Results tagged “broadst”

Let us say up front that we buy into Virginia Woolf’s theory about women artists: it was/is often lack of opportunity, rather than lack of talent, that keeps the gender imbalance in the classic art canon holding steady. Controversy still abounds as to the placement and display of female artists, particularly whether it matters. If art is good, it is good, right, and will be recognized as such, regardless of gender. Would that it were so. However, in the midst of arguing why women are underrepresented in the artistic pantheons, we can sometimes lose sight of those women who managed to break through those barriers presented by societal and cultural expectations. One is the subject of an exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts: Philadelphia native Cecilia Beaux, who was once described by painter William Merritt Chase as “not only the greatest living woman painter, but the best that has ever lived.”

If you haven’t noticed, the Philadelphia sports climate is pretty bleak these days. The Sixers suck. The Eagles are golfing. The Flyers are irrelevant. And the Phillies are currently nickel-and-diming perhaps the greatest slugger in a generation, hoping that an arbitrator will make him play for a relative pittance. So there is pretty much no reason to go to an arena or stadium near you to watch our local pituitary cases compete in the games of chance. And yet, on February 1, the lowest common denominator of our fine city will flock to the Wachovia Center. They will begin tailgating at 4 a.m. Come 6 a.m., they will enter the building, whereupon they will take their seats and longingly ogle the “Wingettes” in their bras and panties. They will buy $8 Bud Lights from the concession stands, and will be completely wasted before many of us have stepped in the shower. They will stand and cheer at fat losers as they stuff their filthy gobs with artery-clogging Buffalo wings. When the spectacle has concluded and a “winner” is announced, these fine gents, fresh from the most intimate contact they have had with a woman in eons, will file out of the doors and head straight to the nearest strip club to further sate their throbbing libidos. Bear in mind that this will probably be the most intellectual activity that these fellows will have indulged in all week. At the end of the day, they will vomit in the public common and drunkenly drive their vehicles home in a treacherous version of “Commuter Roulette.” Sound like fun? Then, by all means, head over to South Philly for the 610-WIP-sponsored Wing Bowl 16, “The Showdown in the Hot Sauce.” (To tailgate. This flimsy excuse to get wasted actually sold out a major sports arena... AGAIN.)

Phillyist has been known to run with an older crowd, maybe because inexplicably we were/are the youngest by at least 10 years at most of our places of employ. A fun game to play if you have a good decade to work with is “what was different?” This sometimes devolves into discussions of Slinky (yes, we are old enough to remember when they were exclusively made of metal). When working with a more serious bunch, though (sexual health clinics can be trying), we realized that, perhaps more than anything else, the fact that we do not remember a world before AIDS informs our perspective and marks us as belonging to a particular generation, one that doesn’t really remember a world without crack, either. Growing up in the thick of the early days of the epidemic, back when most people were still worried about sharing a water fountain with a positive person, made us appreciate the enormity of the crisis. It did not, however, have the same devastating impact upon us that it had on many people who had to watch as staggering numbers of friends and colleagues succumbed to the mysterious syndrome. Harvey Fierstein commented once that AIDS nearly killed Broadway—and he wasn’t kidding.

. Before you roll your eyes and click down to the next post, hear us out. This album had a lot more thought go into the song structure and overall album structure than most others we've heard lately. So we're giving in to our temptation and going to see Fall Out Boy at the Wachovia Spectrum tonight.

Maybe you've been missing out, all this time, on www.BadmintonStamps.com, written by Philabuster and SkinnySlim, two witty, sometimes charmingly snarky, guys who are way more up on the music-slash-party scene in Philadelphia and Brooklyn than you are. Their great site has two battling playlists to keep you entertained at work; music and other news from Philly and that still-sometimes affordable borough; and hot links to songs carefully paired with the long soundbite-sized posts. Check it out.

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Happy birthday Bach! Well, it's a little early (3/21/1685 was his actual birthday), but Philly likes to kick things off a little early. We've included a bit of the Bach fun below, but you can find a full list of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia events here.

A very cool event for a very cool cause is going down tomorrow night, and we wanted you to know about it. The event is a winter-themed dance party called Shake & Shiver, featuring music, film screenings, a raffle, refreshments, and a holiday photo booth. It's the first fundraiser for a non-profit organization called Girls Rock Philly, who are working to establish Philly's only rock camp for girls:

Guess who Phillyist is going to see Saturday night? BOB FREAKING DYLAN, that's who!! Sure, he's getting old, and we hear he's not always the best live performer anymore, what with his froggy voice and all, but the guy is a living legend - one of the greatest, if not the greatest, songwriters of our time; a man who changed rock and roll and folk music forever; whose protest songs actually made things happen; whose discography is a litany of classic albums. We've got his CD from this year, Modern Times, and while it's no Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks, it's definitely a good album, and in the same sort of wry, old-fashioned, bluesy style as his recent releases.

Usually when we hear about a noted evangelical Christian author speaking about gays and the Church, we expect it to be something pretty exclusionary and hateful. But Professor Jack Rogers, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, is giving a lecture tonight (with a question and answer period afterwards) on the subject of gay rights, and it sounds like it might actually be pretty reasonable, open-minded, and, well...Christian. His latest book is called Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church, and in it he talks about the personal change of heart he had on this issue. Also, according to the press release, "He examines how the church misused the Bible to justify slavery and the denial of rights to women, and he links these efforts to efforts today to use biblical texts to deny equal rights to gays and lesbians." Wow! Should be an interesting talk. And it's free!

The Nightmares X-Treme Scream Park opened up this month and continues its month-long run at the Wachovia Spectrum. We're not sure what makes this arena a "park," nor are we sure what exactly is "X-Treme" about it, but we're certain that a lot of dead or incapacitated Phillies (you know, they play in a park! See!) and skateboarders would certainly be scream-worthy. So let's get our hopes up for that.

Continue reading "Frugal in Philly - Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to Cabaret"