So THIS Happened Last Month...

I don't think the embedding of this will work, so here's the direct link to the video I posted to Instagram last month. It's a few moments of the broadcast of "6ABC Action News on PHL17."

This is a byproduct of TV stations subletting time to competing (in theory, at least) stations rather than fund their own news production. NBC10 used to provide news on WPHL. Now it's WPVI. Whatever you think of local TV news (and I think less of it with every passing day, it seems), you must admit that superimposing an animated blurb for a Disney movie on the screen during the newscast -- and worse, during a report on severe weather -- is a new low.

Interestingly, the 6ABC anchor that night responded when I tweeted this out last month. I quickly screengrabbed it because I thought it might be deleted, as seems to be the case.

I also tweeted the local gossip columnist for the Daily News about it. She replied that she'd look into it, but since I never saw anything in the paper about it, I guess it wasn't newsworthy.

People Are Strange

A couple of odd things to discuss -- one in real life and one online. To be precise, the subject of this first story isn't so much as strange as he is sneaky.

I was walking to the corner of Frankford and Morrell Avenues this afternoon to catch a bus. I noticed a young guy -- I'd say in his 20's -- standing there and, as cars pulled up at the red light, went over to the cars to say something. As I arrived at the corner I could hear him, and then he saw me and asked me the same thing he was asking the people in their cars: "Can you spare some change so I can get on the bus?"

"No, sorry," I replied. My judgment was that he seemed a little drunk or high. It was odd because it was mid-afternoon, he didn't look like a typical homeless person asking for money, and my part of the city isn't an area where homeless people congregate. I also noticed earbuds in his ears -- either attached to a cell phone or mp3 player. For a couple of minutes he continued to ask drivers (incluiding a couple who pulled into the gas station on the same corner) for change. Then, finally, success. A driver handed him at least one dollar. Since it was folded I couldn't tell if there was more than one. He then pulled out his phone and began to make a call.  Clearly he wasn't homeless.

Right after that the bus arrived. He got on before I did, and put his fare into the fare box: a single coin. In other words, a bus token! He didn't need any money for the bus after all. What a scam. I was tempted to ask him about it, but I figured I'd like to live a little longer.