I sat down on behalf of Little Village to catch up with Marilynne Robinson in her office at the Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, in advance of her upcoming talk at the Englert Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 24. The acclaimed novelist, essayist and professor has received more awards, fellowships and prestigious visiting lectureships than can be tallied here, […]
Things to do in Iowa City
Posted inArts & Entertainment
On the Beat: Iowa City Song Project
I try to collect as much Iowa City music as I possibly can. When I can’t buy a record at a show, I scour Bandcamp pages for the ones I don’t have yet. I spend hours creating and editing mixes of my favorite songs for my friends and family—people who aren’t familiar with the Iowa City […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 18-21
Welcome to another edition of the Weekender. It’s looking a little cold and wet out there at the moment, but we’re Iowans; we’re proud of our ability to tolerate anything the sky throws at us, right? Let’s take a look at what else the wind blows our way this weekend. THURSDAY Balmorhea w. Haunter, Kill […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The Tube: Fall TV Preview
We’re upon one of my favorite times of year: the fall TV season! Increasingly, program releases are staggered throughout the year, with some of my favorites airing in the traditionally rerun-dominated summer (“Breaking Bad,” and “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” being two). Yet despite these chaotic programming practices, there is still a huge influx […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Arts Review: A Set of Lies Agreed Upon
The question of how emperors and imperial aspirants fashion their cult status through images is, given our place in the present election cycle, relevant. An exhibition that raises questions and provides insight into the ways that visual propaganda shapes the image of an actual or potential government leader would have been edifying in the current […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Bands To Watch: Like Pioneers & Love Songs For Lonely Monsters
On October 6 at the Mill, I saw one of the better indie pop shows I’ve seen in a very long time. The two bands that I saw that night were Like Pioneers and Love Songs for Lonely Monsters. Like Pioneers is a Chicago-based quintet that makes melodic, fast paced noise pop. The band merges […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Screenshot: Level Up
1981 was the year of the cyborg. Three year’s before Gibson’s Neuromancer, at that moment, the word “cyberpunk” didn’t exist and most people knew the “mouse” only as a puffy mammal, but the explosion of arcade games was accelerating the blend of man and machine through increasingly intimate human-machine experiences. Still, at the end of […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment, Prairie Pop
Prairie Pop: The Chump and the Champ
At the beginning of his professional boxing career, Cassius Clay was primarily known for winning an Olympic gold medal and possessing a loud mouth. Most sportswriters hated him, especially the old guard, who felt he was not properly deferential. The racist treatment by boxing crowds and journalists certainly would have justified Clay throwing his Olympic […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Hops: Schlafly Pumpkin Ale by Saint Louis Brewery, St. Louis, MO
Though I love carving pumpkins for Halloween, and finishing Thanksgiving dinner with a slice of pumpkin pie, pumpkin-flavored beer never appealed to me; it seemed like a bad combination. However, it was something I knew I should try and I recently got the chance to sample 17 different pumpkin ales with my beer tasting group. […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On The Table: Growing Rogue
I am supposed to meet him (I don’t know his name) at the corner gas station where I expect he will be standing outside of a beat-up farm truck with Muscatine county plates. Last time I was here to buy from him he told me that his friend does the growing and he does the selling. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Talking Movies: Finally a vampire you don’t want to date
Kids, you may not know this, but vampires used to be scary. Nowadays vampires have perfectly gelled heads of luxurious hair, and their supernatural powers include sparkling and being bad-boy-cute. It wasn’t always so. The scariest vampire of all had no hair to gel, and instead of taking girls on frighteningly romantic dates, he feasted […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Iowa City Weekender: October 11-14
Welcome to this fresh edition of the Weekender. With the exception of Thursday night’s Alloy Orchestra show at the Englert, everything is local this week. With a couple of eerie film screenings and a new Samuel Locke Ward release called Double Nightmare, the season of spookiness is officially upon us. Hold on tight. THURSDAY Alloy […]
