Issue Browser :: 2009-09-24 :: Philadelphia Events, Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs

It could be that McDonald just got assigned a really, really bad apple to follow around that day. Any reporter, put in her shoes, would have done the same and written exactly what the officer said, right? Maybe not.

The Screen Savers

941 Theater

by Molly Eichel

The boys behind 941 Theater are doing more for local film, simply by giving movie-makers a screen for their work.

The Lane Makers

Bicycle Coalition

by Brian Howard

The hardworking folks at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia have been involved in so many big advances, it's mind-boggling.

The Fierce

Philly Roller Girls

by Holly Otterbein

We're giving it to them because they're trading in their freak queen crowns and imparting the sport of roller derby with more clout.

The Negotiator

Annette Rizzo

by Doron Taussig

Back in 2008, at the height of the foreclosure crisis, an order was issued postponing all foreclosure proceedings in Philadelphia. And a special court was set up by Common Pleas Judge Annette Rizzo to try to prevent as many of those foreclosures as possible.

The Lord of the Ruins

Thaddeus Squire

by Shaun Brady

Peregrine Arts' ambitious Hidden City festival spent this summer peeking beneath the shroud in neglected historical sites across the city, many of them closed from public view for decades.

The Oasis

Jerome Shabazz

by Natalie Hope McDonald

When Jerome Shabazz sees a hair dryer, he sees a new way to teach about wind energy.

The Ring Master

DJ Lee Jones and Sundae

by A.D. Amorosi

Why this party? Why now?

The Naantrepreneur

Munish Narula

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

Customers hungry for Tiffin's savory masalas, tandoor breads and dals were soon clamoring for another location. Expansion has snowballed since.

The Lion Tamers

Carlos Basualdo and Michael R. Taylor

by Lori Hill

Representing the U.S. at the 53rd annual Venice Biennale, the PMA walked away with the big prize: the prestigious Golden Lion, an honor the country hasn't seen since 1990. The keen-eyed, forward-thinking curators responsible for the coup: Carlos Basualdo and Michael R. Taylor.

Opinion

Loose Canon:

Better Accounting for Taste

Food from a supermarket is like a subprime mortgage.

by Bruce Schimmel

At Vetri, I got tender rigatoni with pork ragu and fresh ricotta, striped bass with heirloom tomatoes, and a chocolate polenta souffle. At many supermarkets, consumers get chicken a la antibiotique and potatoes aux organophosphates.

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

"Next time you guys film naked people riding bikes through Center City, make sure you get more footage of the ladies?"

News

Going All In

Is taking down the casinos a lost cause? Or just a new one?

by Isaiah Thompson

Some three years after the state informed Philadelphia that, like it or not, it would host two casinos, neither is up and running.

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

# You say you don't know whether to be more shocked by the taxes that Philly's arts community must pay in the wake of HB

A Million Stories

"For $10,000 in Cambodia, you could build two temples." | "Private companies suck Iraqis' blood." | "He was not a violent person."

Sports:

Andrews' Head

What's eating Shawn Andrews?

by E. James Beale

Despite a proclamation that the decision for Andrews not to play was medical — "He has a sore back. ... It's that simple," Andy Reid unconvincingly explained — the move is unprecedented. In pro football, sore isn't a complaint, it's a state of being.

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Arts

Full Exposure:

Street Kings

John Vettese sees what develops: "Streets of Philadelphia: Photography 1970-1985"

by John Vettese

"Streets of Philadelphia: Photography 1970-1985" is a time capsule of a city in transition. But what's most striking as you wander through the exhibit is how much the city seems the same.

Arts Picks:

Cabinet of Wonders

Sept. 29-Oct. 24, $18-$25, Underground Arts at the Wolf, 340 N. 12th St., 215-407-0556, gasandelectricarts.org.

by Mark Cofta

Furniture fosters feelings in Cabinet of Wonders, An Impossible History.

Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love

Through Oct. 18, $22-$25, Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St., 215-563-7500, newcitystage.org.

by Nicole Saylor

There's a serial killer on the loose — yet even in a city rattled by horror and chaos, seven sexually frustrated individuals are struggling to find love.

Theater Review:

So Nice So Smart

REVIEW: Nathan the Wise

by Mark Cofta

Like the Malvern theater's illustrious record, Nathan the Wise — translated into modern vernacular by Edward Kemp — isn't showy or shocking, but smart and warmhearted.

Mud Men

REVIEW: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

by David Anthony Fox

In fact, the whole of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a good-hearted spoof — but it needs a very strong production to keep it all afloat.

Kaleidoscope

Tickley Feather | James Ellroy | Sugar Town | Greatest Classic Films Collection

Arts Picks:

Howard Dean

Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform reading, Thu., Sept. 24, noon, free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org.

by Shaun Brady

We can only imagine what President Howard Dean's reaction would have been to Rep. Joe Wilson's recent outburst.

Movies

Going for the Gold

The Toronto International Film Fest is on the road to Oscar, but it's the surprises that shine through.

by Sam Adams

The Toronto International Film Festival is often a venue for anointing the preordained, the first stop on the studios' long march toward Oscar season.

Bright Star

City Paper Grade: B+

by Molly Eichel

During his short life, Keats was largely dismissed as marginal, but Brawne recognizes his spark of genius even if she doesn't understand it, just as Keats recognizes something similar in Brawne.

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

Aid or Invade:

Finland!

In fact, it was pretty goddamn awful.

by Rodney Anonymous

America, you've prayed to your false gods for decades now to bring you something different. Luckily for you, Odin intercepted your feeble pleadings and has sent you KTU.

Music Picks:

Faust

Faust workshop, Mon., Sept. 28, 8 p.m., $10; Faust show, Tue., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., $20; International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

by A.D. Amorosi

Before Krautrock was a genre designed to teach young bands words like "motorik," it was an explosion of post-psychedelic/pre-art-rock noise that Neu! and Can pioneered.

Flying Lotus

Sat., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., $20, with Shabazz Palaces and the Saturn Never Sleeps Ensemble with King Britt, Painted Bride, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914, paintedbride.org.

by K. Ross Hoffman

Steve Ellison's deeply dubby, haunted hip-hop beats and pieces should fit right in amid the mirrored shards and fragments of the Painted Bride's Isaiah Zagar walls.

Pilooski And Broadzilla

Fri., Sept. 25, 10 p.m., $5, Finger on the Pulse at Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St., 215-592-8838, silkcityphilly.com.

by A.D. Amorosi

If you've hit a dancefloor within the last year, you've been witness to Pilooski.

Screaming Females/Brown Recluse/Free Energy

Fri., Sept. 25, 8 p.m., $8, with Bad Temple, Pi Lam, 3914 Spruce St., yarga.net.

by John Vettese

Current Port Fishington settlers Free Energy showed us the potency of their Freaks & Geeks-ish skuzz rock at Making Time two weeks ago, and Brown Recluse's new Soft Skin 12-inch is delightful.

Toy Soldiers

Sat., Sept. 26, 6 p.m., $7, The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., iourecords.com/thefire.

by John Vettese

When Ron Gallo formed Toy Soldiers at Temple last year, the go-to comparison was The Black Keys.

Food

Trunk Show

Sycamore is good enough to lure you to the 'burbs.

by Trey Popp

Though our meal unfolded at a notably slow pace, the service was long on warmth, too. That, along with much else about Sycamore, should be a boon to Lansdowne as the sociability of summer gives way to shortening days.

The M-y Awards

Restaurant M

by David Snyder

"Simpler is better sometimes," says Cancelliere. His work at M proves it.

What's Cooking

Get Out!

by Erin Szrankowski

Sandwich Smash 2009 | Illuminati Dinner at Le Virtu | Appetite for Awareness: A Gluten-Free Cooking Spree | Libation Laboratories: The Artisian Cocktail Experience

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

Fuel | Resurrection Ale House | Pizzeria Stella | Cochhon | The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Down Dome

The Rotunda, West Philly's iconic multiuse venue, turns 10.

by Lauren F. Friedman

"They used to produce one event a week [with] not much activity in the summer. Now we have at least 300 events a year, and at least 200 different organizations and artists who have come our way."

Agenda Picks:

A Supreme Court Preview

Mon., Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m., $7-$15 (reservation required), National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., 215-409-6700, constitutioncenter.org.

by Cristina Perachio

This month's lecture series at the National Constitution Center will allow you to vent your governmental frustrations, concerns and questions to fellow community members, as well as politicians.

Banned Books Reading

Wed., Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m., free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-686-5322, freelibrary.org.

by Lauren Seibert

"In this time, people think banned books are not an issue. But there are still groups around the country who want to control what people read."

Last Chance

Catch It or Regret It

by Holly Otterbein

I'll Teach Your Grandma To Grow Gills | Bright Path

Agenda Picks:

Lebowski Fest

Screening Fri., Sept. 25, 8 p.m., $20, Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St., 215-627-1332; bowling party Sat., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., $25-$30, North Bowl, 909 N. Second St., 215-238-2695; lebowskifest.com.

by Scott Yorko

The event kicks off at the Electric Factory with soul/rock band The Black Diamond Heavies, which covers soundtrack songs by Kenny Rogers and "the fuckin' Eagles, man!"

Gayborhood Games

Sat., Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m., $20-$40, Voyeur Club (formerly Pure), 1221 St. James St., 215-735-5772, nightlifegay.com.

by Josh Middleton

Christopher Ciccone, brother of the queen of reinvention, will sit on a panel of judges that determines which of 31 locals will win in the first-ever Gayborhood Games.

Zombie Prom

Sun., Sept. 27, 8 p.m., $7-$10, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-5483, phillyzombiecrawl.com.

by Julia West

"You can't please the undead," says creator Robert Drake. "They wanted more." And so Zombie Prom was created to satiate brain-hungry Philadelphians.