The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (Bantam, 1968, reprinted 1999) BY MAVIS LINNEMANN BOOK CRITIC “You’re either on the bus, or off the bus,” Ken Kesey chants. On the bus. Off the bus. With the Merry Pranksters. Or with the squares. On the bus. Off the bus. This phrase — a meaty reality bite all by itself, repeated like a mantra throughout the book — marks the metaphysical divide that is at the center of Tom Wolfe’s raw account of the psychedelic counterculture in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, the legendary New Journalism chronicle of Ken Kesey (author of “One […]
THE EARLY WORD: Sam I Am
WHO: Kindergarten through Grade 4 students from Thomas M. Peirce School WHAT: Will enjoy a reading of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham by National Constitution Center staff, as part of Read Across Philadelphia Day, which is in line with the nationwide event, Read Across America Day, celebrates the birthday and legacy of Theodore Guisel, better know as Dr. Seuss. March 2, 2007 will mark the author’s 103rd birthday. WHEN: Thursday, March 1, 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. WHERE: Thomas M. Peirce School 2300 W. Cambria Street Philadelphia, PA 19132
INTERVIEW: How Devil Girl Became Mrs. Natural
BY JONATHAN VALANIA Almost everyone knows R. Crumb‘s work whether they realize it or not. Keep On Truckin‘? You’re soaking in it. Cheap Thrills? You betcha. Big butts? He invented them. Devil doll glamazons offering piggyback rides to nebbishy four-eyed horn dogs? Sweet Jesus! Giddyup! (If none of this rings a bell, you would do well by renting Terry Zwigoff’s 1994 documentary, Crumb.) Aline Kominsky-Crumb, his wife of 35 years, is not quite the household word her husband is, but that may well change, depending on how hip the household. Aline has been cartooning as long as her husband has, […]
BOOK REVIEW: Blonde On Blonde
The Blonde by Duane Swierczynski (St. Martin’s Minotaur. $23.95) BY MAVIS LINNEMANN From the opening line of Duane Swierczynski’s crime novel, The Blonde, you know you’re in for a wild ride. “I poisoned your drink,” says the titular blonde to Jack Eisley, a print journalist in Philadelphia to sign his divorce papers. Kelly White — The Blonde in question — has been infected with a deadly new technology, nanomachines, which have been designed to make privacy virtually obsolete. If there isn’t someone within 10 feet of Kelly at all times, she will die. Even more unnerving is that these nanomachines […]
COMING ATTRACTION: Mr. & Mrs. au Naturale
On Friday, look for Phawker’s exclusive interview with the R. Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb: Big butts, bigger boots, LSD, weird sex, piggyback rides, meeting the Beatles, leaving America, and growing up in Philadelphia…newly hired PHAWKER BOOK CRITIC Mavis Linneman‘s review of City Paper Editor Duane Swierczynski‘s The Blonde…FILM CRITIC DAN BUSKIRK‘s review of the hilarious hipster comedy of manners that is Mutual Appreciation. Plus, the new ARCADE FIRE on PHAWKER RADIO, NPR FOR THE DEAF, PhillyHistory Write-A-Caption contest, and, invariably, some wry riposte on the latest and seemingly regularly-scheduled snuffing of a human life by a gun. Damn.
SIDEWALKING: Laugh Clown! Laugh! [tickle, tickle]
MR. NATURAL: R. Crumb, New York Public Library, Valentine’s Day [FLICKR] Please standby for Phawker’s exclusive interview with the Robert and Aline Kominsky-Crumb: Big butts, LSD, weird sex, meeting the Beatles, leaving America, and growing up in Philadelphia… [PHOTO BY JONATHAN VALANIA]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was elected to Congress at the age of 29 and served in the House of Representatives for eight years. He just began his second term as a Senator. He is a member of the Senate Democratic Leadership team, and sits on the Senate Finance Committee; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and the Judiciary Committee. His new book is Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family At a Time. ALSO Before being elected into the U.S. Senate in 1994 Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) served in the U.S. […]
LOCAL GIRL MAKES GOOD: Former Fixture Of Area Poetry Slams Voted Into Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame
BY AMY Z. QUINN She’s hardly the most famous performer to ever come out of Jersey — The Boss and The Chairman Of The Board still hold those titles — but without a doubt, Patti Smith, the High Poetess of Punk, remains the greatest communicator of the kind of nameless electric angst that drives Kids In Search Of Something to head north on the Jersey Turnpike and never look back. When Patti beat it out of Gloucester County, fleeing a factory job and a year short of her degree at then-Glassboro State Teacher’s College, she was armed with a book […]
It Was 50 Years Ago Today, Allen Ginsberg Taught The Sheep To Stray, He’s Been Going In And Out Of Style But He’s Guaranteed To Raise A SMILE
THE BEAT PAGE: Howl CITY LIGHTS: 50 Years Ago They Wanted To Send Bookstore Owners To Jail On Obscenity Charges For Selling A Book We Now Celebrate On Public Radio, It’s Called Progress RADIO TIMES: We celebrate the 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl.” We talk with ANNE WALDMAN, a friend and colleague of Allen Ginsberg and JASON SHINDER editor of “The Poem That Changed America: ‘Howl’ Fifty Years Later.”
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane Wednesday, November 22nd Hour 1 Aside from Thomas Eakins’ painting “The Gross Clinic” at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, what other important works are in hospitals, schools, and non-museum institutions in Philadelphia? We talk with MICHAEL LEJA, Professor of American Art at the University of Pennsylvania and PENNY BALKIN BACH, Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Art Association. Hour 2 Being on your best behavior during the holidays. We talk manners with Johns Hopkins professor PM FORNI, author of “Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct.” Then, New York Times ethicist RANDY COHEN helps us […]
AS IT WAS WRITTEN: The Dems Won’t Win Until Hell Freezes Over Or Pynchon Publishes Again
PYNCHON’S INVISIBILITY By Theresa Duncan. “My silence was the silence of ten men.” –David Berman I don’t really think about Pynchon’s invisibility, because somewhere in the back of my mind I know that like the Cottingsley Fairies he hides from THEM but reveals himself to US. So he’s always there, you know, the game of fort/da forever over, because you can’t lose what you never had. Pynchon’s invisibility is so much more vivid, isn’t it? Than seeing some warmed-over wonder read at the 92nd Street Y and you have to go “that’s his voice?” matching it with the better one […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
Fresh Air from WHYY Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006 Books: John Edwards and the Virtues of Home Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards has edited a book, Home, in which both public figures and lesser-known professionals reflect on the places where they grew up. The former senator currently lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and campaigned for Democrats in advance of last week’s midterm elections. He talks about the Kerry-Edwards campaign and his thoughts on his own possible presidential bid in 2008. WHYY: Why Ask Y
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
Fresh Air from WHYY to Tuesday’s show — Nov. 14, 2006 Books: Author Sees No Evidence Prayer Can Heal In his new book, Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, Richard Sloan examines the claim that prayer and religion can heal the sick. Using the scientific method, he shows that there is no compelling evidence that religion can actually cure medical ailments. Interviews: Stemming Violence in Iraq Michael Gordon, chief military correspondent for The New York Times, was recently in Iraq. He discusses efforts to stem the violence in Baghdad, and the prospects for change in American policy. […]