Fireworks Display

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Perusing my Facebook friends’ status updates on my phone, I noticed that my friend LaDi was planning to attend a fireworks display that evening. It was tradition for her and her friends to take the subway/elevated line from its terminus in the seedy Philadelphia suburb of Upper Darby into the city for the annual July 4 fireworks at Penn’s Landing.

For those of you with the good fortune to be unaware, Penn’s Landing is the city’s main waterfront attraction; the waterfront in this case is the Delaware River, which separates Pennsylvania from New Jersey. Many people think it got its name from William Penn, but I think they call it that because it sounds a hell of a lot better than “concrete walkway with little to no flair along the river,” which is exactly what it is.

Anyway, the city’s big “Welcome America!” celebration (a week-long series of events leading up to the July 4 holiday) was about to kick off, and organizers felt that the annual Penn’s Landing fireworks display was a logical move, despite it being a full week before Independence Day. Technically, on this date back in 1776, we were still England’s bitch.

Since the actual July 4, which is falling on a Saturday in 2009, is being marked with a massive concert featuring singer Sheryl Crow and its own post-concert fireworks display on the other side of town, there really was no better time for the beloved Delaware River show to be held.

This was my first time ever attending a fireworks display at this particular spot. And even though it was exactly 15 minutes long by LaDi’s watch, it was nevertheless impressive. Explosions of all sorts were fired off of a barge sitting in the middle of the river, their colors illuminating the blankness previously before us and rocking everyone’s eardrums with sonic booms. It was exactly like “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” only the fireworks display had more of a plot.

The picture, which was taken not too much longer after the show began, features, among other aspects, a very distinctive bridge in the background. This is the Ben Franklin Bridge (originally called the Delaware River Bridge) and was the first structure to connect Pennsylvania with New Jersey. It is a symbol of Philadelphia; its own George Washington or Golden Gate Bridge, if you will. The lights on the other side of the water you see make up part of Camden, New Jersey, which was consistently voted the most dangerous city in America. Some of its riverfront attractions are nice, but anywhere beyond that pretty much guarantees death or worse.

Movie Theater

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Before I get into this entry, I should point out that I had wanted to capture this particular Twitter Feat, as I do with some of my other feats, quite grandly, or at least in a vein that means something to me. Namely, I wanted the movie theater pictured above to be one whose massive screen was about to have the new “Star Trek” movie projected onto it.

I had three chances to do this, as I saw J.J. Abrams’ masterpiece in theaters three times. So far.

But all three times I failed.

Attempt #1 was, interestingly enough, at the very movie theater depicted above. The first time I, Squall, Super Fan, and others saw “Star Trek,” it was actually as a result of four sneak preview passes I had happened to come across through work. Sadly, Attempt #1 was out of commission from the get-go, as the lot of us were too piss scared to bring our camera-equipped cell phones anywhere near the interior of the cinema, lest we get kicked out and thus NOT see “Star Trek” over two weeks prior to its May 8, 2009 release date! So we struggled during the wait in line sans cell phones, which I admit was not easy at all. Sure, for the majority of my entire life, I have gone without a cellular device, but I am man enough to admit that I have fallen victim to today’s ever-connected technology and thus went through withdrawal without text messaging, Internet access, and picture-taking at my fingertips.

Attempt #2 would have been perfect. It was actually ON May 8, 2009, a date we had all looked forward to since early 2008, when the movie’s original Christmas 2008 release date was pushed back so as to attract a bigger audience. Not only that, but we were seeing the fucker in IMAX. You can’t GET a better movie theater tweet than that!

Problem was, we showed up a little late, and by the time we all found seats, we were damn near the front row. Had I taken a picture, all you would have seen was screen; I wanted to capture seats and screen (like you see above) to illustrate the movie-theater-ness of the movie theater. Plus, we were in a front row of sorts, and I bet they were on the lookout for people holding up camera phones toward the screen.

Attempt #3 reared its head in the form of me agreeing to accompany my sister Twin #2, her fiancé, Mr. Twin #2, and my friend Rengaw to a screening of the movie at a theater we had all seen numerous flicks at, including our 15-person-strong outing to 2001’s “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” However, this time, my phone, which has a retard for a battery lately, decided to crap out. It is toward the end of my 2-year contract with the phone, and I could not be happier to upgrade. Folks, let me tell you something: do NOT get a Motorola Q cell phone, OK? Their batteries turn to shit. I utilize its Internet access to check my email, Twitter, and Facebook after fully charging the sucker…and doing so drops me down to 75% battery power! At 50% power, I can be looking at a (picture-heavy) Facebook page and suddenly see the “Main battery very low!” screen pop up, indicating that soon the phone will shut itself off.

Like it did this time.

Anyway, fast forward to, you know, the subject of this Twitter Feat. Squall decided to come into the city on the Friday of the 5-day-long opening “weekend” of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” to catch Michael Bay’s much-hyped (and much-bashed) sequel to the 2007 hit. We attended The Bridge, an upscale movie theater at the intersection of 40th and Walnut Streets in the University City section of Philadelphia, pretty much right on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania (though not officially owned by the school or anything).

The Bridge is a class act, and not only because its tickets are $2-$3 more expensive than they are at chain theaters in and around the area. They feature stadium seating in each theater, extremely comfortable chairs, and even a lounge attached to the theater, just in case the movie you are about to see is famously awful and you need to be intoxicated to appreciate it even an iota.

The first movie I ever saw here pretty much kept me from ever going here again: “Hulk.” No, not the awesome 2008 flick with Edward Norton, but rather the 2003 version directed by Ang Lee that did as much service to Marvel’s franchise that “Spider-Man 3” did to its own series. A mix of not living in the city, high prices, and “Hulk” kept I and my friends away from The Bridge until just last year, when I became bored and, on my friend Bobb’s recommendation, saw the comedy “Step Brothers” here. Squall and I would go on to see “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” and (at his insistence) “Bolt” here before the place acted as our sacred screening room for “Star Trek.”

As for the photograph itself, it’s pretty self-explanatory. It was of course taken well before the movie (and its 7, yes 7, previews) started as Squall and I used our respective phones to pass the time in our nice little $12.50 assigned seats. As for the movie itself, it was enjoyable but definitely lengthier than was necessary.

Train

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As a city resident, I ride trains almost every single day. My ass has graced the seat of subway trains, commuter trains, and the like throughout my days. In fact, accomplishing Twitter Feat #21 was almost TOO easy for me and I wanted it to stand out in a way.

On Father’s Day 2009, that way came.

Following a trip to the Cape May section of New Jersey (outlined in the Beach Twitter Feat), my parents, younger sisters, and I drove north up the Garden State’s coast until we came to the historic town of Smithville, a favorite locale of my parents. A very clean, very picturesque shopping village seems to be the town’s main (meaning only) attraction; the entire place seems like it is rated “G.” Thankfully, within its borders, I was able to locate an arcade and even a few cool shops, one of which happened to carry a “Married…With Children” comic book.

Anyway, the cute little train pictured above offers tourists a $2 jaunt through the village. Much to my sister Twin #1′s dismay, we all decided to board for the ride. Moving along no faster than similar trains that cut through amusement parks, it took us and a few other not-so-embarrassed-because-they-were-old-and-thus-this-was-thrilling-for-them riders on a tour of the backs of many buildings and…grass and trees. According to my parents, the latter aspects are outfitted with Halloween-y stuff throughout September and October.

Yes, I realize that it doesn’t go beyond the boundaries of the Smithville, New Jersey shopping village. But it was a coal/steam/whatever-powered vehicle with a whistle that ran on tracks, so it counts as a fucking train.

Beach

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On Father’s Day 2009, my Mom, younger twin sisters, and I took our dad to the New Jersey shore for the day. Driving from suburban Philadelphia to Cape May, we made our way up the coast to the “historic” town of Smithville, New Jersey, located just north of Atlantic City. Despite chilly temperatures and a little rainfall, my dad seemed to enjoy himself, especially at those points of the excursion wherein my sisters and I paid for everything and even, at one point, did some of the driving.

The beach picture seen above was taken on Sunset Beach, a tiny beach located in the town of Cape May, New Jersey, the southernmost point in the entire Garden State. Very little sunbathing or swimming is done here; those types of activities are reserved for the marriages of ocean and sand located in “downtown” Cape May and the Wildwoods, a livelier resort town to the north. Rather, this is a big spot for fishing…and not only for gullible sealife, but also for “Cape May diamonds.”

Since all phrases surrounded in quotation marks require further explanation, I will mention that “Cape May diamonds” are really nothing more than white quartz stones that have the shit polished out of them by the ocean. Why they happen to wash up on this particular stretch of sand is beyond me. Since the beach is comprised more of stones than it is of sand, visitors often spend time wandering around, looking for their own diamonds, before giving up and buying some from the nearby souvenir shop. Or, if visitors happen to be me, not really giving a shit.

By now, you’re wondering what that large hunk of crap jutting out of the Atlantic Ocean is. Wonder no more, as what you see above is all that remains of the S.S. Atlantus. The vessel was used for fishing in the early 20th century and was built entirely out of…seriously…concrete. That’s probably why it is where it currently is, whereas other ships that did NOT fashion themselves out of freaking concrete, like the Titanic, have seen success as adrift vessels. For the most part.

Convention

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The convention pictured above is, of course, the annual Wizard World East Comic Book convention. Regular followers of my Twitter Feed and/or page graphics should know that this was a rather huge occasion for me. Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the 2009 expo spanned three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), the first two of which Squall and I attended, almost from opening until closing each day.

A more detailed column will certainly be following (check the Events page), so I won’t go too far into specifics. However, it was certainly an enjoyable time for not only Squall and I, but also everyone else in attendance it seemed. And seeing as how the world laughs its collective ass off at these types of people the rest of the year, that’s certainly a welcome feeling.

The above picture was taken on the main floor of the convention center, where exhibitors sold all sorts of items, including toys, sketches, paints, markers, food, autographs, posters, pictures, DVDs, and, believe it or not, comic books. Celebrities and their wannabe counterparts also took up space in one section; among them were “Battlestar Galactica” actor Edward James Olmos, hot “Buffy” actress Emma Caulfield, regular convention attendee and former “Hulk” Lou Ferregno, and wrestlers Dawn Marie, Jerry Lawler, and Big Boss Man. An estimated 30,000 geeks made their way in and out of the convention throughout the weekend.

University Campus

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During my mid-June 2009 week off of work, I went to one of my favorite places in the city of Philadelphia: the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. I enjoy the streets running through the city’s sole Ivy League campus for a number of reasons, which will be discussed in an upcoming (as of this writing) column in the Philly section. A terrific comic book shop is located just off of campus, and their bookstore is amazing.

The above photograph depicts the corner of 34th and Walnut Streets, not too far from the campus’ easternmost borders. Straight ahead lies the Blanche P. Levy Park, which is a lovely tree-lined series of walkways passing a number of campus buildings, most notably those housing the school of fine arts and the administrative offices.

Mini Golf Course

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On a recent Sunday, my friends and I decided that a 5-person outing would be an appropriate way to celebrate the birthdays of Hightower and Mrs. Rengaw, which occur three days apart. Hightower and Mrs. Rengaw are longtime friends of not only yours truly but also a number of yours truly’s friends, and thus, we ensured that their birthdays would not be forgotten.

And forgotten they were not. I and fellow attendees Rengaw and Squall made sure to tell the two Geminis “Happy Birthday.” As far as paying for their games and food for the day…well, we aren’t THAT nice.

On Hightower’s suggestion, we opted for a locale known as “Boomer’s,” an entertainment complex in Avondale, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, Earth, Milky Way. Boomer’s, as it turns out, is home to a pizza parlor, adjacent party room, batting cages, arcade games, and laser tag. A bumper boat pool and miniature golf course can be found outside. We all quickly discovered that the place catered to people roughly 20 years our junior. It was perfect.

After a game of laser tag, we decided to try our collective hand at mini golf. We decided to cap the number of attempts at conquering each hole at 6 strokes, lest we be there for like 4 hours, nearly a half-hour longer than we WERE there.

I forget who emerged victorious, but whoever it was had the life-threatening handicap of not being me.

The above photograph was taken during the closing moments of Hole #14. Or possibly #18. Maybe it was Hole #2. Who the hell knows?

The white ball to the right of the hole belonged to yours truly; light green, blue, pink, and red balls went to the other players.