Just saying.
Lost Album Of Local-ish Theremin Virtuoso Found
In 1927 The New York Times reported from Berlin about an astounding recent invention: a box with a brass rod and ring that, when the inventor moved his hands around them, produced a violinlike sound of “extraordinary beauty and fullness of tone.” “He created music out of nothing but motions in the air,” the article said. The inventor was Leon Theremin (born Lev Termen), a young Russian scientist whose fascinating life would later include spying for Soviet intelligence, serving time in a Siberian labor camp and inventing a host of things, including electronic bugs, an early television and an electronic […]
REM: Talk About The Passion
State Of The Union: Same As It Ever Was
Penn Buys G-Ho, Fate Of Cute Little Sick Girl Uncertain
PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania Health System said Tuesday that it is buying Graduate Hospital from Tenet Healthcare Corp. and turning it into a rehabilitation center. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Penn said the purchase should be completed by March 30. Penn said it will operate the downtown Philadelphia facility in partnership with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. After the hospital is renovated, it will also house a long-term acute care hospital and provide educational and research opportunities related to rehabilitation medicine, Penn said. The joint venture – Good Shepherd Penn Partners – will convert the hospital. Construction […]
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND: Dikembe Mutombo Rides Shotgun With First Lady At State Of The Union
Dikembe Mutombo, Center, Houston Rockets Philadelphia 76ers 2001-2002 Dikembe Mutombo is a recently naturalized NBA all-star dedicated to improving the lives of others. After studying at Georgetown University to further his interest in bringing a medical practice back to his native democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was recruited onto the basketball team and has been playing ever since. Currently playing for the Houston Rockets, he spends his off season working as an NBA ambassador for African causes. Mutombo’s foundation has funded a large portion of a $27 million dollar hospital opening in Kinshasa, which will be the first new […]
INFANTICIDE: Dead Baby Found At Bottom Of Laundry Bag In Trunk Of A Car Parked At Rich Man’s House
By DAVE DAVIES and DAVID GAMBACORTA Maybe the newborn boy took his last breaths in the cold trunk of the Volkswagen Beetle, his umbilical cord still attached. Maybe he was already dead when he was stuffed into a tote bag under bloody clothes and stashed in the car trunk. Either way, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood was seething about the discovery of the discarded child on a quiet street in suburban Drexel Hill on Monday night. “The baby was entombed,” an angry Chitwood told reporters at a news conference yesterday. “There’s a lot of other options out there, instead […]
GAMBLOR: One-Armed Bandit Rolls Local Man
A retired carpenter in his mid-50s was playing a slot machine at PhiladelphiaPark Casino on Monday when a gambler next to him leaned over and said, “Hey! It looks like you’ve won a bonus.” Stephen Wilkinson, of Feasterville, could hardly believe his eyes. “My name came across the screen – ‘Congratulations. You are the power player jackpot winner. You’ve won $102,000.’ “ His joy was short-lived, however. Casino officials soon walked over and told him it was a mistake – a system malfunction. They said he had no money coming. “They offered me two comps for the buffet,” Wilkinson said […]
START THE PRESSES: In New Era Of Philly Newspapering, Less Is More, More Or Less
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Inquirer plans to unveil a news “express” section in early February to attract busy readers, one of several strategies to boost readership that also include a sponsored TV guide and new Web sites for local car and real estate listings. “We have a plan to turn this business around,” Brian Tierney, publisher of the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t want to say it’s going to be easy, and certainly we’re not going to solve the problems of the media industry … but we’re going to […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE New report on the illegal gun market in Philadelphia. We talk with PAUL HELMKE, President of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which just published a new report Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealer. It documents how a small handful of shady licensed gun dealers can flood an area with guns that are later used in homicides. FRESH AIR ON WHYY Legal correspondent for ABC News, Jan Crawford Greenberg writes about the Rehnquist Court in her new book Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United […]
INFINITE JEST: Upper Darby Commuter Memorizes Pi
On Friday, the Upper Darby resident was certified as the North American record-holder for memorizing digits of the mathematical constant. He spewed out 12,887 digits, to be exact — a feat that took him 3 hours and 40 minutes. For those whose math skills are a little fuzzy, that’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It begins with 3.14159265 and never stops, never repeating the same pattern — a string of digits that has captivated both numbers buffs and those looking for a deeper mystical meaning. “I was really proud of him that he did it,” said […]
FUNNY: An Honest Car Dealership Ad, For A Change
WARNING: Strong language and adult situations.
EDITORIAL: What Hillary Meant To Say
BY CITIZEN MOM Monday night on ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, Sen. Hillary Clinton gave the anchor a live interview, offering some early clues as to how she’s going to answer “those” questions — you know, the woman-specific questions that, fairly or unfairly, Obama and Biden and the rest of the Seven Dwarves just won’t get. Every interviewer from here to primary day will find a way to get one in, and Gibson didn’t shy away, though he did throw in the pussyfoot flattery and the “I mean no disrespect, BUT” — can we just lose that shit already? […]