Philly Tops Meaningless List (!)

Hey, Philadelphia won some sort of pointless ranking! Yes, venerable research institutions Apartments.com and Careerbuilder’s CBCampus.com joined forces to produce a report claiming ranking Philadelphia as the best place to live for recent college grads.

This is doubly hilarious when one considers the situation in 2004, when all my friends from school moved away from Philadelphia to New York, Boston, D.C. and other cities not Philadelphia. But now that gas is $80 a gallon and a trio of pretzels costs $1.50 (a buck-fifty!), look who’s laughing now? Muahahahahaha!

Er, anyway, the criteria for the study includes “the population of people age 20 to 24, the number of entry-level job openings suitable for new grads, and the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment.” Because it’s 2008, we kids (I’m 25 now, but 15 mentally, so it averages out) also want the all-important “green” buzzword.

But, hey, it’s an article about Philadelphia, so it’s not like there can’t be some good old Philly-bashing: “The nice parts of Philly are really nice. But the bad parts are awful.” Yes, just like every city anywhere ever. And then there’s this:

Hopkins, the Select Greater Philadelphia executive, says that his son, a 24-year old working at insurer AIG and living with his parents to save money, is now debating whether to move to the New York area or stay closer to home. Because he wants to buy a home, he has no options in Manhattan—and few options in nearby New Jersey cities.

“He can’t afford the monthly payments in Hoboken, Jersey City, or Manhattan,” Hopkins says. “So now he’s thinking about Philadelphia.”

Ahh, yes, he can’t afford Hoboken, so he’s moving to Philadelphia. If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere!

Philadelphia named best city for new grads [MSNBC]

I Miss College

Students at the event also discussed whether Islam forbade being attracted to people of the same sex, or only homosexual acts.

Wharton and Engineering junior and MSA member Danish Munir said that while the Koran does not specifically mention homosexuality, homosexual acts are forbidden.

Other students agreed, noting it was acts of sodomy that are forbidden, not a homosexual mindset.

After the meeting, the feedback was widely positive.

Santorum’s criticism of Muslims inspires dialogue [Daily Pennsylvanian]

The Duke Boys Aren’t Innocent After All

Gregory Sullivan is, apparently, a lawyer in Bucks County. He’s also an occasional columnist for The Evening Bulletin. And he wrote this paragraph in yesterday’s paper with 100 percent seriousness in a column about how college is bullshit or something.

The Duke University case is viewed, correctly, as a thwarted railroading of the students by an unscrupulous prosecutor. The students are understandably relieved to be cleared of the false charges. They are seen as victims in this matter, which is what they are. But the legal vindication of the students is one thing. Duke should now throw them out of the university for hiring a stripper.

The Bulletin: Just when you think they’ll zig, they ZAG!

Recent Incidents Mean It’s Time To Rethink College [The Evening Bulletin]

Leftovers: You Say Upside-Down Pie, I Say Tomato Pie

• The Daily News otherwise outstanding article about tomato pies at Tony’s in Mayfair and other fine pizza places did omit Merc Brothers on the Boulevard. A letter to the editor is forthcoming. [Daily News]

• Get the rid of a drug dealer without selling any drugs! Start your own business? No way! Just pick up a cheap car at Bristol’s drug kingpin car auction, this Friday and Saturday. Bids as low as $20! (No, really.) [NBC 10]

• A study says that a bachelor’s degree is worth about $23,000 a year. Sweet. Or, if you’re a professional blogger, $23,000 less than that. [AP/CBS 3]

• A report out of New York City blames the free daily papers, including the esteemed Metro, for subway flooding. SEPTA hears this, comes up with a great idea for an excuse this winter. [N.Y. Sun]

• And, finally, Tara Reid is blaming her dating woes on her boob job. Yeah, I’m totally stealing that excuse. [NBC 10]