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ISSUE . December 11th, 2008
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Cover Story


The Nutters
In the midst of the budget crisis, which mayor do you see?
by Doron Taussig
The mayor went on TV, two days after the presidential election, to disclose the scope of the city's budget crisis and announce drastic cuts. It was, in a sense, his coming-out party. Since then, Philadelphians have begun to see one of a few different versions of Michael Nutter.


Opinion


Loose Canon:
A Growing Gift
by Bruce Schimmel
The Story of Stuff, a 20-minute flick which debuted last year, has all the makings of a new Christmas classic, only with Scrooge rebranded as a green hero.

Slant:
Death and Resurrection
Nothing in Philadelphia disappears completely.
by Nathaniel Popkin
Berg's questions so often take such delicate form in the urban grime and delirium — in fragments of conversation on the trolley, in the summer's humidity, in a "garbage can erupting with the praise and grace of existence"— that his writing can't be separated from the city where he lives.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"Are we going out to have a good time or prepping for the LSAT?"


Naked City


Naked City :: Out of the AshesOut of the Ashes
The lost and found fortunes of painter Felix Giordano.
by Mike Newall
Firefighter Shawn Flynn of Ladder Company 11 at 12th and Reed remembers the alarm bells going off at 2:30 p.m. As the truck turned onto Passyunk Avenue, Flynn, a 17-year veteran, saw the plume of smoke. "We got a job," he called out to the other firefighters.

Web Exclusive
Somebody Told Me
Three rounds with the Killers of Comedy — and their friend Danny Bonaduce.
by Jimmy Viola
"He looks like an orange gremlin coming out at you. It's almost like a fat chick driving you home at 9 in the morning, where you know its just not going to turn out well. He may be able to kick my ass, but at least I can tan, so fuck him."

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Yeah, it's tough out there. But you're good Icepack people — cold exteriors, warm hearts. So stick with me on this. Y'all must tuck in and dig deeper — within yourself, within your pockets.

Running Numbers
A scholarly look at the digits that matter.
by Nick Norlen
Looks like yet another sad Christmas for the grouchy and unfortunately long-named Burgermeister Meisterburger.


News


News :: A Question of CostA Question of Cost
We don't know how much is being saved by closing 11 libraries.
by Isaiah Thompson
Increasingly, the debate over libraries is centering around the issue of cost. But among the data that has so far been provided by the Free Library and the mayor's office, those costs have remained conspicuously absent.

Sports:
Nice Guys Finish Last
Fire Maurice Cheeks.
by E. James Beale
The players are tuning out the coach's advice. Next time you're at a game, watch the huddle closely during a time-out: More often than not, the Sixers are glancing at the Jumbotron and leaning back in their chairs instead of focusing on their coach and his clipboard.

Citizen Mom:
See What Having a Life Gets You?
What does Ed Rendell's alleged gaffe say about gender double standards?
by Amy Z. Quinn
The rhetoric seems to be focused on two questions: One, would Rendell have made the same comment were Napolitano a man? And two, had he made the comment about a man, would it have been newsworthy?

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


Arts


Art:
Fresh Fruit
Jennifer Childs and James Sugg pit their wits against tacky vaudeville in Cherry Bomb.
by A.D. Amorosi
For their first collaboration, director/writer Jennifer Childs and composer/noted Pig Iron-er James Sugg cherry-picked the worst act ever to grace vaudeville.

Dance:
Here a Nut, There a Nut
The Nutcracker is everywhere.
by Janet Anderson
The Nutcracker has become such a holiday staple, you might be surprised to learn that the original performance in St. Petersburg, Russia, 116 years ago was considered something of a dud.

Re-View:
Clay Nation
Robin Rice on Visual Art
by Robin Rice
All the work was collected by one man, Frederick R. McBrien III. He's not a scholar of Japanese art — though he could pass for one — but a man who chooses objects because they appeal to him.

Web Exclusive
Dance:
Journeyman
Review: Doug Varone at the Annenberg Center
by Janet Anderson
The movement Doug Varone makes is serious and weighty, experimental yet accessible. No one at Annenberg last week needed to know about his honors because his choreography and beautifully trained troupe said it all.

Web Exclusive
Theater Review:
Government Issue
The Government Inspector, through Dec. 28, Lantern Theater Co. at St. Stephen's Theater, 923 Ludlow St., 215-829-0395, lanterntheater.org.
by David Anthony Fox
There's so much to enjoy in Lantern's production that I can't imagine anyone going home disappointed. The show is offered up as a family piece, which is rather daring and inspired — the kids at the matinee I saw were eating it up.

Arts Picks:
Luminous Communities
"Luminous Communities: Shaping our Neighborhoods with Jell-O," through January 2009, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, 200 S. Madison St., Wilmington, Del., 302-656-6466, thedcca.org.
by Jakob Dorof
"What is beauty?" This has been the prompt for artists-in-residence at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts this year. But now that the program has coaxed Cali-based artist Liz Hickok back to her hometown, she's bringing a different flavor of beauty to the table: Jell-O.

A Tuna Christmas
Through Jan. 4, $30, Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St., 215-574-3550, walnutstreettheatre.org.
by A.D. Amorosi
The psychedelic Tuna series is a sharply snarky version of a dream — think Ken Kesey meets Kinky Friedman. And with its two-man tag-team of actors playing each and every of TC's 24 characters, it's a guaranteed trip.


Movies


Movies :: Tricky DickTricky Dick
A disgraced president and a TV journalist trying to change his image go at it in Ron Howard's new film.
by Shaun Brady
Here, as in Apollo 13, director Howard seems liberated by the fact that history has already revealed the outcome of the story, allowing him to concentrate on personalities under pressure.

The Lessons of Cannibals
Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
by Sam Adams
Stranded's story of cooperation and self-sacrifice gains added resonance in troubled times. Even cannibals have lessons to teach.


Music


Music :: Cut from the ClothCut from the Cloth
How Jason Moran turned quilts from Alabama into music at the Art Museum.
by Shaun Brady
A devotee of conceptual art and design, Moran was already familiar with the quilts from Gee's Bend, Alabama. But to learn more about their creation, he actually traveled there to meet with some of the women who created them. The Houston-born pianist was soon reminded that there's the South and then there's the South.

The Titan of Sirens
Genre-skipper Martin Bisi is all four horsemen of the apocalypse.
by A.D. Amorosi
Martin Bisi has been at a crossroads since 1979, a four-way intersection of ambient electronic music, industrial noise, no-wave jazz/punk and hybrid funk.

Suite Spot:
Intermezzo
by Peter Burwasser
To put it plainly, 2009 looks to be a life-or-death season for a shockingly large swath of our cultural infrastructure. This is not alarmism, but brute reality.

Soundadvice
Get Out!
Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid | Philly Brotherly Love Concert | My Brightest Diamond | Musicians from Marlboro | mi3

Music Picks:
Ron Horton Sextet
Fri., Dec. 12, 8 p.m., $15, Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St., arsnovaworkshop.com.
by Shaun Brady
Too many visionary artists have to wait until after their death to finally receive their due. Andrew Hill managed to just beat that deadline.

Bevin Caulfield
Fri., Dec. 12, 8 p.m., $10, with Hymn for Her, The Discount Heroes and Dante Bucci, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.
by Deesha Dyer
"The songs are mostly about my experiences the last years in Philly."

Nicole Reynolds/Lucy Wainwright Roche/Rebecca Pronsky
Sun., Dec. 14, 7 p.m., $12, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0978, tinangel.com.
by M.J. Fine
Imagine an in-the-round show without a weak link.


Food


Food :: A Lasting Mémé-ryA Lasting Mémé-ry
Chef David Katz sees simple cooking as an opportunity to impress.
by David Snyder
Like the other small-plate spots in the city that have paved the way, I found that Katz's upgraded model naturally lends itself to sharing, giving us the freedom to experience more flavors without necessarily breaking the bank.

Brickrolled
Mix Brick Oven Pizzeria
by Trey Popp
The first thing one feels compelled to write about Mix Brick Oven Pizzeria is that its oven bears no visible trace of brick.

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Paesano's | King of Clubs | Tampopo | New restaurant from Devil's Alley/Sam's Grill owner Susan Schlisman

What's Cooking:
The Week In Eats
Get Out!
by Nikki Volpicelli
Beef and Beer for Brian Hickey | Second Floor Grand Opening Party at The Institute | 11th Annual Reindeer Romp | Gershman Y: Latkepalooza


Agenda


Agenda :: Very Merry
Agenda Lead:
Very Merry
Buy Kenzo
by Andrew Thompson
A Very Kensington Christmas (it's got a ring to it, no?) offers a venue for local artists to vend handmade wares, hoping that getting something nobody else has trumps getting something everybody has.

Shopping Spree
Fashion > Forward
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
Punk Rock Flea Market | Omoi Turns 2 | Arcadia Holiday Trunk Show | Dilworth Plaza Christmas Village | Traveling Wares

Agenda Picks:
In The Event That...
You Still Have that Brokeback Mountain Costume in your Closet
by Holly Otterbein
Sat., Dec. 13, 7 p.m., $15-$20, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., 215-731-9255, aidsfundphilly.org/gaybingo

Just Do It
Shop, Rock & Roll
by Dianca Potts
Sat., Dec. 13, 2-6 p.m., $5-$10 (sliding scale admission), Old Pine Community Center, 401 Lombard St., 215-789-4879, girlsrockphilly.org

Just Do It
Annual Holiday Party and Threads of History Reception
by Dianca Potts
Fri., Dec. 12, 6-8 p.m., exhibit runs through Feb. 22, 2009, Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch St., 215-561-8888, fabricworkshop.org


 
 
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