Boston vs. Philadelphia 2008 Round 5: On Easter Sunday...

Easter '08 brings to the Philadelphia basket and its basket-cases the third annual Philly Zombie Crawl! In honor of civilization's ur-zombie, Jesus Christ, Philadelphians made up and attired in Sunday best Zombie couture converge upon Tattooed Mom before stalking South Street in a shambling bacchanalian celebration of the (and their) resurrection.

What's Boston got on this? Sad to say the city founded by Puritans has no shamble, just a pedestrian observation of Christendom's highest holiday. Zzzzzzz without suffixed "ombies" bores me to the grave. Philly takes the Thriller crown on this one.

The Happening is Happening

SciFi Wire writes that M. Knight Shyamalan's new film is slated for a Friday the 13th, June 2008 release. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, and shot in around Philly, last summer, looks to my eyes to be giving another take at what Shyamalan would likely call the metaphysical, theological or philosophical underpinnings of Signs. After Lady in the Water, let's hope he's got producers or editors willing to give him a frank assessment of his recently faltering, if not outright bloviating craft. The fact that the script went through one total rewrite after Shyamalan shopped it around as the The Green Effect may hint that Shyamalan may not have as free a reign as he had been rewarded with after the success of The Sixth Sense and Signs (and maybe the Hollywood powers that be are with me on liking Unbreakable). I think that may be a good thing in his case.

More to our concern, with this and Invincible, it's sure looking like Philly's stealing Mr. Wahlberg from his him hometown. Probably not worth a full round of points in our ongoing Boston vs. Philadelphia bragging rights battle, but like the Damon-Silverman Hollywood Affair, this poaching may garner something akin to a field goal or safety points.

Boston vs. Philadelphia 2008 Round 4: We got WING BOWL, Boston's got .... beans.

Warning, nudity, debauchery, and vomiting below:



FRIDAY. WIP's Wing Bowl 16 goes down with door's opening at 5 a.m. It may look like bedlam in the vid, but there are rules, for spectators and participants. Most of you reading probably slept through all this. Fortunately for those of us who missed out, Philly.com covered the qualifying stunts and will be keeping some feeds from the frenzy.

Really, what's Boston got on this? A hockey tourney called the Beanpot, that finks out on incorporating actual baked beans into the event? The Scooperbowl? Please. It's childsplay, a noncompetitive event. No way peace love and ice cream is going to beat out strippers, early a.m. beer chuggin, and extreme competition eating. Sorry. Boston gets hosed here. In Philly, we can do all this and still make it to work by 9 or catch our Friday a.m. classes. Wait, uhhh, yeah, we'll be in, just a couple of minutes late. Really.

Boston vs. Philadelphia 2008 Round 2: We pwn teh Pong

So Bostodelphia's 2008 bragging rights fight is supposed to be dragged out over the year; but like our new Mayor, the Philly Phaction in this is hitting the ground running and leaving Beantown all gas-bloated in our wake.

Check it. 2008 U.S. Olympic National Team Trials and Qualifying Tournament. Right here. In Philadelphia. Table Tennis, called Ping Pong by us civilians.

Boston vs. Philadelphia 2008 Round 1: Philly's Mayor Could Battle Beantown's Mayor to the Ground

So last year, Coddy hit Philly with a bunch of bare boned Almanac facts to prove home city superiority. This year there's a new game, and the crown ain't going to be won in some little skirmish like the one he pretended to win last year. Uh-uh. 2008 is going to be a year-long struggle, and we're going to knock it back and forth, round by round, till the calender's done gone. This is round one.

It's almost too cruel to bring this up, because the guy Coddy's gotta back in this fight, Mumbles and Stumbles Menino, just can't lay down hope for a city's future like this:



Yes, things are a little clunky in the first mintue, but give the guy a break. It's his first night in office. Plus, word has it all them technical difficulties were ?uestlove's slipping up on the DJ magic and getting in the way of Nutter who was rearing to go from his first step on stage.

Good luck, Mr. Mayor. I know you got a lot more in ya. Coddy and Boston ... SERVED!