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ISSUE . November 19th 2009

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Cover Story

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The Man Who Brought Philadelphia to Its Knees

The SEPTA strike, according to Willie Brown.

by Jeffrey C. Billman and Isaiah Thompson

Since the union boss said so little to the press during the strike, we thought it was high time to find out why. On Nov. 12, City Paper sat with Willie Brown for nearly two hours inside his North Second Street offices.

Opinion

Loose Canon:

Philly's Couch Problem

Local design costs less to maintain.

by Bruce Schimmel

No matter how many throw rugs and designer tchotchkes you buy, if you have a ratty couch, your living room will always look like a dump. The same for holds true for Philly and its bus shelters.

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

"Maybe you should spend five years ruminating on how big a douchebag you look like for writing that article."

News

Medical Tourist

A Penn grad student seeks an experimental stem-cell treatment in China that he can't get here.

by Julia Harte

If Ford successfully raises the money on his own, he'll be just one in a nationwide pool of "stem-cell tourists" — Americans who leave their homeland to seek adult stem-cell treatment that doctors are too skeptical, unwilling or (according to advocates) simply intimidated to perform here.

Man Overboard!:

I, Ishmael

Finding fallacy in the SEPTA strike.

by Isaiah Thompson

There's this part in Moby Dick — bear with me — where Captain Ahab whips his crew into booze-fueled cheers to kill the white whale.

A Million Stories

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

As a mean-ass arbiter of a culture that awards everything, I usually can't celebrate celebration.

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Arts

Re-View:

Life as a House

Robin Rice on Visual Art: Treacy Ziegler: Before an Ocean

by Robin Rice

Like the gallery itself, Ziegler's paintings are approachable and have an integrity that rewards thought.

Arts Picks:

Creepy Puppet Films

Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $7, Moore College of Art & Design, 1920 Race St., 215-965-4099, thesecretcinema.com.

by Molly Eichel

The title says it all. Puppets? Fucking creepy.

Falstaff

Sat., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $45, Central Bucks South High School, 1100 Folly Road, Warrington; Mon., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., $48, Haverford School, 450 W. Lancaster Ave., Haverford; 215-735-1685, avaopera.org.

by Peter Burwasser

Even when Giuseppe Verdi was not directly adopting Shakespeare for the operatic stage, his work was Shakespearean in dramatic depth and characterization.

Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Co.

Sun., Nov. 22, 3 p.m., $29-$62, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

by Janet Anderson

The Ukrainians are coming, and in full force — all stamping, jumping and playing musical instruments at the Kimmel.

Adam Gopnik

Tue., Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m., $14, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-567-4341, freelibrary.org.

by A.D. Amorosi

Philadelphia's loss may have been Montreal's gain, but locally born Adam Gopnik writes as if he never left.

Jim Brossy: Left Behind

Through Nov. 28, free, Projects Gallery, 629 N. Second St., 267-303-9652, projectsgallery.com.

by Lauren Seibert

It's the grit and grunge of city life that intrigue Jim Brossy.

Dance:

Something Good

DANCE REVIEW: Fräulein Maria

by Deni Kasrel

The show is clever from the opening number, where swaths of fabric suggest the verdant, hilly locale of the movie version for this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic.

Kaleidoscope

BalletX | Too Tuff | Deadmau5 | Monty Python Almost the Truth: The Lawyer's Cut

Movies

Rashômon

City Paper Grade: A-

by Sam Adams

Akira Kurosawa's four-way account of a man's murder, re-released on a new print, has become so associated with its central device that it requires an effort to see it only for itself.

Repertory Film

Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.

Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.

Music

Share the Land

Local folkie Joshua Marcus gets technical in his plea for environmental justice.

by John Vettese

The songs on Joshua Marcus' new album are preceded by interviews with the subjects who inspired them.

Music Picks:

Joker

Fri., Nov. 20, 9 p.m., $12-$15, with Nomad, L-Vis 1990, Bok-Bok, Kingdom, DJ Sega, Dirty South Joe, Flufftronix and Lady Prowl, Mad Decent Mausoleum, 531 N. 12th St., radsummer.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman

As dubsteppers go, 20-year-old Liam McLean (aka Bristol producer Joker) seems nearly as focused on sparking dancefloors as he is on inducing woozy, head-nodding hypnosis.

Hamiet Bluiett/Kahil El'Zabar

Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m., $12, Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St., arsnovaworkshop.com.

by Shaun Brady

It's a meeting of two of the most influential regional collectives in free jazz history — both born of the relatively barren Midwest — when these two join forces.

Tim Hecker

Sat., Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m., $12 with Aidan Baker, Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com.

by K. Ross Hoffman

As we inch into the frostier months, it's an apt time for the glacial, richly enveloping abstract drone music that Montrealer Tim Hecker has made his stock-in-trade for nearly a decade now.

Shot x Shot

Mon., Nov. 23, 8 p.m., $5, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, arsnovaworkshop.com.

by Shaun Brady

Ars Nova Workshop's Composer Portrait concerts have been illuminating experiences, emphasizing the vision of some of modern jazz's greatest figures.

N'dambi

Tue., Nov. 24, 8 p.m., $11-$13, with Natural Selection, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.

by Tisha Kline

If you've slept on N'dambi, it's time to wake up.

It's the Year 1989

Wed., Nov. 25, 9 p.m., $7, hosted by Reef the Lost Cauze, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

by Tisha Kline

DJs Emynd and Bo Bliz, curators of high-energy year-themed parties, will be packing the club and playing all hip-hop and pop hits from 1989.

Suite Spot:

Conductivity

by Peter Burwasser

The return of Riccardo Muti to Philadelphia always makes a splash.

Food

Percy Me

Where there's smoke, there's Philly's first Texas barbecue joint.

by Drew Lazor

The challenge, at least in the eyes of these restaurateurs, is twofold — endearing Philadelphians to this specific style of cooking, where meat is encouraged to be capital-letter MEAT; and putting in the work necessary to ensure they don't cause the Texas pit bosses of yore to roll over in their smoke-stained graves.

Father's Day

Paul BYOB

by Trey Popp

Paul opened this summer with no fanfare, but there’s ambition burning in the kitchen. Often that leads to a fussy show of sparks. Here it kindles nothing but cozy warmth.

What's Cooking

Get Out!

by Erin Mae Szrankowski

Thomas Keller at Williams-Sonoma | Thanksgiving at Down Home Diner | Second Annual Greensgrow Whole Hog Event | Thanksgiving Supper at Supper | 8th Annual Taste of Success

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

Hawthornes | Vietnam Café | Green Aisle Grocery | Percy Street Barbecue | Good Food Market

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Strapped for Cash

Why won't anyone take money donated by the fetish ball?

by Kristen Humbert

These fetishists are quite giving. All ball proceeds, typically totaling more than $10,000, have gone to local charities, including Action AIDS, MANNA and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Regardless of the fetish ball's raison d'être, each charity has taken the money — until now.

Agenda Picks:

Philcon

Fri., Nov. 20, 6 p.m.-mid.; Sat., Nov. 21, 10 a.m.-mid.; Sun., Nov., 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; $25-$60, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2349 W. Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, philcon.org.

by Nicole Saylor

Philcon, an annual conference held by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, tips its hat to all of sci-fi's offshoots.

Tellabration 2009

Sat., Nov. 21, 2 p.m., $8-$10, Church of St. Martin, 8000 St. Martin's Lane, 215-275-9324, patchworkstorytelling.org.

by Julia West

It takes cajones to be an good storyteller. Each year, Tellabration is celebrated to honor these brave souls and their fans.

Cut The Craft!

Sat, Nov. 21, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 22, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; free, 376 Shurs Lane, sardineclothing.com/CTC.

by Julia West

Bills decided to invite only crafters who make sustainable goods, including clothing, jewelry and artwork, to his show.

Pop Revisited

Sun., Nov. 22, 7 p.m., $15, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0978, tinangel.com.

by Lauren Seibert

Her performance cycles through a mix of hit songs to piece together a love story, while his pays homage to forgotten pop from the '90s.

Harry Potter and the Magical Muggle Museum

Sun., Nov. 22, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., free with $6-$10 admission, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South St., 215-898-4890, museum.upenn.edu.

by Lauren Seibert

This third annual festival brings the wizarding world to life: Visitors can play Quidditch on the lawn, attempt O.W.L. exams, design wands and even walk though a life-size re-creation of Diagon Alley.