Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Philly Fiction 2
Philly Fiction 2 Authors to Read at Moonstone Arts Center
Wednesday, September 23, 7pm.
Believing that there is no better backdrop for fiction than Philadelphia, Don Ron Books recently released Philly Fiction 2 (Don Ron Books, July 2009, $12.00), a follow up to its highly successful Philly Fiction (Don Ron Books, 2006). Philly Fiction 2 is a new collection of short stories all set in Philadelphia, by 19 Philly writers. Come out as four of the authors read selections from their stories, and reveal their favorite “strange” Philadelphia spots.
Authors: Beth Goldner, Jan Kargulewicz, Liz Kerr, Annie Wilson (see bios and story synopses on the next page!) Hosts: Josh McIlvain and Christopher Munden (editors)
Location: Moonstone Arts Center (Robins Books), 110A South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19127, 215-735-9600, www.moonstoneartscenter.org
Date: Wednesday, September 23, 7pm
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit
New Topics, Innovative Format and More Speakers Highlight 2nd
Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit Set For October 5-6
Hosted by Innovation Philadelphia, Conference to Feature Elizabeth Gilbert, Peter Shankman, Jane McGonigal and Randall Kempner as Keynote Speakers
Calling all creative minds. Innovation Philadelphia will host its second Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit (www.GCECS2009.com) at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from October 5-6, 2009. Following the success of its inaugural conference in 2006, Innovation Philadelphia invites entrepreneurs, business leaders, and creative industry professionals to join this two-day Summit to network, exchange ideas, and share information on emerging technology and initiatives that drive a successful creative economy.
The first Summit, held in 2006, focused on defining “creative economy” and on the creative industries it includes in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. This year’s Summit will explore new topics with an emphasis on how to develop a creative economy — from physical space, to funding, access to talent, emerging technologies, infrastructure and the policies necessary to create this ecology.
The Summit will have results-driven discussions, presentations, interactive workshops and panels within the following five tracks: Creative Economy 201, Creative Entrepreneurship, Creative 21st Century Workforce, Creative Sustainability and Creative Technology. A wealth of topics within these five focus areas will be covered throughout the two-day Summit from “How to Create a Culture of Innovation,” to “Leveraging Emerging Web Technologies,” to “Creativity Around the Globe” and “Urban Farming,” among many others. Experts in various creative industries from across the country will participate in the Summit to lead the panels and workshops.
“This Summit is an opportunity for us to showcase Philadelphia as a global hub for creative enterprises, services and talent, but more importantly provides a chance to bring together some of the world’s most creative minds to share invaluable content and tools to help creative industry professionals achieve success,” said Kelly Lee, President & CEO of Innovation Philadelphia.
In addition to its new focus areas, the Summit has also adopted an innovative approach to the conference format. The new format will include “unconference sessions,” which are free and open to the public, and are designed to be unstructured to allow for creative sharing; Pecha Kucha sessions which are fast-paced, high-energy, concise presentations that are 6 minutes and 40 seconds long, allowing for more people to showcase their work; as well as “meet-ups” in which Summit attendees will get together at casual locations throughout the city to discuss a variety of creative topics. Finally, by incorporating the latest in social and mobile media platforms through its twitter site (twitter.com/GCECS09) and its new blog (www.GCECS2009.com), Innovation Philadelphia will provide opportunities for all participants to contribute and provide feedback to help drive the direction of Summit content.
Finally, four keynote speakers will headline the Summit including Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the wildly popular Eat, Pray, Love; Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO) and CEO of The Geek Factory; Jane McGonigle, world-renowned game designer and Director of Game Research and Development at the Institute for the Future; and Randall Kempner, Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).
“We are very excited to have such high-caliber keynote speakers for the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit. The diversity of expertise is really exciting. These speakers represent the cutting edge of innovation in interactive media, the creative process, and social entrepreneurship,” said Lee.
Elizabeth Gilbert will speak on the topic of nurturing creativity. Reflecting on the incredible success of Eat, Pray, Love, she will explore the challenge of standing at the pinnacle of one’s success and asking, “Where do I go from here?” In addition to Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of three other books and has been published in the New York Times Magazine, Spin, GQ, and Harper’s Bazaar.
Peter Shankman is known for his radically new ways of thinking about Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising, creativity, and customer service. He founded Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) which offers journalists more than 100,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. He is also founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, which has consulted for clients ranging from American Express to Disney, New Frontier Media to the Department of Defense.
Jane McGonigal, Director of Game Research and Development at the Institute of the Future, leads the field of game design for future forecasting and problem solving. One of Fast Company’s 100 most creative people for 2009, Jane McGonigal discusses how games optimize human ability and shows how to harness the power of collective intelligence to solve real-world problems. Her projects include collaborative crowd-sourcing platforms, Superstruct and Signtific, as well as designing marketing game platforms for Microsoft and Halo 2, McDonalds’ and the 2008 Olympics.
Randall Kempner is the Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), a new initiative from the world-renowned Aspen Institute. ANDE seeks to dramatically increase the amount and effectiveness of capital and technical/business assistance for entrepreneurs in developing countries. ANDE’s founding funders and members include The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center for Creative Leadership, Google.org, Omidyar Network, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Skoll Foundation, and McKinsey & Company. Randall Kempner will present “The Global Promise of Entrepreneurship,” highlighting the ability of entrepreneurs to find opportunities in the face of challenges and exploring ways to leverage the power of entrepreneurship throughout the globe.
Innovation Philadelphia will host the 2009 Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, located in the heart of Philadelphia at 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Accommodations are available at the Summit’s official hotel, the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, conveniently located at 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Registration for the two-day Summit is $225. For more information about the Summit or to register online, please visit www.GCECS2009.com.
About Innovation Philadelphia
Innovation Philadelphia is committed to supporting technology-driven economic growth in the Philadelphia region through growing the region’s for-profit creative industries, attracting and retaining young professionals vital to economic growth and fostering entrepreneurism and new ideas. For more information about Innovation Philadelphia and its initiatives, please visit www.innovationphiladelphia.com.
Free Biology Lecture at the Acad of Nat Sci
Dr. Geerat J. Vermeij, a renowned evolutionary biologist, will present a free talk Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Academy of Natural Sciences on “Nature’s Housing Market: How Predators, Molluscs and Hermit Crabs Have Colluded Through Time.”
Vermeij (ver MAY) is a professor of marine ecology and paleoecology at the University of California at Davis. Perhaps best known for his work documenting the arms race among long-extinct mollusks and their predators, Vermeij has advanced the field of paleobiology by addressing the profound influences organisms have on each other’s evolutionary histories. His talk provides an intriguing perspective on the evolution of these marine animals and how shells help people understand the economy of nature.
The presentation is part of the 27th annual Philadelphia Shell Show at the Academy, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11. The talk is free and will take place at 5 p.m. in the auditorium. Visitors may attend the talk without attending the shell show. Registration is not required.
Born in the Netherlands and raised in New Jersey, Vermeij has been blind since age 3. He graduated from Princeton University and received his doctorate in biology and geology from Yale University. He has published nearly 100 scientific papers and four books, including an autobiography entitled “Privileged Hands: A Scientific Life.” His latest book, “Nature and Economic History,” integrates the principles of economics and evolution—linking diverse theoretical approaches to understand major trends in the history of life and humanity. Besides his scholarly contributions, Vermeij’s passion and enthusiasm for understanding the natural world is further demonstrated in his ability to make science assessable to many segments of society—from teaching in a traditional academic setting to inspiring established practitioners of science, budding conchologists and the blind.
For more information on Vermeij, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/07/science/scientist-at-work-geerat-vermeij-getting-the-feel-of-a-long-ago-arms-race.html and https://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/vermeij.html
Eastern State Penitentiary
| Tuesday, March 31st - Free admission to the Eastern State Penitentiary (10am to 5pm)
Snack/Dessert: 10% off specialty drinks and desserts at Mugshots Coffeehouse & Café DINNER: 50% off second entree at Rembrandt’s
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Eastern State Penitentiary
A first-of-its kind prison for the use of solitary confinement, the Eastern State Penitentiary (or E.S.P. to those who know it well) now stands in semi-ruin. You can tour this creepy, fascinating piece of Pennsylvania history for FREE on March 31st, while they prep for their spring tours. Once home to famous –or infamous, rather– prisoners ranging from Al Capone to Pep the Dog that ate the Mayor’s wife’s cat, Eastern State was designed by neo-classical architect John Haviland (whose other well-known works include the original Franklin Institute, which is now the Atwater Kent Museum, and the Walnut Street Theatre). Sitting on 10.5 acres of land, this radial designed (think: like a wheel) prison housed roughly 75,000 inmates throughout its 142 years of use. Located on 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, just five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Eastern State is easy to get to via Septa busses 48, 43, 33, 32, 7, and has ample on street parking.
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What next? Directly across the street from ESP’s entrance is the ever-hip, delicously-inclined MugShots, a coffee shop with pastries and snacks that will gently subdue the jitters you acquired while touring ESP. What better than a warm mug of hot chocolate to relax you. Enjoy 10 % off desserts and specialty drinks at Mugshots on March 31st by printing out (click to isolate) the small coupon to the right.
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Where are you goin’? Eastern State Penitentiary is located at 21st and Fairmount in the “Art Museum District” or Fairmount neighborhood, depending on who you ask. Mugshots Cafe is directly across Fairmount from the entrance of ESP. Rembrandt’s (balloon B on the map) is about two and a half blocks away. Walk west to 22nd or 23rd and north to Aspen St. Rembrandt’s is located at 23rd and Aspen. Also nearby is the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Waterworks. To get to these places just walk a bit further west (about 5 blocks). You can’t miss them.
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Brentano Quartet -Penn’s Landing
Sunday, March 1st, 3 pm, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents the Brentano Quartet w/ Hsin-Yun Huang, viola, at the Independence Seaport Museum (Penn’s Landing, Columbus Blvd at Walnut Street). $18 tickets (Orig. $23).
Named after Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars believe to have been Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” the Brentano String Quartet has been singled out for its performances since its inception in 1992. “Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding,” raved the London Independent; the New York Times praised its “luxuriously warm sound and yearning lyricism,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer extolled “these players could well be the best of the next generation. Their level of individual technique was superb.”
- Haydn, String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20, No. 3
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Hyla, Howl (Philadelphia Premiere)
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Mendelssohn, String Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 87
Tickets for PhilaCulturati readers are ONLY $18 (reg. $23). To purchase discounted tickets, call 215-569-8080 or www.pcmsconcerts.org.
PCMS has additional Special Deals for PhilaCulturati members:
Enjoy a 3 course, $30 prix fixe dinner at Keating’s Grill at the Hyatt at Penns Landing, adjacent to the Independence Seaport Museum, before of after the March 1st concert and receive 4 hours of FREE parking in the hotel garage.
OR PCMS has arranged for $10 parking in the lot adjacent to the Independence Seaport Museum.
If you are taking public transportation, the Independence Seaport Museum is not a far walk from the El stop at 2nd St.
Why PhilaCulturati?
Learn what’s happening and what to do to make it a full night. Want to do more than dinner and a movie? Then stay tuned…the PhilaCulturati will let you know what cool art exhibits, shows, plays, and other cultural happenings are good to go to AND what to do in that neighborhood. Want to take the out-of-towners to a new gallery but don’t know where to eat nearby? Or what bars have the best drink specials near the theatre? PhilaCulturati will let you know!