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ISSUE . December 18th, 2008
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Cover Story


The Green Futures of Aaron Birk
How one mild-mannered artist/urban warrior is drawing up a brighter urban landscape.
by Carolyn Huckabay
Motivated by the ideal of a world where cities and nature live harmoniously, and armed with nothing more than dissolved sumi ink, rice paper and a behemoth aloe plant for inspiration, Birk has been working with quiet diligence on a graphic novel, The Pollinator's Corridor.


Opinion


Editor's Letter:
The Long Goodbye
Bush can't get out of Dodge quick enough.
by Brian Howard
Ten trillion dollars is not a figure we have to settle up on all at once — there are no collection agencies for this sort of thing. But when you consider that Bush took office eight long years ago with a large budget surplus and a shrinking national debt, it's no wonder everyone's making like Muntader al-Zaidi and taking parting shots.

Loose Canon:
Divided City? Anthroman to the Rescue
by Bruce Schimmel
As he defines it, Jackson's job is get people to talk about racism. To throw light on the invisible elephant that ironically looms even larger since Obama's ascent.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"There are plenty of atheists around who've been in foxholes and can testify otherwise."


Naked City


Naked City :: Respectable JackassRespectable Jackass
Businessman? Dramatic actor? Don't look now, but Bam Margera's about to go legit.
by A.D. Amorosi
"The council made me promise I wouldn't ride elephants through the club, set anything on fire or skate down the street. Since I've managed to make friends with like 90 percent of the police force, I'd like to keep it that way."

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
DAG, I FORGOT TO TELL YOU ICEPRICKS WHAT YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!

Running Numbers
A scholarly look at the digits that matter.
by Nick Norlen
All contributions will go toward radio collars to monitor the caribou. Can't they just listen for bells?


News


News :: Reading RainbowReading Rainbow
A progressive school wonders about gay rights in its curriculum.
by Kirstin Lindermayer
CEO Jurate Krokys describes her teachers as "100 percent committed" — to their students and to their ideals. When they approached her about calling out gay, she knew it really mattered to them. "They said, 'This is a human rights issue, one that I am willing to take a risk for."

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

The Defenders
A new Northern Liberties community group plans to take on rape. Aggressively.
by Charles Cieri
As far as Dozor's concerned, whether there's been a spike in rape statistics doesn't matter — what matters is the sustained threat she believes women face in Northern Liberties. The most pressing concern she sees is naïveté, hence her group's plan to take action through defense and deterrence.

Dispatch:
Two or Three Minutes
by Mike Newall
The fire company closings have received less attention from an overwhelmed public than library and pool closings. Partly that's because Philadelphia could probably safely absorb the loss of one or two fire companies. But not seven — and not this way.

Sports:
Take It Easy, Junior
Raul Ibanez is far from an obvious upgrade over the departing Pat Burrell.
by E. James Beale
Amaro wasn't acting quickly in a scarce market. Garret Anderson, Pat Burrell, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, Milton Bradley and Rocco Baldelli are all unsigned corner outfielders. If Ibanez wasn't the guy, why even target him?

Political Notebook:
The Last Dance
by Mary F. Patel

Rick Santorum made the scene and ran smack into his all-time favorite person, Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News. Upon seeing Segal, who made great efforts to make sure that Santorum was not re-elected, the former senator simply rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, no."



Arts


Arts :: Cake Walk
Art:
Cake Walk
T&P Fine Art fits in with South Philly's rumpled, melting-pot aesthetic.
by A.D. Amorosi
Bonus Web Content
The two-month-old T&P, named after the two products for sale in the space before it became a gallery — turtles and porn — presents "Give Less Fruitcake, Buy More Art!" this month.

Full Exposure:
Might and Maine
John Vettese sees what develops
by John Vettese
Bonus Web Content
In northernmost Maine, where U.S. Route 1A runs between two obscure burgs named Limestone and Fort Fairfield, a cluster of trees to the side of the highway is slowly devouring a barn.

Dance:
Divine Performing Arts
by A.D. Amorosi
I found that China's DPA is indeed something holy and weighty: Independent from China's communist regime since its formation in 2006, the New York-based cultural organization joins heavily costumed dance, traditional percussion and grand orchestration as part of its ancient storytelling and educational ideal.

Theater:
Judy Gold's 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother
by Natalie Hope McDonald
There's only a few days left to see Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian Judy Gold's one-woman show, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, inspired by the antics of the comedian's 86-year-old mother, as well as her own experiences being a lesbian mom of two.

Theater Review:
Off the Marx
Roy Smiles' Schmucks
by David Anthony Fox
Dying is easy, comedy is hard. What better proof than Schmucks, where every one of playwright Roy Smiles' imagined punch lines is crushingly stillborn.


Movies


Movies :: Clerical ErrorsClerical Errors
Meryl Streep sinks her teeth into a godly role, but Doubt lacks bite.
by Sam Adams
For a while, director John Patrick Shanley indulges Father Flynn's righteous indignation, but then he begins to entertain the notion that Sister Aloysius might be onto something. Perhaps the Father's loose-limbed approach to church doctrine is just a convenient cover for his own moral laxity, and perhaps the shrill and unyielding sister has been right all along.

Pound for Pound
Seven Pounds
by Cindy Fuchs
Ben's ability to move in and out of Emily's life is simply creepy at first, but as he appears to be hovering over other folks, as well, it's insidious. This even though he appears mostly pleasant — in that Will Smithy way.


Music


Music :: A Call to ArmsA Call to Arms
Prowler shouts En Garde! You best be at the ready this time.
by A.D. Amorosi
The local rump-shaking electro quintet achieved what few Caucasians, maybe only LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture, have since the '90s: combined slick and sassy production techniques with dense, dark soul and complex breaks.

Aid or Invade:
Republic of Texas
Rodney Anonymous vs. The World
by Rodney Anonymous
World music junkies and regular run-of-the-mill junkies have two things in common: Each awakes every morning on a bare, pee-stained mattress on the floor of a stranger's garage, and each then spends every waking moment of the remainder of the day searching for "the pure stuff."

Soundadvice
Get Out!
Cortez! Cortez!! | Love City | Tony Malaby Cello Trio | IKE | The War on Drugs

Music Picks:
CSS
Fri., Dec. 19, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., Transit, 600 Spring Garden St., igetrvng.com.
by M.J. Fine
You've gotta love bona fide Brazilian girls who can revive L7's "Pretend We're Dead" as a party jam and bridge the gap between Sleater-Kinney and Jennifer Lopez with their own "I Wanna Be Your J. Lo."

Ari Hoenig Quartet
Fri., Dec. 26, 8 and 10 p.m., $20; mid., $15, Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, chrisjazzcafe.com.
by Shaun Brady
Despite the fact that his regular groups occasionally appear under the name Punk Bop, drummer Ari Hoenig took the "punk" purely as a modifier, keeping the music in a recognizably hard bop vein.

Sweetheart Parade
Sat., Dec. 20, 9 p.m., free, with Papertrees and Mark Palumbo, Fergie's, 1214 Sansom St., 215-928-8118, fergies.com.
by John Vettese
Screw all this holiday cheer. It's almost winter, the season of chilly weather and heavy hearts. Consider those struggling with newfound unemployment, with failing health or heartbreak; they're certainly not hearing their lives reflected in Burl freaking Ives. Philly's Sweetheart Parade hits closer to home.


Food


Food :: Hearth of GoldHearth of Gold
No one does pizza and beer quite like Earth Bread + Brewery.
by Trey Popp
There are restaurateurs in Philadelphia who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to conjure a semblance of a story from an elaborately fussed-over interior. Earth Bread + Brewery doesn't have the polished plotline of spots like Parc and Pearl, but its hodgepodge of recycled, reused and environmentally responsible design elements comes together in an uncommonly genuine way.

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
El Camino Real | MangoMoon | Seasons 52 | Deals at Pita Pit

Daily Allowance
Mi Lah Vegetarian
by Kelly White
When is the last time you had a radish?

Small Bites
Little Vittles
Gray Kangaroo Liquor Filter | Mighty Joe Young Burger at Three Monkeys Café | BellaPizzelles | Penn1681 Rye Vodka

Top 5:
Bowls Built for Winter
Hot and Heavy
by Brian Howard, Carolyn Huckabay
1 Brisket Chili | 2 Dol-Sot Bibim Bop | 3 Mahi-Mahi Moqueca | 4 Sliced Beef Soup | 5 Beef Gulash

What's Cooking:
The Week In Eats: New Year's Edition
Get Out!
by Nikki Volpicelli
New Year's Eve Passport | Latin-Style NYE Bash at Cuba Libre | Silk City NYE | Moroccan New Year's at Fez | McGillin's Olde Ale House


Agenda


Agenda :: Souljah On
Agenda Lead:
Souljah On
Give Us a Moment
by Deesha Dyer
"I suggest that you read Midnight slowly, read each and every word placed on each and every page and allow your thoughts and feelings to flow."

Agenda Picks:
Eve and Flow
New Year's Guide
by Jakob Dorof
NYE events for the lonely, the party-hardy, the low-key and the old-school.

In the Event That...
You Eat your Latkes with a Side of Rock
by Campbell States
Jewmongous | Tue., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., $18-$23, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com

Just Do It
Sharing the Heritage! Annual Holiday & Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration
by Dianca Potts
Sat., Dec. 20, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., free, African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch St., 215-574-0380, aampmuseum.org

Just Do It
Bilenky Cycle Works Urban Junkyard Cyclocross
by Dianca Potts
Sun., Dec. 21, noon, free to watch, $5 to compete, 5319 N. Second St., 215-329-4744, bilenky.com


 
 
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