BY M. EMANUEL When the BREAKDOWN first got word that all eight living members of the Wu-Tang Clan were heading to the studio to prep their fifth collective effort, 8 Diagrams, the news was met with cautious optimism. An admitted fan of the Wu’s classics, in part because the early albums formed the sonic backdrop for the high school incarnation of the BREAKDOWN, allegiance to the Wu has been downgraded, somewhat, from fanatic in the mid-nineties to mere respectful reverence in the post-new millennium. Still, while the promise of the new album, in stores yesterday, may not have registered as […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
MAGGOT BRAIN: Nurse Sentenced For Allowing Infestation In Patient’s Head For allowing a horde of maggots to fester in the head wound of an elderly patient, a former nursing-home supervisor was sentenced yesterday in Delaware County court to four years’ probation and ordered to pay $4,800 in restitution. Donna Marie Cameron, 40, of Aston, was once director of nursing at the now-defunct St. James Retirement and Rehabilitation Center, in Chester. The court found that Cameron was anything but aware of the needs of Patricia Holdsworth, 72, a St. James’ resident suffering from skin cancer and mental-health issues. In June 2005, […]
THE FIRST MAN FROM HOPE: Take My Wife, Please
BUBBALICIOUS: Bill Clinton, Electric Factory, earlier tonight. [CLICK TO ENLARGE] RELATED: With Bill Clinton at his side, Philadelphia Mayor-elect Michael Nutter last night endorsed the presidential candidacy of the former president’s wife, saying that she understood the challenges facing urban America. [via INQUIRER] PHOTOS BY VIC SUEDE
Earthlink A No-Show At Council Wi-Fi Hearing
Will Wireless Philadelphia fulfill Mayor Street’s soaring vision of a city where all residents enjoy affordable Internet access or will it end up like man’s early attempts to fly by strapping on homemade wings and jumping off a cliff? The grimmer view dominated yesterday’s City Council technology committee hearings into Wireless Philadelphia’s progress. Councilmen Frank Rizzo Jr. and Brian O’Neill were appalled that Atlanta-based Earthlink, Inc. — the Wireless Philadelphia provider that recently announced it was getting out of the wireless-city business — did not show up to testify. O’Neill said he had received a statement “allegedly from EarthLink” on […]
BEST LED ZEP REUNION REVIEW WE’VE READ…
…is written on Dave Grohl’s face. [via THE SUN] RUNNER UP: The Wall Street Journal Set List:
CINEMA: What Would Jeebus Do?
WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? (2007, directed by Rob Van Alkemade, 91 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC It’s hard to reconcile what has become the modern American version of Christmas and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look at Luke 12:15, where the man they called Christ warns against covetousness, “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” I don’t know if real pastors are preaching such anti-materialist messages this holiday season, but performance artist Bill Talen ponders the question of Christ’s capitalist instincts under the guise of “Reverend Billy” in this diverting new documentary produced […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES Hour 1 MAUREEN FAULKNER, the widow of slain Philadelphia Police officer Daniel Faulkner talks about her new memoir Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice. Daniel Faulkner was gunned down Dec. 9, 1981. A jury convicted Mumia Abu-Jamal for the murder and sentenced him to death. He has since appealed through the State and now Federal Courts alleging he got an unfair trial. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 Hour 2 Drexel University student Jocelyn Kirsch and University of Pennsylvania graduate Edward Anderton surrendered to the Philadelphia police last week for […]
MIKE GRAVEL: Give Peace A Chance
[Hat tip to Scot Danzter]
TODAY I SAW…
BY JEFF DEENEY TODAY I SAW a powder blue-and-white pickup truck pull up to the curb across from where I stood, mid-block on a side street near 29th and Dauphin in Strawberry Mansion. The truck’s cab was piled with scrap metal and appliance parts, precariously held in place by a single length of corded yellow rope. I had been standing around, waiting for someone and making small talk with a neighbor for a minute before the truck stopped and parked. The house over my left shoulder was boarded up and abandoned. The house directly behind me had a storm door […]
THE UNSETTLING TRUTH ABOUT LIFE
The teachings of Alan Watts, with animation by the South Park dudes.
THE TAO OF MITT: Suffer The Children
ASSOCIATED PRESS: His shot at the Republican presidential nomination in jeopardy, Mitt Romney will begin running a TV ad against Iowa front-runner Mike Huckabee on illegal immigration starting Tuesday while weighing how much negative campaigning he can add to the methodical plan he’s followed all year. The ad says the former governors have a lot in common — but not on illegal immigration, an important issue in Iowa, which will lead off nomination voting with its caucuses on Jan. 3.“Mitt Romney stood up, and vetoed in-state tuition for illegal aliens, opposed driver’s licenses for illegals,” the ad says. “Mike Huckabee? […]
5 Things U Should Know About Fiery Furnaces Last Nite
ELEANOR DIG ME: Fiery Furnaces singer Eleanor Frieberger, First Unitarian, Opener MGMT continued their streak of great opening sets in Philadelphia, playing as well with the Fiery Furnaces as they did with Of Montreal in October. Though their live show may be a bit low key for some, it was far from boring, and the guitarists had some of the best veins-that-pop-out-of-arm-while-playing in recent memory. Surprisingly, the Fiery Furnaces’ disjointed, wandering, and largely epic style of songwriting translated very well to the stage. Singer Eleanor Friedberger wove yarn after yarn in a set comprised of songs mostly from their latest […]