Readers Cameraphone: Center City District Doing Its Best Impression Of Passive-Aggressive, Note-Leaving Roommate
First Seat Savers, now this! And while, yes, the CCD are on point — locking your bike to a tree is stupid and possibly even harmful, why not point out the real issue: Any tree you can lock your bike to is not a safe thing to lock your bike to. But, oh, these notes! I swear to God, I’m getting a note from my doctor that says I have to live alone next year. Bitches.
Seeing something around town of note? Cameraphone it to: tips[at]philebrity[dot]com.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
The best part? These tags didn’t roll out until ‘Ride Your Bike to Work Week’ ended.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
“Bike Locks Choke Trees”
I love trees, nature and all – but this is pure bullshit.
“Any tree you can lock your bike to is not a safe thing to lock your bike to”
Aside from demonstrating complete disdain for proper grammar, the author neglects to take anything-other-than-a-U-lock into account.
Additionally, I would argue that any sums of cash spent on the printing and administration of these notes would have been better spent on PROVIDING MORE DESIGNATED BIKE RACKS IN CENTER CITY.
Yes, reader: maybe I should just go troll the CCD site.
May 20th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
OK, i have a FEW bones to pick with these comments and this entry.
About the original entry, I am familiar with passive aggressive roommates. I am also familiar with f*#king idiots, which is what I consider those people who lock their bikes to trees. Guess what? Bike locks scrape away tree bark, and trees need the bark to live. So bike another 10 feet down the street and lock it to a sign or meter if you can’t find a bike rack. Jesus.
Anyway, it’s pretty apparent that not many people are as enlightened as you are regarding, as you so eloquently put it, “Any tree you can lock your bike to is not a safe thing to lock your bike to”. So what else is the Center City District (NOT the City, by the way – they’re a non-profit who go around cleaning the streets and maintaining the trees and stuff) supposed to do in order to let people know they are doing something stupid? Patrol? Ticket? I like these notes and giggle every time I see one.
Regarding the comments, #1, you are wrong. I have seen these tags since last year – I just think they’re putting out more of them since noone seems to be getting the point.
And #2, the Center City District doesn’t install bike racks – the city is supposed to. But when I called the city to have a bike rack installed in front of my apartment, the streets department suggested I do it myself. Which I looked into, except for it costs about $1000 with all the BS that’s involved (concrete, etc.)and who has that laying around?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
It’s philebrity.com, not The New Yorker. Take your pedantry back to Penn, Feculent Rainbow. (Feculent rainbow? Is that literary? Or something. Oy.)
May 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
The New Yorker… Penn… BURN!
“Take your PEDANTRY back to Penn”
Was it your intent to post an ironic retort, or are you just a hypocrite? I didn’t go to Penn, by the way.
God forbid someone take a jab at some of the most snarky gruntholes “publishing” in Philly. You may note that those same gruntholes continue to harp on the obsolescence of the printed page while simultaneously demonstrating exactly why web-based publications are largely regarded as a joke. That being said, I typically leave grammar alone as long as the meat and potatoes of your argument are not a flagrant defecation upon the English language (with some logical flaws to boot).
I invite you to take your commentary-on-commentary-on-a-blog-commenting-on-a-note-commenting-on-bike-locking back to the proverbial Special Olympics.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Thanks, but I have a job.
Teaching writing.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 am
FYI: “teaching writing” is what some in your biz would call a sentence fragment. I have a professional job as well, but congratulate you none the less.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 am
This is the best thread ever.
Moreover, business districts aren’t your grandma’s non-profit: they’re creatures of the business community to finagle a tax break.
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Were these printed on 100% recycled paper? I would agree with less passive-aggressive, and more bike racks.