PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY: When Pete Marshall, lead singer/guitarist for the Broken Prayers, intones “I got a little black heart and it’s full of hate” on the first track of 2008’s reverb-laden, lap steel-heavy, banjo-pickin’, very excellent Crow, it’s mostly sorrow and hurt you hear in his voice. Real sorrow. Visions of Dust Bowl-era depression dance through your head. Dogs howl. This is The Grapes of Wrath on tape—Son House’s “Death Letter” levels of pain. But Crow isn’t a complete downer. At times, it’s a full-on rockin’ stomp, a drunkin’ good time. Marshall’s plaintive yawp is just one of a hundred different […]
DOCTOR STRANGELOVE: Evidence From Official Inquiry Into The Mysterious Death Of British Scientist/Iraq War Whistleblower Sealed For 70 Years
[Artwork by STEVE BELL] LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Evidence relating to the death of Government weapons inspector David Kelly is to be kept secret for 70 years, it has been reported. A highly unusual ruling by Lord Hutton, who chaired the inquiry into Dr Kelly’s death, means medical records including the post-mortem report will remain classified until after all those with a direct interest in the case are dead, the Mail on Sunday reported. And a 30-year secrecy order has been placed on written records provided to Lord Hutton’s inquiry which were not produced in evidence. Dr Kelly’s body was found […]
DEEP THOUGHTS: If I Could Turn Back Time
[via the Internet]
LAW AND DISORDER: The Backroom Deal Rise & Tragic Tabloid Fall Of Judge Leslie Fleisher
INQUIRER: Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Leslie Fleisher [not pictured, above] will step down March 15 from the judgeship she has held since 2001, Fleisher’s attorney confirmed today. Talk of Fleisher’s resignation has been widespread around the city’s Criminal Justice Center for several months after lawyer complaints about her courtroom management and judicial temperament. Fleisher has declined comment on her troubles with the legal community – including several lawyer complaints to the state Judicial Conduct Board – described in The Inquirer on Dec. 22. MORE PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE: Defense lawyer Michael Coard recently had a legal dustup with Judge Leslie Fleisher […]
MUST SEE TV: Raising US Airways Flight 1549
…From its watery grave in the Hudson.
SIDEWALKING: All Good Piggies Go To Heaven
Chinatown, 9th & Race by JEFF FUSCO
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR If high-school government class taught us anything, it was that getting bills passed through Congress was a game of numbers: The bills with the most votes win. Turns out it’s not that simple. These days, the polarized state of American politics means that major bills need at least 60 votes to avoid an inevitable filibuster by the opposition. Political scientist Gregory Koger‘s new book Filibustering: A Political History of Obstruction in the House and Senate addresses the institutionalization of the filibuster — and describes congressional loopholes by way of which fast thinking and hard work can beat the […]
BREAKING: Justice Department Approves Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger
BILLBOARD: The Department of Justice will announce today that it will approve the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger after a nearly a year of investigation and due diligence. REUTERS: Ticketmaster sells more than 140 million tickets a year and also owns Front Line Management, the leading artist management firm founded by Ticketmaster Chief Executive Officer Irving Azoff. Its roster of 200-plus artists includes The Eagles and Miley Cyrus. Live Nation owns major venues like the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and the House of Blues chain, and has long-term contracts with top artists like Madonna, U2, Jay-Z and Nickelback. Although a relatively […]
SPORTO: Saints Go Marching In
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY So, Colts and Saints in the Super Bowl. That should be pretty good. Lots of points and a decent chance of being close. Two awesome quarterbacks. No BrettFavre. I’m ready. A look back at how it happened yesterday… Jets-Colts: 2010 was the year when I finally figured out to stop picking against Peyton Manning (took me long enough, I know). The guy knows what to do and how to do it. Take away his best receiver (Reggie Wayne) and he makes Pierre Garcon look like Marvin Harrison. The Jets had him on the run […]
TEMPEST IN A TEA PARTY: That Michelle Bachmann Is No Lady — She’s Joe McCarthy In A Dress!
[Artwork by KEN AVIDOR] INQUIRER: Criticized for scolding Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) on a Philadelphia talk show to “act like a lady,” Sen. Arlen Specter had little to say yesterday about the incident, commenting only that he looked forward to “more frank, but less testy,” discussions on issues. Pundits and challengers, however, are taking swings. New York Times columnist Gail Collins wrote Friday that Specter had “lost it completely.” A top Republican demanded an apology. Specter’s remarks came during a special broadcast from Washington of the Giordano show to mark the first year of President Obama’s term. Specter, the […]
REVIEW: Brat Production’s The Bald Soprano
BY AARON STELLA This weekend, six actors from Brat Productions performed looped interpretations of Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano for 24 hours without breaks. Curtains opened 8pm last Friday and closed 8pm the following Saturday in the Annenberg Center for Performing Arts and Sciences. Coffee was served through each roaring hour, but some patrons guzzled PBRs in the interim. It was apparent that the more rowdy pockets of audience had been camping out in the theater for most the day, if not the since the night before. I stayed for three performances; I could have stayed for more. […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Case For Paul Krugman As The Next Chairman Of The Federal Reserve Bank
BASELINE: The case for Ben Bernanke’s reappointment was weak to start with, weakened with his hearings, and is now held together by string and some phone calls from the White House. Bernanke is an airline pilot who pulled off a miraculous landing, but didn’t do his preflight checks and doesn’t show any sign of being more careful in the future – thank him if you want, but why would you fly with him again (or the airline that keeps him on)? The support for Bernanke in the Senate hangs by a thread – with Harry Reid providing a message of support, albeit […]