Spoonful of history
Sharpen your No. 2 pencils; it's time to take an ice-cream quiz. The hand-cranked ice-cream churn was invented by: (a) Thomas Jefferson, (b) Benjamin Franklin or (c) Nancy Johnson. The ice-cream soda was...
The judges are coming!
Your garden either made it into the finals of the City Gardens Contest or it didn't. The first round of judging is over. Awards in the contest, which is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural...
Hollywood’s hybrid
Hybrid cars are hip. At a recent movie premiere, five Toyota Priuses pulled up next to each other. Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld and star of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, is just one of...
Somebody’s watching you
During the Revolutionary War, town criers would walk the streets at night to make sure everything was in order. "The town crier historically went around Philadelphia saying, 'All is well, all is well,'"...
Not judging books by their covers
Jacqueline van Rhine, curator of prints and photographs at the Print Center, has put together an exhibition of "artists' books," being shown at Art in City Hall through Sept. 27. She puts a rather...
Growing peace
What was once an uninspiring vacant lot in Grays Ferry is becoming a cheery urban oasis, thanks to the efforts of a few youths who care about sprucing up their community -- and who...
Hospital gets a patron saint
After several weeks of mystery, St. Agnes Medical Center revealed the name of its "Broad Street buddy" during a press event yesterday at the hospital. St. Agnes is teaming with Comcast-Spectacor to create...
War in the ward
Flying in votes on plane tickets bought with campaign funds, committee people registered to vacant lots, allegations of meddling politicians, goons with tattoos ... Looks like Buddy Cianfrani left control of his ward...
Not even bronze
With Austin Powers in Goldmember, Mike Myers may have creatively shot his wad with this particular franchise. Although there are certainly decent moments, including a hilarious opening sequence, much of the movie is unfunny...