AND, LO, THERE WAS A GREAT CONVERGENCE.

The two most beloved topics here at the Get Off the Internet offices are the wild and crazy world of fandom and the violent and crazy world of internet news comments. For some time now, our researchers have been endeavoring to find a way to somehow combine the two. Then, suddenly, when no one was looking, it dropped right into our internet laps.

The NBC series Chuck has been struggling throughout much of its life. Once again being threatened with cancellation, its fans opted to hold a bunch of “flash mobs” across the country, which would somehow convince programming executives to spend millions of dollars on a show that has a niche audience at best. Four cities were chosen by the Chuck community- Chicago, Seattle, San Diego and [wait for it] Philadelphia.

NOW, as has been documented in these very pages, Philadelphia has had a, shall we say, difficult relationship with the concept of flash mobs of late. Where it conjures up large groups of hipsters, oh, I don’t know, shaking hands or something in other cities, here in Philadelphia, people associate the term with kids going nuts. So, when news of the Chuck event hit the political weblog of the Daily News (“The People Paper”), folks were a little uneasy.

Yeah, please, no more flash mobs. Will the show pay the legal costs for police if things get out of hand? Will they guarantee to foot the jail bill of anyone arrested?

“Out of hand.” People buying Subway sandwiches and dressing as employees of a fictional Best Buy knockoff. “Out of hand.”

Wow, anyone who flash mobs for another season of Chuck is an ultimate tool.

im starting a flash mob if there is another season of chuck

It’s YOUR city. Ruin it if you like. But when the city loses jobs and resources, (schools already suck!) look in the mirror before you rant!

Has anyone consulted The National Guard? As of yesterday mobs in this city have become so sophisticated that 4th and 5th graders are the targets of High School thugs with a baseball bat. It’s reported by the police there was only one bat but there’s some question as to whether it was wood or metal – what a relief!.

The National Guard. FOR FANS OF CHUCK.

Our prisons are full of “Chuck fans”. We should have “Chuck” banned from the airwaves.

These animals threw beer bottles at cop cars, turn cars over, beat up anybody walking by for no reason even old ladys and they have no respect for anything or anybody…anybody engaged in this type of behavior should be SHOT on sight..I bet ya flash mobs would cease to exists in a jippy.

Now, hold on. I don’t like Chuck, but shot on sight? Some of these people are forgetting the tragic and violent Sports Night riots of 2000, to our eternal national shame.

I kinda liked the idea of The Naked Bike Ride myself. The only thing more revealing than the event itself was the self-righteous outpouring of shock and dismay by the Puritanical, body-part loathers in the comments section here. Can’t somebody organize a Naked Flash Mob event, please?

Okay, dude, now you’re just being creepy. The comments section for the “Save Human Target” rallies are over there.



A local tele-vision station appeals to Citizen Journalists, in reference to this lovely story- Police: NJ man purposely vomited on Phillies fans



Looking back upon my Get Off the Internet posts, it certainly seems as though a lot of them have to do with Philadelphia and postings upon Philly.com, the site for its two main newspapers. Why? Well, I live in the City of Brotherly Angry News Commenters and read that site every single day, so there you go.

The trouble with this is that I develop a bit of tunnel-vision- a touch of provinciality, if you will- in that I figure these commenters have the whole trade sewn up in being pretty awful. Why, you might as well just make up some sort of customized print of that classic “A New Yorker’s View of the World” cover and send it to me as a gift, crossing out “9th Ave” with a thick marker and writing in “Broad St.” However- for all such cases of myopia there is often a cure, a moment of clarity where the heavens open up and the bright light of truth comes shining through.

A CASE IN POINT. Not long ago, on this very site, I waded through comments on an Inquirer article about a recent spate of cases involving teens causing mayhem in this fine city’s downtown. In my hubris, I figured that was it. Philadelphia internet commenters had the last say. We could take all comers, holding our heads high. I was wrong.

My internet friends, what we all read that day was nothing. A mere child’s finger-painting compared to a Rembrandt. For you see, no matter where you go, no matter what racist armchair tough-guy nonsense you post, you will always be an amateur compared to the professionals at FreeRepublic.com. Yes, the Freepers picked up on the story after another incident this past weekend, showing everyone in the Philly.com comment section to be the pikers and frauds they truly know themselves to be in their darkest moments of self-reflection.

Starting strong on the very first post (!) with photos of Philadelphia’s African-American mayor and police commissioner to imply their involvement somehow, we jump to-

Philadelphia= the next Detroit

Okay- I know, you’re saying, “So what? We’ve seen that before.” But the simplicity! An equal sign! No wasted verbiage!

You are in a kind of latent Civil War and OBOman in the WH approves it.

Now it’s up to you to defend your freedom and core values by all means you have…

Keep your guns close! If there is no Police,no arrests,in these attacks let’s open the FIRE

This is a clinic, people. A clinic. Keep those notepads and pencils handy.

Grandma is losing her healthcare to pay for these thugs’ care….that’s what they call social justice.

Tying in to the health care reform legislation- masterful!

Take away their cell phones, and they would have to revert back to using drums.

Seriously. Are you taking notes? This is how it’s done.

It’s the stuff 12 gauge shotguns where made for.

Okay- that’s not misspelling. That is a tactic. This is by the book and a joy to watch.

There is terrific segregation in the media. Obama ran tons of hate-filled advertising on Black and Hispanic radio—remember the smear of Rush in the Spanish ad? Black radio spews out paranoia and hate like nothing that white people hear on the radio and TV.

I have been wondering what Obama is cooking up with the armed gangs (with TARP and Porkulus slush funds), totally under the radar. I think the Black Panther beatings of white people were a test run.

Conspiracy theories! Wonderful! You know what? I’m sorry-  I’m just going to get out of the way now and let you enjoy-

Wasp spray if you cannot get pepper spray.

Or a large commercial pump up weed sprayer.

We all must be prepared for an eventuality of a mob, anywhere anytime against anyone.

You need an offensive weapon that won’t hurt you but buys you enough time to flee.

Vinegar is good against unshielded eyes. No permanent harm but terrible sting.

Okay, I’ve been abroad too long, and I haven’t heard this expression, “flash mob,” before. since I didn’t see anything in the article as to a ‘cause’ for this, I’m assuming at the moment that “flash mob” means they are are doing this with no reason necessary-—just to be abusive, injuroius, destructive, and in need of some hot lead.

Best bet is to learn how to use a carry knife that has the legal length blade in home state.

Why didn’t they take their licensed firearm and defend themselves?? In Texas we would have dropped at least a dozen or so.

Part of the plan.

THE PTB ARE ENGINEERING CHAOS IN OUR STREETS–DELIBERATELY.

They want anarchy and an excuse for more deaths and martial law.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

May God have mercy on all who Love Him in looming traumas.

Look, the black leadership in this country better get their heads out………..white people have guns, and we will gun down these idiots……..

The time draws near to completely drain the swamp…

Oh, I don’t know about that. Sometimes a small group of people can set thigns right- when they’re properly motivated.

They have DIVIDE AND CONQUER down to an art and a science.

. . . directed literally from hell.

I could wear this into the “mob”, and they wouldn’t know what it meant!

They’d think it was some sort of moon-man talk

I’m thinking that a book would repel them much like a crucifix to a vampire

They have a name for that kind of activity…beating up a lone white guy, usually a guy who wears glasses. I cannot remember it…I think they call it “Nedding” or something bizzare like that.

As far as shooting go’s. I’m basically ambidextrous.

This needs repeating:

“Deep rooted prejudices entertained by the whites; ten thousand reflections, by the blacks, of the injuries they have sustained; new provocations; the real distinction which nature has made; and many other circumstances will divide us into parties, and produce convulsions, which will probably never end but in the extermination of one or the other race.”

Thomas Jefferson

Wow, in my city the mayor is black. The police chief is black. The fire chief is black. The city manager is black. I’m seeing a pattern in cities.

It’s time to go after the editors of the MSM personally and replace the aging Communists with honest people.

If half of what actually goes on in this country is reported, the Dem party would cease to exist in four years, and the Communists would (literally) all have been fled or shot, despite their Ivy League degrees and connections.

Cheers!

Okay. Going to the gun store with the next paycheck. Carrying 24-7.

If it happens around me, there will be up to 16 mobbers proned out bleeding.

Welcome to Philazimbabwe.

Get into the back of the bus, Whitey.

A matter of fact, get your white a$$ off of the bus. Barry is in town. It is time for retribution. I see major issues in the near future. White guilt will loose the day.

White people need to wake up. There is an undeclared war on whites and Western Civilation. It will continue to happen and get worse, way worse, as long as whites continue to run away from race.

This is the training for the Administration’s jackbooted thugs. There arent going to be uniforms, it is going to be about being leftist thugs.

There are those who berate me for carrying several magazines full of ammunition at all times saying there’s no reason I’d ever need more than what is in the pistol.

Oh, is that a fact now?

This kind of rabid animal attack is growing and I will NOT be a victim or stand idly by while others are being attacked by packs of mindless beasts.

I wonder if someone that understands interlocking fire positions and how to use a twitter account, could conjure up their very own “flash riot” and direct it into any small pre-selected area of their chosing?

Alright. Philly.com commenters? You need to step up your game. You need to come correct. Seriously, these FreeRepublic people are making you look like chumps. Poltroons. Second-raters. But you know what? I think you can do it. You can come back, I have faith in you. I’ll be there, cheering you on from the sidelines, because I believe. Now, get out there, you crazy, kooky nuts, you. Maybe you’ll have one more chance with tomorrow’s stories. Make me proud!



Recently, there have been two separate incidents of teens coming down to Center City Philadelphia after school’s out and wreaking havoc. After the last incident, several members of City Council even had the wonderful idea to try suing Twitter and Facebook, as they hear that these kids today use this “inter-net” thing to organize their little gatherings (BONUS- the media’s been able to use the phrase “Flash Mob” over and over!). Yesterday, the kids didn’t get to the Gallery and 28 were arrested.

It boils down to stupid teens wanting to head to the downtown mall (The Gallery) to be, well, stupid teens and eventually start fighting, a phenomenon in existence probably since Victor Gruen built the Northland Mall in Detroit in the 1950s. Of course, there is a story in today’s Inquirer about last evening’s incident and, of course, there are wonderful, wonderful comments on the philly.com posting of the article.

Can we start with a wildly awful overstatement of something?

I love the part that says the attacke by these animals are “tarnishing the city’s image”. What image would that be? That we have a large segment of our population who are out of control? That if you see a group of blacks …. get away? If the police see more than 2 together they should break them up because it appears that they can’t be expected to act in a civilized manner. It’s like we’re living in Darfur.

Darfur. With the genocide and all. Thank you. Please continue.

Soon we will need a dictator, once the children of our nation completely stop caring about education. Keep encouraging your children to watch reality TV and American Idol. I hope we all die before we turn into Iran.

Iran. Okay, any other nations?

Eventually, no more Flower shows, home shows or boat shows. Goodbye Convention Center conferences. Philadelphia, meet Camden.

Camden? Camden, New Jersey? Judges? Okay, we’ll accept it. Moving on.

look at what the Democrats have done to this city. The racist Democrat agenda built on the lie of gov’t “help” has created a perpetually poor and ignorant black segment of the community. The Democrats derive their power on the dependencies they create. It is a shame that the ignorant voters actually believe the Democrats care about them. Democrats have done one hell of a job blaming racist Republicans for their problems as they are completely clueless that their community and local politicians are 99% Democrat. Wake up you fools rise up against your Democrat slave masters they don’t care about you!

Where’s Bernard Goetz when you need him?
Somebody tell me again why a suburban swim club was worried about who used their facilities. And then white people get chastised as racist if they cross the street when a group of AA walks by. Can’t say I blame them. You not only have these animals running rampant through the streets, but their also the same people that account for almost all of the violent crime in this city.
Try to be more charitable with your comments,after all,these are the future of our country…the scientist,great philosophers and political leaders.Liberia-here we come.
Liberia! No one can say that the commenters are not well-versed in geography.
I’m a black belt in the ancient art of karate. I will spend my afternoons around the gallery just hoping to run into these cretins. You ever see Bruce Lee take on 20 dudes with no problem? That’ll be me.
Clockwork Orange
Okay.  Um, Barry Lyndon?
GORILLAS
Actually, it’s Gorillaz, and their new album, Plastic Beach, drops in the US on March 9. You can preview the whole thing at NPR.com right now! Though, I must admit that I’m a little confused as to why this comment thread went from a geography lesson to suddenly naming random films and musicians. Can we please focus and get this back to (not very) thinly-veiled racism and macho tough guy posturing?
I just legally bought a Smith and Wesson .38. I plan to get a legal concealed weapon permit. I do not plan to be harmed by such a mob. I will defend myself if a bunch of kids come after me. Nutter and police better get a grip on what is happening.
The Gallery and that part of Market St highlights the problems with the urban renewal prejects of 3 or 4 decades ago. it’s like it was designed by the same people who designed high-rise public housing because it seems to have many of the same problem and the same clientele.
Thank you.
Bring back Frank Rizzo! This garbage wouldn’t happen on his watch!
Stop calling these wastes of sperm ‘animals’. Animals don’t behave like this. These brats are perfect examples of why abortion is a great idea.
To all the folks who are arming themselves. PLEASE DON’T START SHOOTING as soon as you see a gang of rampaging kids, because YOU WILL MISS, or a bullet will ricochet AND KILL AN INNOCENT PERSON.. LIKE ME. And you will be prosecuted!
Right. That’s bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.
Or maybe we should hit them where they live and see how their parents, or momma, likes it when her home and neighborhood are vandalized and/or destroyed. Oh right, it’s already destroyed. Forget that idea.
We need the Bristol police on this. They know social media. Those of you who hate the city, please form a flash mob of suburbanites. You can descend upon North Philly and bore everyone with talk of your kids and Burberry scarves.
I think its time the citizens and commuters stand up for this city. Who cares if there are 200 teens…still more of us on the streets than them! Don’t just stand by and watch them chase a man into the CVS, stand up for yourselves, each other, and this city. These kids think they are tough, no one can touch them and they can do what they want…wonder what they’ll think when someone bigger and badder cracks ‘em in the jaw. Bunch of punks who think they seen the world and it belongs to them, the adults around here need to teach them a lesson and put them all in their place.
Seems all they touch,they destroy..I was born/raised in Kensington. Merchants along K&A took pride in their shops, swept their pavements etc. K&A use to be one stop shopping. Then everything fell upon darker days. K&A now is nothing but drabby shops that are either pawn shops/chk cashing places/car stereo shops..It was a shame to see it all unravel..even Harrowgate plaza looks like the slums now. Sec 8 did this. Port Richmond is even falling. Now when I drive thru these areas all I see is misery,gloom,Newport Billboards and Billboards with Billy Dee Williams Hawkin’ Colt 45 malt liqour.
Those have to be some old, old ads.
These CHILLRUN didn’t do nuffin. America’s next great city? What about America’s next Detroit or Gary, Indiana? Let’s face it. The savages have won. They have destroyed 75% of this city already. Let’s just throw in the towel. Give them the keys to the place and let them continue to trash and destroy it. Over 200 years and they’re still savages for the most part. That’s why we’ll always be a third rate city – not a great one. Not with the population we have here.
I figured out a deterrant and a fund raising idea for the city. Bring back the stocks then place a tax on rotten vegetables. Id pay some serious coin to blast these fools in the face with a nasty head of lettuce. few days of that, they may reconsider. Also put it on tv so everyone can enjoy…
Someone is going to open up on them with a weapon and then ewe will have to hear about how a ‘good kid’ was ‘murdered’ and didn’t deserve it. I’ll tell you this…..if my wife gets assaulted over there coming from or going to work…..I will be over there fully locked and loaded and searching these punks out !!!!
These “children” need a role model, maybe we should elect someone that they can look up to, how about a black president from another city with a crime problem. Maybe not. What else could we do? I am still thinking………..
Why do I read these things?  I don’t know.  How many of you are there even reading this? No idea. Is it even worth it? I usually have to lie down and take a nap afterward.


In a city as old as Philadelphia, there are a great many time-honored traditions- the Mummers Parade, the yearly collapse of the Eagles, threatened garbage strikes, Justice Department probes of city employees and so on and so forth, et cetera, et cetera. In today’s Daily News (“The People Paper”) we are afforded a glimpse at another time-honored Philadelphian institution- that of using various pieces of furniture to hold your parking space, a precious commodity on the city’s narrow streets.

In the last two weeks, these spaces have become even more precious, due to some of the largest snowstorms in the city’s history. When people dig those spaces out, they want to save them by any means necessary, though doing so is technically illegal. The article is one of those slice-of-life pieces, giving many examples of the lengths to which people will go to save their spots and Mayor Michael Nutter even vaguely gives a winking approval to the practice. And, of course, with this being Philadelphia and this being the internet, there must be a group of reasonable citizens ready to weigh in on the matter, right?

i saw the news story where the woman complained of her tires getting slashed. She called it selfish. My thing is she was too lazy to park a bit further and WALK to her destination. Who is selfish now?

Yes. Reasonable.

A woman and her dog once pooped right on my sidewalk and left it. I scooped it up, followed her home and dumped, no spreaded it, all over her front steps. Since then, no on parks in my shoveled parking spot. And all I put there, was a bucket of sugar.

From ‘Beauty’-

don’t touch my chair in my spot…if i shovel you better believe i don’t want anyone else benefitting from my hard work…i’m petty enough to do something to your car if your bold enough to move my chair and trash can i use as my space holder…

And in response, some not-so-thinly-veiled racism-

Beauty, it’s your mentality, and poor spelling, that represents this city. If a shoveled out spot is such a worry for you, just collect your welfare payment and walk to the store for your 40s, you don’t need to drive.

Its our tradition and if you dont like it, move to Kansas or something. And YES, I will do something to your car if you touch my spot. Like beauty said, if you’re bold enough to move my chair, then im petty enough to do something to your car. lol.

The sad thing is that if you slash the tires of a car that “takes” the spot you recently shoveled, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon and you’ve probably now lost the spot for a lot longer!

Hey, get out of here with that confusing “logic!”

It’s a matter of respect, which is slowly becoming a thing of the past. A crying shame. It’s becoming the George Harrison song, “I, Me, Mine.”

If you take two hours to dig out one car, then you are either in really bad shape, or lousy at shoveling.

You too! Git!

you take my spot and there will be serious hospital bills

Ahh, that’s better.

Hey new people, it’s called traditions. Don’t move here if you ain’t down wit it.

Yeah, youse. Eaayyyy forgett aboutt it!

I can see both sides of the argument — one through the left lens of my beautiful black drop-temple glasses, one through the right lens. Seriously, though, the first thing residents should do is park their main vehicle in the garage (if possible) or the driveway (if one exists). That’s what my family did when we lived in NE Philly. The only times we ever needed a chair to save the spot in front of our house resulted from huge storms (such as those in 1996, 1993, 1978). Now as a suburbanite, I live on a cul-de-sac barely wide enough for two cars, and there is no parking available there even in summer. We all have big driveways to compensate. Too bad the city’s planners couldn’t figure that out centuries ago. :)

OH MY GOD- now that person, I specifically want their car re-buried.

One other thing. Do the same people that claim to shovel out and then “own” the spot also pick up the trash in the street during the warmer months? That’s what I thought. You folks are pathetic. I shovel out my spots and if someone takes them that’s life. It’s the city. Don’t like it, move to the burbs and get a driveway.

Again- stop with the sense-making. Like that one guy said- don’t move here if you ain’t down wit it. “It” being tire slashings and dinette sets sitting out in salt and slush and 30-degree temps.

watch it when you put a aluminum lawn chair out in the street, people will take it for scrape money.

Wait- what?

Its only laziness that somebody wouldn’t shovel themselves out and benefit from someone elses labor, oh that reminds me isn’t there a goverment program for that…probably the same people who would steal your parking spot.

take my spot, get shot. period.

Finally, someone who I think best exemplifies the spirit of Get Off The Internet-

Is it wrong to hate the people on both sides of the argument? One comes off as lazy and nonchalant to the hard work put in by others, and the other comes off like an entitled neighborhood bully if you dare cross them.

No, it is never wrong to hate both sides. In fact, that is probably the wisest course to take in reading anything, anywhere on the internet.



WUXTRY! WUXTRY! Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Melissa Dribben does not use Twitter!

With this being the dead middle of August in a city that virtually shuts down during this period, this news gets space in the Sunday edition of the paper.

And, with this being the Inquirer, the online version of the story gets angry comments. Commenter ‘ppsaq,’ why don’t you start us off?

Melissa – You are among the first of many literate and learned people who will finally have the guts to proclaim “where’s the beef” and “there’s no ‘there’ there” regarding Twitter. It is brain chewing gum for dimwits who are incapable of writing more than 140 characters, and even that severely taxes their mental capabilities. It represents the ultimate in the dumbing down of America. So, you are not lagging behind the hordes. You are out in front revealing Twitter for what it is – just as the phoniness of Obama is being revealed every single day.

Blah, blah, high horse stuff about twitter and then BAM! Agenda! Brandon215, a rebuttal?

This is kind of funny because part of your criticism of the micro blogging in some of the social networks is the self centeredness of the “read me” type posts. But we can intpret your opinion and column in the same way. And it was way over 140 characters. Think about that as well and your approach to communicating with people.

Interesting, interesting. Ppsaq, you have 140 characters, response?

brandon215 is the prototypical Twitter dimwit. Uh, now brandon215, that’s pro-to-typ-i-cal. Take your time, and send me a Tweet if you need any help looking it up. And, don’t hold your breath.

You went over, but the judges will let it slide. Brandon215?

ppasq – I don’t use twitter. Your making assumptions and calling me a dimwit. I don’t use twitter and I am an executive a a very large corporation. If you need a j-o-b you can look me up.

Wait- we have someone else, VanessaJ, obviously an expert on internet marketing-

At this moment Twitter is a pretty useless interactive tool, besides letting your followers know that you just farted, the application itself is in the first inning of a nine inning game. As soon as Twitter figures out how to integrate its services and becomes more like a news, information and or enterainment channel with credible rich content e.g. (video, photos, audio) it will be remain a trend were any moron and post idiotic short messages.

Yes, much like comment threads on news articles. Ppsaq, a response for both of these?

VanessJ – Similar comment I had for brand215. Only besides being a dimwit, you are stupid. That’s “stu-pid,” just like all of the other ones, including The Inquirer, who christened The Great One. He is a joke. That “joh-ohke,” VanessaJ.

brandon215 – Why would I want a job from “an executive of a very large corporation” who doesn’t know the difference between “you’re” and “your.” I am head of my own thriving business. I don’t need a job from a very large corporation of dimwits who don’t know their grammar. And that’s not “grandma.”

Alright, who else wants to chime in?

tweet, tweet lol

I can’t wait until twitter crashes and burns in a firey financial death

Twitter was great until it #failed during the DoS attack on Thursday. I could not tweet via SMS and it blocked many of the API clients and web posts using Firefox. This is the beginning of the end.

Wait- you used a hashtag in your news article comment about Twitter? Please step away from the TweetDeck, son.

i think its hilarous that some people actually think people care what they are currently doing, haha, these people for the most part are concided losers

See also- THE REST OF THE GODDAMNED INTERNET.

Melissa– You nailed it. twitter is pablum for the thumbs.

It is also balderdash, folderol and hooey.

I will be posting a link to this post on my twitter. You’re welcome for my just  TOTALLY BLOWING YOUR MIND.



In today’s Philadelphia Daily News (The People Paper!), columnist Stu “Byko” Bykofsky takes partial credit for a recent initiative by Mayor Michael Nutter to reward straight-A perfect attendance students with seats in the mayor’s box for this season’s Phillies games.

His headline? With Byko-inspired plan, ‘nerds’ are now envied VIPs.

NERRRRDS!

Anyhow, it’s a worthwhile plan and a good idea. Though Bykofsky’s insistence at still calling these kids nerds is a little odd, good for him for putting this out there and for the city for implementing it. I mean, rewarding kids who are doing well is a good thing, right? Well, we’ll see- let’s go to the Philly.com comments. Mr. Squirrelpants? You’re up first-

why are we rewarding kids for being nerds? maybe we can start paying them to sit in their mom’s basements playing videogames, too.

NERRRRDS!

squirrelpants your an idiot.

Mr. Squirrelpants, you have thirty seconds to respond.

i would say someone who doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re is an idiot. go back to the basement with your fellow geeks, i’m sure there’s a star trek re-run on for you to watch.

NERRRRDS!

It is a bad idea to reward someone for doing what they are supposed to be doing in the first place. Whatb this does is teach people to look for more handouts as they get older.

what about students in catholic/private high schools? they’re parents are paying taxes too (probably more than public high school parents). meanwhile, their schools SAVE tax dollars – why aren’t they being awarded for their academic achievements? not to mention the fact that they’re saving the city money, unlike the public school students.

This is a joke. Yeah, way to be racist and prejudiced! Every “bottom dwelling” high schooler is a problem child ON PURPOSE. Right. Many of these kids are in trouble for a reason. Bad parents. Bad influences. poor neighborhoods. yeah, let’s ignore them, and only help those who don’t need help. Way to go Stu you should be so proud. Perfect attendance? Give me a break. Attendance means SQUAT. Half the courses at schools are a waste. And the BRAINY kids that LOVE school don’t need more handouts. This is pathetic.

Great idea to reward high achievers. It’s pretty stupid to reward perfect attendance, though – it means the kid probably came to school when he was at a high risk of transmitting an illness at some point. If too many kids get straight A’s, the reward should go to the upperclassmen. It would certainly be better to give all 600 varsity letters though.

TYPHOID MARY NERRRRRDS

I think this is a good idea, since its an incentive to attend more. I wish they did this when i went to school, tho.. i’d have liked vip tickets. im niche formula

You know, I love that inspirational speech at the end of Revenge of the Nerds, when Anthony Edwards stands up there- “I mean, all our lives we’ve been laughed at and made to feel inferior. And tonight, those bastards, they trashed our house. Why? Cause we’re smart? Cause we look different? Well, we’re not. I’m a niche formula and I’m pretty proud of it.”

At one point or another, we’ve all been a niche formula.

NERRRRRDS!



In Philadelphia this week, a woman’s purse was stolen. Two Boston salesmen making a call at a nearby hair salon thought a moment, then gave chase. A couple of blocks down, a guy saw the thief run past, called 911 and joined the chase. The thief dropped the purse, the victim got her purse back, people’s faith in humanity and strangers in general was renewed. A nice, feel-good story, right? Let’s go to the Philly.com comments!

We start out pretty positive this time-

Wow, now this is positive news!!! It’s nice to know that many people in and out of Philadelphia, PA are great people.

seriously…way to go guys…it is verymuch appreciated

I still hate Boston people. Good job on the purse though.

Well, okay, mostly positive. But then- a conspiracy?

There are so many pictures of this from different angles the whole thing seems like a staged feel good story.

This seems fake, not because of the good deed, because of the amount of pictures. I don’t get it.

Also, how didn’t they catch this dude?? They have pipctures of him. Why not instead of taking the pictures of the action, join in on the fun and chase him.. I’m curious about who took the pictures.. Anyone wondering if this story was staged? haha

“ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer”…very convenient that an Inquirer staff photographer HAPPENED to be across the street to take a photo of the mugger making his getaway. F-A-K-E.

Am I the only one who thinks this looks set up? It looks like a bad high school PSA done for class.

Hm. What is this, Little Green Footballs trying to Sherlock up a Reuters photo?

Something seems to be missing, though. Some familiar element-

He’s black?! Get out of town! Never would’ve guessed it.

I’m waitng for the “ya’ll are racist.” Tick tock tick tock.

I am shocked at the race of the perp!

Ah, there it is.

What a scam! We’ve all seen Mr. Deeds.

Okay, that one I liked. Now let’s get some clumsy attempts at topical humor-

Hey, Green Hood guy was just getting his bailout. I thought Congress announced stealing is no longer wrong. Next time Green Hood guy should hit AIG’s offices; millions there!

And one exhortation to cure society’s ills, then we’ll finish up.

Who cares. It’s an effing purse. Wake me when 2 salesman take a flight to Dar Fur to help out, or show up at a Rape Clinic, or offer their time helping many others that are truly in need. This woman had a purse = money. She doesn’t need help.

Thank you.

Though, I believe Dar Fur might actually be a folk cover band that gets booked at Anthrocon.



The Gallery at Market East in Philadelphia’s Center City is an odd piece of urban design. Built in the late 1970s to compete with shoppers and stores flocking to the city’s suburbs, it sits on East Market Street with its bare concrete walls facing the street, taking up several blocks between the heart of the city’s downtown and one of the country’s most important historic sites, Independence Hall.

Here’s the thing though- it does rather well. It was constructed on a vital rail transit hub, connects to the convention center, vacancy rates are typically low and the profits are amongst the highest for its management company’s shopping centers. It may be a poorly-designed piece of the urban fabric, but it serves its purpose- it’s a place to shop that lots of people use.

Many in Philadelphia, however, do not see it that way, as an article in the Daily News points out. Of course, the attendant comments section is cram-packed with the type of intelligent discourse that’s the hallmark of Philly.com commenters.

A big part of the problem is that there are virtually no stores that attact an upscale shopper. K-mart, gamestop, and payless do nothing to draw the shoppers who frequent the numerous stores on chesnut and walnut street. Even a target or a best buy would do a lot to improve the shopping there. Its a fair point that the subterranean atmosphere of the Gallery hurts it. Most of the store entrances don’t really give a sense of whats inside. There are too many blank walls and wide open escalator banks, limiting store space. Too much closes early, making it more difficult to accomplish its goal of having city workers shop before getting on the train.

Okay, nice- thinking about it from somewhat of a planning perspective. Maybe this won’t be so bad, after-

Let’s just be honest. The problem is “urban” teens running wild through the Gallery.

Alright, then. See if you can read through there and count how many times “urban” is used as a code word for another word that is in these folks’ heads, hm?

the world’s worst mcdonalds is located in that place…on second thought, it’s the second worst after the one at 30th street station. it’s good to see im busy on a monday morning rating mcdonalds restaurants…sincerely myspace.com/dannyozark

When I moved to CC in ’79 I found the Gallery depressing and dirty. Now, I am older and fearful of the youth crowds and lack of perceived security presence. I live 5 blocs away and wouldn’t shop there if it was the last place on earth. And, now with the Internet, I can get anything I need online with a delivery charge that is often less than the cab ride to the Gallery and that means Macy’s too. I do, however, still shop and eat at the Reading Terminal Market.

The gallery is your typical ‘urban’ mall. Nothing but baby clothes and sneaker stores!

Just let the cops put a few beatings on the teenagers, who should be in school,loitering down there. A few broken facial bones will set them straight. Police brutality…. WORKS!!!!

I can sort of imagine the PSA with that tagline from the early 80s.

Take the subway to gamble and leave (supposedly) with winnings in your pocket. I hope they’ll be handing out signs for people to wear coming and going: PLEASE MUG ME!

Oh- did I mention that there are plans to maybe turn part of it into a slots casino? Well, there are.

What is so funny is the people who agree here as to what the problem is tend to vote for the same people that the parent(s) of these thugs vote for. WAKE UP will you!!!!!!

Its a mall for the gangsta’s and their Ho’s…nothing more…wouldnt dream of entering that building again…ever..

The Gallery is just a huge toilet. And what can you find in a toilet ? Time for a courtesy flush.

What this article is trying to say is that the Gallery has too many young Black ghetto people that shop there. Lets not pretend that Phila isn’t segregated along class and racial lines. ‘Certain’ people only shop and live in ‘certain’ areas. End of story. I don’t like shopping in malls at all. With the Gallery none of the stores attract me, parking sucks, and I can’t stand teenagers (of any race).

The Gal-ree is the laughing stock of all the “malls” within 25 miles of it. Can it even be considered a mall? It’s a shame that people walking through there from the regional rails have to witness the decadence and despair of the people that populate that area. From the crack-moms to the homeless to the downright nutty. After experiencing that kind of sadness who in their right mind would want to spend their money there? Nobody wants to shop there for fear of getting mugged. Really, the only people not afraid to shop there are people who are used to being in a “dangerous” area.

I have to say- the only reason I’m able to shop at the Gallery is because of my years on the mean streets of Webberville, Michigan.  Also- “downright nutty?” That makes me think of Thorny, the neighbor on Ozzie and Harriet.

Philly has to become more like NYC, where shops are privately owned and operated. The experiment of having government owned properties provide stores and shopping to the masses is too Soviet to be workable.

Brief aside: The city’s Redevelopment Authority (RDA) owns the property, which is then leased to a management company who oversees the mall. Very Soviet. What with the large private real estate developer running the thing and all.

The city of Philly tried to be a shopping mall provider using CC to service the inner city, but the RDA as owner of all this property like the Gallery is not practical. The RDA simply has shops and stalls that cater to the lowest common denominator, creating a creepy vibe like t-shirt stalls where you can get a death memoriam t-shirt airbrushed, aka “RIP RASHEED.”

No, the NBA rescinded those last two technicals. He’s fine.

the only problem with wiping out the gallery is where will all those sorry people go if there’s nothing there? that’s right, the real malls.

Dun-Dun-DUNNNNN.

Let’s end on a positive note, though. RowingMan seems to have his hand up. Perhaps he has a suggestion about how the retail mix at the mall could be diversified, or perhaps some sort of plan to rebuild the building’s facade to open it up a bit more, or maybe he’s been reading up on Jane Jacobs and her theories about continuity of the street-

There was a women who shot up the Delco Springfield Mall with multiple weapons in the mid 80′s. If she’s still around, why don’t we let her out (of prison) and she can patrol the Gallery – it’s gotta work better than today’s situation.



Domelights.com claims to be the “voice of the good guys.” In this case, the “good guys” in question are the employees and officers (past and present) of the embattled Philadelphia Police department. That’s right, they’re the guys that get to work with 9th District Police Captain Dennis “We’re Trying To Drum Up Charges Against Them” Wilson.

They’re talking about this week’s hippie shakedown, of course, because hey, don’t we all complain about customers at some point in our lives? I mean, what’s their problem, anyway? They always want more rights, more reasons, more “constitutionally protected freedoms.” Jeez.

On Wilson’s quote concerning the attempt to “drum up charges”:

I highly doubt this (I don’t think that Wilson talks this way). It’s pretty desperate when one paper uses another for quoting, esp. such a liberal, perverted one, like City [toilet] Paper.

Note to self: get a subscription to the City Paper, tout suite.

Calibrax Cop sees a bit of justice in Wilson’s predicament:

I know Wilson wishing the best for he and the 9th in this
about ten years ago when he was in the gink squad at Impact his boys and he put me and 2 other cops through the ringer for almsot a year conducting a job on us over total bulls**t me and my family went through hell for not reason other than politics

I hope nothing bad happens to him in this and mean it but now he knows what it is like to be accused of something that is garbage

Yes, those blank lines are all his. He’s investing in message board real estate, see.

This guy’s got Megatron form the Transformers movie as his icon:

heads up emails are going out saying home invassion by p/o and cival rights violations and all kinds of crap showing us bad and them good calling for protest—my girlfriend got a random email about it and brought it to my attention

It took me a few minutes of staring to figure out that this is probably written this badly because of Babelfish’s inability to handle Cybertronian-to-English translation.

daiarthma responds to word of these vicious hate emails:

Welcome to the age of electronic propaganda, character assassination and rumor spreading.

Kind of makes you think of…

What? What does it make us think of? Shit like this?

HURF DURF HIPPIES:

I am told that no matter how thorough the officers search was, they just couldnt find any soap there.

It was probably in the trash – with the “Help Wanted” ads.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I fucking hate hippies too, but I’m not a uniformed officer of the law posting on the internet with an easily-traced IP address. If I were, I’d probably, you know, just stick to dicking around in World of Warcraft and Halo 3.



Next Page »