reasoning:love these screenprinted city neighborhood posters – they come in pretty colors and other sites including Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Great Lakes, Los Angeles, Manhattan, NYC, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto (soon to come!), and adorably, The Heart. most posters are $22 and will ship via USPS in 1-3 business days.
Categories: DC · love · philadelphia · style · urban life
Glamour/ PO Box 37690/ Boone, IA 50037-2690
Philadelphia Inquirer article written by Jeff Shields – A true melting pot helped spared libraries
ah, an inspiring story for the new year. b/c that’s what new year’s is all about right – starting over, people getting together, hope that this year will be better. this is about a story where mayor nutter, fairly beloved in the city of philadelphia, announced plans to close 11 branch libraries, and how a very diverse group of people came together in a
matter of months to organize and demonstrate against such a move. and they were able to win a court-stall of the mayor’s plans. groups of African American block captains, along with white anarchists from West Philly – two groups that normally wouldn’t be seen working together, now mobilizing their communities, getting lawyers and citygroups and everyday people involved to save these libraries. (pictures from a rally to save the libraries held on december 6, and youtube video that the Eagles football team paying their debt back to the city would be enough to save the libraries)
this article talks about how the usual ‘professional’ protesters, those who are anti-establishment, and anti-everything were involved, almost in a ‘of course’ manner. but the strength of this coalition was that other people who may not have been associated with the young anarchists got just as deeply involved. a previously unpolitical 3rd and 4th grade teacher, whose school does not have a library, became a volunteer in the Obama campaign doing all the grassroots heavyduty work of knocking doors and making phone calls. that she felt inspired she was a part of the change got her to become involved in this coalition – a political activist is born. (more…)
Categories: activism · class · gender · philadelphia · race
Hartford Life Insurance Companies/ 6820 Wedgwood Rd N/ Maple Grove, MN 55311-9910
Philadelphia News: Winds Prevent Washington from crossing Delaware
in both of their holiday messages, President Bush and President Obama recalled back 200 something years ago when the patriots were losing the war, and General Washington led his troops across the Delaware River on Christmas night, surprised the Hessians and turned the war back into our favor. without that act, America may not even exist today, Obama said “they faced impossible odds” and Bush said “Washington’s legacy lives on our troops serving in Iraq, etc”. throw in some more about fighting for freedom, protecting American ideals, an
act of courage – during this political/economic/military climate, washington crossing the delaware seems to be one of the most patriotic things you can do for your country. even before it was a country.
i live in washington crossing, pa. the decision to cross the delaware at night and surprise the hessians was so pivotal and important, it has a ‘town’ named after it. there’s debate about whether it’s ‘washington crossing’, or ‘washington’s crossing’ – it takes up more ink when filling out paperwork. but every christmas around noon, revolutionary war reenactors gather in period garb, along with wooden rowboats. general washington does a grand speech, there are drums and horns, and his men step into the boat and they row the 50 feet across the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. EXCEPT many years they do not make it across, due to snow, windy wind conditions, bitter cold, ice in the water – a number of reasons. and while it’s usually meant in good spirits, hecklers from the crowd will yell “did george washington not cross b/c it was too cold?!?”, “not crossing the river is not what won the revolutionary war!”, “without crossing, america wouldn’t exist!”. haha, it’s the only source of drama this town gets. last year, they barely crossed. the year before that they tried to cross, but got caught in a wind current and the river patrol had to catch their boats. and this year, even with bush and obama drawing attention to the event, they did not cross but walked over the bridge, instead. at least they tried. it could be argued that’s pretty american, in itself. or not american at all.
Categories: migration · philadelphia
American Express/ PO Box 31511/ Salt Lake City, UT 84131-9934
Postcard for Tattooed Mom’s in Philadelphia
went up to Philadelphia this weekend for another Smithie-reunion. this was with a different group from my usual, but one of my favorites. i stayed with GS in her beautiful colonial house in the suburbs, just 20
min. outside the city. her mother said i could stay with them, if i ever moved back into the city. i had a particularly difficult week in DC, and was so tempted to give up and move into their cozy home. as soon as the bus landed in philadelphia, it felt friendlier. i know that i can’t expect to have DC to be home right away, but i guess i was hoping for an easier transition into this new city, and new life.
anyways, a rundown of the weekend with RB, GS, and AHH ” smithies-in-philly-style”:
this was just what i needed to rejuvenate my spirit and make me trust in humanity again. seriously. while it is tempting to just pack up and move into philadelphia already, the city gave me a good enough break to give this city of DC an honest chance. i’m going to help paint a community mural, sign up for capoeira classes, and start riding a bike around. i’m going to learn to like this place! at least for the remainder of my lease. and then maybe move back to philadelphia.
Categories: love · philadelphia · smithies
Service Center/ PO Box 15114/ Wilmington, DE 19885-5114
MSNBC article “Reports detail Philly teen’s horrific death”
the story of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly has shocked Philadelphia, and brought down one of its most important, but also troubled institutions, the Department of Human Services. Danieal was found dead in a ‘fetid, airless’ room severely malnourished and covered in bedsores so deep and old that they started to attract maggots. cerebral palsy limited her actions, and she was dependent upon several caretakers: her parents, and DHS.
however, it was a combination of ambivalence, embarassment, bureaucracy and apathy that killed her. (more…)
Categories: philadelphia · politics
Discover Card/ PO Box 15162/ Wilmington, DE 19885-9508
Philadelphia Inquirer “Two charged with looting Bucks FOP” article by Kristin E. Holmes
another case for why people do not trust labor unions in America. while most work hard to properly represent workers from all sorts of trades, blue-collar, or service sector, even college professors and graduate students, getting them the proper benefits, contracts, and pay wages, it is the stories of stealing, deceit and trickery that get headlines. the union men and women that i’ve met in my very brief 1-2 year experience in the labor movement are the hardest working, family-oriented, salt-of-
the-earth, good-natured American gritty, honest and kind people around.
it is unfortunate that the American labor movement has become entangled with politics, bureaucracy and corruption in recent years. given its long and, at times, questionable history (mob? communists?) in the country, perhaps it’s almost understandable or logical that people are generally skeptical of how much unions actually do accomplish to benefit the American worker.
but it’s stories like this that set the whole movement back a couple of steps and add to the negativity that unions are corrupt and ineffective. to steal more than $93,000 from the members and the fund that you were trusted to protect and take care of, for your own personal finances is wrong, despicable and immoral. i don’t like to mix morals with politics and public life, but there are definitely things that almost everyone, living in this society, can agree to be wrong. the fact that union cops took money out of the account used for charitable causes, including a fund for their fellow, slain officers just adds injury to insult. stuff like this is why people generally do not trust the po-pos, the two caught and charged with stealing, they are hurting the cause of what they are supposed to stand for – they should be reputable and trustworthy as union leaders and police officers.
Categories: american · employment · money · philadelphia · politics
T.Rowe Price Investment Services/ PO Box 17630/ Baltimore, MD 21298-9313
Philadelphia Inquirer article “Philly’s Light Fantastic” by Architecture Critic Inga Saffron
to the man of Rittenhouse Square (one of my favorite places in the city b/c it attracts all sorts of people: business, blue collar, hipster, canvassers, homeless, old & married, young & with kids) David Rittenhouse was an astronomer, clock maker, and land surveyor. he was also the first director of the US Mint. he built one of the first telescopes in the US, and traced the path of Venus across the sun. Ray King is a Philadelphia-based installation artist whose primary medium is light, and manipulates it into a sort-of holographic image. he was buying material from a supplier one day and learned that David Rittenhouse was also interested in light diffraction into a color spectrum. while King created work on university buildings and airports, this one is right in Philadelphia, on the side of his studio building, facing south as a gateway introduction to the neighborhood and in tribute to the man. I love the name of the installation – that both men are in conversation with each other, exploring their curiosity of light, one for art, the other for science. but with the telescope, and this installation of Hello David, who’s to say they are not one in the same, highly interchangeable, or at least complementary projects. i have not yet seen it in person, but from this video and the images on King’s page, it looks breathtaking, like a lightshower or mirrors inside a telescope magnified by X100000.
Categories: american · art · philadelphia · urban life
TIME/ PO Box 61120/Tampa, FL 33661-1120
Cafe Spice business card/35 S. 2nd St/ Philadelphia, PA 19106/ (215)627-6273
on my night in the city with my Smith girls, SL, elizadoessmith, and theonlylivinggirl, due to some traveling difficulties, finally managed to get dinner at 10PM. we were in Old City, i found this sweet Omni hotel, right by Independence Hall and Liberty Bell. too starved to travel, we ventured outside to find all the young beautiful people out, walking the street in nicely ironed collared button-downs, or 3-inch heels. we couldn’t decide where to eat – it was a combination of being desperate to just have food to scarf down/make it a good experience that we’d go back to again and also be outside in the city with all the beautiful people we, one day, aspire to be. the weather was amazing, probably 70 with a warm breeze, i’ve never known summer night weather to be so nice.
we decided upon this place with some outdoor seating under some wood scaffolding. looked a bit renovaty, a bit warehouse-y, i figured simple, good clean food with a modernist touch. it turned out to be Cafe Spice, a delicious Indian food restaurant where the plates are huge, and loaded with tons of tasty dishes on each, no matter what you get. the only problem was with drinks, water glasses, and the enormous plates, our table was too small to hold everything. but we juggled and moved items around, . anything would have tasted good at that time of night, but i’m certain this place is delicious at normal mealtimes as well. nice list of specialty cocktails and drinks, they came in gorgeous, large flute glasses, and followed the essential rule of a good cocktail: tasty delicious with just a hint of alcohol. mine had gin, guava, and mango juice. at 11PM, the whole place changed, the restaurant closed, and the bar became the primary business, it was a bit awkward to sit amongst barfolk while trying to sip your cocktail and eat saag paneer at the same time. they have locations in NY right by NYU, NJ and this Philadelphia one. this place made me want to move into the city even more. i’m excited about DC, but i almost want to get the DC experience out of my system, so I can live and grow old in Philly. my only real issue is figuring out where the ideal place to live is: Old City, Chinatown, or Northern Liberties.
Categories: drinking · food · future · love · philadelphia · smithies
Wallpaper/PO Box 3000/Denville, NJ 07834-9751
postcard of Art for the Cash Poor, a 2-day event held at the Crane Arts Building on North American Street where everyday people get “a chance to meet local artists and purchase artwork at bargain prices. View a vast array of media, including photographs, paintings, prints, jewelry, clothing, and hand-made books, with nothing priced above $199. There will be food from top local restaurants and libations available, and live music for your enjoyment while you peruse the artwork.”
Tightrope, 2000/Dae Rebeck
elizadoessmith, SL, and i met up with theonlylivinggirl this weekend in philly for a mini-Smith reunion and to say goodbye to BM as she ships off to the grand country of Georgia for 2 years of Peace Corps. EW found this cool art sale where you get the view the work of local artists, famous and going-to-be famous, and have the opportunity to actually purchase some pieces and own legitimate, unique art that isn’t from posters.com, ikea, or urban outfitters. they also had delicious food, and delicious live music to keep the stomach and the ears happy. we spent our time in center city philadelphia, so InLiquid was a bit too north for us. but it’s an annual party, and they’re always looking for volunteers to help out. whenever i move out to Philadelphia, I am so there. and bringing EW, wherever she is, with me b/c she discovered it first and wasn’t able to go this year. quote from Philadelphia Weekly, Joan Smith of InLiquid: “You’ll end up with original art by a real artist and the warm feeling that you’ve done your bit to keep the creative wheels of our city running.”
Categories: art · indie · money · philadelphia
New York State Archives/Cultural Education Center/Room 9B52/Albany, NY 12230
Petal In Memoriam. at 52 years old, she was the oldest elephant at the Philadelphia Zoo and the United States, remarkable she lived so long, as the average lifespan for African elephants is about 40-45. Initial tests have not been able to determine cause of death, doctors and experts say it was not heat related, and Petal did not have any serious health issues. The Philadelphia Zoo’s been having financial difficulty in keeping up their elephant habitat, Petal was supposed to be transferred at the end of the summer to the Pittsburgh’s Zoo because they have more space and resources to take care of the large creatures. Petal’s described as a dignified elephant who never had any children of her own, but “She was confident of her position within the group, and now in her older years was very even-tempered and calm,” Andrew Baker, vice president of animal programs, said.
Petal was a long-time resident of the zoo, arriving in 1957. when news of her death broke, apparently her 2 keepers were too upset to publicly talk about it. so sad. elephants are those creatures that are so huge, but yet look so incredibly gentle, kind, and sweet. they’re expressive, and fluid, like a humpback whale, as long as you don’t piss it off. sometimes you wonder how the earth could hold and support such a large creature, or how they can move so gracefully. AT and I once made this ridiculous attempt to get to the Zoo via bus system, where we subsequently got lost, and walked all of the sketchy parts of Girard St, and only got to the zoo, itself, after it had closed, but if we had made it that day, I bet Petal would have been one of my favorites.
Categories: love · philadelphia
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