Bodies, Bodies Everywhere

The Broad Street Review has a new piece about Bodies… The Exhibition, and if you’re wondering if the author has confused Body Worlds with the knock-off, you’re in luck: It appears he has.

You’ll also no doubt note there is a reference to the Nazis in the second paragraph. This is a journal of arts and culture, after all! “It did not reassure me that the show’s promoter is a German. Displaying corpses in amusing poses, with witty props and paraphernalia, put me in mind of Nazi lampshades made out of human skin.” Yeah, way to not hold that exhibition, Franklin Institute. (If you’re wondering, Body Worlds was run by a German; Bodies… The Exhibition was run by Premier Exhibitions, Inc., an Atlanta-based company.

The Franklin, Reviewed

Brand New has a post on the new logo for The Franklin, which also includes ruminations on the dropping of “Institute” from the, uhm, institute’s name. So, yeah, the review isn’t positive — but no matter what you think of the new logo/name you will enjoy this animated .gif.

Update: I kind of like the logo, just not the font.

Ted Williams Livens Up Courtroom

Parodies of MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign are now usually limited to practical jokes played on people who got drunk and flashed their vag or passed out at parties (link NSFW if you have filtering off). This is good!

It’s also, though, apparently popular for those trying to inject a little humor into a preliminary hearing for a drug addiction-fueled robbery case! Bensalem’s Ted Williams — the Priceless ad campaign debuted the year the Splendid Splinter hit .406 — described his loss in court. The late slugger’s frozen head apparently gives presentations at the planetarium at the Franklin Institute:

“Planetarium software … $1,000.

“Two flash drives … more than $150.

“Kids missing planetarium presentations … priceless.”

I’d agree, though, but the kids probably did get to see a noted white European ruler King Tut, which was the biggest exhibition of antiquities since Geraldo opened Al Capone’s vault. And, hey, now it’s Star Wars!

Later, one of the other robbery victims testified, “My stuff went away! It just kept going and going and going and going…”

Residents line up to testify [Bucks County Courier Times]

We Sure All Are [Descendants] Of King Tut

A group of about 50 protested the King Tut exhibition at the Franklin Institute yesterday, including Temple prof. Molefi Asante, who said: “This is an area of criminal theft, identity theft.” Somebody needs a Capital One card.

The identity thief here is the King Tut exhibit, which protesters said shows King Tut as white — “looks more like Boy George than the boy king” — and doesn’t mention Egypt is in Africa, leading people to believe Egypt is in Europe. (If someone thinks Egypt is in Europe, he or she most likely has bigger problems than thinking King Tut was white.) The exhibit has been protested since it arrived in America, and the Franklin Institute will be holding a symposium where everyone will be calm and nice to each other this summer.

Also, wait ’til these people find out most people probably believe Jesus was a pale white dude rather than a Middle Eastern guy. But even that wouldn’t stop hot dog vendor George Williams, who knows that King Tut is all about togetherness:

George Williams, who is black and operates a pretzel cart in front of the museum, said he believes that King Tut is a piece of history all people share.

“Regardless if he was black or white, we’re all equal and we’re all [descendants] of King Tut,” he said. “We can love each other.”

Wait, who is King Tut again? He apparently sired the entire human race and I think I’ve gotten him confused with someone else.

Protesters at exhibit say King Tut was black [Daily News]

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!]

Local Food Service Workers In Peril

Correction to an item from earlier this week: The person robbed at the Franklin Institute earlier this week was not a patron, but the Aramark offices inside the Institute.

Apparently, knowing that Body Worlds wasn’t there anymore and the cashiers at the Franklin Institute wouldn’t have as much cash, the robber went to the inside Aramark offices — they do the food service there, I assume — and robbed it at gunpoint.

Police caught him, and here’s where the plot thickens:

Capt. Mike Sinclair says the man in question may have also been involved with a robbery at the St. Joseph’s University student center: “The lone gunman entered the Saint Joseph’s cafeteria, which is managed by Aramark Food Services, and robbed the night cashier.”

What does all of this mean? We have an ex-Aramark employee with a vengeance out there. The Aramark Shark, if you will. (Hey, you try to come up with a two-word pun for a guy that robs Aramark repeatedly. No, really. Please.)

Cell Phone Leads to Franklin Institute Robbery Suspect [KYW 1060]
Wednesday: A Penny Stolen Is A Penny Earned
Photo via Philly Skyline’s 50 Tallest Buildings in Philadelphia feature

A Penny Stolen Is A Penny Earned

There was a robbery at the Franklin Institute yesterday morning, but the alleged perpetrator didn’t try to rob the Institute’s front desk or loot a safe. No, he robbed another person in the Franklin Institute.

Police said a man was wearing a white halloween mask and brown clothing when he pointed a gun at someone inside the instutute and demanded money. According to authorities, security workers chased the suspect around the building, and someone knocked his gun away before police apprehended him nearby.

My guess is he really wanted to see Wired To Win and just didn’t have any cash on him.

Gun-Wielding Masked Man Demands Cash At Franklin Institute [NBC 10]

Six feet above and filled with silicon

By now you’ve either heard of or been to Body Worlds, the creepy-but-educational exhibit of actual dead human bodies currently showing at the Franklin Institute.

And, you know, after seeing the exhibit (or the photo at left), I’m sure you thought about it, decided it was either really neat or really weird (or both), and moved on. But if you were either 19-year-old Chrissy Jenks or 31-year-old Shawn Petri, you would look at the bodies and go, “Sign me up!”

Yes, two local residents (one originally from Berks County and the other from Montco, so they’re “local” in the NBC 10 dictionary) have signed up to have their bodies plastinated after death. In Plastination, which was invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, the bodily fluids are replaced with silicon, preserving it. The two bodies will be used for research or in a display like the one currently at the Franklin Institute.

That’s about it, although 6,500 people have signed up for this process since the early 1980s, so Petri and Jenks have to get in line, I suppose. The best part of the entire press release is this:

Both body donors are proceeding with plans to inform their entire families about their wishes, change their living wills, and possibly even participate in the body donor program’s annual meeting with Dr. von Hagens in Heidelberg, Germany.

“Excuse me, Aunt Valerie? Just so you know, after I die, my body is going to be filled with silicon and possibly put on display at a museum or an institute. And also perhaps used in an advertisement for said display. Just thought you’d like to know.”

Full release after the jump.

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