Monday, April 24, 2006

Immigration Protests & African-Americans

At some point, I plan to post some thoughts and ideas for the immigration crisis in this country. There are many complexities to the problem; one of the more interesting angles is the reaction of some African-Americans in California to the recent round of protests by illegal immigrants and their supporters. Apparently, some groups upset by the marches are supporting the Minutemen, the citizens group patrolling the U.S.-Mexican border.

African-American Groups Opposing Illegal Immigration

Friday, April 21, 2006

Yo, You From Philly?

OK, this is rather long for a blog entry. But I promised I would try to explain Philadelphia's particular dialect. We gots our awn way aspeakin, an yuze can figger out wot weir sayen by uzen diss guide:

Aaeg: Egg, wot youze eat wit scrapple
Ack-a-mee: Acme Markets, a local supermarket chain
Addy-tood: Attitude
Aeneeding: Anything ("Can I get ya aeneeding?")
A-ite: All right (as in "Yo Chally, get me dah Ink-wire, a-ite?")
Akrost: Across ("He walked akrost the shtreet")
Als: Owls (as in Temple University's Owls)
Anaconda: On account of (as in "Cholly coont go to the Ack-amee anaconda he had to work")
Ant: Aunt
Aster-ick: Asterisk
Ath-a-leet: Athlete
Awn: Own
A cup uh cawfee: A cup of coffee
Baff-room: Bathroom
Baldy-more: Baltimore
Bat-tree: Battery
Bee-Yoo-Dee-Full: Beautiful
Beggels: Bagels
Birffday: Birthday
Big Mahoff: An ostentatious person
Bin Dare: Been There
Bref-fist: Breakfast
Casina: Casino
Caus: Because
Caw-Fee: Coffee
Cholly: Any man named Charlie
Come auwn!: Come on!
Con-fra-bill: Comfortable
Con-ter-versy: Controversy
Coont: Couldn't
Crown: Crayon
Cump-nee: Company
Dah Fills: The Philles, the pro baseball team
Dah Fliers: The Flyers, the pro hockey team
Dah Iggles: The Eageles, the pro football team
Dah Semi-Sixers: The Seventy-Sixers, the pro basketball team
Dah Vet: the Vet (a.k.a. Veterans Stadium), late home of dah Fills and dah Iggles
Deflee: Definitely
Dennis: Dentist
Dint: Didn't
Far-Ist: Forest
Fiff Shtreet: Fifth Street
Figger: Figure
Fluffia: Philadelphia
Fuss-strated: Frustrated
Ga head: Go ahead
Gazz: Petroleum
Gun-all: Canoli (the Italian pastry)
Goff-forbid: God forbid
Haff: Have
Hal: How
Hunnert: Hundred
Ice-box: A refrigerator
Ice-ning: Icing
Inkwire: Philadelphia Inquirer, the biggest newspaper in the city
Innerestin: Interesting
Ir-regardless: Regardless
It Lee: Italy
Jeez Take: Cheesesteak (thinly sliced steak on a small, long roll)
Jeez Take Wid/Widout: Cheesteak with or without onions (available at Pat's, 9th & Passyunk ('Passhunk' in Fluffyan)
Jeet Yet?: Have you eaten yet?
No, Jew?: No, have you?
Jimmies: Sprinkles
Langwich: Language
Lannick Ciddy/Lantic Ciddy: Atlantic City, NJ, a place where dah casinas are
Leck-tric: Electric (as in, "Yo, Antny got a job wit dah leck-tric cumpnee")
Levin: Eleven
Libber-Dee Bell: Liberty Bell
Lie-berry: Library
Lite-nin Bug: Firefly
Lot-tree: Lottery
Man-Ays: Mayonnaise
Mare: Mayor
My-en: Mine
My-zil: May as well
National Ligg: National League
Neck-Store: Next Door
Newsey: Nosey
Nynt Shtreet: Ninth Street
Offen: Often
OhCee: Ocean City, NJ
Paa-ler: Parlor (a.k.a. living room)
Payment: A sidewalk
Pea-nits: Peanuts
Pennapak Creek: Pennypack Creek
Pixture/Pitcher: A photograph
Pock-a-book: Pocketbook, or purse
Poke-noes: Poconos, the mountain range in Northeastern PA
Porky-Pine: Porcupine
Prob-lee: Probably
Prosteetute: Prostitute
Q-Pons: Coupons
Ratty-Ater: Radiator
Re-dic-liss: Ridiculous
Reg-a-ler: Regular
Sangwich: Sandwich
Senner Ciddy: Center City
Shtreet: Street
Siddy Haw: City Hall
Skone On?: What's going on?
Skookill: Schuylkill-the River and the Expressway
Sow Fluffya: South Philadelphia
Sow Shreet: South Street
Spicket: Faucet
Taawk: Talk
Tahmaydas: Tomatoes
Tal: Towel
Tamarra: Tomorrow
Tanks: Thanks
Tellum: Tell him
Tooken: Taken
Trawley: Trolley
Tree: Three
U-mid: Humid
Upamount'ns: Up the mountains, the alternative to dahnashure
Wall Women: the Walt Whitman, a bridge connecting Philly & New Jersey
Wal-Wood: Wildwood
Warsh: Wash
Whoodaya: Who do you ... ?
Widges: With all of you ("Can I go widges to the Iggles game?")
Windas: Windows
Wit: With
Wit-out: Without
Wooder: Water
Wooder ice: Water ice, a local summer treat, also known as "Italian ice"
Woont: Wouldn't
Yo, Supp?: Hi, what's up?
Yo, hon: What guys say to girls in Philly
Youse: More than one of you
Yiz: A variation of 'youse'
Yizzle: You all will
Yunner Stan: Do you understand?

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

My Blog Linked From XPN!

When I first started this blog back in September of last year, it attracted the notice of Bruce Warren, writing on XPN's All About The Music blog, to wit:


Thanks! I apologize for being so late giving props for this recognition, but better late than never!

Bruce's blog, which he's maintained regularly, is a treasure trove of great music, both new and old school. I check it out every week.

The complete WXPN All About The Music page with my blog referenced is here

Friday, April 14, 2006

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Muzak

Muzak has been a major part of Western culture for decades, so much a part of the background that, probably like most people, I never really thought about it very much. That is, until I read an article in the 10 April 2006 issue of the New Yorker. There's a lot of psychology behind this music service, always has been. But apparently, in recent years, it's been backed by more research than ever. The company began to completely shed its "elevator music" image and now, it personalizes its music mix for various clients, both in the office and retail environments. That's when I thought of a few lines from the classic 80s hit song "Escalator of Life", by Philly's own Robert Hazard:
Muzak music make me feel so funny
I went and spent all my money
We're riding on the escalator of life
We're shopping in the human mall
The New Yorker Muzak article

Way Outta Here?

Former Philadelphia Phillie catcher Darren Daulton, one of the best-known members of the rag-tag 1993 squad that went to the World Series, has been back in the news after an absence of a few years since his retirement from the game. All the attention, and more than a few chuckles on local sportstalk radio station WIP-AM, come after his claims that some really major world changes are going down in a few years - 2012 to be exact. In stories in Sports Illustrated and the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daulton claims that pivotal events will coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar six years from now. And who knows, he may just be on to something.

I first heard about the whole Mayan calendar deal when I read Domain, by a Philly local, Steven Alten; he also wrote Meg, a terrific thriller about a giant prehistoric shark that starts attacking people. The novel relates how, because of an alignment between Earth and the core of our Milky Way galaxy that begins on 21 December 2012 (which is also supposedly the end of the great cycle of the Mayan calendar's Long Count and a 26,000 year planetary cycle in the Aztec calendar), general mayhem ensues. If I remember correctly, the hero, born with special powers, does battle with a giant godlike-figure who is laying a smackdown on the Yucatan peninsula, Godzilla-style.

My curiosity re-piqued, I did some basic searches for "2012 Mayan calendar" using my favorite search engines (Google, Yahoo! etc.) and came up with way too many sites to list here. Not being any kind of authority in these matters, I have no way to determine or even hazard a good guess which are the most scholarly accurate. Personally, I don't think anything very out-of-the-ordinary will happen on or around that day. But just to be on the safe side, I'll try not to be out at the mall getting in some last minute Christmas shopping.

The Darren Daulton Sports Illustrated story
The Darren Daulton Philadelphia Inquirer story

Blog Find-The Story of Hissy

I've read a lot of odd stories, observations, etc. on blogs, but there haven't been as many that make me chuckle as much as this one pointed out to me by my girlfriend. It's by Dave Pye, a guy from Boston, Massachusetts, and the post that really caught my interest (and hers) concerns the saga of "Hissy", a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. It seems that this jewel-encrusted brooch (yes, it's alive) was sent to Mr. Pye, much to his amusement.

You can read all about it here.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Against All Flags

In his address to the nation nine days after the 11 September 2001 attacks, President George W. Bush warned that the battle ahead would take many years and be fought on many fronts. In the years since, we've heard a lot about how our government is fighting the War On Terror (or whatever it's now being called). Our forces are in Afghanistan, and other places, as are the intelligence services. But whether it's following the money trail of terrorist financiers, wiretapping phones, or prosecuting conspirators, there is still some uncertainty, an undercurrent of fear that still not enough is being done to improve the security of the country. That's one of the reasons why the Dubai port deal was scuttled a few weeks ago. Can you honestly say that you feel much safer today than a year or two or four ago? I can't. Do you think that government, at every level, is doing everything that one can reasonably (and within the Constitution), expect, to protect us? I don't.

It was with this in mind that I read an interesting story that appeared last year in the magazine Legal Affairs. According to the article, there is another weapon which can be used to fight terrorism: treating it as piracy. In the early days of European nation-states, privateers were hired to attack and seize ships and goods on the open seas. Piracy was eventually banned by international treaty in the 1800s when national governments realized that the practice was a threat to their very stability. The author advocates setting up an international framework for defining and punishing terrorism as a crime against all nations. Why not try that too?

The story is here.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

So What's Underneath?

So is this a photo of a new Dharma Initiative hatch from an upcoming episode of ABC's Lost?

Not quite, just an interesting soil formation ... on Mars!

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has this and other photos and information from the Opportunity rover here.

Other Best Records Of 2005-Nos. 11-20 On My List

Here are the next 10 (in no particular order) of my top records from 2005:

Sunrise Over The Sea-John Butler Trio
My Buzz Comes Back-Slo-Mo
Heard It On The X-Los Super Seven
Let It Die-Feist
Put The O Back In Country-Shooter Jennings
Our Eternal Ghosts-Deadman
Magic Numbers-Magic Numbers
can’tneverdidnothin’-Nikka Costa
Z-My Morning Jacket
I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise-Bettye LaVette

I hope to post reviews of some of these in coming months.