HUFFINGTON POST: Last week, Israeli commandos boarded a relief ship attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip and, during a clash with pro-Palestinian activists, shot nine people to death. It was an old-fashioned, bona fide “international incident,” a fiasco that raised alarming questions about the current trajectory of Israel’s security, the wisdom of its government, as well as the fate of Obama’s Middle East policies and U.S. security in general. Within a few days, though, the Washington media’s “Israel narrative” abandoned those questions and focused instead on the ugly words and sudden retirement of cranky 89-year-old White House […]
WORTH REPEATING: You Call This Living?
NEW YORK TIMES: The 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer [pictured, above] held that even the best life possible for humans is one in which we strive for ends that, once achieved, bring only fleeting satisfaction. New desires then lead us on to further futile struggle and the cycle repeats itself. Schopenhauer’s pessimism has had few defenders over the past two centuries, but one has recently emerged, in the South African philosopher David Benatar, author of a fine book with an arresting title: “Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence.” One of Benatar’s arguments trades on something […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Broken Bells At The E-Factory
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER When it comes to popular music, Danger Mouse (also known as Brian Burton) has been the Zelig at the dawn of the 21st century, an everywhere man with an uncanny knack for being at ground zero of the decade’s important pop moments. The Grey Album, where the Beatles’ White Album peanut butter got mixed up with Jay-Z’s Black Album chocolate? Check. The Gorillaz’s sophomore slump-defying second album, Demon Days? Check. Gnarls Barkley’s breakout global hit “Crazy”? Check. Danger Mouse’s latest zeitgeist moment is Broken Bells, a collection of shimmering analog-era pop produced in collaboration […]
NPR FOR THE DEFICIT: WHYY $3.9M In The Hole
INQUIRER: Public broadcaster WHYY ended its last fiscal year with a deficit of $3.9 million, an unexpectedly big swing from the previous year’s $1.6 million surplus, according to its latest tax filing. The deficit follows four years of surpluses and was accompanied by a rise in WHYY’s payroll costs, according to the station’s latest 990 tax form, covering the year ended June 30, 2009. The compensation of chief executive officer and president William J. Marrazzo, which two years earlier generated controversy as the top pay nationwide for a local public broadcasting CEO, dropped for the second straight year, to $506,157 […]
LOL: BP Oil Spill Re-Enacted By Cats In One Minute
OC WEEKLY: The website If It Was My Home allows anyone to personalize the magnitude of the British Petroleum (BO) Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and spill–also known as “the greatest environmental disaster in United States history.” The site opens with a map superimposing the shape of the spill as of the day the page is visited over the general region the user’s computer is located in. For instance, mine right now shows the spill epicenter as Los Angeles. However, type any town into a field and get a gander at how mucked up that region would be with a […]
WHORING: Elton John Sings At Limbaugh’s Wedding
PEOPLE: According to a News Corporation (which owns Fox News) wire report, the Rocket Man, 63, serenaded the 400 guests into the wee hours Saturday night to celebrate the marriage of Limbaugh, 59, to Kathryn Rogers, 33, in the Ponce de Leon ballroom of Florida’s fabled Breakers hotel in Palm Beach. Sir Elton’s fee: $1 million, the report notes. Amid dozens of giant bouquets of white roses (and very tight security), reports the Palm Beach Post, guests at the wedding included former Bush adviser Karl Rove; actor-politician Fred Thompson; former Kansas City Royals slugger George Brett; Fox News commentator Sean […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
[Photos by JEFF FUSCO COPYRIGHT 2010] BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR ROLLING STONE Like France, the picnic remains proof positive that, despite wild-eyed Tea Party protests to the contrary, socialism actually can work. Everyone brings something, we all share, and everyone live relatively happily ever after — sometimes anyway. Such was the case at Saturday’s third annual Roots Picnic at the Festival Pier in Philadelphia. Senegal’s horn-y, percussion-heavy Baja and the Dry Eye Crew brought the world beats. Face-painted, ukulele-strumming one-gal-band TuneYards brought the weirdness. New Orleans rapper Jay Electronica brought the conspiracy theories (specifically the damning federal indictment of “Candyman”). […]
MUST SEE TV: Adidas Star Wars Cantina Scene Ad
ROLLING STONE: In the new Adidas ad below, Daft Punk, Liam Gallagher, the Stone Roses’ Ian Brown and Snoop Dogg all frequent the cantina from the original Star Wars to hilarious effect. The mysterious and silent Daft Punk adopt the role of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi bartering with Han Solo for use of the Millennium Falcon while Snoop Dogg, light saber in hand, deals with some aliens who get up in his face. Somehow David Beckham shows up for the final punch line and to return this intergalactic ad and spot-on homage back to its World Cup theme. MORE
SIDEWALKING: Dearly Departed
1200 block of North 4th, 11:05 AM by JEFF FUSCO INQUIRER: As police search for whoever killed Sabina Rose O’Donnell near her apartment at Fourth Street and Girard Avenue late Tuesday, those friends have stepped forward from all corners of Northern Liberties. They have joined her relatives and Northern Liberties business owners to post a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer. Anyone with information can leave tips anonymously at 215-546-8477. In addition to PYT, the Silk City Diner Bar & Lounge on Spring Garden Street is collecting donations for the Sabina Rose O’Donnell […]
EARLY WORD: Pixies To Doolittle At The Tower
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] PHREQUENCY: In fact, the brief jaunt will be kicked off at the Tower on September 7th with openers Fuck Buttons. The show is pretty much what it sounds like, the bands classic Doolittle in its entirety along with the related B-sides and then whatever the hell they want to play. All shows on the tour have been available on CD immediately after the set is over, so that’s an extra keepsake. Tickets go on sale June 14th. MORE Q&A: Burying The Hatchet With Black Francis
KITCHEN BITCH: Let’s Make Beautiful Pasta Together
BY MAVIS LINNEMANN Over Memorial Day weekend, I had the opportunity to cook with some of my favorite kitchen bitches—my sister Paige and my friends Emily and Lauren. With so many sous chefs, I knew I could make a really stellar meal for all the family and friends joining us for the holiday. In my head, there was only thing we could make that would celebrate both the warm weather and the joy of being with family: homemade pasta. Why in the world would you make pasta when you can buy a box for 99 cents? Because it’s a fun […]
EXPLAINER: What Causes Eye Floaters
TODAY I FOUND OUT: For those who’ve never experienced this phenomenon, eye floaters are little oddly shaped objects that appear in your vision, often when one looks at bright light such as a blue sky. Their shapes vary greatly, but will often appear as spots, cobwebs, or randomly shaped stringy objects. These are not optical illusions, but rather something your eyes are actually perceiving. There are a few different things that can cause this, but in most cases these eye floaters are caused by pieces of the gel-like vitreous breaking off from the back portion of your eye and then […]