http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists RSS Feed for Inq Columnists en-us Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:33:48 GMT http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Bob_Ford__Phillies_don_t_need_Martinez.html The news coming out of Santo Domingo yesterday was only occasionally accurate and consistently confusing regarding the Phillies' interest in 37-year-old pitcher Pedro Martinez, which, quite naturally, didn't make the Dominican Republic media reports much different than our own. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Annette_John-Hall_Ugliness_in_the_water_at_Valley_Club.html I thought I had fallen into a time warp. Like a lot of people, I had to pinch myself when I heard that the Valley Club, a predominantly white Montgomery County swim club, had disinvited a group of predominantly black and Latino city children from using its pool. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Changing_Skyline__Let_there_be_pedestrian_light.html The right lighting does wonders for an old city like Philadelphia. Just look at Baltimore Avenue, where a column of new street lamps is positioned among the fledgling sidewalk restaurants and secondhand shops. Come nightfall, the aspiring hipster hangout is dusted with a fairy glow that makes even the vacant storefronts look good. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Sideshow__Brno_goes_in_for_a_Matt_cuddle.html Dressed in his trademark sexy silver lamé jumpsuit, famously flamboyant Austrian jet-setter and fashionista Brüno yesterday fell into the possibly loving - but certainly shocked - arms of Today journalist Matt Lauer. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Cheat_Sheet__Usually__buying_is_better_than_building_bookcases.html Until Amazon's Kindle makes physically purchasing individual books online or at the bookstore a thing of the distant past, voracious readers who would rather buy than borrow from the library will continue to need vast spaces for storing their tomes. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_PhillyDeals__Rep__Sestak_contemplates_run_against_Sen__Specter.html U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak is only half-done with his exploratory tour of Pennsylvania's 67 counties but he's talking like he already has decided to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) next year. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Garden_Q_A.html Question: What causes trees and perennials not to bloom? We have a seven-year-old Styrax japonicus (Japanese snowbell tree) in a relatively small West Philadelphia backyard. It is now 20 feet tall and wide, appears to be quite healthy, and has bloomed for http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090710_Power_Up__Grid_games_are_going_to_college.html The pace of life slows down appreciably in the summertime and so does the flow of new video games. Thankfully, a pair of college-football titles shipping later this month will stir up some excitement among fans of sports and music games. NCAA Football 2010 rushes into stores on Tuesday for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable, while Black College Football Xperience (BCFx): The Doug Williams Edition takes the field on the 360 on July 20. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090709_Daniel_Rubin__Behind_bars__a_Pa__think_tank.html Getting Ed Rendell's attention isn't easy in these days of multibillion-dollar budget wars, which is why the cost-cutting suggestions of an unlikely group of constituents is to be commended. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20090709_Sideshow__In_feminist_forefront__Kate.html Forget Susan B. Anthony. Forget Simone de Bouvoir and Hélène Cixous. Throw out your Andrea Dworkin and Susan Faludi books. There's a new avant-garde feminist leader in town, and her name is - Kate Gosselin.