CD Review – Bad Religion
New Maps of HellBad Religion(EPITAPH)Greg Graffin doesn’t care about influence. He cares about statements. He doesn’t water down his lyrics, for this is post-9/11 ’merica, and you’ll take your truth straight up. Whether you like it is irrelevant. Subtlety? Um, no. Maps and, for that matter, Bad Religion’s last few records, have pulled what…
More layoffs hit The C-J: Twelve axed as part of ad department realignment; staff dissent grows
Courier-Journal: Photo by Cary Stemle Like all American newspapers, The Courier-Journal faces tough economic times. The newspaper recently laid off 12 employees in its advertising operations department. By now, it is understood that daily newspapers face tough times. Today’s readers have myriad options for getting information, and their long-held allegiances to dailies have all but…
Rumor & Innuendo
“The Mustard Belt is back in a America.” In a call rivaled only by Al Michaels in 1980 — “Do you believe in miracles? Yes.” — Paul Page thus capped one of the great contests in sports history. Joey Chestnut bested Kobayashi in the Nathan’s Famous July 4 International Hot Dog Eating Contest — “The…
City Strobe
It’s lonely at the topWith the overwhelming majority of Americans opposed to the Iraq war, even Republican senators are waking up and smelling the IEDs. In recent days, staunch Bush supporters Richard Lugar of Indiana, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, John Warner of Virginia and the somewhat-less-staunch Olympia Snowe of Maine have pressured the president…
Welp”s Louisville: Suck it, extraterrestrials!
I was shocked this week to learn that Jared Diamond is anti-SETI.Despite the sound of it, SETI is not a piece of furniture that complements your chiffarobe (though Jared Diamond might disapprove of those, too). It’s an acronym for “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” The SETI Institute (www.seti.org) is a California organization that spies on outer…
Flexing their muscle
Last week in Frankfort, Democrats unveiled a new strategy for negotiating Republican-dominated state government: Guts “The special session simply provides welfare for politicians, and it is very unfair to Kentucky taxpayers. Included are talking points and a set of quotes from a diverse group of political and policy experts to help you communicate this important…
Forecasting Louisville”s film future
Movie experts see big changes ahead. But what does that mean? Vogue: Photo by Bryan Hurst In mid-May, a dozen or so people who had met via the Internet ventured outside their homes. Instead of just waiting for their Netflix to show up in the mail, these members of the Louisville Movie Fans Meetup Group…
Erosia Extra
Erosia Xtra‘A trembling’ still echoes LEO received a number of responses to “A trembling in the universe,” Scott Robinson’s June 27 cover story, which detailed his firsthand experience on the night that 15-year-old Tyler Dumstorf shot two Indiana sheriff’s deputies, killing one before fatally wounding himself. Read that piece here: http://leoweekly.com/?q=node/4962.This week, we bring you…
Erosia
LEO welcomes letters that are brief (250 words max) and thoughtful. Ad hominem attacks will be ignored, and we need your name and a daytime phone number. Send snail mail to EROSIA, 640 S. Fourth St., Louisville, Ky. 40202. Fax to 895-9779 or e-mail to leo@leoweekly.com. We may edit for length, grammar and clarity.Minority AffairsI…
Staff Picks
Wednesday, July 11The Indicators “It’s a well-known fact that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. So far we’ve done a damn good job,” says The Indicators’ Web site. They’re not exaggerating — the improv troupe is celebrating its 50th show this evening at Comedy Caravan; quite an accomplishment considering the…
Mug Shots: Retro lambic
Did beer taste the same 100 years ago as it does now? Breweries today cannot exactly re-create archaic formulations, as a century or more of genetic engineering has altered cereal grains and hops. It is a familiar process designed to substitute reproducible certainties for those local variations that formerly prefaced delightful asymmetries. Some vestiges…
Getcher red hots … with truffle aioli and fennel kraut?
Jay Denham: Photo by Nicole Pullen Park Place chef Jay Denham is taking over for Anoosh Shariat, and he has implemented a new “ball park menu” that may be a preview of changes to come. We went to the Bats game the other night and enjoyed the best ballpark repast I’ve ever had: A succulent…
Film Review – Transformers
Our childhood toys are all grown up. For the record, my Transformers were never this violent. They lived, worked and played happily beside the likes of Strawberry Shortcake, a gaggle of Care Bares, He-Man and Barbie, of course. Optimus Prime was content hauling My Little Ponies, not fighting off my brother’s evil Decepticons. But…
Film review – License to Wed
“License to Wed” commits too many cinematic crimes to list in this space. Here are just a few: 1) Robin Williams has exhausted all audience goodwill. 2) John Krasinski (from TV’s “The Office”) has collected a paycheck that should enable him to make better movies. 3) Hollywood has yet to find…
Video Tapeworm: Releases through Tuesday, July 17
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS BIRDMAN AND THE GALAXY TRIO: THE COMPLETE SERIES1967; DVD $26.95, URA long overdue release of the original series spoofed in Cartoon Network’s “Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law.” A two-disc set with all 20 episodes and a Birdman doc. This short-lived series was actually two shows; alternating between Birdman one week and the…
CD Reviews
Time On EarthCrowded House(ATO)It seems like forever since Crowded House fell off the map. It was 1994, precisely, though they regrouped for a 1996 farewell in Sydney (recently out on CD and DVD). Much has changed since, but nothing more profound than the loss of drummer Paul Hester, who committed suicide in 2005. As the…
Sixth annual Lebowski Fest music lineup makes achievers of us all
Dr. Dog To hear Lebowski Fest co-founder Scott Shuffitt say it, music is an inextricable part of what makes this Dude fest special. “We figured part of the movie’s appeal was the soundtrack, so we figured why not bring in some music?” says Shuffitt, who along with Will Russell founded Lebowski Fest, the two-day ode…
Annual Blues ”N” Barbecue Fest reaches down under, snags Fiona Boyes & the Fortune Tellers
Australians get the blues, too To Artie Wells, the blues isn’t merely a lens through which people see a depressing world. The idiom and its lyrics and music tell stories about life. “I’ve learned to enjoy the blues; it’s just a feeling you have to have,” says Wells, who sings for the Walnut Street Blues…
Black Beasts, Plane lands at the track, Pennies reunite
Friday, July 13Your Black Star’s newest EP, Beasts, is a six-song journey into a dark heart. For this, the band’s second short-form release, YBS traveled to Austin in January to record with Erik Wofford, the man behind the faders for The Black Angels’ Passover, and instrumental outfit Explosions in the Sky. Beasts flaunts all the…
Neither naughty nor bawdy nor gaudy on “42nd Street”
Based on the classic backstage movie musical, “42nd Street” should be all about the choreography, originally set by legendary Hollywood musical choreographer Busby Berkeley. He left big shoes to fill.Faced with the task of bringing his vision to the local stage, John Paul Gamoke, whom Music Theatre Louisville chose to direct this production, apparently decided…
Aftertastes
RITE WAY BAR-B-CUE HOUSE, 1548 W. St. Catherine St., 584-9385. This West End barbecue joint has been a neighborhood landmark since the Johnson family founded it just after WWII. The tender ribs are some of the best in town, and the sauce is like no other — thin, spicy and tangy, with a distinct vinegar…
