ALL THINGS CONSIDERED Imagine if millions of people had seen you naked before you were old enough to say “embarrassing.” That’s the story of Spencer Elden, whom you may know as the little baby floating towards a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album, Nevermind. Nearly 17 years later, amid hating school and playing water polo, Elden is still struggling to make sense of his (very) public image. “Quite a few people in the world have seen my penis,” he says from his home in Los Angeles. “So that’s kinda cool. I’m just a normal kid living it […]
ALPHA OBAMA: Ich Bin Ein Berliner!
AFP: BERLIN — Barack Obama Thursday told a staggering crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin that Americans and Europeans must tear down walls between estranged allies, races and faiths, in a soaring challenge to a new political generation. EXCERPT: People of Berlin – people of the world – this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived […]
GUNCRAZY: Hello, My Name Is Killadelphia
Starting today, Jeff Deeney has a two-parter in the Metro about the alarming number of Philly MySpace pages — set to PUBLIC, mind you — with young men pointing guns at the camera. Some look scary, some look scared. Let the record show that we have pointed this out on numerous occasions. Metro policy forbids the paper from running photos of people pointing guns at the reader. We have no such policy. We believe it’s what you don’t know that can hurt you. UPDATE: Part 2
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The team behind Step Brothers has an enviable life. Director Adam McKay and actors Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly get to hang out together, make jokes and get paid for it. The three first worked together on the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and they enjoyed collaborating on the film so much that they thought another film was in order. Leaving behind the world of car-racing, Step Brothers centers around two grown men who never managed to leave their respective parents’ houses. Drama ensues when their single parents marry and the two adults become […]
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Is That A Stolen Manhole Cover In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Glad To See Me?
NEW YORK TIMES: PHILADELPHIA — Francis McConnell is a field supervisor for the Philadelphia Water Department, but lately he is acting more like an undercover police officer. Several hours a day, five days a week, he stakes out junkyards. Pretending to read a newspaper, Mr. McConnell sits near the entrances and writes down descriptions of passing pickup trucks and shirtless men pushing shopping carts. His mission is to figure out who is stealing the city’s manhole covers and its storm drain and street grates, increasingly valuable commodities on the scrap market. More than 2,500 covers and grates have disappeared in […]
ACCIDENTAL TOURISM: Bring Us Your Fannypacked, Your White-Socked And Your Birkenstocked
USA TODAY: Tourism officials say Philadelphia was visited by more than 550,000 international visitors in 2007. That’s a 27% increase from the year before — and an all-time record for the city. A report released Tuesday by the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau attributes the rise in part to the declining dollar, which makes the U.S. a bargain for European travelers. The nonprofit corporation says the momentum is continuing this year. There are efforts to attract more international visitors and to encourage local companies to hold conventions close to home. MORE KILLADELPHIA: Two More Dead Since You Went To Bed […]
DEVENDRA BANHART: Carmensita
A kicky slice of Tropicalia + a lo-fi Bollywood burlesque featuring Devendra’s new gal pal, Natalie Portman, and an octopus! * Queer as Folk How Philadelphia got its freak on. by Jonathan Valania It all started, for me anyway, at Brooke Sietinsons‘ walk-up loft/hobbit hole on Second Street, somewhere in that OK Corral-esque strip between the Standard Tap and the 700 Club. Even though she no longer lives there, the exact location will have to remain a secret because, technically speaking, L&I could still fine her for dispensing the Morning Glory seeds of Philly freak-folkdom without a permit. But the […]
BREAKING: Dylan To Go Play Electric Factory Aug. 8th
Tickets on sale RIGHT NOW! WORTH REPEATING: Bob Dylan Love and Theft There are three absolute certainties in this world: death, taxes and the fact that on any given night of the year, Bob Dylan is playing somewhere on Earth. Nobody is quite sure when this never-ending tour started, but for as long as anyone can remember it’s been going on like death and taxes. And while endless roadwork usually brings younger musicians to their knees–leaving bands shipwrecked on a deserted island of rehab and recrimination–it seems to have rejuvenated the 60-year-old Dylan, shaking him out of his ’80s stupor […]
ALPHA OBAMA: No Sleep ‘Til Jerusalem!
ASSOCIATED PRESS: AMMAN, Jordan — Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to work for a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations “starting from the minute I’m sworn into office.” In a news conference here before departing for Israel, he said any U.S. involvement in peace talks must recognize not only Israel’s security concerns but also the economic hardships facing Palestinians. He said he would continue to regard Israel as a valued ally. “That policy is not going to change,” he said. “What I think can change is the ability of the United States government and a United States president […]
HEAR YE: Stereolab Chemical Chords
Now playing on Phawker Radio! Details after the jump.
DARK KNIGHT OF THE SOUL: Batman Star Christian Bale Arrested For Assaulting His Mother And Sister
TIMES OF LONDON: Christian Bale, the actor who plays Batman, was arrested today for allegedly assaulting his own mother and sister before last night’s premiere of The Dark Knight. The Welsh-born actor was in custody at a central London police station today being questioned over the incident which is thought to have taken place in his Dorchester Hotel suite on Sunday night. MORE THE GUARDIAN: The actor Christian Bale, 34, was arrested on Sunday night after his mother and sister reported him to police for an alleged assault. His mother Jenny, 61, and sister Sharon, 40, are said to have […]