Facial Hair

Beset by the prospect of layoffs and struggling to curb classroom assaults, Philadelphia's beleaguered school police are aggrieved over another issue these days: a new dress and grooming code that bans goatees and "soul patches" but permits beards. "This is going to prevent violence in the schools?" asked Michael Lodise, president of the union representing 635 part- and full-time school police. His union filed grievances after Chief Myron Patterson, who took over school police operations last summer on loan from the city, formulated a new code.

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there to hear it, does it make a sound? And if a man shaves off his mustache and nobody notices that it's gone, did he ever really have one? And does he even exist? That's the central question in Emmanuel Carr?re's La Moustache, an intriguing study of identity, marriage and, perhaps, madness. Adapted from his own 1987 novel, Carr?re's keenly observed puzzler begins innocently enough in the apartment of a seemingly happy Parisian couple, Marc and Agn?s (Vincent Lindon and Emmanuelle Devos)

It was like being transported into the 1890s at Aldan Elementary School on Saturday as the borough celebrated its hundredth. There were a beard and mustache competition, with the participants having grown the facial hair expressly for the occasion, and horse-drawn carriage rides.

A second helping of W. Wilson Goode (March 21)? I still have indigestion from the first. This shows how pathetic this city's political and business climate must be to allow a person who cost this city millions (and still counting) to continue to maintain a presence here. By the way, your honor, lose the facial hair. It's as cheesy as your two terms in office were. JOHN SFORZA, Philadelphia

THESE stylish Philadelphians of a certain age possess what I call "advanced style. " They exude a long-forgotten sense of class in which men and women dressed more for style than comfort. These seasoned ladies don pearls, dress hats, Chanel bags and kitten heels on their feet. The mature guys are sporting facial hair, classic navy sport coats, vintage eyeglass frames and Belgiumloafers. Their style, like fine wine, just gets better with age.   Contact Reuben Harley at BIGRUBE@streetgazing.com , or follow on Twitter @BigRubeHarley.

What's the difference between "Scream" and its wild child "Scream 2"? Four deaths, 12 screams, 29 curse words and five cordless phones. Mr. Showbiz, an entertainment site on the Internet, did an informal survey comparing the two Wes Craven slash pictures and came up with some interesting statistics. While "Scream 2" has more dead bodies than "Scream" (11 to seven), it is more PG in other respects. For example, the second picture has 12 fewer actual screams, 29 fewer naughty words and no sex (compared with one sex scene in the first "Scream")

Police are investigating a report from a woman who said she was raped and choked until she passed out in Kensington Wednesday night, but they said Thursday that it was too soon to link it to other assaults in the neighborhood. The woman called police Thursday morning to say that around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man choked her until she lost consciousness near Kensington Avenue and Orleans Street. When she awoke, she said, her pants were down and she believed she had been sexually assaulted.

While the New York Yankees and Derek Jeter couldn't work out a deal and went before arbitrators yesterday, All-Star second baseman Ray Durham got a $20 million, four-year contract from the Chicago White Sox. Jeter, who appeared in his first All-Star Game last summer, asked a three-man panel for $5 million, which would match Ruben Sierra's 1992 salary with Texas as the second-highest ever awarded in arbitration. The only higher award was the $5.3 million pitcher Jack McDowell got from the Chicago White Sox in 1994 - when he lost his case.

RE JENICE Armstong's column "Glamour Takes a Hit": I'd say the advice against dreadlocks was not race-based, but rather based on maintaining appropriate workplace grooming. Law is a field where appearance is important, as a lawyer's demeanor and appearance can influence a jury. Dreadlocks look like matted hair, and appear unkempt. I agree it may seem like a race-based judgment, but if a white lawyer wore dreadlocks and was told they were unacceptable, what would the defense for keeping the hairstyle be in that case?

Ladies, you've probably noticed by now that the Eagles fan in your life is sporting a tad more facial hair. OK. A lot. Stop complaining. Chances are he'll be scruffy through Feb. 2, the day after his beloved Birds possibly play in the Super Bowl. Knock on Astro Turf. "I won't touch it," 21-year-old Zachary Serabian said about the itchy black shadow he started to let frame his face a few days before the Eagles smashed the Dallas Cowboys. "I grew my beard out for the Phillies, and lo and behold, they won!

THESE stylish Philadelphians of a certain age possess what I call "advanced style. " They exude a long-forgotten sense of class in which men and women dressed more for style than comfort. These seasoned ladies don pearls, dress hats, Chanel bags and kitten heels on their feet. The mature guys are sporting facial hair, classic navy sport coats, vintage eyeglass frames and Belgiumloafers. Their style, like fine wine, just gets better with age.   Contact Reuben Harley at BIGRUBE@streetgazing.com , or follow on Twitter @BigRubeHarley.

STATE COLLEGE - For the first time since 1929, there is no member of the Penn State football coaching staff who played for the Nittany Lions, and that includes two holdovers from the Joe Paterno regime, defensive line coach Larry Johnson (Elizabeth City State) and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden (Albion College). Incorporating the best of what was, and what will be, is the challenge confronting new coach Bill O'Brien, who knows something of the traditions put into place by his late, great predecessor, Paterno, but apparently not everything.

BETHLEHEM - Danny Watkins might not be the only rookie starting on the Eagles' offensive line this season. Jason Kelce, a sixth-round center out of Cincinnati, is getting a long look with the first team in training camp. "He's a superior athlete. He's just so quick," Watkins, the first-round right guard from Baylor, said when asked about Kelce after a muggy morning practice. "I really like playing next to him. He just comes off the ball and he's so fast. He reminds me of the fastest hedgehog you've ever seen - his facial hair, and his [spiky]

Philadelphia police are looking for a man who they say sexually assaulted a woman in Pennypack Park after offering her a ride home early Tuesday. The man was described as white, between 30 and 40 years old, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10, with a medium build, reddish-brown hair, and facial hair. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, and was driving a white pickup truck with ladders in the rear. Police said he might have identified himself as "Rob. " Police said he approached the victim, who is in her 20s, while she was walking along Torresdale Avenue near Longshore Avenue in Tacony about 2:30 a.m. He offered her a ride home, which she accepted, police said.

Beset by the prospect of layoffs and struggling to curb classroom assaults, Philadelphia's beleaguered school police are aggrieved over another issue these days: a new dress and grooming code that bans goatees and "soul patches" but permits beards. "This is going to prevent violence in the schools?" asked Michael Lodise, president of the union representing 635 part- and full-time school police. His union filed grievances after Chief Myron Patterson, who took over school police operations last summer on loan from the city, formulated a new code.

Archbishop Carroll High School's former athletic director waived a preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges of seeking sex from an ex-student. Francis Murphy, 39, of the 1000 block of Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, said nothing during the brief session before District Judge James P. Gallagher in Bridgeport. Murphy was represented by attorneys Timothy Woodward and William J. Winning. Although the judge issued no ruling, the waiver has the effect of moving the case forward to Common Pleas Court for a June 29 arraignment.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The very thought made a 38-year-old man giddy. Spending his first winter in Philadelphia, Raul Ibanez was introduced to shoveling, facial hair, and bitter-cold runs. And he went sledding. "I jumped on one of those little sleds," Ibanez said, "and went down a hill. It's brilliant. Whoever came up with that - phenomenal. " He will be 39 come June 2, so that makes Ibanez the elder of the Phillies' clubhouse. The new beard is littered with splotches of gray penetrating the brown fuzz on his chin, just the latest sign of aging.

Pujols edges closer to free agency The best player in baseball may be available to the highest bidder five days after the 2011 World Series. The deadline Albert Pujols set for reaching a new contract agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals passed Wednesday with no deal, making it likely the three-time MVP will become a free agent. The Cardinals said they would respect Pujols' wishes and not request more talks during the season, unless their first baseman surprisingly changes his mind.

Police are investigating a report from a woman who said she was raped and choked until she passed out in Kensington Wednesday night, but they said Thursday that it was too soon to link it to other assaults in the neighborhood. The woman called police Thursday morning to say that around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man choked her until she lost consciousness near Kensington Avenue and Orleans Street. When she awoke, she said, her pants were down and she believed she had been sexually assaulted.