Last Wednesday, the new art zine Gestalt launched at a Space for Ames release party. The inaugural issue’s contributors include past and present Ames Progressive collaborators Dave Atchison, Hannah Johnson, Rick Lem, Nikki Rains, and Jordan Zantow (see his Gestalt sketch below), as well as our editors Molly McDonald and Nate Logsdon. Check out the [...]

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The locally legendary rock band the Poison Control Center is set to release a limited edition vinyl record of their previously unreleased rock opera A Nice Old-Fashioned Romance With Love Lyrics and Everything on Maximum Ames Records (with which I, Mr. Blogsdon, am affiliated). In this video, Patrick Tape Fleming talks to the music writer [...]

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Last week, deconstructing some of the arguments of the conspiracy group Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth reminded me of one particular video trying to prove 7 World Trade Center was felled by a controlled demolition. “Compare the collapse of World Trade Center Building 7 with stock footage of controlled demolitions,” the video’s description reads. [...]

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The British polemicist Christopher Hitchens, perhaps best known in later years for his unwavering opposition to organized religion and for butting heads with his comrades on the Left over the Iraq war, died last night of pneumonia after a yearlong struggle with esophageal cancer. In his 62 years, Hitchens wrote more than a dozen books [...]

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From Politico, quoting Herman Cain’s campaign-suspension speech: “I believe these words came from the Pokemon movie,” Cain said. “Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It’s never easy when there’s so much on the line. But you and I can make a difference. There’s a mission just for you and me.” Cain finally [...]

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The second annual KURE Fest is coming up on Thursday, October 27, at the M Shop. The fest is in its second year. Last year, the event featured a big lineup of local talent. This year, the organizers decided to go for some national talent and managed to get the awesome bands Neon Indian and [...]

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On Tuesday, Under the Golden Dome unearthed a gem about Terry Branstad. Last week, our protest-bashing governor told Iowa Public Radio, responding to questions about the Occupy Des Moines demonstrators, that he had never participated in a protest himself because he was “too busy working on the farm” and “didn’t have time for that.” Not [...]

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Courtesy of City Councilman Matthew Goodman’s Facebook wall, I present you with this survey to weigh in on the future of Campustown. Relatedly, check out all our great coverage/criticism of the stalled Lane4 development plans for Campustown here.

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Ames sensation Leslie Hall, who Ames Progressive’s Nate Logsdon profiled in 2009, performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Monday night with Yo Gabba Gabba, who sang “We’re Gonna Party Tonight” with some additional help from Fallon’s house band The Roots. Check it out (Hall’s got a solo at 1:21): Related articles Nate’s Tour Blog [...]

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What began, oddly enough, as a call to action from an anti-consumerist Canadian magazine to set up camp to protest financial corruption on Wall Street has spread from Manhattan across the United States and world. Occupations, as they’re being called, started in Iowa last week and quickly spread to Des Moines, where demonstrators faced arrest [...]

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