Philly
A picture is worth 7 wins
Sunday, May 16th, 2010 | General, Philly, sports | No Comments
I have a list of things I want to blog about, which will happen regularly throughout these next few weeks (I hope Sean’s RSS feeder heard that!). What makes it difficult to blog is when Philly sports teams do well in the playoffs.
With that in mind, here is an excellent screenshot of ESPN’s website after the latest playoff success:
Screenshot of ESPN.com main page
Forget the Curse of Billy Penn…hello, Charm of the Eyebrows!
Monday, January 12th, 2009 | General, Philly | No Comments
I moved back to my hometown of Philly in May with my wife, who grew up in California with only a passing interest in professional sports. I now can follow my favorite sports teams very closely, and I also am fortunate enough to have a wife who wants to become a fan of the local teams. It is fun to watch Ali slowly falling in love with with the Philly sports scene. It is even more fun watching her understanding of sports develop; before moving to Philly, “sports” meant watching a game and seeing who scored more goals, points, or runs. Her definition of “sports” still involves watching the games, but has developed to include the joy of identifying with the players and learning each of their individual stories.
She knows all about the Jimmy Rollins’ yearly predictions; Pat Burrell’s rise, fall, and eventual rise again, before his departure and subsequent signing with the Tampa Bay Rays; that Jamie Moyer ditched school to watch the championship parade in 1980; Carlos Ruiz steady defensive play as a catcher after lying to accepting a challenge from a scout who said he’d only be interested in him if he was a catcher (he was a 2B at the time; he told the scout he would try catcher, despite never playing there in his life), and even that his nickname is “Chooch”; that Brian Dawkins responded to being criticized earlier this season for being too old and slow by taking it out on the Eagles’ opponents throughout the rest of the season and post-season; that the Flyers are a tough team and there is nothing more exciting than Game 7 in the NHL playoffs than overtime in Game 7 in the NHL playoffs — especially when your team wins, like the Flyers did in May; the agony of waiting 25 years to see a championship; and the joy we take in watching our rivals suffer. Especially the Cowboys, Mets, and Giants. Ali has truly become a Philadelphia sports fan. Her development in this area probably received a boost by the Phillies winning the 2008 World Series and the Eagles recent, unexpected run in the 2009 Playoffs. But I digress…
Ali’s education in Philadelphia sports included a whole section on the Curse of Billy Penn. I even updated the lesson to include the actions of workers building the Comcast Building, which is now the tallest building in Philadelphia. For those who don’t know, the workers wanted to break the curse so they placed a tiny statue of William Penn on the top beam in the building, restoring him to the tallest point in the city. The Phillies then win the 2008 World Series, so some argue that it worked.
I would like to propose another reason for the Phillies victory in 2008, and it is one that can be confirmed in a few short weeks. During the Phillies’ run, Ali noticed that Pat Burrell has very oddly shaped eyebrows. Three weeks later, the Phillies won the World Series. Then, during yesterday’s game, she noticed that Donovan McNabb also has oddly shaped eyebrows. Not only are his eyebrows weird, but they are the exact same triangular shape as Pat Burrell’s eyebrows (see picture below)!!! Even more amazing is that Ali noticed this about McNabb on January 11 — exactly three weeks before the Super Bowl! That’s right, I am dubbing this phenomenon “Charm of the Eyebrows!”
Burrell and McNabb also share the fact they were first round picks by Phillies and Eagles in their respective sport’s drafts. If the Eagles win the Super Bowl (I can’t believe I just typed that; 3 months ago I would be chastised for jinxing them by typing that!), you’d better believe that we will spend time in May checking the eyebrows of the Flyers players who were first round picks!!!
The Charm of the Eyebrows
I waited 25 years to make this post; what’s another 2 months?
Sunday, December 28th, 2008 | General, Philly, Podcasts | No Comments
I have a Samson Zoom H4 – Handy Recorder, a little toy that I spent too much money on and use too little. With that being said, I am always looking for opportunities to use it so that I can both exercise my creativity as well as provide a little entertainment for friends, family, and anyone else who reads my blog or listens to my podcasts (Hello!). The 2008 World Series provided one of those opportunities.
My house became the unofficial World Series headquarters for my tight circle of friends — I’d like to think that my company is the reason, but the appeal is more likely that my wife likes to bake delicious Phillies-inspired cakes (see picture 1 below), cookies, and muffins for our guests. We had many friends and family members over for each of the 5 games, but it was Aaron, Adam, Ryan, and Jarad who joined Ali and me for both portions of Game 5. Eric was supposed to join us, but he was fortunate enough to be in the stadium for all three games in Philadelphia!
Ali's Phillies cake -- the true reason our friends came over
As the tension built in our house, we discussed the poor leadership of Bud Selig, the idea that we may finally witness one of our beloved teams win a championship, and the exciting possibility of a season ending without someone saying, “Well, maybe next year is our year.” I wanted to document the approaching historic moment as naturally as possible, so I turned on my little microphone during the 8th inning of Game 5b of the World Series. I placed it on a shelf in our living room and left it on to record our reactions and experience with a potential championship. We now know that the Phillies won the World Series and, two months later, I just listed to the captured audio for the first time.
I found a lot of interesting dialogue captured in the audio: we debate and discuss everything from the ideal time to listen to mute the TV and turn on 610WIP (to listen to the Phillies’ announcer, the legendary Harry Kalas), to the challenge of playing with mitochondria, to Scott Eyre warming up in the bullpen just so he can get some air time when the cameraman pans over to see what Brad Lidge is up to. Oh, and I also heard our reactions to the glorious moment itself! The attached audio may be dull at times, but it is a snapshot of pure, natural emotion and happiness.
I would ultimately like to edit the audio into something interesting, intermixed with interviews from each of those present (and Eric, who can provide his perspective of being in the ballpark) and with pictures laid over the top. For now, I have edited down the 1 hour of audio to the best 3 minutes*; essentially, the 3 minutes are the audio of Hinkse’s at-bat and our reaction for a minute or so afterward.
A guide to the recording below: the magic happens at 1:47 (WARNING: It gets VERY loud at this point of the audio!). Then, it’s about a minute of us reacting in absolute glee and exuberance. Finally, Jarad makes a very revealing declaration at 2:54 — be sure to listen =) The audio is below, so enjoy!
The gang, seconds before the big moment
Hinske just swung through strike 3!
No caption necessary
*Note: I edited some of the dead time out of the Hinske at bat, just to make the file a little shorter. Just wanted to let you know in case you notice that some filler dialogue from Harry and Wheels is missing.
Careful what you wish for…
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 | Philly | No Comments
3 weeks ago, Eagles President Joe Banner complained about the disproportionate coverage that the Phillies, who were in the World Series en route to a world championship, were receiving from local media compared to the Eagles.
Well, I think it is safe to say that the Weak-les will be getting plenty of coverage now. Among the possible topics:
- Another failed season
- 5 turnovers (so far)
- With the season on the line, Reid decides to bench the franchise QB he has defended all season and play Kolb in the 2nd half
- A blocked punt that hits the defender in the chest
- 6 inches to the end zone on a 2nd down that turns into an NFL record 108 yard INT return by Ed Reed
- Three defenders can’t tackle Le’Ron McClain, whom they have wrapped up, on a 1 yard TD run
Let’s hope Ed Snider or Paul Holmgren don’t complain about the Flyers or Sixers lack of coverage this week.
I voted for what?!?
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 | Philly, Society | No Comments
I just left the poll, having cast my votes for the various officials hoping to be elected today. I feel that I was well-informed regarding the different candidates for whom I could vote: President, state treasurer, attorney general, representative, etc.
I am quite bothered, however, by the referendums/items that appear on the ballot. There were four in my district — one about the commonwealth borrowing $400 million for utilities, one about combining the Fairmount Park Commission and Department of Recreation, one about the city incurring a debt of $53 million for capital improvements, and one about giving preferential treatment for civil service jobs to people who have lived in Philly for at least one year prior to their civil service examination.
What bothers me is that the only item I had even heard of prior to just now is the item proposing the formation of a new Department of Parks and Recreation. I am a pretty plugged in person who reads the newspaper every day and otherwise is able to get information promptly and accurately. If I know nothing about these items, then I am going to assume that neither do the majority of voters in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania — and I’m sure there are similar items on the ballot today in cities and states throughout the US.
My decisions and vote about each item were based on reading the difficult language on the ballot and trying to figure out the Pros and Cons of each, doing so uninformed and while under pressure to expedite my turn in the voting booth. Since I assume most of Philly and Pennsylvania is in a similar situation in terms of familiarity with these items, this means that $453 million dollars, employment decisions, and management of the largest park system in the world (as well as recreation sites) are being decided based on…nothing!
Individual candidates spend a lot of money on advertisements to make sure their messages are heard and their faces are seen. It is understandable that a ballot item cannot raise money, but there has to be some other way to make sure voters are aware of the items and their issues. I saw only the aforementioned Parks and Recreation item even mentioned in The Philadelphia Inquirer, but no information about other than “Mayor Nutter says we should vote ‘yes’ on this question.”
Does this bother anyone else?
[Update]
I finally found a resource with more information for those in Philly. The Committee of Seventy, which describes itself as “Political watchdog group and nonpartisan research and election information source for the Philadelphia metropolitan area,” offers a resource on the different Philadelphia ballot questions.
[/Update]
Why did the chicken go to Crossroads?
Friday, September 19th, 2008 | Philly | 1 Comment
Because it was Open Mic night!
The wife and I are fortunate enough to live very close to a cute little coffee shop, Crossroads Coffee House. We’ve stopped in several times for a delicious blended drink or snack and often stay to relax. The cafe is never too busy when we’ve gone there, which makes it the ideal place to chat, work, surf the net, or check email when we need a change of location. Plus, they have complimentary copies of the Inquirer and Daily News for customers to read, so there is always a nice distraction.
While there, we always check out the bulletin board listing all of the upcoming events.We set a goal of attending one of the frequent artsy performances that it hosts. We met that goal last week when we attended the Thursday night singer-songwriter Open Mic Night.
We weren’t sure what to expect on Thursday night, given how empty the cafe usually is. As such, you imagine our surprise when we walked in to find all but one table and chair filled with people! We ordered some dinner and took our seats. The host wasted little time diving into a song, plugging her upcoming performance at another establishment, and introducing the first singer-songwriter. He turned out to be the first of 13 performers that evening, which lasted over 2 hours!
I am amazed at the diversity and sheer volume of performers at Crossroads. Seriously — we were at an Open Mic Night in a tiny, usually empty cafe on a non-descript corner in a not-too-flashy neighborhood in Philly, and the place was filled with talented or entertaining performers. Some performers sang political messages while strumming standard chords, and another sang quirky lyrics while strumming using what I can only describe as a reverse chord method, with his left hand attacking the strings from above the guitar’s neck. There were a few performers who were so good, so talented, and so charismatic, that the entire cafe was transfixed on their songs. Each of these performers plugged a future performance at a larger ‘venue’ in the city, so it is not hard to imagine them climbing the musical ladder and one day being heard on the radio or whereve you listen to your coffeehouse music (does a contract with Sirius represent ‘selling out’ for a coffeehouse artist?).
Vicky, the host, performer, and organizer, seemed to know most of the performers and was familiar with their other performances, providing a real community feel to the evening. Even the final artist, who was introduced as a first time performer, was welcomed and encouraged by the group. It was a nice moment, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. In fact, we planned on going last night but were too late wrapping up dinner to make it. I even have plans to perform in the near future…
Arcati Crisis at Crossroads Cafe
Here are some websites for a few of the artists we saw last Thursday (9/11/08):
- Ryan Tennis – Ryan’s music and performance reminded me of Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson. He played “Livin’ It Up” at Crossroads, which you can listen to and download on his site.
- Arcati Crisis (pictured above) – Arcati Crisis was the only duo to perform at Crossroads last week. The two seemed to be good, old friends who have a lot of fun playing together. The song they performed last week was “Fisher Price,” which you can listen to on their website.
All in all, it was a great evening that I recommend you check out at some point. I look forward to discovering more of these hidden, local (and free) treasures here in Philly!