Leftovers: Best, Philadelphia Will Do

• Apparently, if you sign your email with the sign-off “Best” you are uh, being rude to the person. Me, I like to stick to my normal sign-off: “To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.” [NYT]

• While a third woman of the four found outside Atlantic City was identified, police are investigating if these homicides are connected to another attack on prostitutes earlier this year. Gee, it’s good that prostitution is illegal and all, because it really works out for everyone involved, doesn’t it? [Inquirer]

• More Western Pennsylvania news: In New Castle, a house explosion injured three. Damn, it’s a mile a minute out there! [AP/Philly.com]

• Quakertown’s council is flooded with complaints that kids are smoking on a street corner that’s been dubbed the “cancer corner.” Minors may be banned from smoking throughout the township. Huzzah. [Doylestown Intelligencer]

• Just in time — well, okay, in advance — of the Franklin Institute’s King Tut exhibit, we learn that the boy king was not bludgeoned to death. Well. That clears that one up. [HealthDayNews/Yahoo!]

Leftovers: Party On North Broad

• Fight on, Temple! The Owls ended their 20-game losing streak Saturday with a 28-14 win over Bowling Green. (The Falcons, naturally, beat them 70-7 last year.) Could a bowl game be next? Uh, no, but this guarantees a few more “Golden Age of Temple Football” billboards on I-95 next year. And, for Temple, a win is a golden age. [Inquirer]

• Oh, yeah, if you’re wondering, apparently Temple football fans can hold a grudge about being called a crappy football team for a long, long time. [Temple Football Forever]

• Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the first city to pass an anti-illegal immigrant ordinance in America, is now suffering from businesses closing (in the Hispanic business district) and such. But the mayor sympathizes with the business owners, so, y’know. [Inquirer]

• As much as I hate podcasts, there’s a new podcast up on SoundAboutPhilly by the always-entertaining Once Upon A Nation people. Play it for your out-of-town friends. [SoundAboutPhilly]

• A former Republican staffer in Bucks County claims he was fired after criticizing an email sent by GOP supervisor Fred Gold. The email featured a topless woman promotion “Breast Appreciation Day” — ho ho — and a sentence saying, “Beats the shit out of Martin Luther King Day, doesn’t it?” Gee, this ex-GOP staffer should learn that sexual correspondence over the Internet is part of the Republican party’s platform. [Bucks County Courier Times]

The Dark Side Of Work Porn

NBC 10 reports today on the tale of a high school assistant principal fired from his job for getting porn emails at work.

But the school says he was fired because of how he responded to the emails:

Authorities said [David] Wong wrote: “This is good. My eyes, my eyes have forsaken me and that’s good stuff.”

CEP provided e-mails to NBC 10 with e-mails to prove their case.

“Why would you say that’s good stuff?” [Lu Ann] Cahn asked.

“Meaning that the picture that was sent to me was a very attractive woman and it was my first response — that’s good stuff right there, not meaning to keep sending them to me every day,” Wong said.

“But don’t you think when you send, ‘That’s good stuff,’ that was encouraging the sender to send you more?” Cahn asked.

“That was more of me trying to fit in with the culture of that school,” Wong said.

Now, that’s a high school you want to go to: One where porn is treated like a religious experience.

Assistant Principal Dismissed For Getting Soft Porn E-Mail [NBC 10]

If You’re Wondering Where Faye Flam Gets Her Column Ideas…

July 17, calls from readers:

A reader named Bob called me a second time last week to urge me to visit a clothing-optional beach in New Jersey - at Sandy Hook. That’s almost in New York, so I took a shortcut and visited on the Web.

July 24, emails from readers:

July is dominance/submission month, or so it would seem from the strange confluence of e-mail that readers sent. First came a couple of e-mails from “Brian.” Brian is looking for a woman to dominate him, but until he finds his dream dominatrix, he said he’d like me to help him practice by occasionally telling him to go to bed. He usually retires about 11, but said it would be really fun if I ordered him to bed at, say, 10.

Today, rumors:

It sounded incredible. A species that can live virtually forever, enjoy sex well into its second century, and bypass menopause completely. ¶ Rumor had it such a charmed life belonged to a humble turtle that inhabited the marshlands of the Jersey Shore.

Next week? Some really sexy smoke signals.

Terrapins: At well past 100, they’re in the mood [Inquirer]

Quickies: The Shocker

• Photos of women flashing patrons at Kildare’s in West Chester on Mardi Gras found their way into the hands of city officials, who are shocked! Shocked, I tell you, that people would flash for beads on Mardi Gras! Soon, West Chester officials are going to learn about “adult book stores” that actually sell pornographic movies! Gasp! [NBC 10]

• Philadelphia police may have your stolen power tools. So, if you’re missing a jackhammer or something, contact the popo. [KYW 1060]

• Lots of FBI employees don’t have email because the government can’t afford it. No, really. [AP/CNN]

• Does it get any cuter than this itty bitty wittle pomeranian? [Cute Overload]

• Okay, this is close, maybe: Eva Longoria playing with a little doggy. [What Would Tyler Durden Do?]

Leftovers: Puppies ‘n’ such

• Darren Daulton doesn’t care if you think he’s off his rocker. When his book comes out, you’ll convert to Daultonian Metaphysics. [Inky]

• Slate’s Seth Stevenson gives those creepy effing VW ads with the evil robot thing in the car an A-. Next, he’s going to give the puppy at left (via Flickr) an A+ times (infinity + 1), since clearly his grading system is inflated. [Slate]

• Barry Bonds did steroids! Wait. His head got as big as a novelty oversized beach ball. Didn’t everyone already know he was on the juice? [SI.com]

• Now that we’ve cut Iraq’s murder rate down to 0, ended the drug war, solved the problem of AIDS, it’s time for the flag burning amendment. Because, you know, these are the things that are important. [Wonkette]

• The guy who invented Hotmail — with a partner, and it was called HoTMaiL back then — is back to rethink blogging. Or, as he calls it, BLoGGiNG. [Financial Times via digg]

• Don’t extinguist those cigs just yet, New Jerseyans: A federal lawsuit has been filed against the ban. [AP/Camden Courier-Post]

Getting political, for the good of Philadelphia

Here’s the deal: I don’t really know what to think of this whole tax reform thing. Okay, I don’t have too many opinions on politics other than “which politician is funniest,” so that’s not all that weird.

But, anyway, to the story: Philadelphia Forward is an organization that sends approximately 745 emails a day with some sort of new reason for getting rid of the Business Privilege Tax. (They’ve gotten me with cute puppies before.) And somebody leaked Forward director Brett Mandel the address the email account on John Street’s Blackberry.

And, naturally, Forward’s latest tactic is allowing people to send emails to John Street’s Blackberry.

While I don’t know where I stand on tax reform, I do know where I stand on being able to annoy politicians — and that’s strongly in the ‘PRO’ category. (The site lets you send whatever letter you want, so you could also ask John Street what’s up with that hair.)

Does anyone have John Perzel’s Blackberry email? Or, for that matter, Rick Santorum?

Email The Mayor’s Blackberry: Sign The Tax Reform Bill! [Philadelphia Forward]
Nov. 29: Philadelphia Forward knows just what buttons to push