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9 August 2013: Well hello there. My, it's been a long, long time.
HELLO, OLD FRIENDS. Thanks for stopping by the ol' Skyline. Been a minute, hasn't it?
Most longtime readers of this site know that I moved back to Philadelphia from Portland, Oregon earlier this year. In the time since I've returned, I've been co-editing the Hidden City Daily with Nathaniel Popkin, who contributed greatly to the first life of Philly Skyline, and Pete Woodall, a veteran journalist, photographer, and barman -- a man of my own heart. It's fun work, similar to that which we did here on the Skyline from 2002 through 2009.
But I do want to get this web site going again. The internet has changed in the last four years, especially here in Philadelphia, where there are now a gazillion sites covering the built environment. So the new incarnation will be a little different, but still resourceful, and still very heavily photo driven. That all right with yous guys? Hope so. It's coming soon.
B Love
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30 April 2012: For your consideration . . .
B Love
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7 June 2011: For your consideration . . .
B Love
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1 December 09: This has all been wonderful,
but now I'm on my way
Welp . . . I guess this is goodbye.
PhillySkyline.com, 14 May 2002 — 1 December 2009.
I thought about doing a "Dear G-Ho" style goodbye . . . but then I drifted off and caught
myself
reading Stump-Town Triumphant.
Thought about doing a The Skinny style checklist of things -- The Barnes, American Commerce Center, Conrail Yards, South Street Bridge, Cira Centre
South, Philly Live, the American Revolution Center, The Delaware Riverfront, The World's Tallest Flagpole, why "Center City Philadelphia" is really Girard to
Washington and not Vine to South -- to opine one last time about in rapid fire . . . but then I went and watched all of Menomena's videos on YouTube.
Thought about reminiscing over the best Philly Skyline moments -- the Comcast Center hard hat tour with the Madison concrete guys, American Commerce Center's
announcement, the ("Summer" of the) Delaware River, the seven foot fence at Independence Hall, the self guided tour of I-95 when it was shut down for the
cracked column, hangin' with Billy Penn on top of City Hall, the construction timelines of The St James,
Citizens Bank Park, Cira Centre, Symphony House, Murano, Comcast Center, Residences at the Ritz-Carlton and 10 Rittenhouse Square, the 2008 World Fucking
Champion Phillies, the Philly Skyline Chili Cookoffs, the Philly Skyline: The Calendars, the Philly Skyline salons at Johnny Brenda's, the Septa Independence
Pass project that will soon be a documentary short film, The Possible City . . . but then I went and read about Bill Walton's tragically short
career with the Trail Blazers, wondering why they didn't win more than one title.
Thought about listing all the Philly Skyline projects that might have been -- the site's relaunch with new graphics and blog software, completing the Bridges of
the Tidal Delaware and doing one similar for the Schuylkill, a profile of the city's golf courses, a historical essay on the importance and influence of
the Jayne Building . . . but then I started daydreaming about camping in the Columbia River Gorge with a sixer of Deschutes and a fat sack of medical
marijuana.
Thought about thanking all of Philly Skyline's contributors -- Nathaniel Popkin, Steve Ives, Joe Minardi, Michelle Schmitt, Matt Johnson, Mark Adams -- and
shouting out all of Philly Skyline's friends -- All Proper, The Fightins, The Necessity For Ruins, The 700 Level, Skyscraper Sunset, Philebrity, The Illadelph, Philadelphia Speaks, Plan Philly, Inga, Urban
Direction, Foobooz, Dovate, Albert Yee, Winheld's World, Wonderful World of 14, Zoe
Strauss, all the others . . . and realized that was right.
Thought about writing a paragraph about how great the work Bart Blatstein has done in the past five years has been and how he's done it by bucking the system,
on his own dime, critics be damned. Thought about doing a "best of Philly Skyline photos" slideshow and setting it to a medley of Dr Dog, The Capitol Years, The
Roots, Kurt Vile, Hall & Oates, The O'Jays, Birds Of Maya, The War On Drugs, The Hooters, Nazz, Teddy Pendergrass and TSOP. Thought about offering my eternal
wishes for Philadelphia -- peace, political transparency, peace, common sense, peace, smart growth, peace, harmony between motorists, cyclists and pedestrians,
peace, improved and expanded Septa service, peace, cleanliness, peace, an excellent public school system, peace.
I've thought about a lot of things that might properly say goodbye for nine years' worth of Philly livin' . . . but I couldn't really decide on one.
So I'll just say "later." As short as life is, it's just as long. You only get one time on this earth, but it's long enough to come back and finish anything
you meant to finish. So maybe I'll be back . . . ?
Oh, and of course a final photo essay. I wish I'd set up a Flickr account a long time ago, because this little gallery jawn is a whole lot easier than hand
crafting html pages. C'est la vie. These photos are the City Of Philadelphia, late August to late November, 2009.
(And if you're interested in such a thing, my 2009 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies season in photos is at The Fightins Dot Com HERE.)
Peace out, Philly. I'll see you when I see you.
B Love
PS: Again, if you're interested in such a thing, you can find me starting in 2010 at a relaunched Maule Of
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