A four-alarm fire destroyed a well-known city nightclub yesterday morning, filling several blocks of Old City with thick black smoke and shutting down traffic in parts of the busy neighborhood for much of the day. At least one wall collapsed at the Five Spot – a complex of four buildings on narrow Bank Street just south of Market Street – and emergency workers were preparing last night to demolish another that looked unstable. Firefighters needed two hours to control the blaze after it was reported at 9:31 a.m., but they were still dousing the smoky ruins well into the afternoon. […]
“Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” — RICHARD NIXON
PREVIOUSLY: A Once Mighty Nation Afraid Of Lite Brite
OBAMA TO MEDIA: STOP HURTING AMERICA
Illinois Senator Barack Obama made a plea for a positive campaign, insisting that the “reality tv show” mentality fed by the 24-hour news cycle is “not why we are here.” Describing America as being in a “sobering place” Obama said this is “not a contest; it is a serious moment for America. The American people understand that. Every candidate will have something serious and valuable to offer. Campaigns should not be about making each other look bad but about how we can offer something good for this precious country of ours. Our rivals won’t be each other or the other […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS Cultural historian Christopher Frayling is the author of Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone, a large-format, beautifully illustrated book that chronicles the history of the spaghetti western. Frayling tells the story of the movie genre and the iconic director through researched text and interviews with Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Eli Wallach. Frayling is rector at London’s Royal College of Art and a professor of cultural history. He is also chair of the Arts Council of England. He’s known for his broadcast work on the BBC and has written more […]
GAMBLOR: Trump Super Pissed To Learn He Has No Real World Authority To Tell Rendell ‘You’re Fired!’
Donald Trump lost his bid to run a slots casino in Philadelphia because he flunked the first lesson of real estate – location. Trump picked the wrong one. He had wanted to build his $350 million TrumpStreet Casino complex in a struggling industrial neighborhood on the edge of North Philadelphia. But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board concluded that was the wrong place for a casino, and said yesterday that was largely why it rejected Trump’s proposal in favor of two riverfront parcels. […] Trump was unhappy. “That was the governor’s decision, and he has to live with it,” Trump said […]
CARTOON: Turtle Novelists Write TERRIBLE Dialogue!
That’s Why Schoolchildren Are No Longer Forced To Read Their Dreadful Novels. [Courtesy of Married To The Sea]
GUNCRAZY: Sometimes Strangers Know You Better Than You Do
In Philadelphia, homicides rose 7 percent to a nine-year high of 406 last year, giving it the highest murder rate per 100,000 people among America’s 10 biggest cities, according to a survey of police departments by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, which keeps a running tally. Philadelphia, with a population of about 1.5 million, also has the highest poverty rate — 25 percent — among those cities. The deadly cocktail of poverty and violence mirrors that of some other major U.S. cities such as Houston and San Antonio, where poverty rates are similar and homicides registered double-digit increases last year. New […]
RIP: Molly Ivins, Concerned American, Legendary Texas Political Racontuer, Thorn In The Decider’s Side
Molly Ivins died Wednesday at age 62 after a long battle with breast cancer. This is her final column, entitled “Stand Up Against The Surge“: The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.It is […]
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AT COACH’S HOUSE?
The eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid [not pictured] admitted using heroin on the same day he was involved in a traffic accident in Plymouth Township, according to court documents released today. Garret Reid [not pictured] “waived his right to remain silent and provided two written statements,” according to a search warrant affidavit. “Reid acknowledged using heroin, a schedule I controlled substance, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007. “Reid also acknowledged possessing drug paraphernalia including hypodermic syringes.” The affidavit enabled police to obtain search warrants that led to the discovery of two handguns, ammunition, white powder and other items in […]
GAMBLOR: And Now A Word From RALPH NADER
[Hat tip to DigPhilly]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
Today we are handing out nothing but lollipops and sunshine, because EVERYBODY wins this week! To wit, simultaneously strong cover art and, rarer still, strong-ass cover stories from both CP and PW this week. And in a curious coincidence, both tackle the drug issue from intriguing angles. CP’s Jeff Deeney reminds us that a fool and his coke whore are soon parted, especially when you rack up $16,000 on your credit card. (Here’s an idea: how about you find a girlfriend and buy a case of Red Bull instead, hmmm?) Yeah, the story states the obvious, but readers LOVE following […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Wash Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant!
BY ELIZABETH FIEND You already know that you’re supposed to wash your hands after going to the toilet and before food preparation and eating. But did you know it’s recommended to wash up after eating as well? Or that the best place to sneeze is into your elbow? And that you shouldn’t use the hand blower in the public rest room, it might actually be blowing germs onto your just-washed hands? It’s so important to wash hands because the flu, diarrhea and colds are transmitted either in the air or on surfaces you touch. Germs, bacteria, and viruses can live […]