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by Molly McCall
Thu, May 03, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

With Nuevo-Edge, art and culture e-zine Flavorpill presents a new venture focusing on "the vibrant, progressive contemporary culture of Mexico" as found throughout the U.S. Sections targeting New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Austin serve up brief reviews of screen and stage performances just waiting for you to slip into the audience. Don't expect a crew of mass-produced sombreros, though. Recent listings highlighted such diverse fare as "a clutch of DJs spinning dirty electro and crunked-out mariachi remixes" in S.F., a Latin-jazz showcase group in Austin, and "hometown funk heroes" Ozomatli and contemporary printmaker Artemio Rodríguez in L.A. We also liked the brief overview of the "golden age of cinema" currently unfolding south of the border. Brand spanking new, the site has yet to prove itself over the long haul. But so far, the Nuevo-Edge is certainly living up to its name.
by Erik Gunther
Sat, March 10, 2007, 3:00 am PST

Popular fiction has doomed the cemetery to a reputation as a creepy, dark place where evil things are bound to happen. But we suggest you leave the terrific tales to horror novelists and view graveyards with a different perspective. This site provides a fascinating place to start your peace-making journey with cemeteries. Attempting to document every pre-1860 gravestone in Cape Cod, Robert Paine Carlson has produced a site that brims with historical import. Begin your trip inside these rock-laden yards with the quick tour of gravestone styles from 1683 to 1799 and then wander over to look at styles from 1800 to 1900. After boning up on the basics, we recommend poking through his extensive catalogue of photos from a variety of Cape Cod's final resting places. Read the maudlin inscription on Rebekah Jenkins' headstone, marvel at the grandeur of Ebenezer Crocker's massive stone, or peep at the creepy skull adorning Job Avery's marker. In a time when anything over 25-years-old is considered to be of historical import, Carlson's dutiful work in documenting these true American relics should compel you to leave your fear at the cemetery gates.
by Molly McCall
Fri, March 02, 2007, 3:00 am PST

In some ways, this new Washington Post project is quite simple. Once a week, it presents a brief interview with a D.C.-area local. The subject stands in front of an all-white background and talks about what he or she does or cares about or believes in. But the minute each clip begins, the business of being human is revealed for the complex endeavor that it is. A tattooed, dread-locked, and transplanted native of New Orleans talks about missing his city and struggling against the racism he grew up with. A running back for the D.C. Divas, a women's professional tackle football team, discusses teaching Special Ed, "being all over the place," and how often she has to affirm that yes, it's tackle, and yes, they wear helmets. And more than one soul—a 4'10" nun who used to play second base, a gay Mormon, a Virginia resident who teaches devotional Hindu music—speaks to the multifaceted experience of being devout in the world today.
by Molly McCall
Mon, June 26, 2006, 3:00 am PDT

The border between the U.S. and Mexico is 2,000 miles long, and its significance, its protection, and its porousness have never been more hotly debated. In an attempt to see and understand the towns and people who populate this dividing line, two reporters from The Star-Telegram, photojournalist Tom Pennington and Austin bureau chief Jay Root, traveled the border's length. From Boca Chica, Texas to Tijuana, Mexico, the two men followed border agents, patrolled with a Minuteman, and sought the smuggler's perspective. They paid an emergency visit to a Mexican border dentist, toured an artists' community, dropped in on the only casino in Texas, and investigated the home of the nacho. Then they pulled it all together in an extraordinary online feature that draws on articles, photos, video, and interactive maps to convey the diversity, and dangers, of the dividing line.
by Molly McCall
Tue, June 13, 2006, 3:00 am PDT

In the early 20th century, National Park Service engineers, architects, and landscape architects embraced the notion of "designing with nature" to create rustic structures that commingled harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. The design ethic, since dubbed "parkitecture," resulted in much of the stone and wood creations we see today in parks throughout the West. It extended from entrance signs and entry stations to bridges, kiosks, and lodges. This online exhibit shows off some of the best examples from 10 beloved parks, among them the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Yosemite national parks. We loved the organic grace of the Triple Arches Bridge in Glacier National Park and the subtlety of the Grand Canyon's Hermit's Rest. The lobby of Mount Rainier's Paradise Inn, built in 1917, looks as fresh and modern as anything you'd see from another group that derives its moniker from "architecture": today's starchitects.


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