Philadelphia (again, i think)

"If people want to have cheese-steaks, God bless 'em. That's just fine. But you probably shouldn't have a cheese-steak for breakfast and one for lunch and another one for dinner."

"Why not?" they ask at Pat's Steaks, the Constitution Hall of cheese-steaks and headquarters of the rebel opposition to the mayor's war on fat.

Stewart 555 and HER (!) are in Philadelphia. Spit. My life is bereft.

first of all NEVER eat a cheesesteak outside of the greater philadelphia/immediate south jersey/suburban metro area becuz it is NOT a cheesesteak, but some horrible derivation thereof...and keep it simple stupid...no lettuce, no tomaters, no other funny foofera... (and yes the chicken cheesesteak is acceptable and sometimes actually better)...please do not refer to a sandwich on a long roll as anything other than a hoagie...or you will be laughed at behind your back (much as people are laughed at for calling them hoagies outside of philadelphia)...do NOT, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES buy a pretzle or other food at a food truck on the street unless you want to DIE (or get a large amount of pigeon droppings/carinogens with your food)...it's hard to pick a steak shop in town which won't do you right, but avoid the horribly tourist-y pat's and geno's...

shops...philly is pretty bereft of record shops, but all the good ones are (mostly) located on or off south st. (our gentrified sub-st. marks pl.)...spaceboy is probably the best for what "we" generally listen to...indie/punk/'lectronica/imports...and a KILLER used section...there's 611 off of 4th and south (?) which is where you go for all your dj/dance related vinyl...i have yet to find a good record shop in town which caters to a hiphop head...(odd, given the town, which means its probably just eluding me...or hiding somewhere deep in north philly where i am afeared to go)...the best comic book shop is by far Fat Jack's Comic Crypt around 20-21st and sansom sts...clothes...no idea mate...i'm a sloppy dresser as it is...but there's a swank new thrift/consignment shoppe which has opened on south that seems promising...books...um, we got a borders...

the supreme joy of all philadelphia shopping experiences is the italian market, which runs basically from 11th to 9th sts. between catharine and christian (roughly...it's been about two years since i actually LIVED there, so my directions are hazy)...wake up early on a sat. morning and you will find gastronomic delights like you won't believe...

bars and clubs...avoid DELAWARE AVE. AT ALL COSTS...unless you wish to be inundated with big haired jersey broads and mooks from south philly with their molls out on "da town"...when i was drinkin in filthadelphia, i mostly wet my whistle at dirty franks on the corner of pine and 13th sts...there was also a very small dive around 20th and chestnut where i got plastered after work becuz the beer was CHEAP...(the atmosphere was depressin as hell, but then again i was depressed as hell, so it fit...)

restaurants

museums/sights/entertainment: the mutter museum of medical oddities! without a doubt the greatest museum EVAH. (barring that historical flea musuem.) the philadelphia art museum is actually quite loverly, with a very large modern art collection, and a buncha neat rooms with olde tyme armor and weapons... the rodin museum is just that...the largest collection of rodin-ities outside of europe (?).... the first friday of every month we have, well, first friday, which is the monthly arts walk of gallery openings etc...

philly is much better as a "living" town than a "visiting" town...it's...calm...a big city, but, as they say a "city of neighborhoods"...its intimate...which can be good or bad depending on your taste...its my home...so whadda i know?

shit...meeting...more later?

The Khyber is the size of a shoebox but is perhaps better than the Upstage (is that still around?), which is more spacious but has inferior sound.

The zoo is great; the art museum is great. The latter used to be completely free on Sunday mornings -- now it's "pay what you can", last I checked.

Public transportation: trains are great but expensive, buses are a bit unreliable at times and also costly (Philly is tied for the most expensive public transportation in the country).

The bad parts of Philly are very, very bad. But it's a very large city with relatively low population density, so they're easy to avoid -- it's not like you'll walk two blocks and suddenly be in no man's land.

send today

send right away

(the man was a PREvert)

there's a nice bar on south street, a little west of all the alternative shopping complex hoopla, called tritone. decent food, cheap drinks, excellent jukebox, bands & dj nights from time to time. also, low on passyunk avenue (right down the block from the cheesesteak corner) is fairly mellow, although i've heard reports of it being a sort of coke haven.

as for restaurants, my favorite place is cibucan, a tapas place at 20th and sansom that is not only delicious, it's fun and fairly economical (since you're sharing and all). i also like beau monde at 6th and bainbridge. it's a creperie. ANYTHING IN A CREPE. they also mix an excellent bloody mary. sassafras on 2nd, next to the khyber, is a pretty reliable old style bar-with-food; i like their martinis and their burgers.

bookstores: there's big jar on 2nd )the bookstore of choice for mcsweeney's readings in town) and bookhaven at 22nd and fairmount.

for records, spaceboy is ok, but the princeton record exchange is totally worth the hour and a half train ride -- their bargain section is out of this world.

shame that you got here already - it would have been nice to hang out!

i usually recommend the alexander inn to people (including our own dave raposa). but you should know that it's right in the middle of the gayborhood (yes they do call it that) and your stay is around the time of outfest so it might be a bit difficult to get a room there. but it's really nice, with cute rooms and directv and a really prime center city location. i don't think you'll get a much better value without having to rent a car.

also hey i will be in town that weekend too!

I just ate there for the first time recently and I thought the food was quite good. Pretentious and pricey, but genuinely fresh and tastey. I thought the wait staff was a bit cooler than thou, however.

I was served there when I was quite underaged, and bought a drink for a pan-handler as well. I used to do that sort of thing back then.

I will post more about my fine city later.

Sun Ra: ". . .the worst place on the planet"

how many days will you be in Philadelphia, Gareth? a face-to-face may be possible.

dirty franks was good, used to like doobies as well on 22nd and lombard

bookstores -what was that big second place on south street called.

have to run but will post a longer rave about the greatness that is filthadelphia

A good place for hip-hop, I think. If you go up to the second floor, you will find a good jazz selection, as well as rock, including some obscure indie/prog. stuff not likely to turn up at Tower.

because i don't.

yeah, and I also agree with the trip to Princeton Record Exchange as a better alternative to record shopping on south st.
(I got the first 4 Weather Report Albums for $4.00 there)

(oh yeah, my perspective is a young perspective of Philadelphia. R5 and Shampoo usually has a fairly young crowd)

i saw the arkestra in rittenhouse sq. park one day. (well after he died, mind.)

I was wondering why the neighborhood was so nice! And all the guys I saw were hella cute!

i should be arriving on tuesday the 8th october, staying the 8th and 9th, and leaving on the morning of thursday the 10th

i think i'm going to be staying at http://www.bankstreethostel.com/ , does this seem like an ok place to stay? i haven't booked it yet, wont take advance credit card bookings so i'm going to pay on the day. is it likely that it will be booked up? midweek october, should be ok shouldn't it?

anyone around on the 8th

and where are there internet cafes?

That hostel is supposed to be pretty good. You do have a curfew there though, you realize.

Not sure where to find internet cafes, especially near that hostel. You can come to the public library and use the internet for free.

I will be around. I don't have any plans at the moment. You might want to try reaching me at my old e-mail address instead of this one.

How long are you going to be in Philadelphia--any idea?

me, a guy from york and a guy from switzerland went to Rotten Ralphs, which is, like, 2 doors down from the Khyber and round the corner from the hostel. i saw Ghost soundchecking while i was outside (they were playing with damon & naomi, but i didn't go in)

:`(

It would have been great to have met Gareth, but too damn busy this week. Will you be swinging up to NYC this trip, Gareth?

Maria -- college in and around Philly would be great. Esp. if you get into U. Penn, Swarthmore, Haverford, or Villanova.

tad, yes, i arrive in nyc on wednesday, and i'm staying until sunday evening (going to the fap on the 18th)

h, bryn mawr was closed when i went there. wait, that was in dc!

silly hanle y ... allan iverson ate charlie the hen years ago!

i would not advise u to live in that building. or yardley. elsewhere should be ok

anywhere that will require you to get to and from center city by bus if you a) don't have a car and b) like to stay out past 11 = dud

I really miss those WaWas..

but of course thats an apt analogy for anything re: my hometown vs. yours, except, of course, the "stillers" and all that

I never went to that but always wanted to. Downtown Philly is a lot of fun when you're visiting as agrade-schooler. And you're surrounded by much-taller adults who can act as your bodyguards, etc, when anyone on the street comes within a 50 foot radiii of you

what will you be doing there?
I dunno. I like to go to thrift stores, play in rock bands, see indie films...

what sort of "lifestyle" do you enjoy? do you have a car?

We (Nick & I) each have our own cars. I like old row houses and lofts. Never actually lived in a loft but always thought they seemed cool. I'm not generally interested in high rise apartment buildings with hundreds of rooms in them.

I would like to live in walking distance of some fun eateries/coffee shops (as in local ones, not chains) in a fairly low crime area. A sort of artsy area would be nice.

there are lots of thrifting/consignment opportunities in philadelphia -- supposedly this new store at front and girard is awesome, but i'm going to also guess that it's pretty picked-over by hipsters, as many of them are moving to that neighborhood (northern liberties/fishtown, which has nice, cheap apartments -- and one of the best pubs in town -- but seems more crime-prone than other areas recently).

the indie film landscape is ok, better than most medum-sized cities, but in center city it's pretty much run by one company (the ritz mini-chain), one that tends to trend very heavily towards miramaxian flicks and playing popular movies of that ilk on multiple screens (grr). the theatre in doylestown is quite lovely and gets really nice repertory movies.

secret cinema can't be beat in terms of unearthing cult-film gems. and there's a nice rep-film series at the chestnut hill public library (accessible by train if you don't have a car) in the fall/winter. and there are also lots of nice opportunities to see pictures outdoors in the summer.

did you know i'm thinking of moving back? for real.

"Hi, my name is Shorti. I am a six-inch Wawa hoagie and people call me Shorti; I can be made in your favorite flavor, fresh to go - I'm really sporty. I'm also fun to play with and can be your favorite friend; Hold my hands and hug me tightly, I'll delight you hours on end."

sarah, maybe you should browse the city paper's online apartment ads, to get a feel for the rental prices. it's cheaper than NYC, but everything's cheaper than NYC.

http://www.wawa.com/wawaprofile/images/wawagasstore-new1.jpg

i miss utz chips

frankly, it doesnt matter if you stay in old city [ie, "historic district"] or center city. philadelphia is small enough that you can walk from one to the other.

hotels in philadelphia are expensive and are all going to be colonial - this city markets itself on being the birthplace of america [barf]. if you're looking at something inexpensive, you might want to check out the divine tracy hotel:

http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/profile/11495011

yes, its part of a religious sect -- floors are separated by gender and the wearing of shorts and miniskirts is not allowed. but its well maintained and inexpensive [60-70$ a night]. i dont think they're going to try and recruit you.

another suggestion is looking into the "phillys more fun when you sleep over" promo - i think it offers a discounted rate if you stay the weekend:

http://www.gophila.com/accommodations/

from your suggestion of wanting to stay near market-east station, it sounds like you may be taking the train into the city. hopefully you are aware that the R7 stops at three locations in the city: 30th street, suburban station [right underneath city hall] and market east. so you neednt limit yourself to finding accomodations merely around one station.

getting around town, its better to use the bus system than the MF line. best buses to catch westward are the 42 and 21 on walnut street, those go eastward on chestnut; the 40 which goest west on lombard and east on pine.

like i said before, downtown philadelphia is small, in fact, its very walkable. septa is also expensive [2$ one way!] so you're better off hoofing it.

clothes: barefeet shoes [on south, awesome cheap selection of crazy shoes], retrospect [good thrift/vintage selection, can be a little pricey], vagabond [in olde city, good local designers], buffalo exchange [another thrift/vintage place], walnut street is lined with small shops

eating: maoz [awesome falafel open until 3AM], lorenzos [massive slices of pizza for 2$, open until 3AM], minar palace [indian minus the buffet - thank god!], royal tavern [excellent food at reasonable prices], tritone, el vez, new wave cafe, sunwishes [excellent vegetarian menu], sugar/tattooed moms, blue in green [only open for breakfast?], 10th street pourhouse [open until 2:30, i used to work here!] silk city diner, abbaye, standard tap, las cazuelas

drinking: royal tavern, low bar, silk city, 700 club, where ever there is a fun dj event going on

live music: the khyber, north star, tritone, the fire, silk city, first unitarian church

but i bought a record by gut bank!!

"wiz wit" only plz

do you like cereal?

I like DK but I kinda expected more from the hype.

be confused no longer. esp. if you plan on living in or around university city!

yeah, like the fact that center city now has a gen-yoo-wine skyline. tossing the gentleman's agreement "no building taller than the brim of william penn's hat" aside was a great decision for no small number of reasons.

and the city needs a sports championship in the WORST way -- last one was 1983 (w/ the sixers), or villanova in 1985 if you wanna push it. short way of saying ... root for the eagles tomorrow!!

I even forgot the Super Bowl was tomorrow. Is it tomorrow? Fuck, that probably means my drinking buddy is gonna be AWOL.

I was never a go-getter.

Philadelphia does kind of suck. Seventeen Free Library employees (probably all librarians, once everything shakes out) are going to be laid off. Twenty branches are going to be converted into "Express" branches, unstaffed by librarians. (They will be run by LAIIIs, library assistant supervisors.)

(x-post that fucking sucks)

Posted on Sat, Jan. 15, 2005

A second guilty plea in probe of City Hall

Charles LeCroy, who worked for J.P. Morgan Securities, now concedes that he helped arrange an illegal payment.

By Emilie Lounsberry

Inquirer Staff Writer

Another defendant in the City Hall corruption investigation is changing his plea to guilty.

Four days before he was to stand trial, Charles LeCroy, a former J.P. Morgan Securities executive, agreed yesterday to admit to charges filed in the federal investigation into contracting practices in Philadelphia city government.

LeCroy, who had been a managing director at the company, is scheduled to plead guilty on Tuesday to helping arrange an illegal $50,000 payment to lawyer Ronald A. White, a longtime Mayor Street supporter.

LeCroy, a Florida resident, will become the second former J.P. Morgan executive to plead guilty to wire fraud in connection with the payment. A subordinate, former vice president Anthony C. Snell, pleaded guilty Thursday.

But unlike Snell's, LeCroy's plea agreement does not call for cooperating with prosecutors and giving information to help the long-running City Hall investigation. LeCroy's attorney, Catherine M. Recker, declined comment.

Federal prosecutors contend that LeCroy and Snell set up the $50,000 payment to curry favor with White, a power broker known for his ties to Street, and in turn to win more city business for the company.

The two had been scheduled to stand trial, beginning Tuesday, with longtime Philadelphia investment banker Denis Carlson, who is accused of lying to the FBI agents who questioned him during the corruption inquiry.

Carlson's attorney, William A. DeStefano, said Carlson would stand trial.

The three were among 12 people named in June in a sweeping corruption indictment that also charged former city treasurer Corey Kemp, along with White, who died of cancer in November. Kemp's trial is scheduled for Feb. 14.

fwiw, i meant "philly kinda sucks" in an affectionate-teasing sorta way. yes, it "kinda sucks," but i've also got a lotta love for shitty old industrial towns.

But a lot depends on, well, obviously, what you spend your time doing. It can be an enjoyable place, within limits, if you are busy doing good things. I felt much better about Philadelphia when I used to go out more (or at all), so hopefully that will change once I resume. It probably has a lot of potential for real bohemians. I have a very middle class nervous system, plus I need medical insurance. Bohemianism isn't a good option for me.

But the problems are deep and stark, and when the sort of policy changes Bush is making at a national level will show up in ugly ways in Philadelphia earlier than they will in other places.

and Ponzio's in Cherry Hill:

http://southsidecallbox.com/ftd/images/0661_ponzios.jpg

yeah, what exactly the FUCK is going on w/ that? i mean, rendell of all people has to know how important public transportation is for metro philadelphia -- is this some B.S. from the rest of the state (ie, bozos from santorum-land who are all like, "i don't want my steeeeenking taxes going to philadelphia"?). the rest of PA is called "pennsyltuckey" for good reason!

(i am trying for that 95% rejetion 5% acceptance thing obv)

Where is this?!

SOURCE: Free Library of Philadelphia

maoz is on south street. its been covered in the CP & PW so this is not news.

also, fuck you to anyone who thinks this city sucks [ie, cathy], and does not live here. the only people allowed to address its suckitude are its residents, like me.

DiCicco seeks to rescind $30 million library expansion
Despite reassurances that the project would not hurt branches, he said, cuts have begun.
By Angela Couloumbis
Inquirer Staff Writer

At its last meeting of 2004, City Council gave grudging approval to spending $30 million to expand the Central Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

But at Council's public session yesterday, Councilman Frank DiCicco introduced a bill to rescind approval for the funds, which among other things are to be used to renovate the existing beaux-arts building and provide a 160,000-square-foot addition to its north.

DiCicco said that he believed the proposed expansion was coming at the expense of neighborhood library branches, which have taken a hit under the city's proposed $3.5 billion budget for the next fiscal year.

He said the $30 million bond issue would result in $3.5 million in annual debt service, money that would make up for the Street administration's proposed cuts to branch libraries.

When he voted to approve the bond issue in December, DiCicco said, he expressed his worries that the expansion would hurt smaller branches. At the time, he said, library officials testified that plans were being sketched to ensure that the branches would not be hurt.

Then in January, the city announced it would begin switching 20 branch libraries to half-day service. The city also sent pink slips to 17 library workers.

"I'd like to be perfectly clear - I understand the necessity of this project, and I believe expansion will benefit the city," DiCicco said. "But unfortunately, I do not believe that is enough.

"It's time for this Council to stand up and do what is right, and it's time for this administration to listen," he added.

The expansion bill approved by Council in December calls for a complex financing plan under which the $30 million would be borrowed by the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, which effectively would own the library grounds and lease them to the city.

Several Council members, as well as City Controller Jonathan Saidel, had said they were concerned that the city was borrowing more money while facing difficult financial times, and proposed alternative ways of paying for the expansion.

Mayor Street said borrowing was the best course. And his spokesman, Dan Fee, said yesterday: "Council has proven repeatedly that it has a million ideas to increase spending - but few when it comes to ways to decrease it."

Elliot L. Shelkrot, the Free Library's president and director, said he did not view DiCicco's proposal as a major setback. "To have people discussing the importance of libraries is a wonderful thing, and I am glad these discussions are taking place."

In other business yesterday, Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. introduced a bill requiring certain city contractors to pay at least 150 percent of the minimum wage to its employees, raising the minimum hourly wage from $5.15 to $7.72.

Goode said that at the rate of $5.15 per hour, even if someone works 40 hours a week, every week in the year, he or she would earn only about $10,700.

The bill would cover:

For-profit firms that receive contracts worth $10,000 or more in a 12-month period, and that have annual gross receipts of more than $1 million.

Businesses employing more than 25 people that have city leases, concessions or franchises.

Firms that receive more than $100,000 in city financial aid in a 12-month period.

"Obviously, the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that many employees as possible in the city of Philadelphia earn a wage that enables them to live with more dignity and increase economic self-sufficiency," Goode said.

The Whale Returns
Beluga Whale Spotted In The Schuylkill River

Apr 27, 2005 10:04 pm US/Eastern

The wayward beluga whale that spent a week in the Delaware River earlier this month has returned - but not to the Delaware.

Nine days after Helis was spotted swimming back to the ocean, the Coast Guard received reports that the 12-foot white whale was seen today beneath the Girard Point Bridge on Philadelphia’s smaller Schuylkill River.

And a Philadelphia police boat was providing an escort tonight as the whale headed further up the Schuylkill.

Authorities believe the whale, originally from Canada’s Saint Lawrence River and estimated to be about 30 years old, swam up the Delaware for a week earlier this month to feed on shad making their spring spawning run upriver.

6 pm - 8 pm
Opening Reception - Richard Pettibone: A Retrospective
The first retrospective of Richard Pettibone's work in over twenty years premiers at ICA. This exhibition presents the full range of the artist's career, approximately 200 paintings and 15 freestanding sculptures.

Institute of Contemporary Art (118 S. 36th Street)

- - - - - - - - - - -

7-9 pm
AKA Music Grand Opening

with: Man Man [Ace Fu Records}, DJ Julia Factorial & others

AKA Music (27 N. Second Street)
http://akamusicphilly.com/

Perversely placed in DC thread:

>The National Constitution Center is a beautiful new museum...

It's not worryingly 'interactive'?

http://www.specevents.net/

how easy is UPenn Museum to get to?

That made me sort of sad. I don't live in Philly, and I've only been to the Warehouse a couple of times, and it was a while ago, but I had this image in my head that they were "really creating their own scene" there and it made me happy.

Sorry for the multiple bulletins, but we're just about ready lose our minds.

To recap, our van was stolen this morning around 8am from the Comfort Inn on Delaware Ave in Philadelphia. It was a white, 2003 Ford E-350, California license plates. ALL of our gear was taken. Here's a list of what's missing:

- 1966 Ludwig drum kit, blue sparkle
- 23" Paiste ride cymbal
- 1976 Fender P-bass, no finish, beat down, Bartolini pick-up
- 1993 Gibson SG, black
- 1973 Fender Telecaster Deluxe, cream, with marble pickguard, humbuckers
- Fender Twin Reverb amp, 70's silverface, master volume
- Fender Deville guitar amp
- early 70's Ampeg SVT bass head with 2 massive metal handles on the sides
- Ampeg SVT 410HLF bass cabinet
- Peavey keyboard amp
- 3 boxes of effects: 2 Line 6 delay pedals, Memory Man Deluxe, Big Muff, SansAmp Bass DI, Rat, MXR distortion, Cry Baby wah, 2 Boss EQ pedals, Boss Digital Delay, 2 Boss Tuners. These were in 3 different suitcases.
- Kurzweil K2000 keyboard
- Boss Dr. Sample

If anyone in the Philadelphia area has any info where this stuff might surface we'd really appreciate it. Or, if you find our van or our gear we can pay you handsome reward. Seriously.

As for the rest of the tour, here's what's happening:

Wed-DC - cancelled
Thur-Providence - cancelled
Friday-Wellesely College - cancelled
Sat-Mercury Lounge - still on
Sun-Mercury Lounge - still on
Monday- Memphis - ???
all SXSW shows are still on.

If anything changes or the equipment fairy makes a special delivery I'll post a bulletin here to let everyone know. Thanks to everyone who wrote to us. It really means a lot. Thanks again.

-Justin
Film School

The ban goes into effect immediately.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/philadelphia_county/philadelphia/15522139.htm

Philadelphia and its dog ass humidity.

word.