Results tagged “jessicaharalson”

To Whom it May Concern: We’d like to tell you a little about our friend and fellow contributor, “Phillial” columnist Jessica Haralson. As we’ve mentioned before, Jessica co-edits a little publication called Quake. Although Quake isn’t the first magazine of its kind, it is the first literary erotica magazine at Penn. Jessica got some great press last month from Philadelphia Weekly, and two weeks ago, the magazine’s first print issue arrived. Of course – and...

We've pimped them before and we'll pimp them again: the Quake kids, led by our very own Jessica Haralson, are hosting a preview party this evening for the first issue of their new erotic literary magazine, the first of its kind at Penn. The magazine follows in the footsteps of Harvard's infamous H-Bomb and Boston University's Boink (read an interview with Boink co-founder Christopher Anderson at Bostonist).

Penn erotic literary magazine Quake is debuting its first full issue this fall (they released a mini-zine in the spring), but those brilliant Penn students discovered the Internet this week as well. Quake is now online, promising to offer a lot of anticipation. No, wait - titillation. That sounds a lot better. Tee hee.

We don't like Hoobastank, but we know the song: "I'm not a perfect person." The song is wrong, though. When we sing it at drunk staff meetings, we change it to: "You're not a perfect person." And you're not. But that's OK. We're here to help.

Each week on Phillyist, we'll bring you our takes on the best and worst of local and national films. And since we're compassionate writers here at Phillyist, we also won't torture you with titles like "Phillyist's Phriday Philm Phun!" Of course, we did consider it. You have to consider it. Dark Water

by Star C. Foster
If you go to Dark Water expecting a suspenseful, horror film a la The Ring, you'll be disappointed. What you'll get instead is a surprisingly moving story about a newly-single mother's struggle to create a home for herself and her young daughter despite her own troubled past and uncertain future. The film flirts with atmospheric tension, but overall the supernatural takes a backseat to the terrors of real life: loss, betrayal, abandonment and failure. Sadly, even Jennifer Connely's stellar performance as the disturbed Dahlia (and indeed, strong performances from the entire supporting cast - even Tim Roth in his small role as lawyer-cum-deus ex machina) cannot save Dark Water from its terrible pacing; the story doesn't build so much as it meanders towards an ending - and even once there it dawdles a bit. It simply doesn't pack the psychological punch it promises. If you're looking for a good scare, Phillyist recommends you give Walter Salles' Dark Water a pass, and instead track down the original Japanese version (which left us frightened of elevators and sinks for weeks); the only thing that made our skin crawl in this remake was listening to them discuss the rental rates on Roosevelt Island. $900 for a small one-bedroom with a continually leaking ceiling? The horror! Fantastic Four

by Jessica Haralson
It's a convenient enough popcorn movie, rife with action, a hottie, and product placement that Wayne and Garth would be proud of. But is it convincing? This is the question moviegoers will ask themselves after watching Fantastic Four, a movie that matches the grandeur of its comic-book predecessors but fails to impress in the wake of other summer offerings like Batman Begins. Starring newcomer Ioan Gruffud as the lead, with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans lending performances as the brother-sister duo and the always respectable Michael Chiklis as the Four's rocky counterpart, the actors exude charisma and perfectly toned biceps but never work their way through some of the film's glaring potholes (for instance, why can Ben Grimm, once his powers are reversed, change back to his hulking alter ego?) The verdict? Enjoyable, but not memorable. Fantastic Four, in the end, is indistinguishable from the rest of its recent brethren, but will make for a fun afternoon at the movie theater.

Hello, Philadelphia! Did you enjoy your Live 8? (I didn’t – but I’m a wimp when it comes to a 1 million + mob. See the Phillyist Live 8 questionnaire about that.) Did you enjoy your fuzzy moppet Bruce Vilanch, Wayne Brady, Patti La Belle, Rufus Wainwright’s lisp, and 20 minutes of “Rocket Man” from Elton for the 4th of July Sunoco Philadelphia Freedom Concert? (I did. Particularly when Patti dressed down the amateur dancer for not “treating her like a woman”.) Did you enjoy being referred to as a collective city by umpteen celebrities? (I didn’t. But then again, I doubt Will Smith could have belted out, “Hello, Jessica Haralson!” without arousing suspicion from a certain Mrs. Pinkett on the sidelines.) Did you learn anything new about AIDS? No? You didn’t?

We spread ourselves across the Ben Franklin Parkway on Saturday, all for you. Well, we kind of wanted to be there, but we also wanted to give you the scoop on what we saw at and what we thought of Philly's big cultural event. Live 8 went off without a hitch, seemingly, but it wasn't perfect. We give you the good, the bad, and the SEPTA. Below are 8 key questions on Live 8 with responses from Phillyist staffers and contributors. We'll update this post as more of us check in with our experiences. 1. Security and personal safety: did you feel that health services and police officers were plentiful? Did you feel safe at Live 8?

John Carroll, Editor: The big red balloons for health tents were a nice touch. There could have been a few more, maybe, since they seemed like a hike at times (especially if you're hurt). Fortunately, I was fine throughout the day. The police were in groups along the perimeters, which wasn't ideal, but aside from being trapped in a crush of people early on in the concert, I was safe for most of the day.

Jessica Haralson, Love and Sex:My post-9/11 spidey sense tingled as I sashayed onto the Parkway at 7 AM with only a sparse sighting of police officers and no security checks; although the no-fly zone was comforting, I couldn't help but feel that a bomb could have gone off with little ado during the whole she-bang. The alcohol-fueled brawls that popped up around me during the day did little to mitigate my fears either. The police were there - but at the perimeter. What could they have done?

Jeff Siti, Arts and Entertainment:There were alot of police but they didn't have much to do though. No one was causing any problems.

Maria Tessa Sciarrino, Contributor:I was surprised at how safe i felt at Live 8, especially when a fight broke out right in front of me at the Easkins Oval South Fountain. I'm not quite sure what caused the incident but everything's fine one moment and the next, fists are flyin'. Cops who had been placed atop the fountain to monitor the area were there within seconds to clear up the situation. 2. How were the crowds? Did you have enough space to feel comfortable throughout the day?

John: As I mentioned previously, I got caught in a crush of pushing, angry people. I think the blankets and chairs really made movement difficult at spots along the Parkway, but aside from a few jammed areas (and a little lake behind the first video screen) I had an adequate amount of space throughout the day.

Jessica:The crowds were oppressive, as was to be expected. The complete lack of crowd organization, however, was not. Without a multitude of barricades, security, or logistical planning, the battle for space was an unregulated free-for-all that resulted in rolled eyes and ruffled feathers. When Al Sharpton heralded John Street's "incredible organization" during the evening fireworks, it was only the kindest that didn't boo.

Jeff:I didn't try to get too close the stage. The further back you got the more room you had. It was much better a few hundred yards down the Parkway.

Maria: Space was fine, it was everyone who felt it was OK to bring along a lawn chair that bothered me. Considering how crowded it was, especially up towards the front, the furniture caused more problems. I tripped over several of them.