Quickies: Kid Gloves

• The Philadelphia School District has banned workers from listening to music on their computers, since the students can’t play music in school. This is lame; the best part about being an adult (I’m told) is that you get to do things that kids can’t? Why ruin everyone’s fun, School District? [Daily News]

• An anti-gay marriage letter to the U.S. Senate had Cardinal Justin Rigali’s name on it. This should surprise anyone who’s never heard of any religion, let alone Catholicism. [Philadelphia Gay News]

• Barbaro is doing much better, thank you very much. Hooray! Money quote: “My hope for him is that he lives a painless life. Whether that means he’ll be a stallion with little Barbaros, that would be the extreme hope for him.” Would that painless life involve being forced to run around a track while being whipped? [AP/Metro]

• Apparently, one Camden school collected money for field trips when — whoops! — the school district pays for the trips. We can do that? say Philadelphia schools? Now we can get textbooks that go past Chester A. Arthur! [Inky]

Trenton No Longer Most Dangerous Place In New Jersey

Sorry for all the New Jersey news today, folks, but things just aren’t that interesting right now on the west side of the river. And things are really bonkers over there.

To wit:

Authorities have discovered a mild form of avian influenza at a live bird market in New Jersey, but it is not the deadly H5N1 strain governments around the world are trying to contain, the state’s agriculture department said.

“The strain was found in a live bird market in Camden County. None of the birds in the market died from this virus, which is an indicator that the virus was low pathogenic and not harmful to humans,” said a statement by New Jersey’s Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus which was posted on Friday.

Details were not immediately available on precisely when the avian flu in Camden County was discovered.

Okay, it’s not the deadly kind of bird flu, but it’s still freakin’ bird flu! And if media coverage of pandemics have taught me anything, it’s that they’re never overblown and killer bees are going to be attacking us any day now.

Either way, good to see that Camden (the county, at least) is rallying after Trenton’s gang wars escalated. Newark, we’re waiting for some sort of response. Maybe you can have a plague outbreak among gang members or something.

Mild form of avian flu found in New Jersey [Reuters/Yahoo!]

Dancing With The Sharks

Ahh, yes, it’s Monday, and therefore it’s Mascot Monday. Today, the gang dances with Finley, the Camden Riversharks mascot. Be sure to watch for the part where Finley attacks Jennaphr Frederick. Enjoy!

Archives: Good Day Philadelphia

And, for that matter, ‘The Pacifier’

Now we know who to blame for Fantastic Four’s $154 million gross: Camden.

Courier-Post Online
2005 Yearly Box Office [Box Office Mojo]

Also, the Riversharks should contend this season

Yep. An e-newsletter that’s just a blank Word document.

Kidding, kidding. See, there’s good news: The South Camden Theater Company is looking for actors and actresses.

Camden Matters
E-Newsletter Highlights Positive Happenings in Camden [KYW 1060]

Oh yeah? Name 2 Civil War veterans buried there

From an ad on the Camden Courier-Post:

Spaces are limited! Call now! Make sure to enjoy your grave while you’re alive, too!

I love it when you call me Big Hanukkah

There’s a 47-year-old public defender in Camden profiled in the Inquirer today. Nothing too fancy, except she’s also a rapper. Yawn. I’ve heard of assistant district attorneys who rap, and they might have a little tougher time winning fans in a rap battle, being ADAs and all. Tell me something interesting, Inky!

Ruth Ann Mandell isn’t any ordinary rapper-on-the-side: she’s a Jewish anti-smoking parody song rapper. Now that’s a scoop! (Pictured at left: An unrelated Jewish rapper.)

The Inky profile tells of her performance at an anti-smoking rap at Rowam University, and how the kids clapped “enthusiastically” for “Blue Latitude,” her antismoking rap based on Patti LaBelle’s “New Attitude.” Clearly, kids at Rowan are fairly easily amused.

Other songs by our rapping attorney? Why, none other than “Dear Dr. Kevorkian” and “Last Nite ‘Cop Killa’ Saved My Life.”

I can’t wait for her mixtape to hit the streets.

Rap of the gavel not the only rap she hears [Inky]