British street artist/graffitist/provocateur Bansky was invited to storyboard and direct the intro to last night’s episode of The Simpsons. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. Banksy takes us behind the cheery iridescent facade of the Springfield to show us the dark doings behind the scenes that make the show possible: dead-eyed Asian sweatshop laborers toil in a dank, dungeon-like factory, hand-draw each animated cell of the show and then dip it in a toxic goo, fluffy little kittens are fed into a chipper to make the stuffing for Bart Simpson dolls, a dead-eyed panda is yoked to a cart […]

CUP O’ JOEL: If you thought that new ownership might mean that Brian Tierney was no longer able to hand out op-ed contracts to right-wing cronies, well, don’t celebrate yet. Today’s Inky editorial page features Dinesh D’Souza — the guy behind the “Obama is a Kenyan anti-colonialist” idea that Newt Gingrich spouts. D’Souza is pretty well discredited even on the right; no reason for the Inky not to publish him! And hey, why not speculate that the president of the United States is happy to see terrorists at work! MORE DINESH D’SOUZA: If Obama shares his father’s anticolonial ideology, this […]

[Illustration by PHILIP BOND] 1) It’s going to get worse No silver linings and no lemonade. The elevator only goes down. The bright note is that the elevator will, at some point, stop. 2) The future isn’t going to feel futuristic It’s simply going to feel weird and out-of-control-ish, the way it does now, because too many things are changing too quickly. The reason the future feels odd is because of its unpredictability. If the future didn’t feel weirdly unexpected, then something would be wrong. 3) The future is going to happen no matter what we do. The future will […]

WHAT: “Moving America Forward” Rally with President Obama and Vice President Biden WHO: President Barack Obama  Vice President Joe Biden  Musical performance by Philadelphia natives The Roots  Pennsylvania Elected Officials and Community Leaders   WHEN:  Sunday, October 10th  Doors Open at 3:00 PM  Program starts at 4:00 PM  WHERE: Park next to Robert Fulton Elementary School located at 60 E. Haines Street in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, PA RELATED: President Obama appears at a rally Sunday in Northwest Philadelphia to inspire his followers to elect Democrats to Congress and the Governor’s mansion. Here’s a look at the so-called enthusiasm […]

WILL BUNCH: Times reporter Mark Leibovich described Bozo – the TV clown made famous by Larry Harmon but ultimately franchised in the 1960s to local channels in dozens of cities, including Philadelphia – as Daniel O’Donnell’s “signature role,” […] the senior O’Donnell admits that it was hardly a “signature role” but a short-term gig; in fact, any full-time actor who played Bozo was required to attend a special clown school led by Harmon in Texas. “They gave me a book with 60 pages on how to be a ‘Bozo,’ ” O’Donnell recalled. Even though it was only a few weeks, […]

GUARDIAN: John Lennon‘s application for permanent US residence was seized by the FBI this week, in a “raid” on a New York auction house. The 1976 immigration document, which included Lennon’s signature and fingerprints, was expected to sell for at least $100,000 (£62,621), according to the dealer. “I don’t know why it was so important that they had to have it back,” Pete Siegel told Entertainment Weekly. Just a week ago, Siegel added a photograph of thecardboard form to the Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction catalogue. Within days, the FBI called and asked if they could “inspect the card”. […]

DAILY NEWS: On the eve of new owners taking control of the Inquirer and Daily News, Inquirer editor William K. Marimow announced yesterday that he is giving up the post to become a reporter – a job in which he won two Pulitzer Prizes early in his career. MORE RELATED: “Everybody expected that they would have to make tough choices about other people, but not Bill,” Yant Kinney said. “(It’s been) a tumultuous time, and he was really a rock for the staff at a time when we needed it.” Marimow earlier worked at the Inquirer for 21 years and […]

FRESH AIR In January, the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling lifted restrictions on how much money corporations, unions and individuals could spend on political ads. On today’s Fresh Air, host Terry Gross talked with three journalists about the fundraising groups that have taken advantage of the Supreme Court ruling — and how their spending could affect the upcoming midterm elections. […] In the second half of the show, Terry spoke with Kenneth Vogel of Politico and Lee Fang of the liberal-leaning ThinkProgress about some of the specific groups that have formed since the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United — […]

The Drake, 15th Street, 7:45 AM by JEFF FUSCO

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