Blthon 23.48 An Interview with a "Sick Mind"

As part of an effort to get to know some of my blogging buddies better, I asked for a few interviews. Anthony was one of the volunteers and he is the author at My Sick Mind, a great blog that almost always makes you think and even makes you laugh sometime. Since I am spinning into a Philadelphia sports kick right now, he is my first subject, errr interviewee.

1. Thank you for allowing me to ask you some questions. You are not concerned that some of the answers will tip the Feds off to the fact that you really are the Mad Hatter bandit?

Nope – he was indicted on Monday, so they can’t pin that rap on me.



2. Thanks to my handy stat tracker, I realize that you probably work for one of those lovely energy companies in NJ. What do you do and are you to blame for my gas being $3.00?

No, I’m not in the car gas. I’m in home and industry gas – natural gas. I’m a draftsman in our engineering department. And, no, you can’t blame me for your high gas bills, either. We just build ‘em – we don’t bill ‘em.



3. I know you love the Who, or was it the Rolling Stones? Well which is it and why? and are there any modern mainstream bands that you enjoy?

Of those two, it’s The Who. I was never really a Stones guy, mostly because the music magazines made competitions out of music, and I always picked a side. Deep Purple vs. Black Sabbath – I’m a Sabbath guy. Stones vs. The Beatles – Beatles. I don’t know why they did stuff like that, since I love Deep Purple now, too. I missed out on some good music because I fell for their marketing ploy. (There’s probably a deep-rooted developmental issue that makes me distrust media marketing). I think I have worked that one out. The Stones were always a little too scruffy for me. Townsend’s songwriting is more to my taste. I’ve always been more into the long-form than the two-minute expression. As for the Stones, I respect them, but don’t much like them. That’s also true of Springsteen and Billy Joel.

I’ve never been a big fan of “mainstream” music (or mainstream anything, really) but I do like a lot of modern music. Kings of Leon, Green Day, Kaki King, Gov’t Mule, Dave Matthews Band, Umphrey’s McGee, Fiona Apple and Chris Cornell (I’m going to the Electric Factory on Sunday). I’m not sure any of those would be considered mainstream.



4. You are stuck in a snowstorm with a TV that only gets one TV station. What station do you hope it is stuck on?

The Weather Channel. I want to know when the snow will be over and I can get the Hell out of there.



5. You are a fan of the green policy (i.e that global warming is coming and that we are to addicted to the oil companies) what do you say to those out there that say Global Warming is just some sort of media myth?

I’ll never argue the idea that it may be a created condition, but as the late Rich Ashburn used to say, That’s eyewash.” It’s hard to look at icebergs breaking and not think the water is getting warmer, but were they breaking 25 years ago? I don’t know, (since no one was taking video of them) and I don’t particularly care. However, I will argue that the protection of the earth is always in our best interests. I don’t understand how anyone could argue that limiting greenhouse gases is a bad thing. I think you can have progress and still be sensible about it. People who “blame” the media for proselytizing global warming are missing the bigger picture and focusing their energy (pun intended) in the wrong area. The truth is that we are a wasteful society that creates almost as much waste as we do product. Why does a bar of soap have to come in a box? The soap disappears and the box is trash.



6. Ok, the Philadelphia questions now, since this blog is called Philly Transplant. When you order a cheesesteak, is it whiz or cheese slices?

I order cheesesteaks like the Soup Nazi. Terse and with two words - Whiz with. Money on the counter. Next!



7. You and I are in a bar, one that allows smoking in Philly because they only serve tortilla chips, and I light up because I have had a beer or two. How do you react?

Before we had the non-smoking laws I would never go into a bar and expect people not to smoke or be offended if they did. Of course, now it’s great (in New Jersey) because I don’t come home smelly – other than the regular smell. You can smoke; just don’t blow it in my face. I just hope the place is well ventilated because I love tortilla chips and I figure the conversation would be good, so I wouldn’t want to leave.



8. Is it worse to be a Nationals fan because the season is over in May, or is it worse to be a Phillies fan because they keep you on edge until September?

It’s definitely worse to be a Nationals fan. There’s not much worse than meaningless baseball in August. Plus, they play in that dumpy ballpark (for now) and all they have to look forward to are the Redskins. Geez, that’s worse than being a Phillies fan. String me along, as long as it’s interesting. Sports is best around here when there are competitive teams in at least 3 sports. That way, the seasons link together and we can go right from one to another. With the Flyers and Sixers stinking, it was a long winter.



9. Curse of Billy Penn, true or am I just a conspiracy theorist?

I find it fascinating that in a society that has such things as iPhones and microwave ovens that we cling to superstition and believe that we have some metaphysical power that can influence events in which we do not participate. Fans will wear certain clothing when they watch games or only sit in a certain spot, believing that what they do affects the team. I’ll usually ask them, “Do you have that sort of effect on everything in your life, or just sports?”

On one hand, it’s charming, but my practical side sees it being kind of ridiculous. As far as Billy is concerned, he isn’t even buried here, and I never really understood (as a lifetime resident) the nonsense about the city’s building height restriction. It held back the city’s development for decades. But you really didn’t ask about that.

I do, however believe in the curse of Angelo Cataldi.

Followup:Curse of Angelo Cataldi, whats that?

No Philly team has won a championship since Angelo came to WIP. I think he got here right after the He was co-host with Tom Brookshier when the morning show was called "Brookie and the Rookie". He talks about it every now and then, and something tells me that deep down, he enjoys the losing, because it gives him something to rant about.
Generally, I get tired of his yelling and switch over to WXPN for my morning drive.

10. You and I both spend a lot of time in Center City and everyone knows about the Art Museum, South Street and the Liberty Bell. Give me one unknown tourist attraction in Philly?

The Kimmel Center. It’s a beautiful place that fills with beautiful music. If someone was coming here from out of town, I would make a point of visiting the Kimmel Center after a nice dinner at Toto.



11. Say one good thing about our president or his administration.

Bush’s daughters are hot.