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ISSUE . June 19th, 2008
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Cover Story


Locked Down
What it's really like inside Philly's overcrowded prisons.
by Tom Namako
That's life in the city's prisons: They're woefully overpopulated and have been for several decades. Efforts to fix this problem have come up against the seemingly immutable fact that, on an average day, 108 people enter the six-prison system while only 105 leave it.

No Easy Answers
Prison Commissioner Louis Giorla tackles the overcrowding question.
by Tom Namako
Giorla's frustration is profound. Since he can't turn away inmates, he has to find a way to house whomever the police and courts send him. As a result, prison costs are rising drastically, by an average of about $9 million a year for the past 10 years.


Opinion


Editor's Letter:
Quixotic
David Sylvester's latest quest will keep him at home.
by Brian Howard
Another editor pegged him as "a cross between Forrest Gump and the Kevin Costner character in Field of Dreams." To me, he's more Don Quixote crossed with John Henry.

Slant:
Barry's Rules?
In which a conservative/libertarian responds to last week's guest commentary.
by Michael Washburn
Obama loves to talk about "going after" business, but America was supposed to be a place where people could pursue their dreams and visions, even if some of us might not like them. We give tolerance and get it.

Loose Canon:
Kids with Mics
There's no better way to hear some truths than from a child.
by Bruce Schimmel

"When I was your age, around 14, my dad began to drink a lot. And it got bad. So one night, I got my tape recorder, and interviewed my dad while he was drunk. After he heard himself on tape the next day, I never saw him drunk again."


Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"David Faris reminds me of a Trotskyite."


Naked City


Naked City :: Start Your EnginesStart Your Engines
A new museum in Southwest Philly pays tribute to race car history.
by Mary Armstrong
If you get a chance to speak with the Simeone Foundation Museum's Harry Hurst, good luck in posing a question he can't answer. That's not bad for a collection that spans almost a century from, a 1909 American Underslung to a 2002 Nascar dyno.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Do blueberry farmers have a leg up on Arab Americans?

Running Numbers
A scholarly look at the digits that matter.
by Nick Norlen
I'll be hanging around their hotels, waiting to slip one of the cable engineers a fifty. Am I talking about offering a bribe for illegal cable? I don't know, am I?


News


News :: Changing the RulesChanging the Rules
Can Philadelphia's bold experiment in preventing foreclosures work?
by Isaiah Thompson
The number of houses foreclosed upon in Philadelphia has risen steadily in the last three years. Philly is not unique in this regard, of course. But nowhere else has a local civil court intervened so directly in the foreclosure crisis.

The Bell Curve
City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter
When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Calling out Cataldi
Is a slur against Muslims offensive if no one seems to care?
by E. James Beale
What she had just heard insulted her religion, heritage and sense of decency. A local station had conflated caricatures of Muslim and Hindu cultures. Was this type of language really acceptable on the radio? The answer, it seems, is yes.

Political Notebook:
Fighting Freshmen
by Mary F. Patel
Freshman Democrats in the House are desperate to keep their seats in November, and hope that a big Democratic sweep will keep them in office.


Arts


Arts :: Map Quest
Art:
Map Quest
Zornitsa Stoyanova's dance theater breaks down the fourth wall.
by Shaun Brady
"The map is an imposed thing that the performers can't get out of. They think they know what they're doing, but they're never right."

Aesthetes in the Making
The Americans for the Arts convention hits Philadelphia.
by Andrew Thompson
"We've always been a major arts city, but we never told the world about it. Now things are better than ever and we have more cultural assets than any city our size."

Peas in a Podcast
A jocular radio drama for the iPod age
by Deni Kasrel
Dotty's distinct manner of speech — a combination of Yiddish, Hebrew, French and German, among other languages — is a made-up hodgepodge, but Karen Getz assures: "None of it is gibberish."

Full Exposure:
Smooth Operator
JJ Tiziou documents How Philly Moves
by John Vettese
Bonus Web Content
Participants signed up, a schedule was drawn up, clamp lights were purchased, and JJ Tiziou spent two days in April darting around his dancers as they paraded before a black backdrop.

Arts Picks:
First Person Story Slam
Tue., June 24, 7:30 p.m., $5-$10, L'Etage, 624 S. Sixth St., 267-402-2056, firstpersonarts.org.
by Aly Semigran
First Person Arts' Story Slam: On the Road is a storytelling event in which Kerouacians can wax nostalgic on horrific, romantic, bizarre or otherwise memorable highway adventures.

Alison Bass
Mon., June 23, 7:30 p.m., free, Barnes & Noble, 1805 Walnut St., 215-665-0716.
by Joel Tannenbaum
The best comes from doctors and researchers who risked professional ruin to tell the truth about the potentially lethal side effects of certain antidepressant drugs.


Arts Agenda


Arts Agenda :: Last ChanceLast Chance
Catch it or Regret It
by Tami Fertig
Bonus Web Content
mega Warm Garden Sunrise | The Drawing Narrative | Gigi Chen: Wide Awake

Arts Agenda Picks:
On The DL
Grandmothers Against the War
by Joe Pelone
"I'm starting to write a new musical. It's about Bill and Hillary, and that's all I'm going to tell you."

In the Event That...
You've Got Sex on the Brain
by Lewis Whittington
Flam goes on her own quests, including attending a seminar for alpha male wannabes and dragging her wary boyfriend to Iceland in search of a penis museum.

Museums/Exhibits
Museums and exhibits have varying schedules;please call for exact days, hours and prices. ABINGTON ART CENTER , 515 Meetinghouse Rd., Jenkintown, 215-887-4882. METAMORPHOSIS, Features work

Galleries
Galleries are usually open Tuesdays through Saturdays; please call the gallery for exact days and hours. Receptions are denoted with Reception 13 NORTH ART GALLERY

Performing Arts
Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information. dance HOW AM I NOT MYSELF Miro Dance Theatre

Readings/Book Signings
A.B. SPELLMAN The author discusses and signs copies of his poetry collection, "Things I Must Have Known." Spellman's verses tackle topics of fatherhood and marriage,


Movies


Movies :: Bizarre Louvre TriangleBizarre Louvre Triangle
Christophe Honor's menage-a-trois musical hits all the right notes.
by Sam Adams
They live together, and have for some time, but they can't seem to agree on the status of their relationship: Are they boyfriend and girlfriend, fiancés, or already a de facto married couple? Do they even love each other, and what does that mean?

Second to None
Jerzy Skolimowski at the I-House
by Shaun Brady
Deep End deals with a young man's sexual awakening. But this tale of a 15-year-old's experiences working in a London public bath is a much more caustic take, with the flowering of sexual activity accompanied by the sour taste of physical commerce and objectification.

Repertory Film
Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.
Send repertory film listings to tami.fertig@citypaper.net.


Music


Music :: Hop on PoppedHop on Popped
Predicting the highlights from this weekend's big music fest.
by Patrick Rapa
Known for his nasal rhymes, clever storytelling, a non-cosmetic eye patch and a prototypical flair for pieces of flair, Slick Rick should put on a killer (OK, attempted killer) show to kick off Popped.

Missed Connections
The Sun City Girls pay tribute to their lost brother.
by Shaun Brady
SCG was never a band that played songs that could be performed by other artists. They were a blend of personalities, whose interests and obsessions and senses of humor sparked alchemical noise.

Hang The DJ:
Breaking News
J. Edward Keyes on Shuffle
The Carter III is as good as you've heard, and maybe a little better, a long-coming tonic for anyone watching heartsick as commercial hip-hop steadily plummeted from profundity to idiocy.

Soundadvice
Get Out!
Kung Fu Girls | Alexandra Day | David Ford | Spark Is a Diamond | Brooke Fraser

Web Exclusive
Music Picks:
Ahleuchatistas
Mon., June 23, 8 p.m., $8, with Planets, Altamira and Motel Bible, Black Lodge, 1508 Brandywine St., 215-988-9338, blacklodgeproductions.com.
by A.D. Amorosi
The trio, named for both a Charlie Parker song and a Mexican revolutionary organization, is at its best when keeping its music lean yet rhythmically complex.


Food


Food :: I'll Stand BayouI'll Stand Bayou
Bold flavors come out to play at the Cajun/Creole Les Bons Temps.
by Trey Popp
John Mims' food is right out of Louisiana Creole country — think jambalaya and étouffée — but 23-year-old chef de cuisine Brett Naylor has deftly carved out some room to inject a few ideas of his own.

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
King of Tandoor | Mémé | Seasons 52 | Mirabella Café

That's My Queue
Lining up for the good stuff at Hamifgash
by Elisa Ludwig
The droves of people lined up here on any given weekday know there's treasure in them thar falafel fryers.

What's Cooking:
What's Cooking
Get Out!
by Claire Bullen
Ansill European Barbecue | Monk's Café: Odds & Ends Night | Sly Fox Beer Dinner | Dragon Boat Festival Banquet | American Wine Values


Agenda


Agenda :: Ladyluck
Agenda Lead:
Ladyluck
Daniel Hunt doesn't mean he's sorry.
by A.D. Amorosi

City Paper: Is there, after all this time, any sort of tension left in being two boys and two girls in one band and one van?

Daniel Hunt: No, we're traveling in a nice big shiny bus. We get along just fine.


Agenda Picks:
Just Do It
Sustainable Philadelphia Forum: Greening Philadelphia's Infrastructure
by Andrew Thompson
Sustainable Philadelphia has been hosting forums since early 2006 in the spirit of making Philly "the greenest, most livable city in America," and it often invites guests from other cities to give us some helpful hints.

Just Do It
The Driller Killer
by Molly Eichel
"Having grown up in a strict Christian household, the language that was spoken to me in church and the language I saw in horror films were similar — images of demons and ghosts are actually real. These things are actually possibilities."

On the DL
Out and About Sendak
by Meaghan Dorff
"He's the best storyteller I've ever met. Great stories are his life."

In the Event That...
Saving Ryan's Privates Changed Your Life
by Liz Tung
Fortunately for all us buttoned-up sticks-in-the-mud, Popporn is trying to turn things around with its upcoming Party with Porn Stars Weekend.

Just Do It
J.B. Smoove
by Mark Maurer
"I'd teach the kid common sense, like how to hold your liquor and how to get over. How to eat at a restaurant and not pay for the meal. You gotta know when to hold and when to fold."

What We Heart
Secret Lovers
by Amy Strauss
What would Tom Waits do? How about Amy Sedaris?


 
 
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