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 02, 2008

Sigh: Domelights, Inquirer Collide

How did I miss this one earlier in the week? Annette John-Hall wrote a column on how "racial incidents threaten campaign against violence." Sounds good. She's going to write about the mistrust between minority communities and the police does no one any good, how our "colorblind" society sometimes fails to notice unintentional racism -- and some people believe there's no such thing as racism anymore, unless you have a white hood on -- and all that related stuff.

My summary's an oversimplification, for sure, but this is an Inquirer columnist! She'll go through 750 words of flowery prose, explaining it better than I can in a little blog post and maybe try to make a coherent argument.

No, wait. She just quoted Philly cop messageboard Domelights and Rochelle Bilal who said a recent cop suspension "sends a message to the department that all jokes aren't funny." And John-Hall ended up writing about, uhm, some idiot cop in Ohio and anonymous Internet messageboard posters being (get this!) angry.

Look, you should only quote Domelights when you're looking for, as Chrissmari might say, the lulz. (Plus, what if someone tries to shut down the site? Think how many hilarious posts would go un-mocked.) And so, I present to you the Domelights thread on Annette John-Hall's column, and the greatest sentence ever written on the messageboard by far.

You are better off BECAUSE of slavery. NOT in spite of it.

Guess what ethnicity the person this was directed at was? I'll give you a hint: It's not white!

Annette John-Hall: Racial incidents threaten campaign against violence [Inquirer]
DOME MAKES THE PAPERS [Domelights]

Posted by D-Mac at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2008

David Aldridge To Leave Inquirer

Sadness! The Inquirer's David Aldridge is leaving the newspaper to focus on his television jobs, sports editor Jim Cohen emailed staff earlier today.

Here's Aldridge's column from today's paper; it's about fans angry that the Detroit Pistons didn't play their starters and the 76ers won too easily. (Man, we Philly sports fans sure are picky, aren't we? Two months ago we woulda killed to beat the Pistons reserves!)

Full email after the jump.

Continue reading "David Aldridge To Leave Inquirer"

Posted by D-Mac at 06:20 PM | Comments (3)

April 01, 2008

Dead Man Performing

An article on Irish pubs in the March 16 Travel section said the singer Tommy Makem occasionally performs at the Black Rose pub in Boston. Makem died in August.

Yes, yes, this is the correction of the week, from the Inquirer. Huzzah.

Resurrection [Regret the Error]

Posted by D-Mac at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2008

Man On Bridge Had Called Inquirer

Yesterday, a man (armed with a toy gun he said was real) shut down the Walt Whitman bridge for three hours during rush hour. While he and his girlfriend with a litany of crimes, everything was handled without any violent incident, fortunately.

Today both 35-year-old John Reed and 31-year-old Monica Hayman are under medical observation. And, what do you know, earlier this week Reed was looking for help at the Inquirer:

Reed called the Inquirer's South Jersey bureau on Tuesday complaining that his family was being threatened. He claimed he had contacted several law enforcement agencies but none would assist him.

"He seemed like a nice guy actually," said an editor who took the call. Though he didn't clearly articulate what the threats were, he said his phone and email had been "compromised."

So, can we call the Inquirer for our emergency calls? Are they this "311" I've been hearing so much about?

Posted by D-Mac at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)

February 23, 2008

Inquirer Building: SOLD!

Drag. I just got home, and I still thought I'd be the first to report this. Alas, the Inquirer beat me to it, as they should have. The Inquirer Building has been sold!

Patriot Equities LP of Wayne -- whoever that is -- is going to buy the building and turn it into a rocket to the sun. Something like that. Congratulations, Inquirer! Hopefully this will let everybody currently there keep their jobs.

Posted by D-Mac at 02:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

February 21, 2008

Death At, Erhm, Hobo Camp

Six were killed in eight hours last night. Let's read the Inquirer story about it.

Violence in Philadelphia last night left five dead and an armed man wounded in a span of eight hours. Another death in a West Philadelphia hobo camp is under investigation as a possible homicide.

Wait, really? HOBO CAMP? Well. There is a National Hobo Convention, so I guess it's accurate. Erhm.

Yeah, I never really thought I'd see the words "hobo camp" in the newspaper. I'm not quite sure how to react.

Update: Google News shows three instances of "hobo camp" in newspapers this month.

Eight hours, six dead in Phila. [Inquirer]

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February 13, 2008

MLS Team Coming To Exciting Chester

The Inquirer reports today the deal for a state-funded soccer team in Chester within reach, according to sources.

Fair enough. I trust that the Inquirer is correct and Philly will be getting a team in Chester. But, you know, you could also just read this Houston Chronicle interview with the head of MLS from yesterday, where he confirms it as well:

These things are so complicated. We just went through a three-year process in Philadelphia, which we finalized. It's probably the best deal that we have in the league, north of $80 million in public funding for a stadium, but it took a great deal of effort and lots of work with the governor's office, the state (Pennsylvania), county (Delaware) and city (Chester).

Woohoo! We get a soccer team here in Philadelphia, and we get to pay for it with $80 million dollars going to rich people as well. (Now, if only stadiums actually did anything to improve an area.) You may begin fantasizing about an aging Zinedine Zidane coming to play for the Philadelphia MLS club; we're already trying to come up with headbutt-themed fan club names.

Soccer deal is within reach, say sources [Inquirer]
The commissioner has answers [Houston Chronicle]

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February 07, 2008

Pedophiles Stealing Your Wireless!

Ohh, no, are pedophiles tapping your wireless? Are rapists stealing your water? Are mobsters watching your television? Are identity thieves putting moths in your closet? Are... dudes... holding giant chainsaws outside of your house searching for wireless somehow? Where are these other stories, Inquirer?

(By the way, I could see this story exploding nationally if AP picks it up. Please, guys, do it!)

Posted by D-Mac at 08:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

February 01, 2008

Old Newspapers Are Always Awesome

The Inquirer has a gallery of 41 years of day after Super Bowl sports pages, from the Green Bay Packers' win in the first Super Bowl to the Mastercard Priceless Pep Talks victory over the Bears last year. (Psst: Hey, can you guys please do more of this?) The Inquirer also has links to the game story from each year, which is going to make local sports fans feel old when they realize Gordon Forbes recapped Super Bowl 3.

There's a ton of fun stuff, including the Inky's concise headline for the Eagles' Super Bowl 15 loss, "Eagles save their worst for last as Raiders romp to crown, 27-10." I think my favorite cover is the one attached to this post, where the big story was not that the Packers won but that the team they beat was better than the previous year's.

41 Years of Inquire Sports Pages from Super Monday [Inquirer]

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January 29, 2008

Inquirer Narcs On Temple Puppy Auction

During Saturday's game against St. Joseph's, Temple held an auction for its sports programs. One of the items up for bid was a nine-week old golden retriever puppy. (Since the school can't auction sex, it clearly knows "puppies" is about the best it can do.)

And guess who won the auction? Temple women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, hardly a Michael Vick of the sports world. She's going to give it to her mother, and something tells me Dawn Staley's mom might have enough time and money to care for the dog and give it a good home. Clearly, this is a win-win for all people.

But wait! The Inquirer was having none of this, and seemingly notified the authorities (or at least Temple) about the puppy auction. Even though the state is the puppy mill capital of the United States, auctioning off a dog is apparently illegal in Pennsylvania.

Anyway, the story has quotes worrying about how a college student could care for a dog, even though it was adopted by a multi-millionaire athlete. Yes, one shouldn't purchase a pet on a whim, but winning one at an auction and buying one in a pet store are pretty much the same thing, only the legal pet store option is much, much worse.

Temple could get fined for auctioning off said nine-week old adorable puppy. The Inquirer will get fined for using a record number of puns (345) in one news story. The puppy will probably get a bone or something.

Puppy auction buys Temple a little spot of trouble [Inquirer]

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January 18, 2008

Inquirer, Daily News To Cost 75 Cents

Metro reported this morning the Daily News and Inquirer would both raise the price to 75 cents. Now there's some more concrete info.

The paper's report was correct (huzzah!); the two papers are going up to 75 cents on Feb. 4. The Sunday Inquirer will go up from $1.25 to $1.50 on the 10th of the month. The last increase in price -- the Inky went from 35 cents to 50 and the DN from 50 to 60 -- happened in October 1995; the Sunday Inquirer hasn't had an increase in price since 1992.

Daily News home delivery prices won't change; the Inquirer's will go up to $5.60 from $5.25. I believe I have copied enough information from a forwarded email now.

Posted by D-Mac at 05:06 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

November 09, 2007

Hey The Inquirer Is Doing That Pig Thing Again

Inquirer circulation numbers were up slightly; the flying pigs "concept" was "re-launched." Uh-huh. Look, The Return of the Flying Pigs dot com.

The theme this time is "The Return of the Flying Pigs: The Movie," and there's a whole 'nother four-page supplement. So far, the flying pigs movie trailer has crashed my browser twice.

Posted by D-Mac at 10:20 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

November 08, 2007

Rick Santorum Makes Inquirer Debut

Rick Santorum's much-anticipated Inquirer column debuted today, and the paper didn't even bother to put his name at the top of the article online. Good start.

After the jump, I dive in to the Santorum.

Continue reading "Rick Santorum Makes Inquirer Debut"

Posted by D-Mac at 01:24 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

November 01, 2007

Donald Rumsfeld Reads Philadelphia Inquirer!

The Washington Post got a hold of a bunch of Donald Rumsfeld's "snowflake" memos, which he dished out to his staff whenever the hell he felt like it.

And it turns out, unlike you, he reads the Inquirer:

On March 20, Rumsfeld ordered a point-by-point analysis of the seven "mistakes" columnist Trudy Rubin wrote about in the Philadelphia Inquirer and a response to her essay -- which he wanted to see before it was sent out. Rubin wrote that the war had "gone sour." "Please have someone find precisely when I said 'dead-enders' and what the context was," he ordered [assistant defense secretary J. Dorrance] Smith in September 2006.

Hopefully, ol' Rummy still as a subscription, because yesterday's Jump Start was particularly offensive to the troops.

Posted by D-Mac at 11:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 30, 2007

This Is About How Good The 76ers Are

Which means the 76ers will be safely stationary all season.

David Aldridge | Dalembert as anchor will keep 76ers sailing [Inquirer]

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October 24, 2007

Santorum To Pen 'Inquirer' Column I Won't Read

Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week has been going great so far, in the sense that I haven't had to write about it. (Now that I'm doing this post, it is going considerably less swimmingly.)

At Penn the event is actually called Terrorism Awareness Week, because the College Republicans wimped out and changed the name because some groups protested. (At Penn, people will protest anything, including -- but not limited to -- Harlem Globetrotters victories, the sun coming up and giant robots destroying buildings.)

Ex-Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum will be speaking at the event, but the real story is buried in this Inquirer article about him. It's even in brackets!

[Santorum also will begin writing an op-ed column for The Inquirer next month, alternating weeks with George E. Curry, the former editor in chief of Emerge magazine and former Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.]

That's 26 weeks a year of sweet, sweet Santorum, all over your Inquirer. (Ew.) This was originally reported on by Phillymag earlier this year, but it seemed unlikely Santorum would actually ever write this column.

In response to this new Santorum column, Michael Smerconish will begin writing new columns for three different newspapers a week until he has one in every single paper in the area.

After name conflict, groups begin events [Daily Pennsylvanian]
Santorum presses his case against Islamic extremism [Inquirer]
March 1: 'Inquirer' Unaware If We Were Still Interested In What Rick Santorum Had To Say, We Would Have Voted For Him

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October 23, 2007

Autumn Leaves Of Green

The recent hot temperatures aren't just keeping you in shorts until God-knows-when, probably sometime in mid-December. No, the hottest October on record -- average temperature: 67 degrees -- has also managed to screw up all the fall leaves changing color.

Leaves change color because cool fall nights destroy the chlorophyll which gives leaves a green color. Reds, yellows and the less fun browns can't show up if there's still a large amount of chlorophyll in the leaves, so that's why the tree across the street from you still makes it look like we're in the middle of summer.

The upside is an expected mild winter. Of course, that also means we all die of excessive heat next summer, or something like that.

Can't find colorful foliage? Blame the record warmth [Inquirer]
[Image by JoJan, licensed via Creative Commons]

Posted by D-Mac at 12:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

October 11, 2007

What's Black And White And Spread All Over?

Hey, Philly and the shore might have shoplifting grandparents, but do they have a criminal with a catchy name and possibly his own theme music?

After almost six months of staking out the area, police in Buckingham, Bucks County have finally caught The Route 413 Paper Shredder.

Thomas D. Garity was charged with three counts of littering, which could lead to a fine of up to $900. He allegedly shredded paper and scattered it around the road "at least 100 times."

Garity told police he bought a copy of The Philadelphia Inquirer at a shop in Wrightstown every morning and kept it in his truck for a few days. When he got tired of looking at it, he allegedly tore it into 3-inch-wide strips and tossed them out the window.

Damn! The Inquirer ought to be pissed; they just lost a paying customer. Meanwhile, the cops who staked out his territory for night after night are finally happy this thing's over: “I've been bugging my corporals here, saying, "I want this guy caught.' It's not like it's a major crime of the century. But it's shredded paper. And when the wind hits, it's all over. It's a mess.”

Police nab Route 413 paper shredder [The Intelligencer]

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October 02, 2007

'NYT' Continues To Debase Philadelphia

Okay, not really. But check out this correction in today's New York Times:

An article in Business Day yesterday reported on a growing trend among large newspapers to accept some circulation declines because of the high expense of attracting and keeping new subscribers. The article was illustrated with a photograph of a delivery truck for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News and a caption that said “Big American newspapers sell about 10 percent fewer copies today than they did in 2000.” The Inquirer’s circulation, like those of other newspapers, has declined from its 2000 levels, but since new owners took over last year, its daily circulation increased almost 7 percent from September 2006 to March 2007, compared with the previous six-month period. The Philadelphia Daily News’ circulation also increased by slightly more than 1 percent in the same period.

Raise your hand if you think Brian Tierney complained to the Times himself. Okay, you can all put them down. But really: Way to run a photo of a newspaper whose circulation was actually up recently, Times! Didn't you see the "Pigs Fly" supplement?

Corrections 10.02 [NYT]
Archives: Pigs
Thanks, Matt

Posted by D-Mac at 02:47 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

September 07, 2007

'Green' Event During Eagles Game Not For Eagles

Last night marked the start of football season, making me extremely happy I have something to do on Sundays now. The Eagles play their first game Sunday afternoon at 1 against Green Bay, who were last good in like 1998 or something.

Also on Sunday, the city is holding "GreenFest Philadelphia" from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on South Street Presumably, there will be tailgaiting, the game on a big screen and celebration after the Eagles win. Michael Nutter will be there. Hillary Clinton might even campaign there! Maybe she'll don a Donovan McNabb jersey and... wait, what?

Oh, it's an environmental event, not an Eagles event. Green on Sundays... and not the Eagles? Is such a thing possible? Oh, but, it'll still be pretty cool:

The Hotel Obligado stages a green clown performance[.]

In a green clown performance, I assume the clowns spray each other with recycled water and throw organic pies.

All for Earth [Inquirer]
[Photo via Inquirer, which added to my confusion]

Posted by D-Mac at 11:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

September 04, 2007

'Inquirer' Reports 'Inquirer' Does Shit Reporting Job

Yesterday, the Inquirer reported on high-profile local defense attorney Jimmy Binns, who earlier this year decided to give the police department a million bucks to replace its aging fleet of motorcycles. (The police department's earlier bikes were purchased sometime after the French & Indian War.)

Despite it being multiple mentions in the the Inquirer and Daily News, apparently Binns hasn't been getting enough press. The Inquirer's article yesterday touched on the reason for this lack of publicity.

Despite what you might think, the reason isn't "while a very nice gesture, it's a minor story best confined to a couple paragraphs in the briefs section or maybe a 400-word story." Nope. It's because of.. uh... the Inquirer?

[FOP Prez Bobby] Eddis said Binns gets things done with little attention to himself, "without show."

Another reason is that efforts by Binns and the Police Department to get publicity about the 62 motorcycles have been ineffective.

The first event to announce the donation was scheduled for July 4. The news media in Philadelphia, including The Inquirer, however, were covering July Fourth events.

Another event held on July 24 outside FOP headquarters on Spring Garden Street near Broad also went largely unnoticed by the news media - and the public.

Yep, he's not doing it for attention at all. Except for the big article about an already high-profile defense attorney's donation of motorcycles, with a photo of him sitting on one of the motorcycles he purchased in front of a formation of cops on their new bikes. And the previous articles about this in the Inquirer. Anyway, perhaps the story coulda got more traction if the opening press conference was on Christmas instead. Or maybe New Year's Day at 12:01 a.m.

Criminal defense lawyer works to help officers roll [Inquirer]
Search: Jimmy Binns [Philly.com]

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August 22, 2007

Stephen A. To Blackberry Stories Instead Of Columns

Hilarious aspects about the Inquirer article about the Inquirer stripping Stephen A. Smith of his column.

1. The headline, "Stephen A. Smith due to return to reporting."
2. This sentence: "Online reports say the paper is waiting for Smith, who is on vacation, to accept the shift."
3. The link on the sidebar to Phawker's report last night about the SAS demotion, which is the aforementioned "online report."
4. The link below that one, which reads: Slate: 'How television killed the newspaper sports column.' Take that, Phil Sheridan!
5. Bill Marimow's quote, "Stephen A. Smith is an excellent reporter," which may be true, but is nonetheless hilarious in that the last big reporting I remember him doing was about how the Sixers were going to hire Tubby Smith as coach.
6. This sentence: "Earlier this year, he was even on the TV soap opera General Hospital and in the Chris Rock movie I Think I Love My Wife."

So, yes, Inquirer readers are now free of the one Stephen A. column a month or whatever. The space will be filled by old men bitching about blogs and kids nowadays and flying pigs and an ad for Commerce Bank.

Stephen A. Smith Stripped Of Column [Phawker]
Stephen A. Smith due to return to reporting [Inquirer]

Posted by D-Mac at 02:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The World May Be Free To Rock In, But Parking Is Not

"Okay, parking, parking, what would be a good lead for a story about parking... hmm... euphemism for car sex? Nah, not in the Inquirer! Wait, a music reference! Yes, that's it. Well, let's see, the story's about the Philadelphia Parking Authority's new overnight ticketing of people in front of hyrdrants, in fire zones, et cetera.

"The Cars? 'More parking enforcement is just what the city needed!' Nah, that's too on-point. How about Gary Numan? 'Here in my car, I can get ticketed for parking, in front of a fire hydrant, even at four a.m. ... in cars!' No, no, that's too long. Paradise by the dashboard light featuring Phil Rizzuto?

"Wait, I got it!"

Rust never sleeps.

Neither does the Philadelphia Parking Authority, which since October has run a third shift between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. to crack down on the most potentially dangerous violations of the city's parking laws.

Over at 14th Windiest State, RJ came up with a mini-contest: Come up with your best alterna-lead for the story, using other Neil Young song titles. Buffalo Springfield and CSNY count, too, which is nice, because then I can use "Stop, hey! What's that sound? Your car is headed to the impound!"

Ticketing on four-way street [14th Windiest State]
Overnight parking crackdown grows [Inquirer]

Posted by D-Mac at 12:53 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

August 21, 2007

'Inquirer' To Sell Coolest Part Of 'Inquirer'

It's been rumored for a while, Brian Tierney commented on it it and now it's official: The Inquirer building is for sale.

The new-ish owners of the paper, the Daily News and related properties, Philadelphia Media Holdings, have partnered with Philly architecture/interior design firm H2L2 to redevelop the building as condos, offices, retail, a hotel, whatever. Tierney says he isn't sure where the offices of the Inquirer and Daily News will relocate to, but could move to a newly-constructed building behind the Inquirer Building, which is currently a parking lot.

Tierney also said he had planned to sell the building from the beginning in order to raise the $300 mil borrowed to buy the paper. Jones Lang LaSalle, the broker for any deal, says if the paper doesn't get an asking price it wants, it won't sell the building. I don't know about you guys, but I am pumped to eat in a new Roy Rogers on the first floor of 400 N. Broad.

Inquirer Building to be offered for sale [Inquirer]
[Photo by Bradley Maule, Phillyskyline]

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