This metal trashcan was laser-cut into a lace based on Philadelphia’s street grid by artist John Briscella, a designer inspired by his growing up in Philly. Here’s the explanation, which, uh, doesn’t exactly reach the heights of sensitivity about the homeless:

When its cold out, its kinda of the rage to have metal barrel fires on the streets of Philadelphia… well at least for the homeless…

By using a 5-axis laser cutter used in car manufacturing and metal barrels used in industrial storage, the hobo-chic design is transformed into a großartig fireplace that emanates the qualities of the city, wherever you decided to have a fire.

I loathe that thing the fashion/design complex does every once in a while that glamorizes some subset of the desperately poor for the irony/novelty points (”I give you… DERELICTE!” being the image that comes to mind, although yes I am aware that Zoolander is not real. But hobo chic? An actual, infuriating term).

But just pretend I didn’t just show you the description, or pretend there was a better explanation. Pretty amazing, right?

We mentioned a couple of days ago, spurred by the above excellent neon skyline tattoo above (done by Chad Knight at Boulevard Tattoo in Collingsdale), that we were gonna try to round up the boldest and beautiful-est Philly-love tattoos. We found a lot of LOVE Parks, a lot of sports team logos and a lot of Liberty Bells, but we’ve sorted through them all and come up with the neatest ones, starting with a rather less abstract skyline than the one above:

Damn.

it was composed from 3 different photos found on the google image. design was re-drawn based on those photos. it was rearranged so that all main buildings can be shown in narrow space. i had hard time finding the “perfect photo” and unfortunately could not find one thus end up just making it up (based on the real thing).

This tattoo, still in progress, is being worked on by Masami Inagaki, a PAFA graduate with skills. She works out of Gemini Tattoo up in the Northeast, you can contact her there if you want some work done starting in 2010. But not koi:

i will be taking a break from koi tattoo til next summer. (9 koi designs just this year alone. sorry i’m bit tired of them. thank you for understanding!

These three are by Benjamin Harris, who works at Sink the Ink in Willow Grove. He got his degree in illustration from MICA and then did animation in video games, and boy are these some good-looking, original tattoos.

This one, of the giant clothespin sculpture at 15th and Market, was done by Clay at Body Graphics, at 4th and Bainbridge. It was emailed in by Kristen (whose leg that is), who said:

I got it because I wanted a Philly tattoo and I also wanted to make fun of the massive amount of people who have the Love Park sculpture tattoo. Hey people, there are other things that represent our city other than Love Park and the Liberty bell!

Indeed! It’s tough to strike the right balance between “instantly recognizable symbol of a city” and “touristy cliche in real life,” but the red clothespin does it pretty well in our opinion. Or you could just go across the street…

…to City Hall. I said goddamn! This was done by Shane O’Neill, who works out of Wilmington, Delaware and who obviously does some pretty fucking amazing black-and-white photorealistic stuff. O’Neill is an illustration graduate of U of Arts, so probably saw this south view of City Hall pretty frequently back in the day.

And as long as you’re gonna do the LOVE Park thing, you may as well get done it beautifully. From John Howie of Moo Tattoo on South Street near 5th.

Joey Vento? Can’t imagine anyone else would get this; although it looks very nice, we can’t imagine there’s more than one person willing to act as a billboard for Geno’s. It does, however, very much recreate the atmosphere of that one gaudy, neon-ass block, so we’ve included it regardless of opinion of Joey Vento. This one was done by Philly Ink Tattoo, near the Allegheny El stop.

What more can you say? There is no place like home, especially when home is a Keystone Ben Franklin surrounded by Mountain Laurels and fireflies (those would be our state flower and insect, btw). Not entirely sure about the lilies and the Canada Goose (as our state bird is in fact the ruffled grouse), but I did find out while looking those up that our state toy is the Slinky and that is totally sweet.

Like the clothespin above, this one was done at Body Graphics, but by Carla Hopkins, who has a portfolio that’s heavy on the interesting before-and-after coverup work. We suggest you click through the link, because tattoo coverups are inherently pretty tragicomic.

By Braden Kendall of Eddie’s Chinatown Tattoo (in, uh, Chinatown). We like the pairing of these two little demonic birds with Philly imagery (PA may be the ruffled grouse, but Philly is the HELLBIRD WITH EYES OF FIRE. Or probably the Eagle, on second thought. Never mind).

Lastly, I was positive that if I went looking I’d find at least one person with a tattoo of Will Smith, and, as it turns out, I was triply correct. One person has this insane Will-Smith-as-Hancock on his leg, by L.A.’s Cecil Porter:

And it is alleged that not one but TWO people have this same tattoo of Will Smith eating Rap Snacks, and that the tattoo copycat is Creighton Barrett of Band of Horses.

OK, seriously, as an unconfirmable rumor that’s way too good to be true, “The drummer from Band of Horses ripped off a tattoo of Will Smith eating Rap Snacks” of  of this ranks up there with “Nicolas Cage was once arrested for stealing a chihuahua” and “A-Rod has two paintings of himself as a centaur over his bed.”

If it exists, Rap Snacks Willie is always hiding under a lot of plaid stuff in photos. Anybody got a picture of Creighton Barrett with his shirt off?

Over at Philthy blog, they have a picture of what is indeed “seriously the best fucking Philly skyline tattoo I’ve ever seen.” It’s on the arm of Lana Thompson, and it is sweet. They’ve got more information on why the Comcast Center isn’t in there over at Philthy.

I found it interesting that in the comments there were a few people describing their own Philly-related tattoos… I’d like to see/catalog ‘em if that’d be cool; if you’ve got a Philly tattoo that you’re particularly proud of, why don’t you send a picture over to eguendelsberger@philadelphiaweekly.com (kind of a mouthful, I’m aware) and I’ll see if I can’t put a gallery together.

And just because I’m reminded of it, the skyline out the front of the bus back from New York this weekend. Philly, you’re purty sometimes!

So Jennifer, one of the final four contestants on America’s Next Top Model, was kicked off yesterday and had to immediately pack her bags and go home to Philly. Boo. OK, yeah, the way the show was being edited it was pretty clear you weren’t going much further, but still. At least she gets to hang out with Laura in Maui?

Whatever, girl. You were awesome, and, in terms of reality show contestants, a delightfully decent human being. We’ve really been enjoying this cycle. There’s so many questions we’d like to ask you (what was the conversation like about only being able to wear flats to panel so it was even clearer what short tint miniscule models you were; we hear if you don’t scream and freak out enough about whatever quasi-exciting thing the producers show you, they make you do another take, true?; so you seemed like you weren’t getting a ton of sleep near the end, yeah?;Tyra: actually mentally ill?) but we’re pretty sure the ANTM contract’s gag rule won’t let you answer any of them for another couple of years.

But here’s to Jennifer! We liked you!

You hear that, boys born after 1980? It is no longer enough to merely wash your work clothes– from now on, you’re going to have to match.

These lads were hardly at a loss for votes; the verdict came in at Jon: 2795 total votes and Ryan with 3532 total votes. Despite some nail-biter weeks, the verdict is out: Ryan won.

Congrats! And for the record, Ryan: I think you look damn fine in a vest. We’ll be awaiting Jon’s …aftermath.. in photos. High fives!

As much as I am generally weary of all things reminiscent of

A. self-consciously wacky flash mobs

B. self-consciously wacky facial hair

I have been charmed against my better judgment by the pictures from this past weekend’s Tweed Ride. Well done, folks, you looked dapper indeed.

Bunch more pictures by Jenelle Rittenhouse over at Philebrity.

Art in the Age is a cool gallery/store/performance space in Old City. It’s named for an essay (Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction) by a German cultural theorist. The mission and common theme behind each artist is to “bring integrity back to art in the spaces of everyday life.”

In Impermanent Bliss, mixed-media works by Eric Amling, Kirkland Bray and Matt LaFleur examine the fluctuating nature of memory and its effects on our ongoing sense of self and place. By manipulating and transforming man-made artifacts, the artists press the viewer to reexamine the identities of the familiar. We should be approaching our own memories with the same scrutiny that these works demand, as memory often distorts the places, events and emotional states of our past.

Check out some work from the artists:

Kirkland Bray

Matt Lafleur

Eric Amling

Eric Amling’s uses printed matter to create new forms of present space in motion through collage. He is the author two books, Twin Vapor and Split Level Igloo, and his collage and written works have appeared on albums by Dr. Dog and the Bowerbirds. Matt LaFleur’s paintings evoke an imaginative environment filled with cabins burgeoning spectrums of color and contrast.  He currently lives and works in Taborton, NY. Kirkland Bray’s recent paintings explore a series of elevated forms of construction on found surfaces of wood and canvas. He has exhibited on both coasts, and co-owns the leather goods brand BillyKirk.

Impermanent Bliss: Examining the Fluid State of Memory
Mixed Media Works by Eric Amling, Kirkland Bray and Matt LaFleur
November 6-29, 2009
Opening: Friday, November 6th, 6-8 pm

Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
116 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia

The pillbox is an unconventional enough silhouette that it’s only available on New Era’s Japanese site, which of course leads to your standard crazy-ass incomprehensible Babelfish translation:

To 1985, it is the design which [pitsutsubagupairetsu] has worn with the tournament. Size is the same standard as the usual FITTED cap, but it turns out even at the same size by comparison with 59FIFTY from the form and/or with it becomes the fitting impression of doing.

It took like twenty minutes of thinking about something else entirely for my subconscious to equate “pitsutsubagupairetsu” with “Pittsburgh Pirates” and “kupazutaun” with “Cooperstown.” So with some googling (because despite my recent enthusiasm for the Phillies, I’m fundamentally sports-illiterate) I have determined that this pillbox-type shape is based on the style of the 1977-1986 Pittsburgh Pirates hats, which… I guess I had expected it to be more in the WW1 date range. When I imagine someone wearing a hat of that shape, they also have a waxed mustache and are sepia-toned. (If you’re interested in that sort of thing, btw, Bianca did a post on the evolution of the Phillies uniform a while back.)

The pillbox-esque hats (which are available for a few other teams, too) are ￥5,250, which is about… $57.50? Damn you, tanking exchange rates!

And one more Phillies-related thing today, from the dudes at chwuny, because god knows we have a thing for homemade-ass bootleg t-shirts and last night’s game was pretty awesome. This one’s for you, Chase Utley:

Yeah, that’s Giant Utley; in his spare time he enjoys throwing cars, telling people that he’s 15 feet… AROUND and complaining about this chick who’s kind of crazy but who’s the only one who really gets him, you know?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, in lieu of a potential SEPTA strike, be sure to plan your weekend in carpools, bicycles and on foot. FYI: The regional rails will still be running, but will be packed and only accepting riders who purchased tickets in advance.

Thriller @ Society Hill Dance Academy Lauren tipped me off about learning to dance like the undead. There is a Thriller Dance Class happening in Philly tonight! “Join the folks at Society Hill Dance Academy to learn the infamous Thriller moves. Feel free to dress the part and get ready to break a sweat. Why? No one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike. Friday at the Society Hill Dance Academy at 409 S. 2nd Street. Creep on over by 8:30pm.

Trick or Treat Sale You read the banner, kids! On Saturday there will be a giant sale: Everything in-store at Grasshopper Boutique on Walnut Street is on sale! But one day only– check their blog for updates.

Titan and The Fireflys Exhibit Emily G tipped me off about this exhibit and it really sounds boss. The Titan and The Fireflys is an awesome exhibit in Fishtown, by local artist Jason Hackenwerths, and it opens today. What makes me so excited? His main medium isn’t paint, paper or fiber…. it’s balloons! The giant 3-d sculptures are completely fascinating in the pictures– I’m dying to know what they look like in person! More details here.

Making Time Halloween Freakout Talk about the ultimate costume rager– when is the last time you went to Making Time and We got this email from R5 Productions reminding us all about their Halloween Part– err, “freakout.”

This costume rager seems to have ditched Transit for a new warehouse space (2424 Studios) and will be featuring Simian Mobile Disco, all you can drink. The Making Time DJ’s will be spinning and the Phillies game will be projected on a giant wall with full audio. The party starts at 9pm at 2424 E. York Street (Fishtown) and more details can be found here.

Trick Or Treat at the Kimmel Center This sounds adorable. Read more on Uwishunu.

FreshMeltWater Hallowe’en Teeshirt Launch Surely you’ve heard of FreshMeltWater before: They’re located in the NoLibs, make some pretty sweet tees you may have seen around town, and are totally in on a Halloween throwdown to launch their new tees! Details here.

Fright of Fancy Dance Party @ Fabric Horse Our favorite quirky NoLibs boutique is bringing it. And by it, we mean a party with music, boozin’ and a ton of bad-ass fanny packs. More details here.

Hand Turkey Crafts @ Tattooed Mom’s Usher in November at Tmom’s on South Street! The Sunday after Halloween is really only about relaxing, anyway. There will be a craft-up featuring a fav we all did in elementary school: hand turkeys! Have a beer and get crafty before the game.