May 16, 2008
Blogger + Mayor = Awesomeness
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Oh, yes, this is Mayor Michael Nutter with Albert Lee, this morning. Oh, yes.
Posted by D-Mac at 04:07 PM | Comments (3)
May 10, 2008
My TV Appearance, Annotated
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So, yes, the segment on Fox 29 about Philadelphia bloggers -- and by that, I mean me and Johnny Goodtimes -- aired last night, and I've done a little guide to my favorite shot on last night's program. (You can click to enlarge.)
- 1. One of you called it No Country for Old Men hair and my hairdresser said it looked like a hockey player's haircut. (Complete with playoff beard!) I prefer to think of it as the too-lazy-to-get-a-haircut look, but I finally got it cut short again on Tuesday. The beard will probably go soon, too, but, again: Laziness.
- 2. These are the Dr. Seuss glasses one of you remarked on. I'm going to go get them straightened today, actually; also, they're hilariously Sean John brand classes.
- 3. This is not a shirt a picked up at a thrift store, it is an actual 1998 Viking Invitational cross country shirt, a race I competed in. (I was have been a junior in high school.) I never seemed to do well in that race, so I guess I never really wore the shirt regularly until a few months ago. I'm sure my high school coaches are proud of me.
- 4. One of the better things on my walls, this advertisement from around World War II is actually for Stetson hats, but the theme is "Keep it under your Stetson" -- as in, "Don't tell the enemy about the war plans. Wear Stetson hats!" Companies really need to start doing this style of advertisement again.
- 5. This is my MacBook, my pride and joy. If only Apple products weren't shoddily constructed -- I believe they're made out of butter -- I would be marrying this thing.
- 6. Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. Goodtimes accused me of putting this on top of my pile of books to make myself look smarter, but I pretty much re-read this thing every couple of months. If you're a writer and you don't have this book, go get it now, go get it now, go get it now. It's essentially the writers' bible.
- 7. The rest of the books here are pretty awesome as well. The best title is, of course, Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts, but I'd also like to direct your attention to my proof of the new Lewis Black book, the copy of Jen Miller's The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May, Hershel Walker's book about multiple personalities, Darren Daulton's book about how the world will end in 2012 and, of course, Drug Warriors and Their Prey: From Police Power to Police State, which I can also not recommend enough. It's probably the best-argued book I've ever read.
- 8. This orange pen is the one I used to write-in Brian Hickey for First District Senate and Chrissmari for State Treasurer. Although you can't see the cup it's in, it has a 1996-97 Sixers schedule on it, the team's first season in what was then called the Corestates Center.
- 9. Uh, this is the temperature, showing it was 53 degrees when my segment aired last night.
YouTube clip of the segment after the jump. Thanks to Kerri-Lee Halkett for actually doing a piece on me! On the TV!
Continue reading "My TV Appearance, Annotated"
Posted by D-Mac at 12:40 PM | Comments (6)
May 09, 2008
Gossip Girlfriend
Each week, my girlfriend and I plan to discuss Gossip Girl. No, really. It's going to be awesome, and posted on Tuesdays from now on.
Three weeks ago, my girlfriend came over to watch the return of Gossip Girl, which she has become taken with: She has been reading the books and has been nice enough to regale me with awesome young adult descriptions like "a publisher of lesser-known beat poets" and a passage about buying weed in Central Park -- clearly the only way for a rich kid to get drugs.
I was, of course, immediately taken with the show as well. These girls have more drama in one day of high school than I did in four years. (And I took two AP English classes!) They drink every night (I was straight edge), have tons of sex (I was a loser) and hire people to take their SATs for them (I never had any money). It's like Degrassi with richer and prettier people! If this doesn't prove to my girlfriend how awesome American capitalism is -- I think she's some sort of socialist -- then we'll just chalk her up as a lost cause.
And, so, yes, everyone (in New York, but whatever) writes about Gossip Girl online. Why not join the party? I know what you're thinking: Dan, you kinda do dumb things, what if you do a dumb thing to your girlfriend and she breaks up with you? If you know me that well, you should also know I never plan ahead.
After the jump, a few video clips and some thoughts from the two of us.
Continue reading "Gossip Girlfriend"
Posted by D-Mac at 10:59 AM | Comments (13)
May 08, 2008
Great Rant From Police Commissioner
Okay, this is an ESPN Instant Classic rant from Police Commissioner Charles Ramsay after an Inquirer reporter asked an annoying question, and by that I mean one that referenced Wikipedia. Ha ha, silly journalist, you're supposed to hate Wikipedia. The video does confirm the "fricking" variant said by Ramsay.
Earlier today: Wikipedia Blasted For Its Accuracy
Posted by D-Mac at 05:59 PM | Comments (3)
May 06, 2008
A New Groundbreaking Series
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Oh, thank you, Public Record, for this week's cover story: The "first in a series" about what is cheaper: The Italian Market or ShopRite. (Spoiler alert: It's the Italian Market!) Also commended: The use of an exclamation point in a headline on the front page.
Posted by D-Mac at 01:30 PM | Comments (1)
May 05, 2008
The Good And The Bad Of The Minors
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His fastball tops out in the low 80s -- for those of you who are confused, that is sloooooow, even slower than Jamie Moyer -- and his curveball drops all the way to 52 miles per hour. Swindle's career minor league stats are 157 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.48 ERA, 175 strikeouts, 18 walks and 3 homers. (Read that again. A 175 to 18 strikeout to walk ratio!) Those are lights-out numbers, simply sick stuff, and if the Phillies release this dude and he becomes a major leaguer there should be rioting.
(The Good Phight has more thoughts on Swindle -- including the idea that, well, he'll probably never see the majors in a Phillies uniform. I don't care if the guy throws a 60 mph fastball, if he has 9.72 strikeouts per walk... wow.)
Meanwhile, the Phillies are releasing guys like crazy down at AAA Lehigh Valley, and why not? The IronPigs are a staggering 4-27 so far this season. Hey, why not call up Swindle (and my boy Josh Out Man) and see if they can handle the AAA hitters? What's the worst that could happen, the team could miss the playoffs? I think they're already mathematically eliminated.
Seriously? It's pretty hard to go 4-27 in baseball. An opposing team's pitcher has an off day, the opposing team commits 5 errors, the other team forgets to show up or a plane crashes onto the field and you get a forfeit win or something. I salute you, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, for starting the franchise with a nice dose of Phillies futility.
The Great Rock & Roll Swindle [Baseball Prospectus via Walkoff Walk]
LV sterilizes pigsty [Beerleaguer]
One to root for: R.J. Swingle [The Good Phight]
Posted by D-Mac at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2008
Burrell Finally Proves Model Correct!
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Hey, remember this? The above CG image was the model of Citizens Bank Park, created before the stadium even had a corporate sponsor -- hence the blue logo for the stadium's name. If you look on the big screen you'll see the phrase, "HOME RUN, Pat Burrell! PHILS WIN!"
Well, Pat Burrell never had a walkoff home run in Citizens Bank Park; he hadn't had a walkoff homer since 2002. Until last night, that is. The Fightins trailed by a run on an Aaron Rowand homer in the top of the 10th, but Burrell won it with a 3-2 line drive homer into the left field seats.
Redlasso video of the homer after the jump courtesy of The 700 Level.
Continue reading "Burrell Finally Proves Model Correct!"
Posted by D-Mac at 01:44 PM | Comments (3)
May 01, 2008
Flyers To Canada: Ha Ha Ha
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To make things better, R.J. Umberger -- sometimes known on closed captioning as Archie Hamburger -- scored twice last night; after the Flyers' blew yet another two-goal lead, a guy with a great first name (Daniel Briere) scored on the power play to put them up for good with just a few minutes to go.
Redlasso video highlights after the jump.
Continue reading "Flyers To Canada: Ha Ha Ha"
Posted by D-Mac at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
April 30, 2008
Fumo: Pa. Would Allow Slavery
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And it appears he's going to say whatever is on his mind!
The remarks came during an Appropriations Committee hearing in Harrisburg on a bill that would define marriage as between a man and a woman – a measure Fumo opposes. "What you are advocating here is that we take away the rights of a minority. And I don't think that's right," Fumo told Gilbert Coleman, Jr., senior pastor of Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship in Philadelphia, during the hearing. ". . . If we introduced a bill on slavery, it might pass. That doesn't make it right."
"I doubt that sir," responded Coleman, who testified in support of the measure.
"Oh, don't bet on it in this General Assembly," the Philadelphia Democrat shot back. "I know some people up here, especially on a secret ballot, it would be almost unanimous."
Oh, man. In-effing-credible.
Fumo: State lawmakers would enact slavery given the chance [Inquirer]
Posted by D-Mac at 11:58 AM | Comments (6)
April 29, 2008
Sammy D's New Haircut
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Okay, so the 76ers got destroyed by the Pistons tonight, and now trail 3-2 in the series. But check out Samuel Dalembert's new haircut! He now has a mohawk and has "SD" (which stands for Sammy D, or "strong defense") carved on one side and his girlfriend's initials carved on the other. (I think; the announcers didn't do much but identify the 76ers as "young" and urge fans to go to Game 6 and I had stopped paying attention to them by pre-game.)
Yeah, I have no idea. But if someone told me before the season how much I'd end up liking Samuel Dalembert by late April, I probably would have punched him in the mouth. Who even knew the 76ers would be playing in late April?
Posted by D-Mac at 10:09 PM | Comments (10)
March 20, 2008
69 Reasons To Love 'The Price Is Right'
Ha ha, I was so excited by March Madness I forgot to post this clip I made yesterday from The Price is Right. As you may know, I love jokes that appeal to high schoolers and this is pretty much the epitome of that genre of humor right here.
Posted by D-Mac at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2008
Welcome Back
Let me just say if you thought Allen Iverson was going to get booed when he came back to Philadelphia you're more of a racist than Barack Obama's evil grandmother. (Okay, just kidding. But why did people think he would get booed?)
Let me also say that this was just one of those times when being a Philadelphia sports fan is worth it. I was like oh no is he gonna do the Hulk Hogan hand to the ear thing and then ahhh he did the hand to the ear thing!!!!
Then the 76ers went out and won! They're 34-34 -- watch out, Boston!
Posted by D-Mac at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
1,500-Foot Tower Complete With Pool
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My buddy Brad Maule at Phillyskyline has a huge write-up of the ACC which was panned by a crack Will Bunch-hating commenter of Attytood who said that -- get this! -- somebody who gave the story to Maule because they figured he'd give it a positive review! OMG STOP THE PRESSES!
Anyway, the tower looks pretty dope, even if the people on Livejournal don't like it because we should be investing that private capital into moon pies and more cops and a giant retractable roof for Rittenhouse Square. We can put a man on the moon...
The edited graphic is from my good friend Emily G., who came up with a plan for what to do when this thing gets built. I have to say, I'm making my preparations already. Even if it's not a pool you're supposed to swim in.
1,500 feet of breaking news [Phillyskyline]
Posted by D-Mac at 11:43 AM | Comments (3)
March 17, 2008
Erin Go Bragh And Such
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Okay, so people have been drinking a bit. But no matter, drinking is one of our legal drugs and therefore the only harm people are doing is to themselves. And to the people they drunkenly punch. I hereby await the call for our next holiday where the main activity is taking a drug: 4/20 Day!
Oh, yeah, there's also the Irish stuff, and the story where St. Patrick chased all the snakes out of Ireland. Hooray!
Posted by D-Mac at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2008
TV News Clip Of The Day
This is apparently from Good Day New York, where they've taken the passive-aggressive fighting to a whole new level. Here in Philadelphia, it's a bit more direct. Sometimes I think Jennaphr Frederick is going to just punch Steve Keeley in the mouth or something.
[via Best Week Ever]
Posted by D-Mac at 12:13 PM | Comments (350)
February 26, 2008
Cecil Fielder To Manage A.C. Surf
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The robust slugger, who hit 51 homers in 1991, managed the Charlotte County Redfish last year and moves up to the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball team this year. (The team is no longerin the Atlantic League with Camden; the Battle of the Atlantic City Expressway is no more.) He's also the dad of 2006 NL Rookie of the Year Prince Fielder!
"I’m excited to join the Surf organization," Fielder said in a release, because he certainly wasn't going to be disappointed to get a new job. “This is a great opportunity, and we’re putting together a team that will give one hundred percent every night. I’m looking forward to managing in such a strong baseball area, and we’re working to bring another championship to Atlantic City.”
The Surf previously employed Mitch Williams as a pitcher/manager; it seems unlikely Fielder would be called on to pinch hit, but we can hope. (Here's a photo of Cecil now.)
Things must be going better for Fielder nowadays. It is not always a man who lost his fortune gambling takes a job in Atlantic City.
[img via Check Out My Cards]
Posted by D-Mac at 03:03 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2008
Patrick Murphy Is A True Eagles Fan
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On Wednesday, the House passed a resolution congratulating the New York Giants on winning this year’s Super Bowl “and completing one of the most remarkable postseason runs in professional sports history.” The resolution passed by a vote of 412 to 1.
Murphy, a diehard Eagles fan who worked at Veterans Stadium as a security guard when he was 16, was the only House member to vote against it. “As a former 700-level security guard and lifelong Eagles fan, I couldn’t, in good conscience, vote for the New York Giants,” Murphy said Thursday. “The only thing worse would have been a resolution honoring the Dallas Cowboys.”
Patrick Murphy is not only a great Philadelphian, he is the greatest U.S. representative of all time.
Murphy won't cheer Giants [Bucks County Courier via Philly EDGE]
Posted by D-Mac at 03:00 PM | Comments (26) | TrackBack (0)
February 12, 2008
Your Chicken Prank Roundup
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Everybody did a nice job reporting this important news story. NBC 10 talks with the school and confirms this was most likely a senior prank. The station also talks to students, who do Tweety Bird impressions for the camera:
"I actually did see a chicken, I did, in the basement. It was running and the security guard was chasing it," senior Satoria Bell said.
The floors were covered with chicken feed and chicken waste. Officials called in a farmer to help round up and remove the birds. Some witnesses said the chickens were laying eggs all over the building but most students said they didn't see anything.
"I didn't see any chickens," one student said.
Continue reading "Your Chicken Prank Roundup"
Posted by D-Mac at 11:25 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
February 11, 2008
Chickens Loose At Northeast High!
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Some time this morning, someone broke into the school and released 50 live chickens and chicken feed into the school. Maintenance men discovered the chickens just before light this morning. A school spokesman said: "At this point, we don't know when someone broke into the school but someone did break into at the start of school this morning and dropped off fifty or more chickens into Northeast High School and spread chicken feed all over the school."
Someone is going to have to put penguins in Audenreid in order to top this, honestly. I think we have a unbeatable front-runner right now.
50 Live Chickens Set Free Inside NE High School [KYW 1060]
Posted by D-Mac at 10:48 AM | Comments (392)
February 05, 2008
Nothing Stops The Baby Boomers!
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Rocky, the more intellectual of Stallone's two flagship franchises, got a largely positive reaction when it returned to the screen after returning to the screen in 2006. Stallone was so shocked he went out and made a new Rambo movie, which managed to lose to Meet the Spartans at the box office.
But, hey, whatever. How could he even make a seventh Rocky movie? I assume John Rambo could just indiscriminately kill tons of bad guys, but who is Rocky gonna fight?
In possibly related news, Stallone is also working on a remake of Death Wish.
Posted by D-Mac at 02:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
February 01, 2008
Mayor Nutter Drinks Brains Of John Street
Last night at TLA/Philebrity screening series at National Mechanics -- I'm totally going next week for Dr. Strangelove -- Michael Nutter was there. Super cool. And, if you know anything about National Mechanics' pint glasses, they have photos of, erhm, famous Philadelphians on them like Bill Cosby and Gary Heidnik.
And somebody was smart enough to get this photo:
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Yep. That's Michael Nutter, drinking from a John Street glass. This is way better than when I was in high school and we used to see John Street at Franklin Mills.
Photo by Pete Radocaj
Thanks, Alex!
Posted by D-Mac at 10:51 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
January 28, 2008
Kumar Goes To West Philly
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Penn, whose name is actually Kalpen Modi, is an adjunct professor for this semester only in a class called ASAM 109: Asian Americans in the Media. And, uh, he seems pretty on the ball.
"I would love for them to independently think about imagery beyond the concept of race - to be able to look at and deconstruct certain images that we're taught to think of in a certain context and understand why they're so significant," he said. "We all watch movies, and there's a significance to those movies beyond entertainment that I hope the students are able to recognize after this class."
Naturally, the students will be viewing Harold & Kumar for the class. If things work out for me, one day I will be teaching a class at Penn showing the same film, along with the entire Cheech & Chong series, How High and that scene from Scary Movie 2 where the giant pot plant smokes one of the Wayans brothers. Just 'cuz, you know, it'd be pretty cool to teach a class titled Marijuana & Cinema at an Ivy League school.
Prof. Kumar calls class into session [Daily Pennsylvanian]
[Photo via DP/Matt "Buddy" Cianfrani]
Posted by D-Mac at 09:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
December 10, 2007
Northeast Airport Gets Attacked By The Blob
There was a family gathering Saturday at Augusta Aerospace, a company at Northeast Philadelphia Airport. During it -- whoops! -- a little kid pressed a button saying something to the effect of "Do not press this button unless there is an emergency."
The result was what appears to be mountains of foam covering a hangar and the surrounding asphalt. Whoever you are, mystery button pusher, there's just one thing to say: Awesome!
Foam mishap at Northeast Airport [6 ABC]
Posted by D-Mac at 08:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
November 30, 2007
Finally, A Presidential Candidate For The Rest Of Us
Democratic candidate Mike Gravel, you have my vote. If I were a Democrat. And the Pennsylvania primary mattered. But, uh, yeah.
I'm Voting For Mike Gravel Now [Wonkette]
Posted by D-Mac at 02:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
November 12, 2007
Comments Finally On Philadelphia Will Do, Yoda Does
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This blog is a B.L.O.G.: Big Load Of Garbage!
A writer this isn't.
Funny he ain't.
Stupid he is.
No retort for that I have.
I'll have more on this Barbaro-like flood of comments tomorrow.
Earlier Today: The Ron Paulcalypse
Posted by D-Mac at 04:18 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)