"Never forget where you've come from," my older brother, Frank, used to say, "and you'll always know where you're heading."

Early on, someone had the fool idea to list the name of every person who's ever worked at or contributed to City Paper in its 25-year history. Then we counted...

The very first words of the very first issue of City Paper: "A dozen small children sat working with pencils

Northern Liberties, just one of the city's booming real estate markets, is often the first neighborhood cited in reference to

The sight of people armed with religious literature usually merits an automatic duck-and-run. For writer Steve Purcell, however, it provided

One of City Paper's earliest and most prolific writers, Cathy Crimmins turned out humor columns, theater reviews, food articles and

Back in the years of Philadelphia's original Restaurant Renaissance, Inky columnist Clark DeLeon got into the habit of using one

For three years, Michael McGettigan prowled the pages of City Paper as "the Downshouter." The column was named for a

The female ascetics at Langhorne's Monastery of St. Clare, like other contemplatives in religious orders around the world, live in

This was not the debut of Angelo Amorosi. Nor of Icepack. Amorosi made his debut a week earlier and this

One issue into its decade-long run, Vance Lehmkuhl's weekly, kinetic, hand-drawn "How-To Harry" cartoon got its first "Fuck you, Vance"

City Paper prides itself on introducing you to the denizens of this town's varied subcultures, be they perverts, criminals, junkies,

For years, founder and publisher Bruce Schimmel called his weekly blasts of ideas and opinions his "Publisher's Clearinghouse." That name,

One of Philly's finest writers, Jim Quinn brought a rapier wit and an artist's eye to his topics, whether they

Picking a single memorable Altman story is like picking just one Beatles album to put in the time capsule. But

When former City Paper editor Howard Altman asked then-staff writer Jennifer Darr if she wanted to write about women's boxing,

This was the second entry in a Neil Gladstone/Roots cover story trilogy spanning a decade. "Stakes Is High" finds the

A devoted boyfriend gives his honey a bikini wax. Yeah, it might not stop the presses, but former CP freelancer

The latter half of 1999 was characterized by unnecessary Y2K paranoia, but if this piece is any indication, current A&E

Six months before Buzz Bissinger immortalized the Ed Rendell years with A Prayer for the City , Frank Lewis sat

Good journalism offers readers a glimpse of worlds they've never seen, or understood, before. Great journalism makes a reader feel

City Paper 's production schedule isn't always flexible enough to accommodate late-breaking news, but when two planes hit the World

It started as a voyeur's dream and ended, depending on your perspective, as a case study for Economics of Modern-Day

Years before the national media caught Sixth Borough fever and raised the curtain on Philly as the Next Great City,

Back in the autumn of 2004, City Paper managing editor Brian Hickey decided he was tired of predicting Eagles victories,

Earlier this year, immigration and illegal aliens were hardly the hot-button issues they are today. Long before "Minutemen" became a

"He could've filled three Pepsi cans. Maybe three and a half. That's how much blood Talula estimates he lost the

"Orthodox Rituals" by Michele Frentrop (1994) A young Hasidic boy gets his first haircut within Philadelphia's Lubavitch community. The texture

Back in 1981, the year City Paper came into the world, Philadelphia magazine ran a story on "People to Watch"

After listening to City Paper founder and editor emeritus Bruce Schimmel tell dubious stories about what Philly was like in

Two to three times a week, Carlos Taylor makes the trek from his Bridesburg home to the City Paper offices

To the untrained eye, City Paper only started running the Bell Curve in 1998. That's because the feature was in

There's a whiteboard in my office, just above the 5x7 glossy in which former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop implores

In what appears to be the first piece of hate mail ever sent to City Paper, an anonymous writer sent

You hear his name, and then you know: Jimmy "Pretzels" Pasquarella's got stories. One of our distribution drivers, Pasquarella has

Running Numbers says cheers to 25 years of everyone's favorite left-leaning, smut-filled, "people only pick it up because of 'I

In December 1999 City Paper was not in a makeshift bomb shelter worried about Y2K. We were busy bringing about

If City Paper were Survivor, they'd be Richard Hatch. In 25 years, City Paper has seen more than its share

by Duane Swierczynski

Why it's good to be GOP in Philly.

by Ned Rauch-Mannino

by Bruce Schimmel

The phrase "local Latin explosion" doesn't seem to cover it. Here's a recall of a few events of the busy

0

  Spotting a fixie with suicide bars outside the Dive would hardly seem worth noting — but the dude leaned

So I'm singing that Flintstones' "Happy Anniversary" thing to myself — over and over — and it just seems freakish

  When Donald Rumsfeld compared critics of the Iraq war to those who appeased fascists, Patrick Murphy was incensed. An

by Mary F. Patel

Retold by 33-year-old Brian Hickey

by Brian Hickey

It's the All Underground Explosion Bell Curve! Channel 10, man on the street interview: "I noticed the black smoke coming

Shelley Spector closes her doors and makes the city her gallery.

by Juliet Fletcher

by Kelly White

by Deni Kasrel

by Shaun Brady

by Lewis Whittington

Red Herring Runs through Sept. 30, Stagecrafters Theater, 8130 Germantown Ave., 215-247-8881 Philadelphia playwright Michael Hollinger spoofs film noir and

Museums and exhibits have varying schedules; please call for exact days, hours and prices. Receptions and talks are denoted by

Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information. COURT A performance by

Galleries are usually open Tuesdays through Saturdays; please call the gallery for exact days and hours. Receptions are denoted by

The "I'm So Worldly, You'll Actually Grow Smarter After Sexing Me" Date

by Drew Lazor

Animal Grossology

by Amanda McKenna

You Like Drinking and Problems, but You Don't Have a Drinking Problem

by M.J. Fine

215 FESTIVAL KICKOFF Amy Sedaris signs and reads from her new book, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence." John

Parallel Synchronized Randomness. That's the term Stéphane (Gael García Bernal) invents for the not-quite-telepathic shared moments when two minds lock

Army of Shadows (Tue., Oct 3, 7 p.m., County Theater; Thu., Oct. 5, 7 p.m., Ambler Theater) The County/Ambler/Bryn Mawr's

Early snickers greeting The Guardian's theatrical trailers were premised on obvious, easy targeting. Kevin Costner in water — dude, it

Send repertory film listings to tami.fertig@citypaper.net. ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 19th St. and the Parkway, 215-923-9161, www.chestnutmtnproductions.com. Telluride Mountain Film

"We're packing our things/ We're building a boat/ We're gonna create/ The new master race/ Cuz we're so pure

Artist: Tarkan Album: Come Closer Country of origin: Turkey In a recent survey of public acceptance of the theory of

Tormented, resigned and eternally breathy, Lisa Germano surfaces every few years to rediscover the comfort in being sad. Her latest

Regina Spektor "That Time" Rock critics are only allowed to use the phrase "greatest living songwriter" to describe a largely

by John Vettese

by Shaun Brady

by M.J. Fine

John Huston's got a line in Chinatown that reminds me of Bunnydrums: "Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable

Twenty-five years is a long time for any business, and for a restaurant it's practically supernatural. In honor of CP's

As City Paper's first food critic, Holly Moore ate through Philly for 14 years, even running his own restaurant from

>> NOW SEATING Spoons Coffeehouse 8919 Ridge Ave., Roxborough, 215-482-0907 You gotta respect the hustle—the nice people at Spoons sent

537 N. Third St., 215-574-9317 Sometimes life just happens and it's only by chance that opportunities present themselves. Bill Stinson,

1 Courage Under Fire When Philadelphia Fish & Co.'s Justin Rambo-Garwood worked at Rittenhouse's Bleu (227 S. 18th St.), a

The Week In Eats

by Jessica Loughery

The pins and needles of period costuming

by Shaun Brady

Pauly Shore

by Drew Lazor and Andy Mathieson

Joe DeRosa

by Jessica Loughery

Professional Bull Riders' U.S. Army Invitational

Your Best Lederhosen Have Been Languishing in Your Closet All Year

by Rachel Frankford

Ugly-Beautiful Footwear

by Zach Pontz

Get Up, Get Out, Get Involved

by Sam Tremble

by Ashlea Halpern