RICHARD C. DOBROWOLSKI, April 7. 2007 of Phila., beloved son of Eileen and the late James, brother of Linda Lyng (John) and Susan Lester (Doug); also survived by 2 nieces, Audrey and Lily. Relatives and friends invited to his Memorial Service, Thurs., 11 A.M., JOHN R. FREED FUNERAL HOME, 124 N. Easton Rd., Glenside. Int. Chelten Hills Cem. The family will greet friends after 10 A.M. No flowers. Instead please send donations to Philabundance, PO Box 37555, Phila., PA 19148-7555. [Via Philly.com] UPDATE: An informal wake for Rick D. is reportedly going down tonight at Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar.
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
FILM FEST PICKS: HUMAN TAXIDERMY; SEXUAL PERSONAE; WHISKEY & WILD, WILD WOMEN!
BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC With films from 41 countries in this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival, it is tempting to treat the two weeks like a whirlwind tour; you can scramble like Bond across every continent and study the faces of people worlds way. As exotic as such globetrotting is, let’s not forget this is Philadelphia, and things can get pretty curious right here, as well. Andrew McElhinney wrote in the current Philadelphia Weekly about two local filmmakers whose shorts go on tonight at the International House as part of a program titled Cigarettes And Whiskey And Wild Wild Women […]
POPPED! FESTIVAL PICKS: BARKING SPIDERS, NORMAL LOVE, BEAR IS DRIVING
NOTE: All week we will be sharing responses to our Popped! band-libs. Barking Spiders 1. We are called Barking Spiders [pictured, above] because it’s what grandpa called farts. 2. No, that is not a stupid name for a band and it is correct of you to say that. 3. We are a band because we are good friends. 4. If we were not a band, we would be another band. 5. People say we sound like lawn mower. 6. But really we sound like jet skis. 7. A year ago we were online dating and now we’re married. 8. If […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Walter Isaacson, former managing editor of Time magazine and author of best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger, has turned his attention to the 20th century’s scientific poster boy, whose family life was as difficult as his career was distinguished. Isaacson’s book Einstein: His Life and Universe draws on newly released personal correspondence to create a portrait of the private as well as the public Einstein. ALSO, Children of Men, the breathtaking Alfonso Cuaron film based on P.D. James’ dystopian-futurist novel, has just come out on DVD. Critic-at-large John Powers takes a look at one of 2006’s […]
MOJO RISING: Jimbo Named ‘XPN Drive Time Jock
CITIZEN MOM REPORTS: WXPN is finally bringing Roger Jim McGuinn into the fold, moving him from King of Y-Rockism to the “regular” station lineup. McGuinn, the paterfamilias of Gen X radio in Philly, will remain as Y-Rock’s program director, but he’ll move from the Y-Rock on XPN broadcast to David Dye’s 4-7 p.m. on-air shifts, every day but Friday. The Funk remains. Here’s Mr. Dye’s open letter to listeners: Dear Amy, I have an announcement that may seem sudden, but has actually been a few years in the making. About two years ago, I crawled into XPN GM Roger LaMay’s […]
HIZZONER ’07: Brady Bunch Smells Like Nepotism
Bob Brady has promised that, if he is elected Philadelphia’s mayor, he’ll fight no-bid contracts and nepotism. He was the first candidate to sign a pledge promising to wipe them out. But for four Brady family members, it might not make a difference. They already have government jobs or benefit from a no-bid contract, an Inquirer review shows. Brady’s wife is paid $100,000 a year by a politically connected firm that delivers official notices of lawsuits. In eight years, the city has not bid out the contract. His son works for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, his daughter for the state lottery. […]
KILLADELPHIA: Task Forces Sweeps Up 17 Straw Purchasers
The father of Twanita Johnson’s baby needed a gun, but he can’t buy one because he’s a convict. So Johnson, 21, who had no criminal record, went to a Bucks County gun shop and bought him a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol, according to law enforcement officials.This morning, the recently formed Gun Violence Task Force announced that arrest warrants had been obtained for Johnson and 16 others accused of making illegal “straw” purchases. The task force, a joint effort of city District Attorney Lynne Abraham and state Attorney General Tom Corbett, has opened more than 70 investigations since being launched […]
Easter Bunny: DiCicco’s Eggs Are Rotten
This just came in over the transom.
MEDIA: Don Imus Suspended For Calling Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team “Nappy-Headed Ho’s”
BY AMY Z. QUINN This is Essence Carson [pictured, right], a forward on the Rutgers women’s basketball team. She’s also a straight-A student, a music major who plays several instruments, and an athlete who was named the Big East women’s basketball player of the year. But of course, that’s not why she’s in the news today. No, people care about Essence Carson all of a sudden because she’s one of the “nappy headed hos” Don Imus and his producer were talking about the other day. Flanked by her teammates — including South Jersey’s own Rashidat Junaid, a towering center from […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
POP WILL EAT ITSELF: Popped! Festival Opening Night Party, JB’s, Last Night