What was the name of the building where the first ever Republican National Convention was held in 1856?

Just wanted to send a shout out to one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time, the RZA. Here’s a really good audio interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air a couple of months ago. And here’s a pretty interesting interview with Bobby Digital in the Onion. It’s also Huey Lewis’s birthday, but really, who gives a s***. In Atlantic City last year, I did meet Lewis’s drummer, and have a signed drumstick.

I arrived at the Parkway at about 11:30. My friends (Chet, Rob, Jesse, and Logan) had been there since 6, but I had hit silence on my phone when they had sent my wake up call. So I was gonna have to slice thru the crowd. They were near the front of the trees on Eakins Oval, and people were not overly pleased to let me slip thru. I got my first, “What the f*** is wrong with you” at around 11:48 as I slipped past a girls blanket. Finally, after about 45 minutes, I slithered up to my friends. By this time the show had already started.

Continue reading “Live 8” →

I usually love this city. I love the fact that everybody tells it like it is and wears their emotions on their sleeves and is fiercely loyal to the city, even as they insult it. But I am so sick of the whining concerning Live 8 that I gotta just say: Shut up! First, a disclosure. I have been guilty of it myself. Yeah, I was miffed that the Roots got turned away, and a band as crappy as Maroon 5 got invited. But it was put in perspective when somebody said, “Did Woodstock end up being a crappy event because Sha Na Na was there and Dylan wasn’t?” Good point.

Continue reading “Sick of the whining” →

I have no idea who wrote this. I promise I didn’t write it. I’m not saying that I’m above writing flattering notes to myself on Craigslist, but I didn’t write this particular one. Oh come on, I didn’t write it. Why don’t you believe me?

Not everybody’s feeling the love on craigslist. This person doesn’t seem like a big fan of hipsters.

Quizzo player Charles Bischof (Locust Rendezvous) wrote a rather interesting slant piece for this week’s City Paper, saying that Live 8 is trying to oversimplify a complex problem.

You mighta already seen this, but if not, check it out. Curt Schilling totally blows away WIP. “They are some of the biggest pieces of trash.” It’s great, even though Schilling took a nose-dive on the old respect-o-meter when he stumped for Bush right after the Series last year (stay in the sports pages, pal).

For a second there, I was worried about our good ol’ president. But he reassured me last night that everything is working out just great. Here’s a pretty good write up about Bush’s speech last night. I’m glad that Bush reminded us last night that 15 of the 19 terrorists were Iraquis. Oops, did I say Iraquis? I meant Saudis. Here’s what people are saying about Bush’s boy John “Michael” Bolton. And below, I’ve included a couple of my favorite lines from Bush before the war.

Continue reading “Bush’s greatest hits” →

Andrew Bogut was picked first in last night’s NBA draft. In last year’s, of course, the Orlando Magic took a bunch of white people.

Here’s a pretty comprehensive look at Gavrilo Princip and why he decided to kill Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. If I had a name like Gavrilo Princip, I’d probably kill somebody too.