Archive: October, 2010

POSTED: Friday, October 29, 2010, 10:10 PM
Filed Under: Just Do It
malakye.com
Neat
To rally support for Franklin's Paine, the soon-to-be skatepark that'll triple as an ampitheatre and community hangout, the Skatepark Fund wants to assemble the largest group of skateboarders in the Philly area at their Photo Shoot Rally. Guests can strike a pose with Philly skateboarding celeb and X-Games gold medalist Kerry Getz, and other notable Philly skaters. The shoot is happening on Sat., Oct. 30 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Schuylkill River Trail (Ben Franklin Parkway and Martin Luther King Dr.). Everyone's invited to be part of it – skaters and admirers alike.
Posted by Juliana Reyes @ 10:10 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Friday, October 29, 2010, 8:46 PM
Filed Under: Ice Cubes
Scott Weiner
The Statham stare
Who feels like running to 16th and Walnut or into a Starbucks when a screen star like Jason Statham is beneath you? No, literally beneath you. Yesterday I stared into the gaze of the hot set that was Cebu below City Paper's own offices (yes, it pays to head home on occasion, if for no other reason than to get those Bridgette Meyers invitations) and saw a rushing thrush of cameramen and extras (one of which was Lilliie Ruth Bussy) for the filming of Safe. No I couldn't see Statham but I alerted my trusty bud and eagle-eyed photog Scott Weiner who was busy, you know, with groceries. But today I alerted Weiner again and VOLIA! not only did he make it down, he got there just in time to catch Statham on a water drinking break on Chestnut Street. Better than bothering him drinking coffee near his hotel, eh what?
Starbucks drinker
Posted 2010-11-02 08:25:13
Finally something original.
Posted by A.D. Amorosi @ 8:46 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Friday, October 29, 2010, 6:14 PM
Filed Under: Critical Mass
In anticipation of Halloween, my second favorite Arts & Culture blog, Flavorwire, released a list of the 10 creepiest songs of all time. Among them are the Police's stalkerish "Every Breath You Take," the Crystals' "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" and my personal favorite: Grace Jones' song about car crash sex, "Warm Leatherette." Any of these (except maybe that Crystals song) would make a nice addition to Philly Karaoke's Halloween sing-song event, Skaraoke: Night of Mayhem at Marathon Bar on Sun., Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. If you come in costume you can take part in the costume contest, and there's an impersonation competition for those who come dressed as their favorite singers. Who would you come dressed as? Bowie? Dolly Parton? How about Mariah Carey with her new baby bump? Let us know in the comment section, and feel free to fill us in on some of your own creepy song choices. I used to get freaked out when I hear THIS song.
Posted by Josh Middleton @ 6:14 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Friday, October 29, 2010, 4:14 PM
Slap Schtick by Shaun Kreider
This was not a submission to our Comics Issue. But I love it.
Here's how it works: You send us your comics by Nov. 15. We pick our favorites and print them in the Nov. 28 issue. There are certain sizes you gotta use, and a couple ways to send them. You can find that info and more here. Right now it's time for... Frequently/At-Least-Once Asked Comics Issue Questions: Q: Hey I tried sending something to comicsissue@citypaper.net but it bounced back. What gives? A: Sorry about that. It's fixed now. Q: Can you print color comics? A: Yep. Every page of City Paper is in full color. Q: Are black and white/greyscale comics okay? A: Yep, we have the technology in place to print non-color images. Q: How many submissions can I send? A: As many as you like, but we'll probably only pick one comic by any one artist. Then again, who knows? Not us. Q: Are the template sizes mandatory or optional? A: Mandatory. We'll try to work with you, if you're close, but there's all kinds of complicated newsie geometry involved. Q: Do those sizes include "bleeds" or are they the live area? A: I don't know what that means, but those sizes are the sizes, so make your comics those sizes. We'll be as forgiving as we can. Q: What resolution and file format do you prefer (or do you want physical paper entries)? A: For this one let's turn to designer Alyssa Grenning (who made that awesome Critical Mask banner you see above): "300 dpi - as a pdf, please." Are any non-pdf options ok? "not really..... we would prefer pdfs. or tiffs." Thanks, Lys. Q: You already printed/rejected me last year, should I submit again? A: Please do. Q: Can I send you something I've already gotten published somewhere? A: Eh. We'd rather be the first to print it.
drew
Posted 2010-11-13 18:35:06
Question:  once submitted, how do you know if you are accepted or rejected?
Posted by Patrick Rapa @ 4:14 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Friday, October 29, 2010, 2:00 PM
Filed Under: Poetic License

Critical Mass welcomes devoted poet/avid concert-goer/nerd-grrrl extraordinaire Jane Cassady to the fold; her weekly horoscopes will run in this space every Friday morning.

The awesome thing about made-up horoscopes? The stars take requests. Comment with your sign and wishes, and I'll use them as inspiration in the coming weeks. Scorpio (Oct. 22-Nov. 22): Listen to the This American Life episode titled "Unconditional Love." Think about attachment and risk. Don't listen to it on the bus, though, because you WILL sob. Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22): I'm writing a love poem about Pennsylvania for this contest and I'm having a hard time fitting in the puns I love so much; Starucca Creek asking "Viaduct?" Driving through the mountains asking "Who poked whose nose?" I may leave them in anyway. Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20): You have to keep reminding yourself, no one can hear what you're thinking; your brain isn't turned up like a too-loud iPod on the bus. Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19): I had a dream about you. You were so solid, none of the shimmery, diaphanous quality that you have in waking life. Find something grounding to do. After a while, no one will be able to see through you. Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20): Plow through emotionally difficult situations as if they were coats in a wardrobe. What could be waiting for you besides a lamp, a snowy hillside, and possibly Mr. Tumnus. Aries (March 21-April 18): Around the time that a friend of mine started going around in drag as another friend (sort of a Single White FTM situation), I realized that really there's no getting to know people one on one, that identity is porous and shifty, like a lenticular postcard. Taurus (April 19-May 18): In the words of indie-pop Taurus Gregg Yeti, "Your poetry never prepared you for this." You need additional training, possibly in social psychology or maybe geometry for design. It's time to grow some new neural pathways. Gemini (May 19-June 21): Gertrude Stein said, "Everything is so dangerous that nothing is really frightening." Buy that view you've been shopping for, start your novel (It's NaNoWriMo, after all!), call that long-lost friend. Cancer (June 22-July 23): You are a system of equations with infinite solutions. Your choices fan out like fractals or pile up on the same beautiful plane — whatever you choose, you are full of rich variables. Leo (July 24-Aug. 23): Last Sunday, my wife and I took a leafing trip to Lancaster. We strolled around looking at the beautiful old town, got homemade ice cream with the best chocolate jimmies in the world, then sat down in the park to make our "It Gets Better" video. Turns out there's a lot to survive for, even just in that one day. Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23): You'll be free soon from whatever it is. The shouting messes in your life will go mute, the bruises will fade, and the riches will pour in. Remember your many, many lantern-talents. Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 21): Reality show contestants routinely say "I'm not here to make friends." You can hear a montage of these here. The thing is, though, those aren't always the winners! You actually are here to make friends.
Posted by Jane Cassady @ 2:00 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 8:29 PM
John Donges
Stephen Hyams in Box Office
Tonight at Studio 5 in the Walnut Street Theatre, Quince Productions is previewing Office Politics, a four-play collection of shorts that take place in an office setting. While the subject matter in some of the pieces revolves around weighty issues like sex, love, birth and death, Director Rich Rubin says as a whole the production is different from some of the more risque stagings put on by Quince in the past. "It's more 'general audience," he says. Among the four works is award-winning playwright Carl Morse's Annunciation, where a pregnant employee is visited by a stranger from personnel who informs her that she's about to give birth to a newborn gay; in A Day for Surprises, written by John Guare, employees in the New York Library pasting room are thrown into a tizzy when one of the stone lions perched out front takes up residence in the ladies room and begins to devour employees one by one. Also playing is Box Office by Elinor Jones and Jean Giraudoux's classic, The Apollo of Bellac. Rubin says the cast is comprised of Quince regulars like Nick Allin, Kristine L. Bonaventura and Stephen Hyams. Runs through Sat., Nov. 13, Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5, 825 Walnut St., 215-627-1088, quinceproductions.com.
Posted by Josh Middleton @ 8:29 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:30 PM
Filed Under: Win
You'd look so hot in that
To promote his new late night show on TBS, Conan O'Brien sent me this lovely little number in the mail today. Gray's just not my color, though, so I thought I'd give it away. It's a size large and it's really soft. Who wants it? Be the first to comment with the word "fire crotch" and I'll email you for your address ASAP. Wait a minute ... what's that peeking out from the side? Oh, it's our latest issue. Find a copy in an orange bin on a street corner near you.
Matt
Posted 2010-10-28 16:36:25
fire crotch!
Posted 2010-10-28 16:49:37
fire crotch!
Kevin
Posted 2010-10-29 00:11:49
Fire Crotch!
Neal
Posted 2010-10-29 09:58:22
fire crotch
admin
Posted 2010-10-29 11:32:47
Fire crotch!
Nickypoo
Posted 2010-10-29 14:09:53
fire crotch
Justin
Posted 2010-11-07 04:29:57
fire crotch?

Just in case no one has seen this yet
Ryan
Posted 2010-11-10 03:08:33
"FIRE CROTCH" or crotch on fire?
Posted by Josh Middleton @ 7:30 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 5:48 PM
Filed Under: Critical Mass
It's a little pricier than your run-of-the-mill Halloween affair, but the $40 admission cost to get into the Haunting of the Corn Exchange on Sat., Oct. 30 from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. seems like it could be money well spent. Held inside the spacious TRUST building (249 Arch St.), the party features a four-hour open bar and complimentary apps — so the ticket just paid for itself right there. Besides all that, the classic costume party will also feature DJ-spun tunes, a photo booth and several projection screens showing classic horror flicks. Events at TRUST are usually pretty swanky, so maybe you can use the opportunity to don one of your classier costume ideas. Yea right, you're going to be a slutty kitty — it's way more fun. To snag tickets, you need to call TRUST (215-592-8400) in advance or purchase them on Ticket Leap.
Posted by Josh Middleton @ 5:48 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 4:08 PM
Filed Under: Ice Cubes
Photo | Scott Weiner
Taylor Swift signs autographs outside The Today Show Oct. 26.
Ice Cubes are all the juicy details A.D. Amorosi couldn't cram into Icepack and Icepack Illustrated. Read on to get yer gossip on. So many more Ice Cubes to swizzle with before the weekend hits. Some involve statues being removed from the Spectrum grounds to make way for the wrecking ball (George Young and Co. is taking out the Kate Smith and Dr. J totems). Some involve barely moving statues, like the wooden Bradley Cooper who started a few days of pickup shoots for The Dark Fields yesterday in and around Rittenhouse Square. And that's to say nothing of the concrete acting skills of statuesque Jason Statham, who's here to lens Safe. But there are some flesh-n-blood types out there, too. While Wyomissing, Pa.'s mistress of the kiss-and-tell, Taylor Swift, was shot penning autographs in the crowd after a performance on The Today Show (Back to the Future's Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd were close by), Southern gentleman Ludacris was in the 'burbs. Like his pal Snoop Dogg before him, Luda made a stop in PA to hawk his Conjure Cognac at the PA Wine & Spirits Store in Bala Cynwyd. Then he hit the Wells Fargo Center (so did Phillie Jimmy Rollins) to watch LeBron James and the Miami Heat beat the 76ers during our home opener. Dag, LeBron, there's no reason to embarrass us in front of the Luda.
Posted by A.D. Amorosi @ 4:08 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 3:06 PM
Filed Under: Movies
But will he get his coffee at Old City or Double Shots??
Thanks to celeb eagle eye/CP photog Neal Santos, we got early word this morning that Jason Statham — of Snatch/Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels/general sexiness fame — is filming a movie (2011's Safe) below CP headquarters at Second and Chestnut. (Specifically, he seems to be filming in the old Cebu, as evidenced by the "Hot Set" sign by the door in our lobby. I'll say.) As Cinema Blend reported in May, Safe is somewhat of a departure for the generally ass-kicking Statham, since it's directed by Boaz Yakin (Uptown Girls, Remember the Titans). Maybe another member of the Clueless cast will be in this one?!? Don't try to drive down here, since there are about eight grillion support vehicles parked on our tiny cobblestone streets, but take a walk and you might just run into someone hot and British.
Rachel
Posted 2010-10-28 20:52:00
You're forgetting that Boaz directed Fresh and a Price Above Rubies- both worth watching.
Posted by Carolyn Huckabay @ 3:06 PM  Permalink | Post a comment
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About this blog
Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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