Cities Battling Over Miserable Bastard January 20, 2009 –
With yesterday’s passing of the 200th birthday of poet, writer, and overall miserable bastard Edgar Allan Poe, a local Poe enthusiast pressed his case that Philadelphia—not Baltimore or Boston—should be most associated with his pathetic, misery-filled legacy. “Poe was born unwanted in Boston, and died in shame 40 years later in Baltimore, but it was here where his incredibly unhappy existence flourished,” said Edward Pettit, who first made the claim in a 2007 Philadelphia CityPaper article. “We should embrace him as one of our own—but not too closely, since he probably had cholera.”
Boston College Poe expert Paul Lewis disagreed. “Certainly, Poe’s time [in Boston] was brief, with his father abandoning him at the age of one, and his mother dying gruesomely from consumption a year later,” he said by telephone. “But it’s my opinion that one’s birthplace, no matter how loveless and bleak, is that person’s true home.” Jeff Jerome, curator of Baltimore’s Edgar Allan Poe House, took a different view. “It was here where Poe fell in love with his 13-year-old cousin, succumbed to alcoholism, and died in a mad stupor of either brain congestion, syphilis, exposure, rabies, dropsy, heart failure, whooping cough, or a drug overdose. That’s our kind of guy.”
Pettit, though, scoffed at his rivals’ claims. “Plainly, Philadelphia should gain the privilege of being associated with this deathly morbid, insane pedophile,” he said, gazing lovingly at a picture of Poe’s grim visage. “In his six years here, he essentially invented the mystery story, and wrote many of his finest, most suicidally depressing works. He wasn’t born here, and he didn’t die here, but he certainly did live here. If you can call it living.”
Philly.com Video Duller Than Newspaper January 20, 2009 –
Local media observers are marveling at the epic dullness of Philly.com’s current 25 Under 25 video [see video below]—which, despite its intent to attract young adults, is far more boring than an actual newspaper. “The combination of awkward editing, pointless interviews, and dismal production values add up to an experience that’s less stimulating than the average Kevin Ferris column,” gushed PhillyMedia.org’s Elizabeth Horne of the segment, used to promote Strikes Bowling Lounge. “Quite an achievement, to say the least.”
Others in the field were similarly effusive. “When the video opens with a doughy woman joylessly rolling a ball down a lane, and follows with a guy lazily missing an easy pool shot, you know things will be dull,” said Don Jenkins of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. “But against all odds, it only gets worse.” Temple University film studies professor Daniel Bankston elaborated. “To me, the video’s ‘Eureka’ moment comes when one of Strikes’ managers gives a rambling description of a bowling-shoe coupon. It’s practically majestic in its lack of interest.”
Gabby Sacidor, the video’s host and producer, was flattered by the praise. “The goal [with 25 Under 25] has always been to make, say, an AP piece about Canadian oil tariffs seem exciting by comparison—but we don’t always succeed,” she acknowledged. “With the Strikes episode, though, we knew we’d done something special.” Horne wholeheartedly agreed. “The video is just two minutes long, but I actually found myself nodding off in the middle of it. It was as if I was reading an editorial about Chester County mushroom farming.”
Boston College Poe expert Paul Lewis disagreed. “Certainly, Poe’s time [in Boston] was brief, with his father abandoning him at the age of one, and his mother dying gruesomely from consumption a year later,” he said by telephone. “But it’s my opinion that one’s birthplace, no matter how loveless and bleak, is that person’s true home.” Jeff Jerome, curator of Baltimore’s Edgar Allan Poe House, took a different view. “It was here where Poe fell in love with his 13-year-old cousin, succumbed to alcoholism, and died in a mad stupor of either brain congestion, syphilis, exposure, rabies, dropsy, heart failure, whooping cough, or a drug overdose. That’s our kind of guy.”
