THE WINNER: “Now, let’s get that Brazilian started.”

Congratulations Mike Guggino You Are Going To See Lee Scratch Perry! Enjoy! The City of Philadelphia’s photo archive contains over 2 million images that date back as far as the late 1800s, i.e. the last time a Republican won in this town. In all seriousness, this is an INCREDIBLE visual record of the city’s evolution and a relatively new web site, PhillyHistory.org, is making it available for online consumption and purchase. To date, some 27,000 images have been digitally scanned, at a rate of roughly 2,000 images a month. So, if you’ve been wondering why the line at Kinko’s is […]

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Q&A: Daily Show Comedian Paul Mecurio

Comedy Central’s Paul Mecurio & Brian Regan, Tomorrow Night At The Tower. PHAWKER: You gave up a successful career as an investment banker on Wall Street to become a comedian — a profession that pays migrant worker wages to most of its practitioners. How come? Is your mom still pissed? PAUL MECURIO: I really got a connection from creating jokes out of thin air and having people respond to them. There was nothing like that feeling on Wall Street. PHAWKER: Everybody thinks being a comedian is nonstop laughs, but what is the worst part about the job? PM: The subjectivity […]

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We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It

OF YOUTH AND YOUNG MANHOOD: Kings Of Leon, Electric Factory, Last Night EVA SAYS: When the Brothers Followill arrived on stage wearing jeans so tight they made even the hormonal 16-year-olds blush, I was skeptical. Admittedly a little flushed as well, but skeptical nonetheless. (I mean, if I wanna watch bone smugglers in painted-on Wranglers, I’ll go to The Cave, right?) But as soon as the drummer kicked in with the throw-me-down-and-fuck-me beat to “Taper Jean Girl,” and Caleb opened his mouth and out came that sweet, snarling whine — well, I was bouncing right along with the all the […]

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Rogue Condo Developer Demolishes Historic Buildings

BY INGA SAFFRON INQUIRER ARCHITECTURE CRITIC Bulldozers smashed the two 1830s buildings to dust last month, but the case is likely to reverberate a long time in City Hall. The matter is under investigation by Philadelphia’s inspector general, Seth Williams. Officials at three agencies — the Historical Commission, the Department of Licenses and Inspections, and the Law Department — are engaged in discussions about what went wrong and how to plug the loopholes. They need to do more than talk. What happened at Front and Chestnut Streets reveals deep structural weaknesses in the city’s preservation system. The demolished buildings occupied […]

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

FRESH AIR David Chase, creator and executive producer of the HBO hit series The Sopranos, reflects on America’s favorite mob family. The final episode in the show’s seven-year run will air this Sunday night. PLUS, George Clooney and the gang return to Vegas and to the casino caper for this third installment in Steven Soderbergh’s hit franchise. David Edelstein has a review. RADIO TIMES Reporter Roundtable: National politics. A lot has happened this week, The Vice President’s former Chief of Staff Lewis Libby was sentenced to go to jail, Democrats and Republicans both held Presidential Debates, and a Louisiana Congressman who […]

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CINEMA: ONCE/DAYWATCH

ONCE (2007, directed by Joe Carney, 85 minutes, Ireland) DAYWATCH (2006, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, 132 minutes, Russia) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC As a viewer who has successfully defended himself against many cloying romantic comedies, I was pleased and surprised that I found myself defenseless against the acclaimed Irish musical romance saddled with the forgettable title Once. It’s no shock that audiences have been swooning for this Sundance award-winner, as it evokes the experience of frustrated love with a dreamy directness while throwing in a bunch of heartfelt musical performances from an empathetic cast. Any film that hits this […]

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HOT DOC: Inky Editorial Page Ed. Steps Down

Colleagues — In Sunday’s Currents section, the attached column announces my decision to step down as editorial page editor of the paper. I’ll be taking on a new role as a twice-weekly columnist and director of civic engagement, running the Citizen Voices program. I also plan to challenge Dick Polman for the title of Wordiest Blogger on Philly.com. Brian Tierney plans to look at internal and external candidates; I’ll leave the job formally when my replacement is named and settles in, but my hope in the coming weeks is to turn more and more of the decision-making over to the board’s […]

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PARIS: No Prison, Or Thong, Can Hold Her — NOT!

[Artwork courtesy of PRETTYONTHEOUTSIDE] LOS ANGELES — After only three days behind bars, Paris Hilton traded a 12-by-8-foot cell for her 2,700-square-foot Hollywood Hills home when she was released early Thursday because of an unspecified medical condition. Hilton was to be under home confinement, wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, for the remaining 40 days of her sentence for violating probation in a reckless driving case. The celebrity inmate was sent home from the L.A. County jail’s Lynwood lockup shortly after 2 a.m. in a stunning reduction to her original 45-day sentence. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS] UPDATE: LOS ANGELES — Paris […]

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