Government so transparent that no one has seen it
I’m a little surprised at you, blogosphere. After all our many years together, complaining about pay-to-play politics in city government … it seems like hardly anyone has noticed this: a Web site created by city controller Michael Lamb to track city contracts and campaign contributions. To tell the truth, the “Open Book Pittsburgh” site got…
Podcamp debrief: the passing of Myspace, the diffusion of social media music marketing
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending (half of) Podcamp Pittsburgh 4, an “unconference” on blogging, podcasting and social media. One of the sessions I sat in on dealt with the use of social media in music marketing; it was moderated by Michael Sorg (of, among other things, Western Pa Juggalos) and featured…
MP3 Monday: Abysme
Respected blog-readers: we apologize for last week’s MP3 Monday omission. The music section was celebrating Columbus Day a week early; this basically involved us getting drunk and trying to forget about how our country was founded on the systematic decmiation of the native population. Now we’re back, though, with one from Abysme, the local death…
Watching the political winds on Columbus Day
City Councilor Bill Peduto may never be mayor of Pittsburgh. He’s not even running this year. But who needs it? The guy’s already getting the perks: He was the first politician to march in Bloomfield’s Columbus Day parade this weekend. Peduto was placed there by recently departed Public Works head Guy Costa, who directed the…
This PR goes to 11
Maybe you thought all those riot cops in town for the G-20 — and all the high-tech equipment they brought with them — looked Orwellian. Maybe you saw the LRAD, a vehicle-mounted amplifier system capable of driving protesters away by directing high-pitched sounds at them. Or maybe you heard its creepily automated announcement: “By order…
Book Him
The tragic news that the Carnegie Library system will likely be shutting down several branch locations has provoked outrage — and rightly so. (Brian O’Neill has said all I could ever say about this civic embarrassment in a terrific column earlier this week.) And because there’s a mayoral election coming up, two of Mayor Luke…
Call Monitors
Did the use of online police scanners during the G-20 change the future of public protest?
Under a Cloud
Activists question PNC’s green credentials
Photographer Eugene Smith’s iconic portrait of 1950s Pittsburgh brought “Dream Street” to life. Where is Dream Street located?
As you’d expect, Dream Street is located in the realm of myth. And in the vaults of the city’s Public Works department. Some background for readers who aren’t fascinated by images of mid-century Pittsburgh: During the 1950s, former Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith was commissioned to photograph the city for author Stefan Lorant. (Some…
The local scene honors recently passed hip-hop turntablist DJ Roc Raida
“When I moved from being a party DJ and attempted to be a turntablist, he was someone I looked up to,” recalls DJ Selecta.
Round Corner Cantina
Exotic cocktails are part of this neighborhood bar’s make-over
Savage Love
My partner and I are a straight couple who are already essentially living as a married couple. Now we want to hold a ceremony to make public our commitment. But we are in favor of marriage equality and are considering joining the marriage boycott (www.unmarried.org) until every state allows gay marriage. Our friends and family…
Another Acklin/Santorum connection emerges
Independent mayoral candidate Kevin Acklin has — quite understandably — taken pains to distance himself from the far-right of the GOP. Acklin, himself a former Republican, has previously contributed to politicians like former Senator Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum … even though Acklin takes a much more tolerant line on issues like gay rights. But…
Cirque du Soleil’s Alegría
Of course it’s spectacular. We probably have a right to expect that from a show featuring dozens of highly trained acrobats and aerialists leaping about on trapezes, trampolines and springboards. In emotional impact, though, this production by the worldwide name-brand troupe fell somewhere between the two others I’d seen them stage here. The first, Quidam…
Living Folkways
Throughout their history, the Carpatho-Rusyns have lacked a place to call their own. Scattered across Eastern Europe, these ethnic Slavs have been traded off between one empire and the next, with only brief opportunities at self-determination. Many Rusyns, including the family of Andy Warhol, settled in Pittsburgh, where their nationality remains obscure — often to…
Debating about the Debates
First there was this release from mayoral candidate Kevin Acklin’s camp at 1:12 this afternoon: After three months of challenges and delays, the competing candidates for Mayor of Pittsburgh have accepted Kevin Acklin’s call to debate, agreeing to participate in three televised events. Neither Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, nor Franco “Dok” Harris, agreed to take part…
Short List: Week of October 8 – 15
Fri., Oct. 9 — Composting Maybe your idea of a hot Friday-night date doesn’t involve composting, or talking about composting, or even thinking about it. But bear with us: Tonight, Phipps Conservatory presents an entire Celebrate Composting at Phipps! program. There’s a lecture and slideshow called “Composting: The Big View” with the Pennsylvania Resources Council’s…
The Cynics: An abridged timeline
1970s — Gregg and Michael meet as teen-agers in the Pittsburgh area. They’re in different bands, but Gregg predicts they’ll play together someday. 1983 — Gregg meets people who like similar music while working at Eide’s Entertainment. He recruits them for his band; they practice beneath a Wilkinsburg pizza shop for a year. 1984 –…
Quarter-Century Band
One of Pittsburgh’s great musical exports, The Cynics, at 25
The Naked Grape
Casual Mediterranean welcomes guests whether they simply want to sip a glass of wine or enjoy a multicourse meal
The Spetember Issue
R.J. Cutler’s documentary goes behind the scenes at Vogue to show us the creative and logistical machinations that go into the “September issue,” the fashion mag’s annual, trend-setting doorstopper. (The 2007 issue in question weighed 5 pounds.) Front and center is Anna Wintour, Vogue‘s longtime editor notorious for her rigid, icy demeanor. She’s predictably steely…
It Might Get Loud
Look at readers’ comments after a magazine runs a “Greatest Guitarists” list, and you’ll see how weirdly proprietary and competitive guitar fans can be. So It Might Get Loud can expect some flak from those who think Steve Vai or Al Di Meola is more deserving than one (or even all) of the three featured…
There’s horror but also comedy at Night of the Living Film Kitchen.
There’s no surprise in learning that Hemphill was inspired by both film noir and an episode of Gilligan’s Island.
Afghan Star
Havana Marking’s documentary reveals the backstage doings of the eponymous hit Afghan TV series, and its search for a popular singing sensation. (Among the casualties of the past three decades of strife was music.) Marking focuses on four of the finalists, each from a different region, and two of them women. The contestants talk about…
A collection of older poems by Robert Gibb explores his connections to nature.
He is always looking for paths from nature to culture, and back.
Suzanne Westenhoefer says comedy is therapy — for the comics.
“All comics want to be therapists, or want to be rock stars.”
Dutchman
“Dutchman” is very clearly a man trying to say something without the stagecraft to say it.
The Grapes of Wrath
This story should be too big for stage, but McKenzie-Wood wrangles the narrative into submission.
Agnes of God
Erika Cuenca is so comfortable and so convincing as Agnes that she left me squirming in my seat.
The Just In: October 8 – 15
Highlights from the local TV news: Budget Battle
Death metal up-and-comer Graves of Valor strikes Club Octane
Punishingly brutal, horrifically bleak, and relentlessly driving, Salarian Gate is a worthy addition to any metal library.
Guitarist Kelli Rudick incorporates unusual instruments into her complex compositions
Rather than the classic repetitive build-and-washout, climax-and-denouement of the casual looping artist, Rudick’s works deal in nuance and subtle alteration.
Seminal Brazilian psychedelic band Os Mutantes brings the ’60s vibes to Mr. Small’s
“I think it’s important for a band who comes back to put out new music. We never played it safe and I don’t think we’re going to start this now.”
A new art center in Friendship honors a visionary painter.
“It’s almost like a place of invention, like anything can happen.”
Dylan Vitone explores display and voyeurism in The Miami Project.
We expect narcissism, of course, from models and bodybuilders, but Vitone gets deeper.
Hearings Delayed
Most G-20 protesters have criminal hearings delayed
