SoDon’t
Zenzi’s got swank, but its kitchen sinks
Somethingâ??s gotta give
Indie princess Zooey Deschanel picks another quirky clunker
Sex in the city-state
An erotic thriller thatâ??s neither
Typhoon merry
A true family film from a master of images
Territorial pissings
A smart, timely sci-fi film livens a dull summer season
Doing time
Romantic weeper isn’t big on cuddling
Blister
Editor’s note: Citing collateral damages incurred due to certain lifestyle choices, Billy Manes and his pancreas checked into the hospital last week and were unable to go out and do more of the usual alchemical nonsense for Blister this week. Instead, we present the column’s first episode, from March 2004, a column that you may…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19) I started producing some good work within 10 years of launching my writing career, but I didn’t hit my stride until the 18th year. Many other skills require a long training period as well. An Aikido practitioner may require 30 years to master that martial art. The ability to carry on…
Savage Love
A couple of months ago, I sent you an e-mail thanking you for doing what you do. Today, the power of your voice hit home. As you know, an angry, sexually frustrated gunman went on a killing spree at a fitness center in Pittsburgh. Reading the killer’s blog, I was struck by the similarity of…
This Little Underground
This week: pride, disappointment, violence and death. So juicy! The beat Orlando heroes Solillaquists of Sound have been crafting their legend all along, but it’s really beginning to crystallize in full force now. Their CD release party and tour kickoff (Aug. 4, Club Firestone) was proof of a quantum leap in the way the group…
DVDs Nuts!
;; ;; The Class Director Laurent Cantet’s Oscar-nominated French classroom drama (based on the loosely autobiographical book by teacher François Bégaudeau, who plays the ever-suffering teacher in the film) is like a morality tale for adults who have long forgotten just how kill-or-be-killed high school feels. The documentary style and seemingly improvised scenes (though that’s…
Happytown
Hey, Mel, what the hell, dude? Sixteen months to go in your first U.S. Senate term, and you’re pulling out on us? Not cool, Martinez, not cool. OK, so we understand that Washington hasn’t exactly been kittens and rose petals. But really, whose fault is that? Nobody asked you to be the GOP’s point man…
Council Watch
Drunken nubility was the name of the game, as this week’s drink tank kicked off with a presentation of $40,000 from Allstate Insurance to the city in the interest of curbing teenage vehicular intoxication. A video from The Daily Buzz was beamed overhead, featuring TV-haired adults making fun of being tipsy while trying to walk…
Police Beat
July 24 (2009-350331) 11:14 a.m.: Things I stole from the office this week: House M.D., Season 5 from film editor Justin Strout’s desk (sorry, dude). A couple of CDs from the break room, but they sucked so it doesn’t count. A swig from the whiskey bottle editor Bob Whitby keeps stashed in his desk. Things…
Secrets, successes and sinking ships
The war hawks involved in the battle for the soul — hell, the continued existence — of indie rap could not ask for a clearer distillation of the differing viewpoints and what’s at stake in their fight than recent albums by four artists on the frontline. Their mentalities and strategies differ, but they only represent that of…
Starving to death
America’s No. 1 health problem, the media relentlessly tell us, is obesity. Americans eat too much and we’re the fattest people in the world. Except that, according to Sasha Abramsky, author of Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, many Americans go hungry on a regular basis. And even…
The big 4-0
The big 4-0 Woodstock: Now & Then 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, on VH1 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, on the History Channel Maybe it was the touching ending, where filmmaker Barbara Kopple shows us the results of lifelong love affairs that started at the legendary festival, or maybe it’s just blind nostalgia for an…
A different sort of thrift store
Where do the items come from when you shop at a thrift store? And where does the money go? Socially conscious treasure hunters want to know, especially as the market for freecycled, recycled and repurposed goods turns profitable and competitive. Though most thrifts are volunteer-run, sometimes good old capitalist competition for the customer dollar can…
Troubled water
; It’s a sleepy Thursday morning at Warm Mineral Springs in southwest Florida, at least until a peppy instructor starts a water aerobics class. Several dozen floppy-hatted floaters – median age somewhere around 70 – gravitate toward the shallow end of the sulphur-smelling pool, and recorded music streams into the blue sky. Strains of Sinatra…
