Crowdsourced Stories: Charles Guiteau and the Best Wikipedia Entry Around

By Shane Ryan at 1:38 PM on March 19, 2012

The assassination of a president seems like an unlikely source of comedy, but two recent events reminded me that there is always an exception to prove every rule. The first of these circumstances was Wikipedia’s day of blackout back on Jan. 18, protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Like many other computer-bound Americans, I didn’t quite realize how much I used Wikipedia until it was gone, and my frustrated attempts to reach the site inevitably made me think of my favorite Wiki entry of all time. The thought slipped away, but returned with a purpose two weeks later when...  read more

Found in: Columns

Me So Far: Singles Nights With Storytelling

By Lindsay Eanet at 4:00 PM on March 15, 2012

Me So Far’s participants (10 to 12 per event) have 20 seconds to discuss each slide, designed with their own touches in a manner akin to PostSecret cards, and in doing so, they weave an account of their life experiences—“the meaningful, the mundane and everything in between.”  read more

Found in: Features

Ethel: A New Kennedy Story

By Michael Dunaway at 1:00 PM on March 15, 2012

Call it serendipity, coincidence or a fate, but one of our nation’s most fascinating and inspiring political families happened to produce a gifted filmmaker in Rory Kennedy. She makes films of great social import, dealing with subjects from torture of war prisoners to the tangled web of immigration policy.  read more

Found in: Movies, Features

Todd Snider

By Geoffrey Himes at 8:25 AM on March 15, 2012

Drifters is an East Nashville bar, a tan, squat, cinder-block building that serves up barbecue, nachos, corn dogs and Brunswick stew. It’s an easy walk from Todd Snider's house, and the singer/songwriter often strolls over to imbibe some beverages and match tall tales with the other barflies.  read more

Found in: Music, Features

The Storytellers Tour: Once Upon a Bus...

By Charles McNair at 4:00 PM on March 14, 2012

The first time the bus balked—the first time it happened this year, the 2012 chapter of The Unchained Tour, because the bus broke down last year too—a mechanic stared in amazement as a new alternator burst into flames. “That’s not possible,” he sputtered.   read more

Found in: Books, Features

Todd Snider: Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables

By Doug Heselgrave at 4:16 PM on March 13, 2012

Chocked full of songs about crooked bankers, the pleasures of recreational drugs, and the evils of organized religion, Todd Snider’s reputation as America’s favorite alt-folk shit disturber remains firmly intact with the release of his newest album Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables.  read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

The Prime of Life by Simone de Beauvoir

By Chantal James at 4:02 PM on March 13, 2012

“If a fraternity can be created by words, then writing is well worthwhile. What I wanted was to penetrate so deeply into other people’s lives that when they heard my voice they would get the impression they were talking to themselves.” -Simone de Beauvoir in The Prime of Life The Prime of Life—published in 1960 as the second volume of four in Simone de Beauvoir’s autobiography— meticulously recounts the decade and a half of the author’s life when she began to emerge as a public figure. As the book begins, de Beauvoir has recently graduated from the Sorbonne and begun...  read more

Found in: Books, Reviews

Delta Spirit: Delta Spirit

By Wyndham Wyeth at 10:08 AM on March 13, 2012

Delta Spirit first caught attention with the folk-tinged rock on their debut record Ode to Sunshine, an album characterized with an abundance of energy and soul. They’ve since found brethren in bands of a feather like Deer Tick and Dawes (with the lead singers of all three bands forming the supergroup Middle Brother) and enjoyed critical acclaim and a supportive fan base.  read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Kaiser Chiefs: Start the Revolution Without Me

By Lindsay Eanet at 10:07 AM on March 13, 2012

When Kaiser Chiefs, then one of several arriving-in-bulk buzzy British rock bands (despite existing for nearly a decade prior), performed at Lollapalooza in 2005, frontman Ricky Wilson wasn’t feeling too well. His illness caused him to lose his voice, and a lucky fan got to step in and belt out “Oh My God” in his stead. Wilson remained on stage, red-faced and dancing like a boss, and the band provided one of the most energetic sets of the weekend.   read more

Found in: Music, Reviews

Luck Review "Episode Seven" (Episode 1.07)

By Aaron Channon at 5:15 PM on March 12, 2012

I was prepared for—nay, expecting— this week’s episode of Luck to crawl toward its conclusion.   read more

Found in: TV, Reviews