IN A DREAM: Theatrical Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo. Synopsis: Over the past four decades, Isaiah Zagar has covered more than 50,000 square feet of Philadelphia with stunning mosaic murals. In A Dream is a documentary feature film that chronicles his work and his tumultuous relationship with his wife, Julia. It follows the Zagars as their marriage implodes and a harrowing new chapter in their life unfolds. MORE Opens April 17th at the Ritz at the Bourse.
Professional Primate Goes Beserk, Then To Heaven
ASSOCIATED PRESS: STAMFORD, Conn. – Travis the chimpanzee, a veteran of TV commercials, was the constant companion of a lonely Connecticut widow who fed him steak, lobster and ice cream. He could eat at the table, drink wine from a stemmed glass, use the toilet, and dress and bathe himself. He brushed his teeth with a Water Pik, logged on to a computer to look at photos and channel-surfed television with the remote control. But on Monday, the wild animal in him came out with a vengeance. The 200-pound animal viciously mauled a friend of his owner before being shot […]
HASSAN CHOP: Founder Of TV Network Designed To Improve Islam’s Image In U.S. Beheads Wife
[“Judith Beheading Holofernes” by Carravagio] ASSOCIATED PRESS: ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The crime drips with brutal irony: a woman decapitated, allegedly by her estranged husband, in the offices of the television network the couple founded with the hope of countering Muslim stereotypes. Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan is accused of beheading his wife last week, days after she filed for divorce. Authorities have not discussed the role religion or culture might have played, but the slaying gave rise to speculation that it was the sort of “honor killing” more common in countries half a world away, including the couple’s native Pakistan. Funeral services for […]
A-ROID: Yes He Did
NEW YORK TIMES: Every time Alex Rodriguez defaulted Tuesday to saying he was stupid, naïve or ignorant for taking steroids, I thought of Dean Wormer’s words to the flunking frat boy Flounder in “Animal House:” “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” And pleading youthful amateurishness to actions taken at 25, 26 and 27 is no way to go through baseball, either, if you’re injecting yourself, or your cousin is injecting you, with boli, believed to be the street name in the Dominican Republic for Primobolan. “He kept using the excuse of naïveté and curiosity […]
THE EARLY WORD: Headbangers Ball
[Artwork by Daniel Kent] TRANSLATION: Badmaster Records celebrates its 4th year on Feb, 26th 2009 @ Kung Fu Necktie. RELATED: Founded in March 2005, Badmaster is an eclectic homegrown music label that fosters local musicians and artists. Now on its 17th release, Badmaster continues to lend a hand to the local with an MP3 Collection of local area musicians entitled DIS-ADELPHIA planned to be released digitally on Feb, 26th in conjunction with the label showcase @ Kung Fu Necktie. The compilation will feature unreleased tracks by U.S. Girls, Birds of Maya, Satanized, My Mind, Hot Guts, Mincemeat or Tenspeed,Talk Me […]
HOT DOC: What Kind Of Man Reads Phawker?
Hi, phawker (phawker). Barack Obama (BarackObama) is now following your updates on Twitter. Check out Barack Obama’s profile here: http://twitter.com/BarackObama Best, Twitter PCMAG: Is it finally time to take the Twitter plunge? The free service that lets users micro-blog 140 characters at a time had accumulated around 1.9 million users as of December 2008, according to comScore. If you are just now jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, or are intimidated by your inexperience with Twitter etiquette and acronyms, allow us to share some Twittery tips that will make your experience easier and more enjoyable. MORE HOPE: Let The Stimulation Begin! […]
YOU’RE TIRED: Trump Casinos Go Bankrupt
REUTERS: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc, the casino operator named for Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as recession and declining gambling revenues battered the company and its rivals. The Chapter 11 filing marks the third plunge into bankruptcy for the company, which was created out of a restructuring in 2005. It also underscores the struggles facing the casino business as recession squeezes casino gambling. Trump Entertainment owns and operates three casino hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina. The company did not request debtor-in-possession financing to operate during its […]
GALLUP: 71% Of Americans Want Bush Investigated
AOL NEWS: Despite President Obama’s “inclination to look forward,” repeated gain at Monday’s press conference, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that as many as 71% of Americans want investigations of the Bush administration. Respondents were asked about investigations into Bush administration use of torture, warrantless wiretaps, and politicization of the Justice Department. While a significant majority in each case wanted investigations, a minority portion of them wanted investigations without criminal charges. Somewhat surprising is the fact that even Republicans show significant support for investigations, with 52% favoring investigations of the politicization of the DOJ, 44% on torture, and 41% […]
HEAR YE: The Vivian Girls
Now playing on PHAWKER RADIO! Vivian Girls open for M.Ward at the Troc Friday! VICTIM OF TIME: Behold the Vivian Girls. Just as their alluring name only became passed around mere months ago, this group of three upstart New York females have taken the noisy pop mantra and dipped it in pure gold, right out of the gate. With their debut 7″ on their very own Plays With Dolls Records label already sending out waves of panic and adoration to the outer limits of the underground pop contingent, they have become the newest breakout sirens of the New York loft-pop […]
WAITING TO EXHALE: Sheriff Declines To Prosecute Michael Phelps For Violating Stupid Pot Laws
[Illustration by ALEX FINE] BLOOMBERG NEWS: Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008, won’t be prosecuted in connection with his admission that he smoked from a bong at a South Carolina college party in November. The Richland County, South Carolina, sheriff’s department announced the decision at a news conference. Sheriff Leon Lott said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Phelps. “We had a photo and him saying he was sorry for inappropriate behavior,” Lott said during a televised press conference. “He never said, ‘I smoked marijuana.’ We didn’t have physical evidence.” Lott […]
Whatever You Put On Facebook Stays On Facebook
SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL: A number of bloggers voiced concern Monday after discovering that Facebook Inc. changed rules earlier this month regarding how it treats user content. The Palo Alto-based social networking company now says in its terms of service that it will have unending and irrevocable license to use any content uploaded to its service, according to a posting on The Consumerist blog. The story is one of the ten most talked about Monday on Twitter Inc.‘s micro-blogging service. Before now, Facebook said it would only have rights to use any content posted on its service while the user […]
BUSH DOCTRINE: Anal ‘Rape By Instrumentality’
HARPERS: Army Private Brandon Neely served as a prison guard at Guantánamo in the first years the facility was in operation. With the Bush Administration, and thus the threat of retaliation against him, now gone, Neely decided to step forward and tell his story. “The stuff I did and the stuff I saw was just wrong,” he told the Associated Press. Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous […]
POLL OF PREZ SCHOLARS: Lincoln Simply The Best
REUTERS: Abraham Lincoln ranks first in leadership skills among the 42 former White House occupants, according a C-SPAN survey of 65 presidential historians released on the eve of the Presidents Day holiday. It’s a repeat performance for the 16th U.S. president, who also took the top spot in the first ”Historians Presidential Survey” by the cable television network in 2000. At No. 36, George W. Bush ranks near the bottom of the 2009 survey. MORE THE NATION: Abraham Lincoln has always provided a lens through which Americans examine themselves. He has been described as a consummate moralist and a shrewd political operator, a lifelong foe of […]