>>> Kudos to our buds at Apollo Audio, whom we are proud to say have been our mp3-streaming broheims of choice for years now. Though the company’s been making sweet music-Internet love for a while, their launch party is only just tonight. Get with the Apollo gang (it’s a gang of one, but don’t let that stop you) at Silk City tonight with The Asteroid #4, The Perfect Prescription DJs and VJ Nico.
>>> Jazzbos, you have not been forgotten by the youth of today: Shot x Shot celebrates their new release at The Rotunda.
>>> And lastly, the UK’s Long Blondes are at Johnny Brenda’s with the band whose name we love to love, the shaggy psych groop Drug Rug.
Yesterday, we took note of Earthlink’s final death rattle in Philadelphia as they make plans for removing the never-quite-finished public WiFi network that would have, could have, should have made Philadelphia unique among the nation’s big cities. In the piece, we wondered where in the hell was Wireless Philadelphia, the non-profit established to both work on getting Internet access to the poor and be the public face of everything good about the project. By the end of the day, we were on the phone with Wireless Philadelphia CEO Greg Goldman, whom we’ve always known to be an affable guy who’s got his work cut out for him, now more than ever. Goldman was refreshingly candid with us: “It’s all moves,” he said, referring to Earthlink’s threatening moves towards removing the network and filing court papers to stem any liability they have to the city to $1 million. From every report we’ve read, things are about to get ugly between the City and Earthlink, but Goldman was resolute in not pondering Earthlink’s motives too much. Instead, he’s keeping his eyes on the prize: “I believe it’s still possible [to rescue the network] if given a certain amount of time,” he said. “I believe we can identify a viable entity to come in and take over and enable this network to be used for a variety of purposes — personal, commercial and municipal.”
Finally, we thought. Is Goldman putting it out there that the project could/should get bumped over to another pre-existing Internet service provider, who would use it as both a for-pay conduit, as well as do charitable works by earmarking some services for poorer neighborhoods where digital inclusion is a major issue? Well, yes. “The whole enterprise that has a civic mission itself,” he says. “And I believe there’s a way to tie it in to other kinds of networks, a hybridized solution where the wireless is connected to fiber-obtics or other means and serves everybody. Let’s try to focus on what [the network] is good for.”
That’s great, but is anybody biting? Not just yet, it would seem. “I wish I could say that I’m gonna pull a Comcast rabbit out of my hat, but that’s just not true. But it’s going to take more time than 24 hours after one deal falling through with Earthlink,” he said, referring to the fact that Earthlink basically has given up on the network after talks with OneCommunity fell through just a few days ago. As of just an hour ago, Wireless Philadelphia released a statement [PDF] basically saying it ain’t over ’til it’s over: “We applaud and thank the Nutter administration for its aggressive efforts to seek solutions and encourage all parties to continue working together to assure a positive future for this groundbreaking Philadelphia first,” it said in part. And indeed, it’s not over: With no language in the City’s contact with Earthlink granting the ISP permission to take down what they’ve put up, this is a battle that will almost certainly wind up in court.
Note: If you haven’t been keeping up with the Earthlink meltdown and would like to catch up, we highly recommend Josh Cornfield of the Metro’s reporting on the subject as of late. You can check out his most recent articles on the subject here, here, here, here, and here.
Check out this clip from last night’s NBC10 news about the crackdown on underage tailgaters at Citizens Bank Park. Highlights include:
· The age-old “we can fight in a war, we deserve a beer” argument. Sorry, dude, but the only war you should be fighting is the one to get into college. Ed-u-ma-cation! Worth fighting for!
· The beer all had to be poured out, on the ground, in the middle of the parking lot. As a seasoned drinker, and lover of a summer time Miller Light, that was seriously depressing. Hand it over to the old-heads please!
· The best part is that there were eight people cited for showing false ID to a Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officer! This is not the bouncer at Cav’s, dude. This is a cop. One who has been trained exclusively to ruin the fun of assholes like you; you cannot fool him with your fancy Kinko’s skills. 700 Level: A Dollar Dog Night From Hell
· A dastardly duo of things we double-dog dare you to eat: The Chip Butty and The Garbage Plate.
· Afterwards, you’re gonna need to get regular. Might we suggest Metropolitan Bakery’s All Natural Granola?
· Shield yourself: We have YouTube of the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives guy at Silk City.
· And for dessert, the Battlestar Galactica Cake. All this and more — plus the Phoodie Restaurant Guide and Phoodie Event Calendar on Phoodie.info, the new food and drink blog from Philebrity.
On Friday, May 23rd, Philebrity is pleased to announce that we’ll be throwing a two-pronged evening of music and fun in — believe it or not! — Old City. From 6-9pm, we’ll be presenting the Philly debut of Swedish electropop singer Karin Ström at the 222 Gallery, followed by a Friday night rager at National Mechanics with Resurrection, the DJ night helmed by DJs Bushy and RnG. Please join us for a great night out — this is gonna be a fun one. Stay tuned for more details! After the jump, check out the video for Karin’s new single, “Silent Night” — and visit her site for tons of music and more video. (more…)
Jackie from The Beloved Infidels says, “In honor of the Sorrento Cheese Festival taking place in the Italian Market this weekend, here’s our video “Suzanne,” which takes place in and around said market and features many local folk!” Thanks, Jackie! PS. If you’re in a local band and you’ve made a music video, send it along to tips[at]philebrity[dot]com. We’re trying to amass as many as possible for an awesome thing we can’t tell you about yet.
If you’ve worked at one of the alt-weeklies in town — and our reader research suggests that pretty much all of you have or know someone who has, at this point — there is no object of greater dread than issues like the Summer Guide. The “guides,” as they are known, are seasonal: Fall Guide, Holiday Guide, Education Guide (that one is always, always death), and so on, with the big daddy of them all being the Summer Guide. The Summer Guide is important to alt-weeklies because it’s pretty much the precise moment advertisers start pulling out for the summer — the papers start to get noticably thinner after Memorial Day — and the Guide is traditionally the paper’s last gorge on ads before everybody starts to go away; it’s hell on the ad reps, who are under tremendous pressure to sell as much as they can now, for fear that the summer will be deadsville. On the editorial side, the Summer Guide is a creature of thoughtless ennui, a dare nobody wants to take to come up with the been-done-100-times content the Summer Guide seems to require. (Because after all, if you need a guide to enjoying your summer, you’re doing it wrong.)
But it’s a funny thing: Words and phrases like “everybody going away,” “fear,” “deadsville,” “been-done-100-times,” and “thoughtless ennui” were just what went through our heads when we saw today’s Philadelphia Weekly Summer Guide, whose cover story is “103 Things You Should Do in Philly Before You Die,” and more specifically, the man most likely behind it, longtime PW ed-in-chief Tim Whitaker. How do we know? Why, it’s rather simple: (more…)
Philebrity has learned that Jennifer Aniston (pictured here during her dreadful heyday) will be filming one of her scenes for Marley & Me outside the Bellevue at Broad & Walnut Sts. today. Accompanying her will be actors Owen Wilson and Patrick Dempsey (TV’s McDreamy). Philebrity recommends that you approach Ms. Aniston with extreme caution, as she reminds us of nothing so much of the Culture of Lowered Expectations, both through her routinely po-faced movie roles (she’s kind of like the more expensive Laura Linney) and her put-upon, wounded bird media presence, which has made us want to die ever since we first encountered her during The Time When We Still Used Cassettes.
I walk down 30th St. as part of my daily commute and have noticed that Bolt Bus has set up shop in a No Stopping Zone there. Is the PPA turning a blind eye? Don’t you need a permit for this kind of thing?
You’re not going to believe this but, for once, we may actually have an answer. It would appear that the Bolt Bus must in fact have some kind of permit for hanging out on 30th Street — either that, or they’re going all kinds of renegade Fung Wah on this bitch. When you go to the Bolt Bus website, in fact the only departing option for Philly is “30th St. between Market & Chestnut” — the location of your photo. So, while we doubt PPA is turning a blind eye, they probably are counting coin from whatever kind of permit the Bolt Bus most likely had to buy. Don’t hate the player, though: Hate the Parking Authority. The more you know!
Seeing something around town of note? Cameraphone it to: tips[at]philebrity[dot]com.
The Asteroid #4 play the Apollo Audio party with The Perfect Prescription DJs and VJ Nico tomorrow night at Silk City. There’s free beer at 9pm, some great giveaways, and more. Philebrity’s got a clutch of guest list spots as well, so if you want in, send an email to ihopeiwin[at]philebrity[dot]com with “APOLL-OMG!” in the subject header. Let’s do it, and enjoy the sounds: This new A4 record won’t be out until July.
CENTER CITY: Bicycles triumphed over other forms of transportation today during the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’sCommuter Challenge. The Challenge pits a Septa bus, a PhillyCarShare car, and a bicycle enthusiast against each other — just like in real life! — to see who can make the best time from 45th and Spruce to the Municipal Services Building across from City Hall. Pat Cunnane, president of Fuji Bicycles, crossed the finish line in an impressive ten minutes and forty-five seconds. (Philebrity wants to know: Was he talking on the phone while he did it? ‘Cos that’s how we do.) The moral of this story is that two wheels can be faster and more environment friendly than four (or more) wheels. Too bad they didn’t include a unicycle, which would have been the greenest yet. [BCGP] CHINATOWN:A hundred and fifty tons of sand were dumped in Franklin Square earlier today to start the production of a large Philadelphia-themed sand sculpture. The sculpture will take about eleven days to create and is expected to be standing until the end of September. Independence Hall, The Franklin Institute, and the Phillies are just a couple pieces of Philadelphia included in the sculpture. [KYW] WEST FAIRMOUNT PARK:The Please Touch Museum will have a new home soon. The museum will be moving into Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, which has been numerous things since its original construction, but lately has been desolate. The building is undergoing numerous renovations on the inside, as well as slight changes on the outside, such as remaining the street outside to the original name of “Avenue of the Republic”. The grand opening of the new museum is anticipated for October 18th [CBS3].
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters Life!) - Philadelphia’s gay community sought to dispel some sexual stereotypes when it held the city’s first gay rodeo.
About 50 contestants roped steers, cracked whips, and wrestled cattle to the ground during the weekend in an attempt to prove to themselves - and the rest of the world - that they are just as capable of tackling a traditionally macho sport as their straight counterparts.
“This proves that we are normal,” said Jen Vrana, president and founder of the Liberty Gay Rodeo Association, a 240-member group that was founded two years ago.
When we finally get around to organizing this place, remind me to put this in the file next to vegetarians who insist on eating fake meat, Jews For Jesus and graffiti artists who join the Anti-Graffiti Network. Oh, and Log Cabin Republicans. Can’t forget about them. Reuters: Wait ‘Til You Get To The Part About “Cow Dressing” Related:YTMND: Gay Stampede 2600
After the jump, Brian James Kirk looks down the social networking rabbit hole and finds an unbelievably annoying life that some of you are already living. Just hold on. It’s going to be OK.(more…)
After the jump, Dan Murphy’s shots from Friday night, including Thunderheist and Black Ghosts at the Barbary, and the Teenagers show at the North Star, plus an mp3 from The Teenagers. (more…)
Philebrity is a cityblog covering the arts, gossip and media in Philadelphia. We've been here since October 2004, and we'll be here long after you move back to New York. Got a tip? Send it to tips[at]philebrity.com.
NOTICE:Interns wanted.
>>> Kudos to our buds at Apollo Audio, whom we are proud to say have been our mp3-streaming broheims of choice for years now. Though the company’s been making sweet music-Internet love for a while, their launch party is only just tonight. Get with the Apollo gang (it’s a gang of one, but don’t let that stop you) at Silk City tonight with The Asteroid #4, The Perfect Prescription DJs and VJ Nico.
Yesterday, we took note of Earthlink’s 
If you’ve worked at one of the alt-weeklies in town — and our reader research suggests that pretty much all of you have or know someone who has, at this point — there is no object of greater dread than issues like the Summer Guide. The “guides,” as they are known, are seasonal: Fall Guide, Holiday Guide, Education Guide (that one is always, always death), and so on, with the big daddy of them all being the Summer Guide. The Summer Guide is important to alt-weeklies because it’s pretty much the precise moment advertisers start pulling out for the summer — the papers start to get noticably thinner after Memorial Day — and the Guide is traditionally the paper’s last gorge on ads before everybody starts to go away; it’s hell on the ad reps, who are under tremendous pressure to sell as much as they can now, for fear that the summer will be deadsville. On the editorial side, the Summer Guide is a creature of thoughtless ennui, a dare nobody wants to take to come up with the been-done-100-times content the Summer Guide seems to require. (Because after all, if you need a guide to enjoying your summer, you’re doing it wrong.) 
Philebrity has learned that Jennifer Aniston (pictured here during her dreadful heyday) will be filming one of her scenes for 
CENTER CITY: Bicycles triumphed over other forms of transportation today during the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s 
