News and Opinion Philadelphia Weekly

How Wind Energy Is Sucking the Life Out of Our Bat Population

By Randy LoBasso — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:51:32 PDT

As the United States looks to green technology to keep up with rising energy costs, wind energy has become a beacon of hope. Pennsylvania now ranks 15th in the nation in wind energy, and wind farms in our region have been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But there are...

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Why Local Artists Are Teaming Up to Save Our Dying Bat Population

By Elliott Sharp — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:55:51 PDT

Those nighttime creatures might be creepy, but they’re VIPs of our ecosystem. Try this: Approach a random kid and say, “Hey, kid! There’s a bat!” Most likely, the kid will run away in terror, screeching like a hyena. That’s because bats have a bad rap: It was ingrained...

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Letters to the Editor

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:56:52 PDT

Join the Club Regarding Leah Blewett’s review of Walnut Street Supper Club: The first time I heard about this place it sounded like it sucked, glad to hear that’s backed up. If you want Italian food and singing, go to Victor Cafe. The food is better and...

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Savage Love

By Dan Savage — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:46:44 PDT

I’m a 17-year-old girl and, in most aspects, I’m confident with myself, my identity and my body. Earlier this year, I met a girl. She had some serious drama at home, so I let her stay at mine. Things went a LOT further than I was ready for. I had just had my first kiss the month before...

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Owner of Greensgrow Farms in Kensington Shows the City How to Be Successful in Urban Agriculture

By Michael Alan Goldberg — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:59:59 PDT

Fifteen years ago, Mary Seton Corboy got approval to transform a vacant block into a lettuce farm. How ludicrous was the notion of urban agriculture to most Philadelphia residents just 15 years ago? Mary Seton Corboy still laughs as she recalls going to the Department of Licenses &...

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Philadelphia Welcomes the First International Free Speech Film Festival

By Matt Prigge — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:56:21 PDT

Margaret Chew Barringer, Philly's top poet-turned-cultural ambassador and the woman behind the event, has a long-term vision of what it can accomplish and what it can become. Let’s get the strange bit out of the way up front: Only one film is being screened for the general public during...

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Letters to the Editor

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:03:26 PDT

Dog Eat Dog Regarding Brian Freedman’s review of Hot Diggity and Underdogs: Hot Diggity is the best by a long shot. For the food, for the staff, for the atmosphere, everything. Hot Diggity, you rock. PAIGE, via philadelphiaweekly.com Those specialty hot-dog shops are...

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Savage Love

By Dan Savage — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:29:03 PDT

I work in an office tower in downtown Seattle. From time to time, I go to a bathroom on a mostly deserted floor, go into a stall, and rub out a quick one. Usually, no one comes in. Today, just as I was blowing a load into a handful of TP, someone came into the bathroom. This person walked up to...

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Philly Mom Launches Traveling Nanny Agency for Parents in the Arts Community

By Michael Alan Goldberg — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:02:11 PDT

If anyone knows that the best ideas are often borne out of dark times, it’s Kristin Perry. Back in 2007, Perry was a single mom in her mid-20s with an infant son named Sammy, living in a tiny studio apartment at Seventh and Girard, laboring to get by with weekend bartending jobs in Northern...

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Letters to the Editor

By PW Readers — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:37:32 PDT

Dog-Eat-Dog Regarding Brian Freedman’s review of Hot Diggity and Underdogs: Hot Diggity is the best by a long shot. For the food, for the staff, for the atmosphere, everything. Hot Diggity, you rock. PAIGE, via philadelphiaweekly.com Those specialty hot-dog shops are overpriced bullshit....

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Angry-Man Author Buzz Bissinger Turns Himself Inside Out for Heartwrenching Memoir

By By Tara Murtha — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:29:25 PDT

The "Friday Night Lights" bestseller describes "Father's Day," out next week, as a "love letter to my son." Buzz Bissinger is almost as well-known for being angry as he is for being a critically acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning author who captures stunning snapshots of glory and failure in...

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Savage Love

By Dan Savage — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:13:57 PDT

I am a 26-year-old straight guy. My straightness and guyness are recent revelations, and it feels amazing to be able to confidently state this. Here is my trouble: I’ve had gender issues for the past five years. My now ex-girlfriend of three years said she couldn’t be with me anymore...

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Researcher Kevin Jones Recruits People for Much-Needed HIV Studies

By Michael Alan Goldberg — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:42:59 PDT

Kevin Trimell Jones’ job may be complicated, often frustrating, and entirely consuming, but his goal is simple and clear. “I’m trying to help end HIV,” says the research coordinator and ethnographer (one who analyzes human culture/society) at the University of Pennsylvania...

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Calendar: May 2-8

By PW Staff — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:50:20 PDT

Wednesday, May 2 Boston Marriage Award-winning playwright David Mamet is known for his macho male characters, rapid-fire dialogue and his uncanny ability to make obscene language sound simultaneously poetic and emphatic. His best plays, Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo, are...

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Events Not to Miss at Equality Forum, the World’s Largest LGBT Summit

By Nicole Finkbiner — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:51:19 PDT

This year, Equality Forum celebrates its 20th anniversary and, as always, will be hosting six straight days of events throughout the city that will focus on educating and inspiring members of the international LGBT community. Listen as experts dissect a variety of civil-rights issues during one of...

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Blue-Collar Towns Struggle to Establish Their Own LGBT-Friendly Spaces

By Randy LoBasso — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:47:30 PDT

Since it began in 1993 with the goal of advancing LGBT civil rights through education and activism, Equality Forum has exploded into the largest annual festival of its kind in the world, featuring five days of international organizations and panels with the goal of empowering the worldwide...

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Letters to the Editor

Wed, 02 May 2012 06:55:09 PDT

Giving It Their Best Shot Regarding Tara Murtha’s feature about two photojournalists who are taking on the city’s gun crisis: Wow. Once again Tara, you really hit the mark with this timely story. The suspect in my nephew’s murder is now on the most-wanted list but since I see...

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Why Geeks of All Colors Need the Black Tribbles

By Stephen H. Segal — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:43:18 PDT

Five black Philly radio hosts talk superheroes and sci-fi—and show the world that geek culture isn’t as white-and-nerdy as the media would have us believe. The Black Tribbles have gathered in the radio studio, as they do every Thursday night, to banter about the things that excite them. Tonight,...

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Savage Love

By Dan Savage — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:31:15 PDT

I am a straight 29-year-old guy and I’ve been into ball busting—having my balls kicked and stomped—since I was 14. The fucked-up thing is, I only enjoy getting my balls busted by other guys. I’ve been hit in the balls by girls, and it doesn’t do anything for me. I...

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David Darwin Proves That One-Man Sideshows Can Be Successful

By Michael Alan Goldberg — Wed, 02 May 2012 06:57:07 PDT

David Darwin didn’t mean to scare the bejeezus out of 5-year-olds. Unfortunately, that’s usually what happens when a 6-foot-7-inch dude with long hair and creepy clown makeup bursts into a birthday party with balloon animals intending to bring the joy. “Yeah, kids were terrified,...

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