Image courtesy of ERIC KIM BY DANIEL PATRICK WARD When Aldous Huxley composed The Perennial Philosophy, humanity was just beginning to recover from the epic horror show of the Second World War. Across the globe, communities struggled to understand the reality of the tragic events that allowed millions of people to perish at the hands of an evil that was previously unknown to mankind. Amidst all of the conflict and confusion, Huxley produced a masterpiece that could help unite a divided world through something that reaches every corner of the globe: spirituality. At its core, The Perennial Philosophy is an […]
CINEMA: First Peek @ P.T. Anderson’s New Flick
Opens December 25th! THE GUARDIAN: The first trailer for Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis’s final film before retirement, has been unveiled. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the film stars the acclaimed actor as Reynolds Woodcock, a renowned dressmaker who enters into a complex relationship with a strong-willed woman (Vicky Krieps) in 1950s post-war London. It’s the second collaboration between Day-Lewis and Anderson, following 2008’s oil-boom drama There Will Be Blood. As with that film, the music for Phantom Thread has been composed by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, who also provided the score for Anderson’s films The Master and Inherent Vice. MORE
BEING THERE: King Krule @ Union Transfer
Photo by DYLAN LONG Seeing Brit indie-weirdo sensation King Krule at Union Transfer last night, I was reminded of the wise words of the late great Bo Diddley: You can’t judge a book by lookin’ at the cover. Frail and shrimpy, the baby-faced 23 year-old Londoner looks like Ron Weasley in desperate need of a sandwich or seven. But when he opens his mouth, it’s another matter altogether. His scratchy deepwater baritone, thick Brit accent and fierce stage moves tends to stops traffic and silence skeptics — something he has been doing since the tender age of 16. His new […]
SIDEWALKING: Pleased To Meet Me
Municipal Services Building, 11:44 AM, by JIM MACMILLAN
CINEMA: Lust For Life
LOVING VINCENT (Dir. by Dorota Kobiela & Hugh Welchman, 94 min., USA, 2017) BY CHRISTOPHER MALENEY FILM CRITIC Vincent van Gogh is one of the most important modern artists, and one of the most enigmatic. Almost everyone has seen The Starry Night, his most iconic work. In monetary terms, his Portrait of Dr. Gachet is worth more than $82 million. There are museums, books, articles, whole careers dedicated to the study, analysis and display of his works. His use of color and form revolutionized the way artists perceive and portray the world. What is most interesting to a layman, however, […]
SH*T MY UNCLE SAYS: President Moron
BY WILLIAM C. HENRY “Hey, hey, Donnie J., what style, what character, what nature of ignominy did you secrete today?!” Yep, I do indeed recognize that it’s shear folly to continue to repudiate the behavior of a totally amoral moron and his minions, the majority of whom are likely no more intelligent or principled than he is, but hopefully I’ll never tire of doing so. Well, you knew that he was deceitful and duplicitous, but did you know that he could be truly deadly?! Having failed with numerous attempts to kill the Obama/Democrat ACA Medical Program which brought medical […]
CINEMA: Livin’ Like A Refugee
HUMAN FLOW (Directed by Ai WeiWei, 140 minutes, Germany, 2017) BY DANIEL PATRICK WARD Human Flow director Ai WeiWei often presents the observer with a simple, yet sharp image in his art that forces us to see beyond just the physical scope of the piece itself. As a globally-renowned Chinese dissident and outspoken critic of his country’s government, he certainly fears no boundary when creating art that purposefully draws attention to the many crises affecting humanity across the globe. In Human Flow, Ai tasks himself with capturing our planet’s refugee crisis, which affects over 65 million people, in such a […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Kingdom & The Power
Illustration by Daniel Adel via ROLLING STONE; horse-pooping illustration by R.A. DI LESO THE NEW YORKER: Pence has taken care to appear extraordinarily loyal to Trump, so much so that Joel K. Goldstein, a historian and an expert on Vice-Presidents who teaches law at St. Louis University, refers to him as the “Sycophant-in-Chief.” But Pence has the political experience, the connections, the discipline, and the ideological mooring that Trump lacks. He also has a close relationship with the conservative billionaire donors who have captured the Republican Party’s agenda in recent years. During the 2016 campaign, Trump characterized the Republican Party’s […]
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: Rain In Soho
The lead-off track of the new-ish Goths, in support of which The Mountain Goats play Union Transfer on Saturday November 11th. RELATED: “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton” Live RELATED: John Darnielle On Fresh Air
WORTH REPEATING: Khizr and Ghazala Khan Statement About Four Green Beret’s KIA In Niger
Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, weeps over her husband’s casket “We are deeply saddened at the news of the death of our four brave hero sons serving our nation on an important mission in Africa. We stand with the families in their grief and pray for their strength and peace. And tell them that this country will never forget the service and sacrifice their brave hero sons made on behalf of this great nation, and for our liberty and safety; their families’ service and sacrifice will always be remembered. We stand with the families in this […]
CINEMA: Our Philadelphia Film Festival Guide
BY CHRISTOPHER MALENEY FILM CRITIC The Philadelphia Film Society’s 26th annual Philadelphia Film Festival, which runs from October 19th to the 29th, is an intriguing blend of movies old and new, independent and mainstream, domestic and imported. This year the festival will honor the memory of renowned director Jonathan Demme — always a friend of Philadelphia — with screenings of the three movies he made here: Philadelphia, Beloved and Neil Young Trunk Show. On Thursday night, Bruce Willis will be on hand to accept the second annual Lumiere Award, named in honor of the first filmmakers Auguste and Louise […]
GEEK SQUAD: Everything You Need To Know About The Black Panther Trailer But Were Afraid To Ask
BY RICHARD SUPLEE GEEK SPACE CORRESPONDENT Captain America: Civil War (2016) excited movie fans with Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa/Black Panther and this trailer appears to pick up where Civil War left off, with T’Challa returns to his country of Wakanda to assume the throne in the wake of his father’s death. Beyond that, not much is known about the plot of Black Panther, which was written and directed by Ryan Coolger (Creed, Fruitvale Station). The film also stars Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 12 Years a Slave) as leader of Wakanda’s all female special forces/secret service unit the Dora […]
BEING THERE: The Liberty Medal Award Ceremony
Photo by EVAN HUNDELT Last night the National Constitution Center bestowed the Liberty Medal to Senator John McCain for his lifetime of service and sacrifice. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, delivered opening remarks, ardently praising McCain’s moral integrity and his dogged commitment to the advancement of the United States as a virtuous nation. University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Amy Gutmann, and Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz also paid homage to McCain’s patriotism and inspirational leadership, citing the unimaginable suffering he endured as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison where torture and beatings were a […]