Category Archives: Philadelphia

Apocalypse now, or just another dumb forecast?

Posted on January 27, 2015 by oddmanout215

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate,” I told Swamp Rabbit, quoting from an old movie but referring to Philly-based John Bolaris, one of the shiny happy people paid by the media machine to communicate weather forecasts. Bolaris … Continue reading →

Posted in apocalypse, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Ivan Klima covers the NFL playoffs

Posted on January 12, 2015 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were hungry, so we took a two-day job — strictly commission, unfortunately — peddling magical electricity in a suburban mall. There were flat-screen TVs and football fans all over the place. We caught some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, humor, life in the big city, Philadelphia, sports, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Corbett pins hopes on deadbeat Democrats

Posted on October 30, 2014 by oddmanout215

I was telling Swamp Rabbit that the key to re-election of unpopular Republican incumbents such as Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is to keep down the turnout among registered Democrats. That’s why the Republican Party, with help from the U.S. Supreme … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, life in the big city, mid-term elections, Philadelphia, unemployment, voter suppression | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Porn flick about Comcast would be called ‘Insatiable’

Posted on February 14, 2014 by oddmanout215

Swamp Rabbit and I were reading that Comcast, the nation’s No. 1 cable services provider, has bought out Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 provider. I wondered aloud what’s become of the Federal Communications Commission, the outfit that is supposed … Continue reading →

Posted in campaign finance reform, City Paper, humor, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Stranger than Strangelove

Posted on September 22, 2013 by oddmanout215

I was back at the shack, beside myself with angst, reading to Swamp Rabbit about a catastrophe that almost happened a half-century ago: A secret document, published in declassified form for the first time by the Guardian today, reveals that … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, economic collapse, fiction, history, humor, mainstream media, movies, Philadelphia, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The sport of kings, and of corporate welfare

Posted on September 19, 2013 by oddmanout215

Most non-fans of horse-racing, if they think of the sport at all, probably picture frantic racetrack patrons at ticket windows, or at computers, placing last-minute bets as horses and jockeys mosey up to the starting gate. But an article on … Continue reading →

Posted in casinos, Philadelphia, sports, taxes, The New Depression | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Yo, Daily News! Bike theft more than ‘pesky’

Posted on September 5, 2013 by oddmanout215

From Tuesday’s Philadelphia Daily News: Cops in Center City are trying an unusual approach to thwarting bike thieves: They’re letting them steal bikes. Undercover cops… set up stings – like the one Aug. 15 observed by the Daily News – … Continue reading →

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Bagel bomber busted at Vital Records

Posted on August 31, 2013 by oddmanout215

My plan was to hitchhike from Tinicum swamp past the junkyards and into Philly through the backdoor. My friend Swamp Rabbit tried to discourage me, but I had no choice, a temp agency was insisting on proof that I really … Continue reading →

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Walter White, working-class hero

Posted on August 26, 2013 by oddmanout215

Last week the Philadelphia Daily News ran a story about unemployment with a photo of a middle-aged man in a business suit — a former office worker out of luck and money — begging for a job on a streetcorner … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, globalization, Goldman Sachs, Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, Philadelphia, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When life feels like ‘Groundhog Day’

Posted on April 7, 2013 by oddmanout215

I was biking through a school-free drug zone, on my way to a temp job, cultivating bad habits. Not overtly bad habits — Marlboros and meth, and so on — but rather those drab little habits meant to ensure the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, humor, Iraq war, life in the big city, mainstream media, movies, Philadelphia, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment