We hear rumors that Naked Chocolate–the dessert cafe between 34th and 35th on Walnut which has been under construction for way too long–finally opened up this afternoon for business. Anyone been by there? Is it true? E-mail us!
Confirmed!
Most people view their clothes as an extension of themselves. That’s why there are so many meltdowns on shows like How Do I Look? and our personal favorite, What Not To Wear? That’s why we never said anything when so many of our friends went through that “punk” phase in middle school (you know, the one where they wore all those studded belts and jelly sex bracelets?); it was merely a manifestation of their desire to rebel against their parents by being extreme. What you put on in the morning provides an opportunity to make a unique statement about who you are (whether it be middle-aged vixen or conservative, folksy politician). And if the clothes make the initial statement, it’s accessories that add a total flare.
And yet it seems like Penn women are all about suppressing their personalities in the name of boring, bland homogeneity. Whether that manifests itself in a trashy boot or matching North Faces, it drives us crazy.
But even more than that, the one thing we will never understand is why the ladies of Penn are determined to suppress the one area of fashion where it’s okay to be a little crazy: the handbag. We could waste time, but why not just call a Spade a Spade? Ladies, for the love of God, put the Longchamp tote down. Read the rest of this entry »
As if the original Crocs–and the mock-Ugg Crocs–weren’t bad enough, Crocs has recently debuted its new fall/winter “collection” of their YOU by Crocs line. I wish I were making this shit up.
These are called the Twisted Tart. I don't even know where to begin.
Aside from the use of all caps in the title of the line, which makes me feel as though Soulja Boy is imploring me to buy the shoes…. these babies are u-g-l-y. No alibis. It’s great that Crocs is trying to offer “comfortable, ergonomic, odor-resistant, anti-microbial, lightweight” shoes… but there has clearly been an aesthetic compromise that I just can’t tolerate. The attempt to copy these Prada beauties physically pains me. While I am all for recessionista fashion finds, the shoes pictured are $150! Surely Steve Madden makes something similar, cheaper, and not so damn ugly.
Halloween is coming fast, and as we scrounge for costume ideas, our eyes wander to the oft-mocked genre of horror films. Sure, when you’re younger, you want to be the scariest monster possible. That’s why there are often vampires, zombies, and mummies in every group of trick-or-treaters. Youngsters love to stay up late and watch scary movies, much to the consternation of parents who must then frequently rush to their children’s bedsides and check for monsters under the bed.
But as we get older, we begin to ridicule the horror film. What once induced terror now elicits eye-rolls and jokes. Among the critiques are that these movies are cheesy and predictable, there are never any new ideas, and most of the films that are readily available are shoddy sequels (seriously, Jason X? ). The last time we were scared by a movie was The Ring.
Hollywood seems to get it too, which is probably why your options this weekend are Saw V (and the Saw franchise isn’t so much scary as gory) and The Haunting of Mary Hartley (which stars the delectable Chace Crawford, but… well, watch the trailer).
Unless, of course, you’re willing to hop the Chinatown bus and take a trip to New York this weekend. And why would you do such a thing? Just watch the trailer below.
Unfortunately, you can’t catch this promising film in Philly; you’ll have to head to New York to view it. But then again, is it really the Halloween weekend without a scary movie?
If you’re a human being possessing minimal cognitive abilities and live in Philadelphia, you, of course, are aware that the Phillies won the World Series, bringing home the city’s first major sports title since 1983. I decided to hit up Center City to catch all the post-game action. For a minute-by-minute rundown of the chaos that happened last night, check this out.
Many more photos, after the jump.
Darkness falls across the land, the midnite hour is close at hand, etcetera etcetera…Happy almost Halloween! As we were googling “Vincent Price” just now, we totally realized, and pardon us if this was obvious to everyone already, that “Disturbia” is a modern update of “Thriller”! Just like how “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” is an update of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” (And we’re talking about the Nick Cannon/Patrick Dempsey movies, not the songs, FYI). It’s really all coming together today! And hey, it’s Thursday, that means there’s a new issue of Street to read!
Containing a jaunt through our local haunted prison, a hymn to the tide-to-go pen, a guide to gum, and so much more! See you all at our writers’ meeting tonight (4015 Walnut, 6:30 p.m., costumes optionional).
Last week I wrote about my Cougar aspirations. In a break that epitomizes my short attention span, I must reveal that I have refocused my desires specifically toward the Wild Cats. Yes, Troy Bolton’s basketball team in the epic trilogy obsession of myself and many, many, many 9-year-olds, High School Musical.
Now, I watched the first two TV movies passively, quietly fantasizing about singing “Breaking Free” with a desired boy publicly (like, fling?), yielding the embarrassing iTunes purchase of “Breaking Free: the karaoke version.” But something truly ignited in me as I watched the conclusion–but first theatrical release–to the high school days of those crazy Cats.
I viewed this cinematic masterpiece Friday afternoon–opening day, if you will–with a housemate. We were easily the oldest people in the theater without children. We laughed, (she doesn’t know it, but I) cried (four times), and got turned on during a fantastical dance number, “The Boys are Back,” featuring Zac Efron and my future third husband and recent recipient of a bangin’-post-puberty body, Corbin Bleu.
Have you ever browsed through the Earth section of the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph?
Have you ever seen a leopard fighting a crocodile?
If your answer to either question was “no”, I have here the most bad-ass link you’ll click on all day.
Photo by Hal Brindley/SOLO Syndication
I’m not even going to check whether this is photoshopped or not. Fake or real, this is AWESOME. And if this wasn’t cool enough for you, at least this might keep you from ever going in the ocean again.
Procrastinatingly yours,
TK
This is adorable. And–bonus points for us!–totally bipartisan. We love kids, but we love them even more when they’re rapping about the election. True.
So considering that Halloween is this week, you’d think I would dedicate today’s post to inappropriate costumes. Wrong again, reader! That was my intention, but today I eavesdropped on a conversation so heinous that I decided to bypass the whole “Halloween” theme altogether, in the name of a much-needed review of common decency.
So, to paint a mental picture, I was sitting in Houston eating and studying for my Criminology midterm, when my mind began to wander (not all of us are as efficient studiers as we would like to be). Anyway, my mind wandered on over to the table next to me, where two upperclassmen guys were having a conversation about their weekends.
Sounds harmless, no? It could have been, but instead what ensued was one of the more offensive conversations I’ve overheard in a long time. Parenthetically, for those of you who are upset at my blatant admittance to eavesdropping, I would chastise myself for a breach of etiquette had this guy not insisted on screaming so that half of Houston heard, voluntarily or no.
In a period of about five minutes, he managed to drop such conversational gems as, “I dunno, I hooked up with some random bitches,” “no, I didn’t ask her name it’s not like she was there to cuddle,” and “it’s like, why do ugly bitches even talk to me? I’m not gonna go there.” Read the rest of this entry »
If you’ve been on Facebook anytime in the last few days–which, let’s be real, you have… many times–you’ve likely been bombarded with invitations to Halloween parties galore. Consider UTB your friendly social planner; we’ve compiled all of these Facebook invites for you! Deciding where to go, however, is entirely up to you. Same goes for costumes.
1. Sigma Chi’s Techno Halloween: Interesting… a Sigma Chi party with a Zete twist.
2. SAMMY’s Haunted House of Rock: Featuring their resident band, Grandpa and Rockers, who recently defended their existence in 34th Street.
3. TEP’s Blackout: Featuring… Jello shots.
4. AEPi’s Monster Mash: There will be lots of free Monster. If that’s what you’re into.
5. Owls’ Halloween at Denim: Get your downtown fix, just in case Wednesday and Thursday weren’t enough.
6. Pi Kapp’s Halloween ’08: Note to Pi Kapp – When abbreviating the year, the apostrophe goes before the numbers. You’re welcome.
7. Phi Delt’s Boos and Booze: Cute title, boys!
Anything else going on that you think the Penn community should know about? Tell us in the comments below! Happy haunting.
Previously, our lovely television entertainment expert shared with us pictures of her umbrellas that had become unfortunate victims of the brutal weather on Tuesday.
Well, Emily, you’re not alone:
Taken outside the Harnwell High Rise.
Like many of you, this is the first presidential election that I get to vote in. And it’s a big one. When it came time to register, I had to make a pivotal decision: Philly or absentee? As a reluctantly proud Midwesterner, I decided to vote in that seemingly swingiest of states this election… good ol’ Missouri. According to the statistics genius over at FiveThirtyEight.com (seriously, this guy is a baseball stat whiz turned political projection wunderkind), Missouri is clinging on to the Obama blue. But barely. Read: my vote counts. A lot.
As such, I ordered my ballot, had it sent to my house on Walnut and filled that sucker out. But wait… I had to get it notarized? Annoying, but valid I suppose. After some probing, the folks over at PLTV told me I could find a notary at the Franklin Building (that place you go to replace your PennCard when you drunkenly hide it and can’t get into the Quad). Perfect — down the street and just feet from LTs. Or so I thought. Sure, the process was easy enough, but I had to be vigilant in finding a proper notary. Plus, they charged me $5. Such a scam, right? Isn’t charging someone to vote illegal? Sure, I wasn’t asked to pay at a polling station, but still. Not cool.
So, Penn: make it easier for us non-tristaters and have those notaries more visibly available. And free. It’s your civic duty.
Where the hell is global warming when you really need it? Sure, maybe three months ago, we were rallying behind Al Gore and celebrating An Inconvenient Truth, but wouldn’t that truth be awfully convenient today? Are we skipping over fall this year and heading right to winter?
We’re pretty sure we caught the flu while waiting for our Bella Donna Warp at Magic Carpet on 34th (but you can’t resist the allure of the food truck either, can you?), and once we’re back in the comfort of our rooms, we don’t plan to leave for the rest of the day. And maybe we’ll take a sick day tomorrow, because the weather forecast stuns us.
Seriously? Snow? It’s not even November yet!
-Taken in the Walnut entrance of Huntsman Hall.
Versus:
It is in fact raining.
-Taken in a house after getting through the rain and the wind and the cold.
