FRESH AIR Journalist Fred Kaplan offers a scathing critique of the Bush administration’s foreign policy initiatives in his new book, Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power. Here is an excerpt: Nearly all of America’s blunders in war and peace these past few years stem from a single grand misconception: that the world changed after September 11, when in fact it didn’t. Certainly things about the world changed, not least Americans’ sudden awareness that they were vulnerable. But the way the world works—the nature of power, warfare, and politics among nations—remained essentially the same. A real change, […]
THE EARLY WORD: The Elephant And The Dove
Hayden Herrera Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Sacred Monsters Wednesday, February 13, 8:00 p.m., Series B The Free Library $14 General Admission, $7 Students Renowned art historian Hayden Herrera’s influential 1983 biography, Frida, helped establish the Mexican artist’s reputation in America and was used as source material for the acclaimed 2002 film of the same name. Herrera’s presentation at the Free Library will occur in conjunction with the arrival of a new Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Herrera curated. Her talk and slideshow will focus on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s relationship as revealed. MORE […]
TONIGHT: Freedom of Speech Is Not Free
The National Constitution Center, in partnership with the Freedom to Read Foundation, welcomes two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis, one of the country’s most esteemed experts on the First Amendment and the author of the classic, Gideon’s Trumpet, to share his latest work, Freedom for the Thought That We Hate, on the importance of freedom of expression. Lewis’s new book tells the story of how the right of free expression evolved along with our nation and makes a compelling case for the adaptability of our Constitution. Lewis will discuss how our First Amendment rights were created and reveal a story […]
TONITE: Meet The Real Mr. Burns
WIKIPEDIA: Charles Burns (born September 27, 1955 in Washington, D.C.) is an award-winning U.S. cartoonist and illustrator. He is renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, painter Susan Moore, and their two young daughters. His father was an oceanographer for the government. They moved around a lot, including Boulder, Colorado, Maryland and Missouri before settling in Seattle when Burns was in grade five. Charles Burns’ earliest prominent works include illustrations for the Sub Pop fanzine and contributions to Art Spiegelman‘s comic magazine RAW. Most of his short stories, published in […]
EARLY WORD: Free Speech Ain’t Free
Philadelphia, PA (December 27, 2007) — The National Constitution Center, in partnership with the Freedom to Read Foundation, welcomes two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis, one of the country’s most esteemed experts on the First Amendment and the author of the classic, Gideon’s Trumpet, to share his latest work, Freedom for the Thought That We Hate, on the importance of freedom of expression. Lewis’s new book tells the story of how the right of free expression evolved along with our nation and makes a compelling case for the adaptability of our Constitution. Lewis will discuss how our First Amendment rights […]
THIS WILL BE ON THE TEST: Dave Eggers Is Comin’
The One Book, One Philadelphia Selection Committee has chosen Dave Eggers’ What Is the What to be the featured selection for this upcoming year. What Is the What tells the true story of Valentino Achak Deng, who as a child witnessed atrocities of civil warfare in Sudan and became one of the so-called Lost Boys. In order to enlighten readers and stimulate discussion dealing with both East African culture and history, as well as issues of violence in the world and within our own city, two thematically related companion books for families are also suggested: Brothers In Hope: The Story […]
Q&A: Armed America Photographer Kyle Cassidy
Dan and his Mossberg Model 88, Bushmaster AR-15, Rock Island Armory / Sendra M16, Remington 700 PSS, Springfield XD, FN Five-seveN, H&K USP, Sig Sauer P226, Colt Commander 1911, and Glock 22 by KYLE CASSIDY Kyle Cassidy has been a freelance writer and photographer since 1999. His photographs have been published in the New York Times, Barron’s Financial, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He writes frequently about technology and has been an outspoken voice in the area of practical modern photographic theory. Largely known for his fashion and portrait photography, he became interested in photographing gun owners during the 2004 Presidential […]
THE EARLY WORD: About A Girl
Closing Requiem Concert: Igni Natura Renovatur Integra The Artistic Legacy of Jennifer Bates On Saturday, December 1, 2007, six esteemed Philadelphia musicians will gather at Germ Books and Gallery to ritually close the current art show of our founder, the late Jennifer Bates. At approximately 3PM, David E. Williams — Germ’s owner and Bates’ widower — will open the performance on synthesizer with a plaintive melody from one of Jennifer’s own compositions. From there, the other musicians will join in an improvised performance of electronic drones, noises and other psychonautic sounds that evoke Jennifer’s spirit on the day before many […]
CHRISTOPHER WALKEN: Reads “The Raven”
By Edgar Allan Poe.
TECH: Did This Man Just Kill Print?
Books have been very good to Jeff Bezos. When he sought to make his mark in the nascent days of the Web, he chose to open an online store for books, a decision that led to billionaire status for him, dotcom glory for his company and countless hours wasted by authors checking their Amazon sales ratings. But as much as Bezos loves books professionally and personally — he’s a big reader, and his wife is a novelist — he also understands that the surge of technology will engulf all media. “Books are the last bastion of analog,” he says, in […]
WORTH REPEATING: It’s A Raymond Chandler Evening
“There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen.” — Raymond Chandler, ‘The Red Wind’ * LA TIMES: Porno For Pyros NEW YORK TIMES: One Million Evacuated + Half Million Acres Burned=Heckuva A Job HUFFINGTON POST: In a June report, the GAO report […]
NAOMI WOLF: First They Came For The ‘Terrorists’…
In Boulder, two days ago, a rosy-cheeked thirtysomething mother of two small children, in soft yoga velours, started to tear up when she said to me: `I want to take action but I am so scared. I look at my kids and I am scared. How do you deal with fear? Is it safer for them if I act or stay quiet? I don’t want to get on a list.’ In D.C., before that, a beefy, handsome civil servant, a government department head — probably a Republican — confides in a lowered voice that he is scared to sign the […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
WATERGATE TAPE: Nixon Describes Fred Thompson As A Useful Idiot Fred Thompson has made much of his role 30 years ago as a young Senate lawyer helping to lead the investigation of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon. But a much different, less valiant picture of Thompson emerges from listening to the White House audiotapes made at the time, as President Nixon plotted strategy with his aides in the Oval Office. Thompson’s job on the Watergate committee was to lead the Republican side of the investigation. As the investigation picked up speed, Nixon grew increasingly concerned about whether Thompson […]