eastman’s UMO is art that stares back.
The focal point of each image is the UMO’s eyes: They have the catatonic intensity of Sumerian statues, but look decidedly less anxious.
Evan Dando returns with the re-formed Lemonheads
A nostalgia fix for anyone who came of age in the heyday of alt rock.
What can you tell me about Pittsburgh’s role in the “Underground Railroad”?
Pittsburgh was a significant depot for the Railroad — though maybe not quite as significant as we’d like to think.
The Red Shoes
Quantum is working its pomo mojo in its decidedly theatrical outing.
Rising young novelist Colson Whitehead visits the Drue Heinz Lectures.
Yet Whitehead’s protagonist too is haunted: struggling with the ghosts of history and with the bone-deep superficiality of the culture he inhabits, nurtures and profits from.
Cabaret
Cabaret continually bumps up against the standard, and somewhat worn, Broadway musical conventions of the ’60s.
Activists focus on curbing violence against African Americans
“Welcome to Clipsburgh, Pistolvania,” activist Paradise Gray told a Feb. 8 press conference at the Hill House. “That’s what our children are calling this.” And it’s what violence-prevention advocates are calling it as well — in less colorful terms. But while dozens of community activists, along with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and other elected officials, attended…
Sisters
There’s any number of interesting ideas in this play — and perhaps if anybody else had written it, Sisters might be worth something.
City seeking displaced high-rise residents — finally
More than three years ago, the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority displaced nearly 300 families from the low-income high-rises in East Liberty. Today, officials are wondering where the people are.
Letters To The Editor: Feb 14 – 21
Feedback from our readers
Prison imminent for doctor in drugs-for-sex case
There was a tiny amount of good news last week for Bernard Rottschaefer, the former Plum doctor who was convicted nearly three years ago for prescribing narcotics to his patients in exchange for sex. Originally sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, Rottschaefer, 64, was re-sentenced Feb. 9 to five years by U.S. District Court Judge…
A new Peter Pan ballet alights in Pittsburgh.
Webre’s adaptation is both the newest and among the most frequently performed ballet versions of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale.
