* Homicide No. 306 happened overnight in Grays Ferry: Eric Dixon, 19, lived in the 1500 block of Bambrey Street in South Philadelphia. He was fatally wounded during a shooting at about 6:15 p.m. near 28th and Dickinson Streets. The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 8:14 p.m. [Inky] * Madonna mia! Cops bust Andorra pizza shop, say delivery drivers were bringing more than cheesesteak-hoagies. (And no, that pun headline does not work.) Look, I totally ate dinner at Argento’s about a week ago […]
HOLLA: The Monster Mile, Part II
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE 12:45 PM Sunday, Sept. 23 I’m completely intimidated by gear heads, which may seem odd considering I know plenty of nerds. Nerds are my peoples. We rose from the same primordial soup years ago, and while we may have splintered in regards to the teat upon which we choose to obsessively suckle — be it record collections, pornography or computer operating systems — we still can eyeball each other’s joie de vivre and understand the time and energy devoted to the cause. Merriam-Webster’s defines a nerd as ?an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially one slavishly […]
MY MOTORCYCLE DIARY: Or Seven Days Through The Amazon On The Back Of An Ass Part II
BY JONATHAN VALANIA SOUTH AMERICA CORRESPONDENT ZIPAQUIRA, COLOMBIA — Wednesday morning, I saw the most impressive cow erection I have ever seen. Actually it was the first cow erection I have ever seen, and hopefully it will be the last. The background: We got up at the crack of dawn to attend the livestock market in the nearby town of Zipaquira. Once a week all the area campesinos gather at the fairgrounds to buy, sell and trade cows, pigs and sheep. Being the only gringos in attendance, it is an understatement to say we stuck out like sore and throbbing […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
Off Your Bleedin’ Rocker: Fujiya & Miyagi, Johnny Brenda’s, last night.
Tomorrow on Phawker: We Have People On The Inside
C’mon by tomorrow for Part II of James Doolittle’s in-the-pits look at Dover International Speedway, Amy Z. Quinn reporting live from Bono-pallooza, your weekly visit from Paperboy, a Gaybo! Extra and — if you’re very, very good — a visit from Mother Phawker! You should be so lucky!
Back On The Block: Speaking Up For Hurley Street
Jeff Deeney’s recent Philadelphia Weekly cover story on Hurley Street has provided a fulcrum upon which several important and constructive conversations about the city’s future — and more urgently, its present — are tilting back and forth. Was it a realistic portrayal of the desperate straits in which poor families are forced to live, or a hatchet job on a section of the city which can still lay claim to many safe and stable residential blocks? Is it more important for the city’s next mayor to understand the problems or to solve them? Is it too little to simply expect […]
Letter Of St. Paul Hewson To The Philadelphians
Tomorrow, Bono comes to town to accept the 2007 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center. Of course your humble correspondent will be there, though the wireless situation on-site doesn’t sound promising so you may have to wait until it’s over. That’s ai’ght, it builds character. Actually, there are two recipients of the $100,000 prize, Bono and DATA, for their joint efforts to fight poverty and disease in Africa. President Bush v. 1.0 (the Constitution Center’s chairman) will present Bono, while National Constitution Center CEO Joe Torsella will do the honors for Jamie Drummond, DATA’s executive director. The webcast begins […]
MY MOTORCYCLE DIARY: Or, Seven Days Through The Amazon On The Back Of An Ass
Our own Boss Phawker, man of the world and leader of the local ruling junta, is vacationing down South America way. This is the first of his dispatches. BY JONATHAN VALANIA SOUTH AMERICA CORRESPONDENT TABIO, COLOMBIA — Let’s just dispense with the cocaine jokes right now, shall we? Yes we shall. That is NOT why I am down here. As fate would have it, my Uncle William, a retired neurologist, is married to a wonderful woman from Colombia named Stella — that’s Aunt Stella to you and mostly me. And they have built a fairly spectacular Frank Lloyd Wright-ish home […]
You Might Feel Some Pressure: City’s Official Boob-Crusher FOUND! ‘Girls’ Breathe Sigh Of Relief
Caught this earlier today on Heard In The Hall: The “out of control” Philadelphia Health Department lost a $67,000 mammogram machine, does not keep track of its prescription drug deliveries, and fails to remove expired drugs from its prescription stocks, City Controller Alan Butkovitz said Tuesday morning in releasing an audit of the beleaguered agency. Read the report here. But fret not, uninsured Philly women at risk of breast cancer! Your crack civil servants (the breast and brightest?) are on the case and the machine has been found! Jeff Shields updates: In order to avoid widespread panic, we inform you […]
EARLY WORD: In One Ear And Out The Other
Fujiya & Miyagi TOMORROW at JB’s, w/Dirty On Purpose $12. R5
HOLLA: THE MONSTER MILE, PART I
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE 10: 15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 The first thing you note is just how gorgeous a day it truly is, with the sun all hot and bothered, yet it’s oh so cool in the shade of your ride’s interior. It’s the kind of Sunday morning that almost makes you want to go to church. Almost. Being indoors would place you away from Mother Nature’s good intentions, and in much the same situation as your current one — trapped in a stuffy congregation, inching along in a 10-mile procession toward an exit ramp that in all likelihood doesn’t […]