Wendy Borst Documentary

Thursday, May 7, 2009

City Kitties - Fostering and Adoption

The following are stories from people tied closely to City Kitties, an organization in Philadelphia dedicated to responsibly fostering and finding homes for stray cats.
Cat overpopulation has been a big problem in Philadelphia for a while, and because of the economic problems in the United States today, more and more people are giving up their pets because they don't feel they can afford to feed and care for these animals anymore. The Philadelphia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) estimates that there are nearly 1.5 million people living in Philadelphia, with 667,000 cats and dogs living in homes (combined total). However, the PSPCA also approximates that there are at least another 300,000 cats living on the streets of Philadelphia. Because of the overwhelming amount of stray cats, the PSPCA has to euthanize well over half the cats they recieve (in 2005, this was 75% of the cats brought to the PSPCA).

City Kitties is a no-kill fostering arrangement for cats in Philadelphia. They have a small number of dedicated volunteers that share their homes with these cats in the hopes of finding them loving homes quicker. Below you will find the stories of Louisa and Lori, (co-founders of City Kitties) Eli, (a foster parent) and Michelle (the adoption coordinator and a foster parent).

*Please note, all cats that are outside are either feral, semi-feral, or friendly cats that have not yet had the opportunity to come into foster care. City Kitties requires that their foster cats be indoor only for their safety.

Please consider donating, fostering, or adopting a cat in need. Even if it seems like it's something little, it's making the difference to a (formerly) stray cat in Philadelphia. Visit http://www.citykitties.org to find out more.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Dan. In Real Life.

So. Dan is kind of awesome. But don't take my word for it.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

My World: in my skin

Let's do this.

Monday, February 16, 2009

From A to Z at the Philadelphia Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo is the nation's first Zoo. It's a neat place to spend some time. Here are some of the cool animals that you can see at the zoo.

A is for... Addax.

B is for... Bear. Polar bear.

C is for... Cheetah.

D is for... Dwarf Caiman

E is for... Elephant.

F is for... Frog. Pine Barrens Tree Frog.

G is for... Giraffe.

H is for... Highland Cattle.

I is for... Iridescent.

J is for... Jaguar.

K is for... Kangaroo.

L is for... Leopard. Amur Leopard.

M is for... Meerkat.

N is for... Nile Crocodile.

O is for... Ostrich.

P is for... Puma.

Q is for... Quotation. Margaret Mead Quotation.

R is for... Rhinoceros.

S is for... Squirrel Monkey.

T is for... Tiger. Amur Tiger.

U is for... Underwater. Otters Underwater.

V is for... Viper. West African Viper.

W is for... White-faced Saki.

X is for... eXhibit.

Y is for... Yellow Eyelash Viper.

Z is for... Zebra.

View Larger Map

Monday, February 9, 2009

Something about rabbit holes

Call me a little bit nerdy, but I kinda dig architecture. And especially in a city that is so old and rich with history, there is some of that old architecture left in bits and pieces among the newer architectural developments. And. I think doors are fascinating. Imagine how many doors you walk through every single day. Did you ever actually look at them? I mean really look at them. So, for your viewing pleasure, 24 doors. One from each block on Chestnut Street on an adventure from the Schuylkill to the Delaware River.

2300 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:07am

2200 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:10am

2100a block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:12am

2100b block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:15am

2000 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:17am

1900 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:19am

1800 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:22am

1700 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:27am

1600 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:28am

1500 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:28am

1400 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:30am

1300 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:37am

1200 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:42am

1100 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:45am

1000 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:49am

900 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:49am

800 block, Chestnut Street, 7February 2009, 11:53am

700 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:56am

600 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 11:59am

500 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 12:01pm

400 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 12:04pm

300 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 12:05pm

200 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 12:08pm

100 block, Chestnut Street, 7February2009, 12:11pm

View Larger Map

Monday, February 2, 2009

A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet - Art Museum/Boathouse Row

Twelve strangers, one location. Below are a collection of photographs - portraits - of 12 people I met at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Reem has lived in Philadelphia for 16 years. "I'm being a slacker today," he commented about his reasons for being at the Art Museum. Reem had the most positive outlook on Philadelphia, especially loving the people and diversity of the city. And what didn't he like? "There's nothing I don't like. I love the city!"

A 15 year native of Philadelphia, Becca was "doing the Rocky thing" at the Art Museum, showing everyone else how it's done. And she won. After a slight hesitation, Becca decided her favorite thing about Philadelphia was the Center City, Downtown area, but quickly recited her least favorite thing: the crime.

Chelsey is another 15 year resident of Philadelphia, also doing "the Rocky thing" on this cold, brisk day. Stealing my heart, her favorite Philadelphia thing were the cheesesteaks; "Pats all the way." Her major problem with the City of Brotherly Love: no love. "The violence is what gets me down."

Erica was born in Philadelphia but was currently living in San Diego. She was at the Art Museum just killing time before she had some more "pressing" family matters to attend to. The thing that keeps bringing her back to Philadelphia isn't the attractions or the cheesesteaks, "I'm here to see my family." But the weather she could do without.

Julie has lived in Philadelphia for 10 years and was at the Art Museum to show some friends around - who of course wanted to do the Rocky thing. She's loves Philadelphia because it's home to her, but once again the violence in the city is what annoys her most.

Bryan was just visiting the city today, and checking out the Art Museum. It's fitting that he was visiting the Art Museum because of his appreciation for the city's architecture. "It's just so dirty, though," was his essential complaint.

Not a city resident, Julia has lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia "forever." But today she was just visiting the city. "I just love the diversity of everything. You have all the people and the universities and everything. It's just so diverse." But she echoed the sentiments of strangers past - "But it is dirty, and I don't like the violence," she said.

Having lived in the city for "three and a half years," Phil was running up the steps Rocky-style with a friend that was visiting. Finally a sports fan among the strangers, the reason Philadelphia has his love is because of the Phillies. It's hard to imagine he enjoyed the traffic issues the city faced on the day of the parade, however, as he lamented his least favorite thing about the city: so many cars.

Another Rocky runner, Greg, an "honorary Philadelphian" visiting for the day made the run up the steps. The traffic bugs Greg the most, but at least when he's stuck in traffic, he can look at his favorite part of the city. "I wouldn't go so far as to say the architecture is the best. But the buildings, sure."

Tony was at the Art Museum to run up the museums steps just like Rocky. A visiting Californian who had only been here for two days, the ice was really putting a damper on his visit. But he does love the history of the city.

Ria, another visiting Californian, was at the steps for the same reason as all the other tourists - to be like Rocky. Of course, after leaving the beautiful California weather she was used to, Philadelphia was, not surprisingly, disappointing due to the massive cold front. But her favorite part of the city was still there, even in the cold - all the brick buildings.

Matt was visiting his cousin in Philadelphia, and had gone to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for tourist reasons. His favorite thing, the artery-clogging cheesesteaks. And fortunately for Philadelphia, Matt hadn't been around long enough for him to find anything to dislike.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Manayunk Rephotographed

Manayunk is a fairly popular, somewhat trendy, Philadelphia neighborhood. In rephotographing part of Manayunk (mostly around Main Street) I had the great benefit of seeing how much things have changed. The older photographs seen below (from phillyhistory.org) are from the late 1920s, early 1930s. Things have changed quite a bit, largely because of the elevation of the train system and the general growth of the area.

View Larger Map