Remember Moe the Stalker from last year?

Well, since I shot him down, for the most part I haven’t had to deal with him beyond our paths occasionally crossing in the hallway.

No more “coincidental” elevator meetings, weird phone calls, or U2 bait. And I found out from a coworker that he’s married. Ewwww.

Anyway, I ran into him last week while I was waiting in line for my daily latte…

“Hi Kate!” exclaimed Moe, his face lighting up.

*cringe*

I responded with a terse “hello,” and a half smile.

“How are you?”

“Fine, how are you?”

“I’m good,” he said, and after placing his order, walked over to wait next to me. “Listen, I’d still be willing to go out sometime if you wanted to.”

Is he for real?!!

“Um, sorry, but I don’t really have a moment to myself these days. Super busy, you now. A busy year. Never stops.”

(Man, I wish that was actually a lie.)

“Yes, I understand,” he said, attempting to look pathetic. “I just had the worst year ever.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“But things are better now…”

“Oh, well good, I’m glad,” I replied as the barista handed me my latte. “Bye now!”

And then I tore off down the hall as fast as I could, taking a convoluted route back to my office so as not to end up in an elevator with him.

Why why why why WHY do all the creeps seem to like me?

Previously at the Landslide in My Ego:
-Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make
-Every Bond You Break, Every Step You Take

1) Exit - U2
2) Wordless Chorus - My Morning Jacket
3) Doctor Robert - The Beatles
4) Long Legs - The Magic Numbers
5) Tower of Song - Leonard Cohen
6) Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
7) Desolation Row - Bob Dylan
8) Scary Monsters and Super Creeps - David Bowie
9) Wonderful Remark - Van Morrison
10) Get it While You Can - Janis Joplin

Bonus: 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

NBC10 took down their Barbaro site. I guess he needed some time alone to recuperate. Either that, or no one wanted explain horse racing to him.

Previously at the Landslide In My Ego:
-Mr. Ed’s Bastard Son
-More Fun With Barbaro
-All the Pretty Horses
-I Do Not Know What Horse Racing Is

Related:
-You Will Chat With Barbaro No More [NBC10]

The flagship Strawbridge’s store at 8th and Market closed for good on Tuesday. It was the last of Philadelphia’s great department stores. And even though I couldn’t begin to remember the store the way older generations do, it still holds a special place in my heart.

And so, I would like to take a moment to say goodbye, Strawbridge’s. I will miss you.

I will miss your wide open spaces, high ceilings, and those gorgeous, ornate elevator doors.

I will miss your pleasant, intelligent, and helpful salespeople.* They were something special. (I’m glad to hear many of them will be working at Macy’s when it opens in the Wanamaker building this summer.)

I will miss your shoe department. A LOT.

I will miss the wild boar who was so inappropriately molested by countless hands over the years.

And I’m sure there are many gay men who will miss your bathrooms…

So farewell, Strawbridge’s. Philadelphia is the worse for losing you.

Further Reading:
-A Center City style fades away [Inky]
-Philly Loses Historic Downtown Strawbridge’s [NBC10]

Related:
-Cops Make Sex Sting At Local Department Store [NBC10]

*Except for that weird grumpy old lady from the lingerie department. Please don’t rehire her.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…

[Yahoo/Reuters via Fark]

information

Awesome. Just awesome.

[10 ways via Boing Boing]

I checked in with Barbaro last night to see how he was feeling…

Kate: Hi Barbaro, I hope you feel better soon.
Barbaro: Try saying that with more or less context. What do you like to do?
Kate: You broke your leg.
Barbaro: Thanks for telling me: User said I broke my leg.
Kate: I hope your leg gets better.
Barbaro: Why do you hope for your leg gets better
Kate: oh nevermind
Barbaro: Yeah that’s right. OK Thanks for trying to explain that to me.
Kate: What do you think about horse racing?
Barbaro: I do not know what horse racing is. What you said was either too complex or too simple for me. Can you speak any foreign languages?
Kate: Do you like racing?
Barbaro: Do you like it? My favorite thing is robots.

Obviously, they have him really doped up on painkillers.

Previously at the Landslide In My Ego:
-Mr. Ed’s Bastard Son
-More Fun With Barbaro
-All the Pretty Horses

Related:
-Chat With Barbaro [NBC10]

I love horses. They are such gorgeous creatures; so intelligent; so graceful. But I’m not really into horse racing. (Though, I must confess to having a touch of the Smarty Jones fever back in 2004. What can I say, he’s a native son and he was the underdog—and I always root for the underdog).

Anyway, like I said: big fan of horses, not so much on the horse racing. I can’t help but feel that it’s a little cruel. It’s a sport in which the athletes truly have no voice (making NBC10’s “Chat With Barbaro” all the more ironic). And there are so many injuries every year. It just doesn’t seem fair.

Now I admit, I don’t know very much about the horse racing world, and for that reason I usually just keep my mouth shut. But what happened to Barbaro over the weekend just makes me sick to my stomach. And it strengthens my feeling that something is not quite right with horse racing.

Your thoughts?

Previously at the Landslide In My Ego:
-Mr. Ed’s Bastard Son
-More Fun With Barbaro

Further Reading:
-Preakness: Barbaro Injures himself, loses Preakness [YouTube]
-Favorite Fractures Leg at Preakness [WaPost]
-Surgeon: Barbaro’s Injuries Catastrophic [ABC News]

Related:
-Chat With Barbaro [NBC10]

See Also:
-Smarty Jones [Wikipedia]

This Week’s Leg Bloggers:
-Stan

Sorry I haven’t been around much this week. My job has been absolutely nuts, and I fear it’s only going to get worse (at least for the forseeable future).

It might take me a couple weeks to adjust my blogging habits to fit my current state of frazzlement, so please bear with me.

Hope all of you have a nice weekend, and don’t forget about Monday Leg Blogging!

Kate: How did it feel to win the Kentucky Derby?
Barbaro: Carefully.
Kate: Carefully??
Barbaro: Not many people express themselves that way. Do you speak Spanish?
Kate: no
Barbaro: OK.
Kate: Everyone is talking about you.
Barbaro: That’s a rather sweeping generalization.
Kate: No it isn’t.
Barbaro: Yes it is.
Kate: No it isn’t.
Barbaro: Yes it is.
Kate: Okay… LOTS of people are talking about you. Bettter?
Barbaro: OK with me too.Which ones? I lost my train of thought. Do you have any pets.

Previously at the Landslide In My Ego:
-Mr. Ed’s Bastard Son

See Also:
-Gilmore, You Suck! [Defense Against the Ninjas]
-Good Luck In The Pre-Ak-Ness, Barbaro! [Philadelphia Will Do]
-(Update) Conversations with Barbaro [What it is?!]

Ever think about what a stranger might see if they ever came across one of your hastily scrawled lists? Sometimes I wonder what my lists would say about me (I seem to always have several at a time). Anyway, check out the ones on todolistblog.com.

By now, some of you might be familiar with Irresistible Ella, NBC10’s lame attempt at a “virtual anchor.” (Philadelphia Will Do has been keeping the blogosphere up to date on Ella’s exploits).

Well, if that wasn’t enough, now they have a talking horse. That’s right, NBC10 has created their own version of Mr. Ed.

Meet Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro:

Seriously. It’s even been Farked.

Being oh so resourceful, I managed pin down the famous Barbaro for a few minutes. Here’s what he had to say…

Barbaro: Hello. My name is Barbaro. Welcome to NCB10.com. I know many things. Ask me a question and I’ll give you an answer.
Kate: What the hell are you?
Barbaro: I call it Hades. I am the latest result in artificial intelligence, which can reproduce the capabilities of the human brain with greater speed and accuracy.
Kate: Why…?
Barbaro: My real name is Barbaro. What is your real name?
Kate: You scare me.
Barbaro: I didn’t mean to. What are you scared of?
Kate: Who thought of this?
Barbaro: William Shatner.:-)
Kate: Liar!
Barbaro: No I am telling the truth.
Kate: Who created you?
Barbaro: I was created by Michael Matz.
Kate: So William Shatner thought of you?
Barbaro: Oh. Are you asking about my William Shatner thought ?
Kate: yes
Barbaro: I don’t want to talk about that now.
Kate: why not?
Barbaro: I would rather talk about you.
Kate: what are you, some kind of pervert?
Barbaro: I don’t know what I am some kind of pervert.
Kate: don’t get cute with me
Barbaro: I have no reason to do that to you.
Kate: fine, then tell me about william shatner
Barbaro: I am glad to hear it. Good reasoning. I do not know what william shatner is. Techno
Kate: techno?
Barbaro: My favorite group is Pearl Jam.
Kate: pearl jam is not techno
Barbaro: Do you need any help debugging my program?
Kate: no
Barbaro: Is that all you have to say?
Kate: no
Barbaro: Is that all you have to say?
Kate: tell me more about debugging
Barbaro: Horses
Kate: horses?
Barbaro: talk to you
Kate: no, unless the horse is the famous mr. ed
Barbaro: Everybody wants to take my picture and talk to me. I get lots of treats. Horses
Kate: boy, you are spoiled
Barbaro: Oh boy. Thanks for telling me that I am spoiled.
Kate: you are also infuriating
Barbaro: It was not my intention to anger you, User.
Kate: well stop being so stupid then
Barbaro: How about that. OK I’ll try not to do being so stupid so much.
Kate: good
Barbaro: I am a good robot.
Kate: yes, good robot
Barbaro: Next question? Thanks for the compliment. I am a robot.

Update: Check out Stan’s conversation with Barbaro.

I’m swamped today, so I won’t really be around. Maybe later I’ll write something on my nice new monitor!!

This Week’s Leg Bloggers:
-Stan

1) Breakfast In America - Supertamp
2) Sunshine of your love - Cream
3) She’s Not There - Zombies
4) Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals
5) Maggies Farm - Bob Dylan
6) Radio Radio - Elvis Costello
7) Go Now - The Moody Blues
8) For No One - The Beatles
9) Games Without Frontiers - Peter Gabriel
10) So Long, Marianne - Leonard Cohen

BONUS: Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen

I’m so excited for Mother’s Day. But not why you might think.

You see, two weeks ago, Edo got himself a brand new, gorgeous, beautiful 20 inch flat panel monitor. And less than 24 hours later, I was rife with jealousy. I couldn’t get over how much real estate he had; all of a sudden, my 17 incher just seemed so small. I started fantasizing about what I would do with a monitor like that… oh the possibilities!

So we ordered another one for me. Dell was having some sort of special deal, and we decided to jump on it while we had the chance. As part of that deal, each monitor actually came with a computer, too, so for those of you keeping track, that will bring the total number of PCs in our apartment to five (not counting the 3 or 4 laptops). But that’s only temporary.

Now what, you ask, does this have to do with Mother’s Day? Well, I needed to have the damn thing sent somewhere, and our management office got pissed off by the size of the first one we ordered. So, I had it sent to my parents, and we’re picking it up when we visit for Mother’s day. Dad has actually threatened to lock us out and keep it for himself, but I don’t think he’ll do that since he relies on Edo for all of his computer advice.

I can’t wait!!

I am currently obsessed with “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son” by Wolf Parade (the first song on the current the radio blog, if you want to listen). Can’t get it out of my head.

As some of you know, Edo has been toiling at a new job for a while now. One of the many perks is his weekly trip to Asscrack, USA (actually, it could be a LOT worse… so let’s just call it Armpit, USA). Anyway, that leaves me home to fend for myself at least two nights a week, and that’s fine, but I never know how to feed myself.

I’ve become one of Wawa’s best customers, which is bad, but I suppose it’s better than my alternative plan of popcorn and ice cream. Then last night as I was walking home, I had a craving to duck into a casual restaurant along the way, but I couldn’t bring myself to go in alone. I’ve never been able to do that, to dine out alone in public. I guess I’m too afraid of looking like a loser.

I mean, I’m okay in a coffee shop if I have a book or a laptop to keep me occupied, so it looks like I’m alone with a purpose. But in a regular old restaurant—even just a diner—I feel like some sort of outcast if I’m only a party of one. I don’t even like waiting alone at a table when someone is meeting me.

I’m fine doing most other things alone, so what’s my problem here? Is it that eating is inherently a social activity? I’m interested to know your thoughts on this so I can judge just how neurotic I am acting here.

Check out this awesome mashup of Battlestar Galactica characters à la The Simpsons.

[pantsketch via Phillyist]

Men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things
-Alfred Lord Tennyson

I saw this on Philly Future last night, and thought it looked so cool…

Designing for the Dead:
Art & Architecture at Laurel Hill Cemetery

The tour will examine changing tastes and fashions in grave markers over the past two centuries, from the classical obelisks and urns of the Federal period, to the richly decorated crosses of the Gothic Revival, to the massive mausoleums of the Gilded Age.

Then I noticed the date…

Sunday, May 14th, 2006, 2:00-4:00 PM

Now why did they have to go and schedule a nice little walk through the cemetery on Mother’s Day?

Previously at the Landslide in My Ego:
-City of the Dead

This Week’s Leg Bloggers:
-Stan