Barry Lopez at the Drue Heinz Lectures
The snow was mounting, and the Port Authority buses had already stopped running, when I ran into musician and artist Evan Knauer at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, on Penn Avenue. Knauer noted that there’s a certain kind of art-crawl magic that can happen on stormy evenings: Expectations of quiet galleries are thwarted by…
If network TV doesn’t deliver enough improbable drama, try tonight’s Republican debate
There’s a special treat on TV tonight: a candidates debate between Pennsylvania Republicans running for statewide office — arguing in front of an audience of teabaggers! I expect it to be a lot like a professional wrestling match … only with more alienated white people in the audience. You’ll have the chance to see the…
Rudiak in the eye of the (snow)storm
A short time ago, the office of Natalia Rudiak sent out a press release announcing that she’s been named to a task force intended to study the latest skirmish in the “War on Snow”: Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak today was named to lead a task force convened by Council President Darlene Harris to look…
In rough weather, Port Authority’s Twitter account takes flight
One of the things that has long plagued the Port Authority is a failure to communicate. And I’m not just talking about surly bus drives: For years, the agency just hasn’t done a great job of telling riders about what’s going on with the system. Witness, for example, the absence of posted schedules at bus…
NOW it’s Hoeffel’s turn for an endorsement
Another gubernatorial endorsement today — the statewide chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) is backing Joe Hoeffel for governor. Like the endorsement from some SEIU locals earlier today, the choice isn’t that surprising. Unlike his major rivals, GOP or Democratic, Hoeffel’s pro-choice credentials haven’t been questioned. (At a candidate’s forum last weekend, Allegheny…
Onorato gets SEIU backing
No surprise here: In the wake of county executive Dan Onorato’s decision to support a “prevailing wage” bill, the SEIU is endorsing him this year’s gubanatorial race. (UPDATE: This is terribly sloppy wording on my part. It ain’t “the SEIU” making this endorsement — as the release itself makes clear, it’s three SEIU locals. That’s…
Snowstorm Gallery-Hop
The snow was mounting, and the Port Authority buses had already stopped running, when I ran into musician and artist Evan Knauer at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, on Penn Avenue. Knauer noted that there’s a certain kind of art-crawl magic that can happen on stormy evenings: Expectations of quiet galleries are thwarted by…
4th Annual Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards — Saturday
Voting just closed today for the fourth installment of the Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards. Presented by 360 Entertainment, the awards ceremony and party takes place at the Downtown Hilton this Sat., Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Red carpet starts at 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $20 in advance. The main performance is by a reunited X-Clan,…
With friends like these: Santorum picks up endorsement of Glenn Beck
Stop the presses: If former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum runs for president, he’s got the endorsement of FOX News asshat Glenn Beck. During his radio broadcast today, Beck was musing about a right-wing conference in St. Louis, where he is scheduled to give the keynote address. While citing some of the luminaries in attendance, Beck…
Time for local universities to earn some extra credit
I just wanted to flag this little item in yesterday’s New York Times, for the benefit of local college students and othe readers of this blog: Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to…
Things to do during Snowpocalypse weekend, aka Stormageddon
Okay, here’s the deal: instead of staying in all weekend because there could be some snow, you’re going to take this opportunity to show just how tough you are, and get out to as many shows and dance parties as possible. Here’s a sample agenda, gleaned from the things that I, for one reason or…
Short List: Week of February 4 – 11
In February, no one blames you for staying in. Well, actually we do. Winter’s halfway over — get used to it, already. And on Fri., Feb. 5, hone your acclimation skills by ducking in and out of the East End’s plethora of art galleries and theaters. The biggest concentration is, as usual, along Penn Avenue,…
When in Rome
Mark Steven Johnson’s romantic comedy is saddled with a very, very silly twist. The bright and beautiful Beth (Kristen Bell) has no luck with men. (Even though she’s the “youngest curator at the Guggenheim”? Unthinkable!) At her sister’s wedding in Rome, she meets another New Yorker, the funny and handsome Nick (Josh Duhamel). But then…
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
The venerable documentarian Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies, High School) takes his cameras inside the equally venerable Paris Opera Ballet. There, without comment, he captures the activities both mundane and extraordinary that comprise this ballet school and performance troupe.
Naturally, we see many dancers — in rehearsal, and eventually in fully realized performances. And just as…
Dear John
During spring break in 2001, a pretty college student from South Carolina named Savannah (Amanda Seyfried) meets John (Channing Tatum), a solider on a two-week leave. After a chaste courtship, the two become avid pen-pals, planning to scribble away the year until John’s tour is up. But after Sept. 11, John re-ups — what American…
Accomplished short narratives and experiments screen at Film Kitchen.
The sight of a figure seemingly borne aloft by a bouquet of helium balloons is both more and less than it seems.
Edge of Darkness
When his daughter is murdered, Boston detective Tom Craven (Mel Gibson) searches for who killed her and why. Assorted clues point to a politically connected defense contractor, and an ever-growing web of conspiracy. This drama, directed by Martin Campbell, is adapted from a 1985 BBC mini-series, which, I suspect, filled in a lot more detail.…
Baba D’s
Cuisine to reawaken the most jaded palate to the pleasures of Middle Eastern cuisine
Olympic Mind Games
CMU students hope to medal at international competition
Permit Pulled
DEP action halts construction of Robinson waste-coal plant
On the Road Again and Again and Again
G-20 protester makes multiple trips back to the ‘Burgh for giving wrong name
In her latest book, author Sharon Flake gives voice to young male characters
“I think boys will read when they find a connection and find you speaking to them.”
Space gallery is filled with artworks by the men and women who keep galleries and museums humming around town.
Rendered in unfired clay, tumbled on the gallery floor, it’s mutely defiant.
Visiting Insurgent Theater finds contemporary political relevance in the story of Ulysses’ crew and the Sirens.
“It’s about empire and globalization and capitalism in general; it presents them and discusses ways of attacking them, with anti-capitalism as a given.”
Rent
The Pittsburgh Musical Theatre production features a first-rate cast of young performers grabbing hold of these songs and lifting them up to the rafters.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Just as Demetrius is put under Oberon’s spell, Pappas is touched by the spirit of vaudeville, and every slap, double-take and pratfall looks brand new among the cast’s comic geniuses.
The Clockmaker
In this fascinating play, Stephen Massicotte offers much more than what meets the eye and ear.
Murphy gets a challenger
U.S. Representative Tim Murphy just got a new challenger: Patrick Kennedy. Kennedy, who tells me this is his first run for office, sent out the following release last night: Patrick Kennedy, 39 of North Huntingdon in Westmoreland County has Announced his Candidacy for Congress in the 18th Congressional District. He is married to the former…
This Just In: February 4 – 11
Highlights from the local TV news: Preaching to the Fire
Bassist Trevor Dunn’s MadLove project aims for rock rather than the esoteric
Despite the heavy grooves and almost compulsive use of dissonance, there’s a subtle music-nerd wink that keeps this release out of the realm of dour modern rock.
Singer-songwriter Doug Keith plays Howlers Coyote Café Wednesday
Whether supported by a full band or just acoustic guitar and violin, Keith’s Springsteen-sandpaper voice is low-key, yet affecting.
Lovedrug sheds its demons and embraces a warmer sound
It’s as though Lovedrug has pulled up the blinds and thrown up the windows: The songs really breathe, and it’s easier than ever to be swept up in their energy.
Famed architectural engineer Cecil Balmond’s art installation at the Carnegie fascinates.
In Koolhaas’ Bordeaux Villa, Balmond engineered the rectilinearly but precariously cantilevering boxes and beams that seem to upend Modernism and its midwife, gravity.
Savage Love
Let’s say, theoretically, I’m a pedophile. I’m not stupid or evil, so I’m not gonna DO anything. I’m not even gonna look at porn, because producing it involves child exploitation. I don’t even look at kids in public. So what should I do? Chemical castration? I haven’t DONE anything and I don’t plan to. Am…
David Bowie’s A Reality Tour live album a reminder of a great Pittsburgh show
“Personally, for me, every time I do a tour and finish, I think, ‘That’s my time with Bowie, I’m done,'” says bassist Gail Ann Dorsey.
Home Cooking: Daube
April may be the cruelest month wherever T.S. Eliot lived, but in Pittsburgh, it’s February that nearly breaks you. It’s not just the cold: It’s that the cold always seems to follow some late-January thaw. But then the wind and snow return, more bitter than before. In such conditions, what you need is a warm,…
Author Barry Lopez discusses a writer’s responsibility in a time of environmental crisis.
“You’ve got to have some kind of perspective, and you’ve got to have compassion for people whose frame of reference is different from yours.”
