PHILLY.COM: We Got Pictures UPDATE: D’oh!
PRESETS: Steamworks
So catchy, I almost danced. Almost. [Hat tip to EVA LIAO]
COMMON SENSE: Just Sayin’
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE: Five children between ages 7 and 16 were found shot dead, allegedly by their father, in their home southeast of Tacoma, Wash., authorities said Saturday night. The body of the children’s father was discovered Saturday morning in his car near a casino about 25 miles away. The man had apparently killed himself with a rifle, authorities said. The discovery prompted Pierce County sheriff’s deputies to check on the children at a mobile home park near Graham, Wash., said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the sheriff’s department. He identified the dead children as four girls and a boy. […]
CINEMA: Our Daily Film Fest Picks
JULIA (2008, directed by Erick Zonca, 140 minutes, France) In his first English language film, Frenchman Erick Zonca (The Dreamlife of Angels) follows another desperate character to the brink. Here, Tilda Swinton is Julia, a manic shit-storm whose life is spiraling out of control due to her alcoholism and unnamed demons that are spurring her towards self-destruction. She meets a mentally ill woman named Elena at AA and she convinces Julia to help her kidnap Elena’s son from his wealthy industrialist grandfather. If the joy of crime films is the vicarious thrill of watching people successfully flout the law, following […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Top Five Things You Should Know About Vivian Girls At Johnny Brendas Last Night
GIRLS KICK ASS: The Vivian Girls, Johnny Brendas, Last Night 1. When did this band get so good? Well, as good as sloppy punk and playing completely open fretted can be perfected — the Vivian Girls have everything from their debut album down. I wonder if they hate these songs yet. 2. These gals are effortless to appreciate when not opening for M. Ward. Their last show at the Troc was just plain awkward in that no one cared. But when the entire JB’s crowd is mostly nodding their head and you’ve got alt-frat boys desperate for Kickball Katy’s attention, […]
I, GAMER: Is The Future Of PC Games PC-Free?
BY ADAM BONANNI The annual GDC (Games Developer’s Conference) has come and gone, and even though it’s called Game Developer’s Conference, that didn’t stop bloggers and the press from breathing on the figurative glass window to scoop up some pretty neat stories. One of the most intriguing and unexpected bits of news comes in the form of Rearden Studio’s OnLive, a service that will theoretically allow gamers to stream any number of games from a high power server to play on any computer capable of handling at least YouTube. Sound like the death of high-end PC’s? Great. I just bought […]
TALE OF TWO OBAMAS: Tough Talk To CEOs, Soft Pedaling On Bailout Oversight, Advisers Compromised
POLITICO: The bankers struggled to make themselves clear to the president of the United States. Arrayed around a long mahogany table in the White House state dining room last week, the CEOs of the most powerful financial institutions in the world offered several explanations for paying high salaries to their employees — and, by extension, to themselves. “These are complicated companies,” one CEO said. Offered another: “We’re competing for talent on an international market.” But President Barack Obama wasn’t in a mood to hear them out. He stopped the conversation and offered a blunt reminder of the public’s reaction to […]
DIG: Brian Jonestown Massacre Vs. Itself
[Dig! trailer] BJM plays the Troc tomorrow night, with special guests the Asteroid #4.
MASSACRE: Gunman Kills 14 At Immigration Center
PRESSCONNECTS: At least twelve people are dead after a gunman went on a shooting spree inside the American Civic Center in Binghamton, [New York] according to preliminary information from state police. A federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press the shooter has been found dead in the building. The law enforcement official said the gunman entered the building through the front while firing. He had already blocked the back door with his car. At one point more than 40 hostages were being held in the building at 131 Front Street — 15 in […]
CINEMA: Our Daily Film Fest Picks
IL DIVO (2008, directed by Paolo Sorrento, 118 minutes, U.S.) No film at the Festival screams “Masterpiece” quite like this audacious docudrama about the former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. Andreotti is a political legend in Italy, serving as Prime Minister three times, with his last term ending in disgrace in 1992 when his Christian Democratic Party dissolved in the fallout of allegations of mob ties and the “Bribesville” scandal. You’d be forgiven for believing that this prizewinner from last year’s Cannes Film Festival would be a dry bore yet director Paolo Sorrento has transformed this political bio into the […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR Leonard Cohen is touring the U.S. for the first time in 15 years. The deep-voiced musician, best known for writing songs that straddle the folk-rock fence, has produced numerous albums and written several books of poetry. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the U.S. Here, Cohen joins Fresh Air host Terry Gross to talk about his poetry, his songwriting and his time at a retreat called the Zen Center. This interview was first broadcast on May 22, 2006. ROCK SNOB ENCYCLOPEDIA: COHEN, LEONARD — […]
WHY WE FIGHT: Videotape Surfaces Of Taliban Flogging A 17-Year-Old Girl For Adultery
TIMESONLINE: This grainy footage appears to show a 17-year-old girl being beaten by Islamic radicals in Pakistan’s northwestern region of Swat, where Sharia law was introduced after the government reached a truce with the Taleban in February. A local Taleban commander in the militant stronghold of Matta, 25 miles from the regional capital, Mingora, ordered the girl to be flogged a week ago after accusing her of adultery, according to local r More..eporters. But some residents of Matta have accused the commander of ordering the beating to get revenge after the girl refused to accept his proposal of marriage. “Please! Enough! […]
BEING THERE: The Good News Flower Hour
The week that was in just five minutes, hosted by a stoned daisy with the obligatory voice of gawd. Funny. Sad. Good for you. GNHF is on hiatus this week, look for it next Friday.