>>> Thinking of leaving Philadelphia? Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. But on your way out, just remember: There’s two kinds of ex-Philadelphians you can be. The one kind, the good kind, takes what he learned here and applies it to the rest of the world; we cheer him when he does awesome stuff and revel in the notion that we once cheered him on in his quest at a closer remove. More on him in a moment. The other kind uses Philadelphia as a brick wall they can stand in front of while they deliver some hack rant a la Evening At The Improv. We’re thinking of people like, oh, say, Joe Queenan, who’s basically built a career off of this kind of lameness (that, by the way, nobody pays attention to anyway, unless they themselves live or have lived in Philly), or, oh yeah, this is a good one: Buzz Bissinger (pictured). The Biss — whom we last encountered making a ginormous ass of himself – has been a guest columnist at the NY Times for the past few weeks, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve wanted to punch a writer in the face harder. This week, Buzzy goes back to the 10,000 Loss Well, that giving, loving item geyser that perfectly encapsulates the civic mindset of every mouth breather on your block:

Because disappointment has become our badge of honor. It is our temptress, our goddess, our Aphrodite, and we have grown to embrace and love her.

So, um, yeah. Thanks for that, Ms. Poundstone. [NYT]
>>> Oh, but the good kind! Ex-Independent editor Mattathias Schwartz popped up in the Sunday Times mag, intrepidly stepping inside not only the psyche of trolls, but also the weird little dogshit places they live in. Totally ace reporting here. [NYT]
>>> And what’s up, Brendan Newnam? I remember that dude! Check out “Dinner Party Download,”, Newnam’s new radio program on Los Angeles NPR affiliate KPCC, or just listen to the mp3 here. [SCPR]

This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 1:50 pm.