SPORTZ: Eagles Suck, Blah, Blah, Blah…PAT BERKERY PLEASE PHONE HOME…Eagles Suck, Blah, Blah…

Don’t know if you’ve noticed but our vaunted sports columnist Patrick “PBR” Berkery has been MIA for weeks now. Actually, he’s out on tour with the Pernice Brothers. When he told us he was leaving for a while we were like ‘What kind of sports columnist goes on tour with some pussy indie-pop band in the middle of football season?’ And he was all like ‘I’m a drummer, not a sportscaster.’ And we’re like NO YOU’RE NOT, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE? YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! DEAD! And, um, give us a call when you get back and we’ll […]

It Was 50 Years Ago Today, Allen Ginsberg Taught The Sheep To Stray, He’s Been Going In And Out Of Style But He’s Guaranteed To Raise A SMILE

THE BEAT PAGE: Howl CITY LIGHTS: 50 Years Ago They Wanted To Send Bookstore Owners To Jail On Obscenity Charges For Selling A Book We Now Celebrate On Public Radio, It’s Called Progress RADIO TIMES: We celebrate the 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl.” We talk with ANNE WALDMAN, a friend and colleague of Allen Ginsberg and JASON SHINDER editor of “The Poem That Changed America: ‘Howl’ Fifty Years Later.”

Mom, Dad, Ladies And Gentlemen Of the Jury, We Give You 174 Newspaper Stories That All Start With The Words BROTHER OF PHILADELPHIA MAYOR INDICTED, You Must Be So Proud

Philadelphia mayor’s brother indicted PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28 (UPI) — Philadelphia Mayor John Street’s brother has been charged with fraud and tax evasion for allegedly selling his presumed influence to an airport contractor. Milton Street and two employees of Philadelphia Airport Services were charged in a lengthy federal indictment. The company was a joint venture formed to bid on a maintenance contract at Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport. U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said that the company hired Street in 2002, paying him $30,000 a month, because executives believed he would help the company keep its contract, NBC10 reported. “Milton […]

Now Playing On PHAWKER RADIO: How I Learned To STOP WORRYING About Chaos And LOVE Free Jazz

BY DAN BUSKIRK “I hope I never like this stuff,” I remember thinking as a 15-year-old, tuning past Philly’s jazz station, WRTI. Jazz was too unmelodic, too cerebral and too unsexy to my revved-up, hormone-addled mind, sentiments similar to what I still hear from many adult music lovers. For me, it was only a few years later that I finally found myself deep into jazz, after making my way up the time line from the big bands (the AM radio in my first car was set to the old timers’ station, WPEN), to Sinatra, to Chet Baker to Miles and […]

Cheap Laffs: THAT’S NOT FUNNY, IT’S SCHTICK

Comedy By Non-Comedians Night Is TONIGHT, Man, Where DOES The Time Go? One Laris Kreslins is the brains behind this operation and this followup show to the premier back in ’01 (Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn) is sure to delight. Hosted by Rose Luardo (Sweatheart), local luminary non-comedians will perform 3-5 minute bits they think might be “funny” to an audience ready to laugh at about anything. Or that’s the plan anyway. This is perfect for anyone relishing uncomfortable pauses and the embarrassment of others. What’s the word? Schadenfreude… Yea, that’s it. Don’t miss it. Featuring funny people: Sam Schwartz, […]

BANANA REPUBLIC: Appointed But Not ELECTED City Council Replacements Sworn In, Vow To Maintain Government Of THE MACHINE, By THE MACHINE And For THE MACHINE

Carol Campbell [PICTURED], Philadelphia’s newest councilwoman, sat with a benevolent smile on her face, ringed by a crush of supporters paying their respects. Stacked four deep, they plied her with kisses that left her cheeks stained with lipstick, and whispered words of congratulations into her ear. “Wait ’til you get a load of her,” said U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) as he introduced the new Fourth District representative and fellow freshman Council members William Greenlee and Daniel Savage at a City Hall swearing-in session yesterday afternoon. Philadelphia’s political class, led by Brady, used the occasion to celebrate the virtues […]

NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

Women in the ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Era Ariel Levy is a contributing editor at New York magazine, where she writes about sexuality, culture and gender politics. Her new book is Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. One reviewer writes that Levy “strips the ‘Girls Gone Wild’ culture of its cuteness in her provocative [book], arguing that post-feminist poster girls such as Playboy Bunnies offer only faux empowerment.” FRESH AIR: Will Terry ‘Go WILD’? Tune In And See (And Bring Yer Beads) Related: Britney Forgot Her Panties, AGAIN [Superficial]

HOT DOCUMENT: Inky/DN Guild Memo

FROM THE DESK OF SGT. BYKO: TAKE PERSONAL STUFF HOME Please remove personal items that you use or value from the workplace before expires at midnight Thursday, November 30. If a strike becomes necessary, you will not be allowed to enter the building to retrieve your belongings. Your bargaining committee is working hard to avert a strike. If one becomes necessary it will be because the new owners are being too aggressive in seeking to force us to help pay for their purchase of our newspapers. Keep working until you hear from your union officers that a strike has been […]

GUNCRAZY: Philly Mom Of Gun-Paralyzed Son Pulls the Plug FOUR YEARS AFTER HE WAS SHOT FOR REFUSING TO GIVE UP IVERSON T-SHIRT; Mom Donates Special Handicapped Van To Family of Boston 12 Year Old Paralyzed By Stray Bullet, Live On NPR

Kevin Johnson‘s perilous grip on life may come came to an end today because his family has made the gut-wrenching decision to disconnect him from the mechanical life-support system that has been keeping him alive for four days at Frankford Hospital/Frankford division. “I feel right now that Kevin has served his purpose,” said his mother, Janice Jackson-Burke. “I was blessed with three-and-a-half more years with my son, and they weren’t wasted years. “Basically, God called him home now, and that’s where he’s going.” Jackson-Burke said her son fell into a vegetative state on Thursday after his ventilation system failed, and he was […]

HIZZONER ’07: Maybe It’s The Snappy Name, But We Are Really Likin’ This Jonathan Guy

From YOUNG PHILLY POLITICS: Jonathan Saidel Makes Me Go, ‘Hmmmm’ During Bob Brady‘s riffing, he started introducing other local politicians in the room, including … future Mayoral candidate Jonathan Saidel. The reason I bring this up is that I had never seen Saidel speak in person, and frankly do not know a lot about him. But, I would have to say, his speech very much surprised and impressed me, mainly for the fire with which it was delivered. And then, when talking to someone about the speech, I heard another story about Saidel, which made me think about his candidacy […]