Galileo’s head was on the block...

Finally, Phartblogger #2 had a moment to experience some phart! I just saw “The Life of Galileo” at The Wilma Theater (my former employer). It was PHenomenal! What an amazingly written play—Bertolt Brecht, you can’t go wrong. But it is dense and long. However, the staging and the actors made it absolutely riveting from beginning to end. Never before has three hours in the theater on a Tuesday night passed so quickly!

I have a lot of experience with the history of Galileo from college. One of the Honors sections did a mock trial of Galileo freshman year, which was very interesting. And then there’s that fabulous Indigo Girls song. But seriously, this was a new twist on all of the HIStory I thought I knew. The actors were unbelievable. The man who played Galileo Galilei (great, non-redundant Italian name), John Campion, was so powerful! And the cast was a veritable who’s who of the best actors Philadelphia has to offer—Scott Greer, Greg Wood (Mischa Barton’s dad in The Sixth Sense), Grace Gonglewski…the list goes on and on. Every cast member was extremely strong. I especially loved the “Little Monk” character, played by John Zak (of ComedySportz fame, in my mind). He brought such tenderness to such a conflicted and vulnerable character.

It was one of the best productions I’ve ever seen at the Wilma, and that says a lot, because I saw everything and loved everything. Run out and buy tickets. It’s been extended through May 19th.

Philly Philosophical

This is really not an art-related posting, but I felt I had to put something out there in the universe about it. It's hard to encapsulate in one word who Mike Ryan was, but I'd say the best way to put it is that he was my friend, and he died on Monday. Mike used to be Fr. Mike, and to all of us at Corpus Christi Church and School, he was a mentor, spiritual guide, shoulder to lean on, leader, and most of all, friend. I was raised under the Catholic faith and attended Catholic schools my whole life. I've spent many years being taught what it is to be a good Catholic and a good person in general. To me, Mike was the epitome of those teachings.

We worked together closely on the Confirmation program at Corpus Christi. When I was in high school, Mike decided to leave the priesthood, and he moved to New Jersey. He remained close to my parents, but us "kids" lost touch with him, regrettably. I think it was an odd time for us, and I know I was not sure how to act. Heck, I wasn't sure how to act around anyone when I was 16.

Mike got married to a wonderful woman and had a beautiful daughter. On Monday, he died after a long battle with leukemia. When my dad told me the news via email, I sat at my desk and cried for a half an hour. I couldn't stop. I had no idea what a profound impact this man had on my little life, and I had no idea how much I missed him. He was one of those people who made you want to be a better person. It wasn't about church doctrine or rules, it was about God in the purest sense of the word and community. Mike was about helping people, and that's all he did.

Even now when I'm in my new church in my new city getting ready to start my new life as a wife and, hopefully soon, a mother, I'm flooded with memories of our retreats, our programs, our talks, our camaraderie. Our youth group was unbelievable, and I know I would be a much different person had I not had that in my life.

Am I going to get on a soapbox about the clergy? No. I will mention that my dad told me that Mike's former order is barely acknowledging his death. I won't go on about how un-Christian that is. It speaks for itself.

I simply want anyone reading this to know that there was a man named Mike Ryan who was one of the best human beings I've ever met. May God bless him and keep him.

Couple of Old Pharts

This post is a little out of place, but sadly, your Phartbloggers have been too busy for arts and culture lately. The closest we got was this past Friday's My Chemical Romance concert at the Nassau Coliseum. I know what you're thinking--emo death cult?? Yes, friends. The Phartbloggers are so sophisticated in all other forms of culture that their taste in pop music is a tad lame. It was Phartblogger #1's birthday, and he wanted nothing more than to bop around and pump his fist to the harmonious tunes of every 13-year-old rocker's dream band.

We got there and didn't think it would be that bad. We were surrounded by kids but also adults, and not just moms and dads. We felt really cool when we saw thirty-somethings in black makeup and tattered clothes. We might have been straight-laced, but we were representin' our lameness.

But then something interesting happened...we weren't the only lame ones there. First off, the music, not that loud. We could hear each other when we screamed in each other's ears. Not right. Secondly, no one got up out of their seats until the very end. Thirdly, Gerard Way (the most tragic lamo and closet gay man ever, but Phartblogger #2 is strangely obsessed with him) STOPPED A SONG to "save" a mosh-pitter who was apparently in peril. Then he gave us a speech about proper pit behavior. Um, I recall almost dying a horrific death in a Rancid pit (THAT'S THE NAME OF THAT BAND, PHARTY #1! Finally remembered/looked it up.) at Lollapalooza 1996. That's how you become a tough concert-goer. Don't stop the death. They chose to buy that general admission ticket. They want that in their obit. Boo.

They did their whole new concept album in perfect sequence. That was kinda cool. I wish SP had done a Mellon Collie concert like that, but I digress. Then they did a 6 song encore--hello? It was like a whole nother concert. They did the crowd faves (trust me) and made everyone dance around. The Phartbloggers were getting tired, but we bopped along with the mom in our row.

As we were leaving, Pharty #2 remembered her first trip to the Nassau Coliseum in 1996 to see Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan was the love of her life, and she cried during their encore of "Drown." There was something sad about this memory, but nice at the same time. She also remembered her ears ringing, unlike this evening.

As we tried to leave, our true oldness came through. A Long-Guyland teenager was trying to cut in front of the Phartbloggers' sensible Camry, and he decided to side-swipe us when we didn't let him in. Genius. Pharty #2 was instantly out of the car and announcing his license plate to the 911 operator. When will they learn--don't mess with an NY talian girl's temper, especially not in a vehicle!? Then the punks (yeah, I said it. I decided against "hooligans," but that was a close second) drove off!! We decided to just let them think that the cops were after them all night rather than wait there to file a report about a smudge on the Camry.

Ten minutes later, Phartblogger #1 turned 27. How fitting.

Pheasting in Philly

Last week, the Phartbloggers partook in an age-old Philadelphia tradition (well, at least for the last few years)—the Center City District’s Restaurant Week. This is a wonderful opportunity to try a new place, go out on a limb, and get a great dinner for a good price. All of the participating restaurants prepare a three-course dinner for $30 per person. Now, we don’t typically go out for multiple-course dinners unless it’s a medieval restaurant in Siena, Italy, but that’s a story for another day.

We had the joy of sharing dinner with our friends, the Gilberts. Check out Mr. Gilbert’s awesome blog. He’s a hoot: http://www.hotpatriotaction.blogspot.com/ We decided to go to Bistro Romano, which is an Italian place off of Headhouse Square in Society Hill. It was pretty much the coldest night ever, so we were very happy to get into this warm establishment. We were greeted by our friends at the bar. Unfortunately, as soon as we got there, a renegade patron decided to knock into our friend and spill her wine all over her outfit! But the lovely bartender helped clean up the mess AND comped our drinks. We’re off to a great start!

The décor is quite authentic Italian-American. Sinatra playing, dim lights, exposed brick walls, but it wasn’t cheesy. It was actually just dim enough to be soothing and not be pitch black. We enjoyed our meals thoroughly. PB #1 had a stuffed beef dish, and I had the tilapia. And the desserts—oh…my…goodness. I was incredibly full. We had a wonderful chianti and a glorious time. The Gilberts had their rehearsal dinner in a private, wine cellar-like room in the restaurant. I think the PB’s will have to look into that possibility for our nuptials. PB #2 loves nothing more than a pasta, a good red wine, and some Sinatra.
Also, Bistro Romano often has a murder-mystery dinner theater. PB #2’s old roomie starred in one of their productions once. Check it out!

Basically, you can’t lose with Restaurant Week. No matter what, you feel like you’re getting a great deal. And in the middle of January, it’s nice to treat yourself. I think they do it twice a year, so definitely keep an eye out!

Philly Pets who need a home: Gentle Ben

So here at PhartBlog, we care about all things Philly, not just the arts.

After seeing some rather disturbing behavior by some local pet owners in our area, we have decided that we need to help out as much as we can to help our little friends. Maybe weekly, we will have an update with a local pet who needs a good home. In case anyone is worried about adopting from a shelter, just look at Tink





So here is the first guy who needs a home:

Meet "Gentle Ben"

I am very sweet and gentle, just like my name implies. I was born approximately August 2004 and at some point was left outside to fend for myself. I was so scared that Animals in Crisis had to trap me to get me to the vet. I was even more scared in the trap, and tore out some of my claws trying to escape. Now my paws have healed and I am the biggest baby in the world - I just love to be held and petted. I am neutered, tested negative for FeLV/FIV, have my shots, and have been wormed and Frontlined and am ready to go the my new home.
Animals in Crisis Inc.
Philadelphia, PA
mailto:cat160@aol.com?subject=Petfinder.com
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=6749350

the curse of billy penn

The Curse of William Penn:

http://www.phrustratedphan.com/

So while listening to yesterdays podcast of Preston and Steve, they had on these guys who have been researching why Philly sports teams have been letting the city down for years and years.

Basically, it means that with the 1987 addition of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which became the first structure to be allowed by law to be taller than the William Penn statue atop of City Hall, good old Billy has cursed us from beyond the grave. I am not sure why he would do such a thing, unless he liked the idea of being able to look down upon everyone who ever comes to Philadelphia. I'd like to think better of a Quaker, and founder of Pennsylvania, but you know what, I wasnt around back then and didnt know him, and our sports teams were mildly prolific before this.

The Eagles were in the Super Bowl in 1980

The Phillies won the World Series in 1980, and the NL Pennant in 1983

The Flyers won the Stanley Cup back to back in 1974-1975

The 76ers won the NBA title in 1983

Since then?

The Phillies have been mildly pathetic through most of the 90's, with the lone Lenny Dykstra team making a good run

The Eagles had been a big tease through the 80's and 90's with a team that (in a non-cursed city) should have won at least one Super Bowl, and a team now that is nothing if not cursed

The Flyers I believe are the worst team in the NHL

The 76ers had to suffer through the Iverson years, which were a joke besides that one dumbass lucky run to the NBA Finals, where we all knew they had no chance

Read into this what you will, but I shutter to think what will happen to us when the new Comcast Center is completed....

Happy Birthday Philly: January 22

DJ Jazzy Jeff (born Jeffrey A. Townes on January 22, 1965 in Philadelphia, PA) is a DJ/ turntablist (great word) and hip hop producer. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Together, the duo had several gold and platinum-selling albums, earning them the first rap Grammy ever presented in 1989 for Parents Just Dont Understand. When Smith branched out into television with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played the popular "Jazz". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Jazzy_Jeff

But he will probably be most remembered in Philly for coming back to reunite with the Fresh Prince during Live 8, and then famously doing the only song anyone really would care to hear from them again, the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...classic Philly moment

His work includes the classic song, Deep Deep Trouble, by Bart Simpson on The Simpsons Sing the Blues. I am happy to inform everyone that I owned that album, in tape form if I remember correctly.