SEPTA Joy: Day One of the Strike

It's Day One of SEPTA Strike 2005 and I took SEPTA's R5 into Center City today. Not too bad other than a little slow. And packed. I snapped this picture of the smart cookies who were standing in line at the new ticket windows in Suburban Station.

The Onion responds to White House threats

The White House sent a cease-and-desist order to The Onion, ordering the magazine to stop using the presidential and White House seals in their publications. This is The Onion's response. Gawddam it's funny. (NSFW)

Ralph's is coming to Center City on Nov. 1

The rumor is true, Ralph's of South Philly is coming to Center City. I had heard the rumor from Miss LiquidTreats and as we were headed there to have lunch today a guy handed us a flier. Dang, Ralph's wasn't going to open until Tuesday, November 1. But it's going to open. Here's what the Grand Opening announcement says:

Ralph's of South Philly
110S. 16th Street (16th near Sansom)
Tel: 215 564 8250
Fax: 215 564 8251

Hours
M-F: 10:30 am to 6:00 pm
Sat: 10:30 am to 4:00 pm

Wahoo! If it's like the other Ralph's, bring an empty stomach. And cash. The other one doesn't take credit cards. Here's what others say about the original.

Meetup: 10/29 @ 3:00 pm Nodding Head

Via Scott, Der Events Blogizar at PhillyFuture, comes this invitation for tomorrow's Philly Blogger Meetup.

Come join fellow Philly bloggers (or local influencers) to eat, drink, and be merry at the Nodding Head. Post about this on your blog, and let's make this the biggest meetup ever!

Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 3:00 PM

Nodding Head
1516 Sansom 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-569-9525

Project H.O.M.E. last night

I attended Project H.O.M.E.'s Young Friends Event last night. It was wonderfully done, and the cause is one that everyone should pay attention to after the lesson Hurricane Katrina taught us about hidden poverty in this country. Project H.O.M.E. is helping with that.

Writeups and photos about the event from our PhillyFuture friends at:

The Young Friends Came Out in Droves. A writeup about the entire event with links by Howard at PhillyFuture.

Project HOME. A summary of the event on Philly.

Project HOME. Dragonballyee's Flickr set of the event.

Last Call for the Young Friends Event. Howard's pre-event writeup and call to action.

Harriet, we hardly new ye. Harriet Miers removes her name from Supreme Court consideration.

Harriet Miers has been removed as a candidate for the Supreme Court and is now consigned to a punchline on David Letterman. She might also be in Wikipedia soon as a definition for crony.

If Fox News Had Been Around Throughout History

Here's a very clever and all-too-true set of Photoshopped images titled If Fox News Had Been Around Throughout History. Nicely done at CMGWeb.

What's the over-under on Dick Cheney getting indicted?

(via Zen Comix)


Vice President Dick Cheney was beyond involved in leaking Valerie Plame's name. I wonder what the odds are that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will indict Cheney for the VP's role in revealing a CIA agent's identity.

Doing the Climate Mash

Here's a good mashup called Climate Mash. While just in time for Halloween, it's scarier than a President George Bush mask.

New Secrets Sunday on PostSecret

Ever read PostSecret? I might have to send them a postcard saying I secretly enjoy reading PostSecret.

Friday Cat Blogging: Milo Goes Fleece

It's cold, rainy day in Philadelphia today. Milo Cat decided that under a fleece jacket is a good place to curl up for a nap. I like that idea too.

Republican Nirvana

Via Zen Comix.

Tom DeLay smiles like a schoolboy for his mugshot

Look at Tom DeLay (R-TX) smiling like he's the cat who caught the canary. Tiny little item: THIS IS HIS MUGSHOT. DeLay, like his friends George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby know no shame. Here's DeLay's arrest warrant, which cites Criminal Conspiracy and Money Laundering in Excess of $100,000. Wahoo! Keep smiling when you're in a jail cell, Tommy Boy.

(Photo via The Smoking Gun)

A Way to While Away the Hours: The Envy Game

My buddy Rick sent this one from Fortune Magazine titled Do You Envy Them? Or Not! I said "yes" to Jon Stewart envy.

How much would you pay to see Tom DeLay getting fingerprinted

An arrest warrant was issued for Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). He has to report to jail and be fingerprinted before being released on $10,000 bond. This USA Today article has the details.

Philly's Picture of the Lichtenstein in Philly

Albert, the proprietor of Philly, is an excellent photographer. Check out his picture of the Roy Lichtenstein sculpture on 17th Street in Philadelphia. Stunning. And look at more of his pix at Dragonballyee.

John Stossel Makes a Good Point about Gun Control

John Stossel, investigative journalist on 20/20, makes some interesting points about gun control on RealClearPolitics in a piece called Myths About Gun Control. It's worth a read. One passage that caught me up short and make me pause to think for a second:

I wanted to know why the laws weren't working, so I asked the experts. "I'm not going in the store to buy no gun," said one maximum-security inmate in New Jersey. "So, I could care less if they had a background check or not."

"There's guns everywhere," said another inmate. "If you got money, you can get a gun."

Talking to prisoners about guns emphasizes a few key lessons. First, criminals don't obey the law. (That's why we call them "criminals.") Second, no law can repeal the law of supply and demand. If there's money to be made selling something, someone will sell it.

One of the best Italian meals ever

I just got back from dinner at Da Antonio Ristorante in New York City. Wow. Try it when you're in town. Don't miss it if you're in the Upper 50s on the East Side.

Da Antonio Ristorante
157 E 55th St, New York 10022
Btwn Lexington & 3rd Ave

Phone: 212-588-1545
Fax: 212-588-1547

Lazy Blogger Friday

Once again it's Lazy Blogger Friday, so here it goes:

Wanker.

Hanker.

Canker.

New Orleans: White Trash Survival Kit

White Trash Survival Kit
Mustard.............................................check
Cheetos.............................................check
Toilet Paper........................................check
Bud Light...........................................check
Keystone Ice........................................check
Budweiser...........................................check
Red Dog.............................................check
Misc. other cans of alcohol.........................check
Sheet of plywood or door to float your old lady (and booze) on..........check.

(via BH International News)

George Bush: Freefallin'

I always loved this one. George Bush fallin', fallin', fallin'. His approval rating is freefallin' too.

Via Metafilter.

iFlipFlop:iPod. Coincidence?

Apple announced a new iPod that not only holds a ton of songs, but also 150 hours of video. They are just too cool. And pretty soon none of us will have to talk with each other anymore. We'll just be fully mediated. (Or is that medicated?)

Heading to NYC on a train this morning

What ever happened with that subway bombing threat? Hmmm...was that just another diversionary "threat"?

Anyway, I'm taking Amtrak from Philadelphia to New York City. And it would be just my luck that the bad guys pick today. Just in case anything untoward happens, someone check my backpack - the winning $240 million Powerball ticket for this Wednesday is in there.

More avian flu predictions

Aaaaaaahhhh-choooooooo!

George Bush to Harriet Miers: Love is Blind

I'm sorry, but "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly's to the bone" just popped into my head when I saw this one in the WaPo article title GOP Battles Litany of Troubles. And I especially liked Harriet's biography and accompanying photo in Crony Jobs - Choice government jobs for the taking. No experience necessary!

Lay Lady Lay definitely didn't pop into mind. Not that the qualification for being on the Supreme Court is movie star potential.

Avian Flu Pandemic: Want to Be Really Scared?

Here's what you need to know about the potential Avian Flu Pandemic. Only 62 people so far have died from H5N1, and it's not a kind that goes easily from person to person. But...its mortality rate is 50%. And the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1917-1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide, had a mortality rate of 2-5%. It might never happen, but forewarned is forearmed. I don't think duct tape and plastic wrap will do it if it breaks loose.

Message to George Bush, Tom DeLay and Bill Frist: PAY UP SUCKER

I need these Jesse James "Pay Up Sucker" gloves. So many possibilities:

George Bush, you've sent over 2,000 American soldiers to their deaths in Iraq. PAY UP SUCKER.

Tom DeLay, you've built a political career by gerrymandering and pandering. Now you're bagged. PAY UP SUCKER.

Bill Frist, you sold your shares in HCA the day before a huge drop. Your family controls the company. And supposedly the money was held in a "blind trust." How did you know it got sold then? PAY UP SUCKER.

PhillyCrime.org

Interesting on PhillyFuture today called PhillyCrime.org. It's a searchable database of crime in West Philly. They say they're planning to expand it to include the entire city. Forewarned is forearmed.

Blogging in the Big Blind

Matt over at The Tattered Coat turned me on to this poker tournament for bloggers. As Matt says, I am all in. Coolness.

The Missing

Sorry, I'm off to NYC and forgot about Missing Monday yesterday. Please look here and here if you have a minute. Please.

Harriet Miers: SCROTUM (I mean, SCOTUS) nominee

Okay, there's some damn funny stuff out there today about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. And it's not her glamor shots (although we'd pay good money for those at iFlipFlop).

The Tattered Coat has proof that Ms. Miers looks a whole lot like a certain Ozzy Ozborne. Or Iggy Pop.

And The Reality Base led us to the Harriet Miers Blog.

Hey Jack Kerouac

It's Lazy Blogger Monday, so I draw your attention to this post about Jack Kerouac, where you can learn that military called him "schizo." There's lots more fun, too. Now Hey Jack Kerouac is going to be my earworm today.

Justice DeLay'd is Justice Denied

More from our friend Dugan at Zen Comix. Tom DeLay as St. Thomas A-Whiny-Ass. Albert has the Flash Card details of What-Wrong-With-Tom. It's well worth a read.

Eagles 37, Chiefs 31

This is getting to be fun. The Eagles are 3-1 on the season. Big things are happening in Philly. Photo credit of L.J. Smith from NFL.com.