Haliburton Convoy Ambushed In Iraq FRESH AIR ON WHYY Army Lieutenant Ehren Watada is the first American officer to refuse to deploy to Iraq on the grounds that he thinks the war is illegal. He is joined by one of his lawyers, Eric Seitz, a civillian. Watada is now being court-martialed for his refusal, and for statements he made opposing the war and the Bush administration’s leadership.
HOLLA: Note To Self, Make Chuck D. A Man
BY JAMES DOOLITTLE It takes about all of five minutes for the uneasiness to begin while watching Byron Hurt’s “Beyond Beats and Rhymes: A Hip-Hop Head Weighs in on Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture.” It’s a sense of imminent dread that has nothing to do with the focus of the film, but rather the perceived vanity of its director. With a front-ended bio that firmly establishes Hurt as the former quarterback of the Northeastern University football team — that’s right, THE Northeastern University football team — chopped together with plenty of runwayesque shots of our strapping narrator/director/star, there’s a strong sense […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
[googlevideo]5301095338254002492&q=pan%27s+labyrinth[/googlevideo] Pan’s Labrynth director GUILLERMO DEL TORO is Terry’s guest on Fresh Air today. On RADIO TIMES: The new film BREACH is inspired by the story of Eric O’Neill who was hired by the FBI to work undercover in the Robert Hanssen spy case. Hanssen was subsequently convicted of selling secrets to the Russians. O’NEILL is in the studio with Marty along with the movie’s director and screenwriter BILLY RAY.
START THE PRESSES: In New Era Of Philly Newspapering, Less Is More, More Or Less
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Inquirer plans to unveil a news “express” section in early February to attract busy readers, one of several strategies to boost readership that also include a sponsored TV guide and new Web sites for local car and real estate listings. “We have a plan to turn this business around,” Brian Tierney, publisher of the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t want to say it’s going to be easy, and certainly we’re not going to solve the problems of the media industry … but we’re going to […]
FUNNY: An Honest Car Dealership Ad, For A Change
WARNING: Strong language and adult situations.
HOT DOCUMENT: Liz Spikol Gets A Job!
—–Original Message—– From: Tim Whitaker [REDACTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:59 AM To: REDACTED Subject: Liz Spikol Most of you know this news by now, but in case you didn’t get the official word, it’s true: Liz will be leaving PW as our full-time senior editor. Her last day is this Friday. Obviously, we’re all in denial. The good news is that Liz will continue to do her “Trouble” column, her blog and the “Liz Spikol’s Philadelphia” twice-monthly video with Jess Fuerst. Liz is leaving to become communications manager for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, a nonprofit social justice organization […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR On WHYY MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL plays a drug-addicted ex-con in Sherrybaby, which will be released on DVD this month. Her other films include Secretary, World Trade Center, and Stranger than Fiction. PLUS, Journalist MARK HARRIS is a former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. His new book is Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial. RADIO TIMES Should spanking be illegal? California is proposing to become the first state to ban spanking of children four and younger. We’ll talk with SALLY LIEBER, the California State Assemblywoman who will introduce […]
WHEN DOES THIS GET FUNNY?
We here at Phawker are no strangers to comedic misfires when trying to hit the bullseye of funny: jokes that won’t start in the morning, jokes that go off prematurely, jokes that can’t get it up, jokes that stall on the railroad tracks. Which is, in part, why we would like to introduce to you a new and recurring feature called WHEN DOES THIS GET FUNNY? Think of it as a penalty box for bad jokers, a time-out for the foul ball hitters of the funny bone, a rolled up newspaper across the snout of good intentions and botched execution. […]
ST. JOHN THE ESCALATOR
NEW YORK TIMES: 27 Americans Killed In Iraq Over The Weekend NEW YORK TIMES: Faces Of Death
SORE LOSER: CITY PAPER Protests Judge’s Call In This Week’s COVER WARS, Cites PW’s Blatant ‘Visual Plagiarism’ — Is That Even A Thing?
You be the judge. UPDATE: Turns out there is such a thing as ‘visual plagiarism’ — in Richmond, Virginia. And ONLY in Richmond, Virginia, it would seem (read this, this is an assinine firing by piss-poor managment, it’s an INTERN for Chrissakes, you fire them for blowing the President not for hitting a foul ball on the job). Frankly, we’re more interested in talking about why these kids’ legs are blown off instead of who wins the race to get a photogenic Iraq vet double amputee on the cover. Don’t hate the messenger, hate the message.
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
OK, gloves off. CP’s Rennie Harris puppeteer cover is straight out of the Big Book Of Alt-Weekly Arts Cover Cliches, though the bordello-red tones ARE gorgeous. That’s compared only to itself, when you put it next to PW’s double amputee Iraq vet shocker, CP looks like the wop who brought a knife to a gun fight with Sean Connery in The Untouchables. It’s a hard slog for city-based alt-weekly to telescope their mandate into national stories like the abattoir Iraq, but returning local vets are the most obvious entree into the war beat and PW’s Cassidy Hartmann has found a […]