Eric Fausnacht’s chickens and roosters at Muse Gallery are birds of a different feather. In a way, his paintings and prints that seem to be reproductions of his paintings, make the case for chickens as dandies and grandees. Their plumage is spectacular, at least as Fausnacht paints feathers. And the cockscombs are baroque, looking more like the velvety flower of the same name than like my personal image of a cockscomb. ARTBLOG: Taking Fartsy Out Of Artsy Since At Least 10 Minutes Ago
PHAWKER RADIO: The Transfiguration Of Vincent
BY JONATHAN VALANIA First, a word about his sponsor: While I can’t ever foresee the need to hear a new Superchunk album in this lifetime, the label those folks have set up, Merge, so consistently releases product of uncommon purity and indispensability that it should make the likes of Matador, Touch and Go, Sub Pop and Drag City glow with the red-blush shame of the recently spanked. I tip my hat to them. Folk music gets a bad rap, having long ago been relegated to the leafy retreats of crunchy granola ninnies in white socks and Birkenstocks, where its rough-hewn […]
FOURTH AMENDMENT: THE DECIDER Decides To Pull Plug On NSA Eavesdropping On American Citizens
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration policy, said Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority to monitor the government’s controversial domestic spying program. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this authority has been given to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and that it already has approved one request for monitoring the communications of a person believed to be linked to al-Qaida or an associated terror group. The court orders approving collection of international communications _ whether it originates in the United States or […]
Why Do We Have To Go To England To Read Joe Queenan’s Definitive Critique Of the Rocky Franchise?
Throughout the saga, Balboa has been lionized by the cowed American press as the champion of working stiffs everywhere, a lovable lummox with a particularly strong psychic connection to blue-collar Philadelphians. Philadelphia, in fact, is a city whose population is roughly 50 per cent African-American, the vast majority of whom are working-class. I cannot recall the last time any film critic went out and asked black residents of the City of Brotherly Love what psychic connection they felt with a fictional thug from a section of a city not widely known for its affection toward minorities. It’s worth noting that […]
STRANGER THAN FICTION: Suicide-By-Cop & City Hall Break-Ins Part Of Same Tragically Bizarre Narrative
Before his deadly confrontation, Kelley scaled four floors of scaffolding outside City Hall and smashed a window leading to a well-appointed room where the state’s Supreme Court justices meet. Inside, he scribbled religious messages on legal pads, and rifled through desks and cabinets, police said. Kelley didn’t stop there. He circled around that floor to the offices of City Council President Anna Verna, where he broke another window, this one on a door. Again he searched desks and cabinets. He found two items that struck his fancy: a Bible and a large serrated knife. Kelley had both, police said, when […]
RENDELL SWORN IN BY PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL
“I believe that we have put Pennsylvania firmly on the road to enduring progress. But today is not the time to rest on our laurels. There is much yet to be done,” said Rendell, bracing against a stiff January wind and wearing only a navy-blue suit.[…] Rendell said he would try to build on the achievements of his first term, highlighting his efforts to reduce government spending while investing in education and economic-development programs. His 10-minute speech was interrupted by applause about a dozen times by a smaller-than-expected crowd of about 1,500 people, including federal and state lawmakers and well-wishers.The […]
GUNCRAZY: Cops Bag Third Trophy Kill Of The Year
By Joseph A. Gambardello INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A robbery suspect was fatally wounded after a running gun battle with police this morning in Port Richmond. Police were investigating the possibility that the man shot himself in the head about the same time as a police officer fired one round into the man’s shoulder area. During the gunbattle, the man fired about 10 shots at police, including three bullets into the side of a patrol car. […] “He was determined not to get caught,” said Capt. Ben Naish, a police department spokesman. Police said they recovered a bag with money next […]
Bush Kids Fighting For Freedom
Their freedom to get fucked up, mostly.
GUILD: Layoffs Disproportionately Targeted Minorites, Leaving Behind A Newsroom Of Dead, White Men To Cover A City Where Minorities ARE The Majority
Dear Guild Member, Today several of our members, with the support of National Association of Black Journalists, met with top executives of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. Attached is a summary of their talking points, passed on with their permission: THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER DIVERSITY OBSERVATIONS January 16, 2007 African American (11.3 percent), Asian American (4.7 percent) and Hispanic American (2.1 percent) journalists are the minorities represented on The Inquirer?s newsroom staff, according to the latest survey of the American Society of Newspaper editors. African American (16) and Asian American (5) journalists represent a disproportionate share (28 percent) of the […]
‘Thank You From The Bottom Of Another Man’s Sack’
Sacha Baron Cohen accepts Best Actor In A Comedy Award at the Golden Globes.
SAME AS IT EVER WAS: Neil Stein Spotted Walking Towards Rittenhouse Square & Looking FABULOUS!
Stein, 65, said that he wanted to create a high-end, boutique hotel called Wow with computers and flat-screen televisions in every room, with a bistro, rooftop club, limo service, Philadelphia’s best spa, and – in place of a check-in desk – a concierge service to escort guests to their rooms. Or he’d try franchising Rouge, the bistro he created on Rittenhouse Square, perhaps opening versions in Miami Beach or the Georgetown section of Washington. Or develop a rehab center for alcohol and drug addicts in Center City; he’s a recovering addict. He said he had even given some thought to […]
HALLWATCH Launches Letter Campaign To Spur City Council To Sue Pants & Underpants Off Gaming Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chose the two worst sites for Casinos in Philadelphia. Councilman DiCicco has offered to file a law suit to challenge the Gaming Board’s decisions, but law suits are expensive, very expensive. In order to proceed, he needs to convince City Council to fund the lawsuit. They will be voting on this budget before the end of January. Please write in to City Council ASAP. They need to hear from us that we need this funding. Sample Letter: Dear Council Member, Please fund Councilman DiCicco?s effort to file a lawsuit with the PGCB. Thank you, YOUR […]