Carl Deal and Tia Lessin are the producers and directors of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Trouble the Water, which follows the lives of Ninth Ward residents Kimberly and Scott Roberts during the aftermath of Katrina’s devastation of their homes in New Orleans. The film won the Gotham Independent
Given the title of “El Presidente” at mental_floss, Will Pearson developed and published the magazine’s first issue with Mangesh Hattikudur while they were both still students at Duke University. Since then, the magazine has become a staple for “knowledge junkies” and has spawned a web site, books, a
Frank Portman was once better known as Dr. Frank, frontman of the seminal Bay Area punk band The Mr. T Experience. Now he’s building a reputation as an author. His latest novel, “Andromeda Klein,” is due out on Aug. 25.
In his new book, poet and self-described “vegetarian sin eater” CAConrad develops a theosophy based on the music and celebrity of Elvis Presley. Using prose poems, found art, and snippets of conversational dialog, Advanced Elvis Course details CAConrad’s excursions to Memphis where he interacts with acolytes of the
After launching a music career built on positivity and partying, Andrew W.K. keeps busy by going in several directions at once. He is co-owner of lower Manhattan’s Santos Party House, has appeared in and supplied music for episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and recorded an album
Cartoonist Nina Paley is the creator of Sita Sings the Blues, an interpretation of the Ramayana, the Hindu epic. The film was released online earlier this year and set to the music of blues singer Annette Hanshaw. In the difficult process of acquiring rights to use Hanshaw’s music, Paley
Back in the formative days of the mp3-blog world, Ryan Catbird was king with The Catbirdseat. Since then he’s started his own label (Catbird Records, with a slew of newreleases) and founded MBV Music, an amalgam of music blogging’s finest that recently won an Eddy. TMN: What
Author Tom Piazza’s latest novel, City of Refuge, was runner-up in this year’s Tournament of Books. As a music writer, he won a Grammy for his album notes to Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey. TMN: During the Tournament of Books, David Rees said City
A native of New York City, John Schaefer has been a WNYC radio host and music curator for more than 25 years. His long-running show “New Sounds” explores a diverse galaxy of genres old and new, and his program “Soundcheck” interviews artists and covers industry news. “Soundcheck” also recently
Cadillac Man, as he was known on the streets, spent the better part of the past 15 years homeless in New York City. After losing a managerial position at a Pepsi plant, and then at a Hell’s Kitchen meat market, his second marriage dissolved. With nowhere else to go,
