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 […]
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 […]
SHILLING: Tim & Eric For Absolut Vodka
With Zack G., he’s the guy in the wig.
ABC: Obama Takes The Lead In The Superdelegate Race
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] ABC: For the first time this campaign season, Barack Obama has surpassed Hillary Clinton’s support among superdelegates, according to the ABC News delegate estimate. Sen. Obama, D-Ill., picked up two superdelegates this morning giving him a new metric to tout in addition to his current commanding leads in pledged delegates, popular votes, states won, and money raised. Rep. Donald Payne, D-N.J., switched his endorsement from Clinton to Obama and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., endorsed Obama. DeFazio was previously uncommitted. With these endorsements, Obama has the support of 267 superdelegates and Clinton has 265 superdelegates. Every news […]
HELTER SKELTER: Cops Dig Up Death Valley Ranch For More Bodies; Lohan Axed From Manson Flick
[“It’s Too Late To Fall In Love With Sharon Tate” By ALEX FINE] ASSOCIATED PRESS: INDEPENDENCE, Calif. — National Park Service officials say the Death Valley ranch where Charles Manson was arrested will be closed for a second time this year to search for possible human remains. A press release Thursday said that Barker Ranch will be closed for up to four days later this month. A team of forensic researchers found possible unmarked graves at the site in February that they believe could be the bodies of additional Manson victims. The park was briefly closed in April, but digging […]
MEOW MIX: Babs, Cindy & A Bag Of Dicks
If we’re taking sides in the Barbara Walters vs. Star Jones bitchfight, I’m with Starr, people.The backstory: In her tiresome new book, Barbara dishes on Starr’s weight-loss surgery, among other things. Inevitably asked for her comment, Jones put the smack down: “It is a sad day when an icon like Barbara Walters, in the sunset of her life, is reduced to publicly branding herself as an adulterer, humiliating an innocent family with accounts of her illicit affair and speaking negatively against me all for the sake of selling a book,” Jones told Us. “It speaks to her true character.”SNAP! Called […]
NEWS CLUES: Like A Swinging Nightstick Of Truth
Feds Clarify Status Of Johnny Doc Investigation; Deny Immunity From Prosecution Federal prosecutors said in a court filing yesterday that they are “pursuing an ongoing investigation” of electricians-union honcho John Dougherty, who they said is a “subject” of a criminal investigation. As a result, they said, a federal judge should not grant him immunity to testify in the upcoming trial of electrical contractor Donald “Gus” Dougherty Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gray said yesterday that granting John Dougherty immunity to testify in the case could jeopardize any future investigation and prosecution of the union leader. The feds claim that Gus […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded ground troops in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, has since been speaking out about the conduct of the Iraq war — especially about what he calls the Bush administration’s “catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan.” His views take book form in Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story, which also details his rise from an impoverished Texas childhood to become the Army’s highest-ranking Hispanic officer. When Sanchez relinquished command of group troops in Iraq to Gen. George Casey in 2004, investigations into torture at Abu Ghraib prison were being conducted. […]
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS: Nefarious Rocky Statue Plot Afoot; WIP Promises 24-7 Goon Squad Protection
[Photo by iirraa via FLICKR] CRAIGSLIST: Need to recruit someone who is a Pittsburgh native, living in Philly. I want you to put a Penguins jersey on the Rocky statue and take pictures. I am going to send it in to the Post-Gazette and other media outlets to show some pride. If you are interested please reply to this ad ASAP. INQUIRER: This morning on WIP (610 AM), host Angelo Cataldi was on the case, appealing for a thug lookalike — a big guy with “menacing facial hair” — to “guard” the statue from 8 a.m. through noon, when a […]
Obama’s Binge Drinking Strategy Surprisingly Effective
NEW YORK TIMES: Senator Barack Obama captured a decisive victory in the Democratic presidential primary in North Carolina on Tuesday. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s loss combined with a tight race in Indiana, where the counting was continuing deep into the night, did nothing to improve her chances of securing the Democratic presidential nomination. If anything, Mrs. Clinton’s options for overtaking Senator Barack Obama may have dwindled further. For Mr. Obama, the outcome came after a brutal period in which he was on the defensive over the inflammatory comments of his former pastor. That he was able, at a minimum, to […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Al Gore, who galvanized public opinion with his advocacy on global warming, sees danger in another poisoned environment, this one metaphorical: In his book The Assault on Reason [CLICK TO READ EXCERPT], just published in paperback, he argues that what used to be called civil discourse is threatened by a combination of public apathy and political cynicism. In our infotainment-mad culture, Gore writes, the public attention span is short, the media are easily distracted, and a politics driven by fear and uninterested in facts has undermined the essential functions of democracy. “When evidence that any reasonable person can […]
LISTEN LIKE THIEVES: NIN Gives Away New Album
NIN.COM: As a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com. The music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options – all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits. For those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in July. details coming […]
DUBIOUS ACHIEVEMENT: The Sincerest Flattery?
The header banner on the Inquirer’s new bidness blawg looks, um, familiar. Oh, and we meant to say something about this weeks ago: Blinq‘s new header is winktastic! And while we are cutting and pasting, we would like to FYI you to the fact in the last week there has been a curiously high level of interest in our primary debate coverage from the Russkie Internets. Smells like KGB. Well, good luck with that, Boris & Natasha.