April 03, 2008

Ivanka Trump Back On The Market

It's been a while since I've written about fellow Class of 2004 Penn graduate Ivanka Trump, what with her rich boyfriend and all. (Why does she need a rich boyfriend? Shouldn't she allow poor girls to do that?)

But, alas! Ivanka Trump and her boyfriend, NY real estate mogul Jared Kushner, have apparently broken up. New York opines:

But here's our problem: They. Are. Too. Attractive. To. Break. Up. He is gorgeous, she's a knockout. They're both bajillionaires with Ivy League educations who are nine feet tall and thin. And they're funny and charming, too. IF THEY CAN'T MAKE IT WORK IN THIS CITY, NOBODY CAN.

The good news: I get a lot of Google hits for Ivanka Trump, and I hadn't written about her in a while. Phew. Naked nude xxx Ron Paul!!

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Sunder Relationship, Our Hearts [Daily Intel]

Posted by D-Mac at 11:43 AM | Comments (3)

March 07, 2008

Alycia Lane Still In News, Somehow

While it seems the Ongoing Saga of Alycia Lane has wrapped up, the New York tabloids are still writing about her. As such I've decided to write about her as well!

Lane (at right -- not her wax figure in Madame Tussauds) was recently suggested by New York Daily News TV editor Richard Huff as a replacement for some dude who left up in NYC. As such, he got a lot of hate mail for some reason:

"What was your [TV Editor] Richard Huff thinking when he recommended Alycia Lane, the disgraced former Philadelphia reporter, for Chuck Scarborough's position on Ch. 4 news?," wrote Tom Mullen, a retired member of the NYPD.

"If this is the best candidate he could come up with, maybe the N.Y. Daily News might rethink Mr. Huff's position," Mullen wrote.

Whoo! Oh man, this is the biggest Alycia Lane story since... well, okay, I basically just wanted to post that wax-like Lane photo. Also, there's no way she doesn't end up on a new TV show after her six-month penance is over.

Readers chilly to hiring Alycia Lane from Philadelphia [NY Daily News]

Posted by D-Mac at 01:24 PM | Comments (6)

February 08, 2008

Look, Internet, Photos Of Women

Valentine's Day is coming up, so magazines do dating/love/sex issues and Time Out New York is no exception. The lead story of their "Singles" issue is by Professional Media Person Julia Allison, who Gawker made fun of a bit and somehow this made her popular. (Also, she's pretty.)

I didn't read Julia's article because it seemed long, had three question marks in a row and had lots of jumps. (Readers hate jumps!) But the rebuttal is by former City Paper editor/sex columnist Ashlea Halpern, who calls herself Ashlea[TM]. (As opposed to Julia[TM].)

The gist of Halpern's column is Julia's advice which I didn't read but I am sure is fabulous only works if you're pretty like Julia Allison. (Halpern is, of course, another attractive person.) There's a poll to pick who you agree with more; I'll give the nod to Halpern, who kept her article at a slim couple of paragraphs or at least made it so I couldn't find the jump buttons. (Plus, I read it!) And, hey, she's mopping up.

Update: Oh, there's a behind the scenes phootshoot video: "View all the photos that didn't quite make the cut, plus a video that tells you all you need to know about the Allison mystique." My mystique remains mysterious and you won't get to see that 'til my photoshoot next week.

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November 01, 2006

Leftovers: It's A Shitty Thing

• Put away those gloves, it's time for basketball season! The NBA tipped off last night and the 76ers open tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. Be sure and tune in, as it may be the only game they win. The 76ers marketing slogan this year is "It's a Philly thing," which is true, because Philly sports teams aren't usually that good. [Inquirer]

• A Rolling Stones fan has filed a class-action lawsuit because of the Stones' Atlantic City show postponement. But of course. [AP/6 ABC]

• Congratulations to Doree Shafrir, the ex-PW A&E editor who began her job as associate editor at Gawker today! Doree was one of those people who sat in meetings with me before this blog started when I was just doing non-public test blogging. She gave useful advice -- i.e. "What the hell does 'RISP in close and late' situations mean?" -- that I immediately forgot about and became the puppy photo poster that I am today. Best of luck! [Gawker]

• The bear patrol may not be working in Jersey. A report says that New Jersey's plans to sterilize the state's black bears will be ineffective and expensive. But at least we'd get to fuck with some animals. [AP/6 ABC]

• Bensalem pretty much had a fucking parade for the first slot machine delivered to Philadelphia Park. [Bucks County Courier Times]

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October 25, 2006

N.Y. Candidate Actually Admits Attending Penn

Things are heating up in the 99th Assembly District race in New York state.

Oh, I know, you were wondering, "How could things get any hotter?" Well, they just did, thanks to a little bit of bickering over a certain degree. Your characters in this race are democrat Ken Harper and Republican Greg Ball.

Ball said a note that appears after Harper's name, stating that the Democrat graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 with a bachelor's in English, is false.

"Ken Harper has perpetuated the lie that he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania," Ball said. "Records clearly show that Ken Harper has never graduated."

Both a university spokesman and Harper confirmed that fact yesterday. Ron Ozio, director of the school's media relations, said Harper attended the institution, but that there was no record of him having received a degree.

Harper said he "never represented himself to anybody, even from way back when" that he had a degree from Penn. He said there's nothing in his campaign literature saying otherwise.

"I went to college for four years and studied English," Harper, 46, said. "I didn't get a B.A. I never said I graduated."

Harper said he was three credits short of graduating -- and didn't finish because he ran out of money. (Wouldn't you have found time to go back in the past, oh, I dunno, 24 years?)

Anyway, though, Mr. Harper has given me an answer to a riddle I've been wondering for a while. What's worse than graduating from Penn with a B.A. in English? Doing all the work and not getting a B.A. in English.

Assembly candidates spar over college credentials [The Journal News]

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October 03, 2006

Ladies Love Cool Sal

The New York Times today writes about the possibility of a Mets-Yankees Subway Series, and, more specifically, who New Yorkers root for.

Mostly, it's the Yankees (duh), especially among the women:

Among women, there is little Yankees trepidation. The Times/CBS poll found that among those who said they wanted the Yankees to win a Subway Series, 63 percent were women. Maybe the Derek Jeter factor is the reason behind the finding, or perhaps David Wright’s appeal hasn’t had time to ripen. Then again, it may be all about Sal Fasano.

Hey, you leave Sal Fasano alone. The ladies love Sal.

Fans of Yankees and Mets Cast a Wary Eye at the Other Side [NYT]
Sal's Pals [Myspace]

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October 02, 2006

Giants Fan Can't Take A Little Punch To The Face

In yesterday's New York Times, a group of Giants fans whined to the paper about this dude being punched in the face after the Eagles' loss to the Giants last month.

Also noted in the article were a reporter and cameraman for SNY, the Mets network, who had bagels thrown at them before the game, which is pretty effing awesome. (Okay, the tire-slashing after the game wasn't so much. This is why Citizens Bank Park's media parking is in fenced off-areas.)

Anyway: Wah wah wah. As we all know, Giants fans are virtual saints in the stands, never cursing, never fighting and certainly never throwing an ice ball that knocks out a San Diego Chargers trainer. (Hey, if you're allowed to bring up old stuff, so am I. It's fair play.)

And we all know that the fan punched in the face was not doing anything to provoke it. Of course, even if he was, it's not okay to punch someone at a football game, especially when they're wearing a suit and tie, as all Giants fans wear to games. And, of course, Eagles Communications Director Bonnie Grant said no security report had been filed, and nobody from that travel group had contacted the Eagles.

So not only are they Giants fans, they're stupid Giants fans. Hey, you get punched at the game, you contact the Eagles nonstop until they give you some money to make you shut up!

It's not all bad, though:

“It’s sad,” [one of the attacked fans] said, “because it takes the whole enjoyment out of going to a game.”

Sweet. He's not going to go next year. More seats for us.

Editor's Note: A little anecdotal evidence of my own. The dude in the ramp in front of us the entire game had a shirt on that said "DIE SHOCKEY DIE" on one side and "Kill Manning" on the other. If he didn't punch anyone the entire game -- a girl did slap him -- well... let's just say I am glad I wasn't near rowdier fans. (Although he was pretty awesome.)

They'd Rather Not Be In Philadelphia [NYT]
Sept. 25: Giants Fans Continue To Prove They're Stupidest In Nation

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September 28, 2006

Leftovers: Whale Watching

• A whale has washed up on the shores of Wildwood Crest, leaving the town's current Autumn population of 15 shocked. [NBC 10]

• The dance-off for jobs at the Philly Park casino continues, with the applicants now comparing it to American Idol. This idea's a little wacky, but I'm all for replacing getting signatures with dancing to "YMCA" as a way to get on the ballot. [Bucks County Courier Times]

• Be sure to check out the New York Post's top 10 reasons why TO would want to kill himself list! It has all the hilarity of a root canal performed without novocaine by a labrador retriever who's also urinating on you. [Gawker]

• For you statheads (ok, for me personally), here's a listing of the Eagles' ranking in alternate football statistics from Football Outsiders. [Scrapple]

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February 21, 2006

First borough

Philadelphia blogger The West End went up to New York this weekend, and spotted the following billboard just a few blocks from Times Square:

Any joke that could possibly be made about this ad has already been done, I'm sure, so I'll just note it and move on.

It's up to you [The West End]

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February 16, 2006

Philly's a laughingstock

You might think that a circulation scandal at New York newspaper Newsday (and its Spanish-language sister publication) wouldn't affect Philadelphia much. Of course, you'd be wrong, since anytime there's a possibility of losing money, Philadelphia will be there.

Here's the story: Back in the summer of 2004, Newsday stated that it had overstated daily circulation to advertisers and investors for periods of several years. Then there was a fake hawker scheme later that year, &c. &c.

Now, a group of investors is suing the paper's parent company, the Tribune Co., after the stock went from $47 to $40 during the scandal, alleging delays in divulging the problem. And the lead plaintiff in the case? If you guessed "The City of Philadelphia," you would be absolutely correct!

The city's Board of Pensions and Retirement (always a good place to lose money from) says it lost $310,600 on Tribune stock, according to (who else) Newsday. The Tribune Co. has reportedly put aside $95 million to settle investors' claims.

So, basically: A circulation scandal at a paper in New York allegedly cost the city $310,600. One question: Does that put the city closer to or further from Sixth Borough status?

Philly takes lead in Tribune lawsuit [Newsday]

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December 22, 2005

Of boroughs and transit

Let's begin: Yes, the "NYC transit strike is just biting off Philly" joke is rather easy. It's so obvious, in fact, that made it last week. But, hey, it's a good line.

And, actually, it may be more truth than joke at this point. Remember during the SEPTA strike that tool union spokesman Bob Bedard, who said:

Fair people will support the health care fight just as fair people supported Rosa Parks' fight for her rights in Montgomery.

Right. And now, New York transit union president Roger Toussaint has come out and said:

There is a higher calling than the law and that's justice and equality. Had Rosa Parks answered the call of the law instead of the higher call of justice, many of us who are driving buses today would still be in the back of the bus.

Jesus. What's next, bottled wooder? Cheesesteaks? Corrupt politicians?

Union Leaders Could Face Jail Time [ABC 7]
Oct. 31: We're getting there, on foot
Dec. 15: Philly: STILL so hot right now!

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December 15, 2005

Philly: STILL so hot right now!

I guess they figured, "Hey, the sixth borough had a strike. Why not us?"

As a good third grader would say: "Copycats."

Threatened Strike By Transit Workers Worries New York [Washington Post]

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December 13, 2005

Philadelphia is the New New Amsterdam

An article on CNNMoney.com today comes up with a new one: "Philadelphia is the new Williamsburg."

For those confused, they're talking about Williamsburg, the section of New York City, not Williamsburg, Virginia. According to the article, "'Philadelphia is the new Williamsburg' has become the hot, hip saying around artistic circles."

Far be it from me to doubt the article. (After all, it does say that 11,000 more people moved from NYC to Philly last year than vice versa.) But -- and correct me here if I'm wrong -- how is that a hot, hip saying? What even is a hot, hip saying? Like a catchphrase? That's not a catchphrase! If there's anything I'm good at, it's running catchphrases into the ground, and I've only heard "Philadelphia is the new Williamsburg" a few times.

Either way, hip hip hooray! Another "Philly is hot" article! I think writing one of those is a requirement for being a journalist now.

Take this home market...and love it [CNNMoney.com]

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