INQUIRER: Deported from China on the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games, Michael McMonagle, 55, of Lansdale, [NOT pictured, left] believes he was able to draw attention last week to China’s problems of religious freedom and forced abortions. McMonagle, a veteran Catholic antiabortion activist, and two other protesters tried to pray and unfurl a “Jesus Christ is King” banner in Tiananmen Square on Wednesday and Thursday. But when the protesters tried to hold a news conference with foreign reporters in the square, Chinese police sent them packing. McMonagle returned to Philadelphia on Friday. “Just unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square […]
KILLADELPHIA: Cops Shoot Suicidal Teen In The Head
INQUIRER: Police wounded an apparently suicidal South Jersey teenager who they said broke into his grandparents’ South Philadelphia rowhouse early this morning. The teen, identified as Patrick McMurtrie, 18, of Turnersville, allegedly stabbed himself several times before lunging at police with a knife. An officer fired twice, striking him in the head. McMurtrie’s condition has been upgraded from critical to stable at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. About 2 a.m., police received reports of a white male breaking into a second-floor window in a narrow alley behind the 200 block of Gerritt Street. When officers arrived, they spotted someone in the […]
CONCERT REVIEW: New Porno At The E-Factory
BY DAVE ALLEN If the New Pornographers were tuckered-out from their triumphant Friday gig at the All Points West Festival, they didn’t show it at their Saturday show at the Electric Factory. The Canadian sextet pumped up the song tempos to the breaking point without sacrificing the rich, ‘60s-inspired textures, sunbeam harmonies and endorphin-triggering melodies that have made them a beloved fixture of the indie scene for going on a decade. In a set drawn equally from their last three studio albums, with one or two throwbacks to 2000’s Mass Romantic, poise and polish held sway, with chugging instrumentals and […]
BETRAYED: CeaseFirePA Shitcans NRA Double Agent
ASSOCIATED PRESS: PHILADELPHIA — A group advocating stricter gun laws is kicking out a woman who has been accused of being a spy for the National Rifle Association. The CeaseFirePA board of directors voted unanimously Friday to remove fellow board member Mary Lou McFate. The group also is exploring possible legal action against her, though spokesman Joe Grace declined to elaborate. McFate, an unpaid member of the CeaseFirePA board for seven years, is accused of portraying herself as a gun-control activist while being paid by the NRA to gather intelligence. A Chicago-based group, the Freedom States Alliance, expelled her from […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: Chinatown Celebrates The Olympic Opening Ceremonies + Making Time, Last Night [Photos by TIFFANY YOON] XINHUANET: PHILADELPHIA, the United States, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Chinatown in Philadelphia, Pa., turned into a sea of jubilance Friday night as thousands of local Chinese Americans and citizens gathered here to celebrate the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics over 10,000 km away.The event, named “evening of champions,” would “celebrate the spirit of Olympiad, capture the excitement of the Olympic Games and help to showcase the Chinese tradition and culture,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who also wished both Chinese […]
DEATH OF PRINT: Inky Web Memo Is ‘Ritual Suicide’
THE INQUISITIR: The decision [to embargo content from the web until it runs in print] rests on two major presumptions that fail miserably. The first is that there is a scarcity of competition therefore people who want the news will have no choice but to buy the paper. Secondly, that anything they write of substance is worthy of buying the print edition to read it first when it will either end up on their website, or will be reported on other websites. Neither hold true. There may be only one major competitor in Philadelphia (Philadelphia Daily News) but both papers […]
GIRL GERMS: Letter From Rock Camp
[Photos by BROOKE BOCAST] Thursday August 7, 2008 DEAR PHAWKER, Today was really good. My band, Electric Bliss, made a lot of progress in our song. Today the instructors and counselors performed another skit during assembly. This one was great. It was about cleaning up your band practice room and taking care of your gear. They first acted out the skit by leaving the lights on in the room and throwing their quarter-inch cables on the ground and tangling then up. So in response to the skit one of the band coaches Elaine taught us how to warp our cables […]
WORTH REPEATING: Fine Print
BY DOUG WALLEN In Dr. Dog’s Kensington studio hangs the painted and stitched fabric piece that became the cover of Fate. The guys saw it behind the bar at Chicago’s Rainbow Room, where artist Ken Ellis tends bar. The piece—which depicts a woman holding a man at bay with a shotgun in front of a dead tree—watches over them eerily. I ask Miller how Fate differs from previous albums. “It’s partially, I think, in the fidelity,” he says. “We didn’t have to compromise in the mixing process. We All Belong had more arrangements and was on a grander scale, but […]
NOT SAFE AT ANY SPEED: Why Some People Do Better Behind Bars Than They Do On The Outside
INQUIRER: A speeding car careered careened off Kelly Drive and plunged into the Schuylkill River at the height of the rush hour this morning as rowers and runners looked on in horror. The car, a 2000 Buick LeSabre [NOT pictured, left], sailed nearly 30 feet from the embankment before plummeting into the waters. “It was just like a Charles Bronson movie,” said Bill Ban, a rower who was finishing up his morning routine at 8 a.m. just north of Boathouse Row. “I heard squealing tires, then boom! Saw the car flying off into the river,” Ban said. “It was very […]
MEDIA: Inky Puts Brakes On The Internets
BUZZ MACHINE: What the hell are they thinking in Philadelphia? Inquirer ME Mike Leary just sent a memo saying they are going to hold all but breaking news for the paper and even restrict bloggers from using their blogs to work on stories in progress. Let me make this very clear to Inquirer ownership and management: You are killing the paper. You might as well just burn the place down. You’re setting a match to it. This is insane. Even the slowest, most curmudgeonly, most backward in your dying, suffering industry would not be this stupid anymore. They know that […]
GIRL GERMS: Letter From Rock Camp
Editor’s Note: This week, on the campus of Girard College, Girls Rock Philly! is holding their summer Rock Camp for girls ages 9-17. The campers get their choice of concentrations in guitar, bass, drums, vocals, keyboard and DJ’ing. Our beloved neophyte rock diva, 14-year-old Jenn W. (Roxborough represent!), is on the scene and will be sending us dispatches from Rock Camp all week. Wednesday, Aug. 6 DEAR PHAWKER, Ahhh . . . another rockin’ day a Girls Rock Philly. Wednesday, hump day of the week, was sure a busy one. Nevertheless, a very crucial part of the week. It was […]
GAYDAR EXTRA: How Gay Is Mr. Gay Philadelphia?
Well, I for one plan to find out at the second annual Mr. Gay Philadelphia contest tomorrow night! Guest celebrities Michael Musto, Frank DeCaro, Jack Mackenroth, and Bruce Hayes will be judging the man candy at Gershman Hall’s Levit Auditorium in Center City (401 S. Broad Street). Mr. Gay was a big hit last year, and its sponsor (nightlifegay.com, if you must know) expect Mr. Gay 2008 to be bigger and better and GAYER than ever. A portion of the proceeds from the contest and silent auction will be given to one of the city’s most outstanding charitable organizations, Action […]