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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Franklin astronomer on 'The Colbert Report'

Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer for the Franklin, will be a guest on Monday's edition of The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central).

He'll be wearing a Panerai watch, made by Officine Panerai, a sponsor of the institute's forthcoming exhibition, "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy."
Posted by Michael Klein @ 12:06 PM  Permalink | 3 comments
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:14 PM, 03/29/2009
    If he actually owns that watch, this is a symptom of what's wrong over there. The Franklin Institute used to be about education, not show business.
    — MaggieL
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:34 PM, 03/29/2009
    Derek Pitts has done more to popularize science to the general public than anybody in Philadelphia that I can think of. The watch is immaterial, Maggie. His appearance on Colbert Report will get more people to attend the exhibit; good for him. I really dislike the negative, small-minded attitude that picks at contrived, imaginary flaws while ignoring the positive.
    — Tatts
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:03 AM, 03/30/2009
    Dear Maggie L, I have known Derek Pitts since he was in high school. He is not a personal friend and our paths have crossed only briefly since those days, but you need to know that this is a humble, earnest, brilliant and intelligent man, and as far a I have seen in the past fifteen years that i have lived as an adult in Philadelphia after a twenty year absence in a city much bigger and more international, he the one at the Franklin most truly interested in science, and in educating children (and their parents and teachers) about it, at this time. Go attend one of his evening stargazing events on the roof of the Franklin Institute sometime; listen to his 8.30 am Monday morning stargazing report in WHYY. CONGRATULATIONS DEREK, have a wonderful time, you are one of Philadelphia's very best!
    — Friend of Fily


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About Michael Klein
Michael Klein, the editor/producer of philly.com/Food, writes about the local restaurant scene in his Inquirer column "Table Talk." Have a question? Email it! See his Inquirer work here.
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