Congratulations to the three winners of our Six-Word Memoir contest, announced last night at a reading at Barnes & Noble with SMITH Magazine editor Larry Smith. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Mom put Tastykakes in my lunchbag.— Al Cummings, San Francisco
Because the fat elf deserved it.— Tim Piroli, Philadelphia
I can’t leave for some reason.— Dan McQuade, Philadelphia
Your time is precious. Here are five stellar ways to consider spending it …
• The egotistical and extraordinary Kanye West brings his critically acclaimed Glow in the Dark Tour to the Susquehanna Center on Saturday night. There’s not a single seat left in the house, but you should be able to find something on Craigslist, and Sherry’s Tickets on 15th street has 18th row from the stage for about $150 each (215-561-5544). If you get there early, you’ll have to sit through Lupe and Rihanna, which you might not care to do.
• Also egotistical and extraordinary but in a less cool way, FBI-raided illusionist David Copperfield will inspire awe and female swooning at the Academy all weekend. I’ve seen him a couple of times and, although he’s likely to do the same tricks as before, I’m going again, which says something about either the quality of his work or my lack of a social calendar.
• Like books? The Free Library’s Second Annual Book Festival has lots of ’em, and their authors, too. Look for headliners Barbara Walters and Bernadette Peters (who apparently has a book out) in addition to Philly Mag contributors Ben Wallace (The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine) and Vicki “World’s Most Hated Mom” Glembocki (The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the REAL Truth About Becoming a Mom).
• As if the Italian Market isn’t overcrowded enough, it’s the 9th Street Italian Market Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Sounds like it’s a lot less Italian than it used to be, sort of like South Philly itself. I’ll be grabbing a meatball sandwich (or maybe some tamales if the tamale lady is around), hopefully some homemade wine (shhhh!) and catching a set by the thoroughly non-Italian Black Landlord, one of my favorite Philly bands (they perform 3 p.m. on Sunday).
• If you’re shorebound, you’ll find that Chris Rock at the Borgata is sold out, Jim Breuer (fellow SNL alum, also at the Borgata) is not, and then there’s ’80s pop star Deborah Gibson, whose show is actually supposed to be pretty entertaining if you’re into the whole pop-meets-Broadway conceit. If you are, $25 tickets are available, and be sure to check out my interview with Ms. Gibson.
Quick! Name three designers who do their best work in warm weather: Lilly Pulitzer, Emilio Pucci and, more recently, Amy Smilovic, founder of Tibi, and, as far as we’re concerned, the creative offspring of the first two.
Smilovic’s in town on Friday for a private trunk show at very trunk-showy Kimberly Boutique. Which means, you can, 1.) Stalk the shop and beg whoever answers to add your name to the list. Or, 2.), You could just pop in Saturday to scour the racks for the here-that-day, gone-the-next pieces from Tibi’s beach-y, swirly, maxi-dressed, hippie-chick-meets-Palm-Beach-socialite summer 2008 collection. Because as far as we’re concerned, summer’s here.
Thanks — we’ll take it: Mercifully taking an early lead, the Flyers beat the Penguins 4-2 last night. The team stays alive by barely avoiding a dreaded playoff sweep, and now heads back to Pittsburgh for Game 5. [Inquirer]
Get down, party time!: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia held its second annual prom for patients last night. Attendees were treated to donated clothes and a makeover, and the event even included a red carpet and national news coverage by the CBS Early Show’s Flavia Colgan. [CBS 3]
Former Philadelphia executive editor Benjamin Wallace has just released his first book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar, which traces the international mystery surrounding a wayward bottle of wine from Thomas Jefferson’s cellars. Philly Grill caught up with Wallace just as he was returning from his honeymoon with another Philly Mag emigrée, New York magazine’s Jessica Pressler. He’ll be giving a reading and talk at 3 p.m. on Sunday as part of the Free Library’s Philadelphia Book Festival. — Kyle Winslow
Some people can’t believe it happens to me, but I get a touch of restaurant burnout sometimes. I wake up in the morning and expect to see a human-sized stick of butter staring me back in the mirror.
This happened to me recently after what was probably the most exciting restaurant week of my life. During a recent seven-day period, I ate at Le Bec-Fin, Vetri and Talula’s Table. (What? My birthday is in May.) Everyone feels the need to detox when they’ve overdone it. Some people juice fast, which is way too extreme for me, but I do switch from a regular lunch to the following midday smoothie. It has less than 300 calories, which is, in my mind at least, a very light lunch.
Restaurant Detox in a Cup
2 ounces silken tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 banana, sliced
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 teaspoon honey
1/3 cup water
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour into a cold pint glass, garnish with a sprig of mint and do not serve with a sandwich or anything else.
It was vandalism at Boeing plant: Defense Department officials have concluded that the damage to two Chinook military helicopters discovered at Boeing’s Delaware County plant on Tuesday was intentional. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information in the case. [KYW]
We’re the new Hollywood East: As the Marley & Me shoot overran the still-beating heart of the Inquirer’s newsroom yesterday — during which reporter Sam Wood kept us all entertained with his newfound Twitter abilities — Michael Klein put together an interesting look at how new state tax incentives have made it impossible for us to walk down Center City streets without being accosted by famous people. [Inquirer]
For free, that’s pretty expensive: The Metro’s Josh Cornfield has a blockbuster scoop this morning — the John Street-initiated citywide wi-fi network that was supposed to have been free to Philadelphia taxpayers has actually cost them more than $2.6 million. The biggest chunk of that was a $1.4 million city loan — later forgiven — to help launch the Wireless Philadelphia nonprofit group; the rest was spent on consultants. The I-told-you-so brigade this morning includes City Councilman Brian O’Neill, Philadelphia Forward honcho Brett Mandel, and Nutter administration spokesman Doug Oliver. [Metro]
Like most girls I know, I spend the workweek lugging around a cavernous tote, filled to the brim with what feels like 30 pounds of stuff. Functional? Yes. Cute and feminine? Um, not exactly. Which is why, come Friday night, I happily ditch my suitcase-like bag and reach for one of my delightfully teeny, girlishly glittery clutches.
Soon to be added to my collection of pared-down purses? This supershiny clutch by local designer Angela Ricci, available at NoLibs’ Conspiracy Showroom. I love it for the way the metallic pop of green perfectly offsets the creamy pleated leather — and for the surprise inner lining of kimono fabric (because, really, the inside of a bag should be just as pretty as the outside). My budget-conscious fiance loves it because it tallies in at an affordable $68. And my aching shoulders love it because they can finally, happily get a rest.
Stretch marks be gone: A local dermatologist, Dr. Victoria Cirillo-Hyland, has found a way to lessen the appearance of stretch marks. The procedure isn’t 100 percent effective, however, and each round will cost you around $500, and it may cause seeping wounds. But hey, anything to diminish those unsightly reminders of 12-pound Little Johnny or 12 pounds of Little Debbie. [NBC 10]
I’m sorry. Was I speeding … Officer Handsome?: State police will now be using lasers on the Atlantic City Expressway as a new tool to zero in on speeding motorists. So, if you are planning on heading down the shore any time soon, you should probably slow down. Or invest in a laser detector. [6 ABC]
Congratulations to the three winners of our Six-Word Memoir contest, announced last night at a reading at Barnes & Noble with SMITH Magazine editor Larry Smith. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Your time is precious. Here are five stellar ways to consider spending it …
• Also egotistical and extraordinary but in a less cool way, FBI-raided illusionist 
• Like books? The 
• As if the Italian Market isn’t overcrowded enough, it’s the 
• If you’re shorebound, you’ll find that 
Quick! Name three designers who do their best work in warm weather: Lilly Pulitzer, Emilio Pucci and, more recently, Amy Smilovic, founder of Tibi, and, as far as we’re concerned, the creative offspring of the first two. 
Thanks — we’ll take it: Mercifully taking an early lead, the Flyers beat the Penguins 4-2 last night. The team stays alive by barely avoiding a dreaded playoff sweep, and now heads back to Pittsburgh for Game 5. [
Former Philadelphia executive editor Benjamin Wallace has just released his first book, 
Some people can’t believe it happens to me, but I get a touch of restaurant burnout sometimes. I wake up in the morning and expect to see a human-sized stick of butter staring me back in the mirror. 
It was vandalism at Boeing plant: Defense Department officials have concluded that the damage to two Chinook military helicopters discovered at Boeing’s Delaware County plant on Tuesday was intentional. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information in the case. [
Like most girls I know, I spend the workweek lugging around a cavernous tote, filled to the brim with what feels like 30 pounds of stuff. Functional? Yes. Cute and feminine? Um, not exactly. Which is why, come Friday night, I happily ditch my suitcase-like bag and reach for one of my delightfully teeny, girlishly glittery clutches.
Stretch marks be gone: A local dermatologist, Dr. Victoria Cirillo-Hyland, has found a way to lessen the appearance of stretch marks. The procedure isn’t 100 percent effective, however, and each round will cost you around $500, and it may cause seeping wounds. But hey, anything to diminish those unsightly reminders of 12-pound Little Johnny or 12 pounds of Little Debbie. [