‘Inquirer’ Soon To Be All Cheesburgers, All The Time

I know that you probably thought there couldn’t be anything on Philly.com better than Craig LaBan’s “Cheeseburger, I Hold” video, but it has most certainly been topped.

It has been topped, of course, but Craig LaBan’s Sunday story ostensibly about the writing of the song “Cheeseburger, I Hold.”.

The song was made in collaboration with Phil Roy, who you may remember from the time he made DigPhilly/NBC 10 writer Teresa Masterson cook dinner for his guests.

But mostly, the LaBan piece reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Philosophy of Composition,” an essay about the writing of “The Raven,” if only “The Raven” were about cheeseburgers.

Burgers in his belly, and a song on his lips [Inquirer]
May 25: Philly.com Annoying Us In New Ways Every Day

Philly.com Annoying Us In New Ways Every Day

If you’ve visited the front page of Philly.com in the last few days, you’ve no doubt heard the auto-loading video from Craig Laban about cheeseburgers.

Laban keeps his face blurred in the video so local restaurateurs can’t hunt him down and murder him for giving them just one bell or whatever. His profile, though, kind of looks like Don Imus. What if they’re the same person?!

The automatically loaded song about cheeseburgers follows the Michael Nutter advertisement before the election on Philly.com’s website. It’s all part of Philly.com’s strategy to drive people away from the website and back to its hard copy newspapers.

“Cheeseburger, I Hold” by Craig Laban [Philly.com]
May 10: Get Off My Computer Screen, Michael Nutter

Leftovers: Box Wine: Not Just For The Lower-Class

• In yesterday’s Inquirer, Craig LaBan taste tested a bunch of hip three-liter box wines, which are supposed to give you more bang for your buck since the packaging is cheaper. The verdict: Eh. That’s good enough for me: To the state store! [Inky]

• If you’re wondering who Christine Flowers is blaming for John Bolton’s resignation, don’t bother. You wouldn’t be able to guess she’s blaming Oprah. Next she’s going to blame Montel for the Democrats’ resounding victories last month. [Metro]

• The Phillies selected four in MLB’s Rule 5 draft, then immediately traded one of their Rule 5 picks to the Orioles for one of their Rule 5 picks, Alfredo Simon, who originally went to the Giants in the… geeze, in the Michael Tucker deal? Ow, winter baseball meetings make my head hurt. [AP/Camden Courier-Post]

G-Ho Gains Legitimacy No Blog Can Ever Give It

In Sunday’s Inquirer, Craig Laban reviewed Sidecar, the hip upscale dive bar at 22nd and Christian. Laban said the beer was okay, the food was bad and the atmosphere was good. And, of course, the bar’s location said something about the rapidly-changing demographic of the soon-to-be-trendy area. And it’s got quizzo!

But it was what Laban called the section in the article that’s important:

Welcome to the newly minted nightlife scene of G-Ho, the neighborhood south of Graduate Hospital that is in the throes of cyclonic transformation. Gentrification has long been promised for this zone between South Street and Washington Avenue. But with the Naval Square development finally a high-end reality on nearby Gray’s Ferry Avenue, rebuild fever has taken hold of these blocks with a vengeance. The Christian Street sidewalks practically tremble from the pace of construction replacing blighted shells with $600,000 townhouses.

Holy shit! G-Ho! In the Inquirer! (The Sunday one at that.) And it’s not likely to cause quite as many jokes as Port Fishington!

You see, people on the Internet can make a difference.

Oh, yeah, this was also noted by The Illadelph and Wook. And they were a little more timely.

Sidecar Bar & Restaurant [Inquirer]
March 29: G-Ho Ho Ho!
Photo by Brad Maule, from his G-Ho essay

Quickies: To be fair, it’s the best coffee shop run by an Internet bank in America

• The New York Times on going to Philadelphia: get your coffee and wifi at the ING Direct Cafe, dawg! And open an Orange Savings Account! [NYT]

• Craig LaBan recaps his year: Nothing got four bells — whatever that means — and only one restaurant (Haru) was bad enough to not get any recommendation at all. Oh, snap. Better keep extra disguises when you’re around 3rd and Chestnut, Craig. [Inky]

• New Action News sports anchor Jamie Apody is a a second-degree black belt in karate. This kitten’s got claws! How long until 6 ABC has her do some headache-inducing “Challenge our anchor to a sport!” gimmick? I give it two weeks. [DN]

• And — it’s in the middle of this story, so you gotta read — but one little documentary makes a woman sign the “Free the Elephants” petition. A whopping 100 signed, which means about .015% (note: figure made up) of the people in the gallery care about elephants. Eh: As long as the zoo keeps those red pandas, I’m down. [Inky]

• Hey, how about this one? La Salle’s basketball team is 6-0 after a four overtime win against Central Connecticut State. And nobody arrested! Nobody! Whoo! [DN]