Jesse, jesse.

(Photo taken by CCC)

Jesse the cat. Featured a few posts ago in an exciting tale of cat vs. wild. There is something enchanting about this little guy...and I am usually not a fan of the feline variety. I was walking by him a couple of days ago and he jumped up in the air (I am talking a few FEET in the air) and slapped my hand with his paw as if to give me a high five....and then kept walking on his way. How strange and humanly.

For those of you who are interested in adopting a cat of your own, I would encourage you to browse through this website. They need a home!

Long time, no post.

So I haven't been completely negligent about updating this blog on PURPOSE. I like to consider this as a forum to post public commentary as well as photos - so when my iPhone/camera was...cough,cough...lost - I was without means to capture the scenery around me.

But fortunately I have a new phone. With a camera that almost compares. So I am back in action, back with photos and explanations of my feelings towards said photos, amongst other helpful (maybe?) resources for my 5 official followers and all of the others, if you do exist.

I promise to be more diligent about updates going forward. But without further ado, a few photographs:

(Photos by CCC @ Penn's Landing)

Danny & I made it to Penn's Landing last weekend. It's surprising how easily one can find peaceful places in the city to retreat to. Bartram's Garden. Penn's Landing. Fairmount Park (peace in this park is sectional - there are certainly places here that induce fear rather than any internal oneness). We sat on the pier and watched the sun set over the Ben Franklin Bridge. Over the WW bridge too. What a perfect spot!

What would we do without these places? Some of us are fortunate to have a roof, or a hiding spot away from the noise and chaos that is unavoidable within the urban landscape. But what about those who don't? I think it's necessary...to seek out these peaceful outlets. To be able to actually listen to yourself think.

It's surprising what you'll hear. Try it!

Menupages

Ever find yourself wishing you had a menu for a particular restaurant? Ever wish you could find out which restaurants in your neighborhood deliver? Or are open late? Or have a particular dish you are craving?

I have news for you. Well, hopefully this isn't news because it's been around for quite a while...but I have been discovering that not as many people as I had expected new about this handy little resource: http://philadelphia.menupages.com/


At menupages, you can literally find the menu and information for ANY restaurant in Philly. Utilize this little gem and your stack of menus hanging around the house will soon find their way in the recycling bin!

CAT VS. WILD

I thought I would share a series of photos that you may find humorous. I know I did. (Series taken by CCC)

Cat sees bug.

Cat sniffs bug. Just to make sure its a, you know...bug.


Cat mentally prepares himself for attack. Claws? Teeth? A lot of decisions being made here.

Cat goes in for the kill! Turns out bug has wings! Cat is confused and bug is the victor!

Cat punches wall in frustration. Wings! Who would have thought?

(I need to add that "cat" is actually the craziest yet cutest cat I know - his name is Jesse & belongs to my very lovely friend Lana. Thank you Lana for letting me exploit your cat for the good of the internet. Jesse is really the best.)

Better than Kraft.

(Photos taken by CCC)

So my friend Danny & I decided to make baked macaroni & cheese this weekend. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. Despite Whole Foods keeping a packed lot and store on the weekend, we put together this delicious meal - and even made enough for lunch leftovers.

I'm going to recommend the recipe we used to everyone but with advice to follow our improvised add-ons: mushrooms & vegetarian sausage. We could have cooked the bread crumbs more, but it really didn't make too much of a difference.


Perfect with baby spinach salad w/ olive oil & vinegar!

Community building.

(Photo taken by CCC @ Broad & Vine)

Sundown. I learned a totally new meaning to this word today after spending time with some dear friends celebrating Yom Kippur over the past 24+ hours. Yom Kippur, which is observed from sundown Sunday evening until sundown Monday evening, consists of a lot of personal reflection and taking life back to complete basics for a while (amongst many other important things that I will let my friends describe). Fasting, substaining from work, writing, use of electricity, creating things (music included) - are all a part of the holiday. The time I spent with my friends was a nice reminder of how simple human interaction can be all you really need. No phones, no computers, no television...nothing but good company and card games. And no, I didn't participate in the full sundown to sundown stretch but the time I did spend without contact with the communication vehicles and entertainment we rely on so heavily on was all the reminder I needed.

I learned today about culture. About language. About perspective. And I saw it all right in front of me - it's so exciting to know we can still build community the old school way.

While we're on the subject of food.

(Photo taken by CCC @ Sketch, Girard Ave)

It's hard for me to say what my favorite veggie burger is. I mean, I've had them all. At least all of the ones that you can find packaged in the grocery store. And most of the ones you can find in restaurants in our city here.

But THIS. I have had it twice now. This is the best veggie burger I have ever had. You can find it at Sketch...a burger spot down in Fishtown on Girard between Earl & Columbia. Not only is it HUGE, it is fresh and delicious. You can get it with practically any sauce you can think of...I will strongly recommend the tahini. Also. Belgium fries are homemade and perfect with their aioli sauce.

For the meat heads, I've heard their regular burgers are worth the trip as well.

I couldn't resist.

(Photo taken by CCC)

If anyone is curious what a 28 inch pizza looks like...this is it. This picture doesn't actually give it the justice it deserves. You can see for yourself at Allegro Pizza located at 40th & Spruce. This bad boy came in a box that is practically larger than my kitchen table. It took two of us to carry it up the stairs.

And yes...it was absolutely delicious.

Abandoned

(Photo taken by CCC @ 35th & Fairmount)

There is a major epidemic in the city of Philadelphia - the increasing number of abandoned buildings in our neighborhoods. These particular abandoned buildings are located directly across the street from McMichael Middle School. You can find this one a few feet to the right of the first set:


Anywhere you go, you see these lots and abandoned homes. They attract crime - drugs, violence...an anonymous place you can take care of business...and they sit so closely to our schools. To our own homes...and it is hard to blame the city because when these buildings are turned over to it, it just means it's one on a list of thousands to be demolished or reconstructed or whatever the plan may be.

I have spoken to community residents about this issue and have decided to do a documentary/PSA project that discusses what we as community members can do about this problem. I would also like to take a look at what current neighborhood transformation projects are in place and whether or not these efforts are making an impact. If not - how can we combine the efforts of programs, organizations and individuals to help lower the amount of vacant lots/properties in our city.

The City of Philadelphia FY2009 breaks down city spending on neighborhood transformation, past spending and past results...you can read it here yourself:
http://webapps.phila.gov/council/attachments/5346.pdf

Here is an interesting clip from the objective:
One half of the houses in Philadelphia are owned by people over 55. Data shows that 45 percent of older people have made no plans to either sell or transfer titles in their homes. Thus over the next 15 — 20 years, nearly half of the houses in the City are at risk of abandonment as no plans have been made for their maintenance or ultimate disposition.

Freakin' scary.

More to come.

Our Beautiful Skyline

(Photo taken by CCC @ Citizens Bank Park)

I love the Philly skyline. Especially seeing it from different locations. Here, you can see the row homes of South Philly, our skyscrapers, the beautiful clouds...and of course, Phillies sign popping out in the corner from the edge of CBP.

In Phillies news, you can catch the game tonight at 7:30 PM. Phils are playing the Braves in Atlanta...and J.A. Happ (a likely contender for rookie of the year) is back on the mound after suffering from a strained intercostal muscle in the rib cage. He hasn't pitched since September 2nd.

Back to Basics

[Photo taken by CCC @ South Philadelphia High School -
Broad & Snyder)

I guess the teachers at South Philadelphia High School are going back to basics with their lesson planning.

Sell Phone

(Photo taken by CCC @ 42nd & Chester)

I look at this broken pay phone every morning as I wait for the trolley. I've been talking with a lot of people lately about cellphones and what they have done to us as a society. Can you imagine Seinfeld with cellphones? It would be a completely different show. That alone is an indication that they have changed the way we go about doing things.

A few things they have changed:

• Our conversations. It is now acceptable to breakaway from ANY conversation to answer the phone - regardless of who is calling, regardless of whether or not it is truly an emergency. And yes, I suppose our reasoning is that it might be an emergency. What did we used to do in emergencies?
  
• Our liability. Now with cellphones, we can cancel plans an hour beforehand. Many times via text message! Before cellphones, you simply did what you said you were going to do because if you didn't - someone would be waiting for you, and waiting for you, and waiting for you.
• Our attention spans. With the constantly rising technology of cellphones, there are unlimited games and music and other entertainment that accompany the basic dialing feature of a cellphone. Instead of reading or heck, just focusing on ONE TASK for more than 30 minutes - we now turn to our cellphones.
  

There are many other ways in which cellphones have socially changed us all. And to think, I was trucking along with my old LG with missing keys and a broken screen for the past 2 years until recently upgrading to the coveted iPhone. I'm a victim too - it's hard to escape cellphone culture as easy as it is to bash it.

I'm going to try to learn a lesson from the "sell phone" reminder every morning. Everything changes, and soon our iPhones will be retro - hanging in our faces with a witty graffiti caption.

For all of you college students out there, I have found an amazing resource for you. Maybe some of you already know about this - but in the case that you don't - there are a couple of legitimate websites that allow you to rent textbooks. For prices a heck of a lot lower than you'll find in most campus bookstores. Many of my friends have used this - I am going to be using it in the future. The best part is - there is no cost to ship the book back.

This will save you the hassle of trying to convince the used book store employees that your used books are worth more to them than they are willing to pay or from the pain of having to sell back the books online.

Check it out!

http://www.campusbookrentals.com/

http://www.chegg.com/

First!

(Photo taken by CCC @ Penn Treaty Park)

I finally started a blog. Hopefully you will find useful information here at Philly Tap Water that pertains to how you live your life in our wonderful City of Brotherly Love. Stay tuned.