By David Aldridge INQUIRER STAFF WRITER The Allen Iverson era in Philadelphia is over. Iverson, pending NBA officials’ approval, will be traded to the Denver Nuggets for a package including guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith and both of Denver’s 2007 first-round picks, according to a source with knowledge of the trade talks between the teams. Miller, 30, is third in the league in assists and is one of the league’s best point guards. He will also receive an additional $1million as a trade kicker as part of his six-year, $55 million contract. Smith, the first pick overall in the […]
DEAR PHILLY MAG: Why We DON’T Still Love Rocky
HELLO LARRY, Since you asked, no we DON’T still love Rocky. More on that in a minute, but first let us be clear, we don’t blame you for putting Stallone on the cover — it’s a no-brainer, really. But it’s more than a little sad to watch the global media toady up to Sly, and nobody bothers to ask him why the Hell he only shows up in town when he’s got another dead horse sequel to beat. Instead of Yes Mr. Stallone, right way Mr. Stallone, how about Yo Adrian, where the hell you been? Oh, in a hot […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
DAVID EDELSTEIN is Fresh Air‘s movie critic. He also happens to be the finest critical voice — in every sense of the word — of a generation. Today he does his year end wrap-up. But here he is talking about his early days trying to break into the big leagues: At the Village Voice, my editor Karen Durbin had pretty firm leftist-feminist politics but was such a crazy hedonist that it never got in the way. My goal was always to shock her and make her laugh–and she probably let me get away with too many sophomoric things. But hey, […]
DEATH OF A SALESPERSON: “No, I’m Sorry, We Will Never Have ‘Nice Music’ AGAIN”
SARA SHERR REPORTS: With just four days left to go, the Avenue of the Arts Tower Records isn’t even a shell of its former self. It’s the Pennsauken Mart. The second floor is no more. It once housed DVDs, Jazz, Vocals, New Age, Folk, Blues, Comedy and Kids. What little of it is left is now on the first floor. Before this everything-must-go transformation, the Jazz guy and the Goth kid from the DVD department were working side by side, a sitcom waiting to happen. The Classical department consists of one bin in the front of the store, much to […]
STUDY: Marijuana #1 Cash Crop In U.S.
Dec. 18, 2006 ? Weeding through the value of the nation’s cash crops, a study released today states that marijuana is the U.S.’s most valuable crop and promotes the drug’s legalization and taxation. Drug enforcement officials say the equation is not that simple. The report, “Marijuana Production in the United States,” by marijuana policy researcher Jon Gettman, concludes that despite massive eradication efforts at the hands of the federal government, “marijuana has become a pervasive and ineradicable part of the national economy.” In the report, Gettman, a marijuana-reform activist and leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, champions a system […]
GUNCRAZY: Homicide #394 A Done Deal
(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Police are investigating a shooting that left a man dead in South Philadelphia. The shooting marks the city’s 394th homicide. Shots rang out around 10:30 p.m. Monday near 3rd and Titan Streets in South Philadelphia. Police said a 29-year-old man was found shot to death on the street. No arrests have been made and the motive is under investigation. KYW: Drug Dealers Tying Up Loose Ends Before The Holiday Shutdown
IGGY & THE STOOGES: TV EYE/1970
[googlevideo]-7783189944356095871[/googlevideo] You might want to just click thru and watch it on Google’s BIG SCREEN. This is precious. Especially love the guys up in the press box giving the play-by-play — Hey, that’s peanut butter!
Yogi Bear Creator Met His Maker; Says Heaven Is A Lot Like Jellystone Park, Great Pie & Rangers Can’t Do Shit
LOS ANGELES – Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95. Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said. With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The partners, who teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1960s […]
COMEUPPANCE: NYT Takes Off Gloves, Explains How Judith Regan, The Queen Of Spleen, Got Remaindered
But then, Ms. Regan has actually been in the celebrity business her whole career, with her ability to sell the tatty and salacious elements of contemporary culture. She formed those skills as a reporter for The National Enquirer, but in a world where many office workers spend their days surfing for a shot of Britney Spears sans panties, that work history was a credential, not a knock. Ms. Regan always lived her public life as if it were one big MySpace page, which she filled with outrageous personal and professional behavior and intemperate words. Part of it seemed like shtick, […]
(THE LAST) STOP THE PRESSES: GUILD Ratifies Contract, Drafts, Passes And Affixes F.U. Resolution Before Sending It Back To THE COMPANY
SGT. BYKO’S FINAL REPORT: After the questions subsided and a motion was approved to start the vote, another motion was presented, and approved after some debate. That motion ?instructs the Local 10 Executive Board to discuss – and pass — a resolution saying the following: ?1- Because of their tight-fisted, slash-and-burn, anti-labor tactics, we have NO CONFIDENCE in the new owners? actual desire to publish great newspapers ?2- Because of the new owners? recent record of poor business decisions, which includes hiring executives while promising layoffs of union workers, we have NO FAITH in their desire to treat employees with […]
DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: This Is Your Government’s Brain On 900 Mics Of TERROR
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES VIA ATTYTOOD: “American guards arrived at the man?s cell periodically over the next several days, shackled his hands and feet, blindfolded him and took him to a padded room for interrogation, the detainee said. After an hour or two, he was returned to his cell, fatigued but unable to sleep. The fluorescent lights in his cell were never turned off, he said. At most hours, heavy metal or country music blared in the corridor. He said he was rousted at random times without explanation and made to stand in his cell. Even lying down, he […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: Portrait Of ‘A Chilled Out Enterainer’ As A Young New Romantic
DANIEL RALSTON REPORTS: In honor of his appearance on Fresh Air today, I have compiled what I consider to be the Best of Ricky Gervais from YouTube. Here are a few favorites, with context: The Office If you haven’t seen The Office UK, just go buy it. It simply IS the funniest show of all time. The US version of the Office has a completely different (still very funny) tone, but the original BBC version manages to strike a chord with me every time. It’s the creeping sense of desperation and boredom we all feel at our desks, told through […]
ASK MOTHER PHAWKER: A Can Of Worms Marked DO NOT OPEN AT CHRISTMAS
Dear Mother Phawker, I know this time of year brings out the fun in family dysfunction for everyone, but this one’s a doozy. See, in my extended family there are three homosexuals. That’s not the problem, though. The thing is, they’re all very barely closeted and it drives me nuts. Each one of them has a partner, who is brought to family functions and introduced as “so-and-so’s friend,” despite the fact that these couples live, own houses and in one case, are raising a child together. Ma, I don’t begrudge anyone happiness and I’m glad my loved ones have found […]