On behalf of everyone at Philadelphia Metblogs, have a Merry, fun, safe, and rockin’ Christmas!

- AP

Don’t mention the war…I think I did it once..but I got away with it..”

Yeah, “The Germans” is my favorite episode of “Fawlty Towers“. Which reminds me – My awesome new friend and I checked out the 1st ever Christmas Village at City Hall on Tuesday. Now I’m REALLY angry that my new computer isn’t here yet – because I took some rockin’ photos of some hilarious stuff I found.

I’ll tell ya about it, any way.

It’s the first annual Christmas Village in Philadelphia and it’s running 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through Christmas Eve at Dilworth Plaza. Admission is free.

There are lots of cool little stations dressed up like snowy houses all throughout the plaza. A couple of crepe and waffle stands, a place that sells doggy treats, and all sorts of little places to get Christmas decorations inspired by all different cultures throughout the world. Plus, Santa Claus is there (He is! We saw him coming out of the Port-O-Let!) – you can even get him to take a picture with your pet on Mondays. They also have a place for K-9 Christmas treats – including tins shaped like fire hydrants full of organic doggie goodies.

The place is kind of hilarious, though, because it’s being run by a company called “German American Marketing”. They own something called “Kathe Wohlfahrt“, according to a little catalog I picked up – which has one of the bigger “houses” there. I just think it’s hilarious because there’s some odd ornaments they’re selling there – like parrot ornaments, Santa Claus carrying a shotgun and a dead rabbit, Santa Claus with a baby alien, and, yes, a small ornament of Satan (which we tried to find a Nativity scene to insert into but no such luck at the time).

Also, things always sound harsher in German, no matter how nice of statements they are. The catalog implores you to “EINFACH ONLINE EINKAUFEN!” (Yes, shop at home online!)

Tons of cool stuff there (a place with candles including a scented candle called “Fresh Laundry”!) and I recomend everyone taking a stroll around the place – preferably with a hot chick from Northeast Philly, but that’s your call. Considering I just heard the country had the worst November in sales since 1969 – maybe get out there and drop $4 on a glass menagerie of somehow-related-to-Christmas roosters and get that economy bustling again.

After all of that Christmas joy and spirit, we headed over to The Mutter Museum. `Cause nothing says Christmas like a 40 pound colon tumor.

- AP

Our Philadelphia “boys” run on December 13. Please consider giving to this wonderful cause today by clicking on the “Philly Boys” link, above. Thanks!

The Fairmount French Fling Weekend begins on Thursday, July 10, with a bar crawl starting at 7pm with Belgian Café, then moving on to other local drinkeries like Bishop’s Collar, London Grill, Rembrandt’s, St. Stephen’s Green, and Urban Saloon.

On Friday, Fairmount restaurants host food and wine tastings and dinner specials. Starting at 7:30pm, Ratatouille, Pepe Le Pew cartoons, and Paris Je T’aime screen outdoors on the lawn behind Eastern State.

Saturday brings the entire Bastille Day Street Festival, including tours at Eastern State, crafts and treats for kids, vendor tents and French foods, and live music. The storming of the Bastille begins in front of Eastern State at 5:30pm, followed by twilight tours of ESP and after-parties at participating Fairmount restaurants.

But then there’s still more food on Sunday! London Grill, Rembrandt’s, Trio, Belgian Café, and Urban Saloon offer French Champagne Brunch, featuring brunch specials with crêpes, beignets and other French delicacies.

Full information can be found on Eastern State’s website.

Lastly, I would like to remind you, Philadelphians, to look up. The cherry trees are blooming. The birds are chirping. And for today, the sun is shining! I don’t know how many times I’ve seen some piece of architecture I never noticed before, because I simply look up. I was reminded of this last weekend, when I was approaching the city from the east, Penn’s Landing, and only just noticed 2 new tall buildings along Front Street (which have probably been there for a while)! On top of that, there’s all this buzz about a new tall, tallest building, the American Commerce Center. Check it out!

Furthermore, if you want to play Halloween on Easter, you can just go drinking, dressed as a zombie. Thanks, as always, City Paper!

Incredibly and unseasonably warm temperatures!
A new mayor!
A new mayor’s questionable moves!
A new mayor’s dependence of the phrase “educated workforce”!
The Flyers crushed the Rangers in New York!
Donovan McNabb knows how to type!
…and so much more!

Tomorrow it looks like it’s going to be sunny and fifty, and as Crazy Ray said today at work, “Ah dude, it’s gonna be sick!”
So get outside. Football doesn’t start until 4:30, so that gives everyone plenty of time to stroll around Olde City (watch out for bums,) Center City and the shopping district (watch out for bums,) South Philly (watch out for bums,) and maybe even Northern Liberties (watch out for hip bums.)

Tomorrow night is also the season opener for the Philadelphia Wings, the pro lacrosse team in town. Duuuuuuude, indoor lacrosse is a lot of fun to watch. It’s real fast, high scoring. Just good ol’ American, popped-collar fun. The Wings play the Chicago Shamrox. What a match up! The Shamrox! Not to be confused with the less-menacing Shamrocks.
I have no idea about anything involving this game except that it is tomorrow and it is at around 7ish and it is most likely at the Wachovia Center…but it might be at the Spectrum.
Go! Lacrosse is fun!

And hey, for the Eagles fans mouring the dismal 2007 season, yet still chanting E-A-G-L-E-S at every chance they get, there is some good news.

Brian Westbrook, already named to this year’s Pro Bowl, was named an All Pro, named after LaDanian Tomlinson and Andrian Peterson. You can catch BWest on the NFL Network during the Playoffs.

Picks:
Pats, Colts
Giants, Packers

Pats vs. Giants
Pats 31 Giants 19

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?