Robert DiGiacomo

(Editor’s note: Covering LGBTQ issues is an ongoing Next Avenue priority, and this June, during Pride Month, we are publishing a special LGBTQ-focused series. The first article in it: How to Be an LGBTQ Ally.)
Drag in all its sequined, feathered and bewigged glory has long captivated author-comedian Frank DeCaro.
He was just 4 when he discovered drag while watching the classic TV sitcom, The Munsters. In the episode, Frankenstein-like Herman Munster gets struck by lightning and wakes up as a ...

If you haven't been to Atlantic City lately, you might assume that the storied resort's luck might have finally run out.
Five casinos –– including the once fabled Trump Taj Mahal and a multi-billion-dollar flop called Revel that lasted just over two years –– shut down, leaving seven remaining. The city flirted with bankruptcy amid the lingering recession and unprecedented competition from casinos in neighboring states.
But like a player whose cards are suddenly hot, Atlantic City could be on ...

By Robert DiGiacomo

Three years ago, while working at a New York City art gallery, self-taught furniture-maker Brian Christopher (bicyclettefurniture.com) decided to rent a space in Hoboken to try his hand at woodworking. Acquiring his first tool from Craigslist and using the power of Instagram, he began building a client base for his signature white oak pieces. Last year, Christopher returned to his native Philly and set up a s...

Whether you’re looking for arts and culture, festivals and special events, dazzling fall foliage or some combination thereof, Philadelphia offers something for seemingly every interest in the fall. Here are five themed fall weekends that you can mix and match.
Experience Fall Thrills
Anyone who loves Halloween — or a good scare — will want to visit the annual “Terror Behind the Walls,” presented from late September through early November, at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary.
The intera...

After Two Decades, a Philadelphia Urban Farm Grappl...

In fact, Benjamin Dreyer would really prefer that I open this article quite differently.
The longtime copy chief at Random House has made a career of helping authors like E.L. Doctorow, Frank Rich and Elizabeth Strout replace such “wan intensifiers” as “in fact,” “really” and “quite” with more powerful prose.
In his first book, Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, Dreyer suggests ways to break free of such “throat clearers,” and enthusiastically shares a long list ...

At Philadelphia’s newly opened Rooster Soup Company, the signature choices might include mouth-watering versions of mushroom barley or matzo ball. You can pair the soups with chef Erin O’Shea’s interpretations of classic diner sandwiches and entrees like a tuna melt or chicken pot pie and finish up with a slice of the pie of the day.

Even more satisfying than the menu offerings from the team behind nationally known Zahav, Federal Donuts and Dizengoff, is the restaurant’s mission. Rooster Soup...

Discover London's sophisticated urban resort - The ...

Class of ’94 | Back in 1998, Erica Armstrong Dunbar C’94 was sifting through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s electronic archives when she spotted an advertisement in the May 26, 1796 issue of Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser. It began:
Absconded from the household of the President of the United States, on Saturday afternoon, ONEY JUDGE, a light Mulatto girl, much freckled, with very black eyes, and bushy black hair … Ten dollars will be paid to any person, (white or black) who w...

New York Times reporter John Leland thought he knew how to write about the “oldest old” — people 85 and up. For a proposed year-long series, he figured he would chronicle a laundry list of their issues: things like the dangers of falling, financial pressures and family conflict.
As Leland delved deeper, however, he realized the people in this age group were more than the sum of their problems. And he saw how much he didn’t know about the realities of aging. The resulting “85 & Up” series took...

For anyone looking for a break from the intensity of the election season, but still craving some excitement, the fall lineup of travel and food shows promises plenty of back-stabbing, stunning scenery and mouth-watering dishes. Fortunately, for the country, the stakes are much lower.
Among the highlights, curmudgeonly celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is returning for Season 16 of Fox reality competition Hell’s Kitchen, Andrew “Nothing Is Too Gross to Try Once” Zimmern is traveling the world once ...

Postcard-Worthy Provence - The Hunt Magazine

Veteran comedian Jeff Foxworthy doesn’t worry about tailoring his act to a particular audience — he just says what’s on his mind to try to get the laugh.

“Whether I’m in Atlantic City, Portland or San Antonio, I’m going to try to find things that everybody thinks about,” says Foxworthy, who performs 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at The Waterfront at Harrah’s Resort. “For me, the biggest compliment is when people say, ‘You’ve been in my house — you should come and hang out with my family.’”

Chances...