NEWSDAY: Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, whose valiant battle for survival after shattering his right-hind leg in the early stages of the May 20 Preakness brought international attention unprecedented emotional support, was euthanized early today at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center, where he had been hospitalized for more than eight months. DAILY NEWS: After winning the Kentucky Derby by the largest margin in 60 years, that elusive Triple Crown seemed there for Barbaro’s taking. Then, 2 weeks later, barely 200 yards into the Preakness at Pimlico, it was over, as the colt’s right hind leg was left dangling, a […]
THIS JUST IN: Philebrity Still A Bag Of Dicks
With friends like this, who needs enemas? From the Department of Faint Praise comes this typically backhanded compliment from our old dear friend, Joey Sweeney. We took the liberty of fucking with it in the pursuit of humor. Ah, feels like old times: Phawker Produces First (Sort Of) Readable Post, Nabs Interview With Jose Swilton CITIZEN MOM REPORTS: The scariest guy on the Internet plops down next to me on a banquette. He’s sporting a head of pink hair, a dark T-shirt-and-jacket combo, skinny jeans and moon boots ? an ensemble that probably nobody else could pull off. He looks […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER: Among people who like that sort of thing, Colin Meloy – ringleader of the Portland, Ore.-based folk-pop collective the Decemberists – is the most satisfyingly literary songwriter to emerge in recent memory. Others find his tune-smithing to be cloying and contrived, like an English-class apple-shiner who makes sure that his essays always incorporate alliteration, onomatopoeia and at least three examples of simile and metaphor – just because he can. A bookish, blocky man with an owlish countenance and the physique of a chatroom habitue, Meloy writes songs best described as historic pulp fiction, a […]
EXCLUSIVE: PHAWKER NAILS PEREZ HILTON
FLICKR: Perez Hilton’s Party At Club Mur Mur, The Borgata, Atlantic City ATLANTIC CITY — While the rest of the Philly media was busy eating the dust of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Citizen Mom and Phawker headed down the Shore to party with the Queen of All Media, Perez Hilton! The celebrity uber-blogger — who was just named #2 on Forbes Magazine’s Web Celeb 25 — held court at the Borgata Saturday night and ONLY Team Phawker was there to get the celebrity juice, NOT from concentrate and straight from the mouth of Miss Perez herself. […]
OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE: Casino Fund Created To Alleviate Crushing Poverty Of A.C. Underclass Buys House Of Blues & New IMAX — For The Casinos
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) _ The agency created to redirect casino revenue to revitalize downtrodden areas in the city and around New Jersey has given more than 20 percent of the money back to the casinos to subsidize improvements and expansion, according to published reports. According to a report in Sunday’s New York Times, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, created in 1984, has given $400 million to the casinos for projects such as: -The construction of 13,000 new hotel rooms, including 800 in a tower under construction at the Trump Taj Mahal; -An IMAX theater at the Tropicana Casino and […]
GAMBLOR: Shamed Slot Shack Changes Mind, Decides To Play By The Rules And Payout $102,000 To Winner
After days of unwelcome national media attention, PhiladelphiaPark Casino Saturday night paid the disputed $102,000 that a Feasterville slots player said he had coming to him. But Stephen Wilkinson, 56, a retired carpenter, said the jackpot was in his hand for “about two minutes.” His wife of 25 years, Nancy, grabbed the check for safekeeping. “We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with it,” he said. Wilkinson, a regular but small-time bettor, said that his son Sean, 23, had asked for help in paying off his 2002 Dodge Ram truck but that the family would take its time in […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: Prairie Companion Comes Home
The Philly crowd also got the rare treat of seeing Terry Gross sing, having been cast as a punk singer-songwriter in one sketch. [Garrison] Keillor had confided in the podcast interview that he was looking forward to putting her on the spot like that. She sounded fine, though, and it’s clear Keillor remains conscious of his outsized responsibility as the host, producer, lead writer and general icon of a show heard weekly by 4 million people. […] As readers of [Keillor’s] book “Homegrown Democrat” know, it’s not as if the man lacks a fire in the belly about the state […]
NOW PLAYING: Sloan’s NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO/REVIEW BY ED KING At 30 songs long ? 30 songs! ? it’s a wonder anyone will hear the end of this album, but that’s why I’m here. Never say never, Sloan. It feels like only last week that I came home from high school — having made a quick stop at the Sam Goody at Roosevelt Mall — with Elvis Costello & the Attractions’ latest, Get Happy!!, in sweaty hand. Oh baby! Through the wonders of a hitherto described process of “groove cramming,” the band and producer Nick Lowe managed to pack 20 soulful, fractured, […]
EXCLUSIVE: Inky Re-Hires Laid-Off Sports Columnist
Phawker has learned that Inquirer sports columnist David Aldridge, one of the people axed from the paper’s roster in two rounds of layoffs earlier this month, is now BACK on the job. He will resume his columnist duties for the next Villanova game. Aldridge, who is African American, was NOT one of the signers of a letter sent to the Inquirer ownership from the National Association of Black Journalists pointing out that a disproportionate percentage of the employees laid off were minorities. Owner Brian Tierney responded through spokesman Jay Devine that the company’s hands were tied by the seniority provision […]
PALACE COUP: UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION center SUSPENDED FOR DURATION OF ROYAL VISIT
PLEASE BE ADVISED: The National Constitution Center will be closed to the public until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 27 for a special visit of Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The Center will be open to the public from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Thank you! Ashley Berke Public Relations Coordinator National Constitution Center
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR ON WHYY Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski died on January 23, 2007, at the age of 74. As a foreign correspondent, Kapuscinski covered coups and revolutions in the developing world for forty years. Many of his articles appeared in a series of books that made him famous: The Soccer War, Another Day of Life, and Shah of Shahs. This interview originally aired in 1988. PLUS, Actor Forest Whitaker has been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland. Whitaker played jazz musician Charlie Parker in Bird, […]