—–Original Message—– From: Tim Whitaker [REDACTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:59 AM To: REDACTED Subject: Liz Spikol Most of you know this news by now, but in case you didn’t get the official word, it’s true: Liz will be leaving PW as our full-time senior editor. Her last day is this Friday. Obviously, we’re all in denial. The good news is that Liz will continue to do her “Trouble” column, her blog and the “Liz Spikol’s Philadelphia” twice-monthly video with Jess Fuerst. Liz is leaving to become communications manager for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, a nonprofit social justice organization […]
PIRATE ON THE DELAWARE: Ex-Seaport Musuem Prez In The Crosshairs Of FBI Fraud Probe
“This is a case about a man – John Carter of Osterville – who stole about $2.4 million from a museum where he worked as its president for 17 years,” the lawsuit begins, immediately adding that the FBI is investigating. The lawsuit says the Carter used a variety of methods to scam the museum. The suit says Carter: Had the museum pay more than $500,000 to buy and maintain boats that were solely “for his personal use and enjoyment.” It said the vessels included a 38-foot sailboat, a sport-fishing boat, and a power boat – which alone cost $446,000. Spent […]
Bikini Bandits Director Turned Historian Demands 31 Trillion Pounds In Reparations From British Empire
Is this for Real? Yes. Any student of world history will tell you that if he had to pick a single nation to pin all the world’s troubles on, Britain is far and away the obvious choice. There is plenty of precedent of countries paying off their victims in cash. The Nazis had to pay off the Jews. The U.S. government has settled with many Indian tribes, offering them land, lucrative casino rights, and in some cases, cash. We, the International Coalition for British Reparations, are asking that the greatest criminal nation on earth?the British?pay up as well. WHAT Press […]
TEE VEE: News From Baghdad
In all, 137 people were killed or found dead across Iraq, including a teacher who was gunned down as she was on her way to work at a girls’ school in a mainly Sunni area of Baghdad. The toll also included the bullet-riddled bodies of at least 30 people, apparent victims of death squads largely run by Shiite militias.
ROCK SNOB: Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Rock Town Hall Is Now Open To All! Let The Great National Debate Begin!
Rock Town Hall was founded to carry on and expand late-night turntable debates on self-important issues in rock. In 2002, we convened as a private discussion list among a baker’s dozen of opinionated, music-loving friends. In time we grew to a virtual Who the Hell Does He Think He Is? among rock musicians, journalists, DJs, record collectors, and assorted rock nerds. Although we continue to possess little power to influence the state of rock ?n roll, we delight in the battle and seek the cultivation of occasionally novel perspectives on the genre. Now we’re throwing the doors of Rock Town […]
THE PAVEMENT: Angels Wanna Wear My Pink Shoes
PHOTO AND TEXT BY EVA LIAO WHEN: Saturday Night WHERE: 18th and Spruce (outside of Great Scot Supermarket) WHY: If David Bowie and Tom Waits had sex — but in a shoe. Thank you God for giving this boy the eyes to spot these cool-as-shit kicks on the rack, the means to buy them and the balls to rock them.
HIZZONER ’07: Rain Or Shine, BIG BOB Is In To Win
MEDIA ADVISORY BOB BRADY TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR Monday, January 22, 2007 (PHILADELPHIA) – Congressman Bob Brady will announce his candidacy for Philadelphia mayor on Thursday, laying out a comprehensive agenda for making the community safer, improving public schools, strengthening the economy, and lowering the tax burden for small businesses and families. The announcement is scheduled for: 5:00 PM Thursday, January 25 Philadelphia Convention Center Room 204 UPDATE: Johnny Doc Will NOT Run, Coincidence? We Think Not?
ANAL Not Just For Establishing The Pecking Order Amongst Correctional Facility Inmates Anymore
Every couple of years, another once-scandalous sex taboo starts making its way toward the commonplace. A decade ago, blow jobs were what people whispered about; then three-ways became the naughty bedroom act. Now, it’s anal sex — but according to the Centers for Disease Control’s National Survey of Family Growth, it’s rapidly becoming a regular feature of hetero couples’ horizontal activities. The survey, released last year, showed that 38.2 percent of men between 20 and 39 and 32.6 percent of women ages 18 to 44 engage in heterosexual anal sex. Compare that with the CDC’s 1992 National Health and Social […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR On WHYY MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL plays a drug-addicted ex-con in Sherrybaby, which will be released on DVD this month. Her other films include Secretary, World Trade Center, and Stranger than Fiction. PLUS, Journalist MARK HARRIS is a former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. His new book is Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial. RADIO TIMES Should spanking be illegal? California is proposing to become the first state to ban spanking of children four and younger. We’ll talk with SALLY LIEBER, the California State Assemblywoman who will introduce […]
GAYBO: WHEN GAYS GET PISSED
BY TOMMY ZANE There are a lot of things that can put a queen in a mood. The right to not marry, Red Cross’ homophobic ban on blood-donating by ALL gay men, still in effect since the eighties, and dumbasses that ask you about the “Iggles game” in the elevator at work, assuming you give a damn. Just to name a few. This week, I experienced three of my favorites: Gaybo’s Pet Peeve #1: Let’s start with pets — dogs to be exact. Dear Straight Friend Colette and her hunky husband Cliff live down in Old City. (They bought a […]
WHEN DOES THIS GET FUNNY?
We here at Phawker are no strangers to comedic misfires when trying to hit the bullseye of funny: jokes that won’t start in the morning, jokes that go off prematurely, jokes that can’t get it up, jokes that stall on the railroad tracks. Which is, in part, why we would like to introduce to you a new and recurring feature called WHEN DOES THIS GET FUNNY? Think of it as a penalty box for bad jokers, a time-out for the foul ball hitters of the funny bone, a rolled up newspaper across the snout of good intentions and botched execution. […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Attack Of The Clones
BY ELIZABETH FIEND In 1952, a special tadpole was born. It was the first animal ever cloned. After that breakthrough, scientists spent many years and many millions of dollars on unsuccessful cloning attempts. Then, in 1997, it was ‘Hello, Dolly,’ when the test-tube sheep became the first successfully cloned mammal. Since Dolly’s celebrated birth, scientists have cloned many different animals including goats, cows, horses, pigs, rabbits and mice. A guar (an exotic ox native to India) named Noah was the first endangered animal to be cloned, but unfortunately he lived only 48 hours. There’s also been a big push to […]