08/18/2009
Saturday I went to to see the Orioles lose to the Angels in Baltimore. On our way out of Oriole Park at Camden Yards we saw the van pictured above and I must say that it is awesome and I must own one. Obviously vans are pretty cool to begin with, but adding an Orioles paint job adds to the grandeur.
About 10 minutes after I took this photo, we walked through the Inner Har and happened upon people fleeing one of the buildings. Apparently, there was a shooting moments before we arrived after a few rival gang members happened upon each other in the most tourist filled area of Baltimore. Fortunately, no one was killed though it was still a pretty nasty scene – we saw police attending to a shot gang member through a doorway and we almost stepped in some blood outside…ugh.
Thankfully I spotted this van and stopped to snap a few photos, otherwise we might have arrived at the Inner Harbor a minute earlier…
04/1/2009
I’ve been to a few open mic night events over the years. Last night at Tritone was easily the weirdest combination of performers I’ve seen with acts like a solo guitarists (one playing the Beatles “Let It Be” sung all in Spanish), stand up comedians, a solo death/scream metal performer, and finally the highlight of the night for me was the sword swallower! So much entertainment they ran out of time for the tenor saxophonist which could have been cool.
I was about the closest person to the stage which is tough when you’re staring at a comedian who isn’t funny. When the solo screaming guy performed (he had a CD for his backing music) I had to actually get up and go to the bar to keep myself from chuckling in front of him. He might have come out and bit me or something.
Tritone is definitely a rockin’ dive bar. I didn’t see “the special” on the menu until we were about to leave: $3 for a PBR and a shot of whiskey! Without further ado, the sword swallower:
…and yes, that’s a tattoo of a sword on her throat!
02/14/2009
Last night some friend’s had us over to their apartment in West Philadelphia for dinner/drinks along with some of Katie’s classmates. After hanging out for a bit I noticed some light coming in through the blinds of the front window… we could also hear a helicopter. About ten minutes (ish) later someone noticed police cars outside so we decided to see what was a-flutter!
We went outside and saw this car on the sidewalk. As soon as we got outside a police officer approached us – would he tell us to get back inside because a bad guy was on the loose? Would he ask for details of what we saw? Would he reassure us that the situation was under control? NO! He just asked if he could use the bathroom. I guess he didn’t get a chance to take a piss during the chase.
Apparently, the driver was running from the police and turned up South Farragut Street (where we were) but there was a FedEx truck parked on his narrow escape route! Instead, it appears the driver decided to use the sidewalk driving past five or six row houses before avoiding a tree, hitting a few cement steps, flattening a tire, and rendering the car immobile. A neighbor said she saw two people escape on foot, apparently successfully.
I haven’t found any news articles about the incident, but I’ll post anything I find. Maybe this isn’t really news for Philly?
I found a few articles (which are almost identical):
Oh, and happy Valentines Day. Katie and I had our traditional date at Five Guys.
