Archive

I wonder what he smells like after he shaves, whether or not his aftershave is musky or more soapy. Does he lightly touch my arm when I make him laugh? What sort of underwear does he wear? How do his arms feel around my shoulders as we both toss our heads back...

The restorative powers of a well-prepped order of steak frites are difficult to overstate. Prior to a recent visit to the Good King Tavern, I, along with most other Philadelphians, had been feeling victimized by the weather, by the aggressive capriciousness of this winter, by its angry snow storms and recalcitrant ice....

The 81-year-old godfather of blaxploitation cinema brings his indomitable cool — and his fusion band, Laxative — to Johnny Brenda’s this weekend. Melvin Van Peebles has always been ambitious. Whether he’s learning the art of the deal from behind the counter of his daddy’s tailor shop on Chicago’s rowdy South Side, studying art...

If you’ve been online recently—particularly on Facebook—you’ve seen a new flavor of headline turn up on viral videos, teasing you with how sorry you’d be to miss the OMG amazingly inspirational YouTube clip that lies just the other side of that click. Headlines like “9 Out of 10 Americans Are Wrong About This Mind-Blowing...

Temple student Walter Smolarek remembers feeling energized when he heard Mumia Abu-Jamal’s voice directed at him. “People, especially young people, can and must build movements that can force politicians to address issues of social justice,” Abu-Jamal, a radical who was convicted of the 1982 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, said...

Luke Bowen is standing in the restroom of the Fox & Hound at the King of Prussia Mall when the guy comes up to him. It’s only a couple minutes ago that Bowen handed him a sample of “Trick or Treat,” a chocolate pumpkin porter made by Evil Genius Beer Company. The...

It’s an open wound in Philadelphia’s history: On May 13, 1985, police attempted to force revolutionary organization MOVE to vacate their townhouse on Osage Avenue. When tear gas and fire hoses didn’t work, they dropped four pounds of C4. The house caught fire; it spread, consuming over 60 homes and killing 11...

It’s been a wild ride, but Courtney Love is back—and she’s touring the Northeast this summer, which includes a stop in Philly this Thursday night at the Theater of Living Arts. PW‘s Randy LoBasso spoke with her at length about … oh, lots o’ stuff. Like, did you know the notoriously raucous rocker once...

In City Council chambers, four stories high inside City Hall, the atmosphere was jubilant as several dozen advocates, activists and citizens heard testimony for Councilman James Kenney’s historic LGBT equality bill. Kenney beamed proudly as Philadelphia, long regarded as one of the nation’s most progressive cities for gay citizens, now proposed to...

Physiological psychologist Marcia Pelchat works at one of Philadelphia’s unique scientific institutions: the Monell Chemical Senses Center, the world’s only independent research nonprofit dedicated to the study of taste and smell. PW asked Professor Pelchat—who’ll be speaking at two Philadelphia Science Festival events this month—“Perceptions of Flavor” on April 23 and “Beer Chemistry” on April 26—to explain...