LAND OF THE LOST (2009, directed by Brad Siberling, 93 minutes, USA) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC No matter how crappy the new Land of the Lost film might be, it would be hard to say it is less competent than the original seventies kid’s show. Sure,you might be fond of the cute ape boy Cha–Ka, you might have loved the bug-eyed reptilian Sleestaks, but can you remember a single plot line from the original forty-three episodes? I couldn’t, and going back to that Sid & Marty Kroft Saturday favorite recently I was surprised to see just how cheesy and […]
TONITE: Let’s Dance
KOSOKO PERFORMANCE GROUP INVITES YOU TO THE PREMIERE OF VIRUS on FRI. JUNE 5 at 7pm and SAT. JUNE 6 at 9pm, DRAKE THEATER Bring a friend! THIS DANCE PERFORMANCE WILL BE PRESENTED as a part of nEW FESTIVAL 2009 visit www.newfestival.net for more information.
THAI POLICE: David Carradine’s Death May Have Been Caused By Auto Erotic Asphyxiation Gone Awry
FOX: American actor David Carradine may have died attempting a sex act known as auto-erotic asphyxiation, a Thai forensic scientist said Friday. The 72-year-old actor’s body was discovered Thursday in his luxury suite at Bangkok’s Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel. Police Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope “tied around his penis and another rope around his neck…The two ropes were tied together,” he said. “It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure due to an orgasm.” MORE WIKIPEDIA: Erotic asphyxiation refers to intentionally cutting […]
NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS: Mendte Sues Inky & DN
DAILY NEWS: Former CBS 3 anchor Larry Mendte filed a lawsuit late yesterday against two Inquirer reporters and a former Daily News columnist, claiming charges of defamation and false light, according to court documents. […] Named in Mendte’s suit are Inquirer gossip columnist Michael Klein, Inquirer entertainment critic Jonathan Storm and former Daily News columnist Jill Porter, as well as the newspaper’s owner, Philadelphia Media Holdings. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court because the company filed for bankruptcy protection in February. It says that because of the defendants’ stories, Mendte “suffered harm to his professional and personal reputation.” […]
NJ State Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
UPDATE: New Jersey moved closer to allowing chronically ill patients to smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms of pain and nausea. The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved the medical marijuana bill by an 8-1 vote with two abstentions Thursday. New Jersey would become the 14th state with such a law if it passes the Legislature and Gov. Jon Corzine signs it. Corzine has said he would. MORE THE EXAMINER: Just when we thought that New Jersey would be the fourteenth state to ratify laws lifting the ban on medical marijuana, a new obstacle has appeared to slow it down. […]
POTUS IN CAIRO: A New Beginning?
Complete transcript after the jump…
EARLY WORD: Roots Picnic Schedule
[Click poster to purchase tix] Awwww YEAH! God bless the motherfucking Roots and all who sail with her. We’re gonna be covering it for Rolling Stone, so try and stay classy, Philadelphia. Please. And to make sure you pace yourselves and don’t wind up that person they always carry out before it even begins, all drunk-up and heat-stroked and shit, we’re posting the schedule after the jump…
BILL KILLED: David Carradine Dead At 72
BBC: Kill Bill and Kung Fu star David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday. Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found naked by a hotel maid in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body. The US star was in Thailand filming his latest film, Stretch, according to his personal manager Chuck Binder. Thai newspaper The Nation reported that police believe the actor took his own life, and preliminary investigations found that he hanged himself. Carradine was part of an acting dynasty which included his father, […]
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
RIP: Koko Taylor, Chicago Blues Icon, Dead At 80
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Koko Taylor, a Chicago musical icon who became one of the most revered female blues vocalists of her time with signature hits such as “Wang Dang Doodle,” “I’m a Woman” and “Hey Bartender,” died Wednesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago of complications from gastrointestinal surgery. She was 80. Her death came less than four weeks after her last performance, at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, where she collected her record 29th Blues Music Award. She had surgery May 19 and appeared to be recovering until taking a turn Wednesday morning, and was with friends and […]
BOXED OFFERING: How To Grow Up To Be A Debaser
[Illustration by JAY BEVENOUR] Pixies career-encompassing box set called Minotaur will be available for purchase at ainr.com, home of contemporary art reinterpretation box sets for Beck, NIN and Sigur Ros. This stunning reappropriation/recreation of the Pixies catalog as art is “must have” for any fan of Vaughan Oliver or 4AD’s legendary catalog, one that any collector should be salivating to check out. Minotaur is out June 15 in a $175 Deluxe Edition and a $450 Limited Collector’s edition that also includes a 96-page hardcover book and vinyl versions of every Pixies release. The Deluxe Edition will include all five Pixies […]
NPR FOR THE DEF: Terry Gross Q&A
SEATTLE TIMES: To the extent that National Public Radio has its superstars, Terry Gross, host and co-executive producer of the interview program “Fresh Air,” is certainly one of them. Heard Monday through Friday on KPLU-FM — which is hosting Gross’ appearance tonight at the Paramount Theatre — “Fresh Air” is noteworthy for Gross’ thoughtful and penetrating questions of artists, politicians, journalists and activists. Q: One of the appealing things about “Fresh Air” is that you don’t just listen to your guests. You listen deeply. A: People think listening is easy. Listening is hard. It’s easy to be distracted by a […]
DEENEY: The First Time I Got High
BY JEFF DEENEY My first taste of narcotics was a sour one; it never made sense to me that I fell so in love with them later in life after such a traumatic introduction. I didn’t take the drugs on my own the first time. I was too young for that. They were administered to me in a hospital after I broke my arm. I was in a lot of pain and they had to keep me doped up to my eyeballs for hours while waiting through the night for the on-call doc to show up. If I was older […]