Tag Archive for ‘Philadelphia’

Happy Belated New Year!

Due to technical difficulties beyond my control, the blog took an unexpected hiatus for a week. Thanks to the talented Lisa Sabin-Wilson the blog has been restored to all its glory.

I hope my readers had a fabulous New Year’s Day filled with food, fun and family. I spent part of the day with the finest photographers this side of Philadelphia. It is becoming a tradition of sorts for us to meet early on New Year’s Day in South Philly and photograph the Comic brigades on their march up South Broad Street to City Hall. These brigades are filled with joyously inebriated folk, along with fathers and sons in matching dresses and face makeup. This merry parade is tied together with the time honored tradition of golden slippers.

Below the cut is a slideshow of photos taken on the first day of 2012 (Year of the Dragon)

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Posted on January 11, 2012 :: Categories: Entertainment, Holiday, Philadelphia, Photography :: Tags: Mummers, New Year, Philadelphia
550 views :: 1 Comment

Occupy Philly Racks Up $1 Million Dollar Debt – Hands It Off to Philly Taxpayers

Occupy Philly supposedly scrawled a message somewhere in Dilworth Plaza regarding the evils of corporate greed.

Philadelphia city officials recently disclosed the cost of maintaining the unwanted, overextended group tantrum calling itself “Occupy Philly’. City officials estimated the protest cost the city more than $1 million, most of that in police overtime.

ONE. MILLION. DOLLARS. That amount of money might buy you a seat at an Obama fundraiser in Philly.

That is a significant amount of money for a cash strapped city to have to squeeze into an already overburdened budget. To make up for this budget busting expense, hard working residents of Philadelphia may have to adjust to city services reductions such as rolling brownouts of Philadelphia fire departments or library closures – thanks to the childish antics of Occupy Philly.

Supporters of the Philly Occupation are quick to hold the “1%” or Wall Street accountable for alleged fiscal improprieties; while the same supporters ignore their responsibility in creating a million dollar quagmire for hard working citizens of Philadelphia.

Lets get real for a moment – the Occupy movement is a complete disaster. As it stands now, the movement has no legitimacy outside its own echo chamber. Indeed the whole world watched, via New Media, as the occupy movement imploded on itself. This public tantrum has cost cities across the nation an estimated 24.8 million dollars.

The sad truth is the city will never recoup the 1 million + from the protesters. However, there maybe a way for supporters of Occupy Philly to redeem themselves and perhaps gain some marketable skills at the same time. I propose the the leaders of Occupy Philly meet with Mayor Nutter to discuss ways to work off the debt through volunteer work. The time spent on projects around the city could be used to pay down the million dollar debt owed to the citizens of Philadelphia and make the protesters appear less like greedy children and more like responsible, civic minded adults.

Personally, I would not object to them organizing fund raising event to support Philadelphia’s Fallen Finest - but that might be asking too much from such a small group of protesters.

Posted on December 28, 2011 :: Categories: Philadelphia, Uncategorized :: Tags: Philadelphia, Philly's Finest
712 views :: 2 Comments

A Farm Grows in Philly – Fox Chase Farm

Tis the season to discover your carefully stored Christmas wreaths have ‘accidentally’ found their way to the trash collector. Luckily for me, Fox Chase Farm was holding their annual Christmas green sale.

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Posted on December 10, 2011 :: Categories: Philadelphia, Photography :: Tags: Philadelphia, Photography
811 views :: 2 Comments

What Democracy Looks Like at Occupation Philly

Rape at Occupy Philadelphia

Police say the victim is a 23-year-old woman from Atlantic City, and the alleged rapist is a 50-year-old man who has reportedly been arrested a number of times for a string of robberies in Michigan.

A few things jump out from this story.

1. Both the victim and the alleged rapist are not local citizens. Were they recruited to artificially boost numbers at occupation Philly?

2. It is interesting to note the victim immediately turned to the same government and corporate entities Occupy Philly rejects in order to help her heal and prosecute her alleged attacker.

3. It was only a matter of time before this type of attack would occur in Occupation Philly. This violence has become the hallmark of occupations and will only escalate. Can the safety of any woman encountering the Occupation at Dilworth Plaza be guaranteed?

4. Apparently rape is an accepted practice among the supporters of the Occupation.

Philadelphia is weary of the occupation and the violence it breeds:

Nothing against drum circles, but the 40-day urban camping session, which has already cost taxpayers more than $500,000 in police overtime and other expenses, is now threatening to derail a $50 million revitalization project at Dilworth Plaza.

That’s nearly 1,000 jobs that would put food on the table of the “99 percent” that Occupy Philly claims to represent.

Plus, the campsite is getting kind of nasty.

“There are public-health and public-safety concerns that have nothing to do with Wall Street and corporations,” Nutter said yesterday, showing a flash of anger when describing the increasingly radical protesters who are “purposely” blocking the construction project.

“The Dilworth Plaza project will not be conducted by some corporate entity,” Nutter said of the plan to turn the concrete plaza into a handicapped accessible green public space with a café and a fountain that could be used as a skating rink. “These are real men and women. Philadelphians, Pennsylvanians, who need jobs, who need to take care of their families, their 99 percent in their households.”

Huge H/T to the ninjas at Verum Serum for alerting me to this story.

Posted on November 13, 2011 :: Categories: Philadelphia :: Tags: Philadelphia
24,791 views :: 2 Comments

Philly Post Election Wrap Up

Recall that this is heavily leaning Blue city, indeed it is Midnight Blue with Democrats enjoying a 6:1 registration majority. The results of the general election reflect that reality in some respects, but there are signs of change as well.

Philly Election Results

Congratulations to the new City Council At-Large members: David Oh and Dennis O’Brien.

Congratulations to the new City Commissioner Al Schmidt.

District Council 6th District shows signs of a potential Republican pick up in a future election. The Democrat, Bobby Henon, did not do as well as expected in this race, picking up 71% of the vote instead of an ‘easy 80%’.

Posted on November 11, 2011 :: Categories: Democrat, Philadelphia, Republican :: Tags: Philadelphia
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Occupation Philly Update

New photos from my latest visit to the occupation at Dilworth Plaza, Philadelphia. Although it was early, about 10ish, most overnight campers were still in their tents. One thing I would share with the overnight campers, the tent is not soundproof, so stop yelling at your tent-mate about borrowing shite and not returning it. TMI people! For my fellow photojournalists covering the occupation, take care when approaching an occupation. It is best to be upwind or you might inhale the sinus clearing scents of ganja laced with urine.

I’ve recently added Nik Software Silver Efex Pro2 to LightRoom and so far I’m impressed with the way the photos were rendered by this amazing B/W editor.

As much as I would like to chat about photography and how the Occupation is red meat for photojournalists like myself, let’s get into this week’s round up of Occupation stories. There are lots of bloggers covering the occupation in far better detail than the MSM. I’ve highlighted a few of them as well.

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Posted on November 06, 2011 :: Categories: Bloggers, Democrat, Philadelphia, Photography :: Tags: Philadelphia
810 views :: 1 Comment

Update on Instagram/WaPo #econdebate Photostory

A few weeks ago I shared a photo project currently being organized by the Washington Post. They are asking the question ‘What does the economy look like where you live?” To answer this question simply snap a photo using the iphone app Instagram and use the hashtag #econdebate in the title of your photo. The photos will be collected now and through the 2012 election cycle.

WaPo shares details on how to process your photos:

To participate, snap a photo that visualizes the current economic climate where you live with Instagram, a photo community of over 10 million users. Be sure to include anywhere in the caption the special tag #econdebate and a quick thought on how your snapshot shows what the economy looks like where you live. Using the tag #econdebate means you allow us to publish it in our gallery of photos from people across the country.

Let me know in the comment section if you have participated in this project and don’t forget to share a link to your photos.

Below are a two photos I have submitted to this project. I’m far from done and hope to have more to post this weekend.

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Posted on November 04, 2011 :: Categories: Philadelphia, Photography :: Tags: Philadelphia, Photography
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#Occupy News Roundup

So many stories, so little time when you actually have a life

OWS protester Scott “F*** The Corps” Olsen, who has rapidly risen to become the Cindy Sheehan of OWS, has been outed as a member of IVAW and the owner of the blog ‘I Hate The Marine Corps’. Awesome representative of the dysfunction of #OWS, keep ‘em coming!

A picture of main stream America? USA News reports of violence and assaults occurring among the protesters in Zuccotti Park.

So, is this what they meant by ‘normalizing’ OWS? A 23 year old woman and #OWS protester, Justina Jenson, has been charged with felony prostitution of 16 year old whom she met at a New Hampshire Occupation.

Beat It! Madison, Wisconsin city officials have revoked Occupation Madison’s permit due to numerous complaints of public masturbation. How else are the oppressed 99%ers going to let off steam?

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Posted on October 30, 2011 :: Categories: Democrat, National :: Tags: Philadelphia
878 views :: 3 Comments

Boot Camp Philly Style

Early this morning I participated in my first ever Boot Camp fitness workout. Eight hardy souls met at Lloyd Hall at 6 am to start their day with an hour of cardio and strength training, but mostly we ran. I’m signing up for the five week course that spans November into December.

For those considering joining a ‘boot camp’ fitness group, let me share my thoughts on Day 1 of Boot Camp:

There is not set uniform to don, thankfully, as camouflage wreaks havoc on my complexion. I suggest wearing running or gym attire and layer your clothing. 6am in October is quite chilly, but once you get warmed up you’ll want to remove the extra layers.
Bring water – you will need it during the course of the workout.
Running is an integral part of Boot Camp, embrace it and learn to love it.
I love Nike running shoes and clothing so much so that you can say I am a Nike Girl. However, the placement of a pocket on the derriere of women’s Nike Fit leggings is not really conducive to storing your car key comfortably, especially when you are going through a set of abdominal crunches on the ground- think before you store your key!
Bring a sense of humor. Imaging the comments around the water-cooler when share the awe of watching a sunrise light up the Parkway while doing a gazillion jumping jacks?
This type of group exercise is a huge calorie burner. Conservatively, working out three times a week for one hour, you can burn 2,000 calories. HELLO! Certainly makes the running part feel all that much better.
This type of group exercise is meant for moderately fit individuals. That is not to say beginners can’t join, but I felt challenged by this workout and I’m in fairly good shape.
There is something inspiring about exercising outdoors, especially with Kelly Drive and the Philadelphia Art Museum as the backdrop. I was feeling all kinds of Rocky!

Before considering any type of workout, please see your primary care physician to discuss your state of health and the exercise options available.

Posted on October 27, 2011 :: Categories: Philadelphia :: Tags: Chasing 26.2, Philadelphia
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