On October 29th, 2008, I watched the Phillies win the World Series at Johnny Brendas in Fishtown. Below is some footage shot moments after the victory, when the tightly packed bar exploded with energy and everyone ran outside to make some noise. This was a great celebration in Fishtown with loads of fireworks, honking horns, non-stop high-fives,and just pure hilarity.

Does Vimeo look better?

…Not me personally, but somebody does in Fishtown.

The banner below hangs on the side of a house facing the Bank of America on Girard Ave.

If you’re ever been to Canvas Coffee on Girard, head east about a block and then look to your left. You can’t miss it.

No one seems to be sure why someone had this banner created. But the way it is positioned is sure to alarm every BOA customer walking in and out of that place, as well people just passing by. Here is a thread on PhillyBlog.com of people trying to break it down.

Gotta love minimal graphic design and freedom of speech used as revenge.

The photo above was taken from my kitchen window. That is a large stray cat that likes to sit on one of our flower pots. He’s actually quite larger than it, but like any good cat, he’s able to force himself into a tight squeeze. This is as close to the cat as we can get though. If we go outside, he runs away through a gap in the fence to the neighbor’s back yard.

Oddly enough, he looks like a much older and obese Santucci, with more orange than white.

After stalking the final construction of the Memphis Tap Room for a couple weeks, I finally stepped in and became a patron. It was a Saturday night around 10:30 p.m., so it was jam packed already. I really didn’t get a chance to even look at the bar area because there was nowhere to move. So, Melissa and I ventured into the back room where there were a few empty tables left.

I was exhausted yet starving, so I decided to try their cheeseburger. The cooks apparently burnt my burger, so the waiter hooked me up with a free PBC Rowhouse Red. Very nice! Anyhow, the burger was great, not as massive as say a Standard Tap burger, but very ample and delicious.

This is definitely going to be a place that I go to on a Tuesday evening over a Saturday night, and I’m loving the fact that it’s just a couple blocks away. Weekend brunches coming soon as well.

Checked out The Barbary in Fishtown a couple days ago. It’s a great dark place with a massive mirror ball and non-stop light action so that you’ll barely recognize anyone. Loads of great beers on tap, including my new cheap favorite "The Kenzinger". They also have a never dull photo booth for instant fun and bathrooms with graffiti to space out in.

Here is a clip of Gemini Wolf playing there that night. I accidentally hit the manual focus button while recording and didn’t know what was going on for a while. It’s such a tiny easy-to-push button that sits right where by thumb goes sometimes. Wonk wonk.

The ATV problem in Fishtown seems to be escalating again. I just keep seeing more and more of them zipping by as I work on my computer, walk to the El, or just searching for my car that I rarely use anymore. I can understand "the need for speed" as a young kid, but this is insane. I truly feel like an old man that can’t relate. Back in my day, and still today, I just rode a bike — the good ole healthy means of transportation for expressing yourself. Here’s the main reasons I don’t like ATVs being used in Fishtown:

• Although they stand for "All Terrain Vehicles", driving around in circles in city blocks is just lame. Get some balls and at least break the Fishtown boundaries with those suckers.
• They’re way too fucking loud.
• The people that use them end up using them on the sidewalks as well, just as fast as using them on the street.
• They go through stop signs and don’t obey traffic signs at all.
• The people that use them like to just idle them.
• The cops just don’t seem to give a shit. I’ve seen them drive by a couple of ATV dorks and they just looked at them. Great. They are illegal, right? Yep.

OK, that’s my old man rant for today. I think a good way to compete with them is to get a band together on a flatbed truck and drive up and down the streets while creating an intense noise jam. I’m ready to plug in.

Having grown up in the suburb of Oreland in Montgomery Country, I’m a lot more partial to Halloween in the burbs. Trick or treating in the city just doesn’t seem scary for the kids. Even with all the lights on in the house, trick or treaters didn’t even knock on the door. They just ambled by looking for people sitting outside. I guess that’s how they do it in Fishtown, at least. So, we eventually sat outside and filled in the bags and buckets while sitting on our tiny stoop. In the suburbs you really have to work you ass of. All the walking around, the walking to each house, up and down the long winding sidewalks and driveways. I remember being actually scared having to walk through a front lawn of tall pines, far from the safety of the street. And then there were the mini haunted houses that you’d have to endure just to get to the candy. So cool. So much more fun! Anyway, Melissa and I had a bit of fun with a telemarketer that called while I was dressed up as the Burger King. Check it out below:

Melissa and I decided to carve out some pumpkins and record the process using the iMovie time-lapse feature.

Below are a couple clips from Perpetual Mvmt <> Snd’s performance of "Gasp" on 9/11/07 at the Mascher Space Coop. "Gasp" was one of six performances for "Fresh Juice: An Evening of Dance" during week two of Philly Fringe.

A few photos from Gemini Wolf at the Manhattan Room in Fishtown.