Philadelphia City Paper, July 16th, 2015

P H I L A D E L P H I A

JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 ISSUE #1572

2

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

3

IN THIS ISSUE …

CP’S S-T-R-E-T-C-H TO A NEW SIZE BACK IN MARCH, City Paper debuted a new design that was faster, edgier, bolder. This week, we continue our evolution by publishing in a new size. We’re thinner and taller, and who doesn’t want to be that?

With the latest change, we’re expecting to benefit from the efficiency of printing City Paper at the New York Daily News’ plant, the same facility that prints Philly Metro. Based on Metro’s experience, we are expecting crisper color on our pages and an edition that comes stapled for your convenience.

Rest assured, the content will continue to flow through the lens of an alternative point of view. At the same time, we’re always on the prowl for fresh ideas, talented performers ready for discovery and new ways to influence the local conversation on important topics.

As always, I’d like to hear what you think of how we are doing. Write and let me know.

—Lillian Swanson, Editor in Chief lswanson@citypaper.net

CP STAFF Associate Publisher Jennifer Clark Editor in Chief Lillian Swanson Senior Editor Patrick Rapa Arts & Culture Editor Mikala Jamison Senior Staff Writer Emily Guendelsberger Staff Writer Jerry Iannelli Copy Chief Carolyn Wyman Contributors Sam Adams, Dotun Akintoye, A.D. Amorosi, Rodney Anonymous, Mary Armstrong, Bryan Bierman, Shaun Brady, Peter Burwasser, Mark Cofta, Adam Erace, David Anthony Fox, Caitlin Goodman, K. Ross Hoffman, Jon Hurdle, Deni Kasrel, Alli Katz, Gary M. Kramer, Drew Lazor, Alex Marcus, Gair “Dev 79” Marking, Robert McCormick, Andrew Milner, John Morrison, Michael Pelusi, Natalie Pompilio, Sameer Rao, Jim Saksa, Elliott Sharp, Marc Snitzer, Nikki Volpicelli, Brian Wilensky, Andrew Zaleski, Julie Zeglen.

Designer Jenni Betz Contributing Photographers Jessica Kourkounis, Charles Mostoller, Hillary Petrozziello, Maria S. Young, Neal Santos, Mark Stehle U.S. Circulation Director Joseph Lauletta (ext. 239) Account Managers Sharon MacWilliams (ext. 262), Susanna Simon (ext. 250) Classified Account Manager Jennifer Fisher (215-717-2681) Editor Emeritus Bruce Schimmel founded City Paper in a Germantown storefront in November 1981. Local philanthropist Milton L. Rock purchased the paper in 1996 and published it until August 2014 when Metro US became the paper’s third owner.

CIT YPAPER.NET @CIT YPAPER

30 South 15th Street, Fourteenth Floor, Phila., PA 19102.

215-735-8444, Tip Line 215-735-8444 ext. 241, Listings Fax 215-875-1800, Advertising Fax 215-735-8535, Subscriptions 215-735-8444 ext. 235

BEST BIG WEEKLY IN PA 2015 KEYSTONE PRESS AWARDS

COVER DESIGN // Jenni Betz

4

Senior Designer/Social Media Director Jenni Betz

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

Production Director Dennis Crowley

THE BELL CURVE

THIS WEEK ’S TOTAL: -13 // THE YEAR SO FAR: -1

OUR WEEKLY QUALITY-OF-LIFE-O-METER

QUICK PICKS

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

more picks on p. 27

JUST WINGIN’ IT

Ambler’s Act II Playhouse keeps the summer fun with one-weekend shows throughout July, including this weekend’s six improvisational comedy performances created

by Mary Carpenter, a ComedySportz veteran performer and director of Act II comedies Making Spirits Bright and Didn’t Your Father Have This Talk with You? Act II’s intimate space is perfect for audience-participation improv, so expect to be asked to contribute ideas to inspire the actors, who will be making it up as they go along. 7/16-19, Act II Playhouse, act2.org.

—Mark Cofta

-2

Philly police say they are launching an internal investigation after a video surfaces showing six officers allegedly punching and beating a man while arresting him in April. “Actually, we just, uh, finished the investigation and decided everything’s cool. In fact — know what? — we’re all getting medals.”

-2

A Philadelphia man is gored twice, near his knee and anus, while participating in the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. “I just wanted to experience something rare,” says man.

“And now when I poop, it comes out of two places, which is also pretty rare.”

-1

Mayor Nutter confirms rumors that some parts of the city will be fenced in during the Pope’s visit for security reasons. “And it needs to be a big fence,” says Nutter. “Turns out his Holiness has tremendous vertical jumping ability.

Add that to his thermal camouflage, infrared vision and fearsome teeth and, well, God help us if the Pope were to ever get loose in the general population.”

-1

Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky says he was given the runaround by city officials while trying to figure out why the July 4 fireworks ran late. So he digs a little deeper and, sure enough, bikes did it.

-3

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput applauded a Catholic school’s decision to fire a lesbian teacher, saying it showed “character and common sense.” Adding, “And I should know about common sense, I’m wearing a fancy, full-length robe in the middle of summer.”

-1

The PPA puts a boot on a Philly school bus in Cobbs Creek for unpaid parking tickets. “I appreciate the evilness of it, but I wonder if we could be thinking bigger,” says an internal memo leaked from PPA HQ. “Next time we’re presented with the opportunity to be dicks in a major way, let’s ask ourselves: ‘What would ISIS do?’”

D AV ID M ART YN

HUN T

3

-

A Penn syl van ia man is arrested in A ri zo na for plotting to have sex with a horse. Ugh. That is completely vile and unnatural and we are utterly appalled. But — and we’re just spitballing here — this might be our best chance at making a centaur, you know?

EXHUMED FILMS PRESENTS R.A.D.

BLACKBIRD SOCIETY ORCHESTRA

If nothing else, sci-fi thrillers have taught us to never to turn our backs on a Roomba. For those who’ve gotten complacent, Exhumed Films of fers a five-film marathon of killer robot movies, from the dreaming androids of Blade Runner to the consumer-killing security ’bots of Chopping Mall, the capital punishment of Robocop, Kinji Fukasaku’s Star Wars-inspired Mes sage From Space and The Vindicator, a robotic spin on Frankenstein. 7/19, International House, ex humedfilms. com. —Shaun Brady

Get your Gatsby on with the group “dedicated to the preservation of the music of ‘The Jazz Age.’” BYOchair-and-picnic for this pay-what-you-wish concert. It’s a promo for Glen Foerd’s Jazz Age on the Delaware celebration Aug. 1, a day of more flapper-era music, dancing, vintage vendors, food and specialty cocktails. Blackbird Society Orchestra concert 7/16, Glen Foerd on the Delaware, glenfoerd.org.

MEKONS

This venerable Eng lish outfit of raggedy outsider art-punks are tour ing not in support of a new album — their latest was 2011’s wide-ran ging, conceptually ambitious An cient and Mo dern: 1911-2011 — but rather a documentary, Revenge of the Mekons, which some what un help ful ly screened at International House last Friday. If that means the band’s in a retrospective mood, they’ve got countless incarnations to revisit, spanning their nearly four active decades — as class-of-1977 agit-punks, un hinged alt-country progenitors, wily communitarian folkies, rave-up noise-rockers and more.

7/20, Boot & Saddle, bootandsaddlephilly.com.

—K. Ross Hoffman

—Mikala Jamison FIVE DOLLAR COMEDY WEEK

The week boasts 30 brandnew comedy shows, and each one will only set you back a fivespot. Shows include comedians teaming up with their moms and “an elegant roast” featuring some of the “cutthroat assholes” of Philly. The creators, Kate Banford and Aaron Nevins, put it best: “There’s no excuse not to attend. Unless you’ve been poi soned.” 7/20-7/26, Plays & Players Theatre, fivedollarcomedyweek. com. —Mikala Jamison

5

THENAKEDCITY

NEWS // OPINION // POLI T ICS

SEX

BY EMILY GUENDELSBERGER

BIG BROTHER VISITS THE STRIP CLUB

A proposed sex workers registry has exotic dancers alarmed about their civil liberties.

I SCHEDULE A PHONE CALL with “Ginger” — her stage name, by request — around the time when her kids will be playing in their suburban backyard, out of earshot; our conversation occasionally pauses when one comes in to ask something. They, like most people, don’t know she works as an exotic dancer. “When I was in my early 20s, I didn’t mind that people knew, but I have children now, and a family. And a lot of people that work in this industry have the same thing — it’s a big secret.”

That’s why she’s alarmed about the progress of HB 262, a bill currently in committee in the state House of Representatives. “They’re basically trying to stop sex trafficking by registering us, but, I mean … I didn’t really read much farther than that,” she says. The idea of her real name

and address in a sex-worker database was enough.

HB 262 would change Pennsylvania law regulating strip clubs and other adult-entertainment businesses, with the intent of cracking down on sex trafficking and abuse. The bill would ban alcohol and private rooms from strip clubs and mandate a 6-foot distance between dancers and customers at all times.

None of the several dancers I spoke with liked any of these ideas, mostly for economic reasons. (“This is going to ruin strip clubs as we know them,” says one.)

But they’re most concerned about the proposed registry for adult-entertainment workers. In the latest version of the bill, they’d be required to submit their name, stage name, age, birth date, birthplace, height, weight,

hair and eye color, home address and phone number, criminal and traffickingstatus background, photograph and a copy of their photo ID for a state database accessible to law enforcement.

“I’m against it, a lot of us girls are,” says “Lucky,” who dances at the Penthouse Club in the Northeast. “It’s been all over Facebook, a lot of my girls that I work with have been talking about it as well — it’s very well known.”

But nobody’s been asking their opinion. Media coverage of the bill tended toward jokey headlines like “Pol wants strippers to get their butts registered,” and none quoted dancers. And Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga), the bill’s sponsor, proudly told the Associated Press that he’s never been to a strip club.

“You don’t know anything, so why are you talking about it?” asks an exasperated Lucky.

Baker was unavailable for comment due to a death in the family; his staff directed me to Brandon McGinley, director of strategic initiatives at the Pennsylvania Family Institute (PFI), selfdescribed as a “conservative Christian organization.”

“We’ve been working on the bill for quite some time with Rep. Baker,” said McGinley, who helped draft the legislation. Rather than the talkingpoints robot I expected, he comes off as someone who’s recently discovered something terrible and is earnestly trying to help.

“We tell ourselves polite fictions about these places, and they allow us not to believe that terrible things are happening,” says McGinley, who has also never been to a strip club. He says his research and conversations with sextrafficking experts and rescue workers left him deeply shaken. He cites some of those statistics, like a 2004 study on violence against sex workers in which nearly half of 53 surveyed dancers had been threatened with rape and 22 percent had been raped while working. He also mentions a 2011 FBI report saying strip clubs are “havens for prostitutes forced into sex trafficking.”

“What is often misconstrued as prudishness is, in fact, a clear-eyed look at a very physically and sexually dangerous situation,” says McGinley. “We knew we’d get a lot of ‘Oh, the Family Institute

‘ You don’t know anything, so why are you talking about it?’ asks an exasperated dancer named ‘Lucky.’ stands the need for privacy: Several years ago, she says, “I was a high school teacher and would dance on the weekends, and was sort of forced out of my job because some male teachers saw me in a strip club,” she says. “I felt so frustrated by the hypocrisy — male teachers could go to a strip club, but I was deemed an unworthy educator for working in one.”

Roth finds HB 262 similarly frustrating. “They’ve consulted this body of strip-club managers who have their own vested interests, but they don’t seem to have consulted any actual strippers.”

Did anyone involved with crafting the bill consult any strippers? “Not as far as I know,” says McGinley. “Frankly, I think a good deal of it is due to not knowing where to go to have that conversation.”

A strip club, maybe? He laughs. “I don’t intend to patronize a business making money off of putting women in danger,” he says. “I fully appreciate that there are many women who do it of their own free will, and who do not feel that they are

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

MARIA S. YOUNG

people just hate strip clubs,’ or whatever.

And it’s been frustrating that the reaction has largely focused on the liberty of men to patronize strip clubs and not the liberty of women to not be trafficked.”

The vast majority of dancers in Pennsylvania are not trafficked, however, and they’re concerned about the threat to their own liberty that they see in a registry.

“What can stop them from making it public at any time they want?” worries Ginger.

“This makes lives of people doing exotic dance more dangerous — our addresses are going to be in some registry somewhere. And the idea that I’ll ever be able to get another job seems very unlikely should someone be able to look that up,” says Lindsay Roth, who works at the Penthouse Club. ”I also don’t know how protected this government database would be — it’s a hacker’s dream.”

Roth is comfortable using her full name; she’s open about being a dancer and also works as an advocate with the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) and with Project SAFE, which provides direct services for people engaged in street prostitution. She also under-

6

LICENSED: House Bill 262 would change the Pennsylvania law regulating strip clubs and other adult-entertainment businesses.

Among the provisions, exotic dancers would have to register in a new database.

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

7

victimized, though.”

Roth says her eight years in “the only industry where women make more money than men” have been a lucrative and generally positive experience, though she’s very conscious that that’s not true for everyone in the sex industry. “I’ve seen some pretty horrific things” doing outreach work, she says. “But these bills do not do anything to address the realities of most people.”

Mc Ginley asks many questions about the opinions of the dancers I managed to locate — “I’m interested to know their thoughts,” he says, encouraging them and others to get in touch directly to give him feedback over the summer. HB 262 is unlikely to move this session, so there’s plenty of time to incorporate changes that make sense. For example, the reason the bill went back to committee for edits was to exempt Right To Know requests from the registry.

“The number one thing to make clear is that the information we’re asking for will not be publicly available,” says McGinley. “The purpose is to give law enforcement the ability to see red flags for trafficking,” says McGinley. “If law enforcement does a spot check and finds unlicensed employees, [or] if a license is being moved on a regular basis — those are red flags.”

That the registry would only be available to law enforcement isn’t the reassurance McGinley intends it to be. “Working with Project SAFE [I’ve found that], one of the greatest perpetrators of violence against sex workers is law enforcement,” says Roth. “Even though stripping is a legalized form of sex work, it still carries a stigma, and law enforcement regularly comes into clubs and targets strippers.”

A relevant lawsuit was filed last summer by nearly 30 dancers against the city of San Diego and its police chief.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the dancers alleged that vice squad officers frequently conducted “raids” at clubs dur ing which they were detained, harassed and forced to pose nearly nude for photos in the name of enforcement of a similar statute.

“I don’t trust any of the agencies to actually help with sex trafficking, let alone be an ally to any people working in this industry. They have a proven track record of not doing that,” says Roth. “I don’t want them having my home address, honestly.”

Especially because, she says, a registry would be a useless, TSA-esque exercise.

“There’s a huge discrepancy between what’s evidence-based and what conservative, religious organ-

izations imagine would reduce or combat sex trafficking. And this bill is a prime example of that,” says Roth.

Realistically, Roth says, “a lot of commercial sexual exploitation I’ve seen is an extension of intimate partner violence — a partner who makes them work and takes their earnings.

And that person will still satisfy all the requirements of this bill. The same goes for the agencies — industry traffickers will still be able to provide all the documentation, because that’s what traffickers do.”

Ginger’s suspected Hollywoodnarrative trafficking, a la the movie Taken, at a workplace exactly once.

“Like, if someone comes in with eight or nine girls from another country on a bus every night from NewYork, that’s a bit suspicious and managers should question that.” But she agrees that coercion via relationships or drugs is a much bigger problem.

If anybody had asked, the dancers would have mentioned that switching clubs every few months isn’t a red flag. It’s actually pretty standard practice. “People jump clubs so often; sometimes you see people for a month or two then they’re gone, they come back a year later,” says Ginger. “When they’re not making money for a couple days, they’re off to another club.”

“That’s something I hadn’t thought about — I’m glad to know it. I think, first of all, that ... huh.” McGinley pauses, thinking. Perhaps, then, he says, law enforcement would figure out what the red flags are, then start spotting them. “The bill currently includes a certain amount of education for law enforcement, though I’m not sure that’s going stay in because of the cost.”

“We’ve talked to legislatures about other bills, especially Republicans, and it’s stuff they don’t want to hear,” says Roth. “Human trafficking, the way I’ve come to understand it, is a crime of opportunity. Not everyone is vulnerable to human trafficking. It tends to be people who are already poor, people who are willing to believe an offer that’s too good to be true, people who are desperate.” Things that would truly decrease coerced sex work: “Reinvesting in the social safety net. Making sure everyone in this country has a good education.

Making sure there are good jobs with good protections.”

Surprisingly, McGinley volunteers something similar. “I fully understand that many people feel that this is their only way to make a living. This strikes me as a structural economic problem that needs to be addressed through

continued on p.8

I don’t trust any of the agencies to actually help with sex trafficking, let alone be an ally to any people working in this industry.

CITY BEAT

BY JERRY IANNELLI

WHAT THE PRESIDENT DIDN’T SAY

Obama focused on criminal-justice reform in his NAACP speech.

PRESIDENT OBAMA OPENED his speech to the NAACP’s national convention here by asking the crowd of about 3,300 people to quiet down and have a seat. “I’ve got some stuff to say,” he said, in the brusque, off-hand manner that he has taken on in the twilight of his presidency. I’m about to tell it like it is, his tone implied.

In some ways, he did: In an hour-long speech centered on reforming the nation’s criminal-justice system, he scolded schools for being overly harsh in punishing students of color; scolded prosecutors for seeking overly long sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and even scolded an American public for turning a blind eye to the struggles of minorities across the country.

Sadly, however, what may have been most shocking about his speech was what he didn’t say. After nearly a year of highly publicized killings by police, beginning with the death of Ferguson’s Michael Brown last August, the president failed to utter a single phrase about police brutality.

It’s sad, mostly because police have, all over the country, unfairly arrested and

continued from p.7

BIG BROTHER VISITS THE STRIP CLUB

national and state policy.”

That sounds pretty Mother Jones, I observe.

“Yeah, this is the problem!” says McGinley. “I obviously associate with conservative causes, but have deep sympathies with at least some parts of the economic left! We need to make structural changes so that we are not forcing people to make a living by putting themselves at risk of sexual assault.” Also, he says, “permit me an aside — I’m interested in the idea of legalizing sex work but criminalizing buying sex, so the risk is taken on by the john instead of the prostitute.”

So,Isay,whatI’mhearing is that next session I should expect Republican-sponsoredproposals to raise the minimum wage and legalize sex work. McGinley laughs and laughs, then laughs some more. I guess it was a pretty good joke. (emilyg@citypaper. net, @emilygee)

8

brutalized people of color throughout the nation’s history, as the president must be very well aware. But it’s doubly sad given that he was speaking in Philadelphia, a city known for decades as an epicenter for police brutality and corruption.

The incidents here through the years have been well-documented. In the 1970s, routine acts of police brutality were hidden under then-Mayor Frank Rizzo’s tenure. In 1985, Philadelphia Police famously dropped a bomb on a Black-radical group in West Philly. Just last week, six former Philly cops who were accused and then acquitted of routinely beating and robbing suspects for close to 10 years were told they could return to the force. Last week, too, a video showing a dozen Philly cops beating a 22-year-old Black man was shared widely across the Web. The president has never really had harsh words for police. He alluded onTuesday to initiatives to make sure “that policing is more effective and more accountable” and more “unbiased,” saying that cops have the “tough job” of trying to “contain hopelessness” in poor neighborhoods. However, he neglected to mention that some of that “hopelessness” has itself been perpetuated by racist, violent police work.

For a president who, as NewYorker editor David Remnick has said, cannot say all that he wants to about race, Tuesday’s speech could have been a watershed moment in his presidency. We are, instead, still waiting for him to open up. (jerry@citypaper.net, @jerryiannelli)

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

The incidents of police brutality and corruption in Philadelphia have been well documented.

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

WIN FREE TICKETS CITYPAPER.NET/CONTESTS movies, concerts, comedy shows, theaters, festivals & more!

9

T E G T! OU

10

A

t mid-summer, when the view outside your window beckons as never before, it’s time to turn those daydreams about escaping the office into reality.

The reporters and editors at City Paper were only too happy to take on this assignment — hey, someone has to do it — and scout out five adventures that are worth a try.

And, oh, the day-trip memories we’ve pondered ever since. Who was that dude wearing only a cowboy hat and strumming a mandolin on the nude beach? What to do with a pair of bright orange socks from a trampoline park? Has anyone ever tried to play “I’ve Got a Hammer” on the ringing rocks?

For the first time, our annual guide includes an escape right here in Philly — Escape the Room — because we just couldn’t resist. Read the story to find out whether we were winners or losers.

—Lillian Swanson

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

DAVE TAVANI

Sky Zone Moorestown

PING ESCA AVITY GR

$12 for a 30-minute session. 11 miles/30 min. away. 2834 Rte 73 N. Maple Shade Township, N.J., 856-2354411. skyzone.com

• A group of shaggy-haired teens bursts, giggling, out

the front door of Sky Zone Moorestown, a trampoline park in Maple Shade, N.J. I’m sitting in my car about 50 feet away, and I watch the teenagers fan out into a semicircle in the parking lot. My girlfriend, Katie, is sitting next to me. We’ve each just finished a long day of decidedly adult work, and, watching these kids, I am now certain we are too old to jump on a single trampoline for any length of time, let alone many.

This particular Sky Zone, one in a chain of about 100 Sky Zones that have popped up overnight across the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Australia, is roughly a year old, and lives in the carcass of what used to be a Sports Authority. We enter into a huge vaulted warehouse filled, mostly, with confused-looking children and bored parents. “Rebel Yell” is playing, nearly every surface is either electric blue or electric orange, and the room smells mostly of floor cleanser.

To get to the trampolines, which sit on a raised platform a good 6 miles from the door, patrons must first sign their lives away at one of Sky Zone’s waiver kiosks: Said waiver did nothing to quell my fears that Sky Zone is a broken-bone factory, because before a customer can get anywhere near something bouncy, he or she must sign away his or her right to sue for any reason, including bone fractures, “sprained or torn ligaments, paralysis, [or] death” that may occur on the premises.

Katie and I take our waivers to the high schooler manning the front desk, who in return hands us each a pair of “Sky Socks” — orange socks with grippy rubber strips sticking to the bottom, ostensibly to prevent us from falling and shattering our clavicles.

The cashier tells me we can keep the socks, and if we die here, I’m pretty sure the waiver says we must be buried in them.

We are ushered, then, to another teenager, whose sole job is to warn patrons about the dangers of trampolining. “Only jump one person to a trampoline,” he tells us. “And only jump when a supervisor is watching.”

There are dodge-ball cages, a bouncy basketball court, and a pit filled with foam cubes, but instead we elect to jump freely around the main trampoline zone, which consists of a floor made entirely of trampolines sitting end-to-end. The spaces between the black trampoline fabric — where the support systems sit — have shockingly little give.

Katie and I each take our own square and stand facing one another. She starts bouncing, slowly at first, and then begins really leaning into each one, rocketing 3 or 4 feet into the air. I match her pace.

She throws a karate kick at me, before shouting, “Race you!” and catapulting away across the room like a kangaroo.

I follow suit: She caroms off one of the walls, which are conveniently also covered in trampolines, and heads back in my direction. We meet in the same square in the middle of the floor, and our feet lock up — she collapses, giggling, and I fall down to my knees. We’re each gasping for air, mostly from laughing too hard.

“Why can’t the whole world be like this?” she asks, before popping up and tearing across the room again.

–Jerry Iannelli

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

11

continued on p.12

continued from p.11

G ET T! OU

HAMM

ER

TIME

Free. 63 miles/1 hour, 24 min. away. Ringing Rocks Road, Upper Black Eddy, Pa., 215-348-6114. buckscounty.org

• Q: How long can you run around hitting boulders with a hammer before you get bored?

A: A surprisingly long time.

DAVE TAVANI

DAVE TAVANI

The appeal of Bucks County’s famously strange Ringing Rocks County Park is supposed to be about the ringing.

And that’s certainly part of it.

We’re talking about 7 or 8 acres of people-sized rocks — tucked into some gorgeously untamed woods, but easily accessible by car — and a lot of them make unexpectedly interesting sounds when struck by a hammer. It’s BYO hammer, by the way.

Some are light and pingy, like microwaves; others are deep and clanking, like steel girders. And there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the size or shape of the rock and the sound of its ring. So you just have to keep hammering.

The harder you hit, the louder and clearer the sound.

Some rocks bear whitish bruises from centuries of hammering. These usually ring the best.

Doesn’t matter if you’re standing on a rock when you hit it. It still rings.

Pick up a chip banged free by a previous visitor, place it in your palm and strike it with the hammer in your

other hand. It still rings.

High in iron and aluminum, the rocks were formed by volcanoes during volcano times. Later, they were smoothed by rushing water and gathered together by forces science can’t really explain so let’s just say God did it. Same with why they ring: God. You may imagine the musical potential. Every five or 10 minutes a wildly swinging visitor stumbles onto a staccato interpretation of some recognizable tune, be it “Mary Had a Little Lamb” or “Louie Louie” or “Chopsticks” (a duet for two hammers). But there are limits; YouTube offers several examples of musicians attempting to make use of ringing rocks, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. At best, they sound like the Liberty Bell being tossed down a staircase.

Of course, there’s a pleasure beyond the auditory here.

I’m talking about the visceral joy that comes from attacking things. Natural things. It’s a satisfaction usually enjoyed only by hunters, loggers and polluters.

Environmentally conscientious cityfolk like myself — people who participate in community cleanup days (found a hobo’s dildo once!) and whose search history includes “how do I recycle shoes?” (mail them to a major sneaker company; they’ll get foreign toddlers to deconstruct them) — are rarely afforded this sort of hands-on opportunity to put nature in its place.

And it feels great. Rocks were here before us, and rocks will inherit the earth long after we’ve killed ourselves off via global warming/hand sanitizer. But right now, we’re running things. We wield the hammers.

–Patrick Rapa

continued on p. 14

12

SRinging Rocks County Park

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

DAVE TAVANI

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

13

White House Tour

E GOT YOU’V S O PHOT

Free. 138 miles / 2 hours, 27 min. away. The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. whitehouse.gov

• An invitation to tour the White House serendipitously came my way, and I snatched it from thin air in a heartbeat. I had never been inside the iconic structure that I had seen on television maybe a million times, and most recently bathed in a rainbow of colors to honor the legalization of gay marriage.

After the invitation came the news that First Lady Michelle Obama had lifted the ban of more than 40 years on taking photos inside the White House. So, as I packed for my trip, I powered up my cellphone in the hopes of snapping a few pictures of the 10 or so rooms on the self-guided tour.

Little did I realize how much would be familiar; how much I would want to capture, and how quickly I would share those photos with family and friends.

This social-media-savvy White House has hit popular pay dirt with #WhiteHouseTour.

My small group arrived outside the gate at 7:45 a.m., and we were well on our way through security by 8:01, only a minute past our tour time. Clearly, the Secret Service has at least this part of its job down pat.

I had to show my driver’s license three times, stand still for a photo and go through a metal detector and

a machine of unknown function. All of this after I had given basic ID information to my congressman’s office, the only way to get on the tour list in the first place.

As we entered the White House, we spotted candid photos of the First Family and an oil portrait of Nancy Reagan, resplendent in a red gown. A few steps and light-years away, a video of Michelle Obama ripping up the sign banning photos played in a loop. News photos of FDR, JFK, LBJ, Nixon and others lined the hallway. A huge bust of Lincoln watched over all.

I soon realized that this place was so much more than a museum. It was a touchstone to my country’s history, and a backdrop to my own life. What I saw reminded of the many times over the years that I had paid attention to the news coming from the White House.

Secret Service men and women, some in uniform, others in suits, and all with earpieces, stood as sentinels in each room on the tour. Unlike the Secret Service men I’ve met while reporting on presidential visits, this crew was actually chatty. They were only too happy to detail the history of each room.

Seven presidents, including Lincoln and Kennedy, had lain in state in the East Room, we were told.

Down the hallway leading into the room we saw the red carpet the president walks on as he heads to the East Room for major press conferences. Most recently, Obama came here to announce that Bin Laden was dead, the Secret Service agent offered.

Off we walked, through the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, the State Dining Room, snapping photos as we went. Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Washington, John Adams’ silver coffee urn, Ben Franklin’s visage above a mantel, a view of the Washington Monument out a window, glowing chandeliers and more. Others around us were doing the same thing.

Not everyone, though, was thrilled that the photo ban had been lifted on July 1. One agent told me he was hardly asked questions any more because visitors were so busy taking photos. He had been trained in the history of all the rooms, and his job had suddenly become a lot more boring. But, it had been only a few weeks since the change and, he reckoned, things might even out a bit in the days ahead.

As we exited the White House, I took one last photo, of the North Portico. I just couldn’t get enough.

I did feel satisfied, though, by the thought that whoever occupies the Oval Office is surrounded by so much history that taking the long view when facing big decisions would be the natural course. The ghosts on the White House walls whisper: Don’t screw this up.

–Lillian Swanson

continued on p. 16

14

G ET T! OU

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

continued from p. 12

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

15

T TO I WAN FREE K BREA

Escape The Room Philly $28. 1528 Walnut St., 267-603-4355. escapetheroomphilly.com

thoughts like, “What am I even doing here?”

“What’s the point?” “Will I ever be free of this?” and particularly, “Damn it, I give up.”

Don’t give up. It’s frustrating as hell, but it’s also really, really entertaining.

You get locked into a room with up to nine others (some you might not know), and you’ve got an hour to find clues, objects and solve puzzles hidden around the room in order to get to the key that’ll let you out. A “game master” watches from remote cameras, occasionally displaying written clues on a screen in the room.

ETR opened in Philly in September. The first ETR game, called “The Office,” is just what it sounds like — you’re locked in a seemingly nondescript conference room-type space.

“The Cavern,” though, which opened in May, is a different beast.

Our group — myself, two City Paper co-workers, and a party of women celebrating a bachelorette — entered the room at 3:30 p.m. last Friday.

In The Cavern, we were let into a dark, sanctuary-like room. There was a pew, fake stained glass, a confessional, tapered candles — I was stumped as to what exactly was cavernous about this.

But then, by solving a few puzzles, we figured out how to get into another, concealed room (no spoilers here, promise).

And there was the cavern — it’s stunning, actually, how the creators furnished the place to look like an underground cave, complete with rocklike walls and a dirt floor.

Everything you need to do — turn on the lights,

continued on p. 18

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

• Escape the Room is existential. You will have

16

G ET T! OU

continued from p. 14

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

17

continued from p. 16 c

G ET T! OU

AY I THE D KED A GOT N BLIC U P IN

Free admission. $15 parking fee. 97 miles / 1 hour, 51 min. away. Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook, N.J., 718-354-4606. nps.gov/gate

• Getting naked in front of a bunch of strangers

is an experience I recommend for anyone with body insecurities. See, courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s feeling afraid, terrified even, and pushing ahead nonetheless. Such was the case a few weeks ago when I made the hasty decision to join a friend at a nude beach in New Jersey.

Once described as the Garden State’s “only legal nude beach,” Gunnison Beach is located in North Jersey inside the federal Gateway National Recreation Area. The beach is so far north that you can see the Manhattan skyline. Whether folks in Manhattan could see the shenanigans going on at Gunnison is yet to be determined, though I suspect the moonlike, porcelain nature of my ass reflected at least something back.

Then again, there really aren’t shenanigans go-

continued on p. 20

18

Gunnison Beach

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

enter yet another room, discover a lock combination code — is the result of solving more and more clues. The thrill of ETR is that by some grace, stuff starts to just pop out at you, like, “Wait, is that a tiny number written on the wall over there?

How’d we miss that before?”

Our group did “win,” by the way, and only 20 percent of groups do. I say “win” because our game was kind of fraught: One of our group bashed into the generator supplying our light in the second room, sending us into darkness. The game master had to actually come into the room and fix it, halting our play for a couple minutes, which were then added back onto our time.

We ended up solving all the puzzles leading us to the master key, just as our time ran out — one of us snatched the key from its box, screaming, as the 60-minute buzzer rang, but somehow we managed to unlock and then relock the door to the hallway. We weren’t technically out of the room by the time the buzzer rang, but the game master (probably because we were such dorks as to turn the generator off on ourselves and then lock ourselves back into the room, and he pitied us) called it a win, giving us an official game play time of 59 minutes and 59 seconds.

Timing be damned, all I cared about was actually finishing; knowing that we solved all the puzzles. That’s the fun part. That’s the part that soothes all the “Who am I and what does this all mean?” dilemmas with which you initially grapple in the Room. That’s the part that makes you feel smart, and like a true winner. And hey, don’t we all need those small victories now and then?

–Mikala Jamison

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

19

DO YOU EXPERIENCE?

UTERINE FIBROIDS

UÊ i>ÛÞÊ ÀÊ>L À > Ê «iÀ `Ã UÊ L` > Ê«> Ê> `Ê «ÀiÃÃÕÀi UÊ VÀi>Ãi`Ê ii`ÊÌ ÊÕÀ >ÌiÊ Ü Ì ÊÞ ÕÀÊ«iÀ `Ã

UÊ i}>Ì Ûi ÞÊ «>VÌÊÞ ÕÀÊ µÕ> ÌÞÊ vÊ vi UÊ VÌ ÀÃÊ ÊÞ ÕÀÊ>Ài>Ê >ÀiÊ }Êv ÀÊÜ i Ê Ì Ê«>ÀÌ V «>ÌiÊ Ê>ÊV V> Ê ÀiÃi>ÀV ÊÃÌÕ`Þ° UÊ Ê ÛiÃÌ }>Ì > Ê i` V>Ì Ê> `ÊÃÌÕ`Þ Ài >Ìi`ÊV>ÀiÊ ÃÊ«À Û `i`Ê >ÌÊ ÊV ÃÌ°Ê «i Ã>Ì Ê v ÀÊÌ iÊ> `ÊÌÀ>Ûi Ê >ÞÊLiÊ >Û> >L i°

/ ÊÃiiÊ vÊÞ ÕʵÕ> vÞ]ÊÛ Ã Ì www.VenusResearchStudy.com ÀÊV> (800) 229-6911

TAG YOUR PHILLY PHOTOS WITH #PHILLYCP & your photo could be featured on our instagram!

@PHILLYCITYPAPER

ing on there in that bucolic wilderness aside from a bunch of human beings letting it all hang out.

At first, I was nervous and egocentric, thinking everyone would notice the stretch marks on the side of my torso or my jiggly ass. For the first five minutes of the sun on my penis, I was terrified I would be arrested, completely ignoring the fact that literally hundreds of other people were naked, too.

For a few introductory seconds, my genitals thought being naked meant it was showtime. I’m glad I was able to talk myself down from that involuntary action. Years of adulthood have trained me to equate nakedness with sex.

But, that’s not true. Nudism isn’t about sex, it’s simply about being naked and, well, free.

The beach itself is isolated from the road and parking lot; a significant amount of forest and brush acts as a natural fence and further separates the beach from “civilization.” The shoreline is a long, sandy hike from the tree line, too. There aren’t any vendors or restrooms beyond the parking lot, either, so most folks bring coolers filled with drinks and sundry camping gear. Hundreds of people were there. Some stayed clothed, but most did not.

I set up camp on the southern end of the beach, the so-called “gay area,” about 50 feet from the water. Around me there was a group of merry, and later drunk, bears; a younger straight couple and a few others. A man, about 60 years old, walked the beach side to side wearing a cowboy hat — and nothing else — while strumming a mandolin.

Here, there was no hiding our imperfections.

No wardrobe tricks like layers or dark colors, no scarves as accessories: just penises, vaginas, boobs and body hair. Those first few minutes were scary. But after I adjusted to the, well, quaintness of it all, being naked in public became second — or is it first? — nature.

I spent about five hours completely naked on Gunnison. I emotionally dealt with my penis appearing small in public thanks to the cool ocean water. I sunbathed. I chatted with people.

What I did mostly, though, was empathize with other human beings. See, we all have imperfections. Everybody has a mole they’re not happy with, or hair somewhere, stretch marks, flab, bad tattoos, whatever. Everyone has something.

While I was there, I did not find myself judging other people, laughing at them or thinking nasty things. I accepted their humanity, and I was delighted by their courage and their individuality, their warmth and generosity of spirit. I was grateful for their friendliness and nonchalance. Truth be told, I was grateful for some of the beautiful naked men there, too.

And, I realized that I’ve spent far too much time saying things to myself about myself that I would never say about other people. In fact, I came away from my day trip at that nude beach realizing how hard I am on myself.

–Josh Kruger

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

Do you suffer from uterine fibroids?

20

G ET T! OU

continued from p. 18

C I T Y PA P E R . N ET // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

21

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

ARTS // MUSIC // T HEAT ER // BOOKS

HOME & AWAY: West Chester’s Spraynard and Philly expat Meg Baird have dropped impressive new records.

L: KELLY GIARROCCO R: AMY HARRIT Y

What I’m listening to right now.

SPRAYNARD “APPLEBEE’S BAR” When I heard Spraynard was getting back together, I felt the great LaserJet of the cosmos break free of its paper jam and return to working order.

Whether this West Chester pop-punk band’s heart-on-sleeve, spit-on-mic sound is your scene — and it might be, if you like Get Up Kids or Plow United — you have to appreciate the righteous pride and good humor with which they go about their business.

“Applebee’s Bar” is the first track on their long-awaited comeback LP, Mable (Jade Tree), and it’s an underdog anthem: “I am every person that you’ve ever ignored/ I am the flaming bag of dog shit on your porch.”

That may not sound like something to rally around, but you should hear the way singer Pat Graham belts out every line. And the chorus, “It’s not what I wanted,” is a neat summation of suburban frustration: Just whiny enough to know that he means it, but with plenty of fight left in the tank.

Spraynard’s giving Mable a proper

introduction on Sunday. Wear something you want to sweat in.

Sun., July 19, 7:30 p.m., $10-$12, with Dogs on Acid, Year of Glad and Casual, PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 877-435-9849, r5productions.com.

MEG BAIRD “MOSQUITO HAWKS” Back in 2011, we put Meg Baird on the cover and called her the “Local Artist of the Year.” A little while later, she stopped being local, but we ain’t mad. If you hear a little more psych in Baird’s misty, pristine folk sound these days it may be tempting to chalk it up to her living in San Francisco, but don’t forget just how strange and trippy her old band Espers was.

The new Don’t Weigh Down the Light, released in June on Drag City, is meticulous and gorgeous and kinda spooky. The old folk-revival comparisons may come to mind, but it’s a lot more mysterious than all that.

“Mosquito Hawks” is particularly captivating. Her voice, as ethereal as ever, transcends the heavy strums

TEEF “DOING ALL I CAN” I’m hardly a hip-hop expert, but I know what I like, and right now I like what I’m hearing from melodic “Jersadelphia” rapper Teef (lateef.bandcamp.com).

Most of his stuff’s about staring down haters, pursuing dreams and paying the bills. He finds his mantra on this song: “I’m positive, fuck you.”

BLACK SABBATH “CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE” (LIVE) Time flies, but it’s easy to believe Live Aid was 30 years ago; neither the city nor the music industry we know today are recognizable in these staticky YouTube clips. JFK Stadium’s long gone, as is the M in MTV. Also gone is the era of gigantic concert stages unadorned by corporate logos and “presented by” sponsorships.

That said, several of the old dinosaurs who stomped that stage still roam the earth: Hall, Oates, Dylan, Madonna, U2, the Stones.

But let’s raise a glass to the possibly retired — namely, Live Aid “host” Jack Nicholson and metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne. Fronting Sabbath again for the first of a thousand reunions, Ozzy prowled the stage with a White Rain

‘Revolution in their minds, the children start to march.’ against the world in which they have to live.” I was an actual child at the time, and I remember watching Live Aid on the television in IKEA’s kids kennel, or whatever you call that room parents dump you in before they go shopping.

They never came back for me and I was raised by an EKTORP. A.P. MIKE “MICHAEL PERRY” I suppose this counts as outsider art.

Over a meditative acoustic guitar loop, Michael Lisk — known to fans of popular New Jersey-based Web radio program The Best Show as A.P. Mike (apmike. bandcamp.com) — laments the passing of a childhood friend: “Michael Perry taught me about the birds and the bees/ He shouted to me from across the street/ ‘You came out of your mother’s C.’” It’s hypnotic and morbid, and beautiful in its way. The feel-bad hit of the summer. (pat@citypaper.net, @mission2denmark)

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N ET

FIVE SPOT

of her acoustic guitar, like a hot air balloon escaping gravity. I hereby declare Meg Baird the Best San Francisco Artist of 2015.

22

DIY MIXTAPE

BY PATRICK RAPA

mane on his head and a puffy cloak on his shoulders. This was Philly in July, mind you. And here’s a clip of Jack, reading from postcards and introducing Joan Baez, who does an “Amazing Grace”/“We Are the World” medley. It’s all so earnest, awkward, sweaty and strange.

And “Children of the Grave” seems momentarily poignant: “Revolution in their minds, the children start to march

C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

23

24

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

MOVIESHORTS

FILMS ARE GRADED BY CI T Y PAP ER CRI T ICS A-F.

Film events and special screenings.

REPERTORY FILM

BY DREW LAZOR

AWESOME FEST

Liberty Lands Park, 926 N. American St., theawesomefest.com. Catch Me Daddy (2014, U.K., 112 min.;): A young Pakistani woman seeking personal freedom faces off against her violent family. Fri., July 17, 9 p.m., free.

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE

3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125, ihousephilly.org.

Kill Daddy Good Night (2009, Austria/Germany, 110 min.): A miserable video game designer gets caught up in an international war-crimes investigation. Fri., July 17, 7 p.m., $9. R.A.D. (Robots Are Dangerous) Summer Sci-Fi Spectacular: A five-film 35 mm marathon featuring RoboCop, The Vindicator, Chopping Mall, Message From Space and the original theatrical cut of Blade Runner.

Sun., July 19, noon, $25. Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll (2015, U.S., 105 min.): Documentary exploring the rich pop music culture of Cambodia, all but erased from history by the Khmer Rouge. Director John Pirozzi will be in attendance. Wed., July 22, 7 p.m., $9.

LA PEG

ANTS PANTS: Paul Rudd contemplates his ridiculous supersuit in Ant-Man.

C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

COMIC BOOK

ZADE ROSENTHAL

ANT-MAN

/ C / Marvel isn’t known for thinking small. Its movies boast their own universe, after all, and it’s beginning to seem like the combined running times of their nonstop output will soon rival the age of the actual universe. So it’s not surprising that a superhero whose primary power is the ability to shrink to the size of an insect would be an uneasy fit for the studio.

In many ways, Ant-Man is a scaled-down version of the Marvel formula, with a small cast and smaller stakes. But whenever things get tiny, the instinct nevertheless kicks in to force things to get huge.

A question will always loom over Ant-Man as to what might have been. Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright worked on the film for eight years, penning a script with Joe Cornish, then left the project shortly before shooting commenced over the ubiquitous “creative differences” — presumably, Wright’s intention to make something that wasn’t utterly interchangeable with every other glib and manic

FILM SHORTS MR. HOLMES // B

25

For all the hard-starched Doyle traditionalists out

there still sore about Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch’s “not your father’s” Sherlocks, Sir Ian McKellen’s creaky take on the great detective will provide extreme respite. Bill

comic book adaptation in the Marvel canon. Bring It On director Peyton Reed stepped in to helm a script revised by Paul Rudd and Anchorman director Adam McKay. The result bears traces ofWright’s quirky sensibility, but with the edges sanded down to a dull finish.

Even Rudd’s goofy charm is muted as he’s saddled with a tedious backstory involving his estranged family that adds nothing except another waste of Judy Greer.

Rudd is a cat burglar just out of prison recruited by scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to take up the Ant-Man mantle and stop Pym’s protégé (Corey Stoll) from selling his tech to the highest bidder. That’s about it for story, yet it takes an inordinate amount of time to set up such a simple conflict. Stoll is a particularly uninteresting villain — a simplistic, glowering baddie driven either by greed or the ill effects of standing too close to his experiments (the film never seems to care much which). Only in the final showdown between the two size-shifting antagonists does Reed have any fun with the premise. Instead, time is wasted on a gratuitous Avenger cameo and a quantum excursion that makes Interstellar’s “black hole of love” look scientifically viable. —Shaun Brady (wide release) Condon, working off a novel by American writer Mitch Cullin, has crafted a cottony elegy for the most-portrayed character on screen, stoking something new by skewing very, very old. Fresh back from

a journey to war-ravaged Japan, McKellen’s Holmes returns to his rural Sussex home, where beehives and bucolic views of the British coast replace the frantic pace of Baker Street. Tended to by a

140 N. Columbus Blvd., 215-375-7744, lapegbrasserie.com. Pulp Fiction (1994, U.S., 154 min.): “Check out the big brain on Brad!” Wed., July 22, 8:30 p.m., free.

PFS THEATER AT THE ROXY

2023 Sansom St., 267-639-9508, filmadelphia.org/ roxy. Grand Central (2013, Austria/France, 92 min.): An at-risk nuclear plant grunt carries on a risky affair with his boss’ fiancée. Thu., July 16, 7:30 p.m., $10. The Spectacular Now (2013, U.S., 95 min.): Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are brilliant in this witty, unconventional high school love story. The conclusion of James Ponsoldt’s unofficial “alcoholism trilogy.” Mon., July 20, 7:30 p.m., $10.

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959, France/Japan, 90 min.): A French/Japanese couple reflects on memory and tragedy in Alain Resnais’ New Wave masterpiece. Post-screening discussion led by film scholar Ruth Perlmutter. Tue., July 21, noon, $11.

The Magic Bracelet (2013, U.S., 18 min.): This short from the Make A Film Foundation was the last wish of Cheltenham teen Rina Goldberg, who died from mitochondrial disease in 2010. Goldberg conceived and wrote the film with Diablo Cody.

Screening followed by a “making of” feature. Tue., July 21, 7:30 p.m., free (RSVP required).

PHILAMOCA

531 N. 12th St., 267-519-9651, philamoca.org.

Angst (1983, Austria, 83 min.): Little-known but critically beloved art-house thriller about a psychotic escaped murderer who terrorizes a family. Thu., July 16, 8 p.m, $10.

TROCADERO THEATRE

1003 Arch St., 215-922-6888, thetroc.com. Ex Machina (2015, U.K., 108 min.): A young coder experiences the perils of artificial intelligence in this innovative sci-fi thriller. Mon., July 20, 8 p.m., $3.

HIPPOCRATES: DIARY OF A FRENCH DOCTOR // C+

A practicing physician before he turned to filmmaking, French director Thomas Lilti brings an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of a beleaguered hospital

to Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor. The film follows Benjamin (Vincent Lacoste) from his first day as an eager but overwhelmed intern at the hospital run by his father.

Lilti’s probing, intimate camerawork captures the edgy energy of the place and its doctors as they scramble to keep pace and save lives in the face of bureaucratic indifference and diminishing budgets.

The emotional core of the film is the relationship between Benjamin and Abdel (Reda Kateb, who won a César for his performance), an Algerian doctor serving a foreign internship. It’s here that Lilti makes his fatal misdiagnosis. Abdel is clearly the most interesting character: a concerned doctor willing to buck rules and hierarchy to do right by his patients; a trained physician in a subservient role in a foreign country; a family man trying to better his fortunes despite the in-

CITYPAPER.NET

dignity of the position.

But he is relegated to a supporting role alongside the unengaging coming-of-age story of the sulking, timid Benjamin, whose blank stare is confused with audience perspective.

Lilti also falls prey to storytelling stumbles; occasional glimpses of the fascinating work these doctors do under unimaginable pressure are balanced too often with lackluster workplace scenes, and the budget-inflicted crises are overtly spelled out in a climactic rally rather than simply being allowed to play out within the larger story.

—Shaun Brady (Ritz at the Bourse)

ADO

MET P

BINGO! 1-2 YEARS OLD

I’m Bingo, 2-4 year old Schnauzer mix who’s looking for a home. I’m an affectionate boy who would be happiest as an only pet.

Please come meet me!

Bingo is waiting at PAWS’ Old City adoption center: 100 N. 2nd St. Phila, PA 19106 · 215-238-9901

citypaper.net/movies

CITYPAPER.NET

PAWS animals are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped before adoption. For more information, call 215-238-9901 or email adoptions@phillypaws.org

CITYPAPER.NET

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

true-crime experience.

But McKellen’s sad and skillful portrayal of a world-class mind leagues past its prime is a show all its own.

As is the case in most every Holmes story, the leads, suspects and clues blur together into an unspecific mash, since the man making sense of them is the only force that really matters. —Drew Lazor (Ritz Five)

26

put-upon housekeeper (Laura Linney) and her inquisitive young son (Milo Parker), the gumshoe doesn’t have much to do besides think — and his atrophying psyche is making that close to impossible. Determined to revisit the hazy details of the unsolved case that shamed him into retirement, Sherlock struggles to make sense of it all — but in his withered state, simply remembering first names is as challenging as parsing the complexities of human vice. Condon moves about as fast as the nonagenarian Holmes can walk, puttering to and fro along timelines at a pace that might alienate those looking for a slam-bang

DANCE

EVENTS

: JULY 16 - JULY 22 :

GET OU T T HERE

COME TOGETHER DANCE FESTIVAL

Koresh Dance Company’s annual Come Together Dance Festival keeps getting bigger and better. This year’s event features 33 dance companies (nine more than last season), and for the first time, it stretches beyond all Phillybased fare with the addition of national acts: 10 Hairy Legs (N.J.), Ballet Inc. (N.Y.) and Spectrum Dance Theater (Wash., led by Donald Byrd). As usual, the program features an array of local acts, too numerous to mention, but know that on any given program you will see a varied slate of first-rate dance.

Thursday to Saturday shows include a post-show talkback with the artistic directors. —Deni Kasrel

HAPPYNESS

$10-$12 // Thu., July 16, 8:30 p.m., with Michael Rault, Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 877-435-9849, bootandsaddlephilly.com.

C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

27

ROCK/POP However much this U.K. trio hearkens to a redolent, just-distant-enough era of quirky, vaguely rootsy alt-rock — across their excellent 2014 debut, Weird Little Birthday (Bar/None), they echo early Sparklehorse’s whispery scraggle, emulate several mid-period Wilco tunes and generally manifest a marked debt to Sebadoh, Pavement, etc. — they never feel like revivalists. Maybe it’s because of how fully and authentically they embody that peculiar poppy/punky/funny/ lo-fi slacker aesthetic.

Or maybe it’s just cause this is a killer bunch of tunes, with strong melodies, surreally poignant lyrics and just the right balance of catchy, fuzzed-up rockers and beautifully loping ballads. —K. Ross Hoffman

THEATER Common-

wealth Classic Theatre Company starts its second decade of free classic plays in the park with Shakespeare’s funny and poignant last play. Too-seldomseen Royal Shakespeare Company veteran David Howey plays sorcerer Prospero, who uses magic to lure the brother who usurped his dukedom and exiled him to his deserted isle for a reckoning. Director Allen Radway’s production travels to parks in Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties, New Jersey and to Philadelphia tonight (McMichael Park, East Falls, rain or shine), and it’s free. —Mark Cofta

IDINA MENZEL

$20-$125 // Thu., July 16, 8 p.m., Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave., 215-546-7900, manncenter.org.

POP/FROZEN From Rent to Wicked to

Frozen, Idina Menzel does the star-of-stageand-screen thing pretty darn well. Her live show includes those film and theater hits, as well as pop standards and a few original songs. And

Weather Station is Toronto-based singer and songwriter Tamara Lindeman, whose songs could cut through the cold with the gentle brightness of a Bon Iver ditty.

Lindeman’s Loyalty EP is rife with fierce folk vocals, plucky acoustic guitar and bottomless storytelling. It was released last May through Paradise of Bachelors, a North Carolina label with some Phillybased bands, so it holds a soft spot in our homey hearts. —Nikki Volpicelli

PERICOPES +1

she’s a masterful performer, with a voice big enough to command the Mann, and plenty of personality to go with it. —Alex Marcus

THE WEATHER STATION $10-$12 // Thu., July 16, 9 p.m., with Jeff Zeigler and Mary Lattimore and Bad Braids, Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

FOLK/POP The

$10 // Thu., July 16, 8 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom St., 215568-3131, chrisjazzcafe. com.

JAZZ Saxophonist BOB MULLEN

7.16

THE TEMPEST

Free // Through July 25, Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company, various locations, 610-2027878, commonwealthclassictheatre.org.

ROBIN WONG

thursday

COME AND KNOCK ON MY DOOR: $25-$99 // Wed.-Sun., July 22-26, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-985-0420, koreshdance.org.

BILL HEBERT

Emiliano Vernizzi and pianist Alessandro Sgobbio originally formed Pericopes as a duo in Parma, Italy, in 2009. The +1 refers to drummer Nick Wight, a former Temple student now based in New York. Together, the trio is celebrating the release of These Human Beings (AlfaMusic), a wide-ranging new CD that veers from Euro-jazz airiness to drum ’n’ bass rhythmic

eruptions, drawing influences from the likes of Satie, Paul Motian, Steve Reich and beyond. —Shaun Brady

f riday

7.17 THE TAMING OF THE SHREW $17 // July 17-Aug. 2, Delaware Shakespeare Festival, Rockwood Park, 4651 Washington St. Ext., Wilmington, Del., 302-415-3373, delshakes.org.

THEATER The Delaware Shakespeare Festival returns to comedy after last summer’s hit, Hamlet, and to director Samantha Bellomo, who staged a charming Two Gentlemen of Verona in 2013. Phila-

$10 // Fri., July 17, 9 p.m., with The Dawn Drapes and Thee, Idea Men, Ortlieb’s, 847 N. Third St., 877-4359849, ortliebsphilly.com.

ROCK/POP “The album was a complete experimentation for all of us,” Satellite Hearts’ frontman Justin Pellecchia tells me about the group’s second fulllength, Desire Forces the Flow. “Our goal was to create a fully realized record. … We wanted to do things we never

ELECTRIC CITIZEN / RUBY THE HATCHET

$12 // Fri., July 17, 8 p.m., with Mondo Drag and Slow Season, Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., undergroundarts.org.

ROCK/POP Both boasting two heady-asfuck frontwomen, Electric Citizen and Ruby the Hatchet make a great match for a night of black stoner rock in a dimly lit basement.

Check out their psychedelic dungeon sounds in tandem and pick up a copy of Hatchet’s newest LP, Aurum, on bleeding heart-colored vinyl. —Nikki Volpicelli

saturday

7.18

decades since their inception, X is still at it with their inventive punk classics. Fronted by singer, poet and artist Exene Cervenka, the band has released seven studio albums since their formation in ’77. Their seminal debut album, Los Angeles, has continued to receive critical acclaim, including recognition by many music outlets as one of the greatest albums of the ’80s and of all-time. In the wake of two hiatuses and two reunions, X is playing shows this summer with their original lineup on the “How I Learned My Lesson” tour. —Cynthia Schemmer

SETH MACFARLANE WITH THE BALTIMORE SYMPHONY

$25-$125 | Sat., July 18, 8 p.m., Mann Center, 5201 Parkside Ave., 215-546-7900, manncenter.org.

SHOWTUNES/POP Seth MacFarlane’s humor may be polarizing, but

X $25 // Sat., July 18, 8 p.m., Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., undergroundarts.org.

ROCK/POP Over four PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

SATELLITE HEARTS

could before [due to] studio restrictions, time and money.” Thankfully, they weren’t alone in their desire. The Hearts developed their Led-like stoner sound at producer Joe Bisirri’s various D.I.Y. musical workshops. —Nikki Volpicelli

28

delphia actors include Felicia Leicht as the titular shrew Katharina, whose relatively sweet sister Bianca (Tabitha Allen) can’t marry until Katharina does.

The only man brave or foolish enough is Petruchio (Barrymore Award-winner Charlie DelMarcelle). Their tumultuous romance provides great opportunity for Bellomo to create some fun stage combat. —Mark Cofta

it’s hard for anyone to shake a stick at the Family Guy creator’s live performance skills.

The writer/actor/director also boasts a sturdy singing voice, exhibited on two recent albums that sound a lot more like Harry Connick Jr. than Peter Griffin. With the Baltimore Symphony at his back, MacFarlane will focus on the American Songbook, and his substantial stage presence and killer comic timing are sure to keep things interesting.

—Alex Marcus

THE X FILES $15-$20 // Sat.-Sun., July 18-19, Performance Garage, 1515 Brandywine St., 215-5694060, facebook.com/ ADHD215.

DANCE/THEATER If Jameel Malik Hendricks is any example, youth is not necessarily wasted on the young. At just 20 years of age, along with being an aspiring actor-dancerchoreographer, he runs his own performing arts company, Artistically Driven Humbled Disciples (ADHD), seeking to

give undiscovered talent a chance to perform and be positive examples of achievement in their community. ADHD’s upcoming showcase, The X Files, presents young Philly artists of varied stripes presenting personal stories via spoken word, acting, music and movement. Billed as an “emotional roller coaster,” the show promises to present stirring tales from the ’hood. —Deni Kasrel

the tempestuous Cecil Taylor. Baltimore saxophonist Jarrett Gilgore and Brooklyn

monday

7.20

JARRETT GILGORE/DERIC DICKENS

$7-$10 // Mon., July 20, 8 p.m., with Loft 5 and Quinn Dougherty/ Ryan Fellhauer Duo, First Banana, 2152 E. Dauphin St., museumf ire.com/events.

JAZZ Alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons’ contributions to the jazz avantgarde scene are too often overlooked, despite (or perhaps eclipsed by) his quarter-century collaboration with

percussionist Deric Dickens give Lyons his due on Streams, the debut release by their quintet Words Are Not Enough. Lyons’ music bridged bebop and the freer forms of the 1960s, reflected in the athletic angularity and spaciousness of this quintet’s sound. —Shaun Brady

citypaper.net/events

TAG YOUR PHILLY PHOTOS WITH #PHILLYCP C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

& your photo could be featured on our instagram!

@PHILLYCITYPAPER

29

BRICKS AND MORTAR: South Philly Barbacoa, a street cart known for fabulous lamb and pancita tacos, moves into a permanent home.

MARIA S. YOUNG

SOUTH PHILLY BARBACOA //1703 S. 11th St. Open Sat.-Sun., 5 a.m.-5 p.m.

REVIEW

BY CAROLINE RUSSOCK

CROSSING BORDERS

The story behind South Philly Barbacoa is even more compelling than the tacos.

WITH A SHINY food cart serving some of the city’s best tacos, for the past few years weekends at the corner of Eighth and Watkins has been quite the scene. Up until two weeks ago, this cart was a Saturdays-and-Sundays-only outpost of wife-and-husband team Cristina Martinez and Benjamin Miller’s South Philly Barbacoa.

On July 4, they moved the thriving business into a brick-and-mortar location on 11th Street, just south of Morris. Taking over a former vegan restaurant, the couple is serving the same menu and catering to the early crowd that they cultivated during their street-food days.

The menu is made up of three items, all coming from the whole lambs that they bring in and butcher themselves. Once the lambs are broken down, all of the offal is placed into the lamb’s stomach, and the rest of the meat is cooked, with a pan placed underneath to catch the drippings.

Utilizing the whole animal, there are barbacoa (lamb meat) tacos, pancita (chopped stomach and offal) and consommé, a soup made with the drippings and enriched with rice, garbanzos and epazote, an herb that falls someplace between fennel and oregano.

There are two types of salsa — a red and a green that Martinez makes, depend-

ing on what chiles are in season — along with rajas (thinly sliced peppers) and nopales (pickled cactus pad). There’s also a selection of freshly made aguas frescas in the summer and atole, a warm corn drink, during the colder months.

Combining Martinez’s culinary skills and carefully sourced ingredients, South Philly Barbacoa was the best Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia even before it was a restaurant.

“We met working a kitchen together, but the real story is her,” Miller says referring to his wife. “You could replace me with any other guy that can haul a sack of onions. She’s the chef. It’s her concept.

It’s everything that she had a vision for.”

Sitting at a table in the newly opened dining room beside Martinez, who only speaks some English, Miller shared his wife’s story.

Coming from Capulhuac, a town southwestofMexicoCity,Martinezwasborninto a world where barbacoa was everywhere.

“Every person in town, other than the doctors, makes barbacoa,” Miller says. “Literally, if you’re a banker during the week, you still make barbacoa on the weekend.”

Capulhuac is the home of this regional specialty, and for Martinez it was a family affair. She had four children and opened a barbacoarestaurantwithherfirsthusband.

After they divorced, she moved to Cancun to sell her lamb tacos and consommé.

When her daughter decided that she wanted to enroll in nursing school, Martinez realized she couldn’t afford to pay the tuition and something had to be done.

“She took an adventure,” Miller explains.

“A 30-day walk across the desert.”

“It was crazy,” Martinez chimes in, shaking her head.

After coming to the States, Martinez found work and managed not only to send her daughter to school, but also to invest in a barbacoa restaurant in Capulhuac that her sister manages.

Miller met Martinez while they were working in the same restaurant.

“She was working seven days a week on salary, doing the job of two people,” Miller says. “But she lost that job because of the immigration process.”

Without documentation, Martinez wasn’t able to find another position, making for the bittersweet beginnings of South Philly Barbacoa.

Afterafewweeksoffruitlessjob-hunting, Martinez got back in the kitchen, but this time it was the one in her and Miller’s own

South Philly home. She made a basket of quesadillas filled with potato and sheep’s brain, and headed to Ninth Street to sell snacks to the Mexican workers there.

While gaining an Italian Market following, Martinez and Miller bought their first lamb and launched an informal weekend barbacoa operation out of their home.

An understanding landlady (a “cool old lady from Thailand,” according to Miller) allowed them to install a dozen seats and set up a BYO bar in their back patio.

Opening up their home to the barbacoa-hungry residents of South Philly was a great deal and almost too much of a success: With a packed house on weekends and a burgeoning catering clientele, the logistics of the operation didn’t add up.

Miller was working at Kanella at the time, and one of his co-worker’s parents had a food cart that they used on weekdays. Martinez and Miller could use it on the weekends, and so they moved the taco-making operation from their home to the sidewalk just a few feet outside.

For a few years, South Philly Barbacoa was a destination for locals and curious diners alike, but when a neighbor complained, they decided to make a move — and the timing was seamless. Some of the staff ofVegan Commissary were regular customers, and when the owner of that business decided to focus more on wholesale, Martinez and Miller moved their business into Vegan Commissary’s former space.

Having a professional kitchen and Passyunk proximity are great for business, but Miller has much more on his agenda than a booming taco trade. Although he and Martinez are married and she can legally stay in the States, she does not have a green card, meaning that basics like a driver’s license and a bank account are out of reach. In order to get a green card, Martinez would have to return to Mexico and live there for 10 years.

“The only thing that I can do is be an advocate for immigration reform and use the business as a platform. That’s something that I try to talk to my customers about,” Miller says. “Now that we have a space we can try to open up a dialogue. I think the chefs and people who work in the restaurant industry need to stand behind undocumented workers because that’s their compañeros.” (editorial@citypaper.net)

citypaper.net/mealticket

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

REVIEWS // OPENIN GS // LIST IN GS // RECIPES

30

FOOD&DRINK

REVIEW

BY ADAM ERACE

DOS TACOS DOS TACOS // 120 S. 15th St., 215-5678226, dostacosphilly.com. Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat., 11 a.m.-3 a.m.

C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

SYLVA SENAT HAS BEEN A BUSY CHEF since leavingTashan, theTiffin family’s onyx peacock on South Broad Street. The Haitian-born ex-NewYorker took his mastery of exotic spices and head of dreads to the Main Line, where he took over the kitchen at the beleaguered St. James (now closed); then went south toVirginia, where he consulted on an Asian restaurant in Newport News (also closed), while simultaneously planning a new concept for the old Letto Deli space back in Philly, Maison 208, on deck to open later this year.

In the midst of all this, Senat opened Dos Tacos with Marc Mattera and Ryan Dorsey, two nightlife vets whose 3Nerds management company appears to specialize in #Dayload parties. The object: cheffy tacos made from high-quality ingredients for an industry crowd.

“I love Ninth and Washington as much as the next chef — so much I am doing tacos — but let’s be honest, Kobe beef, heritage pork and organic chicken [are] not on that menu,” Senat says, correctly. “[Serving] two tacos for that price point in Center City became our model.

It’s really a food-truck idea inside a garage; the garage just happens to be on 15th and Sansom.”

The kitchen, which is run day-to-day by chef Derek Dietz, takes up more than half the narrow space. There are only four high-tops and 10 stools. Most customers get their tacos to go.

And what of those tacos? The menu says they’re served on corn tortillas that are “made fresh daily,” which is not a lie but is a little misleading because they’re not made in-house, but at a local tortilleria.

The fillings range from succulent Lancaster chicken tinga studded with scraps of foie gras (dubbed the Frenchman) to cubes of raw tuna spritzed with a kamikaze cocktail mist (the Kamikaze) — which, I confirmed with Senat, during an alarmed back-and-forth, has the alcohol cooked out of it first. In both tacos, the proteins were impeccable, but the seasoning was timid. So much raw cabbage had been stuffed into the tuna taco, it was all I could taste. There was so little foie in the Frenchman, the $1.95 surcharge felt like a rip-off. Each could have used a sprinkle of salt.

The veggie taco was a love letter to mushrooms and easily my favorite of the three I tried.

Portobellos, shiitakes, creminis and buttons were all sautéed to a deep walnut brown with ginger, garlic and herbs piled into a tortilla and topped with smoky chipotle gastrique, pico de gallo and jicama guacamole. Paired with a pack of Dos Tacos’ fluffy, crispy yucca fries, they make a fine meatless meal.

For dessert, churro production is currently outsourced, but the long, skinny Mexican doughnuts, which Senat dusts in a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar, were delicious and not overly sweet.

I’m happy Senat is back cooking in Philly, but I’ll be happier when he’s on the line at Maison 208. Based on what he produced at Tashan, he’s one of the best chefs in town. Dos Tacos is fun, but it doesn’t do justice to his talents. (aerace.citypaper@gmail.com, @adamerace)

31

BY MATT JONES

JONESIN ’ “ WE’RE ON THE AIR” and the path is clear ©2015 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

TAG YOUR PHILLY PHOTOS WITH #PHILLYCP & your photo could be featured on our instagram!

4 7 12 13 14 15 16 18 20 21 22 25 26 29 30 32 34 37 38 39 40 41 44 45 49 51 54 57 58 59 60

Where SSTs used to land Curve segment Come in Indie rock band ___ Kiley Mayday call Insect with a 17-year life cycle Rent-___ (airport service) “Uh-oh,” in kiddie talk Chase doggedly Spread over American-born former queen of Jordan Coloring agent Assoc. formed in Bogota “Wanted” initials Go paragliding Little round hill Planet explored by Voyager I It has its ups and downs Truck stop purchase Back twinge Lofty poems Angular prefix “Much ___ About Nothing” (Simpsons episode) Chinese cooking need Euro fraction Green Acres costar Eva Dallas spinoff Island resort town in South Carolina Garfield Minus Garfield character Balance sheet heading Wayne LaPierre’s org.

Walter ___ Army Medical Center

61 Big serving spoon 62 In the closet, or out of it 63 Suspicious element?

DOWN

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 14 17 19 22 23 24 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 41 42

Starchy root used in salads Cereal bits Divided Asian nation Beginning at Housetop Washington Journal airer Duck with soft feathers “First in Flight” st.

Mai ___ (bar order) Cutting crew, for short?

“A drop of golden sun” Midnight Cowboy hustler Rizzo ___ Institute (D.C. think tank) Airport northwest of LAX Fake-tanned Gloomy Needlework supply Geographical suffix 1980s-’90s chancellor Helmut Ctrl-___-Del Flute part What X may mean Old albums Walk of Fame award Punctuation in an email address Cousin of Rover Bulbed vegetable On target Financial barometer, with “the” “The Dude ___” Small horses

43 45 46 47 48

50 51 52 53 54 55 56

Pushed hard $100 bill, in old slang Billions of years “Ultimate” degree Taiwanese golfer Yani ___, youngest to win five major championships Love like crazy Hooked on Classics company Tomb Raider heroine One-___ (multivitamin) Talking computer of film “Love ___ Battlefield” Psychedelic stuff

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

32

ACROSS

1

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

@PHILLYCITYPAPER

ADULT PHONE ENTERTAIMENT

C I T Y PA P E R . N E T // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER

LAVALIFE Meet Sexy Singles with Lavalife Today 215-557-2000 FREE TRIAL! www.lavalife.com 18+ QUEST CHAT Talk to 100s of local singles tonight! 215-671-4444 or 1-888257-5757 www.questchat.com Try it FREE! 18+

SENSUAL ADULT MASSAGE PROSTATE MASSAGE www.platinumhandzmassage. com *67-215-668-9517

PUBLIC NOTICES AIRLINE CAREERS begin here-Get hands on training

perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roomates.com!

Reference RGA project #2015190W

ALL AREAS ROOMATES. COM Lonely? bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roomates.com!

BUSINESS SERVICES

PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions.

866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/ New Mexico/Indiana.

PUBLIC NOTICE Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless is proposing to collocate a wireless telecommunications facility on the roof of an existing 133-foot building at 333 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County,

CASH FOR CARS Any Car/Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.

Training and Transportation provided, Above average earnings (commission and bonuses). Must be able to start Immediately. Apply at www.VerbalHustlers.com or call 215-432-2926 DANCERS WANTED Booth girl/dancer for day/night work. Dream Boutique. Call Lou at 215-724-8508 between 11am and 8pm Monday – Saturday.

cash4car.com

HELP WANTED – GENERAL MAKE $1,000 WEEKLY!!

MAILING BROCHURES From Home. Helping home workers since 2001. Genuine Opportunity. No Experience required. Start Immediately www.mailingmembers.com START YOUR HUMANITARIAN CAREER! Change the lives of others while creating a sustainable future. 1, 6,

as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial Aid for qualified students. Job placement assis-

PA 19107. The overall height of the installation will be 152 feet.

Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submit-

tance. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance 888-834-9715.

ted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Jennifer

oneworldcenter.org

ALL AREAS ROOMATES.COM Lonely? bored? Broke? Find the

Leynes, RGA, Inc., 259 Prospect Plains Rd., Bldg. D, Cranbury, NJ 08512; jleynes@rgaincorporated.com; 609-655-0692, x314.

FUN TRAVEL JOB Are You Energetic, Creative and

9, 18 month programs available.

Apply today! www.OneWorldCenter.org 269-591-0518 info@

Love to Travel. No experience necessary,

HOME SERVICES KILL BED BUGS! Harris Bed Bug Killers/KIT. Available: Hardware Stores.

Buy Online/Store: homedepot. com

HEALTH SERVICES RELAX REFRESH RE JUVINATE Accupressure Therapy with Foot Reflexology by an expert at your place. For appointment call 267808-5624.

KILL BED BUGS! Harris Bed Bug Killers/KIT Available: The Home Depot, homedepot.com, Hardware Stores

33

WHEN DOES BONDAGE become a fetish? For Emily Bingham (emilyerotica.com), the Portland, Ore.-based author of the forthcoming memoir Diary of a Rope Fiend, it’s reached fetish status because “I have a very difficult time enjoying sex without restraint in some fashion.”

This didn’t surprise her, however, because her earliest memories involve playing house or doctor with other kids “and asking to be tied up with a jump rope even when it didn’t make any sense in the context of the game.”

In college, bondage became more explicitly sexual, though that’s not all it’s about for her. Bondage isn’t just menacing, Bingham says: “It’s comforting, like a hug that allows me to give up control to the other person.”

Her bondage sessions with lovers are about being intentionally vulnerable, and reveling in her helplessness, even when she’s the one who orchestrated it. “When someone is tying me up, they are paying special attention to me, keeping me safe, cared for and close to them. I’ve let go and stopped thinking or worrying about everyday things.”

Bingham has a masochistic streak, and enjoys being spanked and having clothespins clamped on her while bound, but kink-free bondage is also enjoyable. “Rope is not always sexual; usually it’s sensual. I don’t engage in sex acts with most of my rope partners, but it’s a very connective and erotic experience despite neither of us touching one another sexually.”

Bingham’s evolved from being the one solely on the receiving end to doing the trussing herself and says now she “enjoys doing the binding as much as I enjoy being bound.” Rope, especially made from hemp or jute, is her favorite tool.

Handcuffs just won’t do. Bingham gets practically poetic about her favorite equipment. “There’s a wonderful texture to the natural rope that feels lovely on the skin, especially when the person tied up struggles and the lines of rope creak like the mast of a ship.”

Artistry is just as, if not more, important as efficiency. “Rope takes time and effort to place on a body and to learn enough about to be proficient,” Bingham explains. “It’s beautiful as well as restricting. Each time someone puts rope on me, they are making a unique creation just for my body. Other forms of restraints feel impersonal and cold in comparison.”

The most important thing she’s learned in her bondage is the importance of negotiation between the person tying up and the one being tied up. “It’s just as important for the bottom in any scene to be educated about the things happening to them so they know when they are in danger.”

Bondage isn’t just a private activity, either; she’s been tied up all around Portland, as documented on her Instagram account (rope_quean). It’s a chance to indulge her exhibitionist streak and do some PR on behalf of one of her favorite activities. I applaud this, because bondage isn’t only about its most extreme aspects.

While porn often features women who look like they’re unhappy with their bonds, you’ll often find Bingham beaming while she’s restrained. “I like showing that it’s beautiful and fun, that everyone is smiling and giggling as it happens.”

That makes sense, given that the biggest myths about bondage are, according to Bingham, “that it hurts and that it’s always about sex. Neither are necessarily true.” Spoken like a true rope fiend. (rachelcitypaper@gmail.com)

@RAQUELITA

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T

CONFESSIONS OF A ‘ROPE FIEND’

34

Emily Bingham

Rachel Kramer Bussel is the author of the essay collection Sex & Cupcakes and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, most recently Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica.

LET’S GET IT ON

BY RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL

36

PHIL ADELPHIA CI T Y PAPER // JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2015 // C I T Y PA P E R . N E T