I understand anger. I understand protests. Don’t always agree with the causes, but I respect the First Amendment right that allows Americans to gather peacefully and protest whatever they see fit - be it puppies or people. What I don’t understand is the video of yesterday’s footage of the pro-Palestinian protestors.

Read more at www.phillygrrl.com

Think about becoming a Students Run Philly Style mentor to a student from a local Philadelphia school. In the past students have competed in the Philadelphia Marathon as well as the Broad Street Run. I received this email from them:

It started at the Ivy League level. So my high school friend at Harvard asked me to be his friend. Naturally I said yes. (How can a Harvard friend lead you wrong?) And before I knew it, I had 300+ Temple classmates who were ‘facebook friends,’ and hundreds more from high school. No problem. We all shared (relatively) the same taste for poking, posting updates and posing for scandalous pictures. Facebook was privy to fond college memories, triumphs and extreme failures. It helped me get my homework done. Learn about jobs. Interview men. It made my world inexorably smaller and easier to navigate. That was college.

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Hey business majors! Listen up! Have I got a pitch for you…

Okay, here’s the deal. I like Indian/Pakistani food. To eat this food on a daily basis requires buying from an Indian/Pakistani grocer. I’m imagining aisles upon aisles of basmati rice, fresh produce, pickled mango. Where is such a grocery located? Not here in Philly.

That’s a lie.

We do have a couple of “Indo-Pak” stores, as they were once called. (Until the late 90’s when all of a sudden Philly had enough of each population that there was no need to draw customers from the other side.)

International Foods and Spices, 4203 Walnut St, 215-222-4480
I grew up going to this store. Owned by a family of Sikhs, it is truly one of the great Indian stores of our time. After his father retired, the son (who got his degree in business from nearby Drexel), took over the place, tearing down walls and transforming it into a large, airy mecca for Indian cooks in University City. Unfortunately, with that business acumen came a sharp increase in prices. So all of us Northeastish kids can’t really afford this place anymore.

Subzi Mandi, 3300 State Rd,Bensalem, PA 19020, (215) 244-7824
Subzi Mandi is well known to anyone who shops in the Indianized towns of Edison, NJ or Jackson Heights, NY. Subzi Mandi is the Walmart of all Indian stores. This store is massive and usually has 3-4 shops inside as well, generally a jewelry store (24 carat gold!), a music store and of course the sweets shop. After Subzi Mandi recently relocated their store to a giant warehouse, however, prices have gone up (most likely reflecting their new lease payment). Also, the store is about half an hour outside of PA, inconvenient for those who need their rasgullahs right now, right here.

Patel’s Grocery Store 2825 Tyson Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19149, (215) 335-4974
The Northeast often has a slew of ethnic stores that open, then close on a regular basis. Patel’s Grocery has managed to stay open for the past few years. They have killer produce and killer prices. The store is (like most Indo-Pak stores) divided into a video store/grocery store. The only problem with Patel’s is their small selection of items. They have yet to order my favorite pickled mango brand.

So. Can someone please do me a favor? Gather a couple of investors. Pool some community money. Open up a nice, sprawling Indian store. And keep it neat. I hate me a dirty grocery store. ‘K, thanks.

What exactly is the city of Philadephia doing when they talk about cutting the budget and closing libraries yet they host holiday shenanigans like the one I saw at Dilworth Plaza tonight?

Time: 7PM

Place: Dilworth Plaza

Temperature: 25 Degrees F and freezing!

Audience: Myself (on the way to the Broad Street subway) and like 10 homeless people

Setting: City Hall is apparently host to a so-called ‘Christmas Village’ which features stands, bands, etc. At this particular time, a group of (terrible) karaoke singers were belting out a tone-deaf version of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” I swear, even the homeless were wincing. And it takes a lot to make a homeless man cry. Now let me ask you, what does this have to do with Christmas/Hanukah/Eid/X-Mas? Nothing. How does this celebrate the holiday season at all? It’s just another case of gross misappropriation of funds. Apparently these festivities go on till 8PM (sometimes 9) every night till the 24th. The city even has a website that explains it all. I’m not a Scrooge. Let a historic, beautiful city like Philly have its wreaths and lights. But sound equipment, security, etc being used till late in the evening when any normal soul is tucked in flannel sheets somewhere with a hot water bottle? Ridiculous. Okay, so it’s sponsored by Lufthansa, the East German airline. And the German American Society of Pennsylvania is involved. But couldn’t they buy a couple of books? Or librarians or something? Hello, Toys for Tots anyone? A recession-ridden city should be tightening its belt, not throwing away dollars on spectacles nobody in their right mind would attend.

As if we didn’t already know:

A coalition of community groups led by the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP strongly criticized CVS Pharmacies yesterday, accusing the chain of failing to provide customers equal access to stores and services in Philadelphia.

No doubt after this lawsuit, the NAACP will also be filing a lawsuit against Target, Sears, Rite Aid, IHOP, Denny’s, Neiman Marcus, Wawa and every other store they can possibly think of.

Asked why CVS was selected for the study, Mondesire said other pharmacy chains had not drawn as many complaints.

This is surprising. Although Walgreens and Rite Aid are definitely everywhere, which explains why they weren’t targeted. Hmmm, CVS conspiracy.

Dear Brian,

When I opened the paper this morning and read the account of your terrible accident, I was shocked. Only the past week, we had made plans to meet after Thanksgiving about articles for your new magazine. As my former editor at Citypaper, you did what you could to help me learn the craft of newspaper writing. You took a shy intern, and with what little time we spent together, inspired at least enough interest that I stayed in touch with you and the industry. I admired your wit, your intelligence, the collection of posters in your office, and most of all your total lack of caring.

As a Philadelphia journalist you knew better than to care about anything other than the people of Philadelphia. Powerful union officials, major politicians, wealthy socialites - no one fazed you when you were doing your job. Haters, fan - who cared? You gave them all hell. And created a legacy as someone who truly cared about the little people.

And that's why Brian, as you lie right now in a medically induced coma, I pray that the strength you showed so many times in the face of overwhelming odds comes though. Because we still need you here. Your young wife, your bride who you bragged about so many times, whose pictures you showed me, she needs you. A city still struggling to define its new identity. New mayor. New championship. Old struggles. Guns. Budget cuts. We need you to get through all of that.

And, in my own most selfish of hearts, I need you too. Because I'm not done learning from you.

All my prayers,

PG

If you haven't already, be sure to watch Slumdog Millionaire. Whether you love Indian movies or hate 'em, it's a sure pleaser. A young boy on the verge of winning millions on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" solely for the purpose of winning his childhood sweetheart - what could be better? Well, the fact that the sweetheart is the smoking Feida Pinto sort of helps. Searches for her have topped Yahoo Buzz lists.

I didn't find it different in plot than any of your typical Bollywood mirch masala fare. But if you hate the usual three hour Indian movies, you may find yourself liking this one. Especially because it skips all of the song and dance sequences that so tire certain viewers. Director Danny Boyle (Of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later fame) goes straight to the action, directing an all-Indian cast in a film that has won numerous awards and is being deemed a possible Oscar winner.

Naturally when a non-Indian directs an Indian film that isn't horrible, one expects such buzz. Watch it yourself and let me know what you think!

As much as I'm a Temple fan, what with being an alum and all, I was a bit surprised to find the following in my email. I know Temple has a lot of Indian students (since when do they care about that?) but I honestly didn't expect anything like this. Who knew other countries cared? Who knew my local community cared?

Candlelight vigil for Mumbai victims: 5 p.m. Bell Tower. All members of the university community are invited to attend a candlelight vigil in recognition of the tragic events last week in India. The 30-minute program will include faculty and student speakers and a moment of silence in rememberance of the victims. Sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students and Hillel at Temple University.

Like everyone else, I was horrified by the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I was even angrier to learn that possibly young Pakistanis like myself were involved. But I feel so numb so often to the terrorism ranging throughout the world, I shamefully avoided my parents as they glued themselves to CNN and my boyfriend as he listened nonstop to coverage on NDTV. I hid from India's "9-11," instead focusing on Thanksgiving preparations. Anyone else do this?