15
Feb
Look, I’ve solved the Republican Presidential nomination issue. “Romney” has the correct number of syllables for awesome parody songs. “Santorum” does not.
Erica Palan
Philadelphia Writer and Editor
Fine Folk
Esquire Theme by Matthew Buchanan
Social icons by Tim van Damme
15
Feb
Look, I’ve solved the Republican Presidential nomination issue. “Romney” has the correct number of syllables for awesome parody songs. “Santorum” does not.
I know I have chosen my friends wisely when not one but two of my dearest write about the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Read Dan’s post on The Philly Post and Aly’s on Entertainment Weekly’s Popwatch. Also, OMG I want to lay my cheek on that doggie!
14
Feb
I’m thinking of my beautiful Grandmom—on the left—who died five years ago today. I didn’t know it until we started calling relatives to give them funeral information, but my grandfather proposed to her on Valentine’s Day. That memory makes a hard day a little happier.
13
Feb
I think people deserve a second chance, you know. If you’ll note, he has not been on the Grammys for the past few years and it may have taken us a while to kind of get over the fact that we were the victim of what happened.
09
Feb
I’m super-psyched that Clarence Clemons’ nephew, Jake, is joining the E Street Band for this tour.
06
Feb
Why, yes, I did spend Super Bowl Sunday watching the (super boring) Puppy Bowl and writing about it for work. This guy, named Montana, is my favorite. He pooped on the field which added some much-needed excitement to the whole event.
31
Jan
To see more classic Super Bowl commercials, check out my post on Mental Floss.
30
Jan
I hate this douche who says mean things about Downtown Abbey so I did the only reasonable thing: I wrote about it for work.
Also, while we’re on the topic: I am kind of obsessed with this picture of the Downton gals in modern party clothes.
27
Jan
But where will we stand?, I wondered, since I have always, always stood on Clemons’ side—mostly out of respect for the Big Man, but also to be as far away as possible from Springsteen’s wife Patti Scalfa. How will Bruce introduce the musicians? I can’t imagine hearing Springsteen sing about the Big Man joining the band in “10th Avenue Freeze Out” without Clemons’ distinctive sax. “Jungleland”‘s bridge cannot possibly fill me up the same way with someone else playing the notes.
16
Jan
Maybe it won’t stop the assholes from beating an innocent kid to death, but it would certainly help morale—and maybe prevent a few senseless acts of violence—if we could all just try being a little nicer to each other.
Move your backpack off the bus seat so the old lady can sit down. Hold the door for the person behind you. Don’t pee anywhere besides the bathroom. (Lookin’ at you, Mummers.) Use a trashcan—especially if you’re in Center City and there’s one on every corner. Instead of sucker-punching the dude who cuts in line at the bar, perhaps, just say, “Hey, I was next.” Don’t block the box.
09
Jan
I didn’t know until college that it was weird to hum your high school’s alma mater under your breath—or even to know all the words. Students at Cardinal Dougherty High School, where I attended from 1999 through 2003, sang the alma mater all the time. At assemblies. On buses. At pep rallies. It was just a thing.
Ten years since my graduation, I still know all the words and sometimes the tune will pop in my head at inopportune moments—like during my yearly performance review at work—and I’ll have to bite my tongue to keep from singing out, “We’ll bear your glory far and wide—FAR AND WIDE!”
I’ve been thinking about this sort of thing this week thanks to the announcement that many local Catholic high schools and elementary schools will shutter at the end of the year. Dougherty closed last spring and now my grade school, St. William, will merge with St. Cecilia’s. I wrote about it for the Philly Post today.
Anyway, because I was thinking about it, I YouTubed “Cardinal Dougherty High School” to see if I could find some footage of people singing the alma mater. I was surprised to find this video of the Cardinal Dougherty High School Alumni Band playing my favorite song in the whole wide world, “Stars and Stripes Forever.” See that guy conducting? That’s my dad! [Read about the CDHS Alumni Band here. They’re totally rad—and still together despite the school closing last spring.]
02
Jan
But I thought that wouldn’t go over well. Instead I went with, “Doctors Whine About iPads.”
01
Jan
This is me on New Year’s Eve after I dragged my friends three blocks only to discover we had a better view of the fireworks right in front of the studio where we were partying. Fun fact: All those sweet decorations you see? They’re not real. Some movie with a Christmas scene was filmed on this street several months ago and the crew never removed the lights. I hope they’re still there in July.
Speaking of New Year’s, here’s the Philly-centric resolutions I made this year.
13
Dec
My Christmas gift to you: You can watch A Muppet Family Christmas (translation: Muppets + Sesame Street + Fraggles) in its entirety on Mental Floss. When I tell you that this is the greatest movie ever made, I am not invoking hyperbole. Do it. NOW. (And you’re welcome. It was really my pleasure.)
