June 10, 2008
Giving The People What They Want
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A bikini photo (above) is on the cover of Metro today. Well played, gentlemen.
Posted by D-Mac at 09:08 AM | Comments (5)
June 03, 2008
No Privately Owned Cars By 2030?
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How well do you think some of these “alternative” modes of travel are doing in Philadelphia?You have PhillyCarShare where it’s working out so well that you have a private provider coming to Philly to compete with them. You have many market-based solutions to do these kinds of things and conserve energy. It may come a point where in 2030, people aren’t using privately owned cars.
Far out, man. I don't know; I feel like most of my friends would have a car if (a) there was a place to park it and (b) they could afford one. And some people don't even drive? Trust me: If they give me a license to drive, they can give anyone a license to drive. Don't worry: Chances are, you won't even hit anybody. I'm a bad driver, and even I only hit one person, and it was just with my side mirror.
Working on a new transit age? [Metro]
Posted by D-Mac at 10:32 AM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2008
Wireless Philly Costs You Almost $2
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He has quite the scoop: Apparently, this whole free wi-fi thing wasn't all that free for the city. (Shocking.) Ha ha, whoops, it actually has cost the city $2.6 million so far, including lots and lots of consultant fees so Dianah Neff could answer questions on Philly Future. Or something like that. Two-point-six mil would equal somewhere close to $2 a person in this city. (I don't understand finances.)
Aside from the loan, the city has also paid technology consulting company Strategic Staffing Solutions $571,279 since 2004 and $463,000 to Civitium. Civitium has since hired Dianah Neff, who proposed the network as Street’s Chief Information Officer.
While Earthlink apparently wants to pull out, Wireless Philadelphia is going to go kicking and screaming to the grave, it seems, or possibly rise again like the Phoenix.
Posted by D-Mac at 11:15 AM | Comments (2)
April 10, 2008
Counting Down To Glock Day
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The event at the Philadelphia Archery & Gun Club (note: that link takes you back to 1997) has free food and drinks, free promo items, a $79 membership special and discounts on glocks.
As Metro noted yesterday in a cover story (!) about Glock Day, if you come in and buy a gun at the South Philly gun club, you get a free safety lesson. CeaseFirePA isn't even really all that pissed off at the event. (That's pretty solid marketing, though: Just hearing the words "Glock Day" makes me want to pop a few rounds. Safely, of course, at a shooting range.)
It wasn't just the Green Swede that wrote about Glock Day. Daily Candy Philadelphia, which its press kit says features "an affluent, influential female audience," also inexplicably wrote about Glock Day, calling the Glock "Philly’s gun of choice."
Actually, that should be a deterrent to criminals. The only thing more powerful than an affluent, influential female is an affluent, influential female with a gun.
Join the club, win a Glock [Metro]
What to do this weekend [Daily Candy Philadelphia via Doree]
Archives: Glock Day
Posted by D-Mac at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2008
Another Day That Will Live In Infamy
From Tsunami Tuesday to making fun of Ron Paul's impending death, people just love to get offended on the Internet.
And now, Metro's daily caption contest has offended people due to a tragedy I've never heard of from 50 years ago:
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In England, the opposing teams sometimes boo just to cause drama and blah blah blah. I would love to hear some American fans boo a moment of silence; the sports media would cover it like the Black Plague. Oh, sorry, did I offend anyone there?
Thanks to Chrissy for the tip; PWD's regular commenter has a letter in today's Metro making fun of some other letter writer. Whoa, meta. (Are you a commenter who's done something special? Let me know!)
She also requested the following: "If you're going to write about it you need to end it about how Man City are a superior team anyway." I take it these Man City chaps are playing Manchester United this weekend? Oh, it shall be such an offensive day of world football you'll think the Baker Bowl stands just collapsed.
Posted by D-Mac at 11:34 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
January 24, 2008
Breaking: Major 'Metro' Movement
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Well, yeah. Word trickling out of 30 S. 15th Street is Metro laid off at least two editorial staffers and several business-side staffers today, sadly. The company lost $9 million in its U.S. operations last year.
That other rumor going around, about the Inquirer building being sold to Drexel and the newspapers moving to the South Philly waterfront or the Comcast Center is, I think, BS.
Posted by D-Mac at 05:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
January 15, 2008
Someone To Finally Pay For 'Metro'?
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As you may remember, selling a newspaper is not the easiest thing in the world to do, and so who knows what will happen. Publishers at the Boston and NYC editions didn't know their papers were for sale, and maybe the idea of putting out a newspaper for young professionals actually produced by young professionals is a little too smart of an idea for the newspaper industry.
In the meantime, I'll continue to make fun of those people in the "Today's debate" section. Hey, I haven't done that in a while!
Posted by D-Mac at 12:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
October 17, 2007
'Metro' Bravely Defends Record Companies
Now that Radiohead has released its new album itself for download, record companies are starting to get a little nervous. (Radiohead is sort of a special case, of course, with talent and passionate fans, etc.)
And Metro, in yesterday's paper, made sure we knew these companies need all the help we can give them.
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Ahh, yes, what can be done to prevent those benevolent record companies from going under? They've always been so nice to us, promoting quality artists over commercial talent and not price-gouging or suing 12-year-olds or putting spyware on everyone's computers. Er.
Continue reading "'Metro' Bravely Defends Record Companies"
Posted by D-Mac at 08:14 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
September 06, 2007
What If They Held A Taxi Strike And Nobody Noticed?
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Of course, the strike may have been cut short because nobody really noticed the cabs were striking. Cabs picked people up in Center City, limos covered the rest and nobody anywhere else takes cabs since they have a car or live along the EL or something. Erhm, I guess. Anyway, no more taxi strike!
According to every taxi driver in the city, the credit card machine is currently down.
Anyone listening? [Metro]
Posted by D-Mac at 04:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
August 23, 2007
Mark Cohen Would Like You To Know His Penis Is Not Afraid Of Itself
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Here is what's funny: When state lawmakers say things like, "All over the country, people live longer lives because of me." Here is what's funnier: When state lawmakers propose a Phillyblog Day. Here's what's even funnier: When state lawmakers make a post about reaching a certain number of posts on Phillyblog.
Even funnier than that is when state lawmakers go through and make a list of the posters on an Internet messageboard with 1,000 posts or more. And even funnier than that is when there's a sort by posts, descending order feature on said messageboard but the lawmaker doesn't know about it so he goes through and calculates all the top posts by hand.
And, of course, even funnier than that is when state lawmakers tell reporters they're being libeled because of comments on a blog that are posted by "MBC Penis" and say "I feel threatened by philly blog and Rep. Mark B. Cohen's penis."
Continue reading "Mark Cohen Would Like You To Know His Penis Is Not Afraid Of Itself"
Posted by D-Mac at 01:19 PM | Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)
August 14, 2007
'Metro' A Little Insecure Of Own Standing
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Last week, Elliott Kalan, Metro's humor columnist and Daily Show segment producer, wrote a jokey column that included this line: "As this very copy of Metro shows, the only way to get most people to read a newspaper is to literally force it into their hands."
Unfortunately for Kalan, the interim CEO of Metro was in New York and read the column, and ordered him fired immediately. Apparently the truth hit a little too close to home. Oh well. Guess we'll be seeing more of Mickey Z. now.
Free Paper Without Free Expression [NYMag]
Archives: Clark DeLeon
Posted by D-Mac at 10:33 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
June 25, 2007
SEPTA Facing Attacks From All Sides
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This brings us to (what else?) SEPTA. Metro talked with a bunch of "reformers" today, asking them about new SEPTA funding. The transit agency needs a billion dollars (approx.) or else it's going to kill all its weekday and weekend service and raise the price of tokens to five dollars. Each way.
This would make SEPTA cost-prohibitive for everyone except Tom Knox and our state lawmakers, so everyone in Philadelphia is hoping the state chips in new funding. The dude from Phillyville says that if there isn't dedicated funding it will allow "other cities to purchase Philadelphia's public transit infrastructure and remove it from our city. For instance, if you want to catch a ride on a Philadelphia trolley, you're better off traveling to San Francisco." So, also, without dedicated funding, Boston will probably just steal Route 12, which will promptly be slamming into buildings because the route follows different street paths than they have in Boston.
Meanwhile, SEPTA has another issue, as a local transgender person has filed a complaint. There's a sticker on a TransPass (ba dum pum) that marks your gender, and this trans person was apparently hassled for being a drag queen or whatever. The real issue here is: Wow! SEPTA bus drivers care enough to hassle somebody for using someone else's TransPass? Fortunately, if the state doesn't give SEPTA new funding, there won't be any more public transit in the Gayborhood anymore except PATCO, so this should blow over.
The biggest winners in the SEPTA crisis, though, are the lovable scamps asking for a buck for the R5 to get to Ardmore. If fare prices go up, they can ask for a fiver instead of a buck.
Metro recently witnessed a man fitting the description of “Mr. Stranded” collecting cash in Suburban Station from four or five people over about a half hour.
“I don’t want to talk,” he told a reporter whom he had just asked for money “to get back to Ardmore.”
There's also a field guide to the random Center City people who ask for a buck for the subway because their car got booted or they're an architect who designed the Kimmel Center, when they're actually going to spend it on booze or drugs or really bad prostitutes. In case you thought these people were actually telling the truth, pro wrestling is scripted.
Reformers’ Roundtable SEPTA funding fight [Metro]
SEPTA: Not Sure If You’re A Boy Or A Girl [Philebrity]
Police step up forces as needed to head off summertime cheats [Metro]
Posted by D-Mac at 01:33 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
June 01, 2007
Down And Drunk In Rehoboth Beach
One of the advantages of Metro being run by actual young people, as opposed to old people trying to be young, is that you get photos like this one accompanying Metro entertainment editor (and Delaware native) Dorothy Robinson's story on the Delaware shore today.
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Posted by D-Mac at 01:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
May 02, 2007
Musicians: Let Us Keep Rittenhouse Square Vibrant
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And, since then, nobody's been singing in Rittenhouse. The cops claim they're actually doing everyone a favor. And by "everyone" I mean "rich people who moved in around a two-block public park and thought there wouldn't be any noise."
“People are happy as can be that police are keeping the musicians from disturbing the peace,” police spokesman Capt. Ben Naish said yesterday.
Those damn street musicians! Always playing their entertaining jingles and making Rittenhouse Square vibrant for free!
(A little bit after Riley was arrested, he also appeared on the Fox 5 o'clock news -- aka the Kerri-Lee Halkett news -- and explained his plight. The story's not on Fox's website, but City Councilman Frank Rizzo said on the report he was starting a program to get permits for people to play in the park if they -- of course -- pay a fee! This is what I remember; I could be wrong. That seems to also be the rule now, so maybe Rizzo would let them play for cheaper, or for free or something.)
And so, yesterday, to protest the permit one has to obtain to legally play music in Rittenhouse Square, a group of musicians got a permit and raised hell in RIttenhouse Square! And by "raised hell," I mean, "played music to the enjoyment of all."
The protest, of course, included on Larry West, the mohawked 22-year-old candidate for mayor who legally can't even run for mayor. (You have to be 25.) While I was writing this update, of course, Larry West actually called me randomly. But of course!
“It’s about a right to perform in a public place,” said Larry West, the mohawked 22-year-old who made headlines two months ago when he announced he was running for mayor. “I really support this because I’m a musician myself, albeit a bad one.”
Wow! Musician, ineligible mayoral candidate, activist... is there anything Larry West can't do? Do you think the Philadelphia Soul could use another defensive back?
Music fills Rittenhouse in a show of solidarity [Metro]
Rittenhouse Square ... Where only birds can sing [Metro]
[Photo also via Metro, taken by Brian X-Ray McCrone]
Posted by D-Mac at 02:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
March 28, 2007
'Metro' Breaks Superman's Identity
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Dude, Chris. You're supposed to put the Superman garb under your button-down shirt. Otherwise what's the point of even having a secret identity?
Posted by D-Mac at 12:06 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
March 27, 2007
'Metro' Using Muppets As Front-Page Commentators
Sometimes, to be cute, newspapers run photos or graphics that overlap the flag of the paper. And today, Metro has done it one with muppets ("Well, it's not quite a mop, it's not quite a puppet... But man... heh heh heh... So to answer your question, I don't know."):
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It's supposed to go along with Menomena, but that's just a band that has a name that kinda sounds like that song that used to be on The Muppet Show a lot. So I can only assume Stadler and Waldorf are reacting to Alberto Gonzales' aide's decision to invoke the fifth amendment. "Eh, what are you gonna do!"
Posted by D-Mac at 11:32 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
February 28, 2007
'Metro' Wishes Danielynn Had Never Been Born
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Geeze. A little harsh, don't you think?
Anna Nicole and the importance of Plan B [Metro]
Related: Plan B
Posted by D-Mac at 01:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
February 27, 2007
'Metro' Drops Some Funky Shit
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I'll spare you some sort of annoying joke ("joke") along the lines of "Oh yeah contributing to the horrible, pointless drug war surely is the right thing to do", because, well, eh, I'm in a good mood and don't want to get into a worse one. But I will say this: I am glad that I live in a city where the only daily newspaper that would print "shit" in a pretty much unedited form -- when you use "sh-t," you're pretty much using "shit" -- is the fucking Metro. At least one paper in this city doesn't treat us like we're five. Well, in this instance, at least.
Posted by D-Mac at 03:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
February 14, 2007
'Metro' Delivers Important 'Metro' News
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Yes, apparently Metro International makes some money:
Metro International is a profitable company, with net profits of $13 million.
"2006 has been a landmark year for Metro International. We have delivered our first net profit and been awarded the prestigious accolade of 'World's largest global newspaper' by Guinness World Records," said Pelle Törnberg, president of Metro International.
Indeed! After all, is there any more prestigious award than something from the Guinness Book of World Records? You get to share space with the fat motorcycle twins, the guy with clothespins on his face and the world's biggest tumor.
Also: If Metro, the World's Largest Newspaper™ is just turning a profit this year, then maybe it is pretty hard to make money in this newspaper thing.
Posted by D-Mac at 10:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
February 06, 2007
Great Moments In Stock Photography Usage
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Last week, Kenney introduced a bill to eliminate campaign contribution limits in response to Tom Knox's surge in a recent poll. (Knox is planning to spend $15 million of his own money.)
But, still, not everyone is happy. Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter, take it away:
"I can only call and ask my good friend, Councilman Kenney, to take a deep breath, take a chill pill and let this election cycle play out."
Nutter's rejected line was: "If you pass this bill, my good friend Councilman Kenney, the voters will say to you: 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye!'"
But still, the real winner with Kenney's new bill is not Nutter or Kenney or Brady or even Knox. No, it's Metro, which ran the above overloaded-sack-of-money stock photo next to the story about Kenney's new bill. Here's an idea: Get rid of campaign contributions, but make them only able to be given in giant sacks of overflowing money. (The '$' on the side is optional.)
Kenney’s new idea: Link campaign limits to spending by others [Metro]
Archives: Jim Kenney
Posted by D-Mac at 01:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
January 11, 2007
Fun With Photo Backgrounds
Today's Metro contains a page 2 story about Eagles fans in New Orleans for Saturday's game against the Saints. The story runs with this photo.
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Oh, I always forget how to do these things. Are these the kinds of things with Goofus and Gallant? No no, wait. It's like a "find what's different in these photos" except with only one photo and just something funny in the background. Now how do I direct you to find that?
Sigh. Just join me after the jump.
Continue reading "Fun With Photo Backgrounds"
Posted by D-Mac at 01:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
December 29, 2006
PWD People Of The Year: Eddie Dougherty
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For this, from Metro on May 1, at the height of the "gas is expensive" news cycle.
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He is right, though. Gas prices should go down 18 percent. No, 25 percent.
Philadelphia Will Do People of the Year | The List So Far
Archives: Retired Lumberjacks Demand Lower Gas Prices
Posted by D-Mac at 10:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
December 13, 2006
'Metro' Debate Style: Hey, I Know That Guy!
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Today, surprisingly, seems to contain just one Temple student! Let's take a look at the three people who have their finger on the pulse of society today.
• Gabriel Gilwa: Hey, wait a minute, I know that guy! It's Gabe! He works on the ad side at PW! And my back faces the sales side of the office! Hmm... probably best not to knock anyone who could sneak up behind me. And so, Gabriel Gilwa is wearing a fantastic pink shirt/jeans combination and a stylish jacket.
• Ashley Angela: Ashley is rocking the half Michelin Man coat, always a nice look. But know who she pales in comparison to? Gabriel Gilwa, the most stylish man in Metro.
• Evrton Lee: Everton is wearing a ... jacket of some sort. And a hat. However, he does have a good plan of putting more police officers on the street. Would it save our community like the plans of Gabriel Gilwa? I think not. I'd like to go on record now that I think crossing our fingers would be just as good, if not better, of a plan than "one gun a month."
Archives: Metro Debate Style
Posted by D-Mac at 11:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
November 13, 2006
SEPTA Trains Free In Fantasy Gumdrop Land
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Oh, and the story also reports on a push to make SEPTA free in Center City. The mythical fare-free zone is already in place in Seattle (Ride Free Zone) and Portland, Oregon (Fareless Square). The article proposes a free ride zone between the rivers and Girard Ave. and South Street. The northern border is so much higher than the southern because if you leave the hipsters out of it, they'll write mean things about you on their blogs.
Of course, this free SEPTA is a pipe dream, as professed by SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney: "It's fun to sit back and think of all the things we can do. But we are the ones who have to pay the bills." Looks like we'll have to keep paying $2 a ride from Old City to 20th Street. Drag.
Free ride system pitch [Metro]
Higher taxes, fees recommended for transit and roads [Inquirer]
SEPTA Token photo from KTransit.com
Posted by D-Mac at 03:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
November 09, 2006
'Metro' Debate Style: Uptown Man
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But that doesn't stop this from being one of the better Metro debates in a long while. While finally having a debate piece without any Temple students, two of the three debaters do have their eyes closed. Let's hit the three of 'em.
• Norman Sparrow: When his parents named him Norman Sparrow, I think it actually meant "our son is going to be an artist." I don't think there's any other profession someone with the name Norman Sparrow can have. (Okay, maybe pirate.) Sparrow also appears to not just have his eyes closed, but to be meditating. Awesome.
• Brianne Donohue: These interviews were done either Tuesday or Wednesday. (Guess: Tuesday, since the question is non-specific.) Question: Was Tuesday an appropriate day to wear a leather jacket? Discuss.
• Uptown Shizz Socks: Uptown Shizz Socks! Our security guard appears to not just have his eyes closed, but to have fallen asleep as well. On the plus side, when your name is Uptown Shizz Socks, you can sort of do whatever you want.
Search: "Uptown Shizz Socks" [Google]
Posted by D-Mac at 02:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)