A Reviewer's Pictorial

In the course of my travels, there are things that I notice...Here are a few of 'em.

1.)The Ritz 5 in Philadelphia--Last month I attended a screening here, and was mightily impressed...It's an art house theater, which I usually find to have some kind of flaw. But the Ritz was glorious: an attractive lobby (with tables), a spacious theater, and classic marquee. It's a classic city theater with its own personality. I'd love to see more movies there.

By the way, one of the things I love about Philadelphia--at least the parts I've seen--is that the town isn't as frantic as New York. I was able to get into the street and take the photo. It was around 12 p.m. If I were in New York, I would have collided into about three bicycle messengers.

2.) The Newtown Theatre. I live in Newtown Township, PA, but in nearby Newtown Borough lies the nation's oldest movie theater. The first movie was shown there in 1906, and it still puts on plays and movies. It's so cool to have a working theater like this right in the downtown. That gives the town a personality, a historical glow that you don't find if a Dunkin' Donuts or Wawa were there. I had no idea about the theater until we moved here.

Ironically, I do miss having a Dunkin' Donuts--home of the coffee cake muffin and vanilla chai--within waddling distance. My fiancee misses Wawa, which was a staple of her TastyKake and Coke Classic childhood.

3.) This billboard, which was taken on 7th Avenue in New York. Does it make any sense to you? It doesn't to me. There appears to be one too many commas. Shouldn't it be, "From the New York Times bestselling author"?


4.) I don't have a photo for this, because taking one would have been too weird. Before a job interview, I went to the men's room in Philadelphia's Suburban Station. When I entered I saw the following: A wet floor sign with a pair of pants draped over it. A couple of hours later I returned, and the pants were gone.

The number of questions raised are troubling: Whose pants are they? Did the person have a spare pair? Did the same person who put the pants there take them? If not, was there someone wandering around Philadelphia without pants? Does anyone else think this is similar to Kramer's pants story that he offered Peterman?