Wednesday, January 26,2011

The life of the ’Party’

Michael Patrick Shiels has built a career on playing pranks and taking chances

by Bill Castanier

Shiels showed up at the radio station on a cold January day with breakfast for Purtan ' and not just any breakfast, but a frozen microwaveable breakfast. He placed the frozen contents on a paper plate and put it in a white paper bag, the kind you get from take-out joints.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

All fired up

Organic ingredients are the secret of Pizza Pi’s delicious dishes

by Joe Torok

Little known facts: Organic, woodfired pizza tastes better and makes you smarter. OK, so only the first part is verifiable, but if you stop into Pizza Pi along the Grand River corridor in East Lansing, you’ll probably learn a thing or two about what makes a fine tasting pie.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

TURN IT DOWN: A survey of Lansing's musical landscape

by Rich Tupica

The show is raising funds for a documentary about Karp, a defunct Washington-based band that reflected the sounds of the Melvins and Black Sabbath. “Karp Lives: A Documentary Film About a Band Called Karp” traces the band’s career, which lasted from 1990 to 1998.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

The omnipresent John Lepard: On stage, on TV, at the movies

The actor shows up next week on an episode of 'Detroit 187'; after that, he's back on the big screen in 'Scream 4'

by James Sanford

In "Road to Nowhere," the episode of “Detroit 187” that airs Tuesday, Lepard (who turns 47 today)plays Cyrus Layton, who assists Detroit police officers Fitch (Michael Imperioli) and Washington (Jon Michael Hill) in the investigation of a multiple-murder case.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

The Screening Room

Oscar nominations: A tale of prizes and surprises

by James Sanford

As expected, Annette Bening got a best actress nomination for “The Kids Are All Right,” in which she plays a lesbian mom trying to deal with her adolescent kids and the surrogate father (Mark Ruffalo) who has suddenly resurfaced in their lives.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

Here comes the stinger

Lisbeth Salander saga builds to a climax in moody 'Hornets' Nest'

by James Sanford

A great heroine deserves a sensational send-off, and Lisbeth Salander ' that girl with the dragon tattoo who played with fire ' gets a fairly good one in "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest," the concluding chapter of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

Curtain Call

There’s music in the air

by Christopher Horb

“I’ve kind of been able to see it grow,” he said. “I think for Adam there’s kind of a sense of ‘it’s all yours now.’” Told almost entirely in song, "Days" is the story of four young New Yorkers whose paths cross as they search for love and fulfillment in the Big Apple.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

Looking beyond looks

Kimberly Lavon’s prints examine social stigmas

by Alyssa Gienapp

Art by Kimberly Lavon Katalyst Gallery 1214 Turner St, Lansing 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m.-7:15 p.m. Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday (517) 708-8916 twitter.com/kimberlylavon www.facebook.com/.

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Wednesday, January 26,2011

Dubstep debut

Cirque Du Womp brought a new beat to The Loft

by Alyssa Gienapp

Standing in the freezing cold. A mob of 18-year-olds. Being blinded by ridiculously bright spotlights. It was almost worth it to see Cirque Du Womp’s first-ever show in Lansing. Saturday night, The Loft was packed with bright colors, things that glowed, and quite a lot of people; the Facebook event had 758 confirmed guests.

Oscar nominations: A tale of prizes and surprises

Ryan Gosling and Julianne Moore among the unjustly overlooked

by James Sanford

Once the cheers die down and everyone gets a closer look at the annual Academy Award nominations, the questions begin popping up. This year’s crop of nominations, which were announced Tuesday morning, is no exception.