Droll, ironic question: Does this picture of Jennifer Aniston in Philly (we assume for the Middlebrow & M shoot) count as distasteful paparazzi dreck? No, for many reasons, but nobody’s about to waste your time waxing all smug-like on the deep, reasoned and ultimately, understandable only to myself thought process I used to decide…DEVELOPING… I will, however, acknowledge being unsurprised at the speed with which Aniston embraced the city’s native dress code of pajama bottoms and out-of-style footwear. (Dude. Those things look new. ) All she needs is a Kathy Van Zeeland handbag and no car insurance and bam! she’s […]
ELEVATOR LADY: A Ghost Is Born?
Elevator Ghost Footage That Freaks Out 1.3 Billion Asians This footage was recorded on February 21st 2008 at the Raffles City in Shanghai. RELATED: Ghost Busted
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR In 1964, Democrat Lyndon Johnson won the presidency in a landslide victory; eight years later, Republican president Richard Nixon was reelected in an equally lopsided race. In his new book, Nixonland, historian Rick Perlstein looks at the chaotic years between those elections, a time marked by protests, social upheaval, assassinations and an unpopular war. Perlstein is a senior fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future, where he writes the blog The Big Con. He has written for The New Republic Online, Slate, the Village Voice, Newsday and The Nation. Richard Nixon: Speeches, Writings, Documents, a Nixoniana collection compiled […]
CONTEST: Question The Parking Authority
While the majority of the money the Philadelphia Parking Authority collects from parking tickets and fines goes directly to Harrisburg’s coffers, a set percentage is earmarked for the cash-strapped Philadelphia School District. However, according to reports in the Daily News and Inquirer, the PPA has not paid the school district a dime since 2004, and is in fact in arrears to the tune of $20 million to $45 million depending on who you ask. There is a word for organisms like the PPA that are all take and no give: Parasite. Dictionary.com defines ‘parasite’ as the following: par·a·site /?pær??sa?t/ Pronunciation […]
SPORTO: Eagles Unveil Secret Weapon
Sources tell Phawker that the Eagles plan to literally shoot DeSean Jackson out of a cannon and into the end zone [see above]. The source went on to point out that the Eagles’ legal department insists there is a loophole in the NFL rulebook in as much as it does not explicitly forbid the shooting of man out of a cannon. “This will be tied up in the courts for years, and by that time we’ll be getting sized-up for Superbowl rings,” said the source. [Photo by BEN LIEBENBERG/NFL.com via PHILLY.COM]
THE BEATDOWN: Same As It Never Was?
INQUIRER: In 1977, Philadelphia police pounded unarmed motorist William Cradle so hard that their nightsticks snapped. Frank L. Rizzo, then the mayor, remarked: “It’s very easy to break some of those nightsticks nowadays.” In 2000, nearly a quarter-century later, a group of Philadelphia police swarmed over carjacking suspect Thomas Jones, hitting him at least 59 times. It took police brass more than two years to penalize the officers. The most serious sanctions: 15-day suspensions. Given this history, the swift and harsh punishments of eight officers Monday by Philadelphia’s new police commissioner look even more unusual. What is less clear is […]
THE EARLY WORD: The Flaming Lips
IT’S ALL TOO BEAUTIFUL: Flaming Lips, Fesitval Pier, 2006 [by JONATHAN VALANIA] The Lips headline the Jam On The River this weekend.
THE NOMINATION: All Over But The Shouting
TIMES ONLINE: Barack Obama is poised to reach an important milestone tonight in his nomination battle against Hillary Clinton by capturing a majority of elected delegates on offer in all the primary and caucus states, as voters go to the polls in Kentucky and Oregon. Mr Obama, who is expected to win Oregon but suffer another heavy defeat in Kentucky, heads tonight to Iowa, the scene of his first breakthrough victory in January, as a backdrop to announce that after 53 contests, he has an unassailable lead among elected delegates. Yet Mr Obama will be still be short of the […]
THE BEATDOWN: D.A. To Turn It Over To Grand Jury
INQUIRER: District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said today that the cases of the officers videotaped beating three shooting suspects would likely be handed over to a grand jury soon. At a press conference called to announce an alternative treatment program, Abraham said: “I’ve pretty much decided that we will turn it over to a grand jury….We’re going to give it to a grand jury to review the evidence.” She added: “It will be given to a group of citizens with a diverse background to reach a conclusion.”
Kennedy Diagnosed With Malignant Brain Tumor
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said. His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy. Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year — and the most common type among adults. It’s a starting diagnosis: How […]
GIMME SHELTER: Sheriffs Begin Dig At Manson Ranch
HELTER SKELTER: Police raid Spahn Ranch, Death Valley, California, 1969 LOS ANGELES TIMES: PANAMINT SPRINGS, Calif. — A posse of Inyo County sheriff’s investigators and forensic experts this morning began digging for human remains at a remote ranch in Death Valley National Park once used as a hangout for the notorious Charles Manson family. Armed with ground-penetrating radar, spades and a cadaver dog named Buster, the 20-member group’s mission was to wring every fact they could out of the sandy soil at the ranch where Manson and his followers holed up in 1969 after the massacre of pregnant actress Sharon […]
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: 11th & Tioga
[Photos by JUSTIN ROMAN] BY JEFF DEENEY Near the corner off 11th and Tioga is a memorial set up around the base of stop sign for Tim Haines, aka Boosa, a 24 year old who was gunned down here one early Saturday morning late last month during a violent weekend that left five dead citywide. This is a neighborhood I know fairly well; as a social worker I had a client who lived nearby and longtime readers might remember that around this time last year I got caught in the middle of a daytime shoot out around the corner on […]
KILLADELPHA: Mayor Nutter Vs. The Gun Nuts
INQUIRER: New city laws to control the number of guns sold in Philadelphia is meant to stop the illegal flow of guns to criminals and not meant to stop legal sales, Mayor Nutter emphasized in a morning press conference. The conference was scheduled hours before city officials return to court this afternoon battling whether the city can independently pass legislation to limit gun sales here. The mayor has already signed legislation backed by City Council. The National Rifle Association, along with others, including gun dealers, has filed a civil lawsuit to block the laws. With Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey […]