AltWeeklies Wire
Kayaking Through the Dead Center of Philadelphianew

The Schuylkill River is a mysterious beast. It's a living thing that, for the most part, has remained shrouded from the very population it spawned and sustains.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Brian Howard |
04-21-2009 |
Sports
Price-Slashing Isn't the Only Way for Chefs to Counter a Bad Economynew
If you look hard enough, there are plenty of industrious chefs out there killing and cooking that great hungry whale named Recession, and divvying it up at a decent price so as to survive the new economy.
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
03-24-2009 |
Food+Drink
Tags: food & drink, recession
Top Drinking Days for a Sports Fannew
Sports and booze — they've been bringing families together and messing with kids' educations for as long as they've been around. And there's hardly a better time to combine the two than the Tourney.
Philadelphia City Paper |
E. James Beale |
03-24-2009 |
Sports
Drexel Prof Has Some Concrete Answers About How the Pyramids Were Builtnew

Michel Barsoum says the theories that modern science have devised to explain the construction of Egypt's Great Pyramids are wrong. Barsoum's theory, naturally, has been treated as heresy in the world of Egyptology.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Patrick Rapa |
01-27-2009 |
History
Working Stiff: Amy Stein's 'Domesticated'new
As human domesticity presses onward and communities sprawl further into undeveloped regions, the wildlife in those regions runs out of places to remain wild. Think of it as the gentrification of nature. Photographer Amy Stein sees it less as coexistence, and more as entrapment.
Philadelphia City Paper |
John Vettese |
01-27-2009 |
Art
You Can't Take It with You: Philadelphia Artists Explore the Transience of Naturenew
Most outdoor art installations are built with permanence in mind, the point being to work with materials that can stand the ravages of time and weather. In curating "Ephemerality" at Philadelphia's Schuylkill Center, Zoë Cohen had the opposite in mind.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Shaun Brady |
01-27-2009 |
Art
We Are What They Eat?new
If Obama can blend green, healthy policies with the symbolism of actual green, healthy living, it could the greatest thing since chocolate met peanut butter.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Amy Z. Quinn |
01-27-2009 |
Food+Drink
Why Philly Needs to Appropriate the Legacy of Edgar Allan Poenew
Goodbye Ben Franklin, goodbye Rocky. It's time for a new figure to represent everything good and bad about our city. One in whom we can see both our dreams and nightmares. It's time for Philly to embrace its inner-Gothic self and celebrate Edgar Allan Poe.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Edward Pettit |
01-13-2009 |
History
Mystery Shopper Marc Kravitz Keeps Philly's Servers on Pointnew
Blindly feared by servers the same way your gram fears The Reckoning, Kravitz absorbs everything he sees, hears, tastes and sometimes even smells.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Drew Lazor |
12-09-2008 |
Food+Drink
Philly Fashion Designer Melanie Brandon Turns Guns into Things of Beautynew
Brandon wondered what she could do about such a large and formidable problem as citywide gun violence. She was just a fashion designer, after all. Then it struck her: Take the guns out of circulation. Melt them down. Turn them into jewelry.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Makia Harper |
11-25-2008 |
Fashion
Meet Stoya, South Philly's Biggest Porn Starnew

If you've not already heard Stoya's name or seen her face in any number of magazines or on pornographic blogs, Adult Video News releases and websites, you might not know that she is an It girl of the mainstream sex industry.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Matt Stroud |
11-18-2008 |
Culture
Do the WPA's Striking Visuals Still Make a Mark?new
The Works Progress Administration is often viewed through the kaleidoscope of the arts -- specifically the iconic, familiar posters originally commissioned as a visual representation of the WPA's credo. But what's their purpose today, aside from nostalgia?
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
10-28-2008 |
Art
Kombucha: Magical Cure-All or Deadly Blob?new

You might've heard about kombucha tea thanks to its status as a trendy health aid for Hollywood starlets -- fans of the fermented beverage claim daily drinking bolsters well-being. But many established American medical authorities still won't recommend its consumption.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Felicia D'Ambrosio |
10-14-2008 |
Food+Drink
Posthumous CDs From Mitch Hedberg and George Carlinnew
Reviews of Hedberg's Do You Believe in Gosh? and Carlin's It's Bad for Ya.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Lori Hill and Andrew Milner |
10-06-2008 |
Performance
Damon Feldman Pits C-listers Against Each Othernew

Celebrity Boxing Federation, the company Feldman started in January 2008, held one of its biggest matches last month, with former child star and current radio and television host Danny Bonaduce fighting local comedian the Rev. Bob Levy.
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
10-06-2008 |
Sports