I guess Sylvester Johnson isn’t relying too heavily on his cockamamy scheme to have 10,000 black men volunteer to patrol the streets. Today he announced he’s bringing in the state police for high crime areas, claiming the plan has been “in the works for several months.” He also said “bringing in state police is not an indication that Philadelphia Police cannot get the job done or that the city is in a state of emergency.” I can’t help but say a very sarcastic “riiiiiiiiight, sure it’s not.” Just like he’s not counting the days until his retirement.

This Saturday, September 15th, dogs and their people are invited to attend the grand opening for the Central Bark Doggy Day Care. This event is designed to honor Philly PAWS volunteers and raise funds for new downtown adoption center. Festivities run from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. Dogs are invited to play in the Puppy Pirate Cove and there will be refreshments and socializing for the people. You can find the Central Bark Doggy Day Care at 2001 S. 29th St. (at McKean).

Oh Six Fingers Alfonseca.

He’s not human! He’s an animal! Chucking balls at dude’s heads when his team is up 11 to 4. Crazy.

Maybe he didn’t do it on purpose, or maybe he did. Jables argues that with six fingers, there is no way Alfonseca could let a ball slip that much.

Regardless. It showed something that the Phillies need to show now more than ever.

The Killer Instinct baby!

It’s now officially mid-September. The time of year when we wear hoddies at night and Eagles chants follow everyone around like meter maids in Center City. For the Phillies it is also officially the make-it-or-pack up and time to go home time. No foolishness and no shenanigans. It’s just brass taxes…whatever the hell that means.

The Phillies, after splitting their 4 game series with the Colorado Rockies, are 1 1/2 games back in the Wild Card. That is now the goal. The Mets are now far away on top of the NL East and with a important series starting tonight up the road at Shea, the Phillies can ill afford to leave the Big Apple without winning at least 2 of the 3 games. I’m not going to say that this series is what the entire season hinges on, but…well it is. The Phillies need to step up and prove to themselves, Philadelphia, ESPN, and everyone else that they are a legitimate playoff contender. The Rockies are a good team and the team can’t be faulted for dropping 2 games to them. BUT…the team can be faulted for their terrible performances in those two games. They came back strong last night to win, but with a the majority of the team’s wins over the past week or so, there is an over-arching feeling that it could be too little too late. Is it?

Well, we’ll know after this weekend.

So is this the first tree of the season?

In a follow-up to my post the other day about spotting the christmas tree at Macy’s, I present a photo of said tree. Now I’m glad I didn’t have my camera the other day, because today you can see the lovely lights attached.

Apologies for the blurriness, I took this photo near the elevators. Can someone get a nicer, better shot?

Apparently, rumor has it that former long-time NBC10 weather guy John Bolaris is planning a return to Philly from his current digs in NYC. He left five years ago for a stint at WCBS but now is hinting at his intention to return, possibly because WCBS demoted him to the weekend weather. Last month the Daily News reported that he might be heading for Fox29 but that is totally unconfirmed right now.

I would be thrilled to have John Bolaris back in Philly, as I used to watch him with my grandparents when I would visit, long before I ever moved here permanently. My grandmother always had something of a crush on him, and so I feel a certain amount of transplanted affection.

Nope! Not back-to-school time. Christmas time!

As I sleepily waited for an elevator this morning at work, I took notice of a strange sight in Macy’s in the cosmetics area, in the corner near 13th and Chestnut Streets.

Is that an evergreen tree? With a shiny red backdrop?

Indeed it is! I checked it out with a couple coworkers over lunchtime, and yup, that’s a christmas tree! It’s not in its full glory just yet; it simply looks like a “prepping for display” setup.

I want to get a photo of this by the end of the week.

Watching last night’s Phillies’ game, I’m still not entirely sure what happened. I know that the sky looked like it was going to open up at any moment, a slight breeze made the humidity at least bearable, and beers in the aluminum, rocket bottles, stay a lot colder than the beers in the plastic bottles.

Rocket beers!

But as far as the game goes, I feel like I watched two games. The first one was pretty boring, only highlighted by a rocket beer, homerun by Big Ry that was capped off by a nice snag in the bullpen by Six Fingers Fonseca, occasional acts of pitching quality by Kyle Lohse, and the speedy work of SVic on the basepaths. Other than that. up until the 7th inning, I was trapped watching the Phillies losing a game to the Rockies that they desperatly needed to win. The fans around me knew it, they felt it. In the 5th, a Rockie (does it matter which one?) hit a sharp liner out into the leftfield corner, fielded neatly by Pat “Yes I do have Don Henley as my intro music” Burrell, who then tossed it back into the infield. Simple play. Nothing fancy.

“Come on Pat!” A fan a few rows over in left field yelled. “We NEED this one!” The fan wasn’t going to go easy, go through the motions last night and expected Pat to do the same.

Hmmm…

I saw a middle aged cougar and a dude with an outfit that made him look the deceased Crocodile Hunter argue for 15 minutes about the stolen Grand Slam hit by the Rockies and whether or not baseball should inact instant replay.

What I’m trying to say is that in the stands, the mood was tense. But on the field, it looked like we were watching 7 Burrells, 1 The Force That is Chase, and 1 Killing Me Softly Kyle Lohse. Where was the intesity??? It’s almost mid-September and the Rockies, a team only a game or so back in the Wild Card, are in town for a crucial, 4 game homestand.

But then came Prozac Pat to hit a bomb, 3 run homer to tie it up, which then sent the game into extra innings and setting up Big Ry’s 3rd walk off hit this season. LIFE!!! We found it…in the least possible place we thought we would…in the smooth swing and Starting Lineup pose of Mr. Miyagi himself, Pat Burrell. Since the All Star break, Prozac is tied for second in the NL in homeruns and is batting over .350. Despite his awful start, he has almost 80 runs batted in and has a stellar On Base Percentage.

There is no arguing the value of Chase or JRoooooooooooooooll, but it’s time to give some due to Burrell. It’s not hard. It’s actually pretty easy. He doesn’t strike out much, walks a lot, makes mistakes in the field, but has a decent enough arm that occasionally he can recover. He won’t hit bombs like By Ry or get his uniform dirty like Chase, but he constantly makes solid contact and for many women over 30, he’s the one their keeping their eyes on, not Chase (although The Mighty Cole trumps them both I’m told, but for my money, you really can’t beat the Ball Girls.)

So it’s time.

Yes, dude, it’s time. It’s time to start rooting for Pat.

All you have to do is clap. It’s so easy.

Even Jose Mesa can do without giving up a run, it’s that easy.

There was a lot that happened in Philly this last weekend, and I ended up missing most of it. My weekend was chock full of meals with friends, thesis work and cooking, so my time was well spent, but had I the ability to be in multiple places at once, here are some of the places you would have found me.

Podcamp Philly. Audio and video podcasters (here’s mine) from all over the country (as well as a few from Canada) converged at Drexel University on Saturday and Sunday to talk, network and learn from one another. There’s a bunch of terrific coverage from attendees up and you can find some of it here, here and here.

Sunday morning many of the city’s major arteries were closed to cars, so that Bike Philly could take over the streets. They do something similar in Portland called Bridge Petal and I’ve always meant to do it when I lived there. I’m excited that there’s an alternative here, although I skipped out this year because of timing and cost. However, local blogger Frank Roche rode and took some pictures.

Down on South Street yesterday afternoon, the Philly Greenfest rocked the neighborhood. The Urban Vegan was there and has pictures of the music, veggie sculptures and tasty food.

I just got back from the rocking Within Temptation concert at the TLA tonight. The Netherlands bestselling musical export is currently in the middle of their North American tour. While many of the crowd there tonight more than likely think of the band as a good Evanescence rip off, Within Temptation is actually over ten years old, having formed in 1996. Lead by the hauntingly beautiful vocals of Sharon den Adel, Within Temptation brought their goth metal stylings to Philadelphia and put on one hell of a show. While the band most likely won’t be returning to Philly this year, you can check out their US debut album The Heart of Everything and catch them the next time they come to town.

What are you doing? Are you reading this today??? It’s Sunday…

but not just any Sunday. No way. Today is THE Sunday dudes and dudettes across the country have been patiently waiting for…

The MTV Video Music Awards!!! Brittany Spears’ comeback!!! Paris Hilton and maybe even Fall Out Boy!

Oh my god, I am so excited I’ve been crapping watermelons all morning!

No. None of that is true.

Today kicks off the 2007 Eagles’ season. At 1pm, the Birds take on Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. This is the 75th season for the Eagles and hopefully, the most victorious one in some time. McNabb is back, Westbrook is talkative as usual, and word is that Brian Dawkins found religion. It’s an angry, aggressive religion that makes him want to hit people that much harder. Pretty crazy. I think he found it in the mountains of Tibet…or the mountains of Bucks County.

Either way.

So get ready. Get your rocket beers. Get your snack foods. Get your couch or bar stool ready because Sundays won’t be the same until February.

But remember, it is still baseball season, the Phillies are still in the hunt for both the NL East and the Wildcard. Only a few more weeks of J Rooooooooooooll, Svic, The Force That is Chase, and maybe even the Mighty Cole. And yes, only a few more weeks of Big Ry either striking out or hitting the ball so far it disrupts construction on the Comcast Tower. Triples, Verizon? Please, that’s Dobbers job!

So this Sunday, enjoy the Eagles. But remember, the Rockies are in town tomorrow and it’s almost make or break for the Phils. They need your support. They need your cheers. They might even need your money.

Make it happen, Philadelphia! Both Brett Myers and Takeo Spikes want you too.