Results tagged “iran”

In late July, three American hikers, including Joshua Fattal of Elkins Park, were detained in Iran for illegally entering the country. The hikers, who were backpacking in Iraqi Kurdistan and maintain that the crossing was accidental, have had no contact with their families in two months. Tonight, fourteen cities across the United States will host candlelight vigils in support of the hikers. The local vigil will be held at the Curtis Arboretum (1250 Church Road, Wyncote, PA 19095) from 8 to 9 p.m. this evening. If you are free tonight, and able to get to Wyncote, we urge you to join Joshua's mother and friends as they continue to do what they can to see his safe return, and the return of his friends.

Last Wednesday night, the Free Library held its first major event since the resolution of the budget crisis. When Mayor Nutter arrived to introduce Marjane Satrapi, the author of 2010's One Book, One Philadelphia choice The Complete Persepolis, he was met with loud applause. He opened with a joking commentary of the fickle nature of politics: "What a difference a year makes." In her introduction to Satrapi and the citywide book group, the chair of the literacy program, Marie Field, asserted the importance of the board's unanimous choice of text, The Complete Persepolis. She hoped the book would not simply give Philadelphians a knowledge of the Persian culture, but that such knowledge would break down "barriers" in a diverse city. This idea of breaking down barriers was a recurring theme in all of the talking coming from the podium that night, and in light of last week's events in Iran, perhaps a study of life in Iran could not come at a better time.

• A proposed ban on plastic bags was defeated by City Council today.
• An early Rasmussen poll has Arlen Specter defeating Joe Sestak in the 2010 Democratic primaries for the US Senate.
• A series of armed robberies continue in West Philly. The most recent was at the liquor store at 49th and Baltimore.

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When Richard Kelly's film Southland Tales was originally screened at Cannes, the buzz was extraordinarily negative. The word was that the movie was a great big mess - ridiculous and nonsensical. I didn't want to believe it. I really enjoyed Kelly's amazing indie/romance/sci-fi flick Donnie Darko. I thought maybe people were reacting to Southland Tales the way that some had reacted to The Fountain: they were confused by it because they hadn't looked hard enough...

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

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