April 30, 2008

Philly Tops Meaningless List (!)

Hey, Philadelphia won some sort of pointless ranking! Yes, venerable research institutions Apartments.com and Careerbuilder’s CBCampus.com joined forces to produce a report claiming ranking Philadelphia as the best place to live for recent college grads.

This is doubly hilarious when one considers the situation in 2004, when all my friends from school moved away from Philadelphia to New York, Boston, D.C. and other cities not Philadelphia. But now that gas is $80 a gallon and a trio of pretzels costs $1.50 (a buck-fifty!), look who's laughing now? Muahahahahaha!

Er, anyway, the criteria for the study includes "the population of people age 20 to 24, the number of entry-level job openings suitable for new grads, and the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment." Because it's 2008, we kids (I'm 25 now, but 15 mentally, so it averages out) also want the all-important "green" buzzword.

But, hey, it's an article about Philadelphia, so it's not like there can't be some good old Philly-bashing: "The nice parts of Philly are really nice. But the bad parts are awful." Yes, just like every city anywhere ever. And then there's this:

Hopkins, the Select Greater Philadelphia executive, says that his son, a 24-year old working at insurer AIG and living with his parents to save money, is now debating whether to move to the New York area or stay closer to home. Because he wants to buy a home, he has no options in Manhattan—and few options in nearby New Jersey cities.

“He can’t afford the monthly payments in Hoboken, Jersey City, or Manhattan,” Hopkins says. “So now he’s thinking about Philadelphia.”

Ahh, yes, he can't afford Hoboken, so he's moving to Philadelphia. If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere!

Philadelphia named best city for new grads [MSNBC]

Posted by D-Mac at 03:43 PM | Comments (6)

April 10, 2008

The Roots: Pennsylvania's Best Band?

Jeopardy! superstar Ken Jennings has an ongoing feature on his blog about the best band from each state. And Pennsylvania's winner is...

The Roots, because they’re awesome, and because hip-hop is totally underrepresented here. And because Hall & Oates are a duo and I’m still iffy about that. And because Bill Haley and His Comets dressed funny on stage. And to ensure that Ween or Live or Poison will never, never make this list. (Editor's Note: Ken Jennings uses two spaces after a period! Oh, I feel superior to him in at least one way.)

The Roots, huh? Jennings' list is pretty atrocious -- there have to be artists better than Evanescence (Arkansas), Panic At the Disco (Nevada), Bright Eyes (Nebraska) Good Charlotte (Maryland) -- but if you're just using bands (as he appears to be, although Bright Eyes is a mini-stretch) then The Roots isn't a terrible choice.

Personally, you know, I would have gone with The Trouble With Sweeney.

Posted by D-Mac at 04:30 PM | Comments (3)

Wildwood's Feelings Run Over Like Tram Car

Jen Miller points out that Atlantic City and Ocean City were named among America's top-10 boardwalks.

Atlantic City makes sense: Gambling, cute cats living under the boards -- it is so adorable, really -- and that super fancy mall that extends out into the ocean. Ocean City, too, for it's ban on games of chance so fewer annoying people yell at you.

But -- in a travesty -- the world's longest boardwalk, in WIldwood, was not named to the list. Gasp! Where else can you see drunk 18-year-olds at 5 p.m. and go to mass at the Boardwalk Chapel? (Plus: Sam's Pizza.) Okay, basically I'm just writing this because it's going to be 70 today and I kind of want to go down the shore.

Best Boardwalks [Down the Shore with Jen]
[Photo by Steve Longus]

Posted by D-Mac at 01:30 PM | Comments (2)

July 13, 2006

This Town Isn't Big Enough For Two 'Best Of' Lists By Glossy Lifestyle Magazines

Blogger The Illadelph writes the other day on an escalating feud between Phillymag and Philly Style over, well, Best of Philly™.

You see, Best of Philly™ is trademarked by Phillymag, and when Style called their awards the Best of Philly Style (or something) last year, Phillymag told 'em to knock it off. This year, Style unveiled their awards list -- voted on entirely by readers -- the month before Phillymag's Best of Philly™ issue comes out.

Style skirted the legal issues by calling their issue the Best of Style, but Phillymag was still pissed. There's a bunch of borderline doth-protest-too-much quotes from Phillymag people, and Illadelph says Philly Style prez Dana Spain-Smith is considering a slander suit due to some comments tossed at her mag in a blind item way.

So, basically, Style put together a reader's "best of" poll, and Phillymag thinks it should be the only glossy mag in town to have a "best of" list -- theirs isn't reader-driven, thankfully -- and on and on and on...

Right. Our head hurts, too.

Best of Philly™ Bitch Fight — Philly Mag vs. Philly Style [The Illadelph]

Posted by D-Mac at 03:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)