INQUIRER: A Philadelphia police sergeant who said he was shot last month by an unidentified black man in the city’s Overbrook section actually fabricated the entire story and shot himself, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said this morning. Sgt. Robert Ralston, a 21-year veteran of the department, admitted to homicide detectives early this morning that his previously reported story was false. Ramsey called the incident, “a terrible and embarrassing chapter in our history.” MORE ASSOCIATED PRESS: A white Philadelphia police sergeant made up a story about being shot by a black man while on patrol last month and actually intentionally shot […]
ARTSY: Spring Time Can Kill You
[Click to enlarge] Mashtead Gallery presents the ‘twisted’ visions of springtime: Adam Smith, Steven Speir, Hilary White, Andy Schulz, Dan Judge, Dan Hughes, James Heimer, Tim Gough, JP Flexner, Greg Pizzoli, Elizabeth Janssen, Dan Knapp, Kevin Mercer, Justin Miller, Mike Wohlberg, Edward Kelley, Rob Leef, Linnea Vegh, Kirsten Harper, Shawn Hileman, Jim Altieri, Bryana Sortino.
WORTH REPEATING: Was Last Week’s Epic Stock Dive The Sound Of Wall Street Extorting Congress?
ALTER NET: Last week, the U.S. stock market suffered the greatest sudden drop in its history, for reasons that nobody on Wall Street can seem to decipher. But of all the explanations being examined—a tech glitch, Greek debt worries and fraud have all been discussed–the most troubling is not being given sufficient attention. Coming on the very day that Congress considered two key financial reforms, the timing of the “flash crash” raises concerns that Wall Street is resorting to extreme tactics in its efforts to intimidate politicians who want to rein in the capital markets casino. Thursday’s market plunge could […]
TECH: Google Android Beats Apple iPhone
FAST COMPANY: Android fans will be celebrating the news that Google‘s smartphone OS has passed Apple‘s iPhone in total US market share. But the reality is that the sales dominance of Android was inevitable. In the first quarter of 2010, Apple secured a 21% market share, Android surged to 28%, and RIM’s BlackBerry held strong at 36%. I don’t mean to ignore BlackBerry here, but they’ve been dominating sales for so long, and with so little change in their fundamental business, that they’re barely worth discussing from a sales perspective. It’d be like writing a post about how U2’s latest […]
PRO TIP: Why The Shit-Faced Should NOT Choose The Parking Lot Of Police Headquarters To Sleep It Off
DAILY NEWS: Clifford Branch, 31, was lying in the passenger’s seat of his 2004 Dodge minivan in the parking lot at 8th and Race streets about 2 a.m. Saturday, when he was approached by two officers who told him he had to leave, police said. Instead of complying, Branch allegedly threatened the cops and told them he had a gun. The officers called for backup, and a patrol car parked behind Branch’s vehicle, police said. Branch then threw his van into reverse and hit the cop car before putting the van into drive, jumping the sidewalk and intentionally striking Officer […]
THE EARLY WORD: Hello Kitten
Emceed by Kitten-in-Chief Anna Goldfarb, the pageant will feature dudes from different Philly neighborhoods competing against each other for the enviable title of Shmitten Kitten’s Mister America as well as a slew of awesome prizes. All major Philadelphia neighborhoods will be represented: Mr. South Philly, Mr. Fishtown, Mr. Northern Liberties, Mr. West Philly, Mr. Rittenhouse, Mr. Fairmount, and a wildcard slot for any outliers. The boys will have to prove themselves the best in the city based on their choice of first date attire, their most inspirational hidden talents, and their ability to wow everyone with their wit while answering […]
LATE BREAKING: Phanatic Cold-Cocked By Ump
The Phanatic was doing his Lady Gaga homage, aka Lady Pha Pha. Apparently the ump is not a fan.
RIP: Lena Horne Dead At 94
[Photo by JAZZ IN PHOTO] NEW YORK TIMES: Lena Horne, who was the first black performer to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio and who went on to achieve international fame as a singer, died on Sunday night at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She was 92 and lived in Manhattan. Ms. Horne might have become a major movie star, but she was born 50 years too early, and languished at MGM in the 1940s because of the color of her skin, although she was so light-skinned that, when she was a […]
BREAKING: Obama To Nominate Kagan For SCOTUS
NEW YORK TIMES: President Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the nation’s 112th justice, choosing his own chief advocate before the Supreme Court to join it in ruling on cases critical to his view of the country’s future, Democrats close to the White House said Sunday. After a monthlong search, Mr. Obama informed Ms. Kagan and his advisers on Sunday of his choice to succeed the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. He plans to announce the nomination at 10 a.m. Monday in the East Room of the White House with Ms. Kagan by his side, said the Democrats, […]
GENERATION X: At The Middle Of The Road
A.O. SCOTT: “Maybe not the glory of rushing a Nazi foxhole, or braving municipal billy bats to stop a war in Indochina,” he notes, trying to get a fix on what exactly he and his ilk achieved in their heroic youth, “but the privileged of our generation did what they could, like the rest of us.” We did what we could: the slogan of the underachiever, the excuse maker, the loser. What they did, at least on the evidence of Milo’s testimony, was smoke weed, argue about Theory, sleep with one another’s girlfriends and boyfriends and wonder what was going […]
MUST SEE TV: Bronte Sister Action Figures
You don’t have to be a chick or an English major to enjoy this, but it probably helps.
CINEMA: Heavy Meddle
IRON MAN 2 (2010, directed by Jon Favreau, 124 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC Much of the thrill that greeted the arrival of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man two years ago stemmed from the surprise that it wasn’t another Marvel disaster like Ghost Rider or Daredevil, two wannabe blockbusters that seemed to signal a creeping exhaustion in the unstoppable super hero genre. There’s nothing in Iron Man 2 to replace the surprise of Robert Downey’s smarmy charm finding a perfect fit in that gleaming red and gold suit, but if this sequel is distressingly short on imagination it still […]
TEA BAGGERY: When Patriotism Goes Hollyweird
PHAWKER: If Leni Riefenstahl directed a Tea Party candidate ad, it would look and sound a lot like this. FINANCIAL TIMES: Mr Burns, a 42-year-old self-made millionaire and Tea Party organiser, is harnessing the widespread public dissatisfaction with Congress even as he tries to join it. “I’m someone who has never been political but I’ve created a lot of jobs and know what it means to create a payroll,” he told the Financial Times after the gathering. His message is striking a chord with voters, and Democrats are facing the prospect of losing the May 18 special election to replace […]