NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO BY M. EMANUEL The Breakdown hates to say it told you so, but in the spirit of the oft-outspoken Mr. Kanye West, we’re going to boast a bit. Go ahead and raise your champagne flutes, because we called it. West’s third release, Graduation, in stores today, is all that we said it would be — a Breakdown-certified instant classic that will hopefully infuse some much-needed jolt of reality and innovation into the stale monotony of the current rap game. Gone are the skits and many of the blatant attempts at humor that messed with the […]
Rendell’s Wife To Decide If Janet Jackson Superbowl Tit Flash Was Indecent, Tacky Or Just Plain Obnoxious
This morning, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia will consider whether the notorious “wardrobe malfunction” that bared singer Janet Jackson’s breast during a televised 2004 Super Bowl halftime show was indecent, or merely a fleeting and accidental glitch that shouldn’t be punished. Marjorie Rendell — also known as Midge, wife of Gov. Rendell — is one of the judges who serves on the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing the case. The court will hear arguments about the Feb. 1, 2004 halftime show when 90 million Americans watched singer Justin Timberlake pull off part of Janet Jackson’s bustier, briefly […]
MAILBAG: ‘WHYY Isn’t A Democracy’
Dear Phawker, I didn’t hear anything about not contacting the WHYY Board directly. There’s been so much sent out about this that it probably hasn’t made the rounds yet. I guess it would look dictatorial if it were written down somewhere for record than when just uttered in a meeting. It sounds more like a suggestion then and can be easily denied. But this board is made up of the CEO’s contemporaries and cohorts. They have more important things to deal with, they are unpaid volunteers, who’ve raised or given money to the station (I’m sure they want to get […]
GENERAL PETRAEUS: The Troops Are Coming Home Right Away, But First They Are Staying Another Year
ASSOCIATED PRESS: “I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level ? by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains we have fought so hard to achieve.” — General David Petraeus WASHINGTON POST: The long-awaited testimony this afternoon of Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, once seen as a potential turning point in war policy, seemed more like an exercise of kicking the can down the road. NEW YORK TIMES: Full Page Ad Paid For By MoveOn.org
FORECAST: Uh-Oh!
ABC NEWS: Scientists report that arctic ice the size of the state of Florida has melted in the last six days. In just the last six days, researchers say 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice has disappeared, roughly the size of the Sunshine State. Scientists say the rate of melting in 2007 has been unprecedented, and veteran ice researchers worry the Arctic is on track to be completely ice-free much earlier than previous research and climate models have suggested. “If you had asked me a few years ago about how fast the Arctic would be ice free in summer, I […]
CONTEST: WRITE A CLEVER CAPTION AND…
Win Tickets To See THE MEKONS At The World Cafe Live! The City of Philadelphia’s photo archive contains over 2 million images that date back as far as the late 1800s, i.e. the last time a Republican won in this town. In all seriousness, this is an INCREDIBLE visual record of the city’s evolution and a relatively new web site, PhillyHistory.org, is making it available for online consumption and purchase. To date, some 27,000 BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of images have been digitally scanned, at a rate of roughly 2,000 images a month. So, if you’ve been wondering why the line […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Journalist and historian Burton Hersh has followed the Kennedy family for more than 35 years. His latest book is a study of the behind-the-scenes power struggles among the Kennedys and longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Hersh writes that as attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy did his best to keep Hoover — technically his subordinate — on a short leash. But knowledge of Kennedy family secrets gave Hoover, always a master manipulator, the upper hand. Hersh’s book is titled Bobby and J. Edgar: The Historic Face-Off Between the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover that Transformed America. RADIO TIMES Hour […]
MAILBAG: ‘The Truth About WHYY’
DEAR PHAWKER, We are a group of employees who wish to state the truth about WHYY. This five-page letter must come from a small number of individuals, and we are writing to tell you that the majority of us at WHYY do not share those expressed sentiments. We, the majority of WHYY employees, do not suffer from low morale. On the contrary, we are bullish about WHYY, and completely support the leadership of our President, and his Executive staff. We wonder how many other media entities enjoy the benefit of a leader who is able to integrate political astuteness, for-profit […]
TALKING HEADS: Psycho Killer
RELATED: A man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1975 killing of his roommate and the man’s 4-year-old son disappeared from a mental hospital in Camden County yesterday. Police from the Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow Township were joined by state and local police in the search for William Enman, 65, who had unsupervised grounds privileges at the 80-acre campus, according to two law-enforcement sources.
FRINGE DWELLER: Recommended
That’s Why They Don’t Call it Picnic Vagabond Acting Troupe Theater, 80 minutes Philadelphia?s own Christian Lisak returns home with a one-man performance piece about his recent experience in a federal prison camp. This sometimes humorous, sometimes serious look at unexpected life detours and the lessons learned attempts to prove the idea that everything happens for a good reason, even incarceration. Click Here for Showtimes * My House/Your House React/Dance Dance, 75 minutes We?re new to the neighborhood. Want to come over? react/dance?s Jacelyn Biondo and Kristen Shahverdian invite you to their housewarming. Experience site-specific, audience-inclusive performance with Philly?s most […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Animals, Vegetables & Minerals
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Upon returning from my vacation I was greeted by my two charming 20-something house sitters. They did a great job holding down the fort and loving my big orange cat, Hurricane. They bashfully asked me if it would be OK if they left the remainder of their CSA Farm Share in my fridge. Like many people, seems they?re trying hard to eat right but are at a loss as to how to actually pull it off. Can you image asking ME if it would be OK to unload a bunch of organic fruit and vegetables? […]
BREAKING: We Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself
“What is the greatest threat facing us now? People will say it’s terrorism. But are there any terrorists in the world who can change the American way of life or our political system? No. Can they knock down a building? Yes. Can they kill somebody? Yes. But can they change us? No. Only we can change ourselves. So what is the great threat we are facing?” — Gen. Colin Powell [via USA TODAY]
MISSING: One Psycho Killer
A man found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1975 killing of his roommate and the man’s 4-year-old son disappeared from a mental hospital in Camden County yesterday. Police from the Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow Township were joined by state and local police in the search for William Enman, 65, who had unsupervised grounds privileges at the 80-acre campus, according to two law-enforcement sources. Last night and early this morning, using infrared devices and dogs, authorities searched parts of Camden and Atlantic Counties around the facility. Enman, who has lived at Ancora since 1992, was found not […]