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ISSUE . April 23rd, 2009
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Cover Story


Lush With Cash
Can e3 put the green back in banking?
by Andrew Thompson
Wiggins and Baldassarre want to take an industry that has traditionally eschewed mindfulness and make it mindful. To them, the financial world's profit-obsessed mentality is ultimately the same thing that financed projects that spewed carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and dumped toxic chemicals into water systems. From their perspective, banking is the force that has powered every project in the past few hundred years, and the trick is to point that power in a different direction.


Opinion

Editor's Letter:
We All Float On
Reactions aplenty to last week's Schuylkill-paddling cover story.
by Brian Howard
"If only the river was clean enough, I'd be like Jesus, feeding the masses, giving out catfish to my entire block daily."

Loose Canon:
What Bees Teach Us
I confess: I'm guilty of bee abuse.
by Bruce Schimmel
The real problem with bees is connected to a greater human disease — a moral one. It's what happens when the abundance of factory agriculture takes precedence over the destruction it wreaks.

Feedback:
Letters to the Editor
What You Say
"I think Mr. Kalman should be allowed to name his business as he sees fit, but then again I think that Babar the Elephant telepathically writes songs through me."


News


News :: American History ExAmerican History Ex
Philly Civil War buffs mourn the unexpected loss of their museum.
by Mike Newall
Philly's Civil War Museum, which owns one of the most respected Civil War collections in the nation, planned to relocate to The First Bank Building at Third and Chestnut. Philly Civil War buffs were excited. On Sunday, however, it was reported the deal was off.

Icepack
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Bonus Web Content
This week I'm having a love affair with everyday Philly neighborhood people and the manner in which they speak.

A Million Stories
Christine Flowers attends a tea party | Crafting at Project H.O.M.E.'s winter respite | Anatomy of a mugging

Sports:
Why Harry Matters
by E. James Beale
"If you can look past Ben Franklin and William Penn," Mike Schmidt mused, standing in the bowels of CBP in a clean light blue half-zip and jeans, smiling sadly, "he may have been the greatest person to grace Philadelphia in the history of the city."

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


Arts


Arts :: Power of Pryor
Theater Review:
Power of Pryor
REVIEW: Theatre Exile's American Buffalo
by David Anthony Fox
David Mamet's 1975 play — a feisty allegory set in an old junk shop, where three small-time losers battle over a buffalo nickel — is usually treated as a macho tightrope act.

Arts Picks:
Jerry Spinelli's Eggs
Through May 24, $29 ($20 for children), People's Light & Theatre Co., 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org.
by Mark Cofta
People's Light & Theatre Co. builds on the success of its unique Target Family Discovery Series with another world-première adaptation of a beloved tween novel.

Kaleidoscope
Zoetrope: All-Story | Jason Bateman in State of Play | Death | Rosenbach Museum & Library

Arts Picks:
Skin & Bones
April 24-Jan. 3, 2010, free with admission of $12 ($7 for children), Independence Seaport Museum, Penn's Landing, 211 S. Columbus Blvd., 215-413-8655, phillyseaport.org.
by Rachel Dukeman
Whether you're paying homage to a fallen loved one, repping your neighborhood or showing love to mom, you can thank a sailor for making tattoos an accepted part of American society.

Opera Co. of Philadelphia
April 24-May 3, $10-$210, Academy of Music, 1420 Locust St., 215-893-1999, operaphila.org.
by David Shengold
OCP pairs up two of the 20th century's funniest short operas.

Fairmount Arts Crawl
Sun., April 26, 2-6 p.m., free, 2120 Fairmount Ave., fairmountartscrawl.org. More images from participating artists at citypaper.net/arts.
by Dianca Potts
Bonus Web Content
According to local painter and sculptor Douglas Randall, Fairmount — not First Friday-focused Old City — has been a hot spot for artists to call home for half a century.

Avatard
Fri.-Sat., April 24-25, 8 p.m.; Sun., April 26, 3 p.m.; $12, Community Education Center, 3500 Lancaster Ave., 215-387-1911, cecarts.org.
by Deni Kasrel
Sci-fi geek Megan Mazarick grew up on Star Trek and Dungeons & Dragons. Still fascinated by fantasy, she now expresses herself through dance and film presentations that are often quirky and nonlinear.

Thomas Hine's The Great Funk
Fri., April 24, 8 p.m., $7, Moore College of Art & Design, 1916 Race St., 215-965-4099, thesecretcinema.com.
by Molly Eichel
The late, great '70s: It was an era of maxiskirts, Afros and more chest hair than we'd like to imagine.


Movies


Movies :: SurvivorsSurvivors
Sweetbread Studios makes the jump to the silver screen.
by A.D. Amorosi
Bonus Web Content
In Eye of the Tiger, Thrill of the Fight, a reality show offers gaming options where slapping and kicking — even murder — are all fair game, and the large-scale mess of actors and filmmakers become part of the picture.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
City Paper Grade: B
by Shaun Brady
Where Spinal Tap was delusional about their fallen stars, Anvil fully recognizes their plight — they simply refuse to relinquish a dream that's as fresh four decades past its expiration date as it was the first time they turned on their amps.

Heavy Hitter
Anvil! director Sacha Gervasi talks about his favorite band from high school.
by Sam Adams
In a sense, Gervasi has performed the ultimate fan's service, giving Anvil the chance they never had. Consider it a debt repaid from a 16-year-old roadie turned 40-year-old-filmmaker.

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


Music


Music :: Wheels of FortuneWheels of Fortune
Celebration takes a gamble on its tarot-themed songs. Is success in the cards?
by Michael Pelusi
Baltimore-based trio Celebration has decided to play high stakes: They've ended the relationship with 4AD Records, and unveiled a new Web site where their music will be available for free.

Music Picks:
Chain & The Gang
Mon., April 27, 7 p.m., $10, all ages, with Calvin Johnson and Mahjongg, The Barbary, 951 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by Patrick Rapa
Chain & The Gang sometimes sounds like a guy with peanut-butter mouth singing through a baby monitor that's being held up to a Jack in the Box drive-thru.

Russian Circles
Tue., April 28, 7:30 p.m., $12, all ages, with Lichens and Sweet Cobra, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by Patrick Rapa
Somewhere between the heavy hooks of Titus Andronicus and the acrobatic daredevlishness of Mogwai lies instrumental Chicago trio Russian Circles.

Tommy Keene
Wed., April 29, 9 p.m., $10, with Grammar Debate! and Persona, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com.
by M.J. Fine
You'd be hard-pressed to find a bad song on a Tommy Keene record, and you're not going to find one now.

Bowerbirds
Sun., April 26, 7 p.m. (sold out) and 9 p.m., $10, all ages, with Bell, First Unitarian Church chapel, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by M.J. Fine
Don't be scared off by Bowerbirds' boy-girl birdcalls and pleas for coexistence with the cockroach and the buffalo.

Female DJ Awards
Wed., April 29, 8 p.m., $8 (benefits Equality Forum), Sisters Nightclub, 1320 Chancellor St., 215-735-0735, sistersnightclub.com, femaledjawards.com, equalityforum.com.
by Natalie Hope McDonald
Hosted by Just Jess and The Baraness, the first-ever Female DJ Awards invites 13 spinderellas to hit the deck during Equality Forum.

One Track Mind:
The Boy Least Likely To
"When Life Gives Me Lemons I Make Lemonade"
by K. Ross Hoffman
Bonus Web Content
Even by the sugary standards of twee-sters The Boy Least Likely To's addictive, adorable sophomore record, this cut's Pollyanna-meets-MacGyver premise is saccharine to say the least.

Suite Spot:
Hey Fat Ladies
by Peter Burwasser
The opera "ain't over until the fat lady sings." And yet, according to Curtis opera director Chas Rader-Shieber, this concept is a historical anomaly, creeping into common lore just in the past century of an art form that now stretches back half a millennium.

Music Picks:
Creaking Tree
Sun., April 26, 7 p.m., $10-$15, with Tempest, Philadelphia Folksong Society at Chestnut Hill Academy, 500 W. Willow Grove Ave., 215-247-1300, pfs.org.
by Mary Armstrong
Drama, without a single word, is a large part of it.


Food


Food :: Commander in ChifaCommander in Chifa
Jose Garces opens a bold new chapter in the history of "ethnic cuisine."
by Trey Popp
If Jose Garces sees himself in part as a kind of cultural curator — the purpose of his preparatory trips to Lima, Cuzco and Hong Kong, he told me last year, was to "see what we can uncover, and just bring that information back" — he balances his preservationist impulse with a disciplined creativity.

What's Cooking
Get Out!
by Lauren Fleming
Shakespeare's Birthday Tasting Tour | 2009 Fishtown Shad Fest | Dining Out For Life | Earthquake Fundraiser at Le Virtù | Cure for the Common Katzenjammer

Temple of Bloom
Sakura
by David Snyder
Thanks to crisp and simple flavors, Sakura's authentic regional Chinese cuisine — spanning Shanghai, Szechuan and Mandarin traditions — is a winner.

Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Honest Tom's Taco Shop | Mango Bush | New menu at the P.O.P.E. | Joe Coffee Bar to close


Agenda


Agenda :: Shad About You
Agenda Lead:
Shad About You
Fishtown celebrates its eponymous animal.
by Andrew Thompson
Until the early 20th century, shad was Fishtown's eponymous livelihood, coming up the river around this time of year to spawn. And while the neighborhood may now be known more for its gentrification and proposed casino than its fisheries, the Fishtown Area Business Association (FABA) will honor the fatty gray fish in its first-ever festival.

Just Do It:
Equality Forum
What to do and where to go at this year's EF.
by Lauren F. Friedman
Richard Amsel Retrospective | A Conversation with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom | Film Screening: Pursuit of Equality | National Equality Rally

On the DL:
Innocent on Death Row: Randy Steidl
Thu., April 30, 7 p.m., free, Delaware County Peace Center, 1001 Old Sproul Road, Springfield, 610-891-8968, delcopeacecenter.org.
by Dianca Potts
"I don't think they'll ever be able to have 100 percent accuracy to determine who's guilty and innocent. It's a system run by humans and humans make mistakes."

Last Chance
Catch it or Regret It
by Holly Otterbein
Bonus Web Content
Gregory Prestegord at F.A.N. Gallery | Chicken at the Adrienne | "Spring Break 2009" at Tiger Strikes Asteroid

Just Do It:
SustainaBall
Fri., April 24, 8-11 p.m., $75, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-922-7400, sbnphiladelphia.org.
by Katie Karas
When you think of how environmentalists and locavores get down, a ritzy cocktail party probably isn't the first thing that pops into your head.

This American Life Live!
Thu., April 23, 8 p.m., $20, multiple locations, thisamericanlife.org.
by Lauren F. Friedman
On April 23, in a rather sensational mingling of old-world entertainment and new-fangled technology, an episode of This American Life will be recorded live and simulcast to 430 theaters all over the country.


 
 
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