Weekly Top Five - 2.Dec.10

In  High Fidelity, the characters compare their top fives in a variety of categories. Being big fans of both the film and novel, we here at the What bring you our Weekly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Christmas Movies & Specials

 

Last week we skipped the Weekly Top Five in order to enjoy some turkey. This week we're back with a special bonus edition top ten list to make up for it! Being that it is now December, here are the What's top ten Christmas movies.

10. The Santa Clause (1994) - This movie surprised me, and I did not really discover it until about ten years after it was released. I am, however, glad that I did finally watch it as it's a great Christmas movie, and Tim Allen is actually a fantastic Santa. The sequel is good too, but I can't vouch for the third film in the series.

9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) - To pretty much everyone born after this was made, Burl Ives is known only in his snowman form. Ives is a wonderful narrator, taking you through the familiar story of Rudolph, with a few welcome variations from the song (misfit toys, Yukon Cornelius, etc).

8. A Garfield Christmas (1987) - I'm sure people will be taken aback that this special makes the list while It's A Wonderful Life and White Christmas do not. Well, this is my list. Make your own list. But do be sure to watch this when you get the chance. Garfield shows his softer side bonding with Jon's Grandma. If nothing else, watch it to see how wacky Jon's family is.

7. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (1970) - It just would not be Christmas without a full helping of the Rankin/Bass specials. Fred Astaire narrates this telling of Santa's origins, complete with some groovy seventies music.

6. Year Without A Santa Claus (1974) - Sometimes the sequel outdoes the original. Such is the case here, as this Rankin/Bass production outshines the previous one, thanks largely in part to the Heatmeiser and Snowmeiser singing their own praises.

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) - While the 2000 version of this film was very good, it still isn't quite at the level of the original animated special. Boris Karloff takes a break from being creepy to narrate this Dr. Seuss tale that features one of the funniest theme songs ever.

4. Elf (2003) - The more of these lists I do, the more I realize 2003 was a fantastic year for films. Elf is one of very few recent attempts at a new Christmas tale that worked. This movie is hysterical, and if smiling is your favorite, you're sure to love this film.

3. Love Actually (2003) - This British ensemble romantic comedy doesn't necessarily define itself as a Christmas movie, but it takes place over the holiday and has a fair amount of holiday tunes on the soundtrack. No matter who I am with, this film is always a crowd-pleaser, so give it a shot this holiday season.

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - This is an absolute classic. Somehow this special manages to touch on a number of serious subjects surrounding Christmas while remaining cute, warm, and light-hearted (as every holiday movie should). It truly wouldn't be Christmas without this popping up on your television.

1. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - Say what you will, but I have a degree in film and I say, without question, that this is the greatest film ever made. The Jim Henson Company, in an early partnership with Disney, take a classic and make it their own in this wonderful retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I highly recommend enjoying this in a room lit by Christmas lights and filled with the aroma of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies, you will not regret it!

Clearly, many Christmas movies and specials did not make the list. It was difficult for me to narrow it to ten, and to disinclude movies like A Muppet Family Christmas and specials like Frosty the Snowman. Feel free to include your own top five or top ten lists in the comment section below, I'd love to see your favorites!

American Chop Suey

As always, the What is dedicated to presenting you with colorful ideas for everyday life. Many of our ideas are food-related, because we love food. Learning how to cook for yourself now that you no longer have your mom or your meal plan to provide your meals can seem like a daunting task. We at the What are here to show you that cooking can be fun, easy, and rewarding by offering up recipes like this from our personal cookbooks. As is the case with most of our recipe-based ideas, this one is simple and delicious, just like us.

American Chop Suey

Recently I found myself lamenting that my cooking skills were limited to summertime meals and I began looking for different recipes to try out to expand my culinary horizons. Then I had American Chop Suey. This delectable dish, popular in the Northeastern section of the country, has always been a favorite of mine, yet for some reason, I had forgotten about it. The meal is incredibly simple to put together, and you likely already have everything you need to make it.

PRIMER - A Different Kind of Date Night

Click on the image above to see Patrick's latest article with Primer Magazine! For the Philadelphians, here are a few links to accompany the article:

Franklin Square - Great for mini-golf or just walking around
North Bowl - Lounge and lanes for a fun evening in NoLibs
Philadelphia Weekly - A handy guide to local events
Koresh Dance Company - Professional dance lessons
Brokeass Gourmet - Delicious recipes
The What's Recipes - Recipes from the What

Kicking Off December, Philly Style

With Thanksgiving looming just around the corner, many are excited about their plans for the weekend. Whether it be partying on Wednesday night, pigging out on Thursday, or shopping on Friday, everyone seems to be abuzz over the long weekend's events. However, in Philadelphia, there is much more to be excited about for the following weekend.

To begin with, there's Wednesday. Aside from kicking off the month of December, Wednesday also provides the opportunity to visit the Please Touch Museum on the cheap. Please Touch offers its First Wednesday deal of lowering the admission price for visitors over the age of one to just $2 between five and seven at night. It's fun for the family and easy on the wallet, a good way to start December.

The following evening may not be a family event, but is very fun and well worth the trip to South Street. On the first Thursday of every month one can catch Bobby Zankel and the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound at the Tritone at 15th and South. You will be blown away by the amount of people at the bar, and even more blown away when you realize half of them are in the band. Swing by the Tritone on first Thursdays to enjoy fried pickles and the South Philly Special (Pa can of PBR and a shot of whiskey for three bucks) while enjoying the swinging jazz grooves of Zankel and his warriors.

If you are not familiar with what comes next, shame on you! On the first Friday of each month, several art galleries in Old City open their doors between 5 and 9PM for free. You can peruse the galleries, purchase original art, and mingle with an eclectic crowd. There are dozens of galleries to choose from, with most of them falling between Vine and Market Streets to the North and South and Front and Third Streets to the East and West. Plus, you will be right around the corner from fantastic restaurants like Positano Coast, the Race Street Cafe, and Q BBQ and Tequila.

The grand finale of this fun-filled extended weekend happens to be the unofficial kick off of the holiday season in Philadelphia. Elfreth's Alley presents its annual Deck the Alley celebration. In addition to the carolers and tours of many of the Alley's historic homes, this year the pot has been sweetened. Edward A. Mauger, author of Philadelphia Then and Now will be on hand signing copies of his book. Furthermore, a special deluxe package is being offered. For $135, you will get your ticket to Deck the Alley, a carriage ride through Old City and Society Hill to the Physick House, where refreshments will be served. From there, you will enjoy a meal at the legendary City Tavern. Remember, this is one of only two times this year that the residents of Elfreth's Alley will open their private, historic homes to the public, and tickets have been selling fast!

As we at the What have mentioned before, it is hard to rival the Philadelphia holiday season. The weekend following Thanksgiving is just the tip of the iceberg, as the City of Brotherly Love will be sure to keep you busy and full of holiday cheer for several weeks to come.

For more information:
First Wednesday at the Please Touch Museum
Tritone Events Schedule
First Friday
Deck the Alley

Weekly Top Five - 18.Nov.10

In  High Fidelity, the characters compare their top fives in a variety of categories. Being big fans of both the film and novel, we here at the What bring you our Weekly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Harry Potter Random Facts

 

 In honor of the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being released at midnight, The What decided to dig deep and pull up some interesting things that you may not have known about the Boy Who Lived and his story. J.K. Rowling's series is one of the most detailed, well-written and intricate stories ever told, and these are just a few of the reasons why.

5. Harry Potter is 30 - That's right, the Boy Who Lived is now a man. Harry's date of birth is 31.Jul.1980, meaning he just celebrated his thirtieth birthday earlier this summer. That means that the happenings of the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will not happen for another six years. Also, this puts the events of the Deathly Hallows in the 1996-97 school year.

4. There's science behind the magic - Many Harry Potter readers wish that the magical world they read about was real, when in many ways it is. A good portion of the book's lore has its roots in science. For instance, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded over a thousand years ago. Each founder not only had an animal to represent them, but an element as well. Gryffindor (lion/fire), Slytherin (serpent/water), Hufflepuff (badger/earth), and Ravenclaw (raven/air). Furthermore, the Philosopher's Stone refers to alchemy. Alchemy is the ancient study of the transformation of metals, and shares a root word with chemistry and algebra.

3. Birthdays and holidays hold much importance - As for birthdays, Harry, Ron, and Hermione each have a wand that refers to when they were born. Their wand cores almost serve as gemstones, but using the Celtic Tree Calendar instead. As for holidays, Christmas played a major part in each novel, save the last, and other holidays held significance as well. Fred and George Weasley were appropriately born on April Fool's Day and on a sadder note, Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter on Halloween. And about that fateful Halloween night, the Potters were not in their thirties, as shown in the first film, they were both only 21 when they were killed.

2. Family and relationships are key - Throughout this epic tale, family has always been of the utmost importance. Voldemort became what he was based on his lack of a family and later orphaned Harry, creating his nemesis. It was clearly stressed throughout all seven books that it was his mother's love that gave Harry the protection against Voldemort. Even once the books were finished, Rowling kept going, mapping out the relationships of the surviving characters, which can be seen here.

1. The entire arc has been planned from day one - While there certainly are minor aspects of later novels that may not have been planned from the get go, the major plot line of the Harry Potter story was set in stone from the first book. One good example of this is Nearly Headless Nick's offhand mention of the Gray Lady being Ravenclaw's ghost in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She would not be mentioned again until page 613 of the Deathly Hallows. Another key moment in book one has Harry thinking to himself that he couldn't help but think that somehow Professor Snape could read minds, which, in a way, is true as Snape is a master of Legilimency and Occlumency.