Bad Luck City Blog

Since I have two little kids in my home I’ve been more and more concerned about lead’s effect on them especially with the recent toy recalls and new studies concerning lead in toys and its negative effect on children.

Lead was long used in metal and paint and surprisingly is still used in toys and children’s items like metal jewelry and vinyl backpacks. I had suspicions about some of my old toys that my Mom recently found and passed down to my kids, so I ordered a lead test kit online and performed a test on the three items pictured.

Can you guess which one(s) contain lead?

the toy on the left is part of a bunch of old pre-Hot Wheels cars I used to play with. They were the poor-man’s kid’s Matchbox cars and were sold in the supermarket. I figured if the metal didn’t contain lead the paint surely did.
Nope. Safe. Good. Have fun kids.

The middle item is a painted horse made of steel probably from the 1950s. The results? its FULL of lead. The solution in the kit will turn a turn a light shade of brown if the item contains 1-3 parts per million, brown if it contains 10 ppm.
The solution immediately turned BLACK, indicating the item contained over 50 parts per million!
My son had an attachment to it for a few days without my knowledge, but at least he didn’t put it in his mouth.

The item on the right? I found my daughter licking it to clean the mirror. Yup. It’s also full of lead. That night she complained of a headache for the first time. Great. According to the EPA’s website on lead, that’s a symptom. Hope it was just a coincidence.

Why all the fuss? Sure, I could be overreacting… but the effects of lead exposure isn’t like other toxins like pollution, plastic, synthetic hormones, etc. Scientists mostly agree that lead exposure on a developing brain has a DIRECT effect on learning ability, and many agree that it leads to behavioral problems like hyperactivity.

More bad news? Now some experts believe that lead exposure over one’s life has a direct effect on mental function even later in life.

From Wired:

In brief, the scientists found that the higher the lifetime lead dose, the poorer the performance across a wide variety of mental functions, like verbal and visual memory and language ability. From low to high dose, the difference in mental functioning was about the equivalent of aging by two to six years.

The full article is here.

Our kids are at a much lower risk than we were since lead in paint and gasoline was fazed out in the late ’70s, but you just need to be careful…. unless your kids have brain cells to spare. Mine don’t!

I hung out in my old part of the city over the weekend (southwest Center City or G-ho as some want to call it) and hit a few pubs.
I won’t name names, but look at these tap prices.
EIGHT BUCKS for a Great Divide IPA? $6.50 for a Southampton?
And they’re served in 16 oz glasses, not even true pints. Maybe these are normal prices and I just haven’t been out in a while?

The next bar has the right idea; just don’t post the prices!

And while I’m complaining, I have to tell you what has happened to me in 9 out of 10 of the last pubs I’ve visited.
I check out the list, see a beer I’m really excited to try (usually an IPA, natch) I order it, and hear “sorry, that just kicked”. I was so happy to see Bells Two-Hearted back on tap last week at Bishops Collar. Nope. (I can mention them because their prices are always fair).

Bear Republic at the above bar? Sorry. And it’s always a beer listed on the chalkboard, (easily erasable) and I’m always out early on a Friday, not late on a Sunday.

A letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

As a retired police detective, perhaps I can help… reduce crime in Camden by 50 percent overnight…
The cancer, the up-stream problem, is the policy of drug prohibition. End it and no more drugs will be sold on the sidewalks. Customers would park their car and walk into a state-regulated store, just like Pennsylvania has for the two deadliest drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
Ending prohibition is not a solution for the drug problem. It is a time-tested solution to the crime associated with prohibition.

Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired)
Education Specialist,
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)
Washington

I had no idea there was an organized group of law enforcement officials for the legalization of drugs.
You’d think we’d get some dialog on the subject at the current political debates. No such luck.

Listen to John McCain’s smarmy comment after the issue is raised to him:

Senator Gravel doesn’t have a chance in hell in getting the nomination, but he’s one of the only legalization candidates. I like him:

The other legalization candidate is Ron Paul; he introduced the industrial hemp farming act and co-sponsored the medical marijuana act.

Here’s the other side’s opinion on legalization and prohibition.

Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd was the owner and operator of the Studio 1 recording studio and record label located at 13 Brentford Road in Kingston, Jamaica.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the “Studio One sound” was virtually synonymous with the sound of ska and rocksteady, and Dodd attracted some of the best of Jamaican talent to his studio and jumpstarted the careers of Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Skatalites, Winston “Burning Spear” Rodney, Lee “Scratch” Perry, The Heptones, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown and Sugar Minott, just to name a few.

In the 1970s, when dub became popular, Dodd tried his hand at it, but couldn’t match his competitors. However, he continued successfully to produce artists such as Dennis Alcapone, Johnny Osbourne and Freddie McGregor, who continued to embrace the roots reggae style. He also worked with artists on a style that would become known as dancehall. Beginning in 1979, Studio One had hits with artists including Sugar Minott, Willie Williams, The Lone Ranger, and Michigan & Smiley. In 1979 Dodd left for the United States, resuming the operation of Studio One in Brooklyn, New York, and opening a retail music store, which remained open until his death at age 72 in 2004.

Although major recordings and productions at Studio One slowed drastically towards the end of the 1970’s, the riddims originating at Studio One would continue to have a profound influence on reggae. Riddims such as “Real Rock”, “Mr Bassie”, “Hot Milk”, and Satta-A-Masagana among many many others all originated in the house of Studio One, and new roots reggae tunes are still being made over these same riddims. Pick up any Studio One anthology, especially on the fabulous Souljazz Record label, and you are sure to hear 5 or 6 riddims that you thought originated with Sizzla, Capleton, Luciano, or Berres Hammond. His studio equipment consisted of a basic 4 track board so the sound suffers a bit on most of his earlier stuff, but it’s still great enough to put a chill up my back every time time I hear one. Hell, Alton Ellis’ “I’m still in Love” was even the “first dance” song at our wedding.

Coxsone Dodd was born this week in 1932. I honestly never go a single day without listening to a song he produced.

Studio 1 discography
C.S. Dodd on Roots Archives

Jamaican music has been pressed on vinyl 45s (pictured for you youngsters) from its beginning on up to the present day. No respected dancehall dj would be seen spinning anything but a 45, even Phillys own Solomonic Sound crew. If you wanted the freshest riddims straight from Jamaica, vinyl was the only way to get them. I’ve got crates of them in my basement now. But according to this great article from London’s Guardian, those days are over.

A quote from UK DJ David Rodigan:

In a nutshell, vinyl has been eliminated by the people who play the music to the public. The key players - and by that I mean the sound system selectors that people go to see every weekend, who can make or break a song - are no longer dealing with it in any shape or form and have all switched to CD. Now if someone wants to send me a song, they just email it to me as an MP3. This process has been gradual, but it’s now absolute.

MP3: Ethiopians- No Baptism

MP3: The Heptones- Get In The Groove

MP3: Barry Brown-Give Love

MP3: Alton Ellis- Can I Change My Mind

I’m blown away every time I hear them.  Although I was happy to find this footage from 2006, I’m hoping to see some performances from the early 80’s.  Please post if you’ve got.    Check out UFO too.  ESG, yo.

A lot of us Apple-lovers were a bit disappointed after yesterday’s lackluster MacWorld keynote by Steve Jobs, but after reading up on some of the product updates, notably the Apple TV and the iPhone/Google Maps upgrade, I’m a little more excited by the news, albeit small.

The Apple TV really has the potential to replace cable set-top boxes and give Apple the lead in movie rentals, which according to this article, it already has, as least in downloads.

What this means is that I may be able to cancel my Netflix account and rely on Apple for my movies on demand. Why send bits of data on a envelope through snail-mail when I can do it over my Internet connection? Especially now that it offers movies in high definition (720p)? Netflix movies are still standard def. until I decide to pick a side in the format war, put the money down for a high def. dvd player, then update my Netflix cue for an extra charge.

As you know, I ditched cable for OTA television long ago, but now everyone else can do the same, at least until the cable industry offers programming a la carte.

Don’t think you can live without your TiVo DVR? Try the new Elgato EyeTV 3 on your TV-connected computer and say bye bye to your monthly TiVo bills.

Apple is making taking the lead (at least in innovation) in computers (Mac), music (iTunes), and mobile phones (duh). Now it’s the living room TV.

Next up? The Apple car.

There were two Smurfs in popular American culture just as there were two Voltrons…  the Hannah Barbara, I’m-blowing-off-cutting-the-lawn, Smurfs and the Smurfs of the Magic Flute.  I only caught a glimpse of the latter.  I snuck into the Magic Flute at the Budco Twin.  It was NOT the same.  All of the smurfs voices were messed up.  It was dark and creepy.  My friends and I walked out (of the free movie).  The non-HB smurfs also appeared in an 8-Track, LP, Cassette K-Tel style commercial.

My sister emailed me today to let me know it was the 50th anniversary of Smurfs.  

I’ve seen some of the Belgian Smurf comics.  They are less appealing to me than say a bookshelf of Tintin’s (one of my happiest moments)(Unfortunately they were written in French).  Herge rulez… sorry Peyo… the smurf that I smurf most is that of the Saturday morning variety.  

Smurfs are so much a part of my childhood.  The first lie that I remember being caught in was over a smurf.  I told some jackass on the playground that I had the SCUBA smurf.  He told his mom.  His mom called my mom.  And I was caught in a lie.  I danced around it by saying that I thought the astronaut smurf was actually an old timey diver from the bathysphere days. The store in the center of the mall (Fluff-n-Stuff?) did not sell the SCUBA smurf.  You had to go to KoP to get the scuba smurf… which my ma eventually did.  (Which was a long drive up 320 pre blue route). 

I have a modest collection of the 2″ vinyl smurfs, but I haven’t seen them in years.    

Way way back, early in the race for mayor, back when there were five Dems running and EVERYONE thought Chaka Fattah had it in the bag, I supported Nutter.

I liked him years before that, back when he was councilman and got into public fisticuffs with Mayor Street.

Last winter when he was still last in the early polls he was standing in 30th Street Station at the bottom of the Septa platform steps, all alone. Commuters walked past him, most not knowing who he was. I was running to catch my train but turned around to shake his hand and tell him that he had my vote. A couple months later his message and his charm rubbed off on everyone else, and the rest is history.

I love this guy. there. I said it.

I love that he held an openhouse in City Hall on his first day in office and welcomed the pubic to visit. So many people showed up that the line wrapped around the block and he chose to stand and greet everyone until all the way up to the last person in line.

I love that he charged only 50 bucks a pop for his inaugural ball but didn’t want to call it a “ball” but a “celebration”. He invited anyone to come, and told them to keep their black tie and tails at home.

What I like the most? That he already made national news, NOT for federal corruption charges, NOT for sitting in line waiting for an iPhone, but for rapping The Sugarhill Gang with ?estlove from the Roots.

It even made PITCHFORK.

The next four years are going to be a delight.

As I was slashing open my box from Japan I halted… microns above the mama cat’s ear. How can one culture have so much cuteness? Not sure if it’s an export sticker or a fragile sticker, but it’s cute… not mundane.

Inside the box? The entire collection of bit generations.

Arigato Ohtsuki-san.

(^_^)

Kyle Gradinger from the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition informed me that volunteers from the coalition have been advising engineers and decision-makers on new traffic studies around the city, some of which might include new “bike boxes” and physically separated bike lanes which many cities, including New York and Portland, have already implemented.

Who woulda thought? Seems like just yesterday when there wasn’t a SINGLE bike lane in the entire city, and they had to fight to get one put on Delaware Ave.

While they’re at it, they might also want to try this thought-provoking tactic from Portland. Hey, that’s a great art idea for my buddy Stuart over at the Renegade Art Coalition.

Kyle also informed me about a an event you might want to check out on January 17 at the Academy of Natural Sciences on Bikesharing. They invited a city councillor from Lyon, France to show off and talk about one of their Velo’V Bicycles. Best of all? It’s FREE.

While I’m on the bicycling subject, I should mention that our new mayor savior Nutter’s pick for Deputy Mayor for Transportation, Rina Cutler, comes from PennDOT in Harrisburg. No word yet on whether she’ll cozy up to us bike advocates or be a pain in the saddle. Only time will tell.

Since my other buddy Lance sent me a lot of the previous info, I should inform you all that he is, in his words, officially in love with his new custom-built Engin frame built by Drew at Wiss Cycles on Germantown Ave. Here’s the details:

the frame is a single speed 29er built with high end steel from England and the welds are silky smooth. I went with Chris King hubs and headset, xt/xtr drivetrain, reba race fork, stan’s 29er rims, and a truvativ stylo team crank. Why not full suspension, you might ask? Not necessary: with the larger tires of a 29 inch wheel and the steel frame this bad boy has plenty of give without the hassle of a rear shock.

And last but not least, the spouse of one of my coworkers who’s starting to feel a little slow on the hills of his 15 mile commute picked up one of these to help him out.
I bet it beats Mike. Remember him from the Dr. Seuss book? I read it to my kids all the time. Here’s the passage which goes along with picture of two kids on triple-seater with a monster named Mike sitting in the back:

We like our bike.
It is made for three.
Our Mike
sits up in back,
you see.

We like our Mike
and this is why:
Mike does all the work
when the hills get high.