The city (and the nation) rises up upon news of a murdered police officer in Port Richmond.

The city (and the nation) its head after watching video of three men brutalized by Philadelphia Police.

The city (and the nation) conducts business as usual the other countless times a Philadelphian is murdered.

The city (and the nation) is happy to look the other way for the countless violent encounters provoked by Philadelphia or Camden Police, when not documented by a video camera.

The picture is grim. Our collective emotion– well managed most of the time–soars upon news of a murdered police. There is a nationwide manhunt. A 24-7 vigil takes place at the scene as local media cover the story indefinitely. This is the apropriate response to a murder. Any murder.

In a week, many of this will settle down and we’ll go back to 1-inch write ups for the other 400 residents murdered while living in this city. It’s not even hot out yet and we’re already trying to remember if there were 7 or 9 murders last weekend. It feels like blowback. A blow from the continuous cycle of state-sponsored violence that pervades our world. I think about how the Greeks thought a natural disaster was the wrath of the Gods. Events in the world show legitimate reason to believe a greater force is at work.

It is a struggle to face the truth: the value of a person’s life is regulated by the media. If they don’t report it, we don’t care. If we don’t care, they won’t report it. Mainstream journalism is now based on what’s cool, what’s emotional — and not necessarily the stories that are the most shameful. You will never see an in-depth report on what is at the root of our citywide murders, broken school system, and our bloating prison system, while considering the war in Iraq costs ### (thank you Iraq War Cost) and oil companies are making 12-figure profits annually (apparently Exxon Mobil’s recent profit of $10.9 billion this quarter alone was disappointing).

Our cities will die if we don’t use our collective resources to create jobs, working educational systems and affordable housing. We are cows heading to slaughter, placated by $600 checks and gas tax holidays. We are not in control of our country. How will we rise up to dramatically change directions?

Clearly our non-profit sector is keeping the machine humming, not overhauling it. I ponder NGO’s involvement in the overall plan to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer. If we managed to properly treat and rebuild away from our current system of poverty, what would happen to the job sector providing 25% of jobs in Philadelphia? The career-based approach to movement building is not a sustainable one.

I hope to explore this topic further in future posts throughout the summer.

1. Cafe Veracruzana - South Philly
2. Pura Vida - Northern Liberties
3. La Lupe - South Philly

This post dedicated to Dave, who thinks ‘The Joint’ was actually a high-value, well-run establishment.

I participated in my first Critical Mass in Philadelphia this past Friday. I happened to get out of work early and saw the ride while hanging in Rittenhouse Square. I rushed to join the ride, which began peacefully but ended so negatively that it caused me to question the purpose (or better yet, effectiveness) of the ride.

I have participated in a handful of rides in NYC, including the infamous RNC ride that led to the criminalization of Critical Mass in New York. New York had similar problems, but the good folks generally outweighed the bad. There seemed to be so many trouble makers on this ride, and considering it’s relatively small size — about 125 bicyclists, slimming to about 50 as the ride progressed — the trouble making really put bicyclists and pedestrians at great risk.

I realize without good organization, these rides tend to be run by the loudest subgroup. I had heard of problems with the Philly ride before, but now I can say the ride is quite problematic for urban-cycling culture. Some observations:

• The ride is fiercely anti pedestrian - watching babies in strollers, dogs and old folks almost thrown to the ground because they’re crossing on a pedestrian green signal is pathetic.
• Antagonizing cars goes nowhere - drivers who are stuck in the middle of a ride should be corked/stopped and peacefully spoken with if they become agitated.  Cursing, screaming, hitting the car, hanging onto it, etc. is dangerous and stupid.  It inspires the driver to develop a negative impression of Philly cyclists.
• Corking is important - New York rides were well corked and organized.  Only a handful riders seemed interested in corking streets.  For the unfamiliar, corking refers to blocking traffic so the ride can go through on a red light.  Riding around Franklin Circle without the appropriate entrances corked is extremely dangerous.
• Know when to quit - Clogging children’s hospital, not letting police through (who are not the least bit concerned with the ride) and scraping cars with your pedals on purpose will criminalize the ride.

Of course, there were plenty of positives.  Props to those who had boom boxes and art-bikes, they add to the positive nature of the ride.  I made every attempt to thank pedestrians and drivers who were blocked, it’s important to maintain this type of peaceful approach so folks don’t get heated, cyclists stay safe and the ride is respected by all.

There is a divide among bicycle advocates: those who say this type of action is creative and beneficial to the movement, and those who consider the antagonistic nature of the ride harmful to safer streets and a better world for cyclists.  I’m leading towards the latter now.

Ms. Clinton, who has cast herself as the stronger candidate on national security, raised eyebrows earlier Tuesday by warning in a television interview she would not hesitate to “totally obliterate” Iran if it launched an attack against Israel. - The Daily Post

More of the same, more of the same. Pennsylvania swings towards Clinton, as expected.

One thing that always amazes me in the amount of political cheer leading permitted at our polling stations. I remember in New York, polling stations were fiercely regulated. Police were called when political advocates came too close to a polling station.

In Philadelphia, my voting experiences have been different. I’ve not only been sold a candidate at the door of my polling station, but even the poll workers seemed to be wearing pins, handing out flyers and talking up their candidates. Tonight, there was a woman stopping everyone at the door to help voters with the process, by pointing out which delegates to vote for. She was wearing a campaign shirt, but she certainly seemed like she was the gatekeeper for the polling place.

Philly, I love you, but we’ve got to get our act together!

The construction of the South Street Bridge has been contentious, rebuilding of the bridge has been delayed since 2001. The process infamously precluded community involvement, and now city officials are hearing community leaders as if it were the first time.

As plans neared completion, residents became activated and have been pushing the city to redesign the plans to be urban scale rather than an interstate overpass (such as the Walnut & Market Street bridge).

If you bike or walk in this city, the existing design totally sucks. Sound in or deal with another ugly Philly-mistake for another century.

The South Street Bridge Coalition is asking that people concerned about the South Street Bridge write letters to make the reconstructed South Street Bridge safer and more equitable for pedestrians and bicyclist who will use the bridge. You can send an email or hardcopy letter by going to this webpage: http://tinyurl.com/2zwtuw (Be sure to add in your own personal message)!

You can download (8MB pdf) the Design Recommendation for the South Street Bridge report from this page:
http://media.philly.com/documents/southstreetbridgedraft.pdf

From the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

$6.50 for ordering online? They don’t even have to print a ticket! This is one middleman I’m happy not to support. Time to cancel this order and buy tickets at the bar.

“Most Philly bands don’t get attention for a music video before a record, but only Shout Magic would write an eponymous song about and shoot a feel-good video inside their favorite Chinese restaurant Golden Empress. Besides making you hungry, it should inspire you to dig deeper into the band’s horn-addled Sea and Cake-ish sound, starting with their brand-new EP Ceiling Fan & Other Revolutions. In addition to sharp turns and sunny orchestral touches, the album gives a hometown nod in the form of the jazzy instrumental “Passyunk.” With so much pride, Shout Magic could be the best thing to happen to our city’s tourism industry since that sleepover slogan.” Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Weekly

Grubstake Live @ Z-Radio 100fest

What a rad radio show. At Factory 1241, Philadelphia.

Live @ The (packed!) Tritone. January 11, 2008.

Shout Magic Live!

Saudi Arabia Live!

Comrade Live!

Anyone have photos of Shout Magic from that night?  We really need to get better at taking photos.

Shout Magic worked with Dave Walk from Wookified Productions & Comic Vs Audience to produce a video for Golden Empress. off the new album Ceiling Fan & Other Revolutions.