28 February 06: BLAME THE SICKNESS

It's March; I'm sick. I apologize for the real bad slowness in recent updates. And, I blame the doldrums. I love winter like I love the four seasons, but you know. But just to keep you abreast of current back end goings on, here are a few expectations for the near future of Philly Skyline dot com:
  1. Investigation of the rumor that has the Best Western Motel (22nd & Pennsylvania, just off the Parkway) being demolished in favor of a 500' residential/hotel/both tower. Could it be? The B/W Lounge would be no more? Where would football fans be able to watch all 15 games at a time?

  2. A better homepage navigation system, in which you can find a new "quick links" dealio for the more frequently visited pages like Comcast Center's construction page, The Skinny (which itself will soon be updated with dates reflecting said updates), and Mandeville Place, the 43 story condo tower proposed for 24th & Walnut. Check this month's Philadelphia Style magazine for our thoughts on this beauty -- it's on the inside flap.

  3. Expansion of the Buildings section of the site, at last. This will include a retrospective on Philly's rich lineage of architects, an in depth look at what makes Rittenhouse Square what it is, and a "hidden gems" section.

  4. New photo essays and neighborhood tours from myself, Kristine Allouchery, Joey Swinefeld and others.

  5. Philly skyline sells out. Hey, it's 2006, it's time to get paid. We're evaluating our options and clients to see how unobtrusive we can place ads that will be pertinent to this site's contact. You won't bat an eyelash -- and we'll still be mad independent.

DON'T FORGET! The All Proper Philly Skyline travelling medicine and photo show continues as we speak at Day by Day (21st & Sansom -- go for lunch this week!). Go support your two favorite local boys done good, won't you?

–B Love





23 February 06: LATE WINTER VENTILATION
  1. I want everyone to know just how terribly bad Septa sucks. Septa is an embarrassment to Philadelphia, and is seriously holding it down from true greatness. To see this, all a Philadelphian has to do is travel somewhere, anywhere else -- from Philadelphia -- by train. Patco. New Jersey Transit. Path. NYC MTA. DC's Metro. Look at their routes. Look at their timetables. Look at their presentation. Look at their accuracy. Ask if people have gotten pistol whipped on a subway platform and the perps have gotten away by boarding a train on the same platform. Look at the ground and see if there is trash all over the floors. Ask a cashier for change. Actually, save your sanity and don't do any of this stuff. I'm working on a map that shows the what-could-have-really-been with Septa routes and lines, and it doesn't even include other fantasy-ish lines that would make sense.

  2. You know what else sucks? NIMBY attitudes. Obviously. When a K-4 school -- let's say the Philadelphia School -- has a proposal to expand onto a lot that currently houses things like street salt, chain link fences and construction equipment -- let's say 25th & South -- and your first two comments about the project are about potentially lost parking spaces and, god forbid, a PLAYGROUND abutting your property, thereby causing a nuisance because of children playing . . . well then, my friend, you are a selfish, inconsiderate, small-thinking, moronic snob who embarrasses your neighbors. Namely, me. Lady, I hope they build TWO schools and TWO playgrounds on top of one another that includes a handball court up against your wall, and that it's open to the public after the school lets out. You live in Center City half a block off of TWO bus routes for Christ's sake; if you hate the sound of children, why don't you drive your precious car to Phoenix, where you won't have any trouble finding a parking space?

  3. Dann Cuellar: STOP YELLING AT ME. Your live on-the-spot reporting on Action News is fine, but for the love of all holy, could you tone down your produced reports thath accompany the live spots? Homie. No one likes Geraldo -- why aspire to be him? You're all right, just STOP YELLING.

DON'T FORGET! The All Proper Philly Skyline travelling medicine and photo show continues as we speak at Day by Day (21st & Sansom -- go for brunch this weekend!) and Darling's Cheesecake Cafe (20th & Pine -- we recommend the bananas foster). Go support your two favorite local boys done good, won't you?

–B Love





12 February 06: LET IT SNOW

For real. Let it snow. I love it. So much so that no matter how late I was out the night before, I'll lace up the Tims at 8am on a Sunday to head out face first into the blizzard to enjoy it and, of course, shoot some pictures. Sunday's pictures are the first image linked below.

In other news, whilst perusing some of my favorite Philly blogs (you know, D-Mac, Albert, Philebrity and the like) last week, I came across ASM's post on the South Philly oil plume. "Huh," I thought, "that's something I haven't thought about for a while."

Perhaps it was odd to have thought about it at all, but I have. I used to really dig on the Penrose Diner (before I decided that Morning Glory was worth waiting and not driving through Point Breeze for), so I had heard about this underground oil slick, thanks to my own curiosity about the abandoned nearby Passyunk Homes.

While Passyunk Homes are long since razed (and the DePaul Group, the same folks to blame for Dockside Apartments -- you know, that boat-shaped building on Delaware Ave near South St -- is planning to develop housing there), the slick is still there. Check out this Daily News story for the back story. Then check out the link below for pictures of the place just before it was leveled.

DON'T FORGET! The All Proper Philly Skyline travelling medicine and photo show continues as we speak at Day by Day (21st & Sansom -- go for brunch this weekend!) and Darling's Cheesecake Cafe (20th & Pine -- we recommend the bananas foster). Go support your two favorite local boys done good, won't you?

–B Love






7 February 06: ONE FOR THE THUMB!



Current event opinions in digestable bites, courtesy of philly skyline:
  1. STEELERS: don't hate, congratulate! Yes I know this is Philly skyline, but I'm an Appalachian boy and this is Pennsylvania, so we all ought to be united in raising our glasses to the world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. (Just don't let it get to your head and think that Lynn Swann will make a good governor. If it's close, I'll vote for Ed Rendell, but I'd rather write in Hines Ward than vote for either.) And to anyone who says the referees gave the Steelers the game: please. The refereeing was bad through ALL of the playoffs, worst of all in the Steelers' win over the Colts, and they still managed to pull that one off. If the Seahawks had lost by 2 or 3 points, I might even hear an argument, but they lost by 11. The Steelers just got it done where Seattle could not. Maybe Jerramy Stevens should have caught those balls he dropped (one of which should have been a fumble anyway); maybe Darrell Jackson should have know twice to keep both feet in bounds; maybe Mike Holmgren could have managed the clock better; the Jackson interference was an interference; the Roethlisberger touchdown was valid but could have gone either way (since you need indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field); AND the Seahawks' only touchdown came right after Ben got railed in the back right in front of a ref and it wasn't called. Long story short, stick to the coffee, Seattle, because the whine you're making with all those sour grapes STINKS. The Steelers are champions of the world!

  2. DANISH MOHAMMED CARTOONS: my GOD, get over it. (No pun intended, seriously.) For once in the past six years, George Bush's colonization democracy spreading can be justified and its need exemplified by this nonsense. Not saying we should go bombing Beirut and Ankara and for the love of all holiness Tehran ... but damn, get a grip. Bloody USAs and bloody Bushes and bloody Sharons and dead Muslim babies and 9/11 as a blessing are all ok in cartoons, but one stinkin' drawing of Mohammed causes worldwide riots. Way to go, religious fundamentalism! Spirituality > Religion

  3. BUY CITGO: if you have a vehicle that requires gasoline, that is. Where our government failed to lend a hand to the less fortunate, Citgo has. A political tool for Hugo Chavez, you say? Whether or not that may be, Citgo is being a good corporate neighbor and distributing low-cost heat to poorer communities in cold areas like Boston, the Bronx, and our own North Philly. If you're addicted to oil, do your countrymen a service and get it at Citgo.

  4. A RAG MAN likes ANAGRAM: now for the important news: wordsmith.org. Go. Just do it. Think of all your friends' names, enter them, copy your favorites and email them. You'll do it. 'B Love' doesn't yield too many returns (BE VOL), but "Brad Maule" does, and anything to distinguish myself from my General Hospital doctor playing namesake (who I hear is a nice fellow) is best for both of us. For example ... A BAD LEMUR; A DRAB MULE; A LAD RUB ME; A DAM RUBLE; A MURAL BED; DEAR ALBUM; and of course, BEARD ALUM.

  5. LOOK BELOW: for all your philly skyline exclusive current events. Click. Enjoy. Holla.
–B Love








5 February 06: HERE WE GO STEELERS!

That seems to be the theme of the day. To point:

–The All Proper Philly Skyline travelling photo show has added Day by Day to its repertoire. We'll be there for a little while but the warm mushroom salad might not, so get over there quick. Day by Day is at 21st & Sansom and is open for weekday lunch and weekend brunch.

–Skyline goes Sunset II: Matt Johnson has brought us his second neighborhood tour in everyone's favorite hillside by the river, Manayunk. Have a look-see through his eyes by clicking below.

–The devil went down to FDR Park: John Yeomans is another old skool Philly skyline head, this time bringing us his first photo essay, his half of a daytrip he and I took through the scruffy southern end of the city.

–The villanous Volguus roams again: Steve Ives has finally weathered the storm and hit his own streets. His neighborhood in Haddington out in West Philly will be live and direct sometime this week.

–Kristine Allouchery's lower Kensington / west Fishtown / north Northern Liberties / but not JuNoGi isn't far behind. I've also got some projects underway, so keep stopping back if you don't mind. Don't forget to check on construction statuses around town at The Skinny, and track the progress of Philadelphia's soon-to-be tallest building, Comcast Center.

–B Love






January 2006 archive