Heather Schwedel
ARTICLES
Ego
Mom Knows Best
Sometimes in restaurants, when my mom wants to get the waiter’s attention, she raises her hand gingerly, ever so slightly, a gesture so demure that it’s guaranteed to go undetected by not only the waiter, but by everyone but me.
Giving it 100%
Along with the sight of mysterious gentlemen sneaking out in the wee morning hours and the revolting buildup of hair in the shower drain, a kitchen full of 100-calorie packs goes with the territory of sharing a house with seven girls.
Music
We’re So Moving On (yeah-ee yeah)
Five years ago, the music gods smiled on Kelly Clarkson and the American public’s desire for a more palatable Alanis found its apotheosis in an awesome little song about dumping your loser boyfriend.
Film
Guilty Pleasures: Cutting Edge (1992)
The Cutting Edge
1992
If it were possible to distill the essence of the early ’90s to its purest form, the result would be a VHS copy of The Cutting Edge, the tale of two zamboni-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the decade’s ice skating craze.
Word on the Street
I turned 21 this past weekend. Yes, bow before me, Penn is now my oyster: I can go to bars, order drinks and if there's anywhere to gamble on this campus, I can do that too.
Winging it
Ladies and gentlemen, elves, faeries." The fashion show is about to start. There is glitter everywhere, the faint smell of incense wafting back from a few rows ahead.
"Designers from all over are here!
Contempory art is temporary smarts!
Just three times each year, something magical happens at the Institute of Contemporary Art, that futuristically boxy building on Sansom Street: the old exhibits disappear, and abra kadabra!
Bringing Up Billy S.
The Taming of the Shrew
Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival
2111 Sansom St.
Until June 20, various
(215) 496-8001
www.phillyshakespeare.org
Cue the overture, a peppy number like something out of an old Hollywood movie.
Ice ice (cream), baby
Capogiro
117 S. 20th St.
(215) 636-9250
www.capogirogelato.com
If you've ever been roaming the Rittenhouse area on a summer night and spotted an outlandishly long line, chances are you found yourself within a stone's throw of Capogiro, Philadelphia's answer to the gelateria.
Let's Get 'Pataphysical
Thomas Chimes: Adventures in 'Pataphysics
Philadelphia Museum of Art
26th St. and Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
Until May 6, Tue-Sun, 10 a.m.
Silicon smackdown
Think back to a time before Seth Cohen made geekiness a virtue, before Windows meant more than panes of glass and before nerds got their revenge.
Daytripper: Antique Row
This week Daytripper brings you to Philadelphia's historic Antique Row, a haven where everything old is new again, and everything weird is cool again.
I Spy ICA
Institute of Contemporary Art
118 S. 36th St.
Opening Sat, $3-6, free with PennCard
(215) 898-7108
www.icaphila.org
Locally Localized Gravity
Artists are producers: it's a conclusion any good thesaurus could lead you to, but the ICA has latched onto the statement's metaphorical implications, inviting eight groups to install spaces that over 100 artists will use for some 75 events in the coming months.
Film
Same old stuff
Ignoring for a second that a mouse getting flushed down the toilet is just about the most preposterous movie premise of all time, Flushed Away (from the creators of Wallace & Gromit) actually offers up a pretty enjoyable 90 minutes.
Film
Vote Mrs. Doubtfire in
Every week, a sizable number of young Americans tunes into The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and most have probably thought, at one point or another: "This guy should really get out of the whole late-night comedy thing and run for office." Stewart seems like the perfect candidate to some: his verbal whooping of Tucker Carlson on Crossfire proved his debating chops, and the rise of The Colbert Report gives him a natural running mate.
Naturally, Hollywood is never too far behind, swooping in with Man of the Year to help indulge liberal fantasies.
Brothers Grimm gets grimmer
The Pillowman
Wilma Theater
265 S. Broad St.
Until Nov. 5th, Times Vary, $38-50, $10 student rush
(215) 546-7824
www.wilmatheater.org
The Pillowman is a tapestry of twisted fairy tales.
Militarism in Marquesas
Most students will be holed up in the library during the hibernation period that is reading days, learning the material they meant to learn months ago and writing the papers they've supposedly been researching all semester.
Film
Dreamz 4 eva
If you like your satire obvious and your states blue, you'll love American Dreamz. Picture a country where a bumbling Commander in Chief sees his term in office as a mandate from God and a contest for pop superstardom is tops on television.
Bling Bling
Tucked into a quiet residential block of Center City, Halloween's treasures wait to be discovered. The outside may look unassuming, but your local mall's Zales has got nothing on this one-of-a-kind jewelry shop, so named for owner Henri David's favorite day of the year.
Let's make a deal
You've made it to mid-semester, but your wallet is in dire straits. You thought college would be about "money for nothing and chicks for free," but as you forage for soy crisp crumbs while wearing your ratty sweatpants, you realize that that maxim is only half-true.
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