CINEMA: The Evil That Men Do

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (2008, directed by Errol Morris, 118 minutes, U.S.)BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC He sure has come a long way since pondering why people bury their critters in pet cemeteries. Esteemed documentarian Errol Morris may have started out with whimsical examinations of the American psyche, but as his career has progressed his subject matter has gained gravitas, culminating in 2003’s Fog of War, a profile of Vietnam War architect Robert McNamara. Although the events covered in Fog of War were 40 years old Morris, was able to concentrate on the disturbing reality of executing a war in a […]

TONITE: The Ministry Of Silly Laughs

BY DAVE WALK Lurking in the under belly of the second floor of Fergie’s Pub is a new comedy show called THE MINISTRY OF SECRET JOKES. The origins and purpose of the show are, naturally, very secretive, but we’ve managed to covertly infiltrate the premises to gather data on what really goes on behind closed doors. The show appears to be free of charge to the converted and begins around 9 PM Eastern Standard Time. It is hosted by one Doogie Horner, a local stand-up comedian. Horner appears to be forced to run the show against his will. In an […]

NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

RADIO TIMES Presidential candidates have been touting green collar jobs as part of their plans to reduce energy dependence and buoy the economy through the creation of new jobs. We talk about the challenges and realities of creating a “green collar”workforce with KEVIN DOYLE, founder of Green Economy, a Boston-based workforce development consulting firm, and BRACKEN HENDRICKS, of the Center for American Progress. Listen to this show via Real Audio | mp3 THIS AMERICAN LIFE Prom While the seniors danced at Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas—a town of about 3,000—a tornado hit the town, destroying about a third of […]

OFFICIAL LIES: And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them

USA TODAY: In the book, McClellan, who served as press secretary from July 2003 to April 2006, touches on a number of White House topics and personalities, including former Bush political strategist Karl Rove. He writes that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated “political propaganda campaign” led by Bush and aimed at “manipulating sources of public opinion” and “downplaying the major reason for going to war. ” Regarding Bush, he writes that the president “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political […]

MEOW MIX: U Got Yer Evil In My Knieval

Crotch Rocketeer Robbie Knievel breaks his late father’s record, jumping his motorcycle 200 feet, over 24 delivery trucks. Ah, youth. There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to be jumped by a daredevil in a tight, white, stars-and-stripes naugahyde jumpsuit… True story: Many years ago, I spent a crazy weekend in Ventor/Margate with a friend who was dating a minor-league wiseguy type. It was an interesting couple of days to say the least, the highlights of which were dancing at the Geator’s place in a large group of women that included Rita Merlino, and a scene which […]

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love & Assassination?

“You know, my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.” — Hillary Clinton DAVID BROMWICH: The most disturbing element of her remark was this: that it chose to treat assassination as just one more political possibility, one of the things that happen in our politics, like hecklers, lobbyists, and forced resignations. The slovenly morale and callousness of such a released fantasy is catching. So when, a few days later, the Fox News contributor Liz […]

VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: Second & Glenwood

[Photos by JUSTIN ROMAN] BY JEFF DEENEY I was standing on the corner of 2nd Street and Glenwood Avenue, looking over the stuffed animals tacked to a telephone pole, when a haggard white addict wearing deeply dirty construction boots, a holey T-shirt and a greasy ponytail walked past. He looked heavily opiated and all around pretty worse for wear. He jerked his thumb at the memorial saying simply, “Dead baby,” and kept walking. “Dead baby, huh?” I asked, hoping he would slow down long enough to say a few more words, but he kept trucking down the slope running alongside the […]

Gov. Whitman Photo-Op Friskee Killed In Camden

WIKIPEDIA: Sherron Rolax (born June 3, 1979, died May 24, 2008 in Camden, New Jersey) of Camden, New Jersey, United States, first achieved public fame after an incident involving then New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 1996. Governor Whitman was riding along in a police patrol car when officers stopped Rolax for suspicious activity in Camden, New Jersey; they frisked him, but found nothing. Whitman then also frisked Rolax while a state trooper photographed her. The picture was later published in newspapers statewide, drawing criticism from civil rights leaders who saw this as a violation of Rolax’s civil rights […]

RAW FOOTAGE: From Russia With Love

THE NATIONAL POST: Over the years, chess champ turned politico Gary Kasparov has suffered all kinds of indignity: famously undone at his own game by IBM’s Deep Blue more than a decade ago, notoriously arrested and jailed by Russian police for his activism last year. Yesterday, however, he faced his most surreal attack yet. While making a public plea for unity against nemesis Vladimir Putin, a mysterious dangling object from the ceiling distracted the room: an airborne penis with a helicopter attached to its testicles. Undaunted, a bodyguard advanced on the unwelcome member with his fist, neutering it with vicious […]

RIP: Sydney Pollack, Super-Mensch, Dead At 73

NEW YORK TIMES: Sydney Pollack, a Hollywood mainstay as director, producer and sometime actor whose star-laden movies like “The Way We Were,” “Tootsie” and “Out of Africa” were among the most successful of the 1970s and ’80s, died Monday at home here. He was 73. The cause was cancer, said the publicist Leslee Dart, who spoke for his family. Mr. Pollack’s career defined an era in which big stars (Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand, Warren Beatty) and the filmmakers who knew how to wrangle them (Barry Levinson, Mike Nichols) retooled the Hollywood system. Savvy operators, they played studio against studio, staking […]

PPA Finds More City Money In Old Pair Of Pants

INQUIRER: The Philadelphia Parking Authority will formally announce today that it has transferred $6.6 million more to the city’s general fund and the School District of Philadelphia then it did last fiscal year, thanks to cost-cutting spurred in part by Inquirer and Daily News reports that documented wasteful spending at the state-run agency. The authority has sent $25 million to the city’s general fund, $2.2 million to the cash-strapped School District and $33.1 million earned from airport parking lots to the aviation fund. Federal law requires airport parking profits be used to help defray the expense of running the airport. […]