Pot Luck

Have I mentioned lately... (4.00 / 1)

...how much I love Philadelphia?  Can't believe it took me 33 years to move here!  Have wanted to live here since I was like, 12.  Oh well, I'm finally here now, is all that really matters.  :)

But whoa is it hot here right now!  Topped 100 here in 19125 today, and I don't have a/c in my apartment.  Was 89 inside when I got home.  The 'low' last night was 76.  We can't even cool down overnight.  Blah!  Should be okay again in a couple days, but this heat is brutal right now.  I wouldn't trade Philadelphia for any other place in the world, personally, but I'll admit the one thing I DID NOT miss here is the summer heat.  Now excuse me while I go take a cold shower, dump a bucket of ice over my head and take a nap in the fridge.  Heh.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 00:39:41 AM UTC

Heh, (4.00 / 1)

that's what I love about where I am. Doesn't get too hot, doesn't get too cold. Very few poisonous critters. We have mud in the winter, but ya gotta take the bitter with the sweet and I can plan around mud. ;-)

Up in the gorge they get bitter cold in the winter and wind year round. Eastern Oregon is dry but they got rattlesnakes.

Nope, where I'm at is where I belong.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 13:27:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

David Duke and Charles Barron... (0.00 / 0)

...sittin' in a tree.

Yeah, here's a Democrat who needs to be crushed, and never heard from again.

But two days after former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke bizarrely inserted himself into the Democratic primary with his own video endorsement of Barron because of their shared anti-Israel views, those steadfast supporters were nowhere to be seen.

It's not "bizarre," if you know anything else about this worthless, racist scumbag, who wants to "slap a white person for his mental health."

Actually, something tells me that won't work, and that he has quite significant deep-seated problems of another kind.  Btw, that racist piece of shit is more than welcome to try to 'slap me' for his mental health.  I can not guarantee that he'll still be able to walk on his own after doing so, though... ;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 23:58:32 PM UTC

Is your cows dying? (4.00 / 1)

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-20...

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by: ColonelPanik @ Mon Jun 25, 2012 at 03:07:10 AM UTC

Ouch. (0.00 / 0)

Three weeks ago, the cattle had just been turned out to enjoy the fresh grass, when something went terribly wrong.

"When our trainer first heard the bellowing, he thought our pregnant heifer may be having a calf or something," said Abel. "But when he got down here, virtually all of the steers and heifers were on the ground. Some were already dead, and the others were already in convulsions."

Within hours, 15 of the 18 cattle were dead. [...]

Preliminary tests revealed the Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 01:50:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

My new favorite bookstores... (4.00 / 1)

There are some others I really want to get to soon, but my favorites here so far are Bookhaven and Book Trader.  Neither are particularly close, but both are convenient to me at times.

The former is a three-story converted rowhouse packed with books into every space, nook, cranny, crack and crevice possible, and has a nice children's section* too.  It's right near where I drop my rent off each month, and I just can't help myself from dropping in, browsing for a while, and picking up a cheap used book that one evening per month when I'm right by.

The latter is just a block in from the 2nd Street subway station, and right at the southern end of the #5 bus line, which runs just a few blocks from my place on Frankford Ave. through Kensington.  The 5 bus is actually the quickest way for me to get downtown if I time it right, since it's on the way to my walk to the El.  Two stories of the same thing, used books everywhere.  All kinds of awesome.  :)

*My oldest niece is very much looking forward to that next time she visits!  My daughter doesn't like reading, though, unfortunately. :(  Although she's not really a 'child' anymore, definitely more a teen, what with her turning 15 soon and all...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 01:47:35 AM UTC

Oh, and I need to get to this one soon. (0.00 / 0)

Port Richmond Books.  Ain't far at all, just a quick hop up the 15 shuttle (fix those tracks and bring our trolley back, damnit!).  Hell, that's even walking distance on a nice day.  Hope they're open Sundays!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 01:56:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Three places I need to check out... (0.00 / 0)

Maybe if I put it out here, I'll actually finally get around to getting there!  ;)

Emerald Street Urban Farm: half-block urban garden just down the street, it's overflowing with all kinds of stuff right now but I've never seen anyone there.  Farmstands on Saturdays, apparently.  Will have to check it out soon.

Norris Square Farmers' Market: the closest farmers' market to me.  A Food Trust market.  Not much info on it on the web, but it's apparently changed days from Thursday to Saturday for this year.  I might as well just walk by on Saturday morning if I'm free, it's also just right down the street.

And of course, Greensgrow.  Farmstand is open twice a week now.  Workshops and stuff, too.  I think next year I'll maybe do their CSA.  Which would be my first!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Jun 27, 2012 at 22:20:14 PM UTC

Check one off the list! (0.00 / 0)

Stopped in at Greensgrow on the way home around 6:30.  Their summer farmstand / market days are Thursday 2 - 7, and Saturday 10 - 2:30.  Didn't buy anything, but it was nice to walk around for the first time.  Everything was open.  Saw the chickens, their 'mascot' Milkshake the Pig, all the growing areas.  They have a composting toilet.  There's a garden supply sales shed, and about a half dozen vendors at today's market.

Peaches, blueberries and corn all over the place.  Some raspberries, red and black.  Dairy (raw milk really is quite legal here in Pennsylvania, it's for sale everywhere and seems quite popular, though I'm not gonna go for it myself), a guy selling olive oils and vinegars.  South Philly's Green Street Coffee Roasters was there.  A lot of events upcoming on the board.  Should have brought my camera, I could have done a photo diary!  Cool place, I'll definitely be back often.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 00:57:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Peaches! (0.00 / 0)

Lancaster County peaches (and cherries) are at all the Amish stands in Reading Terminal Market now, and Fair Food Farmstand also has peaches (and cherries) from elsewhere.  I forgot.  I think Delaware or South Jersey?

Anyway.  Isn't that at least a few weeks early?  Is it the weather, or am I way off in remembering produce seasons back out here, after all the time I spent in Portland?

Not complaining, though!  Didn't pick any up, but I saw them there on the way home and I'll definitely be looking for them at whichever farmers' market I end up at on Saturday or Sunday.

Oh.  Sweet corn at the Amish stands, too.  Lancaster County.  That's early, too, no?

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Jun 27, 2012 at 22:25:14 PM UTC

everything early (4.00 / 1)

this is the FIRST year I have blueberries before July 4th. I have tons and have been picking for about a week. Do u want to come and pick?

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by: LeeN @ Thu Jun 28, 2012 at 14:33:05 PM UTC

Oh, yeah. Blueberries too! (0.00 / 0)

Forgot to note they're everywhere at the market now, too.

:-D

Sure, when would be a good time?

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu Jun 28, 2012 at 16:17:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Okay, this is just nuts... (0.00 / 0)

It's 5:50 AM, it's like 213 degrees outside, a vicious thunderstorm is dumping water that appears to be boiling and melting the fucking trash bags on the pavement (pavement = Philadelphian for 'sidewalk,' and of course, it's garbage day on my block this morning).

This is just unbelievable.  When did Philadelphia move to Venus?

My fridge walked out on me and quit yesterday, told me it can't work any more what with it being 90-something degrees every day for the last seventy days or so.  And we still have, oh, only about a hundred weeks of summer left.  Wtf?  Argh!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 09:55:09 AM UTC

10-day forecast. (0.00 / 0)

100, 98, 92, 91, 90, 89, 92, 91, 90, 89.  And of course, million percent humidity at all times...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 10:13:58 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

In other words... (0.00 / 0)

Waaaaaah!

;-P

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 19:59:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Three for Casey... (4.00 / 1)

Random shots on the walk home from the train through my neighborhood, one of the last remaining inner city ethnic Irish neighborhoods in America.

Tons more, I just have to get out one day (Sunday!) and take pics of them.

One more.

The siding on the row house was melted off by the heat from the Buck Hosiery fire back in April.  The other large mill in the pic literally comes within inches of the El on the other side.  A similar fire in that building would melt the subway tracks, and take out a large chunk of the thriving adjacent Puerto Rican business strip on Front Street.

Why don't (can't?)  we take care of our beautiful old buildings like these?  There are dozens more like this one, just here in Kensington alone.  So much potential, yet in the meanwhile they're being stripped to their core by scrappers and burned down by fucking junkies.  Ughh.

Some unfortunate urban prairie.  Not at the level of Detroit or St. Louis, but most of Philadelphia's is here in Kensington.

Where Buck used to stand.

In better times, even though it was as then abandoned for decades.  Pic taken just a few weeks before it burned, and the day I moved here and finally ended the 32 year, 5 month period of never having lived in my favorite city in the world.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 01:34:43 AM UTC

The best I have. (0.00 / 0)

That last pic.  I obviously would have taken many more pics of Buck if I had known it was not going to exist any more, just a few weeks later.  Regrets.  Taught me a valuable life lesson.  Don't put things off, or take anything for granted!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 01:43:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the pics. (4.00 / 1)

I'm trying to get a sense of Kensington. Is it a working class neighborhood? Is it a neighborhood on the way down? Or on the way up? Or stagnating? Is/was it mostly industrial?

It looks a bit to me like the old Chicago neighborhoods that were built around the meat-packing plants or the foundries. Housing built for the workers at the local plant, all of it very close, walking distance, to the factory etc. These neighborhoods were never well-off, but when the local industry left things really fell apart.

Is Kensington like that?

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 03:07:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

On the way up! (0.00 / 0)

Like most inner city neighborhoods in the northeast, it's highly segregated block-by-block.

Kensington is one of the most diverse neighborhoods anywhere in America -- depending on which corner you turn, there are large populations of Irish, Polish, African American, Dominican, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Mexican and Arab folks concentrated on any given block or three -- but unfortunately, there isn't much mixing within those blocks.  There also used to be large Jewish and Italian communities here, too, in recent decades.

This is the now de-industrialized mill district (which was at one point by far the largest such district in America) of Philadelphia, still blue collar working-class.  Forgotten by our politicians, from Washington to Harrisburg and even in City Hall.  We're definitely on the way back up these days, but we still struggle with the social ills of drugs and prostitution (this is 'the capital' of same in Philadelphia), and some years we also have the unfortunate distinction of leading the city in murders, too.

We're definitely on the way back up, but it's gonna take some time.  And I'll sure be working towards it, too, as I'm never leaving this neighborhood again!

It looks a bit to me like the old Chicago neighborhoods that were built around the meat-packing plants or the foundries. Housing built for the workers at the local plant, all of it very close, walking distance, to the factory etc. These neighborhoods were never well-off, but when the local industry left things really fell apart.

Is Kensington like that?

Exactly.  Endless row house blocks for textile mill workers.  The jobs left us for the South, and then for Central America and Asia, decades ago.  We're still struggling to find our niche right now, but I'm quite confident that in the very near future places like Kensington are going to be well ahead of the curve.  We've never been "well off" and never will.  But we have the infrastructure in place to be successful in the very same local, intimate economies that will thrive from here on out, as we move beyond the age of cheap energy into a more sustainable future.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 03:34:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

that's a great over view (4.00 / 1)

I don't ever remember Jews in Kensington.Italians yes...

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by: LeeN @ Sat Jul 07, 2012 at 11:51:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Lee! (0.00 / 0)

Hi.  :)

You busy this Saturday?

Sorry, I lose track of phone numbers and emails easily.  I have yours from, like, a hundred years ago, heh, but not sure if they're still current?  Anyway, now that it's not 130 degrees every day, you should stop by soon!  Or I can head over, whatever's best for you...

Let me know!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sun Jul 08, 2012 at 19:17:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yo Adrienne (4.00 / 1)

busy in the morning but you could come here later in the day ? I might even have tomatoes.I'll email you.

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by: LeeN @ Mon Jul 09, 2012 at 22:31:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Sure thing... (0.00 / 0)

I may have to go up to NJ on Sunday, but I'm free all day Saturday.  And so are the SEPTA trains, with my pass! ;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 00:16:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jay, critical sports viewing question. HELP! HELP! HELP! (4.00 / 1)

In an outrageous violation of all that is good and true, Wimbledon is being broadcast on ESPN instead of CBS. This attack on all Americans who do not have cable is especially egregious in that it blocks tennis-obsessed Americans from watching this traditional 4th of July international sporting event. Is nothing sacred?

Since you have been so good at finding online sources for me to view sporting events, I am wondering if you can locate an online place for me to watch Serena Williams battle her way to another Wimbledon championship tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 6:00 AM (PST).

Thanking you in advance.

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by: caseyOR @ Fri Jul 06, 2012 at 20:57:36 PM UTC

Sorry I couldn't help! (0.00 / 0)

Wasn't near a computer for the last 24 hours.  I hope you found some way to watch it!

For most events, JustIn.TV usually works...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sun Jul 08, 2012 at 03:01:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The big chill! (0.00 / 0)

"Only" went up to a (frigid!) 90 degrees today, and tomorrow may be the first day it doesn't hit 90 in, like, four weeks!

Gotta get me a parka...  

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 00:21:47 AM UTC

Well, so much for all that... (0.00 / 0)

It did hit 90 here today, again, after all.  I'm going to jump in the freezer for a few...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Tue Jul 10, 2012 at 23:24:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Another f'ing fire. (0.00 / 0)

Another one of our warehouses burns to the ground.  Early Tuesday morning.  This one down at the Fishtown / Northern Liberties border, and just inches from the El.

What the (former) four-story warehouse looked like late this afternoon -

There'll be no re-use here, sigh.  Oh but hey, maybe the Piazza can creep over a bit and they can put up some more of those ugly fucking piece of shit condos that look like Soviet worker housing, only with a bit more glass and cheaper-looking material!  Wouldn't that be something, comrade?!

The blue structure just beyond the back of the still-standing adjacent (also abandoned) warehouse is the subway tracks, the line was shut down most of the day yesterday -

"Wtf" sums it up for me.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Thu Jul 12, 2012 at 03:37:27 AM UTC