Anne Saint Peter

Friday: Head out of town for some pre-patriotic R&R at the Chaddsford Winery's live music and barbecue fest, where you'll listen to local fave Red Alert, while enjoying a red, white or sweet wine — sure to not leave you blue. If you’re sticking to the city, duck into the Art Museum and catch the jazz-Latin stylings of Magos Herrera. Or check out poems and a puppet show from the multi-medium artist Ish Klein.

Saturday: As the citizens of the birthplace of America, it's our duty to go all out on the fourth. But there’s more to do than to do than party on The Parkway with Sheryl Crow. Drink up Franklin-style at City Tavern’s Independence Day, with beers from Yards Brewing Co. made from the recipes of our Founding Fathers. Later, catch a showing of 1776, the Tony-award winning musical that celebrates our nation's tumultuous creation (can we say, angry sex?). Then grab dinner on foot with the 4th of July Red, White & Blue Food Tour, where red wine, white chocolate and blue cheese will tickle those taste buds.

Sunday: Hungover and hot? Probably the best spot to be is at the 11th Annual All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Fest, where for five Lincolns you can stuff your face until your belly bursts. Cause what’s more American that overeating, anyway? Then get those hip bangs off your sweaty forehead and out of the dessert, with a crafty fabric headband from local designers catFlowers.

Elizabeth Jane Cole

In this week's Agenda section, I did an interview with Scott Beibin, a geek who's doing some pretty cool things. He'll be performing his show, Scientists are the New Rock Stars, at Johnny Brenda's next Wednesday. Here's a synopsis of what it'll be like:

City Paper: What inspired your show?

Scott Beibin: It came from my belief that market capitalism — by allowing itself to partner with an open forum such as the Internet — basically committed suicide. So, soon, big companies won't be able to maintain their rock-star-making, king-making abilities, and they won't be able to stop people from finding oppressed technology like solar energy or electric cars. I think this'll lead to young people being interested in science the way they're now interested in the arts and entertainment.

CP: What exactly do you mean by a "multimedia show"?

SB: I'm going to show clips of the documentaries I've made about scientists I admire, and talk about my experiences in person. Also, as the show develops, I think we'll have guest speakers and examples of new technology, like this projector that runs on bike power and also makes smoothies.

Anyway, since he'll be in town this summer (he's been travelling all over Europe performing SATNRS and heading the Lost Film Festival for the past few months), he's doing some rock star scientist things of his own. Next weekend, he'll be converting an old blacksmith stable at 48th and Wallace streets into a mini eco village. And, being the collaborative guy that he is, he's welcoming anyone — regardless of experience with hammers and things — to come along and help. Get at him at scottb@lostfilmfest.org if you're interested.

This week, we bring you our July 4th issue honoring the people who have fought our wars in the middle east. Charles Cieri profiles 10 local soldiers in print and an additional three right here, on Citypaper.net.

More than 1.5 million Americans have fought in this country's two ongoing wars. While public interest and news coverage in Iraq and Afghanistan have waxed and waned, these volunteers have continued to stream to and from the battlefield.

In Op-ed:

• Loose Canon: Bruce Schimmel's guide to domestic tranquility, equipped with printable meter! Awesome, all I need is a domestic partner. A/S/L?
• Letters to the Editor: What you folks gripe about.

In News:

• Isaiah Thompson on needle exchange
• In A Million Stories: Philly's proposed "broadband stimulus" | Francisville LOVES IT! | Dionte's disappointment
• Good in print, better online: AD's Icepack.

In Arts:

• Check out Lori Hill's list of good picks in First Friday Focus. (With slideshow!)
• Daughter of a sanitation worker, Ish Klein on poems and puppets.

In Movies and Music:

• Sam Adams on Moon.
• Some bonus music picks you won't find anywhere else.

And in Food and Agenda:

• Felicia D teaches you some cocktail recipes. originating from Noble's bartender Christian Gaal
• Holly Otterbein's Last Chance, (with bonus slideshow!)

Happy Fourth!

CP HQ will be closed in the name of America tomorrow, so we're giving you a First Friday rundown a day early. Plan ahead, kids.

First on the agenda is the Philadelphia Book Co., where Liz Krick and her posse (Vincent Ancona, Andrew Dyer, Michael Moffa, and the list goes on) have taken over for what they're calling "Art Bonanza." Lori Hill gives us the rundown in today's First Friday Focus column:

Krick is a Pop artist in the truest sense of the word, taking cues from Warhol and Lichtenstein's bright, neon graphic sensibilities while remaining unique on her own. She takes baby dolls and bunnies and mannequins (pictured, right) and does things ... well, just look for yourself. Michael Moffa comes from a similar place but embeds his visions into collages, acrylic paintings and postage stamps. Most interesting to me, though, is his reappropriation of 1920s fashion templates — flapper ladies with their long strings of pearls and curly bobs reimagined in twisted landscapes and psychedelic patterns.

Krick wants visitors to come dressed as art ("See art, be art," she says to Lori), whatever that means to us. So make like Duchamp's Mona Lisa, tape a mustache to your face and get yourself there. Fri., July 3, 6 p.m.-midnight, 1113 Frankford Ave., 215-291-5880.

Lori also gave shout-outs to Pageant : Soloveev, Space 1026, Seraphin Gallery and Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts this week; click here for details.

More First Friday fun after the jump! Click For More »

Don't know what to do tonight? Don't worry, we've got you covered.

Combine all of the ICA's events in honor of the late, great jazz artist Sun Ra — the exhibit featuring drawings, album covers and rare tracks by and about him, John Szwed's July 8 lecture and tonight's performance by his band, and you've practically got an ever-changing shrine in West Philly to the guy.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. He was one of the weirdest, most creative Philadelphians to originally come from Saturn, ever.

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Wed., July 1, 7 p.m., $5-$10, Institute for Contemporary Arts, 118 S. 36th St., 215-898-7108, icaphila.org.

What's a guy mired in the worst slump of his life to do? Sign on with Red Bull, of course.

Don't know why Cholly didn't think of this sooner.

PHILLIES SHORTSTOP JIMMY ROLLINS RECEIVES HIS WIIINGS AT
JULY 4^th GAME VS RIVAL NEW YORK METS

The First MLB Player to Join the Red Bull Roster,
Rollins to Arrive to Game in Tricked-out Vehicle: The Red Bull MXT

WHAT: Rollins will arrive to the Phillies July 4^th game raring to go in the hooked-up Red Bull MXT truck as Jimmy gets dropped off at MLB’s biggest rival game. This is Rollins’ first appearance as a Red Bull athlete and is the first MLB player to be supported by the energy drink leader.

**INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY WITH JIMMY**

Rollins attracted Red Bull by his emerging superstar status and dynamic on and off the field. Besides being an All Star and MVP Shortstop, Rollins spends his off-season recruiting new talent for his music label Bay Sluggas Inc., hosting bowling fundraisers for the Arthritis Foundation and collecting custom cars.

WHO: Philadelphia Phillies Short Stop Jimmy Rollins and Red Bull

WHERE: Citizens Bank Park JETRO LOT and PLAYER’s ENTRANCE
One Citizens Bank Way
Philadelphia, PA

WHEN: Saturday, July 4^th , 2009 12PM

Call me old-fashioned, but when you're trucking into July with a .207 batting average, a .250 on base percentage and a lousy 10 stolen bases (against 5 caught stealings), and on the heels of a very high-profile benching, maybe you should arrive at the ballpark early and quietly to study game tape and not in the "hooked-up Red Bull MXT truck"

The Inquirer has just launched Student Union 34, so named due to the 34 colleges in the Philadelphia area:

Welcome to Student Union 34, a cooperative Web experiment from students at Philadelphia-area colleges and universities and The Inquirer. We're excited give a student view of the city and its vibrant campuses, and to provide students a platform for their blogging, photos, videos and journalism work.

Things that are cool:

• A flash map showing all 34 schools.
• One-stop shop for all college news.
• Another place for journalism students to gripe, aside from their respective student newspapers.

Meh:

• They cover things you probably already know about the city.
• Another place for journalism students to gripe, aside from their respective student newspapers.

Via Philly Clout:

Philadelphia Parking Authority Executive Director Vince Fenerty today announced that a planned increase in parking meter rates scheduled to take effect today, July 1st, will not be implemented at this time.

According to Fenerty, “rates that were scheduled to increase to $3 dollars per hour in the core of Center City Philadelphia (4th to 20th, Arch to Locust Streets) will remain at $2 per hour.�

"The most recent parking surveys confirmed that the rate adjustments implemented in January have achieved the goal of creating more parking opportunities. As a result, we do not believe it is necessary to implement the second phase of the approved rate adjustment at this time."

I don't know who to trust anymore.

Randy Alexander passes along this shot of the Jackson 5 with Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble, back when the Philly International Records producers helped the crew record and write two albums, The Jacksons and Goin' Places. PIR is apparently going to be releasing some long-lost video footage of the fam's sessions, too

Standing L-R (click image to enlarge): Tito Jackson, Randy Jackson, Michael Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Jackie Jackson. Seated L-R: Joe Jackson, Leon Huff, Kenny Gamble.

Somebody just put a classic doc on Philly crime boss Nicodemo Scarfo on YouTube. Features guns, hitmen, body dumping in Jerz, The Crow, The Hunchback and lots of vintage ’70s-’80s Philly footage.

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