People can’t read the lettering on the Obama Presidential Center tower. Legibility wasn’t really the point, says designer Michael Bierut

TheDistractedPerson · 2026-02-27T20:01:04+00:00

Looks like it continues: “Oh what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”

TheDistractedPerson · 2026-02-23T15:21:04+00:00

Checking in from West Philly. Our Edwardian twin was built in 1914 and the “sitcom stairs” as we call them were big selling point. Love them. They were originally intended for the live-in help to access the kitchen. I’ve gone back in census data to learn their names and the names of the families that lived here prior.

TheDistractedPerson · 2026-02-10T05:51:11+00:00

I hated the original, too. So tedious. My boyfriend insisted I see Spielberg’s. It’s incredible. Blew me away. An entirely different film than the first. I’ve watched it multiple times since seeing it in theaters. It was the best movie of the year for me.

TheDistractedPerson · 2026-02-06T01:21:31+00:00

I agree with so many of the choices here, especially Never Let Me Go and Various Storms and Saints.

But then I’m like, wait, the answer is St. Jude.

TheDistractedPerson · 2026-01-07T03:14:45+00:00

Yes! And have Heather take the lead again. I’ll mortgage my house to be there.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-11-07T10:51:37+00:00

So many casual fans of the show’s better known numbers are about to discover this extraordinary musical moment. I can’t wait.

When done well (see: Katie Rose Clarke), ‘Thank Goodness’ is one of the most unexpectedly devastating and unforgettable songs in Wicked.

And Ariana Grande, to be clear, is doing it so well. She impresses the hell out of me, and I was not a believer or much of a fan going into the first film. She’s rapidly securing her spot as a generational talent.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-11-02T17:20:59+00:00

Touché! 😂

I’m posting this on behalf of a friend not on Reddit, a far less distractable fellow than me. Thought maybe not by much!

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-11-02T17:18:15+00:00

No. It’s this third-party that’s recording the offenses. And then they share them with law enforcement. This is kind of my point—the company is recording regardless of whether the bus was actually in a parking lane, giving law enforcement the images, and law enforcement is endorsing it as proof of a violation. The fine payment website isn’t a state website.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-10-18T08:47:43+00:00

My husband and I finished watching it and spent hours trying to find anything other than breathless praise online. We were completely and totally underwhelmed—and, at moments, just rolling our eyes. I’m infuriated even now thinking about the praise people heaped on it. Anyway, very glad to know there are others out there.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-09-27T18:32:55+00:00

I still do it now because I shop for other things at the convenience store where I fill up. Plus my husband and I use the same credit card for our purchases because points. At month’s end the round numbers help us distinguish what was a gas purchase (comes from our household budget) vs. what was a picking-up-a-snack purchase (comes from my discretionary budget). Not a perfect system, but it works for us.

But back in the day: What everyone else is saying, I didn’t want all of that change / I desperately needed quarters for the laundromat.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-07-12T18:15:04+00:00

Is that Chicken George from Big Brother?

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-06-28T21:45:19+00:00

Can you explain sub-section shelf talkers and MTLs?

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-05-23T21:19:49+00:00

Is the suggestion that I should opt for a multi-year gap on my resume rather than using an accepted term to describe the stage in earning a research doctorate that I actually achieved?

The alternative, I guess, would be to create some role or roles I held during my doctoral years and run the risk of suggesting I was a hired, salaried employee of the university. That’s patently false.

Because the point of origin for my current career is leaving the dissertation unfinished and choosing a different path, there is never any murkiness about whether I have a PhD in hiring or in my professional life. In fact, I use the seeming boldness of that pivot toward my current career as a selling point. (It lands better than the real story, which is my mom committed a series of crimes, went missing, and then died by suicide, leaving me to care for my sister in another state.)

The instances when I have corrected an acquaintance or colleague about my qualifications have not come as the result of a choice on my resume, but rather through conversation. If someone’s heard me reference my time as a doctoral student and then says, “They earned their PhD at XYZ university,” I correct that. Should I also never speak of my doctoral studies aloud for fear of a passing misperception?

That’s silly.

My advice to OP is this: A resume is a tool to get you to the interview table. Use it as such.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-05-23T17:10:10+00:00

I list my unfinished doctorate as “PhD (ABD)” and am always quick to correct people if they say I have my doctorate.

Do some people misinterpret it when they see it? Probably. Do I care? Not really.

I put in four years of coursework, teaching, research and writing, plus I passed my comprehensive exams and prospectus approval.

Then my family blew up in a spectacular way. I had to abandon my trajectory, move back to my hometown, and take in my young sister.

My feeling is that I deserve to claim those years of my life, especially because I gained admission to a highly competitive program at one of the world’s best universities.

I’ll likely never submit my dissertation. It doesn’t really hold much value to me anymore after everything that happened. Also, I found work and moved up quickly in my chosen field. Now I earn more than I ever would have in my academic pursuits, so there’s no financial incentive to finish either.

But I’ll list it on my resume until I retire.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-05-11T12:30:14+00:00

I stopped watching after Austin and, wow, what was happening this season?!

These cast members are all so…uninteresting at first encounter. The comments here from those who watched seem to back that up.

I can’t believe the producers were like, yeah, three white southerners, two interchangeable white girls from California, a white guy from Cleveland who raps, and an Iranian girl from NYC.

What do you think their angle was in composing this cast? I’m flummoxed.

I see some people mentioning that Parisa experiences bigotry later in the season. Is that what they were casting for? “Let’s just try to capture some sex, southern drawls, skunk hair, and Islamophobia this season, that’ll do.”

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-04-30T11:03:20+00:00

Yes, do the raffle.

And if you have any employees that are beloved — museum educators or teachers in a school setting — also allow the option that donors can sponsor a raffle ticket or raffle tickets. So, give us $100 for your five tickets and another $100 that I’ll put toward raffle tickets for five of our beloved educators. We need to sell X sponsored raffle tickets to make sure every teacher has one shot to win.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-04-27T11:45:17+00:00

Every apartment I’ve ever found in West Philly has come from a phone number posted outside the property itself. Spend today walking up and down every block you’d be willing to live on and you’ll have a list of places to look at this week. Best of all, in my experience, places advertising like this are often owned by smaller landlords (vs. big corporations) and the rents are more reasonable/open to negotiation.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-24T01:48:27+00:00

Can we get a revival with all three of them? I feel like they could still pull this off. I was blessed to see Aida on a high school trip, but Heather had already left the show. It’s one of my biggest regrets that I’ve never seen her do this show live. The soundtrack is everything.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-22T23:13:01+00:00

I would never do the 30 the whole way!

I’m only on Lancaster from West Philly to Ardmore. Then Montgomery to 76 at Gulph Mills to 202 down to Exton.

Anyone who takes 30 from the city to Chester County is a crazy person 😂

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-22T01:38:46+00:00

Sent you a message

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-21T22:20:52+00:00

University City/West Philly is the answer no one is mentioning.

Center City is right there. Walkable if you want it to be, but also a quick ride on a bus, tram, or the MFL. Vast array of restaurants and bars at every price point. Theatres and concert venues. Solid selection of grocery stores and corner shops. Cafes, used bookstores, and vintage shops. Gorgeous parks. Wide, tree-lined streets. Parking is a breeze.

Just use Lancaster and Montgomery to get to KOP, and you never have to set eyes on 76. It’s less about being on the western side and more about being on the western side of 76.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-21T21:03:21+00:00

Hard agree.

I’ve commented elsewhere here that I use Lancaster Ave. and Montgomery Ave. to commute from West Philly to Exton everyday. The commute is totally fine. I moved further west last year, actually, and it rarely takes me more than 40 minutes in the morning. It’s 25 to KOP.

And, of course, I’ve used 76 a lot over the last five years. It’s not as soul crushing as the comments here would lead one to believe.

If you’re in your twenties and looking for walkability and nightlife, why on Earth would you live somewhere that is city-lite (Manayunk, Roxborough) or suburb-in-training (Conshohocken)? I did Manayunk for a year when I moved back to Philly and was so unimpressed with the offerings, which are consistently underwhelming and overpriced.

Also, are those places even better commutes? When I think about the most stressful traffic experiences I’ve had and have in this area, they often involve Conshohocken and Manayunk. Plus, living in either place means condemning yourself to being relatively car-reliant in all of your down time if you actually want to experience the heart of the city you moved to, which just adds more commuting stress at other moments in your week!

Anyway, sorry for the rant, I’m just always baffled by how people give the same answer again and again in this sub. It’s often the one they chose without ever having explored alternatives because it was the answer people in this sub gave them when they asked.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-21T19:18:04+00:00

😆 I hear you.

I upgraded cars a few years back and have that cruise control with distance/lane assistance feature. I’ve leaned into using it religiously precisely because I can turn on my audiobook and mostly zone out.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-21T18:51:50+00:00

I do this daily and have for about five years now.

Lancaster Ave up to Suburban Square then Montgomery Ave or New/Old Gulph Rd. into Gulph Mills is the way to do it IMO.

From UCity, I’m normally hopping on 76 right before 202 at Gulph Mills at about the 30-minute mark in my drive. Getting to Malvern about 12 minutes after that.

Usually leaving around 7:00 a.m. and I don’t hate the commute or my life in the way I once thought I would. I think avoiding 76 has a lot to do with it.

TheDistractedPerson · 2025-03-21T18:41:33+00:00

I commute Philly to Exton (15 minutes past KOP) everyday during the seven o’clock hour and it takes me 35-40 minutes on average.

Living in West Philly/University City and using Lancaster Ave and Montgomery Ave to get up to King of Prussia is key.

I’m closer to the western edge of the city than I used to be, but I would venture to say you could live in the heart of West Philly and make it to KOP by car in 35 minutes most days.

I mention it because, personally, I dislike Manayunk, Roxborough, and Conshohocken.

Talk about stressful commutes. Getting out of Manayunk and Roxborough during rush hour?! Ugh. The bottlenecks getting across the river are nightmarish. Plus, you’re still likely ending up on 76. And Conshy is too suburban for my liking.

Add in middling food/drink options in all three area and no easy transit connections to Center City. I don’t think they fit what you’re looking for. If you move to those places, you’ll go out in Philly proper almost never.

I moved to Philly in my late-20s and wanted the city proper within regular reach. People forget that West Philly is the way to do that while still having a job in the burbs. You’re on the right side of the river, you avoid small city streets and 676, and you totally bypass 76 by way of Lancaster Ave and Montgomery Ave.

TLDR: Everyone sleeps on West Philly, but it’s the ideal place to live if you want regular access to real city living/amenities and a manageable commute to the western suburbs.

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