A data–driven look at your week in review – and the week that is to come.
Donald Trump, who is taking on LeBron James for warming up during the national anthem. (Getty Images) An AI spokesperson for a South Jersey craft beer company. (Instagram) An Apple worker taking a photo of the new iPhone Duo. (Getty Images)
A record-setting Sixers game! A presidential scolding! A craft beer-repping blonde woman that is not actually human! It’s been a busy week in Philadelphia news. We break it down for you below.
0: Tolerance that fans of a South Jersey craft brewery had for the brewery’s new spokesperson: a bespectacled blonde woman who was actually, yes, AI. Ugh. Ugh. And ugh some more. “This makes me want to drink your exceptionally average beer even less,” wrote one commenter on Instagram. Ironically, the audio edition of the Philly Voice article detailing this controversy over the use of AI features an AI voice reading the story. Here at Philly Mag, they haven’t replaced me with AI. Yet.
11pm: Time on Thursday night that folks began lining up outside of the Apple store in Ardmore so they can be the first to get their hands on the new foldable iPhone Duo, the price for which starts at $1,999. If we hear even one of those people complaining about the price of ground beef, we are gonna have a problem.
$91.50: Starting price for reseller tickets to Monday night’s Eagles vs. Cowgirls game at the Linc. Let’s all say it in unison now: Dallas Sucks!
1st: Date next month that marks the end of the season for the fab Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park. Meaning next Sunday. The market opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and the weather is perfect this weekend for a visit. If you haven’t tried the stuffed chicken wings yet (yes, we said stuffed chicken wings — no clue how they pull those off), they are a must-get. And the fried sesame balls. Oh, the papaya salad. And the Cambodian crabs. And the… well, just order some of everything!
$6.01: What some Pennsylvania homeowners find themselves paying for home-heating oil this season. Meanwhile, gas prices in Pennsylvania are averaging $4.47 per gallon, while the national average is “just” $4.29. But, hey, it could be worse. You could live in California, where folks are paying over $6 a gallon. Plus, they have earthquakes.
1st: Where Philadelphia falls on a ranking of cities by the number of teens who vape, with 20 percent of our high schoolers vaping. The city has launched a new initiative designed to change this called Kick the Vape. But listen, kids: don’t do what many people are reportedly doing in an effort to quit vaping. They are switching to regular old cigarettes!
8: Days you have left to enjoy the Portal, that 8-foot-tall, 3.5-ton round glass screen that you could use to interact with people on the other side of the world. The Portal was brought to Philly by the same guy who said he was going to save World Cafe Live. Well, the newest iteration of the latter is about to close. And the Portal is leaving us on October 31st.
$9: Price you’ll pay for the new sushi rolls at Wawa. Yes: You heard that right. Sushi rolls at Wawa. Naturally, we had to sent Philly Mag restaurant critic Jason Sheehan to his local Wawa to take one for the team. Here is his review.
124,525: Signatories on a petition to keep the Academy of Natural Sciences open to the public. But what exactly happened that caused the museum to suddenly close in the first place? Kyle Bagenstose takes a deep dive. All I know is that I’ll miss those dinosaurs. Then again, I haven’t stepped foot in that museum in over a decade, so maybe I’m part of the problem?
29: Points the Sixers were down by at one stage of their Thursday night game—the home opener, and LeBron’s first showing in Philly as a Sixer—against the Cavaliers. Naturally, fans booed the team. Meaning our own team. Because this is Philadelphia. But then, the Sixers turned it around and wound up beating the Cavs 114-106. Twas the biggest blown lead ever by the Cavs and the biggest comeback ever for the Sixers in the play-by-play era. We take on the Bucks in South Philly on Saturday night.
0: Shits LeBron James likely gives that Donald Trump lashed out at him for doing warmups during the national anthem.
12: People each week that can enjoy a golonka dinner at Little Walter’s that includes a ton of food and a full bottle of Polish vodka. As Philly Mag’s restaurant critic puts it: “So if celebrating the holidays by getting messy on vodka shots and eating yourself into a pork coma with five of your closest friends sounds like a good time to you, you should probably think about making your reservations now.” It’s $500 to make the reservation, which is good for up to six people. And it only happens on Saturday nights. So you probably don’t have to worry about calling out of work the next day.
2009: Years that Dennis Johnson was convicted of the 2007 murder of Kenyatta Smith, a case that is causing major headaches for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose office is now reportedly under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice related to that case. Krasner is up for reelection in 2029, though many insiders wonder if his time has come.