Cover Story |
Iowa Dispatch: After the Floodby Victor VerneyIt goes without saying that these floods are double-edged swords, as seen recently in Iowa. But unlike, say, wildfires that destroy houses in California or tornadoes that level mobile homes in Arkansas, there are compelling reasons why Buffalonians—and everybody else—should take an interest in last month’s Iowa floods. |
News |
Desperate For Lawby Bruce FisherThis week’s headlines in southern Ohio have an eerily familiar ring to Western New Yorkers. Promoters of casino gambling are promising 5,000 good-paying jobs with benefits to a struggling community. What makes the promise so hot today is that a big employer in Columbus is threatening to leave town and take 6,000 to 9,000 jobs with it. |
The News, Briefly |
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Sam Savarino steps in to secure the crumbling White Brothers Livery for $1by Geoff Kelly |
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School board votes dismisses McKinley affair, elects new officers, has a partyby Buck Quigley |
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In DA race, LaVallee emphasizes experience, Sedita looks to the ground gameby Geoff Kelly |
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A mainstay of Buffalo’s cultural scene passes awayby Ed Cardoni |
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Offbeat News |
News of the Weirdby Chuck ShepherdChina continues to prepare for the Olympics: Officials have issued a standard chanting routine that all Chinese spectators should employ during competitions (translated as “Olympics! Add fuel!” with two claps and then both thumbs up, then “China! Add fuel!” with two more claps and raised fists, according to a June Reuters dispatch). (“Add fuel” is apparently a traditional motivational chant in China.) |
Theater |
The Road to Stratfordby Jan JezioroWith the price of gas well over four dollars a gallon and apparently headed inexorably higher, and also considering the sometimes challenging process of crossing the border, is it still worth making the trip north to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival? Based on a recent two-day trip to Stratford, the answer is, most emphatically, yes. |
Artshort |
Imaginary Linesby Lucy YauThe Imaginary Line is an ambitious examination of the idea of borders and nations taking place at three sites. The Buffalo Arts Studio in the Tri-Main Center has an exhibition comprising four artists who imagine their concepts of state and nationhood, boundaries and home. |
Music Feature |
I Have Come 500 Miles Just To See A Haloby Donny KutzbachBack on May 5, when Tom Waits issued a prerecorded press conference—with himself and a record player appearing to be the only ones in the room—he announced his upcoming Glitter and Doom tour and insisted the small clutch of American dates were charted by the stars, based on a constellation pattern. While Waits has evolved, boundlessly reinventing his music, the coat-pulling huckster, carnival barker part of his character gleefully has not. |
You Auto Know |
The 2008 Rendezvous: Vive La Différence!by Jim CorbranI’m sure most of you have heard of the party game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” The actor, in an interview some years ago, claimed to have worked with everyone in Hollywood, or with someone who had worked with them. Three college students turned the braggadocio’s remark into the game where players try and link different people (or things, I guess) to each other in six steps or less. |
Film Reviews |
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Bigger Stronger Fasterby M. Faust |
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Children of Huang Shiby George Sax |
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Hancockby M. Faust |
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Listings |
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On The Boards Theater Listings |
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Movie Times (Friday, July 4 thru Thursday, July 10) |
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Film Now Playing |
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See You There |
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Fuck Yeah Tour (July 6) |
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Hollywood '39 (Every Thursday thru August 29) |
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Marié Digby (July 5) |
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Geoffry Gatza @ The Rooftop Poetry Club (July 9) |
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Calendar Spotlight |
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Konkrete Jungle (first Friday of every month) |
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Infringement Fundraiser Phase III (July 5) |
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Sean Costello Fund for Bipolar Research Fundraiser (July 6) |
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A Wilhelm Scream with Swellers (July 9) |
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Mark Scibilia with Liz Abbott and Vinnie DeRosa (July 9) |
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Looking Ahead . . . |
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Gaywatch |
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Acting Out: It's a Good Thingby Bryan Whitley-Grassi |
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Upcoming Events |
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Letters to Artvoice |
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Proposed Peace Bridge Plaza Expansion Stinksby Jim Glose |
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Whither the Broadway Marketby Mark Braun |
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Enough About Tim Russertby Bill Berryman |
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A Vegetarian Holidayby Blaine Hamilton |
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Horoscopes |
Free Will Astrologyby Rob BresznyTAURUS (April 20-May 20): In his song “Get Behind the Mule,” Tom Waits tells us to “Never let the weeds get taller than the garden.” That’s advice you should heed in the coming weeks. But don’t go overboard and become a fanatic who acts as if weeds are evil demons from the ninth level of hell. Keeping a few well-trimmed wild plants and a mushroom or two would be quite healthy. You need a bit of messy serendipity mixed in with your law and order. |
Advice |
Ask AnyoneHi. I’m writing with a little dilemma I have about my brother. He has his heart set on trying out for a talent show—American Idol, I think, or something like that. But here’s the thing: he’s an awful singer. |