THE LIFE DRAMATIC: Owen Wilson shooting Marley & Me, Broad & Walnut, 1:45 PM * RELATED: Actress Kate Hudson has denied rumours she is engaged to Owen Wilson. Hudson, 29, was spotted sporting a diamond ring on her wedding finger on Thursday, fuelling speculation the on-off couple is taking their relationship to the next level. The pair met on the set of 2006 movie ‘You, Me & Dupree’ and were romantically linked later that year after Hudson split from her husband of six years, rocker Chris Robinson. The couple parted ways in June 2007, just two months before Wilson’s alleged […]
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: Cecil B. Moore Avenue
[Photos by JUSTIN ROMAN] BY JEFF DEENEY Possibly the largest and most elaborate memorial we’ve seen so far is the mountainous pile of stuffed animals, votive candles and other assorted personal objects stacked up on the corner of American Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. There’s a reason for its enormity: On Jan. 13, three young Latin kids from nearby neighborhoods were killed here in an auto accident that rocked the community and spurred an outpouring of sympathy for the victims’ families. The accident was a hit-and-run — the other vehicle’s driver, Hanifasim Saed Presley, fled the scene on foot […]
THE DISCONNECT: Philly Wi-Fi Goes No-Fi
PHILADELPHIA – EarthLink Inc. is pulling the plug on its troubled wireless high-speed Internet network in Philadelphia, once touted as a model for how big cities should deploy Wi-Fi. The Atlanta-based Internet service provider said Tuesday that it could not find a buyer for the $17 million network and that talks to give it to either the city or a nonprofit organization had failed. City officials have said it would cost taxpayers millions each year to operate the network. “It’s been an unfortunate situation,” Chief Executive Officer Rolla Huff told The Associated Press. “It was a great idea a few […]
MANSCAPE: Papa Cries, Sinatra Licks, O’Reilly Cusses
Philly sports fans know plenty about anguished tears, but on last night’s 6 p.m. Action News broadcast, Gary Papa shed tough guy tears while reading a report about Eagles coach Andy Reid visiting sick kids at CHoP. So verklempt was ol’ Gary — a cancer survivor and father of two — that he actually couldn’t go on and had to throw it back to Jim Gardner, who made it all better with a joke about how Papa’s breakdown would surely be on YouTube within minutes. Sure enough, DMac comes through with the clip…. The Francis Albert Sinatra commemorative 42-cent stamp […]
EDITORIAL: Lifting The Veil On Black Islam In The 215
BY JEFF DEENEY Back at the beginning of April I spent an afternoon hanging out with Saddiq Abdul Jabbar and Tunji Turner from the Germantown Masjid which, according to the Daily News, has become embroiled in an international controversy over its decision to not provide a burial service for a Muslim man killed during the botched bank robbery that left police officer Stephen Liczbinski dead. The City Paper was doing a three part series called “Politics Lost” focusing on what impact the impending Pennsylvania primary election might be having on some of the more isolated neighborhoods in the city. They […]
EVERY TUESDAY: The Afterlife Of A Statistic
The Valley of the Shadow is an ongoing series documenting how those in Philadelphia’s poorest and most violent neighborhoods publicly mourn and commemorate their dead. Jeff Deeney, the man who brought you Today I Saw, knows these neighborhoods well from his days as a social worker. The hope is to shine a light on the city’s untouchables, brighten the darkest corners and gather and share ultra-vivid and all-too-real stories of loss, grief and remembrance. Look for it every Tuesday on Phawker! Why? Because we love you!
SPIKOL: You Say I’m Crazy, Like It’s A BAD Thing
HUFFINGTON POST: Yesterday the New York Times explored the burgeoning “mad pride” movement, which aims to fight the stigma of serious mental illness like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and even, in some cases, celebrate it. [C]heck out the mad pride movement’s most hilarious, if unofficial, spokesperson Liz Spikol’s blog The Trouble With Spikol, which chronicles her struggle with bipolar disorder. Or watch two of Liz Spikol’s many YouTube videos: First, she tells an abbreviated version of her life story. MORE NEW YORK TIMES: In the YouTube video, Liz Spikol is smiling and animated, the light glinting off her large hoop […]
HEAR YE: Duffy Rock Ferry
Now playing on Phawker Radio! Gorgeous voice, soulful eyes, and the ‘Second Coming of Dusty Springfield’ and ‘New Amy Winehouse‘ hype is more than earned. From Wales. She plays the Apollo tonight. Sigh. We are officially in love.
THE BEATDOWN: Victims’ Lawyer Says Cops Are Lying
DAILY NEWS: AS A NEWS video of police beating and kicking three shooting suspects is seen around the world, attorneys for the battered men are claiming that Philly cops concocted their story to cover up for a case of mistaken identity — an allegation police vehemently deny. The attorneys said their clients — Brian Hall, 23, Dwayne “Lionel” Dyches, 24, and Pete Hopkins, 19 – were not involved in a shooting. But rather, police chased down their car and beat them because they mistook Dyches, a passenger in the car, for accused cop-killer Eric DeShawn Floyd, the attorneys said. At […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
EVERYBODY DANCE NOW: Broadzilla DJs, One, Last Night [Photos by TIFFANY YOON]
LIVE & DIRECT: From The Cathedral Basilica
[Photos by TIFFANY YOON/CLICK TO ENLARGE] BY NICK POWELL METRO CORRESPONDENT The steady martial drumbeat of rain provided a suitably dreary backdrop as Philadelphia finest — most dressed in matching yellow rain coats and broken into double-file parade formations — poured into The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul this morning for the viewing of the body of slain Philadelphia police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski. Hundreds of policemen from the city, state, and surrounding townships were present for the viewing, as well as some New Jersey State Police, all in full-dress finery for the occasion. Outside the cathedral, a video […]
NEWS CLUES: Like A Human Skull Bong Of Truth
THE BEATDOWN: Seven More Cops Removed From Active Duty Seven more Philadelphia police officers were removed from active duty yesterday in the probe of the news video that shows police beating and kicking three shooting suspects after a car chase Monday night. A review of an enhanced copy of the 11-minute Fox29 video enabled police investigators to identify the seven, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman. They bring to 13 — one sergeant and 12 officers — the number of police taken off street duty pending the probe’s outcome. Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey appeared on […]