Forget SEPTA’s QuietRide. Who’s Up for a Book Club Car?

How to make friends on the train.

First car will be your QuietRide Car. Please, respect the QuietRide Car. If you’ve ever ridden a SEPTA train, or even set foot in one of the city’s bustling stations, you’ve heard this. And if you’re a commuter, you’re probably sick of it. I’ve ridden in the quiet car, and I’ve ridden in the other cars, and the rest of the train really isn’t particularly loud. If you’re riding with a friend, you might be chatting among yourselves, and it’s true that many people (myself included) talk on their cell phones.

Philadelphians Sorry for Low Voter Turnout

Yesterday, we took an informal street poll around Rittenhouse Square, and pinned down about 50 passersby for four easy questions with yes or no answers. Here are the results, along with a few of our favorite quotes from respondents. Will the Phillies win the World Series this year? Yes: 23.4% (“That's a toss-up. Maybe. Hopefully.”) No: 76.6% (“I'd like to say yes, but no.”) Are you excited for the NFL draft this week? Yes: 27.7% (“Very much so!”) No: 72.3% (“Honestly, I'm not a football fan.”) Do you know who won the Democratic primary for attorney general? Yes: 21.3% (“Kane won, surprisingly.”) No: 78.7% (“Not my boy Patrick Murphy....

Have Girl Scouts Lost Their Hustle?

Beware parents peddling Thin Mints.

At my office, there's a table in the kitchen that I've been avoiding like the plague. Casually sitting next to the microwave, there they are: the delicious, expensive banes of my winter existence. It takes all my willpower to stop myself from ripping open a box of Thin Mints and devouring an entire sleeve in one go, cookie crumbs coating my face and the floor.

Most Frustrating Part of SEPTA Commute Is Escalators

Why does “life in the fast lane” apply only to Philly roads?

I recently discovered a Suburban Station shortcut that allows me to avoid two blocks of outdoor walking. When it’s raining and I’ve forgotten my umbrella, this shortcut is wonderful. When I’m late and rushing to the office, it isn’t even worth it. Why? Because it involves an escalator, which one might assume makes a trip a little bit faster. However, I’ve noticed that in Philadelphia, this can only slow you down.

Rick Santorum Sure Does Love Twitter and YouTube

Can Rick become the first president from Pennsylvania since James Buchanan? Our weekly report on his campaign

This week, Rick takes to the Interwebs with Tweets and videos. He says that he's not running in the Republican nomination race—he's walking.

Do You Keep Your Kid on a Leash?

A yank on a strap replaces good parenting

It's 11 a.m. on a Friday in Center City, and I've just spotted a leash kid. My blood boils. Typically, parents use the “safety strap” or “stay-close harness” to keep watch over their children in packed places like Disney World. However, most seem to ignore the fact that those are just fancy names for a leash. While I am strongly against leashing children, even I respectfully acknowledge the terror of taking a three-year-old to the Philadelphia Zoo in the summertime (or, really, any time) and keeping track of him. However, we're not at the zoo right now. We're in the city,...

Rick Santorum Loves Penn State

Can Rick become the first president from Pennsylvania since James Buchanan? Our weekly report on his campaign

This week, Rick showed some Pennsylvania love by supporting Penn State (yay!) and some global hate by declaring he wants foreign scientists dead (yikes).

Even Millennials Hate Facebook Changes

Mark Zuckerberg’s newest updates are pissing everyone off

It’s been seven years since I joined Facebook, and I need a break. Nowadays, it seems like they’re constantly introducing new updates, and not all are welcome. (Yet, after years of petitioning, they’ve still failed to come up with a dislike button. Why is that?) True, I’m not a fan of change in general, but this recent assault is just too much. I’ll admit that the chat function grew on me after a while, and the built-in camera feature is pretty handy. I endured the “like” button and the pesky submitting of comments with just a push of the enter key. I almost quit with the archiving of chat messages, disturbed that every word I typed to a friend after a few glasses of wine at night would now be saved in my inbox for me to re-read and cringe the next day. But more than one newsfeed? Really?

Temple University: Take Your Guns to Town?

How student Robert Eells feels about being shot outside his North Philly rental ... and the fact that he returned fire

On September 5th, at 1:45 in the morning, 21-year-old Temple student Robert Eells and his roommate were having a cigarette on the porch of their North Philadelphia home. The block was pretty quiet. Three teens approached the porch and demanded money. One had a gun. Eells didn’t comply with their request, and the boy shot him in the stomach. Eells, who had a firearm in his sweatshirt pocket, shot back. Eells has a license to carry for just this reason (and has owned firearms since he was 18), and he says while he never expected to actually be involved in something like this, he wasn’t surprised. An Arcadia University senior myself, I could never picture taking a gun out in public. I was floored that Eells, whom I went to high school with, owned a gun. Then again, I live in a quiet complex in Glenside, not North Philly.