FRESH AIR Author Junot Diaz won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Set in both the United States and the Dominican Republic, the novel explores the complexities of living in two cultures at once, with prose that frequently mixes Spanish and English. Diaz previously published Drown, a collection of short stories about a growing up in the Dominican Republic and New Jersey. He struggled with writer’s block following that debut; writing and publishing Oscar Wao took 11 years. Diaz is a professor of creative writing at MIT. ALSO, rock historian […]
Dolphin Spotted Near Art Museum, Could Be Kahlo Fan
DAILY NEWS: The dolphin was following the fish and the police were following the dolphin – until they lost it near Philadelphia International Airport. Authorities think that the dolphin is not hurt, just hungry. It apparently followed a school of herring that was swimming up the Delaware to spawn and veered off into the Schuylkill, where it was spotted yesterday by the police Marine Unit near the Art Museum, said marine unit officer Anthony Kowalski. The falls at the Art Museum proved too much for the dolphin, so it turned around and headed back downstream, Kowalski said. The cops figure […]
COPS: Cult Killed Baby Found In Suitcase In S. Philly
DAILY NEWS: The religious cult that Ria Reshma Ramkissoon belonged to shunned health care and formal education. The leaders were known as “King” and “Queen,” and their followers called themselves “Prince” and “Princess.” They were forbidden to interact with loved ones outside the cult without a member’s supervision. And they may be killers. Two days after police found a dead baby stuffed in a suitcase hidden in South Philadelphia, Ramkissoon’s relatives in Baltimore await a phone call that they suspect will confirm their worst fears: that the infant is Ramkissoon’s 18-month-old son, Javon Thompson. Relatives fear that cult members starved […]
NEWS CLUES: Like An Escort Service For The Truth
THE WOOD OF THE SUICIDES: Convicted DC Madame Kills Herself A woman police believe to be convicted Washington escort service operator Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide, officials said Thursday. Police said the body was found in a shed near Palfrey’s mother’s home Thursday morning. There was a suicide note, but police did not disclose its contents or how she killed herself. Palfrey was convicted April 15 by a federal jury of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington’s political elite, including Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. She was convicted of money laundering, using the mail for […]
THE SLAVES OF PENNSYLTUCKY: Rendell Vows To Re-Emancipate The Slaves If It Comes To That
JOHN BAER: Senate GOP Leader Dominic Pileggi said that if Fumo actually believes a majority of the Senate would vote to reinstate slavery, “It’s hard to see how that wouldn’t require an apology.” I wouldn’t count on it. Unless it’s one of those “if I offended anyone” things. Besides, Vince is merely extending (though by some distance) Gov. Ed’s stated view that some Pennsylvania whites won’t vote for blacks. And Gov. Ed’s spokesman assures me that if the Legislature passes a slavery bill, the governor will veto it. MORE PREVIOUSLY: Fumo Confident That A Law Re-Instating Slavery Would Pass In […]
MEGADICK 2: Stay Classy Flyerdelphia
To The Editor, My son and I drove from Montreal to catch Monday night’s Flyers-Canadiens playoff game at the Wachovia Center. Your fans have many reasons to be proud of their city and team, but how they treat their guests at a sporting event is not one of them. As the game progressed, the level of threats and abuse heaped on us grew at an alarming rate. At one point, an unfortunate Habs fan had a glass of beer poured on her head, and her boyfriend thought it best for them to leave the arena. By the end of the […]
MEGADICK: WAPO Sports Columnist Says Women & Children Flyers Fans Look Like They Could Work Security For Megadeth; Flyers Fans Threaten Parking Lot Beatdown; Dave Mustaine Sells The T-Shirts
[Hat tip to ROWDY YATES] WASHINGTON POST: The Caps’ postseason slogan: “Rock The Red.” The Flyers? “Vengeance Now,” which comes across as less of a slogan and more of a sequel to Charles Bronson’s “Death Wish.” The Capitals didn’t come out as Eastern Conference foes; they entered the playing surface like Russell Crowe entered the Coliseum in “Gladiator.” Flyer fans didn’t want to beat Washington as much as see Ovechkin bludgeoned, his teammates emasculated. It’s almost impossible to fathom, but the Capitals took the ice in front of a building as loud as Verizon Center last Friday. The fans wore […]
OVERHEARD: Fumo Confident That A Law Re-Instating Slavery Would Pass In The PA State House; Claims He Was Kidding, But We Have No Reason To Believe Him
INQUIRER: In comments that stunned many who heard them, Sen. Vincent J. Fumo said yesterday that his colleagues in the General Assembly would support slavery if given the chance. The remarks came during an Appropriations Committee hearing in Harrisburg on a bill that would define marriage as between a man and a woman – a measure Fumo opposes. “What you are advocating here is that we take away the rights of a minority. And I don’t think that’s right,” Fumo told Gilbert Coleman, Jr., senior pastor of Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship in Philadelphia, during the hearing. “. . . If […]
MEOW MIX: Gay Guvs, Lesbian Islands & Wright Stuff
Will Barack Obama’s official renunciation of his former pastor neutralize GoddamnAmericaGate? In his appearance on Monday before the National Press Club, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, when asked about Obama’s distancing himself, said the candidate was just a politician doing what politicians do. Wright (who will preach in Philly on June 1st) also said he believed the U.S. government was “capable” of creating and spreading HIV to kill African-Americans and obfuscated when asked about the “chickens come home to roost” on 9/11 thing. On the surface, it seems like Wright went batshit and left Obama no choice, but certainly Wright — who’s […]
NEWS CLUES: Like Blowing Smoke Out Of Your Eyes
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: Autopsy Scheduled For Kenneth Keith Kallenbach An autopsy will be performed tomorrow on Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a 39-year-old comedian who died Thursday after contracting pneumonia at the Delaware County jail, where he was awaiting trial. Since 2005, at least eight people have died at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, the state’s only privately run jail. Several of those deaths resulted in lawsuits by family members who say the facility did not provide adequate medical care or proper supervision for inmates. GEO Group operates prisons around the country, and its operations in Texas have been sharply criticized […]
DEAR DOCTOR DEAN: This Is Getting Old, Fast
[Image via HUFFINGTON POST] Dear Doctor Dean, You and I go way back to Iowa 2002. Hell, I had a front row seat for The Scream, and then watched in slack-jawed horror as the media sliced you into a sound byte and fed you into the echo chamber and turned you into the Incredible Hulk. I am starting to get that bad feeling again, which is why I am writing to ask you a small favor: Make it stop. Who’s brilliant idea was it to park the campaign in PA for five weeks? That’s like parking Katrina over New Orleans […]
NPR FOR DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES Hour 1 It is being called the “silent tsunami” — rising food prices that are forcing more people around the world to go hungry. The skyrocketing prices on stables like rice, wheat, and corn have ignited riots around the globe. Experts says that this crisis could push 100 million people into poverty. Cornell University economist CHRIS BARRETT and OxFam America policy director GAWAIN KRIPKE discuss what is causing this food crisis and what can be done to stop it. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 Hour 2 In her new book Relentless Pursuit: A Year […]
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: Westminster Ave.
[Photos by JUSTIN ROMAN] TEXT BY JEFF DEENEY The twisting network of back streets between the 5000 blocks of Westminster and Haverford Avenues in West Philly includes Hoopes, Ogden, Parrish, Funston, Reno and Farston; here you’ll find some of the city’s bleakest sights. Abandoned houses that are practically falling down and have been converted to drug establishments line each of these streets. At the heart of the neighborhood is dreary, mostly concrete park with decaying and graffiti-covered basketball courts called, “The Pit.” This is not a place to come joy riding: Last year there were three homicides, eight shootings and […]