Norman Rockwell (American, 1894-1978). The Peace Corps (J.F.K.’s Bold Legacy), 1966. Story illustration for Look, June 14, 1966. Oil on canvas. 45 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. (115.6 x 92.7 cm). From the permanent collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum. BY ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH Well folks, by the time you read this I will be gone. This morning I left the U.S. on a jet plane and began a two-year stretch in the Peace Corps in (very) sunny Paraguay. Although I’m from Boston, I will dearly miss the city of not-always-so-brotherly-love that I have called home for the last two […]
MAD HATTER: Sarah In Wonderland
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] ANDREW SULLIVAN: There is no question in my mind that Palin is the leader of the opposition in this country. And there is no question in my mind that she is the leader of the Tea Party movement. Listening to her completely content-free rehash of every Fox News truism, underlined with the classic claim that Obama is on the side of the terrorists and is incapable of being commander-in-chief. Cheneyism is behind her. MORE WASHINGTON INDEPENDENT: Nodding at the much-discussed question of whether this speech would make Palin the “leader” of the Tea Party movement, she […]
PHOTOGRAFIKA: Wing Bowl XVIII
[Photos by FELICIA PERRETTI] PREVIOUSLY: Why I Love Wing Bowl
KILLADELPHIA: It’s Always Gunny In Philadelphia
DAILY NEWS: Pennsylvania residents who are denied a license to carry a concealed weapon, or have theirs revoked, have found a loophole that allows them to get a license from another state that must be honored here. “They could be disapproved here and they could apply in Florida and we are not notified,” said Philadelphia Police Lt. Lisa King, commander of the Gun Permit Unit. “So if we are not giving them a permit to carry, how is Florida allowed to override our decision?” District Attorney Seth Williams said that the loophole defeats local efforts to keep streets safe. Police […]
STAY CLASSY: Snooky Flips Wingbowl The Bird
PREVIOUSLY: Wingbowl, It’s Like Jersey Shore On Ice
Norristown Shelves Plans To Become Hollywood East
INQUIRER: Perhaps those visions of Hollywood glitz for humble Norristown were unduly rosy, like most showbiz dreams. For now, the hyped plan to revive the hard-bitten Montgomery County seat with one of the largest movie studios on the East Coast is off the table, replaced by the more pragmatic construction of office space for a janitorial concern and a Pathmark. The latter, aimed at completion early next year, would be the municipality’s first new full-service supermarket in a generation. It won’t be the glamorous, California-esque 100,000 square feet of studio space talked up in 2007 as a magnet for feature […]
WING BOWL: It’s Like Jersey Shore On Ice
BY FELICIA PERRETTI They call him Kid Knish. I call him dad. On January 28th 2000, he was a wing-eating competitor in Wing Bowl VIII. He was always the outgoing, fun one in the family and this event was just another chapter in his otherwise ordinary surburban dad life in Roslyn. My dad was never the strict parent; he always knew how to have a good time. The first time he went to the Wing Bowl, he was just a spectator. This would be 1999, and back then it was at the Spectrum and it was free to […]
WARNING: Something Wicked This Way Comes
[photo by MOOCAT] WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM FRIDAY TO 7 PM EST SATURDAY UPDATE: “Accumulations have the potential to reach 2 feet in some areas.” The highest numbers apply mostly from Virginia to through far-southern Jersey, but “Over a foot of snow from Philly to DC,” reads a headline at AccuWeather.com. Meteorologist Tom Kines not only confirmed by phone that the city could get 16 inches of light powdery stuff, but said more is even possible. “Even a 50 mile shift to the north could bring 18 to 24 inches into downtown Philly,” he said. This […]
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 […]
TOXICOLOGY: Jay Reatard Killed By ‘Cocaine Toxicity’
Jay Reatard, self-portrait, December 9, 2009 via TWITTER NEW YORK TIMES: A medical examiner said that cocaine and alcohol had contributed to the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., the punk rock musician better known as Jay Reatard, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis reported. After an autopsy Dr. Karen E. Chancellor, the medical examiner of Shelby County, Tenn., told The Commercial Appeal that Mr. Lindsey, above, had died from “cocaine toxicity, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.” MORE PREVIOUSLY ON PHAWKER: Just heard back from a trusted and informed source on the ground in Memphis who […]
A FEW GOOD MEN: Powell Adds His Voice To The Choir Of Pentagon Brass Calling For Repeal Of DADT
NEW YORK TIMES: Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation’s top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law he helped shepherd in. “In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense […]