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Barack Obama held his largest rally yet at Independence Mall on Friday night. Click here to see a slideshow of photos from the event.

I read an article about sandwich shop, Jimmy John’s. Awkwardly located in The Edge, it is having trouble drawing in clientèle. Jimmy John’s boasts over 650 locations, offering an array of gourmet sandwiches. I have had it in my mind to eat there; and last week, I finally saw where Jimmy John’s is actually located.

On Monday, I had to stay on campus late, and my friends and I needed some food. I suggested we give this Jimmy John’s a try. We made our way to the secluded storefront with its large glass windows. We could see that Jimmy John’s had absolutely no customers. The man whom I perceived to be the manager was sitting in one of the booths staring out forlornly. It was a sad picture. He just seemed so lonely. Fortunately, we were about to improve his day with our presence and our insatiable hungers.

As we walked into the store, the manager’s face brightened, and he quickly rose from his seat to take his rightful place behind the register. The first thing I noticed was the prominently displayed signs indicated that my mother wants me to eat at this establishment. I thought that seemed a bit presumptuous. How do these people know anything about my mother or what she wants?

The menu boasts a wide variety of specialty sandwiches. I found it to be a bit overwhelming, so I asked the now sunny manager and his crew of sandwich-smiths which they thought was the sandwich for me. While the general consensus was that all the sandwiches are of high quality, number five (The Vito) was the mother of all sandwiches. Both my friend McMillan and I purchased this sandwich. It was a good decision. The sandwich was tasty with its assortment of meats from a pig. I liked the fixings as well. However, I would have liked the vinaigrette to be a bit more tangy. The sandwich also treated my wallet with a gentle kindness, only setting me back a few cents over five dollars for a something that was quite large. It is my opinion that were it not for the unfortunately hidden location of Jimmy John’s, that it would probably get more business. It certainly deserves more business than a place like Wendy’s on Broad, which always has steady clientèle.

Kirk Soodhalter is a Ph.D. student in the department of mathematics at Temple. Originally from Houston, TX, he got his undergraduate degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He likes to get haircuts and make toast. He enjoys manufacturing satire, more of which can be seen at his personal blog.

Ching, Ching!

That’s the sound of Temple senior center Lady Comfort’s bankroll inflating as the 6-foot-2 center signed a rookie contract with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks today.

Comfort is the third Owl in three years to make it to the WNBA, along with the Chicago Sky’s Candice Dupree (a 2006 draft pick) and the Connecticut Sun’s Kamesha Hairston (2007).

For more read: “Comfort signs rookie contract with Sparks”

Check newsstands and Temple-News.com for more Comfort coverage.

That’s right. While you’re out getting completely blasted at Spring Fling, TTN/B&C is here — alone, indoors and away from sunlight — bringing you the latest news.

Why? Because we’re here to serve you drunky!

(Photo courtesy of TTN archives. “Photoshopping” by Amatuer McNogood.)

In elementary school, I had a Japanese pen pal. I always enjoyed our exchanges. He told many fascinating stories about his home town and his country. This experience stoked my interest in Japanese culture. I learned a few Japanese words to spice up my conversations. I considered quitting school, moving to Japan, and majoring in martial arts (my parents put the kibosh on that idea). I started eating everything with chopsticks, and I had a special bowl adorned with Japanese letters from which I would eat noodles. I purchased bootleg videotapes of superior Japanese cartoons. I also developed a strong affinity for sushi. A trip to the sushi restaurant is one of my favorite rituals. I like to imagine that I am eating at a restaurant somewhere on Shikoku.

Last year, I heard there was sushi being produced in the SAC. I was dubious, as a university student center does not seem to be the ideal place to acquire sushi foodstuffs. Last week, however, I had a craving while on campus. Against my better judgement, I decided to give the SAC sushi a try. The SAC boasts its own actual sushi chefs, working hard to produce various delights to feed the hungry masses. Right in front of the counter is a refrigerator containing fresh, recently produced items. Many of the offerings were items containing raw fish, obviously. I figured, though, that the SAC was not the place to get anything raw, so I went with one of the basic California rolls. Each dish came with a pack of soy sauce, a small blob of wasabi, and some shavings of ginger. I paid for this bounty and retreated to my office.

I mixed my soy sauce and wasabi in the traditional manner. Then I got to eating. Unfortunately, the rolls were quite disappointing. The taste was not right. The rolls were not bad; they just were not savory. The wasabi was not really hot, and there was not enough soy sauce. I was disappointed. I went to the SAC to get a taste of Japan, and I got burned. This meal was the second biggest Japan-related disappointment in my life, ranking immediately below the day I found out that my Japanese pen pal never existed. Apparently, it had been my mother faking the whole thing. I never have been able to figure out why she did this to me.

If a television reporter wants to lose his or her job, the sure-fire way is to call out during a weather situation.  News directors like to put these poor souls into unthinkable weather conditions, which can cause a lot of stress throughout the newsroom.  Take these two reports from CNN during Hurricane Katrina, for example.

I’d like to think news directors have some concern for the lives of their reporters.  But the New Orleans director who sent this guy out for CNN probably doesn’t.
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And inside the studio, pressures run high.  Too high for this meteorologist, who, despite his awkward apology, is still bothered by the situation.
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The love affair with Chuck Norris may be over.The former action star has found his way all over pop culture and now has made it to the hit list of some kid from Pennsauken. High schools can be so void of bullies that the Mike Huckabee-endorser can be worth terroristic threats, can they?Three students, a staff member and Norris were the only ones on the list, the Inquirer reported, though the details are sketchy. 

Sometimes, anchors and reporters don’t get along, and for good reason. Anchors are paid and seen more and generally have larger egos. This anger toward each other can sometimes come out… LIVE! Just like it happened at a New York television station here…

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The Temple women’s basketball team lost to Arizona State, 61-54, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. Monday.

Courtesy of TTN photographer Kevin Cook, here are photos from the Owls NCAA Tournament experience. Enjoy it while it lasts, it will only be up for a couple of days.

Read TTN’s game story: “The end of the line” and “Women’s basketball recap”

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The Temple men’s basketball team lost to Michigan State, 72-61, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. Thursday.

Courtesy of TTN photographer Ron Davis, here are photos from the Owls NCAA Tournament experience. Enjoy it while it lasts, it will only be up for a couple of days.

Read TTN’s game story: “Spartans end Owls season” and the sidebar: “Sixth eye keeps Christmas down and out and Denver”