Occupy Philly: Pandemic!

Dilworth Plaza, 15th & Market Streets, Philadelphia PA; 11:02 PM

I returned to the Occupy Philly encampment tonight and the atmosphere was good. I participated in a General Assembly that decided to disband a peculiar "Liason Committee" that emerged out of nowhere, consisting of a few people who the police invited to consult with them. The existing Legal Committee has been doing fine, and has the confidence of the people, so this was an obvious dead letter.

I also ate a soft pretzel (unlike the pretzels of other cities, mind you) at the donated food snack table --fresh and not too salty, just the way I like them.

I chatted with a few friends, then returned to my bike to head home, and a few feet from it were these three nice people playing "Pandemic," a game I've never heard of. The object is to squash infectious diseases before they squash the human race, but I didn't learn any details. The board reminds me of the age-old "Risk," whose object is to conquor the planet with military might. I played a lot of that as I was growing up. The players here were very convivial, and their little lamp won me over as tonight's blip, which wasn't an easy choice this time.

Speaking of Pandemics, let's note that the Occupy movement has spread to about 1,200 US Cities, and there are Occupations popping up in many countries all over the world. the object is to squash Capitalism before it squashes us.

Next time at the demo I'll try to blip the equestrian statues on the North side of City Hall, since there's a little historical tale behind them, with a happy ending. Stay tuned for that one.