“The stretch of unseasonably warm weather is unprecedented and will be above normal for almost 30 days in a row now. Our normal is 38,” CBS 2 Meteorologist John Bolaris said.[…] The main force behind the record warmth is mostly related to El Nino, a weather phenomenon that occurs every several years and usually creates milder winter for the northeast. El Nino occurs when waters off the Peruvian coast continue to warm late in the year. The phenomenon was first mentioned over 110 years ago by Peruvian fishermen who were perplexed by the strange weather, but even more baffled by […]
Cops Smash Another West Philly Pirate DVD Mill, Curbside Supply No Longer Meeting Demand For Hidden Camera Rips Of Rocky And Happy Feet
Yesterday, authorities said they had broken up the operation at 48th and Walnut Streets, arresting one man – whom police did not identify – on suspicion of trademark counterfeiting, and seizing goods with titles ranging from Rocky Balboa and Happy Feet to classics such as Cinderella. “Anything you want to see in the movies is what’s in here,” Detective Frank Straup said last night, motioning to neat piles, arranged from current titles to older ones, with adult entertainment on one side and CDs in the back. Films were recorded crudely, with a camera sneaked into a theater. In another room, […]
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME: Houston 10 Year Old Hangs Self On Bunkbed After Watching Saddam Swing; Local Kid Fucks His Shit Up After Watching Jackass 2
HOUSTON – A 10-year-old boy was apparently mimicking Saddam Hussein’s execution when he hanged himself from a bunk bed, police and family members said. Sergio Pelico was found dead Sunday in his apartment bedroom after watching a news report on the execution of the former Iraqi leader, said Webster Police Lt. Tom Claunch. “Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting,” Claunch said after officials spoke with family members. An autopsy of the fifth-grader’s body was pending. Julio Gustavo, Sergio’s uncle, described the boy as happy and curious. He said Sergio had watched TV news with another uncle on Saturday […]
GAMBLOR: Rule Of Thumb, Never Takes Iggles Superbowl Odds From A Girl Who Can’t Find Her Top
“Prior to the Titans loss, the Birds dropped three of their previous four despite being the favorites in each game. Obviously a huge reason for their late season rally has been the reemergence of Jeff Garcia as a top flight QB. Since taking over the QB duties, Garcia has completed 62% of his passes while throwing 10 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. Garcia?s familiarity with the West Coast offense obviously made his transition to starter that much easier. […] The best part of all is if you were to bet the Philadelphia Eagles to win the 2007 Super Bowl heading into […]
UFO Crashes Thru Roof, Fucks Up Empty Nesters’ Dream Bathroom, Feds Alerted, Test Results For Kryptonite Pending; Neighbors All Agree, ‘Most Exciting Thing’ In Six Years At Least
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Authorities were trying to identify a mysterious metallic object that crashed through the roof of a house in eastern New Jersey. Nobody was injured when the golf-ball sized object, weighing nearly as much as a can of soup, struck the home and embedded itself in a wall Tuesday night. Federal officials sent to the scene said it was not from an aircraft. The rough-surfaced object, with a metallic glint, was displayed Wednesday by police. “There’s some great interest in what we have here,” said Lt. Robert Brightman. “It’s rather unusual. I haven’t seen anything like it […]
THIS JUST IN: Philebrity Leaves Tub Running, NO LIBS Awash In Mr. Bubbles & Snoopy ToothBrushes
January 5, 2007 – Police are on the scene of a water main break that happened in the area of 3rd and Girard in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia just before noon. Police are stopping traffic including trolleys approaching the area. Reports say that the 30-inch water main break has lead to waters as deep as a foot in some areas. The water department has been notified. ACTION NEWS: Glub, Glub, Glub [If you look closely you can almost see Sweeney’s complete Belle & Sebastian singles collection circling the drain. Tragic. Just tragic.–Ed.]
NOW PLAYING: NEW SHINS ON PHAWKER RADIO
BY ED KING, ROCK SNOB My first serious exposure to the music of The Shins was through that godawful Zach Braff film, Garden State. In a film that aspired to be The Graduate but was minus the talents of Mike Nichols and Dustin Hoffman, The Shins provided the Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack minus the song-smithery and understated cool of Paul Simon. I didn’t want to kill the band based on their association with Braff’s first step toward the pantheon of TV actors done in by good fortune and hubris (see McLean Stevenson through Rob Morrow), so I kept an ear […]
THIS IS ONLY A TEST: Thank You For Not Eating
As reported on WHYY, The Locust Bar is planning to decrease the number of items on the food menu to qualify for the smoking ban exemption. If we actually did some reporting, we would surely find many other bars doing the same. But that’s not gonna happen, so let’s just say they are. And from the look of things, a great many of you get your nourishment in bars. So it would only follow that a famine of epic proportions may well descend upon our fair city, leaving us all walking around naked, pregnant-looking and with flies on our faces. […]
BUZZ BITCHSLAP: Bissinger Calls On Columnists Grogan And Smith To Do The Right Thing And Pull Golden Parachutes For The Good Of The Inquirer
FROM THE BLINQ COMMENTS SECTION: Given what is happening at the Inquirer, I hope that columnists Stephen A. Smith and John Grogan do what is right and take voluntary buyouts given they have both hit the jackpot in other realms and could care less about what they write for the paper. They both mail their columns in now. Smith is preoccupied with his ESPN show and is apprently never in the city he allegedly covers. Grogan is mired in the gooey syrup that made Marley and Me such a hit and has never shown any knowledge of the region whatsoever.Neither […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
ON TODAY’S FRESH AIR ?A Scanner Darkly,? the film based on the novel by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick ? about drug addiction, paranoia, government surveillance and corporate greed ? is now out on DVD. On the next Fresh Air, we hear from RICHARD LINKLATER, who wrote and directed it. THE WORLD CAFE Formed in 2000 from the ashes of the outstanding Minneapolis band Lifter Puller, The Hold Steady might just be the best bar band in America. With its riff-heavy mixture of classic rock and Craig Finn’s lyrically dense storytelling, the group crafts intricately detailed musical universes that […]
This Is Why We Stopped Watching Television
It’s nothing but Leo Sayer abuse, and we simply won’t have it. Because when you need love, you just close your eyes and guess what? You feel love.
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES: They Sell Dildos In California, Girl, Don’t They Warn Ya & Man It Pours
BY JOHN SHIFFMAN A Bryn Mawr College student wrongly jailed for three weeks on drug charges by Philadelphia police has settled her civil-rights case for $180,000. Janet H. Lee, now a senior, was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport in 2003 after screeners found three condoms filled with white powder in her carry-on and city police said field tests showed that the substances likely contained opium and cocaine. Lee was held in lieu of $500,000 bond for 21 days, until further drug testing proved that her unlikely story – that the powder was just flour – was true. As part of […]
National Association Of Black Journalists Questions Preponderance of Minorities On THE LIST
The Philadelphia Inquirer began informing the 71 newsroom employees Tuesday night that they would be let go as of Jan. 17, 2007. Early reports indicate that as many as 14-16 black journalists were among those laid off, or as much as 22.5 percent of the overall layoffs. According to the 2006 ASNE newsroom census, approximately 11.3 percent of the Inquirer?s newsroom staff is African American. ?This takes the Inquirer in the wrong direction,? said NABJ President Bryan Monroe, vice president and editorial director of Ebony and Jet magazines. ?While we recognize that economic realities are forcing industry executives to make […]