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Lifestyles reporter Shea Conner covers mainly arts and entertainment for St. Joe Live and writes for the Diem section.
He was born and raised in Newton, Iowa, where he was editor-in-chief of his high school newspaper.
He graduated from the University of Iowa in May 2008 with a major in journalism and began working for the News-Press one month later.
When Shea isn't watching movies or checking out new bands, he cheers on his favorite teams: the Iowa Hawkeyes, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Cubs.
Shea and his wife are dog lovers who pamper their golden retriever. Shea also had a brief career as an amateur stand-up comedian, but he quit because he was too nervous to ever enjoy himself on stage.
- Prints and professors
- Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
- Visitors could very well be overwhelmed by a feeling of nostalgia when they see artist Bruce McCombs’ prints at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art.
That’s the feeling McCombs himself got when he saw photos of the prints on the museum’s Web site earlier this week.
“I haven’t seen these in probably 20 years,” McCombs says. - Mixing it up
- Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
- Squarely fitting Minus the Bear into a musical genre is about as difficult as finding a primo spot for a semi-truck in the Olive Garden parking lot on a Saturday evening.
The five-man Seattle group incorporates sonic experimentation and prog rock influences into its sound. No Minus the Bear album embodied this more than 2007’s “Planet of Ice,” in which the group played everything from acoustic guitars, tambourines and swizzle stix to snare drums, organ pipes and maybe even the kitchen sink. - Entertainment calendars for Nov. 20
- Friday, Nov. 20, 2009
- Entertainment calendars for Nov. 20
- Review: ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
- Never judge a book by its cover, the old saying goes. Likewise, we should never judge a movie by its posters full of shirtless young men like Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, with their brooding abs and heartthrob poses.
The core of the “Twilight” fanbase will always be boy-obsessed teenage girls, and the first film of the series was fine for them (watch the MTV Movie Awards for reference). The large remainder of the “Twilight” audience, however, had to endure god-awful acting, mediocre writing, poor special effects and an overbearing seriousness that bogged down the film. Not to mention, much of the movie deviated from the plot and dialogue of Stephenie Meyer’s book.
For the most part, all of those issues have been resolved in “New Moon.” - Turkey day touchdown
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009
- One of the most memorable episodes of “Friends” came in the third season when the gang played a game of touch football on Thanksgiving Day. It ended with a controversial call that led brother Ross and sister Monica to fight over the “Geller Cup,” their childhood trophy that was essentially a troll doll nailed to a piece of wood.
While the premise seems a little ridiculous, informal touch football games on Thanksgiving are not. In fact, some people are making them a big family event with the works. Others are getting their friends together for a quick pickup game on the day after Turkey Day.
There are many different ways to customize the event to the needs of your family or friends. - Entertainment briefs for Nov. 20, 2009
- Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009
- Entertainment briefs for Nov. 20, 2009
- An elegant outreach
- Friday, Nov. 13, 2009
- The tale of “Cinderella” is one that has been told for generations in books big and small, in animated Disney movies and on stages around the world. It’s not often, however, that the inspiring poverty-to-royalty story is told through the art of ballet — especially in St. Joseph.
But State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, Calif., will bring the timeless fairy tale to life at 8 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Missouri Theater. - A fairy tale with a twist
- Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009
- It would be hard for any professional actor to learn an entire play in just five days, much less a group of local kids. Yet that’s exactly what the actors and actresses in Missoula Children’s Theatre’s upcoming production of “The Princess and the Pea” are doing.
- Entertainment briefs for Nov. 13, 2009
- Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
- Entertainment briefs for Nov. 13, 2009
- Out of the ordinary
- Friday, Nov. 6, 2009
- Turn your radio to 98.9 and you’ll hear a lot of hard rock bands singing about their ladies, whether they are addicted to them, love their girl’s assets or are simply celebrating the crazy ones.
Chicago hard-rock trio Chevelle has shared a lot of radio time with those bands since unleashing hits like “The Red” and “Send the Pain Below” in 2002 and 2003. And lead singer/guitarist Pete Loeffler has grown tired of being caught up in the Nickelbacks, Buckcherrys and Saving Abels of the world, the bands who release generic crossover hits that can be sandwiched between Britney Spears and Coldplay on Top 40 countdowns.
