LOS ANGELES TIMES: Fueling momentum behind the push for a new government insurance plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that his healthcare bill will include a compromise that would create a nationwide “public option,” while giving states the option to “opt out” of such a plan. “The public option is not a silver bullet, (but) I believe it’s an important way to ensure competition and to level the playing field for patients with the insurance industry,” Reid told reporters. “Under this concept, states will be able to decide what works for them.” Reid sent the proposal to […]
INHALE TO THE CHIEF: DOJ Instructs Prosecutors To Stop Wasting Time And Money Busting People In Compliance With State Medical Marijuana Laws
[Artwork by REUBENSLP] ASSOCIATED PRESS: The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday. Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws. The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless […]
THE DAILY SHOW: The CNN/SNL Smackdown
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
TELEVISION: Monty Python’s Circus To Fly Again
NEW YORK TIMES: The show has had a surprisingly durable afterlife in this country, giving rise to second and third generations of fans who watch it on DVD and on YouTube, where it’s so popular it now has its own dedicated channel. Mr. Cleese said recently that in England he is far better known these days as Basil Fawlty, the title character in his post-Python series “Fawlty Towers,” than for his role in “Flying Circus.” But even in American middle schools now, there’s often a smart aleck or two who can do Mr. Cleese’s Silly Walk and know the Dead […]
PASS THE HENNESSY: Kanye Joe Wilsons The VMAs
[Photo courtesy of JUST JARED] MTV: The rapper stormed the stage just after the first award, for Best Female Video, was presented to Taylor Swift. He cut the teen singer off, grabbing the mic and protesting in support of Beyonce. “I’m sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time,” he proclaimed as B looked on from the crowd, stunned. His protest against Swift, however, was not well received. West stood briefly on the stage after his comments as the crowd was silent. Audience members then began to clap in support of Swift after West left the […]
CINEMA: Play It Again Sam
AWAY WE GO (2009, directed by Sam Mendes, 98 minutes, U.S.) PRESSURE COOKER (2008, directed by Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman, 99 minutes, U.S) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC Almost a decade ago a 30-year-old writer named Dave Eggers burst into the literary world with his acclaimed memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. The Pulitzer-nominated book told the story of Eggers being tossed into the role of guardian when both his parents die unexpectedly, leaving the twenty-something freelance writer with the uncomfortable responsibility of raising his nine year old brother. Heartbreaking Work had a fresh and intelligent sense of […]
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 […]
PHAWKER TAWK: Q&A With Tim and Eric
BY SCOTT COLAN With hack ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his quasi-racist puppets scoring unprecedented ratings on Comedy Central, you could assume that the state of comedy in America is in as bad a shape as the national economy. Fear not, Philadelphia’s own Tim & Eric and their show “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” provides respite from the mouth breathers and the ankle biters. Their dark comedic surrealism puts them among the latest in a lineage that stretches from Monty Python to SCTV to Kids in the Hall to Bob and David. And now the torch has been passed […]
REWIND 2008: The Year In Music We Loved
DEMOCRACY IS MESSY: Phawker Best of 2008 staff meeting. [Photo by PAUL PUGILESE, Copyright 2008] ***OUR FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2008*** (In No Particular Order) BON IVER For Emma, Forever Ago Classic story: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy goes to cabin in the Wisconsin woods and, over the course of three months of complete isolation and living on nothing but venison and Leinenkugels, records confessional folk/rock masterpiece with the hope of catching the ear of the girl he lost, and catches the ear of the world instead. This is pretty much the story of Bon Iver — AKA Justin […]
DUCK: Iraqi Journalist Hurls Shoes At Bush’s Head
Shoe-Hurling Iraqi Becomes a Folk Hero UPDATE: BAGHDAD — An Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush and called him a dog became a huge celebrity in the Arab world and beyond on Monday, with many supporters exalting him for what they called a courageous act in the face of American arrogance about the war. MORE CNN: An Iraqi television journalist hurled two shoes at President Bush on Sunday during a joint news conference Bush was holding with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to mark the signing of a U.S.-Iraq security agreement. Bush had just finished his […]
PAPERBOY: ‘Infamous Cookie Crumb Duster’ Edition
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 […]
NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME: Palin To Guest On SNL
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is set to appear on this week’s broadcast of “Saturday Night Live,” the entertainment show that has featured a popular parody of the Alaska governor by former cast member Tina Fey. Palin will appear Saturday on the show hosted by actor Josh Brolin, who plays President Bush in director Oliver Stone’s new movie, “W.” A John McCain campaign spokeswoman, Jill Hazelbaker, on Friday confirmed Palin’s appearance but offered no details about what the Alaska governor will say or do. MORE WASHINGTON POST: GREENSBORO, N.C. — No wonder GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah […]
TONITE: Get Up, Old Man! Get The Fuck Up!
[Artwork by FLYOVERSTATE] Tune in tonight for the snarkiest bi-coastal debate coverage on the Internet! You may not learn anything, but it will make you feel better. Tonight’s analysts will be JONATHAN VALANIA and JEFF DEENEY on the East Coast (Philadelphia, to be exact) and CITIZEN MOM who will be watching from the West Coast (Portland, to be exact). Starts around 9 PM. You betcha! UPDATE: The insta-polls, which provide viewers with a somewhat skewed but important insight into how each candidate fared say, by and large, that Obama scored a victory in the second debate. MORE deeney: whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?????? HE […]