Penn sure pulled a fast one on chairman and chief executive of InVivo Therapeutics Inc. Frank Reynolds. See, he applied to a fancy pants Penn program to get a schmaltzy “Executive Masters in Technology Management” degree. And, he assumed that with a pretty sounding name like “Executive Masters” that this coveted degree would come from Wharton. Boy was Reynolds surprised when he discovered his Technology Management degree came from the lowly Engineering school. Uh oh! What’s a Penn grad to do? What any good all-American Ivy-Leaguer would do: sue.
According to the DP, Reynolds filed suit against the University because any ole Penn degree just wouldn’t do. But who can blame him? Come on now, we all know how much that Wharton name is worth. Or, well, I guess we don’t know exactly how much its worth. But it looks like a Philadelphia court does: $435,000. Yup, that’s right, Reynolds was awarded $435,000 to compensate for the worthwhile Penn degree.
In other news: Reynolds was recently named one of “America’s most innovative entrepreneurs” by Inc. magazine. Hmm… looks like he didn’t need that Wharton degree after all.
Coffee shop punch cards rule. You buy 10 very necessary coffees and then you get one free just for being your responsible self! And let’s be honest, that 11th free coffee tastes even better than the previous 10.
Not only has Metropolitan Bakery finally caught onto this coffee card craze, they have improved it. (Who knew that was even possible?) Along with the customary punchable free coffee row, the card offers espresso, breakfast sandwich and other sandwich deals. Awesome. Now each time you head to Metro, you can feel a little better about spending your money on day old bread.
Once again the New York Times has acknowledged Philadelphia’s awesomeness. Disguised as a piece on Philadelphia’s art scene, this week’s Art & Design section goes beyond Philly art to detail much of what we love about the city: murals, good eats and BYOs. As the article describes, Philly has lots to offer. (Duh.) Incoming Freshman: get excited, going to school in Philadelphia has its perks… according to us and some fancy pants New Yorkers.
This could be you!
From Botox parties to charity galas to fake bubbies, we love watching rich 40-somethings act crazy. Thus, Bravo has truly captivated us with its Real Housewives series. We’ve seen housewives from wealthy communities across the country, but what about our beloved Philly? The Real Housewives of the Main Line perhaps?
Well, Philadelphia, our day has come… kind of.
Earlier this week Oceanfront Media Productions issued a press release announcing the casting of its new series: The Women of Rittenhouse Square. Likening Walnut Street to Fifth Avenue, the new show will immerse you in a “fantastic wonderland of opulence” sure to “change the way Philadelphia is perceived.” Sounds accurate. Okay, fine. It’s not exactly Bravo’s Housewives brilliance, but we’ll take what we can get. Read the full press release after the jump.
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With Pod, Nara, Mizu and Ajia, U City doesn’t need any more sushi restaurants. However, hedging its bets on the Penn obsession with Pod takeout and sake bombing, Tampopo has opened a third location at 44th and Spruce.
While 44th may seem a bit far, Tampopo stands out with its BYOBowl deal: “save the mother earth and save 50 cents all in one place.” Minus the odd hours (closed from 3-5 p.m.??), Tampopo’s lunch specials and BYO (bowls and booze!) policy are certainly student friendly.
All summer long our favorite 24-hour munchie provider — aka Wawa — has been celebrating Hoagiefest. There is some sort of contest with prizes and stuff involved, but more importantly, every two weeks Wawa chooses a special Shorti to feature for only $2.99. The fun was supposed to end July 26th, but The Wa (as our friends at Princeton call it) has decided to extend the deal through August 9th.
Bonus: not only has Wawa prolonged the sub-fest, but instead of picking just one Shorti to discount, they have decided to discount all of their featured Shortis — including Turkey!
We think Philadelphia taxis are trying to say something, but all we hear are the sounds of their tooting horns. Hoards of Philadelphia cabs are parading down Market Street (near City Hall), honking. Since their protest signs (displayed on their dashboards) are too small to see from the surrounding office buildings, we aren’t quite sure what the cabbies want. Some shoddy photos of the scene from an office building on 15th and Market can be found after the jump. If you know what’s up, let us know in the comments.
UPDATE: According to Philebrity: “Taxi drivers are protesting a rash of PPA ticketing and, of course, credit card payments.”
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To celebrate the removal of all chemical evils – artificial flavors, dyes, trans fats and the big bad high-fructose corn syrup – from its pastries, Starbucks invites you to FREE pastry day tomorrow. Until 10:30 a.m., you’re invited (no, really, S-bucks created a printable invitiation), to enjoy a free revamped pastry. Although we know how much Penn students enjoy free, don’t get too excited… the pastry only comes with a beverage purchase. Womp womp. However, for you coffee addicts out there, head to Starbucks tomorrow to get your morning fix and a bonus croissant.
Feed me, I'm hungry.
Way back in April, Philly.com reported that Stephen Starr signed on to open a seasonal burger shack in Franklin Square. In May, Starr set up a temporary shack, providing a limited menu to impatient burgerphiles. Today, the real deal opened.
While the expanded menu offers hot-dogs, fries, sundaes, shakes, salads and more, the true testament to Squareburger’s success will be in the burger. So, head on down to Franklin Square and let us know just how tasty those burgers are.
Hailey Mac Arthur
Sifting through the Gawker archives, we came across an entertaining little piece on intern horror stories. Normally, laughing at others’ follies is super entertaining; however, upon reaching the final vignette, “Why You Cannot Trust Ivy Leaguers Even If They Appear To Be Hardworking And Eager To Please (And Also Attend Lesser Ivies)”, we realized that the joke was on us!
An undisclosed Philadelphia publication submitted a novelesque account detailing the horrors of their Penn intern “Jennifer Aniston”. Although they explicitly state “We do NOT consider Penn students for internships, for reasons that would be obvious to anyone who’s ever lived in any kind of proximity to Penn, and Philadelphia’s radical allergy to the kind of senses of entitlement for which Penn students are widely known,” Jennifer seemed like an eager beaver and they bent the rules. While admitting Jennifer was a “really, really great intern,” the moral of their story simply reminded them: no Penn students allowed.
While an embarrassing anecdote for us Quakers, at least the publication used a pseudonym… unlike today’s Gawker intern expose of Hailey Mac Arthur. An intern at her small town paper, the Colorado Springs Gazette, she thought nobody would notice if she plagiarized the New York Times. Oops! Now her mistakes (and an embarrassing blog post) are up on Gawker for all to see.
So what’s the real moral of the story? Don’t be a shitty intern because you then your boss will write mean things about you and send it into Gawker.
Where did you get that sweet race car bed?
If you thought all of your retail dreams had come true with the addition of Chipotle to our bevy of campus shops and eateries, you were wrong. A new storefront sign leads us to believe that Furniture Lifestyle — presumably a furniture retail store — will fill the vacancy between the 36th Street Cosi and Urban Outfitters (the old Eastern Mountain Sports building), making furnishing your off-campus/non-Radian apartment that much more fun! Although we all love IKEA, it’s far away. And, while it likely won’t have the charm (read: termites) of furniture store offerings on 40th and Market, Furniture Lifestyle may prove to ease that oh-so-hectic moving process.
Last week the Blockley Pourhouse hosted a VIP invite-only soiree to celebrate its grand opening. Obviously Street snagged an invite because, well, we are very important after all. Even after enjoying the benefits of the open bar and live band, Koko Bongo’s inferior replacement (yes, inferior) did not live up to the hype. To express our outrage we’ve compiled a list of grievances. Here’s (not) to you, BP:
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Last week the New York Times gave a rundown of the quirky cuts colleges are making to combat their budget woes. Some examples include the communications department at the University of Washington getting rid of its landlines (oh, the irony!) and Oberlin saving $22,300 by “scaling back on window washing.” Even our Main Line sister, Bryn Mawr, is making sacrifices as evidenced by its “virtual swim meet” with Dickinson College (now that just seems lazy, people!).
And Penn? Well, we didn’t get a nod in the article. In fact, just the day before, City Paper’s “Fair Pay for Fat Cats” opinion piece criticized Penn’s frivolous spending:
Penn President Amy Gutmann’s pay package has been rising rapidly for years. Which made for a somewhat humdrum headline in the June 11 Daily Pennsylvanian: “Exec. Pay Rises as Expected.”
If it appears as though other colleges fight to survive with their cutesy cuts while Penn continues to spend like its 2007, it’s because Gutmann’s pay increase was from 2007. As the DP has reported, most departmental spending is in fact down.
Historic foliage on 42nd and Spruce.
I love me some Bacardi and Coke...
‘Tis the season of summer concerts! Unfortunately, ’tis also the season of unpaid internships and part-time jobs. While we can Bursar a meal here or there, and snag free iced-coffees – which could be Bursared anyway – enjoying all that Philadelphia has to offer means shelling out the big bucks.
However, this Friday night the Electric Factory brings you fun for FREE. Bacardi’s B-live series sponsors Major Lazer ft. Diplo & Switch, A-Trak and Drop the Lime for the affordable price of $0.00. To secure your tickets register online via the Electric Factory website and voila: tickets. And don’t let the “you must be 21 to register” disclaimer get you down, just remember to use the stats on your fool proof fake ID.
