Janet Browne at the Drue Heinz Lectures
First, an anecdote from Carnegie Museum of Natural History director Samuel Taylor, who introduced Darwin biographer Browne at her Feb. 9 talk: Once, he said, while soliciting feedback on a dinosaur exhibit, the museum heard from a man who’d found the “Achilles heel” of that whole evolution thing. “If dinosaurs all died out millions of…
Lovebettie sparks unloving exchange
You never really know what’s going to ignite controversy online — I certainly didn’t expect it from my short review of local rock band Lovebettie, from early January. But that’s what seems to be happening here on CP’s Web site. Lovebettie’s album, … And We’re Never Coming Back, has attracted the scathing ire of a…
Happy Anniversary, Lamar!
It’s not quite Valentine’s Day, but city councilor Patrick Dowd is celebrating an anniversary early. This morning, Dowd sent a letter to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl about the famous Lamar LED billboard controversy — which, as a Dowd aide pointed out to me, celebrates its one-year anniversary tomorrow. I’d rehash the whole fiasco, but if you’ve…
Post-Mortem: The ACDC rules debate
No doubt you’ve been wondering, “What became of last weekend’s great debate over the local Democratic Party’s bylaws? Did anyone show up? How did they vote?” Wonder no longer, my friends. For I have caught up with Jim Burn, chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, and some other commitee members, who have provided the…
Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta
It’s a busy week for those of us devoted to chronicling the intertwining worlds of ’90s gangsta rap and late ’00s local politics here in Pittsburgh. Let’s start with the surreal, then head for the truly puzzling. First off we have the story, broken locally by blogger Bob Mayo, of or Mayor partying in Tampa…
Dowd Psychology
The world is still reeling over news that City Council President Doug Shields will not — I repeat, not — be running for mayor. Actually, by “the world” I mean, “a few reporters, bloggers, and politicos,” and by “reeling” I mean, “raising their eyebrows slightly.” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, and incumbent with a million-dollar war chest,…
Metamorphoses at The Public
In bringing Iron Age myths to iPhone Age audiences, Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production (which runs through Sun., Feb. 15) draws an interesting line. As conceived by playwright Mary Zimmerman, this adaptation of Ovid’s great work speaks often in a modern, even contemporary idiom: Ovid’s Orpheus and Eurydice is supplemented with Rilke’s; business suits mix with…
“The Mercurial Mr. Shields” strikes again!
After weeks of speculation, Doug Shields has announced he’s not running for mayor. A short time ago, he sent out the following statement: “With the encouragement and support of many people, I have seriously considered running for Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. At this time, the right choice for me, for this Council, and…
MP3 MONDAY: “The Newest Thing” by David Bernabo + Assembly
Today’s free download is “The Newest Thing,” a song by local group David Bernabo + Assembly, which will be featured on their upcoming Happener-Magicker LP, due this summer on Sort Of Records. An alternate version of this song is also on the recently released Mahler Box EP. The song, Bernabo notes, concerns a difference of…
Doubling Down on Gambling
Before any lawmaker is allowed to vote on whether to legalize video poker in bars, restaurants and private clubs, they should be forced to take a field trip to Weirton West Virginia. Pile them all into buses and make the pilgrimage so they can see first-hand what expanded gambling can do to small communities. I…
Slow Cooking: Last Restaurant Standing returns
BBC America’s slow-motion cooking reality show is back — and marginally revamped. The first thing I noticed was that they’ve livened up the various meeting and judgment rooms. Gone is that gloomy, fake-baronial hall where head judge and restaurateur Raymond Blanc issued his pronouncements. (One half expected the losers to be beheaded.) Now, all contestant-judge…
District 2: Can Blotzer Turn it Around?
WARNING! SERIOUS POLITICAL WONKERY ALERT! I’ve already done a discussion about what this week’s special election in District 2 says about the city’s political direction. But it seems like there’s a possibility Georgia Blotzer, who lost to Theresa Smith in that contest, may take another shot in the primary. Certainly some bloggers are hoping so.…
Introducing Anthony Coghill
Anthony Coghill has already won the City Council District 4 election — at least as far as one Beechview restaurant is concerned. When he arrives at Leonardi’s on Broadway Ave., the owner greets him with the cry, “Hello, councilor!” Premature? Not if roughly 150 votes had gone the other way back in 2005. Coghill narrowly…
3rd Annual Hip Hop Awards takes place Sun., Feb. 8
This Sunday marks the third installment of the Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards, headed up by local promoter 360 Entertainment. The red-carpet reception begins at 5:30 p.m. Sun., Feb. 8, with the awards ceremony following at 7 p.m., all at the Hilton in Downtown Pittsburgh. Billed as “The Biggest Music Industry Event on the East Coast,”…
Encyclopedia Destructica PowerPoints
It was nice last Saturday to see the Miller Gallery’s first-floor lobby in use, and packed besides. Astria Suparak, in her first year as this CMU venue’s curator, has plans for the lobby, which over the years has usually seemed like the dead space you pass through to get to the exhibits on the second…
Power Plants
Wracked by change, Hazelwood tries to put down new roots.
New in Town
An uptight career woman (Renee Zellweger) relocates to rural Minnesota mid-winter to help revamp a dairy-products factory in this fish-out-of-Miami comedy, directed by Jonas Elmer. There’s a round of expected jokes about the perils of the frozen North — everything from ruined Jimmy Choos to exotic but inscrutable Mid-Americana (scrapbooking, VFW halls) and endless work…
Asur and Asmar
We’ve become so used to hyper-realistic computer animation — with its fathomless depths and perfect shimmering surfaces bouncing light just so — that any return to “flat” animation is startling. Who lights a candle when we’ve got the electric light bulb?! But after a few moments, you realize that although a candle casts light differently,…
Short films with wildly divergent takes on shelter highlight Film Kitchen.
“If the window’s open, you can just move in,” she says.
Coraline
For a bright, spunky tweener girl, the only thing worse than moving to a gloomy Victorian home in the sticks is discovering that the house harbors a monster that wants to suck the soul out of her. Such are the trials of Coraline, the blue-haired, snarky star of this eponymous animated feature, adapted from a…
StonePepper’s Grill
Though seemingly calculated to be just another chain, StonePepper’s kitchen relies on good proportions and expert preparations to make familiar fare stand out.
A one-woman, multi-character show opens at Open Stage Theatre … and Lily Tomlin solos at the Benedum.
In one scene alone, Gregory portrays seven students and two teachers.
Phantom Ballot Menace
Activists say machines show more ballots than voters
Dance Block
Local protest of Israeli ballet company planned
The Male Intellect: The 2nd Coming
How he gets there from witless one-liners about stereotypical male and female behavior, I’m not sure.
Mouth to Mouth
There are several low points, too, painfully embarrassing for the various characters, like ripping off emotional flesh.
The Seafarer
There are few directors in this city who know comedy as well as Tracey Brigden, as she demonstrates with this fast-paced and sure-footed evening.
The Big Idea bookstore gets a little national attention.
The Guide lists Big Idea under “Bookstores for Left-Brained People” alongside such legendary spots at San Francisco’s City Lights.
This Just In: February 5 – 12
Highlights from the local TV news: Stupor Bowl.
Letters to the Editor: February 4 – 11
Feedback from our readers: CP misses the boat on Gaza protests.
Singer-songwriter Nathan Xander releases The Fear
“It’s the kind of place that stays open ’til 5 in the morning and has a grand piano, and they let us sit there and drink and play guitar to our hearts’ content.”
Larkin Grimm’s album Parplar could help start a cult of her own
“It doesn’t matter how much your parents love you — if they choose your path for you, it’s a trap.”
Back on the Map
Residents working with URA to revitalize Polish Hill
Bowled Over
Reflections on Super Bowl XLIII
Morning Glory Coffeehouse
Morningside’s spot for java as well as new treats like “chai latte oatmeal,” Rhode Island Coffeemilk and the odd musical guest.
The Jilted Brides celebrate new CD at The Warhol
“There’s a long tradition of experimental/electronic music in Australia that not many people know about.”
Savage Love
My girlfriend and I are into male-orgasm denial. We’ve recently tried putting Orajel on my cock and then covering it with two condoms so she can use me as a dildo without me getting off or even feeling anything. It works great. Is there any chance of long-term health issues if we do this once…
In the sesquicentennial year of The Origin of Species, Darwin biographer Janet Browne is a natural selection for the Drue Heinz Lectures.
Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species turns 150 this year. The Drue Heinz Lectures marks the occasion by hosting Janet Browne, who wrote an acclaimed two-volume Darwin biography, Voyaging (1995) and The Power of Place (2002). Browne, a Harvard professor of the history of science, says Darwin’s theory of evolution was controversial not just because…
