Philly Tree Blog

Updated Blog Now

2010-01-06T17:01:00.001-08:00

So today I decided to update my blog. I know it has been a while, but I figure it couldn’t hurt to update it, as with any blog, having it updated always makes it worth reading more often than not.

Why do I update? Why don’t I update? The answer is up to you. Here I sit, watching the Office on HD. It’s the episode with the Hot Chick, played by Amy Adams. It’s a great episode from Season 1, if you haven’t seen it yet. Basically, Amy Adams comes to the Office to sell purses and both Dwight and Michael try their darndest to ask her out on a date. She of course has zero interest in either one of them and winds up going out with Jim. It is quite an episode, I would highly recommend it to anyone.

So my fellow blog readers, you probably are all wondering the same thing – what about the trees? Well, in the wise words of Michael Scott, blessed be those who sit and wait. The trees will inevitably come. In fact, here’s one now!

Check it out – it’s dancing!

Peace and trees,

Philly Tree

A Tree in South Philly

2009-10-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

There are some great trees in South Philly, though none I can pinpoint a finger on. This is a great time of year to go tree watching, as all the leaves are changing colors, from bright green to red, orange, purple, and yellow.

I hope this fall brings everyone great joys and great tastes of apple cider. Much mazel and joy to Jess and Brian, for getting married yesterday and the beautiful Prallsville Mill in Stockton, NJ. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception lots of fun, and the food delicious. Props to the dessert innovation of make your own candy apples -- as we all know, apples are much appreciated on this blog as they come from trees!

So best of luck to Brian and Jess, may they have a fantastic honeymoon traveling through Morocco and Spain. And to the new couple, if you're reading this, please let us know about any cool trees out across the pond...I'd bet there are!

Peace and trees,

Philly Tree

Hi

2009-09-10T22:08:00.001-07:00

So enough of the bullshit...

Hope all my readers are enjoying themselves and their lives in Philadelphia. I just finished a conversation with my friend Eli from Hebrew U, and our catching up really got me thinking. I had some really good times up there. I try not to reminisce too much, but hindsight is always 20/20, no?

Anyway, I'm going through a perpetual state of "I need a job I need a job I need a job." I am really getting tired of feeling like I constantly need a job, so if anyone's hiring, please let me know! I write, I interview, I teach, I tutor, I twitter (well not really, but I'm on it), I drive. Whatever you need, let me know, I'll send you a resume, and we'll talk. But enough of the shameless plugging. Back to the blog!

Today I decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood to catch some fresh air and clear my head. To spice things up I took a different route than usual, walking to the playground I used to play in as a young child, then to the train station, then to the walking bridge on Mountain Ave, then crossed the driving bridge to Montgomery, then down Ashbourne to New 2nd, which I took the rest of the way home. The walk was very pleasant, as I am still very pleased to be able to walk again while wearing two shoes. At one point during the walk, three high schoolers on Mountain were walking their dog about 50 yards ahead of me. They stopped at an intersted, and strangely, instead of making a turn or continuing forward, they stopped, turned around and started walking back towards me. They passed me and gave me a "Wuddup" look, then kept going. That, oddly enough, made me grin.

Something else strange happened yesterday down in South Philly. While walking to Bitar's, a delightful Lebanese grocery store that makes a damn good falafel, I bump into my friend Brit, an old neighborhood friend. She was sitting at Geno's with an older woman, who turns out to be a contractor helping her open a coffee shop. After greetings and niceties, I tell them where I'm headed. The contractor nicely warns me that the Bitar's very well may be closed. Bitars does have unusual hours and often does close early, so I told her that if it is closed I'll grab a slice from Slice, a pizza spot across the street from Bitar's instead. Luckily, Bitar's is open, I order a falafel, some Baclava and a Langer's pineapple juice, and head back, eager to sink my teeth into the deliciously hot middle-eastern treats.

On my walk back from Bitars, I see Brit and the contractor still sitting at Geno's across the street. Seeing me, they inquire if Bitar's was open. I give an enthusiastic "Yes!" and hold up a fist in excitement, and continue on back to the house. As I cross through Gino's, I absentmindedly kick one of the tables screwed into the ground, then brush my bag against the steel cover of one of the cheese-orange pillars that holds up this establishment of racism and death. As I turn onto Latona St., a small side-street adjacent to the cheesesteak shop, a bald middle-aged man with a pot-belly and popping eyes emerges from a door and starts following me down the street. I don't think much of it, as this kind of thing happens all of the time in they city. I turn onto 8th and walk up onto the stoop of 1229 and call AJ, a newer member, to let me in. He doesn't pick up so I instead give my other friend-named-AJ a call, to talk about any job possibilities he may know of in the Philly area. Strangely, while all this is going down, the fat man had stopped at the corner of Latona and 8th and has been staring at me standing on the stoop calling the AJs the whole time. After I spot him, he hops into a white SUV parked outside our house and, after a couple minutes of idling, drives away. Not even 5 minutes later the white SUV drives back in front of the house, with the fat man still in it! This can only mean one of two things -- 1) The man was suspiciously following me. 2) The man driving the SUV was lost. It's probably 2, but 1 is still a very distinct possibility. In the words of Todd, "Whatever!"

Ok, I've had enough of this salty rambling. Fun times ahead -- tomorrow night will be the joint Heymish-Minyan Merkaz service and a meat dinner. Good times! and Good Shabbas!

-Ben

Snap Crackle Pop!

2009-07-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a year since the launch of Philly Tree! Happy Birthday to Philly Tree!

So there's so much going on, but one thing I have realized about life in general is that the desire to explore and discover has certainly dwindled in my heart since I returned from Mississippi. Not that that is a particularly bad thing, perhaps its a good thing, for indeed having that desire suppressed would motivate me to focus more on making money so I can afford to live independently. Or, even more inspirational, perhaps it would give me the motivation to find a way to continue to explore and discover while making money!

Not that making money is a noble cause, for afterall, where does money come from? That's right -- dead trees. And endorsing any practice that contributes to the death of trees is majorly frowned about by Philly Tree and all its committed affiliates.

However, thanks to technology, not only do we get to enjoy blogs such as Philly Tree, but we also can conduct our business transactions without using paper money. Therefor, maybe there's a way to make some money without actually killing trees. That is a terrrific proposition, no?

So without further ado, I'd like to share with you a Kathakali Dancing Video, to sooth your soul.

Philly Tree

Jackson

2009-05-28T00:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

Today I moved into my new house in Jackson. It's great! There's a living room with a couch, a rocking chair, and a smaller pea-green chair with a nifty blue pillow. There's also a kitchen with a backdoor that leads to a wooden back deck area. And guess what's out back -- I'll give you 2 guesses -- no, not shrapnel. No, not cans of Campbell's soup ... THAT'S RIGHT! LOT'S AND LOTS OF TREES!

Here's a video by a great band from Canada, Rush, singing a song about Trees.

Well well well....

Tonight my greeters took my travel companion Diego Wrath and I to the Pizza Shack where I had a vegetable pizza with Green Olives. That's right folks, I lit you snot, GREEN OLIVES ON PIZZA! What country are we in! Must be the Deep deep South.

After Pizza Shack, Diego and I traveled with our greeters to a late night hub known as Hal and Mal's. For those who need to know, Hal is short for Halliday and Mal is short for Mallard. PSYCH! Mal is short for Malcolm. Like Malcolm X, who did plenty of work in the South!

But enough about Mal X, let's discuss this spot. We saw a young singer songwriter play ukulele and guitar and sing sweet songs on longing and heartbreak, then I also watched the Lakers basketball match on the HDTV.

What's truly astonishing is a young woman I met, who happens to be the real Billy Madison! That's right, she actually went back to school, did each grade week by week, and graduated from High School, all over again! She even looked like Billy Madison! Jokes, jokes.

Well, it's time to go to sleep. Before I do, I want to put in my bid for the next Mayor of Jackson - Harvey Johnson, Jr. Get Jackson Back on Track!

Peace,

Philly Tree

Flow Sunrise

2009-05-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

I need to take time to thank all who have shown Philly Tree their support. I wouldn't be here without you.

I've also received some more artistic praise for Philly Tree, as the following:

Although the sun has set the flow has rose

Listen

Listen

Tell

When will it glow with the light of the sun

Can the fish swim upstream and still have fun

Does it hit your heart like a beating drum

Does it smell so smooth like white winter plum

Listen

Listen

Listen

Philly Tree

Gray Skies

2009-05-04T14:38:00.001-07:00

So for the past few days it's been really gray, cloudy and rainy out, and it looks like that will be the case for the next several days to follow.

What the dill?

Anyways, hope everyone has been enjoying their 2009 so far. I haven't had much time to blog, what with work and chores and everything, but I have found time to listen to some dope songs.

Check out this bass player on Youtube. Snap!

I'd buy that for a dollar!

Have a fantastic week. If you feel gray, be sure to eat some popcorn and watch a new movie. I'd recommend Wolverine. His claws are FIERCE!

Enjoy your nachos and sangria responsibly,

Peace,

Philly Tree

Cut and Sewn

2008-11-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!

Today I don't have much news about trees, but I do have news about a fresh new blog made by my former neighbor and good friend Lee Frank. The blog is Cut and Sewn, and it's all about hip apparel and good music. Enjoy!

For your tree knowledge, here is a tree!

Oak Land

2008-08-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

Today I am publishing a post about a group doing great things with trees.

There are all kinds of great things you can do with trees. Climb them. Hug them. Eat berries from them. But what's the greatest thing of all? Planting them! Here is a picture of a group from the Parks and Leisure Services in Oakland to plant trees in Oakland Park.

Way to go, Oakland!

The King's Tree

2008-08-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today we introduce a NEW SECTION to the Philly Tree Blog - The King's Tree!

This section is where KING ROY has his say about trees!

KING ROY comes from a large background of tree lovingness. From an early age his love of trees became cultivated. He went to Springfield High School, and went to school in Upstate New York, home to a vast number of trees.

He then went on to live in Melrose Park, in a house that hosts a dogwood tree triumphantly displayed on the front lawn. So without further ado, KING ROY shares with us an important story that sheds light on the the origin of trees.

There once was a panda who fell in love with a tree.
He walked up to the tree, gave it a kiss, and said, "Twee, I wuv you".
When the tree didn't respond, he wrapped his arms around the tree, gave it a big hug and a big kiss, and cried, "Twee, I wuv you!"
The tree still didn't respond so he wrapped his arms and legs around the tree and, shaking with passion, gave it a mad passionate kiss, and yelled "Twee! I Wuv You!"
The tree stubbornly refused to respond, and the panda went home disappointed.

The moral of our story is:
Only God can make a tree.

The King has spoken.

KUDO TREE

2008-07-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks!

Today I am introducing a new section of Philly Tree Blog - The Kudo Tree!

The Kudo Tree is a place to give kudos, or props, to people, places, things, organizations or anything else that celebrates trees.

The first Kudo Tree goes to...

Estonia!

Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce

Many nations have national trees.

ENGLAND! UNITED STATES! SERBIA!

But only Estonia has the oak tree as not just their national symbol, but as their COAT OF ARMS!

(Estonian Coat of Arms)

That's right, the mighty oak, the common symbol of strength and endurance, is celebrated in grand fashion by Estonia by using it as their historic symbol.

Way to go, Estonia!

Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce Applesauce

A Tree in the Meadow

2008-07-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks!

Today I introduce my first new blog section: Tree Haiku

The mighty oak sits
Its large leaves rustle and wave
In the mighty wind

First Post

2008-07-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

Hello Folks!

Today I begin the Philly Tree Blog. I hope to share with you the beauty of Philly's trees. Enjoy!

(A tree cozily sits in Franklin Square)