"Missing Philly" written by Janelle on estrip.org

10/29/07 11:00 - 53ºF - ID#41877

Missing Philly

I fell in love with Philadelphia. It was heartbreaking when I left. It's cheesy, but I sometimes miss Philly and I feel a sad achy pain. It hits me at the oddest moments and it hit me today on my way to work. I think partly because (e:tinypliny) is going there for a conference. But she doesn't get to see all the things I love about Philly....so here's a tour of Philly for (e:tinypliny).
Kelly Dr. is beautiful year round and everyone jogs on the path along the river, and I did too. It's an upscale meat market.

I love the row houses in Philly. These row houses were the homes of famous individuals in the late 1700s, but by the 1950s urban blight almost caused them to be destroyed. Now they go for easily $1million.

Best art museum I've ever been to. Drew and I had membership passes and went there every Friday night to listen to Jazz when we were dating.

When I first moved to Philly, I'd never been to such a big city and I wandered around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway gawking at the buildings like a big ole dumb tourist. To this day, I am amazed I didn't get mugged.

I miss Chinatown... a lot. No Chinatown in Pittsburgh, no Chinatown in Buffalo. Where do I go for my fresh baked moon cakes and buns with red bean paste? And where do I buy my lucky cats now? No, really. I need to know. Toronto?

The best for the last...the mummers parade. The best description I've heard of the mummers parade is Broadway meets Mardi Gras. Its Broadway in terms of the performance and costumes. Its mardi gras thanks to the drunkenness of the participants. I think every year I've fended off a drunk mummer trying to hit on me! You get up early in the morning. Get to Broad St. with your chair and thermos of coffee (because it's January 1st) and you sit for for hours and watch the show and then you leave because it's freezing cold and you watch the rest of it on television. If you're hard core, you stay all eight hours and party with the mummers at the mummers houses after the parade. I'm not hardcore. Here's a link as I'm guessing few of you know much about the Mummers parade.

It also rained gumdrops and snowed skittles in Philly...I'm crossing my fingers that it snows skittles in Buffalo and that I'll love Buffalo as much as Philly.

tinypliny writes at 01:13:57 11/03/07 - Comment #27426: Mukti means "Freedom from some crushing influence or burden/nirvana/freedom/Liberation/Salvation" in more than a handful of Indian languages including the dead Sanskrit. Does it have a meaning in Swahili too? Most interesting...

jenks writes at 03:01:10 11/02/07 - Comment #27359: yes, miss holly lulu is one cool chick, as is my most adorable most pregnant friend with a cool south african name (mukti)- she runs the friday night stuff. :)

dragonlady7 writes at 10:50:21 11/01/07 - Comment #27356: Toronto has a Chinatown that makes all other Chinatowns look dinky and hokey.
Toronto's Chinatown is enormous, and hard-core. There are entire blocks where there are no signs in English. We were last there on a rainy day and no tourists were out, but there was a giant demonstration going on down both sides of one main street with huge banners in Chinese and someone with an industrial sound system blaring out Chinese speech. Some of the signs were in English-- it was a protest about some political event in China, and I don't even know what it was.

There is a reason that Toronto was the largest Western hub for SARS and it is not hygeine-- Toronto is a very clean city-- but the sheer fact that there is so much traffic back and forth to China, and just so many Chinese people there.

So yes, Buffalo's Chinatown is condensed into Toronto. Which is well worth a visit, but at the moment the exchange rate will rape you horribly.

I have only been to Philly once-- and I had hurt my foot, so I saw the art museum in a borrowed wheelchair. I totally recommend that way of getting around-- you just ask for one when you come in. We all hung our coats on it and occasionally when I felt OK I'd let someone else ride in it for a while-- it's the only way to see the entirety of a huge museum.

As for the Albright-Knox, mentioned below-- it is focused on modern art, and has a crazy awesome collection. More importantly, the assistant curator whose name is on every wall is particularly beloved to me, as she skates as Holly Lulu on the Nickel City Knockouts, my roller derby team. Look out for #33!! She knows her modern art. And wears her hair like a silent film star.

tinypliny writes at 11:37:44 10/30/07 - Comment #27218: BTW, I actually meant:

Now, I *can't* wait to go there. :)

tinypliny writes at 11:35:59 10/30/07 - Comment #27217

And you were amazed that you weren't mugged?!

Hmmmmm.....

alarm bell alarm bell*

tinypliny writes at 11:34:49 10/30/07 - Comment #27216: And my conference is just a block or two away from the Farmer's market!!!!

tinypliny writes at 11:33:45 10/30/07 - Comment #27215: OMG! You did a lovely post for me!! That is SO NICE of you! Thanks a million times over!

Now I can wait to go there... :)

Thank you! I am just speechless!

jbeatty writes at 08:55:19 10/30/07 - Comment #27164: I don't know about the mega fries at Pats, but eating a cheesesteak from there in mid march, freezing my ass off right before a Stereolab show at the theater of living arts is my fondest memory of Philly. My brother and I contemplated trying Gino's after the show to compare, but by that point I had some really nasty indigestion.

fellyconnelly writes at 07:59:28 10/30/07 - Comment #27160: oh man i visited a friend in philly and we went to the street market... wowser!

i think i spent about 4.50 and walked away with the two biggest bags of produce and fresh bread ever! i loved it!

jenks writes at 12:30:20 10/30/07 - Comment #27158: funny... when I was deciding on med school, I had to choose between philly and new orleans. I ended up in New Orleans.
But that mummer's parade is VERY mardi-gras-esque- I was surprised. And I'm not talking about the drunkenness- more the costumes, structure, etc.

Ok, so I guess that's not so much "funny" as "random coincidence".
Oy, it's time for me to go to bed.

james writes at 11:24:43 10/29/07 - Comment #27155: Have you been to the Albright Knox? pound for pound it is one of the best museums I have ever been too.

My best friend used to live in Phily. Getting mega-fries at Pat's. Going to the Mummer museum. Taking copious quantities of drugs in the giant cemetery or staring at the faces carved into the cornices of the buildings of Penn state. OH! and wonderful South street. So much fun.

Permalink: Missing_Philly.html
Words: 440
Location: Buffalo , NY

10/29/07 09:06 - 32ºF - ID#41855

Halloween

What are the "official" times for trick or treating in the city? When should I expect the little ghouls to start showing up at my door?!

And is there really a thing called "Beggars Night" where kids trick or treat on the night before Halloween?

Permalink: Halloween.html
Words: 45
Location: Buffalo , NY

10/26/07 10:20 - 47ºF - ID#41814

The Res'

Some people I know went out to the Indian reservation in Cattaraugus County. They were part of a social service fair to market what services their agency has to offer.

I was intriqued with the comments I heard when they got back. The words were heavily loaded to indicate negative opinion of the reservation and the people who live there. Here are just a few of the comments:

"I couldn't get off the res' fast enough"
"Well, you know, no one who lives there wants to work"
"Sure, we want to expand our services out to that area, but we don't want an actual agency site on the reservation"
"You don't want to leave your car parked on the reservation"

It was a little curious to me because social service workers are used to working with "undesirable" people in "undesirable" environments. I've seen lots of shit (literally and figuratively) working in this field.

But I'm also curious as to the nature of any prejudices some people might have in this area towards Indians or prejudices/negative attitudes going the other way? What are they rooted in? What are the tensions? (I know about the casinos obviously and the I90 conflict over the tolls).

joshua writes at 11:29:48 10/26/07 - Comment #27002: There isn't much of a dynamic, honestly, unless you want to discuss the Senecas trying to spend a nine-figure amount on a casino in the cobblestone district.

I can only speak from my own experience, but having lived in the area my whole life I can say that most of the experiences people have with the Indians that I'm aware of involve buying cheap gas and smokes. Some people feel that the Senecas use their sovereignty in an arrogant way and do not believe that the Senecas should have sovereignty in any part of the city of Buffalo. But, like most civic issues around here, the average guy on the street is indifferent.

janelle writes at 10:51:44 10/26/07 - Comment #27000: Oh, my opinion is that their comments are racist. I also think that you would never catch these same people talking about the east side like that because they know that it's not okay to be openly racist towards black people. The fact that they openly made this comment leads me to believe that there's little social disapproval against being openly racist against Indians. Why is that?
Also, prejudices don't exist in a vacuum, though, they come from somewhere. So where did these ideas come from? What are the social dynamics between Indians and non-Indians in the area?

joshua writes at 10:37:56 10/26/07 - Comment #26996: Huh?

My inclination would be to think that these people are utterly clueless and a tad racist to boot. Are these the same people that live in Williamsville but tell me that they don't visit Buffalo because of the attitudes of the black people?

To be fair, I've never dealt with people on the reservation in a social services environment. In all seriousness and all bullshit aside, this is one of the most offensive things I've read in a while. I think it may suit you better to form your own opinions and go from there.

paul writes at 10:36:51 10/26/07 - Comment #26995: I think it still a throwback to the whole scalping thing, lol.

Permalink: The_Res_.html
Words: 203
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: news

10/18/07 01:07 - 59ºF - ID#41701

What incredible grace...

that a woman who had been sexually abused as a child would run a trailer park and allow released sex offenders to live there while they get their act together, yet still draw a tough line that she expects that they'll toe the line or go back to jail!

Permalink: What_incredible_grace_.html
Words: 58
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: human rights

10/17/07 08:29 - 59ºF - ID#41682

Yahoo in China

Has anyone been following this situation with Yahoo in China?

What do you think? Does Yahoo have no responsibiity for the actions of the Chinese government? Were they simply following the laws of the land? Should US companies do business in China if they are subject to the Chinese government in a way that makes them complicit with a human rights violation?

metalpeter writes at 05:31:37 10/17/07 - Comment #26489: First of all I kinda remember this same idea when Google and Yahoo both decided to operate in China. I don't think my thoughts from then have really changed. If yahoo wants to operate in China then they have to follow the laws and the culture of china. The company has a choice it can say we don't agree with there ideas and take the money anyways or take the moral high ground and not do Busines there. This would be true of any country not just in china. What makes no sense to me is why does Yahoo say anything to congress they have no say of what they do in another country and how they follow that other countires laws.

I myself think that Yahoo shouldn't be in china. I'm not sure where they would get there internet from but I'm sure some company could be formed inside the country and they would work with the government. It is to bad that some gorilla internet company couldn't form that was independent of the government, but it would might just get shut down and everyone would be jailed for life.

janelle writes at 03:58:18 10/17/07 - Comment #26486: <smacks self in head>, of course, (e:James), that's the true crux of the argument!

james writes at 03:55:25 10/17/07 - Comment #26485: This very detailed and expansive discussion is great everyone. But I think you are all missing one very important fact, without which all your arguments have no footing:

tacos are awesome.

ajay writes at 03:34:37 10/17/07 - Comment #26481: [ Again: all of this is personal opinion ]

You guys misunderstood me.

I'm not saying that "everyone is bad, so it's OK".
I'm trying to point out the parallels: that even the USG does the same thing that ChiComs are accused of; and that US companies like ATT, Verizon, etc. are doing exactly what Yahoo is alleged to have done.

Basically it boils down to this: A government agency comes to a communications company and says "We believe Citizen X committed a crime and revealed state secrets/is planning an attack. We need his phone records/email records." What should the company do? Defy the subpoena (and the law of the land) and get its officers sent to jail

It is not as if Yahoo is volunteering this information; they are responding to valid, legal requests for information from a local law-enforcement agency.

I brought up WalMart/ToysRus because the simple fact is: if these companies did not bankroll the ChiComs, then that government wouldn't have the balls to give the world the finger (while fisting Tibet).

joshua writes at 02:26:37 10/17/07 - Comment #26468: Its efficient, and passing the buck is a politician's best friend.

janelle writes at 01:44:01 10/17/07 - Comment #26459: (e:zobar):
"Mu [the question is wrong]. Why are governments relying so heavily on private industry to carry out their official functions in the first place?"

Because it's efficient. Why have experts on the internet/extracting information from the internet when an industry already exists that can accomplish it? It's just good business sense to not re-invent the wheel. It's a positive thing when the government can ask the internet agencies to assist with tracking down purveyors of child porn websites, but a negative thing of course when the government is illegally spying on individuals.

janelle writes at 01:37:59 10/17/07 - Comment #26456: I definitely feel a little disgust at the Olympics in China. To make it worse, China is stepping up a quiet campaign to drive missionaries out of the country before the Olympics. The Olympics attracts a large number of evangelists and China wants to make sure that there are no missionaries in the country to provide home base for missionaries coming into the country from around the world to share the faith.

and yeah, (e:jason), we dug ourselves a hole giving China such a financial hold over us from multiple angles. It put ourselves in a weak position.

jason writes at 01:31:12 10/17/07 - Comment #26452: The China situation is very delicate. They could easily just dump all of the US Dollars they have, which would mean very tough economic consequences for us. That's why we (and, more severely, the rest of the world) act like wimps.

Now, if you guys can come up with some really great ideas on how to give China the finger right now, while simultaneously re-supplying our stores with replacements for the millions of products made in China, then I'm all ears.

They abuse human rights, they pollute the planet, and what do they get for punishment? The Olympics. It's a mad world.

joshua writes at 12:50:38 10/17/07 - Comment #26449: Yahoo shareholders rejected in June the notion of adopting a policy that would oppose censorship on the internet.

:::link:::

We've always known why, but unfortunately they have taken further steps to help the Chinese government jail people. Yahoo is no longer considered a leader with respect to the ethos of the Internet, to be kind about it.

I find the idea that Yahoo didn't know a crime was committed to be incredibly naive and hard to believe. Forget about Gitmo for a second - nothing that the US government, or other companies in the US for that matter, have done can excuse or otherwise justify what Yahoo did. Bringing up Wal-Mart and Toys R Us is merely a distraction meant to muddy up the waters. I sincerely hope that this is not the way Yahoo PR intends on handling it, because they will get slaughtered in the press if they do so.

Nobody is excusing the telecoms. Why should Yahoo be excused? My God, they directly helped to jail a political dissident by literally handing over private data! Then, Yahoo mislead Congress about it.

Suggesting that somehow American consumers are at fault for human rights abuses in China is contrived. That is a bizarre notion. Whats next - we all have to scale back, or possibly even pay more, for things in order to prevent foreign governments that we can't control from abusing their own people? Shit, China has done that all on their own for 50 years without the big bad capitalists helping them out.

jim writes at 10:47:58 10/17/07 - Comment #26434: There is pressure on everyone you named to change their ways, ajay, people protest against Gitmo, the US Government, and Yahoo, together and separately. I don't shop at Walmart, lots of people don't because of just what you mentioned. It is possible to criticize Yahoo for its decisions without first invoking a litany against everyone else - you can't talk about everything at once and still be coherent.

Also, if the US Government jumped off a cliff would Yahoo jump off too? :)

ajay writes at 10:16:17 10/17/07 - Comment #26432: [ I'm speaking in my private capacity here ]

How are Yahoo's actions any different from these :::link::: and why is the White House asking for retroactive immunity for the telecom companies :::link::: ?

Talking about "human rights", have you looked at Gitmo recently? And how many people in this country have been locked up (or sent abroad for "rendition") because of the telecom companies' cooperation?

Why is it OK to blame Yahoo for this, and then turn around and patronize companies like WalMart and Toys R Us, which almost exclusively peddle "Made in China" goods? If noone bought Chinese goods, the government there wouldn't have the money to crack down on its citizens, right? Then why aren't we, the American consumers, also responsible for the HR violations in China?

Here's the short version of the story: the company got a subpoena. It had no idea of the crime committed; JUST LIKE IT IS IN THE U.S.!

zobar writes at 10:05:02 10/17/07 - Comment #26431: Should American companies provide foreign governments information they demand to spy on their citizens?

Should American companies be complicit in our own government's efforts to spy on its citizens?

Mu [the question is wrong]. Why are governments relying so heavily on private industry to carry out their official functions in the first place?

- Z

janelle writes at 09:50:14 10/17/07 - Comment #26430: I think my ultimate conclusion is the same as you, (e:Joshua) and (e:museumchick). If they are complicit in human rights violations because they have to follow the laws of the land, then they probably should not be operating in that country.

I'm guessing they have already made ethical compromises (by Western World standards) regarding censorship in order to operate in China.

joshua writes at 09:42:02 10/17/07 - Comment #26429: Yahoo are in a difficult position - they have to follow Chinese directions or they will not be able to do business in the country. They simply should not do what they are doing - I don't think the business is worth the atrocious publicity that providing private e-mails to the Chinese version of the Stasi brings.

museumchick writes at 09:18:06 10/17/07 - Comment #26424: I hadn't been following what was going on, so I'm really glad you linked to that article.

I think that Yahoo shares some responsibility for what happened. In my opinion, they didn't have to turn over the documents. Maybe many other people would do the same if put in that situation... but I still don't believe that makes it okay.

If I were a US company, I would be very hesitant to do business in China. They have a horrible record of human rights violations, and I wouldn't want to support that. But that can probably be said of a lot of countries, so I'm not sure where I would stand if I was in that position.

Permalink: Yahoo_in_China.html
Words: 71
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: life

10/14/07 12:16 - 53ºF - ID#41633

Celebration, come on!

<walks out on stage and stands on soapbox>

I lost 5lbs after being conscious about my eating habits and getting back on the exercise machine. I'd like to share this accomplishment with friends because I worked hard.

But do I? Nope. Not even with my closest of girlfriends. Because most people make disparaging comments about me losing weight...you're so skinny, you could use a little weight on you, whatever...

Well, ya know what....It's my body and I get to have control over it. And I have a preferred weight where I look my best and feel my best. I would love to tell people that I gained 10 lbs after college and loved those ten lbs that went straight to my hips and ass and made me look smoking hot in those hip huggers. But it's hard when they're so busy judging me.

But now I put on another 10lbs, I don't feel as good about how I look, my pants are horribly tight, I'm in between sizes right now, and don't care to replace my wardrobe. So, I'm trying to lose those 10lbs and I refuse to be apologetic about it, because it's my body.

And you know what else I get tired of? The nasty remarks people make towards me when I turn down candy or only drink diet soda. It's your own damn assumption that I don't do those things to avoid weight gain. I'm actually quite careful about sugar because I'm unbelievably prone to cavities and I'd like to keep my teeth for as long as I can. So shove it!

<steps off soab box, bows and exits>

james writes at 10:40:05 10/14/07 - Comment #26226: Rock on Ms. Janelle ^_^

fellyconnelly writes at 10:18:05 10/14/07 - Comment #26220: here here!
one of my store locations is next to a hostess outlet store, and i swear the people who work there want nothing else but to eat sugary cake all day! and they wonder why you won't accept any!

i tell everybody that its really more about that funny thing called 'health' - you are not meant to have that crap shoved down your throats! and that is why i chose to eat salads and wraps rather than the cheeseburgers and fries that they get.

but yes it is also about the desire to reverse to the time when i could fit into those jeans that i refuse to throw away. don't tell anybody though!

congrats to you for your healthy habits!

tinypliny writes at 01:32:01 10/14/07 - Comment #26210: /*claps lustily*/

Did you know that teeth were so prized in the 17/18th centuries that grave robbers preferentially dug out the bodies of the young and the able, not because they had coprophilia, but because they wanted the un-rotted teeth of the deceased.

The basic reason behind the creation of the tooth fairy was the preservation of one's teeth for one's afterlife. Because, apparently, every myth pointed to the fact that dentists never made it to heaven. As a result, you needed to have unrotten preserved teeth to get on with chewy life in heaven.

At one point in the past, people kept a complete tooth-set made of cedar wood so that they could replace all the cavity-ridden teeth with the wood ones as soon as they could seek treatment from one of the rare traveling teeth-doctors.

With such a complex history and evolution of teeth-paranoia among the human race, I am constantly surprised at how people totally neglect teeth care and hygiene. Sugar is perhaps the No.1 enemy of tooth-health. Not brushing long enough or at all ranks pretty high among causes for lost teeth. Sticky food residue contributes to a BIG chunk of cavities

\m/ Rock on Janelle. \m/
Teeth-hygiene is indeed the new godliness. :)

Permalink: Celebration_come_on_.html
Words: 277
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sims

10/13/07 11:03 - 48ºF - ID#41625

The Seduction of Joey Johnson

I'm too the point in my career as a medical surgeon that I can't progress without some support from a spouse. So I set aside a day to seduce my long time boyfriend Joey Johnson.

I was a little bit nervous when I invited him over as I had been dabbling in a relationship with Drew Ludwig. But all was forgiven with a passionate kiss at the door:

We started out with some light conversation.
He likes cloudy Days

Oh, good! I like rainy days...this might work!

I can't propose to him on an empty stomach so I whipped up a turkey dinner for the two of us:

I like sailboats

Oh, shoot, not Joey. He hates sailboats, they don't pollute enough!

Oh, yeah, well, um, I like cars...they pollute a lot!

Moving onto pinball. I need to show Joey that living herw is full of pinball fun!

I sneak downstairs to change into a little special something to move in for the kill!

I nervously chatter about clothing accessories to relieve the tension of the moment.

Okay, time to test the waters with an intimate hug.

Good, good... moving in for a fiery kiss...oh, no a setback!

Shoot, I'm committed now. Suck it up and propose!

No, no! I did everything right...why doesn't he love me???

Permalink: The_Seduction_of_Joey_Johnson.html
Words: 249
Location: Buffalo , NY

10/11/07 11:35 - 52ºF - ID#41606

Plant Lamp

The most fucking awesome lamp in the universe...is in MY house.
It's a plant lamp. The lamp rod is inside of a large plastic basin that holds lots of soil into which three cute little house plants are planted.

Hold onto your seats, this is the exciting part.....

To turn the lamp on and off, you don't use a typical on and off lamp switch. Oh, no my friends. You gently touch one of the leaves of the plant to turn it on and again to turn it off!

Science is an awesome thing!

Permalink: Plant_Lamp.html
Words: 95
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: family

10/11/07 09:08 - 49ºF - ID#41589

Divorce and the Holidays

As many of you have read on this blog, my parents are in the process of divorcing. Yesterday was their first court hearing. Although I haven't heard the outcome, I'm pretty sure that by Thanksgiving or Christmas, the parents will not be sharing the same roof anymore. So I will be transitioning into that weird situation of how to handle the holidays. I think they'll both be living in the same town, so that will help. I'll be in IL with them for Thanksgiving and doing Xmas here in Buffalo. My plan for Xmas is to invite everyone (brother and both parents and grandmother) in the family to celebrate here and let them decide who wants to come.

Any advice from those with experience in juggling divorced parents and holidays?

Permalink: Divorce_and_the_Holidays.html
Words: 130
Location: Buffalo , NY

Category: sims

10/09/07 10:48 - 63ºF - ID#41567

Sims Update

My sim was in a bit of a rut.
Work, study, work socialize, work, study, work, socialize.

So she treated herself to a pool now that she makes the big bucks as a specialist: