BY ADAM BONANNI The annual E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo), lasting from June 1st to the 4th in Los Angeles, blew by us way too fast yet again. In what has been hailed as a return to form for the gaming industry’s largest trade show, this year’s E3 allowed much of the flash and pizazz missing since 2006 when the suits decided that the elaborate showmanship on the expo floor cramped the “business” aspect of the show. Part of the joys of gaming is that people have fun making, playing, and reporting on them, so it only makes sense to have […]
Sometimes Good Things DO Happen To Good People
As you may have heard, Woodshop Films/Scrapple TV founder Marc Brodzik, our partner in New Media crime, has been awarded a Pew Grant for media art. We could not be more proud or horny. For those unfamiliar with the Big Man, here’s his Pew bio: Marc Brodzik, media arts Born 1967 Marc Brodzik is a documentary filmmaker interested in filming portraits of the common man. In a recent documentary he focuses on small family owned coal mines and the struggles they face to stay in business in today’s market dominated by large corporations. His work has been screened at the […]
SEPTA GIRL: Out Of The Mouths Of Babes
BY PHILLYGRRL So, I’m waiting for the Broad Street subway at City Hall. It’s game day. Phillies vs. the Nationals. The station has only a few Phillies fans left. It’s already a half hour past the first inning and the usual sports crowd has long gone. Suddenly, the quiet is broken by a tiny voice. A little boy, maybe three or four, wearing a Phillies cap and jersey, is tugging on his father’s hand. He points to the subway tracks. “It’s scary in there, Papa,” he says, in a trembling voice. Only the boy’s s’s come out as th’s, so […]
TONITE: Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah
PORTRAITS IN MUSIC Photographs by Michael T. Regan at the PRIMER Microstudio Opening First Friday, June 5th Doors open at 6:00pm Michael T. Regan is a sucker for heart and soul. At a young age, he discovered that music moved him and, in the next heartbeat, fell in love with the idea of capturing its’ essence on film. With skills honed at NYU’s Tisch School of Art and through hard work, humility and passion, Mike has been fortunate to carve out a successful commercial career shooting portraits for newspapers, magazines, labels and agencies such as URB, XLR8R, Scratch and […]
CINEMA: Chaka No Like
LAND OF THE LOST (2009, directed by Brad Siberling, 93 minutes, USA) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC No matter how crappy the new Land of the Lost film might be, it would be hard to say it is less competent than the original seventies kid’s show. Sure, you might be fond of the cute ape boy Cha–Ka, you might have loved the bug-eyed reptilian Sleestaks, but can you remember a single plot line from the original forty-three episodes? I couldn’t, and going back to that Sid & Marty Kroft Saturday favorite recently I was surprised to see just how cheesy […]
TONITE: Let’s Dance
KOSOKO PERFORMANCE GROUP INVITES YOU TO THE PREMIERE OF VIRUS on FRI. JUNE 5 at 7pm and SAT. JUNE 6 at 9pm, DRAKE THEATER Bring a friend! THIS DANCE PERFORMANCE WILL BE PRESENTED as a part of nEW FESTIVAL 2009 visit www.newfestival.net for more information.
THAI POLICE: David Carradine’s Death May Have Been Caused By Auto Erotic Asphyxiation Gone Awry
FOX: American actor David Carradine may have died attempting a sex act known as auto-erotic asphyxiation, a Thai forensic scientist said Friday. The 72-year-old actor’s body was discovered Thursday in his luxury suite at Bangkok’s Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel. Police Lt. Gen. Worapong Chewprecha told reporters that Carradine was found with a rope “tied around his penis and another rope around his neck…The two ropes were tied together,” he said. “It is unclear whether he committed suicide or not or he died of suffocation or heart failure due to an orgasm.” MORE WIKIPEDIA: Erotic asphyxiation refers to intentionally cutting […]
NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS: Mendte Sues Inky & DN
DAILY NEWS: Former CBS 3 anchor Larry Mendte filed a lawsuit late yesterday against two Inquirer reporters and a former Daily News columnist, claiming charges of defamation and false light, according to court documents. […] Named in Mendte’s suit are Inquirer gossip columnist Michael Klein, Inquirer entertainment critic Jonathan Storm and former Daily News columnist Jill Porter, as well as the newspaper’s owner, Philadelphia Media Holdings. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court because the company filed for bankruptcy protection in February. It says that because of the defendants’ stories, Mendte “suffered harm to his professional and personal reputation.” […]
NJ State Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
UPDATE: New Jersey moved closer to allowing chronically ill patients to smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms of pain and nausea. The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved the medical marijuana bill by an 8-1 vote with two abstentions Thursday. New Jersey would become the 14th state with such a law if it passes the Legislature and Gov. Jon Corzine signs it. Corzine has said he would. MORE THE EXAMINER: Just when we thought that New Jersey would be the fourteenth state to ratify laws lifting the ban on medical marijuana, a new obstacle has appeared to slow it down. […]
POTUS IN CAIRO: A New Beginning?
Complete transcript after the jump…
EARLY WORD: Roots Picnic Schedule
[Click poster to purchase tix] Awwww YEAH! God bless the motherfucking Roots and all who sail with her. We’re gonna be covering it for Rolling Stone, so try and stay classy, Philadelphia. Please. And to make sure you pace yourselves and don’t wind up that person they always carry out before it even begins, all drunk-up and heat-stroked and shit, we’re posting the schedule after the jump…
BILL KILLED: David Carradine Dead At 72
BBC: Kill Bill and Kung Fu star David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday. Thai police told the BBC the 72-year-old was found naked by a hotel maid in a wardrobe with a cord around his neck and other parts of his body. The US star was in Thailand filming his latest film, Stretch, according to his personal manager Chuck Binder. Thai newspaper The Nation reported that police believe the actor took his own life, and preliminary investigations found that he hanged himself. Carradine was part of an acting dynasty which included his father, […]
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]