Though my dislike for Philadelphia magazine is fairly well documented (fifth letter down), I do have to admit that I have long enjoyed the musings of one of their regular contributors. For several years, Jessica Pressler was the author of “Pressler’s Miscellany” in the Philadelphia Weekly, an irreverent column in which she made fun of Philadelphia celebrities and carried on an unhealthy obsession with Neil Stein. Pressler ruffled quite a few feathers last summer when she wrote her infamous “6th Borough” article for the New York Times. The Massachussettes native currently writes a humourous column about relationships for Philadelphia magazine, and still does some freelance work for the Times.

1. If you could have dinner with any 2 philly celebrities from the past or present, who would they be and why?
If it was like a long meal with
appetizers and dessert, I’d definitely want to hang with Lee Daniels
and Patti LaBelle. They seem like a lot of fun. I bet if you got them
like really liquored up they’d tell you all kinds of scandalous
gossip. That Lee Daniels is a mouthy little queen, and Patti’s been
around so long I’m sure she just doesn’t give a f*** what she says. I
mean that in the best possible way.

2. What musical artist or song do you have in your collection that you are a little bit ashamed of?
I guess I should be ashamed of having the
Thong Song on my I-tunes, but f*** it, I’m totally not. It’s one the
best odes to the female posterior ever written, and you can dance to
it. Whither Sisqo now? I guess when Hot in Herre came out everyone
forgot about him. Which is not really fair. When you think about it,
Sisqo was ROBBED by Nelly. ROBBED.

3. If you could be on any reality show, which one would you want to be on?
MTV’s Made, which is the best show ever. Right now they only do
teenagers but I think they should start a version for mid-twneties
career changers. I’d be like, ‘Hi, when I was a kid I wanted a career
in international relations, but somehow at 28 the closest I’ve come to
this is a newspaper story that called Philadelphia New York’s next
borough. What the f*** happened? I want to be MADE.” And then MTV
would get me some fabulous gay coach from the Carnegie Endowment that
would quiz me about sustainable development and s***. Of course, like
that model from Temple who is STILL a waitress at Coffee Shop,my
career in diplomacy probably wouldn’t really work out. But I figure
I’d have a chance at getting a spinoff series in which I would live in
a house with Richard Holbrooke and Brangelina. The White House.

4. Speaking of reality shows, you recently did an article for Philadelphia magazine about Gervase. Does he have any discernible talent, or is his greatest asset simply existing?
Gervase has sustained his career as the Survivor also-ran for SIX
years. I don’t know if talent is what he has, but he’s definitely got
that combination of savvy and shameless that is all you really need to
succeed…in Philly. He’s working it, man, and he brings home more
than you or I.

5. What’s your favorite restaurant in Philly?
The food at Amada is awesome but I’ve had really weird unfriendly
service every time I’ve been there, and they have a tendancy to play
crappy house music. Abyssinia in West Philly is my favorite place
forever, and I also have very warm feelings about Saad’s down the
street from there.

Hey gang, a couple of announcements about the quizzo at the Franklin Institute on Friday, First of all, if you only wanna play quizzo and not check out the rest of the museum, you can purchase a $3 ticket to secret cinema and play quizzo (and, of course, be able to see the movies). Also, in answer to a question a lot of you people have been asking me, YES, THEY WILL HAVE A BAR. Okay, I think that last sentence probably doubled the size of our crowd (you boozehounds!)

I have finally found the perfect news article. It has everything: a town called Arkadelphia, CPR on a drowning chicken, and the use of the word “dadgum” in the story. “I breathed into it’s beak, and it’s dadgum eyes popped open.” So that gave me the notion that we needed a word of the week. Therefore, I am incorporating “dadgum” as our word of the week. Please try to use it in a sentence when speaking with me for the rest of the week. Also, feel free to post a good news headline with the word “dadgum” in the title. Here’s a few to start: Muslims Flip Out Over Dadgum Cartoon. I’ll Be Dadgum If Gretzky’s Wife Weren’t Betting On Hockey.

Hey gang, I already told you a little something about the event this weekend. Well, here’s some more info. FIrst of all, here’s a schedule of events (though I will not be entertaining from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. I’ll be on from 9-11) and here’s the pricing for the weekend. There’s also gonna be a concert on Saturday night at the Planetarium. Looks like a really neat weekend all around.

Ramon Mercader was born on February 7th, 1914. Who is he best known for killing?

Hey guys, this looks really awesome. On friday night, I will be hosting quizzo at the Franklin Institute, in the Fels Planetarium. In between rounds, they will be showing really wild, trippy images on the dome, so be sure you take a lot of acid before you arrive. Ha ha! I’m kidding! Sort of. But seriously, this looks like a lot of fun and will be a little different than our normal quizzoes. The whole thing is a celebration of the heart on the weekend before Valentine’s. I’ll probably have a lot of questions about science, so a lot of the answers I have will probably be wrong, since I don’t know anything about science. Ha ha! I’m kidding! Sort of. Here’s the press release. I actually get started at 9 p.m., not 7, and I will be going until 11 or so, not until 2 am.

Yeah, sorry i’m late. Just got back from Virginia. I’m kind of wiped out, so I’ll be back in action tommorrow. Hope you enjoyed those crappy ass Super Bowl commercials. Oh, and more importantly, Grey’s Anatomy jumped the shark. More on that tommorrow. Peace out-JGT.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s here. Johnny’s special day. In lieu of gifts, Johnny is asking that you send roses. Lots and lots of roses. Cutest moment of the day: My mom just called and had her 3rd grade class sing me “Happy Birthday.”

Here’s a little bit more background the weekly double in round three of the Quizzo Bowl (What do the three stars on the Steelers helmets stand for?) Another quizzo tie- in? John Rooney of the Peanut Butter Bumpers (far right in photo) is related to the Rooney’s who own the Steelers! No kidding! And vote in the poll for who you think is gonna win the Super Bowl.

The Hungry Hungry Hebrew is making history this week, becoming the first person to ever compete in both Quizzo Bowl and Wing Bowl. His team, Wormser’s A Real Whiz At Aerodynamics, finished an impressive 6th at Quizzo Bowl, which really isn’t all that surprising, considering that Triple H was a 3 time winner on Jeopardy in 2001. He made his entry into Wing Bowl by eating two pounds of gefilte fish, which you can learn more about by clicking here. But he’s in Wing Bowl for more than just the glory. He’s also raising donations for an organization he started with other young Philadelphians, including former Eagle Cecil Martin, called Brotherly Love for New Orleans, and he is asking people to donate money for each wing he eats tommorrow. Here are his five questions:
1. What’s your favorite restaurant in Philadelphia?
Old Original Bookbinder’s and Maccabeam

2. Which is more challenging, quizzo or competitive eating?
Certainly a different kind of challenge. Perhaps competitive eating, since one can’t rely on teammates the way one can in Quizzo. And it certainly takes a (temporary) toll on one’s body.

3. Who are your favorite cartoon characters?
Yosemite Sam (in general I love passionate and enthusiastic people) and Wile E. Coyote (very admirable perseverance).

4. Have you ever eaten wings at seven in the morning before?
Not before getting my Wing Bowl training underway!

5. If you could eat a 72 oz. steak with any two Philadelphians, past or present, who would they be and why?
Haym Solomon – from during Revolutionary War period — oh wait, inevitably you know that! –first real Jewish Philadelphia hero (could the steak be kosher?). Reggie White – incredibly generous and warm-hearted star player on my favorite sports team. Passed away far too soon. Plus he’d inevitably be of greater assistance than Mr. Solomon in helping me finish that steak.