The Friday 5

I stuck my cheesesteak card into the Cheesesteak ATM and withdrew 4 cheesesteaks.
  • What I’m reading: Articles about infamous Philly Daily News columnist Pete Dexter, who now is better known for writing the novel Paris Trout and the screenplay for Mulholland Drive. This profile of him in Philly Mag in 1979 is terrific, though his life would get even more interesting two years later, when he and Tex Cobb got beat up together in Gray’s Ferry. He would quit writing for the News after that and started writing novels.
  • What I’m watching: my son is really into Halloween. Definitely his favorite holiday, and has been ever since he was two. Dunno what it is, but he loves mystery and horror. It started with Little Red Car (don’t watch this link unless you want a terrible song stuck in your head for, uh, roughly forever). He soon moved onto Scooby Doo, which is pretty fun to watch. But I wanted to see if he was ready to step up his horror game, so I recently showed him this cartoon of the Fall of the House of Usher. It’s read by Christopher Lee and it’s a really fun Halloween watch, whether you’re 5 or 50. He digs it, and the other night we watched a short bio of Poe. I’m really excited for him to become a Poe fan.
  • What I’m listening to: Sometimes I check in to see who is coming out of Camden musically. If ever there’s any hope that something good can come out of the most brutal of circumstances, it comes from forgotten towns like Camden. One of the guys I like the most right now is a young dude named Mir Fontane. As I’ve expressed on the past two editions of the Friday Five, I’m a huge fan of people who can paint a picture, and this young guy does it incredibly well. Especially powerful is a song of his that simply titled “Camden.” The cast of characters he describes in the first verse is nothing short of Dickensian:
RaVicky gettin money 
Cause he got a little set now
Shae lost her baby 
So she back smokin that wet now
Pooh got booked 
I heard he workin with the feds now
Til Tony caught him slippin’ 
Shoulda never turned his head round (BANG!)
Keisha still fuck around with Crackhead James
Heard he sold a flatscreen 
So he could buy more caine.
And Jermaine sit on the block 
Snd it’s a shame cause he smart
His momma crying every day 
And say he breaking her heart
The whole hood shed tears 
When they heard Diggs got killed
It’s been two whole years 
And no bids got dealt
 A n***a that I called my homie 
Fucked around and changed on me 
Pulled the heat from off his hip 
And tried to make it rain on me 
This what y’all call hell 
But this what I call home 
And I’m gonna grind until I get it 
And once I get it I’m gone 
The white folks want the drugs, 
So they come and spend their bucks here 
Til they ain’t got no bus fare, 
Now them n***as stuck here
  • New Philly Blunt podcast dropped this week: An interview with Ange Branca of Sate Kampar. She grew up in Malaysia, but moved to Philly in her early 20s. After working in the financial sector, she got bored and decided to open her own restaurant, cooking Malaysian food unlike anywhere else in the city. A great listen if you want to hear how Philly looks to someone who not only didn’t grow up here, but grew up half a world away. You can check out Sate Kampar here on IG (and go by there and try the Rendang Daging.)
Punkin pickin.
  • Place I’m checking out: The last one is kind of expensive but yet at the same point totally worth it. We love the fall around here: as I stated earlier my son loves the Halloween season especially, but my wife has always loved pumpkins, fall leaves, the whole thing. So on Sunday we headed to Shady Brook Farm in Yardley. It was $18 each just to enter (!) but once inside it was a great place to take a 5 year old. There was a hayride to pick apples and pumpkins, a big playground, speed pitch (I got up to 60 mph, which I was fairly happy with), inflatable castles. And for adults, they also have an outdoor bar serving pumpkin beer and so forth. We went during the Eagles game (they were playing the pathetic Jets, so I thought it would be a good one to miss) which was a strong move. I’m sure it’s much busier when the Birds aren’t on. There is also a corn maze but I have a terrible sense of direction and I hated it. At the end of the day it’s too expensive but I’m sure insurance there is a bear and when you and your family have a great day it’s hard to put a pricetag on it.

Until next week, be sure to follow me (and argue with me!) on twitter. And if you’re a sports fan, be sure to follow Shibe Sports on IG. Just did a photo shoot last weekend and gonna be posting some great photos over the next few weeks. Finally, if you enjoyed the Friday 5, be sure to click like below. Have a great weekend!

JGT Sells Out to Hollywood Elites!

Hollywood shill JGT is serving as a hype man for Gemini Man this week, as two of this week’s rounds will be VERY LOOSELY based on the film…no questions on the film itself, since it hasn’t been released yet. But some questions loosely inspired by it. Hey, come on, Will Smith’s a local dude! I can sell out for Big Willie! Quiz starts tonight at O’Neals at 8 pm. See ya this week!

Two Quizzes This Week!

Hey gang, a very rare two quiz week, as I’ll be hosting a Halloween quiz at the Comcast Center tonight, but a regular quiz for the rest of the week. So you’ve got a shot to play twice this week. Here’s this week’s schedule:

TUESDAY

  • Markets at Comcast 5:30 pn
  • O’Neals 8 pm

WEDNESDAY

  • Locust Rendezvous 6:15 pm
  • Founding Fathers 8:30 pm

THURSDAY

  • Fitler Club 7:30 pm (members only)
  • Birra 8 pm
  • Bards 9:15 pm

The Friday 5

Here’s 5 things I’m reading/listening to/watching this week.

  • I randomly stumbled across this buzzfeed article from 2013 this week, and HOLY SHIT is it an amazing read. It’s about how a sweet young kid became a medic during the War in Iraq and suffered severe PTSD, came home, and started robbing banks. It’s heartbreaking, and just brilliantly written. It’s a grim reminder of what a complete catastrophe the War in Iraq has been for everyone involved (except, of course, the people who made money on it).

Paper bag of lucha libre inexplicably by the door at Dirty Frank’s.

  • After last weeks podcast interview (with Ange Branca, co-owner of Sate Kampar, the critically acclaimed Malaysian restaurant on Passyunk), we headed down 13th street with Fergie to Dirty Frank’s. Fun crowd, and a perfect bar. Most places are aiming for the level of authenticity that Frank’s has. The beauty of Frank’s is that it’s not aiming for anything except to be what it is. Here’s a great piece that Drew Lazor did about Frank’s for Vice a few years ago. One of my favorite places in Philly to grab a drink.
  • Watched the 3-part Bill Gates doc on Netflix this past weekend. It’s really terrific. It was somewhat pro-Bill, but not a fluff piece by any means. He’s a really complex guy, and he’s a supreme intellect, and this doc shows both. I’ll say this: in terms of the biggest computer pioneers of our time, I think Bill Gates has a sincere desire to leave the world better than he found it. I don’t feel the same way about Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg.
  • I’m a big fan of lyricism, singers who can paint a picture with words, and people who tell the stories of the down and out, so needless to say my favorite genres are hip-hop and outlaw country. Last week I talked about Ka, this week I wanna shout out one of my favorite outlaw country singers, Guy Clarke. Just stumbled across him a couple of years and haven’t stopped listening since. A few of his songs that I especially love are Dublin Blues and Stuff That Works, the latter a song which reminds me a lot of one of my grandads. And just absolutely love the following verse:

I’ve got a good friend who’s seen me at my worst

He can’t tell if I’m a blessing or a curse

But he always shows up when the chips are down

That’s the kind of stuff I like to be around.

Says pretty much everything you need to know about friendship in just four lines.

This last one is just me showing off: on Thursday night I got to go to the Hershey Hotel to host an event. What a cool place! My wife and I had gone about ten years ago and had a chocolate martini at the bar, and I was excited to go back for the event. The highlights of the place are the amazing atrium (above, which incredibly was originally the parking garage), the Hershey Gardens (just past the entrance to the hotel, an awesome garden and butterfly exhibit), and the Iberian Lounge, the hotel bar that opened in 1934 and basically hasn’t changed a thing in the 85 years since. There’s a kind of cool secret at the Lounge…the road on the painting behind the bar….follows you as you walk from one side of the bar to the other. It’s an amazing optical illusion. If you have a chance, step inside for a drink and check out not only the bar but the atrium, both of which are open to the public even if you’re not staying there. Extremely cool.

The Iberian Lounge.

Alright, that about does it for this week. Until next week, be sure to follow me on twitter, instagram, and facebook. And be sure to shoot me a line if you wanna liven up your work event, wedding rehearsal dinner, or holiday party.

The Friday 5

As you may have noticed, I’m back to “blogging”. Got my WordPress updated and now it’s so much more fun to write on here, gonna make the most of it. Here’s a few things I’m reading, listening to, enjoying.

  • Speaking of Kensington, our latest podcast episode, with total badass Cheri Honkala of Kenzo, just came out. Find out why she’s sick of people complaining about Trump, what it was like running as the Green Party’s VP in 2012, and what life is really like at the frontlines of the opioid crisis.
  • Been listening to Ka lately. He’s a firefighter in New York who used to be a drug dealer, and just a tremendous poet. No glorification of that life, just a stark retelling of his younger days. The beats are sparse to give the spotlight to his rhymes, and he definitely does not disappoint. This whole song deals with his love of money versus his conscience. Love guys who can paint a picture like this:

Used to chip it at the lab

Bag, then flip it on the ave

Every trip I’m like “This one is the last.”

Two weeks later, I’m dipping in my stash

Back to the crill again, feelin’ thin

If you doin’ it to eat is it still a sin?

Used to feel bad, but then in a short time,

It’s like “Fuck your family, somebody got rich off mine.”

Five Fun Facts From Last Week’s Quiz

Gonna start posting about the more interesting questions I ask each week. Here are a few fun facts from last week:

Q: Who had a hit with the song Keep on Loving You?

A: REO Speedwagon. Curious how they got the name? Band member Neal Doughty took a History of Transportation class in college. One day he walked into class, saw the words “REO Speedwagon” on the board, and went with it. The REO Speedwagon was a 1915 car made by Ransom Eli Olds, who also gave us Oldsmobile.

1915 REO Speedwagon
1915 REO Speedwagon

Q: If a US coin is marked with a D, it was minted in what city?

A: Denver actually produces the most coins of any mint in the world.

Q: What four letter word comes to us from carnival sideshows, where it described people who would bite the heads off of snakes and chickens?

Geek. The following is from the Geek Anthropologist: it wasn’t until sometime in the early 19th century that, “the Scottish word geck, meaning ‘fool,’ changed to geek and began being used to describe a certain kind of carnival performer. Geeks specialized in eating live animals, including biting the heads off live chickens”. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “The modern form and the popular use with reference to circus sideshow ‘wild men’ is from 1946, in William Lindsay Gresham’s novel Nightmare Alley”. Initially used to refer to a very specific type of carnival performer, the word soon became synonymous with freaks—that is, any individual who exhibited a physical trait that deviated from what was commonly understood within a society or culture as “normal.” Although the term designated a sense of social stigma and shame, circus and sideshow performers adopted the term “geek” as a collective and positive form of identity. While the general public could come to gawk at the freaks, performers referred to themselves as geeks, established in opposition to the norms and rubes in the audience. 

Q: Because this 1995 rap hit heavily sampled Stevie Wonder, Stevie wouldn’t allow any cursing in it.

A: Gangsta’s Paradise, which sampled heavily from Stevie’s song Pasttime Paradise. Rolling Stone did a great oral history of the song a few years ago. This is from Coolio: “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death/I take a look at my life and I see there’s nothing left” — I freestyled that; that came off the top of the dome and I wrote that down. I thought about it for a minute, and then I wrote the whole rest of the song without stopping, from the first verse to the third verse. You know, I like to believe that it was divine intervention. “Gangsta’s Paradise” wanted to be born; it wanted to come to life, and it chose me as the vessel.

I found this fascinating, because Steven King, in his terrific book On Writing, says the following: “Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer’s job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible.”

In other words, Gangsta’s Paradise was out there, Coolio just discovered it and did an expert job of digging it up!

Q: What man popularized tobacco in England, spent 13 years in the Tower of London, was let out to try to find the town of El Dorado, then was beheaded upon his return?

A: Sir Walter Raleigh. He was also dissed by the Beatles in their song I’m So Tired: “Although I’m so tired, I’ll have another cigarette/And curse Sir Walter Raleigh/He was such a stupid git.” After his execution, his wife was presented his head, which she had embalmed and carried around in her handbag. (Seriously.)

The Ultimate Music Quiz

Thought I’d post some of the questions from last week’s Ultimate Music Quiz. I think it was a pretty good one. I’ll post the video round on it’s own. Round Four was a live music round (Reef and I rapping Rock n Roll classics) and I won’t be posting that.

ROUND ONE

1. The #1 song on Billboard right now is Truth Hurts, by what artist?

2. In what Broadway musical will you hear the song Joseph Smith American Moses?

3. In what city did Kanye West start his career?

4. The Righteous Brothers released the single, Hung On You in 1965, but it was a flop. DJs preferred the B side, a cover of a 1955 song from a prison movie. What was it?

5. This woman’s Love to Love You Baby was banned by the BBC when was released, due to its sexual overtones and 17 minute running time. 

***6. The name of the debut Metallica album was originally going to be Metal Up Your Arse. What did they change the name to?

7. UFOs are in the news right now, because of video released by Tom DeLonge. DeLonge was formerly a member of what band?

8. Otis Williams is the last suriviving member of what iconic Motown group, whose hits included Just My Imagination.  

ROUND TWO Name that artist. I give you their real name and where they’re from, you tell me their stage name.

1. Chan Marshall, Atlanta

2. Farouk Balsara, Zanzibar

3. Alecia Moore, Doylestown

4. Aubrey Graham, Toronto

5. Enrique Morales, San Juan  

6. Anna Mae Bullock, Tennessee  

7. Richard Melville Hall, Harlem

8. Reginald Dwight, England  

ROUND THREE VIDEO (Name the artist or group)

ROUND FIVE Impossible

1. Radiohead got their name from a 1986 song by what group?  

2. What group from Newark released their major labor debut, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, in 2004?

3. Chuck Berry only had one single go to #1 on the charts, and it was a 1972 novelty song. What was it?

4. What woman is the first and thus far only artist born in the 2000s to have a #1 single in the United States? 

5. When it was released in 1977, the album Two the Hard Way by a group billed as Greg Allman and Woman was a dismal critical and commerical failure. Who was the woman?

6. Backstreet Boys second album was titled Backstreet’s Back. What was their 3rd album called?

7. The Doors were the house band at this legendary LA venue; other groups to play here include Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, and No Doubt.

***8. What British group released the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome in 1984 and what American group released the single Welcome to the Terrordome in 1990? 

ANSWERS

ROUND ONE

  1. Lizzo
  2. Book of Mormon
  3. Chicago
  4. Unchained Melody
  5. Donna Summer
  6. Kill Em All
  7. Blink 182
  8. Temptations

ROUND TWO

  1. Cat Power
  2. Freddie Mercury
  3. Pink
  4. Drake
  5. Ricky Martin
  6. Tina Turner
  7. Moby (he’s a descendant of Herman Melville)
  8. Elton John

ROUND THREE

  1. Billy Squier
  2. Eric Prydz (partial credit for Steve Windwood)
  3. Journey
  4. Crazy Frog
  5. Steel Panther
  6. Sisquo
  7. Kings of Leon
  8. Eiffel 65

ROUND FIVE

  1. Talking Heads
  2. My Chemical Romance
  3. My Ding a Ling
  4. Billie Eilish
  5. Cher
  6. Millenium
  7. Whiskey a GoGo
  8. Frankie Goes to Hollywood; Public Enemy