A business meeting took me to Philadelphia yesterday. Although the election outcome in New York is a foregone conclusion, many believe Pennsylvania may be close. I saw Barack Obama volunteers everywhere -- even a cute little old lady with a table giving out buttons. One of the great things about Philadelphia are the murals on the sides of buildings. Here too was Obama staring righteously at us as we navigated the streets of the city of brotherly love. I showed my partner Marc Dizon an orange sticker 3 feet wide and 18 inches tall in the window of a building erected just after the signing of the Constitution of the good old USA. This sticker is a notification to the neighborhood that someone plans to open up a drinking establishment. People have 30 days to raise objections, or as I understand it, the license is issued without much ado. My Philly meeting told me that if someone objects, they go before a mediator and objections are heard, the future establishment explains how they will deal with the issue, and most of the time that’s that. Philly is like the fifth or sixth biggest market in America. They have thousands of bars, restaurants, clubs with diverse crowds, and as many big-city problems as we do in New York, and this is how they deal with the process of obtaining a liquor license.

Lit co-owner Erik Foss talks about his art, his new bar in Philly with the best name ever, and why the city needs less yuppie cocksuckers.

Favorite Hangs: Max Fish! Max Fish! Max Fish! I also like Beatrice Inn because my bro’s Paul Sevigny and Andre [Saraiva] own it. It's the first place I DJed. I dig Motor City because they are real there. Otherwise I don't drink anymore, so my bar days are kinda over. Santos' Party House is sick too. I love Spencer Sweeney, and he's a dope-as- fuck artist!

Although I don’t watch sports events often, I do have a deep-rooted love of baseball. Its balance of team play and individual achievement has always fascinated me. I love both the Mets and Yankees equally, and have enjoyed friendships with members of both teams over the years. I have many friends down in Philly, where I maintained an office until recently. In fact, I lived there part-time for many years. The Phillies’ recent ascendancy to the World Series has allowed me to reconnect with many old pals who are having great fun with their 15 minutes of fame.

There's nothing diminutive about the "Big Kids/Little Kids" traveling exhibition opening at LA's Subliminal Projects Gallery on Saturday, July 19, just off Sunset Boulevard. Featuring over 20 artists, including Jesse Goldstein, Jim Houser, and Shepard Fairey (recently a subject of the "Heroes & Villains" show in SF), who have contributed to showcasing Philadelphia's emerging art scene. The show itself is constantly evolving to suit the atmosphere and aesthetic of the venue, adding or replacing work in order to highlight the interconnectedness of the participating artists -- and how they influence each other. What's more striking about this show is how, cumulatively, these works all comprise a bold chronicle of a city that it's experiencing its own kind of renaissance.

As the list of reasons to be proud to be an American ever dwindles, perhaps only a visit to our roots could possibly offer comfort. Your author’s favorite American city, however, has been a little slow to embrace boutique hotel mania, leading us to carry on our rock & roll misbehavings in this most rock & roll of towns in rather extravagant locales like the Ritz-Carlton (though the stories are hair-curling). But already sporting a masterful double entendre, Philly’s new (as of July) Independent Hotel now beckons style-hounds to the home of our nascent liberties. In a (naturally) listed historic building in the invitingly artsy Center City neighborhood, the 24-room charmer features hardwood floors, exposed brick, cathedral ceilings, and flat panel HDTVs.