BY TOMMY ZANE GAYDAR EDITOR Brit superstar soul singer Amy Winehouse tops my BEST OF with her prophetic, “Rehab.” Miss Winehouse also brought the noise in 2007 with other hot tracks including album title cut, “Back To Black,”“Tears Dry On Their Own,” and “You Know I’m No Good.” Topped off with a slew of Grammy Award nominations, it was truly an outstanding year for Miss Winehouse. Let’s hope Miss Beehive 1965 gets her health issues together for an even better 2008. #1-Amy Winehouse, “Rehab” #2-Mason/Princess Superstar, “Perfect (Exceeder)” #3-Verka Serduchka, “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” #4-Plain White T’s, “Hey There Delilah” […]
CINEMA: Blood Brothers
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, 158 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK, FILM CRITIC Like a booby-trap designed to ensnare film buffs with the evanescent bait of familiarity, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film references so many iconic American classics that it takes on the momentum of one of those zingy montages they use on the Turner Classic Movie channel. Playing like a Tarantino film with more prestigious references, There Will Be Blood rarely lets a scene go by without nodding to John Ford, Orson Welles, or John Huston (he even shot the darn thing in the […]
IOWAS: A CHANGE IS GONNA COME or HOW THE PRIMARIES ARE LIKE A TRIP TO THE MALL
BY AMY Z. QUINN Look, it’s not that I’m not excited — moved, really — by the fact that a black man just won the Iowa caucuses. And if a person is elected president in November who is not a white man, it will be one of the proudest and most significant moments in America’s history. There, that’s out of the way. But I’d be a lot more emotional if the Democratic winner of Iowa ever actually won the presidency — since 1972, the only ones who have (Carter ’76 and Clinton ’96) were incumbents competing in Iowa the second […]
THE DUDE ABIDES: “Sometimes there’s a man – I won’t say a hee-ro, ’cause what’s a hee-ro? – sometimes there’s a man who, well, he’s the man for his time ‘n place, he fits right in there – and that’s the Dude.” –Big Lebowski
ASSOCIATED PRESS: DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Barack Obama, bidding to become the nation’s first black president, captured the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, opening test in the race for the 2008 Democratic nomination. Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to victory in the Republican caucuses. MORE
JUNK SCI 2007: The Year Of Living Less Dangerously
EDITOR’S NOTE: At no time in recorded history have we possessed so much knowledge about health and nutrition, nor have we ever had such vast and effective machinery for disseminating that knowledge — and yet, for all intents and purposes, we live in hi-tech Dark Age with the vast majority of the global population essentially ignorant or confused about the basic facts of their own biology. How did this happen? Well, that’s a whole six-part mini-series in and of itself, but the short answer is that the bottom line of many a multi-national corporation is dependent on that ignorance, and […]
REWIND 2007: THE YEAR IN PHAWKER TALK
* UPDATE: We have since determined that there was nothing wrong with our camera equipment and that the only reasonable explanation for the ‘funny-ness’ is that the Mayor-elect chomped down two, possibly three buttons of peyote shortly before our interview this morning. If true, this is the kind of bold, visionary leadership we have been praying for. Truly, a ‘new day’ has dawned in Philadelphia. CLICK HERE TO SEE FOR YOURSELF. * Q&A With The Stooges’ Ron Asheton PHAWKER: Do you recall the first time you met Iggy — legend has it he saw you and your brother standing […]
TODAY I SAW…2007
[Illustration by Alex Fine] 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 […]
GLOBE: Bhutto Was To Give Specter Vote Fraud Proof
BOSTON GLOBE: Bhutto had been scheduled to meet hours later with US Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island. Senator Latif Khosa, a lawmaker from Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party, said she had planned to give the lawmakers a report outlining complaints on “pre-poll rigging” by Musharraf’s government and the military-run Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Khosa said he did not know whether Bhutto’s killing was linked to her plans to release the document. Officials at the Information Ministry and the Interior Ministry declined comment. MORE PREVIOUSLY: Arlen Specter Was Set To Meet With Bhutto The Day She […]
PRESS THE FLESH: Philadelphia, Meet Your Mayor
INQUIRER: Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, ever aware of the finest political detail, plans to celebrate the first full day of his administration by having a flood of regular Philadelphians walk through City Hall, winding up marble and granite stairwells to shake hands with the man who promised “a new day, a new way.” On Jan. 8 — Nutter’s first full day as mayor — he wants the public to come to City Hall and shake his hand. There will be free refreshments in an event tent in the courtyard. “We’re hoping people will get a feel for the new feel of […]
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP: Meet The New Meth
WIRED: A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery’s first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy. Orexin A is a promising candidate to become a “sleep replacement” drug. For decades, stimulants have been used to combat sleepiness, but they can be addictive and often have side effects, including raising blood pressure or causing mood swings. The military, for example, administers amphetamines to pilots flying long distances, and has funded research […]
RECONSIDER THIS: Barbarella Turns 40
BY MATTHEW DADDONA When director Robert Rodriguez announced in May of 2007 that he would take on Roger Vadim’s 1963 cult sci-fi classic Barbarella, the rumors about who would play the title role circled the globe faster than an orbiting satellite. Jessica Biel, Rose McGowan, Lindsay Lohan and even Beyonce Knowles were all attached, or rumored to be attached, at some point. Barbarella turns 40 in 2008, and since 40 is the new 30, she’s holding up pretty well, not that anyone ever expected more from her than a few stoned laughs and a half-dozen hard-ons. Luckily for us, Rodriguez […]
KILLADELPHIA: Shots To The Dome
INQUIRER: A man was shot in the forehead and shoulder just before midnight last night in the 5200 block of Spruce Street, a police spokesman said. Police said the shooting took place at about 11:50 p.m. The 27-year-old male is in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. No arrests have been made.