Morning Roundup
This poll analysis of the Crist-Gallagher race is kind of interesting. Gallagher has spent every waking hour trying to talk about gays and abortion, but even the base ain’t falling for it. What does this say about Florida Republicans? Are they less concerned with these far right issues, meaning a shmuck like Gallagher can’t con…
WORDS THAT SING
The published poetry of Linton Kwesi Johnson – born in Jamaica, raised in England – finally lands in the United States
WHOMP THAT TRICK
Once again, Ed Norton casts his spell over us
Beerfest
Beerfest Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Rated: R Cast: Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Kevin Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar Director: Jay Chandrasekhar WorkNameSort: Beerfest Our Rating: 1.50 There’s no doubt we live in a post-Jackass world when a ludicrous comedy like Beerfest opens with a ‘Don’t try this at home or you will dieâ?� warning. As…
Idlewild
Idlewild Studio: Universal Pictures Distribution Rated: R Cast: Andre ‘Andre 3000’ Benjamin, Antwan ‘Big Boi’ Patton, Faizon Love, Paula Jai Parker, Paula Patton Director: Bryan Barber WorkNameSort: Idlewild Our Rating: 3.00 Contrary to expectations, the long-delayed OutKast movie doesn’t out-and-out stank ‘ but it still could use massive recutting to make it less schizophrenic and…
The Quiet
The Quiet Studio: Sony Pictures Classics Rated: R Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Edie Falco, Camilla Belle, Shawn Ashmore, Martin Donovan Director: Jamie Babbit WorkNameSort: Quiet, The Our Rating: 1.00 I can’t think of a human activity I’d recommend less than watching this hackneyed, straining-to-be-lurid domestic drama, the umpteenth cynical attempt to bait today’s supposedly alienated teen…
Trust the Man
Trust the Man Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures Rated: R Cast: Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eva Mendes Director: Bart Freundlich WorkNameSort: Trust the Man Our Rating: 2.50 This matched pair of New York breakup stories plays something like Your Friends and Neighbors without the intense psychological cruelty ‘ and if you’re wondering…
GOD ONLY KNOWS
Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary Label: Capitol Length: LP Media: CD Format: Album WorkNameSort: Pet Sounds: 40th Anniversary Oh look, another homage to Pet Sounds. A 40th anniversary edition, with a CD that includes the stereo and mono versions of the album, along with a DVD of hagiographic documentaries extolling the importance and excellence of this…
Pure ’80s: The Ultimate DVD Box
Pure ’80s: The Ultimate DVD Box Studio: Hip-o Rated: NONE WorkNameSort: Pure ’80s: The Ultimate DVD Box Even taking into account trendy revisionism and ignoring the fact that the decade was less day-glo plastic pants and more ill-fitting brown sweaters, this three-DVD collection is miles away (a million miles away, perhaps) from living up to…
All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt
All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt Label: AntAcidAudio Length: LP Media: CD Format: Album WorkNameSort: All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt After more than 25 years of existence, Nomeansno is still something of poorly kept punk rock secret. Occasionally making it into the margins of Canadian punk discussions somewhere after D.O.A. and SNFU but before the Dayglo…
The Blaxploitation Sessions
The Blaxploitation Sessions Label: Shaman Work Length: LP Media: CD Format: Album WorkNameSort: Blaxploitation Sessions, The It’s not exactly like the ’70s cinematic Afro-tainment movement was a shining beacon of baadasssss cultural progress, but grindhouse-style B-pictures like Sweet Sweetback, Foxy Brown and pretty much anything with Jim Kelly in it still hold a tender lovin’…
Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City – Live At Iridium
Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City – Live At Iridium Label: Pi Length: LP Rated: NONE Media: CD Format: Album WorkNameSort: Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City – Live At Iridium Recorded during a six-night stint that took place just two months after the death of AEC bassist Malachi Favors, one might expect a certain mournful tone…
IMPERTINENT QUESTIONS
;Amateur hour. There’s no ;other way to describe the Orlando Performing Arts Center Corporation’s Aug. 22 sales pitch to the Orange County Commission. Their proposal for a new performing arts center relied heavily on sentiment and didn’t feel like a real discussion of a taxpayer-subsidized, $376 million public project that will lose millions of dollars…
CUT AND RUN
The battle has been won. The liberation is complete. The fragrant, floral bouquets of heroism have been draped across all the appropriate necks. And so I’m doing the only thing I can do — something that sounded positively irresistible when I heard it mentioned in a speech by my hero, Rick Santorum. I’m turning tail…
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
ARIES The Weekly World News suggests that we celebrate a new holiday this week, National Hate Day. For 24 hours, it would be socially acceptable to drain off the rancid opinions, bitter spleen and sickening ideas we’ve been hoarding. While everyone can profit from this massive purge of psychic pus, no one has as much…
SAVAGE LOVE
There was a piece in the New York Times last weekend about the debate in the queer community — particularly in the lesbian community — over gender-reassignment surgery. Lots of formerly butch lesbians now identify as “transmen.” The strangest revelation was that after one member of a lesbian couple became a man, they were able…
BLISTER
“I’ve finally decided that what I really need is …,” Savannah surveys the color-coordinated QVC showcase that constantly twirls in her head, “… a large black man with gold all up in his grill to stand next to me.” “Consider it done,” I lie, yanking the steering wheel that constantly twirls in front of me…
I LOVE TELEVISION
In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do ANYTHING halfway. The way I look at it, why smoke a joint when a half kilo of snort is right … there? Why eat a Hungry Man TV dinner when there are entire fields of cows, bored out of their minds, just waiting to be slaughtered? And…
COUNCIL WATCH
A perusal of the advance draft of the Aug. 28 City Council agenda showed it would lack the controversial charm of some its more incendiary predecessors. Besides, what could Orlando possibly have to worry about after two weeks of press-released civic accomplishment? The city has virtually milestoned itself into a stupor, with only a financial…
HAPPYTOWN
;While the rest of you newsies were busy wrapping your heads around shiny performing arts centers and the great Burnham god-kiss, we just happened to unearth the Biggest Story of All Time. And it comes from a divine source: John Martello, aka ARACHIYA, Blue Dragon, Skywatcher Lord of the Order of the Skywatcher Clan. Let’s…
POLICE BEAT
Aug. 18, 9:00 A.M.: Officer Tankovich responded to the 900 block of West Gore Street in reference to a commercial burglary and met with a 24-year-old victim. Some time between when the establishment closed at 10 p.m. Aug. 17 and when they reopened the next morning around 5:15, perp(s) unknown stole the victim’s toolbox. The…
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
;Life’s cheap in Florida ; Eduardo Gonzalez, 18, was arrested and charged as the one who shot an Orlando, Fla., man to death in March for spilling beer on him in a bar. In August, the price of life went down even further when, according to police, Gonzalez put out hit contracts on five witnesses…
LETTERS
Bring out your dead (carts) Great article `”What’s with all the carts?,” Aug. 24`. As a Colonialtown resident it drives me nuts to see all those shopping carts scattered throughout our area. Almost any day of the week I witness yet another cart on its death walk. Wouldn’t this be a cool solution: The homeless…
SELECTIONS
Thursday•31 Cheyenne Kimball When “Cheyenne” took its untimely dip from our must-see MTV teen dram-eality block a few weeks ago — Kimball got to sing with Sheryl Crow, who is like totally her idol — we fell into a cavernous depression throughout which we couldn’t even be bothered to push the matted hair out of…
NOTABLE NOISE
Without getting maudlin about how weird it was to roll into a decor-stripped Will’s Pub, I have to say that the last weekend at the Mills Avenue location was a bit of a bummer. Not even bothering with the oversold zoo that was Friday night’s Lucero show, I took in Saturday night’s mixed-bag bill —…
BATTERED RAMS
The one thing that’s always driven me nuts about Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band has been this feeling that they’re a unionized group in which every member must be employed at all times. Should Clarence not be tending to a saxophone solo, hand the man a tambourine. And when is it necessary to have four…
FOCUSING ON THE ’50S
;The 1950s don’t get much respect. If the decades of American culture had a high school reunion, I’d imagine the varsity letterman 1940s dancing with the prom queen 1980s, while the ’60s and ’70s shared a smoke under the bleachers and the ’90s bragged about their stock portfolio. All the while, the 1950s would hover…
HEY DEMS!
Listen up, Democrats. District 8 Congressman Ric Keller needs a challenge, and one of you three is the man to give it to him. He hasn’t had to run a real campaign in six years, when he narrowly upset Linda Chapin. He’s won his last two elections in walks against weak opponents. Keller’s given us…
The Yes Men visit Nawlins, and pose as HUD agents.
The Yes Men have struck again. They’re responsible for the gwbush.com along with the culture jammers in rtmark. Have you seen their movie? I got it on Netflix a while back, and I thought it was hilarious. Watching someone (supposedly) from the WTO explain to graduate economics students that McDonalds had come up with a…
