The SEPTA Strike and Philly Sports: This Could Get Ugly

TWU 234, you have a real public relations problem and here's why:

1. People feel you get paid too much and only want what you want out of greed.

2. You waited 7 months and until the World Series to strike, picking the busiest weekend possible.

3. You made your union members pay MORE IN DUES last year, which may be why they need more money.

4. You took out an ad that doubles as race-baiting against SEPTA because you weren't getting your way.

5. You have a provision in your contracts that allow your members who are hurt to become cashiers and get double-wages AND raises.

6. You want MORE money and MORE benefits during a time when everyone in America is cutting back and suffering.


Right now, here's the situation: TWU 234 goes on strike at 12:01AM tomorrow, this weekend is going to be fucked. "Messed-up" would be more polite, so would even "Screwed". But this... this is a situation where the word "fucked" is the only appropriate word, because it would be! This weekend, you have TWO World Series Games, the Eagles against the NY Giants, Pearl Jam, the Flyers, and if there's anything else, I must have forgotten. But ALL of that is happening this weekend!

So far, talks have been stalled with no progress from either side.

Now, during 99% of the time when people in Philadelphia aren't worried about a strike, we complain about how and why SEPTA sucks. How the service is slow, the workers rude (sometimes), the schedules off, the high fares, and countless other problems with nearly every aspect of the company. So why is it, when the strike looms and starts, we never take the side of the workers and of SEPTA?

Because while we may be mad and angry over the service, we know that this is partly due to the union in and of itself. One problem with SEPTA right now? The bus drivers and supervisors. On an average weekday, drivers may start out early but due to the GPS system in their bus they may have to slow down or stop in order not to get in trouble. On Sunday's, with no supervisors, buses tend to come and go as they please.

Who's to blame for this? I don't know. Maybe SEPTA for wanting accountability of their drivers, and maybe the union workers for not doing their job right and now facing these reprimands from management. I don't know.

Right now, this is about to get ugly.

I was speaking to a few people and we all have the same fear: A SEPTA strike is going to get ugly in the worst possible way. This is largely because of one fact both sides are ignoring one factor: The Philadelphia Sports Fan.

We are not easy people to deal with. We're fine and nice and polite most of the time, but when it comes to our sports, we don't screw around in this town! The riots when the Phillies won could be nothing compared to the reaction from fans unable to watch their hometown play in the World Series after paying over $300 to stand there. The anger of fans unable to see the Eagles play against the Giants.

Could people get so angry and upset over this that they would start actual fights against either side in order to get SEPTA union members back to work? Could we see crowds of people lining up at Broad Street Subway stations demanding to be let on despite a fight, starting riots? Could we see full-scale riots due to a strike? Yankees fans and Giants fans coming down from New York City, pissed that they can't make it to the stadium because of no public transit, mixed with Phillies and Eagles fans?

Sunday, bloody Sunday, it could be.

Personally, I hope this stays as civil as possible between everyone: The union, management... and all the fans. I doubt there would be actual fights, but I don't dismiss it. Try to stay cool, and hey, everyone could just walk down to the stadium and enjoy the game on radios and cheer and boo outside the stadium. A good time to be had by all!

SEPTA, TWU 234? Get your shit together, get to the bargaining table, AND WORK THIS OUT! NOW!

Photo courtesy of Brownstoner.

8-Album Mind: Stress and Peace

Today's been just an incredibly frustrating and stressful day, and even though I'm going to bed soon, it still isn't over. I just learned that Green Tea, as calming as it's been to me, actually contains 1/3rd the caffeine in coffee. I had about a liter of the stuff... I feel like crap. Lot of other things tying into that, but never mind that.

Today's playlist:

Pantera - The Best of Pantera ♠♠♠♠
Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam ♠ SOLD
Pentagram - Day of Reckoning ♠♠♠
Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer ♠♠♠♠
Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb ♠♠♠
Pennywise - Land of the Free? ♠♠♠♠
A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms ♠♠♠♠

Pantera's "Best of" basically was why I decided to buy the rest of the Pantera discography, largely because the "Reinventing the Steel" material was so kick-ass! Not much to say... I've had it since it came out and I still haven't seem the damn DVD!

Pearl Jam's self-titled last album was disappointing. I bought it when it came out in 2006, and it's something I've only listened to a few times. I kept it because it sounded like nothing else I owned and I liked it... and now I'm selling it because I realized that, as cohesive as it is, it isn't anything great. "World Wide Suicide" is the only redeeming track on this disc.

Pentagram... man, along with that Pearl Jam disc, I barely listened to this one! I gave it a spin today... won't say I was overly impressed, but yes, it was todays surprise album. The doom-laden guitars that raise a goblet to Black Sabbath actually won me today.

Meanwhile, the death-grindmetal antics of southern metallers Pig Destroyer gave me a double-shot of entertainment. From "Terrifyer's" pure-fucking-grindcore bombardment through 21 tracks, to "Phantom Limbs" more thrash-metal leaning tracks, Pig Destoryer simply kicks ass!!! Checking out Pennywise's "Land of the Free?" finally had that album click; it was recorded and released the summer before 9/11 and it seems that a few bands (like GWAR's "Violence has Arrived" and Powerman 5000 "Anyone for Doomsday?") somehow was able to tune into the mindset of the evil ones who would hurt America.

Finally, my guilty pleasure, A Perfect Circle's "Med De Noms", or "Sea of Names". Most tracks were based on people that James knew, and the standouts are "Rose", Judith" (Ironically, the name of my grandmother and mother, respectively), "Magedlina", and "Thinking of You". Great band, check them out!

That's it for today. Look for more postings and rants tomorrow. Also, the reason I picked the Pearl Jam pick? Check out Eddie Vader wearing a Plasmatics shirt! KICK ASS!!!!

8-Album Mind: Reinventing the Steel

Deicide - Till Death Do Us Part ♠♠♠♠
Pantera - Cowboys from Hell ♠♠♠♠♠
Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power ♠♠♠♠
Pantera - Far Beyond Driven ♠♠♠
Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill ♠♠♠
Pantera - Reinventing the Steel ♠♠♠♠♠
Pearl Jam - Ten ♠♠♠♠♠

OK, let's get to it! I bought the Deicide album yesterday, and I won't lie, I mainly got it because I didn't want to leave Digital Ferret empty handed when I left yesterday, and because of the Glen Benton for President patch. "Till Death Do us Part" is a great Deicide album; not sure if the claim "heaviest Deicide album ever" is true since this and "Stench of Redemption" are the only two disc I won. It's in part inspired by his recent divorce and the departure of the two brothers who made the band as well, and it is simply incredible!
Pantera... well, what can I say? It's fucking PANTERA!!!!!! No, not PANTERA BREAD, PATERA!!!!!!!!!! Although that "Pantera Bread" video is fucking hilarious!

These albums are classics and aside from the review I wrote on "Cowboys from Hell", there isn't much to say, well, save a few comments. I always thought that "Vulgar Display of Power" was great, but in my eyes, it isn't better than Cowboys from Hell. It's almost like comparing apples and oranges; Cowboys had a sound that mixed thrash with glam, hardcore with power metal, and it was simply an album that was, in the end, the end result of EVERYTHING metal had accomplished in the 80's.

Vulgar Display, on the otherhand, was Pantera taking it to a new level, using their newfound fame, power, and influence to new levels of confidence. It is an incredibly album, one of the angriest things I've ever heard, and its great! The problem is that by half-way through, its just like any tempertantrum of adrenaline rush; it can get old and loose it's luster after a while. Moments keep the disc fresh at times, but when you hit the wall listening to this album, that's it. This disc is like running fullspeed down a crowded street and not caring what happens, but when you hit a wall, well, your done.

Far Beyond Driven has always been the black sheep of the more modern Pantera era, at least, to anyone who knows what they're talking about (sorry if that came off eliteist, but trust me, fans know what I mean). The album debut at #1, went platnium, and shows Pantera trying too damn hard to out-heavy the heaviest album ever. Fuck, it's like fucking Pamela Anderson in 1994 and then trying to fuck someone hotter in 1995; you can get close, but it still ain't no Pam An! Meanwhile, "The Great Southern Trendkill", while better, still lacks the golden touch that Pantera had on earlier albums.

Finally, you have the great "Reinventing the Steel" and to me, this is second only to Cowboys in terms of greatness! Pantera starts out strong with "Hellbound" and never let loose! They took everything that made their last four albums great, got rid of all the filler material, and instead forged, ala the title, Pure Steel. There are very few flaws in this metal blade, and hearing "I Cast A Shadow" is enough to put an exclamation point on their career that many bands to come will have to live in the shadow of.

Lets we forget Pearl Jam in all of this! I'm a fan of the Jam, and Ten is just, quite simply, a legendary album for a good reason. It toned down the more metal aspects, turned up the grunge, wore it's classic rock influences on it's sleave, and resulted in breakthrough hit that still sounds fresh today, even if you have heard "Even Flow" and "Jeremy" a million times already. My favorite tracks? "Why Go" and "Once", tracks that showed not only could they write kick-ass radio-friendly hits that still retained an edge, but that they could write staight-out classics.