Plot
Urchin is the story of a child who lives in Scum City. When the Old Man came to Scum City, a homeless camp in the Manhattan tunnels, his story seemed wild. He was from a kingdom deep within the earth, he said, and was sent to find the five nobles who got lost up here. He had a map that would lead him and his followers back to this paradise, and a blue crystal called The Blessing, that when smoked granted the clarity and vision needed to complete great tasks.
Some believed. They were allowed to stay.
The Kid believes. Abused and tormented, he escaped the city shelter and fled to the streets, where he survived by wit and blood until he found Scum City. He will fulfil the Old Man's prophecy; he will get to paradise.
But someone else believes. The Old Man had a bodyguard once, a powerful little man called Goliath whose lungs and mind are rotting away. In his dementia he has committed to the ritual murder of innocents and the capture of the map held fast by the Old Man.
This is the story of a child trapped in a world of violence, degradation, wonder, and discovery. As he battles the evils of the street to save the Old Man and the future of Scum City he meets Julia, a young girl in need of protection. He struggles to decipher the true motives of the Old Man and Goliath, while safeguarding Julia and the map that leads to Paradise.
David was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
Goliath is a Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's immense stature vary among biblical sources, with various texts describing him between 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) to 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) tall. According to the text, Goliath issued a challenge to the Israelites, daring them to send forth a champion to engage him in single combat; he was ultimately defeated by the young shepherd David, employing a sling and stone as a weapon. The narrative signified King Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for the Kingdom of Israel.
Valerie Jean Solanas was an American radical feminist known for the SCUM Manifesto, which she self-published in 1967, and her attempt to murder artist Andy Warhol in 1968.
The Baker Street Irregulars are fictional characters who appear in three Sherlock Holmes stories, specifically two novels and one short story, by Arthur Conan Doyle. They are street boys who are employed by Holmes as intelligence agents. The name has subsequently been adopted by other organizations, most notably a prestigious and exclusive literary society founded in the United States by Christopher Morley in 1934.
William Wymark Jacobs was an English author of short fiction and drama. He is best known for his story "The Monkey's Paw".
Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers use UNICEF's concept of boys and girls, aged under 18 years, for whom "the street" has become home and/or their source of livelihood, and who are inadequately protected or supervised. Street girls are sometimes called gamines, a term that is also used for Colombian street children of either sex.
Charles Loring Brace was an American philanthropist who contributed to the field of social reform. He is considered a father of the modern foster care movement and was most renowned for starting the Orphan Train movement of the mid-19th century, and for founding Children's Aid Society.
Richard Fisk is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #83 and was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. He is the son of Wilson Fisk and Vanessa Fisk. Although originally portrayed as a villain, he later became an antihero.
Earth X is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. Earth X was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Universe.
A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow. Regardless of the term's literary use, anything that meets the broad definition of a "map" that describes the location of a "treasure" could appropriately be called a "treasure map."
Alfred Lennon, also known as Freddie Lennon, was an English seaman and singer who was best known as the father of musician John Lennon. Alfred spent many years in an orphanage with his sister, Edith, after his father died.
Creepshow 3 is a 2006 American comedy horror film, and a sequel to Stephen King and George A. Romero's horror anthology films Creepshow (1982) and Creepshow 2 (1987). It was directed and produced by Ana Clavell and James Dudelson. The film stars Kris Allen, A. J. Bowen, Emmett McGuire and Stephanie Pettee. Like its predecessors, the film is a collection of tales of light-hearted horror: "Alice", "The Radio", "Call Girl", "The Professor's Wife", and "Haunted Dog", although there is no EC Comics angle this time around. The film was panned by critics.
The Quran contains references to more than fifty people and events also found in the Bible. While the stories told in each book are generally comparable, there are also some notable differences.
"Transitions" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Dan Attias, who won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode. It first aired on January 27, 2008.
The Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony was an encampment of banished, registered sex offenders who were living beneath the Julia Tuttle Causeway—a highway connecting Miami, Florida to Miami Beach, Florida, United States—from 2006 to April 2010. The colony was created by a lobbyist named Ron Book, who wrote ordinances in several different Miami-Dade County cities to restrict convicted sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet (760 m) of schools, parks, bus stops, or homeless shelters. Since Book was also head of the Miami Homeless Trust, he was also in charge of finding housing for the released sexual offenders. Under these ordinances, the only areas where sex offenders could legally reside within Miami-Dade County were the Miami Airport and the Florida Everglades. Miami-Dade laws are significantly stricter than State of Florida laws on residency restrictions for sex offenders. Florida state law required that no sex offender could live within 1,000 feet (300 m) from "where children gather". Under that requirement, housing was possible; however, because of Book's lobbying, the Dade County Commission increased that number to 2,500 feet (760 m), thereby banishing hundreds of local citizens who then began gathering under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
When You Reach Me is a Newbery Medal-winning science fiction and mystery novel by Rebecca Stead, published in 2009. It takes place on the Upper West Side of New York during 1978 and 1979 and follows a sixth-grade girl named Miranda Sinclair. After Miranda finds a strange note, which is unsigned and addressed only to "M," in her school library book, a mystery is set into motion—one which Miranda ultimately must face alone. At the same time, Miranda juggles school, relationships with her peers, and helping her mom prepare for an upcoming appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid, a popular game show hosted by Dick Clark. Important characters in the story include Miranda's mother; Richard, her mom's good-natured boyfriend; Sal, Miranda's childhood best friend; and a homeless man who lives on Miranda's block and is referred to only as "the laughing man." Central themes in the novel include independence, redemption, and friendship.
Miracle in the Gorbals (1944) is a one-act ballet choreographed by Robert Helpmann to a story by Michael Benthall, with music by Arthur Bliss. The setting is the 1940s slums in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. It became a staple of the Royal Ballet, performed each season from 1944 to 1950 and receiving a revival in 1958.
"Anarky in Gotham City" is a two-part comic book story arc which appeared in Detective Comics #608, in November 1989, and was continued the following month in Detective Comics #609. The arc was written by Alan Grant and illustrated by Norm Breyfogle, with editorial oversight by Dennis O'Neil. Coloring by Adrienne Roy and lettering by Todd Klein contributed to the interior artwork.
Christopher Paul Gardner, Sr. is an American businessman and motivational speaker. During the early 1980s, Gardner struggled with homelessness while raising a toddler son. He became a stockbroker and eventually founded his own brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co in 1987. In 2006, Gardner sold his minority stake in the firm and published a memoir. That book was made into the motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith.
