AltWeeklies Wire
Well-Endowed: Very, Very Large Drawings on Display in Philadelphianew
In a word? Satisfying. Seven artists' work is effectively installed in a compact space, and a striking variety of approaches and mediums suggests perennial issues relating to drawing.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Robin Rice |
01-12-2010 |
Art
How South Philly Became the Center of the Alt-Wrestling Universenew
This sub-genre flips the focus back from operatics to athleticism, catering to those for whom the Monday Night Raws and SmackDowns and even the TNAs of the world have gotten too far removed from what they love about the sport, or the art, or however you care to refer to it. (Just don't call it "sports entertainment.")
Philadelphia City Paper |
Shaun Brady |
11-17-2009 |
Sports
How One Sword-Swallower Sired a Legion of Philly Freaksnew

Almost single-handedly, Red Stuart, who at 58 is the world's oldest active sword-swallower, has helped bring to Philadelphia one of the country's most up-and-coming sideshow scenes.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Bill Meagher |
10-13-2009 |
Culture
Salon Culture is on the Rise in Philly as Local Art Lovers Make a Case for Intimacynew
The kind of audience-performer bond that you find at a salon helps to build a real sense of community around the arts. But who in their right mind would let their rugs get worn and their walls get smeared all in the name of intimacy, creativity and communal vibes?
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
09-22-2009 |
Art
Budget Impasse Threatens Philly's Iconic Mural Arts Programnew

The city's tightening belt has already trickled down to MAP -- which has spent recent decades making Philadelphia the "mural capital of the world" -- and the doomsday budget proposed by Mayor Nutter could bring even more pain.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Tara Moore |
09-14-2009 |
Art
At Philly's Art Hotel, Residents Earn Their Keep With Their Work, Not Their Walletsnew
The Art Hotel's guests carry out their free, two-week artist residencies in a quite unusual way: Rather than live in a separate building, or at least in separate rooms than the founders, they set up camp in the very townhouse we're chatting in.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Holly Otterbein |
09-01-2009 |
Art
Philly's 10 Best Cheesesteaks You've Never Hadnew
This list, in nonpartisan alphabetical order, is for people who are ready for a graduate-level course of cheesesteak exploration and appreciation.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Carolyn Wyman |
06-30-2009 |
Food+Drink
To Be a Kinetic Sculpture Derby Star, You Must Sacrificenew
Since its maiden derby in 2007, the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby has become a sort of hallmark of the creative community in Philadelphia's Kensington, Fishtown and Port Richmond neighborhoods.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Andrew Thompson |
05-19-2009 |
Recreation
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
A Philadelphia Lawyer Gives Up His Practice to Make Some Real Breadnew

The world of artisanal food production tends to attract dreamers, misfits and others just disinterested in following an unswerving path through life. It's as if it's almost a requirement.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Dan Packel |
04-13-2009 |
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
Philly's UFOlogists Tell Us Why They Believenew
UFO sightings in the Philadelphia metro area are up by more than 700 percent this year. Boomerang-shaped UFOs, rhomboids, fireballs, UFOs that spew a silvery metallic substance that changes the chemical makeup of privet bushes and poisons robins -- you name it, we saw it.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Steven Wells |
12-15-2008 |
Culture
Angela Crafton Brings Unusual Cred to Philly's Prison Arts Programnew
Crafton has taught mural painting to Philadelphia prison system inmates for the past five years. But a decade ago, she was incarcerated herself.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Frank Rubino |
12-08-2008 |
Art
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