Philadelphia Magazine apparently thought that quizzo had quieted down since last year, b/c they decided not to include it in this years “Best Of…” edition, though they did include best karaoke. It’s probably a good call because (with the exception of about 95% of the pubs and taverns in the local area) you can hardly find quizzo anywhere anymore. And it’s not like it is now a national phenomenon that first saw the light of day in our fair city. Something as uniquely Philadelphean as quizzo certainly doesn’t deserve a spot in a magazine named Philadelphia, though karaoke, which does not hail from Philly, certainly does. For shame, Philly Mag. If you’re going to use the word Philadelphia in your title, at least try to cover and promote things that are unique and popular in this city.

Anyways, that’s all the hating I’m gonna do, because I will say this: I’d rather nobody win Best Quizzo than Kildare’s win Best Quizzo. On Monday, we’ll take a look at all the winners, and figure out what they got right and what they got wrong. And in an effort to not make this whole entry sound like sour grapes, I’d like to give big ups to John McDonald (aka Johnny Mac), who won Best Chef (Snackbar). He’s not only a damn good chef, he’s a damn nice guy. Kudos!

Young Einstein turns 54 today.

-This from Dan Gross’s column yesterday: “Don’t ever apologize for being patriotic. F— ’em,” advised country star Toby Keith to fans at his sold-out show at the Tweeter Center Sunday night after closing with the song “Angry American,” complete with pyrotechnics. No, Toby, please. F— you. Patriotism is not overzealous zeal to kill random Middle Easterners in retaliation for a completely different group of Middle Easterners attacking our country. You’re an idiot. Here’s a spoof of that moronic song by Bill Maher.

-Don’t look now, but the Phils pitching staff is starting to come together, and if Durbin can pitch decently and Kendrick can continue to pitch like he is, and Myers returns, and Gordon stays healthy…etc. Anyways, I really hope we don’t deal Rowand for some mid-level pitcher (which is all we’ll get for him). But what do you guys think of Bourne for Bronson Arroyo? To be honest, unless it involves Barajas, Helms, or Nunez, I hope Gillick stands Pat.
RELATED: Salisbury’s column about the Phils and the deadline.

-Did the Founding Fathers write the Constitution to defend us from Presidents like George Bush?

-And finally, some sad news. The Weekly World News, who printed what the mainstream publications were scared to print, is going out of business. To be honest, the quality of the rag had gone way down in recent ears. I was a huge fan in the late 80s and early 90s, but the beauty of it was it’s subtlety. It wasn’t yet a spoof of itself, so you felt like the reporters really thought that aliens had captured a 42 pound newborn. But lately it had just gotten silly (and expensive). Godspeed, once proud publication. Godspeed.

Well, we made the CBS Evening News for being the murder capital of America last night. 236 murders thus far this year. While Mayor “I-phone” Doolittle certainly deserves some of the blame, it is up to the citizens of Philadelphia to quit waiting on the government to do something and get involved themselves. The reason many of these kids kill is because they have no hope and no mentors. There are a number of programs you can get involved in to help curb the violence. As I have been suggesting all year, the Big Brothers Big Big Sisters Program is an excellent way to mentor a child who has no male role model. The men of Philadelphia are dropping the ball on this (there is a wait list of 1,000 boys), and it has nothing to do with Mayor Street. Some other worthwhile projects include: Reading STARS, where you can help a child improve their literacy. 85% of the children who appear in juvenile court lack reading skills. If you’re looking more to donate money than time, how about the Digital Divide Program, which tries to get home computers for low income children. Or you could get involved in the Byron Story Foundation, which helps at-risk youth get their GEDs. If you would like to find other worthwhile causes to help make Philadelphia a better city, please go to Philacares.com. This is not a white problem or a black problem, a rich problem or a poor problem. This is a Philadelphia problem, and if you love this city, then you owe it to Philly to do your part to help solve it. And remember, ALMOST doing something about the problem is the exact same thing as doing nothing about the problem. Get involved!
RELATED: Attytood on how Street was quiet about problem ’til Katie Couric showed up.