EDITOR’S NOTE: Via OPEN LEFT comes this devastating missive from an anonymous Dem lawmaker on how, when and why the Democrats in Congress will cave on attaching meaningful oversight and or consumer mortgage relief to any Fed bailout of Wall Street: Here’s the industry’s play: progressives will approach Nancy with ideas for reform, and she’ll agree to push for their proposals, and she’ll really mean it. Then industry lobbyists will go to Dennis Moore, Melissa Bean and a few other Democrats, and tell them how dire the consequences of the proposals would be, and that the members who understand how […]
REVIEW: Mars Volta At The E-Factory — The Lessness
BY MICHAEL DONOVAN There’s a reason that anyone who has spent an evening with the Mars Volta will experience a sort of “Volta Flashback” when asked to recount the band’s live performance. There’s a reason that the Mars Volta rarely stops touring (usually only to record). There’s a reason that the Wikipedia entry on the Mars Volta makes reference to the band’s “wild, energetic, and improvised live shows” by line three. The reason? The Mars Volta as a live band is nothing short of jaw dropping. As a two-time veteran of the band’s live act, I can attest: seeing the […]
We Know It’s Only Spoken Word But We Like It
YOU’VE GOT NAIL: Nail Me, Megawords Salon, No Libs, Last Night BY TIFFANY YOON LIVING ARTS EDITOR The girls of Sweatheart, Amanda Blank (who also moonlights with Spank Rock) and Rose Luardo, performed at the Megawords Storefront over the weekend, but their show wasn’t what fans expected. Rosie and Amanda weren’t rapping or singing, they weren’t even dancing, but they were watching 90210, gossiping and drinking diet coke. The Megawords storefront was created out of an abandoned space on 11th and Arch, and its function for its month long installation is to bring people together. “Where does that happen? It […]
LOST DECADE: Winning The Race To The Bottom
[Photo by RICHARD DREW] ESQUIRE: In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it. If he were not falling, he might very well be flying. He appears relaxed, hurtling through the air. He appears comfortable in the grip of unimaginable motion. He does not appear intimidated by gravity’s divine suction or by what awaits him. His arms are by his side, only slightly outriggered. His left leg is bent at the knee, almost casually. His white shirt, or jacket, […]
GET YOUR WAR ON: Sarah Sells Rape Kits
RELATED: Despite denials by the Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence. Palin’s role is now confirmed by Wasilla City budget documents available online. Under Sarah Palin’s administration, Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees. Although Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella wrote USA Today earlier this week that the GOP vice presidential nominee “does not believe, nor […]
KILLADELPHIA: Three Teens 5 Gunned Down
INQUIRER: When gunfire punctured the night in West Philadelphia, three teens sitting on a rowhouse porch started to run. All three were shot, and two managed to take refuge inside a rowhouse in the 200 block of South Ithan Street. The third – the oldest in the group at 18 – fell to the ground with multiple wounds, including a shot to the head. Hakim Griffin remained in critical condition yesterday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania while his friends, ages 14 and 17, were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. MORE UPDATE: Shooting victims are piling up in Philadelphia, […]
DOCTOR IS IN: Howard Dean Could’ve Gone Anywhere
[Photo by TIFFANY YOON] SCREAM, BABY, SCREAM: Dr. Howard Dean, DNC Chairman, Temple, 12:34 pm BY TIFFANY YOON LIVING ARTS EDITOR Howard Dean came to Temple University earlier today to support Barack Obama and stress the importance of registering to vote. October 6th is the last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania, that leaves just 14 days to get on the rolls. As eager students and faculty waited for the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and one time contender for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, The Who’s “Baba O’Riley blasted out of the public address system — “the […]
TARRING THE BABY: John McCain’s Race Baiting
John McCain campaign ad: “Advice” TIME: When politicians interject race into a campaign, they seldom do it directly. Consider McCain’s new ad, which the campaign says it will be airing nationally. This is hardly subtle: Sinister images of two black men, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman. Let me stipulate: Obama’s Fannie Mae connections are completely fair game. But this ad doesn’t even mention a far more significant tie — that of Jim Johnson, the former Fannie Mae chairman who had to resign as head of Obama’s vice presidential search team after it was revealed he got […]
CINEMA: This Won’t Hurt A Bit
GHOST TOWN (2008, directed by David Koepp, 102 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC Have you ever had a classical musician dazzle you with their instrumental brilliance, then knock out a jaunty version of something like “Three Blind Mice” for a tongue-in-cheek encore? The Office creator Ricky Gervais’ first Hollywood star vehicle plays out something like that — a comic genius breathing life into the most shop-worn of premises. With Extras, Gervais’ follow-up to his instantly classic The Office, the potato-faced comic showed he was no fluke, milking unpredictable hilarity out of his frequently humiliated, put-upon persona. Even though […]
JUNK SCI: Nutraceuticals, It’s What’s For Dinner
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Orange juice laced with anchovies, fish genes in ice cream, cheese that kills intestinal parasites, laboratory extracted elements of green tea in your ginger ale, bacteria from yogurt hidden in salsa. Welcome to the supermarket of the 21st century. Not the 21st century to come, I mean today, this is your food store now. Fortified foods aka functional foods are the newest adventure in eating. The fancy name for fortified foods is nutraceuticals. Say that out loud, it’s kind of nauseating. A combo of nutrition and pharmaceutical, this name is trying to convince us that […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Working
PEOPLE GET READY: Rock The Vote, Philadelphia Community College, Yesterday Yesterday, Rock The Vote stopped at the Community College of Philadelphia on its tour encouraging those over the age of 18 to register and to vote in this year’s presidential election. Students were treated with live musical performances by Talib Kweli, Solange, The James Gang and Ken Swift of the Rock Steady Crew. There were also appearances made by Joe Pantoliano (Bad Boys II), Max Kennedy (Bobby Kennedy’s son) and ?uest Love (The Roots) made a special guest appearance. All artists encouraged students to get involved in this year’s presidential […]
SHIVER ME TIMBERS: It’s ‘Talk Like A Pirate’ Day!
TALK LIKE A PIRATE.COM: Why do we need an International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Make no mistake. We do. But it’s a little hard to articulate why, especially when you’ve made the mistake of referring to your wife as a scurvy bilge rat and tried to order her back into the galley. Talking like a pirate is fun. It’s really that simple. It gives your conversation a swagger, an elán, denied to landlocked lubbers. Before we go any further, there’s something we need to be clear about. Pirates were and are bad people. Really reprehensible. Even the most casual […]