2008 March — dovate

Monthly Archives: March 2008

Will Obama win PA?

Posted by admin on March 28, 2008 – 8:54 am

Filed under General, political

Jesus Fucking Christ. The elephant in the room of the whole Reverend Wright thing is that aside from his whole “white man made AIDS” spiel, he’s not so far off base.

Don’t think racism is still endemic in the United States? Troll the Northeast section of Phillyblog for about 10 seconds. Or read the comments on the story of the South Philly guy who died after an altercation with some North Philly kids on Wednesday. Here’s a selection. Reverend Wright has NOTHING on the people of Philadelphia:

If the government would just supply free iPods for the poor, these kids wouldn’t have to steal them and no one would get hurt… It’s all Bush’s fault.

All right. Haha. Very funny jab at the liberals.

We need harsh penalties! You steal, then you get a finger cut off. You rape then you can get you genitals cut-off. I guarantee crime would drop drastically.

Crime in Iraq wasn’t a problem under Saddam Hussein and penalties along the lines of that one are exactly why.

This is a hate crime against whites by blacks. As a 35 year old white male, I will not sit back and let this happen anymore. Enough is enough.

Sometimes the anonymity of the internet can be a lot like wearing a white sheet.

Why would a school for kids like that have a Jewish name? As a Jew, I want them to change it to Cecil B. Moore or Tubman High.

As a (half) Jew, Fuck you.

I assume my earlier comment is being censored – typical. Septa is having a boon year – how bout more officers on the platforms/trains, or placing security cameras on entry/exit locations?

That seems… sensible. And now on to:

why do we keep electing a mayor who is a loser? no one learned their lesson with Street?

This never would have happened with a white guy in City Hall!

Wow! And everyone was so angry because Rev. Wright exspressed himself, to what people said were imflamtory and racial remarks. Now look at all the imflamtory and racila remarks coming from the mouths of good wholesome hard working americans.

Although a little rough around the grammar, seems sensible.

I went to simon gratz and proud of it..these children need guidance..

So do you think this is the kind of person who Obama was talking about when he said:

“That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table.”

people and their plaza

Posted by admin on March 27, 2008 – 6:11 pm

Filed under General, Photo

Years ago I used to go for late night walks around center city Philadelphia. Sometimes my walks would take me to the whole historic area. It being the United States, I always took some pride in the chance to stoop sit at the front door of Independence Hall.

I’d sit in quiet contemplation and look out over three centuries of growth. If it was late enough, I’d be the only person in sight. I felt lucky to have the opportunity. Being a pessimist, I figured that 1 good terrorist attack would lock the Mall down and put an end to my stoop sitting. Even then, it felt a little strange that I was allowed to be there. At the same time, I was confident in my right to be there.

Unfortunately I was right about the whole terrorist thing. Now you can’t get anywhere near the stoop without being screened for weapons and bombs first. Once in the hall, there’s not much room for sitting around. Tours are strictly timed and monitored by armed guards.

Which brings me to last Saturday’s daytime walk through center city. I ended up down on the Mall for the first time in a long time. There I saw the new “People’s Plaza;” a small area of stone tile about 50 yards from anything, that’s been put aside for the use of first amendment lovers. Here’s a picture of me standing on the edge of the new free speech zone:

All in all, the zone wasn’t too inspiring. Now if I were more of an organizer type, I’d encourage everyone out there to go to the official Free Speech Area and do something interesting. Stage a performance. Shout at tourists. Protest the Free Speech Zone. Use it as home base for a game of tag, or strip naked, cover yourself in pigs blood and defecate on a burning flag. After all, it’s your space, people.

Kestrel Day

Posted by admin on March 25, 2008 – 10:05 pm

Filed under General

Last night I had a dream about an American Kestrel. It was a beautiful, colorful bird and it stared intelligently at me from its perch a few feet from my window. A few minutes later some asshole knocked on my door with the Kestrel in his mouth. He had killed it and thought it would be funny to spit its mangled body on my doorstep. He thought I’d think it was funny, but I didn’t. The whole dream left me a little perturbed.

That’s why coming into my office this morning, looking out the window and seeing 2 beautiful American Kestrels perched on a tree outside my window was so odd and inspiring. I watched them until they flew off together. That’s also why today – March 25th – is heretofore American Kestrel Day.

So what is an American Kestrel? It’s a small falcon. A falcon is a bird of prey. Contrary to popular belief a falcon is not a hawk.

American Kestrels are small (Robin or Pigeon size) common and colorful. Their home range is basically the entire North American continent. They eat bugs, songbirds, lizards and rodents. They’re sometimes eaten by larger birds. They generally mate for life and share egg incubation responsibilities between the sexes. They make their homes on ledges, crevices and in human provided nest boxes. They live short lives (5-10 years) but seem to enjoy themselves well enough. They sound like this.

And that’s all for Kestrel Day.

Jump Shot

Posted by admin on March 24, 2008 – 6:05 pm

Filed under General, Philly, Photo

On Saturday I was out on Market Street when I noticed a crowd of about 70 people at the corner of 11th. I could hear a street drummer and a horn player, but I couldn’t tell what else was going on. As I walked up, I saw that it was a team of performers.

For a street show, the production was tight. There was music, breakdancing and circus sideshow style stunts. The guy leading the whole thing had a huge crowd presence and kept everyone thoroughly entertained between acts.

The grand finale involved a spectacular jump/flip over a bunch of randomly selected audience members. (There were 7 at one point, but I think he sent a couple back.)

I had my camera, but failed to get a decent shot of the pre-finale jump. (over the heads of 2 small children) I hit the shutter a split second too soon and got a shot of the performer’s airborne back.

As they were gearing up for the finale, one of the performers saw me and my big camera and assumed I worked somewhere important. He designated me the official photographer and made sure I had an unobstructed space to shoot from.

This was all well and good, but suddenly I had to get the shot. There would be 1 chance. I increased the ISO (800) and chose a fairly wide aperture (3.5) to ensure a fast shutter speed (1/1000th of a second). I shut off autofocus and picked a mid-jump point to set the camera to. He ran, he jumped, I waited a split second and hit the shutter.

Happy Resurrection Day

Posted by admin on March 23, 2008 – 2:43 pm

Filed under General

Down With the Past!

Posted by admin on March 19, 2008 – 6:58 pm

Filed under General, pretentious

A few months ago, I noticed a box put out to trash on my neighbor’s curb. I don’t pick through the garbage as much as I used to, but this box was full of books and I couldn’t resist. It was mostly college texts and crappy novels, but mixed in with them I found a high school yearbook.

Its front cover was embossed with the owner’s name. The inside pages were filled with messages from her acquaintances. While I don’t find much good in excessive attachment to the past – especially the high school past – I still had a hard time understanding why someone would throw away their yearbook. Even an embittered sentiment-less bastard keeps their yearbook stashed somewhere in the back of their closet. Even if you never look at it, open it, read it or think about it, you keep it.

I could only think of 2 reasons to throw it away, death or a willful attempt to forget. Since I like mysteries, I stuffed it in my bag and took it home for review.

When I got home and opened it up to investigate, the yearbook felt vaguely familiar. It was exactly as old as my own and from the same general place. The students were all my age. They had the same hairstyles and listened to the same crappy 90’s bands that my own classmates listened to.

What I found out about the owner was remarkable only in its banality. There was nothing extraordinary or particularly interesting about it or her. She had immigrated to the United States at some point during childhood. Judging by her name, I decided that she was born in a Scandinavian country to a locally born mother and British or American father. By the time she was in high school, they’d moved to the Philadelphia suburbs.

The messages were dull, even by high school yearbook standards. People called her brave for moving to the United States and most of them repeated things like “even though you were so quiet” or “we didn’t get to know each other too well, but…” The only unusual thing was the dearth of male signatures. It was a co-ed school, but only girls signed her yearbook. There were no exceptions.

Was her time in high school lonely? She had no apparent close friends and she had no boy, friends or boyfriends at all. Was there nothing in her memory valuable enough to keep the yearbook packed away in some box?

Or did no boys sign because she didn’t like them to begin with? Was high school a time spent locked up in some self-imposed shell? Had her life since high school blossomed into something that made those years expendable? Did she look back on them as wasted or worthless time unworthy of a place on her bookshelf?

Had something happened in her life that made her want to abandon her old life completely? Was she moving on with a clean slate? Was this book in the trash part of some much larger purge?

Or maybe it wasn’t her yearbook at all. Maybe it belonged to an old roommate, who moved out in a rush or on bad terms. Maybe it just got lost in the shuffle and eventually, tossed out completely.

In the end, I actually don’t actually care. Mostly I like telling stories and imagining scenarios.

letter to the past

Posted by admin on March 18, 2008 – 5:33 pm

Filed under letters, pretentious, satire

Dear Alix,

While I can’t say that I’m glad that you’ve found happiness – because you haven’t – I can say honestly and without malice that I’m happy that you’re finally getting the help that you need. As I’m sure you’re aware, admitting your addictions, dysfunctions and fears is the first step towards recovery.

With a little hard work, focused determination, a change in diet, plenty of exercise, weekly therapy, a few plants, a cat, the support of friends, a temporary leave of absence, a hobby or two, installation of Chromalux lights, a conservative regimen of pharmaceuticals and a little luck, you might pull yourself out of this depression.

You might want to consider volunteering your time at a homeless shelter. There’s nothing wrong with finding your center this way. You’re not a starving child in Africa, so don’t feel bad about throwing away your leftovers! Go see a movie. There’s no shame in going alone. Spring is right around the corner. Get out and enjoy life.

On a personal note, I’m deeply sorry that your book hasn’t been published. To be completely honest – and this is something you need to hear – the editors are right. You’re not a good writer. Your characters fail to develop in any meaningful or interesting way, the writing is clumsy beyond repair and it’s clear that you’re reaching far beyond your base of experience. I don’t mean to completely discourage you because it’s not all bad. The plot is structured well and obviously has a lot of thought invested in it. In capable hands, who knows how effectively it could be developed?

But anyway, I hope this note finds you well. Things with me are busy, but good. To be honest, sometimes I envy you. Travel is tiring and the tedium of 80-hour weeks is excruciating. You know how I hate the bullshit and small talk that goes along with stroking every dick attached to a name. If you never have to swallow the crap of some asshole with your life in his hands, you’re better off. My life is like a political campaign, except that I’m always running and there’s never an election. It can be an exhilarating ride, but I’m not sure you’re cut out for it. Sometimes I don’t even know if I am. Just believe me that you’re better off.

It’s getting late and I should wrap this up. I hope you’re glad to hear from me, I’d just been thinking that I should reconnect. Deb told me about your brother and about the rehab and I realized how long it’s been. I can’t believe that Terminal Unrest was 6 months ago. What an awful night. I’m sorry I never called.

May success never find you.

Quinn

American Commerce Center: screw Billy Penn

Posted by admin on March 14, 2008 – 3:44 pm

Filed under General, Philly, news, promotion

When I was just a wee child, City Hall was the tallest building in Philadelphia. Being a kid, I judged it to be about as tall as the Empire State Building. I was also under the flawed understanding that the Society Hill Towers were generally the same size as the World Trade Center. As I got older, I realized that my sense of space and proportion had been a little bit off.

But anyway, during the 20th century, while downtown centers bloomed and economies exploded in places like New York and Chicago, Philadelphia reacted a little differently. Instead of embracing urban growth, the city treated it like some kind of danger, stifling it before it could sink the dangerous teeth of success and prosperity into the hearts of ordinary Philadelphians.

And so for more than 8 decades developers agreed not to build anything taller than William Penn’s hat. With limited downtown real estate, the only place you can build is up. In Philadelphia you couldn’t do that. For decades, the city’s downtown sat around like a stagnant larvae infested puddle.

That’s why yesterday’s HUGE announcement of the American Commerce Center is so un-fucking-believable. While Philadelphia broke the City Hall gentleman’s agreement in the mid-80’s, we still shy away from thinking and acting really, really big.

But ACC is really, god damn big. Take the newly completed Comcast Center and put City Hall on top of it. Give or take a foot or 2… it’s that big. As a matter of perspective it’s taller than the Empire State Building, it’s taller than the WTC (RIP) it’s taller than the Sears Tower. If it appeared today, it would be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. By the time of its hypothetical completion, it will be the 3rd tallest.

What does this mean? Actually it means quite a bit. One 1500’ tower would do a lot to change how people view the city. Perception brings money. So do 1500’ towers. The building would become an icon. People would want to locate to it, work in it, spend money in it, live near it. It’s more an investment than a skyscraper.

And recession, depression or whatever, it actually might happen. As the Philadelphia Business Journal noted today:

Walnut Street Capital, a Philadelphia development company, and a pension fund from Washington state are allying to develop the project. The pension fund, which has $6.18 billion in assets, is financing the project, Miller said. This enables the project to skirt around the current credit crunch that is starting to put a damper on commercial projects.

Finally I can’t end this without mentioning that this story broke on phillyskyline.com. Brad Maule scooped absolutely everyone in getting word out on this yesterday. If and when this building does get built, you heard it from him first. Although a few blocks to the northwest of its proposed location here’s an approximate view of the new tower from Brad’s house:

Thanks to Drew Mathes at the skyscraper page forum for the rendering and Brad for the original photo.

Street on the Trail

Posted by admin on March 14, 2008 – 9:23 am

Filed under General, Philly

On my way to work, I spotted former Mayor John Street out for an early morning stroll along the Schuylkill River trail. While some might say this is tantamount to seeing Lynne Abraham buying frozen cod at Trader Joe’s, or catching Hurricane Schwartz browsing porn at TLA, spotting the elusive Mr. Street is a rare and thrilling experience.

Like a mountain lion or an Ivory Billed Woodpecker, the retired mayor keeps a low profile, rarely appearing in public. I actually wouldn’t have ID’d him today if it weren’t for the noisy swish, swish sound of his read windbreaker. Why?

Mr. Street was in disguise. He wore his hooded windbreaker over a hooded sweatshirt. Both hoods were up, obscuring his trademark hair. On top of this, he wore a pair of sunglasses. To the untrained eye, he might have gone unnoticed enjoying an anonymous morning walk. Instead he suffered the invasion of privacy that comes with someone seeing you and thinking to themselves, “Hey that was John Street. Does he think he’s Tom Cruise or something?”

But faults aside, I was having warm thoughts of the Street administration while on the Schuylkill River Trail earlier this very week. I saw a plaque affixed to the Walnut Street bridge with his name on it. Street was Mayor when the trail was built. I’m a big fan of the trail. Sometimes you can only see the good after the relationship is over.

Vertical Farming

Posted by admin on March 13, 2008 – 5:01 pm

Filed under General, promotion

Imagine a skyline of farms:

—

To learn more about this and other urban farm solutions, go here, or to CCP next Monday (Screw the drunken mobs) at 6:30 to hear a lecture by Columbia University’s Dr. Dickson Despommier. Personally I’d like to know if a farmscraper makes economic sense. If so, my suggested location is 2nd and Girard.

dovate