WIKIPEDIA: The Process, or in full, The Process Church of the Final Judgment, commonly known by non-members as the Process Church, was a religious group that flourished in the 1960s and 1970s, founded by the Englishman Robert DeGrimston (originally, Robert Moor) and Mary Ann MacLean. It originally developed as a splinter client cult group from Scientology,[1] so that they were declared “suppressive persons” by L. Ron Hubbard in December 1965. In 1966 the members of the group underwent a social implosion and moved to Xtul on Mexico‘s Yucatan peninsula, where they developed processean theology (which differs from, and is unrelated […]
ASK A HOOTER: Q&A With Guitarist John Lilley
John Lilley learned to play the guitar at nine years old after he saw The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. He initially learned to play jazz and folk music, with his first teacher being folk and bluegrass expert Jerry Ricks. He eventually studied jazz improvisation with Dennis Sandole and then jazz, theory, orchestration, composition and arranging with Calvin Harris. Lilley also participated in visual arts, drawing voraciously while in school and mostly painting as an adult. In his twenties during the mid-1970s, Lilley got involved in the local Philadelphia rock music scene, as the […]
CINEMA: Love Hurts
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (2009, directed by Michael Moore, 120 minutes, U.S.) THE INVENTION OF LYING (2009, directed by Ricky Gervais & Matthew Roberts, 100 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRICTIC Michael Moore has reached the point in his career where critics seem to feel like they can just dismiss him out of hand. Vague accusations of shuffling events in his documentaries dog him, complaints of egotism for appearing before the camera (isn’t the term “personal documentary” in our vocabulary yet?) and other grumbling, most of which seems to boil down to: “I just don’t like him.” But of […]
ARTSY: Anybody Home?
BY AARON STELLA CITYSPACE, a Philadelphia-based real estate company, will open its doors to its first ever series of art shows starting this weekend with rising-star artist Mat Tomezsko with his installation “Those Ghosts.” A real estate company might not be the first business you’d imagine sponsoring an art show. CITYSPACE, however, is different in that it realizes that there is more to real estate than the mere buying and selling of properties; it’s about community development, supporting local businesses, making smart uses of technology, investing in green alternatives, and most importantly, providing someone with the largest possession they’ll ever […]
GET YOUR GUN: Glenn Beck Teabags Cherry Hill
BY GREG ADOMAITIS Love him or hate, there is no denying that Glenn Beck is a rock star right now. Last night he maxed out the Barnes and Nobel in Cherry Hill, drawing a crowd of several hundred, for an hour-long book-signing to promote the release of Arguing With Idiots. Several hundred, awful truthers, teabaggers, conspiracy theorists and concerned citizens came out to meet a voice of their cause. “This doesn’t surprise me…because he knows what he’s talking about,” said Dave Williams from Marlton, gesturing to the 600-person line. Williams came with Beck’s book in hand. So did almost everyone […]
A PRAYER FOR THE CITY: Judge Promises ‘Prompt’ Ruling On Who Will Own The Inquirer And Daily News
[Photo by MICHAEL PENN] REUTERS: A U.S. bankruptcy judge said on Thursday he would rule “promptly” on a key issue that could determine the next owner of Philadelphia’s two daily newspapers. Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich heard arguments over bidding procedures for putting Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, the publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, up for sale. MORE NEW YORK TIMES: Some of the senior creditors – a group of private equity firms and banks – want to make a “credit bid” for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Daily News, meaning they can claim the roughly $300 […]
SHOCKER: Letterman Foils $2 Million Extortion Plot, Acknowledges Having Sex With Female Staffers
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Talk host David Letterman said Thursday that he was the victim of a $2-million extortion attempt related to his sexual relationships with staffers on CBS’ “The Late Show.” During a taping for tonight’s broadcast, Letterman told viewers that three weeks ago he was approached by a person who claimed to have information about the host’s affairs with female staff members. This person, Letterman said, threatened to expose the relationships unless payment of $2 million was received. The CBS star approached the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which began an investigation that culminated in today’s arrest of the person, whom Letterman […]
TRIBULATION: Kanye West/Lady Gaga Tour Cancelled
REUTERS: A U.S. and Canada tour by Kanye West and Lady Gaga has been canceled with no reason given just weeks after the rap star came under public fire for humiliating country star Taylor Swift at an awards ceremony. Concert promoter Live Nation said in a statement on Thursday that the “Fame Kills” tour, that was due to kick off in Phoenix, Arizona on November 10 and run through January, had been canceled with refunds available at the point of sale. West came under fire after an outburst at the MTV Video Music wards when he grabbed the microphone as […]
AD BUST: If Jimmy Dean And Hitler Had A Baby
AD FREAK: Adolf Hitler and James Dean were both resurrected for ads recently—Hitler for that racy AIDS-awareness campaign from Germany, Dean for a South African insurance spot. But now, thanks to facial-morphing technology, they’ve combined their talents and become a single evil, rebellious pitchman in this ad (also from South Africa) for entertainment retailer CNA Stores. The idea is that CNA stocks a wide selection of products—you can get a book about Hitler and a movie with Dean in one trip. MORE
BOOKS: Glorious Bastard
ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: The compact biography deftly recreates the scenes of Barney Ross’s life, of a striver “intoxicated by the clouds of cigar smoke hovering over the men in fedoras; the fists mummified in billiard cloth and tape; the mineral jelly smeared on gashed eyebrows; the tattoo of leather on leather….” Century moves from Ross’s early years in Chicago to his place in the history of Jewish prizefighting. More interesting to me, though, was the author’s ability to convey a life defined by strife, one that seemed to embody that of a generation. From the very beginning, “Life was a […]
Comcast In Talks To Purchase 51% Of NBC Universal
INQUIRER: The Philadelphia-based cable giant, which has about 24 million cable TV customers, has confirmed that it’s looking for entertainment content and published reports say it could be negotiating for a 20 percent to 50 percent stake in NBC Universal. NBC Universal, which is 80 percent owned by General Electric, controls the NBC broadcast network, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, USA, Bravo, Universal Pictures, and theme parks. It has been considered in play for several years. Comcast Corp. had denied reports last night that it had reached a deal to buy NBC Universal for $35 billion. Comcast owns regional sports networks, the […]
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 […]
PLOT THICKENS: Army Reservist Kills Man In Manhattan Then Kills Himself In Philadelphia
INQUIRER: An Army reservist wanted in the stabbing death of a man outside Manhattan’s main post office was found dead Tuesday night, an apparent suicide, in West Philadelphia, police said. Sirmone McCaulla, 28, was discovered by his ex-girlfriend in the bathtub of her apartment on the 4900 block of Pine Street. The woman called police about 5:45 p.m. When police arrived, they found McCaulla slumped in the partially filled tub with a plastic garbage bag over his head and a television cable box on his chest, police said. McCaulla, a veteran who served in Kuwait, had been wanted after a […]