The Balled of the Kingsmen

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Between church, the Iggles, and T-and-T'ing with the brats, I have no time to write a real post. So instead, here's the lyrics to a cool new song from Todd Snider. Kids and christian conservatives, consult your parents or pastor before reading on.

The Balled of the Kingsmen

The Kingsmen came together in a garage,
They could hardly even play
But they practiced night and day
Pretty soon they got to where they could really play that song Louie, Louie
So, they saved up all the money from the shows,
Went in to one of them studios and gave their version of the song a try

Now, I don't know the words to that song Louie, Louie
and I'm pretty sure the singer for the Kingsmen didn't know ‘em either,
If he did know ‘em he didn't get ‘em right on the record
Cause on the record they sound jumbled in his jaw
It says, Me think of me girl oh so constantly
Ahmayaaah makaaaah aahh ooohoooh aaaaah
Well, that last part scared everybody from the PTA to the FBI
You see, the kids had been going kind of crazy lately
And it seemed like nobody could figure out why,
So they decided to form a coalition,
Launch an investigation,
You know for the children,
They at least had to try
To figure out the words to Louie, Louie

Chorus
It's the feel good hit of this endless summer
It gets these kids out of control
Singin along to that star spangled bummer,
Hail, hail rock and roll

Marilyn Manson’s real name isn't even Marilyn Manson,
He's a skinny public high school Kid from Florida,
Not some monster from out of this world
And like of a lot other skinny long hair public high school kids
He was sick of getting beaten up by the pulling guard all week
Only to go out on the weekend,
And watch the Quarterback get all the girls so,
He formed a band man
Now' he gets all the girls,
A few years later a couple of latchkey kids go tragically mad
And everybody's standing around the television store at the mall
Trying to figure out what went wrong,
This guy says,
You think the life of a kid going to high school could've gotten so bad
This other guy says nah,
It's just the words to one of them goddamn Marilyn Manson songs,
You know the one

Chorus

You know, every ten years or so our country and some other little country,
We start firing all of our newest weapons
At each other for some reason or another, right or wrong,
Like it or not, it happens, and when it happens
People get shot and when people get shot,
They show it on tv a lot every night at six o clock
And you don't even have to be eighteen to see it
You don't even have to be in first grade,
First grade where they teach the kid pride
They tell him he'll need to thrive,
In a world where only the strong will survive,
So he's taught the art of more
To compare to and to keep score
Monday thru Friday while he stares at the floor
Til' Sunday they make him go to school once more
Only this time they make him wear a suit and a tie
And listen to some guy
Who claims to know where people go
When they die
Tell him that only the meek are gonna inherit the earth
Well shit, by this time the kid doesn't know what anything is worth,
Now brothers and sisters I am only one guy
And I don't even know the words to that song Louie, Louie
But I can tell you right now without batting an eye
That the next time some latchkey kid goes wrong
It aint gonna be cause that Eminem gets to say the word Fag in his song
And I'm not trying to preach to ya either,
I'm just trying to sing to ya too, you know string a few words together

Hey kids...
Lets get it on,
Lets get it on

Photo Friday - 10.29.04

Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday.

Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the internet to post pictures can participate.

This week's challenge: Still Life

Click on photo to enlarge.


Still Life with Crosses.
11th & Pine, Philadelphia, PA.

A Curt Blow-off

Curt Schilling's political career seems to have ended before it even started. On Wednesday's Good Morning America Schilling praised Dubba, told everybody to vote for Dubba, and later said he would welcome campaigning for Dubba. This all from a guy who, according to John Kruk, "wants to walk down the streets of Boston and be praised by every single human being that's ever lived in Boston."

Schilling has apparently now decided that, World Series win or not, campaigning against the hometown candidate might not be the best way to achieve that goal. A day after visiting Mickey Mouse, Schilling blew-off the Leader of the Free World.

"I am now not medically cleared to do anything until I see Doc on Sunday, so I cannot travel with President Bush."

Perhaps realizing that he was contradicting his "play through the pain" legacy, and that he would look silly meeting with Mickey and not Goofy George, Schilling later came clean:

"Speaking as I did the other day was wrong. While I hope to see him re-elected, it's not my place, nor the time for me to offer up my political opinions unsolicited. I am proud we have the right to vote, and the message I wanted to send but didn't, was that regardless of who you are voting for the bottom line is that you MUST vote."

Oh, so that's what you meant when you told GMA, "Vote Bush next week."

Update: I'm trying to find out if Schilling was still at DisneyWorld when he said "until I see Doc." I hope he knows that Disney's Doc isn't really a doctor.

Fantastic Planet of Football - Week 7

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Week 7:
Three And Out 68, Speed Merchants 58

With the help of a killer game from the Baltimore defense, my Fantasy Football team eked out a win over the Speed Merchants, 68-58. The Speed Merchants had perhaps the best fantasy performance of the week in Priest Holmes, but suffered with Torry Holt and Curtis Martin having sub-par games. The win brings Three and Out up to 3-4 with seven fantasy weekends to go.

Not many player moves for Three and Out this upcoming weekend. Darius Watts comes in for underachieving Isaac Bruce, who's on a bye. Brian Westbrook is out with a rib injury and will be replaced by Willis McGahee, who has been telling the Buffalo press that he will start the game. We'll see. Even though I picked up "Big Ben" Roethlisberger last weekend, he faces New England this weekend so I'll keep him on the bench. My two other QBs, Michael Vick and Jake Plummer, play each other. Both got embarrassed last weekend but I'm going with Plummer. Vick still doesn't get Atlanta's new scheme. Jermaine Wiggins stays in over Daniel Graham at TE. Wiggins has been getting the ball more and the Vikings are playing the weaker defense (NYG).

My opponent this week is the cellar-dwelling 4th and Inches. They might get some points with Chad Pennington playing against Miami, but I don't expect their Kansas City(!) Defense to do much. I'm looking to get back to .500 again.

desreveR

While I'm happy that the BoSox won it all, I'm not going to write a whole lot about it. There are many other posts already out there by people who can actually write. I suggest Swing and a Miss, Berks Phillies Fan, Shallow Center, and the Boston Sports Guy for starters.

No, what I want to write about is the fact that I was 7-1 in my postseason predictions! And I think my only miss (Twins over Yankees) was caused by delusion brought about by my intense hatred of the Yankees.

Overall, I couldn't ask for a better postseason. Okay, I would have wanted Phils over Baltimore, but other than that what a great fortnight of late nights. [I told you I couldn't write. Who uses fortnight outside of Wimbledon?]

Political Party

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Click on photo to see entire set.

As promised, here are my pictures from Monday's Kerry/Clinton Rally in Philly.

Oh, Lord

Bush has to stop hanging around with Pat Robertson so much.

Book of Dreams

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This morning I returned the Time Traveler's Wife to the library, unread. After completing my goal of reading 52 novels this year, the prospect of reading another novel, a 500-page novel, didn’t excite me. I have decided to not read another novel this year. Instead I will attempt to read the newspaper cover-to-cover everyday, something I love to do but haven’t come close to doing since last December. I also will keep the Best American Short Stories 2004 on my nightstand and dip into it when the mood hits me.

The few people at work who know about my reading goal have been asking me about the best I’ve read. So I have given it some thought and come up with the five books I have most enjoyed reading this year. Since I used the New York Times year-end “Notable Books” lists (and reviews) as my main reference in choosing my books (and since I’ll incapable of writing a succinct synopsis) I’ve also included the NYT blurb that first caught my attention. [The New York Times links require registration]

The Hills at Home, Nancy Clark. I keep expecting to hear more buzz about this book. I think it is just as well written as the more popular Corrections, and much funnier. Clark has promised that this is the first in a trilogy about the Hills. I look forward to reading the other two.

NYT: “Clark's funny, intelligent first novel reveals a special and particular kind of life, that of an extended old New England family in their 200-year-old clapboard homestead, where they survive miracles of inconvenience, eat tuna wiggle or fish sticks and express invincible opinions about everything.”

Atonement, Ian McEwan. This one did have a lot of buzz, since it was McEwan’s follow up to his Booker Award winning Amsterdam. Excellently written with a wicked twist at the end.

NYT: “The idyllic situation of an English family in 1935 disintegrates, starting with a crime; World War II is no help either in this novel by a writer who has the power to convey obsession and also to step outside and see how obsession looks to others.”

Crooked River Burning, Mark Winegardner. I lucked out picking this book as my first book this year. Had my first book been bad, I’m not sure I would have continued towards my goal. Winegardner matched history with fiction so perfectly that I kept wanting to Google the characters to see what they’re up to now.

NYT: “Winegardner weaves the love story through the fabric of a tumultuous era in which Cleveland, one of the birthplaces of rock 'n' roll, collides substantially in population, becomes the butt of many jokes and sees the Cuyahoga River catch fire more than once.”

The Risk Pool, Richard Russo. I didn’t need a NYT review to get me to read this. I love Russo’s books, especially Empire Falls and Nobody’s Fool. Russo’s debut, about a small-time hustler trying to raise his kid the best he can, goes right up there with the other two as my favorites. This year I also read Russo’s Straight Man, about office politics between college professors. It too was very good - maybe his funniest book - but it was not as good as the Risk Pool.

NYT: "Russo proves himself a master at evoking the sights, feelings, and smells of a town. . . . [The Risk Pool is] superbly original and maliciously funny."

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen. I avoided this one for a while, mainly because of the whole Oprah book club thing (Franzen’s snub of Oprah put an end to her first book club). I’m glad I read it. I love semi-comical “family dynamic” novels and this book is both very funny and very well written.

NYT: “Franzen is a writer with old-fashioned virtues: he loves witty wordplay; his command of detail in an enormous range of interests is unassailable; he has a painter's eye for depth and contrast; and he creates characters whose emotions reach us even when they are hidden from the people feeling them.”

Honorable Mentions:

Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Lethem

Straight Man, Richard Russo

John Henry Days, Colson Whitehead

Big If, Mark Costello

The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler

The Wife, Meg Wolitzer

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Anne Tyler

Reaching to the Converted

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I was one of the estimated 80,000 informed voters to hear the last great president and the next great president speak on the Parkway. Every Democratic politician from the Governor to the local dog catcher was up on that stage, and each of them had to say something. Even local-girl Patti LaBelle was there. About the only person not there was Kerry's mother. But what kind of grown man has their Mommy campaign for them?



Oh.

Well, it was a lot of fun. Standing up for 3 hours was tough on the legs, but it was a very cool pep-rally. I took some crowd shots. I'll try to link to them soon.

Everybody's in Showbiz

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What to make of book whose protagonist isn’t the most interesting character? That’s the situation in Andrew O’Hagan’s Personality, book number 52 in my seemingly impossible goal to read 52 novels in 2004. The novel is primarily about the stress of fame on Maria, a child singer, as she grows out of a quiet childhood on a small island in Scotland to a demanding adulthood in London.

From the first chapter, which documents a body washing up on a beach during WWII, you know that the book is going to be about more than just Maria. It delves into the history of Scotland and the treatment of its Italian immigrants during the war (they were assumed to be Nazi sympathizers), the loss of a child, distrust, hidden family secrets and a whole bunch of other stuff before it even gets to Maria’s story.

At times during the early chapters, there is a “get to the story” feeling, but once the story comes it ends up being one of the less interesting of the book. Maria’s story of going from one show to another, dropping her family from her life, and struggling with anorexia and depression never changes. It simply serves as a weak backbone for stronger secondary stories.

What saves the book, and makes it one of the better novels I’ve read this year, is O’Hagan’s writing. His write with detail without getting bogged down. He accomplishes this by changing perspective and style. Everyone seems to have a say in their own short chapter or two. Styles include traditional narrative, newspaper clippings, TV interviews, and letters. The result is a very enjoyable book about not so enjoyable subjects.

Next up for me is nothing. I have reached my goal of 52 novels this year. I still have another novel out from the library that I plan on starting soon, and the missus picked up the Best American Short Stories 2004 for me and I look forward to getting into that. But for the time being I am going to enjoy reading the whole newspaper for a while.

Peachy Kean Keen Win

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Week 7:

Rowan continued their dominance of the NJAC Conference last night, beating the Kean Cougars, 24-16 and improving their record to 4-0 in the conference, 5-2 overall. With only three games left, the Profs look like a lock to capture the conference title and an automatic entry into the playoffs.

Next week the Profs face the 4-2 SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles. The game will be played at Brockport's home field, Special Olympics Stadium. I'm not making that up. I'm a little worried that the outcome of the game will be that "everyone was a winner." I'm not sure how that would effect Rowan's official standings.

My high school alma mater, Holy Cross High, got back to their winning ways Saturday. The Lancers spent their Homecoming beating the Timber Creek Chargers 47-18. Next week the Lancers take their 6-1 record to Willingboro to face the 4-2 Chimeras. A chimera is a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. Hmm, the missus is from Willingboro.

I'm Joking! I kid 'cause I love. She's from Willingboro, but she's a Lancer like me. I'm going to stop now before I get in real trouble. Good thing my wife doesn't read my sports-related posts!

Photo Friday - 10.23.04

Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday.

Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the internet to post pictures can participate.

This week's challenge: Statement

Click on photo to enlarge.


I don't know what this statement is trying to say, but every once in a while I see one pressed into the asphalt in Philly. Here is a different, and closer, view.
7th & Market, Philadelphia, PA.

Waiting for October

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"Waiting for October, I cross my fingers, cross my heart, hope to die"
- Polaris, “Waiting for October” Music from the Adventures of Pete and Pete

Cardinals vs. Astros: Predicted Cards in 5 - Right! Cards in 7
Red Sox vs. Yankees: Predicted Red Sox in 6 - Right! Red Sox in 7

As Harry Caray would say, Holy Cow! It didn’t look good there for a bit but, in the end, both of my league series predictions were right. Add that to my divisional series record (3-1) and so far I am 5-1. Not too bad. Makes you want to see my World Series prediction doesn’t it. No? Oh. Well tough, here it is:

Red Sox vs. Cardinals: Since both teams have proven their offensive power equally, I think it’s all going to come down to pitching. Boston has more of it and they’ll be better rested. This assumes that Curt Schilling is able to go out for two more starts before his foot falls off. It also assumes that Pedro Martinez’s recent atypically poor pitching was caused by the Yankees getting into his head. The St. Louis starters have been playing beyond expectations all year, and without rest will not be able to keep it up against Boston.

Want to Win: Red Sox
Will Win: Red Sox in 6.

And speaking of added rest, if the World Series is going to be anything like the League Series I better get a nap today. It may be my last chance for decent sleep.

Fantastic Planet of Football - Week 6

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Week 6:
Sharks 89, Three And Out 59

Just when I thought my Fantasy Football team couldn't get any worse, the Sharks whipped them, 89-59. Thirty points is the largest margin of defeat for Three and Out this season, but there are still plenty more weekends for us to top it. The Shark's Daunte Culpepper was responsible for those thirty points and then some. The loss drops Three and Out to 2-4.

It's desperation time for Three and Out. Now that my Defense and kicker have been through their bye weeks, I dropped their backups and scanned the waiver wire. I would have liked to pick up a WR so I could replace either Isaac Bruce or Brandon Stokley, both of whom haven't done much for weeks. The WR on my bench, Darius Watts, has been doing even worse. But the only available WRs are all either physically questionable or named Keyshawn, and I won't pick him up. I'm not that desperate (not yet anyway).

I ended up picking up a third QB, Ben Roethlisberger, which will allow me to drop Michael Vick or Jake Plummer if a solid WR becomes available. I also got a second TE, Jermaine Wiggins, who has performed well lately. I'm happy with my current TE, Daniel Graham, but I grabbed Wiggins for insurance and/or trade bait.

I put Stokley back in after his bye week and benched Watts. I also decided to go with Vick over the Snake since Plummer is playing a better D this week. Other than that all I can do is cross my fingers and pray. This weekend's opponent, the Speed Merchants, are 5-1 and on a three game streak. Plus I work with their GM and it would be hell to lose to him.

Daddy Don't Live in that New York City No More

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Was there ever any doubt?

Now all we need is for the 'Stros to fall. I know Clemens is pitching but if the Cards can get to him early and often, they can win. I still think they will. Stay tuned...

Shakin' Shakin' Shakes

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This post is really just an excuse to link to a "bonus" photo on my photoblog, but is there a stupider sports debate out there than whether or not baseball players should shake hands at the conclusion of a championship series?

The Dodgers started this after they lost to the Cardinals, and now others are asking if it should continue. For it are Craig Biggio and Tony La Russa. Against it are Nolan Ryan and Bob Watson, MLB VP of On-Field Operations.

This is a rare win-win situation. MLB and the Players have a chance to improve their image for free. Nobody is forcing the players to do it. Hockey does it (when they're playing). Kids do it after all their sports, even the Little League games. Even Bush and Kerry did it after their debates. I don't buy Ryan's "the style of pitcher I was, I don't think I'd feel comfortable doing that" argument. If Tie Domi and Matthew Barnaby can offer a hand after each of their games, players in the "style" (read "jerk") of Ryan (I'm looking at you Rocket) can after a series.

Give me a break.

Sultan of Swat

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"It don't matter if I get a little tired, I'll sleep when I'm dead" - Warren Zevon, "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"

"Where's that %*^&#^$ snooze button?" - The Accidental Blogist, 6:00 AM

Oh, I've caught a bad case of Baseball Fever. Symptoms include lack of sleep, anxiousness, and sudden belief in the miraculous power of prayer. I'll save all the poetic waxing for those sportswriters who (whom?) get paid to do it. [I can't believe the Inky didn't go with Bill Lyon this morning. I know exactly how he would start his column: "Last night in the Empire City, Curtis Montague Schilling..." The man must have a database of players' middle names.]

You know it's a big game when the missus gets interested. Her question this morning: How much credit should Terry Francona get if the Sox make it to the World Series? He's definitely a more seasoned coach than when he was with the Phillies, but the Boston players seem like they could run the team themselves, like the Bad News Bears in Breaking Training.

I'm happy with Lowe vs. Brown, as long as Wakefield is ready to take over (with a catcher who can handle knuckleballs) and Arroyo is right there in case Wake's aim is off (don't give him too much rope, Tito). And since Clemens isn't in pinstripes any more, Brown's the pitcher I most would most like to see come out the goat. Clemen's chance to be the goat will come tomorrow.

I understand the Astros pitching Pete Munro and saving Clemens. But I wonder if they're really saving the Rocket for game 7, or already looking past the Cards and hoping to have a rested Clemens and Oswalt to pitch 1-2 against the beat-up winner of the ACLS. I think I would pitch Clemens tonight and Oswalt in game 7 if necessary. As Red Sox and Yankee fans already know, Clemens has never won more than one start in a playoff series. And if he did win, Houston would still have Oswald and Munro 1-2 in the Series. This all won't matter if the Cards come back like I still think they will.

Oh, I've got to go lie down, but first I'll say some prayers.

P.S. If you don't like it when politics and baseball mix, root against a Boston/Houston World Series. It would be played the week leading into election day.

N-Jac City

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Week 6:

In the battle for supremacy in the NJAC Conference (which I just found out this weekend is called "en-jack" by those in the know) Rowan squeaked by SUNY Cortland, 34-33. By beating the Red Dragons, Rowan moved to 3-0 in the conference, 4-2 overall. It was the Prof's Homecoming and their first game played on their new "Tackle Turf." I wasn't at the game but on the WGLS radio broadcast they kept commenting on the rain pooling on the field. I thought one of the things that made artificial turf so state-of-the-art these days was quick drainage. Rowan paid a lot for this stuff, so I hope for their sake the problem is cleared up soon.

Next week the Profs face another conference foe, the Kean Cougars up in Union, NJ. Union is holding a Un-mischief Night on October 30 for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. There will be free refreshments, prizes, and "much more." Kids who plan to attend are reminded that as they leave the gym they will be egged and t-p'ed by the cooler sixth, seventh and eight graders. Kean University has not had a winning record since 1994, when they were still Kean College, and are currently 2-5.

My high school alma mater, Holy Cross High, didn't fare as well as my Profs last weekend. On Friday night the Lancers were beaten 10-3 in a rain-drenched game at Camden Catholic. The Holy Cross loss gave the Irish the Burlco/Olympic National Division title. Going into the game the Inquirer ranked Holy Cross fifth and Camden Catholic sixth in its South Jersey poll. Something tells me they'll be ranked differently this week. Next Saturday the Lancers play their Homecoming game against the Timber Creek Chargers.

Teach Your Children Well

Even before the whole weird harassment case, who would buy their kid a children's book by this guy?

Back in the High Life Again

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What goes better after a post about chili than a post about beer?

Those of you who pay attention to my sidebar items may have noticed that “Drinking…” almost always contains Yuengling Traditional Lager. As much as I love to try different microbrews, I can’t afford to exclusively drink the stuff. Craft brews start at about ten bucks for a six-pack and go up from there.

So when I’m running low on beer I run out to Maple Shade BJ’s and pick up a case of Yuengling for about thirteen bucks. Then I’ll stop at the liquor store every once in a while to try a six of something that sounds interesting. I typically keep a six of Yuengling and a six of a microbrew in my fridge, with the rest of the Yuengling staying cool in my basement. The great thing is that I actually like the Yuengling a lot, so it’s not like I’m really sacrificing anything. The rest of the family does sacrifice a lot of fridge space letting me get away with this system.

But sometimes I am caught with no beer in the house and I don’t feel like making a trip all the way out to Maple Shade (Deptford BJ’s - much closer to our house - doesn’t sell liquor). On these rare occasions I get to pick up two sixes from the liquor store. Last week I picked up Flying Fish OktoberFish and Yuengling Premium Beer (not my usual Traditional Lager).

I wanted to get the OctoberFish because it was the first year Flying Fish was offering it in bottles, but only on a very limited run. I’m not really into Oktoberfest brews but I like Flying Fish’s other limited run brews, Farmhouse Summer Ale and Belgian Grand Cru Winter Ale, so I gave it a try. Unfortunately I found it to be very ordinary. I was really hoping for something special that would justify the hype that Flying Fish gave it. It’s a good beer, like all their beers, just nothing special. I still like their ESB Ale best.

I’ve wanted to try Yuengling Premium ever since I found out that it’s the little secret that Pennsylvania drinkers keep to themselves while the rest of us rubes drink that Traditional Lager swill. Apparently the Premium is has a much smaller distribution area than the Traditional Lager, but Oaklyn Liquors had it and I picked up a six. The Premium seems to be Yuengling’s answer to the big brewers everyday beer. But there’s a reason I don’t drink that stuff (other than the fact that I’m a pompous jerk): I don’t like it. Don’t try to copy Budwieser and Miller, try to best them. Until then, I’ll stick with my Traditional Lager.

So there you have it, two disappointing brews. Not bad, but nothing special. Keep in mind that I won’t go into color and texture and “mouthfeel.” I just know what I like. If you want more technical reviews, I suggest checking out RealBeer.com.

Bush's Plan for Increased Gas Production

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I have finally found something I like from Bush. As a big chili fan, I was a little skeptical when I first saw Homestyle Chili from Bush Brothers, the company best known for its baked beans and that talking dog Duke. I picked it up the Original Beef Chili with Beans because I could see how good it looked right through its glass jar and because of the nutritional numbers:

Per ½ cup: Calories 150, Total Fat 1g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 550mg, Total Carbohydrate 29g, Dietary Fiber 7g, Sugars 5g, Protein 7g.

Those are great numbers even if you eat a whole cup, like I knew I would. It’s low in sugars and not too bad in salt. Plus no saturated fats! Since I run, I welcome carbs. In fact, I laugh in the face of carbs. Ha!

Anyway, great stuff. I usually get Hormel’s Chili microwave cups, but Bush’s taste better. It’s spicier and thicker. It doesn't come in convenient microwave cups, but the numbers are much better than Hormels.

I also picked up a can of the new Chunky Sizzlin’ Steak Grilled Steak Chili with Beans. I haven’t had a chance to try this yet. The numbers aren’t as good as Bush’s (or Hormel), but they are much better than that horrible-for-you-whether-you-eat-it-with-a-fork-or-a-spoon Chunky soup.

Mama Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away

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In an attempt to improve my photoblog, Ipso Photo, I want to take and post more pictures. I don't want the Accidental Blogist to get bogged down with a lot of picture posts (other than Photo Friday) so I'm going with a "Daily Photo" link at the start of my posts. Hopefully I'll take enough good photos to make it worthwhile. I hope to abide by something Marc Brown, one of the creators of Photo Friday, has on his photoblog: "Only publish your very best work. Always publish your very best work."

Feel free to check out the photos or ... you know ... don't.

Fantastic Planet of Football - Week 5

Week 5:
Slackers 68, Three And Out 55

As expected, my Fantasy Football team didn't stand a chance last weekend. Three and Out was no match for the Slackers Tom Brady and Randy Moss, and fell to 2-3.

No trades for Three and Out this week, just some roster moves. Brian Westbrook and Terrell Owens come off their bye week and replace Lee Suggs and Darius Watts. Thanks for filling in guys; you did absolutely nothing to help me last week. I'll stick with Plummer over Vick another week, or until Vick starts putting up some fantasy points. And my two kickers, John Carney and Morten Andersen, face each other this week; I'm sticking with Mort. Baltimore is on a bye so I have to bench their D for Washington's this week (that's gonna hurt).

Things aren't going to get any easier for this weekend. The Sharks have Daunte Culpepper, Clinton Portis, and Jason Elam. I'm trying to feel optimistic but there's a reason why I named my team Three and Out.

Photo Friday - 10.15.04

Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday.

Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the internet to post pictures can participate.

This week's challenge: Unexpected

Click on photo to enlarge.


This was certainly unexpected on Market Street in the Old City restaurant district of Philadelphia, PA.

Don't Dream It's Over

I haven't been watching Dream Job, but I did remember to check in on Brian Startare on ESPN's website. I'm sorry to report that the fellow Rowan grad has been called into the coach's office. On Tuesday night's show the contestants were confronted with a "faulty" Teleprompter and were forced to wing it. From the deer-in-the-headlights picture above, I'm guessing Brian wasn't that quick on his feet. He did so bad that one of the judges thought the prompter went off before it actually did!

Oh well, Brian. At least you'll be home in time for homecoming. Go Profs!

Blame Canada

I'm not FactCheck or anything, but on the same day that Dubba says "we're increasing the border security of the United States" this happens. Are we safer now? I think not.

The Better Half

As I said in my post on Caramelo, even though I’m reading a boatload of novels this year I really enjoy short stories. I buy the Best American Short Stories as soon as it comes out and print out the short stories that the Atlantic and the New Yorker post to their websites. I love the fact that the length of the format forces the author to write more concisely. The very best of them leave you wanting more and, in the space of about twenty pages, make you think about the lives the characters lead after the story is over.

Meg Wolitzer’s short story work was one of the reasons that I picked her latest novel, The Wife, as book number 51 in my drive to read 52 novels this year. I’m glad I did. The Wife is a full-length novel written in the concise style of a short story. The novel deals with the sacrifices made by the wife of a famous (and womanizing) author. Although the novel takes place over the fifty years of their marriage, the book moved quickly and smoothly. It never felt bogged down and I never found myself checking how much more I had to go. That’s saying something when you’re on your fifty-first book of the year.

Wolitzer has written a book about authors and publishing over the decades without requiring a B.A. in Literature to appreciate the story. Even lighter literary novels like Lost in a Good Book suffer from obscure (at least to me) references. Rather than placing her characters in the middle of historic authors, Wolitzer creates an entirely fictional circle of writer friends for the author and his wife.

The Wife is a very believable, funny, and well written novel with a great surprise revelation at the end. I finished this book thinking about the characters lives after the story had ended, just like I do after reading a good short story.

Next up is novel number 52! Woo hoo! I have eleven weeks to finish Personality by Andrew O’Hagan. Just in case it doesn’t take that long (and it better not) I also picked up Audrey Niffenegger’s epic-sized The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Appropriating the Dozens

The other night I was reading my two-year-old son the Bill Cosby "Little Bill" book The Meanest Thing to Say, which is about the urban playground game "Dozens" where two guys go back and forth trading insults (how white do I sound trying to explain this?). You know - Your momma's so fat she has other mommas orbiting her. Stuff like that. About five years ago I bought the missus Snaps!, a book full of insults that's definitely not meant for the youngsters. Now (and all this was build up just so I had an excuse to steal from another website) just in time for tonight's debate, McSweeney's gives us Republican Dozens. You can check them all out here, but these are my favorites:

Your mother's SUV is so old, it takes four gallons to go around the mansion.

You're so unpatriotic, you once asked a question pertaining to the president.

Your house is so small, it has just a two-car garage.

Your mother's shoes are sensible—in the bad sense, like socialism.

Your fraternity is so ghetto it's located not in a student ghetto, but a real one, with ethnics and everything.

Liberal.

II Bad

Week 5:

You've got to give Rowan credit for scheduling not one but two games against Division II teams this season. It took a lot of guts. Not a lot of brains, but a lot of guts. If this was some kind of audition for moving up to DII, they didn't get the part. Last Saturday the Profs loss to Virginia State, 27-7. Earlier this season they lost their other DII game against Southern Connecticut State 51-27. This makes them 3-2 overall this season, but they still remain undefeated the DIII NJAC division.

Next week the Profs finally get to play on their new state-of-the-art turf. Their only home game so far this season was played at Glassboro High while the Rowan field was being prepared. It's Homecoming this weekend, and Rowan faces SUNY Cortland. Cortland, NY is the hometown of heavy metal guitar god Ronnie James Dio. (Go ahead and click on that Dio link, people are trying to get him elected.) The Red Devils are right on the Profs butt in the NJAC standings, so it should be a good game. The Accidental Blogist may actually be in attendance.

Meanwhile, my high school alma mater, Holy Cross High, won yet again, this time squeaking out a 13-9 win over Bishop Eustace (or as we use to call them Bishop Useless, ha ha ha. Oh, that Catholic Prep humor. Holy Cross was referred to as Holy Crotch, which is just immature and not the least bit funny). The Lancers are now 5-0.

Give the People What They Want

Before I get into my next round of playoff predictions, let's see how I did in the first round:

Twins vs. Yankees: Predicted Twins in 4 - Wrong! Yankees in 4
Angels vs. Red Sox: Predicted Red Sox in 4 - Right! Red Sox in 3
Cardinals vs. Dodgers: Predicted Cards in 3 - Right! Cards in 3
Braves vs. Astros: Predicted Astros in 5 - Right! Astros in 5

Three out of four ain't bad, and I nailed two of them perfectly.

Now on to the league championships:

Red Sox vs. Yankees: This is the matchup that everyone wanted to see, the "Real World Series" as the announcers would say. But if these guys spend a week beating each other up, figuratively and literally (see above picture), neither of them are going to get past the Cardinals in the Real Real World Series. As much as I hate the Yankees, I'd like to think that I am picking the Red Sox because they are the better team. But I didn't think the Yankees would get past the Twins and they did. Still, I think Boston has better pitching and hitting. About the only thing New York has going for it is coaching. Schilling vs. Moose could be a good matchup, but Pedro vs. Jon Leiber? And Kevin Brown can't pitch like he did against the Twins, can he?

Want to Win: Red Sox
Will Win: Red Sox in 6.

Cardinals vs. Astros: The Cardinals look unstoppable. The Astros are happy just to be here. That's all you need to know. I think God Himself could come down and pitch for the Astros and they still wouldn't stand a chance. And Roger Clemens is the furthest you can get from God.

Want to Win: Cardinals
Will Win: Cardinals in 5.

Hang the DJ

WXPN (88.5 FM) in Philadelphia just spent a week counting down the "885 All Time Greatest Songs". Listeners submitted their top ten lists, sending in over 10,000 different songs. I thought for sure the top spot would belong to either the Beatles or Bob Dylan, but Springsteen beat out everybody with “Thunder Road.”

Here is my top ten, alphabetically. In parenthesis is how they fared in the 'XPN poll:

The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” (44)
Big Star, “September Gurls” (334)
Jackson Browne, “Late For the Sky” (115)
The Clash, “Train In Vain” (157)
Al Green, “Let’s Stay Together” (112)
Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (53)
REM, “Radio Free Europe” (307)
The Replacements, “Can’t Hardly Wait” (703)
Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road” (1)
The Velvet Underground, “Rock And Roll” (388)

And here are my 10 honorable mentions, again alphabetically:

Joni Mitchell, “A Case of You” (15)
Van Morrison, “Moondance” (19)
The Pixies, “Here Comes Your Man” (709)
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, “Roadrunner” (644)
The Rolling Stones, “Satisfaction” (20)
Patti Smith, “Gloria” (211)
The Smiths, “How Soon is Now” (139)
Steely Dan, “My Old School” (251)
Richard and Linda Thompson, “Wall of Death” (626)
Neil Young, “Comes A Time” (557)

These lists are very subject to change, depending on how I feel on any given day. Especially since somehow I’ve left out not only the Beatles and Dylan, but also Wilco (and Uncle Tupelo), Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welsh, Warren Zevon, World Party, Matthew Sweet and the Kinks. How'd that happen?

Update (10/12/04): I forgot to mention that I didn't actually submit a top ten list to XPN myself. It was too daunting a task. I tried; starting by making a list of the artists that I felt should be represented. My final list had over 60 artists on it. That's when I gave up on trying to pick just 10 songs. The top 10 (and next 20) listed above were culled from XPN's final list of 885 songs.

Here are the artists that were on my original list: Bob Dylan, Big Star, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Joe Jackson, John Hiatt, John Prine, John Wesley Harding, Johnny Cash, Los Lobos, Lucinda Williams, Van Morrison, Violent Femmes, Wilco, World Party, Warren Zevon, Steve Miller Band, Graham Parker, Gram Parsons, Tom Petty, Liz Phair, Al Green, The Police, Polaris, Iggy Pop, Prefab Sprout, The Pretenders, REM, Michelle Shocked, Nirvana, Patti Smith, The Smiths, Squeeze, Matthew Sweet, U2, Uncle Tupelo, Jonathan Richman, Gillian Welsh, Steve Winwood, XTC, X, Joan Armatrading, The Clash, 10,000 Maniacs, Big Audio Dynamite, The Blasters, Blue Rodeo, The Breeders, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Cracker, Marshall Crenshaw, Beach Boys, The Cure, Luscious Jackson, Dire Straits, The Grateful Dead, The Pixies, The J. Giels Band, k.d. lang, The Lemonheads, Living Colour, Marah, Neil Young, Nick Lowe, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Replacements, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, They Might Be Giants, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Richard Thompson, Steve Earle, Talking Heads, Morphine, G. Love... that's as far as I got before I gave up!

Update 2 (10/12/04): More artists that deserve a look: Frank Sinatra, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Chuck Berry, Roxy Music, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly, The Flaming Lips, The Beastie Boys, Billy Bragg, Cowboy Junkies, Iris Dement, Alison Krauss, The Jayhawks, Kirsty Mac Coll, The Pogues, Lone Justice, Son Volt, Ray Charles, Paul Westerberg, The Band, Beck, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Carol King, John Lennon, Lyle Lovett, Taj Mahal, Beth Orton, Lou Reed, Todd Rundgren, James Taylor, Suzanne Vega, The Waterboys, The Who, Peter Wolf, Yes, The Cars, Patsy Cline, Bruce Cockburn, Bo Diddley, Everything But the Girl, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, The Byrds, Pink Floyd, Ben Vaughn, and Tom Waits.

Did I forget anyone?

Fantastic Planet of Football - Week 4

Week 4:
Three and Out 57, The Lucky Bastards 34

My Fantasy Football team has finally hit the .500 mark. Three and Out caught the luckless (and winless) Lucky Bastards on an especially bad week, improving my record to 2-2.

Since my starting TE, Daniel Graham, has already been through his bye week I've decided to take a risk and trade my backup TE Randy McMichael for RB Lee Suggs, who I had dropped before week 2. I'm still carrying Willis McGahee on my bench just in case he starts getting some playing time. The Eagles are in a bye week this weekend so I'll put Suggs in for Brian Westbrook and Darius Watts in for Terrell Owens. I'm also benching John Carney for Morten Andersen since Andersen will be kicking in a dome.

My next opponent, Slackers, had to bench Donovan McNabb and Rudi Johnson because of byes this weekend. Alas, he has replaced them with Tom Brady and the suddenly hot Emmitt Smith (who is playing against the awful Niners this week). Plus he already had Randy Moss and Stephen Davis. Not good for ol' Three and Out.

For You

I have 6 google gmail invitations to give out. If you are interested, just leave a comment with your email address.

Photo Friday - 10.08.04

Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday.

Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the internet to post pictures can participate.

This week's challenge: "2 by 4"

There are offical rules but basically you go outside and walk 2 blocks north, turn east, walk 4 blocks. Stop. Take pictures of whatever you find there. Wherever you are, so long as you are safe, your mission is to creatively interpret your surroundings. Bring back and post photographic evidence to your website that you were actually there. Make the absolute best of whatever you find, no matter the subject or how mundane it might seem.

I chose 5th & Market on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, PA as my starting point. 2 blocks north and 4 blocks east put me at the dead-end corner of Arch & Front.

Click on photo to see entire "2 by 4" set.

It's Hard To Be a Saint in the City

Nick McDonell was just seventeen when he wrote Twelve. That, along with some very good reviews, was the reason I chose it as book number 50 in my effort to read 52 novels this year. And I can tell you that this kid will one day probably write an excellent novel. But Twelve isn’t that novel. While the writing is outstanding the story reads like a bad Hollywood blockbuster, right down to the not-so-surprising surprise ending. McDonell hints at genius in his writing style, which avoids wordy descriptions and therefore moves along quickly. And it’s a good thing that the novel is quick moving and short (using the same wide margins loved by every seventeen year old student) because the characters and plot certainly don’t move the story along.

McDonell’s best-defined character, White Mike, is a NYC rich kid who takes a year off after high school to decide what he wants to do. What he ends up doing is selling (but never using) drugs to other NYC rich kids. Each encounter with these kids is documented in its own short chapter. The book takes place on the five days leading up to a New Year’s Eve party that all the characters have a part in. Much of the book deals with the way rich urban kids end up bored and neglected while their parents are out making more money or off spending it in the Caribbean or Europe. It would have been hard enough to care about these spoiled kids even if McDonell had bothered to develop the characters. And while the conclusion comes quickly, it – and a slapped-on postscript - is so ridiculous that I’m still not sure if it wasn't meant to be satire.

As one of the sixteen year old girls in the book says, Whatev.

Now on to the Wife by Meg Wolitzer.

Glory Days

Man, I love post-season baseball. Come October, first thing you got to do is explain to the wife and kids that nothing but baseball is on TV until the last pitch of the World Series is thrown. Did that. Second thing is to make wildly uneducated predictions about teams that you have only marginally followed during the season. I know I’m a day late on this, but nothing happened in yesterday’s games to change my opinions.

Twins vs. Yankees: As happy as I was with the Twins beating the evil Yankees in game one, it wasn’t a complete surprise. Who didn’t expect Johan Santana to pitch like he did last night? The guy's been unstoppable since the All-Star break. I don’t think the Yankee’s pitching is strong enough to even get through a best-of-five series. Lieber? Brown? I’ll give the Yankees one win since I still can’t believe former Phillie Carlos Silva had 14 wins with Minnesota this year.

Want to Win: Twins
Will Win: Twins in 4.

Angels vs. Red Sox: No surprise that Shilling won. As shaky as Pedro Martinez has been lately, tonight he goes against Bartolo Colon, who's been Mr. Erratic this year. Boston will come out of Anaheim with 2 wins and demoralize the Angels. The Red Sox being the Red Sox, you have to figure that they'll give up at least one game just to make it interesting.

Want to Win: Red Sox
Will Win: Red Sox in 4.

Cardinals vs. Dodgers: The Dodgers had to struggle to make the playoffs while the Cards cakewalked in. With L.A. going with Weaver and Lima, look for last night’s result to be repeated two more times. St. Louis’ bats are just too hot.

Want to Win: Cardinals
Will Win: Cardinals in 3.

Braves vs. Astros: Who to root for here? The Braves, who always win, as the missus grumbles (her hatred of the Braves is one of her few baseball passions) or the Astros, with two of the biggest jerks in baseball, Roger Clemens and Jeff Kent? Tough call. Also a tough call on who I think will win. Atlanta’s pitching staff is suspect, but Leo Mazzone has made them look like the old Maddox-Smoltz-Glavine-Millwood squad. Their game one starter is Jaret Wright. Jaret Wright! What is going on? Have there ever been more formerly washed up pitchers in one post-season before? Houston has Clemens & Oswalt and a whole lot of offense.

Want to Win: Braves (that tells you just how much I hate Roger Clemens)
Will Win: Astros in 5.

Growin' Up

My kids showing off their newest t-shirts. We got them here.

Meeting Across the River

The missus and I were among the 18,000 attending the R.E.M./Springsteen Vote for Change concert last Friday (although we had better seats than about 17,500 of them). While I am already firmly for the "progressive" movement that MoveOn promotes, I felt it was important for me to be there to show my support for the cause. Aw, who am I kidding, I was there for the music. As much as I love what MoveOn’s been doing, I don’t wouldn’t have gone if it had been Pearl Jam/Death Cab for Cutie playing (luckily they were out in Reading).

I have been a Bruce fan for thirty of my thirty-six years. I marvel at the fact that, at the time of our wedding, my wife had lived in Jersey all her life and didn’t like the Boss. I thought there was a state law against that. Come to think of it, I’m amazed that I knew that she didn’t like Springsteen and I still married her. 30 years of following Bruce, hanging on his every lyric, never driving downashore without his music, and yet I had never seen him live.

With R.E.M. on the bill, my wife was just fine seeing Bruce. To her credit, she has warmed up somewhat to Bruce recently, first with "Streets of Philadelphia," then that awful Jerry Maguire "Secret Garden" remix. She bought the Rising for me and ended up listening to it more than I did. But forget trying to get her to like "Rosalita," let alone Nebraska. I think she feared the Bruuuuuuce groupies like I fear Deadheads. And Phishheads. And Parrotheads. And Cheeseheads. So I give her credit, she was a trooper. It’s staggering what she will endure to see R.E.M. yet again. I, on the other hand, have been cool to R.E.M.’s live shows lately. I thought that their tours supporting Reveal and In Time lacked excitement. To me it seems like the boys’ hearts aren't in it anymore. Even a sub-par R.E.M. concert beats most bands on their best night, but I was there to see Bruce.

So, Friday night, I put on my John Kerry shirt and we cross the river and get to the Center relatively quick considering there’s a Phillies game going on. As we’re pulling into the parking lot we see some Bush/Cheney signs and, unbelievably, Springsteen protesters. These jokers are spending their Friday night telling us that they are upset that Bruce expresses his opinion in concert. If the guy holding the "30-Year Boss Fan for Bush" sign was really surprised to find out that Springsteen was against trickle-down economics than he must be buying Springsteen CD’s just to hear Patty Scialfa’s tambourine playing, because he certainly wasn’t listening to the lyrics.

We go our seats, which are thisclose to the stage. Don’t ask how we got them, we just did. Springsteen and Michael Stipe come out. After Bruce lays down the rules (No Bruuuuucing - You Bruuuuuce, You Die) they say a little about MoveOn, let the crowd know that the night is more about rocking than preaching, and introduce the pride of Nebraska, Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst was actually pretty good. Very confident for a young guy playing in front of a crowd not use to having to wait for their Bruce. A real throwback protest singer. But dude, you don't have to scream everything. And get a haircut, how can you see with all that hair in your eyes? Jeez, kids today.

After Bright Eyes, Bruce came back out to introduce R.E.M. They put on the same kind of show they did at Temple last year. Their insistence on stopping after every song kills any chance at creating momentum. I'm also afraid that they will insist on playing "Bad Day" and "Animal" on every tour from now on. These songs will never be more than warmed-over outtakes. Bright spots included opening with "The One I Love", the rarely heard "Begin the Begin" and "World Leader Pretend," and Bruce coming out to join the band for a "Man on the Moon" finale. Rather than watch Michael Stipe, who has got to drop the bizarre "We are R.E.M. and this is what we do" line, I concentrated on Peter Buck and Mike Mills. They are really the stars of the recent R.E.M. albums and it was very cool to watch them at work. It may seem that I don't like R.E.M. anymore, but it's just that I hold them to a pretty high standard.

Finally Springsteen came out with a twelve-string in his hands and an electric guitar strapped to his back. He went into a grinding solo of "the Star-Spangled Banner." From there he went right into "Born in the USA," reclaiming it back from those who wrongly have used it as a conservative rallying cry. From there it just never stopped. Highlights included three of my favorites - "Lost in the Flood," "Badlands," and "Johnny 99." John Fogerty came out midway to play "Centerfield", "Fortunate Son" (perfect for the theme of the night), Bruce's "The Promised Land," and "Deja Vu" - Fogerty's new political single. Fogerty looked like he was having a ball. Of course, John hasn't played in front of 18,000 in quite a while. Stipe came back out for a great duet of "Because the Night" (Michael Stipe has said he grew up listening to Patti Smith, so I'm sure he knew the words by heart.) and Mills and Buck joined the E Street Band to create a wall of guitars for "Born to Run." Springsteen and Fogerty did a killer "Proud Mary" and everyone (including Bright Eyes) came out for a rollicking "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" and "People Have the Power."

Bruce and the band were everything I had expected. Bruce is just non-stop showman, which is not news, but he is also completely unselfish with the spotlight. When John Fogerty and Michael Stipe came out Bruce stepped back and let them shine. That was cool. As for Bruce's "lecture," it was a 3-minute "P.S.A." that was completely in line with what he has been singing about for years. If you want to hear what he said, it's available here. As I expected, he ended up saying more with his songs than his words. Just an incredible night. My wife didn't come out more of a Springsteen fan, but she definitely understood the fanaticism of Springsteen fans better. And her wonderful husband bought her a cool new t-shirt. I came out an even bigger Springsteen fan.

Brilliant Disguise

Week 4:

Wearing their new "almost all yellow" uniforms, Rowan beat the College of New Jersey Lions 35-20 Friday night. After trailing 20-14 at the half, the Profs came back in the second half and scored 21 unanswered points to better their record to 3-1. The win gave Rowan a perfect 2-0 record in their division.

According to d3football.com, TCNJ also wore new uniforms, featuring "Princeton-like style stripes to their blue jersey in celebration of the college’s sesquicentennial." So let me get this straight, first TCNJ steals Princeton's old name, then they steal their look? As I see it, they deserved to lose just for that.

Next Saturday (October 9) at 1:30 the Profs play at Division II Virginia State. This is the second of the two Division II games that Rowan will play this year. Let's hope this one comes out better than last time. The Trojans (huh...huh...huh...trojans) enter the game 4-2. Virginia State is a "historically black" school with a large Agricultural program. The school recommends that those Agriculture majors with a concentration in Aquatic Science wait until their senior year to take "Fish Pond Management." Yeah, wouldn't want to rush into that one.

Meanwhile, my high school alma mater, Holy Cross High, once again was victorious, this time steamrolling Haddon Township's Paul VI 49-20 Saturday. The Lancers are now 4-0 and have outscored their opponents 167-61.

Photo Friday - 10.01.04

Each week Photo Friday posts a photo assignment. Your mission is the creative interpretation of the week's theme. When you're done, post the picture you took to your website and submit your link to Photo Friday.

Photo Friday is about challenging our participants to be original and creative within the constraints of the week's theme. It's not a competition. Anyone with a camera and a place on the internet to post pictures can participate.

This week's challenge: Speed

Click on photo to enlarge.


Rather than go with a blurry picture of one of my kids moving too fast for the camera, I decided to go with slow as my speed. This sign is above the entrance to the PATCO Hi-Speed Line at 12th & Locust, Philadelphia, PA.