PHILADELPHIA: A group that helps homeless people get back on their feet is posting once-homeless “attendants” in the restrooms of a downtown library in an effort to help manage the masses who flock there looking for shelter or a bathroom. Project HOME and the Free Library of Philadelphia hope the project, which started this week, will prevent loitering and unsanitary conditions. But they also see the six-month pilot as a unique way to reach out to the homeless. “They can relate to these folks,” Ed Speedling, a community liaison with the advocacy group, said of the newly trained attendants. “They […]
THE MONEY $HOT: Mazel Hop
SHADRACH THE MIC: Matisyahu, TLA, December 14, 2006 [FLICKR]
PEEPLE: Did Allentown Sorority Sister Break-Up Vince And Jenn, AKA Vennifer of Vaughistan?
Hollywood starwatchers are still abuzz with news of actress Jennifer Aniston’s recent breakup with movie star Vince Vaughn. One thing missing in the gossip columns, however, is a complete explanation for the sudden split. Now, it seems at least part of the answer may have its roots in the Lehigh Valley. Star Magazine’s discovery of 2004 Parkland High School grad Laura Mallory Lane’s dreamy post on her Web site alluding to “messing around” with Vaughn in his Budapest hotel room has started a cascade of speculation about the blonde Trinity University student’s involvement with Vince, and whether she is responsible […]
TRIBUTE: Peter Boyle Has Exited The Monster’s Ball
Actor, Emmy winner, Philly native, LaSalle College alumnus and former seminarian Peter Boyle, 71, died Tuesday night. DAN BUSKIRK REMEMBERS: Peter Boyle didn’t look good bald. Actually, he didn’t look good with hair either, and perhaps you should put aside your warm memories of the recently departed actor and take a good look at his picture. His eyes are partly unreadable because of his natural squint, his lips are thin and seem to rest in a perpetual smartass smirk, and that forehead! With its thickened brow leading up to that bulbous dome, Boyle’s swollen head seemed to suggest both the […]
FASTFOOD NATION: Oh The Irony, Lettuce — Sweet, Natural, Green, Healthy Lettuce — Kicks McFood Right In The Colon, And It Could Be Fatal
Shredded lettuce has emerged as the most likely source of the bacteria that have sickened at least 71 people who ate at Taco Bells in four states, federal health officials said yesterday. “Could it change? It’s possible,” said Christopher Braden, a medical epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “but we’re fairly confident in the information.” The assertion is not based on evidence from testing but rather from the CDC’s statistical analysis of what victims ate compared with what was eaten by companions who did not get sick. The statistical evidence pointed to lettuce, cheese and ground […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
MY DRUG BUDDY: Evan Dando, North Star Bar, December 14, 2006 [FLICKR] FOR THE INQUIRER BY JONATHAN VALANIA Hard to say exactly which bad sign indicated that the woozy Evan Dando train wreck was still hitting the wall of sober expectations. Maybe it was the marked thinning of the sold-out crowd by mid-show. Maybe it was Dando’s spontaneously electing to cover Suzanne Vega’s “Luka,” when clearly neither he nor his bandmates knew the chords or lyrics. Maybe it was his lying on his back to sing another song while a roadie held the mike above him, only to abort the […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY The New York Times called Peter Boyle “one of the most successful character actors of his time.” He died Tuesday at the age of 71. Boyle had roles in many films, including Young Frankenstein and Monster’s Ball, and played the father on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. His breakthrough role was the 1970 film Joe, in which he plays a factory worker on a rampage against hippies and the counterculture. This interview originally aired on May 25, 1995. RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE Hour 1 (Rebroadcast tonight at 11) Do law enforcement officials have the right […]
TROUBLE IN ‘RIVER CITY’: Logan Square Neighbors Underwhelmed By Plan To Build ‘Colossal’ $3.5 Billion 60-Story Mansions In The Sky
Its developers call it “Philadelphia River City” — a colossal $3.5 billion project that would remake northwest Center City along the Schuylkill with 12 million square feet of residential, commercial and office space in a series of 10 towers that would dwarf anything in the neighborhood. [NOT pictured, left, that’s actually circa now China] But reaction was decidedly cool this week at a crowded Logan Square Neighborhood Association meeting to the plan floated by World Acquisition Partners’ President Ravi Chawla and a team that includes Daroff Design architects. According to Logan Square president Rob Stuart, Chawla sought the association’s support […]
SHITBEAST RISING: Dem Senator Rushed To Hospital; Could Give Control Of US Senate Back To THE BASTARDS, With CHENEY As THE DECIDER
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) underwent emergency surgery overnight to repair bleeding inside his brain and was “recovering without complication” this morning, according to the U.S. Capitol physician. Johnson, 59, who is in the critical care unit at George Washington University Hospital, fell ill at the Capitol yesterday, introducing a note of uncertainty over control of the Senate just weeks before Democrats are to take over with a one-vote margin. Johnson “was found to have had an intracerebral bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation,” Adm. John Eisold, attending physician of the U.S. Capitol, said in a statement issued by the […]
CSS: Alala
Ah, the prom. Good…times.
GOODNIGHT MR. SURE SHOT: Jumpshot Pioneer Dead At 78
FROM ESPN: Hall of Famer Paul Arizin, who was one of the first in the league to make the jump shot a regular part of his arsenal, died in his sleep in his home in suburban Philadelphia. He was 78. The Philadelphia Warriors and Villanova University both claimed Arizin as one of their own. Arizin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1978. He played with the Warriors from 1951-62, making the All-Star Game 10 times and winning the league’s MVP in 1952. He led the league in scoring twice. The 6-foot-4 forward finished his NBA career with per […]
YOUR PETRODOLLARS AT WORK: Sunoco Refinery To Give ‘Cat Cracker’ $275 Million Upgrade, Assures PETA No Cats Will Be Hurt In The Process
NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Sunoco Inc. said Wednesday it would restart an idle hydrocracker at its 330,000 barrel per day refinery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and convert it to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel. This would allow the unit to upgrade between 40,000 and 50,000 barrels per day of heating oil to the cleaner-burning ultra-low sulfur diesel. The company estimated the cost would range from $225 million to $275 million, with completion targeted by early 2009. REUTERS: You Can Literally Smell The Future Profits!