Love the One You’re (Eating) With: a Review of ‘Poor Man’s Feast’

By Amanda Bloom Originally published in The Mercurial. Elissa Altman’s first book, Poor Man’s Feast, reads like a good, hearty meal – by the time the last page is turned, you feel as though you know Altman intimately, that you’ve sat at her table countless times, filling up with fine food and colorful stories.  Feast,… Continue reading Love the One You’re (Eating) With: a Review of ‘Poor Man’s Feast’

Restaurant Review: Crush Sports Cafe

If you’ve read my previous reviews, the last thing you would expect from me is to review a sports bar. I’ve done genre/lifestyle specific restaurants (G-Zen/Uncle Willie’s BBQ), high-end restaurants that have the chef’s name under the name of the place (Parallel Post – a Chef Dean James Max eatery!), or semi-popular takeout places (Layla’s).… Continue reading Restaurant Review: Crush Sports Cafe

Rope Break Presents The Mandatory 10-Count: Ten Botches and High Spots from the Week in Professional Wrestling – 3/23/13 Edition

1 Paul Bearer, Rest in Perpetuity? While CM Punk and The Undertaker make their argument for being the true main event at this year’s WrestleMania, the recent passing of William Moody (who portrayed Taker’s morbid manager Paul Bearer) is being utilized to further the angle and make it more personal. But we’re rounding on the… Continue reading Rope Break Presents The Mandatory 10-Count: Ten Botches and High Spots from the Week in Professional Wrestling – 3/23/13 Edition

Your Teacher Listens to Hardcore? A Review of Empty Vessels’ Waves of Waves

What is hardcore music?  At age soon-to-be-29, I think I’m finding out.  I had pictured it involving a lot of visors, “junt-junts,” and guitar players squatting angrily while playing their riffs.  But as it turns out – I think – it’s much more punk than I’d imagined.  Judging from some random shows at the Heirloom,… Continue reading Your Teacher Listens to Hardcore? A Review of Empty Vessels’ Waves of Waves

Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera by Rex Brown & Mark Eglinton

I grabbed this book the second it hit the shelf because I wanted to know the story of Pantera from the perspective of its quietest member, former bass player Rex Brown.  All I knew about Pantera were assumptions formed by a series of band interviews and tour videos from over the years.  Official Truth, 101… Continue reading Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera by Rex Brown & Mark Eglinton

Bair Grills… Rise and Fall by Continuum

In my opinion, a band is great when they can not only showcase their musicians’ skills, but do so in the confines of composing enjoyable songs. A lot of people can shred but what they write might be bland wankery. And a lot of people write great hooks but don’t blister faces with solos. With… Continue reading Bair Grills… Rise and Fall by Continuum